Documents Reveal Benghazi Tied To White House

From:

The Washington Post

AP, AFP, and UPI

As the result of a Freedom of Information Act battle waged by the conservative group Judicial Watch, new documents have emerged tying the messaging of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, to the White House. Judicial Watch reports:

[The documents] include a newly declassified e-mail showing then-White House Deputy Strategic Communications Adviser Ben Rhodes and other Obama administration public relations officials attempting to orchestrate a campaign to “reinforce” President Obama and to portray the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack as being “rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.” 

Other documents show that State Department officials initially described the incident as an “attack” and possible kidnap attempt.The documents were released Friday as result of a June 21, 2013, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the Department of State (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-00951)) to gain access to documents about the controversial talking points used by then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice for a series of appearances on television Sunday news programs on September 16, 2012.  Judicial Watch had been seeking these documents since October 18, 2012. . . . Among the top administration PR personnel who received the Rhodes memo were White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest, then-White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, then-White House Deputy Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, then-National Security Council Director of Communications Erin Pelton, Special Assistant to the Press Secretary Howli Ledbetter, and then-White House Senior Advisor and political strategist David Plouffe.

 In addition a document showed Susan Rice was informed before her TV appearance: “Responding to a question about whether it was an organized terror attack, Toria said that she couldn’t speak to the identity of the perpetrators but that it was clearly a complex attack.” Toria refers to Victoria Nuland, then State Department spokeswoman and now assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasia. She had been unfairly maligned in some quarters and falsely accused of participating in the illicit editing of the talking points. These documents exonerate her entirely, pointing the finger directly at the White House and the CIA. (It is noteworthy that in the days between the attack and Rice’s TV outing, Nuland never tied the video to the attack; Carney did, most clearly on Sept. 14.) With regard to the CIA:

The Judicial Watch documents confirm that CIA talking points, that were prepared for Congress and may have been used by Rice on “Face the Nation” and four additional Sunday talk shows on September 16, had been heavily edited by then-CIA deputy director Mike Morell. According to one email:

The first draft apparently seemed unsuitable….because they seemed to encourage the reader to infer incorrectly that the CIA had warned about a specific attack on our embassy.  On the SVTS, Morell noted that these points were not good and he had taken a heavy hand to editing them. He noted that he would be happy to work with [then deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton]] Jake Sullivan and Rhodes to develop appropriate talking points.

The e-mails were exchanged at a time when the State Department and CIA already knew that the video was not at issue and that this was a staged attack of some type. Former United Nations spokesman Richard Grenell who was briefly part of the Mitt Romney presidential team told Right Turn, “The e-mail from Ben Rhodes to a bunch of political appointees at the White House proves that there was a scramble inside Obama’s inner circle to protect him from the fallout of a U.S. Ambassador being killed on the anniversary of 9/11 and a few short weeks from his reelection.” He pointedly added: “ It’s time for real journalists to confront the President. It’s clear now that he and his team have not been truthful with the American people.”

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s spokesman Catherine Frazier was quick to jump on the news. She told Right Turn, “ Here we are more than 19 months after the attack – seven months after Sen. Cruz called for a joint select committee to investigate – and more revelations continue to surface, confirming how little we really know about what happened in Benghazi on Sept 11, 2012.” She stressed, “This administration must be held accountable to telling the truth so that we can find closure, bring our attackers to justice, and prevent future attacks — and Hillary Clinton’s regrets are not enough. All witnesses with knowledge of the attack including administration officials should be called to testify before a joint select committee so we can once and for all know the truth about what happened.”

Since mainstream media reporters have been loath to press the issue (and Congress may well convene new hearings), let me offer a few questions to start the inquiry:

Will Rhodes be allowed to testify under oath?

Who instructed Rhodes to send the memo and who reviewed it before it went out?

Will the president instruct all the people mentioned in the emails to cooperate with congressional or other investigators?

Since the issue now involves senior White House officials, is a special prosecutor appropriate?

If any individuals conspired to falsify a reason for the attack knowing of evidence to the contrary, will the president fire them?

At the time of the e-mails, did the president understand the video was not at issue?

Is the White House planning on conducting its own internal investigation?

When White House Spokesman Jay Carney received the talking points and in subsequent press conferences stressed the role of the video, did he know that assertion to be untrue?

Hall of Shame: Letter Pleading For Help Found In Saks Shopping Bag Made In China

I can predict an argument from people that, "Hey the USA, Europe, and Japan use prison labor for license plates, eye glasses, and so forth, so isn't that just as unjust?"

