Here is a search site to find missing persons in Japan.
Please spread out this with Twitter and Facebook and whatever.
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/ (Japanese)
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en (English)
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=zh-CN (Chinese)
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=ko (Korean)
Thanks and regards,
Kosuke
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Japan hit by largest earthquake in country's history
On Friday afternoon Japan was hit by the biggest earthquake ever.
I was at home on the 17th floor of an apartment building when the earthquake hit. At that time I'd just finished off writing a story for Asia Times Online(ATol), which I posted here, and submitted it to ATol's desk. I was dead tired around that time because I had worked all through the night. The previous night, or Thursday night, I was working on a story for Jane's Defence Weekly. But this earthquake made me completely awake. I felt big waves for a couple of minutes. I thought I would die. My mother, 67, became pale and could not stand up. Flower pots, books, fluorescent lights all came down from shelves and the ceiling.
This earthquake is, for sure, the biggest I have ever experienced. (I went to Kobe in 1995 to cover stories on the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which killed 6,434 people, as staff writer of the Asahi Shimbun, but that was a few weeks after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. So I did not experience that exact moment of happening.)
I went out to the streets to make sure how people are coping with this situation. Many people just kept walking on the streets after this major earthquake and subsequent dozens of aftershocks. All public transportations such as trains, subways and most buses are still being stopped. Aftershocks make it very dangerous to use them. People just needed to walk to go home on cold Friday night. The photo below was taken in my hometown Kawsaki City, adjoining Tokyo.
Softbank, my mobile phone service, didn't work including SMS/MMS(intermittent emails/text msgs) .
My IPhone 4, my favorite item, became useless. It was not connected until just before mid-night. My home phone was also disconnected until night.
Well. here is my latest story for Asia Times.
Scandals strain US-Japan relations
By Kosuke Takahashi
TOKYO - A new division is developing in the Japan-United States relationship after Kevin Maher, policy chief on Japan affairs at the US State Department, said it would be bad for the US if Japan's war-renouncing peaceful constitution was changed because Japan would not need the American military.
Anti-US sentiments are particularly flaring up again in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost island, after Maher, director of the Office of Japan Affairs at the State Department and former consul general in Okinawa, described Okinawan people as "masters of manipulation and extortion" in their dealings with the long-standing, thorny issue of the relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station on Okinawa.
Maher gave a lecture to American University students in Washington on December 3, 2010. He was sacked from his position by the State Department on March 10, four days after Kyodo News first reported Maher's statement.
"Maher's remarks on the constitution surely cast a shadow on Japan's long-term national security," Ukeru Magosaki, the former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, told Asia Times Online on Friday. "His comments hurt the Okinawa people's feeling severely. This would make it further difficult to put the US base relocation plan into practice."
Japan, meanwhile, has its own problems. It took a stop-gap measure by promoting Takeaki Matsumoto on Wednesday as foreign minister from his deputy position at the ministry to succeed Seiji Maehara, who abruptly resigned on March 6 over a scandal involving a political donation from a South Korean resident of Kyoto.
The scandals from both sides of the US and Japan surfaced at a time when the significance of closer ties between two nations cannot be overemphasized to cope with the rapid rise of the Chinese military, the warmongering from North Korea against South Korea and Russia's movement towards the south by strengthening its military presence on four disputed islands, known as the Southern Kuril islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
Tense incidents
Most recently, two Chinese military planes - a Y-8 surveillance aircraft and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft - on March 2 flew to about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. This prompted the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to scramble F-15J fighters.
In addition, a Chinese State Oceanic Administration helicopter on Monday flew to just within 70 meters of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer Samidare. Military experts said China tested Japan's reflexes amid Tokyo's weakening diplomatic power caused by its domestic political turmoil.
According to the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, it was the first time Chinese military planes had approached so close to the Senkaku islands. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Tuesday slammed the Chinese helicopter's buzzing of a Japanese destroyer, saying, "It was an extremely dangerous act."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu, meanwhile, said that China's right to claim the islands is "indisputable" and that its actions were in accordance with international law.
The number of scrambles the JASDF conducted against Chinese airplanes reached 48 from April to December of the 2010 fiscal year, which ends on March 31. This is already the highest in the past five fiscal years, and it does not yet include the January to March figures.
Damage-control
The US was forced into damage-control mode by swiftly sacking Maher. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, Maher's superior, offered an apology during a meeting with new Japanese Foreign Minister Matsumoto in Tokyo on Thursday. The US ambassador to Japan, John V Roos, also flew to Okinawa and apologized in person to Okinawan governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who is calling for relocating US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa.
About half of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan are located on the island of Okinawa.
"I don't think Article Nine of the Japanese constitution should change," Maher said. "If the Japanese constitution was changed the United States would not be able to use Japanese land to advance US interests. The high host nation support the Japanese government currently pays is beneficial to the US. We've got a very good deal in Japan."
The two nations last December agreed that Tokyo will maintain the annual costs of hosting US bases at the current level of 188.1 billion yen (US$2.3 billion) for a five-year period from fiscal 2011 starting April.
He also said, "Okinawans are too lazy to grow goya." Goya is the bitter cucumber vegetable and a local specialty of Okinawa.
Japan and the US last May agreed that the Futenma base would be moved from a densely populated district in Ginowan to a coastal area in the Henoko district of Nago, but local people are fiercely opposed to the plan and want the base to be moved outside of Okinawa.
Reconciling the local demand to move the base with US strategic interests appears impossible, especially after Maher's controversial remarks.
"I was shocked that a diplomat could say such hurtful things about our allies," Tori Miyagi, a 20-year-old American University student who attended the meeting and who also helped compile the memo, told Asia Times Online. "Our alliance with Japan is the foundation of American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific, so I was amazed Mr Maher would use such strong language to describe our friends. That type of thinking is not productive to the Japan-US partnership."
Miyagi, a fourth-generation Japanese-American whose family came from Okinawa, also said, "It's unfortunate that Mr Maher has to be removed."
"He did not have to be removed, but the State Department should try to remove that type of thinking," he said. "I think the alliance managers do not realize or do not care about the growing frustration in Japan and they are the ones to blame and they are the ones who are preventing a stronger US-Japan alliance. As Campbell is saying the US and Japan are partners, so it's time the US starts treating Japan like a partner and a friend."
Speaking of the memo, Miyagi said, "We did not have a recorder with us, so the memo is not a transcript, but it is accurate. Other students have now come forward and have confirmed what has been reported."
Kan's days may be numbered
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday promoted Matsumoto, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to succeed Maehara, who stepped down on the news he had accepted donations from a South Korean resident in Kyoto in violation of Japan's campaign-fund laws.
Japanese media increasingly have pointed out Kan's days in office might be numbered, especially after the Asahi Shimbun reported on Friday that Kan also accepted donations of 1.04 million yen (US$12,600 ) from a South Korean resident in Yokohama City in violation of Japan's campaign-fund laws. Opposition parties have demanded that Kan resign.
A major earthquake, which hit Japan on Friday, may benefit Kan's administration as opposition parties are forced to stop political battles amid the government’s emergency measures.
Matsumoto, 51, is a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and is close to former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, Kan's political rival. Matsumoto supported Ozawa, not Kan, in the party leadership election in September 2010.
