Governor’s Inappropriate Hospitality

The Governor of Tokyo, Naoki Inose, is in his jeopardy of political career by a money scandal with an owner of hospital chain. Inose has been recognized as on his peak as the governor after he won a victory in inviting 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Through the reports about his management of money, however, his inappropriate demand for money was revealed. It became unclear whether he will still be the governor in 2020. Before that, it is highly skeptical that this extortive guy should be the host of top athletes from the world.

The scandal was about ¥50 millions of money from a medical corporation, Tokushukai, to Inose before the gubernatorial election last December. Tokushukai is in a big scandal of political money illegally collected from donors and secretly donated to a number of politicians. The Chief Director, Torao Tokuda, was former Representative and his son, Takeshi, succeeded his father. It is doubted that the illegal money was used for Takeshi’s campaign last year.

Inose’s scandal appeared after Takeshi’s sisters were arrested for illegal hiring of campaign staffs. Inose accepted the money a day before his announcement of running the election in November 21 last year, but he did not report it to a public office. If the money had been used for his campaign, it would be a violation of law. He explained the money was only for his private purpose and he maintained the campaign by his own savings. Who did believe in it?

Some report revealed, however, that the money was not voluntary, but requested by Inose himself. Reports said that a staff of Tokushukai reported Inose’s request to Torao early November last year. The amount of request was ¥100 millions. It is said that Inose explained the staff the amount to be a common rate of Tokyo gubernatorial campaign. Supposedly regarding it as necessary for his future business in Tokyo, Torao ordered his staff to pay one half of the request. By the way, asking money with possibility of future disadvantage is something mafia would do for blackmailing.

Inose is still insisting on his job so far. But Takeshi may be forced to step down as a Representative with implication in his campaign staff’s illegal activity. As Tokushukai scandal spread wide to the public, Inose’s standpoint will be getting worse. The point is whether prosecutors admit his explanation that he did not use the money for his campaign.

At the presentation of International Olympic Committee for inviting the games to Tokyo, “omotenashi,” meaning hospitality, was a key word. Inose’s scandal revealed his positive hospitality to hidden donation. As many know, connection between Olympic and black money has invited many scandals. The world will be invited to the Tokyo Olympic Games produced by a governor made with black money.

Secrecy against All Odds

More people are raising their voices against unreasonable restriction of the right to access governmental information. Scholars found the Designated Secrecy Bill unconstitutional and required immediate abolition. Skepticisms are expanding to foreign nations, as media reports their concern on oppression of Japanese government on its people. Even public workers are worried about it, mainly on insufficiency of the bill. Nevertheless, Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, ordered his party members to pass the bill before the end of the Diet session on December 6^th against all odds.

Thirty-one scholars, including historians, economists, or political scientists, released a joint statement against the bill on Thursday. “The Designated Secrecy Bill is dangerous in terms of allowing the government of broad discretion in determining designated secrets. If the bill passes, people’s right to know, legislators’ investigation right, freedom of report, expression, press and academic freedom will be restricted,” said the statement. One of the members, Toshihide Masukawa, Nobel Prize laureate physicist, said that he saw an intention of PM to make Japan a war-fightable country and required acknowledgement of ordinary people.

Foreign media are also worried about oppressive attitude of the government. New York Times criticized the bill in an editorial, saying “This lack of definition means the government could well designate any inconvenient information secret.” Foreign Correspondent Club of Japan released a statement protesting restrictions of activities to access news sources in the government. “Such journalism is not a crime, but rather a crucial part of the checks-and-balances that go hand-in-hand with democracy,” it described. Those showed how the bill was derailed from ordinary concept of democracy in the world.

In spite of the bill is basically designated to refrain public workers from leaking national information, they are not so positive to tell something against the bill. But some are bravely express their concern on the bill. Former civilian officer in the Ministry of Defense, Kyoji Yanagisawa, has been skeptical about the bill. Some bureaucrats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expect that they will be able to get strictly qualified information from the United States after the bill is activated. But Yanagisawa dismisses that merit, because a country gives the other countries information only when it enhances national interest.

Consequently, the bill is designed only for the purpose of hiding state information, oppressing the people, and expanding bureaucracy. Japan is going to be illiberal.

Not Facing Jeopardy

The Court gave the House of Councillors an extra hard homework on Thanksgiving Thursday. The Okayama Branch of Hiroshima High Court decided that the election of the House in July had been unconstitutional, because of value gap between votes. It declared that winning of a candidate in Okayama district had been invalid for the first time in the history of elections of the House. The judgment strongly accused the laziness of the House in modifying inequality between voters. Legislators in the House have to be responsible for their sovereign people.

