John Chuckman
EXPANSION OF COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE ON CBC NEWS
“It's 'high time' Canada shifted its Asia focus away from China: Japanese ambassador
“China dispute opens up other avenues for trade in Asia-Pacific, says Kimihiro Ishikane”
We already have good relations with Japan. We have lots of trade, but that has always, in fact, been limited by Japan’s own quiet protectionist policies, of which it has many.
And no one, not speaking from narrow self-interest, would say we should somehow reduce or deemphasize a good relationship with China. China’s population is roughly ten times the size of Japan’s, and this year China is expected to overtake the United States as the world’s largest consumer market.
Many aren't aware of it, but there are still some very strong feelings between China and Japan over WWII. Japan's behavior, if you study the details, was appalling. Every bit as terrible as the German government's behavior of the day. A whole list of major war crimes.
And Japan recently has been bowing a little more deeply than usual towards America with its new aggressive posture in the region, something very much to take account of in understanding the ambassador’s comments.