Matsumoto served as a secretary of his father Juro Matsumoto, who served as Defense Agency chief from 1989 to 1990. He is a cousin of Japanese ambassador to the US Ichiro Fujisaki. He is known as well-versed in issues ranging from financial affairs to foreign and security policies.
"My policy is to further promote the deepening of the Japan-US alliance," Matsumoto said at an inaugural press conference on Wednesday. "I intend to make efforts toward the deepening of the Japan-US alliance in a way that is appropriate in the 21st century."
One of his immediate tasks is to make preparations for Kan's visit to the US scheduled for the first half of this year.
Matsumoto is due to attend a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations from March 14 in Paris and host two days of trilateral foreign ministerial talks with China and South Korea from March 19 in Kyoto.
Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also works for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent.
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
I was at home on the 17th floor of an apartment building when the earthquake hit. At that time I'd just finished off writing a story for Asia Times Online(ATol), which I posted here, and submitted it to ATol's desk. I was dead tired around that time because I had worked all through the night. The previous night, or Thursday night, I was working on a story for Jane's Defence Weekly. But this earthquake made me completely awake. I felt big waves for a couple of minutes. I thought I would die. My mother, 67, became pale and could not stand up. Flower pots, books, fluorescent lights all came down from shelves and the ceiling.
This earthquake is, for sure, the biggest I have ever experienced. (I went to Kobe in 1995 to cover stories on the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which killed 6,434 people, as staff writer of the Asahi Shimbun, but that was a few weeks after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. So I did not experience that exact moment of happening.)
I went out to the streets to make sure how people are coping with this situation. Many people just kept walking on the streets after this major earthquake and subsequent dozens of aftershocks. All public transportations such as trains, subways and most buses are still being stopped. Aftershocks make it very dangerous to use them. People just needed to walk to go home on cold Friday night. The photo below was taken in my hometown Kawsaki City, adjoining Tokyo.
Softbank, my mobile phone service, didn't work including SMS/MMS(intermittent emails/text msgs) .
My IPhone 4, my favorite item, became useless. It was not connected until just before mid-night. My home phone was also disconnected until night.
Well. here is my latest story for Asia Times.
Scandals strain US-Japan relations
By Kosuke Takahashi
TOKYO - A new division is developing in the Japan-United States relationship after Kevin Maher, policy chief on Japan affairs at the US State Department, said it would be bad for the US if Japan's war-renouncing peaceful constitution was changed because Japan would not need the American military.
Anti-US sentiments are particularly flaring up again in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost island, after Maher, director of the Office of Japan Affairs at the State Department and former consul general in Okinawa, described Okinawan people as "masters of manipulation and extortion" in their dealings with the long-standing, thorny issue of the relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station on Okinawa.
Maher gave a lecture to American University students in Washington on December 3, 2010. He was sacked from his position by the State Department on March 10, four days after Kyodo News first reported Maher's statement.
"Maher's remarks on the constitution surely cast a shadow on Japan's long-term national security," Ukeru Magosaki, the former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, told Asia Times Online on Friday. "His comments hurt the Okinawa people's feeling severely. This would make it further difficult to put the US base relocation plan into practice."
Japan, meanwhile, has its own problems. It took a stop-gap measure by promoting Takeaki Matsumoto on Wednesday as foreign minister from his deputy position at the ministry to succeed Seiji Maehara, who abruptly resigned on March 6 over a scandal involving a political donation from a South Korean resident of Kyoto.
The scandals from both sides of the US and Japan surfaced at a time when the significance of closer ties between two nations cannot be overemphasized to cope with the rapid rise of the Chinese military, the warmongering from North Korea against South Korea and Russia's movement towards the south by strengthening its military presence on four disputed islands, known as the Southern Kuril islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
Tense incidents
Most recently, two Chinese military planes - a Y-8 surveillance aircraft and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft - on March 2 flew to about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. This prompted the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to scramble F-15J fighters.
In addition, a Chinese State Oceanic Administration helicopter on Monday flew to just within 70 meters of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer Samidare. Military experts said China tested Japan's reflexes amid Tokyo's weakening diplomatic power caused by its domestic political turmoil.
According to the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, it was the first time Chinese military planes had approached so close to the Senkaku islands. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Tuesday slammed the Chinese helicopter's buzzing of a Japanese destroyer, saying, "It was an extremely dangerous act."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu, meanwhile, said that China's right to claim the islands is "indisputable" and that its actions were in accordance with international law.
The number of scrambles the JASDF conducted against Chinese airplanes reached 48 from April to December of the 2010 fiscal year, which ends on March 31. This is already the highest in the past five fiscal years, and it does not yet include the January to March figures.
Damage-control
The US was forced into damage-control mode by swiftly sacking Maher. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, Maher's superior, offered an apology during a meeting with new Japanese Foreign Minister Matsumoto in Tokyo on Thursday. The US ambassador to Japan, John V Roos, also flew to Okinawa and apologized in person to Okinawan governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who is calling for relocating US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa.
About half of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan are located on the island of Okinawa.
"I don't think Article Nine of the Japanese constitution should change," Maher said. "If the Japanese constitution was changed the United States would not be able to use Japanese land to advance US interests. The high host nation support the Japanese government currently pays is beneficial to the US. We've got a very good deal in Japan."
The two nations last December agreed that Tokyo will maintain the annual costs of hosting US bases at the current level of 188.1 billion yen (US$2.3 billion) for a five-year period from fiscal 2011 starting April.
He also said, "Okinawans are too lazy to grow goya." Goya is the bitter cucumber vegetable and a local specialty of Okinawa.
Japan and the US last May agreed that the Futenma base would be moved from a densely populated district in Ginowan to a coastal area in the Henoko district of Nago, but local people are fiercely opposed to the plan and want the base to be moved outside of Okinawa.
Reconciling the local demand to move the base with US strategic interests appears impossible, especially after Maher's controversial remarks.
"I was shocked that a diplomat could say such hurtful things about our allies," Tori Miyagi, a 20-year-old American University student who attended the meeting and who also helped compile the memo, told Asia Times Online. "Our alliance with Japan is the foundation of American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific, so I was amazed Mr Maher would use such strong language to describe our friends. That type of thinking is not productive to the Japan-US partnership."
Miyagi, a fourth-generation Japanese-American whose family came from Okinawa, also said, "It's unfortunate that Mr Maher has to be removed."
"He did not have to be removed, but the State Department should try to remove that type of thinking," he said. "I think the alliance managers do not realize or do not care about the growing frustration in Japan and they are the ones to blame and they are the ones who are preventing a stronger US-Japan alliance. As Campbell is saying the US and Japan are partners, so it's time the US starts treating Japan like a partner and a friend."
Speaking of the memo, Miyagi said, "We did not have a recorder with us, so the memo is not a transcript, but it is accurate. Other students have now come forward and have confirmed what has been reported."
Kan's days may be numbered
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday promoted Matsumoto, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to succeed Maehara, who stepped down on the news he had accepted donations from a South Korean resident in Kyoto in violation of Japan's campaign-fund laws.
