Good News: North Korea Freed American Reporters

Laura Ling and Euna Lee are back in America. They're the reporters from Current TV, based in San Francisco, who (North Korea's version)

• Entered North Korea
• Illegally
• Committed "hostile acts"

They say they hadn't intend to enter North Korea - legally or other wise - when North Korean border guards captured them. The idea that they actually strayed over the border is plausible enough, assuming that the China-North Korea border is as unmarked as the Canada-U.S. border is. As for those "hostile acts," I think the lead paragraph of a BBC article hints at what the reporters were up to:

"US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee told their families they had no intention of entering North Korea when they went to the border with China to report on the plight of North Korean refugees...."
(BBC)

I could be wrong, but I think Kim Jong Il might regard anyone talking to someone who had escaped from his domain as a "hostile act." Without the threat of secret trials hanging over them, people who made it out of North Korea might say things that wouldn't meet with Dear Leader's approval. As I wrote earlier, "I think it says something about a country or organization, when people can reasonably be said to have 'escaped.' " (June 20, 2009)

American Reporters Out of Prison: Good News

I'm very glad that the two reporters were released from their 12-year sentences in North Korea. That's good news. The two women might have survived 12 years of "reform through labour" - but it would have been the opposite of a pleasant experience.

Smear Campaign or Straight Reporting?

I'm not quite sure what to make of this part of a BBC article:

"'Smear campaign'

"Initially, there were denials from the American side that they had gone into North Korea - and both South Korean media and diplomatic sources said the North's guards had crossed into Chinese territory to arrest them.

"But a few days after their trial, the North's state media said the two had admitted entering the North and accepted their sentences.

"Official news agency KCNA [Korean Central News Agency] also said they had admitted getting footage for a 'smear campaign' about North Korea's human rights...."
(BBC)

There are "smear campaigns," of course. Sometimes journalists or publicists decide that a person or organization is naughty, and then write articles with carefully-selected facts. Or, sometimes just write articles.

On the other hand, it's possible to imagine that the Kim Jong Il regime doesn't like negative publicity. Who does?

In countries like America, having reporters dig up embarrassing facts comes with the territory for public figures and government institutions. I don't think the same can be said for countries like North Korea, where state news agencies are careful to project the desired image of the nation's leaders and institutions.

For people who are accustomed to a well-run, tightly-controlled news media like North Korea's, reporters doing a professional job of collecting and reporting facts might very well look like a "smear campaign."

Then there's the reporters' confessions:

"... Last Monday, Lee and Ling were sentenced in North Korea's top court to 12 years of hard labor for what KCNA called politically motivated crimes. They were accused of crossing into North Korea to capture video for a 'smear campaign' focused on human rights, the report said.

" 'The accused admitted that what they did were criminal acts committed, prompted by the political motive to isolate and stifle the socialist system of (North Korea) by faking up moving images aimed at falsifying its human rights performance and hurling slanders and calumnies at it,' it said...."
(Breitbart)

I think it's possible that one or both of the reporters did confess and apologize. That doesn't mean that I take the confession(s) seriously.

People can be persuaded to do a remarkable range of things. A writer, chronicling his experiences during WWII, observed that the police of a particular American city had, at the time, a reputation for being able to get suspects to confess to anything from the Lindbergh snatch to the murder of Cock Robin.

According to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's official news, another American apologized, too:

"...The Korean Central News Agency said Mr. Clinton "expressed sincere words of apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists."..."
(WSJ)

In this case, I'm quite sure that Mr. Clinton wasn't, ah, persuaded to apologize. There doesn't seem to have been enough time to work him over, for one thing.

The 'apology' may be wishful thinking on the part of the Korean Central News Agency, or a bit of creative memory based on official policy. Or, Mr. Clinton may have apologized for the "hostile acts." Whatever they were.

Diplomacy, prudent and otherwise, can make people do odd things.

What does this Mean?

The only thing I'm reasonably certain of is that the two journalists are back in America.

The assorted confessions and apologies may be fictional or real. The confessions may or may not have been made after the application of behavior modification techniques. I simply do not know.

There are plenty of opinions going the rounds, about what this release means. An op-ed piece in Reuters India impressed me by reporting opinions of a variety of experts: and identifying them. American journalism, at least, often refers to anonymous 'experts' - which can be impressive, if you have complete and unqualified trust in the news service.

