Is Japan the weakest Asian superpower?

[PACOX]

Ye becuz Russia isn't?

Russia definitely isn't one. I think you're mixing up classifications with the UN security council.

China has the potential to become a superpower as time progresses it becomes more susceptible to plateauing or a recession that will normalize its progress towards a superpower.

Japan as an Asian power is pretty strong. Militarily it's string because of the US (and it's now growing military). Economically is might lack some of the industrialization like China but it makes up for it in telecommunications, commerce, and cultural exports.

There is a reason why such a small country has been able to survive in the region.

[Cybran]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...russia_ukraine

There aren't any Superpowers anymore. Bush's New World Order died in Ukraine.

[Shuji V2]

Specifically, if you compared China and South Korea to Japan in its current state, is it both economically and influentially the weakest of the three? All you hear about are China's constantly growing power and influence across the world, and South Korea dominating the market through Samsung, yet I really don't hear anything about Japan. Sony is all I hear about, and that's only for the PS4, as I hear their other products are rapidly declining.

Correct me if I am mistaken, but this is just what I am speculating. Also do note I have no knowledge of each superpower's current military strengths.

What's the point in creating a topic if you don't know shit about it? I mean, what are you trying to discuss without knowing anything about it? I mean are you really declaring superpowers by brand awareness? lol.

In any case, Japan is still the third economy in the world behind the USA and China respectively, so it is a superpower. Calling it weak is kind of moronic if you ask me. Japan is also a really big player in the export industries which is currently hurting china/korea/australia and the likes. This is pretty much due to the weak yen. With that Japan can boost their own export while taking away from neighboring countries. In response to that aforementioned countries have to artificially decrease the value of their currency too because Japan currently has the upper hand in export. Another thing is, Japan was the first Asian country to reform and was the example for other nations to follow within Asia. Japan has made ton of investments in Asia which pretty much allows them to dictate the law there.

Japan is a lot more powerful than the media makes them out to be. Just because their economy doesn't rise as much Chinese one does at this point doesn't make it a weak country all of a sudden. You know that Japan has pretty much matured as an economy and growth figures like 7.5% or more is simply unrealistic to ask for. This doesn't happen in the US or EU either so I personally don't get the commotion. At some point the same will happen to China growing with smaller numbers and then we can all talk about how crappy their economy is while drooling over India or some other random BRIC country.

[Olo]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...russia_ukraine

There aren't any Superpowers anymore. Bush's New World Order died in Ukraine.

I enjoy watching your narrative go back and forth form the US being a decaying power to the secret puppet master of half the globe.

[chazus]

Japan has a higher GDP (Nominal, and PPP) than any of those. In fact, I think it has higher than any other asian country. Military power? No. National/International/Influence power? Japan is higher.

[ringpriest]

i don´t know why but this all sounds hilarious to me. when do we have a megapower,ultrapower and gigapower?

Hyperpower. And the answer is, in the neocons' dreams.

Edited to add: I see Olo beat me to it.

[Jackmoves]

Now this is a little more interesting. I'd rank it like this:

Superpower: United States of America

Aspiring Superpower: People's Republic of China

Great Powers: United Kingdom, France, Russia

Aspirational Great Powers: India, possibly Brazil

'Non-aspirational' Great Powers: Japan, Germany
(basically, countries that could be Great Powers, but don't care to act in that fashion to date)


I've haven't mentioned the EU as an entity, because that gets complicated.

Good summery I think. Japan and S.Korea are not superpowers.

[tylenol]

Now this is a little more interesting. I'd rank it like this:

Superpower: United States of America

Aspiring Superpower: People's Republic of China

Great Powers: United Kingdom, France, Russia

Aspirational Great Powers: India, possibly Brazil

'Non-aspirational' Great Powers: Japan, Germany
(basically, countries that could be Great Powers, but don't care to act in that fashion to date)


I've haven't mentioned the EU as an entity, because that gets complicated.

Jeffery Amherst liked blankets tainted with smallpox which resulted in the death of a massive number of Native Americans (you know, the Native Americans that only the Americans killed back in the day)....what a great power

[Reeve]

Jeffery Amherst liked blankets tainted with smallpox which resulted in the death of a massive number of Native Americans (you know, the Native Americans that only the Americans killed back in the day)....what a great power

That's kind of a non-sequitur. What does any of that have to do with the US being the only Superpower?

[ringpriest]

Jeffery Amherst liked blankets tainted with smallpox which resulted in the death of a massive number of Native Americans (you know, the Native Americans that only the Americans killed back in the day)....what a great power

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously? (Seriously. Zero idea what connection you're failing to draw between descriptive international relations in the modern day and 18th Century colonialism.)

[edw]

Weakest Asian superpower? Something is wrong in that sentance ...
Usa is the only superpower (economic + military)
Russia is a regional power, in terms of military there arsenal of nuclear weapons makes them a military superpower.
China is a regional power but close to become a superpower.
EU is USA's or Russia's bitch (depends who has the longest stick)

[jakeic]

Jeffery Amherst liked blankets tainted with smallpox which resulted in the death of a massive number of Native Americans (you know, the Native Americans that only the Americans killed back in the day)....what a great power

maybe he was describing that as america's superpower if they were a comic book hero.

or perhaps he is saying that we are more akin to a super-villain than a super power.

either way, it serves no purpose.

