Competition to host Japan's first casino resort heats up

Abstract: OSAKA - As the Diet prepares to debate the structure of integrated casino resorts this autumn, competition in Osaka and neighboring Wakayama to win the rights to host one of the first legal gambling complexes in the country is heating up. The most talked-about candidate for the site remains Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay. But two other places are also lobbying hard to host the tourism attraction — Rinku Town in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, and Wakayama Marina City in Wakayama Prefecture. Rinku Town, home to shopping centers, offices and logistics centers, sits across the bay from Kansai airport in southern Osaka, just a few minutes away by train. Proponents of the site believe it’s ideally located to attract planeloads of tourists heading to and from the airport. In fact, it was originally proposed in 2002 by Osaka Prefecture, the city of Osaka and local business groups as a possible casino site. After the city of Izumisano passed a resolution in 2013 in support of a casino, a local committee was formed the following year to explore the issue. A 2013 survey by the city showed 68 percent of residents supported lifting the ban on casino gambling, which happened last year through legislation in the Diet. “In order to lift the casino ban via last year’s legislation, long years were spent by municipalities talking to residents, conducting symposiums on integrated resorts, and setting up IR bid committees,” Izumisano municipal official Yoshihiko Matsushita told panel members at a public hearing in Osaka earlier this month. “These local governments have knowledge about efforts made to legalize casinos in Japan.” He added that even if the Osaka Prefectural Assembly approves a resolution to lure a casino resort, problems could occur if the host city’s assembly or its residents don’t agree. “Don’t turn away from municipalities that have been making efforts over long years to realize integrated resorts, and create a bill that makes local revitalization the top priority,” Matsushita said at the hearing. Takunori Nishimura, a representative from Junior Chamber International Izumo, said a final decision should ensure there is no heavy tax burden on residents for new roads and bridges, which would not be needed for a casino in Rinku Town. “Recent media reports indicate the city of Osaka will need to pour large amounts of tax revenue into building infrastructure for Yumeshima. It’s time to return to one of the original ideas behind integrated resorts for Japan, which called for a tourism policy that didn’t eat up tax money,” Nishimura said. Nishimura spoke earlier this month at a public hearing in Osaka, one of nine such hearings held nationwide. Suggestions made there are likely to be reflected in a bill to be submitted to the Diet in September and enacted as law by the end of the year. Late last month, a government panel appointed to recommend detailed rules and regulations on how licensed casino resorts would be selected, operated, and monitored presented its report to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Farther south, in Wakayama Prefecture, efforts are accelerating to secure a casino resort in Wakayama Marina City, about 45 minutes by car from Kansai airport and 70 minutes by car from downtown Osaka. The prefecture believes it can attract enough of the roughly 6 million foreign visitors to Kansai airport to make a profit. Officials say that if Wakayama Marina City were awarded a casino license, construction of facilities could begin immediately, unlike at Yumeshima. That could give Wakayama the edge in its bid to become the host of Japan’s first so-called integrated resort. Wakayama’s position is that the Diet needs to approach legislation on awarding casino licenses from the perspective of regional economics. “Looking at the panel’s report last month, at large-scale casino resorts like those seen overseas, the number of customers and the economic effect are the main focus,” the Wakayama Prefectural Government said in a statement after the report was released. “There is weaker emphasis on resorts contributing to reviving a local economy or spurring local creativity. More than the size of the facilities, emphasis should be on their quality and ability to contribute to regional revitalization.” Wakayama’s efforts have irritated officials in Osaka and Izumisano, who worry Tokyo would not award licenses for two casino resorts in the same general vicinity. Still, political and business leaders in the city of Osaka and Osaka Prefecture, as well as media outlets, have touted Yumeshima as an ideal site to host a casino resort, putting forward a plan complete with hotels, convention centers, and shopping and cultural facilities. The Yumeshima plan has attracted interest from overseas casino operators like Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Resorts International, and especially Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which has said it prefers building in Osaka to Tokyo. As the head of the Osaka-centered Nippon Ishin no Kai party and an ally of Abe, Ichiro Matsui and his party have also pushed their recommendations for casino resort standards and operational policies on the government. But with the panel recommending that prefectural governments take the lead and work closely with casino resorts, some in Osaka Prefecture are concerned that prefectural politics will be prioritized over local considerations and economic logic in their rush to meet the requirements for building one. The government is expected to approve only two or three integrated resorts at first. While the central government has the final word on the location of the nation’s first casinos, the odds currently favor at least one of those being in Kansai.


Dutch police nab Chickfriend execs in contaminated eggs debacle

Abstract: AMSTERDAM - Dutch police arrested two suspects on Thursday as part of an investigation into the illegal use of a potentially harmful insecticide in the poultry industry, the Dutch prosecution service said. Millions of chicken eggs have been pulled from European supermarket shelves as a result of the scare over the use of the insecticide fipronil, and hundreds of thousands of hens may be culled in the Netherlands. Prosecutors said in a statement they had conducted raids at eight locations in the Netherlands and Belgium, confiscating cars and seizing bank accounts and real estate. The arrested suspects were directors at Dutch company Chickfriend, which is at the center of the scandal. Officials at the company could not be reached for comment. Raids were conducted at locations linked to Chickfriend, which allegedly used the pesticide, as well as potential suppliers. The company directors are suspected of threatening public health and possession of a prohibited pesticide, prosecutors said. Fipronil is a popular insecticide to treat pets for fleas and ticks but it is forbidden for use in the food chain. The World Health Organization considers fipronil to be moderately toxic and says very large quantities can cause organ damage. The German agriculture ministry estimates that 10.7 million possibly contaminated eggs were delivered to Germany from the Netherlands, according to a report to be published in the Rheinische Post newspaper on Friday. The ministry, in response to a query from the Greens party, also cited growing concerns about processed foods that might contain contaminated eggs, and said data received from the Dutch and Belgian governments had been “insufficient,” the paper said. Romania’s food safety authority, ANSVSA, seized 1 ton of German origin liquid egg yolk contaminated with fipronil from a warehouse in the western county of Timis, it said on Thursday. “The quantity was seized from the storage space of the unit which received it from Germany. No amount of that bunch was sold on the Romanian market. The 1,000-kg egg yolk will be neutralized by incineration,” ANSVSA said. In Britain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it had found more eggs than previously believed had entered the food chain, mainly through processed food. “It is very unlikely that these eggs pose a risk to public health, but as Fipronil is unauthorized for use in food-producing animals we have acted with urgency to ensure that consumers are protected,” it said. It is likely that the number of potentially contaminated eggs to enter the U.K. is closer to 700,000 than 21,000 previously reported, the FSA said.

germany netherlands eggs insecticide fipronil chickfriend


Crime agency finds slavery, human trafficking common in Britain

Abstract: LONDON - Modern slavery and human trafficking are more prevalent across Britain than previously thought, the National Crime Agency said Thursday, because more international gangs realize they can make significant sums of money from it. The NCA said there are 300 live police operations into forced labor, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, problems that it said affects every large town and city across the country. “We’ve been shocked by the extent of it,” Will Kerr, the NCA’s officer in charge of tackling such criminality, told reporters. “This is a growing problem. This is 2017, this is not acceptable in any way, shape or form.” Previous estimates suggested there were up to 13,000 victims of these types of crimes in Britain, but Kerr said that figure is the tip of the iceberg. “The more we go looking for this, the more we are finding it,” he said, adding an operation by British police in May and June had led to 111 arrests with 130 possible victims identified. Kerr said the crime is becoming more attractive to gangs who can make up to £600 ($780) per day from each woman exploited for prostitution, saying one Romanian gang is making €5 million ($5.8 million) a month by trafficking women in the sex trade. Globally it has been estimated there are 46 million victims generating half a trillion dollars a year for organized crime gangs, he said. “We really have seen this . . . ‘commodification’ of people by criminals and crime gangs who have realized there is lot more money to be made by exploiting vulnerable people and that’s why we’re so concerned about it,” he said. Europe’s migrant crisis is undoubtedly connected, Kerr said, as it has created a larger pool of people who can be exploited. In Britain last year, victims from 109 countries were identified but the most common nationalities of those trafficked and offenders were people from Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Nigeria, although he said British victims made up the third highest group. Kerr cited the case of a 12-year-old Roma girl who had been trafficked to Britain to work in domestic servitude for one family, tasked with taking their children to school and cleaning the house. In 2015 the U.K. passed tough anti-slavery legislation introducing life sentences for traffickers and forcing companies to disclose what they are doing to make sure their supply chains are free from slavery.

immigration
organized crime
u.k .
women
sex crimes
gangs
prosititution


Is Japan's annual student achievement test worth the cost?

