Oops...

Done it again...sunday has rolled around with me doing no actual preparation for this blog...maybe it`s got something to do with The Japanese Language Proficiency Test which your humble author is studying for...the level I`m taking, 四きゅう is the most basic "I like sushi, but I don`t like natto" stuff, but I`m not sufficiently confident to make the leap into 三きゅう...

I did intend to write in greater detail about this man as I`ve just read his book, "The Japan that can say No", written before the collapse of the Soviet Union, wherein he calls for Japan to assert her international clout by refusing to supply superior Japanese semiconductors to America, and stops short of suggesting changing "allegiance" to Russia. The book itself, in the wake of Japans` economic slump & the end of the Cold War seems pretty irrelevant right now, and although I agree with him when he complains of powerful countries like the US & the UK throwing their weight around, in the chapter entitled "Racial Discrimination: The Root of Japan bashing?" he draws the flies of my wrath to the steaming faeces of his opinions.

In describing the idea that the Japan is suffering from a morbidly low self esteem, he writes of a "contemptible" piece of work from a Japanese writer who states that he considers his countrymen to be "...no more attractive than pygmies."

Another quote I`ve heard attributed to Mr Ishihara is a voicing of his fears regarding Chinas` sudden economic rise, a potentially catastrophic state of affairs, since the Chinese "...have no morals and will pollute the world."

And if that wasn`t enough, why not have a look at these pearls of diplomatic wisdom and a word from another blogger?

When however, he says that racial discrimination is the root of Japan bashing, I agree with him...but our interpretations of that statement are polarised somewhat...



So anyway, we`ve got Dave and Sam (although bereft of an online prescence that I`m aware of, still very lovely) visiting over the next two weeks...consequently, this blog will be neglected for just as long...indeed, history does repeat itself...