THE headlines were ecstatic: "Japan's defense chief stuns Lorenzana with PH mementos during meeting" (Inquirer, June 4, 2021). During a videoconference with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi adorned "his table with Philippine fruits like mangoes and bananas" plus "a scale model of a jeepney" (see figure 1). Although he is the brother of Japan's ex-prime minister (PM) Shinzō Abe, he was adopted soon after his birth by a maternal uncle. It was Kishi who maneuvered the historic meeting between Prime Minister Abe and Taiwanese opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen in 2015, prior to the latter's presidency and Trump's 2016 triumph.Like Shinzō Abe, Kishi is a member of the revisionist far-right Nippon Kaigi, and several other center-right groups. While the elderly Tojo was hanged, Nobosuke Kishi was released despite the heavy charges.In exchange, Nobosuke Kishi would execute Washington's goals in Japan.

Source: Manila Times June 06, 2021 16:18 UTC