Precipitation of Bilateral Relation

Crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 will have significant impact on Japan’s diplomacy toward Russia. Although Shinzo Abe administration still expects a progress in bilateral relationship taking opportunity of planned official visit to Japan by Russian President, Vladimir Putin, this fall, situation of international relations over Ukraine will not allow it. If Abe insists on making a deal with Putin, it will put Japan in a further isolated standpoint in the Western side, in addition to skepticism to Japan over easing sanction against North Korea as a bargaining with abduction issue.

Abe stressed on keeping momentum with Putin on Saturday, after concerted criticism against Russia emerged from the Western side. “We demand Russia to be constructively involved in many problems in international society as a responsible state. I will continue dialogue with Putin,” told Abe in his speech in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. “We will make efforts,” he said about shooting Flight 17 down, “in cooperation with international society. Any conflict has to be solved through diplomacy based on international law.” On negotiation for peace treaty with Russia, he insisted on withstanding negotiation.

As investigation proceeds, it becomes clear that pro-Russian militants, which has been supported by military procurement from Russia, were guilty in Flight 17 case. Russia was obviously frustrated with additional sanction set by the Western countries, which made a good reason to show resistance. While Russia may raise conspiracy theory by the Western side, new facts such as purchase of surface-to-air missile from Russia broaden skepticism on pro-Russian militants in Ukraine. Sacrifice of innocent lives amounting to nearly three hundred was too much to be a tool of solving an international conflict.

Japan needs to realize that it cannot go forward unless Russia proves to be not guilty in this attack on the airplane. The Western side is considering another sanction against Russia. In this situation, it is obvious that Russia will only approach to Japan to take advantage of the relationship. It is likely for Russia to try to make a deal in energy sales, but breakthrough in Northern Territory issue cannot be brought, because it does not lead to final solution for improving relationship with the West. Japan should not expect dramatic progress.

In principle, the Northern Territory was occupied by Russia at the end of the World War II, in the same manner as it did to Ukraine. The best way for Japan is keep on criticizing Russia, even if it distances from a bilateral deal. It should show a bold approach by canceling summit talk this fall.
(Revised July 21st)

Draft to Secret Government

The Information Preservation Consultative Conference of the government of Japan released a draft for actual measures in application of the Designated Secrecy Act that passed the Diet last December. Concerning strong opposition in the public against possible manipulation by governmental authorities, the conference proposed establishing two new organizations for watching incorrect moves and new system for whistle-blowing. However, there will be no change in the nature of the law possibly oppressing rights of the people.

The draft categorized information to conceal from public eyes into fifty-five kinds. They include activities of Self-defense Forces for protecting safety of Japan, diplomatic information related to negotiation with foreign countries in protecting lives of Japanese people or preserving Japan’s territory, plots and studies for preventing designated harmful activities or cyber attacks, and cooperation with other countries to prevent terrorism. In applying actual measures, the government would not arbitrarily interpret the law, not violating fundamental human rights the Constitution guarantees, and take good care of freedom of report in relationship with press and journalism.

New organizations were Cabinet Preservation Overseeing Committee, which members would be top bureaucrats in ministries, and Information Preservation Overseeing Section, which would deal with official works for Independent Archives Overseer. Although they will request materials, explanation or correction to the Ministers of Cabinet, they do not have authority to coerce it. It is still possible for bureaucrats to conceal information, which is inconvenient for them.

The draft named nineteen governmental organizations, such as Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, National Security Council, or Nuclear Regulation Authority, which determine designated secrets. Each of those organizations will have whistle-blowing system for the staffs to report illegal activities. However, the whistle-blower needs to report without mentioning the secret, because revealing it may violate Designated Secrecy Act.

While the act is going to be activated before the end of this year, people are still worried about excessive accumulation of information and regulation over people’s activities. Bureaucracy does not care about those anxiety and show willingness to include transparency in the system. The Diet looks to be powerless in building system to get rid of oppressive activities of the government. It is no change in the fact that the law will mark a starting point of making secret authority in the government.

Pro-blood or Pro-law

To the question about distinguishing a true father, the Supreme Court chose legal status of a child rather than biological tie. It sentenced on Thursday that one cannot dismiss relationship between parents and children, even if biological test proved no connection of blood. Concerning the Civil Law that determines a child during parents’ marriage to be their child, the Court recognized child’s legal stability as the most precious. Some may be frustrated with a question: Why isn’t biological father a true father?

