Jappanica – Page 5 – Mutantfrog Travelogue

Foreign Minister Taro Aso’s Foot-in-Mouth Disease Takes a Turn for the Worse

Remember this guy? Well he is still perhaps the scariest Japanese politician in recent memory:

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Emperor Should Visit Yasukuni: Aso

TOKYO (Kyodo)–Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Saturday it is desirable for the emperor to visit Yasukuni Shrine and told China to stop complaining about Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to the Shinto shrine in Tokyo.

‘‘From the viewpoint of the spirits of the war dead, they hailed ‘Banzai’ for the emperor — none of them said ‘prime minister Banzai!’ A visit by the emperor would be the best,” Aso said in a speech in Nagoya.

The remarks by the hawkish foreign minister risk further damaging chilled relations with China and South Korea, victims of Japanese militarism before and during World War II who have strongly protested Japanese leaders’ visits to the shrine that honors 14 Class-A war criminals along with the war dead.

The last visit by an emperor to Yasukuni was in November 1975 by Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa.

The Class-A war criminals, including executed Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo, were enshrined Oct. 17, 1978.

On criticism against Koizumi’s visits, Aso said, ”The more China voices (opposition), the more one feels like going there. It’s just like when you’re told ‘Don’t smoke cigarettes,’ it actually makes you want to smoke. It’s best (for China) to keep quiet.”

(Slightly modified from Nikkei Net, photo plucked randomly from Google images)

JR, Hankyu Smart Tickets Now Mutually Compatible

This is just one more stop on the long, slow road toward mutual compatibility in so-called high-tech Japan. JR East and West still have separate RFID tickets (Suica and Icoca respectively — click links for image character goodness), but at least they at some point became mutually compatible. Now it looks like there is some hot Private train-on-public train action going on (Abstracted from Nikkei):

Icocca, Pitapa Services Mutual Compatibility Begins, Commemorative Ceremony Held at Hankyu Umeda Station

Mutual use of JR West’s Icoca and the PiTaPa service (which despite its wacky name amazingly does NOT seem to have a cutesy image character associated with it! Oh wait, I should have known…) used on private-owned Keihan, Hankyu, and the public Osaka City Subway (Note: JR East, West, and all other regional branches of JR are also technically private but still considered separate from the 私鉄 or “private” train companies, which are in turn separate from city-owned subway lines.) became mutually compatible starting January 21. Yoshimi Taniguchi of the Kinki Transit Bureau (which collects statistics and manages licenses in addition to apparently administering an interpreter exam for tour guides) expressed hopes that such tie-ups would expand to buses and other modes of public transportation.

Customers praised the convenience of no longer having to buy a ticket when switching lines (Note: Of course, the chief benefit to regular users of both lines would simply be to no longer have to carry an extra card in their wallets…)

There are differences in the two systems, however, that complicate matters: Icoca is a pre-paid service (like Washington DC’s SmarTrip), while “post-pay” PiTaPa collects funds from bank accounts. When customers use PiTaPa for JR, they will have to revert to a prepaid system and insert funds at ticket terminals at the station.

DPJ’s Hatoyama-owned Izakaya Closes: Business Suffered from Artificially Low Prices

I have far too much class to make a crass comment about this story. No, I won’t be calling it “exemplary of the DPJ’s unrealistic approach to economic policymaking,” nor will I point out the dubious authenticity of Hatoyama’s claim that democracy is originally rooted in izakaya (though wouldn’t it be great if that were the case?). I will, however, mention that the establishment has “Hato-bo” (dove sticks, a play on Hatoyama’s name) on the menu. Guess what they are? Chicken meatballs on a stick! With a special sauce!

The izakaya (Japanese-style pub) “Tomoto” opened by (main opposition party) Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and a friend was set to be shut down on December 28.

