The reason we protect Japan is because they agreed to scale back their imperial military to a small defense force protected by the American nuclear umbrella. It also gives the US influence over Asia and feeds into the global free movement of goods.
If I were Japan or SKorea hearing this news, I’d be looking hard at a nuclear weapons program.
You guys know that RFK jr. wrote an article in Rolling Stone that basically introduced America to Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who did the “study” that linked vaccines to autism? While it’s true that anti-vaxers have been a thing almost since the founding of the Republic, it was niche until RFK, Wakefield, and finally Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carry (with the help of Socials) took it mainstream and fomented the movement we see today.