Japanese media increasingly have pointed out Kan's days in office might be numbered, especially after the Asahi Shimbun reported on Friday that Kan also accepted donations of 1.04 million yen (US$12,600 ) from a South Korean resident in Yokohama City in violation of Japan's campaign-fund laws. Opposition parties have demanded that Kan resign.
A major earthquake, which hit Japan on Friday, may benefit Kan's administration as opposition parties are forced to stop political battles amid the government’s emergency measures.
Matsumoto, 51, is a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and is close to former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, Kan's political rival. Matsumoto supported Ozawa, not Kan, in the party leadership election in September 2010.
Matsumoto served as a secretary of his father Juro Matsumoto, who served as Defense Agency chief from 1989 to 1990. He is a cousin of Japanese ambassador to the US Ichiro Fujisaki. He is known as well-versed in issues ranging from financial affairs to foreign and security policies.
"My policy is to further promote the deepening of the Japan-US alliance," Matsumoto said at an inaugural press conference on Wednesday. "I intend to make efforts toward the deepening of the Japan-US alliance in a way that is appropriate in the 21st century."
One of his immediate tasks is to make preparations for Kan's visit to the US scheduled for the first half of this year.
Matsumoto is due to attend a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations from March 14 in Paris and host two days of trilateral foreign ministerial talks with China and South Korea from March 19 in Kyoto.
Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also works for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent.
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Hey Mr. Kevin Maher, you should resign right away!
Hey Mr. Kevin Maher, you should resign as your discriminatory remarks on Okinawans caused a big fuss in Okinawa and elsewhere.
U.S. diplomat said to have likened Japanese idea of harmony to extortion
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A U.S. official in charge of Japanese affairs at the State Department is said to have likened the Japanese culture of maintaining social harmony to a means of "extortion" and described the people on the southern island of Okinawa as "lazy" in a speech given in Washington late last year.
According to a written account compiled by some students who attended the lecture at the department, Kevin Maher, who heads its Japanese affairs office and served as consul general in Okinawa Prefecture, also described people in Okinawa as "masters of manipulation and extortion" in their relations with the central government.
Maher told Kyodo News, "I am not in a position to comment on the record at this time," saying his briefing was an off-the-record event. He said the account made available to (Kyodo) -- News is "neither accurate nor complete."
Maher has been involved in bilateral negotiations with Japan over the controversial issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station and is known to advocate a plan to relocate the base to another location within the prefecture, an idea widely opposed by local residents.
The remarks attributed to Maher are being seen as provocative in Japan. They are "racially discriminating against Okinawa," said Teruo Hiyane, a scholar on postwar Okinawan history. Ukeru Magosaki, a former Japanese diplomat, said Maher's reported views on Japan were "biased and completely distorted."
Maher spoke on Dec. 3 at the request of American University to a group of 14 students just before their roughly two-week study tour to Tokyo and Okinawa.
In the speech, Maher was quoted as saying, "Consensus building is important in Japanese culture. While the Japanese would call this 'consensus,' they mean 'extortion' and use this culture of consensus as a means of extortion."
"By pretending to seek consensus, people try to get as much money as possible," he said.
Maher also criticized people in Okinawa as "too lazy to grow 'goya' (bitter gourd)," a traditional summer vegetable in the southern prefecture, saying other prefectures in Japan grow more than Okinawa, according to the account.
On the Futenma base, located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan, Maher allegedly said while Okinawans claim the base is the most dangerous in the world, they know that is it not true.
Civilian airports in Fukuoka and Osaka are "just as dangerous," he reportedly said.
Maher was quoted as saying that the Japanese government "needs to tell the Okinawan governor, 'if you want money, sign it," in reference to the Futenma relocation plan.
Students who produced notes of Maher's speech said he definitely made the remarks, with at least one saying it was surprising to hear statements full of bias from a person with a position in the U.S. government.
Maher, 56, served as consul general in Okinawa from 2006 and 2009 after joining the State Department in 1981 and being posted to Tokyo and Fukuoka.
Maher said of the account provided to Kyodo that he "cannot control how individual students themselves might interpret remarks" and "it would therefore not be appropriate" to attribute any specific remarks to him "based upon secondhand information coming from students or others."
In the summer of 2008, while he was posted in Okinawa, Maher sparked controversy after questioning why the local authorities were allowing the construction of homes in the residential area around the Futenma base. Plaintiffs seeking damages over noise from the U.S. base presented him with a written demand calling on him to immediately leave Okinawa.
Hiroshi Ashitomi, who leads a local group in Nago opposed to the relocation of the base to a coastal area of the city, said of Maher's alleged statements, "They indicate that he views Japan and Okinawa as a (U.S.) colony. If the U.S. government is crafting its policies on Japan and Okinawa based on such views, we will have to ask the U.S. military to get out entirely."
Magosaki, former head of the international intelligence office at the Foreign Ministry, said he had the impression that "U.S. officials in charge of recent U.S.-Japan negotiations shared ideas like those of Mr. Maher," adding "in that sense, his remarks were not especially distorted."
Hiyane, professor emeritus of the University of the Ryukyus, said he "cannot overlook" remarks describing Okinawans as "lazy" and "masters of manipulation and extortion," adding Maher's remarks represent "a blatant mentality of occupation."
"The U.S. military has for over 60 years after the war occupied land best fit for agriculture in Okinawa," he said. "Were it not for (U.S.) bases, the (local) economy including agriculture would have been different."
U.S. diplomat said to have likened Japanese idea of harmony to extortion
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A U.S. official in charge of Japanese affairs at the State Department is said to have likened the Japanese culture of maintaining social harmony to a means of "extortion" and described the people on the southern island of Okinawa as "lazy" in a speech given in Washington late last year.
According to a written account compiled by some students who attended the lecture at the department, Kevin Maher, who heads its Japanese affairs office and served as consul general in Okinawa Prefecture, also described people in Okinawa as "masters of manipulation and extortion" in their relations with the central government.
Maher told Kyodo News, "I am not in a position to comment on the record at this time," saying his briefing was an off-the-record event. He said the account made available to (Kyodo) -- News is "neither accurate nor complete."
Maher has been involved in bilateral negotiations with Japan over the controversial issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station and is known to advocate a plan to relocate the base to another location within the prefecture, an idea widely opposed by local residents.
The remarks attributed to Maher are being seen as provocative in Japan. They are "racially discriminating against Okinawa," said Teruo Hiyane, a scholar on postwar Okinawan history. Ukeru Magosaki, a former Japanese diplomat, said Maher's reported views on Japan were "biased and completely distorted."
Maher spoke on Dec. 3 at the request of American University to a group of 14 students just before their roughly two-week study tour to Tokyo and Okinawa.
In the speech, Maher was quoted as saying, "Consensus building is important in Japanese culture. While the Japanese would call this 'consensus,' they mean 'extortion' and use this culture of consensus as a means of extortion."
"By pretending to seek consensus, people try to get as much money as possible," he said.
Maher also criticized people in Okinawa as "too lazy to grow 'goya' (bitter gourd)," a traditional summer vegetable in the southern prefecture, saying other prefectures in Japan grow more than Okinawa, according to the account.
On the Futenma base, located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan, Maher allegedly said while Okinawans claim the base is the most dangerous in the world, they know that is it not true.