With the motto “Democracy’s very basis is an izakaya where [politicians] can interact with the citizens knee-to-knee,” [tr: “knee-to-knee” refers to the Japanese practice of kneeling on the floor at Japanese-style restaurants, etc. The Western equivalent would be “face to face”] Hatoyama himself often showed up at the establishment, but business apparently suffered in part due to the fact that prices were kept low in order to allow customers to cheerfully relax.

Before the Democratic and Liberal parties merged [in 2003], Hatoyama would often invite Liberal Party members such as then-party president Ichiro Ozawa, turning the pub into a “political stage.”

Hatoyama was quoted as saying, “I was happy to have met various people and have them enjoy a point of contact between politicians and salarymen for 3 years. Now we are closing shop, but the memory of Tomoto remains, and I would like to reopen it given another chance.”

Dynamite-wielding Man Tells Hospital “Give me a Shot or I’ll Blow You Up”

ZAK to the ZAK:

An unemployed 70-year-old man, accused of attempted extortion and violating the Explosives Control Law for taking dynamite to a hospital this July and demanding “Give me my desired injection or else I’ll blow up the hospital!” was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment suspended for 4 years by the Wakayama Regional Court today.

Judge Shin’ichi Tanaka scolded the man, explaining, “You inflicted fear and anxiety on the staff of a hospital that cares for more than 300 people.”

According to the judgment, the defendant requested that the doctor give him a shot for stomach pain at a hospital in Gobo City but angered when the doctor refused. The man immediately went home, retrieved the dynamite, and returned to the hospital, demanding the injection from doctors near the entrance. Also, the man was in illegal possession of 150 sticks of dynamite in his home.

The defendant was arrested for a red-handed violation of the Explosives Control Law when he was arguing at the entrance. He reportedly admitted how he got the dynamite, saying, “I was storing the leftovers from my public works job.”

Questions (My Japanese legal experts please feel free to weigh in!):

Umm, nobody noticed 150 sticks of dynamite missing?! Maybe regulations covering explosives need to be enforced before they catch someone threatening to blow up a hospital with dynamite stolen from a construction site. This guy’s neighbors should be pissed off right now over how inefficient Japan’s legal system makes suing the government over such gross negligience.

It’s not out of the ordinary for a 70-year-old man to be “unemployed” is it? For crying out loud, the retirement age in Japan is 60!

What are the chances that this man is senile (or worse) and needs serious treatment? Probably pretty good. I mean, maybe the judge took that into consideration when he gave him a suspended sentence, but that just means this guy’s back on the street, possibly all alone (and who knows, maybe they let him keep the dynamite!)

Did he ever get his freakin shot?

(Click below for Japanese story)
Continue reading Dynamite-wielding Man Tells Hospital “Give me a Shot or I’ll Blow You Up”

New Reason to Privatize Japan Post

So it can be punished by the market for dumb ideas like this. I present a case of Strong Bad’s imagination coming to life:

Japan Post to Deliver New Year’s Postcards to Every House in Area of Choice
[Soon addressing your cards ]”To all those living in X-town” Will Be OK

Japan Post announced on Dec. 22 that it will start a service that will deliver New Year’s postcards (nengajo) with the addressee left off to specific areas. The cards will arrive on the first of next year, and the program will be experimentally implemented in Tokyo and the 14 major cities in Japan. By placing “to all of those living in X-Town” on the cards, they will be delivered to all houses in the specified area. (Jiji Press)

Alternative Memorial for War Dead Left Out of 2006 Budget

The “Group to Consider a National [War] Memorial” is a rare ruling-opposition (LDP, Komeito, and DPJ) caucus of lawmakers that is campaigning for the Japanese government to establish an alternative to Yasukuni shrine. The idea, proposed by a 2002 advisory panel and supported by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, is popular among those in the Japan Policy Community (including influential types in Washington) who would prefer to see a speedy, concrete solution to the Yasukuni issue rather than all of Koizumi’s useless (and possibly dangerous) saber-rattling.

