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The never ending Japanese textbook debate continues with the Japanese Board of Education in the city of Otawara approving the new controversial Japanese history textbook. The books are mired in controversy due to the alleged white washing of Japan’s World War II atrocities and brutal occupation of Korea. The Japundit provides some interesting excerpts from the book. Here is an excerpt of why Japan invaded Korea:

If the Korean Peninsula came under the control of Russia, which was extending its empire eastward, it would serve as the base for an attack on Japan. As an island nation, Japan would have great difficulty defending itself. It was important to Japan’s national security that Korea become an impregnable fortress.

In my opinion I don’t think Russia ever had any intentions of invading Japan and the Japanese just used this as an excuse to invade Korea for their own imperialist reasons. Plus how does being an island nation make you more vulnerable to attack? If anything it makes it more difficult to attack. Just ask the soldiers and Marines from World War II that fought on many of the Japanese occupied Pacific islands how difficult they were to capture, especially Iwo Jima and Okinawa which were two native Japanese islands. So this part of the book has some obvious distortions.

Here is why they decided to stay and colonize the peninsula:

The Japanese government decided that it was necessary to annex Korea to protect Japanese security and Japanese interests in Manchuria. In 1910, Japan proceeded with the annexation, suppressing protests with military force. Within Korea, there was bitter opposition to the loss of independence. Even after Japanese annexation, the movement to restore independence remained deep-rooted and active. Some of the colonial policies implemented by the Government-General of Korea, established after annexation, were development projects designed to construct railroads and irrigation facilities; land surveys began. But due to the surveys many Koreans were driven off the land they had been cultivating. Furthermore, introducing of Japanese language instruction into school curriculum and other assimilation programs increased anti-Japanese sentiments among the Koreans.

To bad they did not mention the notorious Soedaemun prison in Seoul which included torture and execution rooms for all the Korean political prisoners held there.

This is all that is mentioned of the Nanjing Massacre which the Japanese call the Nanjing Incident:

Many Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded by Japanese troops (the Nanking Incident). Documentary evidence has raised doubts about the actual number of victims claimed by the incident. The debate continues even today.

I could understand why Chinese people get upset when they read this crap. But wait there is more:

In November 1943, Japan sponsored the Assembly of Greater East-Asiatic Nations…At the Assembly, a joint declaration (Joint Declaration of the Assembly of Greater East-Asiatic Nations) was issued in response to the Atlantic Charter. It spoke of the autonomy and independence of all nations, economic progress achieved through cooperation, and the eradication of racial discrimination. Following the assembly, Japan issued clearer explanations of its reason for waging war: the building of a Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, from which the Western powers would be excluded.

This same justification for starting World War II I discovered when touring a museum located near the Yasakuni Shrine in Tokyo. I don’t what the textbooks say about Pearl Harbor, but I do know what I learned from traveling to the shrine that the Japanese felt that the US provoked the attack on Pearl Harbor when energy shipments were suspended to the Japanese after their continued acts of aggression and occupation in Asia. Plus that Japan had the moral right to free the people of Asia from European and American colonization.

As misguided as the textbooks appear to be I think it is important to not let things get to far out of control like this article from the Korea Times does:

It is feared the textbooks will breed militarism in the hearts and brains of Japanese youth. If so, it is a misfortune not only for Japan’s neighbors but for Japan itself. The distorted textbooks may become a boomerang that returns to hit the Japanese in the future as they isolate the people from the rest of the peace-loving people around the globe.

This is a reoccurring statement of propaganda is Northeast Asia that the Japanese are becoming more militaristic when it is in fact the Chinese who have the biggest defense build up and are actively occupying the entire country of Tibet which no one criticizes while Japan gets constantly criticized about their absurd claim to the tiny Dokto Islets. Plus I don’t think I have to say much about the North and South Korean military build ups on the Korean peninsula due to the continuing nuclear crisis here. So who is really promoting militarism here in Northeast Asia?

Here is this final quote from the Japundit:

As a textbook intended for fourteen-year-olds, Tsukurukai’s New History Textbook either makes you admire both the skill of the teachers and the academic level of students expected to wade through the course material, or the book makes you feel glad you don’t have to teach it or read it for credit.

But you also might wonder how the New History Textbook would compare to a Chinese or Korean textbook. And its also worth noting that only 0.04% of Japanese boards of education have chosen to use the New History Textbook.