Abstract: Japan’s elementary and junior high school students have strong basic academic skills but struggle to solve complex questions, according to this year’s nationwide achievement test results, which were released Monday by the education ministry. Since its launch in 2007, the test has been drawing attention from schools and local governments, as the 47 prefectures are ranked according to their average scores. But at the same time, some question the necessity of holding the test every year, considering that recent results remain more or less the same. Here is a primer about the background and past arguments over the government’s nationwide test: What is the nature of the achievement test? The annual achievement assessment, conducted by the education ministry each April on sixth-graders and third-year junior high school students across the nation, is meant to gauge students’ basic knowledge of mathematics and Japanese and their ability to apply those skills to solve complex problems. The assessment is used to learn about how much knowledge students have gained as well as to spot areas of weakness. The findings are used for improving and bolstering teaching methods in a bid to improve students’ academic skills. The test also includes a survey of students and teachers about their daily habits and learning environments. From 2019, the education ministry will include English in the assessment as well, in line with the government’s plan to improve students’ English abilities. The government conducted similar achievement tests between 1956 and 1966. But they were discontinued due to intensified competition among schools. In a bid to push up student scores, some schools held extra classes solely to prepare for the test, and some teachers even helped children cheat in an effort to get higher scores. Why did the government relaunch the assessment? The system resumed mainly because of mounting concerns over the deterioration of students’ academic abilities after the government introduced the yutori (relaxed) education policy in the 1990s. The policy effectively cut Saturday classes and reduced textbook sizes in an effort to nurture creativity instead of focusing on rote memorization, depressurizing school life. But the “PISA shock” in 2003 — when Japanese students’ rankings dropped in math and reading in a global survey — prompted the government to revise the relaxed education policy and launch the annual assessment as a means to reverse the decline in academic ability. The survey was the Programme for International Student Assessment conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In the 2003 PISA survey, Japan dropped to No. 6 from the top spot in math and to No. 14 from No. 8 in reading compared with three years before. What can be learned from this year’s results? This year saw results similar to last year: Students continue to have difficulty solving complex problems using their basic knowledge of Japanese and mathematics, but they had good basic knowledge of the subjects. Like in the previous assessments, Akita, Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures topped the charts in most of the subjects, while Okinawa Prefecture ranked at the bottom in all of the assessments for junior high school students. But the ministry said the gap between the national average and the scores of the prefectures ranked at the bottom have narrowed in recent years, thanks to efforts to make improvements in the low-ranking prefectures. What has been a key concern in conducting the assessment? One major concern has been the disclosure of the test results, because this is believed to have pressured schools and teachers to overly focus on training students just to achieve high scores. To avoid triggering excessive competition among schools, the education ministry has been disclosing only the average scores by prefecture and giving individual scores to municipal boards of education, instructing them not to publicize the results. However, several prefectural governments, including Osaka and Akita, disclosed the average scores by municipality, while Tottori and Saga prefectures went even further by disclosing the average scores of individual schools. Given this reality, the education ministry changed its policy in 2013, conditionally allowing municipal boards of education to make public the average test scores of individual schools. Another issue has been several cases of cheating reported in the past decade, including an incident in which an elementary school teacher pointed out a student’s wrong answer during the test. Another recent case took place at a junior high school in Naha, Okinawa, where teachers did not submit the answer sheets of a few students who did poorly to avoid lowering the school’s average score, according to media reports. How are the test results used? Analyzing the results has been considered useful in identifying students’ weaknesses and discovering more effective teaching methods to improve their academic skills. The survey also provides information on the relationships between students’ daily habits and their academic skills. Among such findings: Those who skip breakfast or use smartphones for long hours — or those from low-income households — tend to score low on the test. But after a decade, pundits say it is becoming meaningless to spend ¥5 billion a year to conduct the test every year, simply to confirm the same results over and over again. This year, ¥4.8 billion was used for the test, the education ministry said. Some say it would be more helpful to use the funds to support schools, such as employing more teachers to mitigate the increasing burden on educators.

children
education
schools
national achievement test


Japan's first Gundam Base to woo model-building fans in Odaiba

Abstract: Bandai Co. is looking to tap Japan’s expanding tourism market by opening a Tokyo shop dedicated to selling, building and painting plastic models of robots from its popular Gundam franchise. Gundam Base Tokyo — set to open Saturday in the Odaiba district — will let visitors learn about or experience the joy of model building, Bandai said. The models, commonly called Gunpla, have been a hit since the first one came out in 1980. More than 473 million units had been sold worldwide as of March, Bandai says. “Odaiba is in the international spotlight since the Olympics is coming up, so it’s a great location to open a store,” Koji Fujiwara, general manager of Bandai’s hobby products department, said in a group interview Thursday during a sneak preview of the site. Tokyo’s waterfront district has long been a popular spot for international travelers. “We hope to show the world how interesting Gundam models are,” Fujiwara said, adding the varied line-up makes the products stand out. When it opens, the store will have the largest Gunpla lineup in Japan with more than 2,000 types — including 19 exclusive items. To accommodate non-Japanese customers, Fujiwara said the shop will have multilingual staff who can speak English, Chinese and Korean, among other languages. Customers will even be able to build their models immediately after purchase because the store has a dedicated model-building space equipped with tools from nippers to air brushes. Fujiwara said professional builders will be on hand to give tips to those in need. “Even if you have no idea what to get or how to build it, the experts can teach you everything you need to know,” he said. There is also a section dubbed the Factory Zone where visitors can learn about how Gunpla are manufactured in Shizuoka Prefecture. Events and contests will take place in the Event Zone. The first Gundam Base opened in South Korea in 2003, followed by a Taiwanese branch two years later. There are now 13 shops total in Asia including the new shop in Japan. The Odaiba branch will be the first location based in Japan, but Fujiwara said the company will consider expanding if it proves successful, and that new overseas branches are being considered. “The first shop in Japan will be a starting point,” Fujiwara said. For more information, visit www.gundam-base.net .


Chinese quantum satellite sends 'unbreakable' code

Abstract: BEIJING - China has sent an “unbreakable” code from a satellite to the Earth, marking the first time space-to-ground quantum key distribution technology has been realized, state media said on Thursday. China launched the world’s first quantum satellite last August, to help establish “hack-proof” communications, a development the Pentagon has called a “notable advance.” The official Xinhua news agency said the latest experiment was published in the journal Nature on Thursday, where reviewers called it a “milestone.” The satellite sent quantum keys to ground stations in China between 645 km (400 miles) and 1,200 km (745 miles) away at a transmission rate up to 20 orders of magnitude more efficient than an optical fiber, Xinhua cited Pan Jianwei, lead scientist on the experiment from the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, as saying. “That, for instance, can meet the demand of making an absolute safe phone call or transmitting a large amount of bank data,” Pan said. Any attempt to eavesdrop on the quantum channel would introduce detectable disturbances to the system, Pan said. “Once intercepted or measured, the quantum state of the key will change, and the information being intercepted will self-destruct,” Xinhua said. The news agency said there were “enormous prospects” for applying this new generation of communications in defense and finance. China still lags behind the United States and Russia in space technology, although President Xi Jinping has prioritized advancing its space program, citing national security and defense. China insists its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

china space privacy espionage physics surveillance


Japanese researcher focuses on U.S. minorities, without reservation

Abstract: A Japanese researcher whose worldview was shaped by a transcontinental journey in his youth has spent years chronicling the lives of Native Americans and other minorities in the United States. “While moving across the continents to the west, just like a runaway boy, the faces of people I met changed,” Jun Kamata, 44, now an associate professor at Asia University in Tokyo, said of his two-month trip from China to Portugal in 1990. Attracted by the diversity he saw, Kamata left for the United States after graduating from high school. It was there that he happened to become acquainted with indigenous peoples while studying at a rural community college in New Mexico. The encounters eventually led him to transfer to the University of California, Berkeley, where he researched the lives of Native Americans, before earning a doctorate in urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles. Kamata has visited more than 100 reservations over the past 25 years to hear what Native Americans have to say about their history and present life. He always totes his camera. “I never learned photography professionally. I put priority on building a good relationship when I visit reservations, and then I just wait for the chance to snap photos,” Kamata said. His interests have expanded to other minority groups as well. He recently published two photographic volumes: “Indigenous Peoples in America: Passing Memories Toward the Future” and “America — The Pride of Diverse Minorities.” The first book depicts the daily lives of Native Americans living on reservations. While many of them smile in the photos, Kamata explains the severity of their situations in the epilog. Kamata talks about how discrimination by Europeans who settled in the “New World” still affects Native Americans today, pointing out that more than a quarter now live below the poverty line. “Alcohol — and drug-related crimes, accidents and diseases still threaten indigenous communities,” Kamata said. “With their languages, traditional cultures and even human dignity denied, not a few young Native Americans choose to kill themselves in the face of racial discrimination.” Kamata also raises awareness about nuclear issues, such as a plutonium production plant built near the communities that is causing concerns about contamination of their environment. The second book focuses on sexual minorities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. There are also photographed scenes of a Latino community in San Francisco, homeless people and the remains of the wartime internment camps that imprisoned Japanese-Americans. While researching the history of Japanese-Americans, Kamata found that they had exchanges with Native Americans through the fences of the camps, which were in outlying areas near their reservations. After the end of the war, Native Americans used building materials from the internment camps to renovate houses, offices and churches on reservations, according to Kamata. The circumstances surrounding LGBT people have been changing drastically, with the U.S. Supreme Court recognizing same-sex marriage as legal and deeming state-level bans unconstitutional in 2015. But as U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent proposed military ban on transgender service members demonstrates, the battle rages on. “U.S. lawmakers cannot ignore voices of LGBT anymore at a time when people with various ethnicities and sexualities form a family,” Kamata says in the book. While studying for his doctorate, Kamata lived with Latino immigrants, who were always coming and going from his apartment in the process of building their own lives. Kamata said the fact that he was forced to speak Spanish and not English with the people sharing his apartment allowed him to relate to a segment of American society that does not speak the dominant language of the country. Looking back at his quarter-century of research and photography, Kamata reflected on meeting Native Americans — the oldest residents of America — as well as newly arrived Latino immigrants. “I have also met with sexual minorities and homeless people,” he said. He said the experiences helped him “understand the United States more deeply,” influencing him similarly to the journey as a teenager helped determine his path in life. One of his observations was that people who have experienced social discrimination tend to stick together. “LGBT-friendly communities, for example, are comfortable also for other social minorities, including the disabled and people of color,” Kamata said. “It is a challenge of the United States if or how it will be able to keep and expand such comfort.” He said he will continue to keep a watchful eye on American society, particularly in light of the controversial immigration policies of the Trump administration.

