And a guy in the Philippines might not know or care 1 bit about that.....
Huh ?
You gave the warfare as evidence to the possibility of this treasure. So I pointed out that : Since we both know that wars doesn't necessarily mean "treasure" in all those other places, then why does one think that it necessarily means "treasure" in the Philippines ?
.... no where do I see him say or even imply that he is chasing some legendary treasure [like the nut cases looking for the holy grail on oak island]......
Huh ? Those persons looking for the holy grail and Oak Island most definitely consider their legend "iron-clad". And they, like the Yamashita hunters, have passed down maps, see funny symbols on rocks, etc... So why is one a "silly superstition" and the other "iron-clad" ?
....He talks about "old Japanese camps" and they obviously exist....
No one is doubting that "Japanese camps existed". Of course they did. What we are doubting is the seeming believed necessity that : "Ergo, a treasure should exist there".
.... I'm hoping to find my first gold coin some day, I am positive they are out there. Would you say "Naww, don't bother, waste of time ! You'll sprout a 3rd eye before you ever find a gold coin !" ?....
But you can only find that "gold coin" where gold coins are likely to exist. And to hone down your odds of finding that place, you need to do analytical critical skeptical thinking. Such that you hunt the likely stories of where they might be.
For example: If I told you that I'm going to look for a gold coin in my cat litter box, wouldn't you suggest to me that this would be a waste of time ? Of course you would . Even if I said I saw funny symbols nearby, got an old map, and that the Japanese camped by the litter box, you would say that all those "clues" do not mean: "There is gold coins in my cat's litter box".
..... but that doesn't stop us from trying and having hope. By all means, be realistic, but let the man have his hopes like anyone else - .....
Sure. Let us all do and chase whatever we want. But if that person "chasing" comes on asking for advice of probabilities of a treasure (Ie.: they are ASKING for input), then ..... they can't be upset when someone gives their input of "that's not a likely-to-exist treasure". Or "that clue is probably random squiggles or meaningless graffiti " , etc..
And then , sure: They're welcome to dis-regard the skepticism and balanced comment if they want.