The judgment focused on the time the House had possessed. The Supreme Court demanded the House to amend fundamental structure of the election system to secure equality of vote value in September 2009. However, the House only involved in minor adjustment reducing four seats from four electoral districts and moving them to other districts. As its result, the value of one vote in Tottori became 4.77 times bigger than that in Hokkaido at the election this summer. The Court accused the House not making serious effort to narrow the gap in three and nine months they had.

Considering the negative effect on public interest, the Courts had been avoiding dismissal of a result of election, even when they determined the election to be unconstitutional. Okayama Branch, however, independently decided that the House’s reluctance for reform overused its discretion. Indicating invalidity of the winners of all districts, it said that activity of the House could be maintained without 73 inappropriately elected legislators out of total 242.

In this jeopardy of legitimacy of the House, legislators are still optimistic. Secretary General of Liberal Democratic Party’s legislators in the House of Councillors, Masashi Waki, said that some change might be done by next election in 2016. But he showed no idea for necessary reform. Other party leaders also expressed their concern without concrete idea how to achieve better system. They look like incompetent students in elementary school who do not understand what their teacher means.

One lawyer who consisted the accusers group criticized the House of discussing important issues without democratic legitimacy. Actually, the House of Councillors embarked on deliberations on bad-reputed Designated Secrecy Bill in a committee on Thursday. Leaving election system reform behind and pushing a bill excessively restricting human rights, the House is going wrong with double mistakes. The legislative branch in Japan is losing its credibility with the ostrich effect.

Expected Escalation

As was expected, the responses were not something moderate. Hawkish legislators of Liberal Democratic Party made a great fuss against China’s new action in the East China Sea, which had set Air Defense Identification Zone overlapping Japan’s zone around Senkaku Islands. Chinese people showed eccentric uproars against Japan. The escalation may diverge from the basic course that Xi Jinping administration tried to stabilize domestic situation by shifting public eyes to foreign nations.

The joint meeting on diplomacy and security of LDP on Tuesday became a stage where the hawks compete their firmness on anti-Chinese standpoint. “We need to amend the Constitution so that we can do warning shooting,” said one legislator. “The Chinese may commit areal invasion to Japan’s territory in a way of Kamikaze suicide attack. We need to make a legislature to shoot them down,” followed another. With few arguments for cooling down, the meeting concluded to request the Government of Japan to take definite attitude toward China.

In China, a poll showed that six out of ten would support shooting illegal foreign aircrafts down in the ADIZ. Nine out of ten expected primacy of Chinese military over Japan by setting the zone.

However, China seems to have been ignoring that the area was not only overlapping Japan’s ADIZ, but recognized by the United States as its own sky. U.S. Force flied two B-52 Bombers over Senkaku area without any notification to China. China made no response to them. If U.S. Force keeps on flying, tension in the zone must eventually be raised. As U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, had mentioned, China’s action only served to increase tensions in the region and create unnecessary risk.

The Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, demanded China to withdraw ADIZ. But, afraid of unexpected trouble, commercial flights of Japan Air Line, All Nippon Airways and some minor transporters submitted flight plans to China. Japanese government required them not to do that any more.

Stimulated by growing tensions, South Korea began to consider expanding its own ADIZ overlapping Japan’s zone. Along with the dispute, South Korean people came to realize that an island of their territory had been included in Japan’s ADIZ. Stimulating nationalisms in both countries, enhancing U.S.-Japan alliance, and raising warnings of neighbor countries, it is China who needs to take consequence of its abrupt ambition to the sky.

Oppressive Procedure for Oppression Bill

It was embarrassingly ugly scene for the House of Representatives to introduce an nuclear option in this highly nuclearphobic country. The leading parties, Liberal Democratic and New Komeito, passed the Designated Secrecy Bill with their own majority and support of Your Party, dismissing the opposite’s requests for further discussion. This highly oppressive law seems to be activated with oppressive legislative procedure by oppressive administration led by Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.

It was nothing more than a soap opera. After all parties finished their questions to PM, the Chairman of Special Committee on National Security, Fukushiro Nukaga, declared taking vote for the bill. Surrounded by committee members of the opposite parties yelling accusation, Nukaga asked standing up for aye, and the bill passed with majority of three parties. Having stepped down as Defense Minister by internal scandal of Defense Agency years ago, Nukaga might want to restrict leaking information which would lead to resignation of a minister.

Conservative Restoration Party, basically close to LDP, was divided in two over the bill. Its legislators close to Mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, who had been admiring Abe, wanted to vote aye. But, the party leaders in the House who joined the party from Democratic Party of Japan refused to easily follow LDP, requiring more time for discussion. They stepped out from the voting for the bill, to which they joined amendment process. Restoration party consequently appealed nothing to the public. It is also not forgettable that DPJ left mostly no footstep on the legislative process of the bill.

