tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38122704461598720932024-03-18T12:02:55.652+09:00Japan Times HeraldOpen to All, Influenced by NoneSatoru Aoyamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18119676509961481383noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-73176209707814134072023-07-21T10:12:00.004+09:002023-07-21T10:13:43.897+09:00Former Priest Peter Chalk's Victims In Japan and Australia<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5fxIFl0P9YtMKISSsk5rCst1Xzwxs9nd1t3hvVG83F1UaGl2MhjwXt9loJ99v3EhxPrZIBFTl6PvaPO5_P5lUuVSteCNU7bdEBdDImJ5Ct52vPEk9gNWPclySUCRB5khoDP0B46iYhaRf0cSDyekWjyK7W2JmDK-CF8ta1ULuTmALkaJNl59cAZjLjE/s600/chalk.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5fxIFl0P9YtMKISSsk5rCst1Xzwxs9nd1t3hvVG83F1UaGl2MhjwXt9loJ99v3EhxPrZIBFTl6PvaPO5_P5lUuVSteCNU7bdEBdDImJ5Ct52vPEk9gNWPclySUCRB5khoDP0B46iYhaRf0cSDyekWjyK7W2JmDK-CF8ta1ULuTmALkaJNl59cAZjLjE/s320/chalk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chalk's Mugshot in Melbourne June 15<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<p></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It
has been a 29 year struggle to extradite Australian Peter Chalk from
Japan to Australia to face charges that as a priest he molested 10
children in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. Chalk was a priest in
the <span style="font-weight: normal;">Missionaries of the Sacred
Heart</span> (or MSC). This order, which is sometimes known as the
"Sacred Heart Fathers", operates some parishes and schools
in Australia. The order provides opportunities for its Australian
priests to travel overseas. At any one time, a significant proportion
of the order's Australian priests are serving in Asia. Since 1952, the MSC order's Australian province has conducted
missionary activities in <span style="font-weight: normal;">Japan</span>.
<br /><br />According to the annual editions of the Australian Catholic
Directory, in the 1970s Father Peter Chalk was listed as residing
(with about seven other MSC priests) in the "Sacred Heart
Monastery", at <span style="font-weight: normal;">Croydon</span>
in Melbourne's east. This monastery was involved in the training of
priests for the MSC order. <br /><br />During the late 1970s, Chalk also
ministered at a nearby parish (St Anne's), conducted by the MSC
order, serving the suburbs of <span style="font-weight: normal;">Park
Orchards</span> and <span style="font-weight: normal;">Warrandyte</span>.
As part of his role in that parish, Father Peter Chalk conducted a
youth group, which included young teenagers as young as 12 or 13.
<br /><br />About 1980, Father Peter Chalk was listed as an assistant
priest at another MSC parish — St John the Apostle, Kippax, in .
While in Canberra, he undertook a course of <span style="font-weight: normal;">Japanese
studies</span>. <br /></span></span><br />
</p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">During
this time, some persons who had encountered Father Peter Chalk in
Australia in the 1970s (either as a member of a parish youth group or
as a young trainee for the priesthood) spoke to Chalk's superiors and
colleagues about being raped and molested. <br /><br />For example, one
former youth-club member (<span style="font-weight: normal;">Peter</span>)
says that in the 1970s, when he was aged 12 onwards, he encountered
Father Peter Chalk in youth activities. He says that in 1977, Chalk
had raped him on three separate occasions to the new parish priest in
charge of Melbourne's Park Orchards parish, Father Frederick Van
Gestel. <br /><br />Fred Van Gestel, who has since left the priesthood,
passed Peter's report on to MSC superiors, including <span style="font-weight: normal;">Father
James Fallon</span>. Fallon was then one of the most senior priests
in the MSC order's Australian province; and he is believed to have
been a friend of Chalk. In 1979, the MSC office in Melbourne received
3 more complaints that Chalk had molested 2 boys aged 9 and 13, and a
girl aged 10.</span></span></p><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
1981, Chalk was listed in the Australian Catholic Directory as being
on the staff of the Yarra Theological Union (an ecclesiastical
college) in Box Hill, Melbourne.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
the early 1982, the Australian MSC office arranged for Peter Chalk to
work in its overseas operations in Japan. His name was deleted from
the 1983 Australian Catholic Directory this directory noted Chalk as
“being assigned overseas”. <br /><br />In 1994, </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a
young boy and his parents </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">contacted
the police in Tokyo and made a sworn, signed statement about sexual
abuse at the hands of Chalk. The Tokyo police then interviewed and
obtained written statements from another boy who had been in Chalk's
parish. <br /><br />The complainants were investigated and then suddenly
the police and prosecutors received notice from Archdiocese of Tokyo
lawyers that a settlement had been reached and Chalk was to return to
Australia to face the allegations but this would have created
difficulties for Chalk and the MSC order. Tokyo prosecutors dropped
charges and a judge sealed all records.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
1995, with the Australian police interested in him, Chalk and the MSC
order went into damage control. The order allowed Chalk to "resign"
from the order. He then stayed on in Japan as a lay person,
establishing a new career for himself teaching English to Japanese
high-school students at an MSC run school. <br /><br />He changed his
surname to a Japanese name ("Peter</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>
</b></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Shiraishi</span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">")
after getting married, and 3 years later gained Japanese citizenship
being married to a daughter of a Japanese lawmaker. <br /><br />A
consequence of this was that, if Chalk re-entered Australia using his
Japanese identity, Australian police would not notice. <br /><br />Since
1998, if anyone asked the MSC order about Peter Chalk, the order has
claimed that it "does not know where Chalk is now or what he is
doing". <br /><br />Chalk's new identity was convenient for the MSC
order because, if more reports surfaced about Chalk's Melbourne
activities in the 1970s or Tokyo in the '80s or '90s, the order could
claim to be no longer responsible for him. <br /><br />Because Chalk was
now apparently hard to find, the Melbourne police investigation
stayed "on hold". However, the Melbourne police still
possess a file concerning their investigation of Peter Chalk. <br /><br />In
the late 1990s, in the absence of police action, the only option
available for Chalk's Melbourne victims was to have their complaints
investigated (and subsequently upheld) by the Melbourne Catholic
Archdiocese's commissioner on sexual abuse, Mr Peter O'Callaghan, QC.
The written apology, which each victim received from the archbishop
of Melbourne, said that the archdiocese was apologising for the harm
done to each one by Father Peter Chalk.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It is
interesting to note that the MSC order has a connection with the
Catholic Church's Australia-wide management of the church's sex-abuse
problems. In 2007 the head of the MSC order in Australia was
appointed as the co-chair of the church's National Committee for
Professional Standards — the body which superintends the handling
of church sex-abuse complaints in Australia through the church's
controversial "Towards Healing" scheme. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">WJ Bryant </span></span>
</p>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-70027813278982771252023-07-20T10:05:00.004+09:002023-07-20T10:05:30.929+09:00The Odd Story of Priest Abuse Victim Hiroshi Sugiura Part 2<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cO28771P2mxNK3r5zTe6IEV7-4Y0gP0f3SHOvAVTMAcoZ4XxPuFTwAaKcCM_CumTddj9VB6-sPQkIdzv1Afpi1slKgNljJj2lKiwB0qKwSPAIr7VCX5FiEL6f-NdE9xNRgO6jLtOaH10lfvz8azT5ZTDREhaqtGBUjt7o-52b-sc8jQp_f-L4DKijXQ/s640/nagoya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cO28771P2mxNK3r5zTe6IEV7-4Y0gP0f3SHOvAVTMAcoZ4XxPuFTwAaKcCM_CumTddj9VB6-sPQkIdzv1Afpi1slKgNljJj2lKiwB0qKwSPAIr7VCX5FiEL6f-NdE9xNRgO6jLtOaH10lfvz8azT5ZTDREhaqtGBUjt7o-52b-sc8jQp_f-L4DKijXQ/s320/nagoya.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Pebble Nagoya Church<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Part
2</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Inspector
Okada (name changed by request) of the Aichi Police says, “These
Little Pebble people cause people to raise eyebrows, but they are
harmless. College students find them annoying on campus, but I think
it is part of the fallout about late Prime Minister Abe having ties
with Rev. Moon and the Unification Church. Then again, their ideas of
sexual freedom and expression draw interest from some looking for
relationship.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
2010, the Akita commune was relocated from the original site due to
age to a new site in Komatsukawa, Akita. The site boasts a larger
home and plenty of acreage for the commune to operate a farm. The
commune is now self supporting and sells eggs, free range chickens,
apples, pears, rice, and green leaf vegetables at local markets. 34
members have lived here since opening, including 12 of the original
14 members.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
Nagoya, the church still occupies the original building but was
remodeled in 2011. The location near Nagoya Port offers an easy to
reach location by bus, subway, and train. Sugiura rotates his
presence between the two. One month in Akita and the next in Nagoya.
Sugiura grins, “I am the daddy allowing the children to run things
but they know I shall be back.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
ask about the sex acts performed during services. Sugiura looks
serious and sits up, “<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
refers to the sex act conducted in front of the Eucharist involving
myself and the males, as the role of Adam, and female followers, who
play the role of Eve by her own free will. One man for each female.
The Lord does not wish for anybody else to engage in this ritual.
They must be baptized and confirmed before the Lord God and blessed
by Mother Mary. They marry the mate they choose at the commune, or
outside. I was inspired to perform this ritual because I believed
that there was no other way to prove Mr. Little Pebble’s innocence
and the wrongful convictions of sexual assault made against him. Just
a few days ago, God sent me a message saying that the woman who sued
Mr. Little Pebble will confess that it was all a lie.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxNs-6t9lsw9VlMwVtUsnPRkzlTw2eCLQtOs1ygNLWJoMQmT8-u5qnMSIKyFyJINhP79ZKqNmAvn5J8V0EwvntKZX97VgPm3nEgfyz7uwGWqLQvkFYPDdfJrvcBhqq9665nyn2aqFnBk5c4xVAokh1C2UOMczQmwy1f3Y8kQpHUN_s1J-TKJ6yxkpqtQ/s1024/akitacommune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxNs-6t9lsw9VlMwVtUsnPRkzlTw2eCLQtOs1ygNLWJoMQmT8-u5qnMSIKyFyJINhP79ZKqNmAvn5J8V0EwvntKZX97VgPm3nEgfyz7uwGWqLQvkFYPDdfJrvcBhqq9665nyn2aqFnBk5c4xVAokh1C2UOMczQmwy1f3Y8kQpHUN_s1J-TKJ6yxkpqtQ/s320/akitacommune.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Akita Commune<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
ask if this is orthodox Christian practice. Sugiura looks annoyed,
“It is not a sex act. It is an act faith and worship. The penis is
not to be inserted into her vagina. We stimulate the penis against
her external genitalia. When we orgasm, the Lord tells us to
ejaculate into a cup and to throw out the sperm. Our love for one
another wells up and more and more our love for God does as well.”</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Is
this a cult you founded? Sugiura laughs and says, “</span></span></span></span></span>I
preach the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, wholly embracing
all of its beliefs and morals. Obviously this means that we are to
reject all other religions except our own. One of our fundamental
principles is to proudly wear this white Little Pebble tunic to show
the world that we are in full support of Mr. Little Pebble. God
forgives all those who ask for forgiveness, whoever they may be. That
is the glory of the Lord. Our members will continue to have sex for
the rest of their lives while they perpetually ask for forgiveness.