Well, don’t count on it this year, based on this year’s budget requests. This was covered in slightly less detail in the Japan Times, but you can enjoy my abstract of the Yomiuri:

Memorial Facility Survey Funds Left Out, PM Firms Stance: “Public opinion not ripe”

PM Koizumi has firmed his stance not to include funds to survey the possibility of a national war memorial in the national budget draft, a move seen to be caused by a lack of public interest.

Government sources explained that the “environment has not been prepared to include survey funds in next year’s budget,” which will be formally decided on Dec. 22. The funds were not included in the MOF’s budget recommendations, released the same day.

Another part of the decision, say government officials, was that including the funds would not likely have contributed to repairing relations with China and South Korea.

The govt plans to continue deliberating on the merits of including the funds while “carefully watching public opinion.” There is momentum within the “Group to Consider a National [War] Memorial,” which crosses party lines to include members from the ruling LDP and New Komeito as well as the main opposition DPJ, to demand the inclusion of such funding in next fiscal year’s revised budget or reserve funds. However, it is unlikely to be included in a budget during Koizumi’s tenure.

When SK President Roh Moo-hyun asked that Koizumi consider the establishment of a national war memorial during the Korea-Japan summit on June 20, the Japanese leader accepted, saying he would “consider it taking into consideration circumstances including public opinion.” However, the PM’s October 17 visit to Yasukuni Shrine is quickly becoming a diplomatic problem due to China and SK’s strong protests. It seems as if the PM thought that it would look like he would be giving in to their pressure if he included such funds in this year’s budget.

According to a November poll conducted by Nikkei, 49% of Japanese people would approve, while 31% would disapprove of a national war memorial. I guess in the Land of Consensus even clear numbers in favor of such a memorial smack of “divided public opinion.” Of course, Koizumi didn’t let a little thing like internal division stop him from pushing through postal privatization, did he?
Continue reading Alternative Memorial for War Dead Left Out of 2006 Budget

Man Goes to Police with Found Wallet, is arrested for Carrying Kitchen Knife, Confesses to Burning Own Apartment Building Down

ZAKZAK!:

Osaka Prefectural Police, South Precinct rearrested a male (22) describing himself as a part-time administrative worker of Chuo District, Osaka City, on suspicion of arson on December 20.

According to the police investigation, the man allegedly set fire to the toilet paper in his apartment’s bathroom at approximately 3:00 AM on December 19, almost completely burning down the 2-story, 320m2 wooden building. A man (46) sustained a light injury to his hand.

Less than an hour after the arson, the suspect visited the South Precinct, telling police, “I found a wallet [on the street],” but was then arrested red-handed for violating the Gun and Blade Law for carrying a kitchen knife on his person. In response to questioning, the man reportedly said, “I started to hate the world and thought I wanted to die.”

LDP Parties Down in a Hurry to Complete Fundraising

Another look at the lighter side of Japanese politics (abstracted translation):

Hotels Bustling as LDP Holds Flurry of Fundraisers
Mainichi Shimbun
Dec 12, 2005

In Nagata-cho (Japan’s version of Capitol Hill), where schedules are filled up with next year’s budget preparations and tax revisions, there has been a flurry of fundraisers for LDP Diet members. It looks as though the parties, usually planned for autumn, had to be pushed back to the end of the year due to the September Lower House election. Members, concerned about their wallets, are trying to raise election funds by year’s end, resulting in a daily boom for area hotels.

“Hidenao Nakagawa, currently at the height of his popularity, has developed into a political strongman”

The 1,200 in attendance went wild when VIP Yoshiro Mori (former Prime Minister), said the above words at the fundraiser of LDP Policy Planning Council Chairman Nakagawa, held at a Tokyo hotel on the evening of Dec. 8. In addition to senior party leaders and top businessmen, 500 guests were invited from Nakagawa’s home prefecture of Hiroshima.

The sheer number of LDP members’ parties can be understood by taking a look at the schedule of LDP Secretary-General Tsutomu Takebe, who has received requests to make speeches. In the SG’s schedule for the coming two weeks are planned attendance at 19 individually-held events and 2 for party factions. Takebe is set to party-hop every day, going so far as to attend 5 events on at least one day.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, is partying just as hard, with Secretary-General Yukio Hatoyama’s fundraiser planned for Dec. 9.