Experts' opinions, from Reuters India:

• Tadashi Kimiya, Associate Professor, University of Tokyo
  • " 'It's hard to believe that North Korea released the journalists just on humanitarian grounds. It probably had something to do with a package deal with the United States, to resolve the issues of denuclearisation and normalisation of ties....' "
• Masafumi Yamomoto, Head of FX Strategy Japan, RBS, Tokyo
  • " 'The latest incident has not been much of a factor in the market as the situation regarding worries about a future change in (North Korea's) leadership and brinkmanship diplomacy remains unchanged....' "
• Zhang Liangui, Chinese Expert on North Korea at Central Party School in Beijing
  • " 'The North Koreans have rejected the six-party talks and they won't give up their nuclear plans; both were important components of U.S. policy, so to cave to them would show the U.S. had failed.
  • " 'Bilateral talks can't solve the problem, because they leave out other countries...."
• Narushige Michishita, Assistant Professor, Security and International Studies Programme at National Graduate Institute for Policy in Japan
  • " 'I think there will be a three-pillar approach, as we saw at the end of the Bill Clinton administration. The three pillars are tackling nuclear arms, missile issues and then moving toward a peace treaty (between the United States and North Korea). It is unclear what exactly the United States actually offered at the meeting, but I think Clinton at least tried to find out where North Korea stands on those issues now....' "
• Bruce Klingner, Korea Expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington
  • " 'Clinton's visit has roiled the North Korean policy waters beyond their already tumultuous state. There are great uncertainties over North Korean and U.S. intentions, escalating the risk of miscalculation, confrontation, and crisis....' "

Those bilateral and six-party talks haven't been in American news much lately. I briefly discussed them earlier this year. (May 25, 2009)

At the risk of seeming simplistic, I think that there's good reason to think Kim Jong Il realizes that a policy of threatening other countries and insulting American officials (CNN) results in unenforced United Nations resolutions, and concessions from other nations. Particularly America.

I also think that there's a real risk that Kim Jong Il, or his successor, will eventually miscalculate: either by actually launching an attack on another nation, or by making a credible threat against China or Russia.

I could be wrong, but I think that China, whose capital is within 600 kilometers of North Korea, and Russia, whose only viable Pacific seaport is even closer, might take immediate and decisive steps in response to a threat - real or imagined. Granted, the dialog conducted with tanks and bullets in Tiananmen Square was in 1989 (a commemoration of a 1988 event); and Korean Air Flights 902 and 007 were in 1978 and 1983: but there hasn't been that much of a change in leadership since.


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Related posts:

• "China Shot 12: Don't Worry, They're 'Mobsters' "
  (July 19, 2009)
• "North Korea's Kang Nam Turns Around, and I've No Clue Why"
  (June 30, 2009)
• "North Korea's Still There, Still a 'Serious Concern' "
  (June 24, 2009)
• "A Reporter Escapes the Taliban, Monks Escape China"
  (June 20, 2009)
• "USS John McCain Positioning for Intercept of North Korean Ship: More Radioactive Kimchi for Syria?"
  (June 19, 2009)
• "North Korea, American Journalists, the Internet, and Power to the People"
  (June 16, 2009)
  • (This isn't as groovily relevant as the title might suggest.)
• "North Korea and the Kim Jong Dynasty: Not All Countries are the Same"
  (June 9, 2009)
• "North Korea Sentences Journalists: No Surprises Here"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Tiananmen Square Commemoration in Hong Kong: No Tanks"
  (June 5, 2009)
• "North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Brinksmanship, and Miscalculation"
  (May 27, 2009)
• "North Korea's City-Busting Nuke, a New Missile, and Diplomacy"
  (May 25, 2009)
• "North Korea Nuke Test: The Genie's Out of the Bottle"
  (May 24, 2009)
• "North Korea's Launch: Watch Out for Incoming Communications Satellites?"
  (April 7, 2009)
• "North Korea and Missile Concerns: Nations are Not All Identical"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "North Korea Launches Missile; U.N. Security Council to Meet: Here We Go Again"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "North Korea - Again - Still - North Korea"
  (March 26, 2009)
• "North Korea Un-disables Reactor"
  (September 27, 2008)
• "North Korea Disables Reactor: Progress, of a Sort"
  (June 27, 2008)
• "Six Years Ago, Tomorrow: Remembering 9/11"
  (September 10, 2007)

