In the past year, with the tension between Russia and Ukraine, many countries represented by NATO have intervened, and the question of whether there will be a third world war has aroused global concern, and some people are even pessimistic about it.
For example, Trump and Vučić, Serbia, have both publicly expressed concern that the world is on the brink of World War III. Former US Secretary of State Kissinger, known as the "**evergreen", also specifically analyzed the possible situation if the third world war broke out, which is also the ** of the opening sentence.
If World War III breaks out, which three countries is Japan likely to take action against? What are the grievances? In May 1932, at the warm invitation of Japan, Charlie Chaplin took a special train and began his first visit to Japan.
As a world-renowned master of comedy and the "father of modern theater", Chaplin's every appearance will trigger a warm welcome from thousands of empty alleys. When he arrived in Kobe, Japan, 40,000 people gathered outside the station holding flowers and cheering.
It was as if the whole of Japan was captivated by Chaplin's extraordinary charm.
originally thought that the Japanese people would warmly welcome Chaplin, but they did not expect that the ** group joined forces with the military to plan an assassination operation against him. This world-renowned star was shocked to be treated like this when he first arrived in Japan.
The reason behind it turned out to be because he was a popular Hollywood star. If it weren't for the fact that his nationality was British, I am afraid that he would have been unable to escape this fate. Years later, Chaplin lamented in an interview: "It's hard for me to imagine what would have been the result of their planned execution if I had been not British, but American." ”
This episode revealed the first target of the Japanese assassination attempt - the United States.
After the end of World War II, cooperation between the United States and Japan can be seen as a special kind of "brotherly" relationship. The United States, as an occupying power of Japan, wanted to establish it as a strategic location in the Far East.
And Japan, as a defeated country, needs to find support to restore the country. Thus, cooperation between the two sides soon took shape, and the US-Japan alliance was established.
For many years, the United States has regarded Japan as its "own son", not only providing a large amount of aid and support to help Japan escape the predicament of reparations from defeat, but also creating countless jobs and income for Japan.
With the support of the U.S. military, Japan rose from the brink of economic collapse to the world's second-largest economy in just 20 years. However, Japan has not forgotten the lesson of "eating people with a short mouth and taking people with soft hands", illegally intruded into the Diaoyu Islands on many occasions, and constantly provoked China on issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang.
Japan has also actively supported US hegemonism and anti-China actions, and has become a "pawn" of the United States. In general, the U.S.-Japan relationship is one in which "there are no permanent enemies, only eternal interests."
Akio Kuma's speech at Reize University in Chiba Prefecture caused an uproar in Japan. He claimed that the United States dropped the atomic bomb during World War II as a helpless act and should be forgiven and understood by the Japanese.
Even after more than half a century has passed, the pain and hatred in the hearts of the Japanese people have not diminished. This incident shows that the U.S.-Japan alliance is not as impregnable as it seems.
In August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and the flames, huge mushroom clouds, and the tragic deaths of nearly 400,000 people still linger in the hearts of the Japanese people.
Hatred is enduring. Of course, Japan's anger against the United States is not limited to this. In the 19th century, Japan, like China, pursued a policy of seclusion and became a target for Western powers to plunder raw materials and dump goods.
In 1853, just after Britain launched the Opium War and opened the door to China, Commodore Perry led a fleet of U.S. Navy to threaten to force Japan to open its country, which is known as the "Black Ship Incident".
The following year, the two countries signed the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Amity. According to the treaty, Japan was required to open the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to the United States, provide fresh water, food, and other supplies, and grant the United States most-favored-nation status.
Japan-U.S. Treaty of Goodwill: Behind the superficial "goodwill" is still an unequal treaty that humiliates the country. Japan, a country that admires the spirit of bushido, pursues militarism, and has an almost paranoid pursuit of honor, never chooses to endure and forget the shame of being invaded by the United States.
They use revenge as a means of revenge, even if they themselves are aggressors. Therefore, before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese military and yakuza tried to ** "Hollywood superstar", wanting to use this as an opportunity to take revenge on the United States.
In addition to the old grudges over the Black Ship Incident and the two atomic bombs in history, there are also many new enmities between the United States and Japan after the alliance. First, after the end of World War II, the United States stationed a large number of troops in Okinawa, Japan, and other places.
These U.S. troops stationed in Japan have often committed thousands of crimes of robbery, theft, assault on women, and intentional wounding, causing untold suffering to the people in the vicinity of military bases.
However, due to the unequal relationship between the two countries, the United States pressured Japan to conceal and destroy all case records. Although the Japanese are unwilling, they can only swallow their anger and let the pain and resentment of the victims grow day by day.
Second, the economic crisis that Japan suffered in the 90s was largely caused by the United States. In the seventies and eighties of the last century, with the rise of Japan's manufacturing, electronics and automobile industries, the United States and Japan continued to increase their deficit, accounting for 60% of the total international deficit of the United States.
This not only means that the United States is not able to benefit from Japan, but is filling up Japan's money.
In 1985, when the United States was facing a severe inflation crisis, and the rise of the younger brother directly threatened the economic hegemony of the United States, the United States, together with the United Kingdom, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany, forced Japan to sign the Plaza Accord with half coercion and half inducement.