The Lord will give both of them his blessing, share his bounty, and
keep forgiving their sins until they die. Even after death God will
forgive them and they will be saved.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">How
do people outside the church feel about it? Sugiura grins and then
looks serious, “Being hated and criticized, we will understand our
faults even more and give thanks to those who criticized us. We will
learn to love and to live humbly. We will pray for those who
criticized us and ask God to guide them toward the right path.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
left the church and made my way to the subway in the searing Nagoya
heat. One thing was clear, Sugiura believes his theology. Whether it
is true is another issue. Wrapped in the sophistic talk of religion
is the truth that sex sells. That really is the root of Sugiura's
stage play he calls church.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Kiminori
Ito</span></p>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-51479171091142536152023-07-19T08:20:00.002+09:002023-07-19T08:20:11.920+09:00The Odd Story of Priest Abuse Victim Hiroshi Sugiura<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iTYgs1APaqXv-agFH5tEI0zyVzRR9_ebYv56K6J4Qz5Su51kzjxIomO4rQgbgfCHRw7mg6ybasNRUYU25M-QORqACJreHR-OXlcbvV5pLfrJVpIjrTaBIK_cv8ppVZ4KwiQkcQLFJNW_562IZ3A1gkklBdvNMMix24PnJFNVUe62e0NJIDRYcxxkYGM/s500/sugiura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iTYgs1APaqXv-agFH5tEI0zyVzRR9_ebYv56K6J4Qz5Su51kzjxIomO4rQgbgfCHRw7mg6ybasNRUYU25M-QORqACJreHR-OXlcbvV5pLfrJVpIjrTaBIK_cv8ppVZ4KwiQkcQLFJNW_562IZ3A1gkklBdvNMMix24PnJFNVUe62e0NJIDRYcxxkYGM/s320/sugiura.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sugiura</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Little
Pebble Dohsyuku-kai Part 1</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hiroshi
Sugiura, also known to his faithful as Father Jean-Marie Thornbush
Little John, met me at his Nagoya church. While definitely flamboyant
in speech, he is shy with strangers unless he talking about the
“church” he founded in 2003, Little Pebble Dohsyuku-kai. Before
2005, when Sugiura opened the “Mother-house” in Akita, he founded
the original commune in Nagoya, Amakusa and All Martyrs of Japan
Community, founded in 2003.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Background</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Sugiura
began his journey with his commune church as a member of the Order of
Saint Charbel in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia. This “church”
was founded by German immigrant to Australia William Kamm.<span style="font-weight: normal;">
Kamm, also known as "The Little Pebble"</span> was born
1950 in Cologne, West Germany, "The Community" named after
the Maronite saint Charbel Makhlouf. The Order of St Charbel is
considered as a Christian sect and a fringe religious grouping. His
religious order claims to be part of the Roman Catholic Church, but
the Maronite Church and the Holy See do not regard the group as being
part of Roman Catholicism. Both Popes Benedict XVI and Francis have
renounced any Catholic affiliation and have declared Kamm and his
followers as heretics.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">On 14 October 2005, Kamm was
sentenced to five years in prison with a non-parole period of
three-and-a-half years for a string of sexual attacks including
aggravated sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl. He claimed that she
was one of his 84 mystical wives. The assaults occurred when the girl
was living within Kamm's Order of St Charbel, a community (living in
a compound) near Nowra, New South Wales. Kamm claimed to have
received advice from the Virgin Mary that the girl should be chosen
as one of 12 queens and 72 princesses who would all become his wives,
with whom he would spawn a new human race after the world was
cleansed and burnt by a ball of fire. Kamm's letters and diary
entries to the 15-year-old girl, which were made public during the
court session, display an explicit sexual style and were major
evidence in his prosecution.</span></p>
<p><a name="cite_ref-age-jailed_5-1"></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Kamm
was also found guilty in May 2007 of aggravated sexual assault and
aggravated indecent assault in relation to another 15-year-old girl.
In August 2007, after losing an appeal on his original sentence, Kamm
was re-sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment with a
non-parole period of 11 years. He was due to become eligible for
release on parole on 13 April 2013, but was refused. In November 2014
parole was granted. Upon his release, the New South Wales government
applied for an Extended Supervision Order in the Supreme Court of
NSW. His lawyer, Omar Juweinat opposed the application which resulted
in six years of litigation. In 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the
appeal and allowed Kamm to return to his property.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In August 2001, Sugiura was
excommunicated by Kamm. Sugiura says it was because Kamm did not like
the theological questions he would ask during community meetings.
Sugiura still, however; recognizes Kamm as the “Little Pebble”
sent by God. Sugiura explains, “One must be obedient to superiors
even when they are wrong. It is a sin to act otherwise. Kamm is still
the prophet sent by God to heal the world.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Return to Japan</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Sugiura returned to Nagoya and
moved in with his parents. He found work at a book shop and began
seeing a priest near Nagoya Port. Sugiura discussed with the priest
the fact that as an altar boy at his parents' parish he was sodomized
repeatedly by a priest over the course of 2 years. He did not name
the priest to the spiritual advisor. Sugiura had forgiven the priest
years before. But now after discussing the abuse wanted to find the
priest. He searched the name in the online directory of clergy on the
Diocese of Nagoya website. Finding where the priest was then
assigned, Sugiura paid him a visit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The church is located near the
Higashiyama Zoo. Sugiura met the priest st the church office. The
priest had aged of course, but still had the same sing-song voice. He
relayed to the priest the painful memories and the pain he still
felt. The priest nodded his head in understanding. Sugiura forgave
the man, hugged him and walked out. Sugiura relayed, “All at once
when I walked to the subway station I was wrapped in light and Mother
Mary relayed to me my misistry. And so here I am now. Where I began
it all in Nagoya, Amakusa and All Martyrs of Japan Community.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It all makes sense</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In 2003 when Sugiura opened
Amakusa and All Martyrs of Japan Community, he reflected on his
spiritual journey. He entered the Society of the Atonement after
graduating from high school in 1997. However, he was urged to leave
after a year. After that, he became a seminary student at Nanzan
University’s Department of Christian Studies at Divine Word
Seminary in Nagoya and entered the prenoviate, in the Society of the
Divine Word missionary order, which runs the university and seminary.
Sugiura explains, “Again I was asked to leave after a year. So I
took a year off and reentered, but this time as a theologian the
Nagoya Diocese studying for the diocesan priesthood. I was dismissed
after a retreat where I espoused his theological beliefs. Despite
this, I was repeatedly loyal to Jesus and Mother Mary.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">He then smiles and exclaims
loudly, “It all makes sense now. I take what I learned that is
truthful and loving and make it into the spirituality of Little
Pebble Dohsyuku-kai. It has been a transformation not a journey. I
have had this peace since 2003.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Sugiura
explains, “When people initially gathered here seeking my light and
sermons, not a single one of them was fundamentally good enough to
take the monastic vows. I realized that rather than building a
monastery, it would be better to create something much more basic for
these people. It is upon this realization that I received inspiration
from heaven, and the Dohsyuku-kai is what I eventually built. When
Fr. Peter the Rock (Hiromi Kaneda) became fluent in theology I handed
direction in Nagoya to him, and founded our Mother-house in Akita.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
moved to Akita on September 29, 2005. A farm house inherited from my
dad when he died. He had inherited it from his brother when he died
in 2002. I personally had no desire to build all of this, nor did I
plan it. I was simply told by God to found the group according to the
principles He bestowed on me.” Thus it all makes sense to Sugiura.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Kiminori
Ito</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-86217448756540636312023-07-18T08:35:00.006+09:002023-07-18T08:35:56.744+09:00The Catholic Hierarchy Has Learned Nothing<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Zhd-nVVZlOYcKRzMANSr_Df2EFxDODE1-BbLPE5cPrCe3GkImJbWUGPDl-eQ8i0wsnAvgz3flMpeaYJhXfGSIW2FShPK3KvRlPqbOI5QdTTm-4KYD1xOGBDCe1bTZldlU_OZcZhiBu-EMguF8YfWzHgwvZ9db9M4tY9eUamjGM1KnqcUrrGFnAX0g5k/s800/stmary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Zhd-nVVZlOYcKRzMANSr_Df2EFxDODE1-BbLPE5cPrCe3GkImJbWUGPDl-eQ8i0wsnAvgz3flMpeaYJhXfGSIW2FShPK3KvRlPqbOI5QdTTm-4KYD1xOGBDCe1bTZldlU_OZcZhiBu-EMguF8YfWzHgwvZ9db9M4tY9eUamjGM1KnqcUrrGFnAX0g5k/s320/stmary.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Over the next week
we shall keep our focus on the breaking priest abuse scandal in
Japan.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In 1984, a young
boy told his parents that the parish priest had done “bad things”
to him at the church in Louisiana. This would become the first case
that would explode over the next years into the international priest
abuse scandal. No diocese or mission territory in the Roman Catholic
Church has been exempted from cases. Religious orders have been
bankrupted settling cases.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">At heart of all of
this has been the bishops and popes protecting the institution over
protecting parishioners from predator priests, and refusing to see
justice dispensed to the guilty. Cardinal Bernard Law at the heart of
the Boston scandal barely scratched the surface. Pope John XXIII knew
in 1962 that priests in Ireland had abused over 30 boys at a school
in Cork. Paul VI in 1968, was informed that priests and brothers at a
school for the deaf in Warsaw had abused 8 boys. John Paul II in
1979, was informed that a school in Toronto had 3 boys abused by a
priest. In all cases, the brothers and priests were transferred, and
then the accused abused more children. </span>
</p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">John Paul II
already had a history of protecting accused religious back home in
Krakow, Poland when he was archbishop. Transferring them to Austria,
Germany, and all over Poland.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Cardinal Ratzinger,
later Pope Benedict XVI, who as a cardinal led the Vatican Office of
the Faith, the most powerful position after the pope. Knew the total
scope of the scandal years before it became public. His concern was
solely in protecting the institution. Likewise for Pope Francis.
Francis has known since 2014 about the secret children fathered by
priests under vows. Francis has refused any and all support for the
children. Showing not only children but also adults have been
victimized by scoundrels dressed in clerical collar.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now a cursory look
at the situation in Japan is exactly the same. When accusations were
made about priests the immediate reaction of chancery offices of
diocese was to send a vicar from the office along with a lawyer. Get
a nondisclosure agreement signed that prevented any visit to the
police until an internal investigation was completed. No matter the
result a cursory payment was made and a further NDA barring any
discussion of the accusation or notifying police. Keep all inside the
chancery. The exact same for religious orders. The provincial would
send a representative priest and a lawyer. The goal was to keep
strict silence not to help the victim nor punish the offender.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Today, we are told
that the Letter of the Bishops of Japan that outlines the procedure
has changed the “systemic practice of protecting the Church”.
That is completely false. The victim is encouraged to cooperate with
a church investigation and only go to the police when the church
endorses that action. This is the exact process as before. Nothing
has been changed.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The church in Japan
has even doubled down with this from the statement: In all cases, the
names of individual dioceses, religious congregations and mission
societies as well as the number of reported cases in each will not be
made public because doing so may lead to the identification of the
individual victims. </span>
</p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">If the process is
conducted under an NDA then this is a total lie. There is no way for
the victim to be discovered unless the victim themselves do so. This
would lead to the victim being sued for breaking the very NDA to
protect the church and not the victim. Again, more lies and no
change.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">For the last 21
years it is painfully obvious the church has learned nothing. The
wagons still circle to protect the accused and the church. The
victims are still painted as enemies to the faith. The church is
still operating blissfully to its own demise from the crumbling of
faith in the faithful. The faithful see the wolves have disguised
themselves as the shepherds all this time, the poor sheep.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Dallas Brincrest,
Editor</span></p>
<pre class="cjk" style="text-align: left;"></pre>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-43513569207189604192023-07-17T10:33:00.003+09:002023-07-17T10:49:20.418+09:00Salesian School In Tokyo Priest Abuse Victim Katsumi Takenaka<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jAKdj-rXyQHa3SzOROlTSrQGpy3fOJQmbG18YqMbmwqvwXQVQf7f7vBlWI_WIoD09z2bbB1gucbHAAdSLj6mQD7750PGIEwCpe-62Jxpo8LgWnauPk2vQj3YepsnQFy5unvD4geERuCOksFY217zccLro3wNnrJhQfpU0m9Gu-9Kh0udaM37zahkYks/s870/takenaka.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="870" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jAKdj-rXyQHa3SzOROlTSrQGpy3fOJQmbG18YqMbmwqvwXQVQf7f7vBlWI_WIoD09z2bbB1gucbHAAdSLj6mQD7750PGIEwCpe-62Jxpo8LgWnauPk2vQj3YepsnQFy5unvD4geERuCOksFY217zccLro3wNnrJhQfpU0m9Gu-9Kh0udaM37zahkYks/s320/takenaka.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katsumi Takenaka<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Katsumi Takenaka is
a soft spoken man. Even recounting the abuse he received from a
Salesian priest, he speaks softly without a hint of anger or animus.
