Japan

Okinawans Want Their Land Back. Is That So Hard To Understand?

May 30, 2015 Jon Letman, www.truth-out.org Resist! Imperialism, Japan, Land Rights, Wars and Militarism

Living in a country where people learn world geography through frequently fought overseas wars, Americans are accustomed to reading about places where we've fought wars - Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. But one formerly war-ravaged part of the world most Americans don't think much about is Okinawa. Once the independent kingdom of Ryukyu, Okinawa, was annexed by Japan in 1872. At the end of World War II, exactly 70 years ago, Okinawa was the site of one of the war's most ferocious battles. Caught between the armies of Japan and the United States, Okinawans suffered unspeakable horrors during the "typhoon of steel."

Thousands Protest Against US Airbase In Japan’s Okinawa

May 18, 2015 Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com Resist! Colonialism, Japan, Wars and Militarism

Thousands of people have protested in Okinawa against a controversial US marine airbase in the southern Japanese island, as a two-decade-long row over the relocation of the site deepens. The massive demonstrations on Sunday aimed to pressure Tokyo to halt building work for the military base that has continued despite vehement opposition from the local government in Okinawa. Okinawa is home to more than half of the 47,000 US service personnel stationed in Japan as part of a defence alliance, a proportion many of the island's residents say is too high. Washington announced plans to move the Futenma airbase in 1996, hoping to ease tensions with the host community after the gang-rape of a schoolgirl by servicemen.

Food Fear Lands Japan in Court Over US Trade Deal

May 17, 2015 Aya Takada, www.washpost.bloomberg.com Resist! Food Safety, Japan, TPP, Trade

Masahiko Yamada, 73, a lawyer and minister in 2010 in the then Democratic Party of Japan government, filed the lawsuit at Tokyo District Court on Friday on behalf of more than 1,000 plaintiffs, seeking to prevent Japan from joining the Trans- Pacific Partnership, he said by phone. The litigation is another twist in efforts by Japan and the U.S., the top economies among TPP members, to expedite talks on the agreement covering about 40 percent of the world’s commerce. The accord would deepen Japan’s dependence on farm imports and threaten its food security, said Yamada. The nation, which relies on imports for about 60 percent of its food, has cut its self-sufficiency target as the government expands trade deals.

Solar Power Is Shaking Up The Energy Markets

April 27, 2015 Henning Gloystein and Aaron Sheldrick, www.in.news.yahoo.com Educate! Japan, Solar Energy

One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world's top industrialised nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after the Fukushima disaster, it's solar energy that is becoming the alternative. Solar power is set to become profitable in Japan as early as this quarter, according to the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF), freeing it from the need for government subsidies and making it the last of the G7 economies where the technology has become economically viable. Japan is now one of the world's four largest markets for solar panels and a large number of power plants are coming onstream, including two giant arrays over water in Kato City and a $1.1 billion solar farm being built on a salt field in Okayama, both west of Osaka.

Fukui Court Forbids Takahama Nuclear Plant Restart

April 16, 2015 Eric Johnston, www.japantimes.co.jp Resist! Environment, Japan, Nuclear Energy

Plans to bring Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama No. 3 and 4 nuclear reactors back online were dealt a severe setback Tuesday when the Fukui District Court ordered that they not be restarted, citing safety concerns. It marks the first time in Japan’s nearly half-century of commercial atomic power operations that a court has approved a provisional injunction against firing up reactors. The decision comes despite the Nuclear Regulation Authority appraising the reactors against technical and safety criteria and clearing them for restart last November. The provisional injunction, unlike civil suit rulings, took effect immediately and remains valid until it is suspended or a request for a stay of execution is approved. Kepco plans to appeal the order and request a stay of execution.

