Ever the “insightful,” the mainstream media decried that President Trump has no good options on the table regarding the North Korean crisis. The Associated Press went a step further, claiming that the Commander-in-Chief’s available routes went from bad to worse. Seemingly everyone is ignoring the obvious solution to avoiding World War III — a nuclear-armed Japan.
The immediate reaction to such a proposal is incredulity. Post-World War II Japan maintains a pacifist constitution that forbids war as a means to solve international disputes. A nuclear-armed Japan runs exactly counter to those constitutional mandates. Furthermore, the island nation’s neighbors would be outraged at such an audacious proposal. More importantly, it may very well worsen the North Korean crisis.
Such counterpoints are correct, in the short run. China would be none too happy about a nuclear-armed Japan, given historical animosities. Deranged dictator Kim Jung Un would be outraged, thus sparking further intensity within the North Korean crisis. Should things go completely out of hand, World War III would have one more participant with the capacity to blow the Earth into complete oblivion.
But here’s the painful reality. Despite fierce rhetoric, President Trump cannot use the military option for the North Korean crisis as it would mean unprecedented human devastation. But sanctions, economic pressures, and dialogue have all completely and utterly failed. And at no point can the Trump administration display any kind of weakness on this issue. Doing so would only embolden China and especially Russia.
Thus, a nuclear-armed Japan, one that is publicly ready and able to incinerate North Korea, is the only solution to this growing madness. China can cry bloody murder all it wants. The Chi-coms were never truly interested in solving the North Korean crisis because they do considerable business with the isolated nation. However, China also doesn’t want to lose business with Japan nor with the U.S.
Since China is unlikely to concede its relationship with North Korea, a nuclear-armed Japan gives them the onus of deciding what is important. The dirty business of preventing World War III necessarily means that regional players must sacrifice something. If China doesn’t want a nuclear-armed Japan, then they must put an end to the North Korean crisis by embargoing the dictatorship. The Chinese cannot have their cake and eat it too.
In this manner, President Trump appears like the ultimate negotiator. Rather than viewed as a failed President, he would forever be remembered as the man who saved us from World War III. This is a title that, so far, only the great President John F. Kennedy can claim.
Quite frankly, a nuclear-armed Japan is a deal too good to pass up.