I have been to the Commonwealth of Virginia a number of times. It is a beautiful state with a great history and, for the most part, very nice people. However, in recent years, Virginia has been changing rather dramatically. The people and subsequently the politics and the values of Virginia have been changing and are extremely different from what they used to be. Because of some of these changes, the Virginia government now finds itself in a difficult position and, so far, neither side of the political divide has been showing much good character. It starts with the fact that, in recent years, Virginia has become home to a rather large number of Korean immigrants and Korean-Americans. As with many such people, they are extremely zealous in their patriotic attachment to the Republic of Korea though, obviously, not so attached that they would live there and no prefer the United States of America. In comparison, very few Japanese immigrants or Japanese-Americans live in the state of Virginia. Because of this, the Korean community has become more vocal and the Korean point-of-view has tended to dominate and this is reaching a point that is may become detrimental to Japan and to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Recently, both the Republican and Democrat candidates for Governor of Virginia promised that, if elected, they would pass a law requiring textbooks in Virginia to rename the Sea of Japan as the "East Sea" as it is called in Korea because it is east of Korea and because they don't like the name "Japan" appearing anywhere. Both candidates promised to do this in order to win the votes of the large Korean community in Virginia. As it turns out, the Democrat candidate, Terry McAuliffe, a long-time friend of the Clintons and former Chairman of the Democratic Party, won the election and the bill was soon brought up to a vote and passed the state senate changing the name of the Sea of Japan to the "East Sea" in Virginia textbooks. The Korean community cheered but the Japanese government was understandably disturbed. It had never been an issue before, so why was it now? The fact that the textbooks, like most every map in the world, said "Sea of Japan" was not such a problem that the Koreans did not still come and move into Virginia in large numbers. The Japanese Ambassador wrote to Governor McAuliffe warning him that this could harm Japan-Virginia relations and this is no small issue. Japan has been very generous toward Virginia and is the second-largest source of foreign investment in the state. Some 250 Japanese-owned companies operate in Virginia and employ some 13,000 Virginians according to the 2012 numbers. Japan is also a major customer of Virginia goods with Japan buying $475 million worth of Virginia products in 2012. In the last five years Japan has invested over a billion dollars in Virginia. Japan is the 12th largest buyer of goods from Virginia farmers whereas South Korea is only 30th on the list. And, whereas Japan is the second largest foreign investor in Virginia, Korea doesn't even make the top 20.
Fearing a financial backlash to the economy, Governor McAuliffe secretly tried to kill the bill but his political enemies will not let it die and want to force him to make a decision. The Koreans do as well and the Republican Party is hoping that, no matter how things go, the dithering of McAuliffe will allow them to gain the support of Korean voters in the next election. The question now is what Governor McAuliffe will do. Obviously, Japan has been a great friend to the Commonwealth of Virginia, a major business partner and a good customer. Japan has provided investment and many good jobs to the people of Virginia but now all of that is threatened because of politicians pandering to a vocal minority group. The question is whether or not Governor McAuliffe will put the welfare of Virginia and all its people first or will he care more about the electoral prospects of the Democrat Party and cave in to the pressure from the Korean community. Will Virginia be only a fair weather friend of Japan? We must wait and see...
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