Civilian airports in Fukuoka and Osaka are "just as dangerous," he reportedly said.
Maher was quoted as saying that the Japanese government "needs to tell the Okinawan governor, 'if you want money, sign it," in reference to the Futenma relocation plan.
Students who produced notes of Maher's speech said he definitely made the remarks, with at least one saying it was surprising to hear statements full of bias from a person with a position in the U.S. government.
Maher, 56, served as consul general in Okinawa from 2006 and 2009 after joining the State Department in 1981 and being posted to Tokyo and Fukuoka.
Maher said of the account provided to Kyodo that he "cannot control how individual students themselves might interpret remarks" and "it would therefore not be appropriate" to attribute any specific remarks to him "based upon secondhand information coming from students or others."
In the summer of 2008, while he was posted in Okinawa, Maher sparked controversy after questioning why the local authorities were allowing the construction of homes in the residential area around the Futenma base. Plaintiffs seeking damages over noise from the U.S. base presented him with a written demand calling on him to immediately leave Okinawa.
Hiroshi Ashitomi, who leads a local group in Nago opposed to the relocation of the base to a coastal area of the city, said of Maher's alleged statements, "They indicate that he views Japan and Okinawa as a (U.S.) colony. If the U.S. government is crafting its policies on Japan and Okinawa based on such views, we will have to ask the U.S. military to get out entirely."
Magosaki, former head of the international intelligence office at the Foreign Ministry, said he had the impression that "U.S. officials in charge of recent U.S.-Japan negotiations shared ideas like those of Mr. Maher," adding "in that sense, his remarks were not especially distorted."
Hiyane, professor emeritus of the University of the Ryukyus, said he "cannot overlook" remarks describing Okinawans as "lazy" and "masters of manipulation and extortion," adding Maher's remarks represent "a blatant mentality of occupation."
"The U.S. military has for over 60 years after the war occupied land best fit for agriculture in Okinawa," he said. "Were it not for (U.S.) bases, the (local) economy including agriculture would have been different."
Thursday, March 3, 2011
(South China Morning Post) Beijing to track all mobile phone users' movements
Beijing to track all mobile phone users' movements
Government to monitor 20m people
Stephen Chen
Updated on Mar 03, 2011
Talk about Big Brother! Every Beijing mobile phone user will be tracked through the use of the latest global positioning technology, the municipal government announced on Tuesday.
The project, called the Information Platform of Real-time Citizen Movement, aims to watch over more than 20 million people in Beijing 24 hours a day, local media said yesterday. Wherever you are - whether in the bathroom, on the subway or in Tiananmen Square - the government will know.
Wireless communication experts said the system would be particularly useful not only for following the whereabouts of individuals but also in detecting any unusual gathering of a large number of people.
It is unknown whether the government launched the project to prevent a "jasmine revolution" or other social unrest, but with the help of supercomputers, officials will know where the next gathering spot is before protesters get there.
Li Guoguang - deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, which worked on the project with China Mobile and, presumably, the two other state-owned mobile service providers, China Unicom and China Telecom - told the Beijing Daily that the project would be used only to ease traffic jams.
Using data provided by mobile service providers, the government would know the population distribution and movement of the city with unprecedented accuracy, Li said.
"To some degree, [the project] can effectively increase citizens' travelling efficiency and ease traffic jams" by giving officials information such as which subway line was crowded, which bus line was filled and which road was congested, Li was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Citizens could get the information but would have to pay, he said.
Li said sensitive information, such as who was where and in which direction they were heading, would be kept within the government.
How many people were in the Wangfujing shopping district, heading to the front door of the McDonald's restaurant there and staying for a couple of hours - information related to calls for a Chinese "jasmine revolution" on the past two Sundays - would not be available to the public, even for a fee, but government agencies such as the Public Security Bureau would know.
China National Radio said the municipal government hoped to start the project in the densely populated Tiantongyuan and Huilongguan areas in the first half of this year.
Chen Derong , professor of wireless communications at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommications, said mobile positioning technology was based on a simple theory of radio communication.
A mobile phone constantly beams out signals to radio receivers built by service providers, mostly antennae on steel towers. Each radio wave arrives with different timing, and by calculating these differences, the service provider can pin down the location of an active phone.
"Beijing's plan is to integrate the three different mobile service providers into one platform so that everyone with a power-on cell phone can be tracked," Chen said.
"Certainly the use of the platform will not be limited to gathering traffic information. Officials in other areas, such as anti-terrorism and stability maintenance, will also find it useful."
Government to monitor 20m people
Stephen Chen
Updated on Mar 03, 2011
Talk about Big Brother! Every Beijing mobile phone user will be tracked through the use of the latest global positioning technology, the municipal government announced on Tuesday.
The project, called the Information Platform of Real-time Citizen Movement, aims to watch over more than 20 million people in Beijing 24 hours a day, local media said yesterday. Wherever you are - whether in the bathroom, on the subway or in Tiananmen Square - the government will know.
Wireless communication experts said the system would be particularly useful not only for following the whereabouts of individuals but also in detecting any unusual gathering of a large number of people.
It is unknown whether the government launched the project to prevent a "jasmine revolution" or other social unrest, but with the help of supercomputers, officials will know where the next gathering spot is before protesters get there.
Li Guoguang - deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, which worked on the project with China Mobile and, presumably, the two other state-owned mobile service providers, China Unicom and China Telecom - told the Beijing Daily that the project would be used only to ease traffic jams.
Using data provided by mobile service providers, the government would know the population distribution and movement of the city with unprecedented accuracy, Li said.
"To some degree, [the project] can effectively increase citizens' travelling efficiency and ease traffic jams" by giving officials information such as which subway line was crowded, which bus line was filled and which road was congested, Li was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Citizens could get the information but would have to pay, he said.
Li said sensitive information, such as who was where and in which direction they were heading, would be kept within the government.
How many people were in the Wangfujing shopping district, heading to the front door of the McDonald's restaurant there and staying for a couple of hours - information related to calls for a Chinese "jasmine revolution" on the past two Sundays - would not be available to the public, even for a fee, but government agencies such as the Public Security Bureau would know.
China National Radio said the municipal government hoped to start the project in the densely populated Tiantongyuan and Huilongguan areas in the first half of this year.
Chen Derong , professor of wireless communications at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommications, said mobile positioning technology was based on a simple theory of radio communication.
A mobile phone constantly beams out signals to radio receivers built by service providers, mostly antennae on steel towers. Each radio wave arrives with different timing, and by calculating these differences, the service provider can pin down the location of an active phone.
"Beijing's plan is to integrate the three different mobile service providers into one platform so that everyone with a power-on cell phone can be tracked," Chen said.
"Certainly the use of the platform will not be limited to gathering traffic information. Officials in other areas, such as anti-terrorism and stability maintenance, will also find it useful."
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
My Chinese friend exposes corruption involving Chinese justice and military.
My Chinese friend exposed corruption involving Chinese justice and military.
