Akira Iriye, Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific

At Amazon, Akira Iriye, The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific.

Young Japanese People Are Not Having Sex

That's not good, heh.

At the Independent U.K., "Nearly half of Japanese people are entering their 30s without any sexual experience, leaving the country facing a steep population decline":

The country is facing a steep population decline as a growing number of youngsters abstain from sex and avoid romantic relationships.

Some men claimed they "find women scary" as a poll found that 43 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 from the island nation say they are virgins.

One woman, when asked why they think 64 per cent of people in the same age group are not in relationships, said she thought men "cannot be bothered" to ask the opposite sex on dates because it was easier to watch internet porn.

The number of births dropped below one million in Japan for the first time last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicts that the country's current population of 127 million will decline by nearly 40 million by 2065.

The fertility crisis has left politicians scratching their heads as to why youngsters are not having more sex...

Plus, more from Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "IT’S A TRICK QUESTION: THEY’RE NOT COMING FROM ANYWHERE. Question: Where do Japanese babies come from?":

Who knew how prescient the Vapors were in 1980, when they warned, “No sex, no drug, no wine, no women?”

Eugene B. Sledge, With the Old Breed

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa.

Japan Passes Law Allowing Emperor to Abdicate

This is interesting.

At the Japan Times, "Diet enacts one-time law to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate."

ICYMI: Richard B. Frank, Guadalcanal

I posted this book back in December. My son gave it to me for Christmas. It's excellent.

At Amazon, Richard B. Frank, Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle.

Yoshiko Uchida, Desert Exile

I've never heard of this book. It came up in my Amazon recommendations.

Here, Yoshiko Uchida, Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family.

Jim Downing, The Other Side of Infamy [BUMPED

Hey, select two-day shipping and have these wonderful books delivered before Christmas.

At Amazon, Jim Downing, The Other Side of Infamy: My Journey through Pearl Harbor and the World of War.

Also, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice.

And Donald Stratton, All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor.

Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, A Matter of Honor

At Amazon, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice.

And ICYMI, from this morning, Donald Stratton, All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor.

The Los Angeles Times Made the Right Call to Publish Two Letters to the Editor on Japanese Internment in the Newspaper's Travel Section

This is the exact kind of leftist concern trolling we'll be seeing for the next four years, at least.

Leftists will decide what's acceptable discourse, and what's not. The goal will be to suppress views deemed unacceptable before they see the light of day, lest such opinions become "normalized," and thus legitimizing the representative "acts of terrorism" inherent the election of Donald Trump.

Seriously, talk about some special snowflakes at the Los Angeles Times. The paper's editor-in-chief and publisher, Davan Maharaj, said the letters did not meet the newspaper’s standards for "civil, fact-based discourse" and shouldn't have been published:

“Letters in The Times are the opinions of the writers, and editors strive to include a range of voices. But the goal is to present readers with civil, intelligent, fact-based opinions that enlarge their understanding of the world,” Maharaj said. “These letters did not meet that standard.”

And get this, "The Travel section plans to print letters of response in the Dec. 18 edition."

And that's a bad thing?

No, that's a good thing.

Someone expresses an idea and people respond. If you don't like an idea, say so. That's how speech works. That's how debate works. It doesn't work by deeming a particular idea offensive "uncivil" discourse and banishing that view from the pages of the newspaper. It doesn't work by consigning a disagreeable idea as beyond the realm of controversy and engagement. The reaction to the letters is totalitarian, but then, leftists are totalitarian.

Read the letters here, "Were the stories about Japanese internment during World War II unbalanced? Two letter writers think so."

I don't think they're offensive, frankly. Americans thought Japanese citizens were a threat to national security, and they did something about it. The country survived, and a good thing too.

RELATED: See Erik "Homosexual Lumberjack" Loomis, at Lawyers, Guns, and Money, "What on Earth Was the Los Angeles Times Thinking?"

Special snowflakes over there at LGM as well, with an emphasis on "special."

BONUS: See Michelle Malkin, "IN DEFENSE OF INTERNMENT."