An Appeal For Peace From Jeju Island

March 23, 2015 Bruce K. Gagnon, www.space4peace.blogspot.com Resist! History, Japan, Korea, usa, Wars and Militarism

Just over 50 folks turned out today for the weekly Lenten season vigil at Bath Iron Works (BIW). Thanks to Lisa Savage and CodePink Maine for bringing a big bus load of people from Portland and Brunswick to the event. Lisa created and led a great skit that is being put onto YouTube as I write this. It was cold and wet on this new spring day. Maureen Kehoe-Ostensen with the Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm in Hope, Maine reminded us that this is now spring, even if it doesn't yet feel like it, and that under the ground were bulbs and other plants just waiting to emerge. She said we should remember our vigils are also the seed. Maureen invited the assembled to join the two remaining Lenten vigils at BIW on the next two Saturday's starting at 11:30 am.

Fukushima: Amidst Radioactive Ruins, Renewable Energy Soars

March 13, 2015 Harvey Wasserman, www.commondreams.org Create! Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy

The catastrophe that began at Fukushima four years ago today is worse than ever. But the good news can ultimately transcend the bad—if we make it so. An angry grassroots movement has kept shut all 54 reactors that once operated in Japan. It’s the largest on-going nuke closure in history. Big industrial windmills installed off the Fukushima coast are now thriving. Five U.S. reactors have shut since March 11, 2011. The operable fleet is under 100 for the first time in decades. Ohio’s Davis-Besse, New York’s Ginna, five reactors in Illinois and other decrepit American nukes could shut soon without huge ratepayer bailouts. Diablo Canyon was retrofitted—probably illegally—with $842 million in replacement partsuntested for seismic impact.

3 Held In Protest Against Marine Airfield On Okinawa

February 24, 2015 New York Times, www.sfgate.com Resist! Japan, Protest, Wars and Militarism

Three protesters were detained at the gate of a United States Marine base on Okinawa on Sunday during the largest demonstration yet against the start of construction of a new airfield there, protesters and local media said. The Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper said that at least 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside Camp Schwab, near the village of Henoko, where Japanese and U.S. officials have agreed to relocate the busy Futenma air base from a more densely populated part of the southern Japanese island. The relocation, first proposed in the 1990s, has been delayed for years because of local opposition, much to the frustration of Washington. But construction of the replacement airfield appears to have finally begun under Shinzo Abe, the conservative Japanese prime minister who has vowed closer ties between his nation and the U.S., its postwar protector.

Fresh Nuclear Leak Detected At Fukushima Plant

February 24, 2015 AFP, www.news.yahoo.com Educate! Environment, Japan, Nuclear Energy, Public Health, Waste

Sensors at the Fukushima nuclear plant have detected a fresh leak of highly radioactive water to the sea, the plant's operator announced Sunday, highlighting difficulties in decommissioning the crippled plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said the sensors, which were rigged to a gutter that pours rain and ground water at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to a nearby bay, detected contamination levels up to 70 times greater than the already-high radioactive status seen at the plant campus. TEPCO said its emergency inspections of tanks storing nuclear waste water did not find any additional abnormalities, but the firm said it shut the gutter to prevent radioactive water from going into the Pacific Ocean. The higher-than-normal levels of contamination were detected at around 10 am (0100 GMT), with sensors showing radiation levels 50 to 70 times greater than usual, TEPCO said.

Six Tons Of Tainted Water Leak At Fukushima No. 1

December 23, 2014 The Japan Times, www.japantimes.co.jp Educate! Japan, South Korea, Water

Up to 6 tons of radioactive water has leaked into the ground at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. The water, which had been scrubbed by Units A and C of the advanced liquid processing system (ALPS), leaked from pipes while being transported to storage tanks on Wednesday afternoon, the utility said. The water seeped into the ground, officials said, adding that it did not flow into the sea because there was no drainage ditch nearby. The ALPS system can remove all radioactive substances except tritium. It wasn’t clear how radioactive the water was before the spill.