lgbt
sexuality
discrimination
native americans
jun kamata


Corregidor stands as silent sentinel of Philippine history

Abstract: CORREGIDOR ISLAND, PHILIPPINES - Nearly five centuries after the Philippines was first colonized and more than 70 years since it was ravaged by World War II, Corregidor Island off Manila Bay continues to offer stark memories of its past. Amid the country’s evolution to a more modern society and economy, ruins, a prominent lighthouse, tunnels and gun emplacements remain preserved on the 9-sq.-km island. They offer glimpses from the period between the 15th and 19th centuries, when the Philippines was a Spanish colony, to the early 20th century, when the United States took over, as well as the 1940s when Japan invaded and World War II broke out. “In our history, Corregidor showed us the valor of the Filipinos, the Americans and the Japanese,” tour guide Edo Fernandez said of the tadpole-shaped island around 48 km west of Manila. While Corregidor served an important function during the Spanish occupation, its significance rose when the U.S. was ruling the Philippines as a colony for nearly 50 years. At that time, it was used to host military forces because of its strategic location. Streets were paved, barracks and quarters were erected, the famous Malinta tunnel was constructed, batteries were set up, and a hospital and cinema were built, among other structures. When the Pacific War broke out in 1941, the Japanese sought to take over Corregidor, which was the last bastion of the allied Filipino and U.S. forces. According to the official Philippine government website, “It was important for the Japanese to capture Corregidor so that their navy could utilize Manila Bay for their campaign.” It took more than 300 full-scale air raids and hundreds of thousands of heavy artillery rounds, or up to 16,000 on a single day, for the Imperial Japanese Army to finally take control of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. On that day, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, commander of all troops on the island, surrendered to the Japanese, led by Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma. The Corregidor Foundation, a nonprofit organization tasked with maintaining the island’s war relics, noted that Corregidor, known also as “the Rock,” was the stumbling block that kept the Japanese from annihilating the Allied Forces in 1942 in the Pacific. “Had it not been for Corregidor Island’s tenacious defense, Australia would have been overrun by the Japanese that would deprive Gen. (Douglas) MacArthur’s regrouping of forces to mount counterattacks two years later,” the foundation said. MacArthur was the commander of the U.S. forces in the Pacific during the war. When the Americans returned in 1944 to take the Philippines back, the fight for Corregidor posed another struggle. This time it took until March 1945 to retake it. During the 10th anniversary of the “Liberation of Corregidor,” Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay said, “Corregidor was democracy’s great bastion during the last war, and I hope, with its proclamation as a national shrine, together with Bataan, it will forever remain the symbolic sanctuary of freedom in Asia.” When the 75th anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor was commemorated last May, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana pointed out how the island also highlights the “strong relationship” between the Philippines and the United States. “This is very important because the Filipinos and Americans fought side by side here,” he said. Aside from the actual war relics, other structures that serve to remind the public of Corregidor’s value were put up on the island years later, including the Pacific War Memorial, made up of a rotunda under a dome, and a museum. Artemio Matibag, executive director of the foundation, laments the decline in the number of Japanese visiting the island in the last few years. “Japanese World War II veterans cannot travel abroad anymore, and the young generation or relatives of World War II veterans are less interested in history,” he noted. Fernandez, a licensed tour guide, recalled that from 2001 to 2005, “there were … still a lot coming in groups,” made up of those interested in WWII, as well as relatives of those who fought and died in the war. But because of the passing of many veterans or their immediate descendants, as well as the weakening of the Japanese economy, the trend slowly reversed. “The younger generation is not interested anymore, unlike the older generation,” Fernandez, 69, said during a recent tour on the island. In a separate email interview, Matibag said, “(Corregidor) is less significant now for the young Japanese generation” since “the world today has so many issues and concerns politically, socially and economically.” Acknowledging that many facts and aspects of the war were purposely kept from the Japanese by their government, Fernandez appealed to the younger generation, especially those from Japan, to visit Corregidor since “this is a good opportunity to learn about the war.” Matibag said the foundation is trying to slow the deterioration of World War II ruins by installing steel supports and cleaning up the island on a daily basis. The preservation efforts, Lorenzana said, are intended “for the future generations … who come here to see what their forefathers did in Corregidor.”

wwii
history
philippines
corregidor island


Lessons learned from the failure of the Osaka Foreign Settlement

Abstract: This year, Osaka is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of its port to the outside world. Numerous events, lectures and symposiums on how Osaka developed from 1868 to the present have taken place or are planned between now and early next year. Many of them focus on the engineering and technical skills needed to transform the port into a modern international hub, or how expanded trade benefited Osaka and Japan. But one aspect of the port’s history seems to have been forgotten and almost hidden, possibly because it’s viewed historically as a major business and diplomatic failure: the Osaka Foreign Settlement. Compared with the better-known Kobe Foreign Settlement — where 150th anniversary celebrations include an exhibition at Kobe city museum on the foreign settlement’s contribution to Japan — Osaka appears less interested in letting the world know that between 1868 and 1899 it, too, had a foreign concession where Western merchants and Christian missionaries lived and worked. The Osaka Foreign Settlement was located in the Kawaguchi district in Nishi Ward along the riverfront. It consisted of about two dozen Western-style buildings where European and U.S. merchants established themselves under the extraterritorial treaties Japan had signed to open itself up to the outside world. For three decades, it was a separate nation with Japan, but not a prosperous one. The settlement was plagued from the beginning by unfavorable conditions in Osaka bay that made transportation of goods by sea rough and dangerous. It was also plagued by political chaos in Osaka and by a lack of interest among local merchants which made steady, profitable trade impossible. By the 1870s, Kobe — not Osaka — was, along with Yokohama, the most prosperous of Japan’s foreign settlements. In the minds of Western traders in the Kansai region, Kobe was the port truly open to outsiders. But while 19th-century merchants abandoned Osaka for Kobe, the missionary movement flourished. Schools for young Japanese under missionary supervision opened in the settlement area. Today, the Kawaguchi Christ Church Cathedral is the most prominent reminder of the old foreign settlement. Finding scholarly and popular works on the Osaka settlement, even in this year of anniversary celebrations, remains difficult. Amateur history buffs interested in gleaning valuable lessons for today from the failures of the first Western merchants in Osaka are apt to be disappointed in the lack of available material. It’s not that the Osaka Foreign Settlement has been wiped from the history books. Rather, a tendency to study only success, not failure, has relegated it to a very minor historical footnote in Japan’s 19th-century development. Public public relations types generally only want to look on the bright side of life and create pleasant images rather than learn from history’s failures. But a deep understanding of the Osaka Foreign Settlement might not only satisfy the curiosity of history buffs but also provide timely tips to the city’s international PR flacks. Over the next couple years, Osaka will wage an international PR campaign to host the 2025 World Expo, to promote what they hope will be one of the country’s first casino resorts, and to win World Heritage Site status for ancient burial mounds. They will be very busy bees, buzzing around, creating all sorts of ways to promote Osaka. How Osaka dealt with the outside world long ago might seem unrelated to their efforts, but that is not the case. Such historical knowledge gives modern Osaka possible promotional material that would resonate more deeply with intelligent outsiders than pompous speeches, slick-but-vapid videos, or historically whitewashed brochures we too often see. In other words, the ancient history of a local international failure might contribute to Osaka winning international success today. Who’d have thought it?

