Are We Nuclear Proliferators?

It is unusual for a power generation company to sell uranium. Several newspapers reported on Thursday that the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) had sold its stock of uranium for nuclear power generation. Although the company made no comment on the fact and purpose of the selling, reports supposed that it was necessary to maintain the balance of budget of the company, which suffered from the suspension policy of nuclear reactors until safety would be assured. By the way, where the uranium came from and go to is unclear. The concern of nuclear proliferation, whish has been argued after the accident of the First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, is coming true.

It is unclear which stage the sold uranium was on. As is often discussed, uranium processing for power generation takes four steps, mining, milling into yellow cake, enriching, and fabrication as fuel. JAPC did not mention which stage the sold uranium was on. It also unknown where the uranium was sold to. Nuclear power companies in Japan import uranium from the dealers in Canada or Australia. The reports suppose that it is possible to have sold the uranium back to those exporters.

JAPC has three reactors in Japan. Among those, the second reactor of Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant can be going to be shut down, because an active fault was found right under the facility. The regulation rule of Japan does not allow to build nuclear plant on an active fault. Other two reactors’ operations were suspended wanting to safety assurance. As a company totally dependent on nuclear power generation, JAPC lost its main source of income. Selling uranium is an attempt to survive the crisis for nuclear power companies after the Fukushima accident.

World trend dealing with nuclear materials, however, is going toward reducing the total quantity. In the discussion of Iranian nuclear development, who provides the resource is a big problem. Although non-proliferation network has been build among developed countries, North Korea has been accumulating plutonium and uranium from somewhere, and keeps on operating nuclear weapons test. Even though it may have not been weapon-grade highly enriched uranium, Japan can be embarrassingly dubbed as a nuclear proliferator.

The international uranium market is too complicated to determine which uranium is going to where. In Japan, the Tokyo Electronic Power Company, which owns broken nuclear plant in Fukushima and owes huge debt for compensation to displaced people in the region, is supposed to going to sell its uranium. As a matter of fact, the discussion on bankruptcy of power companies is inevitable. But the politics is highly reluctant to talk about it. It must be the time to seek an option to start bankruptcy proceedings for some companies, and maintain energy supply regardless those economically irrelevant companies.

Wrestling for Wrestling

It is highly unusual for Japan, the United States, Russia and Iran to make a coalition. The wrestling associations from those countries are working together to avoid deregistration of wrestling from the list of Olympic games. The success of the cooperation may cause Olympic games to regain the reputation of “festival of peace.”

The decision of the International Olympic Committee was reported with surprise and anger in these countries. The committee listed wrestling as a candidate to be dropped from Olympic games as of 2020. Wrestling was picked up from five choices; others were modern pentathlon, taekwondo, canoeing and ground hockey. The reason why wrestling was chosen is not clear. Many expected that the most likely candidate for the dropping was taekwondo, which is Korean traditional martial art. But it is reported that South Korea positively lobbied to the committee to make taekwondo survive.

As nations with great number of medalists, US expressed its disappointment on the decision. Emphasizing the significance of wrestling as traditional item of Olympic games in ancient Greece, Russia accused the president of the International Wrestling Federation of his weak lobbying. For Iranians, wrestling is closely connected with religion. According to a report of New York Times, “Legendary Persian kings would wrestle their opponents in epic battles. The first Shiite saint, Imam Ali, was said to be a wrestler.” Those three countries have good reason to cooperate with each other, while they are frequently oppose each other over nuclear development of Iran.

In Japan, the decision was reported with big headlines. Because the skills for wrestling are close to judo, Japan produced many medalists in Olympics. Wrestling has been one of the few items in which Japan can frequently get medals. The government of Japan awarded Saori Yoshida, who got three consecutive gold medals of 55kg class in last three Olympic games, to be the National Honor.

Tokyo is one of four candidates of 2020 Olympic games. There are a number of posters alongside of streets in the city, on which a picture of Yoshida delighted with her fists raised over her head at the moment of winning the final in London Olympic games last year. On the poster, there is a message that reads “This excitement again in Tokyo.” But if wrestling is dropped from 2020 Olympic games, the excitement will never be seen, making the poster message a bad joke.

It is the rare case that those four countries share the same one interest. So, it should be a deal for the president of the IOC, Jacque Rogge, to negotiate with those wrestling giants to make a breakthrough on Iranian nuclear dispute as the condition of wrestling’s survival.

Slow Cloud from China

The government of Japan is setting new measures against the aggression of China from the air. It is not about the areal invasion of Chinese aircraft around Senkaku Islands, but about air pollution of particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), chemical particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers produced by industries or car exhaustion in China, flying on the Westerlies. Although the government recommends its nations some defensive activities such as refraining from going out of house, it would have few effects unless the relationship between two governments is improved.