News and views:

• "Freed journalists arrive in U.S. from North Korea"
  CNN (August 5, 2009)
• "Journalists freed from N. Korea return to U.S."
  Reuters (August 5, 2009)
• "Clinton And Freed Reporters Arrive Home"
  Sky News (August 5, 2009)
• "ANALYSTS' VIEW - North Korea frees U.S. journalists; what next?"
  Reuters India (August 5, 2009)
• "North Korea Frees Americans"
  The Wall Street Journal (August 5, 2009)
• "Profile: US reporters freed in N Korea"
  BBC (August 5, 2009)
• "Analysis: Clinton to North Korea -- a matter of respect"
  CNN (August 4, 2009)
• "N. Korea: Clinton 'funny lady, by no means intelligent' "
  CNN (July 23, 2009)
• "U.S. concerned over N. Korea-Myanmar tie"
  CNN (July 22, 2009)
• ""
  Breitbart (June 16, 2009)

North Korea's City-Busting Nuke, a New Missile, and Diplomacy

North Korea is an impoverished, mountainous country with a possibly-crazy dictator, missiles that could reach several other countries, and - most likely - nuclear bombs. If North Korea doesn't have atomic warheads now, there's every reason to believe that the country's leaders will soon.

'Obviously,' it's the fault of America.

"As the international community condemned North Korea's nuclear test and missile launch on Monday, analysts said the tests signaled Pyongyang's growing disillusionment over the U.S. refusal to conduct bilateral talks...." (LAT)

"...disillusionment over the U.S. refusal to conduct bilateral talks...." Not "disappointment," note: "disillusionment." Perhaps the Los Angeles Times writer intended only the literal meaning of "disillusionment:" "freeing from false belief or illusions." (Princeton's WordNet) I think it's at least as likely that the emotional connotations of "disillusionment" were intended, as well: as in chagrin or letdown. (thesaurus.com)

Particularly 'letdown,' since that can imply that North Korea has been let down, betrayed, by America.

Which, from one point of view, is accurate. North Korea's leadership wants to be treated just like the big countries: China, India, France, places like that. Just one problem. North Korea isn't just like China, India, or France.

The Los Angeles Times article's "bilateral talks" refers to Kim Jong Il's preference to avoid six-way talks about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. These talks involved:

• The People's Republic of China
• The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
• Japan
• The Republic of Korea (South Korea)
• The Russian Federation
• The United States of America

I think I understand why Kim Jong Il and company would prefer "bilateral talks" with just the United States. That would give North Korea status, as a country that can demand one-on-one negotiation with America.

Then, when Kim Jong Il's government decided it was tired of following whatever agreement was reached, it would be the fault of America - the only other party to the agreement.

A big plus that I see to the six-way talks is that it involves countries which are at least as concerned about a nuclear North Korea as America is: Much of Japan and China's population is within range of North Korean nukes, for example, and the Russian Federation has a valuable port city, Vladivostok, that's at risk.

I hope that North Korea is using its nuclear bombs as diplomatic bargaining chips. Because their chips are getting bigger. North Korea's first nuclear bomb had a modest one kiloton yield. The latest one seems to have been a ten kiloton bomb. By comparison, the one used over Hiroshima was a 22 kiloton bomb.

What the current administration will do is anybody's guess, but at least President Barack "Obama called Pyongyang's actions 'a matter of grave concern to all nations.' " (CNN)

And, keeping things interesting, North Korea seems to have tested a new missile today. It's called the Musudan-Ri missile, and could carry a nuclear weapon. It's got a range of up to 2,500 miles. Among other places, it could hit Guam. (FOXNews)

Related posts:

• "North Korea Nuke Test: The Genie's Out of the Bottle "
  (May 24, 2009)
• "North Korea's Launch: Watch Out for Incoming Communications Satellites?"
  (April 7, 2009)
• "North Korea and Missile Concerns: Nations are Not All Identical"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "President Obama: Ban the Bomb"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "North Korea Launches Missile; U.N. Security Council to Meet: Here We Go Again"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "North Korea - Again - Still - North Korea"
  (March 26, 2009)
• "North Korea Set to Launch - Communications Satellite?"
  (February 27, 2009)
• "Syria Accuses America, North Korea Threatens South Korea: Nothing New Here"
  (October 28, 2008)
• "Kim Jong Il Watches Football Game: And That's News"
  (October 4, 2008)
• "North Korea Un-disables Reactor"
  (September 27, 2008)
• "North Korea Disables Reactor: Progress, of a Sort"
  (June 27, 2008)
• "Syria, the IAEA, Israel, Claims and Denials"
  (June 22, 2008)
• "Unintended Consequences? The West May be Getting Over Hiroshima"
  (January 25, 2008)