我的中国的朋友，公布了中国的司法的当局和军部的腐败。
成都にいる中国の友人が中国の司法当局と軍部の腐敗を明らかにしてくれました。
http://www.kosuke.net/chinacorruption.html
http://www.zc.em-net.ne.jp/~cozy/chinacorruption.html
10变0钱 钱权交易官推磨亲历的官场腐败，独家内幕
朋友经历了一个短暂的婚姻，那里面竟充满了一段的平民难以想象的官场腐败：她家附近的某军工厂职工孟*和周*二人共同个人受贿35万，该案业经辖区检察院刑侦且证据确凿，却被空军装备部政治部的某位将军以伪造的假公文包庇至当地的军事检察院美其名曰‘另案处理’，实际是立即无罪释放，以及一系列后来的干涉地方刑侦，干涉地方司法公正等等自上而下的腐败。因为她是15万行贿人刘*当时的妻子，她亲历了那笔35万元贿赂（15万和20万）的收受，被刑侦，被收监以及后来被‘捞’出的全过程。我向她打听来了她经历的腐败的全程。
一、受贿人的犯罪事实（她是08年11月结的婚，
5.12汶川地震后，她认识了刘*，并结婚，某天刘*去银行取钱，她同行。事发后她才知道那天她和刘*在银行取的钱，刘*交给了周钊35万，这钱是行贿款。
周*和孟*的利用分管工程的权力勾结当地包工头侵吞瓜分灾后重建的军费。其2009年元月受贿35万元的行为被彭州人民检察院刑侦。二人对自己的受贿犯罪行为供认不讳：为了拿到灾后重建的工程，包工头刘*找到周*，承诺好处费请周帮忙拿重庆建科院承包的军工厂的灾后重建的工程，在周的帮助下，刘如愿拿到工程，于2009年元月底从军工厂转来的工程款里取出15万好处费给了周，周当时从刘手里还同时接过了另外一笔20万元的行贿款，那是将工程违规分包给刘*的重庆建科院（蒋文学和丁金堂）给周、孟的行贿款，重庆建科院行贿周、孟，是通过刘*的账户过的帐（请刘转交的），是单位行为。周收下35万后立即与孟分了脏。行受贿人09年7月下旬所作的口供是环环相扣彼此应证的。
二、检察院刑侦受贿证据确凿
周和孟的受贿行为在彭州市检察院已刑侦结束，证据确凿，却在关押两天后被离奇释放。行贿人刘*却铁证如山面临10年徒刑的指控，而利用职权大肆受贿的罪犯分子却蹊跷逃脱了法律的制裁。
周和孟的刑侦口供都对35万受贿认罪不讳，且再三承认其犯罪行为是自己的个人行为与工厂无关，是个人受贿工厂毫不知情。作为家属我朋友亲眼拜读了周和孟的认罪供词，还拜读了行贿人丁金堂，蒋文学，刘*的认罪口供。行，受贿人双方的口供是环环相扣彼此相应证的。
09年 8月24日 检察院的反贪局给公诉科的《起诉意见书》上写的是刘触犯了《刑法》第389条移送公诉科起诉。称孟*和周*是“另处”（移交成都空军军事检察院‘另案处理’）。9月28日检察院的《公诉书》称刘触犯《刑法》第389条规定，犯罪事实清楚证据确实充分，提到周*是“另处”。触犯《刑法》第389条规定，按律该判罪10以上，且刘无任何从轻量刑的情节（见刘的口供）。
三、造假为受贿人开脱罪责且干涉地方司法公正
空军装备部政治处的某位将军大人，来到彭州检察院以‘军事秘密’为由强行将受贿人移至成都空军军事检察院“另案处理”并立即释放，将军伪造了一份公文，称周和孟是为国家做出特殊贡献的专家，享有豁免权，成空检察院‘依法’没有对二人的犯罪行为立案。受贿35万却不领刑！ 5719军工厂，又依仗空军装备部为后台向地方法院施压，要求枉法判行贿人监外执行。在权贵们的活动下最终行贿人刘*也被枉法判成了缓刑！行、受贿双方都不用坐牢，一起重大的刑事案就这样不了了之。
09年7月20日 为了‘捞’行贿人刘*出来， 5719厂的前任厂长刘义贵召集行贿人家属和相关朋友，他要求家属及家属的任何朋友的任何社会关系都不许插手‘捞’刘；待刑侦结束后他自有办法捞行贿人刘出来。
09年7月28日，刘义贵告诉家属受贿人孟和周已经恢复了自由，还介绍了孟*是5719厂的现任厂长向*的丈夫张*的心腹，2人之间有着20，30年的狼狈交情。
09年9月9日 军工厂的在职职工刘某和辩护律师刘明刚向家属介绍孟被保释的秘密是因为当时正值全国创奖评选的关键，任何污秽都不容呈现。‘不是成空来的人，是上面的大人物亲自来的’, ‘是将军!’ 。
09年10月12日，刘义贵介绍，孟和周在厂里头连公职都没开除，都还是干部。刘*的辩护律师苟吉伦非常不解：‘彭州市检察院把受贿人不是移交给军工厂，而是移交给了军事法庭，军事检察院应该有个司法处理结果。’刘义贵：‘（军事检察院）不敢继续审他俩，否则很多人和事都会被牵扯进去…会有人掉脑袋…现任厂长的乌纱帽保不住的…
刘义贵向行贿人妻子承诺,他将通过他昔日栽培提拔起来的老部下杨胜宇（现在彭州市的开发区书记），出面请他的现在的哥们李光辉（主管公检法的政法委的书记）向受他领导的法院院长张志伟施压并承诺好处费。要法院设法把行贿人刘枉法判成监外执行。
09年11月3日，法官张扬告诉刘*的辩护律师刘明刚，成都空军军事检察院负责处理周，孟案子的人正好是张扬的同学，是因为空军装备部的政治处出了一个文，说周和孟是为国家做出特殊贡献的专家，被依法豁免不予立案。在行受贿人的双方口供早就足以判案的前提下，刘明刚律师应张杨法官的要求向法庭写了一份延期庭审的申请。他请求彭州法庭去调取受贿人的军事司法的处理结果，不仅调取5719厂的厂内的行政处理。刘律师告诉刘妻，他打听到，军工厂对受贿人的行政处理，是只针对了与军工厂有直接合同关系的重庆建科院的那20万单位行贿，并没提及刘*以及刘的15万贿额，是于刘的行贿案不相干，没有参考意义的。刘*的个体工商户不是重庆建科院的子公司，双方是的两个独立实体，军事检察院或军事法院对受贿人的司法结论才于行贿人的判案有参考意义。
09年11月16日晚饭时，家属们纷纷都得到第二天将判缓刑的消息，17日上午宣判刘*判二缓三，并当庭释放，凯旋而归。（判决书上的文字游戏诡称彭州市检察院把受贿人移交给了军工厂处理，继而就参考了军工厂那份很失偏颇且不具司法效力的行政处理来驳斥了彭州市检察院的司法公诉，再故意把重庆建科院和刘*的个体户混为一体，从而认定刘*是违反刑法第390条，驳回了检察院的违反刑法第389条的公诉。故枉法判刘*的行贿行为是对单位行贿。检察院不抗诉默认了法院对自己的歪曲和污蔑。）
在空军装备部政治处的干涉下，一桩巨额行贿案被关照成了皆大欢喜的闹剧：包工头行贿15万的罪行被花30多万买成缓刑，军企职工受贿35万（15万+20万）却无罪。怎么对老百姓的法律这么重酷对军人的法律那么轻？
换上军人的马甲就能犯罪而不用领刑！制造假公文的将军是谁？军人或专家真有豁免权？哪条哪款？
公权横行无司法公道！
我的中国的朋友，公布了中国的司法的当局和军部的腐败。
成都にいる中国の友人が中国の司法当局と軍部の腐敗を明らかにしてくれました。
http://www.kosuke.net/chinacorruption.html
http://www.zc.em-net.ne.jp/~cozy/chinacorruption.html
10变0钱 钱权交易官推磨亲历的官场腐败，独家内幕
