On Thu, 1 Jul 2004, Doug Henwood wrote:
> > > Japan's defense spending was 5 trillion Yen in 2002.
> >
> > That's the equivalent of $45 billion -- miniscule in relation to its
> > GDP of around $4.5 trillion.
>
> Enough to put thmm fourth in the world, not all that far behind China &
> Russia, a hair ahead of the UK, and well ahead of France, Germany, and
> Italy.
Absolutely. But the point is still sharp in reverse: it goes to underline how trivial a proportion of its GDP normal OECD countries spend on defense. Our comparative giganticism is really monstrous.
Michael