The nature of the bill is simple. It is something like allowing a policeman upgrading his weapon from pistol to machinegun. There actually is no restriction for him to whom, for what reason and in which circumstance he uses it. Whether or not he uses is up to him. He is comfortable by the fact that he can use his weapon at anytime. In other words, it is the Bureaucrats Comforting Bill, unnecessary expanding their power. Nobody calls it democracy, but strange bureaucracy one can hardly find anywhere else in the world.

The request of the United States must have restricting bureaucrats to reveal crucial security information, based on the skepticisms against their ability for preserving security. As its result, bureaucrats vested their burden to the people, by changing the nature of the issue into restricting accesses to governmental information. It is fair to say that consecutive pressure of U.S. to ask Japan positive involvements in security issues distorted Japanese democracy, which U.S. must have wanted Japan to maintain.

Everybody Likes Her

As long as assignment is based on agrément, each ambassador has to be welcomed by the host nation. However, the Japanese way to welcome new U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Carline Kennedy, is something extreme or strange. People, media and government have been approving her every step and word. Wait a minute. She has done only a few jobs, since she arrived in Japan. To an interview to a newspaper, she said nothing interesting, commenting along the line of official standpoint of U.S. Calm down, you guys, let’s see what she is doing.

When she arrived in Japan in November 15^th, most newspapers carried her picture on the front page. It was reported that she wanted to carry the legacy of her father, John F. Kennedy, as her first comment in Japan to the press corps waiting her in Narita International Airport. The readers of those reports might understand that her assignment as the ambassador would be doing what her father had wanted to do for Japan.

Her popularity in Japan is simply based on a reason: because they believe she is popular in U.S., too. The Japanese like well-known Americans. If the Ambassador to Japan were Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, or even Hillary Clinton, they are going to be satisfied. Ability as a diplomat does not matter. If she or he is a common figure to American public, it’s all right.

Another reason why she is on the spotlight is that this is the 50^th anniversary of her father’s death. It is important that JFK was one of the most popular Presidents of the United States for the Japanese to like Caroline. Regardless conspiracy argument over the assassination of President Kennedy, Caroline is still a tragically lovely daughter who lost her father. Although Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea, has similar history, she is not so popular as Caroline in Japan for some reason.

Among news organization that submitted a bunch of interview requests to U.S. Embassy in Japan, the winner was Yomiuri Shimbun. It published the first interview to her at Ambassador’s residence last Friday. “There is no more important ally than Japan,” was the headline of the article, which was a quotation of her comment. Not funny, anyway.

But the answer she made was strictly following the official standpoints of U.S. government. On relocation of Futenma Marine Air Base, she told that moving to Henoko was the best choice. On reinterpretation of the Constitution of Japan to exercise collective self-defense right, she said that it was up to the Japanese. On economic policy of Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, she expressed U.S. expectation on contributing to the interest in Asia Pacific and the world.

Common expectation of the Japanese to her, for example, is to ease war victims by persuading Obama to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which may bring strong opposition from the Capitol Hill. How to deal with growing assertion of China in the East China Sea may become a litmus test for U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Her job will not be so easy.

Intimidation Driven by Internal Uncertainty

The Defense Ministry of China announced that it had set its air defense identification zone over East China Sea, overlapping Japan’s own. That included Senkaku Islands, the territory of Japan to which China began to claim its sovereignty. The ministry told that it would take defensive measures, if an aircraft entered in the area had failed to report flight plan. The Government of Japan expressed its objection against the action by the Chinese government. This unilateral action to change current order in Northeast Asia will further alienate the administration of Xi Jinping.

ADIZ is area set outside of territory to prepare for areal invasion to territory. Not being internationally authorized concept, some countries including Japan established it after the United States had set it for the first time in 1950s.

Defense Ministry of China explained the purpose of establishing ADIZ as to maintain areal order by protecting its sovereignty and territorial safety. It justified its action to be meeting international law and practices, citing the fact that over twenty countries had already set ADIZ. Although the ministry insisted on targeting no specific country, it appealed that “Related country had already established ADIZ in 1969,” indicating a countermeasure against Japan.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan disputed against the measure through Chinese Embassy in Japan. After Chinese aircrafts invaded Japan’s territory around Senkaku for the first time last December, Japan’s Air Self-defense Force scrambled against them several times. China’s demarcation of ADIZ may introduce unexpected collision between fighter jets of both countries.

