Recently, I read a book written by a Japanese person. In his book, he writes that Japan, as a large country, cannot follow the model of small countries such as Sweden and Norway and follow the path of a welfare state. This woke me up to the fact that the Japanese think that their country is a big country. Many Chinese people disparage Japan as "Little Japan," which is different from their own positioning. Although Japan's economy has been "unsatisfactory" in recent years, Japan may still be "Greater Japan" in the minds of the Japanese.
Japan's total GDP this year is likely to be surpassed by Germany's and become the world's fourth largest economy. In 2010, when China surpassed Japan in terms of total volume, Japan** caused friction with China by creating some incidents.
Japan also had their dream of a world called the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, but this was a model of invading other countries. Today's Japan ostensibly relinquishes the right to war through its "pacifist constitution," but it has gone beyond exclusive defense by revising its interpretation.
Northeast Asia is home to large countries, so Japan and South Korea seem relatively small. Koreans often say that if they were put in Europe, they would be a proper power. This is especially true of Japan, which, despite the lost thirty years, is still there in all its strengths.
Therefore, when considering Japan-related issues, it is necessary to think about Japan's approach from the perspective of Japan as a "great power." In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Japan is the only country in the G7 that has not participated in the unilateral condemnation of Palestine.
Countries that have skimmed the world should have their own accumulated experience in understanding the region. Just as the Indo-Pacific strategy was first proposed by Japan, Japan has its own worldview compared to South Korea. That's why Huntington singled out Japan when it came to classifying civilizations.
Let's look at the world around us and look at the surroundings of the world.