Hi Fester and Rhian,

Must agree; "The world is so complicated", nothing is black and white, there is so much grey. Unfortunately simplistic politicians try to present things in black and white terms with their home spun simple solutions, which in reality never work. Both super powers failed the world post WWII, their own interests become paramount over all other. America believed the direct application of militarism was the answer, and applied it at will to serve their strategic purposes. The Soviets believed subversion through third parties served their interests. Both systems failed million of people, instead of promoting peace and development, they simply promoted their own interests, be it a war in a place like Vietnam by the Americans, or the subversion and stagnation of Eastern Europe by the Soviets.

One thing about the Cold War period is that Soviet Communism feared American Capitalism far more than the reverse. America was always far superior to the Soviets both militarily and economically, America had far greater capacity to exert world dominance, than the "enemy". The Soviets "go it alone" policy of recovery post war created a huge amount of internal problems for them, and they were never really in a position to take on America, thankfully for us, they avoided direct involvement in America's endless wars.

Hi AC,

"Sovereign countries don't need to ask for other countries permission Fester..."

Yes they do. Japan does a lot of trade with the United States, so devaluing the Yen gives them a trading advantage. They probably have contractual agreements that oblige them to seek agreement before making such changes.

"The Japanese are on their way back, with Americas bombs and their approval."

I'm not surprised. With China's development of its military the region needs a balance of power. I'd imagine that the Japanese are also wary as the Chinese still hate them for the unprovoked invasion and mass slaughter when Japan was a fascist empire.