Sony, Panasonic cling to TVs, betting on halo effect of premium sets

Abstract: Japan’s once-mighty electronics-makers have lost billions of dollars from TVs, but Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. won’t quit, saying retreating from the world’s living rooms would close the door to more promising businesses. Consumer electronics account for a shrinking portion of income after restructuring focused Sony on gaming and image sensors and Panasonic on electric car batteries. But TVs remain among their best-known products. Staying in the TV market — particularly at the premium end — keeps the pair relevant and ensures their brands and quality are at the forefront when consumers shop for other electronics, they said. Sony, for example, said it sees a strong correlation between sales trends for its TVs and audio systems. That makes it worth persevering in a TV market dominated by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd and cheaper Asian rivals, with Sony and Panasonic content to hold modest shares by focusing on high-margin, high-definition 4K models. “TVs are the soul of Sony and we don’t want to be without them,” Ichiro Takagi, head of Sony’s home entertainment and sound business, said in an interview. Investors have long speculated about Sony and Panasonic gradually exiting TVs, reflecting Japan’s declining position in the tech sector. But analysts also said sticking it out was worthwhile as long as they were profitable. “Especially for Sony. . . . If they quit TVs, there’s a chance that the Sony brand will be diminished,” said Junya Ayada of Daiwa Securities. Sony holds 7 percent of an industry it once revolutionized with its Trinitron technology, while Panasonic has 4 percent. South Korean leaders Samsung and LG Electronics Inc together hold about 40 percent. “There was a time when we were going after volume, and we totally lost that race,” said Takagi. “Even in the days of the Trinitron, we only had a share of around 10 percent. I think 10 percent is appropriate now.” Under Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai, Sony has shed thousands of jobs and sold off its personal computer unit after several years of losses. Hirai has not ruled out dispensing with the TV arm as well if it fails to turn a profit. But Takagi said an exit is now less than likely after cost-cutting helped the unit book a small operating profit in the last business year, its first in more than a decade. Moreover, Sony — with interests ranging from its Hollywood studio to PlayStation video games — aims to recapture its cachet as an entertainment-to-electronics group through increased collaboration across the company, Takagi said. TVs encapsulated the sound and picture technology developed by the various businesses, he said. Sony is also aiming for a high-end comeback in audio, earlier this year introducing a portable music player that costs over $1000. “Historically, TVs have been at the center,” Takagi said. “When sales rose, sales in audio and home theater rose as well. As the TV operations recover . . . we’ll see a rise in audio sales.” Pointing to a revival are Sony’s 4K televisions. Last year, the company quadrupled its share of TV sales at Best Buy Co. Inc., the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, to 12 percent by concentrating on large, high-end models, Takagi said. Analyst Hisakazu Torii at DisplaySearch said Japanese TV manufacturers have little choice but to focus on high-end models, particularly when faced with a rival like Samsung whose smartphone success has given it overwhelming resources. But 4K TVs already account for nearly 40 percent of sets with screens larger than 50 inches, meaning they are starting to lose exclusivity, he said. Analysts say consumers, particularly in the United States, are increasingly opting for larger sets for their living rooms to watch movies and live events, while opting for PCs and smartphones instead of small bedroom TVs. “Once 4K penetration goes beyond 70 percent, that means commoditization and price competition,” Torii said. Panasonic, on the other hand, has not seen a comparable upturn and is increasingly out-sold by previously little-known Chinese manufacturers such as TCL Corp. Its TV division reported seven consecutive years of loss while the overall company turned itself around by focusing on automotive technologies and high-margin home appliances. But Masahiro Shinada, head of Panasonic’s TV business, said maintaining a presence in television makes it easier to sell more profitable white goods — not only by lifting the company’s image, but also winning cooperation from retailers who prefer to deal with manufacturers of high-volume products such as TVs. “They really open the way to selling refrigerators and washing machines,” he said. Panasonic, like Sony, is looking to the high-end TV market for prestige and profitability. But as consumers increasingly watch content on the go, there is a risk of TVs losing their status as brand-defining devices. “Your kids’ cellphones are Samsung, those kids become young adults, those young adults become adults,” said Mark Sasicki, TV buyer at Abt Electronics, the largest single-store retailer in the United States, spread over 150,000 sq. meters of a Chicago suburb. “It plays into their appliance business.”

sony
panasonic
tvs
lg electronics
4-k tvs
samsong electronics


Suspicion tarnishes 50th anniversary of Japanese-South Korean ties

Abstract: As Japan and South Korea mark 50 years since the normalization of postwar bilateral relations Monday, the anniversary is unlikely to yield much to celebrate. Relations between the two Asian powerhouses are at possibly the lowest point since the end of the war. According to a May poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun, 73 percent of respondents said they “cannot trust” South Korea — a record high for the second year in a row. And the suspicion runs both ways, with 85 percent of South Koreans voicing mistrust of Japan. At the core of today’s mutual animosity are historical issues involving Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. According to the Yomiuri poll, which was seeking opinion on Abe’s upcoming war anniversary speech, some 76 percent of Japanese respondents believe repeated apologies by Japanese prime ministers for a variety of historical issues are “sufficient.” This contrasts sharply with South Korea, where a mere 4 percent believe the apologies were enough. Experts recently interviewed by The Japan Times said the root cause of this unbridgeable perception gap can be traced to the nature of a treaty and five related agreements the two countries signed in 1965. The deals were designed to settle all compensation issues surrounding Japan’s contentious 1910 annexation of the Korean Peninsula “completely and finally,” as was clearly and carefully inserted into one of the agreements. But as democracy came to South Korea in 1987 after decades of authoritarian rule, save a brief period in the early 1960s, nationalism and citizens’ groups became more powerful than ever. Under these forces, public frustration over the 1965 deals — concluded under hard-line President Park Chung-hee and continually bottled up under a series of authoritarian rulers — exploded in the 1990s. “The conclusion of the deals in 1965 was kind of a political compromise,” said Yuki Asaba, a professor of South Korean politics at the University of Niigata Prefecture graduate school. “The South Korean side compromised over the settlement of historical issues.” In making the deal, Asaba said, Park had prioritized practical economic benefits over resolving historical issues, given the need for financial assistance from Japan amid the dire economic straits in South Korea at the time. Under the 1965 deal, Japan provided South Korea with a total of $800 million as “economic cooperation” that consisted of a $300 million grant in economic aid, $200 million in loans and $300 million in loans for private trust. Seoul’s annual budget was $350 million at the time. “The sum was definitely a considerable amount since it was bigger than the national budget of South Korea,” Asaba said. Under the terms, Japan provided the funds to the South Korean government in a lump sum. The South Korean government later reportedly took responsibility for compensating individual victims of Japan’s colonial rule. Some of the money was used to pay about 2.6 billion won ($5.38 million) to relatives of some 8,550 victims of Japan’s forced labor, based on a 1974 law stipulating that Seoul would pay 300,000 won ($620) per death, according to media reports. But the South Korean government used most of it to build infrastructure, including a steel plant in Pohang and an expressway linking Seoul and Busan, Asaba noted. Amid today’s politically charged environment, many victims who weren’t among those who received the money have begun calling for compensation directly from Japan, including some of the former ianfu (comfort women), Japan’s euphemism for the females who were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during the war in military “comfort stations.” Tokyo, for its part, has consistently maintained that the 1965 treaty and agreements settled all compensation issues involving Japan’s colonial rule, as stated in them. And South Korea did not raise any official objections to Japan’s position for decades. “At first, the South Korean government took the position that issues regarding the past were all solved by this treaty,” said Kan Kimura, a professor and Korean affairs expert at Kobe University’s graduate school. But as the comfort women issue gained more public prominence in the early 1990s, Seoul began to shift, claiming the issue was not covered by the treaty and agreements, Kimura said. Then, in 2005, the South Korean government announced that its former comfort women, survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and the displaced draftees on Sakhalin island were all entitled to receive individual compensation from Japan following a recommendation by a private-public committee examining compensation rights. Moreover, in August 2011, South Korea’s constitutional court ordered the government to begin negotiations with Japan on resolving compensation claims for former comfort women, saying failure to seek a solution with Tokyo “constitutes an infringement on the basic human rights of the victims and is a violation of the constitution.” “Ultimately, thanks to the democratization of its political system, the South Korean public now understands that public opinion can and should influence not only the government’s domestic policy, but also its diplomacy,” Asaba said.

