When a country goes to war, I’d like to consider the question, “Do the people bear any responsibility?” in the context of Japan and the United States.
I have a request for the American people.
And, I will outline some points of caution for the American people.
A Plea to the American People
As far as I can see, the world is plunging into a crisis.
And far from stopping this, the Trump administration is actually exacerbating it.
In recent years, Putin’s war in Ukraine, the AI revolution, global warming, and the U.S.-China conflict have all been accelerating.
Under Trump’s leadership over the past year and a half, the situation has only worsened.
It is clear that Trump lacks both the will and the ability to steer the world and the United States in a positive direction.
The biggest problem is his authoritarian tendencies; given his willingness to lie and commit wrongdoing, there is a high probability he will join forces with dictators in other countries.
As long as the Trump administration remains in power, the world will only get worse.
I sincerely hope that sensible American citizens will help the Democratic Party gain a significant number of seats in these midterm elections.
I hope this will lead to Trump’s impeachment, with the support of sensible Republican moderates.
If this does not happen, Trump’s dictatorship will be cemented, and peace and democracy will vanish from the world.
If that happens, the United States may leave a stain on world history.
Since entering World War II, the United States has saved the world and worked tirelessly for Japan’s recovery.
The United States has achieved remarkable progress, and the American Dream has been the object of our admiration.
But things have changed now.
Points to Keep in Mind
The current political situation in the United States is clearly abnormal.
This is because the problems that have been eroding the country for half a century have been left unaddressed.
While the causes are intricately intertwined, in a nutshell, it can be described as “the rise and fall brought about by arrogance.”
The division within American society has reached a critical stage.
This is partly due to the unaddressed income disparity, but it is also the result of people being manipulated into discriminating against and hating one another.
Over the past two years, I have traveled through eight states across the United States—north, south, east, and west—spending more than a month on each trip.
The towns and people were peaceful, and I witnessed countless instances of kindness, even toward the homeless.
To me, it seemed as though a segment of the American public was being incited, driven into a state of hysteria, and exploited for political gain.
And precisely because this division is so severe, until a few months ago, I predicted that the United States would never recover.
Incidentally, Emmanuel Todd believes that a U.S. recovery is impossible.
However, starting around mid-September, my despair began to give way to hope.
But even if independent voters swing toward the anti-Trump camp this time, we can’t expect much of a drop in support for the Republican Party and Trump supporters, so at best, we might only see a flip of the Senate and House of Representatives.
If that happens, it seems the next set of challenges will be waiting after the midterm elections.
For the United States to bounce back, mere partial improvements to its political, social, and economic systems will not suffice.
Fundamental reform—a break from neoliberalism (a shift away from money-driven politics, excessive emphasis on finance, and regressive taxation, and a return to public protection and regulation of labor rights, welfare, and other areas)—is necessary.
Implementing this will require a long and arduous congressional battle with the Republican Party, and it may take 10 to 20 years before tangible results become apparent.
Given that it took the same amount of time for economic inequality to worsen, this may be to be expected.
Will the American people understand this and be able to endure it?
After all, for half a century, they have been led to believe that neoliberalism is the right path.
I sincerely hope that the American people will be able to bounce back.
There’s one more issue.
It concerns the MAGA movement and the evangelicals.
To put it bluntly, good-natured and deeply devout people have, over the course of half a century, created a massive wave of change.
Unfortunately, the direction of that movement ran counter to the scientific age.
Despite sharing the same origins as Europeans, white Christians in the United States have lagged behind Europe in terms of secularization.
Contrary to their intentions, this has brought immense benefits to the wealthy (those with vested interests) and to Jews (who support Israel).
While there were likely various reasons for this delayed secularization, looking solely at the outcome, it appears that kind-hearted, innocent people are being manipulated and exploited.
This is an extremely alarming situation, and it must never be dismissed as merely a religious issue.
Something similar to the witch hunts of medieval Europe occurred in the United States after World War II.
Even after the fervor of the “Red Scare” subsided, that hostility toward the “devil” drove the nation toward the Vietnam War.
After all, both Japan and Germany were once swept up in the fervor of fascism, engulfing their entire populations and propelling them toward catastrophe.
I cannot think of a way to channel the convictions and passion held by the MAGA movement and evangelicals in a positive direction.
However, maintaining a sense of crisis regarding these issues is essential for improving society.
I have written some harsh words to the American people, but Japan, too, has made mistakes in the past.
I wrote this partly as an act of reflection on those mistakes.
Please do your best.
--Table of Contents---
Part 1: Who Is to Blame for the Deterioration? Japanese and English
Part 2: The Path Chosen by the Imperial Army Japanese only
Part 3: People Fascinated by Dictatorship Japanese only
Part 4: What Is the Military Spirit of the Imperial Army? Japanese only
Part 5: Looking Back on Japan’s Wars Japanese only
Part 6: Military Build-up and the Enemy Japanese only
Part 7: Confronting War Japanese only
Part 8: A Request to the American People Japanese and English
This concludes this series.
Thank you for reading.