Even as tears well, his voice keeps cadence and rhythm. </span>
</p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Takenaka received a
public apology earlier this year from Nagasaki Archbishop Joseph
Mitsuaki Takami for the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the
Salesian Boys' Home in Tokyo during the period 1983-1985. He was
placed there after his parents' divorce.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"I think his apology was
sincere in his own way. But the response has lacked a sense of
urgency, and there is no sign the bishops will take any real action,"
Takenaka told The Associated Press.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Takenaka identified his abuser
as the late Rev. Thomas Manhard, a German priest, who he said
initially took off the boy's clothes to examine bruises from beatings
he suffered from other boys at the home. The priest's examinations
escalated to fondling and other sexual acts, which went on for months
until the priest was transferred, he said. He reported that the
priest told him he would go straight to hell if he told anyone and
gave him candy and foreign stamps.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Takenaka's account was
confirmed by the Rev. Hiroshi Tamura, who runs the Salesian Boys'
Home and said he was conferring with the Japanese bishops' conference
to work out a response to his claim.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Takenaka said an outside
investigation is needed and a forum for victims to come together.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"The victims are
isolated," Takenaka said. "No one knows for sure if the
abuse is still going on. The bishops see it as a irritation to deal
with, a PR deal. They still refuse to see it as an illegal act of
sexual assault that must be punished in the legal system."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A spokesman for Archbishop
Takami referred us to the 2019 Statement issued by the Japan
Conference of Bishops. He refused to answer if the process of
reporting abusive priests includes immediate notification of police.
“I have no comment to make. See the 2019 statement.”, he replied.</span></p>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-83277551131310496032023-07-14T11:07:00.003+09:002023-07-17T10:33:36.383+09:00Lawsuit Filed Over Saitama Abuse By Priest<p>
</p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2AnyfBrXg__1K6QLmRP27pHyKrnDcxT9XvCTwulW2QPKcXrELgzZhaCFZyGtcwPTtvAyIM5uGIBfDcEDJEizEkJTKLCQczWJL-_4fTKlcnqPDhr6JQRu2v-UBeRcEfA2VRTgiqUWRdG69XmYIKGUdZDDz8ZV_pMHwmxPW-lDjp8S7XmVuR46rxZjWYA/s714/suzukisan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="714" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2AnyfBrXg__1K6QLmRP27pHyKrnDcxT9XvCTwulW2QPKcXrELgzZhaCFZyGtcwPTtvAyIM5uGIBfDcEDJEizEkJTKLCQczWJL-_4fTKlcnqPDhr6JQRu2v-UBeRcEfA2VRTgiqUWRdG69XmYIKGUdZDDz8ZV_pMHwmxPW-lDjp8S7XmVuR46rxZjWYA/s320/suzukisan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harumi Suzuki is also SNAP Japan Director<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A woman has filed a suit
against the Roman Catholic Church in Japan alleging that a priest
raped her four decades ago, as the church’s unfolding worldwide
sexual abuse crisis gradually reaches Japan. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The civil lawsuit, filed this
week in Sendai District Court, seeks 56.1 million yen ($534,000) in
damages. It accuses a priest, who has not been charged or penalized,
as well as a bishop who counseled the woman in recent years about the
alleged abuse. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The suit, which also accuses
the Diocese of Sendai in northeastern Japan, says the church refused
to take the complaints seriously, causing psychological pain.</span></p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I have filed this lawsuit
to claim back the dignity I have lost, and to try to end this serious
crime that is a violation of humanity,” said Harumi Suzuki, who has
gone public with her name. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">She said she lived through
“more than 40 years of hell,” but wants to raise her voice for
other abuse survivors.</span></p>
<p><a name="html-embed-module-e30000"></a>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">You
are innocent, and you are not alone,” she said in a statement. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The Rev. Shiro Komatsu at the
Sendai diocese said it has no comment because it has not seen the
lawsuit. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Documents seen by The Sendai
Prosecutor's office show the diocese carried out an investigation by
third-party lawyers into her case in 2018.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The investigation determined
that the sexual act likely occurred but announced Monday it has been
decided no criminal or civil responsibility could be pursued, given
the passage of time and that the priest may have thought the act was
consensual. Suzuki denies she consented. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The bishop, Martin Testuo
Hiraga, who met often with Suzuki, has said it was hard to arrive at
a solution and the priest has denied the allegations. The priest was
not available for comment. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The priest is identified in
the lawsuit, but lawyers for Suzuki requested that his name not be
reported, for fear of a possible defamation lawsuit under Japanese
law, and the fact the priest moved up in hierarchy. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Suzuki, a Catholic, was a
victim of domestic violence in 1977 and turned to the priest for
consolation, according to the lawsuit. She was raped in the upstairs
bedroom of the church during a counseling session, and suffered
depression for years, it says. </span>
</p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The Catholic Church is a
giant organization of power for the believers and has their
unconditional trust,” the lawsuit says. “Sexual violence by the
clergy on members of the congregation is an extremely despicable act
that takes advantage of the absolute inequality in power.” </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Pressures are strong in
conformity-oriented Japan for women not to speak out against sexual
abuse. Which is why speaking out is still difficult for women and
ethnic minorities. </span>
</p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Yuma Sato, Suzuki’s
attorney, said Japan’s justice system makes it very difficult to
claim damages from sexual abuse unless acted on within a few years. </span>
</p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But I hope this case sends
a message about an effort to create change,” Sato said. </span>
</p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">We also want Japanese
society to learn more about the problems in the church, its secrecy,
its coverups and how perpetrators are going unpunished.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Suzuki
became well known during Pope Francis' visit to Japan in 2019. She
stood along the motorcade routes in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki
with signs demanding action.</span></p>
<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-68869206652386895632023-07-13T10:22:00.003+09:002023-07-17T10:34:11.684+09:00More Cases Found In Japan of Priest Abuse<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWD8nbo6qJcT14_h_lS6F0X3GPaa4x7DSN1OfDGav-gAsV5VWQzU8yAiZMGw6yT6hxnWHZvY2mGJWbkJ1faKHd1gEr08QW1kc0IhiJmmmpZ1yeCtMla00PEb_RkfubbayulMZKMeI613ox45rfLAT60eOfK8hZ38PdUkbT-YvQzeTbk2u_k6t7jO_N_8Y/s800/manyo_maeda.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWD8nbo6qJcT14_h_lS6F0X3GPaa4x7DSN1OfDGav-gAsV5VWQzU8yAiZMGw6yT6hxnWHZvY2mGJWbkJ1faKHd1gEr08QW1kc0IhiJmmmpZ1yeCtMla00PEb_RkfubbayulMZKMeI613ox45rfLAT60eOfK8hZ38PdUkbT-YvQzeTbk2u_k6t7jO_N_8Y/s320/manyo_maeda.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardinal Thomas Maeda, Archbishop Osaka<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>TOKYO, Japan — A Japanese news agency
reported Thursday that an investigation by the country's bishops'
conference has found 16 cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics,
which occurred from the 1950s to 2010s.
</p><div class="article__text"><p>The findings have not yet been made public, but sources familiar with the matter spoke with Kyodo News. Cardinal Maeda, Archbishop of Osaka, refused comment.<br /></p>
<p>Acts of abuse occurred in rectories, church buildings, and foster homes.</p>
<p>The
Japanese bishops announced the inquiry a year ago, and committees were
established in each of the 16 dioceses to receive claims and
consultations about abuse.</p>
<div class="inBodyAd marginBottom30">
<div id="NCR_EN_Article_A"></div>
</div>
<p>In 2002 an internal
survey made inquiries with the leading priest in each diocese. This
resulted in two reported cases of sex abuse.</p>
<p>A
2012 survey aimed to be a reference point in a manual for internal use.
It did not aim to investigate facts or to resolve sex abuse. Five sex
abuse cases were reported then.</p>
<p>A
2004 survey on sexual harassment found 17 cases of “coercive physical
contacts,” mostly by priests. The victims included minors. That survey
had 110 respondents.</p>
<p>In February 2019 Pope Francis held a meeting with bishops from around the world on the sexual abuse of minors. The same year Pope Francis paid a visit to Japan to discuss the Japanese Bishops response to allegations.<br /></p>
<p>“Let
it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no
effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has
committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to hush up or not take
seriously any case,” he said in his greetings to the Conference of Japanese Bishops.</p><p>Catholic News Service <br /></p>
</div>Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-70241904379670065342021-05-19T10:24:00.005+09:002023-07-13T10:15:26.840+09:00Japan To Ban More Foreign Telecom<p style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Japanese government will introduce new regulations for 14
critical infrastructure sectors to bolster cyber defenses, learning from
the recent Colonial Pipeline hack that shut down a major energy artery
in America's East Coast.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The sectors include telecommunications,
electricity, finance, railroads, government services and health care,
Nikkei has learned. The government will require operators of such key
infrastructure to address national security concerns when procuring
foreign-made equipment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The potential for cyberattacks and
information leaks has grown over the years as telecom carriers and
public utilities increasingly rely on digital technologies to operate
and monitor their facilities. Japan hopes to mitigate risks posed by
compromised equipment and connections, especially amid growing concerns
of data leaks from Chinese-made telecommunications equipment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The
government plans to amend the various laws governing each sector in one
sweeping motion and add a clause requiring each sector to be conscious
of national security risks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Specifically, they will be required to
look into issues stemming from the use of foreign equipment or
services, including cloud data storage, as well as connections to
servers located overseas.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The government will monitor companies for compliance and will suspend
or cancel their license should any major issues arise. Detailed
standards will likely be outlined in future government ordinances and
guidelines.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Currently the government does not have a legal basis
to assess national security risks when infrastructure operators upgrade
their systems. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The increased ability to remotely monitor and
control infrastructure-related facilities has opened the sector up to
greater cyber risks, like illicit programs built into servers, routers
and other telecommunications equipment. There are growing concerns over
data leaks through Chinese-made equipment and services in particular,
especially since the Chinese government requires companies operating in
the country to comply with information requests.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Japanese
government agencies in 2018 agreed to stop procuring equipment that
could pose economic security risks. It now wants private-sector
companies to follow similar standards.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The push comes after a
ransomware attack this month on the Colonial Pipeline, one of the
largest in the U.S., forced the government to relax rules on fuel
transport. The attack was claimed by hacker group DarkSide.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cyberattacks
on infrastructure can cause major disruptions to daily life, but there
is also concern that hackers could cause disasters like airplane
accidents and floods by targeting air control systems and dams, or
attempt to remotely shut down nuclear power facilities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other
countries are also imposing similar restrictions on tech-related
procurement. The U.S. is requiring that companies seek prior approval to
use Chinese-made technology equipment and services.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The U.K. has
proposed legislation that would fine telecommunications companies up to a
tenth of their revenue for not eliminating equipment made by China's
Huawei Technologies from 5G networks. Sweden has told telecom providers
to remove products by Huawei and compatriot ZTE from their networks by
January 2025.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nikkei <br /></p><p> </p>Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-22004180157546582462019-05-14T09:33:00.001+09:002019-05-14T09:33:27.278+09:00Shinjiro Koizumi: Japan Must Have Drastic Change<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2s8m1li4ek30rtq2k4qhCVFc5GhzzaP3cczQL0CU2DEcyTYYpL5BFHtGlTiiZYRM7b0hYOAsZQBvaXcJS6KrMKK7gVagYhp6mb5XQWRweFB-9E76chwl4HMa3xWUUZ7gs0FsjK_aTiI/s1600/koizumi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2s8m1li4ek30rtq2k4qhCVFc5GhzzaP3cczQL0CU2DEcyTYYpL5BFHtGlTiiZYRM7b0hYOAsZQBvaXcJS6KrMKK7gVagYhp6mb5XQWRweFB-9E76chwl4HMa3xWUUZ7gs0FsjK_aTiI/s320/koizumi.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shinjiro Koizumi Son Of Former PM Junichiro Koizumi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Japanese public’s top pick to become the next prime minister says
the country’s not ready for the scale of change he thinks it needs.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shinjiro
Koizumi, the 38-year-old son of popular former premier Junichiro
Koizumi, consistently leads polls asking who should succeed long-serving
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the most prominent member of the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party’s new guard, he wants quick reforms to manage
the country’s rapidly ageing population.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“If you look at Japan now, people don’t want to change much,” Koizumi said in an interview at his offices in Tokyo Wednesday.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They don’t have big dreams, but they don’t have a sense of
crisis either,” he added. “But it’s no good for this country to stay as
it is. What this country needs more than anything is change. Not just
change, but rapid change.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even
though the younger Koizumi has never held a cabinet post and limits his
media exposure, he is seen by many as the future of the ruling party
due to his charisma, clean image and a resemblance to his father. The
ex-premier enjoyed immense popularity during most of his five-year run
in office and was known for his willingness to stir up the stodgy LDP.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that doesn’t mean the public’s completely on board with his agenda yet, Koizumi said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Koizumi
heads an LDP panel on social security, which last month published a
“vision” for reforms to tackle what Abe has called the national crisis
of Japan’s demographics. The population is set to slump by almost a
third by 2060, by which time about 40 percent of Japanese will be aged
65 or over, according to the National Institute of Population and Social
Security Research.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a bid to rein in the ballooning debt fueled by the developed world’s fastest ageing population, Abe’s government is set to raise the sales tax
to 10% in October from the current 8%. Koizumi declined to comment on
whether he agreed with the plan, saying only: “it has been decided.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather than calling for higher taxes or lower payouts in its
report, Koizumi’s panel urged a re-evaluation of the concept of the
working-age population. Older people should be encouraged to stay in the
labor force beyond the traditional retirement ages of 60-65, becoming
contributors to the social security system, rather than burdens on it,
the report says.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We
have to correct that huge imbalance between those who are supporting
social security and those who are being supported by it,” Koizumi said.
