Thank you Bush you fucking idiot

This is another result of Bush's inept foreign policy. Yes, Japan is nervous because of NKorea, but NKorea hasn't made them feel the need for weaponry for the last, oh, 50 years or so. It took GWB to effect that fear.

One of the few positive things to come out of WWII was a Japan with a pacifist constitution. Since then, Japan has grown into a world leader and impressive economy and it is largely because they didn't have to funnel a ton of money into weapons. But the US military-industrial complex needs new customers and now they'll have one.

Japan has launched its first full-fledged defense ministry since World War II as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to build a more assertive nation.

Abe, Japan's first premier to be born after the war, made the creation of a defense ministry one of his top priorities. He aims eventually to rewrite the US-imposed 1947 constitution that declared Japan a pacifist country.

"Since the Cold War ended, the national security situation facing Japan has changed dramatically," Abe said at a ceremony to mark the creation of a cabinet-level defense ministry to replace the previous defense agency.

"This is a significant step for us to get out of the post-war regime and lay the foundations for our efforts to build the nation," said Abe, adding that the ministry would now be able to shape defense and security policy.

One suggestion Abe, learn from the past and from others. Don't start something you can't stop. Pacifism has worked out fine for Switzerland.

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