Pax Japonica
05/31/2007 @ 6:00 pm
Though most Japanese people will insist that the Land of Wa is the most peaceful country in the world, a report by international businessman Steve Killelea in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit says it just ain’t so. According to Killelea, Japan ranks fifth in the world behind Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, and Ireland.
Poor Mari….she’s my favorite. If I ever become a j-pop singer and part of the...
Shes definitely at the top of my hot list.
perfeckt 10:10
OK, nitpicky, perhaps, but the report is not about the safest country but the most peaceful. So even if the domestic crime rate drops, but Japan fights a war, then it would probably drop on the scale.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:25 pmI think it’s an important distinction.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:36 pmAlso, while the article includes a statement that Japan is the only G8 nation in the top ten, it also later mentions that Germany (a G8 nation) is in the top ten.
Still, even without seeing how arbitrary this ranking may be, I hope people look to this ranking as an important national achievement.
And now, seeing the actual listing, I read that Germany isn’t actually in the top 10. But Canada (G8) is. Well, let’s support it, even if we don’t really know what it is.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:52 pmSorry about that. For some reason I read what I wanted rather than what was actually written. Thanks to all.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:17 pm“”When you look at the top 10, there are three nations, Japan, Germany and Ireland, which were all embroiled in conflict less than a century ago, so the lesson is that nations can change,” he [Steve Killele] explained at the press launch of the index.”
Aaaah… Norway and Denmark and New Zealand were also involved in conflict less than a century ago. Hello? WWII?
Also, from http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN30417228._CH_.2400, it seems that 15 of the top 20 most peaceful countries are in Western Europe and, aside from Switzerland, every European country has had major turmoil in the last century.
Is this guy just historically-challenged or was there some bad translation going on?
June 1st, 2007 at 3:04 amYeah, that was weird. Maybe he means aggressor nations.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:42 amIreland wasn’t an aggressor country, though. The IRA was a terrorist organization but not supported by the government of Ireland (OK — not ‘officially’ supported by the government of Ireland if you want to split hairs). I’d definitely put it under the rubric of ‘aside from Switzerland, every European country has had major turmoil in the last century.’
So that just gets us back to my original confusion over his statement.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:44 pm