On most years, Diet members’ parties are held in the fall to avoid conflicting with budget preparations. LDP General Council Chair Fumio Kyuma said wryly of this year’s party situation, “They were put off because of the election, I guess. The elections ended, and since they cost money, [the members] must be raising funds.”

According to the 2004 Political Funds Balance Report, total contributions totaled Y26.4 billion, down 9.9% from 2003, while revenue garnered from fundraising parties increased 9.9% to Y14.3 billion. One member commented, “Contributions are down, so there is no choice but to rely on fundraising parties, and the ratio of intake from parties to total revenue is trending upward. (Eriko Horii reporting)

Takebe Scolds Koizumi Children for bad Party Etiquette
Mainichi Shimbun
Dec 12, 2005

LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe, the self-appointed “headmaster” of the “Koizumi Children” (new LDP Diet members elected this September) scolded his students for “bad etiquette” at a recent party.

The outburst took place on the evening of Nov 30 at a party held by the party leader for close associates in Tokyo. According to one person in attendance, Takebe screamed, “Looking just now, the new members are just eating and not making the rounds!” causing the attendees to hurriedly begin distributing meishi (business cards, the ritualized distribution of which is a custom in Japan).

Meanwhile, at a party for veteran Diet members, Low Birthrate Minister Kuniko Inoguchi, who is also a new Diet member, gave an overlong speech, forcing former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who hurried to the event, to go home without giving any speech.

How many Upper House members does it take to change a light bulb?

None, they have the maintenance staff do it! This has got to be the lamest story ever!

To paraphrase the news stories:

Upper House Lights Undergo Major Cleaning, ‘Illuminating’ Debates Hoped for

The lights illuminating the main floor of Japan’s Upper House of parliament (the “Diet” as it is known), which was the stage of “Koizumi Theater” during which the postal privatization bills were defeated leading to a whirlwind Lower House election, underwent a thorough cleaning on the morning of December 9. Workers lowered the wires suspending the [Victorian-style?] lights, carefully wiped off the glass exteriors, and replaced the light bulbs. The cleaning usually takes place soon after the new year, but was moved ahead in the agenda to coincide with other construction.

After the lights were cleaned, the main floor looked much brighter. One official remarked, “I hope to see some illuminating debates in the regular Diet session next January.”

Control yourself, man!

Pop quiz: You’re a man sitting on the train in suburban Japan, minding your own business. The attractive lady sitting next to you nods off and unknowingly rests her head on your shoulder. You:

a) Pretend like nothing is happening
b) Wake her up — she’s distracting you from your Yukan Fuji!!
c) Silently appreciate how safe Japan is since this kind of thing happens all the time
d) Seize the moment — cop a feel!

If you chose d) then you might one day end up in jail like the not-too-bright fellow featured in this report from Nikkan Sports:

JR [West] Employee Fondles [Woman] on Fukuchiyama Line

The Takarazuka Precinct of Hyogo Prefectural Police arrested JR West employee Takao Ohashi (39) on November 29 for a red-handed violation of the Prefectural Nuisance Prevention Ordinance for touching a woman’s breast while riding on the JR Fukuchiyama Line.

According to police investigations, Ohashi works for JR West’s Osaka Construction Office‘s Keiji (Kyoto-Shiga) Office. The man, who had the day off, is suspected of touching the breasts of a woman who sat next to him on the express train while it was traveling from Kawanishi-Ikeda Station to Takarazuka Station at 12:15pm.

The woman raised her voice, upon which another rider who noticed took Ohashi off the train at Takarazuka Station and reported him to the Precinct via a station employee. Ohashi has reportedly told police, “The napping woman‘s head cuddled up on my shoulder, so I couldn’t help but touch [her breasts].”

［2005/11/29/19:43］