If you don’t know much about Japan (and neither does Rahm Emanuel, the reported nominee for U.S. ambassador) a few relevant facts are these:
1) It’s right next to China which much of the U.S. government is eager for some sort of fight with.
2) Its Constitution (imposed by the U.S.) bans war, and the U.S. has been hard at work pressuring Japan to violate that bit since about 10 seconds after it was adopted.
3) It has colonized and abuses a separate set of islands, including Okinawa, where