tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770528279725873103.post9182324423633257125..comments2023-10-18T11:48:11.213-04:00Comments on Asia Policy Point: Fukushima and the art of the impossibleAsia Policy Pointhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784292872823996552noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770528279725873103.post-45149854035306177592010-06-02T02:23:00.369-04:002010-06-02T02:23:00.369-04:00What my colleague Dr. Brooks seems entirely obviou...What my colleague Dr. Brooks seems entirely obvious to is the voices of the Okinawan people themselves. The polls I have seen show 84-89% of the public there against the Henoko plan.<br /><br />It is just dead wrong to pin this on some supposedly "radical" ideology of the Social Democrats. After all, even conservatives like Shizuka Kamei say openly that the Henoko base will never be built.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04298498073303766981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3770528279725873103.post-61582114512834847192010-06-01T19:20:31.578-04:002010-06-01T19:20:31.578-04:00Mr. Brooks seems to take as a given that the US ba...Mr. Brooks seems to take as a given that the US bases shall remain in Japan forever. Not all of us share that assumption, which is why we had hoped PM Hatoyama would take the first step toward changing that situation. This first assumption depends also on his second, regarding the "efficacy of the bilateral security arrangements of the alliance in meeting Japan’s defense needs and in maintaining deterrence in the region." We are becoming increasingly aware that the US military is simply using Japan as a convenient place from which to launch military activities in other parts of the world, and that the troops are not here to protect Japan. <br />The commentary further mentions the refusal of Guam to take on more troops, but never mentions that the nearby island of Tinian has offered to do so, and that the SDP was pursuing this option.wataruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10934449228000680775noreply@blogger.com