Everybody wants to see His Majesty the Emperor in Tokyo, even the 6th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top power organ.
So, Mr. Xi Jinping, China's Vice President, was successfully admitted to the Imperial Palace to have a courteous talk with the Emperor for 24 minutes in Tokyo yesterday.
However, Mr. Xi is a little different from, say, U.S. Vice President, since Mr. Xi is the 6th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of China.
Anyway, if you want to see in person His Majesty the Emperor in Japan, you have to solicit an imperial favor in this context to the Imperial Household Agency through the Japanese Government at least one month prior to your preferred date, since the Emperor is respectfully old and busy sometimes in holy duty of imperial Shintoism.
Finally, it is Prime Minister of Japan who has the sole national right to collect tax and command the Self Defence Forces of Japan subject to the Constitution introduced after WWII.
SECTION I: America's Place in the World
Unlike members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), ordinary Americans lack correct information and notions about Japan and China, partly because of so much biased Wall Street's advertising of Chinese money to raise expectations among consumers and investors about investment returns.
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The US and the World: as Americans See It - 2009
By Patricia H. Kushlis
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The Pew Charitable Trusts has been releasing its most recent public opinion polls on how the world sees the United States and, conversely, how Americans see the world and the US role in it over the past few weeks.
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Although CFR members see China as less of a threat to the US and an increasingly important future ally than they did earlier in the decade, the American public remains wary. Over 53% of the latter group say "that China represents a major threat to the U.S" even though Iran is "mentioned most often" as posing "the greatest danger to the US."
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In comparison only 30% of the American public believe the US international position has not declined...But both CFR members (92%) and the Americans (70%) surveyed think that the US should be involved in shared world leadership – as opposed to single leadership – whatever that means
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While China is seen as a growing economic power and 44% of the Americans surveyed named China as the world's leading economic power and only 27% naming the US (sic), the report does not include a comparative figure for the opinions of CFR members. One can only hope that their information is more accurate because the statistics I’ve seen indicate the US – despite all its economic problems and deep recession – remains well ahead of China as number 1. Nevertheless, the Chinese economy is growing rapidly –and has recently surpassed Japan as the second largest economy.
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But here are the figures as reported in The Economist's World in 2010. For 2009 US GDP totaled $14,840 billion while China’s was $5,588 billion and Japan’s $5,128 billion).
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Meanwhile, the American public (63%) still sees the US as the world’s leading military power while 18% (sic) think China is and 57% of Americans think the US should "try to maintain America’s role as the world’s only military superpower."
http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2009/12/the-us-and-the-world-as-americans-see-it.html
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It is apparent that the American public is under a bad influence of Wall Street's advertising of Chinese money.
It is so, since they do not know that in China there is no freedom to freely express individual view on government policies, politics, politicians, and international relationships, say, with America and Japan.
SECTION II: The (Religious) Reformation
Between the First Crusade and the 21st century lies the Reformation, since it was set off around 1500, somehow significantly.
Yet, you must realize that Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) preceded Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) though both the heroes lived around 1500.
Here we can find the very miracle of history.
The root of the United States is older, though slightly, than the first Bible book published in a language other than Latin.
In other word, the root of the United States is older, though slightly, the root of Protestant churches.
Extremely, the history of the United States is older than that of Protestant churches.
What I mean is that the U.S. does not necessarily have to be a protestant country, according to the will of the God being manifested in the concrete sequence of facts in history.
SECTION III: The (Religious) Reformation 2
It was money that finally triggered the revolt against the Pope and the Vatican around 1500.
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In 1516-17, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and papal commissioner for indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money to rebuild St Peter's Basilica in Rome.[27] Roman Catholic theology stated that faith alone, whether fiduciary or dogmatic, cannot justify man;[28] and that only such faith as is active in charity and good works (fides caritate formata) can justify man.[29]
The benefits of good works could be obtained by donating money to the church.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
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So, the last semi-millennium period began with Columbus' discovery of the American Continent and Luther's revolt against the Pope with the underlying crisis of contamination of the Christian world by money.
This 500-year period is going to end with America's rise and change, Protestant power's rise and change, and the Vatican still being unable to solve the money contamination issue.
The new semi-millennium period is however already emerging with the new nation Israel established around Jerusalem, direct confrontation between Islam and Israel/America, and global awareness of possible destructive money power as observed on Wall Street and City.
China rising and undergoing a change, too, without democracy and freedom of religion cannot be a savior of the Christian world, including Wall Street and the American labor market.
Nonetheless, holy reformation can be possible even in Japan, the greatest contributor to today's China's rise, since Japan alone has unique historical tradition in terms of coins and money.
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2009 Xmas Extra:
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This November the most distant miracle happened for mankind, namely at a point in the space as far as the Sun from the earth:
Hayabusa, a space craft launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in May 2003, is now flying back to the earth with a sample of material taken from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa (dimensions 540 meters by 270 meters by 210 meters) on which Hayabusa had landed as the world first trial. But, one of the world most advanced ion engines stopped.
On November 4, 2009, the ion engine D automatically stopped working due to the anomaly from degradation.
On November 19, 2009, JAXA announced that they managed to combine the ion generator of ion engine B and the neutralizer of ion engine A. It is suboptimal but expected to be sufficient to generate the necessary delta-v. Out of 2,200 m/s delta-v necessary to return to the earth, about 2,000 m/s had been performed already, and about 200 m/s still necessary.
And, this needed orbit modification, 200 m/s, is estimated by JAXA to be automatically achieved sooner or later; Hayabusa is scheduled to return to the earth in June 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa#Scientific_and_engineering_importance_of_the_mission
http://www.isas.ac.jp/j/topics/topics/2009/1126.shtml
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Have you encountered any miracles this November, if not so far from the earth?
Believe in Japanese technology in 2010, too.
Gen 12:15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
Gen 12:16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
Gen 12:17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
Gen 12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Gen 12:19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
Gen 12:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.