Japan

Fukushima Operator’s Legal Woes To Fuel Nuclear Opposition

August 22, 2015 Kentaro Hamada, www.reuters.com Educate! Environment, Japan, Nuclear Energy

By Kentaro Hamada in Reuters - Four and a half years after the Fukushima disaster, and as Japan tentatively restarts nuclear power elsewhere, the legal challenges are mounting for the crippled plant's operator. They include a judge's forced disclosure of a 2008 internal document prepared for managers at Tokyo Electric Power Co warning of a need for precautions against an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe. Also, class actions against Tepco and the government now have more plaintiffs than any previous Japanese contamination suit and, overruling reluctant prosecutors, criminal charges have been levelled against former Tepco executives for failing to take measures to prevent the 2011 meltdowns and explosions. Radiation from the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 forced 160,000 people from their homes, many never to return, and destroyed businesses, fisheries and agriculture.

Volcano Near Nuclear Plant Raising Concerns In Japan

August 22, 2015 Moira Lavelle, www.pri.org Educate! Environment, Japan, Nuclear Energy

By Moira Lavelle in PRI - Just under a week after the first nuclear power plant re-opened in Japan, critics are voicing conerns about safety. Oh, and there's a volcano. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011, all of Japan's nuclear reactors were shut down. To reopen, plants must pass new safety requirement. Plants must have an upgrade plan, an engineering work plan and receive pre-service inspections. These upgrade plans must include disaster preparedness — one plant in Hamaoka built a 70-foot-high, mile-long tsunami seawall in December in order to comply with the new regulations. Reactor Sendai 1 is the first one to receive full approval, and the plant opened last Tuesday. But there are now concerns that a nearby volcano will erupt and threaten the reactor.

Five Former Prime Ministers Oppose Japanese Militarization

August 15, 2015 Miako Ichikawa, www.ajw.asahi.com Resist! Japan, Wars and Militarism

By Miako Ichikawa in The Asahi Shimbun - Five former prime ministers expressed their opposition to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s security bills being discussed in the Upper House that would vastly expand the role of the Self-Defense Forces overseas. “I believe Japan should be the rare country that is unable to engage in warfare,” former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in a written statement, calling for a war-free Japan. A group of 51 retired media officials released the five politicians’ statements on the legislation on Aug. 11. The documents have also been sent to Abe. The group protesting Abe’s plan to extend the scope of SDF activities asked former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and his 11 successors to voice their opinions on the issue in July, and presented responses from the previous prime ministers who responded to the request by Aug. 11.

Japan’s ‘Sacred’ Rice Farmers Await TPP Death Sentence

August 4, 2015 Nicole L Freiner, www.theconversation.com Educate! Farming, Food and Agriculture, Japan, Rice, TPP

By Nicole L Freiner for the Conversation - Rice is one of the five sacred areas of Japanese agriculture (with pork and beef, wheat, barley and sugarcane). To many, especially those living in rural areas, it remains the primary ingredient of the Japanese identity. As one farmer here said, “without rice, there is no Japan; the culture is a rice culture, it is the most basic element.” Japan’s rice farmers have long been the backbone of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. But lately, as their numbers dwindle along with a declining population and demand for rice, this key cultural constituency seems to have lost the strength it once had to demand the government’s support. There are now around 2 million rice farmers in Japan, down from 4 million in 1990 and as many as 12 million in 1960. The US is pushing Japan to increase its duty-free imports of American rice and related products from 10,000 tons a year to 215,000 tons. The US also wants Japan to open up its lands to foreign investment.

NSA Spies On Japanese Cabinet And Corporations

August 1, 2015 Wikileaks, www.wikileaks.org Educate! Japan, NSA, Surveillance

By Wikileaks - The list indicates that NSA spying on Japanese conglomerates, government officials, ministries and senior advisers extends back at least as far as the first administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which lasted from September 2006 until September 2007. The telephone interception target list includes the switchboard for the Japanese Cabinet Office; the executive secretary to the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga; a line described as "Government VIP Line"; numerous officials within the Japanese Central Bank, including Governor Haruhiko Kuroda; the home phone number of at least one Central Bank official; numerous numbers within the Japanese Finance Ministry; the Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa; the Natural Gas Division of Mitsubishi; and the Petroleum Division of Mitsui.

