[chajin]

From #16: “there are some—a dangerous few—who would keep Japan fairly strong to counter-balance Russia.”

Count me among the dangerous few, who within four years of this would become the sensible majority.

[henkster]

Back in the spring, Homer posted an excerpt from Band of Brothers, where the GIs noted that of all the peoples of Europe, the ones they felt most like, and that they liked the most, were the Germans. Bright, thrifty, hard working, neat and orderly; the Americans felt more at home with the Germans than with most other European nationalities.

I'll bet the Americans felt the same way about the Japanese in Asia. A very different culture, to be sure. But all that you would say about the Germans you could also say about the Japanese. So it wasn't much of a stretch to want Japan to be strong, or let them be strong. Without a militaristic clique to sap their energies, Japan was going to build a strong economy no matter what.