osaka
kawaguchi
osaka foreign settlement


Facing up to the cold hard truth of war

Abstract: Although Japan and South Korea reached a final settlement several years ago involving payments to Korean women who were forced to sexually service Japanese troops in the 1930s and ’40s, the issue won’t go away, and not just because the new South Korean president is questioning the settlement , which was concluded by his predecessor. Japan wants everyone to forget about those women, who are all nearing the end of their lives, and when the government cries foul because some Korea-related organization continues to draw attention to them and what they suffered, it’s because it thinks the other side is reneging on the deal. We’ve all agreed to drop the subject, Japan says. Can’t we get on with other things? In doing so Japan implies a refusal to acknowledge the ineluctable relationship between war and sexual violence . The “comfort women” will always be part of the history of World War II no matter how desperately the government tries to erase them from people’s memories or deny that it was what it was. This inalienable truth was reinforced this summer when two separate media outlets covered the same story about sexual violence that took place in a community of Japanese migrants in Manchuria right after Japan’s 1945 surrender. This story is being told publicly for the first time. One version appeared in the Tokyo Shimbun on July 2, explaining how hundreds of thousands of Japanese were compelled to move to Manchuria in the 1930s after Japan set up a puppet regime there. A good portion of the migrants were farmers charged with growing food for a country that was escalating its war on the Asian continent. Japan eventually lost that war, and the migrants were left to their own devices by retreating Japanese forces. Many communities committed group suicide rather than face the approaching Soviet Army or the returning Chinese whose property they had taken. The article focused on one farming community from the village of Kurokawa, Gifu Prefecture. The leaders of the community, which numbered about 600, also discussed suicide but in the end determined they would try to survive and return to Japan. They were already being attacked by Chinese bent on revenge, so they asked a group of Soviet soldiers for protection. In the end, they entered into an agreement where the soldiers would have sexual access to about 15 of the community’s unmarried girls and women. Three of these women are still alive. They kept silent about their ordeal for many years, but have now decided to talk about it. For three months, until the Soviets withdrew, they were raped frequently, often at gunpoint. “They’d use their rifles to push us down onto the futon,” one woman recalls, “as if we were logs.” Four of the women died before the nightmare was over. When the community, reduced by disease and starvation to about 400, finally returned to Japan in the summer of 1946, no one talked about these “ settai ” (recreational receptions), the euphemism used for the arrangement the community’s leaders had made with the Soviet soldiers, least of all the leaders themselves. One woman said she didn’t even know of the arrangement until the first day she reported to the special house prepared for the settai. Even after they were back in Japan, the men who made the decision never acknowledged the pain they had put her through. “They couldn’t understand how much we suffered,” she said. “But they should remember what happened to us so that they could return to Japan.” Another woman, now 91, said she contemplated escaping many times, but would instead dutifully go to the settai “when it was my turn.” She felt she had to do it to save her community. The only recognition of the ordeal until now was a small statue erected at a shrine in Shirakawa-cho (present-day Kurokawa) dedicated to the “maidens” ( otome ) who “sacrificed” themselves for the community, though the nature of that sacrifice is unspecified. Also unspecified in the Tokyo Shimbun article were the names of these women, but in its documentary about the Kurokawa migrants broadcast on Aug. 5, NHK identified two of them, as well as another woman who died several years ago. In fact, it was that woman, Yoshiko Yasue, who first came out with her story in 2013, at the age of 89. Her husband, who didn’t know about the settai before her public “confession,” told NHK, “I think she felt she had to talk about it.” Her son surmised, “She had to verbalize her experience, because she wanted to question why she had to endure it in the first place.” More than the Tokyo Shimbun article, the documentary stresses that the community believed they would have been killed by returning Chinese, who started looting as soon as Japan surrendered. NHK’s version is also more detailed, with testimony from surviving men of the village who express contrition for what happened, though they admit no one ever talked about it until Yasue’s testimony. One man, who was only a boy at the time, shows NHK the notebook of his father, who recorded what went on. However, in 1981, when he published an official history of the village’s time in Manchuria, he papered over the rapes by describing the settai as entertainments where the women served drinks to the soldiers. “We could not write the truth in 1981,” the man says, and shows NHK the passage in his father’s notebook describing the women’s screams as they were raped. The central figure of the NHK documentary is Harue Sato, who at 92 talks candidly about the rapes but, more significantly, shows how one moves past such a tragedy without denying or forgetting it. Unable to wed in Kurokawa because of “rumors,” she left for the mountains, spent three backbreaking years clearing inhospitable land and started her own dairy farm, which thrived with the help of a man to whom she told everything. “He understood and he married me,” Sato says, the point being that all men know what they’re capable of during war, but not all have the courage to face that ugliness openly.

wwii
military
comfort women
world war ii
gifu
manchuria
kurokawa


Wabi lies at the heart of Japanese history

Abstract: You could spend your entire life in modern Japan without ever hearing the term wabi , though no overview of Japanese history or art is complete without it. It’s a beautiful word, hard to define like most beautiful words. Poverty is the heart of it, which sounds dispiriting, but there’s the Zen phrase “To fill a monk’s tattered robe with a cool refreshing breeze,” quoted by Zen master Daisetz T. Suzuki (1870-1966) as an invitation to see poverty through Zen eyes. “A life of wabi,” he says, affords “an inexpressible quiet joy deeply hidden beneath sheer poverty.” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, many of whose political goals spring from a professed love of Japanese tradition, has little to say about this particular one. It’s hard to blame him. A politician would sound silly campaigning on a wabi platform. Economic growth is Abe’s mantra. It’s every politician’s. It has to be, in keeping with the times. If tradition scorns it, who really cares? No one, not even traditionalists — at least those who run for office. “An inexpressible quiet joy hidden deep beneath sheer poverty.” If that’s wabi you can keep it, would be the modern verdict. These days we prefer other joys. But the sages and poets of old were curiously drawn to it. The seeds of wabi were sown by a poet and Shinto shrine official named Kamo no Chomei (circa 1153-1216), who bequeathed to posterity a charming little memoir known as the “Hojoki” (“The Ten Foot Square Hut”). His withdrawal from society, he candidly admits, was due less to religious yearning than to a string of disasters, natural and personal, that had frustrated his worldly ambitions. Retiring deep into the forested mountains near Kyoto, he lived alone for 30 years in a succession of primitive huts, each smaller than the one before, discovering in the process how little a person needs in order to enjoy the serene tranquility whose joys only poverty can reveal. His last and smallest hut became a model for the tea hut where the classical tea ceremony — wabi ritualized — came to be performed. “With this lonely cottage of mine, this hut of one room,” said Chomei, “I am quite content. … If your food is scanty, it will have the better relish. … My only luxury is a sound sleep, and all I look forward to is the beauty of the changing seasons.” The theme echoes down the ages. A century or so after Chomei, the priest Yoshida no Kenko (1283-1350), in a miscellany known as “Tzurezuregusa” (“The Grasses of Idleness”), wrote: “What a foolish thing it is to be governed by a desire for fame and profit and to fret away one’s whole life without a moment of peace. … You had best throw away your gold in the mountains and drop your jewels into a ravine.” The haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-94), setting off on one of several journeys undertaken not to arrive somewhere or accomplish something but because life itself is a journey, wrote, “Following the example of the ancient priest who is said to have traveled thousands of miles caring naught for his provisions and attaining the state of sheer ecstasy under the pure beams of the moon, I left my broken house on the River Sumida … among the wails of the autumn wind.” On the road he discovered, along with much else, “Fleas, lice/ the horse pissing/ near my pillow.” Revulsion is uncalled for, for Basho’s mind was “one with nature,” and “whatever such a mind sees is a flower, and whatever such a mind dreams of is the moon.” Then there’s the poet Ryokan (1758-1831) — beggar, monk, wabi personified: “I’ve forgotten my begging bowl/ but no one would steal it/ no one would steal it — / how sad for my begging bowl.” Speaking of fleas and lice: “Fleas, lice/ any autumn bug that wants to sing — / the breast of my robe is Musashino moor!” In other words: Come, fleas, come, lice, make yourselves at home in the breast of my robe. The tradition endured well into the 20th century. The protagonist in “Kikyo” (“Homecoming”), a novel by Jiro Osaragi published in 1948, is Kyogo, a disgraced naval officer who, having spent the war years as a vagabond in Europe, returns to a Japan in ruins and ponders the poverty around him in terms of wabi: “Kyogo had grown used to Europe, so that after his return he was able to see what a really meager and impoverished life the Japanese had had through the centuries. … It was because they were so poor, Kyogo saw, that the Japanese had discovered a world of beauty unknown to Western aesthetics and called it by names suggesting melancholy and unfulfillment. They had been denied the luxury of really satisfying their human desires, so they had suppressed them and found ways to enjoy poverty.” Wabi withered in the modernizing, industrializing blast of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). It breathed its last in the still more frenetic reconstruction boom of the postwar years. By 1980, some 90 percent of Japanese considered themselves solidly middle class. Poverty had been defeated. Wabi was no longer necessary. The victory proved ephemeral. One measure of the damage done by a recession that set in the 1990s and lingers still is the rising child poverty rate: 1 in 6 Japanese children is said to be growing up in poverty. Given a choice between economic growth and wabi, Kamo no Chomei, Basho and Ryokan would surely choose wabi, but they, having cut their worldly ties, could afford the indulgence. Their sexual abstinence didn’t affect the birth rate, and impoverished modern parents with children they are unable to feed and educate would sound more callous than enlightened offering them wabi instead. Wabi is, indeed, beautiful in its simplicity, but harsh, as Basho perhaps unwittingly reminds us. Approached on one of his journeys by a starving, abandoned child of about 3 years old, the poet wrote, “Alas, it seems to me that the child’s suffering has been caused by … the irresistible will of heaven and I must pass on, leaving it behind.”

