Category: Japan

This is some surprising news coming out of Japan concerning an issue from World War II that doesn’t involve comfort women for a change:

Japan’s defense minister said Saturday that the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War II was an inevitable way to end the war, drawing criticism from atomic bomb survivors.

“I understand that the bombing ended the war, and I think that it couldn’t be helped,” Fumio Kyuma said in a speech at a university in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.

The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II, in the world’s only nuclear attacks.

Kyuma, who is from Nagasaki, said the bombing caused great suffering in the city. Part of his speech was aired by public broadcaster NHK.

He also said he did not resent the U.S. because the bombs prevented the Soviet Union from entering the war with Japan, according to Kyodo News agency.

The remarks, rare for a Japanese Cabinet minister, were quickly criticized by atomic bomb victims.

I think the AP mistranslated what Kyuma said because when the bombs were dropped on Japan, Russia had already entered the war on August 8, 1945 before the second bomb was dropped.  Thus the bombs did not prevent the Soviets from entering into the war. The bombs were dropped to get Japan to surrender more quickly before the Soviets gobbled up to much Japanese territory. Coming Anarchy has some good commentary on this issue and provides a better translation of what Kyuma said:

“I understand the bombings brought the war to its end. I think it was something that couldn’t be helped.”

The United States “dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki although it knew Japan would lose the war” without having to resort to using an atomic bomb, Kyuma said.

Noting that the Soviet Union was preparing to wage a war against Japan, he said the United States must have thought the use of an atomic bomb could prompt Japan’s surrender, thus preventing the Soviet Union from carrying out its intentions.

“Luckily Hokkaido was not occupied. In the worst case, Hokkaido could have been taken by the Soviet Union,” he said. “I don’t hold a grudge against the United States.”

This logic is correct because Hokkaido today probably would be in Russian hands if the bombs were not dropped. If Hokkaido fell to the Soviets, Japan to this day would not have gotten the island back. This is validated by the Russians still holding on to the Japanese Kuril Islands just north of Hokkaido which they refuse to return to Tokyo.

I actually did a post on this a couple years ago about the decision to drop the atomic bomb compared to the proposed US invasion of Japan called Operation Olympic. Read the posting and decide if you think the US should have dropped the bomb or not. Now if only somebody in the Japanese government could show this much historical clarity about the comfort women issue instead of arguing over the definition of “coercion” and publishing unconvincing newspaper ads.

UPDATE:  As expected this ad has opened a firestorm of debate.  You can read a whole lot more on this development over at the Marmot’s Hole, Ampontan, and Occidentalism.  Occidentalism has a blown up version of the ad that you can read here.

Just by reading the comments on each of these sites you can see that this ad has done nothing more than just polarize even further each side on this issue.

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This is definitely not going to help this issue go away:

A group of Japanese lawmakers in a full-page ad in the Washington Post on Thursday denied the Japanese government and military had a hand in conscripting women from Asian countries as sex slaves for the Imperial Army during World War II. Titled “The Facts”, the ad published Wednesday claims “no historical document has ever been found” proving the direct involvement of the Japanese government and military, contrary to a recent U.S. congressional resolution sponsored by the Democrat Representative Mike Honda. The ad was co-sponsored by some Japanese academics, political commentators and journalists.

This ad is going to do nothing to change anyones attitudes about the comfort women issue and will only inflame passions on each side. I have laid out before what I think the Japanese government should do on this issue and I will explain it here again.

I believe that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should turn the tables on all the holier than thou demagogues criticizing Japan over the comfort women issue by apologizing for war time sexual slavery again, but this time in a large public speech to draw maximum media attention. During this speech then announce that Japan to atone for its past sins would become a champion of women’s rights beginning with the plight of modern day sexual slavery of North Korean women in China that both the South Korean and Chinese governments choose to ignore. Than announce that Japan would then start accepting North Korean defectors into Japan and become an outspoken advocate of NK defectors unlike South Korea which has a quasi governmental policy of stopping NK defectors.

