The following is from the serial column of Ms. Yoshiko Sakurai, who brings the weekly Shincho released today to a successful conclusion.
This article also proves that she is a national treasure, defined by Saicho as a supreme national treasure.
It is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but also for people around the world.
It is a must-read, especially for those politicians who get only a sizeable annual income and privileges from the taxpayers' money, such as the Democratic Party of Japan, and those who make their living from the Asahi and other newspapers and T.V. stations.
Japan can also refer to the U.K.'s national defense and nuclear deterrence.
Russia calls for the timed surrender of Ukrainian troops holed up in Mariupol.
President Vladimir Putin's threat was also issued to the United States.
According to an April 15 press report, a diplomatic note to President Biden warned that providing Ukraine with advanced weapons would escalate the fighting and "lead to unpredictable results.
Still, President Zelensky did not yield, and Prime Minister Shmihalyi sent out a message that he would "fight to the end.
What will happen now will be a further unification of the Western powers and an even tougher fight with Russia.
The West, led by the United States, will supply Ukraine with more offensive weapons and try to avoid a complete defeat for Ukraine.
A Russian victory would mean that Vladimir Putin's ultimate threat, which even implies the use of nuclear weapons, would go unchallenged.
Despite Russia's serious threats, it has no chance of winning a full-scale war with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which the United States leads.
For this reason, it will be as cautious as possible in attacking NATO.
As a result, there is a strong possibility that the war in Ukraine will be protracted.
What a tragedy for Ukraine.
As long as Putin's Russia and Xi Jinping's China continue to expand their power by force, the nations must make two preparations.
(1) Become a member of an alliance competitive with both China and Russia, and protect each other through collective security.
(2) Reinforce their own defense capabilities as much as possible.
Regarding (1), the current situation in Ukraine, which was not admitted to NATO, is clear. Regarding (2), it is crucial to develop the ultimate capability to defend oneself in an international situation where one never knows what might really happen.
In particular, Japan is in the most dangerous situation in the world.
I say the same thing repeatedly, but Japan is the only country in the world surrounded by nuclear weapons and missiles, including those of Russia, China, and North Korea.
Japan can learn a lot from the defense policy of the United Kingdom.
As a member of NATO, the U.K. is protected by the extended deterrence of U.S. nuclear weapons.
In addition, it possesses four strategic missile nuclear submarines.
Under the Labour government, before Thatcher became prime minister, these four submarines were Polaris submarines.
The shift in Defense Policy
Following Thatcher's arrival in May 1979, the international situation began to change dramatically when Republican Ronald Reagan became president of the United States in January 1981, defeating Democrat Carter.
It was Thatcher who changed the defense policy of the U.K. based on her insight into the U.S.-Soviet relationship and the situation in Europe.
Immediately after becoming Prime Minister, she began to select a replacement for the outdated Polaris missiles.
The best successor system considered between the U.S. and the U.K. was the Trident 1 MIRV system.
The Trident missiles contained a crucial new technology called MIRV (Marv = Multi-target Warhead Reentry Vehicle). Multiple nuclear warheads were each directed at a separate target—agreed with the then Carter administration to purchase the Trident 1.
However, Carter was concerned that publicity of this military deal would harm his political position.
At the time, Mr. Carter believed in the Soviet Union and conducted good-faith diplomacy.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined his good intentions on December 24, 1979, and he lost the presidential election the following year.
After entering the White House in January 1981, Mr. Reagan concentrated on a significant expansion and modernization of the U.S. military.
It upgraded Trident 1 to Trident II, which incorporated new technology, and in 1982 it decided to introduce it to the Royal Navy.
Thus, each British nuclear submarine was equipped with 16 Trident missiles.
Each missile can carry three nuclear warheads, bringing the total number of nuclear warheads on each submarine to 48.
The U.K. has one submarine in the water at all times, and in the event of a Russian nuclear attack on the U.K., the U.K. would launch Trident missiles from under the sea to counterattack.
Thus, the U.K. was equipped with a robust nuclear deterrent.
Behind Thatcher's insistence on possessing a robust nuclear deterrent on her own was the complexity of the U.S.-European relationship in Europe.
In Europe, the Soviet Union began deploying the new SS-20 missile in 1977.
Equipped with a three-warhead MTIRV, it had high hit accuracy, could be reloaded, and was mobile. The Soviets also began deploying the SS-21, SS-122, SS 123, and other surface-to-surface missiles, and five new long-range cruise missiles were being developed as fresh ground, undersea, and air-launched weapons.
A week after becoming prime minister, Thatcher was one of the first to visit Germany to discuss how to respond to the Soviet military threat with Chancellor Schmidt.
The European nations would first respond to the Soviet Union with conventional weapons. Still, if they could not do so, their next move would be to have the United States defend them with powerful strategic nuclear weapons launched from the U.S. mainland.
Thatcher foresaw that these two defensive measures would be ineffective without linking European-deployed medium-range nuclear weapons.
Confidence in One's Own Country
Schmidt shared the same view and strongly wanted the development and deployment of U.S. intermediate-range nuclear missiles comparable to the Soviet Union's SS-20.
The U.S. developed the Pershing II in a great hurry and was ready to deploy it by the end of 1983.
However, in May 1983, at the G (Group of Seven) summit held in Williams Park, France and Canada suddenly protested vehemently.
According to President Reagan's memoirs, French President Francois Mitterrand and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau accused those who supported the deployment of U.S. medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe of being warmongers.
There were heated exchanges among the summit leaders.
France and Canada walked alone to the luncheon afterward, while the rest of the countries walked together.
Not a word was exchanged between the two sides at lunch.
There was a fundamental suspicion on the European side of extended deterrence by the U.S. There were doubts about whether an agreement between the U.S. and Europe would be possible even if the U.S. nuclear weapons were to defend NATO.
In this complicated situation, Thatcher must have thought that while it was essential to have an international framework in place, it was also crucial to have a solid complement.
The U.K. concluded that it needed to develop its own nuclear weapons, so it purchased the most advanced Trident missiles available in the U.S., mounted them on nuclear submarines, and is still letting them cruise deep under the sea.
I think this is a point that Japan should learn from the U.K.
The United Kingdom and the United States leaders have many things in common.
The most important of these is trust in one's own country.
Thatcher recalled, "No country is more trusted than the United Kingdom," and Reagan boasted, "No country has done more for other countries than the United States.
No country is perfect; both countries have many shortcomings.
But strength comes from trusting oneself.
Japan has a strength that no other country can match. It is a human-oriented kindness and heroism.
We can break free from the postwar system and rebuild Japan with this power.