Main reason of establishing ADIZ would not be for sending an international message, but internal one. Xi administration was shocked by the incident of explosion in front of Tinanmen Square earlier this month. The biggest uncertainty for Chinese government is about how to unite its republic. Whenever Chinese administration tries to ease its internal pressure, it always looks for some solution in outer world. This tendency of activity had historically been inviting troubles with neighbors. As long as China is containing its problem within its territory, its friends will support it. Simply emerged from internal political power struggle, Xi Jinping is not a leader able to make it.

However Xi encouraged his nation to go forward to achieve China’s dream, this nation had never embraced one common dream. What he should do is taking on more complicated job, coexistence with others that possess different idea.

Popular for Foreigners

Japan National Tourist Organization announced that foreign travelers in Japan from January to October this year marked new record high of 8.66 million. It is expected that foreign visitors through this year will reach 10 millions for the first time from the beginning of that research in 1964. Main factor of this increase of foreign travelers is Asian people who can afford to enjoy tourism. The Government of Japan considers exemption of sales tax for foreign tourists in order to sell Japan.

The country that sent tourists to Japan most in October was Taiwan, which number amounted to 213,500. The South Koreans secured the second position with 158,300, although the number was reduced from the same month last year because of skepticisms on the effect of the radiation caused by the accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant two years ago. The Chinese followed them with 121,400, at the third place marking 74% of increase from October last year.

According to an internet site of TripAdviser, the most popular place for foreign travelers to visit is Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, which is famous for Itsukushima Shrine built above sea water. The second popular place, also located in Prefecture of Hiroshima, is Hiroshima Memorial Park of Peace. With museum of exhibiting heritages of devastation by an atomic bomb Hiroshima in the World War II, this park is quite popular for Western tourists. The Asians prefers to visit attractive facilities, including Tokyo Disney Resort or Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Old temples and shrines in Kyoto or Nara are always popular for all travelers.

To further increase those foreign visitors and encourage shopping, the government is planning to exempt consumption tax for them. For consumers who buy various goods worth ¥10,000 or more in a duty free shop, consumption tax will be exempted. It is considered to increase the goods for the exemption and shops for foreigners. Concerning consumption tax hike from 5% to 8% starting next April, the government is worried about extinction of this travel enthusiasm.

That welcoming policy is a part of positive economic stimulation in Abe administration. However, issuing visa for Asian people also causes illegal stay and working in Japan. One report indicated that there are over 200 illegal Thais staying in Japan, taking advantage of visa waiver program starting in July. Considering the illegal working of foreigners in Japan are getting serious as causing cheap wage of Japanese workers, economic policy dependent on tourism is not so credible. If it is about economy, fundamental measures are really needed.

Addicted to Ruling

A human being has four desires. They are to eat, sex, sleep and rule. A common nature is that each must be necessary for sustention of an individual. Bureaucrat in Japan is a creature addicted to the fourth desire: ruling. They seek it even with sacrifice of other desires. As a result of the addiction, they become too ugly to be respected. New book written by a bureaucrat in Kasumigaseki, Nuclear Power Plant Whiteout, reveals not only the facts of struggle over resumption of nuclear power generation, but also systematic fault of bureaucracy in Japan.

The book brought a sensation to the public with a description, even in a fiction style, about how “nuclear village” in Japan concentrated power to rule Japan. The author wrote about the details of money stock of power companies, which he calls “monster system.” Actually, electric power supply in Japan has been occupied by ten companies. They can legally add running costs of the company on utility charge for firms and families. Ten power companies pool their surplus for lobbying legislators. Although the existence of such a system has been well known, readers applauded the author’s braveness of the accusation from inside of the bureaucratic community.

However, a far more important thing described in the book is the ecology of bureaucrats including the author. Main characters appear in the story, Vice-chairman of Agency of Natural Resource and Energy, secretary of lobbying bureau and a young bureaucrat in Nuclear Regulation Authority, all believe in their leadership over the Japanese nation. Even the author referred to his status as elite by saying that “top elite does not simply mean the graduates of Tokyo University, but Law Division of Tokyo University.” He is one of the graduates of the division.

Believing that is an only way they can satisfy their existence. Persuaded by parents, they have been studying hard at their days of elementary school. Because of their devotion to study, they have never been attractive for their opposite sex, causing tragically poor description of love affair in the book. In bureaucratic system, expressing their personalities has been oppressed, as seen in their shabby dark gray suits. Needless to say, they are always sleepless with too many orders coming down from the boss. This hardship makes up a narrow-minded and arrogant bureaucrat.

Real world is not so simple as Kasumigaseki, where bureaucrats are living most of their life. A sexy celebrity would be more broadly respected than a power elite. Firm belief about ruling Japan is always threatened by frequent power shift in politics. Supposedly because of its unstable power structure, the warning of the book may become true. It is repeating the disaster we experienced in Fukushima two years ago.