colonial rule
park chung hee
south korea-japan relations


Time running out for South Korean 'comfort women' as average age approaches 90

Abstract: Year after year, their numbers dwindle. Now, with the average age of former “comfort women” in South Korea approaching 90, time is running out. The Japanese government has been pressed for years to offer compensation money and extend more sincere apologies to the women, who were forced en masse into Japanese military brothels before and during the war. But the South Korean government, too, must help settle the issue, Korean affairs experts say, by persuading the citizens’ groups that wield so much influence over the victims to compromise. “Even if the governments of Japan and South Korea reached an agreement, it would again end up a failure if citizens’ groups oppose a deal and accuse (Seoul) of compromise, branding (the government) as pro-Japan,” said Kizo Ogura, professor at Kyoto University who is an expert on Korean affairs. “This has repeatedly been the case in the past.” Ogura said that to settle the issue, the Japanese government must provide money and extend a fresh apology to the victims it euphemistically calls the ianfu , whose numbers are in dispute but widely thought to range in the tens of thousands. If an offer is made and the support groups refuse to persuade the women to accept it, the survivors will likely die without seeing any deal on compensation, he added. As far as the comfort women issue is concerned, Ogura said, the support groups are more influential than the government in Seoul. “The South Korean government may seem more powerful (than the citizens’ groups), but in reality, the protesting side” is stronger, he said. The comfort women issue began drawing widespread public attention in South Korea after its 1987 shift to democracy began. As the country democratized, citizens’ groups gained more and more power, and many began actively investigating the comfort women issue, experts say. The most influential group — the Korean Council for the Women Drafted For Military Sexual Slavery by Japan — was established in 1990. It demands that Tokyo admit legal responsibility for comfort women issues, calls for official state compensation, punishment for those responsible and a formal government apology endorsed by the Diet. Since the early 1990s, the two nations have seen the comfort women issue become an increasingly divisive. In 1993, then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono for the first time admitted the responsibility of the Imperial Japanese military and other authorities in recruiting women against their will and forcing them to work at comfort stations set up by the military. Two years later in 1995, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama’s administration set up the private Asian Women’s Fund to provide “atonement money” to former comfort women from all nations. The victims received about ¥2 million in donations from private Japanese citizens and up to ¥3 million in “medical and welfare support” from the government, together with a letter of formal apology signed by four successive prime ministers from 1996 to 2001, including Ryutaro Hashimoto, Keizo Obuchi, Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi. Despite those efforts, the now-defunct fund came under harsh criticism by South Korean citizens’ groups because Japan refused to admit any legal responsibility for the compensation, and because no personal or public apology had been issued by any of Japan’s top leaders. According to the government, a total of 61 of the known South Korean victims accepted the fund’s offer — less than 30 percent of the 207 who had been officially recognized by Seoul as of 2002. Also, 211 Filipinos, 79 Dutch and 13 Taiwanese accepted the fund’s offer, media reports said. Given their advanced age, both countries should prioritize the issue, said Masao Okonogi, a professor emeritus at Keio University who is a noted expert on Korean affairs. Otherwise, Japan will forever be accused of not working to solve the issue, he said. Okonogi said one possible way to end the stalemate is to establish another semi-public, semi-private fund, this time together with Seoul, in combination with a fresh apology and offer of financial support. “(Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe has said he upholds the Kono statement, so I guess (offering another apology) would not be that difficult,” he said. Both Okonogi and Ogura said they believe ties between the two Asian powers will improve after the summer, when Abe is to issue a statement to mark the 70th anniversary of World War II’s end. Japanese diplomats note that they have already seen signs that Seoul is making efforts to improve the relationship. Domestic criticism that she may have put too much emphasis on historical issues in dealing with Japan may force South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s hand anyway. Despite the passage of more than two years since their inaugurations, Park and Abe have yet to hold a summit, with the South Korean leader citing historical issues — including comfort women — in her refusal to see Abe. Now, Japan, China and South Korea are attempting to arrange a trilateral summit that has been suspended for three years because of Japan’s strained ties with its two neighbors over separate historical and territorial issues. Such a meeting could happen by the end of this year, Okonogi said. If it does, Abe and Park will have no choice but to hold a bilateral meeting there, a move that would help achieve a thaw, he said. In light of China and its rapid economic development, South Korea has shifted diplomatic and economic strategy de-emphasize Tokyo and focus more on Beijing. In 2003, Beijing overtook Tokyo as Seoul’s No. 2 trading partner. The following year, China became the world’s biggest economy, topping Japan’s ally, the United Sates. In the meantime, South Korea’s economic dependency on Japan has declined greatly over the past decade. In near parallel with the decline of Japan’s economic presence in South Korea, Seoul has begun taking an increasingly tough diplomatic stance against Tokyo, experts say. Okonogi said that even though the environment has changed, they still share the same basic values of democracy and market economy. What’s more, both countries are in similar situations, standing between a growing U.S.-China rivalry, he said. “It’s important to see that we share interests, and there could be strategic cooperation in the future as well,” Okonogi said.

comfort women
tomiichi murayama
south korea-japan relations


Signing of 1965 normalization treaty sparked sharp contrast in reactions

Abstract: Fifty years ago, when Japan and South Korea signed a treaty to normalize diplomatic ties on June 22, 1965, their leaders toasted the signing in Tokyo as police in Seoul tear-gassed thousands of protesters and politicians who were opposing the move, according to archived reports by The Japan Times. The treaty is “an example set for the whole world that whatever may be the relations existing between the neighboring nations, they can be adjusted in a friendly manner through spirit of mutual understanding,” said Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, calling the treaty “historic,” it said. “Our two countries have trod a thorny path up to the present. A great deal of effort and patience were required to reach this day which promises to erase the nearly half century of unfortunate relations and which has ushered in a new era of mutual cooperation,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Dong Won-lee, who signed the treaty on behalf of President Park Chung-hee, the father of Park Geun-hye, the country’s current leader. But the ceremonial atmosphere contrasted sharply with the rallies in Seoul, where many refused to forget the brutal actions taken by their colonial rulers, and with smaller rallies held in Tokyo by students affiliated with the pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union of Japan (Mindan). In Seoul, police threw up a wall in the capitol compound to prepare for a possible attack by protesters, and about 6,000 students joined a pitched fight with riot squads numbering in the hundreds, it said. In Tokyo, meanwhile, the Japan Socialist Party, the main opposition force, attacked the treaty’s signing as an “arrangement forced upon both Japan and South Korea by the United States in line with its strategy in Asia,” The Japan Times reported. The JSP claimed the treaty was aimed at creating a “Northeast Asian Military Alliance” among Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the newspaper said. Political observers pointed out that the confrontation between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition parties was likely to intensify when an extraordinary Diet session was to be convened later in the year to ratify the treaty, it was reported. After the treaty was inked, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin Reischauer released a statement welcoming the move. “Great credit is due to the statesmen on both sides who have worked so hard to make possible this achievement, which I believe is greatly to the benefit of the two countries concerned and to the whole world.”


Sincere climate pledge or 'sleight of hand'?

Abstract: Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet announced Japan would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2030, based on 2013 levels. The plan will be presented to delegates at a United Nations conference on climate change in Paris this December. The goal is strongly supported by Japanese utilities and powerful business lobbyists, but has been slammed by domestic and international experts as falling far short of what is needed, even as Japan itself feels the impact of a warming planet. What, exactly, does last week’s announcement about reducing greenhouse gases mean for Japan? It means Japan will commit to reduce, in 15 years, emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 26 percent compared to its level of emissions in 2013, which amounted to 1.408 billion tons. The reductions are expected to be made through a combination of policy measures and technological developments. Why is this goal being criticized? There are several reasons. From a scientific viewpoint, climatologists have warned that unless the average global rise in temperature can be kept under 2 degrees, the Earth could reach a tipping point where climate change would become irreversible. The science uses the 1990 emissions levels as the base for estimating the reduction ratios needed to offer the greatest possibility of keeping the temperature rise under 2 degrees by midcentury. The most proactive governments base their emissions targets on calculations that use 1990 as the base year. This produces cuts that are larger than those based on later years. The second reason is political. As the initiator of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the world’s first internationally binding agreement to tackle greenhouse gases, and given Japan’s international reputation as a leader in environmental technologies, the international community had long counted on the Japanese government to continue showing leadership on the issue. Last week’s announcement merely marked the formal decision on a plan that had been in the works for months, and one that had been roundly criticized. In an opinion piece for Kyodo News at the end of April, John Prescott, a former British deputy prime minister who was at the Kyoto Protocol conference, said a 26 percent reduction by 2030 based on 2013 levels amounted to only a 17 percent reduction in terms of 1990 levels, and that announcing such a target would put Japan’s international climate leadership in doubt and raise questions about its commitment to multilateralism. Nongovernmental organizations were even more critical. In a letter to Abe, Wael Hmaidan, executive director of Climate Action Network International, an umbrella group of 900 climate and environment-related NGOs, said the 26 percent target based on 2013 levels represented “sleight of hand” by Japan, and that by failing to send a strong message internationally on its commitment to reduce emissions, Tokyo’s ideas on how to come to an agreement at the Paris conference in December will fall on deaf ears. In Japan, the Kiko Network, one of the country’s oldest and largest groups dedicated to climate change issues, also criticized the target, saying it merely left the burden of dealing with climate change to the next generation. The group also said it could not be linked to the government’s own goal of reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2050. What reduction targets have other countries put forward at the Paris conference? The European Union has announced an economy-wide target involving a cut of at least 40 percent in domestic greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. The United States has a target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by between 26 and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 (equivalent to between 14 and 17 percent below 1990 levels). China is expected to make an announcement about its goals for the Paris conference soon, but said last November its goal was to see its carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2030 at the latest, and that it aimed to have nonfossil fuel energy supplying 20 percent of its total primary energy supply. Brazil pledged to reduce its emissions by between 36.1 percent and 38.9 percent in 2020 compared to business-as-usual (BAU) emissions. What climate change impacts have already been noticed in Japan? Compiling and translating data from the Meteorological Agency and Japanese and foreign climate experts, a WWF report released in 2008 noted that the mean annual temperature in Japan had increased by 1 degree over the past century overall, but that average winter temperatures in Hokkaido had increased by 1.3 degrees. Significant reductions in snowfall nationwide, as well as hotter days and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, were also noted. What predictions are being made about the future impact of climate change in Japan, regardless of emissions goals? A 2013 Environment Ministry report suggested the average temperature could rise between 2.1 and 4 degrees by the end of this century, compared with the 1980-1999 period. The report also noted that areas with a suitable temperature for coral will shift northward but that increased acidification in the ocean means the habitat for tropical and subtropical corals around Japan could decrease by half by 2030 and disappear completely by 2040. As for food supply, the ministry said, warmer temperatures mean yields of irrigated rice will increase (especially in areas like Hokkaido) but that the quality could decrease. The WWF report, by contrast, sees a temperature increase of two to three degrees over the next century. This means higher precipitation, especially during the summer months, and an increase in days with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees.