Specific measures should include changing a tax system that gives
precedence to housewives over working women, and offering
health-maintenance incentives.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Koizumi
speaks English fluently, which is rare in Japan’s political world. He
earned a master’s degree in political science at Columbia University,
and served as a secretary to his father before taking over his
parliamentary seat in 2009 in the port city of Yokosuka, home to the
U.S. Seventh Fleet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A poll by Jiji Press in March found Koizumi
was the most popular choice to succeed Abe, with 24.4% of respondents
opting for him. In second place was former Defense Minister Shigeru
Ishiba on 18.9%.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“My field of vision has always been international, rather
than domestic,” he said. “With the falling population, the domestic
market is shrinking. When I was head of the party’s agriculture panel, I
said Japan’s farmers shouldn’t look at the 100 million-strong internal
market, but must sell to the 10 billion-strong global market.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The need to expand export markets was why he supported Japan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade
deal at a time when it was anathema to many lawmakers in the LDP, which
has strong ties to farming groups opposed to opening up agricultural
markets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We were a tiny minority in the party. Can you imagine
how much we were criticized?” he said. “But we can’t make do just with
our own shrinking market, we need to face up to the world.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the TPP
soon after his inauguration, the 11 other members including Japan went
ahead without the U.S. to forge a successor deal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite that
strong public support and four consecutive election victories, Koizumi
is seen as too young for the top job by Japanese standards. Abe was
queried about his youth when he embarked on his first stint as premier
at age 52.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Koizumi’s rivals to succeed Abe are now mostly in their
sixties. And it may not be over for the premier, whose current term
ends in September 2021. Some in his party have called for a change in
the rules to allow him to run for a fourth consecutive term, though polls show voters oppose the idea.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bloomberg </span>Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-71677143523154284522019-05-13T09:12:00.000+09:002019-05-13T09:13:33.705+09:00Miyazaki Quakes Raise Awareness Of Nanakai Trough<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wb9KO6NpNGK3Vs5r2XovJpWtjKHW9LuGcZBfi52IucHVmdl868QdjvEC5xdLMZGIIvsjouqaBGE1uGVOKX4KJFvM7umMrfT_tshyBTg7z1W84qmnxXFSN4qYeZZ_bnTv8GGHvYk5KrE/s1600/nankai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="798" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wb9KO6NpNGK3Vs5r2XovJpWtjKHW9LuGcZBfi52IucHVmdl868QdjvEC5xdLMZGIIvsjouqaBGE1uGVOKX4KJFvM7umMrfT_tshyBTg7z1W84qmnxXFSN4qYeZZ_bnTv8GGHvYk5KrE/s320/nankai.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japan Meteorological Agency Graphic Of Nankai Trough</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Central Disaster Prevention Council is urging reinforced countermeasures against a huge Nankai Trough
earthquake in light of the recent activity along the trough in the last week.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since Friday there have been a total of 7 earthquakes in the trough area near the Miyazaki coastline. The quakes have ranged in magnitude from 6.4 to 3.8. Other quakes have occured since Tuesday in Kochi Prefecture on the island Shikoku, the bay of Hiroshima and in the Tokai bay off the coast of Southeast Aichi Prefecture. These quakes ranged from 3 to 4.5.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Part of a review of disaster prevention steps based on
the Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures for Large-Scale
Earthquakes has been underway since Saturday. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>
<br />
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
The government is to review measures to send
out disaster management information, which are in place based on the
assumption that such a powerful earthquake is predictable. In the
report, Shizuoka and Kochi prefectures, as well as the Chubu economic
region centered in Nagoya, are selected as model areas, with discussion
about specific disaster prevention measures. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
While there is no specific mention of reviewing
the Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures for Large-Scale
Earthquakes itself, it states that disaster prevention steps should be
reviewed on the grounds that "it is not possible to predict an
earthquake with a high degree of certainty." </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
In addition, there are four scenarios of a major
earthquake occurring. These are: 1) a huge tremor occurring east of the
hypocentral region of a major Nankai Trough earthquake; 2) a magnitude 7
earthquake occurring in the same hypocentral region; 3) observation of
changes such as a decrease in the number of quakes -- as was the case
before the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011; 4) and observation of
ominous "sliding plates" that would suggest a Tokai tremor is imminent. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
In the case of 1) and 2), the probability of additional quakes
occurring becomes higher, therefore making it necessary to consider
evacuating residents in advance and other measures. In addition, in the
case of 3), "it is not possible to determine whether this will lead to a
major tremor," and therefore it is judged that prior evacuation
measures are not possible. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
On the other hand, in the case of 4), the prime minister is supposed
to issue warning statements in accordance with the Act on Special
Measures Concerning Countermeasures for Large-Scale Earthquakes --
asking residents to evacuate in advance as well as halting public
transport services. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
However, it has been pointed out that
it is not possible to judge the extent to which an earthquake occurring
has become more likely. But administrative
bodies need to be on alert, but at the same time it is
difficult to ask residents to evacuate in advance.</span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide
Suga said yesterday, "We need to hurry ahead with these disaster
prevention measures." In particular, disaster countermeasures in cases
1), 2) and 4) need to be revised. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
With regard to local authorities that have been selected as model
districts in the report, aspects such as the kinds of residents who
should be evacuated in advance, the length of the evacuation, and
evacuation areas will be discussed. Based on this, local authorities
will draw up guidelines relating to disaster prevention in their
respective areas. </span></div>
<div class="txt">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="txt">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since the 6.4 quake in Miyazaki on Friday morning the latest aftershock earthquake occurred today at 7:20am in Hyuga Bay off the coast of Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture with a magnitude of 3.7. There were no reports of damage or injury.</span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-17172717807430545472019-05-11T14:30:00.001+09:002019-05-11T14:30:21.161+09:00Miyazaki And Kyushu Still Shaking From Aftershocks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4EshwMrmJLTmwaC_1ag3vYhrzML8GodX3MU6ebH7NIUbGst68l3cX-D_l7wJgNMSH76iAjAqMgYo3ZbE46122Nx1dr8Y9DT7ALJxmZbo270qfWinb3McVn9SkrD6Ww721M1-wunrUfo/s1600/miya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="957" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4EshwMrmJLTmwaC_1ag3vYhrzML8GodX3MU6ebH7NIUbGst68l3cX-D_l7wJgNMSH76iAjAqMgYo3ZbE46122Nx1dr8Y9DT7ALJxmZbo270qfWinb3McVn9SkrD6Ww721M1-wunrUfo/s320/miya.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miyazaki Prefecture Crews Inspect Sinkhole From 4.2 Quake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today Miyazaki has experienced three aftershock earthquakes of 3.9, 4.2, and 4.9. These have also affected nearby prefectures of Oita, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, and Fukuoka. Damage was reported by several buildings in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Miyakonojo, and Kobayashi all in Miyazaki Prefecture. A sink hole formed in Miyazaki City from a 4.2 quake that hit the area at 11:15 this morning. No injuries were reported in any of the quakes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seizmology experts at Kyushu University are concerned about detected activity at the volcanoes Shnimoedake, Aso, and Sakurajima. It has been 2 weeks since Aso erupted, six months since an eruption at Shinmoedake, and Sakurajima has had level 3 warnings for the last year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Japan Meteorological Agency office in Miyazaki is advising people affected by the
earthquakes in southwestern Japan to remain on the alert
for more tremors.<br />
<br />
Agency official, Masaki Nakamura, spoke to reporters after the last quake
(4.9) rocked Miyazaki Prefecture and the surrounding areas this afternoon.<br />
<br />
Nakamura warned that quakes with intensities of up to 5-minus on the
Japanese intensity scale of zero to seven could follow over the next
week. He added that extra caution is advised for the next two to three
days.<br />
<br />
He called on residents to stay on the alert, as the quake may have
increased the risk of rock falls and landslides in hard-hit areas, and volcanic activity as well.<br />
<br />
Nakamura said the earthquakes occurred at a plate boundary beneath the
sea. He warned that a tsunami could hit coasts if a quake with a bigger
intensity occurs in the same area.<br />
<br />
Nakamura added that the focus the quakes could be located in an
area along the Nankai Trough that is expected to trigger a mega-quake. But he said the agency did not issue an alert notifying residents of the increased risk of a mega-quake.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
He explained that the scale of the quake did not meet the government's
criteria for conducting a survey to examine if the possibility of a
mega-quake has risen.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sankei Miyazaki </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-26750530406510643182019-05-10T14:18:00.000+09:002019-05-10T14:18:02.461+09:006.4 Earthquake Strikes Off Miyazaki Coast<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR02L3ga5PHbYKJZ4pI7Du7WSbUZpDOCt7ajTpqN7SDkdVghOEoG05c4j0kIMbhvserpmcETMW4FZngz0gS4hZS-kbk4IWhhOKcuYE-SLVE416jYZurN3IBxmbmgPEeoaMrEditJzg2Y/s1600/inspect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR02L3ga5PHbYKJZ4pI7Du7WSbUZpDOCt7ajTpqN7SDkdVghOEoG05c4j0kIMbhvserpmcETMW4FZngz0gS4hZS-kbk4IWhhOKcuYE-SLVE416jYZurN3IBxmbmgPEeoaMrEditJzg2Y/s1600/inspect.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inspectors of JR Kyushu Check Rail Line</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> An earthquake hit off the coast
of Kyushu off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture. No tsunami warning was issued and there are no reports of injuries or damage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the Miyazaki Nichi-nichi Newspaper, the quake struck at 8.48 a.m. local time, with its epicenter off the
coast of Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture at a depth of 20 km in the Hyuga Coastal Bay.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The quake did cause the delay of airline travel at Miyazaki City and local private airports. Rail travel was halted for an hour throughout the prefecture as JR Kyushu, Hyuga Railway, and Nichinan Lines checked lines and equipment.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Japan Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.4.</span>Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-34033925847560374432019-05-10T11:20:00.002+09:002019-05-10T11:20:50.943+09:002020 Olympics Minister Resigns Disparaged Fukushima Victims<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaeJTG7RCXUHECFHpUUpJJLvLZRMMR5FheX2cFu_tmongIu1z7eY3Y4Fw9uB4IJGrHG_8pDMAMbQZ2TtnDnQPaThpyVCAxMYXdvFTJw7CgQJGqoljLP4yVYwtFq-RHgKptrHHedbvd30/s1600/sakurada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="590" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaeJTG7RCXUHECFHpUUpJJLvLZRMMR5FheX2cFu_tmongIu1z7eY3Y4Fw9uB4IJGrHG_8pDMAMbQZ2TtnDnQPaThpyVCAxMYXdvFTJw7CgQJGqoljLP4yVYwtFq-RHgKptrHHedbvd30/s320/sakurada.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympics Minister Sakurada Resigns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Japan's Olympics minister Yoshitaka Sakurada resigned
Wednesday after coming under increasing pressure over a series of gaffes
-- in the latest, saying politics is "more important" than the recovery
of the country's northeastern region devastated by the 2011 earthquake
and tsunami. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
"I felt I had to take responsibility and submitted my resignation"
to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Sakurada, who was in charge of the 2020
Olympics and Paralympics Games to be hosted by Tokyo, told reporters. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Abe virtually sacking the 69-year-old is a setback to his
administration seeking to showcase the Tokyo Games as a symbol of
Japan's recovery from the disaster that led to the Fukushima nuclear
crisis. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
After accepting his resignation letter on Wednesday night, Abe then
publicly apologized for appointing Sakurada as the Olympics minister. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
"As prime minister, I'd like to apologize to people in the
disaster-stricken area for the remarks (made by Sakurada)," Abe told
reporters. "I bear responsibility for having appointed him." </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
"We need to straighten up and make sure we can run the event without
a problem," a senior Japan Olympic Committee official said. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
In mid-March, the head of the committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, said he
will step down when his current term ends in June, as he is under
investigation by French authorities for alleged bribery related to
Tokyo's successful bid for the Tokyo Olympics. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Sakurada's resignation comes less than a week after a senior vice
minister at the land ministry, Ichiro Tsukada, was forced to quit
following comments suggesting he had acted in the interests of Abe's
constituency over a road project. </span></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Sakurada is the eighth Cabinet minister to resign since Abe returned
to power in 2012. As Abe's Liberal Democratic Party gears up for a
series of elections through July, the prime minister's decision to oust
Sakurada from the government is seen as a damage-control effort. </span></div>
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Former Olympics minister Shunichi Suzuki, 65, will replace Sakurada, according to a government source. </span></div>
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At a fund-raising party in Tokyo for an LDP lawmaker from the
northeastern region, Sakurada said the lawmaker, Hinako Takahashi, is
"more important than the (region's) recovery." </span></div>
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The remarks came on top of earlier ones that had already prompted
opposition parties to step up calls on Sakurada to step down. </span></div>
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In February, he said he was "very disappointed" over swimming gold
medal hopeful Rikako Ikee's diagnosis of leukemia -- a comment on the
potential absence of the star from the Tokyo Games that elicited a huge
backlash. </span></div>
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Sakurada, while attending a parliamentary session, also said he has heard of the Olympic Charter but has never read it. </span></div>
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In March, reflecting his lack of knowledge about the situation in
the northeastern region, Sakurada said traffic was smooth on highways
linking the Tohoku and Kanto areas in 2011 even as they were indeed
damaged by the disaster. </span></div>
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Sakurada, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996,
then called the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the
hardest-hit prefectures, "Ishimaki" more than once during a
parliamentary session on Tuesday. </span></div>
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Opposition party leaders and residents in the northeastern region view his resignation as a natural turn of events. </span></div>
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Yukio Edano, who heads the main opposition Constitutional Democratic
Party of Japan, said his latest remarks are "unbelievable." </span></div>
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"The remarks are those that hurt people affected by the disaster,"
Edano told reporters. "The responsibility now lies with Prime Minister
Abe who has continued to defend Mr. Sakurada."