I would be embarrassed to if I had to teach the crap in these textbooks but the Japundit does bring up a fair argument that only .04% of Japanese schools now use this distorted textbook and that Korea and China’s textbooks probably have equally if not larger distortions read by a higher percentage of people within their populations.

I am completing speculating here so feel free to comment if I am wrong but I doubt Chinese textbooks mention much about the massive deaths caused by Mao’s reckless Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolutions. Is there anything even mentioned about the Tianamen Square Massacre in a Chinese textbook? How much in Korea’s textbooks are taught about the large amount of communist sympathizers within South Korea that sided with the North Koreans during the war or the South Korean execution squads that went around and conducted mass executions of suspected communists? I could go on and on but I think you get my point. Like I said before I am speculating so feel free to comment if I’m wrong. I just feel that if a country especially China is going to accuse someone of textbooks distortions and try and take the moral high ground on the issue then their textbooks to should be open to analysis and debate to discover distortions that are undoubtedly there.

This from Yonhap:

Two U.S. soldiers were arrested on charges of assaulting a South Korean taxi driver and two bystanders on Friday night, with a third suspect having fled the scene, the police said Saturday.

The three suspects, all of whom belong to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, climbed on top of a taxi waiting at traffic lights and proceeded to run amuck, according to the police.

First let’s see if this is true or not as eyewitness accounts especially here in Korea aren’t always accurate. But if this is true these idiots need to have the book thrown at them especially on the heels of last week’s incident in Uijongbu where two soldiers have turned themselves in for questioning concerning the beer bottle assault of a Korean civilian.

I had a really weird experience today. At about 1330 I had to run to my apartment and pick up something I forgot at my apartment and then hustled back to my camp where I work. I got to an intersection near the front gate of my camp where I have to cross the road to get to my camp.

I got to the crosswalk and I saw these ajushis in tan uniforms with yellow arm bands with whistles. There was about eight of them standing out in the intersection blocking traffic. The crosswalk light turned green and some people began to move but the uniformed ajushis began blowing their whistles and yelling. So nobody moved.

More cars and pedestrians began piling up at the busy intersection. I sure the heck didn’t know what was going on. I think the Korean nationals didn’t know what was going on either because I kept looking around at the other people and they to kept looking around seeming like they didn’t know what was going on either.

We stood there for 10 minutes before finally an ajumma got fed and started walking across the crosswalk. A uniformed ajushis came over and began yelling at her and blowing his whistle. Then another guy on a motorcycle took off through the light and some other uniformed guys tried to block him but he jumped on to the sidewalk and took off down the sidewalk.

With the uniformed people momentarily distracted by the motorcycle the ajumma took off along with about five more ajummas who followed her lead. They began blowing their whistles and chasing the ajummas. More people began running across the road. I decided screw it, I’m going to and sprinted across the road. At that time some cars were trying to move and the uniformed people quit all efforts to stop the pedestrians and focused on stopping the cars.

I got to the front of my camp and looked back and they were still blocking the cars. I asked the Korean security guard at my camp who are those guys and he did not know. It was really weird. I don’t who those guys were because they were not wearing a policemen or a ROK Army uniform. Is there any special police in Korea with tan uniforms that look like something John Wayne would wear in a 1950’s movie?

This was one of the weirdest experiences I have had in Korea. It ranks right up there with when Pinocchio showed up to protest at my camp last winter and he flipped me off. So if anyone knows who these guys in the tan uniforms are, please feel free to comment, because I sure the heck don’t.

Somebody in the Korean media has finally said it, that the violent protests needed to be stopped:

How could such an incident happen and be allowed in what should be a lawful country?

The unionized workers who take to the streets in pursuit of their own interests seem more concerned about harassing others than talking constructively about their demands.

Interestingly enough it took the thug protesters to inconvenience the lives of the elites here in Seoul before someone in the Korean media has finally come out and denounced the protesters illegal activities. The author even shows concern for the Korean riot police:

They do not have the slightest right to harass other people and nothing can justify their illegal actions. It is disgusting that they care nothing for how their actions affect their fellow citizens.

Even once did the militant union workers think of the pain our young drafted police troops suffered due to their illegal, violent protests under the scorching sun?

So it took this labor union protest in Seoul to get the Korea Times to show at least a little bit of concern for these young riot police draftees? How about the violent protest at Camp Humphreys that the police fought the protesters in epic Braveheart fashion? Why didn’t the Korea Times show some concern for those riot police getting bashed with poles by the thug protesters then? That is because the protesters were inconveniencing no one other than USFK, so nobody cared. Once the elites in Seoul are inconvenienced then it is time to do something. This is what the Korea Times recommends:

The law enforcement authorities should adopt a tougher policy against illegal demonstrators. Demonstrations should be allowed only in specific areas to prevent the participants from harassing ordinary citizens intentionally or unintentionally. Otherwise the illegal practices must be severely dealt with according to law for the street is the place where people coexist.