朋友经历了一个短暂的婚姻，那里面竟充满了一段的平民难以想象的官场腐败：她家附近的某军工厂职工孟*和周*二人共同个人受贿35万，该案业经辖区检察院刑侦且证据确凿，却被空军装备部政治部的某位将军以伪造的假公文包庇至当地的军事检察院美其名曰‘另案处理’，实际是立即无罪释放，以及一系列后来的干涉地方刑侦，干涉地方司法公正等等自上而下的腐败。因为她是15万行贿人刘*当时的妻子，她亲历了那笔35万元贿赂（15万和20万）的收受，被刑侦，被收监以及后来被‘捞’出的全过程。我向她打听来了她经历的腐败的全程。
一、受贿人的犯罪事实（她是08年11月结的婚，
5.12汶川地震后，她认识了刘*，并结婚，某天刘*去银行取钱，她同行。事发后她才知道那天她和刘*在银行取的钱，刘*交给了周钊35万，这钱是行贿款。
周*和孟*的利用分管工程的权力勾结当地包工头侵吞瓜分灾后重建的军费。其2009年元月受贿35万元的行为被彭州人民检察院刑侦。二人对自己的受贿犯罪行为供认不讳：为了拿到灾后重建的工程，包工头刘*找到周*，承诺好处费请周帮忙拿重庆建科院承包的军工厂的灾后重建的工程，在周的帮助下，刘如愿拿到工程，于2009年元月底从军工厂转来的工程款里取出15万好处费给了周，周当时从刘手里还同时接过了另外一笔20万元的行贿款，那是将工程违规分包给刘*的重庆建科院（蒋文学和丁金堂）给周、孟的行贿款，重庆建科院行贿周、孟，是通过刘*的账户过的帐（请刘转交的），是单位行为。周收下35万后立即与孟分了脏。行受贿人09年7月下旬所作的口供是环环相扣彼此应证的。
二、检察院刑侦受贿证据确凿
周和孟的受贿行为在彭州市检察院已刑侦结束，证据确凿，却在关押两天后被离奇释放。行贿人刘*却铁证如山面临10年徒刑的指控，而利用职权大肆受贿的罪犯分子却蹊跷逃脱了法律的制裁。
周和孟的刑侦口供都对35万受贿认罪不讳，且再三承认其犯罪行为是自己的个人行为与工厂无关，是个人受贿工厂毫不知情。作为家属我朋友亲眼拜读了周和孟的认罪供词，还拜读了行贿人丁金堂，蒋文学，刘*的认罪口供。行，受贿人双方的口供是环环相扣彼此相应证的。
09年 8月24日 检察院的反贪局给公诉科的《起诉意见书》上写的是刘触犯了《刑法》第389条移送公诉科起诉。称孟*和周*是“另处”（移交成都空军军事检察院‘另案处理’）。9月28日检察院的《公诉书》称刘触犯《刑法》第389条规定，犯罪事实清楚证据确实充分，提到周*是“另处”。触犯《刑法》第389条规定，按律该判罪10以上，且刘无任何从轻量刑的情节（见刘的口供）。
三、造假为受贿人开脱罪责且干涉地方司法公正
空军装备部政治处的某位将军大人，来到彭州检察院以‘军事秘密’为由强行将受贿人移至成都空军军事检察院“另案处理”并立即释放，将军伪造了一份公文，称周和孟是为国家做出特殊贡献的专家，享有豁免权，成空检察院‘依法’没有对二人的犯罪行为立案。受贿35万却不领刑！ 5719军工厂，又依仗空军装备部为后台向地方法院施压，要求枉法判行贿人监外执行。在权贵们的活动下最终行贿人刘*也被枉法判成了缓刑！行、受贿双方都不用坐牢，一起重大的刑事案就这样不了了之。
09年7月20日 为了‘捞’行贿人刘*出来， 5719厂的前任厂长刘义贵召集行贿人家属和相关朋友，他要求家属及家属的任何朋友的任何社会关系都不许插手‘捞’刘；待刑侦结束后他自有办法捞行贿人刘出来。
09年7月28日，刘义贵告诉家属受贿人孟和周已经恢复了自由，还介绍了孟*是5719厂的现任厂长向*的丈夫张*的心腹，2人之间有着20，30年的狼狈交情。
09年9月9日 军工厂的在职职工刘某和辩护律师刘明刚向家属介绍孟被保释的秘密是因为当时正值全国创奖评选的关键，任何污秽都不容呈现。‘不是成空来的人，是上面的大人物亲自来的’, ‘是将军!’ 。
09年10月12日，刘义贵介绍，孟和周在厂里头连公职都没开除，都还是干部。刘*的辩护律师苟吉伦非常不解：‘彭州市检察院把受贿人不是移交给军工厂，而是移交给了军事法庭，军事检察院应该有个司法处理结果。’刘义贵：‘（军事检察院）不敢继续审他俩，否则很多人和事都会被牵扯进去…会有人掉脑袋…现任厂长的乌纱帽保不住的…
刘义贵向行贿人妻子承诺,他将通过他昔日栽培提拔起来的老部下杨胜宇（现在彭州市的开发区书记），出面请他的现在的哥们李光辉（主管公检法的政法委的书记）向受他领导的法院院长张志伟施压并承诺好处费。要法院设法把行贿人刘枉法判成监外执行。
09年11月3日，法官张扬告诉刘*的辩护律师刘明刚，成都空军军事检察院负责处理周，孟案子的人正好是张扬的同学，是因为空军装备部的政治处出了一个文，说周和孟是为国家做出特殊贡献的专家，被依法豁免不予立案。在行受贿人的双方口供早就足以判案的前提下，刘明刚律师应张杨法官的要求向法庭写了一份延期庭审的申请。他请求彭州法庭去调取受贿人的军事司法的处理结果，不仅调取5719厂的厂内的行政处理。刘律师告诉刘妻，他打听到，军工厂对受贿人的行政处理，是只针对了与军工厂有直接合同关系的重庆建科院的那20万单位行贿，并没提及刘*以及刘的15万贿额，是于刘的行贿案不相干，没有参考意义的。刘*的个体工商户不是重庆建科院的子公司，双方是的两个独立实体，军事检察院或军事法院对受贿人的司法结论才于行贿人的判案有参考意义。
09年11月16日晚饭时，家属们纷纷都得到第二天将判缓刑的消息，17日上午宣判刘*判二缓三，并当庭释放，凯旋而归。（判决书上的文字游戏诡称彭州市检察院把受贿人移交给了军工厂处理，继而就参考了军工厂那份很失偏颇且不具司法效力的行政处理来驳斥了彭州市检察院的司法公诉，再故意把重庆建科院和刘*的个体户混为一体，从而认定刘*是违反刑法第390条，驳回了检察院的违反刑法第389条的公诉。故枉法判刘*的行贿行为是对单位行贿。检察院不抗诉默认了法院对自己的歪曲和污蔑。）
在空军装备部政治处的干涉下，一桩巨额行贿案被关照成了皆大欢喜的闹剧：包工头行贿15万的罪行被花30多万买成缓刑，军企职工受贿35万（15万+20万）却无罪。怎么对老百姓的法律这么重酷对军人的法律那么轻？
换上军人的马甲就能犯罪而不用领刑！制造假公文的将军是谁？军人或专家真有豁免权？哪条哪款？
公权横行无司法公道！
Sunday, February 20, 2011
My latest stories for Jane's Defence Weekly
Japan, Russia stir up a storm over Kuril islands
Kosuke Takahashi
JDW Correspondent
Tokyo
The escalation of a long-running territorial dispute between Japan and Russia is sending relations between the neighbours to their lowest point in decades and may lead to new areas of tension in northeast Asia.