News and views:

• "Obama: North Korean nuclear test 'a grave threat' "
  CNN (May 25, 2009)
• "Obama: North Korea 'Recklessly Challenging' International Community"
  FOXNews (May 25, 2009)
• "North Korea explodes bomb to get U.S. attention, analysts say"
  Los Angeles Times (May 25, 2009)
• "North Korean Nuclear Test Catches U.S. by Surprise"
  FOXNews (May 25, 2009)
• "Ban Ki-moon deeply worried by DPRK's nuclear test"
  Xinhua (May 25, 2009)
• "World leaders condemn N. Korea test, urge action"
  Reuters (May 25, 2009)
• "British PM condemns DPRK's nuclear test"
  Xinhua (May 25, 2009)

Background:

• "Joint Statement Released at Six-Party Talks"
  GlobalSecurity.org (September 19, 2005)

North Korea's Launch: Watch Out for Incoming Communications Satellites?

Comments on North Korea's recent test of a

• communications satellite which even now is playing tunes in praise of Dear Leader
• partially successful ballistic missile which
  • Successfully detached its first stage
  • Before malfunctioning

Take your pick. Reaction to North Korea's [successful / not entirely successful] launch of a [communications satellite / mockup nuclear warhead on an IRBM] isn't all one tune, either:

• "I bet Japan isn't happy right now. They're probably still edgy about missiles since the nuclear bombs our terrorizing government dropped in World War II."
  (BlogCatalog Discussion thread)
• "...Kim Jong-Il wept tears of regret that the money it cost could not have been used to help his people...."
  (AFP, reporting on a North Korea state press story)
• "...Media and officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday hailed the successful launch of a long-rang rocket that put an experimental satellite into orbit...."
  (Xinhua: Background on the New China News Agency at GlobalSecurity.org)
• "...'The U.N. Security Council should respond properly and teach North Korea a lesson that it has to pay for the act of provocation.'..."
  (Japan's foreign minister Hirofumi Nakasone (Taiwan News))
• "...The North Korean report was a a bit of a blast from the past because North Korea made a similar claim in 1998 that it had sent a satellite into orbit playing the exact same two songs...." (Global News Blog (Reuters))
• "...'This issue also involves the right of all countries to peaceful use of outer space,' she [China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu] said referring to the resolution 1718 passed by the UNSC after North Korea's nuclear test in 2006...."
  (The Times of India)

It's a Communications Satellite - It Has to be a Communications Satellite

I think that last comment shows how important it is that as many people as possible assume, officially, that the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea launched a communications satellite - successfully, of course - and not anything resembling a weapons system.

In some circles, it doesn't matter whether or not North Korea launched a communications satellite, a mockup nuclear warhead, or radioactive kimchi. America is a racist terrorist imperialist oppressor, and that's all there is to it.

'Real Americans' have equally odd ways of dealing with reality.

North Korea's way of handling the real world is to carefully manage what its citizens see and hear:

"...'Chants of jubilation are reverberating throughout the country on the news that our satellite is beaming back the "Song of General Kim Il-Sung" and the "Song of General Kim Jong-Il,"' the ruling communist party paper Rodong Sinmun said, referring to the North's founding president and his son.

"It reported that Kim Jong-Il 'felt regret for not being able to spend more money on the people's livelihoods and was choked with sobs.'

" 'Our people will still understand,' it quoted him as saying...." (AFP)

Those are the songs that the Reuters blog referred to, by the way.

Communications Satellite Trumps People's Livelihoods: Why?

The AFP article neglected to explain why Dear Leader " 'felt regret for not being able to spend more money on the people's livelihoods and was choked with sobs.' " Perhaps it's because somehow it's vital that North Korea deploy communications satellites - at any cost. And, that American terrorism and oppression are to blame.

