I've been waiting for an english translation of PM Tokugawa's speech and question period transcript, so please excuse the wait.
I won't say much on it, but I thought she started off well by declaring she was looking for a way forward, and planning to do it with the consent of her Chinese and Korean counter-parts.
As the Q/A period began though, she fell into the same trap as previous PM's, pandering to Japan's right by refusing to acknowledge any of atrocities that have become central to the shrine controversy. It would have been refreshing for the PM to openly admit to wanting to create a dialogue, but once again it was down to semantics("I won't comment on something that may or may not have happened...").
As for the Shrine incident, I found that the police let the politcal right get away with far more violence as compared to other observers. For instance, there was a moment when the right started to charge the left, and police weren't really concerned with getting in the way. At the same time, I witnessed at least 2 or 3 brutal beatings of some homeless people, and some poor treatment of some of Japan's elderly.
To be sure, this controversy wasn't solved today, and I'm not sure much progress actually took place at all. I guess we'll have to wait until August 15 2010...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
August 8, 2009
It’s been all but confirmed(based on reports by Asahi Shimbun reporter Camil Leon). I think i’ll head down on the 15th to check out the situation with my own eyes.
August 1st, 2009
The big rumour circling yesterday is that the new Japanese PM(their first ever female PM) will continue to enrage the international community and indeed visit the shrine on August 15th(the anniversary of Japan’s surrender).
When I first came to Japan, I thought of it as a country that was on the cutting edge of technology, leading the charge for environmental change, and progressive on so many respects. I knew it also had tons of tradition, but I was blissfully unaware of its recent past, and of the emperor system, which more than 60 years after its abolishment is still a hot button topic amongst the people. As someone who voted Liberal in every Canadian election, I have to say I’m really surprised by some of things that have occurred in Japan in recent years. I’m not going to argue that the government is far right, but when you hear about some of the things that have occurred, such as the removing any mention of ‘comfort women’ from history books (with no official reason given despite more international protest). I’ve been struggling with this for the past few days, and in my opinion, Japan was given a free pass post World War 2. If you compare the sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan post war, there is a large discrepancy. Regardless of the America’s reasons(specifically their mini-colonization of Japan so that they had a presence against communism in the pacific), the emperor should never have been allowed to escape persecution. I understand that Japan was made to suffer(including the dropping of the bombs), but post-war they were essentially given a slap on the wrist in terms of sanctions. This means that many present day Japanese citizens have been insulated from many of the horrible realities that occurred. Last week I was given the chance to watch the movie “Japanese Devils”, which features horrifying testimonies of Japanese soldiers. When I asked my Japanese friend how the Japanese public reacted when this film was released, he told me the film was given a very small and quiet domestic release. To paraphrase one of the veterans, “People don’t understand why we feel the need to talk about it, to bring up this shame. But people need to know...”. Unfortunately, not enough Japanese do. I have no problem with Yasukuni as a place used to remembering the past(and past mistakes). There is a renewed call, however, to remember the past in terms of glorifying those who died while serving the emperor. The emphasis should be on those who died, and remembering why, as well as how we can prevent this in the future. I believe in the current climate, Yasukuni has become a rallying point for many rightists, a cause to get behind. If they are able to re-nationalise the shrine, it would be the first domino in a series leading to the creation of a new constitution. Thankfully, from what I’ve read, there is an equally large amount of people opposed to this(including some that want the shrine abolished), but I can’t help but feel that more people who are in a position of power are in favour of the shrine. From a traditional standpoint, I understand the shrine has meaning. However it may be time to re-examine exactly what it means to all Japanese. If it is to remain a place central to glorifying Japan’s recent past, then government officials should back off. On the other hand, twisting that tradition in order to drum up a new wave of nationalism while conveniently downplaying(or downright denying in some cases) the sad history behind it all is something I can’t except. I know that is important to cling to tradition, but like in the classic Japanese film, Hara Kiri, there comes a time when you must question the meaning behind the tradition. I hope the day comes soon when someone in the government will stand up and demand some real accountability among his peers in order to take full responsibility and ensure future generations know the mistakes of the past.