And here's Michelle's book, at Amazon, In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror.

Richard B. Frank, Guadalcanal

I'm putting this one on my list.

My son said he wants to actually buy me some books, not just a gift card, heh.

I'll tell him to check Amazon, Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle.

Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration (VIDEO)

I wish I could've been there.

At USA Today, "A moment of silence marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor," and "Pearl Harbor: Survivors gather to mark a moment that changed the world."

Shop Christmas Toys

At Amazon, Holiday Toy List.

And thanks to everyone who's been shopping though my Amazon links. It's greatly appreciated. I'm getting ready to splurge on my next round of book orders, heh.

BONUS: Gordon Prange, At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (60th Anniversary Edition Edition).

75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Seems so weird. The years are flying by.

At WSJ, "Pearl Harbor Survivor Prepares for 75th Anniversary Reunion."

And, "Pearl Harbor Survivor Makes a 5,000-Mile Trek."

Robert Coles, a 92-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor from Maine, is making his first visit since 1941 https://t.co/c1GUPZzbkc

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 7, 2016

Plus, photos, "Pearl Harbor’s 75th Anniversary: A Look Back at the Attack."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "At Pearl Harbor's 75th anniversary, a reminder of how America proved its greatness — and why it is still great."

Japan's Surrender Aboard the USS Missouri (VIDEO)

September 2, 1945.

NBC News had an excellent feature last night:



And the original footage of the surrender, "Japanese Surrender in Color (1945)."

How to Thank Your Coach After Winning the Gold Medal in Wrestling

It's Risako Kawai of Japan.

Heh.

Pretty good.

At Telegraph UK, "Japanese wrestler celebrates winning gold by slamming coach to the mat, twice."

When you've just won an Olympjc gold in wrestling, this is how to thank your coach. pic.twitter.com/Y5QIuwOWrH

— SimonNRicketts (@SimonNRicketts) August 19, 2016

John Prados, Storm Over Leyte

I'm overloaded with reading right now, and my fall semester's starting on the 29th, but this book looks excellent.

At Amazon, John Prados, Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy.

AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable

At Amazon, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - White.

BONUS: John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945.

NewsBusted — President Obama Visits Hiroshima...

Via Theo Spark:

My Uncle Leveled Hiroshima. We're Not Sorry

From James Martin, at USA Today, "My uncle never regretted dropping the atomic bomb because his action brought peace" (via Instapundit):

The Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated as many as 134,556 dead and missing Americans [in the event of a U.S. invasion of the Japanese mainland]. A study for the office of War Secretary Henry Stimson put the figure at 400,000 to 800,000 dead GIs, with Japanese fatalities reckoned between five and 10 million military personnel and civilians. In addition to combat casualties, the more than 27,000 American POWs held by Japan were subject to immediate execution should the United States invade.

The nuclear attack on Hiroshima was terrible. All warfare is. The power unleashed by the splitting of the atom was monumental. But tragic as the bombing of Hiroshima was, it was also necessary. The alternative to Hiroshima would have been one of the bloodiest, if not the bloodiest, slaughter in human history. These facts were not far from my uncle’s mind on August 6, and they were near the surface of his consciousness in all the years after. He knew that his keen eye and steady hands helped spare untold lives on both sides of the conflict.

During the nearly 71 years since Hiroshima, the world has occasionally marched toward the nuclear abyss and wise men decided against the annihilation that attends the use of such weapons. Since then, the United States and other nations have reduced their stockpiles of nuclear warheads. God willing, wise men will continue to prevail if faced with the question of whether to use them.

These are the lessons the president should carry with him to Hiroshima. No apology is necessary for sparing Japan the unspeakable horror of an invasion to end the war. No contrition is needed for an act that preserved hundreds of thousands of lives...

RTWT.

U.S. and Japan Display Naval Forces in Show of Strength Off Tokyo Bay (VIDEO)

At USA Today, "U.S., Japanese naval forces stage show of strength."

And watch, via RT:



And, flashback from April, "U.S. and Japan Tighten Alliance in Face of Surging Threat from China."