Then make sure to have a translation of the speech in English to hand out to reporters so the New York Times can’t intentionally misquote translations again. Such a change in rhetoric and policy would instantly shine a spotlight on the moral bankruptcy of both China and South Korea while simultaneously aiding the plight of the NK defectors.

Would governments and the media go after China like they are currently attacking Japan? Probably not because China consistently gets a pass from the media and international governments, but it should be enough to silence them about the comfort women issue. As it stands now Abe’s approach of fighting over definitions of “coercion” and funding advertisements in the Washington Post only plays into the hands of the demagogues who have no intention of letting this issue go.

Prime Minister Abe could apologize for everything from the comfort women issue and the Nanjing Massacre to the Hideyoshi invasions of Korea starting in 1592 and the Japanese piracy of Shilla and Tang dynasty shipping even before then, followed by committing seppuku on top of Namsan mountain in Seoul for everyone to see and it would still not be enough for these governments because it provides them with a great domestic political weapon to disguise their own government failures by encouraging anti-Japanese sentiment. The only way to combat these demagogues is by making it embarrassing for these nations to bring up more demands for apologies when it would reflect negatively on their own current human rights failures to do so. It would no doubt be a bold measure, but I see no other way of ending the comfort women issue.

You have to like this solution the IHO came up with for the Sea of Japan/East Sea issue:

The International Hydrographic Organization on Friday made a proposal that could favor Korea in its dispute with Japan over the name of the body of water between the two countries.

At the group’s general meeting in Monaco on Thursday, the IHO discussed how to officially refer to the sea that Korea calls the "East Sea" and Japan calls the "Sea of Japan." No agreement was reached.

Instead, David Wynford Williams, chairman of the meeting, proposed omitting the name from the fourth edition of "Limits of Oceans and Seas," the guide the IHO publishes for map makers around the world.

Under the proposal, an oceanographic map of the area would be published in a two-page appendix to the guide after the two countries settle on a name.

So it is official now it is not the Sea of Japan or the East Sea its just the Pacific Ocean.  Using this logic the Korea Strait between Korea and Japan should also be removed from the map one would think. 

The Korean government is of course over joyed by this announcement and here is why:

The deletion of the name in the upcoming guide should draw international attention to the issue. For Korea, making the dispute a global issue could prove helpful to its efforts, while Japan is trying to keep the matter quiet to preserve the status quo.

Here is a reality check to the Korean government, nobody but Korea and Japan give a crap about this issue and that is why the IHO just pulled the name off their map because their tired of hearing about it because it is so stupid.  This is not a global issue and will not ever be a global issue and no one besides Korea and Japan cares. 

From Reuters:

Japanese motorists may one day pump their cars full of sake, the fermented rice wine that is Japan’s national drink, if a pilot project to create sake fuel is a hit with locals in this mountain resort.

The government-funded project at Shinanomachi, 200 kilometres (124 miles) northwest of Tokyo, will produce cheap rice-origin ethanol brew with the help of local farmers who will donate farm waste such as rice hulls to be turned into ethanol.

"We want to present the next generation a preferable blue print — a self-sustainable use of local fuels," said Yasuo Igarashi, a professor of applied microbiology at the University of Tokyo who heads the three year project.

I will be amazed if this works, but maybe this is what Japanese Prime Minister Abe was referring to when he proposed to cut greenhouse emissions by 50%.  No word yet on the potential fuel benefits of soju. 

Japanese motor companies overtook the United States in car sales last year:

Japan has regained its position as the world’s largest car producer after 13 years. China ranks third following the United States and outdistancing Germany. According to statistics for 2006 published by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles on Monday, Japan overtook the U.S. by producing 11.48 million cars, up 6.3 percent from 2005 (10.8 million cars). Japan was the world’s top car-producing country from 1980 to 1993 but fell to second in 1994.

