Thanks for this excellent analysis!

For what it’s worth, I have read/learned in the past that, in the context of Far Eastern Asian countries, Japan is considered dominant. Apparently, there is a long history of Japan acting like one of my distant Chinese relatives calls “white.” They generally believe themselves to be superior within the context of the Far East, thus they tend to sympathize with the dominant class worldwide (ie, whiteness. I don’t know how much is true, but I thought of this when I read your piece.) Certainly, the book Pachinko expresses this general stance through fiction.

Also, I remember learning that Japan is the only country not colonized by Europe at some point in the last half-era or so, and that this is the reason the government tends to feel a sense of domination over other Far East Asian countries. I don’t know how much of this is true given that American history is distorted and falsified in so many ways, but it may be food for thought.

Thanks again!