Tag: Japan

Here is the latest command to do away with the stars and bars:

The Confederate battle flag is no longer welcome anywhere on U.S. military installations in Japan, according to an order released Monday by the commander of U.S. Forces Japan.

“The Confederate Battle Flag does not represent the values of U.S. Forces assigned to serve in Japan,” says the order signed by Air Force Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider on July 2. “While I acknowledge some might view it as a symbol of regional pride, many others in our force see it as a painful reminder of the history of hate, bigotry, treason, and devaluation of humanity that it represents.”

The order was posted Monday on the official Yokota Air Base Facebook page. The installation in western Tokyo serves as USFJ’s headquarters. Individual commanders in Japan were given the order prior to it becoming public, said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Winegardner, the USFJ senior enlisted leader, on Monday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

For the Japanese military it is back to the drawing board to find a persistent means to protect the country from a North Korean missile attack:

The Japanese government has ordered officials to quickly come up with an alternative to the rejected U.S.-made Aegis Ashore missile-defense system, possibly one that can float on a platform at sea.

The U.S. ally scrapped plans to deploy the U.S. system in Yamaguchi and Akita prefectures in June due to the cost and a projected 10-year delay to ensure that interceptor missile boosters fell safely on unpopulated areas.

The system was intended to provide all of Japan with seamless, 24/7 protection against North Korean ballistic missiles.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has instructed Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to come up with an alternative plan by the end of the year, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but you would think a booster dropping from an interceptor would be the least of anyone’s worries if North Korea was firing ballistic missiles that could be equipped with WMD at Japan. Additionally the residents around each site are worried they will be attacked if the system is built near them. Unfortunately the Japanese government takes NIMBY concerns very seriously and scrapped the Aegis Ashore plan.

Until Japan comes up with an alternative, they will have to rely on their maritime Aegis ships which are difficult to sustain over prolonged periods of time for a persistent missile defense against North Korea’s most advanced threats. Some alternatives the Japanese are reportedly looking at is putting the Aegis system on a barge or oil platform that would keep it at sea away from neighborhoods, but vulnerable to sabotage and submarine attacks. I guess we will see in the coming years what Japan’s defense industry is able to come up with.

There are a lot of parks in Berlin, but it is pretty clear that the statue was put in this particular park to create diplomatic tensions with Japan:

South Korea voiced criticism Thursday over Japan’s call for the removal of a statue erected in Germany of a girl symbolizing Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery, calling it an act that goes against the spirit of its own apology. 

Last week, Tokyo expressed regret over the recent installation of the statue on a public site near the Japanese Embassy in Berlin. The statue was erected by Korea Verband, a Berlin-based civic group with South Korean ties. 

The issue drew attention as Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi requested it be removed when he held bilateral talks with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, in Berlin last week. 

“The installation of the statue is a voluntary move by the private sector. It is not desirable for the government to get diplomatically involved,” ministry spokesperson Kim In-chul said in a press briefing when asked about the statue. (…………..)

Korea Verband in Berlin said it received an order from the office of Berlin’s Mitte district on Wednesday to remove the statue by Oct. 14. According to the civic group, the office claimed that an inscribed epitaph as part of the installation has caused diplomatic tension between Germany and Japan.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It would be surprising if Prime Minister Suga does not continue to be an advocate of expanding Japan’s military capabilities and strengthening the alliance with the United States:

Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, is likely to adhere to his predecessor’s defense policies, which experts say will benefit the Pentagon’s interests.

Suga, previously the chief cabinet secretary, took over as prime minister on Wednesday following elections by the governing Liberal Democratic Party. His predecessor, Shinzo Abe, stepped down due to poor health. Suga had been Japan’s longest-serving chief cabinet secretary, working under Abe from 2012-20.

Because of his long partnership with Abe, Japanese media has labeled Suga a “continuity candidate” expected to carry on the former prime minister’s work.

Abe advocated strengthening U.S.-Japan relations, bolstering the Japan Self-Defense Force and supporting U.S. troops in Japan, said Michael Cucek, assistant professor of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if a new Japanese prime minister will lead to better relations between Japan and South Korea. Shinzo Abe has been a useful boogeyman for the Korean left for many years:

Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said Friday he intends to step down because a chronic health problem has resurfaced. He told reporters that it was ”gut wrenching” to leave so many of his goals unfinished. 

Abe has had ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with treatment. Concerns about Abe’s health began this summer and grew this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. He is now on a new treatment that requires IV injections, he said. While there is some improvement, there is no guarantee that it will cure his condition and so he decided to step down after treatment Monday, he said.

”It is gut wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals,” Abe said Friday, mentioning his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea and a territorial dispute with Russia.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but here is what the Blue House had to say about this news:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s office said Abe dedicated many years to the development of bilateral relations and achieved ”various meaningful accomplishments” as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. It said Seoul will continue to work with Tokyo’s next prime minister and Cabinet to promote ”friendship and cooperation” between the countries. Relations between South Korea and Japan sank to their lowest point in decades last year as they feuded over trade issues, wartime history and military cooperation.

Korea Times

It is interesting that the Blue House mentions “meaningful accomplishments” when they have worked hard to undo those accomplishments such as the comfort women reconciliation agreement as well as bilateral defense agreements.

