Regarding the Aug. 18 article reprinted from Sentaku magazine, titled "Weighing the nuclear option": It seems to me that so long as the United States maintains a robust military presence in Japan, there is a strong likelihood that America will support Japan should there be a nuclear or conventional attack. Otherwise, there would be no guarantee that America would respond in kind; the response would depend on the extent of the threat to Japan, among other factors. However, by having "skin in the game" — i.e., U.S. forces forward-deployed in Japan — there would almost certainly be a response by the U.S. commensurate with the threat faced by Japan.
ted shaw