Prison labor in the majority of cases in nations outside China represents a chance to get outside the walls, is voluntary and contributes to a reduced sentence. Not quite the same as China.  China uses the labor of prisoners as a mandatory part of "re-education".

The prisoners in the US, Europe, and Japan also have a nice place to live (compared to China) heat and air-conditioning, three healthy meals a day, medical care, and visitation from legal professionals and family.  They have TV's , rec room, exercise equipment, and even internet use. All that when added up is a  small price to pay and a whole lot to receive.  Prisons in China are used to manufacture products from prisons where there is no basic medical care, meals are with held for the smallest violation of arbitrary and ever changing rules, and prisoners are systematically tortured.  

There is no comparing Chinese prisons with those in the US, Europe, or Japan. - Rev. Daniel Rea, Editor

From the AP

A New York woman said she was left shaking after finding a letter inside a Saks Fifth Avenue shopping bag purportedly written by a man in a Chinese prison factory that was mass-producing the distinctive carry-all.

Stephanie Wilson, 28, an Australian who lives in Harlem, said she found the message while reaching into the bad for a receipt and it said 'HELP HELP HELP'.

The desperate cry was written in blue ink on white-lined paper and included a passport-sized photo of a man - who called himself Tohnain Emmanuel Njong - in an orange jacket, as well as a Yahoo email address.

The note said: 'We are ill-treated and work like slaves for 13 hours every day producing these bags in bulk in the prison factory. Thanks and sorry to bother you.'

Wilson said she found it in September 2012 after buying a pair of Hunter rain boots and passed it on to the Laogai Research Foundation - a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group founded to fight human rights abuses in Chinese prisons - who began investigating.

But Njong's Yahoo email address bounced back, so the nonprofit was unable to locate him.

Harry Wu, the founder of Laogai Research Foundation, spent 19 years in a Chinese prison factory, known as laogai., and that Njong took a huge risk both writing and sending it.

'There would be solitary confinement until you confess and maybe later they increase your sentence - or even death,' Wu said.

His organization referred the letter to the Department of Homeland Security, which investigates allegations of American companies using forced labor to make their products.

Homeland Security officials confirmed to DNAinfo that they were made aware of the letter, but could not say if they investigated it or are currently looking at Saks in connection to it.

A representative for Saks Fifth Avenue confirmed that the store was notified of the letter by the Laogai Research Foundation in December 2013 and said the company took the allegation seriously and launched an investigation.

Saks also confirmed to DNAinfo that the store's shopping bags are made in China, but didn't have any further information.

Two U.S. laws make it illegal for imported products to be made using slave, convict or indentured labor.

DNAinfo managed to track down a man who claimed to be Njong, admitted to writing the letter and knew specific details about what was in it.

He said he wrote the letter during his three-year prison sentence in the eastern city of Qingdao, Shandong Province.

Njong said he a wrote a total of five letters while in the prison, some in French that he hid in bags emblazoned with French words, and others in English.

Njong, who is now 34, said he had been teaching English in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen when he was arrested in May 2011 and charged with fraud, a crime he said he never committed.

He said he was held in a detention center for 10 months while awaiting a government-sponsored lawyer and was barred from contact with the outside community.

Njong said each prisoner was required to meet a daily production quota of what they working on - bet it shopping bags, electronics or sewing garments - and that they were given a pen and paper to record their productivity.

This is what he used to pen the letters, hiding under his covers at night so no one would see.

Njong's family did not know where he was for the whole time he was prison, because he was not permitted to contact anyone following his arrest.

He said he was discharged from prison in December 2013 after receiving a sentence cut for good behavior and finally reunited with relatives, who presumed him dead.

After struggling to find work in his home country, Njong recently moved to Dubai and secured a job that will allow him to stay there.

He said that though his imprisonment ran its course without intervention, he was happy that his letter made its way into at least one person's hands.

'It was the biggest surprise of my life,' Njong told DNAinfo.   'I am just happy that someone heard my cry.'

AP source story with picture of the letter here at DNAinfo New York

Japan Denies 23 Russians Visas, Russia Promises Revenge

Moscow on Tuesday vowed to hit back at Japan over its decision to deny visas to 23 Russian nationals as part of additional sanctions linked to the crisis in Ukraine.

The Russian foreign ministry said that Tokyo’s decision was “met with disappointment in Moscow, and of course will not be left without a response”.

The Japanese foreign ministry said Tuesday that the Russian nationals on its list—whom it did not identify but who were reported by Tokyo media to include some government officials—were suspected of “infringing the unity of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory”.

