News not making major headlines in Japan (yet?)

A 43-year-old Japanese man was arrested Monday for allegedly throwing hot coffee at U.S. Consul General Kevin Maher at a Naha coffee shop, Okinawa prefectural police said Tuesday. Kazuo Yamamoto of Naha approached Maher at a Starbucks at about 4 p.m., throwing coffee on Maher’s trousers and shoes before pushing him and demanding he leave Okinawa, according to the police report. Stars and Stripes

What year is this? When did WW2 end? Why are we still there? The answer to this sort of problem is simple: Pull US forces out of Japan and garbage-can the one-way Security Treaty and allow Japan to handle its own defense as it decides. If it wants allies and security treaties, then perhaps it'll figure out a more conventional alliance.

Yes, the thought is childishly naive and probably dangerously nutty. It won't happen because the US never voluntarily---well, almost never---closes bases and removes all military personnel from foreign countries. Rightly so, for to do so would result in disaster for the country the troops are pulled out of and probably a regional/worldwide conflict causing the moon to fall from the sky. Remember the hell that resulted from our withdraw from Taiwan and later from the Philippines?* The fact is that stationing US troops all over the planet is so vital to the US that the military turns away millions of concerned people every year. It's especially tough to keep college kids, the wealthy, and our future "experts" out.

*We are back in the P.I. to some degree, so that probably saved the P.I. from sinking into the ocean.