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"We are still halfway toward the recovery" said Shigeru Yamazaki, a
70-year-old resident in Iwate Prefecture, who just resumed his clothing
business in February after his shop was destroyed by the tsunami eight
years ago. </span></div>
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"There are many people who are still struggling. His resignation won't settle everything," Yamazaki said. </span></div>
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Senior officials from the Tokyo metropolitan government said they
are concerned the remarks could undermine the image of the upcoming
Olympics and Paralympics. </span></div>
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"The comments are beyond acceptable and it's unthinkable for someone
representing the nation to say such things," a senior metropolitan
government official said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Asahi </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-76423232199299276932019-05-09T08:34:00.001+09:002019-05-09T08:34:29.675+09:00Japan Prepares For Rugby World Cup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTgqJ1yTht4VxBsVHwji85TmGz6KesTnUYD-nPhvMulS3bka9Mkk6vB4OH55fmfROxvO7LICk0U0lJeePtv3-_t296wgbNQuaT5t0ON0moYa4f5UkDz0fp_c3uilUBLn1ugJazxbwkkE/s1600/rwcup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="964" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTgqJ1yTht4VxBsVHwji85TmGz6KesTnUYD-nPhvMulS3bka9Mkk6vB4OH55fmfROxvO7LICk0U0lJeePtv3-_t296wgbNQuaT5t0ON0moYa4f5UkDz0fp_c3uilUBLn1ugJazxbwkkE/s320/rwcup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rugby World Cup is coming to Japan and will be played in the cities of Tokyo, Yokohama, Sapporo, Toyota, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, and Oita.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The opening ceremony and match will be held in Tokyo on September 20, and the final match will be November 2 in Yokohama.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To view the schedule click the link below. It is a printable and downloadable pdf.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.sportsmirchi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Rugby-World-Cup-2019-fixtures-schedule.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2019 Rugby World Cup Schedule </span></a><br />
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-40831136400005131672019-05-09T08:28:00.000+09:002019-05-09T08:28:00.205+09:00Emperor Naruhito Will Face Challenges<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUJJCcgVT-UA4tD5GcxQiIiqR7zFmb9BE1WBRBFyZ0IwtUefZPYAj6HgA4_QBzEVatnS2cL5tcuyvxQl-bIDuLPhbiz9xbuPvphyyC8P0PjcnxVQF6ZrRQp7pqCYK2-UQ9_2DJHKNSSQ/s1600/naruhito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUJJCcgVT-UA4tD5GcxQiIiqR7zFmb9BE1WBRBFyZ0IwtUefZPYAj6HgA4_QBzEVatnS2cL5tcuyvxQl-bIDuLPhbiz9xbuPvphyyC8P0PjcnxVQF6ZrRQp7pqCYK2-UQ9_2DJHKNSSQ/s320/naruhito.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emperor Naruhito</td></tr>
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<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Whatever
the future may hold for the new era under Emperor Naruhito, it’s
clear that the majority of Japanese remain supportive of the imperial
family and the sense of national unity the Chrysanthemum Throne
provides.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">However,
the real test of the symbolic strength of the emperor and his family
could well be how the imperial household fares when it comes to
promoting Japan’s image and interests overseas.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">While the
new emperor and empress will be more than capable of serving as
Japan’s ultimate ambassadors abroad, they will have to overcome
considerable hurdles at home before they can realize their full
potential as great diplomats.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Like
Britain, Spain and Denmark, Japan too has a constitutional monarchy
in which the sovereign has no political power.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Still, when
it comes to enhancing relations abroad, the royals can be an asset in
otherwise tricky situations, especially in dealing with other
countries that also have monarchies. They can also add an extra layer
of reassurance as well as glamor to countries with which Japan
maintains well-established ties.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">For
example, Japan’s imperial household has been an essential
diplomatic tool in reaching out to the Saudi royalty and the sultan
of Brunei. Saudi Arabia and Brunei are two countries with which Japan
has significant economic interests and yet may find it challenging to
see eye-to-eye politically.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Meanwhile,
relations with Western European allies such as Belgium and the
Netherlands have benefited from friendly royal relations, not least
through eye-catching photo opportunities showcasing the elegance of
monarchies.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The pomp
accompanying the imperial household will be on full display for
Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony on Oct. 22. Leaders and
royalty from nearly 200 countries will be invited to take part in the
festivities in Tokyo.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The real
diplomatic challenge for the new emperor and empress, though, is
whether they will have the opportunities and will to make full use of
their own attributes.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">After all,
the Oxford- and Harvard-educated Empress Masako was a career diplomat
before she married Emperor Naruhito, while he too studied at Oxford
and has publicly declared his two years there as one of the happiest
times in his life.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Both are
certainly more than up to the task of being part of Japan’s
soft-power strategy, and while they may not be as alluring as the
duke and duchess of Cambridge or the king and queen of Spain, they
could no doubt contribute to adding more glamor to Japan on the
global stage.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">There are,
however, three major hurdles at home for Emperor Naruhito and Empress
Masako to playing a greater role in imperial diplomacy. First and
foremost, the fact that their only child cannot inherit the throne
simply because she is a female will only be highlighted as the
question of succession and will invariably remain an issue.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Without
changes to the succession rules, the 17-year-old Princess Aiko will
never become empress and will actually relinquish her royal title
after marriage.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Instead,
her cousin, 12-year-old Prince Hisahito, who is the son of Emperor
Naruhito’s brother, is in line to the throne. Gender equality is
guaranteed by law and Japanese women are as well-educated as men.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Perhaps
most importantly, it is apparent that Emperor Naruhito is a loving
husband and a doting father, and incredibly protective of both his
wife and daughter. Yet such facts are likely to be eclipsed by the
fact that there is such blatant gender discrimination within the
imperial household.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The second
obstacle for imperial diplomacy remains the Imperial Household Agency
itself. The fact that Empress Masako suffered from stress-related
disorders as a result of pressures to adapt to imperial rules is
evident.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">In her new
role there will be more public duties for Empress Masako to attend
and she will be less able to sit out highly visibility functions both
at home and abroad.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Whether
there will be greater flexibility and tolerance on the part of the
rule-makers to allow Empress Masako to be able to take on those roles
without any emotional turmoil remains to be seen.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Finally,
the challenge of Japan being able to improve relations with its
immediate neighbors, particularly South Korea, will continue to be an
issue for the imperial family.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">This is not
least due to the fact that Japanese aggression was virulent across
Asia during the reign of Emperor Naruhito’s grandfather, Emperor
Showa.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">That said,
his son, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, was personally committed to
expressing remorse about Japan’s wartime past and offering
condolences across the Asia-Pacific, especially in the Pacific
islands.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Expectations
for Emperor Naruhito to carry on his father’s legacy on the one
hand, while navigating the evolving political minefield of reaching
out to former occupied countries on the other, will continue to be a
balancing act for the new sovereign with no end in sight.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Whether the
emperor will be able to meet those expectations remains to be seen.
What is clear at this juncture is that there is no end to the list of
issues Emperor Naruhito could tackle in his new role at home as well
as abroad.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; padding: 0cm; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Ryo Hasegawa</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-65889267721795986662018-04-05T08:03:00.003+09:002018-04-05T08:03:52.393+09:00GSDF Failed To Report Troop Logs<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Ground Self-Defense Force failed to report to
then-defense chief Tomomi Inada that it had found activity logs in March
2017 for troops in Iraq, even as she denied their existence during Diet
deliberations the previous month, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera
said Wednesday.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The latest revelation comes as another
potential blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, already
embroiled in a cronyism scandal over a heavily discounted sale of state
land to a school operator with ties to his wife, Akie.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESLGYr5ZR2ViseRIRWEQmf2e0u8xkzOdcbasOfumOzczDkgiIZxZHIIWCJc1R4mQoml15HuDO1G_yYsFNffkxXuX3ryaBjPVqX4pl5uVCPINoC5YEwsd6bmvCMhvn19X7k1oa6Zh17Jw/s1600/ondera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESLGYr5ZR2ViseRIRWEQmf2e0u8xkzOdcbasOfumOzczDkgiIZxZHIIWCJc1R4mQoml15HuDO1G_yYsFNffkxXuX3ryaBjPVqX4pl5uVCPINoC5YEwsd6bmvCMhvn19X7k1oa6Zh17Jw/s320/ondera.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
GSDF reported to the ministry in January this year that it had found
the logs, even though the documents were discovered over nine months
before.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Opposition lawmakers had requested to see the
logs, but the ministry said on Feb. 16 last year that such logs did not
exist. Four days later, Inada told a Diet committee that the ministry
was unable to find the logs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I want to apologize for
inaccurate explanations in the Diet and the failure to respond
appropriately to the request for the documents,” Onodera told reporters,
adding that he has set up an investigation team in the ministry.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
ministry was rocked by a similar scandal last year, when its
inappropriate handling of GSDF activity logs for a U.N. peacekeeping
mission in South Sudan prompted Inada to resign in July.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Regarding the logs for GSDF personnel dispatched for
reconstruction efforts in war-torn Iraq more than 10 years ago, the
ministry admitted Monday that it had found them despite denying their
existence last year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Opposition lawmakers had been asking
for the logs as deteriorating security conditions in South Sudan and
risks facing the peacekeepers were being discussed in the Diet at the
time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I cannot believe that the Defense Ministry would
come as far as reporting false information,” said Hajime Sebata, an
associate professor at Nagano Prefectural College who is knowledgeable
about public document management.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“There have been a
series of problems regarding the government’s handling of public
documents, but this case (involving the Defense Ministry) is even
worse,” Sebata said, referring to the Finance Ministry’s admission that
it had altered documents on the state land sale to the school operator.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Japan
sent roughly 5,500 GSDF personnel to Iraq from January 2004 to July
2006 to provide water and medical aid and help repair infrastructure in
Samawah in the south of the country.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The mission stirred
controversy as it was the first time for Japan to send the SDF, whose
role is restricted by the war-renouncing Constitution, to a country
where fighting was continuing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
KYODO </div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-60080327712133868312017-07-20T12:55:00.002+09:002017-07-20T12:55:54.357+09:001 In 6 Children In Japan Live In Poverty<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2gDEpD7sCGs2XM4fETHFv37L8tUMN32BivPbcKO62DZKk0Q6vSz9UbRBHDzBI2lZvXhOSh9MuW3_2nOOKfSuhtm6MVTkC0YqZlLYBrILkbJJASLEZJkjhKEmn656hSqPQfhBZoSW9UQ/s1600/Taro-Aso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="460" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2gDEpD7sCGs2XM4fETHFv37L8tUMN32BivPbcKO62DZKk0Q6vSz9UbRBHDzBI2lZvXhOSh9MuW3_2nOOKfSuhtm6MVTkC0YqZlLYBrILkbJJASLEZJkjhKEmn656hSqPQfhBZoSW9UQ/s320/Taro-Aso.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finance Minister Aso Pressured By Media To Explain Poverty Issues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The smell of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">miso soup and rice</span> wafts from a kitchen as a brigade of
volunteers put their cooking skills to use on a recent Saturday evening
in Tokyo’s commuter belt.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In an adjoining room, children chat and make paper cutouts while they
await the arrival of what, for some, will be their only proper meal of
the day.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kawaguchi children’s cafeteria is one of hundreds to have sprouted up in Japan in recent years in response to a problem few associate with the world’s third biggest economy: child poverty.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Health and Welfare Ministry announced last Wednesday 3.5 million Japanese children – or one in six of those
aged up to 17 – are from households classed as experiencing relative
poverty.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Japan’s relative rate of poverty has risen over the past three
decades to 16.3%, while the rate in the US, though higher at 17.3%, has
fallen.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The global economic turmoil in 2008 hit
women in their 20s and 30s particularly hard,” said Finance Minister Taro Aso.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>“Those in full-time work were forced to take irregular or part-time
jobs with low pay and no bonuses or annual pay rises. In some cases,
these women have to borrow money, sometimes from loan sharks, and then
end up working in the commercial sex industry to pay off their debts.
