Japanese PM Visits Pearl Harbor

This week marked the historic visit of the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Pearl Harbor. PM Shinzo Abe in keeping good with his promise to honor the those who lost their lives in the opening salvo between our two great nations 75 years ago, joined President Obama in an act of reconciliation. Much like President Obama's earlier visit to Hiroshima, PM Abe met with survivors and laid wreaths where appropriate. Following President Obama's example, no apologies were made but instead offered his "sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls" of those who were lost on December 7, 1941. He said the Japanese had taken a "solemn vow" to never again wage war.In his concluding statements, Shinzo Abe said: "It is my wish that our Japanese children, and President Obama, your American children, and indeed their children and grandchildren, and people all around the world, will continue to remember Pearl Harbor as the symbol of reconciliation," Abe said. "We will spare no efforts to continue our endeavors to make that wish a reality. Together with President Obama, I hereby make my steadfast pledge." We at American Mishima hope that in spite of what has happened in our recent election that the United States and Japan will continue to be strong allies for years to come and furthermore that we may never go to war against each other again.

To PM Abe, we at American Mishima say: 

ども ありがとう ございまして!

Mockery Served Mandarin Style

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, 2017 will be known as The Year of the Rooster. In response to what some are calling The Year of the Donald, Beijing hilariously erected a 40 foot Rooster with Little Twitter Fingers and a do reminiscent of our new Twitter-happy Amateur in Chief. As we said before, there is no Sun Tzu for Dummies and the Chinese have this man clocked. Normally, we don't approve of foreign nations mocking our leadership but in this case we as a nation have definitely earned it.

All fun and games aside, we would rather see the PRC use humor as a weapon than armed conflict to get Little Twitter Fingers attention. We imagine this man will make it too easy for the Chinese to get under his skin. We suspect they will have many good laughs at our expense. All we can say is WELL PLAYED BEIJING. WELL PLAYED.

Ultimate Chinese Finger Trap For Twitter Fingers?

For many reasonable Americans, we have only begun to live through a bad dream we can't wake up from. The "Donald" as he is known had used every underhanded means at his disposal to win the American Presidency. This is a man who outside of an International Beauty Pageant has absolutely no experience in international diplomacy and is way in over his head but can't get past his own. So what does he do to handle tough situations such as the recent moves on the part of the PRC? He goes to Twitter and rants like a third grader at China. This is bad for a lot of people and not just Americans. For the first time since the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, the People's Republic of China has America at a serious disadvantage. 4000 years of Chinese Culture versus an unstable Reality TV Host who can't stop attacking people on Twitter. This could not be any more embarrassing or dangerous. America and China while at odds over the South China Seas have interdependent trade balances of which the PRC has underwritten much of our debt and does not take too kindly by the Donald's Twitter rants. This of course plays right into Beijing's hands requiring little or no effort on the part of the PRC. This is a man anyone even yours truly can bait with a single Tweet. Just imagine what the skilled strategists in the PLA will have in store for this amateur who lacks the temperament to lead the free world. It will be the ultimate Chinese Finger Trap and America's interests are going to take a serious hit from a predictable self inflicted wound. Anyone who has ever watched Chinese Martial Arts films can tell you that you never tread lightly against a skilled master. They don't make Sun Tzu for Dummies and if they did this man would not read it. And with the circle of "advisors" (such as his own children) the Donald has surrounded himself with, we pray that our young people serving in our military do not pay the ultimate price of this man's narcissistic ego which will get the better of him and make other Americans pay for his foolishness. 

These are dark times for America. We expect the Chinese to do whatever it is in their interests and we can not fault them for doing so. While we may have differences of opinions, we do need to continue work together. Our new "Leader" however seems determined to undo years of cooperation to satisfy his right wing political base at home while ignoring the consequences of his name calling abroad. It would be foolish for him to rant like a school yard bully on Twitter and then ignore the consequences. This is no longer Reality TV nor is it a game show where he can say "You're Fired" and walk away. This is a dangerous world we live in. We only hope that those in Beijing who visit our page to read this know that many of us here DO NOT want a war with the PRC. But with aggressive moves made on the part of the Chinese Navy in the South China Seas, we can only expect a war of words from our side that could potentially get seriously out of hand. The Donald loves to point his undersized fingers and the worst thing he can do right now is point them at China. We hope the skilled masters in Beijing exercise patience for this new learner is going to make mistakes. Let's just hope no one gets killed because of it. In the event this does happen, we Americans who opposed this reckless demagogue in our 2016 Presidential Election apologize in advance. 抱歉

PM Abe to Visit Pearl Harbor

On the eve of what some are predicting to be a series of troubling times ahead for the United States under the control of an unstable president-elect, a gesture of good will from Japan comes our way. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor making him the first Japanese PM to visit there. He will be joined by outgoing President Obama in what many are calling a great symbolic gesture on the part of Japan in recognition of it's wartime past so it never happens again. This announcement coincides with the 75 anniversary of the Japanese attack on the Naval Forces of the United States that took place there on December 7th, 1941 that led to an all out war between the United States and Japan. PM Abe is quoted as saying: ""I will visit Pearl Harbor with President Obama. This will be a visit to soothe the souls of the victims. "We should never repeat the ravages of the war." As we had earlier blogged last August 2016, Abe's wife Akie Abe had earlier made the trip to the Arizona Memorial and prayed for those lost on that day. Japan is our number one ally in Asia and the Pacific and such gestures of healing & reconciliation are as symbolic to how far we have come as they are meaningful. We at American Mishima appreciate this significant gesture.

For those who still can not let go or those who ask what difference that any of this makes, we defer this answer to the words humbly spoken by President Obama during his visit to the Hiroshima Memorial: "We come to mourn the dead. Their souls speak to us and ask us to look inward. To take stock of who we are and what we might become."