Retrial on Arsonist Suspects

Two defendants who has been sentenced life in prison were released from twenty-year custody on Tuesday. It was executed under the decision of Osaka Regional Court that ordered retrial of them, doubting investigation of police had been insufficient. The prosecution of those two defendants was mainly made based on their confession. The case was proved not to be about murder, but about violation of human rights by police which investigation had been relying on confession of arrested suspect.

In 1995, fire in a house in Higashi-sumiyoshi, Osaka City, killed eleven-year-old girl who was in the bathroom. Police arrested her mother, Keiko Aoki, and Aoki’s housemate, Tstsuhiro Boku, with suspect of arson and murder for ¥15 million of insurance money on the girl. The fire occurred from an automobile parked just exterior of the bathroom.

Police suspected that Aoki and Boku conspired a murder by putting fire on the car to kill the girl in collateral damage. In the interviews, policemen urged them to confess that they had committed murder and two suspects told them that they killed the girl along with police’s scenario. Two suspects, however, turned down their witnesses in the trial, claiming that their confession was coerced by police. Nevertheless, the court sentenced life in prison on them.

Aoki and Boku kept on requiring retrial from prison. It was seventeen years later from the case when Osaka District Court decided to have the retrial. Although the prosecutors office appealed invalidity of the decision, Osaka High Court dismissed it. The main reason was that the fire was possibly occurred by spontaneous combustion from leaked gasoline. The court found that there were some cases of the leak caused by high pressure inside tank in the same type of cars at the time.

Retrial often leads to a decision of innocent. In Ashikaga Incident in 1990, in which the man was suspected as committing of murder of a girl, the defendant was released with court decision in the retrial. In the murder case of a woman worker with Tokyo Electric Power Company in 1997, a Nepalese man was released from custody in fifteen years. One common element in those cases was that police made a story of crime and coerced the suspect to accept it.

After released from Wakayama Prison, Aoki firmly regretted her confession. “Fear and disappointment devastated myself and my rationality was collapsed. I had to apologize my daughter of my psychological suicide and false confession,” said Aoki in the press conference. One question is what the police will do to recover long period of life two defendants have lost.

Replacement of Constitutional Chair

With a decision as the President of Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe replaced Chairman of Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision to the Constitution, Hajime Funada. Receiving frustration from the party members who thought Funada’s handling of discussion for Constitutional amendment as insufficient, Abe had to change the leader for his prioritized agenda. New chair is not known as an expert of constitutional issues. Abe must have appointed innocent person to deal with the issue by himself.

Funada has been said as responsible for selecting a witness who appealed unconstitutionality of new security bills in a testimony of Commission on the Constitution in House of Councillors in June. The witness, Professor of Waseda University, Yasuo Hasebe, surprised LDP supporters with his elaboration about violation of Article 9 of the Constitution and caused broad protest against new security legislation. The conservatives in LDP regretted Funada’s recommendation of Hasebe to the testimony.

Funada is one of the experts on constitutional amendment, which has been included in LDP’s platform from the beginning of history of the party. Although he is a firm supporter for reviewing the Constitution, Funada has been thinking that broad understanding from the opposite party was indispensable for the agenda. He was actually successful in achieving broad consensus in lowering the age for voting in election from twenty to eighteen. “I have to realize this transfer as an actual replacement,” told Funada about the decision of Abe.

The following chairman, Eisuke Mori, is a figure with no outstanding achievement in constitutional issue. “I think the reason of my pick for the chair should be focusing on making consensus,” told Mori. While Mori stressed his willingness not to invite internal criticism to him from the party, Funada should be the better person to make consensus in terms of cooperating with the opposite parties.

Speculations of Japanese media that constitutional amendment will be delayed by the appointment of a novice to the crucial post in LDP should be wrong. Abe can be thinking that innocent man will be more controllable than experienced expert. It is likely that Mori will simply follow the idea coming down from Abe or other leaders around him. The main focus of discussion over constitution will be whether supporters of amendment will occupy two-third majority in both Houses, lacking a sense of making broad consensus of the nation.

Adaptation to International Climate

Japanese government released a draft of adaptation plan to reduce impact of global warming on its society and economy for next ten years. Planned measures included reinforcing infrastructure to minimize damage caused by flood or developing new technology to block harmful insects around rice pad. While it should be a progress for the Japanese to step from mitigation into adaptation, its governmental measures are always inclined to top-down style concepts.

The plan was made in seven fields: natural industry, water resource, ethnic cycle, natural disaster, health, business and daily life. The government of Japan is going to discuss how the plan will meet regional demands. The plan is expected to be authorized by Shinzo Abe Cabinet before the beginning of the Twenty-first Conference of Parties of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris next month.