“Japan calls on all parties to act carefully with self-restraint and responsibility,” Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement. “We sincerely hope that the Ukraine situation will be normalised through diplomatic dialogue.”

Tokyo’s announcement came after the United States and Europe expanded their own lists of punitive measures against Russian officials and Kremlin-linked firms.

The Russian foreign ministry described Tokyo’s decision as “a clumsy step taken under the influence of foreign pressure”.

“Attempts by Japan to put pressure on Russia will in no way help de-escalate tensions around Ukraine,” the Russian statement said.

Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have been strained for decades because of the status of four Pacific islands that are known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

The dispute has hurt the two sides’ trade relations and prevented the signature of a peace treaty formally ending hostilities dating back to World War II.

(c) 2014 AFP

LDP Using Man Dressed As Tojo Causes Backlash

A picture has emerged on social media purporting to show a man dressed as General Hideki Tojo, the prime minister who ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor, saluting at a weekend conference, sparking outrage online.

General Tojo was among those executed for war crimes and later honored at the Yasukuni shrine.

The picture that surfaced on Twitter appeared to show a man dressed in period military garb saluting while standing on a campaign car for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—sparking a backlash online.

“Does this mean the LDP tolerates this?” @hatsunoji wrote.

Said online user @okchibita: “This is not even a bad joke. I cannot believe this was done by the ruling party.”

The picture was believed to have been taken at a weekend conference organized by an Internet broadcaster, which Abe had briefly attended earlier in the day.

The huge two-day event, attended by more than 120,000 people, had dozens of booths sponsored by a wide variety of organisations including political parties, gaming firms and the country’s sumo association.

An LDP spokesman said he was unaware that the unidentified man was dressed to appear like Japan’s wartime leader.

“If we had known that he meant to be dressed up like Tojo, we would have had second thoughts about letting him get up there,” he told AFP.

A person claiming to be the man in the photo apologized on Twitter Monday and claimed he was simply dressed as a military policeman.

“There was the campaign car which people were allowed to climb on,” wrote the person, identified as @vice0079. “I was guided by LDP staff.”

(c) 2014 AFP

Many In Asia Doubt Obama

From the elaborate details of a Japanese state visit to the more mundane question of how much face-time to give each of his Asian hosts, President Barack Obama’s aides spent months meticulously scripting his four-country tour of the region.

But as the week-long trip wrapped up on Tuesday it was clear that, while Obama scored points with skeptical allies simply by showing up, not everything followed the White House plan.

The U.S. president’s clear aim was to demonstrate that his long-promised strategic shift towards Asia and the Pacific, widely seen as aimed at countering China’s rising influence, was real. Early reviews from the region were mixed.

“The key is what happens next,” said Michael Kugelman, an Asia expert at the Wilson Center think-tank in Washington. “If the U.S. starts dragging its feet, the skeptical whispers could begin anew.”

Japan, Obama’s first stop, set the tone for a glass-half-full/glass-half-empty dynamic that characterised the trip.

He was notably unable to announce a two-way trade deal with Japan, despite an informal “sushi summit” with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and marathon last-ditch negotiations, raising questions over the momentum behind a broader trans-Pacific pact.

Things went so badly the two sides had to delay issuing a summit-ending joint communiqué - normally a mere formality between close allies - until just before Obama left.

In the end, they lauded progress toward a deal, perhaps the best that could have been hoped for given the bitter domestic debates over trade in both countries.

More important from the Japanese perspective was Obama’s assurance that Washington would come to Tokyo’s defense - including of tiny islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with China - coupled with a U.S. warning to Beijing against trying to change the status quo by force.

Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, said Obama’s statement that their mutual security treaty covers the disputed isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, was “more than enough” for Tokyo.

The risk of Obama’s rhetoric in Japan - as well as at other stops on his journey through Asia, where several allies face maritime disputes with China - was of antagonizing Beijing and damaging U.S. ties with the world’s second-biggest economy.

Analysts mostly agreed that Obama got the balance right by assuring America’s friends of U.S. security assistance while insisting that Washington was not trying to contain China.

China called on the United States and Japan to abandon their “Cold War mentality” but was mostly muted about rest of the trip, although some experts cautioned Beijing’s response might only become clear in the coming weeks or months.

Shi Yinhong, director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing, said the Obama administration probably felt its message of deterrence to China and reassurance to Japan and other allies was delivered successfully.

“But if we want to know if the trip seriously harmed U.S.-China relations and damaged to the United States’ strategic and economic interests, we can only draw a question mark,” Shi said.

Near the end of the trip, one Chinese official implied that American’s interest in the region could be fleeting, as even some allies fear, while Beijing’s engagement would be constant.

