Japan’s Embrace of a Phoney War on Terror

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Sunday May 31, 2009 15:05 by Maidhc Ó Cathail

A recent book by Gavan McCormack documents how Japan has become a "client state" of the United States, an indispensable ally through its uncritical support of the global American empire. However, a closer examination of the forces driving recent US wars in the Middle East suggests that America may in fact be serving the interests of one tiny country in the region.

Japan may be “in the American Embrace,” as Gavan McCormack’s Client State cogently argues, but in whose embrace is America?

In Client State: Japan in the American Embrace, Gavan McCormack demonstrates how Japan’s apparent nationalist turn owes much to the need to conceal the country’s increasing subordination to American imperial designs. However, a closer examination of the driving forces behind the US Empire in the 21st century suggests that both countries may be serving a quite different agenda.

Rightly described as a “masterful” analysis by fellow Japan expert Chalmers Johnson, McCormack’s 2007 book expertly documents how Japan’s postwar “peace constitution” has been steadily attenuated to the point of meaninglessness, as Tokyo has consistently bowed to pressure from Washington to become more active in its support of US hegemony, culminating in a “merger” of their military forces in the wake of 9/11.

Maidhc Ó Cathail is a freelance writer living in Japan who writes a monthly political column for Kansai Time Out magazine, in which this article was originally published. He also contributes a monthly column to the Irish language internet magazine Beo!

Article continued at-
http://maidhc.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/embracing-a-phoney-war/