matsuo basho
kamo no chomei
jiro osaragi
ryokan
wabi
yoshida no kenko


Japan's female politicians showing the way forward on maternity harassment

Abstract: Since July 12, when Lower House lawmaker Takako Suzuki announced she was pregnant with her first child, the news media has been full of stories about “maternity harassment.” Suzuki’s announcement was met with negative comments posted to her blog. Some people believe she cannot be an effective public servant while she is expecting — her doctor has prescribed bed rest due to the risk of premature birth — and further imply that she will be distracted by the business of motherhood once the baby arrives. Suzuki, an independent from Hokkaido, has rejected the criticism, saying that although she might limit her activities before the baby is due in September, she was not going to abandon her responsibilities. In an Aug. 2 article , Tokyo Shimbun said that Suzuki’s reaction was encouraging, since it showed she wouldn’t be intimidated. It should be noted that Suzuki is the daughter of Muneo Suzuki , perhaps the most powerful politician in Hokkaido. Due to his 2004 conviction for accepting bribes, a charge he maintains was false, he has been banned from seeking public office, and it’s generally assumed that his daughter is his proxy in the government. Muneo is still popular in Hokkaido, so it isn’t likely that Suzuki’s matahara — the portmanteau of maternity harassment — will have an adverse effect on her chances for re-election in the future. A more instructive story regarding female politicians was that of the two pregnant women elected to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly last spring, although their victories have been attributed to their allegiance to popular Gov. Yuriko Koike’s Tomin First (Tokyoites First) party. The fact that they were pregnant made it even more important, though they, too, were the targets of internet trolls. Ayumi Saigo, a former Chuo Ward assemblywoman, and Nami Goto, who has never held office before, say their agenda will be centered on “improving the environment” for working mothers, particularly in the Tokyo assembly itself, which has no rules regarding pregnancies or parental leave. According to Tokyo Shimbun , Tomin First actively recruited Saigo, saying they wanted more women in the prefectural government and were delighted that she is expecting, since it would draw attention to the situations of working mothers and help “normalize” them in the public’s imagination. Goto, on the other hand, wasn’t aware she was pregnant until after she responded to a public solicitation by Tomin First for candidates. Legally, Tokyo assemblypersons are considered “special position” civil servants, meaning they are not entitled to the same kind of maternity leave given to full-time bureaucrats — 14 weeks paid leave prior to birth and up to 18 months afterward. Tokyo Shimbun reports, however, that there is an informal agreement that allows female members to skip sessions if they are having a baby. Nevertheless, the two women said that, while there are ways to receive paid leave for pregnancy and childbirth — employment insurance ( koyō hoken ) provides compensation for regular employees who take time off to have children, and regular sick leave is available to assemblypersons — they would “feel bad” about doing so. Online trolls are accusing them of “stealing public money,” and though both refuse to quit, neither has said how much time they will take off to have their babies. Tokyo Shimbun says that regardless of the law, public attitudes need to change, implying that they haven’t since 2008, when Reiko Matsushita took a few days off to have a baby and, after returning to the Tokyo Assembly, was met with “pity” for her child, who, according to critics, wasn’t going to receive Matsushita’s full attention. Even when a female politician clearly fulfills her duties and raises her children responsibly, she gets grief. Megumi Kaneko, a Diet lawmaker from Niigata, was condemned for using an official vehicle to drop her son off at day care. Matahara is supposedly less of a problem in the private sector, but attitudes remain a roadblock, even in corporate Japan. Almost every outlet has quoted the statistic that says 100 percent of the women who take maternity leave at retail giant Aeon return to their jobs afterward, but what about those women who quit when they discover they are pregnant? In the general workforce, a majority do so. If these employees were factored in, the return rate for Aeon female employees would surely be lower. In recent years, even a company like Japan Airlines , once considered at the vanguard in hiring and promoting women in Japan, has been hit with a matahara lawsuit. Some have said the problem has more to do with Japan’s work culture than with lingering sexism. In a discussion last year on the Nippon TV morning show “ Sukkiri ” (which itself was once involved in a matahara controversy ), a representative of the anti-harassment group Matahara Net said that women who take time off to have children receive more resentment from female colleagues than they do from male supervisors because those colleagues will have to do her work while she’s away. Despite government efforts to change this culture, Japanese workers who take vacations or don’t work overtime are considered shirkers. An Aug. 17 article in Tokyo Shimbun reported how a female sales representative for household products company Lion put together a team of three novice sales reps after she returned from maternity leave. They maintain her network of contacts when she has family responsibilities and are gaining valuable experience in the process. The point being: Each employer needs to come up with its own solution. But maybe the most effective way of changing attitudes would be to show pregnant women on the job, which is where the media can make a difference. In other countries, on-air talent appear in front of the camera right up until their delivery date , and while some viewers may be put off by it , in general it’s accepted and even welcome. In Japan, it would be good to see more announcers continue working after they start showing.

matahara
maternity harassment
takako suzuki
ayumi saigo
nami goto


Color-coded map identifies potential nuclear waste sites in Japan but local governments may only see red

Abstract: OSAKA - On July 28, the central government released what it called a scientific, specialized map of the country highlighting areas where highly radioactive nuclear waste from the nation’s power plants might, or might not, be safely buried underground for as long as 100,000 years. The multicolored map ( link to a PDF version ) is further divided into regional blocks identifying locations in each prefecture where conditions are judged to be most favorable — both in geological terms (i.e., lack of active fault lines or low risk of volcanoes) and ease of transport — for burying high-level waste. It also indicated where such burial would pose scientific and logistical challenges. The general response from Hokkaido to Okinawa was: “Not in my backyard.” Regardless of whether the government will continue its policy of putting back in operation as many reactors as possible, Japan — like most countries that embraced nuclear power five decades ago without arrangements for long-term waste — now finds that it needs to build disposal facilities sooner rather than later. However, local opposition to hosting nuclear waste may not be easily overcome. What is the map and what’s the official plan for the waste? The map shows areas in the country the government has deemed either favorable or unfavorable to build underground waste storage facilities for high-level nuclear waste that would be in operation for as long as 100,000 years, at least in theory. Waste currently stored at nuclear power plants would be transported by truck or ship to final disposal sites, where the radioactive materials would then be transferred via automated trains at least 300 meters underground. The map has four colors. Dark green indicates favorable conditions, mostly concentrated within 20 km along the coast, and easily accessible in terms of transportation. Light green areas are generally favorable, but more than 20 km from the coast. Orange marks locations that would pose geological problems and silver highlights the potential existence of mineral resources. Where are the favorable and unfavorable sites, and how many have been identified? Close to 900 municipalities, nearly 70 percent of the country, were judged to be favorable. Much of the coastline of the four major islands was colored green, as was most of Okinawa. Areas that were flagged as unfavorable include Hokkaido’s Shiretoko region and, off Hokkaido, two disputed islands — Kunashiri and Etorofu — held by Russia. The tip of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, much of the Japan Alps region, Tottori and northern Hyogo Prefecture, and most of southern Kyushu were seen as unfavorable. What about Fukushima and Aomori prefecture, the site of the Rokkasho nuclear waste reprocessing plants? Both prefectures would technically fall into the favorable category using the outlined criteria; in the case of Aomori, locations close to shore mean favorable transport conditions. But the government has already promised that the disposal site would not be located in Aomori because of the Rokkasho plant, and that Fukushima residents would not be asked to bear the burden of a final burial site, taking both prefectures out of play for political reasons. On the other hand, much of the coastal areas of Fukui Prefecture, which has the largest concentration of nuclear power plants in the country, was deemed suitable for a disposal site. Political reaction has been cautious to skeptical. Many Fukui towns that host nuclear plants are now seeking promises from the central government that Fukui, home to 13 commercial reactors, will not also be asked to accommodate a burial site for nuclear waste. Are authorities reviewing the use of midterm storage facilities before transferring to a final site? In 2015, the Science Council of Japan, a national body that represents scientists and operates independently of the government, released a series of recommendations that called for storing the waste in provisional, above-ground facilities for a half century. According to the plan, during the first 30 years of temporary storage, locations for a final disposal site would be identified and selected, and during the last 20 years, those facilities would be built. That still requires a local government to accept a midterm facility, and none has yet. Also, such a course of action would only postpone the final site issue, putting it on the next generation to solve the predicament. Now that the map has been published, what happens next? The central government will begin to narrow the list of possible host sites. Much will depend on the strength of local opposition, and how much time, money and effort those who favor a particular locale becoming a final waste disposal site wish to spend on overcoming the local opposition. Convincing local populations that the nation’s underground radioactive waste can be stored in their neighborhood for millennia without destroying the above-ground environment will be a hard sell.


Japan working hard to douse fire ant invasion

Abstract: Fire ants, a venomous, highly invasive nonnative pest, have been spotted over the past few months in various parts of Japan, prompting the Environment Ministry to both warn the public to seek immediate treatment for stings and take measures to prevent further infestation. First detected June 9 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, fire ants had been identified in 10 locations nationwide as of July 27, from Oita Prefecture to Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo. The ministry has confirmed one injury caused by a fire ant; a male worker in his 30s developed a rash on his left arm after being stung in a warehouse in Fukuoka on July 27. Following is a look at why fire ants should be kept out of Japan: What are the characteristics of fire ants? They measure about 2.5 to 6 mm long, are reddish brown in color and have a venomous stinger on the tip of their deep-red abdomen. According to the ministry, fire ants originated in South America but have spread to more than 10 countries and territories worldwide, including the United States, Puerto Rico, Australia, China and Taiwan. Unlike Japan’s domestic ant species, fire ants build domed hills 25 to 60 cm wide and 15 to 50 cm high. The invasive species law bans the import, transport or keeping of fire ants in Japan. How dangerous are they? The Environment Ministry had in the past said that about 100 people in the United States are killed each year by fire ants, printing this figure in a pamphlet titled “Stop the Fire Ant.” However, the figure was not used in the pamphlet’s current version. A ministry official told The Japan Times last week they couldn’t find any evidence to back the figure up. Even so, the official stressed the importance of people steering clear of fires ants because it is possible to die from a sting. According to the Japanese unit of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, 129 people were hospitalized in Taiwan between 2012 and 2014 after being stung by fire ants, although no cases resulted in death. Fire ants can also threaten biodiversity and agriculture. The ministry says the species is “highly aggressive,” killing and consuming insects, reptiles and even small mammals. Officials say fire ants can potentially kill livestock, including cattle or horses. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers fire ants one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species that can drive other breeds to extinction, and do harm to human society. “They breed and spread rapidly and, if disturbed, can relocate quickly so as to ensure survival of the colony. Their stinging ability allows them to subdue prey and repel even larger vertebrate competitors from resources,” says the union’s database. They also proliferate quickly, with queens producing 800 to 2,000 eggs a day. The economic impact of fire ants on humans, agriculture and wildlife in the United States was estimated at about “half a billion, if not several billion, dollars per year,” according to a 2010 report by the union. The agricultural impact includes damage to crops and workers, the report says, adding that if inhabited by fire ants, playgrounds may no longer be safe for children. What happens when a person is stung? According to the ministry, victims can experience anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction with symptoms such as difficulty breathing, decrease of blood pressure and loss of consciousness. Milder symptoms can include breaking out in hives centered around the areas where stung. Victims may also experience acute pain similar to a burn. If conditions worsen after a rest of 20 to 30 minutes, it’s best to visit a hospital and report being stung. If one encounters an army of fire ants, steer clear and contact the Environment Ministry or the prefectural department that handles pest extermination. What measures are being taken by the government? The Environment Ministry is urging early detection and extermination. According to the ministry, all fire ants spotted so far have been exterminated. The sites have been in Hyogo, Aichi, Osaka, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Fukuoka and Oita prefectures. The ministry has also begun a project to hunt down fire ants at 68 ports nationwide and is taking such measures as setting traps in areas within 2 km from the ports where they have previously been seen. The 68 ports regularly handle cargo from countries and territories where the ministry has confirmed that fire ants exist, including China and Taiwan. The government has also asked organizations involved in shipping to urge consignors to take active measures, and boards of education to teach students about the dangers posed by fire ants. Medical institutions and fire departments meanwhile have been informed by their prefectural governments about the appropriate treatment of victims.