“If you come or do not come, we will be here,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Obama’s first Asia trip of his second term also comes at a time when his broader foreign policy record is facing criticism, including over his response to the Syrian civil war and a faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace effort.

Skeptics among the United States’ friends in the region fear the faltering “pivot”, meant to refocus America’s attention on the dynamic economies of the Pacific Rim, could be undone by the competing pull of events in Europe and the Middle East.

It could hardly have been lost on Obama’s hosts that he was often pulled off-script to focus on the crisis in Ukraine.

The issue figured prominently in all four news conferences he gave in the region, and he also used the time to rally European leaders behind a new round of sanctions against Russia.

But seeking to dispel any doubts about Washington’s staying power in Asia, Obama told a news conference in Manila on Monday: “Our alliances in the Asia Pacific have never been stronger; I can say that unequivocally.”

In South Korea, Obama offered poignant words of condolence over the scores killed in an April 16 ferry disaster and also expressed solidarity over Seoul’s troubles with Pyongyang, but had no new ideas for curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

“U.S. cannot exert leadership in Asia only with words,” read the headline of an editorial in South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

“The summit talks between Korea and the U.S. was no more than symbolic,” the Hankook Ilbo newspaper said.

There was also an awkward moment during a news conference with President Park Geun-hye when an American TV reporter asked jokingly whether Obama would save Russian President Vladimir Putin if he saw him drowning.

It was meant as a light-hearted rejoinder to a similar question put to Putin on Russian TV earlier in the month - Obama followed his Kremlin counterpart in saying he would - but drew sharp criticism from South Korean media who saw it as inappropriate in a country mourning hundreds lost on the ferry.

In Manila, Obama hailed one of the few tangible achievements of the trip - the signing of a 10-year military pact with the Philippines that opens the way for U.S. troops, planes and warships to have greater access to bases in the Philippines.

While significantly bolstering the security component of the pivot strategy, the deal, which faced significant political opposition in the former U.S. colony, may be less than meets the eye.

It is more of a legal framework, does not specify how many assets will be permitted on a “rotational basis” and requires decisions on deployments on a mission-by-mission basis, U.S. officials said.

Despite that, Obama appears to have won credit in Southeast Asia, where he also visited Malaysia, for undertaking what was essentially a make-up for a visit he cancelled last fall because of a government shutdown.

“This is a part of the world where showing up and giving high-level attention makes a difference,” a senior U.S. official said.

Reuters

Mountain Day Approved In Lower House

The Lower House of the Diet has passed an amendment to the nation’s Holiday Act which includes a new public holiday, Mountain Day (Yama no Hi). The next step involves the amendment to go into deliberation in the Upper House where it is expected to be approved again.

Although this comes as welcome news to the nation’s tired workers, Japanese holidays tend to be arbitrary affairs named after random things like the ocean.

According to the amendment, Mountain Day is intended “to give opportunities to get close to mountains and to appreciate the benefits of mountains.”

Once the amendment is passed, Mountain Day will be Japan’s 16th civic holiday. It will be celebrated on Aug 11 from 2016. The Obon season generally takes place during August wherein many workers take their paid vacations, but this will be the first time an actual public holiday falls during the month. Once Mountain Day is enacted, June will become the only month in Japan without an official public day off. 

China Far From A Super Power

By William Bryant

Talk among global experts for the last decade has been about the rise of China and the "eventual day" when China surpasses the USA as the top world power.  I have waited to comment until I had gone to China my self and had the opportunity to speak with local Chinese people.

I had worked in Taiwan during the early 80s and had gone to the mainland many times.  I have been in China the last week and have had the opportunity to see the cities and the rural areas.  I must say I am impressed.  In just not a good way.

China is polluted.  Polluted very badly and it takes a toll on people.  Asthma is a top medical complaint among school age children and some 60% of adults suffer from bronchitis.  Eye infections are common and it is not unusual for the city governments to have periods during the day when people are advised to stay inside.  Many hotels and restaurants offer only bottled water for drinking.  Many signs are common reading that potable water is not available from taps.  Signs in my hotel rooms in Beijing and Shanghai even advised not to make ice with tap water.  Air and water are not only vital for national growth, but for human life.

This has the effect of a UN health report saying that 400,000 deaths in the cities of China each year are environmentally related.  Cities are so toxic that many governments around the world have thought of removing their citizens in diplomatic offices.