Island Trying To Block U.S. ‘Pivot To Asia’

December 22, 2014 Christina Ahn, www.fpif.org Resist! Japan, Wars and Militarism

On December 10 — International Human Rights Day — Takeshi Onaga began his term as the new governor of Okinawa. Last month, the citizens of Okinawa delivered a landslide victory to Onaga, who ran on a platform opposing the construction of a new U.S. Marine Corps base in northern Okinawa. Using the campaign slogan “All Okinawa,” Onaga pledged “to stop construction using every means at my disposal” and to remove Marine Osprey helicopters, which he called the “biggest obstacles to Okinawan development.” Onaga’s win — in which he secured the backing of two-thirds of the electorate — constitutes a referendum by the Okinawan people against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s deepening alliance with Washington to further militarize the island.

Anti-US Base Candidate Wins Okinawa Governor Race

November 17, 2014 Matthew M. Burke, www.stripes.com Organize! Japan, Peace, Wars and Militarism

Takeshi Onaga, who had vowed to block the shifting of U.S. flight operations from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Camp Schwab, defeated incumbent Hirokazu Nakaima handily Sunday in Okinawa's governor race. With 99.68 percent of the votes counted by press time, Onaga had garnered 360,536 votes to Nakaima’s 260,727. Former state minister Mikio Shimoji and musician-turned-representative Shokichi Kina received 69,212 and 7,795 respectively. All eyes had been on the race as it had widely been seen as a referendum on Tokyo’s policies regarding U.S. military posture in Japan, as well as a new U.S. military runway slated for the northern city of Nago. Onaga, who will take office Dec. 10, had vowed to block efforts to move flight operations from Futenma to Camp Schwab, if elected.

Japanese Resist US Military Bases In Okinawa

November 3, 2014 Ayano Ginoza, Michiko Hase and Gwyn Kirk, www.fpif.org Resist! Japan, Protest, US, Wars and Militarism

They come in kayaks and canoes to protect the bay, maintain a tent city on the beach, and hold candlelight vigils. From posters to marches, songs, and a petition expressing international solidarity, Okinawan residents have left no question about their fierce opposition to construction of a new military base for the U.S. Marines on their island. Overriding these emphatic voices, the Japanese and United States governments have begun work on a new facility at the Nago City site of Henoko—initiating offshore drilling, tearing down buildings, and bringing in construction supplies. The building of this base has broad ramifications: it will destroy local marine life, pollute natural resources, and put residents in danger. Even more disturbingly, it reflects the long-term violation of Okinawans’ democratic rights—namely, their ability to set the policies that affect their lives.

Fukushima Legacy: 25,000 Cannot Go Home

October 20, 2014 Rob Edwards, www.heraldscotland.com Educate! health, Japan, Nuclear Energy

The explosions, meltdowns and leaks at Fukushima Daiichi triggered by an earthquake and tsunami three and a half years ago have hurt Japan deeply, triggering 2.2 million compensation claims, an £8 billion decontamination budget and dozens of legal suits. It's a hurt that is going to take many decades to heal. More than 30,000 square kilometres of northern Japan were contaminated by the huge clouds of radioactivity that belched into the air during the accident. More than 80,000 people were forced to evacuate from the areas closest to Fukushima Daiichi, and at least another 80,000 are reckoned to have voluntarily decided to flee their homes. The official evacuation zone is divided into three different areas. In the least contaminated, furthest away from the nuclear plant, the Japanese government is hoping to allow 32,900 people to return soon.

Thousands Protest US Military Base Construction In Japan

October 7, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo, www.english.ryukyushimpo.jp Resist! Japan, US, Wars and Militarism

Citizen groups gathered on the beach in the Henoko district of Nago in Okinawa for a protest rally against the construction of a new offshore U.S. air base in Henoko to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, on September 20. It was the second rally within a month. The first rally was held in front of Camp Schwab on August 23, attracting about 3,600 people. According to the organizer, about 5,500 people took part in the protest rally this time. Insisting they would not allow the U.S. and Japanese governments to build the new base, which they say threatens peace, the participants expressed their opposition against the plan to move the base inside Okinawa. The executive committee consists of the “All Okinawa United Forum,” Okinawa Peace Movement Center, and an organization of opposition lawmakers elected from Okinawa, four fractions of opposition parties in the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, and the Prefectural United Coalition, Peaceful Citizen Liaison Council, and Residents Council Against the Helipad Construction.

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