There are other possibilities, of course. North Korea's leadership, under Kim Jong Il, may have determined that 'communications satellites' are vital to the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea. After all, they're constantly attacked by warmongers.

This article, from October, 2008, shows what North Korea (says) it's facing:

"The U.S. and south Korean military bosses held the 40th U.S.-south Korea "'annual security consultative meeting' in Washington on Oct. 17 at which they reaffirmed the 'strong defense commitments' of the U.S. to south Korea and adopted a 17-point joint statement the keynote of which is the 'rapid dispatch of reinforcements in contingency on the Korean Peninsula'....

"...Availing itself of this opportunity, the DPRK warns the south Korean puppets acting war servants of the U.S. imperialists.

"These war servants who go reckless to attack fellow countrymen with arms provided by their American master will not escape from the fate of a tiger-moth as they are cursed and denounced by all the fellow countrymen.

"If the enemy makes a preemptive attack at any cost, the powerful army of Songun and people of the DPRK will deal merciless retaliatory blows at the aggressors...."
("KNS, via GlobalSecutity.org)

Incoming Communications Satellites?

I hope that the current 'communications satellite' launch is more a matter of hardball diplomacy, than preparation for an anticipatory counteroffensive against U. S. imperialists. Or 'puppets' of USI.

The recent test wasn't as unsuccessful as some make it out to be. The vehicle successfully 'staged' - separated from the first stage - a technically challenging process.

I readily acknowledge North Korea's technical abilities. The country apparently is very close to IRBM nuclear capabilities. And, judging by a recent incident, where Syria complained that the Jews blew up a Syrian reactor that didn't exist, North Korea has become a moderately successful exporter of nuclear technology.

I have no problem with another country having high tech. Nations with a vibrant economy and a taste for technology make great trading partners.

North Korea, on the other hand, seems to be a self-isolated and possibly paranoid dictatorship. When an outfit like that gets nuclear weapons and delivery systems, there's a danger that one of the leaders will start believing his own propaganda.

Related posts:

• "North Korea and Missile Concerns: Nations are Not All Identical"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "North Korea Launches Missile; U.N. Security Council to Meet: Here We Go Again"
  (April 5, 2009)
• "North Korea - Again - Still - North Korea"
  (March 26, 2009)
• "North Korea Set to Launch - Communications Satellite?"
  (February 27, 2009)
• "Syria Accuses America, North Korea Threatens South Korea: Nothing New Here"
  (October 28, 2008)
• "North Korea Un-disables Reactor"
  (September 27, 2008)
• "North Korea Disables Reactor: Progress, of a Sort"
  (June 27, 2008)
• "Syria, the IAEA, Israel, Claims and Denials"
  (June 22, 2008)

News and views:

• "Russia wants deal on U.N. response to N.Korea launch"
  Reuters (April 7, 2009)
• "N Korea's satellite launch not same as missile test: China"
  Times of India (April 7, 2009)
• "Japan warns against UN inaction on NKorea launch"
  Taiwan News Online (April 7, 2009)
• "North Korean Revolutionary Tunes Sink to Bottom of the Sea"
  Global News Blog, Reuters (April 7, 2009)
• "DPRK officials, media laud successful satellite launch"
  Xinhua (April 7, 2009)
• "NKorea's Kim 'weeps' at historic rocket launch"
  AFP (April 6, 2009)
• "Mystery over fate of N. Korean rocket"
  CNN (April 6, 2009)
• "Anti-DPRK Military Confab of U.S. and S. Korean Warmongers Blasted"
  Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS), via Global Security.org (October 29, 2009)

---

Updated/correction (April 7, 2009)

The Xinhua (April 7, 2009) link in "News and views" was incorrect, and has been fixed.

---

CNN says status of North Korean vehicle is a "mystery." North Korea says their communications satellite is cheerfully singing the praises of Dear Leader and his father, while "...Officials from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command said the payload cleared Japanese airspace, but later fell into the Pacific Ocean...." The Japanese government says the same thing, and has ships headed to the impact points to recover debris.

In a way, it's a case of he said/they said: in this case involving an invisible communications satellite emitting undetectable signals.

Be Grateful for News Translated Into English - And Be Aware

Translations can be tricky. It's challenging to take a sequence of ideas, expressed in prose, from one language and culture, and translate it into a sequence that someone using another language, from another culture, will understand. (Poetry, in my opinion as a recovering English teacher, cannot be translated. At best, a similar poem can be written in the second language.)