It’s easy for them to get trapped in a negative cycle”, Aso concluded as he addressed the media yesterday.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Their plight is a rarely seen consequence of Japan’s struggle to
steer its economy out of the doldrums after more than two decades of
stagnation and deflation. Four years after Shinzo Abe became prime
minister for a second time, campaigners say the rise in poverty is
evidence that his grand plan for growth – known as Abenomics – has failed to deliver for many families.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Japan now has some of the worst wealth inequality and highest rates
of child poverty in the developed world, according to a Unicef report
released in April that ranked Japan 34th out of 41 industrialised
countries.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of the 3.5 million children who are eligible for state support, only
200,000 actually receive any – a low take-up rate that campaigners blame
on the stigma attached to living on social security.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jiji Press </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-8946780227934832472017-07-18T10:24:00.002+09:002017-07-18T10:24:15.248+09:00New Zealand Man Dies In Saitama Hospital After Restraints Used<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRcbM7OCxxX574Vo9PxBzvVaSxmrt5-3c_JcSZQnP1yKzZqJUVN7xGx9giJS2g4P_8LeQFz2UEpf6jkKElmR6M7FeQ7SQNqBh010YAcB8ibP1FBV_pSvHHtEAomsbKLCPXi1eOTvndOY/s1600/savage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRcbM7OCxxX574Vo9PxBzvVaSxmrt5-3c_JcSZQnP1yKzZqJUVN7xGx9giJS2g4P_8LeQFz2UEpf6jkKElmR6M7FeQ7SQNqBh010YAcB8ibP1FBV_pSvHHtEAomsbKLCPXi1eOTvndOY/s320/savage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victim Kelly Savage (27)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The family of a New Zealand man who died after being tied to a bed for
10 days in a Japanese psychiatric ward say his care was an abuse of
human rights.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelly Savage, 27, had been teaching English in Japan for two years when a pre-existing mental health condition worsened.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">His Wellington-based family say he became manic after stopping his medication because of the side effects.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He was admitted to Yamato Hospital In Yamato City, Saitama, under a compulsory order and restrained on a bed in a secure ward for 10 days.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A nurse found him in cardiac arrest in mid-May and he died seven days later.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">His death certificate lists the cause of death as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy caused by cardiopulmonary arrest.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But his family say the cause of the cardiac arrest is inconclusive
and it has been suggested to them that deep vein thrombosis may have
been involved because of the long period of restraint.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The doctors in Japan have reported that 30 days' restraint is common there.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The family have tried unsuccessfully to get medical records from the
hospital, which also declined to allow an investigation into the cause
of death by an outside party.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The hospital has also declined to apologise, with the chief doctor denying responsibility.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelly's older brother, Pat Savage, who lives in Japan with his wife
and young children, said he was driven to tears of anger and frustration
at a meeting with hospital chiefs yesterday.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He said they told him nurses would have removed Kelly's waist, wrist
and leg restraints for short periods on occasions, to wash him or allow
him to eat, but would not say for how long or give him the nurses'
records.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I kind of broke down and [was] crying and angry at them because I've
been trying to get these records for almost two months now, and they
know that I wanted it, and they just screwed us over by, you know,
trying to drag the process out as long as possible."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He said whether the restraints were removed "for a few minutes" to
allow Kelly, who was sedated, to be bathed was immaterial; he did not
need to be physically restrained for so long.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He does need to be in a hospital - I was glad he was in a hospital -
but he didn't need to be restrained to the bed in my opinion."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dr Savage said it was bad to treat anyone that way, but particularly his younger brother, who was helping Japanese students.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The fact that Kelly was here ... to try to help international
relations, trying to teach Japanese children English, and then he's just
dying in this kind of outrageous circumstances that would never happen
in New Zealand should be an embarrassment to Japan."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelly's mother, Martha Savage, a professor of geophysics at Victoria University, said what had happened was shocking.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It just seems medieval to me. I mean we were just shocked when we
first found out and it seems like it's something from a movie back in
the Middle Ages. It doesn't seem like a modern society would be doing
this [restraint]."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She said the only thing the hospital staff did for Kelly while he was restrained was put compression stockings on him.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She said restraint was needed to prevent people from hurting
themselves or others, but it was usually for a short period of time.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"No more than a few hours and only if they're actually actively
trying to resist and trying to go after other people, but Kelly had
already stopped resisting at that point and they still put him in the
restraint."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Prof Savage said the family did not want anything other than to prevent it happening to anyone else.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We don't want to sue anybody, we don't want money. We just want other people to not go through this terrible situation again."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She urged the New Zealand government to push Japan to change its practices.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Radio New Zealand</span></div>
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Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-64955147863470801972017-07-15T12:13:00.003+09:002017-07-15T12:13:39.356+09:00Trump Better For Japan Than Clinton Would Have Been
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUN1BHvvXLo4-nTXW_rJLRSWrQT6wg2brBR0OeAbZUl1arM7m78UAszkHYxK9oKwsOV7PVNgPpUMIR44C2X4iVb0wiPj7GFWb12hZe3MVSopXDULB1BjSdxHs0VtIBO_i6kwAvtAaqjA/s1600/tanda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUN1BHvvXLo4-nTXW_rJLRSWrQT6wg2brBR0OeAbZUl1arM7m78UAszkHYxK9oKwsOV7PVNgPpUMIR44C2X4iVb0wiPj7GFWb12hZe3MVSopXDULB1BjSdxHs0VtIBO_i6kwAvtAaqjA/s320/tanda.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The American
politician bend for upbraiding Japan about trade issues did not begin
with Donald Trump. It began with Jimmy Carter in 1979, when he began
his run for reelection. President Ronald Reagan made it part of his
platform during his campaign in 1980, during his reelection campaign
in 1984, and throughout his administration. From Carter to Trump
every candidate for presidency has made criticism of Japan's refusal
to negotiate true free trade agreements part of their platform.
Hillary Clinton in June 2015 said to a crowd in Detroit, “The TPP
must be reworked to assure our automobiles will be as accessible in
Japan as their automobiles are here.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trump criticizing
Japan on trade issues is part and parcel of US politics, just as
protecting Japan's bloated and subsidized agriculture sector is to
Japanese politics. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his LDP crew need
to stop criticizing the usual rhetoric and begin looking at how Trump
is much better for Japan than Clinton would have and Bush and Obama
failed Japan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is true that Bush
and Koizumi shared a rare bromance that few presidents of the USA and
prime ministers of Japan ever did. Bush also failed to back Japan
for a UN resolution against North Korea to demand return of remains
and release the whereabouts of abducted Japanese citizens in North
Korea. Bush also failed to implement a missile defense shield for
Japan due to Chinese objections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Obama did visit
Hiroshima last year but it was an empty political gesture since it
was reciprocation for Emperor Akihito visiting Pearl Harbor during
June 2014 and also as a thank you for Prime Minister Abe agreeing to
visit Pearl Harbor last year. Obama's policies that enabled China to
expand territory and failing to demand Chinese military stay out of
Japan's territories caused Japan more trouble than an empty visit to
Hiroshima was worth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trump is willing to
back Japan in two areas that Japan needs. One, the renegotiation of
the Status of Forces Agreement rushed out by President Clinton and
Prime Minister Maruyama in 1995. Two, the desire to put an end to
North Korean military aggression once and for all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Status of Forces
agreement that Clinton and Maruyama rushed into signing in 1995
before Japanese Diet elections has been a thorn in both nations. For
Japan it has caused continual confrontation between Okinawa and
Tokyo. Okinawans are tired of shouldering over 80% of US military
forces in Japan and do not want an expansion of bases. Tokyo has
taken a “shut up do as we say” attitude toward Okinawa. When
Okinawan Governor, Takeshi Onaga, flew to Washington DC to visit
President Trump in February, he received an assurance by Trump to
look into the issue. Trump spoke with Abe just recently in Germany
about re-looking at SOFA to perhaps ease Okinawa's situation. This
is more than Clinton, Bush, or Obama ever offered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As North Korea keeps
firing missiles daily, Trump has ordered US military forces to begin
setting up the missile defense shield and has put the USS Vincent
aircraft carrier group off the coast of North Korea in South Korean
and Japanese waters. These actions are much more action than Bush or
Obama ever even conceived of putting into motion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trump sees Japan as
an important ally and is showing actual motions to prove such. Abe
and his LDP posse need to recognize the reality that Trump is much
better for Japan than any US president has been since Ronald Reagan.
Trump's bluster is easily ignored and his actions speak much loader
than the rhetoric puked out by Clinton, Bush, and Obama. They spoke
in kind terms but their actions did more to hurt Japan's security and
stability than Trump speaking the truth - that when it comes to trade
Japan has a poor track record.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Trump is refusing a
nuclear armed North Korea and is showing willingness to fight for
that, and that is alone is what is best for Japan. Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State did nothing to confront North Korea. Trump has made it clear North Korea will be confronted - including military intervention. Clinton, Bush,
and Obama all failed in that respect and thus Japan is in the
situation on North Korea in all fronts Abe is contending with.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://jpchurch.blogspot.jp/" target="_blank">Bishop Daniel Rea, Christian Church of Japan </a></span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-77035434969121614142017-07-14T09:47:00.001+09:002017-07-14T09:47:24.923+09:00TEPCO Needs 5 More Years Of Government Subsidies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqUwxkseMTROkyaU5x7lTcyYkLKy9cXvR42G6KzXyPTpJQy3_fXuehjB8TwmRNJDe7XSvKgxvS9KW61CpQNABQLtQskk56fLUYw2aXf1PiTSfpFL-9TFAan7TgmdPNlZxy5bemhYlFoo/s1600/kawa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="580" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqUwxkseMTROkyaU5x7lTcyYkLKy9cXvR42G6KzXyPTpJQy3_fXuehjB8TwmRNJDe7XSvKgxvS9KW61CpQNABQLtQskk56fLUYw2aXf1PiTSfpFL-9TFAan7TgmdPNlZxy5bemhYlFoo/s320/kawa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TEPCO Head Takashi Kawamura At Diet Testimony</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The new chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) says the utility
needs to stop dragging its feet on plans to dump massive amounts of
treated but contaminated water into the sea and make more money if it's
ever going to succeed in cleaning up the mess left by meltdowns more
than six years ago at the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Takashi Kawamura, an engineer-turned-business leader who previously
headed Hitachi, is in charge
of reviving TEPCO and leading the cleanup at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi
plant. In testimony Thursday in the House of Deputies in the Diet, Kawamura said despite the massive costs of the cleanup
and meeting tighter safety requirements, nuclear power is still vital
for Japan's national security.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Below are highlights from the testimony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">CLEANUP REQUIRES RELEASE OF TREATED CONTAMINATED WATER</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Massive amounts of radiation-contaminated water that has been
processed and stored in hundreds of tanks at the plant are hindering
decommissioning work and pose a safety risk in case another massive
quake or tsunami strikes. TEPCO needs to release the water - which
contains radioactive tritium that is not removable but considered not
harmful in small amounts - into the Pacific Ocean, Kawamura said. The
method is favored by experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency
and Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority as the only realistic option.
