a) I did not make such a prediction. For what it's worth, Hideyoshi Kase mentioned my initial common-sense reaction: "If United States withdraws its forces from

a) I did not make such a prediction. For what it's worth, Hideyoshi Kase mentioned my initial common-sense reaction: "If United States withdraws its forces from Japan, we will spend the next ten years re-arming in various ways, including acquiring nuclear weapons". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_of_Japan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_of_Japan) b) Japan has significant weaknesses, like historic lack of natural resources. I imagine it has enormous dependences, and not just on the US. (Dunno how the recent finds of rare earth metals changes this.)