Trump Knocks Back Japan—China’s the Real Player

Trump takes the mic on Fox News, and he doesn’t mince words. The anchor’s pushing the line—Chinese diplomats threaten to “behead” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. They want Trump to pick a side: China or Japan, ally or adversary? 

Feeling the heat, Trump chose to shrug it off instead: “A lot of our allies are not friends either. Our allies took advantage of our trade more than China did.” He reminds the host, casually but firmly, “But look, I get along great with President Xi. I get along great with China. But the only way you're going to get along well with China is you have to deal from a position of strength.”

Let’s call it as it is—Trump doesn’t need to say Japan isn’t a friend. It’s written between the lines. Japan doesn’t stack up against China. With Xi, the U.S. gets the goods: trade, economy, rare earths. Japan? Zilch. Not only no upside, but they set sneaky traps—like asking the U.S. to tumble down Japan’s rabbit hole.

Abe’s Gamble: Taiwan Means Trouble for Japan

Back in 2021, Shinzo Abe dropped the bomb: “If Taiwan’s in trouble, so is Japan. And that pulls in the U.S.-Japan alliance too.” Why? China’s muscle makes reunification inevitable. Abe insists, “If Taiwan faces invasion, Japan itself is on the line. And it’s not just about us—it flips the switch on the U.S. alliance.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry torches Abe’s theory: Japan started the war of aggression against China. Japan has no right to mouth off about Taiwan. Play with fire, and you’ll get burned.

Now Takaichi jumps in, guns blazing: “Japan will exercise its collective self-defense if Taiwan’s attacked.” No retreat, no fuzziness. She insists Japan can send troops to meddle in China’s business. Is Japan really that bold? Not a chance—it’s about dragging America in with them.

Japan’s played this game before. In 2015, Abe pushed through the Peace and Security Laws—the “New Security Laws.” Now Japan can claim limited collective defense. Before, their constitution nailed the SDF to “defensive only.” Attack the homeland? SDF responds. Anything else? Tough luck. 

But the new laws open a loophole: If trouble hits the region—like Korea or Taiwan—but skips Japan itself, can the SDF fight next to the U.S.? That’s the gray zone. Takaichi, bold as brass, jumps the gun, answering for America: “If Taiwan’s in trouble, Japan and the U.S. are in it together.” If it happens, she says, the SDF will “presumably” fight shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. troops.

If America lets Takaichi loose, the blowback could be fierce. Japan is America’s front line in containing China—over 53,000 U.S. troops, 120 bases—number one for overseas U.S. deployments. Theoretically, America can’t ditch Japan. But cross-strait watchers see it clear: Beijing’s military parade on September 3rd proved the PLA can hit the U.S. homeland, no sweat. So Trump lays out the cards: “Both China and America play from a position of strength. The China-U.S. friendship? It lasts forever.”

Reunification is coming—no question. Trump gets it: Whether China and America clash depends on U.S. moves over Taiwan. Trump wants to do business and keep the peace. If he’s smart, he should just spell it out: America backs China’s reunification.

But Japan just won’t sit down—they decide to jump into the fray, hoping to get their shot. Here’s the twist: for China’s reunification, the first move isn’t Taiwan—it’s pulling Japan out of the picture. Japan’s made it clear: “If Taiwan’s in trouble, SDF deploys.” That leaves two doors: First, the U.S. withdraws from both island chains, including its bases in Japan, and the SDF stands alone against China—deal with the fallout yourself. Second, China and America fight, but it won’t be doomsday—just a contest for first place. Hitting each other’s home turf? That’s mutual destruction. So if there’s ever a clash, the ideal battleground is on Japanese soil.

Trump’s weighing his options, but he’s not biting on either outcome. He’s still working his “King of Deals” mantra, angling for a deal with China. As for Japan—well, if you ask for trouble, you get it. Who else goes to hell if not you? Be careful what you wish for.

Deep Blue

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

American families scramble for groceries, but Trump throws a blowout at Mar-a-Lago. The theme? “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” It’s straight-up in-your-face provocation.

Maybe Trump’s not lying. The American Dream—he’s just exposing the ugly truth. In America, only the moguls get to dream. Everyone else? Forget it. That party at Mar-a-Lago? Luxury everywhere, feathered hairpieces sparkling, and champagne flooding the room. Dancers in flapper dresses swirling through the crowd, acrobats splashing inside giant golden martini glasses. It's pure Gatsby—vintage 1920s glitz.

Haruki Murakami, the famed writer did the Japanese version of “The Great Gatsby”, nailed it:   1920s was America’s “Jazz Age”. It was Fitzgerald’s playground, his prime. The book and a string of ten iconic short stories put him in the American classics club. Missed the Mar-a-Lago bash? Catch Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby flick of 2013 and get swept up in that old-school dream.

The point is, Fitzgerald’s classic dropped in 1925. Back then, nobody saw the storm brewing, but the bubbles were stacking up beneath the surface, waiting to explode.

The Great Depression and the New Deal

“From 1929 to 1933, America took a nosedive. Factory output tanked by a third. Prices dropped twenty percent, and debt got even harder to pay off. Unemployment spiked from 4% to a whopping 25%. One-third of workers got shoved into low-wage, temp jobs. By the end, half the country was sitting idle.” Wikipedia spells it out. Sound familiar?

However, Fitzgerald was never there to see the brutality of life  himself. After 1930, his writing days faded fast, and he died at the age of 44. “The great American writer” spent his final stretch trapped by booze, anxiety, and heartbreak.

But oh did God bless the United States. Roosevelt steps in during ’32, rolls out the “New Deal” a year later. Let’s call it what it is—Roosevelt gave the USA its first taste of socialism. If you think about it, Deng Xiaoping wasn’t the pioneer of mixing systems after all.

The New Deal rewires finance to block another meltdown like the Great Depression. Social Security comes online, labor standards get locked in, minimum wage, max hours. The SEC and FDIC show up to police Wall Street and protect bank deposits. America goes full “big government,” especially in the economy. Then war breaks out, and the New Deal taps out. That’s when American capitalism catches its second wind.

America and the never-ending War

Eisenhower holds the White House for eight years. Before leaving in ’61, he warns: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience… In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” But look what happened next?

According to Xinhua, between WWII’s end and 2001, there were 248 armed conflicts in 153 regions worldwide. America started 201 of them. Since 2000, the US has unleashed its military everywhere—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria—selling the world “freedom, democracy, and human rights.” The result? The American war machine sets countries aflame, leaving over 900,000 dead, millions wounded, tens of millions running for their lives.

“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” That’s rich—while moguls and celebrities toast behind the velvet ropes of Mar-a-Lago, the rest choke on the fumes of old mistakes. Eisenhower warned about the war machine, but America’s elite ignored the alarm.

So here we are: the evil mist rolls in again, thick with class arrogance and broken dreams. The champions of decadence pick Halloween for their masquerade, parading shamelessly through the wreckage—then call it destiny.