Earlier, TEPCO had balked at calls by NRA chairman Shunichi Tanaka for
controlled release of the water, now exceeding 770,000 metric tons, into
the sea, fearing a public backlash. "Technically, we fully support the
chairman's proposal," he said, adding that there is still strong
resistance from local residents, especially fishermen. "I think we
should have acted sooner. ... We should start moving faster."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PROFITS NEEDED TO COVER CRUSHING COSTS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Government subsidies are needed for at least five more years. Kawamura says TEPCO must become more profitable to manage to cover
the gargantuan costs of cleaning up Fukushima Dai-Ichi after it suffered
multiple meltdowns due to the massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and
tsunami. TEPCO'S longtime status as a regional monopoly undermined its
profit-making incentive, hobbling its ability to cover most of the 21.5
trillion yen (about $190 billion) price tag for decommissioning the
plant and compensating dislocated residents. "To reconstruct Fukushima,
we must make more profit, and I know we should not be taking about just
money, but I think that is important," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">DECOMMISSIONING IS THE FUTURE</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TEPCO's main mission now is decommissioning Fukushima Dai-Ichi, an
unprecedented challenge that experts say could take decades and will
take still more research and development. "That's our main activity and
gaining new expertise in the decommissioning is far more important. But I
believe there will be a time when decommissioning becomes an important
business," Kawamura said. "Decommissioning is a process which takes
time, not only for accident-hit reactors but ordinary retired reactors,"
he said. "I plan to coordinate with those who are studying the
possibility of properly turning decommissioning of ordinary reactors
into a viable business."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">JAPAN NEEDS NUCLEAR POWER</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kawamura says he believes nuclear power is still a viable business
and one that will continue to be vital for Japan's energy security,
despite the extra costs from stricter post-Fukushima safety requirements
and the cost of processing spent fuel and waste. TEPCO is reviewing its
business strategy, but based on rough estimates, "I still believe that
nuclear is still superior for Japan, which is really a resource- poor
country," he said. "Even if we take severe accident measures and factor
in spent fuel processing and other costs, I think there are some
reactors that can still be profitable." He said nuclear power includes a
wide range of technologies that Japan should not abandon, for national
security reasons, as China continues to build nuclear plants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TEPCO'S OTHER REACTORS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kawamura said TEPCO hopes to restart the utility's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa
nuclear plant in northern Japan, even while the decommissioning at
Fukushima Dai-Ichi is underway, so the operable plant can be a major
source of revenue for the company. He said a decision on whether to
resume operation of the Fukushima Dai-Ni plant, near Fukushima Dai-Ichi,
will depend on a financial review. He said he regrets TEPCO's slowness
in making a decision and acknowledged calls from local authorities and
residents to decommission the second Fukushima plant, which was also hit
by the tsunami but avoided a meltdown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From Diet Transcripts 13 July </span></div>
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Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-85521364691283600902017-07-13T08:51:00.002+09:002017-07-13T09:05:56.411+09:00The Trade Deal That Isn't<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The trade deal that really is not a trade deal was trumpeted as a success last week. Not so much as break through as a failed tweak on Trump's and the UK's noses. The deal is this: The EU and Japan have made a deal to meet again and try to get a deal worked out. All that was agreed to concretely is what was agreed to last year. Tariffs on EU produced non automotive industrial products sold in Japan would be cut by 30% in 2019 and phased out completely by 2025. On the Japan side, Japanese electronics would have tariffs in the EU cut by 30% in 2018 and phased out completely by 2023. This has already been agreed to in December last year and waited to be signed during the G20 meetings this month as a symbolic symbol to the USA and UK.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe the shelves in local Japanese won't be bulging under the weight of European quality cheeses, cold meat, or clinking with fine wine just yet. But the deal, or accord rather, is the correct terminology politically for the agreement, declaration is a means to and end. That is to scold President Trump policy of protectionism and isolation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As for the Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Tusk to trumpet their Global Europe policy in the face of GB Prime Minster Theresa May. Not particularly subtle or objective, however the message is that Japan and the EU are going to give Kabuki Show appearance to the fact try as hard as they will Japan will not lower or remove tariffs on EU automobiles and agricultural products. The EU will not allow Japanese robotics in the EU without strong limits. So what was worked out is that they will try hard and accomplish nothing in the future.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shinzo Abe as protector of free trade? Not likely – ever. For Japan free trade means we're free to sell our stuff anywhere we like at any price we like and keep your stuff out.<br /><br />The Chinese will take note! And the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, African nations that feel the EU and Japan are too stringent and unequitable on “free trade” deals will negotiate their own among each other. The EU and Japan will simply be shut out from a majority of nations that see national sovereignty as far more important than meaningless labels as “free trade” that is not free trade and “globalization” that is nothing but national sovereignty sacrificed to unelected bureaucrats in the UN and EU.<br /><br /> The cry of 'The let them eat sushi' is not quite so fresh as the fish need to be. Japan also faces fights with EU on wanting to expand fishing rights into EU waters in the North Sea and Atlantic. And instead of buying Japanese cars (which are set to go up in price) Australians and New Zealanders are buying Chinese and Amrican cars and are now undercutting Japanese sales. In Australia alone Japanese auto sales have plummeted 60% over the last decade. In China the goal is to own a Cadillac or Lincoln and Japanese auto makers have all but closed out of the more lucrative midclass and luxury car markets. Toyota pulled its Lexus brand out of China in 2012 and has no plans to return. Is this what they call 'negotiating'? Junker was recently complaining about an empty chamber the other day which was evidenced by footage showing it to be so. And the Abe government is on the slide after the worst vote ever for the LDP in the Tokyo elections outsmarted by Tokyo's first successful female politician. Four years a-coming but not signed yet? Abe full of ideas except none of them work out. A true analysis is that this will yet be another dead on arrival accomplishment. A further and another example of Abenomics. <br /><br />A true account of something I was told years ago comes to mind. A product being made for a Japanese buyer in the USA. Everything was questioned and changed from the original, even the color. It was a leather product. Come the presentation and the Japanese buyer still hovered. Frustrated the seller asked what now was wrong. "We have done everrything you requested". The Japanese buyer replied “Ah, yeah, but I don't like the smell! It is too leathery smelling.” Imagine leather smelling like leather and not lilacs or sakura.<br /><br />But for the LDP showing off is just letting the dog and pony show of working hard and accomplishing nothing go on further. I would not say that choice is too limited for European products in Japan, rather some type of censorship about what is best as quality and their price of products is limiting their sale. Abe needs to keep his rural farmer voters happy for a few more years.<br /><br />It has been decided in Tokyo, when Prime Minister Abe returned from Europe Tuesday, that a shift has been made. The Abe administration now has decided there will be no deal at all if the old system of investment structure is changed <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in</span> any way. This is a deal breaker for Brussels and as of that announcement EU nations all but declared the talks over if Tokyo keeps that tone. Japan's reply is “We shall keep this tone, the system will not change.”<br /><br />Japanese time is slow and even slower in today's world where one consumer now knows with smart phone effort what is available all over the Earth through the Internet. Globalism has been replaced by Amazon, Ebay, and Alibaba. Just as Fed-Ex, Yamato Kuro Neko, and Sagawa replaced the post office for express delivery. National sovereignty is easily kept when the buying and selling is done on screens and keyboards. Seems Abe and Junkers have yet to realize this. The future is not free trade agreements and globalization but rather shoring up technology infrastructure and managing the virtual currency markets. The net marketplace has already steadily replaced the brick and mortar markets.<br /><br />Dallas Brincrest, Editor </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-78781869194578729742017-07-12T09:22:00.000+09:002017-07-12T09:22:00.491+09:00Maekawa Testifies: Prime Minister Abe Ordered School Given Special Approval<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGHsRYkFe40Zn5brNylBNl00A-sc70XKvhw7GcTYGaF3ZL9Vw8XoFUq27Y3B7UtAbx8kHcbKH8s66_bOOGqXXn5KWVFz6qU75ATgDtgea7MaVIJoDXWlpcTuC2nz_4a36mlCFF8rodCA/s1600/maekawa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGHsRYkFe40Zn5brNylBNl00A-sc70XKvhw7GcTYGaF3ZL9Vw8XoFUq27Y3B7UtAbx8kHcbKH8s66_bOOGqXXn5KWVFz6qU75ATgDtgea7MaVIJoDXWlpcTuC2nz_4a36mlCFF8rodCA/s320/maekawa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maekawa Testifies Before The Diet</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A former top education ministry bureaucrat told the Diet Monday that
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office had significant influence over the
government's decision to approve a new department at a university run by
his friend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kihei Maekawa testified, "Prime Minister Abe ordered that the school be given special approval in veterinary medicine. He knew and his aids went to the Education Ministry and got special approval."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Abe's aide was clearly involved in the approval process for the
veterinary department at the Okayama University of Science in a
government-designated special economic zone, said Maekawa, former
vice minister of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Attending as an unsworn witness, Maekawa told a Diet committee, "The
prime minister's office worked behind the scenes," adding that the
Cabinet Office, and the prime minister's office, was responsible for
dealing with issues related to special economic zones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kotaro Kake, chairman of Kake Educational Institution, which runs the
university, is known as a close friend of the prime minister.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Abe's Liberal Democratic Party agreed to briefly reopen parliament
for committee deliberations, as requested by opposition parties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But the deliberations were held when Abe was away for a tour of
European countries including participation in the Group of 20 summit in
Hamburg, prompting opposition parties' demand for his attendance at a
separate parliament session.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Appearing in the joint session of the House of Representatives'
Cabinet affairs and education committees, Maekawa reiterated that the
review process was "unclear" and "unfair," citing insufficient
discussion of whether Kake Educational Institution met conditions to
launch Japan's first vet school in half a century.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During a similar session in the House of Councillors in the
afternoon, the former top bureaucrat also said Hiroto Izumi, Abe's
assistant, urged him in September and October last year to speed up the
procedure, saying he was making the request on behalf of Abe "because
the prime minister cannot say it by himself."</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Abe has come under fire over suspicions he influenced the approval
process for the opening of the new department at the university in
Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Such suspicions have grown after the revelation of documents
indicating that officials of the Cabinet Office pressured the education
ministry ahead of the selection of Kake.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maekawa has said he remembers having seen some of the documents while he was still working at the ministry.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The documents, which Maekawa insists are authentic, state the
officials employed phrases such as "what the highest level of the prime
minister's office has said" and "in line with the prime minister's
wishes." Abe and other Cabinet members have repeatedly denied
wrongdoings.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is the second scandal related to school operators close to Abe. He
has drawn suspicion over his dubious ties with private school operator
Moritomo Gakuen, which purchased state-owned land in Osaka at a
dramatically reduced price. Abe's wife Akie was named honorary principal
of the elementary school that Moritomo planned to open at the site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maekawa resigned in January to take responsibility for a scandal in
which the ministry systematically secured post-retirement jobs for its
bureaucrats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kyodo </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-61773132561512432662017-07-11T09:27:00.000+09:002017-07-11T09:27:05.010+09:00Government Calls Response By TEPCO "Arrogant"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvb23ybWVhaN0cFGNapLbn4wFn-VobiHp-2Uhm-If_K_fDhmCT9uogI9H9lXXKSwtDHNex-JcBWGiZSzw8jVIhe9outDSIm4_nh9sVSN2krOSMU5VgXdyA-sIEGIN2EOnvZf83swf6f0/s1600/tep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvb23ybWVhaN0cFGNapLbn4wFn-VobiHp-2Uhm-If_K_fDhmCT9uogI9H9lXXKSwtDHNex-JcBWGiZSzw8jVIhe9outDSIm4_nh9sVSN2krOSMU5VgXdyA-sIEGIN2EOnvZf83swf6f0/s320/tep.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesters Outside TEPCO HQ </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The head of Japan's nuclear safety watchdog on Monday criticized the
attitude of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (TEPCO) toward
decommissioning of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
and questioned the company's ability to resume operation of other
reactors.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I feel a sense of danger," Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman
Shunichi Tanaka said during a special meeting with the company's top
management, adding that TEPCO does "not seem to have a will to take
initiative and is responding with arrogance in our investigation" toward decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi
plant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Takashi Kawamura, the chairman of TEPCO, and its president, Tomoaki
Kobayakawa, attended the meeting. The authority felt it is necessary to
hear from the top executives before it could make a decision on whether
to approve TEPCO's plan to resume operation of the Nos. 6 and 7 reactors
at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TEPCO filed for state safety assessment of the two reactors in
September 2013 to reactivate them, hoping to restore its financial