Auto sales slide 7.6% in May on minicar tax

Abstract: Auto sales in May fell 7.6 percent to 335,644 units from a year ago as the April tax hike on minivehicles weighed on demand, industry bodies said Monday. Minicar sales sank 19.6 percent to 125,755 units, down for the fifth consecutive month, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association said. Minivehicles, which have engine displacements no larger than 660cc, account for around 40 percent of new car sales in Japan. Sales of other cars meanwhile rose 1.4 percent to 209,889 units, rising for the second consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said, hinting the impact of the April 2014 consumption tax hike is on the wane. Demand for cars was sluggish during the fiscal year ended March 31 after the first stage of the doubling of the consumption tax raised the levy by 3 points to 8 percent, tipping Japan into yet another recession. It was the nation’s first tax hike in 17 years. The second stage, which has been delayed, will raise it to 10 percent.


E-textbooks to open digital can of worms

Abstract: As the world goes digital, many schools are trying to introduce digital materials into the classroom to encourage studying and meet the needs of students’ increasingly diverse needs. In May, the education ministry formed a panel to discuss the use of digital textbooks and whether to replace the physical ones. It is also weighing the possible technological, economic and legal ramifications of such a shift. How will education change by going digital? What are the challenges posed by introducing digital textbooks? Here’s what The Japan Times dug up about using digital textbooks in Japan: What constitutes a digital textbook? The education ministry says the digital materials currently used in classrooms are not textbooks in the strict sense, but supplemental materials, including learning aids, and audio and video content. They also allow students to rotate images on display screens to get a 360-degree view, or click to access extended explanations for words that appear in text. Digital materials for studying English may include videos designed to help students listen repeatedly to work on pronunciation by watching how the speaker’s mouth moves. Such materials are mainly designed for teachers to use in front of students, with the help of digital markers, magnifiers and links to help make lectures more creative. Some offer students devices, mostly tablet computers equipped with functions to facilitate communication via note- and memo-sharing over a network. These systems can also keep track of study records to help teachers provide proper guidance to each student. Are schools in Japan sufficiently digitized? Although slowly improving, Japan still lags in introducing information and communications technology, or ICT, in education. According to the education ministry, the number of students per computer remained at 6.5 in 2014, compared with its goal of 3.6 by fiscal 2017 set in the Second Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education. This puts Japan behind countries like Singapore, which had a student-computer ratio of 2.0 in 2010, the United States, whose ratio stood at 3.2 in 2008, and South Korea, which had a ratio of 5.0 in 2007, according to an internal affairs ministry report. On average, only 37.4 percent of Japan’s public schools were using digital materials in the classroom in 2014, which is a slight improvement on 32.5 percent from the previous year. The exception is Saga, which was leading the nation with an 86.1 percent penetration rate for digital materials in 2014, the report said. Saga has been forging ahead with such efforts since 2011. In April 2014, the prefecture installed digital devices for student use in all public high schools. That generated a positive reaction from both teachers and students, who enjoy participating in interactive lectures, an official from the Saga Prefectural Board of Education said. What are the merits of using digital textbooks? Digital textbooks can help nurture creativity, said Toru Kawase, an official in charge of digital promotion at major textbook publisher Tokyo Shoseki Co. Unlike traditional lectures held in conjunction with printed textbooks, where students tend to be evaluated only by whether they can regurgitate the correct answers on tests, digital textbooks allow teachers to evaluate the process students use to determine the answers, Kawase said. “The good thing about digital textbooks is . . . students can deepen their thinking through trial and error” as they share and discuss the process with other classmates, he said. In fact, digital materials helped students, including those shy about giving presentations, to actively express their opinions and organize them in an effective manner, according to the ministry’s experimental study on ICT education. Digital textbooks can also support students with learning disabilities because they offer alternative ways to read or write, including through audio narration of text passages. Children who can’t speak Japanese can benefit from translation apps. What are the hurdles to introducing digital textbooks? Legal revisions will be necessary to adopt digital textbooks as the nation’s official textbooks, said media and governance professor Ichiya Nakamura of Keio University, who is vice chairman of the promotional group Digital Textbook and Teaching. Under a revision of the School Education Act in 2014, any textbook used at school must literally be printed on paper and pass the ministry’s screening process, Nakamura told a symposium on digital textbooks on May 25 on Keio’s campus in Minato Ward, Tokyo. Money is also a challenge. The cost of managing the distribution of digital devices to students will fall to local governments, while schools will have to bear the enormous expense of creating an environment that can take full advantage of the technology, such as by setting up wireless networks and building a database for the data to be used. Developing digital textbooks is also costly for the makers, Kawase said. As an example, he said it costs about ¥100 million to create social studies textbooks for use by elementary school students between the third and sixth grades because of all the copyrights held on digital images and videos. How the government would screen such textbooks is another concern, Kawase said, adding that it’s too much of a burden to check all of the content, including the movie files and web pages that are attached.

education
digital textbooks
computers
information technology


Law still a long way behind fertility boom

Abstract: As the population declines, the number of domestic businesses involved in fertility is growing, giving birth to a slew of additional problems. Government statistics show the country’s population dropped by 215,000 last year, as people are waiting longer to get married and have children. The situation is causing so much alarm among government officials that one city is now offering subsidies to women who want to freeze their eggs and try in vitro fertilization at a later date. A Kafka-esque case currently being contested in court has come to highlight how the country’s legal and regulatory system has completely failed to keep up with recent developments. A number of questions come to mind: When a couple agrees to have an IVF, who owns the sperm? Do sperm have rights? Can a wife take sperm without telling her husband and use it to have a child? Is that fraud? In February, Japanese-American businessman Eric Young filed a lawsuit against one of Japan’s largest fertility clinics, K Clinic, asking for damages and access to all the clinic’s medical records so that he can verify who is the mother of his son: his ex-wife or her younger sister — or both of them? The boy, who was born on June 24, 2008, was conceived via in vitro fertilization. Three years later, the couple conceived a second child via in vitro fertilization with the help of K Clinic in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, although his wife miscarried. The boy’s parentage was cast in doubt after the Tokyo Family Court ruled that Young’s former wife had swapped her husband’s sperm with those of her of lover without his consent or knowledge when trying to conceive her second child. In addition, the court ruled, she replaced her eggs with those from her younger sister. The sperm that had been deposited by Eric Young was allegedly discarded. The whole debacle was covered extensively by weekly magazine Shukan Gendai. Young now wants to know whether it was his sperm that was combined with the eggs of his sister-in-law for the first pregnancy. K Clinic has refused to divulge any records related to the procedures, citing the country’s personal privacy laws. “(It’s) an interesting and highly unusual case that raises many questions,” said Robert Klitzman, director of the bioethics masters program at Columbia University. Complicating the matter, the clinic had advised Young and his wife that they could use an in vitro method that combined the “white” of a younger woman’s egg (the mitochondria) with the “yolk” of his wife’s egg, resulting in a child that some people might consider to have three parents. On Feb. 3, CNN reported that U.K. lawmakers had approved such a procedure. In the first court session in April, K Clinic’s lawyer claimed the clinic had no records of whose eggs or sperm were used to produce Young’s son. In written documents submitted to the court, the clinic admitted it didn’t have a system in place to verify the identity of either eggs or sperm donors at the time. Young’s attorney claimed his client had a right to know what was done with his sperm, and whose egg was used in combination with that sperm. He claimed that sperm had “personal and moral rights” known as jinkakuken , which are guaranteed by the Constitution. “It’s half a life and since sperm cannot speak for itself, we are representing the sperm on behalf of its guardian — the father,” attorney Nobayasu Ogata said. “A failure to disclose the information on what was done with my client’s sperm by the clinic is not only deplorable, it’s unconstitutional.” Neither K Clinic or Young’s former wife responded to requests for comment via email, fax, telephone and requests made via the firm’s lawyers. “With minimal government oversight and a lack of internal regulations, (K Clinic) enabled the submission of faked identities and the unauthorized switching of the sperm and eggs of their patients,” Young said. “If they aren’t keeping records, then we will have situations where a child might never know who his/her true biological parents are.” The country’s laws a long way behind the booming fertility industry. Currently, for instance, no law exists that establishes a legal relationship between a child born to a surrogate mother and the man and woman whose genetic material was used to conceive the child. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that even if a DNA test proves that a father and child are not related, the father will still legally be the child’s parent based on the Civil Code’s definition of legal paternity. In other words, a man is financially obligated to provide for a child born to his wife even if it is revealed that the sperm used to conceive it came from another man. In the written arguments submitted to the court, K Clinic argued that if Young claimed the second pregnancy was not achieved with his sperm, there was no basis for him to claim emotional damages or demand that the medical records be released. “We have a duty as doctors to protect the privacy of our patients,” the clinic said. “If the ex-wife secretly provided a third party’s sperm to the clinic, (we) can also be thought of, like the plaintiff, a victim deceived by the patient. ” The ruling coalition government is attempting to create a legal framework to address questions such as how to define parenthood and whether a child has a right to know his or her genetic parents. According to a November article in the Mainichi Shimbun, the Liberal Democratic Party approved a bill that would require fertility clinics to register with the government. Clinics that do not comply with government guidelines that have yet to be created could have their licenses revoked under a law that has yet to be approved. In the meantime, men wishing to have children via an IVF who are concerned about mix-ups may wish to think about color-coding their sperm or, at least, donate a label maker to their clinics. It’s nice to keep track of these things.