Waning Supreme Court

Most people were surprised with the decision of the Supreme Court of Japan yesterday, in which majority of fourteen judges acknowledged broad discretion of legislative branch on correcting inequality of “vote value.” Among three options, “unconstitutional and the election was invalid,” “unconstitutional,” and “state of unconstitutional,” the court chose the lightest one, “state of unconstitutional,” about the general election of the House of Representative last December, in which the largest number of constituency for one legislative seat marked 2.43 times larger than the smallest. Some specialists on legal issues indicated defeat of the court to politics.

There are two points for deciding unconstitutionality: unbearable inequality and failure in correction in a rational time period. A common recognition is that the situation is unconstitutional, if both conditions are fulfilled, and it should be determined as a state of unconstitutional, if there is simply an unbearable inequality. After the Supreme Court decided in March 2011 that the election in 2009 had been in “state of unconstitutional,” the legislators kept on failing in finding a solution. Although Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, passed the bill for reforming election districts last November, new constituency was not reflected the election in December. The Supreme Court, however, admitted the effort of legislators for having solution and avoided deciding the election to be unconstitutional.

In the decisions of sixteen high courts in March, fourteen found the election “unconstitutional” and two of them decided it as “invalid.” The rest of two called “state of unconstitutional.” From the tendency showed by high courts, the decision of the Supreme Court had been expected to at least be “unconstitutional,” and possibly the election would be determined invalid. Plaintiffs, most of them lawyers, are frustrated with the decision, saying “The Supreme Court went backward.”

The most negative point shown in the decision was the admission that the Supreme Court had no actual power to amend constituency. It was definitely a renunciation of judicial power on deciding right or wrong about illegal activities. Would the Supreme Court admit an aggressive war exercised by the Government of Japan, because of no actual power for use of force? Examining unconstitutional legislation is the biggest deterrence against excessive exercise of legislative power.

Asahi Shimbun indicated a possible effect of political power in nominating Judges of the Supreme Court. It quoted a comment of a former Judge, which said “There can be a deep consideration of not stimulating politics by excessively strict decisions, because judicial power is always inferior to politics in serious struggles.” Some reports indicated Prime Minister Abe’s ambition to submit the Supreme Court by his arbitrary appointment of Judges.

Acknowledging Maneuver by Bureaucrats

Acknowledging growing skepticism against Specific Secret Protection Bill, Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is getting careful on passing the bill in the parliament without opposite party’s consent. With distortion inserted in the bill by bureaucrats, the bill intends to restrict free reporting and uglily expands executive power. The opposite parties are protesting against the bill with their own circumstances. They are eventually divided into winner and loser.

The first loser would be Your Party. It agreed with leading Liberal Democrats and New Komeito in modification of some provisions of the bill. Accepting request from Your Party, LDP would amend the bill to let PM involved in determination of specific secrets. The leader of Your Party, Yoshimi Watanabe, asserted that the bill became moderate with the amendment, and PM will be engaged in the process as a third party.

Your Party has been thirsty for spotlight in politics, since it was in jeopardy of separation over cooperation strategy with other opposite parties. Taking advantage of Watanabe’s personal closeness to Abe, the party tried to appeal constructive stance on the issue. However, saying PM a third party made no sense. He is the top leader of executive branch, never be independent from it. The party made a deal with leading party too early. It lost its fundamental cause of confronting bureaucracy by reaching LDP unreasonably.

After defeating Your Party, LDP took on Restoration Party, which has the third largest power in the House of Representatives. Restoration Party requires independent organization for checking discretion of the government. It otherwise is opposing the bill. PM Abe showed his willingness for accepting the request, with a notion that the bill might receive a broad consensus in the public, if it would get support from Restoration Party. LDP would take enough time for a deal.

Democratic Party of Japan firmly opposes the bill. With a recognition that the bill needed to be strictly limited for keeping secrets of international security, the party made up their own bill. It dismisses requirement of executive branch for discussing specific secrets in closed meeting in the Diet, penalty on legislators, and endless possession of secrets by the government. The party stresses the necessity to keep on putting legislative power above executive power, as the Constitution determines. If the bill is amended along with those concepts, it will be a victory for DPJ.

Although LDP does not show any sign to make a deal with DPJ, the alternative option of DPJ makes far better sense than current bill does. The point now is whether Abe administration stops blindly following arbitral expansion of executive power conspired by bureaucrats.

Salvage Started

It is going to be a long effort to deal with extremely sensitive materials. Tokyo Electric Power Company started on Monday the process of extracting used fuel rods from the reservation pools in broken First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Why now? It would be to appeal that the situation in the site is improving. Well, contaminated ground water is still flowing into the sea. There is no clear vision for final solution of nuclear waste. Is it right for the company to take on this dismantlement process right now?