The Japanese government should just ignore something like this since it is in a private garden and not sponsored by the ROK government. Responding to this just drives further attention to it:

The foreign ministry said Tuesday that international courtesy for foreign leaders should be taken into consideration, after a local botanical garden reportedly installed a pair of bronze statues of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bowing on his knees before a wartime sexual slavery victim.

The garden in the eastern county of Pyeongchang plans to unveil the statues next month, according to local media reports. Its sculptor told local media that Japan must atone for wartime atrocities until South Korea accepts and forgives it. 

Japan has bristled at the statue, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga telling reporters Tuesday that the installation of such a statue, if true, is “unacceptable” and would “decisively affect” the relations between the two countries.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but if Japan is so upset about this then a private individual in Japan should make a statue of President Moon Jae-in bowing in forgiveness to a Vietnamese woman for the atrocities some ROK troops committed during the Vietnam War.

Cars and beer are taking the brunt of the boycott against Japanese products while other daily consumer Japanese products are actually expanding in South Korea:

The impact of a boycott movement against Japanese products that began in July 2019 is still visible in consumption patterns today, although some brands have shown signs of recovery.  
   
The “No Japan” boycott began after Japan last year introduced controls on exports of some key products to Korea.  
   
Consumer goods were the hardest hit. Japanese beer and cars, in particular, have seen sales drop dramatically, even as the boycott movement has waned in recent months.  (……)

However, there have been some signs that may suggest the impact is lessening. Japanese luxury brand Lexus saw sales increase in May with the sale of 727 cars, 266 more than April. The figure is still down on last year, when it sold 1,431 vehicles in May, but does show an upturn.  
   
“Lexus’ sales are recovering due to the brand’s positive reputation for its quality among consumers and the recent boost in promotions,” said an official in the imported car industry.    
   
Meanwhile, some Japanese consumer goods brands like Descente, a sportswear company, ABC Mart, a footwear brand, and Muji, a retail company, have been opening more stores in Korea and seeing sales increase. Industry analysts say consumers still shy away from products that are conspicuously Japanese, like cars and beer, but have been returning to Japanese brands for daily supplies and personal items. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have always found it interesting that the Korean government wants to boycott Japanese products while at the same time wants to reopen the near slave labor production facilities at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea to sell those goods to Koreans.

The Chinese are not going to like how the Japanese continue to expand their naval activities in the South China Sea in support of the U.S.’s freedom of navigation mission there:

The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords joined two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships for training in the contentious South China Sea on Tuesday, a Navy statement said.

The Navy vessel sailed with the JMSDF’s training ships JS Kashima and JS Shimayuki to “emphasize the importance of communications and coordination while operating together,” according to the statement.

“The opportunity to operate with our friends and allies at sea is incredibly important for our combined readiness and partnership,” Expeditionary Strike Group 7 commander Rear Adm. Fred Kacher said in the statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the Chinese claim nearly the entire South China Sea as part of China. The freedom of navigation patrols by the U.S. and other countries supporting the American effort challenge these Chinese claims.

Just imagine what a message would be sent to Beijing if South Korea joined Japan on one of these patrols. It will never happen under the current government, but maybe a possibility down the road if the politics in South Korea changes.

North Korea is threatening military action so this is the perfect time to find something the bash the Japanese with to divert attention:

South Korea called in Japan’s top envoy in Seoul and voiced “deep regrets” Monday after Tokyo failed to honor wartime forced labor victims at an information center on industrial revolution sites registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho called in Japanese Ambassador Koji Tomita, hours after the Industrial Heritage Information Center in Tokyo opened to the public following a monthslong closure due to the new coronavirus.

Upon the 2015 World Heritage designation of 23 Meiji-era sites, Tokyo said it would establish the center to remember the victims based on its recognition of “Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites.”

“It is deeply regrettable that this center runs counter to Japan’s pledge and includes content that completely distorts historical facts,” Kim In-chul, spokesman for the ministry, said in a commentary. 

“Especially, South Korea cannot help but feel concern and disappointment, as we cannot find any effort to commemorate the victims in any exhibitions at the center, though the Japanese government pledged to establish the center as a measure to remember the victims,” it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but unless you check the Japanese media you would not know that the site does in fact include information about Korean laborers, it just doesn’t feed the narrative of the evil Imperial Japanese slave drivers that one sees in South Korea:

Although the exhibit on the sites, mostly in southwestern Japan and added to the UNESCO list in 2015, include descriptions of Korean labor, it incorporates testimonies from second-generation Korean Japanese residents claiming there was no discriminatory treatment of Korean workers there.

Much of the Korean media’s criticisms were aimed at the display for the Hashima Coal Mine in Nagasaki, known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) because of its shape.

Guests can learn about the experiences of former residents. Accounts of Hashima residents include the late second-generation Korean Japanese Fumio Suzuki, who spent his childhood years on the island and said he never heard of Koreans subjected to slave labor.

According to the Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, the exhibitions deny the reality of forced labor under harsh conditions and threaten to “exacerbate an already fraught” relationship between South Korea and Japan.

The liberal Hankyoreh newspaper likewise reported the exhibits as a “distortion” of history.

The exhibit consists of panels and large screens that illustrate Japan’s rapid industrialization from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century.

The display for the Hashima Coal Mine includes digitally archived documents indicating the existence of workers from the Korean Peninsula, who were drafted to the island during World War II, as well as records of a bonus salary paid to a Taiwanese laborer.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.