The economic growth of China puts pressure not only on its nations, but also neighbor countries. A lot of factories of steel makers, chemical producers, or car industries emit smoke in the air. But with those industries, the Chinese experienced economic growth. With growing income, the workers can eventually afford to buy cars. Those huge numbers of cars emit further exhaust fumes. The small particles which consist of the emission gas harm not only the health of residents in the cities with factories, but also people in Japan, especially in the western side of it. It is the responsibility of Chinese government to take some measures to reduce the gas. China is an irresponsible stakeholder so far.

Those particles are brought to Japan by yellow sands flying from Chinese desert area. The Ministry of Environment of Japan already has standards on PM 2.5. The ministry is enhancing it. As one of the new measures, it takes on financial support for cities to set new measurement assets of PM 2.5. It is also planning to make a guideline for the people. It includes the recommendation of refraining from going out of house, of wearing a mask, or of watching out for kids, the olds and patients of lung or heart disease, when the monitors marked certain high.

Japan has a lot of things to do for reducing air pollution originated in China. Japan went through hard times of air pollution caused by rapid economic growth in 1960s and 1970s. Companies developed high-level technology for reducing bad effect on people, which can be adopted to China, too. Current administration in Japan, however, does not have normal relationship with China. It is difficult for government officials or private sectors to deal with cooperation with Chinese industries. As a result, the government of Japan cannot help its nations from air pollution. The issue needs to be recognized as a mater of national security.

After the spring break, the Chinese people return from their hometowns to the cities, and resume their work and daily activity. The emission is again coming in the air. In Japan, March is a season of pollen allergy. People need to be more careful of what is in the air. 

United under a Symbol

After the extraordinary disaster beat the country, the Emperor has well been playing his role as a symbol of Japan and unification of Japanese nation. His activity to rend the nations mental stability and security has been broadly accepted especially by the sufferers of the tragedy, while the politics has been lagging behind helping them. Going through the major surgery of heart disease, he is looking forward to doing his job.

He marked one-year period from his surgery to bypassing in coronary artery on Monday. A year ago, the Emperor, then 78, suffered from stricture of artery with wastes in his body. He set a condition of having operation, which was that he could be attending the one-year memorial ceremony of the Great Northeastern Earthquake within one month from his operation. That is an episode showing his eagerness of playing his role in the crisis of the nation.

After that, he aggressively made his visits in and out of Japan. The trips include the United Kingdom and over forty cities in Japan. With moderate rehabilitation, he keeps his usual walking around the house and resumed his favorite tennis. Officers of the Imperial Household Agency emphasize the success of the operation a year ago, and stress his physical and mental good health.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported an interview to a doctor who operated the surgery. Dr. Atsushi Amano told, in the interview, that he convinced in the success of the surgery when the Emperor finished the trip to UK, and proved the strength of his health to be better than that before the surgery. Amano also revealed the Emperor’s willingness to do his job, even against the anxiety of the Empress. That passion seems to have overcame his illness.

In 1960s and 1970s, when anti-conservatism was aggressive, the Emperor of Japan was a target of the argument over responsibility of World War II among young generation. The movement was so closely connected with socialism that it eventually diminished with decline of communist regime represented by the Soviet Union. Current Emperor Akihito succeeded to the throne in 1989, when Soviet Union was ending its history.

While the age of Akihito’s Heisei has been relatively stable, the great earthquake determined Akihito’s character in Japanese history. With his compassionate visit to the sufferers, the Japanese are, more than ever since the end of the war, feeling united under the existence of him. That’s why there were concerted criticisms in Japan against the unilateral request of apology by Korean president. But it also is difficult for him to deal with the relationship with aggressive China. The neighbor countries around Japan, anyway, have to correctly understand how the Japanese are united under His Majesty, even how they are look like politically divided.

Gang Style Monetary Policy

The Minister of Finance, Taro Aso, arrived at Moscow wearing a black hat on his head. Reported as a gang style minister, Aso must not be feeling bad, because it had not been the case that Japanese foreign minister get attention from foreign media in international conference. Even how a stylist minister become feeling good in the flash lights, the statement of Group 20 Financial Architecture Meeting in Moscow marked a corner of Japanese monetary policy manipulated by governmental incentives.

The statement urged every party not to be involved in competitive devaluations without directly mentioning any particular country. While analysts recognize it as an approval on current aggressive policy of Japan and foresee Japanese yen continues to get down, the statement also made clear that G20 would maintain its commitment in market-determined exchange rate systems. The government of Japan needs more than ever to be careful in its economic policy not to be criticized as monetary manipulation.

“I explained that what Abe administration had done was doing its best to get rid of deflation. We got a certain understanding,” told Aso after the meeting. But the understanding was mostly came from G7 countries and international organizations. Non-G7 countries such as Mexico and Brazil were skeptical about the intention of Japanese monetary policy. They observe current move of foreign exchange to have stemmed from some domestic factors of parties.

