The following is from the serial column of Yoshiko Sakurai, who brings the weekly Shincho released yesterday to a successful conclusion.
This article also proves that she is a national treasure defined by Saicho, the supreme national treasure.
It is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but also for people around the world.
Weak-kneed nation, Germany is waking up, and Japan will follow.
The crisis comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
Discussion and friendship mean nothing to a country that believes only in power.
Only the raw power speaks for itself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, relying on his military might, has attacked Ukraine, intending to turn it into a vassal state.
He said, "We are a nuclear power," and threatened to use nuclear weapons.
The full-scale invasion began on February 24, and Ukraine, which was expected to be overrun in two or three days, fought bravely and held on.
Mr. Putin deployed more powerful, deadly weapons, and on February 27, he put the nuclear deterrent force on alert.
It was a moment of growing concern that he might also use small tactical nuclear weapons.
Ukrainian President Selensky proposed ceasefire negotiations to avoid further loss of life, and the two countries held five hours of talks on the 28th.
Negotiations continued, but during this time, Mr. Putin continued to step up his attacks to overthrow the Ukrainian government and the fall of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Military force rather than reasoned negotiation protects a nation's people.
It was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who recognized this chilling fact.
Like Japan was defeated in World War II, Germany has been so remorseful about its history that it has maintained a postwar posture of avoiding military power.
Although they are the leading economic power in Europe, they have continued to turn a blind eye to the maintenance of military force, which is indispensable for an independent nation and its impact on realpolitik.
In the face of the Ukrainian crisis, the United Kingdom and other countries were quick to provide mobile anti-tank missiles. In contrast, Germany provided only 5,000 helmets, which was frowned upon by the rest of the world.
Russia's "force-feedback" strategy has awakened Germany.
On the evening of the 21st, Vladimir Putin announced that he would recognize the independence of the two eastern Ukrainian republics and send peacekeeping troops to the two republics.
The following day, the 22nd, Mr. Scholz announced the freeze of "Nord Stream 2", a gas pipeline completed between Russia and Germany, and was waiting for the start of operation.
Russia relies on oil and gas exports for 40% of its revenue.
Making Europe dependent on Russia for energy supplies is a powerful weapon for Russia.
Putin must have been shocked by the sudden announcement from the German side to freeze that means of supply.
China's Movement
A day later, in the early morning of the 24th, when the Russian military launched a full-scale attack, Scholz made a televised speech on the same day, which was not unlike that of the German Chancellor, who has long maintained a policy of appeasement toward Russia since the end of World War II.
He accused Putin of trying to "send [the world] back to the past," and said, "We cannot go back to the days before 1989. At that time, the people of Central and Eastern Europe fought for freedom and democracy. So did we. And Ukraine, too," he said.
He then called out Putin, saying, "This war is Putin's war.
He alone must take full responsibility." "Putin must not underestimate NATO." "We are hopeful, but not sycophants," he said after the Cold War. He listed, one by one, the proper names of the Eastern European countries that joined NATO. NATO will protect these members unconditionally," he declared, "and Putin will not win.
These are unimaginable words from the Germany of the past.
At a press conference on the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden said the following.
The sanctions [such as trade restrictions] will not immediately affect. Instead, they aim to deal a severe blow to the Russian economy, derail Putin's plans, and hamper his military operations. No one believes that economic sanctions will stop anything."
He admitted that he knew that trade restrictions alone would not stop Putin's war.
It is evident in China's move. On the 24th of this month, China eased its trade restrictions with Russia and announced an expansion of Russian wheat imports.
Earlier, during the Beijing Olympics, they added 10 billion square meters of Russian natural gas to their purchases at a summit meeting.
It is to offset the effects of Western economic sanctions on China. If economic sanctions have limits, talks at the U.N. are even more hopeless.
The U.N. Security Council, convened on March 25, voted on a draft resolution against Russia calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the region.
However, it failed because Russia used its veto, and China, India, and the UAE abstained. Talks will get us nowhere.
On the same day, Putin strongly condemned the current government in Ukraine, comparing it to the Nazis, and called for a coup against the Ukrainian military.
Around this time, Prime Minister Scholz announced a "true awakening."
On the 26th, he announced the supply of 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air Stinger missiles to Ukraine.
It was a shift in Germany's pacifist and pacifist policy of not supplying lethal weapons since its defeat.
Naked state
On the 27th, he delivered an important speech to Congress. He declared that defense spending would immediately increase to 2% of GDP. He said he would add about 13 trillion yen to defense spending this year.
It is not clear from Scholz's speech how he will come up with this amount, but it is a surprising increase.
He said that all of the increase would be used for weapons equipment, such as F-35 fighter jets and Israeli-made drones, not for personnel costs, military pensions, or other benefits.
Germany, which had been pessimistic about both the utility and the use of military power, has now accepted that military force determines the fate of a country and has begun to strengthen its military.
Another noteworthy development is that Germany has begun to take steps to avoid the danger of energy dependence on Russia.
It has increased its stockpiles of coal and gas, and it has said that it will urgently build two natural gas terminals.
Of course, these steps will take years to implement and will not help now.
Nor can we fully trust Germany.
After allying with Japan in World War II, Germany continued to provide military aid to the Chinese Nationalist Party, which was an enemy of Japan, for some time.
The international community is full of cunning nations.
Nevertheless, Japan should learn that Germany has awakened as a nation to the reality that a country does not stand on its economy alone, but only with sufficient military power.
To begin with, Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons in the Budapest Memorandum of Understanding of 1994. The United States, Britain, and Russia guaranteed the security of a denuclearized Ukraine.
Now, however, Russia threatens Ukraine with nuclear weapons, while the U.S. and European countries only assist in weapons and equipment.
I will repeat it. The international community is challenging.
Japan is being targeted by China, far more formidable than Russia, so Japan cannot protect itself if it remains naked.
As soon as possible, Japan must increase defense spending significantly, maintain offensive capabilities including intermediate-range missiles, share nuclear weapons with the U.S., review the three non-nuclear principles and revise the Constitution.
Otherwise, it will turn Japan into a vassal state of China, which is exceptionally cunning, both hard and soft.
