Yasukuni shrine and Chinese attempt

The three people are Taiwanese natives, led by Kao Chin Su-Mei, protesting the obstruction by Japanese police for enshrinement (2005 July in Tokyo). Apparently, they had a complaint about Yasukuni shrine, and yes, the people came to Yasukuni shrine to claim reconsideration about commemorating "war guilts" in WWII. But let us go deep and think a little bit more.

My interest is "who are they?" It turned out the group, consisting of 60 people, were funded by Chinese government.

Let's focus on the leader, Kao Chin, used to be an actress who got attracted to political world later. Her mother happend to be a native, so she learned to take advantage of this and became a politician. (If native, one can obtain higher chance to become a Diet member.) Once upon a time she was accused from real natives, "Why do you dare to represent us? Do you really know our history?" The reason she is hated by natives is she didn't even try to fight for the right of natives before, and now she attempts to make a quarrel between natives and the government. This story is supported by her statement on natives' headhunting tradition. Natives don't want it to be an issue. Her group in fact sued Japanese government for psycological pain from commemoration by Japanese prime minister, Koizumi. However, most of the plaintiffs didn't know the facts, and she is just using their names.

Not surprisingly, she is just an activist connected with Chinese government. Some of them in the plaintiffs' list don't exist. Don't be tricked by her cloth.

We have to be aware that Taiwanese natives, minorities in Taiwan, are resentful at the massacre by Chiang KaiShek. The natives had a hard time, being killed up to 30,000 by the new Chinese government rushing into Taiwan in 1949. Just listening to the voice from Taiwan lslands doesn't allow you to understand the Japanese rule. Those natives who are now living in the island are pretty much occupied by the enormous newcomers from the mainland of China, who didn't experience the Japanese rule.

If some facts were to be busted that Japan practically gives pain to Taiwanese natives, I'd listen. But this time, It's one of usual Chinese tricks.

The new generation, 20's and 30's, doubt mass media

The drastic change of public opinion in Japan mostly formed by young people played an important role in this election 9/11.

They were just apathetic people to politics.... but not any more. They seem to be more and more agressive in participating in public activities such as vote. What changed them? I say, it's internet, that is, message boards or blogs. According a survey (I don't remember the name), 61% of bloggers were for Koizumi just before this election.

I have been watching several famous message boards among Japanese. Several years ago, I saw so many writings, "No war, No military". However, those opinions have been dumped. They have learned, throughout a long time of discussions, that this idea, inheriting typical educations by schools and 6ch and 10ch in TV, was infeasible and naive.

I suspect that massmedia was the one which has seized the power in Japan since 1980s. The prime ministers had changed every one year so that people couldn't have time to assess and support them. it's because of massmedia, so they can freely accuse ministers of inadvertent, but trivial mistakes about their statements. A number of prime ministers resigned due to such misspeakings or scandals.
I think, after this election, that the message from the young people may be "No" to those massmedia, trying to manipulate the watchers.
The man in the picture is one of the major newscasters of 6ch, always critisizing the Koizumi's way. Well, at last people seemed to notice that someone, pretending to be the supporter of people, can't stop loudmouthing the governers.

Way too patriotic

I got the two pics from somewhere I don't remember.
Both of them are very symbolic. It's obvious how South Korean officially hate Japan.

I'm not sure the situation about the first pic. Looks like people, waving Korean's flag, are about to trample a big Japanese flag. Probably it took place in a ceremony.


The second one is terrific. The building, covered with Koreans flags, is Seoul City Hall which was built in the rule of Japan. Korean people did this because they didn't see one aspect of Japanese reign. These days, Japanese people are having a criticism about getting patriotic. But which is more patriotic ? I gotta say South Korea IS way too patriotic! I gotta see why they became so.

Can Democratic Party change itself?

"If self defence force (Japanese military) is attacked, Netherland would protect it. This is not good. The defect of Japanese constitution must be rewritten," Maehara, the new representative of Democratic party announced 9/16, criticizing the current Japanese constitution.

Who has ever imagined this kind of opinion is uttered by the biggest opposition party?
Imagine the situation back to 20 years ago when the biggest opposition party, social party strongly protested the exestence of Japanese military.