Internal affairs minister Noda eyes telecommuting to boost women's empowerment

Abstract: Newly appointed Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda said she wants to take the initiative to promote teleworking to pave the way for more flexible working environments. Noda, 56, whose son is developmentally disabled, said the practice, also known as telecommuting, can be a huge help for women who juggle work and family commitments. “I have a six-year-old child. And I also have to be a nurse and a caregiver to look after my son. It’s a heavy burden. So I want to make the most of ICT (information and communication technology) to balance work (and my family),” Noda said during a joint interview Tuesday with The Japan Times and other media outlets. “If I can balance these things, I believe any women can.” The ministry has been promoting telecommuting since 2015 as a way to change people’s working styles and ease heavy transport congestion ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. As of September 2016, about 13.3 percent of businesses had implemented the system, according to a ministry survey. The government aims to increase the figure to over 30 percent by 2020. Noda, who doubles as minister in charge of women’s empowerment, said she will continue her efforts to increase the proportion of female lawmakers in Japan’s male-dominated political hub at Nagatacho. “It’s been more than 70 years since women gained suffrage in Japan. Still, women account for less than 10 percent of the Lower House,” Noda lamented. “Women still are minorities in the world of politics.” Currently women account for a mere 9 percent in the powerful 475-seat Lower House. In a bid to change the status quo, a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Noda submitted a bill to the Diet earlier this year to oblige political parties to try to make the ratio of female and male candidates in local and national elections “as equal as possible.” Noda hopes to enact the bill in the extraordinary Diet session this fall. Although the bill does not include any punitive provisions, Noda said the legislation will help raise people’s awareness about the gender gap in politics. “Many still think politics are for men,” Noda said. But changing that mindset could also change the way people see women in business, she said.


'Maternity harassment' still dogs female lawmakers despite government's empowerment goals

Abstract: While allowing female employees to take maternity leave is becoming the norm in the nation’s private sector, women in politics can still face a storm of criticism even for getting pregnant. On July 12, independent House of Representatives lawmaker Takako Suzuki, 31, announced on her blog that she was pregnant with her first child, writing, “On this occasion, I have been blessed with the gift of a new life.” She went on to say she felt “very conflicted” since she had been prescribed bed rest by her doctor due to the risk of a premature birth. This meant, she said, that she would have to limit, though not altogether cease, her political activities. Although Suzuki was sent a number of messages of congratulation and encouragement, she also received a torrent of criticism in her comments section. “I have doubts about you getting pregnant while you are still serving in office,” one person wrote. “You should quit for the time being,” remarked another, while someone else wrote, “This is why female lawmakers are a problem … .” Suzuki responded in a post that she found the notion that because she is pregnant she is somehow “abandoning her duties” as a representative of the people unacceptable. She added that she is ready to vigorously pursue her activities after giving birth. Suzuki’s father, Muneo, a former House of Representatives lawmaker, posted in his blog: “This is a gift from God. It is outrageous to call this an abandonment of duty.” Suzuki, who said she is scheduled to give birth in mid-September, is not the only female Diet member to have abuse thrown her way for daring to have a child. Megumi Kaneko, a 39-year-old House of Representatives lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gave birth to a son in February of last year. A person who saw her cradling her son in her home district in Niigata Prefecture told her, “You’re done as a politician.” That prompted Kaneko to later say, “In politics, I felt like prejudice remains and that it is something only for men.” The Mainichi Shimbun reported that Hiromi Suzuki, 33, a member of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward Assembly, took four months of maternity leave four years ago and again last year. During her first leave, sexually vulgar insults were scrawled over her posters, and she was labeled a “traitor” and urged to “quit” on social media. For years the government has been touting the goal of increasing the number of women in senior jobs, in both the private and public sectors. A target has been set to raise the proportion of women in national and local politics to 30 percent by 2020, but female lawmakers currently make up just 13 percent of the Diet. More than 70 percent of female prefectural assembly members who responded to a Kyodo News poll conducted last year said the 2020 goal is “unachievable.” In the House of Representatives, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s LDP holds a majority, women hold just 44 seats, or 9.3 percent of the 475 seats in the chamber. According to a survey conducted earlier this year by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, Japan ranked 163rd out of 193 countries in terms of female lawmakers in the more powerful lower chamber. It also ranked the lowest among the Group of Seven countries. Quota systems to enhance women’s candidacy in elections have been implemented overseas, and there are also examples of systems to allow female lawmakers to take maternity or child care leave by bringing in surrogates to stand in their place. In Japan, there is no clear system for maternity or paternity leave based on the law. The Labor Standards Act also does not extend to politicians because they are not considered workers subject to industrial relations. But in 2000, LDP House of Councilors lawmaker Seiko Hashimoto’s absence from Diet sessions in order to give birth prompted the Diet to allow maternity leave for its members for the first time. According to the executive offices of both chambers of the Diet, 11 legislators have made use of the system. According to the Cabinet Office, all prefectures and assemblies in designated cities now have systems in which female lawmakers can take maternity leave, but the systems do not extend as far within municipal assemblies. Women are faring much better in the private sector, although they are still grossly underrepresented in leadership roles. Retail giant Aeon Co. is aiming to boost its proportion of women managers to 50 percent by 2020. Although the male-to-female ratio was split evenly when hiring new employees with similar abilities, many began to question why there was such a big difference at the managerial level. For the past four years, the company has been trying to figure out ways to incentivize women to remain in their jobs. As a result, it says that 100 percent of its female employees at its headquarters in Chiba have been able to take child care leave and return to their jobs. Matahara Net is a nonprofit organization that supports women who experience “maternity harassment,” or matahara in Japanese — the term used to describe women who suffer harassment in the workplace after becoming pregnant or giving birth. “Japanese people are too closed-minded. Policies should reflect diverse thinking, and the perspective of female lawmakers who have experienced childbirth and child care is essential,” said the NPO’s representative director, Hiroko Miyashita. “We have to have a society where women can continue working.”


To pare losses, Japan Display eyes cutting 4,000 jobs

Abstract: Japan Display Inc. is considering slashing around 4,000 jobs, about 30 percent of its total workforce, by streamlining manufacturing lines, mostly overseas, to turn around its struggling business, sources close to the matter said Tuesday. The liquid-crystal display maker, formed in 2012 through a merger of the LCD operations of Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., incurred losses for the three fiscal years through last March. A harsh business environment will likely continue for the company as its key client Apple Inc. is turning away from LCDs and toward organic light-emitting diode displays. Japan Display lags behind rivals in OLED development. The struggling company is planning to cut around 3,500 jobs overseas by eliminating and integrating factories in countries including China and the Philippines. It will also solicit voluntary retirement from 250 workers in Japan by streamlining operations mainly at three plants in Ishikawa Prefecture. The Japan Display group’s workforce totaled around 13,000 at the end of March. With job cuts, it aims to slash ¥50 billion in its annual fixed costs and return to profitability. As for domestic production, the maker plans to suspend output of LCD panels for smartphones at its plant in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, by the end of this year and shift workers to the nearby Hakusan plant equipped with cutting-edge production facilities. At its plant in Kawakita, production will shift to LCD panels for vehicles to better cope with an expected rise in demand for the products. The Nomi plant may resume operation eventually when production of next-generation OLED panels gets into gear, the sources said. With losses associated with the streamlining of the manufacturing bases estimated to reach ¥150 billion, it is seen as inevitable that Japan Display will remain in the red for the fourth straight year in fiscal 2017. The manufacturer is also hoping to receive a capital infusion to shore up its shaky financial base. An investment fund and a Chinese LCD panel maker have shown interest in becoming a partner, according to sources. Japan Display’s three main lenders — Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank — are set to extend the company new lines of credit worth ¥110 billion, with its top shareholder, the government-backed fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, guaranteeing the loans. The maker also plans to introduce an in-house company system in October, dividing display operations for vehicles, mobile gadgets or for other installations in a bid to speed up its decision-making process and better control its costs and earnings. The company is expected to announce those restructuring measures Wednesday.

electronics
job cuts
corporate restructuring
japan display inc .