The sentence was on the cases of three families, in each of which the mother bore a child of another man. In two of them, parents were divorced and child is now living with mother and biological father, but divorced father required confirmation of legal status as a father. In another case, child is still living with father and mother, but DNA test already proved that the child is biologically another man’s child. The father required dismissing family relationship with the child.

The sentence of the Supreme Court was based on a concept called “assumption of legitimate child,” which recognized a child of a mother as a child of her husband as long as their marriage were legally maintained. The concept was included in the Civil Law in 1898, when old paternal principle still existed in Japanese society, and there was no technology, such as DNA test, for determining biological father. Nevertheless, the Court chose traditional recognition that a child would be happy, if he/she had been able to stay in a family legally recognized.

The sentence produced happy stories and tragedies. One of the two fathers, who was acknowledged as legal father of the child, was delighted, saying “Finally, I was realized as true father.” For him, the sentence vested him a right to meet his child as father. On the other hand, the mother should be frustrated. The child is currently regarded as a stepchild of biological father. The mother, her husband and the child could not fulfill their hope for living as normal families. Making a big contrast, the father who wanted to be separated from another man’s child must be disappointed. He will still suffer from demand for raising the kid with financial support.

It must be preferable for men and women to happily maintain their family and they have to pay a toll of taking a risk of having external relationship that harms family ties. Having said that, law should not eliminate opportunities for them to take better choice. As seen in a provision which prohibits a woman to be married with another man within six months after her divorce, the Civil Law of Japan is too old to let the people fully pursue their happiness. Legal support for those complicated families is definitely needed.

Not Safe But

Nuclear Regulation Authority assessed that two reactors in Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima prefecture fulfilled new standard of regulation the government of Japan laid out after disastrous accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant three years ago. However, NRA rejected determining whether Sendai plant was safe or not. It put emergency evacuation plan under local government. All nuclear reactors in Japan recognized malfunction of regulation system as green light for resumption.

New regulation standard demanded all nuclear power plants to make emergency policy for severe accident in earthquake or tsunami. Clearing standard for earthquake and tsunami in March, Sendai has been the top runner for resuming its operation. After receiving public comments for a month, NRA is supposed to announce official announcement to Sendai in November.

On evacuation plan made by local government, the authority refused to comment, claiming that it was not authorized to do that. Alternative control room, which will be important in case main control room is shut down, has yet been built. Ventilation system with filter, which will be necessary for limiting radioactive materials in exhaling air from the plant, will be settled in 2016. Necessary safeguarding system will not be aligned by resumption this fall.

There are some active volcanoes around Sendai plant. It is possible that pyroclastic flow with over five hundred degrees Celsius will come down to the plant with speed of sixty mph in the time of major explosion. In spite of no concrete plan to avoid it, NRA ignored this risk.

The chairman of NRA, Shun-ichi Tanaka, refused to say Senday was safe. “They would be power company, regional residents and national government who decide the resumption. We have nothing to do with it,” Tanaka told. On the other side, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told that the government depended on NRA in the assessment of safety. Abe administration and NRA were pushing responsibility on each other.

Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, sees only positive impact of nuclear plants resumption on economy. In the situation of higher oil price, which affects thermal power generation, Abe goes forward to resume all the power plants. Sendai must become the first attempt for that goal. Voices from Fukushima, which strongly appeal not to be dependent on nuclear power, have not heard at all. Is it the time for the Japanese to forget incredible disaster, which confiscated houses, land and local community for over one hundred thousand people?

Expansion of Defense

Legislators hurled a lot of questions at Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in the concentrated discussion over collective self-defense in committees of both Houses of the Diet. Abe, however, swayed and ducked without directly answering them, threatening status of the highest organ of state power. Instead, he revealed unlimited ambition for unleashing Japan’s military power. Politics in Japan looks to be losing control.

In the Cabinet decision to reinterpret the Constitution for exercising collective self-defense force, Abe offered new three conditions to exercise right of self-defense. Before the reinterpretation, they had been existence of imminent and unlawful infringement, no other appropriate measures to remove, and limiting for minimum necessity. New three conditions changed the expression of the first one into “not only when an armed attack against Japan but also when an armed attack against a foreign country that is in a close relationship with Japan occurs and as a result threatens Japan’s survival and poses a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”

Although Abe and his staffs insisted on that new conditions would work for limiting use of force, discussion in the Diet revealed unlimited reinterpretation of the Constitution. On possibility of dispatching troops for clearance of floating mines in Persian Gulf, Abe did not rule out applying concept of collective self-defense, when disturbance of oil export to Japan would “threaten Japan’s survival and pose a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” In other words, Japan can use its force, even as a mater of mine sweeping, when its leader recognize threat for Japan’s survival.

