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In today's ever-changing world and the intensification of the great power game, two seemingly unrelated pieces of news reveal some intriguing information that reminds us that countries are secretly preparing for a possible conflict.
The first news came from Japan, late September, when the new rice season was on the market, when rice prices should be at their lowest or at least stable, but the Japan market had an unusual situation - the price of rice did not fall but rose, up as much as 70%, in Aomori Prefecture, for example, the price of 5 kilograms of new rice soared from 2,000 yen (about 97 yuan) last year to 3,564 yen (about 174 yuan), which means that the price of rice per kilogram has risen from less than 10 yuan to more than 17 yuan.
Such a huge increase is obviously not explained by ordinary market fluctuations, this is still the rice varieties that ordinary people eat daily rather than high-end boutique rice, and it is worth noting that this wave of price increases is not sudden, and the price of rice in Japan has risen by 20% at the beginning of this year. In the summer, Japan also issued a large-scale earthquake warning, triggering a wave of panic buying.
As an island nation with scarce resources and a high dependence on imports, Japan has always had a special attachment to food security, and in the current context of growing international tensions, the Japan government may be secretly strengthening its food reserves in preparation for possible conflict.
The second striking news comes from the United States on the other side of the ocean, the United States House of Representatives passed the 2024 Vehicle AM Broadcasting Act a few days ago, requiring future cars sold in the United States to be mandatory to install physical radios, followed by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also issued a similar draft on the same day.
At first glance, in today's increasingly intelligent world, the mandatory installation of "antique" physical radios seems a bit anachronistic, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that there are deep considerations behind this move, in extreme situations such as war or major natural disasters, the Internet and mobile communication networks may be paralyzed, and traditional FM radio may become the most reliable channel for the government to transmit information to the people.
These two seemingly unrelated news pieces reflect that countries are making various preparations for a possible conflict, although war is not imminent, but it has become the consensus of all countries to prepare for a rainy day and be prepared for danger in times of peace, from food reserves to emergency communications, countries are quietly building a line of defense.
After Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany began a frenzied arms expansion, and Japan was also preparing to move in Asia, and United States President Roosevelt took a series of measures in the face of this situation, including increasing strategic material reserves. In 1939, the United States Congress passed the Strategic and Critical Materials Reserve Act, and began large-scale stockpiling of strategic materials such as rubber, tin, and tungsten.
This is reminiscent of Japan's hoarding of rice today, and although the two are separated by nearly a hundred years, the logic behind them is strikingly similar, and both are signs of preparing for a rainy day when they feel threatened.
Radio played a big role during World War II, when United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill often delivered speeches to the national population through BBC radio to boost morale, and on June 18, 1940, Churchill delivered his famous "We will fight on the beach" speech in the House of Commons, which was subsequently broadcast on the radio, which greatly boosted the morale of the United Kingdom people.
Isn't this the same reason that United States now requires cars to install physical radios? All in order to be able to transmit information in a timely manner in case of emergency.
The current situation is still very different from the eve of World War II, the world is a highly globalized world, and the economic ties between countries are closer than ever before.
Although Japan is hoarding rice, everyone knows that Japan's food self-sufficiency rate is quite low, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan's food self-sufficiency rate in 2020 is only 37.17%, in other words, nearly 2/3 of Japan's grain is imported, in this case, no matter how much Japan hoards, it is difficult to completely get rid of external dependence.
Therefore, although all countries are preparing for a possible conflict, this does not mean that war will necessarily break out, on the contrary, such preparations may be precisely to avoid war, just like the ancients said, "be prepared, for the country's common way" to be prepared.
This preparation also reflects the concerns of countries about the current international situation, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where the military presence has always been a sensitive topic United States the Japan United States allies will naturally feel the pressure.
I don't know if you think of the trade war that caused a lot of excitement a few years ago, it was really a good show, in 2018, the Trump administration imposed large-scale tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the United States, and China immediately took countermeasures, and for a time the trade war between the two world's largest economies was in full swing.
The impact of this trade war is not limited to the economic sphere, it has made people realize how complex and fragile the relationship between countries can be in today's globalized world, and a small policy change can trigger a ripple effect on global supply chains.