Aussie teen soaks feet in sea, finds mystery creatures chewed them up

Abstract: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - A teenager who went for a swim at a Melbourne beach and emerged with his feet covered in blood has stumped marine experts. Sam Kanizay’s legs felt sore after playing a game of football on Saturday, so he decided to soak them at the beach. About 30 minutes later, the 16-year-old walked out of the water with his feet and ankles covered in what looked like hundreds of little pin holes that were bleeding profusely. Upon returning home, his parents promptly took him to the hospital. Kanizay’s father, Jarrod, said hospital staff had no idea what kind of creature could have caused the injuries. So Jarrod went back to the beach the following night with a pool net full of meat and captured the animals he believes could have been responsible. He took a video of dozens of the tiny bug-like creatures chomping on the chunks of meat. “What is really clear is these little things really love meat,” he said. Jeff Weir, executive director of the Dolphin Research Institute, believes the teen may have been attacked by crustaceans called amphipods, which usually eat decomposing plant and animal scraps. But Thomas Cribb, a parasite expert from the University of Queensland, said it would be very unusual for amphipods to cause such extensive bleeding. “It’s not a parasite I’ve ever come across,” he said. Meanwhile, marine expert Michael Brown believes the small bugs eating the meat in the video could be jellyfish larvae. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program. Sam was still hospitalized Monday, but had been taken off antibiotics.


IMF urges Japan to boost foreign, female and elderly labor participation

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund has called on Japan to promote the use of foreign workers and the participation of women and elderly people in the labor market as part of efforts to achieve firmer and sustained growth. In its assessment of the Japanese economy following annual consultations with the government, the IMF suggested advancing “reforms to bolster investment as well as diversifying and enhancing labor supply to raise potential growth.” “To this end, full-time work, female and older labor market participation, and use of foreign labor, should be facilitated,” the Washington-based institution said in a report released Monday. The IMF expects Japan’s growth momentum to carry through this year but weaken next year if fiscal support fades as currently scheduled, the report said. Recent growth, bolstered by fiscal support and firmness of the world economy, “could be temporary,” it said. Measured by real gross domestic product, the IMF estimates that the world’s third-largest economy will grow 1.3 percent in 2017, up from 1.0 percent in 2016. Growth, however, is projected to slow to 0.6 percent in 2018. “The possible expiration of fiscal support in 2018, together with a smaller expansion in foreign demand, would reduce the rate of growth, despite an anticipated Olympics-related boost in private investment,” the report said. The IMF offered a positive assessment of recent movements of the yen, saying, “The substantial real effective exchange rate appreciation in 2016 had moved the yen to a level consistent with fundamentals.” To underpin growth, the Bank of Japan should maintain its accommodative monetary policy, the IMF said. Citing the need for fiscal consolidation to address risks from Japan’s high level of public debt, the IMF “broadly supported” a pre-announced path for a gradual and sustained increase in the consumption tax. The tax is to raised to 10 percent from 8 percent in October 2019. However, a few IMF directors pointed to risks associated with implementing the planned hike, apparently in light of the uncertain outlook for the economy.

boj
women
imf
economic growth
foreigners
seniors
workforce
japan


Philippines has highest HIV infection growth rate in Asia-Pacific, U.N. says

Abstract: MANILA - The Philippines has registered the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific in the past six years with a 140 percent increase in the number of new infections, the health ministry and the United Nations said on Tuesday. At the end of 2016, there were 10,500 Filipinos infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), up from 4,300 in 2010, Health Minister Paulyn Ubial told a news conference, citing data from UNAIDS. Ubial encouraged voluntary testing and use of condoms to help fight the problem, which in May 2017 alone saw 1,098 new cases of HIV infections in the Philippines, the highest recorded number of cases since 1984 when infections were first reported. The country can still end the public health threat by 2030 if the government can re-direct its focus on the people and locations most at risk, said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS regional support team director for Asia-Pacific. He said 83 percent of new HIV cases occurred among males who have sex with males and transgender women who have sex with males. Genesis Samonte, head of the health ministry’s public health surveillance department, said men who have sex with men were most at risk. “We’re not talking about those that are openly gay,” Samonte told a news conference. “Any male who has sex with another male, for whatever reason, is at risk.” Two out of three new HIV infections were among men aged between 15 and 24, who she said have insufficient awareness of HIV, its symptoms and treatment. Most of the men had their first sexual encounter at 16 and only get tested for HIV eight years later, she said.


Poetic justice: One American's 47-year campaign against nuclear weapons

Abstract: A sense of responsibility toward survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has led a U.S. man on a lifelong journey, working to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons and using poetry to communicate their dangers. David Krieger, 75, is the president and founder of the nonprofit organization Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, which was launched in 1982 to campaign for a world free of nuclear weapons. Its advisory council includes several Nobel laureates, as well as academic and activist Noam Chomsky and Hiroshima hibakusha Setsuko Thurlow. Krieger has been working toward nuclear disarmament for 47 years. He has written five volumes of poetry as part of these efforts, two of which have been published in Japanese. “I believe we must appeal to both the mind and the heart,” Krieger said. “It is necessary to make both a practical appeal and a moral appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons.” Themes in his poems range from the urgency of the need for peace to his impressions of hibakusha who lived through the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which had killed an estimated 214,000 people by the end of 1945. “I view the hibakusha as ambassadors of the nuclear age. … I have tried to capture their pain, suffering, forgiveness, wisdom and hope in my poetry,” Krieger said. Visiting Japan when he was a 21-year-old university graduate during the Cold War, Krieger was “awakened” to the horror of nuclear weapons by artifacts he saw at the memorial museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A child’s tricycle in the Hiroshima museum, burned and bent, seemed to him “a symbol of the death and suffering of children, who were undoubtedly beneath the bomb.” “I came to understand that if humankind did not solve the nuclear problem and continued with a mad arms race, we faced the prospects of a global Hiroshima,” Krieger said. His work in both activism and poetry reflects a frustration that 72 years later, the threat of nuclear war remains real. His foundation reaches out to political decision-makers to advocate for nuclear abolition. In January, the foundation released an open letter to then-President-elect Donald Trump urging him to enter talks for a world without nuclear weapons, and noting with alarm that he had suggested on occasion that Japan should someday acquire a nuclear arsenal. “Nuclear weapons have no place on our planet, and we must all work to abolish them before they abolish us,” Krieger said. He hailed the recent adoption at the United Nations of the world’s first nuclear ban treaty, but also voiced disappointment with Japan’s refusal to participate, along with the nuclear weapons states and other countries under the U.S. nuclear umbrella. “For the Japanese government to choose its security relationship with the United States over its bond with the people of Japan, including the hibakusha, seems to me to be an act of bad faith on the part of the government,” Krieger said. But it is not too late for Japan to sign and ratify the treaty, and the Japanese people must demand this of the government, he said.


Building project threatens Beatles statue in Mongolian capital

Abstract: ULAANBAATAR - A statue of the Beatles erected in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar could be at risk amid an alleged land grab, protesters say, as rapid development turns a city once famed for wide open spaces into a cluttered metropolis. Residents are protesting against plans to build commercial properties in an area known as Beatles Square, where a bronze bas-relief monument to the “Fab Four” commemorates the former Soviet satellite’s transition to democracy in 1990. “For a long time there were stories about construction on the land, but nobody wanted to believe it,” said Tsoggerel Uyanga, a community organizer and senior partner at research group MAD Investment Solutions. The monument, erected in 2008 with donations from politicians, businessmen and artists, marks the site where Mongolians gathered to talk about banned Western pop music and soon became a quirky tourist attraction. The music of the Beatles, ABBA and other Western pop groups helped launch the “Rock and Roll Communist Revolution” that inspired a generation to fight for Mongolian democracy 30 years ago. The protests began after an Aug. 2 announcement that construction work will start, with residents calling the project a “land grab” and expressing fears the Beatles statue could be moved or even demolished. Authorities have defended the development as part of a “car-free street” project to build an underground shopping complex complete with street gardens. A lawyer for Mongolia’s National Construction Association said there are no plans to remove the Beatles statue, however. “By implementing the project, there are a great deal of advantages, such as increasing jobs and reducing traffic congestion,” said D. Uuganbayar, the lawyer. The national association, the city government and a private contractor are leading the project. Congestion and pollution have grown in the capital as its population has doubled over the last two decades, with thousands of impoverished herders flocking to settle in makeshift residential areas. The strain on Ulaanbaatar’s infrastructure has forced the city to rethink its planning of urban spaces, and drawn criticism for the sale of public land to wealthy buyers. Investors have failed in the past to deliver on promises to protect public spaces affected by development, Uyanga said, pointing to the Bogd Khan conservation area where the World Bank had raised concerns about over-development. “It became a black market for land authorities during the early democratic years,” said Uyanga.