The Tale of a Frog, Translated from English to French, to English

Even prose presents problems. Mark Twain, (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), wrote "The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County" in the 1860s. It was a hit. These days, in America, he might have been hounded by animal-rights enthusiasts, but that's another matter.

What is important to recall is that "The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County" was written in English, American English, and a very popular story. So popular that a translation into the French was attempted.

This translation, I am told, was not the commercial success that had been hoped. Mr. Clemens, obtaining a copy of the translation, had it - - - I think it is best if I use the American writer's own words, as used in a title of a monograph which discussed the matter: "The Jumping Frog: in English, then in French, and then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language Once More by Patient, Unremunerated Toil" - Mr. Clemens had a marked preference for English, particularly American English, and took no pains to conceal it.

A facsimile of Twain's "The Jumping Frog: in English, then in French, and then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language Once More by Patient, Unremunerated Toil" is available online.

Mr. Twain's re-translation intentionally retained the French synatx - which looks, to be polite, weird in English of any variety.

Before jumping into what prompted this post, Twain's story, online is available several places, including:

• "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" From The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches Mark Twain (1867) edited by: Angel Price (November, 1996)
• "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches"
  by Mark Twain - on Wikisource, undated

Thank You Very Much, Editors and Staff of 毎日新聞の

I don't know more that a few words of Japanese, so I rely on people who know both English and Japanese, or machine translations (usually one of Google's translation tools. The results are, well, less than ideal. For example, here's the first three paragraphs in 毎日新聞の article on Mr. Yamaguchi :

広島、長崎で直接被爆しながら、長崎での被爆しか被爆者健康手帳に記載されていなかった山口彊（つとむ）さん（９３）＝長崎市＝に対し、長崎市は２３日、広島での直接被爆と入市被爆を山口さんの手帳に追加記載した。広島、長崎での二重被爆者の存在について、厚生労働省は確認しておらず、長崎、広島両県市は「把握している限り、二重被爆が手帳に記載されるのは初めて」としている。

　長崎市の認定内容などによると、山口さんは４５年８月６日、三菱重工業長崎造船所の技師として広島市に出張中、爆心地から３キロの地点で直接被爆し、左上半身に大やけどを負った。翌日、避難列車に乗るため爆心地から約２キロ以内を通って入市被爆。８月８日に長崎市に戻り、翌９日に爆心地から３キロ付近で再び直接被爆した。同１３日に親族を探すため、爆心地付近に入り入市被爆した。別の被爆者の証言から二重被爆を裏付けた。

　山口さんによると、旧原爆医療法（現被爆者援護法）施行で被爆者健康手帳制度が始まった５７年８月、長崎市に申請し、手帳を交付された。当時は両方の直接被爆が記載されていたが、更新後の新たな手帳には長崎での直接被爆と入市被爆しか載っていなかったという。６０年の更新時とみられる。

Google translation:
Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings directly, Yamaguti Tsuyoshi was not mentioned in the health card only survivors of the Nagasaki bombing (as conductor), (93) = = The city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki on August 23, directly in Hiroshima Add to that described in the handbook at Yamaguchi City bombing and the bombing. Hiroshima, about the existence of a double-bomb survivors in Nagasaki, the ministry has not confirmed, Nagasaki and Hiroshima Prefecture, "as long as you know, are described in the handbook is the first dual-bomb" that.

According to the certification of the contents of Nagasaki, Yamaguchi 1945 August 6, during a trip to Hiroshima Mitsubishi engineer長崎造船所from ground zero to three miles directly bombed, burned a large left upper half suffered. The next day, about a train ride from ground zero to escape the bombing, entered through the two said. August 8 to return to Nagasaki, from ground zero in the next 9 days directly bombed again at around 3 km. Looking for relatives in the 13 days, bombed the city to enter into and around ground zero.裏付KETA a double bombing by the testimony of survivors.

According to Yamaguchi, the former atomic bomb Medical Law (Law survivors now support) hibakusha health card system began implementation in August 1957, to apply to the city of Nagasaki, was issued a handbook. At the time, was described by both direct bombing, a new notebook with the new City bombing did not just turn on and directly in the bombing of Nagasaki. Said 60-year update.