With anticipation of short and concentrated heavy rain, the draft encourages building stronger levees along major rivers to buy time for evacuation. While seeking solidity of infrastructure, it also recommends the people moving their houses from lower land to hills. Nemuro, located the most eastern city in Japan, suffered from high tide of Pacific Ocean several times this year, which was suspected as affected by rise of temperature of seawater. Japanese government seemed to regard the phenomenon as preventable by higher concrete wall against tide.

The government is also active in protecting Japan’s one of the main agricultural products: rice. The draft required the government to develop new method of preventing tropical disease of rice or severe impact of climate change by 2019. To maintain health of the people, the plan proposes new preventive measures against heatstroke or introducing robot in heavy labor under the sun.

With expectation of growing number of Japanese deer, the plan recommends making new method of controlling them. To deal with scarcity of drinking water, it requires higher technology of reusing rainwater or sewage. For the region losing seasonal businesses, including ski resorts or coastal area, the government may be recommending new business model.

All those measures are tools to appeal Japan’s readiness for climate change in the international society. Receiving requests of adaptation measures from developing countries suffering from severe impact of global warming, developed countries are becoming active in presenting effective efforts. Not only European nations, but the government of China or Republic of Korea, has determined adaptation plan. It is an defensive action for the government of Japan to make original plan of adaptation.

Sino-British Honeymoon

Chinese President Xi Jinping met British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in London on Wednesday, declaring new business deals amounting £30 billion. It was a bolt from the blue for Japanese policy makers, who had been focusing on maintaining Japan-United States alliance. Competition between Japanese companies and Chinese business sector in Britain should be active for coming years.

Japanese newspapers quoted Xi’s speech in Royal Gallery as “It is fair to say that China and U.K. are increasingly interdependent and becoming a community of shared interests.” They also introduced Cameron’s elaboration that U.K.-China relation was reaching “new golden era.” The protocol of British government, including welcome ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace with attendance of Queen Elizabeth or a speech at the Parliament, was reported as enthusiastic reception of British people in Japanese media.

Actually, two Chinese companies including China General Nuclear Power Group is going to invest in new nuclear power plant in Hinkley Point, located southeast of England, operated by a U.K. major energy company, EDF Energy. Chinese companies are sharing 33.5% of the investment in whole project. Other Chinese companies are willing to invest in high-speed train system between London and major cities in central England and other infrastructure projects for housing. It is inevitable that those positive involvements of China in British business will compete with ongoing projects with Japanese companies like Hitachi or Toshiba.

China and Britain are also deepening their relationship in monetary policies. They expect broader settlement service in Chinese Yuan in London Market or future issuing of British national bond in Renminbi. Chinese government has been requiring International Monetary Fund to include Renminbi in the currencies for special drawing right, which is constituted by U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and U.K. Pound. According to Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the share of Renminbi in international settlement rose up to the fourth place, taking over Japanese Yen. U.K. is willing to include China in international monetary system so much as deciding to join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank initiated by China.

It was common in Japanese media that the chief motivation of China to approach U.K. was to counteract emerging free trade framework in Asia-Pacific region, called Trans-Pacific Partnership. China was described as trying to escape from containment policy by U.S. or Japan. That matched expectation of U.K., which was searching for alternative economic policy not dependent on European Union.

Apartment House on Volcanic Land

It started at a large housing complex in Yokohama. Some residents found a gap between the same floors of two connected buildings. It was proved to be caused by leaning of one of the two buildings with false basic construction. The constructor had been fabricating data of basic structure underground. Within weeks, such unstable buildings were found in all over Japan. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism embarked on investigation.

On the volcanic land with frequent earthquake like Japan, constructor ties the basis of a building to bedrock underground with a number of piles. In the case of condo building in Yokohama, 6 piles out of 473 did not reach the bedrock. A supervisor of Asahi Kasei Construction Material reported wrong data about piles, as if all piles had reached bedrock. The false data were mainly found in piles driven at the last period of the construction.

The company was in charge of the same basic construction for over 3,000 buildings in Japan. The parent company, Asahi Kasei, known as producer of chemical materials including Hebel House and plastic wrap called Saranwrap, revealed that the supervisor in the Yokohama building had been in charge of 41 constructions in central Japan. The company started detailed investigation about the data of basic construction of all buildings they dealt with.

Residents were frustrated with unexpected fabrication of construction data. Most of them are owners of each room, who made the most expensive purchase in their lifetime for raising kids or comfortable post-retirement life. The developer of Yokohama building, Mitsui Real Estate Residential, is accumulating meetings with the residents about details of data fabrication. The company indicated possible compensation with total rebuilding, which would cause a huge cost.