Okinawa Rejects Permits For New US Military Base

July 29, 2015 Eric Johnston, www.japantimes.cop.jp Resist! Imperialism, Japan, usa, Wars and Militarism

By Eric Johnston in The Japan Times - As the Lower House passed controversial security bills Thursday designed to deepen Japan’s military ties with the United States, Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga moved a step closer to halting work on a controversial new U.S. air base after an advisory panel found serious flaws in the approval process. In a long-expected report, the advisory panel to Onaga, who won election last November by campaigning against a Henoko replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Futenma Air Station, cited concerns about how former Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima approved a central government landfill permit for the project in December 2013. The report outlined a lack of environmental protection measures in the Henoko Bay area, and said the prefecture approved the landfill project without a sufficient explanation from the Okinawa Defense Bureau, part of the Defense Ministry.

Thousands Of Japanese Say ‘No’ To Abe Administration

July 28, 2015 Rui Saraiva, www.uk.blastingnews Resist! Government, Japan, Politics

By Rui Saraiva in Blasting News - Thousands of protesters gathered in Tokyo last Friday night, 24th, in a campaign to say "No" to Shinzo Abe and its government. The keywords of this demonstration were "No to Abe," "No to War," and "Protect the Constitution." This was not an isolated event, as over the past week demonstrations have taken place every night in Tokyo. The demonstrators are protesting against the new security bill that attempts to reinterpret the constitution and allow the Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to participate in collective self-defence with the U.S. and other Japanese allies, scraping 70 years of pacifism. Japan is, probably, the only country in the world in which its military never shed blood over seven decades. The demonstrators deeply wish that pacifism remains as one of the main pillars of the contemporary Japanese political system.

Mass Protests In Tokyo As Japan Moves To Ditch Pacifism

July 17, 2015 David McNeill, www.irishtimes.com Resist! Japan, Protest, Wars and Militarism

By David McNeill in Irish Times - Thousands of demonstrators have surrounded Japan’s parliament after the Lower House passed controversial security bills that critics say will dramatically change the country’s defence posture and hollow out its pacifist constitution. Most members of Japan’s opposition parties walked out of the chamber in protest before the vote Thursday afternoon. But the coalition government’s two-thirds majority meant they were easily approved. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants Japan’s armed forces to join in military activities abroad and defend allies under attack - principally the United States - a policy he has dubbed “proactive pacifism.” “The security environment surrounding Japan continues to get tougher,” Mr Abe said after the vote. “These bills are absolutely necessary to protect the lives of Japanese people and prevent wars.”

There Is No Nuclear Energy Renaissance

July 17, 2015 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, www.worldnuclearreport.org Resist! Energy, Finance and the Economy, Japan, Nuclear

By World Nuclear Industry Status Report - Japan without nuclear power for a full calendar year for the first time since the first commercial nuclear power plant started up in the country 50 years ago. Nuclear plant construction starts plunge from fifteen in 2010 to three in 2014. 62 reactors under construction—five fewer than a year ago—of which at least three- quarters delayed. In 10 of the 14 building countries all projects are delayed, often by years. Five units have been listed as “under construction” for over 30 years. Share of nuclear power in global electricity mix stable at less than 11% for a third year in a row. AREVA, technically bankrupt, downgraded to “junk” by Standard & Poor’s, sees its share value plunge to a new historic low on 9 July 2015—a value loss of 90 percent since 2007.

Amid Angry Scenes, Ruling Parties Force Security Bills

July 16, 2015 Reiji Yoshida and Mizuho Aoki, www.japantimes.co.jp Educate! Japan, National Security, Wars and Militarism

By Reiji Yoshida and Mizuho Aoki in Japan Times - The ruling bloc rammed two security bills through a special committee of the Lower House on Wednesday — amid a chorus of yelling opposition lawmakers — clearing a critical step toward the enactment of legislation that would expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces’ missions overseas. During Wednesday’s session, opposition lawmakers mobbed committee chairman Yasukazu Hamada of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and tried to halt the voting procedure. But amid the clamor, ruling lawmakers stood up to show their support for the bills, and Hamada declared that the legislation was passed. The bills would lift a number of restrictions on the SDF’s operations, including a ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense, or the right for a country to use force to aid an ally under attack even when not under attack itself. Article 9 of the pacifist postwar Constitution was long considered to prohibit exercising the right. The Abe administration amended the government’s official interpretation of the text, and then submitted the security bills to the Diet, but many experts have argued the reinterpretation is unconstitutional.

Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe Heckled At Okinawa Battle Anniversary Event

July 2, 2015 Justin McCurry, www.theguardian.com Resist! Imperialism, Japan, usa, Wars and Militarism

By Justin McCurry in The Guardian - Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has been heckled at an event marking the anniversary of the end of the bloodiest battle of the Pacific during the second world war, as criticism mounts over his attempts to allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time in seven decades. Shouts of “Go home!” and “Warmonger!” could be heard as Abe, a nationalist whose attempts to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution have sent his approval ratings to record lows, arrived at a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the end of the battle of Okinawa in which more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers died. Criticism of Abe in Okinawa is running high over his support for the construction of a new US marine corps airbase on a pristine stretch of Okinawa’s coastline to replace an existing base located in the middle of a densely populated city.

Former ‘Comfort Women’ Protest Philippines-Japan Military Ties

July 1, 2015 Ronron Calunsod, www.japantimes.co.jp Educate!, Resist! Japan, Phillipines, Wars and Militarism, Womyn

By Ronron Calunsod in Japan Times - Victims of Japanese military wartime sex abuses in the Philippines and leftist groups protested in front of the Japanese Embassy in Manila last week to denounce growing military ties between the Philippines and Japan as the two nations held naval drills in the South China Sea. “We are worried that what happened during World War II will be repeated this time — women being snatched, locked up and then raped,” Hilaria Bustamante, an 89-year-old former “comfort woman,” said during their demonstration. The term “comfort women” is a euphemism to describe those who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

Japan’s Diet Gets 1.65m Signatures Against Security Bills

July 1, 2015 China Daily, www.chinadaily.com.cn Resist! Japan, Law, Security

By China Daily - A citizen group named "Anti-war Committee of 1000" on Monday submitted to the Diet of Japan more than 1.65 million signed protests demanding the Diet to give up the controversial security legislations and the decision to lift the ban on collective self-defense. The committee, sponsored by constitution scholars and authors, has launched an initiative in January 2015 to collect signed protests regarding the Cabinet's decision last July to allow Japan exercise collective self-defense right and the planned passage of "war bills" during the current Diet session. As of late May, they have collected more than 1.65 million signatures and have submitted them to the Prime Minister's office on June 23.

Okinawan Delegation To Washington, Part 1

June 11, 2015 What's Okinawa, www.whatsokinawa.wordpress.com Educate! Imperialism, Japan, Okinawa, usa, Wars and Militarism

By What's Okinawa - English-language news media, most notably the Washinton Post, recently reported on Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi’s recent visit to Hawaii and Washington, DC to express his opposition to the relocation of MCAS Futenma to Henoko, Nago. Senator John McCain as well as the U.S. State Department released statements immediately after their meetings with Governor Onaga declaring their unwavering support for the Henoko relocation. Along with Governor Onaga, a delegation of more than 20 representatives from Okinawa, including mayors, prefectural assembly members, city council members, and business leaders also visited Hawaii and Washington DC at the same time.

Time For US To Get Out Of Okinawa

June 9, 2015 Margaret Flowers, www.clearingthefogradio.com Educate! Imperialism, Japan, Wars and Militarism

By Margaret Flowers in Clear The Fog Radio - Recently we met with a delegation of mayors from Okinawa who came to the United States because the US is building a very large military base in Henoko that will destroy ecologically sensitive areas and that is not wanted by the people of Okinawa. Through opinion polls, the election of politicians who are opposed to the base and persistent nonviolent direct action, Okinawans are making it clear that they are not supportive of a continued US military presence there. With less than 1% of Japan’s land mass, Okinawa is home to 74% of the US military in Japan. We air a recorded interview with Mayor Susumu Inamine of Nago City in Okinawa where the Henoko Base is being built. Then we speak with Professor Steve Rabson who studies and writes about the situation in Okinawa.

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