[Themius]

There is only one superpower, which is America.

[Skroe]

Japan (or China, or South Korea) is not a superpower.

One cannot be a ______ Superpower. It's either an all or nothing proposition. That practice of putting a word before "Superpower" is a highly political act done so that politicians in certain countries (and their supporters) can justify the policies and "success" of their mandate. For example:

Green Energy Superpower
Trade Superpower
Human Rights Superpower
Energy Superpower
Human Capital Superpower
Sports Superpower
Finance Superpower
Agricultural Superpower
<Insert Region> Superpower

Google these. All these have been used in reference to a country, and they get even more ridiculous. It's just the highly political defining-down of a word meant to mean something specific, at work. <Insert Region> Superpower is particularly offensive. They very idea of a "regional superpower" is contradiction. The first word in the phrase contradicts the last. By defining a country as a regional superpower, the claimant is making a very political statement that "great power country A is comprehensively more powerful than great power country B". On a regional scale, that's almost always a matter of perspective and opinion. Qualitatively, that would make them regional powers.

A superpower is by definition meant to be above all of that, especially above regional competition with other "regional superpowers". It's a phrase with intrinsic global scope as part of it's definition, as well as comprehensive in it's qualifiers.


But to answer the point in clear English: there is no country in Asia remotely close to being a superpower. Not a single one.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Japan (or China, or South Korea) is not a superpower.

One cannot be a ______ Superpower. It's either an all or nothing proposition. That practice of putting a word before "Superpower" is a highly political act done so that politicians in certain countries (and their supporters) can justify the policies and "success" of their mandate. For example:

Green Energy Superpower
Trade Superpower
Human Rights Superpower
Energy Superpower
Human Capital Superpower
Sports Superpower
Finance Superpower
Agricultural Superpower
<Insert Region> Superpower

Google these. All these have been used in reference to a country, and they get even more ridiculous. It's just the highly political defining-down of a word meant to mean something specific, at work. <Insert Region> Superpower is particularly offensive. They very idea of a "regional superpower" is contradiction. The first word in the phrase contradicts the last. By defining a country as a regional superpower, the claimant is making a very political statement that "great power country A is comprehensively more powerful than great power country B". On a regional scale, that's almost always a matter of perspective and opinion. Qualitatively, that would make them regional powers.

A superpower is by definition meant to be above all of that, especially above regional competition with other "regional superpowers". It's a phrase with intrinsic global scope as part of it's definition, as well as comprehensive in it's qualifiers.


But to answer the point in clear English: there is no country in Asia remotely close to being a superpower. Not a single one.

"super" unlike "ultra" does not have meaning in it's origin that denotes being the only one at top. "super" in latin simply means above, and seeing how a word like "superpower" is just made up in the first place I don't see why "economical superpower" shouldn't be used.

[Elegiac]

"super" unlike "ultra" does not have meaning in it's origin that denotes being the only one at top. "super" in latin simply means above, and seeing how a word like "superpower" is just made up in the first place I don't see why "economical superpower" shouldn't be used.

Because it's diluting the actual definition of the word, which gives a false impression of parity between the various powers in terms of strength.

[Cybran]

That's kind of a non-sequitur. What does any of that have to do with the US being the only Superpower?

http://america.aljazeera.com/article...originals.html

Canada’s Conservative government and indigenous peoples have been at odds over natural resources, land rights and autonomy in recent years, sparking national protest movements like Idle No More.

Anaya visited Canada for nine days in October.

In the report, Anaya underscored the need for the government to make improvements on issues like education, land rights and housing shortages, particularly in northern communities. He noted a “well-being gap” that still separates the country’s 1.4 million indigenous people (more than 4 percent of the population) from the rest of the country.

Missing or murdered women

Anaya called on the government to hold a national inquiry into almost 1,200 cases of aboriginal women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered in the past 30 years.

Activists have been trying to draw attention to the issue for years. Opposition politicians have also joined the chorus.

On Monday a group of aboriginal drummers gathered in Canada’s capital to press for an inquiry once again at a protest “honoring our missing sisters.”

Canadian police confirmed at the beginning of May that it had compiled a list of 1,026 deaths and 160 missing-person cases of indigenous women — several hundred more than previously thought.

Anaya said the the federal government “should undertake a comprehensive, nationwide inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal woman and girls, organized in consultation with indigenous peoples.”

He also urged the government to honor indigenous land rights as it seeks to develop the country’s natural resources and build more pipelines to carry bitumen from Alberta’s tar sands.

“Resource development projects, where they occur, should be fully consistent with aboriginal and treaty rights and should in no case be prejudicial to unsettled claims,” the report said.

Said crimes still hang like a shadow. The land and resources of said people are still plundered across north America. I think it's naive to claim that these problems ended when they are still alive today.

[SL1200]

History says no. Not even close.

[Kellhound]

http://america.aljazeera.com/article...originals.html


Said crimes still hang like a shadow. The land and resources of said people are still plundered across north America. I think it's naive to claim that these problems ended when they are still alive today.

Canada is not the US though. Back to Google for you.

[Elegiac]

Said crimes still hang like a shadow. The land and resources of said people are still plundered across north America. I think it's naive to claim that these problems ended when they are still alive today.

People living in poverty are more likely to be in a situation where violent crime occurs, regardless of race.

Implying that there is a concerted effort to murder Indians is rather stupid.