Tag: Japan

It looks like Japan is the one democratic nation that the North Koreans are looking to play nice with:

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered a rare opening for Japan, saying she saw a positive tone in comments from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is seeking a summit. Kim Yo Jong indicated a meeting of leaders would be possible if Japan “does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue,” she said in a press statement issued Thursday on state media.

“It is my opinion that if Japan makes a political decision to open up a new way of mending the relations through its courteous behavior and trustworthy action on the basis of courageously breaking with anachronistic hostility and unattainable desire and recognizing each other, the two countries can open up a new future together,” the statement carried on the Korean Central News Agency said.

The tone is a marked change from comments she issued nearly two years ago when she lumped Japan in with a bunch of “sinister” nations she accused of raising rabble at the United Nations to criticize Pyongyang for the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but what I suspect is that the Kim regime sees the growing relationship between Japan and South Korea. Because of this they probably want to play nice with Japan in order to try and separate them from South Korea.

The Joong Ang Ilbo has an article that takes an indepth look at the UNC’s rear bases in Japan and what their functions are:

The recent visit to the United Nations Command (UNC) rear base in Japan represents a continuation of the Korea Peace Foundation’s ongoing quest for peace in Northeast Asia since its establishment in 2015.   
  
Established in 1950 in the aftermath of the 1950-1953 Korean War, the UNC has been instrumental in preventing further conflict and upholding peace on the peninsula by maintaining the armistice and deterring North Korean aggression. 
  
The UNC extended its presence to Japan to uphold these objectives.   
  
The Peace Odyssey’s trip marked the first time the UNC granted foreign civilians access to its rear bases in Japan since the Covid-19 pandemic.   
  
There are seven UNC rear bases in Japan. The Peace Odyssey visited two — the Yokosuka Naval Base and the Yokota Air Base.   
  
While the UNC has made most base facilities accessible, a few remain off-limits. Amid the rapidly evolving international landscape characterized by increased cooperation between North Korea, China, and Russia, the UNC sought to provide accurate information about its role.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read the rest at the link, but as the article mentions the UNC rear bases in Japan serves a lot like what Kuwait has served for operations in the Middle East. Japan’s bases would be a critical logistics hub for bringing in material and troops to support any contingency on the Korean peninsula.

I prefer societies that hold people accountable for crimes even if its stealing about $3 of coffee:

And now we have the case of a 59-year-old man who was caught nipping a little extra coffee with his order and was detained by police for it. His cover was blown last December when he popped into a convenience store during his lunch break and ordered a Regular Coffee for 110 yen. However, while at the machine, a little devil on his shoulder convinced him to press the button for a Large Coffee valued at 180 yen which filled his Regular cup to the brim.

He then left the store but just as he was about to get into his car, the clerk called out to him and reported him to the police. While waiting for the authorities, the clerk interrogated the man and found that he had done this twice before at that store.

The man was then questioned by the police but no charges were pressed and the man was released. However, since he was the principal of a nearby junior high school, word of the incident got back to the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education who questioned the man once again.

This time he admitted to having misappropriated coffee a total of seven times since June of last year for an approximate total of 490 yen worth of ill-gotten coffee. He explained that the first time he did it, it was an accident, but when he discovered that a Large Coffee fit into his Regular Coffee cup and the staff didn’t say anything, he decided to do it again, even knowing it was wrong.

As a result, on January 30, the Board of Education handed down a disciplinary dismissal for “gross misconduct unbecoming of an educational public servant.” They also apologized “from the bottom of [their] hearts” for allowing this to happen.

Japan Today

You can read more at the link, but 490 yen equal about $3.30 USD.

I think the Japanese response to crime is better than in the U.S. where for example drugs are decriminalized in Oregon or shoplifters can get away with stealing $950 or less of items in California. This is all madness that increases crimes. You don’t see this madness in Japan and other societies that are tough on crime because they hold people accountable for even small criminal offenses such as stealing about $3 of coffee.

Considering all the publicity the Alkonis family made trying to get him transferred to a U.S. prison, it was doubtful they would ever keep his release low key:

A Navy officer’s release by U.S. authorities from his prison term for two 2021 traffic deaths near Mount Fuji has stirred a wave of criticism by Japanese on social media. Online critique of Lt. Ridge Alkonis’ release, ordered Jan.12 by the U.S. Parole Commission, and his subsequent media appearances “goes far beyond the scale” sometimes leveled at the U.S. military in Japan, said Jeffrey Hall, a special lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba prefecture. (……)

“The pressure campaign to release Alkonis and his subsequent release received very little media attention in Japan,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. “If they had not decided to draw attention to themselves with a post-release victory tour in the US news media, this event probably would have been largely unnoticed in Japan.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.