Curzon at Coming Anarchy discovers that Japan is popular among the Taiwanese (95%!) its old Axis ally Thailand (96%), and plucky Singapore (94%). These countries are looking for a peaceful Japan to export security to their regions.

Not that Nihon always looked favorably on democracies. Two of the first Asian republics, the Republic of Ezo and the Democratic Republic of Taiwan, were united under the Emperor

The Acorn reports that many East Asians are worried about a new cycle of Japanese aggression, and other concerns in the Western Pacific. The greatest winner of trouble times? The answer: India?

Meanwhile, Danieru at Huge Entity finds that the safest places in the world are... North Korea. Maybe fighting a bitter war against freedom is the surest ticket to safety?

Well, excerpt for DPRK Death Squads, Pyongyang soccer riots, and everything else to be read about at NK Zone.

But perhaps Vietnam, a nation most noted for its rising security alliance with the Untied States and mail order brides, should get a pass.

Final blog'ems: Depressed capital stock prices because of an aging population has clear implications for China's rapidly-aging (and soon to be declining) population. I recently posted that Hu Jintao is just pretending to be anti-Japanese. Peking Duck disagrees.