Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was asked for his first impression of President Donald Trump at the conclusion of their first meeting.  You could hear a pin drop as the White House press pool listens to the respect delivered.  WATCH:

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Regarding the politics of the Japanese military aspect to the reply.  It is the legacy of assassinated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was a close and dear friend of President Trump, that set Japan on the path to rebuilding their military and independent national security.  PM Abe was crossing the country to talk about the need for a newly built military that would provide American defense forces the ability to draw down.  PM Ishiba is continuing that legacy initiative.

RIP Shinzo Abe. He is greatly missed.

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President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a press conference in the White House at the conclusion of their bilateral meeting.  Livestream Links Below:

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Each year on December 7, we honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  A further 1,178 people were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and destroyed 188 aircraft.

Today is the 83rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor Events Page

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Suspicious Cat smells some possible streamlining and downsizing afoot.

Not only has President Trump announced the nomination of Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, but he has also announced that Lutnick will carry the role and “responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative” (USTR).

[LINK]

Perhaps in the second term President Trump and Howard Lutnick are going to fold the USTR into the Dept of Commerce?  Interesting.

Hopefully, Howard Lutnick, like Wilbur Ross, will keep the U.S. Chamber of Commerce blocked from influence over the upcoming trade discussions and potential trade agreements.  We note that former USTR Lighthizer was part of the transition discussion, and it seems odd his name has not surfaced…. yet.

Regardless, Howard Lutnick is an excellent choice for all the reasons previously outlined.

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When I say the cleaving is becoming tenuous, do not take that expression to indicate the Western global alliance will back down, they will not.  However, as the fracturing of the global economic systems cleave into two very distinct formations, the citizens forced to live in the Western control system are going to experience a secondary position of life that will be entirely new.  Within that dynamic, the political leaders are increasingly isolated; that’s the real ‘non-pretending’ story as expressed.

We have followed this modern construct around the issue of energy production for quite a while.  More recently, those who control the systems have become more desperate because the consequences have become far more visible.

In the big picture the world is separating, cleaving into two polar economic regions based on energy use.  The yellow team, following the WEF climate change agenda and deploying all economic tools to shift wealth and control populations; the carbon tax is at the end of this rainbow.  The grey team are continuing to exploit traditional oil, coal and gas development and provide cheap and abundant energy products; economic prosperity is at the end of this managed transition.

Now, we are entering a phase of extreme consequence.  This is the inflection point when the Western Alliance is most vulnerable, because the people affected by the design are not happy with the outcomes so far.  The BRICS+ and traditional energy development nations are gaining geopolitical influence.  Can the Western Alliance keep their citizens complacent?  That’s the question.

LONDON — World leaders will touch down in Dubai next week for a climate change conference they’re billing yet again as the final off-ramp before catastrophe. But war, money squabbles and political headaches back home are already crowding the fate of the planet from the agenda.

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Some economic data released by the land of the rising sun points to a larger global weakness in manufacturing demand.   Within the data year-over-year exports from Japan fell in July by 0.3%, which is the first time since 2021 the contraction was noted.

Digging a little deeper, the weakness in Japanese exports is driven primarily by a decline in exports to China of 14.3% in July, which follows a 10.9% decline in June.  Japan is a component supplier to China, which would indicate the demand for Chinese products globally is substantially less than Beijing has previously admitted.

That said, Japan’s direct export of finished goods to the U.S. actually increased 13.5%, mostly driven by the export of electric vehicles.

However, 13.5% is identical to the overall decrease in Japanese imports.

Essentially, component parts to China are down, but completed finished goods to the U.S. are up.  Overall, the results from Japan point to a soft overall global economic status, the result of continued contraction of Western economic activity.

TOKYO, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Japan’s exports fell in July for the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years, dragged down by faltering demand for light oil and chip-making equipment, underlining concerns about a global recession as demand in key markets such as China weaken.

