any time for your service...Know Holy History and Language
(Savoir l'histoire et la langue saintes)
A US news program presented the famous VJ-Day picture taken on the street of New York on August 14th, 1945.
The Japan-US War in WWII was a result of the then US Government's conspiracy to force the Empire of Japan to choose abandonment of all the interests in the mainland China or all-out economic sanction including embargo on export of oil from the U.S. to Japan.
1. Chinese political leaders wanted the U.S. to start war against the Empire of Japan that was trying hard to secure its legitimate interests in China, if viewed from the international standard of those days, while being adventurously attacked by Chinese military forces that were also engaged in its civil war.
2. The U.S. wanted to enter the Chinese market, since it had been suffering aftermath of the Great Depression, while mistakenly thinking that the Empire of Japan would block its entry to the Chinese market.
3. The then US Government wanted to save the U.K. from Nazi Germany; so it needed an excuse to join WWII. They thought that if they had virtually declared war against the Empire of Japan by posing all-out economic sanction, the Empire of Japan would surely attack the US military bases in Asia, specifically 100% those in the Philippines.
Though the Empire of Japan had had no intention to make war against the US but had wanted more economic ties with the U.S., it was forced to take some drastic measures, since it lost the way to import oil and also earn dollars from export to the U.S. market still suffering aftermath of the Great Depression.
(When the Imperial Army advanced to Vietnam according to an agreement between the Empire of Japan and France before the Pearl Harbor attack, the then US President misunderstood it as Japan's unlawful invasion, due to his lack of diplomatic knowledge, thus making himself more determined to threaten the Empire of Japan in negotiations where the Empire of Japan made every reasonable effort to avoid the war in line with the diplomatic commonsense of those days, namely 66 years ago.)
Therefore, the Empire of Japan had no clear roadmap at the beginning of the war, except that the U.S. would change its attitude if it had found that a war against the Empire of Japan would cost too much as would be proven at Pearl Harbor.
The U.S. Government had expected the Japan-US war to begin soon with minor damages to the U.S. military but did not tell the perspective and its intention to the U.S. citizens before the Pearl Harbor attack. But, the damages at Pearl Harbor were far beyond their expectation, thus shocking the US Government as well as citizens.
But, Nazi Germany, Chinese political leaders, and the U.S. Government were all die-hard.
Accordingly, the Empire of Japan came to be controlled 100% by the samurai-spirited Imperial Military organizations which honestly observed their principle "living is in fighting and dying."
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The Japanese language is not an international language. But, it is a rare language.
Though it is the language of the second largest economy in the world and of the most successful race with the most advanced spiritual culture, almost nobody except Japanese can speak, write, and think in Japanese.
There are two language groups in North and East Asia. One includes Chinese and Tibetan; and another consists of Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, and Turkish.
The latter is also regarded as belonging to a larger language group that covers Finnish and Hungarian (as well as probably Georgian and Basque or further the languages used in the Indus Civilization and the Sumerian Civilization).
Indeed Japanese is one of authentic languages as with Hebrew, to your astonishment.
(If you speak New Yorkers' English in Japan, no one thinks you have more wisdom and knowledge but would guess you have some New York money. It is not respect. You are making a big mistake with the lack of ability to respect Japanese.)
But, Japanese is unique, even compared with Korean. Japanese spoken language is based on quadruple measure but Korean spoken language is on triple measure like so many European languages, including English and French.
For the professional class of Japanese language learners, "Nihongo no rizumu: yon-byoushi bunnka-ron (Japanese Rhythm: the theory of quadruple-measure culture)" by Mr. Sadanori Bekku must be useful to gain more insight (http://www.chikumashobo.co.jp/product/9784480089427/).
In addition, the beauty of the Japanese language is really felt when it is spoken by a true Japanese heart which is hard to find in these days except in old Japanese movies created before WWII. We really need good elementary school teachers who would correctly teach pupils how to read, say, "Saita Saita Sakura-ga Saita (They have blossomed, blossomed; Cherry blossoms have blossomed)."
(Indeed, it is not a matter of "L" and "r," good girls. It is a matter of loving noises of insects and sounds of winds in the Japanese Islands facing both Siberia and the Pacific Ocean since at least 10,000 years ago, though truly I love your "L" and "r.")
"...And Jesus concluded, 'Listen, then, if you have ears.'..."