Global Voices » Jens Wilkinson

Jens Wilkinson — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:15:18 +0000

Blogger Ampontan offers an essay on the history of a matsuri (festival) which changed after the war, and discusses the aims of festivals. Not serious politics, but it's an interesting view of how “traditions” can be born from specific conditions.

Japan: Sumo Wrestling Takes a Beating

Jens Wilkinson — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:03:20 +0000

It’s been a tough few months in the world of Sumo wrestling, Japan’s “national sport.” First, Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu, one of two yokozuna (the top wrestling class) returned to his homeland to undergo treatment for a mental disorder brought on by criticism that he shirked his duties, pretending to be ill, and then returned to Mongolia, where he was filmed playing soccer. Parts of the media decried how “Japan’s traditional sport” was being harmed by the influx of “foreign wrestlers” and “Japan’s traditional sport.”

Anyway, the problems took a turn for the worse when it was revealed that in June, a 17-year-old wrestler named Tadashi Saito (his ring name was Tokitaizan), who had just entered the tough world of Sumo, had died following a training session. At first his stablemaster, Tokitsukaze arguedthat the death was due to exhaustion, but it has now turned out that Tokitaizan was “bullied” to death, and the stablemaster has since been fired by the Sumo Association.

Many bloggers have discussed the treatment he received, which included being hit with an empty beer bottle. For example, one blogger writes:

「もう逃げ出しません。がんばります」というように言わせたり、携帯電話を二つにへし折り、親と連絡が取れないようにするなど、（ここまで人としてできるのだろうか？）と恐ろしいばかりです。

He was forced to promise “I won’t run away anymore, I’ll do my best,” and they broke his cell phone into two so he couldn’t call his parents. It’s frightening. Can people really do that?

Blogger Matimulog expresses the widespread sentiment of disappointment in how it took such a dramatic event to shed light on the problem of bullying in sumo.

そして、弟子が死んで初めて問題が表面化するというのでは遅すぎるのである。逮捕監禁傷害行為が日常的に行われ、死ななければ問題視されないという環境、それでなければ弟子が育たないし強くならないというのでは、日本の国技というより国恥であろうに。

It seems that it takes the death of a young wrestler to make the story public. The environment is such that assault seems to be a daily occurrence, and it seems to takes a death for this to be seen as a problem, since people seem to believe that without the violence, young wrestlers cannot become strong. This should be seen as Japan’s shame, not Japan’s national sport.

One issue of common interest is the responsibility of the Sumo Association itself. As blogger Shosan no Blog writes:

相撲協会は斉藤さんの死亡直後にも事情を聴いたが、時津風親方が愛知県警の事情聴取に暴行を認めたとする報道を受け、文部科学省から独自調査をするよう指導されたため、再聴取した。同親方の説明は死亡直後と異なるという。

Right after Saito’s death, the Sumo Association asked for an explanation from the stablemaster, but interviewed him again following a request from the Ministry of Education and Culture, after Tokitsukaze admitted to the Aichi Prefecture police that violence had been involved. He apparently gave a different explanation in the first interview.

Finally, while pinning the blame firmly on Tokitsukaze, blogger Igajin no Tensei Jingo talks about the bleak future of sumo.

いまでさえ、新弟子の志願者が急減しています。時津風親方を相撲界から追放しなければ、日本の伝統である大相撲は、やがて消滅することになるでしょう。

Even now, the number of young men hoping to go into sumo is rapidly decreasing. If Tokitsukaze is not thrown out of the sumo world, a Japanese tradition, it is likely that the sport will be destroyed.

Who knows what trouble will befall the world of sumo next.

Jens Wilkinson — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:28:25 +0000

In a new blog, Neojaponisme, W. David Marx reports on suppressed reports of pedophilia against a well-known Japanese producer, Johnny Kitagawa. It's a good read on the state of the media in Japan.

Jens Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:51:36 +0000

Who do you trust with your yen? Writing in Liberal Japan, blogger Matt Dioguardi points out an interesting irony: it would appear that the government has concluded that teenagers working in convenience stores are more trustworthy than government bureaucrats working in its own offices.

Japan: New Justice Minister wants “automatic” executions

Jens Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:43:09 +0000

New Justice Minister Hatoyama Kunio, upon taking office on September 25 (actually at his outgoing press conference, before he was reappointed to the position), stated that he supported creating a “conveyor belt” process for executions, so that the justice minister (meaning himself) wouldn’t have to sign death warrants.

In view of the already problematic nature of the Japanese death penalty process, as described here before, this is an alarming prospect.

The Japanese blogosphere was understandably divided on the issue. Conservative bloggers tended to applaud the statement. For example, Chimata no Wadai stated:

鳩山法相は『法務大臣に責任をおっかぶせるような形ではなく、半年以内に死刑執行されなければならないと自動的に進むような方法がないのかなと思う』と発言した。吾輩は双手を挙げて大賛成である。やっとまともな発言をする法務大臣が現れて嬉しい。死刑の判決が出されても法務大臣が署名しなければ死刑の執行ができないということは司法の独立を阻むものではないか。

Justice Minister Hatoyama said that “There should be a way for executions to be carried out automatically within a period of six months from the judgment, without having to rely on the authority of the Minister of Justice.” I raise my hand in full agreement. Finally, we have a Justice Minister who talks reasonably. The judiciary cannot be called independent if the carrying out of the death penalty depends on the signature of the Minister of Justice.