The Manichi Daily News English version, first three paragraphs:
NAGASAKI -- A 93-year-old man who experienced atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki has won official recognition as a dual hibakusha.

The Nagasaki Municipal Government acknowledged on Monday that Tsutomu Yamaguchi, 93, from Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, was not only exposed to the atomic bomb in Nagasaki but also in Hiroshima, and updated his A-bomb survivor's ID. So far, only his experience in Nagasaki had been recognized.

"As far as we know, it is the first time that a dual exposure to atomic bombings has been entered into an A-bomb survivor's ID," said officials of the prefectural and municipal governments of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has not confirmed the existence of a dual hibakusha.

It's (Not Quite) the Same Article

The most obvious difference is the lead paragraph. The Manichi Daily News English version leads with a shorter paragraph, for starters.

My best guess is that the editors decided to do more than a simple translation. Their English-language article conforms to a style which may be better suited to people whose cradle language is English.

A search for a Japanese rendering of the term "hibakusha," which I had found in today's news. I was writing another post at the time, and was verifying a few facts.

I didn't find "hibakusha" in The Manichi Daily News Japanese article. Actually, I'm sure I did: I just couldn't sort out which symbols added up to "hibakusha." the closest I got was 被爆者健康手帳制度 which apparently means "Hibakusha health card system," but I couldn't get "Hibakush" out of that string of characters. 被爆 apparently means "bombing" and 被爆者 "survivors."

At that point, I dropped the matter and went on to finish the post.

Don't Be Suspicious: But do Be Aware

When someone who almost certainly was not speaking English is quoted in the news - in English - that's not what the person said. It's a translation. It may be very accurate, somewhat accurate, or wildly wrong.

One of the better examples is on the SCMTranslation website:

"During a state visit to Poland in 1977, President Jimmy Carter delivered an address at Warsaw Airport. His speech was translated by a certain S. Seymour, whose grasp of Polish was sadly lacking.

"When Carter spoke of his 'desires for the future,' Seymour relayed the phrase as 'lusts for the future.' And when Carter mentioned his safe arrival in Poland, Seymour inadvertently explained that the president had 'left America, never to return.'

"['I had to grit my teeth from time to time,' Poland's President Gierek remarked, 'but one must not be rude to ladies or interpreters.']"

A Very 'Lucky' Man - One Way or the Other

Before anything else: Yes, I know. America isn't perfect. I've written about that before: "United States of America: 232 Years in the Freedom Business" (July 3, 2008). And, I think that war isn't at all pleasant. Things get broken, people get hurt and people die. That feels bad, and I don't like it.

This Man was Very 'Lucky' - One Way or the Other

Business is business, even during war. Not all that long ago, a man on a business trip was a little too close to an attack, and was burned on the upper left side of his body. The burns were serious enough to keep him in that city overnight. He was well enough to return to his home, in another city, the next day.

The day after that, there was a major attack near his home. He was far enough away that time, but he got hurt four days later, while searching for relatives.

I'll let you decide whether he was 'lucky,' because he didn't get killed either time, or 'unlucky' because he got hurt each time.

The Rest of the Story

With a respectful tip of the hat to the late Paul Harvey.

The businessman's name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi. He was an engineer, working for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, in Hiroshima, on August 9, 1945. He lived in Nagasaki, and wasn't hurt when the second nuclear bomb hit his home city.

He was about 3 kilometers (a little under 2 miles) away from ground zero, both times. He picked up residual radiation in Hiroshima when he got within 2 kilometers of ground zero, on his way to a train. On August 13, he was near ground zero in Nagasaki, searching for relatives.

I'll skip the obligatory America-bashing. You've read it all before, anyway.¹

You may not have read what I wrote in an earlier post:

"What happened to those two cities was terrible. But the policies of the Empire of Japan could not be tolerated - and ending the war by a conventional invasion would have involved massive losses on both sides, along with much more widespread destruction than the obliteration of two cities.

