The uniforms of Yukio Mishima’s “Tate no kai” ultra-rightist organization were designed by the French Fashionista Pierre Cardin.
Category: Current Events
Hastert tipped as next Tokyo ambassador
Breaking: Steve Clemons reports that outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert is tipped by insiders to be the next US ambassador to Japan, thus continuing a fairly consistent tradition of appointing powerful people irrespective of their connections to Japan. Must be the food and the women.
UPDATE: Looks like Da Curzon Code was right.
War of the prophets
While we are on the subject of Soka Gakkai, let us not forget that while they may be the largest creepy somewhat religious organization in Japan, they are far from the creepiest. That honor, naturally, goes to our old friends Aum Shinrikyo. Now, Soka Gakkai and Aum Shinrikyo may be rivals in terms of how much they creep us out, but did you ever know that they actually had some more direct rivalry? More specifically, that Shoko Asahara, the Guru of Aum, actually attempted to assassinate Daisaku Ikeda.
Here are a few relevant passages from Aum & I, by former Aum conspirator Ikuo Hayashi MD.
At the same time, Asahara was in that story blatantly attacking Daisaku Ikeda, the honorary chairman of Soka Gakkai, Morihiro Hosokawa, and Ichiro Ozawa as immediate enemies, saying that they were being controlled by the shadow organization that was controlling America and selling out Japan.
For more of Asahara’s enemies list, see this earlier post.
Later in the book is a section entitled The Daisaku Ikeda Poa Incident. I will explain Poa in detail in another post, but basically it is is a Tibetan term for reincarnation that Asahara used to mean ritual assassination.
Although Dr. Hayashi would eventually be one of the perpetrators of the Sarin attack in the subway, he only learned about the assassination attempt on Ikeda after the fact. As he explains it:
On December 18th, one of the final remaining days of 1993, a situation occurred where Nakamura came into AHI carrying Tomomitsu Niimi, who was experiencing difficulty breathing.
Later, the event known as the Daisaku Ikeda Poa Incident became the trigger for me to actually learn the religious group’s shadowy operations, which I had not been aware of until that time. This incident would also become the trigger for my getting involved in the “secret work” that would lead to the execution of the sarin incident on the subway.
[omitted]“What in the world is the cause of this? I can’t properly treat him if I don’t know what the cause is!” I said.
[omitted]
“Actually, it’s sarin. Would you mind coming with me for a minute?” Nakagawa requested.
[omitted]
Nakagawa opened the door and stuck his head inside the car. After saying something [to the person inside] he immediately turned toward me and motioned for me to get in the backseat. It was the first time I had ever ridden in Asahara’s car and I was nervous as I sat down in the rear. As soon as the door was closed, Asahara, who was sitting in the front left passenger’s seat, said without even turning around, “We tried to perform Poa on Daisaku Ikeda with sarin but failed.”
There are a few pages here describing the symptoms and treatment for sarin poisoning and so on. Interesting stuff, but let’s skip ahead to Ikeda.
Limiting the assumptions to my personal feelings towards Daisaku Ikeda and the judgment expressed by the guru to whom I devoted myself, Daisaku Ikeda was an object that we must fight. Since this was so, and Asahara could fully see this karma, the act of having Poa performed upon oneself was something that would be a “happy” outcome for the person.
The main thing was about karma: that since Ikeda was a mastermind secretly trying to kill Asahara, by preventing the disaster of his carrying out this evil act of assassination, which would lead him to the Avici Hell [Buddhism’s Limbo], Aum was just trying to save him.
So there you have it. Asahara was convinced that Ikeda was plotting to kill him, and so sent his agents to kill Ikeda through Sarin poisoning. This was not just as an act of self-defense, but by killing Ikeda they would prevent him from committing awful crimes and he would therefore avoid punishment in the next life. Everybody wins! Murder as altruism- don’t you love religion?.
The JET Program turns 20 – time to put it to sleep?
The Nikkei yesterday printed a brief article on its front page praising the JET Program, a scheme by the Japanese government that exists primarily to place native English teachers in Japanese classrooms, for almost 20 years of “truly significant benefiting Japan”. An excerpt:
Saturday, November 11, 2006
CHRONICLES: JET Program Marks Two Decades Of Benefiting Japan
This year, 5,508 young people from 44 countries, including the U.K. and U.S., are teaching foreign languages — primarily English — at schools throughout Japan.
Almost 20 years have passed since the program was created. Ceremonies to mark the anniversary are planned for the near future, so let us consider what this program has accomplished.
English language abilities among high school students have perhaps risen a little, but the truly significant fact is that about 50,000 young people from around the world who have participated in the program have returned to their home countries after getting to know Japan. Many of the JET alumni have gone on to play important roles in relations with Japan.