fertility
ivf
birthrate
fertility treatment


Japan goods popular in India; Nazis roll into Paris; mine death toll passes 160; Japan passes U.S. as top donor

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, June 15, 1915 Japanese goods find a new market in India A new market for Japanese goods is now found in India, as can be seen from the story of Mr. Shoda, an expert in the department of Agriculture and Commerce, who has just returned from a visit there. Mr. Shoda went to India last December with representatives of the Matsuda Company of Yokohama and other companies. Speaking of his trip, Mr Shoda said: “We went round the country with the object of extending the market for our goods. The representatives of the firms took samples of their goods, ready to receive orders. We have obtained exceedingly good results. Our idea was that we should be satisfied if we got orders to the amount of ¥3,000; but we have received orders for over ¥1 million. The principal goods for which order have been received are cotton goods, toys, tea cases, cement, and some other goods. It is interesting when we consider that these goods have never been exported to that country before. “Before the war Germany had been exporting goods, to the tune of ¥80 million per year to India, while our exports to that country had not gone beyond ¥30 million. But since the outbreak of war the exports from Germany have been stopped and the exports from English firms have also decreased by 40 percent. India is now, therefore, importing principally from the States and Japan. Hitherto our country has been exporting only such goods as matches, silk goods, knitted goods, and glassware. But the demand for other goods, as shown by the orders received lately, are now being received. This is a golden opportunity for the extension of our market in India.” 75 YEARS AGO Sunday, June 16, 1940 Hitler’s war machine rolls into French capital Swinging triumphantly down the broad and fashionable Champs Elysees, the grim vanguards of Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s mighty war machine rolled thunderously into Paris from the northwest early this morning, climaxing a 35-day lightning offensive, which began with the invasion of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Authoritative information reaching Berlin from the abandoned French capital reported that swift, dust-stained Nazi tanks, ominously dominating the streets, led the German advance into Paris. German units symbolically circled the Arc de Triomphe, from which the city’s 12 main boulevards and avenues radiate, and went down the broad Champs Elysees. The advance into Paris began at dawn. Only a few Parisians watched the Nazi forces enter the capital, standing with bared hands, tearfully silent and tense. It was for many the second time within their memory that German had marched into the city in triumph as apparent victors. As the sun rose higher more units joined the parade. Motorized infantry battalions and steel shielded trucks raced across the old Seine river and southwards towards Etoile. Immediately after French troops withdrew from Paris leaving the city to its own fate, the police, fire department, and other departmental services of the capital were placed in the disposal of the conquerors, offering to maintain order and discipline during the march of the Germans. The radio stations of Paris, it was reported here, quickly were occupied and were playing Nazi music. It is said that only a third of Paris’ normal population of 3 million remains. 50 YEARS AGO Wednesday, June 2, 1965 Mine blast death toll in Fukuoka tops 160 One hundred and sixty miners were confirmed dead, with another 76 unaccounted for and given up for lost, in one of Japan’s biggest mine disasters ever when a gas explosion ripped through the No. 1 pit of the Yamano Colliery at Inatsuki in Fukuoka Prefecture early Tuesday morning. Thirty miners were injured, many of them seriously. The mine management initially announced the total of miners and officials underground as 552, but later indicated the figure might be lower. Of this number, 314 managed to crawl out to the surface. A Fukuoka Prefectural police spokesman said early this morning that hope had been abandoned for the fate of the 70 still unaccounted for. A rescue worker who emerged after a few hours underground said that inside the of the pit near the scene of the blast was filled with dense gas, preventing rescuers from going further. An official of the mining company said a group of eight men were digging inside the pit with dynamite at the time of the explosion and speculated that this might have touched off the gas explosion. 25 YEARS AGO Saturday, June 23, 1990 Japan passes U.S as top donor of overseas aid Japan surpassed the United States to become the world’s top donor of official development assistance in 1989, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. In terms of disbursement, Japan’s ODA last year totaled $8.95 billion, down 1.9 percent from the preceding year, a report says. In yen terms, however, Japanese overseas aid posted a 5.6 percent increase over last year, totaling ¥1.23 trillion. The U.S dropped to second place with $7.66 billion, followed by France, whose disbursement totaled $7.47 billion, according to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD ascribed the fall in U.S aid to a high number of 1988 contributions and a delay in disbursements to the International Development Association, affiliated with the World Bank, officials said. Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands continue to stand out as countries with the highest ODA/GNP ratios, with Norway and Denmark in front at 1.02 and 1.00 percent, respectively.

india
paris
mining
fukuoka
yamano colliery
overseas aid
accidents
world war ii
germany wwii


China's dog meat festival draws rare criticism

Abstract: YULIN, CHINA - For many residents of the town of Yulin in southern China, the peak of summer is the perfect time to get together with family and friends — and consume copious amounts of dog meat. Thousands of dogs are expected to end up on the chopping block during the city’s annual dog meat festival, which has become increasingly controversial in China. Dog ownership was once looked down upon as a decadent bourgeois habit, but China’s growing middle class has started to fight what it sees as barbarous abuse of man’s best friend. On Monday, a group of about 25 animal rights activists briefly unfurled banners in front of the city government office, demanding an end to the festival, but they were quickly hustled away by unidentified men. The city’s dog market has become a site for clashes of supporters and opponents of the trade. In the sweltering heat, tempers can often flare. “There are all sorts of cultural norms about what you can eat, you eat turkey, so why are you trying to force us to not eat dog meat?” shouted one dog meat supporter. Eating dog is good for your health at the hottest time of the year, say supporters, and it is just like any other meat. “It’s healthy, just like raising pigs or chickens, it’s fine,” said Teng Jianyi, as he tucked into a dog dish with some friends. While many Chinese have signed online petitions seeking a ban on the festival, others take a more direct approach. Last year, Yang Xiaoyun made headlines after spending 150,000 yuan ($24,160) to rescue about 350 dogs. Yang, who comes from northern China, has returned this year with funds raised from around the country, but she would not say exactly how much. She hoped to set up a home for the rescued dogs near Yulin, she said, undeterred by the prospect of any hostility there. “At the moment we don’t have the ability to change people’s habits, this is the government’s responsibility, isn’t it?” Yang said. Despite the complaints, many Yulin residents vowed to continue eating dog. “This is one of our traditions,” said Liang Xiaoli, who returned home especially for the festival. “They criticize us, saying we don’t have compassion or humanity, but I think every person has different circumstances,” she added. “You can’t just lump all people together. For example, if I think eating pork is really brutal, then no one can eat pork. That’s not on.”


Hate speech may lack clear definition but Kansai trying to squelch it

Abstract: OSAKA - More than two years after the anti-Korean group Zaitokukai made international headlines with racial slurs and threats of violence, local governments around Japan are making it far more difficult for any group attacking minorities to operate. As of last month, over 100 prefectural, city, town and village assemblies had released statements condemning hate speech. While not legally binding, they send a clear message to their local bureaucrats, who have discretion over approving requests to use public meeting facilities and granting permits for street demonstrations. The hoped-for result, therefore, is that hate groups will find it more difficult to secure space to shout racist comments and go on threatening public tirades than was the case a couple years ago. In the Kansai region, Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo and Wakayama prefectures have all denounced hate speech. Municipal assemblies in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and 16 other Kansai cities have also spoken out against hate speech. Given the huge influx of international tourists over the past two years, especially from East Asia, Kansai’s major cities in particular are worried about groups using its facilities and streets to spread messages of racial hatred. Kadoma, a city in Osaka Prefecture, took the lead last year in doing more than just issuing statements. Under current regulations, the city has said it will not grant use of public facilities to groups and individuals who habitually engage in violent and discriminatory behavior. In the event that permission to use, say, a public park for a rally has already been granted, Kadoma could revoke permission or stop the rally if it discovers the applicant fits the criteria for denial. “Kadoma will judge all applications to use public facilities on the basis of protecting residents’ safety and dignity,” the city said in a statement. Driving much of the concern at the local level is the impact such venomous and discriminatory speech and ideas might have on schoolchildren who walk past the rallies, or on those who can hear the rants from classrooms or other public facilities. In June 2013, Yamagata Prefecture refused permission for a Zaitokukai meeting at a prefecture-run facility because it contained a library where children often visited. Of course, deciding what constitutes hate speech and grounds for refusing permission for public rallies can be something of a slippery slope. With no legal definition of hate speech upon which court decisions can be based, leaving decisions about granting or refusing permission for public facilities to bureaucrats raises difficult questions. For example, if local governments hosting U.S. military bases were to decide that anti-base protesters screaming “Yankee, go home!” are engaging in a form of “discrimination against foreigners,” could they, under the pretext of cracking down on “hate speech,” not allow them to demonstrate? Or could atomic power plant workers claim anti-nuclear protesters are discriminating against them by staging protests and, to use the language of Kadoma, damaging their dignity and safety (economic) by making comments that they might claim are a form of hate speech? Would nuclear supporters then ask local assemblies overwhelmingly tied to the nuclear power industry to crack down on anti-nuclear demonstrations by claiming pro-nuclear workers risk becoming victims of anti-nuclear protesters’ “hate speech”? As ridiculous as the above questions may sound, without specific national laws banning racial discrimination to guide them, the potential for local bureaucratic decisions that violate the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly only grows. Thus any entities sincerely attempting to control what most people would instinctively say is hate speech should keep in mind that old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions.


