[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

On the issue of gas fields in the East China Sea, China has yet to stop pumping oil when they have promised to cooperate with Japan while doing so.

The easiest solution is for Japan to place its own platforms on its side of the border and start pumping out oil as well. Given that oil is a liquid, there is no way for anyone to guarantee that one country's drilling will not take away another country's oil.

Unfortunately, Japan is not likely to do that - even with the new government - so chances are good that it will lose virtually all of the oil to China.

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

On the issue of the food safety, there have yet to be an answer to the mystery of the frozen gyoza incident which sent quite a few people to be hospitalized; not to mention that there were originally quite many concerns on food safety aside from the frozen gyoza case.

It's called "dragging one's feet", and it works if the "person" doing the dragging is strong enough. I do remember reading, though, that the recalled gyoza packages had been traced to a problem in China, esp. when workers in China received free gyoza - and it was the same stuff recalled - from their employer? It was many months ago, though.

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

On the issue of Yasukuni Shrine, the new government of Japan will no doubt refrain from making visits before removing the 14 A-Class war criminals from the place and to be placed in a separate shrine but there will obviously be disagreements rising as that not everybody supports the idea of removing the souls of individuals who had sacrificed for the nation just to seek friendliness in two bilateral ties when it is said that the shrine for religious purpose and is independent of political issues.

Ah, the old problems of "pride" and "honor"... You can't eat either, nor can you use either to fuel your factories. Yet to backtrack on this subject meant you lose face and dignity.

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

Aside from these three issues, there is still a territorial row over the Senkaku in which China refuses to acknowledge the Japanese ownership of the sovereignty, even though it is merely just a few pieces of boulders in the middle of nowhere but it is also well-known that the place houses quite some amount of resources, as well as marine life. Thus, to achieve strong bilateral ties with China is actually not going to be easy and neither will the plan of "East Asian Community" to be carried out smoothly either. There are possibly other issues aside from these more vital ones.

Actually, this is quite smart of China, IMHO, to drag things on in committee while work is done elsewhere to strengthen the country further. Someone has been doing his history homework...

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

It would appear that the guys plotting to kill Obama decided to obtain approval from the public first before doing something reckless that could cause a spike to the Obama approval rates. Generally, if the public approves of the idea, the guys will most likely carry it out whereas if it has a high disapproval rate, they will back off. The Secret Service will no doubt take this issue very seriously as that there are people plotting to kill the American president and making it like a democratic vote sort of thing of whether to do it or not. This is obviously not a prank!

No... It's likely to be some stupid kids (or adults who reverted to childhood) having some fun. Given the choices allowed, the tone wasn't serious; however, the Secret Service has to investigate. I doubt this will go to trial; the chances of the Service playing "bad cop" to scare the people are good, IMHO, but if the poll's creators are in the U.S., I wonder if they would appreciate the Service and/or FBI now having them on a watch list.

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

Well.. That is why the foreign minister Okada Katsuya is planning on probing on the issue of the secret pact. If the secret pact exists, then there is a possibility that there are nukes hiding in Okinawa that are there for the purpose of counter-invasion, such as retaliating against North Korean nukes or other rogue states. It is no doubt a violation of the three non-nuclear principles but there are always some people who believe it is necessary, though I do not see it that way.

Unlikely, IMHO, for any nuclear weapons to actually be housed on U.S. bases, but there may well be agreements on when such weapons may be used - e.g., to counterattack if Japan is attacked - from offshore. These weapons aren't exactly easy to hide on a consistent basis, and the residents nearby, it seems, don't care too much for having foreign troops as guests.

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

Personally, I believe South Korea will make a huge fuss about nuking North Korea as that the family members, friends, and relatives of many South Koreans actually live across the borders and if the United States were to nuke Pyongyang, nobody can guaranteed that the destruction of infrastructure and also the widespread of nuclear radioactivity won't affect those particular individuals. Aside from that, who can ensure that windy days during those period of time won't blow the nuclear radioactivity over to South Korean borders and even maybe Japanese territories? Obviously... The whole idea of nuclear retaliation against North Korea is impossible to begin with but it can still be used as a "last resort" and North Korea is well-aware of it. If they launch nukes and missiles.. Eventually, they will get nuked.

Never say never, IMHO, although I do agree with you in that the U.S. would not freely attack North Korea with nuclear weapons. For one thing, even the clean stuff can spread depending on atmospheric conditions, and China, being right next to North Korea, would not like to get a dose. The chances of Japan receiving radioactive particles in such a case would be low. Nevertheless, the geopolitical structure of Asia/Pacific right now - outside of the stability problem on the (relatively unimportant, military strategic-wise) Korean peninsula - is such that a nuclear-based attack is not likely to happen.