Order in the streets is the very barometer of a developed, democratic society and is essential for social and national order.

I have been preaching this since the day I started this blog that the police need to enforce the law and arrest these violent thug protesters and just now the Korea Times is coming on board? Where have you been? This is not a new issue. USFK installations have been subject to much more harassment than what happened in Seoul.

The last part of that quote I also find very interesting. If you really want to offend a Korean, tell them that something about Korea reminds them of a third world country. Koreans absolutely hate being compared to a third world country considering how hard they worked to overcome the poverty and famine that has plagued this country in the recent past. However, from the outside looking in, these violent protests create a third world image of Korea when these thugs are allowed to beat policemen with metal pipes and create such a huge show of public disorder over and over again with no repercussions. This shows very little public order to outsiders looking in, which gives Korea the perception of being a third world country.

Though these violent means of protesting would not have been condemned if it only remained directed at USFK installations I still have to give props to the Korea Times for at least coming out and condemning the protesters actions in Seoul. It is at least a start. I still haven’t seen any Korean news media be critical about what happened at Camp Humphreys though. I could be wrong and if so feel free to point it out to me in my comments section but I haven’t seen anything.

You don’t have to be pro-USFK to condemn the protesters actions at Camp Humphreys. I would think any reasonable person even those who do not like the presence of USFK in Korea could at least agree that severely beating the riot police and destroying private property should not be allowed at a protest. However this protest culture will never end until reasonable people within Korean society speak out against it. Or is there any reasonable people left? I sure hope so.

Two ROK Air Force planes crashed Wednesday night.

Rescuers found human body parts along with the wreckage of one of two fighter jets which crashed off South Korea’s coast, the Air Force said Thursday.

After an all-night search operation in the area, Air Force officials said they have picked up a pilot’s uniform, parts of the fuselage and some body parts in one accident area. It was unclear whether the body parts is of one person or two.

Of course the Lost Nomad is all over this Air Force related story and provides some interesting insights about his experiences maintaining the F4 aircraft. It is always tragic when these things happen so my prayers are with the families of the pilots.

The meeting between Kim Jong Il and Chinese officials this week must of been quite interesting:

Kim said “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was the behest of President Kim Il Sung,” his late father and the North’s longtime former leader, the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The comments came after Kim met with Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, who is on a diplomatic mission to the North.

I’m theorizing that the Chinese must have put some big time pressure on Kim to resume the negotiations and begin saying the right things. The Chinese want to get this nuclear issue wrapped up before the 2008 Olympics so it doesn’t over shadow China’s chance to be the world’s center of attention and they may be growing impatient with Kim’s defiance.

However, the pressure from the Chinese may have caused Kim to make statements like this to rib the Chinese a little:

What North Korean leader Kim Jong-il really wants is for his secretive state to become an ally of the United States, a top South Korean official said on Thursday.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said that resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis would lead to the normalization of the Pyongyang-Washington relationship.

Could you imagine North Korea as a US ally? Maybe we can sign them up to join the Coalition of the Willing and they could run Abu Graib and Gitmo for us. The US could avoid the constant criticism it receives from operating those two installations. If the North Koreans ran them and reports of torture and executions arose people would just say that the North Koreans were just being themselves, no big deal. I think I am on to something here. Condi Rice are you listening?

There is a new Asia Times article out today by William Polk, that discusses North Korea’s nuclear program. The article begins by giving the mandatory why America is the reason for all the bad things in the world that is now prevalent is most Asia Times articles. Then it gets into why certain countries are trying to build nuclear weapons including North Korea. Here is Polk’s reasoning for why the North Koreans want nuclear weapons:

This, in brief, is what I guess a North Korean policy planner would start with. So how would he advise his government. Putting myself in his shoes, I guess that he would advise that, in light of American pronouncements and actions, North Korea would be foolish to give up its nuclear force. Indeed, to deter an American attack, it should enhance its military capacity.

Psychologically, moreover, it should seek to convince the US that it would fight the Americans and their allies, with what the Israelis called the “Samson option”, that is, even to the point of national suicide. Further threats are likely only to convince the North Korean government of its danger and so increase its determination to protect itself at any cost.

