Half the reason this particular story caught my attention is because I've actually read one or two volumes of the manga it refers to. It's always kind of interesting when the random little things I like start drawing wider attention - in this case, because the comic in question is a decently good view of what it might look like if Japan built and used a true aircraft carrier for the first time since World War II.
Part of the story here has to do with reinforcing the detail that what stories we tell about ourselves and about the other people around us can matter quite a bit. Whether or not this particular one has had a particular effect may be harder to quantify, but it's certainly easy to look at how people are reacting to it and see how it's possible. Sometimes that's not intentional; sometimes, as in this case (given the author's comment about the message he wants to send) it's very intentional.
The other part is my reaction to this specific topic; the reasons why Japan has a self-defense force instead of a military and the implications of that difference have always struck me as quite interesting. I think they're unnecessarily limiting themselves if they avoid having anything too offensively oriented, since in many cases that will mean denying themselves the range they need to defend themselves against some threats. But in the end it's not my decision to make.
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