Then there is the fact that China's economic growth in recent years has been very fragile.  I was able to speak with economist Liam Ping of Fortune Magazine and he confirmed what I have been thinking for some time, it has been fueled by cheap labor and a total disregard for the environment and the quality of human life and health.  China refuses any environmental regulation for fear that it will hamper industry.  It is an all or nothing proposition.  Complete industrial support without environmental policy or environmental policies and no industry.  This seems to be the Chinese mindset on almost everything.  We either have the largest aircraft carrier or we don't have one.  We either become the largest power in the world or we collapse.

Policies like these are not sustainable.  Cheap manufacturing without innovation only goes so far.  China is now facing a problem Japan has, low birth rate.  In a few years those in China over 65 will be 30%.  By 2025 it will be 50%, the one child policy is going to bring Chinese growth to a halt.  The national government has refused to address the issue because, again, it could cause industry to stumble.  The government is demanding happy thoughts while infrastructure issues are ignored.  China has created immense wealth for a few while failing to create happiness for the masses.

Rural areas are to be polite - rustic.  Many small villages of about 2,000 to 20,000 had no running water and electricity was only at the government offices, post offices and stations.  Poultry for purchase and consumption was lying out in the elements with no cooling.  No running water means no water sanitation and agriculture runoff is visible on the surface of rivers along with the smell of sulfur from fertilizers.  

While China is an economic power, seeing China as a super power is a stretch.  The USA has successfully sold its brand all over the world.  Chinese culture is simply not so transferable or even desirable outside of China.  China is simply an emulator and not an innovator.  The real test of super power is people wishing to find a better life by going there, and so far all that makes a super power is missing in the middle kingdom.  I do not see a super power in China but an economic power that teeters on failing.

China and Korea Protest Showa Holiday in Japan

By Rev Daniel Rea

The ambassadors of China and Korea to Japan filed complaints with the Foreign Ministry of Japan today.  The complaints related to the celebration of April 29 as Showa Day.

The Chinese ambassador commented, "This holiday is no more than Japanese nationalism to celebrate the horrors that Hirohito brought upon Asia.  Japan can lie all it wishes about April 29 being a day of reflection, but for those of us who were brutalized by Japan under the guidance of their Emperor Showa, we see today as a day that Japan needs to reflect deeply and be honest about their human rights abuses."

The Korean ambassador commented, "We in Korea feel deeply saddened that Japan continues to deny the truth and refuses to make proper amends for the past.  To celebrate what Hirohito did to rape, murder, and brutalize Asia during World War II is just cruel.  We hope Japan will stop celebrating its past and come to the rest of Asia with a spirit of reconciliation."

Officials at the Foreign Ministry received the complaints and commented, "We think there is misunderstanding about what today is.  It is unfortunate that our neighbors are driven by grudges and will not come the table of negotiation without seeking to further remind Japan of a past that has been apologized for numerous times.  It is time for all parties to move on for the sake of Asian diplomacy."

Before 2009, April 29 was celebrated as Green Day, but nationalists in the Japanese Diet proposed legislation in 2005 that would mark April 29 as Showa Day, the birthday of late Emperor Hirohito whose reign was known in Japan as the Showa Era.  On April 29, 2009 the first Showa Day was celebrated and since every April 29, Chinese and Korean diplomats have filed complaints with the Foreign Ministry of Japan.

The Korean ambassador commented before leaving the Foreign Ministry, "The past year Shintaro Ishihara has called naturalized citizens of Japan fake Japanese.  Osaka Mayor Hashimoto has called on Osaka to stop catering to foreigners and put Japanese first.  Japanese Diet member Nobuyuki Suzuki vandalized monuments in Korea dedicated to sex slaves.  These actions are the result of glorifying one of the worst war criminals in history, Hirohito."

Today, four members of the LDP paid public visits to Yasukuni Shrine and left messages conveying their hope of a "return to tradition that honors the Showa reign and past warriors alike".

China Releases Japanese Wartime Documents

China has released previously confidential Japanese wartime documents, including some about comfort women forced to serve in military brothels during World War Two, state media reported.

The publication comes during a fraught period in Japan-China relations. Last week, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd paid about $29 million for the release of a ship seized by China over a dispute that dates back to the 1930s war between the two countries.

The 89 documents released from archives in northern Jilin province include letters written by Japanese soldiers, newspaper articles, and military files unearthed in the early 1950s, state media said. Why they had not been released until now was not immediately clear.

Nationalist politicians in Japan have been urging Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to water down a 1993 apology to comfort women. These politicians have said there is no evidence of large scale coercion by government authorities or the military.

Abe said last month that Tokyo would not revise this apology.

The Jilin documents include Japanese records on the exploitation of “comfort women” by troops as well as details of the Nanjing Massacre that began in December 1937.

