Well, this isn’t The Onion. This is just a case of two global powerhouses drawing comparisons so hideous, they almost defy being printed. It began with China’s ambassador to Britain (obviously) wrote an op-ed criticizing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for visiting a war memorial that China says pays tribute to war crimes. “If militarism is like the haunting Voldemort of Japan,” the ambassador wrote, “the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux, representing the darkest parts of that nation’s soul.”
Not to be outdone, Japan’s ambassador to Britain (again, obviously) wrote a counter editorial, saying: “There are two paths open to China. One is to seek dialogue, and abide by the rule of law. The other is to play the role of Voldemort in the region by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions, although Japan will not escalate the situation from its side.”
Serious accusations but, if you want to drive home your actually very serious point about a genuine global conflict, you’ve got to pull out some YA literature references. Although, when tossing around metaphors this severe, wouldn’t it be prudent to refer to him as He Who Must Not Be Named? …