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped harm earlier today after a man holding what appeared to be two pipe bombs threw one near Kishida.  Remarkable video from the event showed citizens and police apprehending the suspect after one of the devices was thrown.  [Japan TV Story Here]

(Via Politico) – WAKAYAMA, Japan — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed Saturday after someone threw an explosive device in his direction while he was campaigning at a fishing port in western Japan, officials said. Police wrestled a suspect to the ground as screaming bystanders scrambled to get away and smoke filled the air.

Although no one was hurt, and Kishida continued campaigning Saturday, the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came on a campaign tour and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics. Kishida was visiting Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech.

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One of the greatest losses of 2022 was the assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, a man beloved for his dedication to his country.  At the time of his murder Abe was leading a movement within government to reform the Japanese constitution and permit the assembly of a modern military as a bulwark against the rising influence of China.

During a rally to support reform candidates, Abe was assassinated by a young man named Yamagami Tetsuya.  Tetsuya was a former member of the maritime defense forces where he served for three years; he used a homemade black powder shotgun to kill Abe. After his capture Tetsuya was put through a psychological evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial.  After an evaluation investigators and prosecutors have determined Yamagami Tetsuya will face indictment for the murder of Shinzo Abe.

Japan – Investigative sources say Japanese prosecutors have decided to indict the suspect in the shooting death of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, based on the results of psychiatric evaluation.

Public prosecutors in Nara, western Japan, sent Yamagami Tetsuya to a detention house to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible, following his arrest in July.  The evaluation was conducted by interviewing the suspect about his family environment, his relationship with his mother and other matters.

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In fact, there are several western nations who see the ‘climate change” energy transformation as an economic kamikaze mission… and that reality is upsetting those who control the larger western alliance agenda.

When we outlined the ‘biggest problem‘ we noted: Brazil, Mexico, and more recently Japan, have started pushing back against the climate change ideologues.  We must do the same.

So, let’s get everyone up to speed.

Factually, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not only a nationalist leader for his country, Brazil itself is in an emerging economic relationship within the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).  The BRICS group are not in ideological or geopolitical alignment with the World Economic Forum (WEF) climate change instructions known as Build Back Better.  This lack of ideological synergy is one of the reasons we see a joint effort between the U.S. State Dept and U.S. intelligence group to target Jair Bolsonaro for removal.  [Watch Bolsonaro w/ Tucker Carlson]

Recently, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador (AMLO) visited the White House.  AMLO is basically soft-socialist, a nationalist who does not like the influence of multinational corporations on the economic politics within Mexico.  When he visited with Joe Biden, AMLO’s public comments in the oval office (he actually had them written down so he would not be deterred from his delivery) about the U.S. chasing a short-sighted and dangerous energy policy, were just ignored by media.  However, watching AMLO deconstruct the Biden energy policy was very telling. [Review Outline Here].

In addition to so-called geopolitical adversaries like Russia, China and Iran, there are also geopolitical allies who clearly see that fracturing the global economy based on energy development, the center of the Build Back Better agenda, is going to create major issues for the citizens within the countries determined by ideological quest to change their energy system.   As noted with Brazil and Mexico, not everyone in the “west” is on board with the program.

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The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, the party of current Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has scored a major election victory.

The election was held only three days after Shinzo Abe was assassinated, and the results reflect the Japanese people giving Fumio the opportunity to cement the legacy of the man he replaced.   Prime Minister Abe was an advocate for reforming the Japanese pacifist constitution, which has not been modified or amended since 1947.

Current Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, the leader of the LDP, now has a super-majority in the upper house, controlling more than two-thirds of the seats.  Fumio will have this majority for at least three years and will be able to structure amendments to the Japanese constitution, a life-long ambition of Shinzo Abe who was a hawk to the influence of Chinese aggression in the region.

With the people supporting him, Kishida Fumio now has a major mandate to fulfill the legacy of Abe and keep a focus in the economic and security needs of the average Japanese citizen.  This is a rare moment of almost universal control within the Japanese political system.  Western media are writing the typeset with furrowed brows and gritted teeth.  Meanwhile, the Beijing dragon is fuming behind the panda mask.

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