China and Japan disagree on the number of people killed in the massacre. Some nationalist Japanese politicians have argued that the reports about the massacre have been exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Many of Japan’s wartime records were destroyed.

The documents’ release coincided with the publication on Saturday of more than 110,000 previously confidential Japanese government and military documents from times of war by China’s Thread Binding Books Publishing House.

History is a live issue between Japan and China. In a speech in Berlin last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that the atrocities in Nanjing were “still fresh in our memory”. His comments prompted an angry response from the Japanese government.

Last December, Abe provoked China’s ire when he visited Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine, where both war dead and war criminals are honored. Last week, more than 150 Japanese lawmakers and a member of Abe’s cabinet paid their respects at Yasukuni.

Territorial disputes also dog the relationship. These are centered on a string of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea the Chinese call the Diaoyu islands and Japanese call the Senkaku islands.

However, there are signs of warmth amid the chill as well.

Last week, Tokyo Gov Yoichi Masuzoe visited Beijing, meeting with China’s Vice Premier Wang Yang and former top Chinese diplomat Tang Jiaxuan and passing on a message from Abe that he hoped bilateral ties would improve.

That visit followed a trip to Japan in early April by Hu Deping, the son of late reformist Chinese leader Hu Yaobang. Hu met with several senior statesmen. His visit included a confidential meeting with Abe.

Reuters

Japan Entering TPP In May Unlikely

Japan and the United States have found no common ground to forge a two-way trade deal, but may not be able to resolve remaining sticking points in time for a mid-May meeting of top negotiators seeking a broad regional deal, a senior Japanese official said.

Marathon talks during U.S. President Barack Obama’s state visit to Tokyo last week yielded progress - hailed by the two sides as a “key milestone” - but the two sides stopped short of announcing a deal vital to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation bloc that would extend from Asia to Latin America.

The upbeat tone, however, was a contrast to the emphasis on “gaps” after previous rounds of talks on a bilateral deal that has been stalemated by differences over access to Japan’s agriculture market and both countries’ car markets.

“What Obama’s visit produced after many lengthy negotiations was a common ground on which the two sides believe we can continue to work to find a mutually acceptable solution,” the senior Japanese official told Reuters. He declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.

“We no longer have to worry that the lack of a Japan-U.S. pathway is going to block negotiations with other countries. This is a very important landmark Obama was able to produce,” he said. But he added he was “not optimistic” that Washington and Tokyo could work out remaining issues “in a month or two”.

Negotiators from the 12 TPP countries are to meet in Vietnam in mid-May, followed by a gathering of Asia-Pacific trade ministers in China on May 17-18. Obama and Abe will likely meet next at an Asia-Pacific summit in China in November.

Both Obama and Abe have domestic constituencies keen to see their leaders stick to rival stances: a U.S. demand that Japan scrap all tariffs and Japan’s pledge to protect politically powerful farmers in five sectors including rice, beef and pork.

Yet both leaders are keen for a deal - Obama because TPP is central to his “pivot” of military, diplomatic and economic resources to Asia and Abe because he has touted the trade deal as a key element of reforms needed to generate economic growth.

Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported over the weekend that the two sides had in fact reached a “basic agreement” in last week’s talks, but that Tokyo wanted to avoid announcing it for fear of hurting the ruling party’s prospects in a Sunday by-election for a seat in parliament’s lower house.

Obama faces opposition from a wary Congress and farm good exporters worried that Washington will settle for “TPP-Lite”.

Commenting on the Yomiuri report, the Japanese official said both sides had offered significant compromises, with the United States dropping insistence on scrapping all tariffs and Tokyo offering bolder market access improvements than previously.

But he said no deal would be reached until all elements were in place.

“Nobody is dreaming that we have concluded everything,” he said.

“All professional trade negotiators know that unless everything is agreed, everything is open,” he said, adding stakeholders in both countries had to be brought on board.

Among the issues yet to be thrashed out are the period of time over which tariffs will be reduced and what sort of steps Japan can take to soften the blow on farmers.

“There are a lot of uncertainties we need to resolve, either technically or politically,” the Japanese official said.

Both sides expressed optimism that progress on a U.S.-Japan deal will breathe momentum into the push for a regional pact covering 40 percent of the world economy and creating a rule-based framework that could entice Asian giant China to join.

The Japanese official echoed that view but said there was no timetable set for when exhausted U.S. and Japanese negotiators would meet, nor could he predict when a long-delayed broader deal would be reached.

“That part is not in sight right now,” he said.