If other inclination of building were revealed one after another, it will cause fatal damage on Asahi Kasei with great amount of compensation on it. Credibility on major developers will also decline, because personal decision of owning a house cannot be made so many times in one’s life. The impact of inclining of a luxury condo building in Yokohoma is spreading immediately to all over Japan.

MLIT launched an internal meeting to research the fact and required Asahi Kasei submitting data of their all buildings in these ten years. A fundamental question is, however, whether the method of construction to connect building with bedrock is viable in terms of cost and technology on this land. While collective house is convenient in narrow volcanic country, its side effect is not thoroughly cultivated.

Struggle over Diet Session

Five opposite parties in the Diet submitted each House a request for convoking extraordinary session this fall. In spite of the demand based on a provision in the Constitution of Japan, the leading parties are reluctant to have a session. It will be unusual that a Diet session will not be held against an official request. The reason is simple. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is afraid of eruption of scandals from his Cabinet through the discussion.

Those five opposite parties were Democratic Party of Japan, Innovation Party, Japan Communist Party, Social Democratic Party and People’s Life Party. They joined collective action to demand new session immediately to review negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership or hear opinion of each Ministers of Abe Cabinet reshuffled last month. “When a quarter or more of the total members of either House makes the demand, the Cabinet must determine on such convocation,” says Article 53 of Constitution of Japan.

After unilateral passage of new security bills in last session, the opposite parties were searching for an opportunity to criticize political handling of Abe. Fortunately, some scandals rose up around new Ministers. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Hiroshi Moriyama, and Minister of Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Sports, Hiroshi Hase, were doubted as having received suspicious money from private companies. Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territory Affairs, Aiko Shimajiri, distributed calendar to her supporters, which can be suspected as violating a law against inappropriate donation. A weekly magazine reported that Minister for Reconstruction, Tsuyoshi Takagi, had committed theft of underwear of young woman years ago.

It is likely that the nightmare of last fall occupied Abe’s mind. Two Ministers had to step down with money scandals after the discussion in extraordinary session of the Diet a year ago. If new session is held this fall, it is highly possible that Abe will face further decline of supporting rate in a period of concentrated effort to rebuild his economic policy. “We need to prioritize Prime Minister’s schedule of diplomacy,” told Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga.

But, diplomacy of Prime Minister is always scheduled every fall. Abe seems to be trying to escape from discussion against him. Although the Constitution does not determine how soon the Diet session has to be convoked, it is necessary for the administration to comply with demand of “the highest organ of state power.”

Inappropriate Relationship over Henoko Relocation

Neutrality of a consulting committee for relocation of Futenma Marine Air Base in Okinawa to Henoko is questioned. Asahi Shimbun reported that some of the members of Environmental Observation Committee on Relocation of Alternative Facility of Futenma Air Base, established by national government with request of former governor of Okinawa, had received donation from the developers of construction of in Henoko. Although the donation did not violate any law, any decision made by the committee had to be suspected as in favor of national policy to build new base against public opinion in Okinawa.

According to Asahi, suspected members included chairman of the committee, Yoshiyuki Nakamura, a professor of Graduate School in Yokohama National University. Developer for construction of the alternative facilities in Henoko or consulting firm donated to three members, the total amount rose up to ¥11 million. The donation was made after those firms achieved the bit for construction project in Henoko. While the donation went through universities to which the members affiliated, they did not have to report to what purpose the donation would be spent.

Another member, Takeshi Hara, Chairman of Japan Fisheries Science and Technology Association, was listed as a board member of a non-profit organization headed by chairman of a consultant firm that received a number of contracts for projects in Henoko. Hara had been receiving ¥2 million of annual reward from the NPO.

All the suspected committee members insisted that donation had not affected the discussion in the committee. But, the committee was dealing with important issues for preserving environment around Henoko coastal area, such as protecting dugongs or transplanting coral reefs. Every meeting was not open to the public and transcript of discussion did not disclose the name of speaker. No one outside the community can realize whether the donation affected to the discussion. In addition, Asahi revealed that the operation of the committee was confided to another consultant firm that had received many businesses for Henoko relocation.

Governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, did not care the close relationship between developers and the committee members, because he had ordered halting the relocation project in Henoko. For him, the committee has already been useless. But, the scandal reflected usual fabrication of “neutral opinion” by bureaucrats in Tokyo. By sending preferable persons to consultative committee, they pave a way for their controversial policies. Bureaucrats believe in a saying: God dwells in the details.