Key aviation official loses computer while sleeping on train

Abstract: The transport ministry says one of its senior officials lost a bag containing a work computer used and a list of emergency contact information for ministry staff, another embarrassment for the government following a recent massive leak of pension data. Police are investigating the incident as a case of possible theft, after Akihiko Tamura, director general of the ministry’s Civil Aviation Bureau, lost the bag containing the list and tablet computer on a train on his way home late Friday. Tamura is in charge of policies including regulations on the use of drones as well as measures to prevent aerial terrorism, the ministry said Sunday. The tablet is supposedly locked with a password. Tamura put his bag on the overhead rack of the train he took from Tokyo at around 11 p.m. Friday after drinking alcohol, the ministry said. He fell asleep before realizing he missed his stop in Kanagawa Prefecture and the bag was gone. The government is currently drawing up regulations on the use of drones in public places in response to a series of incidents that have stoked fears that unmanned aircraft could be used for terrorism. In the most serious of these, a drone with a minuscule amount of radiation was found on the roof of the prime minister’s office building in April. A man was arrested for allegedly flying the drone there. The loss of Tamura’s bag could add to criticism of the government’s management of information. The transport ministry said it will take steps to prevent a repeat of this kind of incident. Officials were forced to apologize earlier this month after it was discovered that the Japan Pension Service system had been hacked and more than a million items of personal data had been leaked.


Osaka's assault on ethnic invective stalls

Abstract: OSAKA - With last week’s decision by the Osaka Municipal Assembly to delay a decision on what would have been Japan’s first city ordinance to combat hate speech and to issue a nonbinding statement instead, local legal efforts to crack down on racist rhetoric have slowed. Although the assembly may take up the issue again when it reconvenes in September, there are numerous hurdles remaining to realizing an ordinance. All political parties agree something should be done to halt racial slurs and threats of violence against ethnic minorities. But differences of opinion over how effective an ordinance would be and whether it could give too much authority to an outside committee loyal to the mayor meant that unanimous approval by the assembly, sought by all parties, was impossible. Last week’s statement adds to the many local calls for the central government to enact legislation that would effectively combat hate speech and protect the rights of minorities. “In recent years, hate speech directed at foreigners in Japan with a specific nationality has taken place, creating concern about human rights problems involving foreigners. In the streets of Osaka as well, demonstrations involving hate speech have frequently occurred,” the statement noted. City assembly members also pointed out that the United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressed concern about the spread of speech that meets the definition of racial discrimination under the terms of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Japan, as a signatory to the convention, has long been advised to adopt measures to combat such racially biased speech. In addition, through legal restrictions, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has strongly recommended Japan adopt measures to deal with hate speech. Last August, a CERD report on Japan recommended the country take five specific actions to combat hate speech: 1. Firmly address manifestations of hate and racism as well as incitement to racist violence and hatred during rallies; 2. Take appropriate steps to combat hate speech in the media, including the Internet; 3. Investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute individuals, as well as organizations, responsible for such acts; 4. Pursue appropriate sanctions against public officials and politicians who disseminate hate speech and incitement to hatred; 5. Address the root causes of racist hate speech and strengthen measures of teaching, education, culture and information. The issue of hate speech in Osaka has become particularly sensitive due to the large number of Korean residents and an incident that took place in 2013 in the city’s Tsuruhashi district, home to many Koreans. At a public demonstration sponsored by the anti-Korean group Zaitokukai, a 14-year-old girl began screaming racial slurs and death threats at Koreans. Videos of the event were quickly translated into several languages and uploaded on YouTube, earning Osaka an international reputation as a place that condones hate speech against ethnic minorities. “Furthermore, as a recent example, on Dec. 9, 2014, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a group that engaged in hate speech. That decision confirmed an Osaka High Court decision that the group’s activities met the convention’s definition of racial discrimination and was beyond something that was protected speech. We strongly request that, from the view of guarding human rights, the central government promote effective legal measures to lead to the eradication of hate speech,” the June 10 statement concluded, referring to the decision against the right-wing hate group Zaitokukai. The group appealed decisions by the Osaka High Court and the Kyoto District Court after both ordered it to pay nearly ¥12 million in compensation to a Kyoto school whose students are ethnic Koreans, after it came under attack by Zaitokukai members during demonstrations in 2009 and 2010. Since then, pressure has been growing on the city of Osaka to publicly condemn acts of hate speech. But embarrassed by Zaitokukai and emboldened by the court decisions, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, as well as his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) political group and other assembly members, decided to go a step further and try to pass an ordinance, even though there were questions about whether it would violate the constitutional right to freedom of speech. The proposed ordinance was developed with input from local Korean human rights’ organizations and lawyers. It would define as hate speech expressions that call for the elimination of ethnic groups and individuals from society and restrict their freedoms and rights, or incite violence against them. Written attacks on the Internet and social media against groups and individuals might also be defined as hate speech. Key to determining what the city would define as hate speech would be a committee of five legal experts and others involved in human rights issues. They would be appointed by the mayor to examine specific hate speech allegations, and would be responsible for gathering testimony if they decided a particular case warranted investigation. Each member would serve for two years and could not publicly discuss any secrets (designated by city bureaucrats) they come across while doing their jobs, even after their term as a committee member ends. Violating the secrecy agreement would be grounds for dismissal by the mayor. In the event the committee’s probe concluded there was merit to a claim of hate speech, the city would offer assistance if the victim decided to take the perpetrators to court. This includes an as yet undetermined amount of financial assistance for legal fees. In addition, there would be a “name and shame” effort whereby the names of the groups and individuals who made the comments, and the content of their remarks, would be posted on the city’s website. “The committee of third-party experts would make decisions based on existing laws, and the opinions of legal experts would have to be respected. It’s clear we have to make rules that prohibit hate speech,” Hashimoto said last month when the resolution proposal was formally taken up. Whether such an ordinance will pass soon, especially before mayoral and gubernatorial elections in November, is questionable. Kim Kwang-min, secretary-general of the Osaka-based nonprofit organization Korea NGO Center, expressed disappointment, but not surprise, that the assembly only voted for a nonbinding statement. “The ordinance resolution wasn’t perfect but it is needed. A lot of politicians are saying that Osaka should wait on the central government to pass a national law against hate speech. But I think on this issue, it’s the local governments, which are closer to the problem, that can take the lead,” Kim said.


Suntory gains ground in battle of the machines

Abstract: At the end of May, Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. announced it would buy Japan Tobacco Inc.’s drinks vending machine subsidiary in July. At a news conference to explain the deal, Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii said the purchase would help his company achieve its goal of becoming the biggest-selling beverage maker in Japan. The acquisition would add 266,000 vending machines to Suntory’s existing 490,000, thus bringing it closer to Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., the No. 1 company with 980,000 vending machines. According to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, there are 2.5 million of the devices operating in Japan, most of which sell soft drinks. Vending machines are considered the most effective means of selling soft drinks in Japan, which is why Suntory is so determined to increase its penetration. The problem is that, as with any sales distribution network, the effectiveness of vending machines is all about location, and almost all the good locations in Japan were taken years ago. JT’s machines will provide Suntory with choice locations without having to go out and find new ones. So even though Suntory is reportedly paying ¥150 billion to JT for its machines, Torii thinks his company can save several billion yen a year in vending-machine placement and location research expenses. The actual value of the machines Suntory is buying is estimated to be about half the price it is paying to JT. In addition to the devices and the locations, Suntory also gains JT’s superior product supply network for soft drinks and its established “full-service line” of products. JT sells not only its own beverages in its vending machines, but also popular brands from other manufacturers, and apparently Suntory is not going to change that. Rather than replace the products in JT’s machines with its own, Suntory is also acquiring two beverage brands: the Roots canned coffee line, and the Momo no Tennensui bottled water line, which are quite popular. Suntory has said it will start re-marketing the two brands later this year with “added value.” The strategy seems to be especially important for Roots, whose dedicated fans are considered “different” from those who regularly buy Suntory’s canned coffee brand, Boss. Rather than try and make Roots drinkers switch to Boss, Suntory is simply acquiring those fans. The canned coffee market in Japan was worth about ¥739 billion in 2013, and though it’s shrinking, it is still considered a huge money maker, especially when the product is sold through vending machines, where costs are fixed and profit margins higher than they are with other retail networks. In the past several years, convenience stores have started selling fresh coffee, and a cup is usually cheaper than canned coffee, which normally costs at least ¥130 for 190 ml, so canned coffee sales in convenience stores are dropping while those from vending machines aren’t. Coca-Cola Japan’s Georgia line of canned coffee is still the No. 1 seller, which is interesting considering the company had a hard time initially selling the idea of canned coffee to its parent company back in Atlanta (hence the name). Back in the ’70s, one of Coca-Cola Japan’s regional distributors came out with one of the first canned coffees, Max, and when it tried to expand the brand, Coca-Cola in America wouldn’t subsidize it because it couldn’t understand the concept of coffee in a can. But when Max took off, the parent gave in and Georgia was born, as well as the whole canned coffee culture in Japan. Boss, which Suntory launched in 1992, is now the second-biggest-selling line, and the company has invested a lot in trying to overtake Coca-Cola. In 2000, Boss sales were about a third of Georgia’s. Now they’re about two-thirds. The beverage industry research company Inryo Soken says that Coca-Cola Japan has a 27.6 percent share of the overall soft drink market, with Suntory at 20.5 percent and Asahi Soft Drinks Co. at 12.9 percent. Last year, Suntory reported ¥1.26 trillion in sales and says it is aiming to increase that figure to ¥20 trillion by 2020. If Suntory is going to achieve that number it will presumably have to get more of its products into vending machines, whether they are owned by Suntory or not. That means negotiating with independent distributors who fill vending machines for people who place them on their property to make money, or finding more places to install their own machines, which now means going indoors. Building management companies are the main target of vending machine distributors and beverage companies. For individuals and firms with choice locations, vending machines require no startup money. The distributor or maker provides the machines and services them. Usually the property owner only has to pay for the electricity, and earns a cut of the profits, which can be as much as ¥50,000 a month per machine depending on demand. In order to make vending machines more attractive to property owners, distributors and makers have gotten vending machine manufacturers to make them more energy-efficient and compact.