Blogger Otama obasan de mo wakaru, who does not seem to be personally against the death penalty, finds Hatoyama’s position irresponsible.

と語ったそうですね、鳩山さん。こういう司法や憲法をわからない人がなんで法相やってるのでしょうか？過去サインをしなかった法相がみな、単に、はんこをつくのが嫌だったと本気で思っているのかな？

Hatoyama makes his proposal. But it seems like a proposal by somebody who doesn’t understand the Constitution. Does he think that the Justice Ministers in the past who refused to sign warrants did so simply because they didn’t want to give their stamp?

From a more liberal perspective, blogger Big Bang makes a good point about Hatoyama’s responsibilities.

ところが、彼がここで言っているのは死刑執行廃止論ではない。死刑執行の最後のボタンを自分が押すのは嫌だと言っているのであり、またその行為を最後の一人に委託するのは酷だと言っているようだ。では、一体誰が一人の人間の命を奪うことの最終責任をとるのか。それを乱数表に委ねるというのは悪質な責任放棄であろう。そもそも鳩山氏に誰かがその役割を強制したわけではない。その役務がつらいというなら、彼は法相を引き受けるべきではないし、その自由がある。

However, Hatoyama is not calling for the abolition of the death penalty. He’s just saying that he doesn’t like to have to be the one to push the button for the execution, and that it’s painful to have the responsibility put on one person. If so, then who is supposed to take final responsibility for taking the life of a person? It would be a malicious refusal of responsibility to use a conveyor belt approach. And if you think of it, nobody forced Hatoyama to take this position. If the position is too painful, he shouldn’t have accepted the position.

Finally, the blog Bogus News carried an interesting but implausible story, that Hatoyama was planning to develop an execution robot, sort of like Robocop.

全自動死刑執行ロボは、法務相の署名が必要なことから執行の滞りが問題となっている死刑を自動的に行うべく開発された。スイッチオンで自律的な判断に基づいて捜査を開始。

The fully automatic execution robot is developed to automatically carry out executions, without the signature of the Justice Minister, which has become a problem. It begins its investigations automatically, when the switch is turned on.

Japanese cameraman killed in Myanmar

Jens Wilkinson — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:24:43 +0000

During a demonstration on September 27, Japanese photojournalist Nagai Kenji was killed while reporting on the ongoing unrest in Myanmar.

Initially, news reports were that Nagai had likely been struck by a “stray bullet” when security forces opened fire on protestors. However, as written by Hosaka Nobuto, an opposition politician, in his blog entry:

昨日の夜、日本人ジャーナリスト長井健司さんが死亡したというニュースが飛び込んできた。当初は、「流れ弾にあたったのか」とも言われたが、1メートルの至近距離からビデオ撮影中に銃撃されたという情報も出てきており、軍事政権兵士によるジャーナリスト殺害であった可能性も高い。

Last evening, it was reported that Japanese journalist Nagai Kenji had died. Initially, it was said that he had been “struck by a stray bullet,” but information has emerged that he was shot from a distance of one meter while taking video images, and it seems likely that this was the murder of a journalist by soldiers of the military government.

Needless to say, there are a number of bloggers who have written that Nagai brought this on himself by exposing himself to the line of fire. And many others have condemned the Myanmarese military regime for its violations of human rights.
One interesting part of this drama was the use of pictures. The morning and evening editions of Asahi Shimbun carried the same picture, but the photo in the morning edition was trimmed to avoid showing Nagai lying on the ground after being shot. As described by blogger coral_island,

2枚の写真をよく見てください。実は全く同じ写真なのです。朝刊ではわざわざ銃を構える治安部隊員と、倒れている長井健司さんを外してトリミングをしているのです。同じ写真であるのにこうした細工をすることによって、全く印象の違うものになってしまっています。

Look at the two pictures. They are absolutely identical. In the morning edition, they deliberately trimmed the picture to avoid showing Nagai Kenji and the soldier who shot him. The pictures give a totally different image.

What is particularly interesting about this case is that in general, the Japanese media do not show pictures of bodies. But in the evening edition of Asahi, Nagai is shown on the ground, still trying to film despite being fatally wounded.

Blogger Kyo no My News gives an idea of why, in the Nagai case, this principle might have been waived.

それにしてもテレビは、人が撃たれるところなんかを、平気で流すようになったね。ドラマじゃなくて、本当に起きていることなのに。長井さんの場合は、映像では、撃たれて倒れているけれど、まだ生きていて、“死体”じゃないからいい、とでも言うのだろうか。

In any case, the TV stations had no problems with showing pictures of a person who had been shot. This wasn't a soap opera. It was something real. But in Nagai's case, he had been shot in the picture, but was still alive. I guess they would say it was OK, because it was not yet a “dead body”.