Really nothing new here. We all know the North Koreans want nuclear weapons not only to protect themselves from American invasion but also to extract foreign aid to keep the regime a float. Now the trick for them is going to be getting the international aid and secretly keeping their nuclear weapons. The prior disarmament framework by President Clinton that was meant to stop their nuclear program didn’t work because the North Koreans went ahead and kept making weapons anyway while enjoying the free international aid because there was no rigid inspection guidelines to ensure compliance. They just kept real quiet about it and gave the appearance of behaving. This will be the same deal they will be looking for at this next round of talks starting this month on the 25th of July. The North Koreans just want a nice face saving deal that gives them the free food, money, and the oil they need to keep the regime going plus have enough flexibility in the agreement to be able to covertly hide their weapons program.

In turn they will keep quiet and give the appearance of good behavior to the international community, all the foreign diplomats can pat each other on the back about what a great job they did, heck maybe somebody can even get a Nobel Peace Prize out of this like Kim Dae Jung did back in 2000. All the while the North Koreans will be sitting back enjoying their spoils, their people still starving, make no progress on human rights, and continue to covertly make nuclear weapons.

I love this headline, US Equipped With High-Tech Weapons, in the Korea Times. What did they expect, that we are armed with slingshots up here in 2ID land? We are the US Army, of course we have high-tech weapons. Anyway the article goes on to talk about the Second Infantry Division’s transformation into a Unit of Execution or UEX for short. By the way that is the same UEX I’m part of. A UEX is a slimmed down division that is more rapidly deployable than a bulky Division sized element:

In recent months, the 2nd Infantry Division has carried out its incorporation efforts. The 1st Brigade under the division was transformed into the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, which U.S. officials describe as the army’s most powerful and rapidly deployable force. It also created an integrated artillery brigade, the Fires Brigade, which can control up to seven South Korean artillery battalions in addition to its MLRS battalions.

Here is something that IMHO we will not see happen anytime soon or possibly not at all:

The 2nd Infantry Division played a controversial “trip wire” function against possible North Korean invasion. The division is to be relocated to an area south of Seoul after 2006 with the U.S. Yongsan Garrison in Seoul.

There is so much politics involved in this I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.

CNN is reporting that former South Korean soccer coach Guus Hiddink may be offered a job to coach the Australian soccer team:

Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who steered South Korea to a World Cup semifinal berth in 2002, is among the candidates to succeed Frank Farina as coach of Australia.

“We’re talking to a very small number of candidates, of which Hiddink is one,” Boultbee said. “We’re making good progress.”

Judging Hiddink’s past record is anyone willing to bet that Australia goes to the World Cup semi-finals? Hiddink took the Netherlands to the semi-finals in 1998 and the South Korean team to the semi-finals in 2002.

A 19 year old US soldier who accidental struck a 51 year old Korean woman with his military vehicle last month killing her, has been officially declared on duty at the time of the accident:

A U.S. soldier was on duty when the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a South Korean woman in Dongducheon city on June 10, U.S. military officials told South Korean prosecutors Wednesday.

U.S. Forces Korea officials provided the “official duty certificate” in response to a query from the Uijongbu city prosecutor, according to a USFK statement issued Wednesday evening. The certificate gives U.S. authorities “the primary right to exercise criminal jurisdiction” in the case, according to the statement.

This means that under the Status of Forces Agreement that he cannot be charged with a crime in a Korean court. Korean police forwarded charges last week knowing full well this was an obvious on duty incident:

South Korean police said they forwarded charges of “duty-related accidental homicide” to the Uijongbu city prosecutor’s office more than a week ago.

The Korean police did this just to cover themselves and blame their lack of action on the soldier on the SOFA agreement to keep the anti-American protesters off their backs.

Here is the reasoning USFK gave for not forwarding charges on PFC Bryant:

USFK officials are not compelled to prosecute because “each case is evaluated and addressed individually,” according to the statement.

The police said the 51-year-old victim, Kim Myung-ja, jaywalked across Peace Street while Bryant sat at a traffic light in a 2.5-ton Army vehicle. Bryant’s passenger, 28-year-old Pfc. Cassandra Daryliell, spotted Kim as she crossed the street, police have told Stripes, but Bryant apparently failed to hear Daryliell’s warnings.

Why can’t the police just be mature about this and admit that it was an accident and seek compensation from USFK for the accident? The Korean family involved have already forgiven the soldier, why can’t everyone else do the same?