Germany goes down the tubes as militarism is revived. The author in the video below discusses how militarism is used as a means to attack the welfare state.

This Neutrality Studies video presents the modern revival of militarism in contemporary German politics and its suicidal nature. The current trend in Japan is equally suicidal. Just as Germany (and France) have no chance of "defeating Russia," it is equally absurd and suicidal for Japan to conceive of interfering in the Taiwan issue militarily, or expanding its political or military influence there.

Why was post war Germany viewed as a positive model for Japan? Ostensibly, there was far greater accountability for war crimes in post war Germany and official acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Unlike Japan, there hadn't been an official government effort to deny and suppress the truth about war crimes in Germany, or the risks of militarism, such as that which led WWI to WWII. By way of contrast, in Japan, key political networks, were formed around a few major war criminals, who went unpunished by the US occupation government after their defeat in WWII. These key figures than went on to constitute the LDP 1955 system governing Japanese politics to the present. This was a realpolitik strategy implemented by the US/CIA during the cold war. The restrictions imposed on Japanese militarist revival were embodied in Article 9 of the post war Japanese constitution written by the US. In the more recent past, Abe, Kishida, and now Takaichi have been systematically dismantling the restrictions on Japanese armed forces, known as Self Defense Forces, with US encouragement.

In one of the videos I watched recently there was mention of social welfare programs in Japan including its highly regulated (cost controlled) integrated universal medical care system, and the national pension system, and the role these played in keeping the LDP in power. These programs exist side by side with a party and state structure that favor the corporate elites. How will increased military expenditures in Japan be paid for? It's economy is sluggish and struggling. The country already has an enormous debt problem. The current illusion being propagated by the right wing revival in Japan, is that immigrants are responsible for crime and burdening the social welfare system there. This exploits Japan's historically insular and racist inclinations. The foregoing represents an effort to avoid more profound domestic issues that can only be resolved by efforts to strengthen the economy and encourage international cooperation, common security, and detente rather than engaging in militarism and block politics. Nevertheless, Takaichi's popularity has soared recently after her discussion of a potential military intervention in the event of a conflict between the mainland and Taiwan.

This video above presents a good summary of Japan's domestic politics swinging further to the right. The only shortcoming in my view is that it doesn't make a strong enough connection with Japan's neo-imperialist military operations in the East Asian littoral seas ostensibly aimed at "containing China," in cooperation with the US. In all fairness, that is a major topic unto itself, but there is a connection. The Asian Boss channel recently presented the case that the reaction in Japan to immigration was overblown by pundits and that actual legal standards for immigration weren't changing in Japan; Japan's aging and declining population makes immigration mandatory, or Japan will suffer further economically and socially. "It's really just the foreign tourists." But no one ever said there needed to be a rational connection between xenophobic political ploys and facts on the ground. The more anti-immigrant sentiment is promoted, the more successful the LDP right anti-China national security policy becomes.

Here's Professor Jeffrey Hall below, an ex-patriot living and teaching in Japan, on the Japanese shift rightward. The light hearted approach of the western youtubers he's with detracts somewhat, but I think Hall is in the ball park.

Objective geopolitical/military perspective on Taiwan issue by former Naval War College instructor Lyle Goldstein. Interesting that he didn't say anything about the Takaichi snafu. Seems odd because it's dated Nov. 20.

"The job postings, all seeking content that criticized China & praised Japan, offered to pay would-be contractors to write scripts for YouTube videos or to edit productions using [AI]."
So China-hatred doesn't just arise spontaneously—someone is payinghttps://t.co/fPPNwifzRI

— Jon Reinsch (@JonReinsch) December 6, 2025

I'm glad a young singer like Aki is creating a catalogue of these old trot classics. Below is Rainy Yeongdong Bridge in Korean, then Japanese. I love the original by Chu Hyun-mi. Aki's effort with Ryu Won-jeong on MBN music is probably as good a performance as there is in Korean and Japanese.

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