condition as it needed massive funds to pay compensation related to the
Fukushima Daiichi disaster, triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami
on March 11, 2011, and to scrap the plant that suffered meltdowns.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The watchdog's safety screening has found TEPCO's failure to report
insufficient earthquake resistance of a facility built to serve as the
base to deal with a possible nuclear accident at the Niigata complex
although it had acknowledged the insufficiency for three years.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In June, TEPCO submitted to the watchdog its revised safety measures for the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"An operator lacking will to take initiative does not have the right to resume operation of nuclear reactors," Tanaka said.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TEPCO's chairman responded by saying, "There are citizens who believe
nuclear power is necessary. Operating reactors is our responsibility."</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But he also admitted there is room for only two more years' worth of
space in the tanks to accommodate contaminated water stemming from the
Fukushima complex.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At Monday's meeting, the watchdog asked TEPCO's top management about
the company's safety measures for the Niigata complex on the Sea of
Japan coast as well as its safety awareness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tanaka said the authority does not view that it received sufficient
responses from TEPCO at the meeting and requested that the company
submit more explanation on its plan to decommission the Fukushima
complex and resume operation of the two reactors at the
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tanaka plans to conduct on-site checkups at the two reactors of the
plant in Niigata, saying, "TEPCO, which caused the (Fukushima) accident,
is not an ordinary operator."</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The two boiling water reactors at the Niigata plant are the same type
as those that suffered core meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi complex,
and no such reactors have cleared the authority's safety screening
since the Fukushima disaster.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kyodo </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-39699445459127795682017-07-08T09:04:00.001+09:002017-07-08T09:04:57.688+09:00Cool Japan Uncool After 10 Years<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCC3wOIKQB8kNWYXGCnWyxmnZ6JOXvfgP9Oh2KwiL7X0QzmUsX8qY4i3QREGwp1jF1t_13-W0vudCdVTUxSTtzyHtmh5wlYQYh-a5LPL1oT0IHog7Tw-2XW5BZena0Qho-9UnuZn5Puk/s1600/koizumi.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCC3wOIKQB8kNWYXGCnWyxmnZ6JOXvfgP9Oh2KwiL7X0QzmUsX8qY4i3QREGwp1jF1t_13-W0vudCdVTUxSTtzyHtmh5wlYQYh-a5LPL1oT0IHog7Tw-2XW5BZena0Qho-9UnuZn5Puk/s320/koizumi.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former PM Koizumi At Cool Japan Launch July 2007</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It has been 10 years since the then former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched the Cool Japan marketing campaign to internationally sell Japan as not only a cool destination for vacation but exchange study, academic research, business exchange, and cultural exchange.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Elated by the international attention, Japan’s bureaucrats and CEOs
reformulated the concept of "national cool" into a Cool Japan marketing
campaign that could reach new consumers and add soft power to Japan’s
manufacturing achievements. And it seemed to work ... for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leading
media soon had Cool Japan columns and programs. Tourists were invited
to the country for Cool Japan tours and seminars, with obligatory stops
at the <i>kawaii</i> (cute) capital, Harajuku, and the anime-drenched district of Akihabara.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But the hoped-for revenue streams didn’t pan out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">North American manga sales peaked in 2007 and then declined, resulting in a wave of layoffs at international manga distributors<b>. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy,
Trade, and Industry’s 2012 “Cool Japan Strategy” white paper, Japan
exports only 5 percent of its Cool Japan contents – not quite one-third
of US creative industries’ 17.8 percent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
industry created a bubble that has now burst, says Mr. Galbraith,
author of “The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture
of Cool Japan.” “Some say anime is dead,” he observes in Tokyo, “while others who still like it say it’s overpriced, and end up illegally streaming it.”</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even
Japan’s mighty video games are losing their worldwide cachet. Legendary
game designer Keiji Inafune was recently accused of having a “Charlie Sheen moment” in his calls for Japanese studios to wake up to their growing irrelevance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
marketing of the phrase Cool Japan itself creates an awkward problem:
“To call yourself cool is by definition uncool – and it defies Japanese
modesty,” says Manabu Kitawaki, director of Meiji University’s Cool Japan program.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Creativity doesn’t spring from marketing,” he continues. “The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry hired Dentsu for its Cool Japan campaign. It’s become a way to funnel money to a big ad firm.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The <i>otaku</i>
culture (a term used to describe people with intensive interests in
anime or manga) celebrated by Cool Japan can also be problematic
overseas. Critics complain of the use of the popular girl band group
AKB48 as cultural ambassadors. “AKB48 may represent Japanese culture,”
says Yukio Kobayashi, president of Tokyo music agency 3rd Stone From The
Sun, “but underage girls in sexy clothing … to me it’s basically legal
child porn.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Experts also say the country focused for too long on
producing highly developed but unexportable products. They say the
sheer size of the domestic market made foreign fans of Japanese culture
an afterthought – and that when Japanese contents industries did look
abroad, the rush of interest in Cool Japan created unrealistic
expectations. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“It’s the boiling frog scenario,” says the Ryotaro
Mihara of the new Creative Industries Division at the Japanese Ministry
of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). “With Cool Japan the market
shrank bit by bit," he says referring to Japan's domestic manga, anime,
and music markets, "so there wasn’t a sense of urgency” to reach
international consumers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By contrast, says “Japanamerica” author
Roland Kelts, “The Korean government invested a lot of money in its
domestic pop industry and went after overseas markets. “Places where
J-pop was formerly popular, like Southeast Asia, have switched to K-pop.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
disaster then came along to deal a cruel blow to Japan’s image. “You
can call Japan ‘cool’ all you want,” says Japanese film critic Mark
Schilling, “but images of the tsunami and reactor meltdowns are stronger
now in many foreign minds than any miniskirted pop idol.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As
the challenges facing Japanese soft power sink in, some say the first
step to addressing them may mean ditching the Cool Japan slogan
altogether.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">METI’s Mr. Mihara admits there has been criticism. “A
debate is needed within Japan,” he says, “to come up with a better
phrase to explain Japanese culture.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rather than Cool Japan
slogans, Japan may be better off promoting specific aspects of Japanese
culture. “What you want is Cool X, Y, or Z,” says Steve McClure, former
Billboard Asia bureau chief and publisher of McClureMusic.com. “Branding a cultural movement in terms of national origin is dangerous.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is an area where Japan should have an advantage. “Gangnam Style” may have 800 million YouTube views, but Japan produces a broader range of success stories.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last year in North America, vintage singer Saori Yuki had a No. 1 song on the iTunes
jazz chart while dance music star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu topped iTunes’s
electronic music chart. “It’s almost irrelevant whether Japan is cool or
not, because there is enough cool stuff here anyway that will sink or
swim on its own,” says Mr. McClure.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Instead of throwing money at
marketing campaigns, experts say Japan should support its struggling
domestic contents industries. Japan spent just 0.12 percent of its
national budget on the arts in 2008, the latest year for which
comparable figures are available, whereas South Korea spent 0.79
percent, and China 0.51 percent. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Public funds would be effective
in industries like manga and anime, where young “kamikaze” animators
burn out from long days and salaries that average only just over 1
million yen (about $12,185) per year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indeed, though Japan once
dominated the industry, work is increasingly done by its low-cost Asian
neighbors. “There is a culture of manga and anime that is currently in
critical condition,” says Galbraith. “The manga market cannot be allowed
to fail. It is the base of the contents industry in Japan.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Public
money would also be useful in helping Japanese artists make expensive
trips abroad. “We get many requests from overseas fans,” says King
Record’s Sayaka Yamada, who manages the international catalog of girl
groups like Momoiro Clover Z. “Financial support would be very helpful,”
she continues. “Japan should study Korea, which invested a lot to
promote K-pop artists.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Observers say Japan production houses
should empower the “scanlators” who post pirated manga. “They need to
join with other companies to make a Web presence that’s attractively
priced and branded,” Mr. Kelts counsels, pointing again to South Korea,
which has been much more proactive about utilizing the Internet and
branding its culture.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“When a Pixar
film comes to Japan, it’s branded as a Pixar film,” Kelts says. “Nobody
knows Japanese anime studios like Production I.G. Cool Japan was fine
in the early phases, but at a certain point distinguishing brands have
to emerge.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An initiative by METI’s Creative Industries section,
which was formed just last year, may speak to new efforts in this
direction. METI funded a “Harajuku Street Style” market in Singapore. “<i>Kawaii</i>
styles are very popular there, but Japanese fashion businesses have
difficulty operating overseas,” METI’s Mihara says. “We provided a
budget to help them get established. Pooling their efforts, we had 13
brands available in Singapore for the first time.” </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Experts
also say Japan needs to get away from stereotypes. “We need to convey
the depth of Japanese culture beyond manga and anime,” says Meiji’s Mr.
Kitawaki. “Behind manga and anime there is a rich culture, for example
the animism of Shinto. Or take modern Japanese design’s ability to
manage extremely small spaces – this is also Cool Japan.” </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The massive worldwide outpouring by the likes of Lady Gaga after the Fukushima
disaster hinted at the reach of Japanese soft power. And a recent
global poll by research firm StrategyOne ranked Japan the world’s most
creative country.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mr. McGray, in his famous article, foresaw two
possible futures for Japan. It could either employ its vast potential
soft power to reinvent itself, or, he warned, lurch toward further
uncertainty.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He leaned toward optimism, saying, "Japan's history
of remarkable revivals suggests that the outcome … is more likely to be
rebirth.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yet 10 years later it is certain that Cool Japan has lurched to not only uncertainty but uncool because what equates as cool to 60+ year old politicians is certain to be uncool to the rest of society. </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3812270446159872093.post-48988426037559237422017-07-07T08:50:00.001+09:002017-07-07T09:01:30.549+09:00Bureauctrats, Red Tape, Land Deals, And Shinzo Abe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aI2A3pQ1DimMAz3JghkiSXwDiXg4frJ42v_mBD18QCqjdlFt6j6ZVoHDN7gJimHf1Tn1DkSBXg4QCKktR0AeG4rkYYSVxodoGd1tZA_0zmQmVDe39KTOv7gPEh-jVL05Kztf4PrvuTQ/s1600/abe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aI2A3pQ1DimMAz3JghkiSXwDiXg4frJ42v_mBD18QCqjdlFt6j6ZVoHDN7gJimHf1Tn1DkSBXg4QCKktR0AeG4rkYYSVxodoGd1tZA_0zmQmVDe39KTOv7gPEh-jVL05Kztf4PrvuTQ/s1600/abe.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you met a government employee at a government office
who mercilessly scanned every detail of a written application and
rejected it for any small issue? Such people are said to have a
"bureaucratic" mind. Their sole purpose is to approve or reject the piles of government red tape.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The expression "red tape" originates with the red ribbon that once bound
official documents in Britain. Today, it has come to represent what we mere common people see as document worship by the staff of government
offices. In recent times, the bureaucracy's
"document-ism" is intended to guarantee the preservation of evidence of
official government actions, projects and decision-making so that it can be
examined later. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It needs to be impossible for the government to be bereft
of records to show how it decided to sell a plot of state-owned land for
just 14 percent of its appraised value. Of course, we are talking about
the Finance Ministry's handling of just such a sale to nationalist
private school operator Moritomo Gakuen. Surely those responsible for
caring for Japanese people's assets have an obligation to maintain proof
that they are carrying out this management fairly. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is surprising about the Moritomo affair is that the finance
bureau head who so bluntly insisted during Diet discussions that the
sale was "appropriate" while maintaining that "there are no records" has
gone on to the top post in the National Tax Agency. Taxpayers
struggling with the ample volumes of tax-system red tape must be
astonished at the Finance Ministry's idea of "fairness." </span><br />
</div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who is in the nerve center
of the government which now holds authority over bureaucrats' postings,
stated recently that the aforementioned promotion stemmed from the
principle of "the right person in the right place." Surely he did not
mean that the government thought highly of the new National Tax Agency
chief's handling of the Moritomo scandal, in which he could not verify
the legitimacy of the land sale and as a result fueled public distrust
in the government. Neither the administration nor the Finance Ministry
should be so dismissive of taxpayers' feelings. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="txt" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now obsessed with revising the
Constitution, but we would like him to think about what in this world
gave rise to two other constitutions, namely Britain's Magna Carta and
the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, it was unjust taxation and unfair
spending that sparked the fury of the people to demand the reforms
embodied in these documents. </span></div>
Japan Times Heraldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08652962697683876426noreply@blogger.com0