Fuan no Shotai!

I am vastly amused by this analogy put forward in an opinion piece carried by Asahi Shimbun.

Kiichi Fujiwara, a University of Tokyo professor, observes in his book "Fuan no Shotai!" (The real cause of anxiety!) from Chikuma Shobo that the way international politics is being run by the United States today is similar to how the Tokugawa shogunate-and-domain system worked in Japan in the Edo Period (1603-1867).
[...]
There is growing censure against the "shogun." It is time for Japan to stop being his loyal vassal and map out its own withdrawal strategy.

Via pessimist writing at The Left Coaster.