At that time, very naive opinions prevailed throughout Japan, "No war, No military". You may remember in 1990 Japan didn't send military to IRAQ at all.
However, the situation around North Korea or invasions of submarines by China totally changed Japanese common sense.

However, the current biggest opposition party, Democratic party partly consists of the residue of Social party, who think of his opinion unacceptable. The ratio is almost 50/50.

Anyway, the previous head of the party was defeated by Koizumi, and it's clear that a new regime shift is happening inside the opposition party, Democratic party.

Is Koizumi a popularist?

Is Koizumi a popularist?
I would answer, "Yes, but No."
He is the one who frequently exposes himself to cameras.

But he didn't suck up to mass media.
What they call "sucking up" is changing one's opinion hearing domestic opinion, suggesting various sweet policies, or inviting a famous stylist to look gorgeous on camera.
Who did this? It's the leader of Democratic party, Okada, who was defeated with a huge decrease of seats.

It's not just that Japanese voters liked Koizumi's straight policy. Look at Domocratic party. People seem to punish a party which determined to play both ends against the middle.

No one was able to predict Koizumi's win

The result of the election is:
LDP(led by Koizumi) won (from 212 to 296) .
Democratic (led by Okada) lost (from 177 to 113).


Okada, the leader of Democratic party, annouced to resign his position for losing in the election 9/11. One month ago, when Koizumi disolved the parliament and prepared for the election, Okada happily predict the defeat of Koizumi, "I'll resign if I don't get the regime."
He totally misread Japanese domestic public opinion. Not only him, but most of massmedia took the same mistake, criticizing Koizumi's "reckless dissolution".

One of the big mistakes Okada did is that he was just a naysayer. I say again, Democratic party is "not liberal". It is a party supported the biggest labor union and public officials. Never can it be a liberal party. I'd call it the most conservative.

Koizumi's logistic was very simple. He focused only on the privitization of postal service as the first milestone of Japanese reformation, saying "No privitazation of postal service, no econmical growth."
The unbelievable thing is that he knew he would win in spite of the loss of 34 seats which would happen if he persists. The resisting 34 people in his party have threaten him not to dissolve the parliament. No prime ministers ever couldn't do that. Some of them were puppets of "power brokers". Koizumi is going to be the first one who can proceed along his own design.

Just think about the number of seats under Koizumi's influence several years ago. It used to be just 60 (only a small group inside LDP). There are a lot of rivals in the same party who never obey Koizumi's order. In other words, he was not the decision maker even though he was Prime minister. Now he can manipulate almost all the groups in LDP, which means obtaining around 280 seats. He is the "real prime minister" now.

Who are inside Japanese Democratic party?

The election on the 11th September is expected to be fierce. It's virtually fight between two largerst parties: Liberal Democratic Party led by Koizumi and Democratic party by Okada.


You may know that Koizumi (LDP) proposes privitization of postal system. But it seems not clear what the largest opposition party, Democratic Party, wants to achieve.

Democratic party has less than 20 years of history, so it's full of the remnants of Socialist party, which was contaminated by Marxism. It's obvious the party can't be liberal; in fact, the ruling party is the liberal! The Democratic party exists just to oppose everything what LDP does.

Recently, I heard news about Chinese Spies in Australia. Well, it's not surprising. Here in Democratic party there appear a lot of antigovernment elements hiding in this party.
Look at the poster below: The map behind him catches the sight of China, North Korea, and South Korea. At first, I couldn't believe this, but I found his webpage and ......
It was very shocking. One of his policies is "Get a permanent seat in Security Council in UN for South KOREA." He claims that giving a UN seat to South Korea leads to the fast way for Japan to be internationalized.

Wow, what's the logic ? Giving a UN seat to South Korea is one of his policy, it's like he's a Korean.

By the way, he was elected this August.

I looked up his resume. He is ...
A visiting faculty of HuaQiao University in China.

OK. now I get it.

(Actually, he used to work for Fujiyama, a Diet member who was the head of Japanese-Chinese friendship forum. Obviously he inherites the will of his boss when young. So It turns out that he is not a spy, but I'm sure that those people claiming friendship with China are excluded in LDP recently because of Koizumi.)