> A bunch of boisterous 20 year old Americans will probably disturb a peaceful Japanese town.

Maybe you should at least read up on the history of Okinawa's occupation before writing the effect of America's presence there off as "boisterous 20 year old Americans." How would Americans feel if China invaded California, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process of occupying the land by force, completely destroying the local culture and economy, raping and killing more or less without consequence, and then never left?

You can argue (probably correctly) that the US presence in Japan has done a lot of good and that it's necessary for Asian stability, but I wouldn't write off any anger or hostility that might be there as NIMBYism. They have legitimate complaints about the way the US has conducted themselves.

>How would Americans feel if China invaded California, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process of occupying the land by force, completely destroying the local culture and economy, raping and killing more or less without consequence, and then never left?

Your analogy is incomplete because you left out the part where this fictional America conquered all of its neighbors and engaged in mass rape and murder and was in the process of attempting global domination in tandem with the Nazis. And if you're referring to the nuclear bombings, then perhaps you aren't aware that the US had encountered nothing but total violent resistance from Japanese populations that they had occupied. An invasion of the mainland would have been an absolute blood bath, and Japan refused to surrender.

I was mostly talking about the destruction that was the Battle of Okinawa, and the controversies that have surrounded the US military presence there since[0]. But to be fair, the Japanese military wasn't much better to their own people, starving, torturing and encouraging mass suicide.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forces_Japan#Con...

No one is defending the actions of Japan during WW2 nor are we arguing about whether or not what the US did then was justifies. Even if we take it as a given that the US where 100% in the right and Japan 100% in the wrong up through 1945, that was 70 years ago and I can certainly imagine the locals feeling like they are very much paying for the sins of their (grand)fathers.

Calling people shills does not enhance your argument.

True. Particularly, "paid shills". Anti- or pro-Western, commenters seldom are paid for writing; even if you disagree strongly, remember that they probably write out of a personal conviction.

Russia and China have massive online propaganda operations that include manipulating English-language forums. It's something to be aware of. I'm especially suspect when three people rapid fire downvote but there's no response. I didn't accuse the poster I replied to of being a paid shill.

I removed the sentence from my edit because it's just served to distract from the content. And it's just as likely, or more likely, to be a bunch of self-motivated idiots.

Yes, that is true, and the impact is visible in some discussions. The paid operators maintain web sites, twitter feeds etc that direct the attention of sympathetic activists (perhaps "fellow travellers"), but a vast majority of them surely are not paid. I doubt that HN has large enough following in Russia or its sphere of influence to attract people that would actually be paid to downvote.

I do agree that it is sometimes frustrating that people downvote without commenting and offering any other views (which, if void of positive contribution, would expose them themselves to downvotes).

HN is exactly the kind of strategic target for these guys. HN is not widely read in Russia, but it's widely read by power users, people who translate and re-print tech news on russian websites, etc. Hell, I'd say that half of decent articles from Habrahabr (one of most influencial russian collective blogs on tech) are translations from HN frontage. So, it's only natural to create a left-leaning, anti-US climate in a website like HN and others.

It's also almost religiously policed by people who don't seem likely to appreciate shills.

Nobody likes shills. That doesn't stop them from being effective.

No, the relentless policing does.