After the agreement came into effect, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the yen was rapid, which greatly increased the competitiveness of American products in the international market, turning from a "deficit" to a "surplus".
On the other hand, Japan's export competitiveness has been greatly affected by the continued appreciation of the yen, as Japan is a typical export-oriented country whose economic development is largely dependent on commodity exports.
The Plaza Accord made Japan's economy prosperous for a time, but eventually led to the bursting of the economic bubble in the 90s, plunging Japan into a long-term recession that has not yet recovered. Some people believe that this is a conspiracy by the United States to weaken Japan.
From the invasion of Perry's fleet, the deep hatred of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to the connivance of the US military stationed in Japan for misdeeds, to the use of Japan as a tool to withstand the economic crisis, although the United States helped Japan recover quickly from World War II, these "small favors" obviously cannot cover up the use and aggression of the United States against Japan.
Japan, which has long been submissive to the United States, has recently begun to show a different energy policy from that of the United States. According to reports, Japan ignored the U.S. sanctions order and imported Russian oil at more than $60 per barrel, showing "Japan's differences with the United States and Western countries on energy issues."
In addition, Japan sold a whopping $224.5 billion in U.S. bonds in 2022 alone, becoming the "largest seller of U.S. bonds of the year". This shows that Japan is actively promoting the process of "de-dollarization" and resisting the hegemony of the dollar.
Perhaps it was because of historical reasons and the signs that Japan showed that Kissinger ranked the United States first when he extrapolated the three countries that Japan would attack after the outbreak of World War III.
During World War II, Japan had a long history of feuds with Australia and China. Compared with the complex entanglement with the United States, Japan's hatred with Australia and China stemmed from December 8, 1941, when the Japanese army took advantage of the momentum of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the United States to launch a fierce attack on Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, frantically plundering resources, of which Australia bore the brunt.
In the torrent of war, the Australian army also paid a heavy price. After the fall of Singapore, the brutality of the Japanese army made the whole of Australia feel angry.
Soon, one in eight Australians joined the war, determined to fight Japan to the end. They even offered to provide military bases to help the United States in the Pacific theater against Japan.
However, this has also led to an even greater disaster. The Japanese army carried out a frenzied bombing campaign across Australia, especially at military bases such as Darwin. According to statistics, more than 7,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the largest bombing.
Australia's performance in World War II should not be underestimated, and they vowed to fight back resolutely against any threat. In July 1944, after the victory of the United States and Australia in the Battle of New Guinea, Australia resolutely rejected Japan's request for surrender and executed all 170,000 Japanese prisoners of war, leaving not a single survivor.
Australia has also set up a museum dedicated to exposing the crimes of the Japanese army, and a Japanese flag has been laid at the entrance, and visitors must step on the Japanese flag to enter.
While Japan is the source and culprit of this series of humanitarian disasters, Australia's retaliation is also a fact. Moreover, Japan is known for never introspecting, never apologizing, and never forgetting past crimes.
Therefore, if given the opportunity, Australia may well retaliate again for the death of 170,000 soldiers.
This is not unexpected, with regard to Japan's use of China as a third target. In 2022, a special report released by ** TV station caused a huge shock around the world.
The interviewee for the report is Hideo Shimizu, a former veteran of Unit 731. Unit 731 is a bacteriological warfare unit established by Japan during the war of aggression against China. From 1937 to 1945, the Japanese army arrested thousands of captives and innocent civilians and subjected them to various cruel live experiments, including plague, poison gas, frostbite, flamethrowing, and vivisection.
As a witness to history, Hideo Shimizu has personally experienced the profound disasters brought about by Unit 731. That harrowing picture makes him still unable to let go. Although more than 70 years had passed, he felt deeply guilty about his crimes, so he mustered up the courage to stand up and apologize for his actions.
However, bacteriological warfare is only the tip of the iceberg of Japan's crime of aggression against China. In order to realize its ambition of annexing the whole of China, Japan also committed countless crimes such as Nanjing, Sanzao Island, Chongqing's "Sixth Five-Year Plan" tunnel, and the forcible requisition of 200,000 people.
However, justice finally triumphed, and the Chinese people united as one, and with an incomparably firm will and determination to defend the country, they successfully defeated the aggressors and shattered Japan's arrogant ambitions.
Japan has not admitted its crime of aggression against China for many years, but has beautified the war criminals of aggression against China and visited the Yasukuni Shrine many times. The recently revised "Safeguard Strategy" lists China as the "greatest strategic challenge" and "biggest threat country".
This shows that Japan's long-term threats, provocations, and smears against China are not entirely influenced by the US Asia-Pacific strategy, but are more out of selfish motives.
Just like Kissinger**, if World War III breaks out, Japan may launch another aggression against China. However, times have now changed. At that time, China's industry was backward, lacking, and even food and clothing were insufficient, and it was difficult for Japan to win.
Today, China has become one of the top three military powers in the world, with many strategic powers such as nuclear weapons, three aircraft carriers, and Dongfeng series missiles. If Japan invades again, the results speak for themselves.
In short, human society follows the law of the forest: the law of the jungle will be oppressed if it is backward. In the face of the blockade of the West and its neighbors, China must become stronger in order to win a peaceful external environment and achieve long-term peace and stability for the country and its people.