The forerunner to the JET program was the BET (British Exchange Teaching) program, and the record shows that the current program exists in part because of the efforts of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, then a member of the House of Representatives. Koizumi had studied in Great Britain, albeit for only a short time.
The JET Program started back when the idea that putting a foreigner in the classroom would work wonders for English education was just gaining steam. But as I have noted, the number of JET participants has declined in recent years, in part because English-teaching industry has matured since then. Nowadays, English conversation schools can be found almost everywhere in Japan, and a school that wants to hire a foreigner can hire one more quickly and easily through private placement agencies or by advertising directly to the large pool of teachers already in Japan. The Wikipedia entry for the program notes that several prefectures have opted out of the JET Program in recent years. So is it time to follow the Koizumi model of “letting the private sector do what it can” and leave the hiring of English teachers up to market forces?
Not yet, I say, and I think the Japanese government would agree with me. The Nikkei gives one very compelling reason why this program, and its $400 million annual budget, remains important: the JET Program is a veritable factory for “Japan handlers” who will go on to careers dealing with Japan in their home countries. It is well-known that the Japanese government has made a point of cultivating Western “Japan experts” since before WW2 in order to boost its international image, and the JET Program has simply proved an especially efficient example of that practice, along with other programs aimed at boosting international exchanges to Japan that began in the 1980s. By hobbling young college graduates early on with 3 years of meaningless semi-teaching, the government can steer them in the direction of a lifelong involvement with Japan, with a small percentage going on to success in various fields. Accordingly, Japanese companies and Japan-related institutions instantly recognize JET experience as synonymous with a familiarity with Japan and tolerance for the Japanese office culture, and often (but not necessarily) Japanese language skills.
And the results are clearly visible. Many if not most of the foreign staff I’ve encountered at Japanese or Japan-related organizations have been JET alumni. More importantly, a good deal of US government employees who deal with Japan (at Department of Commerce, etc) spent time in JET, as have Japan-related employees of other governments, I’m sure.
Now, it’s also true that many of the Japan watchers and others who may go on to “play important roles in relations with Japan” have spent time in the country as privately funded language teachers, exchange students, or even Diet members’ assistants (in the case of Mike Green, Washington’s Japan hand-in-chief). But the fact of the matter is foreign workers are far more likely to enjoy their time in Nowheresville, Japan, if they are able to enjoy the pampering offered by the Japanese government – in addition to a comfortable salary, housing, transportation, and other benefits come standard. Wouldn’t you be happy with the country that let you save enough to pay off your student loans while giving you a cakewalk job?
Elderly restaurant owner arrested for performing Beatles songs at his establishment
A few days ago, the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC, an artist copyright lobby similar to ASCAP/RIAA) was arrested for performing copyrighted music by artists including the Beatles at a restaurant he owned. Joi Ito posted an outline of the initial coverage of this incident, but I’m here to pass along some more detailed information, gleaned from J-cast, an online news site:
Arrested for performing the Beatles!
The owner of a restaurant (age 73) was arrested for holding live performances of songs whose copyrights are under tha management of industry association JASRAC without obtaining the group’s permission. Cases of copyright law violations that lead to arrest are extremely rare. JASRAC has commented that “there was no other way,” but criticism of JASRAC, who filed the criminal complaint, have arisen on the Internet.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Agency (MPA), the man is accused of copyright violation for performing The Beatles’ “Here, There, and Everywhere,” “Liverpool and All the World!” etc, which are managed by JASRAC, in his restaurant on the piano and harmonica for his customers without receiving JASRAC’s approval.
Continue reading Elderly restaurant owner arrested for performing Beatles songs at his establishment
Japan Times infiltrated by Soka Gakkai?
Weekly Friday printed an article in their July 21 issue taking a look at the controversy surrounding Soka Gakkai leader Daisaku Ikeda’s recent series of op-eds in the Japan Times, the “only independent English-language newspaper in Japan.” Let’s have a look:
FRIDAY, 2006.07.21
Indicting Reportage: Internal conflict arises at Japan Times over “Daisaku Ikeda” columns
Field reporters lodge fierce protests, claiming “promotional articles for giant religious group Soka Gakkai”
In our last article, we reported the behind-the-scenes power struggle that is ripping Soka Gakkai apart, but a “Soka scandal” has also embroiled the Japan Times, the English-language newspaper boasting the longest history in Japan (founded 1897).
