Activist sees Japan as war addict, like U.S. in comic

The Japanese people should learn from their World War II defeat and put pressure on the government to stop the country from sliding back into militarism, the author of an American antimilitarist comic book says.

In the 77-page "Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism," sociologist and peace activist Joel Andreas talks about the U.S. military actions overseas and how they have benefited the defense, oil and banking industries at the financial and human expense of ordinary people.

Now an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, Andreas has just updated his comic, which was first published in 1992 after the Persian Gulf War, to include the war on Iraq and the following U.S.-led occupation in the country. He is in Japan this week to promote the Japanese version of his comic, which came out in October 2002.