The opposite parties criticized Abe’s explanation as violating the Constitution, which determined that use of force in foreign country was prohibited. While promising that he would keep a principle of defense-oriented security policy, Abe regarded that sea-lane defense as an exception. It is hard for the public, anyway, to realize danger of Japanese tanker in Hormuz Strait as equivalent to direct missile attack on their homeland.

Abe also revealed his intention to make Japanese Self-defense Force join international collective security measures, the concept which he avoided writing on Cabinet decision not to invite further criticism from political coalition partner, New Komeito. If Japanese government makes it possible, restriction against use of force in overseas will lose its fundamental reason.

Shock from Local Community

One gubernatorial election shook the administration running toward “ordinary” country. In the election for the governor of Shiga prefecture, located in the center of mainland Honshu, former Representative, Daizo Mikazuki, defeated former bureaucrat in Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Takashi Koyari, with slight margin. Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, admitted that his security agenda over reinterpretation of the Constitution affected the result. It proved that opposition to collective self-defense is still strong in local community.

According to the polls, voters were mostly interested in welfare and economy. Although Mikazuki insisted on getting rid of dependence on nuclear energy, the policy which has been upheld by incumbent governor, Yukiko Kada, voters did not positively respond to the choice between the nuclear or renewable. Baseline of the election became a choice between representative of local community or bureaucracy in Tokyo. As a former Representative affiliated with Democratic Party of Japan, Mikazuki rejected supports from the party now in opposite position. Koyari received support from leading Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.

When voters looked into the structure, inferior elements were more on the side of LDP. The hasted Cabinet decision on collective self-defense broadly planted negative image to the public that Abe is going ahead without listening to opinions of the people. In addition, arrogance unequivocally emerged from the party. Minister of Environment, Nobuteru Ishihara, boasted as if he would solve the problem of intermediate facility for nuclear debris with power of money. Sexual harassments of local assembly members revealed LDP’s basic ignorance about human rights of women.

In the discussion at the House of Representatives on Monday, Abe told that he could not deny the negative impact of his decision on the election. “In fact, understanding of the nation is insufficient. I would be careful in persuasion,” said Abe. But the fact that he put the highest priority on the decision rather than getting public support will not be recovered immediately.

Whether or not Abe understands it, opposition of local community is based on the situation of economy. Job losses are serious problem for local community and more people seek jobs in Japan Self-defense Force. Abe’s security policy definitely exposes JSDF personnel to dangerous situation by getting into war of others. People know well about the true meaning of exercising collective self-defense right, which must be taking advantage of economic hardship in local area.

Keep on Launching

North Korea does not stop launching missiles and rockets to Japan Sea. It consumed over one hundred rockets with multiple launch system on Monday. Although it has been said that each launch had some kinds of message, one cannot help be worried about that extravagance in military expenditure. Among concerted accusation against violation of the resolution United Nations has passed, Japan goes alone with softer attitude to the North, with which it is on a way to make a deal on abductees issue.

Consecutive demonstration of the North is obviously signs of its frustration on security situation in Northeast Asia. It launched three rockets on June 26^th, two short-range missiles on June 29^th, and two rockets on July 2^nd. All of them were regarded as protests against China-South Korea summit meeting in Seoul on July 3^rd. It was highly unusual for Chinese top leader to skip North Korea in visiting Korean Peninsula. Although China’s aim had been performing close relationship with South Korea against Japan, the North showed sharp response against China ignoring it.

North Korea’s excitement did not cease after the bilateral meeting between China and South Korea. It launched two short-range missiles on July 9^th, the day China and United States held Security and Economic Dialogue in Beijing. Korean Central News Agency reported the test as conducted under the command of First Secretary of Korean Labor Party, Kim Jong-un. According to the Agency, it was in order to reassuring military capability of a striking company in the west front. The North delivered two scud missiles on July 13^th, supposedly a protest against entry of U.S. Carrier, George Washington, to the port of Busan, South Korea.

Japan has made no action against the North’s missile launches except superficial denouncing. Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, criticized the North’s missile launch on Sunday as violation of U.N. resolution and revealed Japan’s opposition through diplomatic channel in Beijing. However, he emphasized his willingness to continue negotiation with the North, saying “Missile launches does not affect negotiation over abductees issue.”

The fact that the North launched rockets the day after having a senior officials meeting with Japan showed its low interest in resolving the issue. Decades-long unshaken attitude of the North has been watching only U.S. Other players were out of its sight. In this situation with high security tension over the peninsula, no leaders in Japan can expect any diplomatic breakthrough with the North.