The U.S. slipped to second for the first time since 1994, producing 11.26 million vehicles. U.S. production decreased 5.7 percent from 2005 (11.95 million cars), registering a decrease for the fourth consecutive year. China produced 7.19 million cars in 2006, overtaking Germany, which manufactured 5.82 million cars, and becoming the world’s third-ranking car-producing nation. China’s production showed a sharp increase of 25.9% from 2005 (5.71 million cars). South Korea ranked fifth, producing 3.94 million cars, up 4.3 percent from 2005. France, the sixth-ranked country, made 3.17 million cars, down 10.7 percent from the previous year and lagging far behind South Korea.

Hopefully this will be a wake up call to the US automobile industry which appears to be poised to be by passed by China in coming years as well.  What is interesting is that China manufacturing abilities are being aided through industrial espionage being committed in Korea:

State prosecutors yesterday charged nine former and incumbent employees of Kia Motors Corp., the nation’s second-largest automaker, for leaking core manufacturing technologies to China.

The illegal transfer would cause trillions of won in loss to the domestic car industry, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said.

Five of them were arrested and indicted in the first industrial espionage case involving the automotive industry in Korea. Four others were charged without detention.

They are suspected of colluding to leak confidential data on nine separate occasions from Kia to a Chinese company since November. They received a total of 230 million won ($248,620) in exchange for the data, the prosecution said.

It seems like everything is made in China now a days so why not our cars as well seems to be the trend.

This is actually something I’m willing to bet goes on in Korea as well:

Takeshi Yamashita does not look like a homeless person.  From his carefully distressed jeans to his casual-cool navy striped T-shirt, he is every bit the trendy Tokyoite.

Yet the 26-year-old has been sleeping in a reclining seat in an Internet cafe every night for the past month since he lost his steady office job and his apartment.

It’s cheaper than a hotel, offers access to the Internet and hundreds of Manga comic books, and even has a microwave and a shower where he can wash in the morning before heading off to one of his temporary jobs ranging from cleaning to basic office work.

Asked how long he plans to go on living like that, Yamashita smiles and shrugs.

There is plenty of times I have seen people crashed out in internet cafes late at night in Korea and I have to admit I did it once myself, however I can’t imagine actually living in one. 

This article from the Joong Ang Ilbo about the possible sale of the F-22 fighter plane to Japan I found quite interesting:

When reports surfaced last month that Japan is trying to purchase the new F-22 Raptor, the most advanced U.S. fighter plane, the news had a ripple effect in the region.
Despite Korea’s drive to modernize its air force, the ultra-modern plane could alter the balance of air power and spark a drive by South Korea and China to catch up.
The Raptor, which is so far banned from export, is felt to be so far superior to anything else in the air that Japan would gain an immediate regional edge if it flies the plane. “Whatever is out there cannot match up with it,” retired Air Force general Keum Ki-hyun said of the F-22. “It’s like elementary school kids trying to win a fight against college students.”

Well that is only fitting because the South Korean government has been acting "like elementary school kids".  Where the heck has the ROK government been for the last five years, to busy drinking sunshine Kool-Aid?  While the South Korean government has been busy undermining the US-ROK alliance at every turn and using anti-Americanism for short term domestic political gain for the past five years, the Japanese government has been busy building stronger political and defense relations with the US.  The elementary school kid credentials of the ROK government is further apparent by their concerns that the possible purchase of the F-22 by Japan is some kind of sign of an impending attack on Dokdo. Is it any wonder why the F-22 is being sold to Japan and not to South Korea? 

The Chosun has an article today that has all you would possibly ever wanted to know about the greatest pressing issue of our time, no not Dokdo, but the Sea of Japan / East Sea issue: 

The government is tense ahead of the International Hydrographic Organization conference in Monaco next Monday, which is expected to decide the official name of the body of water dividing Korea and Japan. The body is to settle whether a new edition of "Limits of Oceans and Seas," a guide book for map makers around the globe, will use both "East Sea," Korea’s name, and "Sea of Japan." In a closed-door meeting on Thursday, Korean officials reportedly stressed the need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

I find it quite interesting that the Korean government is tense over this East Sea / Sea of Japan nonsense, but could care less about 485 South Korean civilians kidnapped by the North Koreans or the many North Korean defectors trying to come to South Korea which the ROK government continues to be indifferent if not unhelpful to. 

