Author Topic: Mr Trudeau Goes to Washington  (Read 1330 times)

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Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Mr Trudeau Goes to Washington
« Reply #30 on: February 15, 2017, 03:49:01 pm »
The Japanese government is run by Japan's industry. It acts in furtherence of that industry around the world, in cooperation with industry. It uses both its foreign aid budget, guarantees for loans, and favorable trade incentives to clear the way for its industries to obtain resources from third world countries under very favorable conditions for Japanese industry. Nor is it above offering bribes.

I know you will suggest lots of countries do this, which is certainly true. But the Japanese are far and away more single-minded and ruthless than Canada could ever be.

You haven't said how, as a middle power, they have influence on world events.

You're also wrong about Japan's foreign aid.

Quote
Of the seven broad categories the index considers, Japan scores very poorly (14th or worse) in all but one (see chart). The only category where it makes a decent showing, landing in the middle of the pack, is in technology—a questionable measure that tries to capture global spillover effects from a country's R&D.

Start with aid. Although Japan gives large dollops of money each year, it also collects large debt payments from poor countries. Lenders have a right to be repaid, but this makes its net contribution look far less impressive than that of other rich countries. Nor are Japan's private citizens very generous: government aid aside, they give less than a cent each to poor countries. Only citizens in the southern European trio of Greece, Italy and Portugal are more miserly.

http://www.economist.com/node/2656985

I do agree that under Harper, Canada definitely lost influence as a middle power.  He was atrocious at international diplomacy.  It will take several more years to get back to the position Canada held in the 80s and 90s.

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