Every country agrees with avoiding currency war. “The most important conclusion was that the meeting was not wrapped by ‘currency war’ agitation created by media,” told the gang style minister. It is not fair for a leader of economic policy making to turn our eyes off the significance of the meeting. The message of the parties was that they would not allow any manipulation of foreign exchange rate, while all of them want Japanese economy to be stable. The selfish attitude of ignoring inconvenient opinion and keep on pursuing his own interest should be resembled gang style.

The behavior of Aso should be determined as infantile. He often pretends himself to be a cartoon hero. How he looks like is the most important for him. This time, he wanted to play his role as a boss of currency mafia, who negotiates on monetary policies in the background of leaders meeting. But his style has nothing to do with national interest of Japan, but his own interest of making his own legacy in his own heart.

We should remember that the substantial figure representing Japan at the meeting was leaving chairman of the Bank of Japan, Masaaki Shirakawa. “We need to carefully look at actual move, then to decently listen to various opinions, and to search for ideal shape,” told Shirakawa in the press conference after the G20 meeting. Japan needs to listen carefully to what others say.

Think Twice about Marrying American Guy

Japan is going to make another decision without fundamental discussion on international argument. The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed on accepting the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, or the Hague Treaty. Leaving a question about conceptual difference over parental rights, the National Diet of Japan will adopt the treaty in May. Main reason is that every developed country is joining the treaty. To have independent discussion does not matter for political leaders.

The treaty deals with the cases in which one of the divorced parents have taken a child away out of the country and another parent loses opportunities to meet the child. A signatory owes duty to find the child and return back. The United States has been requiring Japan to approve the treaty, because there are a growing number of cases that an American father wants to return his kid from Japan. The typical reason that Japanese mother would take her kid to her home country is to escape from domestic violence of her husband.

The point is very simple. There is a difference of concept on who has the right to access their kid after they divorced. The Japanese civil law determines that only one of the divorced parents can have parental rights on their child, while both of them can have that right in US. In Japan, it is basically the decision of a father or a mother with parental rights whether or not he/she let the kid meet another parent. On the other hand, both of the divorced parents share the right to approach their kids whenever they need.

The most important point for Japan has, therefore, been whether a Japanese parent can dismiss the request of returning a child to America when there is a reasonable possibility of violence. But the political leaders decided to accept the treaty without any guarantee of protection for child.

It is likely that the leaders might have regarded the treaty as a diplomatic tool. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to visit US later this month. Though he has been willing to meet President Obama to demonstrate good Japan-US relationship, no major agenda had been set for the summit. Abe gave up to get conclusion of the relocation of Futenma Marine Air Base in Okinawa, and could not get a freehand on the negotiation over Trans-Pacific Partnership. He still cannot find a fruit of the meeting. The Hague Treaty may be recognized as one of the few “souvenirs,” which makes Obama to be positive for a dialogue with Japan to gain his political advantage. As long as Japanese leaders are submissive to US, a young Japanese woman has to be cautious in marrying with a handsome US guy.

Nuclear War Again?

The leaders of both Japan and the United States demonstrated common concern and united effort against North Korea’s nuclear ambition in a telephone talk on Thursday. Remarkable description of President Barack Obama was that US reminded North Korea of the power of existing nuclear weapons. Hasn’t US determined nuclear weapons as unusable long time ago? It is not sure whether nuclear deterrence works today. The escalation over nuclear intimidation would make people in Northeast Asia closer to the nuclear war again in this region.

Both leaders agreed that they needed a new stronger resolution in the Security Council of the United Nations to punish current nuclear test in North Korea. The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, required US of further sanction on wire transferring of North Korea, which indicates registering it again as one of the terrorist nations.

Obama replied to Abe’s request of strong measures, saying “The commitment of US to defend Japan is unshakable, with the deterrence of the nuclear umbrella of US.” Acknowledging that North Korea is getting close to the possession of intercontinental ballistic missiles, reaching US homeland soil, the President expressed his determination to deal with the emerging nuclear power in a country which US president once called one of the rogue nations.

The hawkish side of Japan welcomed Obama’s comment as a firm commitment on this issue. But the government of Japan cannot obtain the details of what’s going on in North Korea. The Asahi Shimbun introduced a comment of a Japanese official, saying “There should be a lot of secrets between US and North Korea, which the Japanese don’t know.” Whether the nuclear umbrella will work for the security of Japan would totally depend on US decision.

Threat is determined by capability and intention. While we know capability of nuclear North Korea to some extent, their intention of developing those weapons is still not clear. It is likely that the leaders of North Korea are using those weapons as a diplomatic tool for maintaining their regime. And it is unclear that they are willing to actually use the weapons, because using them means the end of North Korean history as a nation.

The Northeast Asia is a place where the first nuclear war was fought, even though it was unilateral. US response to North Korea’s nuclear intimidation may lead to another nuclear war. The Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, mentioned North Korea as a nuclear power. The President mentioned nuclear umbrella. US looks like going closer to the second nuclear war.