Reuters

China Returns To Disputed Island Area After Obama Visit

Two Chinese coast guard ships sailed into waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea Saturday, the Japanese coast guard said, two days after U.S. President Barack Obama declared his support for Japan.

The vessels entered 22 kilometers into Japan’s territorial waters off one of the Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus, around noon, the coast guard said.

It was the first such move since Obama announced Thursday that Washington would defend Japan, under the bilateral military alliance, if China initiates an attack in the tense territorial dispute.

China has already dismissed Obama’s position, saying that the islands are “China’s inherent territory.”

Chinese ships last entered the area on April 12, according to the Japanese coast guard.

Chinese vessels and aircraft regularly approach the East China Sea archipelago—thought to harbor vast natural resources—after Japan nationalised some of the islands in September 2012, setting off the latest spate of incidents in a long-running territorial dispute.

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have fallen to their lowest point for years.

Some observers warn they might come to blows over the islands, where ships from both sides lurk to press claims for ownership.

© 2014 AFP

New Komeito Disagrees With LDP Defense Policy Change Proposal

The leader of a junior party in Japan’s coalition says he does not agree with defense policy changes that would allow Japanese forces to fight overseas to help allies despite U.S. support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s review of the stance.

Abe is aiming to lift Japan’s ban on collective self-defense, which means helping an ally under attack, to bolster security ties with the United States as China expands its military and North Korea develops its nuclear capabilities.

The United States welcomed and supported Japan’s re-assessment of its self-imposed ban on going to the help of allies, the two countries said in a statement a day after Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama held talks in Tokyo last Thursday.

But Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the New Komeito party, told Reuters in an interview that he wanted to see the prohibition of Japanese forces going to the help of allies maintained.

“For many years, the Cabinet Legislation Bureau ... has been taking the view that the constitution prohibits exercising the right of collective self-defense,” Yamaguchi said.

“Komeito shares that view ... Changing this view would be a drastic change. In a nutshell, that would lead to using force overseas,” he said.

The Cabinet Legislation Bureau, part of the Japanese government, is the nation’s constitutional watchdog.

For decades, Japan has taken the position that while it has the right of collective self-defense, actually exercising the right exceeds what is allowed by the U.S.-drafted, pacifist constitution adopted after World War Two.

Yamaguchi said the show of support from the United States for Abe’s review of the issue did not necessarily mean the United States was trying to steer Japan’s domestic debate.

“What’s important is Japan’s own stance on the matter.”

Abe has often spoken of “escaping the post-war regime”, and some of Japan’s neighbors, in particular China, are wary of his moves to revise the pacifist constitution.

The lifting of the ban would be a major turning point for Japan’s security policy. Since its World War Two defeat in 1945, Japan’s military has not engaged in any combat.

Proponents of the change say it would free up the Japanese military to work more closely with the armed forces of the United States and other allies. Critics say it would make Japan more likely to get sucked in overseas wars.

Opinion polls show a majority of voters oppose lifting the ban.

Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) enjoys a clear majority in the lower house of parliament, but it needs the New Komeito’s seats to maintain a majority in the upper chamber, which can block bills.

Yamaguchi did not say he would pull his party out of the coalition over the defense issue but said the Japanese public did not want to see confrontation between his party and the LDP.

Reuters

Hall of Shame: Cafes That Serve Whale In Nagoya

This is used as public information for those who seek to know where whale is served for personal information.  After all, whaling is strictly for scientific research in Japan.

Packages of Whale Meat in Matsuzakaya Dept. Store, Sakae, Nagoya

Kujira Cafe (くじら　カフｴ)

Kotobukiya (寿商店)

Gansokujiraya (元祖 くじら屋)

South Korean Prime Minister Quits

After coming to light Saturday that not only was Japanese help denied in the rescue effort of the sinking South Korean ferry, but also American help, South Korea's Prime Minister resigned this morning in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea's Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won tendered his resignation on Sunday over the sinking of a passenger ferry that left more than 300 people dead or missing.

"I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards," he said.

"I believed I, as the prime minister, certainly had to take responsibility and resign."

The government, along with almost all other branches of officialdom, has come in for fierce criticism over the disaster, and the handing of the rescue operation.

"I wanted to resign earlier but handling the situation was the first priority and I thought that it was a responsible act to help before leaving.

"But I've decided to resign now not to be any burden on the administration," he said.

AFP

Japan's Real Diplomatic Problem

From The Diplomat

Recently, a European intellectual who visits Japan from time to time asked me if the country was a threat to peace. The next day (April 3), Philip Stephens wrote in The Financial Times about constraining China but also restraining Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Is Japan a danger to the planet.

