Regarding the Feb. 16 article "(Tokyo Gov. Shintaro) Ishihara laments loss of national identity": Ishihara is quoted as saying that if North Korea launched a missile, "the Japanese would instantly change." When North Korea launched six missiles two years ago, did Japan change as a result of that?
Exactly what does he mean? That if North Korea successfully carried out a missile strike on mainland Japan, thus incurring Japanese casualties, it would galvanize the Japanese into a greater sense of "national identity"? And if so, would this be a development Ishihara would welcome?
Did the Japanese simply march across Asia, eject the Western imperialists, bestow independence on the Asian peoples and go straight home? And if Japan's mission was to rid Asia of "white" dominance, is it not ironic that Japan's closest allies at the time were the most infamous proponents of white supremacy the world has ever known? It is clear from the context of this article that Ishihara equates "national identity' with military clout.
Why not, for example, consider the cultural dominance of foreign sports like baseball and golf to be the real reason? Given the inordinate amount of press coverage and emphasis in Japanese society that they enjoy, isn't it more reasonable to assume that Japan's over-assimilation of certain aspects of other cultures could really be the reason behind a "loss of national identity"?
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