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Japan Forward
40 minutes ago
- Japan Forward
80 Years After the Atomic Bombings, Reconciling Idealism and Reality
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings against Japan, discussions on the significance of nuclear weapons have also taken place in the United States' capital. In contrast to Japan's idealistic call for their abolition, the prevailing American stance remains focused on the effect of nuclear weapons to deter wars. The most notable commentary came from George Will, a prominent conservative political commentator, as the anniversary of the August 6 US atomic bombing of Hiroshima approached. In his commentary published in The Washington Post , Will argued that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki "effectively ended 'the first modern conflict in which far more civilians were killed than combatants.'" This, he suggested, however, was a sign of "moral regression." As an example of this decline, he pointed to the killing of 100,000 civilians on a single night in the Tokyo air raids, just five months before the two atomic bombings. But on the question of whether dropping the atomic bomb was justified, Will quoted Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the plane that bombed Hiroshima. "I hoped until the very end that Japan would surrender," Tibbets said. By doing so, the author conveyed a view largely in line with the US consensus that the bombs were used to end the war with Japan sooner. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where many gathered on the morning of August 6 to honor the victims and pray for peace. (©Sankei by Kotaro Hikono) On this point, Will drew on an article by renowned British historian Antony Beevor published this summer in a major American foreign affairs magazine. Beevor wrote that Japan's military government was "prepared to sacrifice millions of Japanese civilians by forcing them to resist an Allied invasion." Atomic bombings, therefore, he argued, were carried out to prevent such losses. What further drew attention in Will's commentary was his concern that there could be a third use of nuclear weapons, eight decades following Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He reminded that it would not be that challenging for even a poor nation to develop nuclear weapons if determined. Will also noted that the declining reliability of the American "nuclear umbrella" could provide a similar incentive "to nations from South Korea to Poland." Meanwhile, as these fundamental debates over nuclear weapons were unfolding, developments in real-world international security also warranted attention. On August 1, President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered two US Navy nuclear submarines to be "positioned in appropriate regions" in anticipation of a potential attack on Russia. It was a move that could have been seen as an expression of the Trump administration's "peace through strength" policy in response to repeated Russian nuclear provocations. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (©Getty via Kyodo) Reacting to the US proposal for further economic sanctions against Moscow over its refusal to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine, former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, warned, "President Trump should remember the 'Dead Hand.'" The "Dead Hand" refers to the Russian military's automatic nuclear retaliation system. Trump saw these remarks as a nuclear threat against the US and ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response. "Just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances," the President later explained. The exchanges between Washington and Moscow highlight the reality that nuclear weapons continue to serve as tools of deterrence and intimidation within the foreign policies and international security strategies of both nations. This stands in stark contrast to the idealistic view held by some in Japan, who advocate for the complete abolition of all nuclear weapons. Author: Yoshihisa Komori, Associate Correspondent in Washington, The Sankei Shimbun ( Read this in Japanese )
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Canadians are torn about whether to put their elbows up or down in U.S. trade war: poll
OTTAWA — Canadians are split on whether Canada should go into trade negotiations with the U.S. with elbows up or down when it comes to retaliatory tariffs, according to a new poll. Article content The Leger/Postmedia poll suggests that 45 per cent of Canadians still believe Canada's position vis-à-vis U.S. President Donald Trump should be 'elbows up.' That means that Canada should impose counter-tariffs on all new U.S. border levies, even if it risks further retaliation from the Trump administration. Article content Article content But on the other hand, 41 per cent of respondents said they'd prefer Canada's response be 'measured' and focus more on getting a new trade deal even if it includes some tariffs on Canadian goods. Article content Article content The split among Canadians puts Prime Minister Mark Carney in somewhat of an 'awkward position' as he must navigate conflicting views on how to deal with an erratic and unpredictable Trump administration, said Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns. Article content On the one hand are those who still believe in the 'eye for an eye' approach with the U.S., and on the other hand is the growing number of Canadians who favour a slightly more conciliatory and measured approach. Article content 'I think there's been a bit of a tempering, a bit of a diminishment of the 'elbows up' aggressive approach. It's still very present, and you know, not to be ignored,' Enns said. Article content 'But I certainly would say that there's a stronger sort of view now starting to show up in Canadian opinion that says, 'Well hold on here, maybe we ought to think this through, let's not be hasty.' Article content Article content The new survey is in stark contrast to polling just six months ago, when a substantial 73 per cent of respondents told Leger they supported dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against any U.S. border levy on Canadian goods. Article content Article content For Enns, it means many Canadians — and particularly Gen Xers and Boomers over 55 years old who expressed particularly fierce Canadian patriotism earlier this year — are having a moment of 'sober second thought' as the trade war with the U.S. drags on. Article content The shift in public sentiment could also be a reflection of the change in tone from Carney himself. During the Liberal leadership race in February, Carney said he supported suggestions of dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs. Article content But since becoming prime minister, he has not retaliated to any of Trump's new tariffs on such key Canadian sectors as steel, aluminum and automobiles. In fact, he suggested last week that Canada may remove some tariffs on U.S. imports if it's beneficial to Canadian industry.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
House of Commons hit by cyberattack from 'threat actor': internal email
The House of Commons and Canada's cybersecurity agency are investigating a significant data breach caused by an unknown "threat actor" targeting employee information. According to an internal email obtained by CBC News, the House of Commons alerted staff on Monday that there was an information breach. It said a malicious actor was able to exploit a recent Microsoft vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to a database containing information used to manage computers and mobile devices. Some of the information obtained by the hacker is not available to the public, according to the email. That includes employees' names, job titles, office locations and email addresses, as well as information regarding their House of Commons-managed computers and mobile devices. Canada's Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said it is aware of the incident and is working with the House of Commons to provide support, but could not confirm who was behind the attack. The CSE defines a threat actor as a group or individual that aims "with malicious intent" to "gain unauthorized access to or otherwise affect victims' data, devices, systems and networks." A recent threat report from the CSE found that adversarial nations, including the People's Republic of China (PRC), Russia and Iran, are increasingly behind cyber threats to Canada. But the agency said it's too early to tell who — or what — was behind this breach. "Attribution of a cyber incident is difficult. Investigating cyber threat activity takes resources and time, and there are many considerations involved in the process of attributing malicious cyber activity," said the CSE in a statement. The cyberattack happened on Friday, according to the email sent to employees. It calls on employees and members of the House of Commons to be especially vigilant as information accessed during the breach could be used in scams, or to target and impersonate parliamentarians. In a statement, the House of Commons said it was working with national security partners to investigate the matter, but would not disclose information — including how many employees are affected — citing the ongoing probe. Sharp increase in cyber threats The most recent national cyber threat assessment from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security reports that Canada is considered a "valuable target" for criminals and state adversaries looking to disrupt systems. It also found a "sharp increase in both the number and severity of cyber incidents" over the past two years. "State adversaries are getting bolder and more aggressive," wrote Rajiv Gupta, the head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. "Cybercriminals driven by profit are increasingly benefiting from new illicit business models to access malicious tools and are using artificial intelligence to enhance their capabilities." The report says China presents the most sophisticated and active cyber threat to Canada, noting that over the past four years, at least 20 networks associated with Government of Canada agencies and departments have been compromised by PRC threat actors.