suntory
japan tobacco
coca-cola
soft drinks


Shima has high hopes for long-term windfall from G-7 meet

Abstract: Just before departing for this year’s Group of Seven summit in Germany earlier this month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that Shima, situated at the end of a peninsula in Mie Prefecture, will be the main venue for next year’s annual gathering. The announcement elated local residents, because the short but lucrative G-7 summit, slated for May, is expected to give a shot in the arm to the region, which, like many other rural areas in Japan, has a rapidly shrinking and graying population. Abe named it the Ise-Shima Summit, after the area that includes the cities of Ise, where Japan’s top Shinto shrine stands, and Shima, where the summit will be held. The other candidates sites were Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, Sendai, Niigata, Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Nagoya, Kobe and Hiroshima. Why did Abe pick Shima? It is widely believed the Ise-Shima region was chosen because of its manageable security environment and Abe’s personal attachment to Ise Shrine. Kashikojima Island, which is expected to be the main venue, is a tiny resort in Ago Bay linked to the mainland by only two bridges and a railway. This makes it relatively easy to restrict and check incoming and outgoing traffic, experts say. Ise Shrine, which dates back around 2,000 years and is dedicated to the ancestral deities of the Imperial family, is one of the most sacred Shinto sites in Japan. In the Edo Period, it was the destination of pilgrimages from all over the nation, and prime ministers customarily visit the shrine in early January to offer prayers to kick off the new year. Abe said he hopes to take the leaders of the other G-7 nations — the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Canada and Italy — to see the shrine and share its serene atmosphere with them. Was Shima the prime candidate? No. Shima was not even a candidate at first. But after encouraged by Abe’s aides, it raised its hand to join the contest to be the main venue several months after the government’s deadline as an exception. Abe also reportedly considered using Hiroshima and Sendai. There was widespread speculation in the domestic media that by holding the summit in Hiroshima, Abe would be able to pressure the president of the United States to visit the site of the city destroyed by the world’s first atom bomb, sending powerful nuclear abolition message that would win him votes just before the crucial Upper House election that summer. However, Abe reportedly dropped the idea due to reservations expressed by other countries, including the U.S. Instead, Tokyo is now considering holding the G-7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Hiroshima. Sendai was a potential candidate because it was one of the many areas in the Tohoku region heavily damaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Where has Japan hosted the summit in the past? Japan hosted its first three G-7 summits in Tokyo. It then held the 2000 summit in Okinawa and the 2008 summit in the town of Toyako, Hokkaido, reflecting a recent trend of using remote, less-populated resorts to thwart protesters and improve security. Okinawa was chosen because the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was said to have had strong emotional attachment to the prefecture. Bill Clinton, who attended the Okinawa summit, became the first U.S. president to visit Okinawa since the war-battered island reverted to Japanese control in 1972. As for the 2008 summit, Toyako was a strong candidate early on because the picturesque resort, centered on a lake in nature-rich southwestern Hokkaido, made it easier to provide security for the leaders. What are the economic benefits of hosting the event? Even though the political influence of the G-7 meetings is said to be waning, many experts say the economic impact on the host countries remains large. The Hyakugo Economic Research Institute, an arm of a Mie-based bank, estimates the summit’s economic impact on Japan could reach about ¥51 billion, including ¥13 billion for Mie alone. Of the ¥51 billion, ¥7.4 billion is expected to come from an increase in accommodations and dining, and ¥2 billion from construction work. For the 2008 Toyako Hokkaido summit, the Hokkaido Economic Federation estimated the event would generate a sustained economic impact of about ¥28 billion for five years afterward. But others said the windfall didn’t last that long, considering tourism to Toyako sank from 3.38 million in 2007 to about 2.24 million in 2012. How much will the Ise-Shima summit cost? No one knows, but the Hyakugo research institute estimates the overall budget will come to around ¥27 billion. The think tank said the cost can be reduced by using existing facilities instead of building new ones. The cost of holding the event will be shared by the central and local governments. Although the ratio is not yet known, Mie Gov. Eikei Suzuki said at the news conference after Abe’s announcement on June 5 that he believed Mie’s burden would not exceed the roughly ¥1.5 billion Hokkaido paid for the 2008 summit. Japan has drawn flak from the public and its G-7 peers in the past for splurging on the summit and related events, handing out extravagant souvenirs, such as wine glasses and lacquered letter boxes, to participants and journalists alike. For example, the cost of the 2000 Kyushu and Okinawa summit reached an eye-popping ¥80 billion. Given the backlash, the government aimed to hold a “compact and effective” summit in 2008, using an existing hotel and facilities in Hokkaido. Even so, the total budget came to around ¥37 billion. About half the cost was reportedly used for security and counterterrorism measures. What are the local governments in Mie hoping to get out of the summit? As Shima is no exception to Japan’s rural depopulation trend, it is aiming to use the summit to revitalize the area by heavily promoting the region and increasing tourism, and hopefully residents as well. Shima is among the 869 municipalities that the Japan Policy Council, a Tokyo-based think tank, recently said were at risk of “disappearing” in the near future due to fewer births. The list accounts for about half of all the municipalities in Japan. Shima’s population stood at around 53,000 in May, compared with 63,000 in 1995.

mie
ise-shima summit
ise shrine
g7 summit


Prince Harry sees carcasses of poached rhino, calf in 'major killing field' South African park

Abstract: JOHANNESBURG - Britain’s Prince Harry saw the carcasses of a slaughtered rhino and her calf during a visit Wednesday to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, which has been hard hit by poachers. Harry also stepped into a conservation debate in South Africa, saying he believes legalization of the rhino horn trade will “accelerate the path to extinction” for the threatened species. He said poachers have killed 1,500 rhinos in South Africa so far this year. He did not cite a source for the number, which would exceed last year’s record number of slaughtered rhinos by several hundred. The South African government said in late August that about 750 rhinos had been poached in 2015. Poachers have turned Kruger into “a major killing field,” said the British prince, who spent three months this year on conservation projects in Southern Africa. He accompanied rangers who inspected the carcasses of the rhino and her calf, searching for DNA and other evidence that might eventually be used in the prosecution of suspected poachers. The carcasses had already been picked over by vultures and other scavengers. “You have to try to get to the carcass as quickly as possible to suck up all the evidence before the wilds of Africa take it,” the prince said. Last week, a South African judge rescinded a moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horns; the ban will stay in place pending an appeal by South Africa’s environment ministry. “It’s not for me to second guess a court or the legal reasons behind its decision, but what I strongly believe is that the legalization of rhino horn trading will accelerate the path to extinction,” Harry said. An international ban on the rhino horn trade has been in place since 1977. South Africa is home to most of the world’s rhinos.

prince harry
poaching
rhinos
south africa
ivory trade


Probe launched over abrupt change in MSDF's next chopper pick

Abstract: A special unit under the defense minister is investigating whistleblower information that the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s preferred choice for its next-generation utility helicopters, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani admitted Friday. Although the minister declined to elaborate, ministry sources said Thursday that the MSDF’s preferred choice has been improperly changed by the brass at the Maritime Staff Office from the model proposed by officials in charge. “To ensure fairness in the procedure, a defense inspection is under way,” Nakatani told a news conference, while stressing, “It is not because any irregularities or scandal have been confirmed.” “We are hoping to invite tenders in a manner in which fairness can be demonstrated,” he added. According to the sources, officials in charge of the selection had proposed a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. SH series model, part of the same line as the UH-60J choppers now in use. But the choice was later changed to the MCH series of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. by the brass at the Maritime Staff Office, the sources said. The selection process has been suspended due to the probe by the Inspector General’s Office of Legal Compliance, launched in 2007 following a bid-rigging scandal over defense procurement. The inspector general is a former superintending public prosecutor. MSDF Chief of Staff Adm. Tomohisa Takei declined comment on the probe when contacted by Kyodo News, saying he is “not in a position to take questions” about such a special inspection and adding the MSDF “is currently taking the equipment selection procedure carefully, giving heed to compliance.” While the UH-60J is used for rescue operations, its successors are expected to be borne aboard escort ships, the sources said.