It all started when the paper started running a serial column by Daisaku Ikeda (78), honorary chairman of Soka Gakkai. This column runs on the 2nd Thursday of each month, with 12 columns planned in total. But Japan Times emloyees have fiercely protested and it has reached a state where they have requested that the upper management cancel the series. A Japan Times employees explains:
“Soka Gakkai has been dubbed a cult in France, and it is united with a specific political group (New Komeito). It is absurd for us to let the leader of a religious group with these kinds of issues to write promotional articles and on top of that give him our serial space. Even from the perspective of journalistic impartiality, it isn’t to be permitted.”
Continue reading Japan Times infiltrated by Soka Gakkai?
What’s behind the issue of readmitting “postal rebels” to the LDP?
When Koizumi kicked 37 Lower House members out of his own party for opposing his postal privatization bills, it made for brilliant political theater. But as the upper house has pointed out, banishing experienced politicians with extensive support networks can prove counterproductive in tougher election years. So, recently there has been a debate within the LDP over whether to allow some of the “rebels” back into the party. But apart from the general concerns over the upper house election, just what is behind this debate?
Thankfully, my efforts to scour every single Diet member’s web site have started to pay off. Opposition DPJ upper house member Tetsuro Fukuyama (Kyoto), has some guesses:
Tetsuro’s Diary, Nov. 6
…(1) Of course this is a measure for next year’s upper house election. In single-member districts in every prefecture, success in the election will turn on whether powerful postal rebels take action. On top of that, Taiju, an association of [former] special post office [postmasters], and other groups are more than likely of a mind to fight in the proportional representation race using the organizational strength of the postal rebels. It’s first and foremost geared toward the election.
(2) As you may know, the deadline for Diet members to register for government subsidies for political parties is the last day of December. As you can see from the fact that the timing for people to join and leave parties has almost always been at the end of the year, it would not be surprising if this recent scandal, too, centers around the money. That’s because if the postal rebels and unaffiliated members were already members of the LDP, then the party’s subsidy, in other words the funding for its activities, would probably substantially decrease. Meanwhile, if the rebels manage to rejoin the party by the end of the year, their party subsidies coming to the LDP will increase. (tr: here he seems to be implying that the postal putsch was a scam to earn more party subsidies)
(3) Leading up to next year’s nationwide local elections, local assembly members have to deal with two Diet members in their districts, the postal rebels and the “assassins” sent in to replace them, likely resulting in quite a bit of confusion in the regions. This is a life-or-death issue for local Diet members of various affiliations, so they probably want to resolve this issue quickly.
(4) If the rebel issue continues to drag on, then the LDP will have to campaign for the upper house next year with an unpleasant aftertaste, and after the upper house election, a great amount of time and effort will be wasted sorting things out in preparation for the next lower house election. If the issue of bringing the rebels back into the party is left unresolved, then they cannot get to work preparing for the next lower house election.
(5) Still, public opinion would object if the LDP easily let them back, posing the risk that it might have a negative effect on the upper house election. This makes judgment difficult, and a decision cannot be reached. The Japanese people are watching the slowdown after ex-PM Koizumi closely, as they should. Although Abe and the LDP leadership are placing some sort of conditions on reinstatement, such as agreement with Abe’s policy speech and principles, it would be an understatement to say that such statements lack persuasiveness.
This reinstatement issue is only for the LDP and Diet members and election, and the Japanese people have nothing to do with it. In any case, they are taking the Japanese people for fools. The Japanese people should be more angry at the fact that this type of debate is taking place.
MOF vs. MIC, local entities in deepening conflict over budget
I’m just trying to get my head around this story from FujiSankei Business-i:
MOF vs. MIC, local entities in deepening conflict over budget
FujiSankei Business i. 2006/11/6
Hot issues: JFM, early return of FILP funds
Leading up to the 2007 budget revision, conflict is deepening between the Ministry of Finance, which touts fiscal reconstruction, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), which is backed up by the sentiments of local self-governing groups (i.e. municipalities). The two major issues are the scheme of how to deal with the Japan Finance Corporation for Municipal Enterprises (JFM), a government-owned financial institution slated for abolishment, and compensation for the early payback of funds from the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program (FILP). Debate is likely to heat up going into Nov 21, when the Deliberative Council on the Fiscal System (an advisory body to MOF) is set to finalize its budget proposal.
The MIC/municipalities side has taken the stance that the national government should subsidize the regional areas through various program revisions. MOF, meanwhile, has emphasized that the nation’s fiscal condition is even worse than that of regional areas. The two sides have collided head to head, with MOF offering up such criticisms as “The regional areas are not making serious efforts to reform the civil service.”
A typical example of this conflict is found in the JFM issue. The JFM historically procured funds from the market by issuing government-backed bonds, and lent those funds at long-term, low interest to municipalities’ water/sewage systems, hospitals, etc. However, after it is eliminated in 2008, it will transition into a new organization owned by the municipalities. The issue here is how to deal with the 2.6 trillion yen in reserves that the corporation had built up in preparation for a rise in interest rates.