The dispute relates to four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories and Russia the Southern Kurils. The Soviet Union annexed Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and the uninhabited Habomai islets after the Second World War, fomenting a dispute that has prevented the two nations from concluding a post-war peace treaty.
Tensions resurfaced in November 2010 when Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian president to visit the islands with a trip to Kunashiri. Russia's first deputy premier, regional development minister and defence minister followed with trips of their own.
Japan's reaction has been predictably angry, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan describing Medvedev's visit as an "unforgivable outrage" at a 7 February rally in Tokyo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Kan's comments as ''undiplomatic'' and on 8 February demanded Japanese authorities investigate anti-Russian protests in front of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.
Medvedev on 9 February instructed the defence ministry to strengthen Russia's military presence on the islands, describing them as a part of "a strategic region". The Interfax news agency on 10 February quoted a Russian Defence Ministry source as saying that Russia planned to set up a military airport and deploy helicopter gunships with a transport capability on Etorofu island: the largest island of the four. It also said Moscow will also boost air-defence capabilities on Etorofu and Kunashiri by upgrading the current machine gun and artillery regiments.
The Itar-Tass news agency, meanwhile, reported on 9 February that Russia will deploy French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault vessels, the first of which is due to enter service by late 2013, to Russia's Pacific Fleet headquartered in Vladivostok. The Pacific Fleet is tasked with protecting the Southern Kurils.
The islands' rich mineral and fishing reserves and strategic position make them a valuable prize. The straits between them do not freeze during winter, allowing Russia's Pacific Fleet to access to the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Okhotsk.
Russian experts in Tokyo say Medvedev is combining the political advantages of playing a nationalistic card ahead of 2012 elections with an awareness that Japan's new defence policy focuses on meeting Chinese territorial ambitions in the East China Sea.
"This territorial dispute was so sensitive for the Japanese people that Russian presidents have avoided visiting these islands," Ukeru Magosaki, a former head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, told Jane's .
Magosaki also suggested that "since Russia is getting along with NATO ... it may think raising tensions with Japan will not affect its diplomatic relations worldwide. It may think this is just a bilateral issue".
Japan, US sign NDA over F-35
Kosuke Takahashi
JDW Correspondent
Tokyo
Key Points
•Japan's foreign minister and the US ambassador have signed a non-disclosure agreement relating to the F-35 II Lightning Joint Strike Fighter
•The announcement comes after US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters he would recommend the F-35 to his Japanese counterpart
Japan and the US have exchanged notes that require Tokyo to ensure confidentiality of systems, technologies and other information concerning the Lockheed Martin F-35 II Lightning Joint Strike Fighter.
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and US Ambassador to Japan John Roos exchanged documents based on the 1954 US-Japan Mutual Defence Assistance Agreement that specify protecting data related to the F-35 fighter, Japan's Foreign Ministry announced on 18 January.
The Foreign Ministry statement confirmed that the F-35 was "one of the candidates for Japan's main next-generation (FX) fighter". The F-35 is being developed by Lockheed Martin for nine partner nations including Australia, the UK and the US. Other candidates for the FX programme include the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing's F-15 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet platforms.
In remarks made during his Asian trip in January, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates suggested he would recommend the F-35 to Japan as its main next-generation fighter.
The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) has allotted about JPY600 million (USD7.3 million) for research costs to select the FX fighter in its Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) budget starting April, with an eye to securing a procurement budget in Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12). The MoD says it plans to select the new fighter by the end of the calendar year.
Japan will buy 12 fighters during the next five years, according to a new mid-term defence programme approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan in December.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
My latest story for Asia Times: Rocky barriers to Russo-Japanese peace
Rocky barriers to Russo-Japanese peace
A long-simmering diplomatic feud between Japan and Russia over four Kurils islands has re-awakened, with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan calling Russian visits to one an "unforgivable outrage" and the Kremlin instructing the military to build-up its installations there. While the islands are believed to have significant oil and gas deposits, electoral concerns may be behind the latest flare-up. - Kosuke Takahashi (Feb 14, '11)
Rocky barriers to Russo-Japanese peace
By Kosuke Takahashi
TOKYO - Unnecessary provocations by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are being blamed for the reawakening of a decades-old island feud between the countries, with both leaders accused of pandering to nationalism ahead of key elections.
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara landed in Moscow on Friday to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in hopes of defusing tensions over Tokyo's claim to four Russian-occupied islands that are reportedly host to large quantities of gold and rhenium, and whose waters have significant oil and gas deposits.
Japan calls the islands, comprising Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islets, the Northern Territories. Russia has occupied the islands, which it calls the Southern Kurils, since August 28, 1945, days after Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation and surrendered to the Allied Powers in World War II.
The territorial dispute has prevented the two nations from concluding a post-World War II peace treaty. In a 1956 Joint Declaration, both countries ended a state of war and restored ties. They agreed to continue negotiations for a peace treaty and that Russia would hand over Shikotan and the Habomai islets. However, a peace treaty was never signed.
The dispute was reawakened last November when Medvedev visited Kunashiri, the first such trip by a Russian president. Following his visit, Russia sent more senior officials to Kunashiri, including its first deputy premier, regional development minister and defense minister. "There are so many beautiful places in Russia! Here is Kunashir," Medvedev posted on Twitter.
Medvedev insists that his visit to Kunashiri was a purely domestic matter, and Russian experts in Japan say he indeed focused on Russian politics ahead of the state Duma (lower house) elections at the end of this year, to be followed by a presidential election in the spring of 2012.
"This territorial dispute was so sensitive for the Japanese people that Russian presidents had avoided visiting these islands," Ukeru Magosaki, the former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, told Asia Times Online. "Medvedev forsook this traditional practice. With Russians seeking a strong leader, he tried to boost his image among the public ahead of key elections."
"Since Russia is currently enjoying improved relations with North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations in Europe, it may think raising tensions with Japan would not affect its diplomatic relations worldwide," said Magosaki, also a former professor of Public Policy at the National Defense Academy.
