Japan's strategic options now and then

[Taro Toporific]

Here's a thought-piece on the Japan and the gathering storm with NK and China....."It's deja vu all over again."

Anglosphere: Japan's options ''....That one of today's urgent crises is set in Northeast Asia should serve as a reminder of the limits of each option. After all, America fought one of its hardest and bitterest wars with that region's principal power a half-century ago, a war that arose because of the failure of diplomacy and sanctions...''

[cstaylor]

Watching the European Union's response to much closer crises, such as the Bosnian war, the Japanese must understand that if Tokyo were nuked by the North Koreans, all they would get from Brussels would be an elegantly worded statement of regret and calls for an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

[cstaylor]

One reason that South Korea is pushing for compromise: cheap labor in the North. Hyundai and other Korean conglomerates are pushing for a visa system to allow South Korean companies to setup manufacturing in the impoverished North.