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Well there is a lot of animosity towards the US government here because of the base issue. The larger exclusion zone only fed that. And yes, there was a lot of hysteria, amping up ratings no doubt.

I don't think that that the comments by some Americans that US forces should take over have helped relations any either

Well the Japanese have a long standing set of issues with the US government, playing little kid to the US's daddy.

@bo I can understand Japanese resentment about the basse. I drive past USAF Lakenheath here a lot & see it as an occupation by foreign troops. It's bitterly resented by many here

@UKVal well here it spills down from the occupation time. There have been tons of bases here forever, and there are issues of crime and rape around the bases. As we all know, the US has lowered its recruitment standards to include people with criminal records and gang membership. The Japanese have been pushing all of the bases to Okinawa, a marginalized community here. So when the Japanese hear that the US troops may take over, that is not necessarily an encouraging thing to them.

As have the people in........Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya.........

@Edano, we call it "democracy."

@bo Do you think most Americans understand how the US is perceived elsewhere? My impression has always been that negative perceptions are seeen as 'envy'

my be scribbers cam open a Tweeter account and start post links ,phrases, photos. It can spreed like fire on the net and bring some AWARENESS. We cam make in many languages...

@UKVal well the US is a big country, with lots of people from many backgrounds and ethnicity. So there has always been more of a diversity of opinion than gets seen from the outside. That said, I think a lot of Americans have no idea how they are seen overseas. They think the "debates" about health care in the US are driven by differing ideologies. I think they do imagine that others are jealous of the US. But then again, much of that is driven by the undertow of sensing that the US is a society in decline. Our lone remaining export (besides movies) is weapons, so we think flexing our military muscle is natural and impresses people.

@Majj good idea - we need to use all the communication means we can find

@UKVal Japan is a special case regarding the US. Many believe that we were the key to their economic recovery (we can see the cost of that right now in Tohoku). And many grew up with American pop culture (as did many places). But then again, the US wrote the Japanese constitution and many Japanese feel the US keeps them in a subordinate role, especially for the (formerly) second largest economy in the world.

@bo , most Japanese I asked held McArthur in great esteem.

I just " Copy , paste and re post" and they are doing the same after me ....

@bo thanks for the further insight into how Japanese people see it

@elainekirk good idea & easily done: TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear

@Edano and @Peter Melzer America is so big it is easy to do a lot of traveling and never leave the country, not like Europe. Still, I always thought it was very informative that George W. only left the US once before being elected, even though his father had been President, Vice President, Ambassador to China and head of the CIA. Completely without curiousity.

There is were the young people are. They have the POWER do do some thing.

@UKVal yes the account don't have to have any legal name or address... and cam be run by different people like the moderates here.. My be we go other page??
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@Peter Melzer a lot of compromises were made on the way to Japanese prosperity. The nuclear industry is just one example. It did bring prosperity, but the kind of market based prosperity that led to decades of malaise. McArthur is an odd case. A nuclear weapon happy fellow. While he did live in Asia for a long time, I think he stayed as deep inside that American bubble as any base dweller.

@bo , a lot of compromises were made in West Germany, too. Yet, we must admit that the Marshal Plan and the collusion of American and German constitutional experts bore a system that has served the Germans quite well during the decades since, and not only economically. I always wondered, how the Japanese were served and hoped, of course, equally well.