Before he became king, Leopold II of Belgium said, "I want a colony. How about Japan?"
October 31, 2017
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
Rattlesnake Japan
Takayama
Until now, there was a world police force made up of white people.
For example, it was the Shimonoseki campaign.
In Shimonoseki, the Choshu clan fought against Britain, France, and the Netherlands, and later, the US intervened and took punitive action.
The same was true of the Boxer Rebellion.
Eight countries took part in the punitive action.
There was a concept of a white police force.
After World War II, this disappeared.
Why did it disappear?
One of the main reasons was that the Western countries lost all their colonies.
Fujii
Even small countries like the Netherlands and Belgium had colonies (laughs).
Takayama
Before he became king, Leopold II of Belgium said, "I want a colony. How about Japan?"
His aides said, "Japan is a bit difficult" (laughs).
So, he ended up colonizing the Congo.
Anyway, they lost all their colonies, but the reason for this was that the US entered World War II, angering Japan and causing them to attack Pearl Harbor.
But it didn't end there.
Japan ended up liberating all the Asian colonies held by European countries.
Fujii
It was the US that angered Japan.
Takayama
The European countries that lost their colonies became poor and no longer had the luxury of playing the role of world policeman.
The US was responsible for angering Japan, so after the war, it worked hard to play the role of world policeman.
In addition, for the sake of European countries, for example, when Mossadeq nationalized the Iranian oil, it conspired to bring him down and gave the concession to the UK.
He continued to feed the people of a declining Europe.
When it came to the Clinton and Obama eras, the United States also became tired.
They announced that they would no longer be the world's policeman.
In contrast, Trump wants to bring back a "strong America."
He has reviewed the system that the United States has followed in the past, and he has, for example, honestly expressed his dissatisfaction with why China is allowed to act as it pleases.
One of the reviews was the policy of "keeping Japan contained."
Because Japan was once seen as the only nation that could become an enemy of white people, they contained Japan and used China and Korea to bully it as punishment.
Fujii
The falsification of history, such as the comfort women issue and the Nanking Massacre, is a typical example.
Takayama
But now, with the emergence of ISIS, China is becoming more and more powerful, and even North Korea is threatening the world.
That said, the EU needs to be stronger.
In that sense, they cannot ignore Japan, which has both national and intellectual power.
The main theme of Trump's and Abe's discussion was to reconsider the "containment of Japan" once again.
This article continues.
2024/9/5 in Onomichi