The work for extraction began in the forth building of nuclear plant. After the explosion in the accident two years and eight months ago, 1,533 fuel rods have been preserved in the pool of the building. TEPCO carefully salvaged them with a crane set up on the building. The move was as slow as one centimeter every second. Extracted fuel rods were sent to another large pool facilitated inside the plant to keep them cool. It will take one year to transfer all rods. After finishing it, the rods will be contained in cases, according to the plan so far.

One problem is that fragments in current pool may disturb extracting works. There are a lot of small debris of the broken building in the cooling water. They may harm sensitive fuel rods in the process of pulling out. It is possible that the rods will be broken and disseminate radioactive materials to outer space of the plant. To avoid that, the plant is covered by sheets. However, no one can guarantee that it works.

The bigger problem is where do those rods go. They have no place to go after contained in cases. There is no final landfill site in Japan. Although the Government of Japan is trying to establish recycle system of nuclear fuels, no viable plan has been found. It is possible for those rods to be broken by another accident including a huge earthquake.

Process of dismantlement of broken plants is not only that. The most difficult work is to extract debris of melted fuels in plants No. 1 to 3. Due to extremely high radiation, TEPCO is still considering how to do that. It is expected that the beginning of the process should be twenty years later at shortest.

Dismantlement process is expected to require three or four decades. TEPCO needs to be highly careful for dealing with those rods, which may make the company nervous. Not having found effective way to stop leakage of contaminated water to the sea, not fulfilling the duty of paying compensation to the sufferers and cost for decontamination of land, not determining how to maintain power supply without depending on unstable and costly nuclear power generation, TEPCO is unworthy for looking forward reconstruction of its management as an enterprise.

Incumbent Mayors Fail

It has been politically strange for incumbent mayors who made crucial efforts in reconstruction to fail in being reelected in local elections in Fukushima prefecture. A common reason for voters was frustration against delay on decontamination of their lands covered by radioactive materials emitted from broken First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. It is not the responsibility of local government that Tokyo Electric Power Company and the national government have been incompetent in implementing their plan clearing the lands up. However, criticisms of the residents went forward to local leadership, missing target of their anger.

In the mayoral election of Fukushima City voted on Sunday, incumbent mayor, who kept the seat for twelve years, was defeated by a former bureaucrat in Ministry of Environment. The incumbent got wide supports from the right, Liberal Democrats, and the left, Social Democrats. Nevertheless, voters wanted change in reconstruction policy in Fukushima. Total votes the winner obtained was two times more than the incumbent. In other words, they rejected a mayor deeply connected with central authority of Japan.

Contaminated area in Fukushima prefecture has three major cities, among which City of Fukushima is the biggest. One of the other two, Koriyama, had chosen new mayor in April. Koriyama also has problems of cleaning up the land. In September, incumbent mayor in the City of Iwaki, last one of those three, was defeated by a former city assembly member. Iwaki has serious problem of immigrants, who were mainly the sufferers of the accident in the nuclear plant.

The cities were under contamination by radioactive materials. The Government of Japan assured that the radiation level would not “immediately” affect health of the people living there, the residents have been always worried about the impact especially on kids. Not being able to wait for governmental help, they scraped soils around their houses and kept them in their backyards, because they could not find the place for keeping contaminated soils. While they knew local government could do nothing for that until the national government determines concrete plan for decontamination, people in Fukushima had no choice to expect some change by new leaders.

The national government needs to understand this political phenomenon accurately. It is not only referendums for local politics, but strong denial against reconstruction policy by national government. It is intolerable for the people in Fukushima to leave contaminated water flowing out to the sea, force sufferers to live in shabby temporary houses in cold winter, or ignore their warnings on nuclear generation by resuming nuclear reactors in other places of Japan. This will bring a consequence in national election.

Diplomatic Defeat Approaches

Shouldn’t it be a prelude for “diplomatic defeat,” the terminology which Liberal Democratic Party used in scolding the handlings of former administration led by Democratic Party of Japan. According to a report of Asahi Shimbun, the United States required Japan to open the market of five important agricultural products in the negotiation over Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has been recognized as crucial category for farmers in Japan. As long as TPP is indiscriminative open-market framework, it is not easy to dismiss the request of U.S.

According to the report, U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, proposed Japanese Minister of State in charge of TPP, Akira Amari, to eliminate all kinds of tariffs including five important agricultural products. Although Froman referred to a possibility of twenty-year moratorium for some products, Amari rejected it.