music
sculpture
development
beatles
construction industry
mongola
ulaanbaatar


METI seeks to pass nuclear buck with release of waste disposal map

Abstract: Taro Kono’s appointment as the new foreign minister is raising eyebrows. Though he hasn’t shown any indication that he will buck Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s agenda, Kono is considered a leftish maverick within the Liberal Democratic Party, especially with regard to its nuclear energy policy, which he has opposed. In an editorial , the conservative Sankei Shimbun insisted he maintain the LDP line when the 30-year U.S.-Japan nuclear energy pact expires next year . The pact’s ostensible purpose is to authorize the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel for energy purposes so as to limit the amount of weapons-grade plutonium Japan can stockpile. This system has been stymied, however, by the decommissioning of the experimental Monju fast-breeder reactor and the shutdown of most of the nation’s nuclear plants following the Fukushima No. 1 meltdowns in 2011. Whatever reprocessing of spent fuel that has been done has been carried out in the U.K. and France and, of the 47 tons of extracted plutonium possessed by Japan, 36 tons are still overseas. So the U.S. has no reason to worry about the prospect of Japan suddenly turning plutonium into bombs. Japan’s “peaceful” use of atomic energy, after all, was encouraged by America in the 1950s, when the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were still fresh in people’s minds. But Japan’s long-term plan of recycling spent fuel into plutonium fuel has hit a wall, not only because of Monju’s failure, but also because of the continued postponement of the opening of the reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture. Nevertheless, two weeks ago, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published a map showing plans for disposing of the high-level waste that’s a byproduct of processing. The map illustrates possible candidate areas for waste disposal. “Suitability” is indicated by color, with green being the most suitable and orange unsuitable due to geological phenomena such as earthquake faults, volcanoes and ground water movement. The green areas are mainly on the coastline because ships will likely be used to transport the waste. Silver is used for areas not being considered because they may contain deposits of minerals that can still be exploited. The map was drawn up so that the public would know the government still takes its nuclear energy program, as well as the stalled recycling plan, seriously, and most media outlets have conveyed those points. However, NHK has looked at the map and wondered if it has any real meaning. As the public broadcaster pointed out on its “ Jiron Koron ” explanation series, the waste will be kept underground for up to 100,000 years, buried 300 meters deep at the bottom of a series of deep tunnels. Consequently, getting local governments to offer land for disposal sites is going to be very difficult. METI insists that participation is voluntary and has sent requests to 1,750 municipalities, but given the public’s allergy to nuclear power in the wake of Fukushima, NHK doesn’t seem to think anyone is going to raise their hand, even though acceptance comes with rewards: ¥2 billion for the initial two-year data study and ¥7 billion for the followup on-site study. After accepting those two deliveries of cash, a local government could still reject METI’s request. And even if it grants METI’s request, landowners will later have to be consulted and paid. At present the cost of disposal is estimated at ¥3.7 trillion, but it is sure to go up. The plan is actually an old one, developed as part of the scheme to recycle spent fuel, a process that produces its own particular waste that is much more radioactive than the spent fuel itself. This waste is combined with molten glass and poured into steel canisters, which are eventually buried underground. According to international law, such waste is the responsibility of the country that owns the original fuel and cannot be exported for disposal. Because of the delay with Rokkasho, Japan has had the U.K. and France do their recycling, and the waste has been shipped back to Japan along with the recycled fuel. It’s now sitting at the Rokkasho plant in refrigerated containers. There is also a lot of spent fuel at Rokkasho waiting to be reprocessed, and the governor of Aomori, frustrated by the government’s equivocation , has been threatening to send it back to the reactors from whence it came if the plant isn’t opened for business. There are presently 18,000 tons of spent fuel in storage at the plants that produced it and there is no room left for any more. The disposal plan is only theoretical as long as Rokkasho remains inoperable and fuel reprocessing delayed. Moreover, there has been no public discussion about what happens to all the spent fuel if reprocessing is abandoned, though there are media reports of a “feasibility study.” NHK predicts “confusion.” The green areas will be studied for 20 years before their suitability is confirmed. Building tunnels will take at least another 30. By the time a disposal plan is achieved, present METI bureaucrats, not to mention the current captains of the nuclear power industry, will be deader than the waste they’re trying to get rid of. What the map actually represents is METI pushing the problem on to the next generation as nuclear reactors — if they are restarted as planned — continue to produce even more. On July 29, the Tokyo Shimbun commented that the map does nothing to gain the public’s understanding, but perhaps the government is not yet that desperate. During a recent discussion on Bunka Hoso’s “ Golden Radio ” program, economist Takuro Morinaga said, “METI doesn’t seem to be in a hurry,” because it is counting on the failing finances of rural areas to persuade local governments to take its money in return for disposal sites. “The best idea would be not to make any more waste,” added Morinaga, hinting at an alternative to the LDP’s pro-nuclear policy. “But that’s not how the government thinks.” Correction : This story was updated up on Aug. 13 to correct the depth at which the nuclear waste will be kept underground. It will be buried 300 meters deep, not 3 km deep.


Indian state suspends hospital chief following deaths of 60 children

Abstract: NEW DELHI - The head of an Indian hospital where dozens of children died in recent days has been suspended, as officials traded blame over cash shortfalls that led to supplies of medical oxygen being cut. The government of Uttar Pradesh state, run by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suspended Rajeev Misra, the head of the state-run Baba Raghav Das medical college, late Saturday and ordered an investigation. Indian media have said the deaths of 60 children, 34 infants among them, were caused in part by oxygen shortages after a private supplier cut the supply over unpaid bills. Hospital officials deny lack of oxygen caused the deaths, saying alternative supplies were found, and instead blamed many of the deaths on encephalitis and unspecified issues related to delivery of the infants. On Sunday, J.P. Nadda, health minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, visited the hospital in the town of Gorakhpur, 800 km (about 500 miles) east of New Delhi, accompanied by the state’s chief minister, Yogi Adityanath. After the visit, the chief minister urged patience until the investigation is complete. “We will know whether it was because of an oxygen shortage or due to a lack of proper treatment,” Adityanath told reporters. “Those found guilty will not be spared.” Nadda said a team of doctors from New Delhi is working with the local authorities and the federal government is ready to send more assistance. He said Modi is also monitoring the developments. The issue of the unpaid bills for oxygen supply has become a flash point in relations between the hospital and the state government, after the suspended hospital chief accused state officials Saturday of not answering his requests for money. “I wrote at least three letters,” Misra told television reporters Saturday, adding that he had flagged the issue in video conference discussions. Reuters was unable to immediately contact Misra for comment. Adityanath, who visited the hospital last Wednesday, said no issue of unpaid bills was brought to his attention and all requests for funds were met promptly. Opposition parties have stepped up the pressure on the state government, demanding the resignations of Adityanath and the state health minister. “This government is a murderer,” said Raj Babbar, head of the opposition Congress party in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous and politically-prized state, where the BJP’s thumping victory has strengthened Modi’s claim to a second term in 2019. Gorakhpur, a down-at-heel town near the border with Nepal, is Adityanath’s political base, which elected him to parliament five times before Modi asked him to lead Uttar Pradesh, after a landslide BJP election victory in March. A study of government data by nonprofit body Brookings India showing the district has a 26 percent shortage of primary health centers. Encephalitis outbreaks kill hundreds in India every year, especially during the monsoon season. India’s expenditure on public health is about 1 percent of GDP, among the world’s lowest. In recent years, Modi’s government has increased health spending and vowed to make health care more affordable.

india
children
new delhi
medical
narendra modi
hospital
uttar pradesh


Japan officially gave U.S. consent to bring in nuclear weapons ahead of Okinawa reversion accord: document

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A recently declassified U.S. document confirms that Japan gave the United States its official consent to bring nuclear weapons to Okinawa shortly before the 1969 bilateral accord that led to the occupied island’s 1972 reversion to Japanese rule. The finding is significant because it shows Japan’s leaders officially agreed during the Cold War to violate the Three Non-Nuclear Principles set out by Prime Minister Eisuke Sato in 1967 while publicly telling the rest of Japan that nuclear weapons would not be brought to the prefecture. The principles, which helped Sato win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974, state that Japan will not possess, produce or allow nuclear weapons on its territory. They have been the foundation of Japan’s nuclear arms policy ever since. That Tokyo and Washington had reached a secret deal on nuclear weapons in exchange for Okinawa’s reversion is well known, but the new document, a U.S. memorandum of understanding dated Nov. 17, 1969, shows that Japan actually expressed its stance using an official diplomatic channel. According to the 1969 memorandum, senior Foreign Ministry official Hiroto Tanaka told White House national security adviser Henry Kissinger that “The Japanese have no disagreement with the U.S.” on introducing nuclear weapons to Okinawa on an emergency basis. The Foreign Ministry is known to have secretly prepared a draft indicating Japan would not be bound by its non-nuclear principles, but no source confirming that Japan conveyed its message to the U.S. had been publicly available until now. The memorandum shows the Tanaka-Kissinger talks took place several days after Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and U.S. President Richard Nixon reached a secret agreement to allow the introduction of nuclear arms to Okinawa, and just two days before the Japan-U.S. summit that led to Okinawa’s reversion. Although Foreign Minister Kiichi Aichi and the ministry were unaware of the secret deal, they apparently feared a breakdown in the reversion talks and found it necessary to show that Japan was ready to comply with the U.S. demand. According to the memorandum recorded by the White House and declassified in May, Tanaka said the nuclear issue “was very important for the Japanese, and the success or failure of Sato’s visit would be decided on this question.” “He, Tanaka, had talked with the Foreign Minister, and was given to understand that the Japanese have no disagreement with the U.S. on matters of substance,” or the nuclear issue, according the document obtained by Kyodo News at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. But Tanaka added the nuclear issue could not be made public due to strong anti-nuclear sentiment in Japan and asked the U.S. side to accept a joint statement that would make it a matter of prior consultation. At the Japan-U.S. summit on Nov. 19, 1969, Sato and Nixon agreed on the reversion of Okinawa. The Japanese government had told the public that nuclear weapons would not be brought to the war-torn island prefecture.

okinawa
nuclear weapons
henry kissinger
hiroto tanaka
declassified document