David S Poepoe
Banned
Because of the recent earthquake and tsunami I've been wondering if the Japanese Empire would not have collapsed due to Japan being crippled by natural disasters.
Because of the recent earthquake and tsunami I've been wondering if the Japanese Empire would not have collapsed due to Japan being crippled by natural disasters.
Well, I searched, and I can't find another time a Japanese regime was brought down by a natural disaster. Even if the Japanese Empire survived to the present day (unlikely), it would not have been brought down by earthquakes and tsunamis.
In addition, despite an unfortunate location on the Ring of Fire, Japan is blessed with a good climate, lots of good farmland and some other natural blessings. Otherwise, they wouldn't consistently have been one of the most advanced nations on earth (from the ancient period up to today, with some lapses, most notably just before the Meiji era).
What annoys me are posters who post utter BS and then insult other who call them on it. I am also annoyed by posters who imply that the Japanese were not all that bad as occupiers, and that simply do not understand the difference between surviving and colaborating.
What REALLY annoys me are posters who will take serious issues regarding war crimes and say "so what?".
For the entire tone of your responses in this thread, from post # 1 you are kicked for a week.
That's strike two.
Japan has lots of good farmland?Where? Similar question on technological advancement, though this is more a confession of ignorance of how far Japan was developed and when.
Japan doesn't have a lot of level farmland, but what they do have is really, really good. All that volcanism makes for very rich soil and there usually isn't any for irrigation; the only caveat is that most of it isn't flat. Compare that to California or northern China where agriculture without irrigation is nearly impossible and the soil is often highly alkaline or loaded with salt.
He did apologize for it....
I presume this (underlined) should be read as "there usually isn't any need for".
California has pretty decent farmland (Often salty or alkaline? What part of the state are you looking at?) - even if its added by irrigation, I'd rather rely on it than Japan's overly hilly landscape, volcano-enriched or not.
Can't talk about northern China, but I don't think picking examples that are Really Awful indicates particularly good actually usable land in Japan.
Japan doesn't have a lot of level farmland, but what they do have is really, really good. All that volcanism makes for very rich soil and there usually isn't any for irrigation; the only caveat is that most of it isn't flat. Compare that to California or northern China where agriculture without irrigation is nearly impossible and the soil is often highly alkaline or loaded with salt.
Pretty much all of it except for the far north. The southern part of the state (I think the Imperial Valley area in particular IIRC) has had the most problems with salinization. Low rainfall makes for alkaline soil, and the problem is made worse by irrigation. Major Californian crops either cope with it (grapes, pistachios, and olives), aren't in the ground long enough for it to matter too much (greens and other annual crops), or rely on a constant source of water to minimize damage (citrus, avocados, other fruits). While much of California is extremely productive today, it takes a large amount of technology and effort to keep it that way.
Having to terrace it is isn't exactly a minimal task though.That said, what's wrong with farmland that's not quite horizontal? I think any farmer would rather deal with planting on a slope than having to pay for fertilizer and irrigation. Take a look at farms in Japan. The hills and mountainsides are terraced, which eliminates most of the problems with slopes and lasts for generations. Japan (and much of the rest of East Asia, even today) uses much more labor than Western farming, but the Asian style of farming has also been able to support the highest population densities in the world. often on land that would be considered marginal for Western style farming.
Yeah, I got to school there. I'm originally from the LA area.You a fellow Berkeleyan, mosodake?
I don't see what being a California native has anything to do with it. No crop grown in California is a native species. California isn't terrible farmland, it's just harder to grow things there than in other places, and the practices used to allow things to grow there are evniromentally damaging, though admittedly the harsher conditions also means lower pest pressure.So that leaves only fruits, particularly citrus fruits (which aren't native to California) - not really a sign of particularly terrible farmland in practice.
A terraced hillside lasts for generations though. It's not something you need to do every planting season. Anyways, southern China, Korea, and Southeast Asia all use the same or similar high labor, high maintenance farming in similar climate, soil, and topology. That didn't stop any of them from producing empires and kingdoms.Having to terrace it is isn't exactly a minimal task though.
I could have sworn I've read something in the Rise and Fall of the Great Powers or something of that sort on food production for Japan being an issue, but the only thing I can see is the land demanding too much labor.
I don't see what being a California native has anything to do with it. No crop grown in California is a native species. California isn't terrible farmland, it's just harder to grow things there than in other places, and the practices used to allow things to grow there are evniromentally damaging, though admittedly the harsher conditions also means lower pest pressure.
I don't see what being a California native has anything to do with it. No crop grown in California is a native species. California isn't terrible farmland, it's just harder to grow things there than in other places, and the practices used to allow things to grow there are evniromentally damaging, though admittedly the harsher conditions also means lower pest pressure.
A terraced hillside lasts for generations though. It's not something you need to do every planting season. Anyways, southern China, Korea, and Southeast Asia all use the same or similar high labor, high maintenance farming in similar climate, soil, and topology. That didn't stop any of them from producing empires and kingdoms.
The Japanese already had a wall along the Manchurian/Chinese Border. It is called "The Great Wall".No, the Imperial Japanese would actually make the effort to build a real concrete wall along the Manchurian border, with guard towers in strategic places.