In summit talk between the leaders of Japan and U.S. in February, they agreed on a notion that there are sensitivities on agricultural products in Japan and industrial products in U.S. Japan has innocently been believing in the words U.S. had said, and persuaded skeptical people in Japan that some products would be protected even after Japan would join the framework of TPP. The fact is simply that U.S. has changed its mind. Considering that Japan has no other option than coping with U.S., there is a few chances to achieve a victory in TPP negotiation.

Protecting five products, rice, wheat, beef & pork, dairy products and sugar, is campaign promise of LDP. If the Government of Japan fails in defend them, supporting rate for Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, will significantly decline. Although Amari tried to explain the importance of those five, Froman did not accept it. If Amari had thought that domestic circumstance in Japan would be considered by U.S., he was too naïve as a negotiator on international free trade agreement.

There was a big contradiction in the attitude of the government. While TPP is obviously a free trade framework with no exception, the government has been trying to persuade its people against joining the negotiation that Japan can reserve certain crucial products. Adding to its acrobatic reasoning, the officials of the government kept on saying that if they had been able to persuade U.S. on setting sanctuary for some products, other countries would follow.

The Japanese need to understand that Premier Abe and his government had been lying. Elite bureaucrats had been fooling them with recognition that innocent people had no choice other than following the government. “We told you,” farmers would say, but it is too late. Now they have two choices; defeat the government or die.

Unprepared Bill

As discussion in the Diet goes on, unpreparedness of the government appears one after another. While the leading parties embarked on the negotiation with the opposites for modification of Specific Secrets protection Bill, or Secrecy Bill, in the House of Representatives, they have not found any vision to reach an agreement on how far discretion of the government should be admitted. Having a history of bureaucratic oppression, this undemocratic government has no idea on how to protect human rights of its own people.

Minister of State in charge of Secrecy Bill, Masako Mori, showed her incompetence in defining executive power written in the bill. “There will be no search in the press offices,” she answered in Special Committee on Security Issues in the House. Later, she changed her view. “I would not lay out specific examples with assumption,” she said. The revised answer did not exclude search in press offices.

The bill allows the government to determine “specific secret” that will be hidden from the eyes of people for five years. The problem is that it can extend the period forever, if it wants. Although the opposite parties demanded to limit the period within thirty years, the government rejected it. Mori explained that it requires a cabinet decision to extend the period over thirty years, because such a secret must have historical value. However, it is the government, not people, which distinguish necessary information from the ones to be disposed.

In the negotiations between the leading and the opposites, focusing point is engagement of the legislative branch. Leading Liberal Democratic and New Komeito proposed an amendment that would add reporting to the Diet, when a minister registers a specific secret. Your Party and Restoration Party are positively discussing it. Democratic Party is getting closer to the position against the bill, even if some amendment would be added. Communists, Social Democrats and some others are definitely against the bill from the beginning.

Although the bill limits specific secrets in four categories, which are diplomacy, defense, harmful activities and terrorism, there are a number of descriptions “other important information” in defining specific secrets. It is obvious that “other important information” means everything, as long as the government has power to determine its importance. That is not a law a democratic government would enact.

If the government wants to deter illegal activities of foreigners in Japan, it needs to enhance security at the stage of immigration. There are a huge number of illegal workers in Japan, who entered Japan for external purpose of studying in colleges. Before violating ordinary life of legal citizens, bureaucracy has to be responsible for its own job.

Emperor Wants Cremation

Imperial Household Agency concluded that the funeral of the Emperor and Empress would be taking the form of cremation, instead of traditional burying. That decision followed Emperor’s hope to make the ceremony simple and close to funerals of ordinary people in Japan. He believes it would reduce the burden of the people’s life. Walking with his people is always his benchmark.

The last time Emperor of Japan cremated was in 1617. Before that, cremation and burying had been intermingled. While cremation is recognized as a reflection of Buddhism, burying is that of Confucianism. After mid-17th century, when Confucianism prevailed along with governmental prohibition policy of Christianity, the official funerals of the Emperor have been held in a way of burying.

Current Emperor Akihito, however, insisted on making his life close to the people. According to IHA, 99.96% of the people in Japan chose cremation. Also, in order to make his grave compact, Akihito requested cremation for his funeral. It is unusual for living Emperor to choose the ritual of his own funeral.

Although the Emperor wanted same grave with his wife, the Empress Michiko refused it, because she thought it unworthy for her. And in case she dies prior to her husband, construction of Emperor’s grave before his death may be inappropriate, Their graves will be built adjacent each other, close to his parents in the imperial cemetery located in the suburb of Tokyo. The crematory for him will be built temporarily.