In fact, Japan's food problem has a long history, after the end of World War II, Japan experienced a severe food shortage, when the United States provided a lot of aid to Japan in order to help Japan tide over the difficulties, and since then Japan has begun to import a large amount of United States rice.
Japan government has been imposing high tariffs on imported rice to protect its farmers, but with the aging of the Japan population, the shortage of rural labor and the declining food self-sufficiency rate of Japan have created an embarrassing situation: Japan want to protect their own agriculture and have to rely on imports.
Now Japan's rice prices have skyrocketed, in addition to the possible war reserve factor, another important reason is the depreciation of the yen, the yen has continued to fall against the dollar since 2022, which directly pushes up the cost of imported rice, coupled with the rise in global food prices, Japan's domestic rice price seems not so surprising.
The Japan government has been trying to increase the food self-sufficiency rate, but the effect is not ideal, the reasons are very complex, both demographic problems and land use efficiency problems, Japan's farmland is mostly small-scale management, it is difficult to achieve large-scale production, coupled with the reluctance of young people to engage in agriculture, the rural labor force is seriously aging, these factors combined, resulting in Japan's agricultural production efficiency and high costs.
Behind the United States policy of requiring cars to install physical radios, it actually reflects the United States government's concerns about national security, in the digital age we are increasingly relying on the Internet and smart devices, these high-tech products may fail in extreme cases, and if a large-scale electromagnetic pulse attack occurs, many electronic devices may be paralyzed instantly.
In this case, traditional AM radio may become the last means of communication, it does not require complex infrastructure, strong anti-interference, wide coverage, which is why the United States government requires cars to be equipped with physical radios.
Interestingly, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) also issued a similar draft on the same day, which shows that not only United States, but other countries are also preparing for extreme situations, not so much for war as for possible disasters and crises.
During World War II , the United Kingdom government considered shutting down all broadcast towers in order to prevent German bombers from navigating with the BBC's broadcast signals, but Churchill was adamantly opposed to this proposal, believing that maintaining radio communications was essential to maintaining national morale, and in the end United Kingdom adopted a compromise solution: the same program was broadcast simultaneously at night, so that Germany aircraft could not use the signals of a single tower to determine the location.
In times of crisis, information is often more important than we think, which is why governments are taking emergency telecommunications systems so seriously.
From the current international situation, we can see that all countries are preparing for possible crises, but this preparation does not mean that war will definitely happen, it may be precisely to avoid war, just like a person who buys insurance not in the hope of accidents, but in case of accidents.
This preparation also reflects the concerns of various countries about the current international situation, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, United States where the military presence has always been a sensitive topic, and Japan as an ally of the United States, it is natural that the military presence in the region is indeed a delicate topic.
Japan is an island country with scarce resources and a high dependence on imports, this geographical condition determines Japan's special status in international relations, after World War II Japan has been pursuing a "dedicated defense" policy, but in recent years, with the changes in the surrounding situation, Japan is also gradually adjusting its defense policy.
In December 2022, Japan revised three security documents, including the National Security Strategy, calling China "the greatest strategic challenge ever" for the first time, which has sparked widespread concern in the international community, and some analysts believe that this reflects Japan's concern about the regional situation and also shows that Japan is seeking a more active defense strategy.
Against this backdrop, it seems less surprising that the Japan government has strengthened its food reserves, since food security has always been an important part of national security. If a country cannot even guarantee a basic food supply, it will be very passive in the face of a crisis.
In today's highly globalized world, hoarding alone cannot solve the fundamental problems, and countries are already so closely linked that it is almost impossible to be fully self-sufficient, and more importantly, excessive hoarding and war readiness may exacerbate international suspicion, which is not conducive to peace and stability.
In the face of this complex international situation, we must remain calm and rational, although all countries are preparing for a possible crisis, this does not mean that war will definitely break out, and this preparation may be precisely to avoid war.
The world is complex and the future is unknown, but as long as we keep a clear head and adhere to an open and cooperative attitude, we will be able to create a better future together. Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.
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I am the heart of the net2024-09-25Japan rice prices are rising fiercely, the United States forces cars to install physical radios, why is this?
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