MOF is of the position that, since the JFM is a 100% govt-owned financial insitution, “the leftover assets should be widely used for the people for fiscal reconstruction etc,” and is demanding that the reserves be placed in the national treasury. The MIC, in response, claims that the entire sum should be handed down to a successor organization to be jointly owned by the municipalities. At present there is no compromise in sight.
Meanwhile, the issue of compensation for early return of FILP funds began with a proposal from the municipalities. most loans received by municipalities from the government-owned financial institutions are long-term, with payback periods ranging from 20-30 years, and many of those loans were taken out during the era of high interest rates. As a result, the municipalities want to refinance while low interest rates continue, but in that case they will be required to pay compensation. Since the compensation depends on the number of years left on the loans, in reality, it will cost the majority of the future interest burden.
To that, the MIC is demanding the introduction of a system to eliminate the compensation requirement, but MOF has expressed virulent opposition. Since the compensation system was made clear in the contract signed at the time of the loan, the MOF’s stance is that the arrangement is valid whether the interest rates go up or down. Masaaki Honma, chairman of the MOF’s FILP Committee and member of the Deliberative Council, harshly questions the MIC’s attitude, remarking, “Eliminating the payment of compensation that was stipulated in the contract would be defaulting.”
The rift between the two sides is deep, placing focus on how the Prime Minister’s office will judge the matter. It will likely also be used as fodder to divine the depth of the PM’s leadership on near-term fiscal management.
RSS Feeds of Diet Members’ web sites, aggregated
Don’t say I never gave you anything.
I sifted through each individual web site of Japan’s lawmakers (members of the Diet) and placed any RSS feeds I found into Google Reader. Compared to the 722 seats in the Diet, only I only picked up 150 individual members with feeds.
That doesn’t mean Japan’s politicians are not active on the web. All but about 10 or so (mostly the elderly and entrenched – like “Don of the Upper House “Mikio Aoki” – or just too cool for the web – like our man Koizumi) had websites (another 10 members’ sites were down for various reasons), about 90% of them kept up-to-date content on the site, and a good majority provide a wealth of content either in the form of opinions or activities reports. There is, perhaps, a downside to that – they aren’t spending their time drafting legislation (in many cases the job of the PM’s office or autonomous bureaucrats). What I am saying, however, is that most of them are behind the times – lots of websites with early-2000s site designs, and one member even had a Geocities page!
But that aside, here are the links to the RSS feeds that were available, broken down by cameral and party affiliation (Click the party link to see the aggregator site):
Lower House (House of Representatives) (480 seats total; 114 feeds)
Upper House (242 seats; 37 feeds)
That’s 151 feeds, or about 21% of the members (this isn’t an exact total – one member had multiple feeds, of which I subscribed to 2). How is this useful? Well, not at all if you don’t read Japanese. But at least I will be checking back on it whenever I want to see what people are saying on a given issue, possibly keeping it updated after elections, but who knows? I was bored.
Now, it is possible that I missed a member’s feed for reasons including not seeing the link or it not actually being linked on the member’s official site. Also, a good percentages of the feeds I did find came after digging through the settings page of members’ “e-mail magazine” services, chiefly mag2. Also, many members had “blogs,” but either used primitive Japanese “diary” software, manually updated the sites the old school way, or simply didn’t offer a feed.
Continue reading RSS Feeds of Diet Members’ web sites, aggregated
DPJ’s Yukio Hatoyama and his magical Pegasus
I’m still obsessively sifting through every single Diet member’s web site. There are a slew of gems that I’ll get to later, but I wanted to point our loyal readers as well as newcomers to the website of Yukio Hatoyama, a senior leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition in the country. His opening flash movie depicts Hatoyama in what looks to be an odd interpretation of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty: Hatoyama rides in on his magic pegasus, wields a broad sword and cuts through thick, brambly, bloodthirsty roses (labeled “bureaucratic-led big-rigging,” “mad cow disease,” “Livedoor,” “abandoning the weak,” and “the falsified earthquake safety issue”) to save the Japanese citizenry, who I guess is Hatoyama’s sleeping beauty. Watch and be swayed!
The animation is by freelance illustrator Satoru Morooka and is just one of a series of Hatoyama site intros. In the archives, you can see gems such as Hatoyama depicted as a quarterback whose football turns into a dove (a pun on his name, which means “dove mountain”) when he runs it to a 4th-and-inches touchdown in the “change of government” endzone. Fitting for Hatoyama, since his website says he’s a fan of two-hand touch.
Go to Morooka’s website to see some similarly wacked-out flash shorts (I enjoyed Dracula vs. Santa quite a bit)