Konnichiwa Trade
Something significant related to Japan is likely to happen today. Yet, this should come as no surprise. Since World War II, Japan has been the most reliable ally of the United States in the region. The primary reason is that they were nuked—twice.
Remember, before the bombs, they were prepared to fight to the last man across the Pacific until there was an unconditional surrender.
The thing about Asia is this: because populations are collectively conditioned by their governments to value power and force, they often fail to grasp nuance. So, if the public suddenly becomes aware of imbalanced trade—a relatively complex issue even under ideal circumstances—without first understanding how their own governments orchestrated these so-called “economic miracles,” you won’t even get civil strife. No government is going to tell its own people that it is a charity case. So you’ll get indifference or silence.
When I hired managers, many of them would project themselves as all-important—even as stakeholders to their teams. They became so dominant that people didn’t even know who the creator, founder, or economic enabler actually was. It’s not that I crave recognition—quite the opposite, I genuinely don’t care. The problem is that others don’t understand the dynamics at play. As a result, the manager becomes 1) full of himself, and 2) the team turns into an echo chamber of that manager’s ego. This is why these governments are able to call the United States a ‘bully’ and for that meme to have some weight.
It is also precisely why the White House asks for “thank yous,” “acknowledgment,” and “respect.” It’s not about vanity—it’s about clarity. And that’s why it seems so difficult to receive due to the dynamics that these governments and their populations.