Using the logic the Korean government is using to lobby the IHO to have the Sea of Japan permanently called the East Sea doesn’t that mean that the IHO would also have to change the name of the Korea Strait that runs between Korea and Japan? 

A new arms deal has been announced between Raytheon and the ROK military:

The Pentagon on Friday announced the proposed sale to South Korea of advanced SM-2 missiles and related gear valued at up to $372 million.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to Congress that Seoul had requested up to 210 Raytheon Co. -built SM-2 Block IIIA/B missiles and support equipment plus technical assistance from the U.S. government.

"The proposed sale will enhance South Korea’s defensive capabilities and increase interoperability with U.S. and mulit-national forces supporting coalition operations," the Pentagon said.

Does anyone find it ironic that on the same day this sale of advanced surface to air missiles is announced the Japanese Prime Minister was in Washington lobbying for the US to sell Japan the F-22:

The F-22 sale to Japan is favored by conservatives who say Japan, the closest U.S. ally in Asia, needs the warplanes to counter threats from both North Korea, where missiles could be pre-emptively attacked before launch, and China, which is building up forces opposite Taiwan, where China has deployed about 900 missiles within range of the island.

"One hundred F-22s in hands of Japan could change the Taiwan balance of power for two decades," said one official in favor of the estimated $30 billion sale. "The F-22 based in Okinawa could not only fight off [China’s People’s Liberation Army] air force but strike inside China; it is invisible to radar."

The arms  race in northeast Asia continues. 

So does anyone think this apology will make as many headlines as the deliberate New York Times mistranslation did of Abe’s off the cuff comment about the comfort women last month?:

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday expressed regrets that his country’s military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II.

The remark, made in an interview with a weekly U.S. news magazine on the eve of his visit to the United States, may have been aimed at mending fences. The premier has been criticized by many countries for claiming there is no evidence that the Japanese military took any part in the forced recruitment of the so-called comfort women to serve its troops who invaded Asian countries.

"As Japan’s prime minister, I’m extremely sorry that they were made to endure such pain," Abe told Newsweek. The Japanese leader reiterated that his government respected and stood by a statement by former Chief Cabinet Minister Yohei Kono in 1993 that apologized for the Japanese military’s involvement in the use of women as sexual slaves.

Any bets when the first pundit comes out and claims this apology "isn’t sincere enough"?  I doubt this apology will even appease Congressman Honda who is playing up this issue for domestic political support from his Korean-American voting base.  He is going to keep playing this out for every last vote from political base just like Korean politicians back in Korea will keep doing the same thing. 

I do have a question for Congressman Honda though.  When is he going to start writing a bill to harass Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to apologize for the 20-30 million Chinese that died during the Great Leap forward, the up to 500,000 who died during the Cultural Revolution, or the 2,000-3000 civilians who were gunned down by the Chinese military at Tianamen Square.  What about an apology to the people of Korea for the Chinese intervention into the Korean War that killed up to a million Korean civilians and ensured the continued division of the country to this day?  How about another apology for the continuing human rights abuses of Chinese peasants and the sexual slavery of North Korean women?  Expect no bill on these issues because Congressman Honda considers these incidents as nothing more than "historical blemishes".

I do have to give China some credit because Chinese Premier Wen appears to be trying mend some fences with Japan with this week’s visit to the country.  Via Ampontan here’s some of what he said:

• “Japan formally admitted to wartime aggression and expressed deep remorse and apology, and the Chinese government and people high credit to Japan for it.”
• “China will not forget Japan’s assistance and support as the country reformed and modernized.”
• He described the two countries’ economic relationship as “mutually complementary” to a significant extent.

So does anyone think President Roh will make an announcement similar to this after yet another apology from the Japanese government?  I doubt it, especially with this year’s presidential election coming up; Japan bashing will be en vogue for at least the rest of the year.  If any mending of fences with Japan is to occur it will have to be after the presidential election and will last until a run up to another election.  That is how the cycle works and will continue.