Medvedev may have considered two other factors. One is the upcoming 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok. Russia may be aiming to boost oil and gas exports to Japan as it hosts the APEC meeting for the first time. Moscow could see a hardline stance on the territorial dispute as boosting its position in economic negotiations.
A second motivating factor for Moscow could be Japan's new defense policy for the next decade, adopted by the government last December. Tokyo plans to reduce Cold War-era equipment and organizations, especially the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) personnel in Hokkaido prefecture, the northernmost part of Japan facing Russia. Under its new policy, Japan plans to boost security around the Nansei Islands in Okinawa prefecture in the country's south, and in the East China Sea near China and Taiwan, a move that is apparently aimed at countering China's growing naval power.
Medvedev on Wednesday instructed the ministry to build up strength on the disputed Kuril Islands, saying they are part of "a strategic region" and “an inseparable part of [the] Russian Federation". Russia's Interfax news agency on Thursday reported plans to set up a military airport and deploy helicopters on Etorofu, the largest island among the four, quoting a Russian Defense Ministry source.
'Unforgivable outrage'
Russia had in the past made conciliatory gestures to the Japanese government over the islands, suggesting the return of two of the four. But Tokyo has stuck to its traditional demand for the return of all four.
Confounding the situation was a speech Kan made in response to Medvedev's visit, calling it an "unforgivable outrage". Russian officials appear to have taken Kan's remark as a personal attack against Medvedev. On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Kan of being "undiplomatic".
On Friday, Lavrov said that the Kremlin wanted Chinese, South Korean and even Japanese investment in the islands, drawing a sharp response from Maehara.
Maehara said investments from "a third country" would "complicate the situation." He said that the islands were "indigenous territories of Japan," and dismissed Russia's call for historians to resolve the dispute.
A few days earlier, Lavrov had demanded that Japanese authorities investigate what he called an insult to the Russian flag by a Japanese rightist group in front of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.
"People who are engaged in diplomacy should try to improve foreign relations," Magosaki said. "What Prime Minister Kan did was just the opposite."
However, the second day of Maehara's visit saw tensions ease, with the foreign minister saying said he agreed with Sergei Naryshkin, chief of staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office, that their countries need to boost mutual confidence and bolster bilateral ties.
Maehara told reporters after meeting with Naryshkin that they reaffirmed the two countries' intention to work towards signing a post-World War II peace treaty.
Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also works for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent.
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
A long-simmering diplomatic feud between Japan and Russia over four Kurils islands has re-awakened, with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan calling Russian visits to one an "unforgivable outrage" and the Kremlin instructing the military to build-up its installations there. While the islands are believed to have significant oil and gas deposits, electoral concerns may be behind the latest flare-up. - Kosuke Takahashi (Feb 14, '11)
Rocky barriers to Russo-Japanese peace
By Kosuke Takahashi
TOKYO - Unnecessary provocations by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are being blamed for the reawakening of a decades-old island feud between the countries, with both leaders accused of pandering to nationalism ahead of key elections.
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara landed in Moscow on Friday to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in hopes of defusing tensions over Tokyo's claim to four Russian-occupied islands that are reportedly host to large quantities of gold and rhenium, and whose waters have significant oil and gas deposits.
Japan calls the islands, comprising Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islets, the Northern Territories. Russia has occupied the islands, which it calls the Southern Kurils, since August 28, 1945, days after Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation and surrendered to the Allied Powers in World War II.
The territorial dispute has prevented the two nations from concluding a post-World War II peace treaty. In a 1956 Joint Declaration, both countries ended a state of war and restored ties. They agreed to continue negotiations for a peace treaty and that Russia would hand over Shikotan and the Habomai islets. However, a peace treaty was never signed.
The dispute was reawakened last November when Medvedev visited Kunashiri, the first such trip by a Russian president. Following his visit, Russia sent more senior officials to Kunashiri, including its first deputy premier, regional development minister and defense minister. "There are so many beautiful places in Russia! Here is Kunashir," Medvedev posted on Twitter.
Medvedev insists that his visit to Kunashiri was a purely domestic matter, and Russian experts in Japan say he indeed focused on Russian politics ahead of the state Duma (lower house) elections at the end of this year, to be followed by a presidential election in the spring of 2012.
"This territorial dispute was so sensitive for the Japanese people that Russian presidents had avoided visiting these islands," Ukeru Magosaki, the former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's international intelligence bureau, told Asia Times Online. "Medvedev forsook this traditional practice. With Russians seeking a strong leader, he tried to boost his image among the public ahead of key elections."
"Since Russia is currently enjoying improved relations with North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations in Europe, it may think raising tensions with Japan would not affect its diplomatic relations worldwide," said Magosaki, also a former professor of Public Policy at the National Defense Academy.
Medvedev may have considered two other factors. One is the upcoming 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok. Russia may be aiming to boost oil and gas exports to Japan as it hosts the APEC meeting for the first time. Moscow could see a hardline stance on the territorial dispute as boosting its position in economic negotiations.
A second motivating factor for Moscow could be Japan's new defense policy for the next decade, adopted by the government last December. Tokyo plans to reduce Cold War-era equipment and organizations, especially the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) personnel in Hokkaido prefecture, the northernmost part of Japan facing Russia. Under its new policy, Japan plans to boost security around the Nansei Islands in Okinawa prefecture in the country's south, and in the East China Sea near China and Taiwan, a move that is apparently aimed at countering China's growing naval power.
Medvedev on Wednesday instructed the ministry to build up strength on the disputed Kuril Islands, saying they are part of "a strategic region" and “an inseparable part of [the] Russian Federation". Russia's Interfax news agency on Thursday reported plans to set up a military airport and deploy helicopters on Etorofu, the largest island among the four, quoting a Russian Defense Ministry source.
'Unforgivable outrage'
Russia had in the past made conciliatory gestures to the Japanese government over the islands, suggesting the return of two of the four. But Tokyo has stuck to its traditional demand for the return of all four.
Confounding the situation was a speech Kan made in response to Medvedev's visit, calling it an "unforgivable outrage". Russian officials appear to have taken Kan's remark as a personal attack against Medvedev. On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Kan of being "undiplomatic".
On Friday, Lavrov said that the Kremlin wanted Chinese, South Korean and even Japanese investment in the islands, drawing a sharp response from Maehara.
Maehara said investments from "a third country" would "complicate the situation." He said that the islands were "indigenous territories of Japan," and dismissed Russia's call for historians to resolve the dispute.
A few days earlier, Lavrov had demanded that Japanese authorities investigate what he called an insult to the Russian flag by a Japanese rightist group in front of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.
"People who are engaged in diplomacy should try to improve foreign relations," Magosaki said. "What Prime Minister Kan did was just the opposite."
However, the second day of Maehara's visit saw tensions ease, with the foreign minister saying said he agreed with Sergei Naryshkin, chief of staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office, that their countries need to boost mutual confidence and bolster bilateral ties.
Maehara told reporters after meeting with Naryshkin that they reaffirmed the two countries' intention to work towards signing a post-World War II peace treaty.
Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based journalist. Besides Asia Times Online, he also works for Jane's Defence Weekly as Tokyo correspondent.
(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
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