msdf investigation helicopter japan whistle-blower mhi khi


A quick lesson on sexual harassment in schools

Abstract: When you find criticism of your country disturbing, the best way to dismiss it is to find a flaw in the critique and use it to justify dismissing the rest of the evidence as well. Sometimes it works, but only if people don’t really do their homework. Take, for example, sukūru sekuhara, which means “school sexual harassment” and refers to academic staff acting lewdly toward their students. Such behavior ranges from inappropriate touching and sexual assault to photographing students naked. According to the education ministry, 205 faculty members at public schools were disciplined or fired for such offenses in fiscal year 2013, the most recent year statistics have been made public. It’s the first time since the survey began in 1977 that the figure has topped 200. It has hovered around 150 for the past decade. All academic employees who were disciplined were men and almost 70 percent of the harassment occurred outside of school hours. The offenses ranged from inappropriate physical contact, sexual intercourse, hidden filming, voyeurism, kissing, sexually offensive comics and literature, lewd photography, molestation and exposing private parts. The most common offense — in 56 cases — was inappropriate physical contact followed by taking unauthorized video footage and voyeurism. Thirty faculty members had sexual intercourse with their students. Two teachers were disciplined for selling and/or distributing pornographic videos. Two academic employees were disciplined for taking lewd photos of students in 2013. The Metropolitan Police Department recently arrested a 38-year-old elementary school teacher in Mitaka, Tokyo, for a similar offense. According to the Sankei Shimbun, the teacher had been suspected of inappropriately touching female students and, as a result, had been put in charge of a class of male students this year. The teacher was arrested on suspicion of taking a male student off school grounds in May and taking lewd photographs of him. The Mitaka City Board of Education faces public criticism for not disciplining the teacher earlier, but this does not appear to be unusual. The 2013 statistics show that inappropriate behavior was only discovered after the police contacted the school in almost a third of all cases of sexual harassment. The failure of academic institutions to recognize the abuse of children reflects a wider problem. In October, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, special rapporteur for the U.N. on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography condemned the country’s failure to address the sexual exploitation of children at a news conference in Tokyo. “We have in Japan many forms of sexual exploitation of children, (some of) which are not necessarily criminalized,” she said. In particular, de Boer-Buquicchio pointed to the phenomena of enjo kosai (compensated dating), in which female high school students offer a range of services, such as going on walks, posing for photographs or performing sexual services in exchange for products or cash. De Boer-Buquicchio did welcome recent moves to criminalize the ownership of child pornography — the kind of material that was allegedly taken by the teacher in Mitaka. However, she said convictions typically result in suspended sentences or minimal penalties such as fines. “Even if the criminals are convicted, the sentences are extremely low,” she said. “The whole atmosphere of impunity needs to change.” The government statistics on sexual harassment in schools are very solid, but they may only be the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, however, de Boer-Buquicchio quoted an unnamed source as saying that some 13 percent of the schoolgirls in Japan were involved in compensated dating. The Foreign Ministry immediately protested the remarks and called for the comment to be retracted. In response, de Boer-Buquicchio said she had referred to estimates in open sources to highlight the problem. A short time later, however, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said de Boer-Buquicchio had sent the government a letter in which she effectively retracted her earlier claim. Numerous attempts to contact de Boer-Buquicchio have yet to confirm this. The government may be able to refute a number but not ignore a problem altogether. Japan needs to improve sex education in schools so that students can recognize healthy sexual relationships without selling their bodies or accepting abuse. Japan’s public spending on education as a percentage of GDP was the lowest among OECD countries in 2012, the sixth consecutive year it sat at the bottom. Sexual harassment in schools may be just another sign of getting what you pay for: If you don’t fund education, don’t pay enough to hire good teachers and don’t tackle abuse, you could learn a few unpleasant things.

sexual harassment
mitaka
maud de boer-buquicchio
sex education


Germans torpedo Yasaka Maru; Men spending more on booze; Japan, ROK restore ties; South Korea to allow singing in Japanese

Abstract: 100 YEARS AGO Friday, Dec. 24, 1915 Yasaka Maru sunk without warning The head Office of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha yesterday received official confirmation of the sinking of one of the best vessels of its fleet. The message was received from the company’s agents at Port Said. It read: The Yasaka Maru was torpedoed by German U-boats without warning on Tuesday afternoon. The ship sank in 49 minutes. All passengers and crew were, however, saved, and were picked up by a French gunboat at midnight on Tuesday. They landed at Port Said on Wednesday. Accommodation was promptly provided for passengers and crew. All passengers express great admiration for the skill of the Captain and officers and the discipline of the crew. Most perfect order was maintained during disembarkation, which was carried out with the greatest promptitude. By the loss of the Yasaka Maru the mercantile marine of Japan has suffered its first big loss of the war. Shortly before noon yesterday, several reports reached Tokyo of the loss, and something of a sensation was caused by the news, as no details were then available. When, however, the above messages were received there was a great feeling of relief at the news that no lives had been lost as a result of this latest example of Teutonic “frightfulness.” 75 YEARS AGO Friday, Dec. 13, 1940 Young men spending more on alcohol With their pockets filled with money and their hearts joyful over the anticipation of year-end bonuses, Tokyo’s young men are spending more on liquor, if the evidence gathered by a Miyako reporter at Shimbashi and Yurakucho stations can be taken as proof. Late Wednesday night a Miyako reporter saw a young inebriated fellow severely taken to task by a policeman close to Shimbashi Station, apparently on account of his careless conduct caused by his drinking. Then, a few steps away, another intoxicated case, causing some trouble to a station employee, was found by the same reporter. A staff member at Shimbashi Station, when approached by the Miyako representative, is quoted to have said: “About 60 percent of those taking trains here after 11 o’clock at night these few days are more or less intoxicated, I can assure you. Maybe it is because the majority of salaried men’s pockets are now warm with their year-end bonuses. Anyway, we strongly doubt if there are many bars around here where liquor is sold so late at night. After all, the sight of young men feebly walking under the strength of alcohol is not very encouraging when a new national structure (to ready Japan for a protracted war) is being promoted.” One of the clerks at Yurakucho Station, when met by the same reporter, admitted that they also are having many drunken passengers to handle late at night. “Now, we generally have 700 to 800 passengers who take trains after 11 o’clock at night. More than half of them are seen enlightened with alcoholic beverages.” However, the paper continues, the cases of complete drunkenness are rare. Some are happy after imbibing in a few drinks, but not drunk; others wobble a bit while climbing the station steps; and not a few appear to be partially intoxicated; but complete drunkenness is seldom noticed. 50 YEARS AGO Sunday, Dec. 19, 1965 Japan, ROK restore diplomatic relations Japan and the Republic of Korea entered a new era of diplomatic relations with the exchange of the instruments ratifying the Basic Relations Treaty and four related agreements Saturday. The ratification exchange, which terminated 14 years of negotiations, was conducted in a solemn ceremony in the ornate conference room of the Capitol Building, witnessed by South Korean Premier Il Kwon Chung. In the 40-minute ceremony, the documents were exchanged by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Etsusaburo Shiina of Japan and Dong Won Lee of the Republic of Korea. The treaty and four agreements were signed in Tokyo on June 22 following 14 years of oft-suspended, rough-sledding negotiations started in 1952. The exchange of ratification papers signaled the coming into effect of the Japan-ROK Basic Relations Treaty and three agreements on fisheries, property claims and economic cooperation, and cultural properties and cultural cooperation between the two countries. The Japan-ROK agreement on legal status and treatment of ROK nationals residing in Japan will take effect 30 days later. 25 YEARS AGO Wednesday, Dec. 5, 1990 South Korea to allow singing in Japanese Popular singer Tokiko Kato will be the first Japanese to be allowed by South Korean authorities to sing in Japanese at a charity show in a Seoul hotel Thursday, show organizers said Tuesday. She will also sing Korean songs in Korean. Since the end of World War II, South Korea has banned concerts of Japanese songs and showing of Japanese movies in view of strong anti-Japanese sentiment. The Korean Peninsula was a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945. During that period, Koreans were forced to abandon their culture and use the Japanese language. Records made by Japanese singers have to be re-recorded in English before being allowed into the South Korean market. The concert is expected to give fresh impetus to efforts to promote and deepen cultural exchanges between Japan and South Korea, the organizers said. Deep-rooted antipathy toward Japanese culture still exists among South Koreans, and it is difficult for Seoul to lift all restrictions on Japanese culture, a Foreign Ministry official said.

south korea
singing
alcohol
year-end bonuses
bonuses
germany
world war i


Canadian smuggler with turtles in pants pleads guilty in U.S.

Abstract: ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - A Canadian man caught at a border crossing with 51 turtles taped to his body pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling or attempting to smuggle more than 1,000 of the reptiles out of southeastern Michigan. Kai Xu, 27, would order turtles online and travel to the U.S. to pick them up and then ship them to China or return with them to Ontario, Canada. He pleaded guilty to six crimes in federal court in Ann Arbor and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. It’s illegal to export wildlife from the U.S. without a permit from the government. Xu “regularly deals in turtle shipments worth $30,000, $80,000 or $125,000,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward said in a court filing. “In China, the turtles he smuggles are worth two to three times the amount he pays here.” Defense attorney Matt Borgula declined to comment after the guilty plea. Xu has been in custody since his arrest in suburban Detroit in September 2014. He describes himself as an engineering student at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, although the university said he wasn’t enrolled at the time of his arrest. In summer 2014, weeks before his arrest, Xu was under surveillance in Detroit. After picking up a box at a United Parcel Service site, he hid behind trucks and emerged with “irregularly shaped bulges” under his sweat pants, wildlife agent Ken Adams said. Xu returned to Ontario but was stopped by Canadian border authorities who found 51 live turtles taped to his legs, including box turtles and terrapins. Despite the bust, “he did not cease smuggling turtles. He did not even slow down,” Woodward said.