Since 1945, Japan has been as unwilling to use force as any other country on earth. Today, under the premiership of a so-called hawk, its passivity in the face of violations of its territorial waters puts Neville Chamberlin to shame. Its armed forces have highly restrictive rules of engagement. Japanese territorial claims on South Korea and Russia are polite toothless assertions of sovereignty. Tokyo has not materially increased its defense spending in decades. Japanese do not run amok in government-sponsored mobs against alleged enemies, such as foreign-owned stores, as is the case in China. A North Korean League even operates freely in the country.

Additionally, Japan is not a fully autonomous actor. It cannot initiate offensive military operations without American consent and support. Its response to an attack would be determined as much in Washington as in Tokyo.

So why are outsiders so worried about Japanese militarism?

First, there is the “sheep in wolf’s clothing” posture of the Abe Cabinet. In barely more than a year it has engaged in an endless stream of symbolic or verbal provocations: pilgrimages to Yasukuni, participation at Takeshima Day rites, Abe-appointed NHK governors denying wartime sexual slavery and the Nanjing Massacre, discussions about revisiting the Kono Statement, and a convoluted speech by Deputy Premier Taro Aso on learning from the Fuehrer.

Second, many Japanese politicians don’t know how the rest of the world thinks. A telling example was the prime minister giving a thumbs up from the cockpit of Japanese Air Self Defense jet with tail number 731. That prompted memories of Imperial Japanese Army Unit 731, which performed gruesome experiments on Chinese, other Asians, Russians and some Westerners (and whose leaders received a “get out of jail card” courtesy of the United States). Yet the premier either didn’t notice the markings or didn’t realize what the impact would be, and then failed to fire his entire advance team afterwards. The “731 photo-op” was not unique. Aso’s trip to Yasukuni just after attending the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea was another.

Third, Japan has an excellent but minute corps of diplomats and bureaucrats who excel at interaction with foreigners. Beyond this, though, most of its officialdom, including many in the Foreign Ministry, have not received the necessary training to, as the American expression goes, “make friends and influence people” overseas. The root causes lie in the inward-looking education system. Unfortunately, the government is blind to the requirement to provide extensive multi-year “remedial education” to the graduates it hires to ensure they are capable of functioning in a non-Japanese setting.

Also, Japan’s is a “closed shop.” Most Japanese who grew up overseas or have a parent from another country end up working for foreign companies or governments. Those best suited for interacting between Japan and the world are lost to the Japanese state.  Many Japanese even refuse to see Japanese who have lived, been educated or worked overseas as being some how changed and not "Japanese enough".  This nationalistic mind set causes Japan to lose valuable talent.  People who invested time of their life with experience in the world outside Japan are pushed aside as nepotism and bureaucracy pull inept people into positions they are unqualified for, especially in diplomacy and in international financing and industry.  

Fourth, most Japanese officials view outsiders who criticize the LDP as hostile to Japan as a nation, which is generally not true. During a recent session with a Japanese diplomat, I mentioned a Western journalist in Tokyo. This reporter, whom I would describe as an open-minded left-winger, is neither a supporter of historical revisionism nor of Koizumi-Takenaka economics. Anyone who cares to read his prose will also notice a deep empathy for the Japanese people, an outstanding knowledge of the country, and a passion for Japanese culture. My Japanese interlocutor, however, saw him as a foe.

As a result, these talented individuals who help develop an interest in Japan among younger generations are ostracized by the establishment. (I read with great interest this journalist’s reports when I was in college.) In the end, “Japan hands” who are trusted by the system are often those who are advocates for Japanese policies. They are frequently unwilling to tell their Japanese friends bad news, which contributes to Japanese misreading of the world beyond their shores.

Fifth, Japan as country under-invests in cultural and educational diplomacy. Japanese corporations funded Japan Studies programs during the bubble years, but that era is long gone. With some exceptions, wealthy Japanese contribute little in this field. As for the government itself, it is unwilling to make the necessary financial investments in programs that would foster a large cadre of Japanese who could function outside of the archipelago and make more foreigners aware of Japan.

Japan, like the United States and its allies, faces a challenge from a rising China. The extent to which the challenge is an actual threat is unknown, but it is only prudent to be prepared. In a prewar environment, and even in wartime itself, international propaganda (these days known as public diplomacy) is one of the arrows in the quivers of the belligerents. Unfortunately, this is an area where Japan, led by the proud grandson of a Minister of Munitions, practices unilateral disarmament worthy of Article 9 (the war-renouncing section of the Constitution).

Robert Dujarric is Director, Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan