Japan Facts: Peace Constitution
A basic primer on the issues surrounding the controversial Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution.
Tag Archives: Iraq War (2003-Present)
North Korea War Gains Plausibility
It’s Donald Trump more than Kim Jong-Un who brings us a greater possibility of war.
How the Japan Communist Party Sees the United States
The Draft Resolution of the Japanese Communist Party 27th Congress contains valuable insights about how the global superpower is viewed by sections of Japanese political left.
Obama Destroyed the Democratic Party
Another look at the leader who set the stage for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump: What’s the Rumpus?
Host Michael Penn interviews scholar Nancy Snow about the persuasive techniques of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Terrorism: What’s the Rumpus?
Host Michael Penn interviews professor Christopher Hobson to discuss the concept and potential threat of terrorism.
The Japan that Can’t Say No to War
At the 93rd anniversary event of the Japan Communist Party, Chairman Kazuo Shii offered his view on how the so-called “Legislation for Peace and Security” will make future Japanese governments even less able to resist US government demands that they participate in foreign wars.
Burying the Lessons of the Iraq War
There is probably no better method of predicting what people and institutions might do in the future than to have an accurate understanding of their behavior in the past. So much of what is popularly taken as surprising and “unpredictable” might easily have been foreseen by a better knowledge of the contexts, experiences, and the previous actions of the players involved in the construction of an event. When powerholders attempt to suppress the records of official behavior, it is therefore not simply the concern of a handful of cloistered intellectuals, but a matter that can be expected to have real-world impact on future policymaking and the fate of ordinary citizens.
Komeito’s Problem with Wartime History
The issue of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s fringe views on wartime history has become a global topic whenever contemporary Japanese diplomacy is discussed, but the problem of selective, self-serving narratives of the past has also infected his coalition partner, Komeito.
Stumbling into Tragedy
The group sometimes called the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) murdered freelance journalist Kenji Goto and his friend Haruna Yukawa. The various messages that ISIL sent through Goto’s voice to the world demonstrate clearly that they are listening to the debates in the world’s media, and we therefore can understand that ISIL murdered Mr. Goto in full knowledge of the humanitarian nature of his work and the fact that he personally bore no enmity toward Muslims or their causes.