Cops in Georgia hand out cash

Abstract: FORSYTH, GEORGIA - Sheriff’s deputies in a central Georgia county have been surprising motorists, some of whom expect a ticket. Instead, they have gotten $100 bills. The Telegraph reports that Monroe County Sheriff John Cary Bittick gave officers 54 $100 bills to hand out randomly over three days during the past week. The newspaper reports that the money came from an anonymous benefactor. Bittick said the donor had seen the concept somewhere else, and thought it would be a great idea in light of tensions nationwide between police and the public. The Telegraph reports that some of the recipients were so moved they broke into tears. But not everyone. Deputy John Thompson said one motorist cussed him out before learning about the money, and she didn’t get a $100 bill. Information from: The Macon Telegraph, www.macontelegraph.com


Dime-nail to be auctioned

Abstract: NEW YORK - Is it a dime, or is it a nail? In probably one of the oddest items to come to the world of coin collecting, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions has announced the sale of a Roosevelt dime that was accidentally — some say deliberately — struck onto a zinc nail. The dime/nail is estimated to be worth roughly $10,000. In the billions of coins it has made over its history, the U.S. Mint has made more than a few errors. There were Lincoln pennies that were struck onto the material for a dime, Washington quarters struck more than once, wrong dates on coins, etc. Most errors are caught by the Mint, but occasionally a few make it out into circulation. Those error coins have been highly sought by collectors. This error coin coming to auction in January in Tampa, Florida, is one of the more bizarre errors to come to public attention. In a weird linguistic twist, another name for the 2-inch (5-centimeter) nail is a sixpenny nail. “It is certainly the most unusual item I have had to catalog in my career,” said Mark Borckardt, the senior numismatist at Heritage New York-based Auctions. A numismatist is person who studies or collects coins or bank notes. It is not the first coin printed onto a nail, however, said Fred Weinberg, a coin dealer considered one of the top experts in error coins. A few pennies in the late 1970s were struck onto nails. This dime/nail is undated, so there is no way to tell when the item was created. Weinberg said it is possible the dime/nail was made on purpose by a rogue Mint employee. Despite it not being one of a kind, Weinberg says, there are probably only about a half dozen coin/nail examples known and only two dimes. He expects the dime/nail to sell for roughly $10,000, but public interest could raise that amount. A spokesman for the U.S. Mint was unavailable to answer the question of whether the nail/dime is considered valid currency. The Heritage auction that includes the nail/dime also includes several other notable error coins. There will be a 1943 Lincoln penny struck in bronze, which would seem not out of the ordinary except for the fact that the U.S. Mint changed the composition of the penny in 1943 to steel to save copper for the war effort. 1943 bronze pennies typically sell for $200,000 to $300,000. On the flip side, Heritage will also be auctioning a 1944 penny that was struck in steel, not bronze. The auction for the dime/nail will be Jan. 6 as part of a larger Heritage auction. Electronic bidding for the coin has already started, however. The current price for the item is $3,200.


No dog-eat-dog politics: Siberian city backs cat for mayor

Abstract: BARNAUL, RUSSIA - Tired of the dog-eat-dog politics in their Russian city, the residents of Barnaul say they want a cat to be their next mayor. The Siberian city of 650,000 people, which lies 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) east of Moscow, is to get a new mayor next week when a commission comprising the city council and the regional governor choose from among six candidates. But none of the six appear to spark much affection among Barnaul’s residents. An informal online poll asking residents to express their preferences among the six and a Siamese cat named Barsik showed the feline nabbing more than 90 percent of the vote. Barsik has attracted much amused attention in the Russian news media. Still, some local politicians understand there’s a more serious message coming from the people of Barnaul, which like many Russian cities has been riddled with alleged corruption. “Through the image of Barsik the cat, our people are sending definite wishes to the future head of Barnaul,” says regional Gov. Alexander Karlin. “The conclusion has been made that there’s absolutely no trust among voters for any of the candidates,” said local Communist Party official, Ivan Karpov.


German media says document confirms Hitler only had one testicle

Abstract: BERLIN - A medical document shows that Adolf Hitler only had one testicle, German media said Saturday, suggesting there is some truth after all to a popular British song that says the dictator had “only got one ball.” There has long been speculation that Hitler was missing one testicle, with rumors circulating that he lost the other one during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. But a medical record from the time when Hitler was put in prison after the failed Munich beer hall putsch in 1923 shows he suffered from “right-side cryptorchidism” — a condition where a testicle fails to descend into the scrotum — media reports said. The doctor’s notes were thought to have been missing for years but reappeared at an auction in 2010, at which point they were seized by authorities. “The experienced medical officer immediately recognized the condition!” top-selling newspaper Bild quoted historian Peter Fleischmann, who has studied the record, as saying. Fleischmann could not immediately be reached for comment.


Nuclear power plants feared vulnerable to terrorist groups

Abstract: Security at France’s 58 nuclear power plants was purportedly raised to its highest level last month as a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris, stoking concern over the safety of Japan’s nuclear facilities. After the triple meltdown in Fukushima in 2011, Japan shut down all 48 of its viable commercial reactors in light of the crisis. But attempts are now being made to bring many back online. And despite opposition from anti-nuclear activists and groups, two reactors in Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, were restarted this fall and summer, with applications for 26 more pending Nuclear Regulation Authority approval. “I can understand there are concerns after terrorist attacks like the ones in Paris,” said NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka at a news conference on Nov. 18. “For now, we will tighten security measures by asking (for the) cooperation of related organizations like the police,” he said. But the NRA’s recent decision to revise its requirements to cope with terrorism has fueled fears over potential attacks on Japanese plants. The NRA’s new safety rules, introduced in July 2013 based on lessons learned from the Fukushima crisis, gave nuclear plant operators five years to set up special backup facilities to cope with possible attacks. The rules require the building of emergency backup operation rooms, backup water pumps and multiple water intake channels leading to reactor cores. If terrorists managed to cut power and paralyze the critical functions that keep the fuel rods cool, it could cause a meltdown and release a vast amount of radioactive material — just like when tsunami knocked out the cooling system of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, triggering meltdowns at three of the six reactors there. But at its Nov. 13 session, the NRA delayed the starting date of the five-year period, giving utilities extra time to make the deadline. The time by which Kyushu Electric Power Co. has to build backup facilities for its two reactors recently reactivated at the Sendai nuclear plant, for example, was extended nearly two years to March 2020. Anti-nuclear activists argue that preparations to counter potential attacks should start immediately, particularly since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration recently enacted a law that allows the Self-Defense Forces to feasibly take part in military operations with the United States. “The terrorist threat to Japan has increased more than ever because of the (legalization of using the) right to collective self-defense,” said Hideyuki Ban, co-representative of the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo. Experts on the Middle East say the law makes Japan more visible to terrorists like the Islamic State group, which is believed to be targeting U.S. allies. “The Islamic State has warned the pagan nation of Japan against further endangering lives of Japan’s citizens through Japanese support of the American crusade,” the jihadi extremist group said in the latest issue of its English-language online magazine Dabiq. “Prior to Shinzo Abe’s thoughtless pledge of support for this crusade, Japan was not on the list of priorities to be targeted by the Islamic State,” the group said. Even before the Fukushima crisis, the U.S. expressed serious concern over the apparent lack of security at Japanese nuclear plants. In May 2011, the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks released a number of documents it claimed were cables sent from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to Washington in 2006 and 2007. In one cable dated Feb. 26, 2007, the U.S. expressed concerns by reporting “armed national police are present at certain nuclear power plants . . . in Japan, but they do not guard all facilities and contract civilian guards are prevented by law from carrying weapons.” Another cable, dated Nov. 2, 2006, referred to an anti-terrorism drill held at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. It reported that some Japanese officials “pointed out flaws in the drill, saying it was unrealistic because participants had advance copies of the scenario.” Kevin Maher, who served as the minister-counselor for science and technologies and environmental affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, was among the U.S. officials surprised to learn of the apparent lack of armed security guards at Japanese nuclear plants. In a 2003 meeting in Tokyo, Maher said he and a visiting White House official at the time urged senior officials at Japan’s now-defunct Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to deploy armed guards to tighten security. “We were explaining that you need to be prepared for an armed terrorist attack,” Maher said in a recent interview with The Japan Times. “Literally their answer was, ‘No, because guns are illegal in Japan,’ ” he added. Maher, however, stressed he now believes Japanese security measures at nuclear plants have been greatly strengthened under the NRA’s new safety standards and the more realistic crisis-management approach taken by the Abe administration. Maher asserted that nuclear plants are now more tightly protected and there are many other “softer” targets in Japan that would be easier for terrorists to assault, such as those attacked in Paris last month. “I think there are other targets that terrorists would probably aim for rather than nuclear power plants,” he said. The National Police Agency says it has beefed up security guards at nuclear power plants. According to NPA’s report on security in 2015, special security units armed with submachine guns, rifles and specially reinforced armored vehicles have been deployed to guard nuclear-related facilities 24 hours a day. There are a total of 1,900 such security officers across the country. However, neither the NPA nor the NRA disclosed the exact number assigned to guard the plants, making it difficult to assess the plan. For his part, Hideyuki Ban, with the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, said Japan should not reactivate more reactors, arguing none are designed to withstand suicidal attacks with large planes like the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington in 2001. “The steel plate of the primary containment vessel is only about 3 cm, and the outside concrete layer is not very thick,” Ban pointed out. “A large airplane would burst right through a containment vessel if it was directly hit.” The Japan Times asked the NRA and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to comment on Ban’s comments, but both declined.

nuclear power plants
terrorist attacks
nuclear regulation authority