Jens Wilkinson — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:19:11 +0000

Blogger Tobias Harris, a keen observer of politics in Japan, adds some interesting analysis of the transition from the Abe to Fukuda cabinets. He looks at the return of factional politics in the ruling LDP, and finds that Fukuda has made some keen decisions in his first day in power.

Jens Wilkinson — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:04:20 +0000

Japanese blogger and human rights activist Arudou Debito talks about the new biometric immigration procedures for foreigners arriving at Tokyo's Narita Airport, along with the revival of mandatory fingerprinting after a hiatus of ten years.

Japan: Fukuda Slated to Be Next PM

Jens Wilkinson — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:45:23 +0000

In the Liberal Democratic Party election held on Sunday the 24th, Fukuda Yasuo defeated opponent Aso Taro, and is slated to become the next Prime Minister. He will follow Abe Shinzo, who resigned two weeks ago.

This marks an important change. Fukuda is generally known as a moderate within the LDP, and thus his election is a change from the administrations of Abe and his predecessor Koizumi Junichiro, who followed a generally conservative, market-oriented reform program. In the Upper House election held this July, the LDP was badly beaten by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Thus, it seems that a period of fluidity has arrived in Japanese politics.

Needless to say, the election of Fukuda is a major topic for bloggers as for the media in general. One of the big issues that Fukuda will deal with is the extension of the Anti-Terror Law, which permits Japan to participate in the US “War against Terror.” A recent report that Japan was (in opposition to the law) refuelling US aircraft carrier heading to Iraq will put more sparks into the emerging fire.

Blogger Jun Okumura, writing in English, talked about the main issue that Fukuda will have to take up, the counter-terrorism extension bill.

The first item on the Prime Minister to-do list is, of course, pushing a counter-terrorism extension bill. Mr. Fukuda has steadfastly refused to say that he'll resort to the supermajority override. I firmly believe that this is merely part of the LDP charm offensive, beginning right after the Upper House election, when Nobutaka Machimura and other party worthies talked up the DPJ and even hinted at a Grand Coalition.

Conservative blogger Hakase no Hitorigoto summarized a right-wing position on Fukuda's election, seeming to express dismay as a “step backward” that Fukuda will probably take:

一方、安倍氏とは、改憲や集団的自衛権行使の論議で大きく食い違い、今後の「与党内対立」をも回避できない状況にあった。いわば、安倍氏の存在は「目の上のたんこぶ」であり、邪魔者であった。このままでは、政権を離脱する可能性すら考えなければならない局面にあった。

On the other hand, Fukuda has a quite different stance from Abe concerning the right of collective self-defense, and it will be impossible to avoid conflict within the ruling party on this. Abe's existence itself has become like a “bump on the head of the LDP,” and it even seemed possible that the LDP would lose power.

Thus, for conservatives, it seems that Fukuda represents a danger that Japan will move leftward from the Koizumi/Abe line. From the other side, Blooger Aoki Naoto, talks about his excitement about what may come next in Japanese politics.

既存政治を全否定する私でも、これから始まる福田自民党と小沢民主党の歴史的攻防にワクワクした思いで注目せざるを得ない。国民不在の政治劇ではあるが、どちらが政権を取るのか、そしてその政権がどのような政策を国民に提示するのかは、我々の生活に直結する。

Even I, who am usually blase about politics as usual, am exciting about the coming historical confrontation betwen Fukuda Yasuo and Ozawa Ichiro of the Democratic Party of Japan. It will be politics without the presence of the people, but the winner of the contest will have a big effect on the lives of the people.

Finally, Hosaka Nobuto, a Diet member from the opposition Social Democratic Party, expresses the lack of enthusiasm that many feel regarding Fukuda's election, and in particular his thoroughbred upbringing (he will be the first second-generation Prime Minister ever):

明日、首班指名を受けて組閣される福田内閣はサプライズなどなく、派閥均衡配慮型になるのは、これまでの経過を見れば容易に予想できる。そして、私たちはこの内閣をいつかどこかで見たような感覚で受け止める。
「帰ってきた自民党内閣」「壊れなかった自民党内閣」なのか。また、親子で総理というのも、世襲政治家だらけの日本の停滞した政界の空気を物語る。その前の安倍総理も岸信介の孫、今回の対抗馬だった麻生太郎幹事長も吉田茂の孫となれば、今回の自民党の選択は「総理の子か、孫か」しかなかったことになる。

The Fukuda cabinet, which will be elected tomorrow, is no surprise, but rather represents a division of positions among the factions of the LDP, and this could be easily predicted. And it seems we've seen this kind of cabinet before.Is it really a “revival of the LDP” or “a cabinet from an unbroken LDP”? In addition, this second generation prime minister is symptomatic of the void in Japanese politics, where political positions are inherited. The former prime minister Abe was the grandson of former Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke, and his opponent, Aso Taro, is a grandson of former Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru. Ths choice this time was between the “son of a former prime minister” and the “grandson of a former prime minister.”