The funeral rituals of the Emperor of Showa, Hirohito, took forty-nine days from his death. His body was laid in his imperial residence for twelve days. Then, after the vigil lasted thirty-seven days, his body was buried in the grave. Considering the impact of the ceremony on people’s life, the Emperor hoped related facilities to be endurable for hard rain or tornado and environmentally conscious.

It is fair to say that Hirohito and Michiko have been reformers in traditional imperial family. Michiko was the first Princess after Meiji era chosen outside of the relatives of royal family. They raised their kids by their own efforts without depending on their staffs. Supposedly making contrast from his father Hirohito, whose status had been controversial due to his wartime role he played, Akihito determines his position as close to the people as possible. Requests on his funeral are also reflections of current tendency among the people, who wants to decide how to die by themselves. With the memory of comforting visit to refugees of Great East Japan Earthquake, this closeness between the Emperor and the people may determine the Era of Heisei.

Revisionism in Education

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) decided to revise the standard of authorization of social studies textbooks for elementary, mid and high schools. New standard would demand all textbooks to reflect unified views of the government on history or territorial issues. Education in Japan is going to be more regulated by the government than ever. Growing concern from neighbor countries is expected.

All textbooks in Japan need to meet standard required by MEXT. Council of Textbook Authorization examines objectiveness of description, adaptation to teaching guidelines, or educational goal it sets. Publishers ordinary reedit their textbooks according to attached opinions. If they do not follow the opinions, the book would not be adopted as textbook in public schools.

New standard includes that description in textbook needs to reflect unified views of government or fixed judicial conclusions, and to balance the viewpoints in wartime facts, if there are different opinions on them. Following that, description on Nanjing Massacre would be required to reflect disputes over the number of victims. The government would also demand to reflect its view that post-war compensation for comfort women had been resolved between governments.

The administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is putting pressure on schools that adopted liberal textbooks. To Board of Education in Taketomi town, Okinawa, that rejected to adopt conservative civil study textbook against a decision of the regional organization, Minister of MEXT, Hakubun Shimomura, instructed Okinawa Board of Education to adjust it. A textbook of Japanese History for high schools, which included description about mandate of hoisting national flag and singing national anthem in schools, was not adopted after Boards of Tokyo and Kanagawa dismissed it.

There is a conservative movement frustrated with traditional liberal tendency in education. Politically based on those groups, PM Abe promotes educational reforms. The administration is considering moral education to be upgraded to an official subject in schools. If it becomes, students are graded according to their achievement in learning specific values given by the government.

With intervention by the government, choices of each school are getting limited. English will be introduced from third grade, two years earlier than it currently has been. Before imposing early English education to kids, the men in MEXT needs to study English to the extent they would never create such a complicated name for their organization.

Irresponsible Roar

Former Prime Minister, Jun-ichiro Koizumi, emotionally asserted his conviction to eliminate nuclear power plant in Japan at Japan Press Club. Yes, he was right in recognizing nuclear generation as unsustainable. But, how are you achieving that, Mr. Koizumi? His simple answer was “Yes, you can, Prime Minister. It’s the best time to do that.” Abe has already answered to the request, “Promising nuclear option is irresponsible”

It was a strange press conference. Coordinator divided the 90 minute session between 80 minute speech by Koizumi and 10 minute Q&A, explaining that Koizumi did not like to answer questions from venue. Actually, he finished his speech in 60 minutes, but questions were limited in three, leaving 10 minutes to go. So, it was too restrictive to call it press conference.

In his long speech, Koizumi emphasized that as long as we have no prospect to build final disposal facility for nuclear waste, all reactors need to be stopped immediately. He insisted on the difficulty of building it in a situation that people are highly skeptical on nuclear energy after the accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Considering the dominance of leading party in both Houses in the Diet, Koizumi recommended Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to made his mind to dismiss all option to resuming nuclear reactors in Japan.

Koizumi carefully avoided protesting against current administration. He dismissed an idea of uniting political power to oppose Abe administration. To the skepticisms against his seriousness, he showed no explanation why he had once promoted building nuclear power plants in Liberal Democratic Party. If he really wants to be relevant on his anti-nuclear opinion, he needs to elaborate why LDP could not get rid of nuclear option for energy demands. Only thing he said was “no regret for revising wrong idea.” What was wrong and how would it be revised, Mr. koizumi?

Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, literally ignored Koizumi’s proposal, saying “He said that with his own conviction.” Abe showed no response to review his resumption policy and exporting nuclear reactors to the world. Reserving room for respect to their former leader, staffs of Abe administration are feeling bitterness on Koizumi’s irregular remarks, which may erode political basis of Abe.

An important viewpoint forgotten by both is what are they doing for victims and sufferers of the disaster. Koizumi focuses on Abe’s political advantage and Abe sees only benefits for economy. There is no morality in their politics.