Today I saw on TV that the Japanese upper house had just ratified a bill allowing the military use of space.
BBC AP New Scientist Japan Times
I don’t like this at all. The last thing the world needs now is a new arms race. Of course there are reasons – everyone’s afraid of China these days, and they didn’t help by that trial shooting down of a satellite the other month. Then North Korea fired that missile over Japan a couple of years ago.
Since Reagan first dreamed it up, I’ve always thought the whole Star Wars thing was a scam to make (more) money for the evil Military-Industrial Complex. Fear of China and North Korea is the tool the Americans use to keep their Japanese “allies” under control. Just when prime minister Koizumi seemed to be about to improve relations with the DPRK in 2002, the US dug up all that nuclear stuff… Likewise they must be pleased that South Korea’s “sunshine policy” toward the north has been dropped by the new president. An undemocratic, authoritarian and possibly paranoid China certainly gives much to worry about, but the current US administration’s confrontational attitude only makes things worse. (Of course the same can be said about the face it presents to Arabs and Muslims worldwide, but I’ll leave my anti-Bush tirade for another day.)
I’m disgusted with the Japanese Democratic Party too. As the main opposition they have a duty to keep the government LDP in line, and prepare themselves as a potental replacement. With prime minister Fukuda’s popularity down around 18% this is now a real possibility, but apart from quibbling about petrol tax, they haven’t been using their control of the upper house very constructively, and supporting the government over Star Wars confirms their image as a #2 LDP… 😦
Maybe they are all really worried about aliens.
asazuke 