When I first came to Japan, I thought of it as a country that was on the cutting edge of technology, leading the charge for environmental change, and progressive on so many respects. I knew it also had tons of tradition, but I was blissfully unaware of its recent past, and of the emperor system, which more than 60 years after its abolishment is still a hot button topic amongst the people. As someone who voted Liberal in every Canadian election, I have to say I’m really surprised by some of things that have occurred in Japan in recent years. I’m not going to argue that the government is far right, but when you hear about some of the things that have occurred, such as the removing any mention of ‘comfort women’ from history books (with no official reason given despite more international protest). I’ve been struggling with this for the past few days, and in my opinion, Japan was given a free pass post World War 2. If you compare the sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan post war, there is a large discrepancy. Regardless of the America’s reasons(specifically their mini-colonization of Japan so that they had a presence against communism in the pacific), the emperor should never have been allowed to escape persecution. I understand that Japan was made to suffer(including the dropping of the bombs), but post-war they were essentially given a slap on the wrist in terms of sanctions. This means that many present day Japanese citizens have been insulated from many of the horrible realities that occurred. Last week I was given the chance to watch the movie “Japanese Devils”, which features horrifying testimonies of Japanese soldiers. When I asked my Japanese friend how the Japanese public reacted when this film was released, he told me the film was given a very small and quiet domestic release. To paraphrase one of the veterans, “People don’t understand why we feel the need to talk about it, to bring up this shame. But people need to know...”. Unfortunately, not enough Japanese do. I have no problem with Yasukuni as a place used to remembering the past(and past mistakes). There is a renewed call, however, to remember the past in terms of glorifying those who died while serving the emperor. The emphasis should be on those who died, and remembering why, as well as how we can prevent this in the future. I believe in the current climate, Yasukuni has become a rallying point for many rightists, a cause to get behind. If they are able to re-nationalise the shrine, it would be the first domino in a series leading to the creation of a new constitution. Thankfully, from what I’ve read, there is an equally large amount of people opposed to this(including some that want the shrine abolished), but I can’t help but feel that more people who are in a position of power are in favour of the shrine. From a traditional standpoint, I understand the shrine has meaning. However it may be time to re-examine exactly what it means to all Japanese. If it is to remain a place central to glorifying Japan’s recent past, then government officials should back off. On the other hand, twisting that tradition in order to drum up a new wave of nationalism while conveniently downplaying(or downright denying in some cases) the sad history behind it all is something I can’t except. I know that is important to cling to tradition, but like in the classic Japanese film, Hara Kiri, there comes a time when you must question the meaning behind the tradition. I hope the day comes soon when someone in the government will stand up and demand some real accountability among his peers in order to take full responsibility and ensure future generations know the mistakes of the past.
July 24th, 2009
Thanks a bunch for some of your comments, you guys pointed me to some good info. Not only is Yasukuni in the middle of an international maelstrom, it’s also seems to be the center of japanese politics. When former PM Koizumi-san went to pay his respects, he was criticized by the international community. His response was its no one elses business how Japan behaves, and he is free to pay his respects as he pleases. Although I agree with the thought, it seems fairly obvious to me that doing what he did would garner lots of heat. From what I’ve been able to read online, it seems the political right is throwing their weight behind the shrine as well. While Yasukuni should be a place to worship those who lost their lives, a number of things have given the shrine new life. For one, as I mentioned in the last blog, it houses Class A War criminals. This fact alone should prohibit any elected official from embarking on any official visits. In addition, it also houses around 50 000 colonial subjects who died as japanese soldiers. This has caused additional friction among Japan and its former colonies(specifically Taiwan and Korea). Among japanese people, Okinawans in particular, the shrine also reopens old wounds. Thousands of Okinawans died(apparently they were given grenades by the japanese army and told to blow themselves up) when the American’s landed, and are today enshrined at Yasukuni, which is strange since Yasukuni is only supposed to be for fallen soldiers.
While this is appalling by itself(the Japanese government still hasn’t admitted to this happening), there is actually a deeper problem. While I believe its important to remember those who died at war, an essay I read by Takahashi Tetsuya. While he mentions many of the things I’ve written about, I believe his key point is how many japanese people are now positioning the shrine. It has become more of a symbol of Japans warring past, and in particular of the emperor system of the early 1900s. This is significant since it touches on 3 important points of Japan’s current post-war constitution, clause 1(emperor system abolished), clause 9(peace clause) and clause 20(separation of church and state). The author fears that the shrine is going to be used as a catalyst for renewed nationalism in Japan...personally, I can’t understand some of the decisions that have taken place. Denying the Okinawan’s claims, refusing to remove family members of Taiwanese and Korean decent...thinking about the possibility of a new wave of nationalism sweeping through Japan...I just don’t see it. I feel like I’m missing something about Japan’s emperor system...
July 17th, 2009
Something that came up during a lesson brought a controversial subject in Japan to my attention today. We were talking about places you would go when you have free time, and one student, we’ll call him ‘J’, mentioned that he often visits Yasukuni shrine when he has free time. I noticed was this made most of the class go kind of silent although I didn’t really know why. Anyways, the name Yasukuni definitely rang a bell and during my lunch break I found out why.
Yasukuni shrine has been plastered all over japanese papers and television in recent weeks as its at the center of a mini-international crisis specifically between China and Korea and Japan. Yasukuni is a place where all fallen soldiers serving japan are enshrined. From what I gather, both Korea and China are upset at the ‘official’ visits taken there by past Japanese PMs. From what I gather, they are upset for a few reasons, including the fact that the shrine is home to a few Class A war criminals. Both countries seem to disagree with the official visits, they feel that Japan isn’t taking responsibility for their war crimes. The thing is, when ‘J’ mentioned Yasukuni the rest of the class got kind of silent, so I’m under the impression that the shrine has its own meaning among japanese people...does anyone know anything else? Is it a shinto thing?
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