"I'm one of the people who is alive today because of Truman's decision. My guess is that quite a few people in Japan also are aware of forebears who would not have survived to be their grandparents and parents, if Truman had taken a 'no nukes' approach."
(January 25, 2008)

I'll admit to a bit of hyperbole there. Substantial portions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not "obliterated," but in America it's customary to assume that each city was completely destroyed: that makes us feel more guilty.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi is in the news today because he's the first officially-recognized double nuclear victim: someone who was hurt by both nuclear bombs. Since 1957, he's been getting monthly allowances and free medical check-ups. In America, that'd be a Federal thing. In Japan, payments seem to be handled by cities. Mr. Yamaguchi gets benefits because he's a hibakusha, (means 'radiation survivor,' I read). Japan hasn't paid his funeral expenses yet: but I imagine that Mr. Yamaguchi is in no hurry to get that benefit.

Somebody Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki: So What?

Mr. Yamguchi's survival is a very big deal for his family: If the news articles I've read mentioned his children and descendants, I missed that detail. I also haven't learned whether he found his relatives, or (more likely) their remains, back in 1945. The articles I read didn't even specify what the relationship was.

War Isn't Nice

The account of Tsutomu Yamaguchi is a fine human interest story: and a valuable reminder that war isn't pleasant. As I wrote before, things get broken, people get hurt, and some die. That's unpleasant.

On the Whole, I'm Glad that Japan is Doing Well

Just the same, although I'm glad that Tsutomu Yamaguchi is alive, and I sympathize for the losses he suffered, I'm not sorry that I'm alive, too.

If Harry S. ("The buck stops here") Truman had not given the order to drop nuclear devices, I might not be.

I'm quite interested in, and have a great deal of respect for, the people, culture, and history of Japan. But, the Empire of Japan had policies which weren't acceptable. America had, finally, become involved in a war which resulted - directly and indirectly - from a pronounced dissatisfaction with those policies.

One way or another, there would be an end to the American involvement in the Pacific theater that started with Pearl Harbor.

One option was to launch a conventional invasion. That would have been, to put it mildly, messy. It's almost a dead certainty that my father, who served on an LST, would not have survived. If your forebears lived in Japan around 1945, the odds are good that they would not have survived. And you wouldn't be here, reading this post.

Another option was to give the impression that America had a stockpile of atomic bombs, and had started using them. This was a colossal bluff. If Japanese leaders had waited longer, they might have realized that America had only two such devices: and had used both.

The war could then have lasted long enough for a full-scale, spectacularly lethal, invasion: and I wouldn't be writing this. And, possibly, you wouldn't be reading it.

Perhaps now it's more obvious, why I don't feel all that guilty about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I will not feel remorse for people being alive today, who might otherwise never have been born.

Japan, America, and Toyotas in the Ford Plant's Parking Lot

A few decades ago, when some Americans were (as usual) complaining about cars and international trade, somebody pointed out how many Volkswagons, Toyotas, and other foreign cars were in the parking lot of a major American auto maker. I don't remember which one: I picked "Ford" for the headline, because it's a short word.

Japan wasn't in very good shape right after WWII. Today, it's a country which has been giving America good competition in a number of fields. And, produces what are arguably the world's cutest robots.

Japan's prosperity is, I think, a result of the energy, drive, loyalty, and willingness to work that is part of Japanese values: Values which are shared by America, and heartily despised in some of this country's 'better' circles.

America helped Japan get back on its feet. It's not something that's talked about much here. For starters, America's policy of helping with Japan's economic recovery after WWII isn't at all consistent with the image of America as a racist oppressor.

Looks like we learned something from the Reconstruction and Versailles.

Related posts:

• "Japanese Court, Okinawa, Kenzaburo Oe:
  There's a Lesson Here"
  (April 5, 2008)
• "WWII and Japanese Americans, the War on Terror and Muslims: Learning the Wrong Lesson"
  (February 15, 2008)
• "Unintended Consequences? The West May be Getting Over Hiroshima"
  (January 25, 2008)

In the news:

• Japan Confirms First Double A-Bomb Survivor"
  Sky News (March 24, 2009)
• "Japanese man certified as double A-bomb victim"
  The Associated Press (March 24, 2009)
• " 93-year-old Jap man now a 'double sufferer' from US N-attack"
  Indopia (March 24, 2009)
  • Don't blame me! That's what the headline said. I don't change headlines in these references
  • If you're offended, take it up with Indopia
• "Elderly man officially recognized as double hibakusha"
  The Manichi Daily News (March 25, 2009)
  "二重被爆：長崎市が初認定　健康手帳に「広島」も記載"
  毎日新聞の (2009年3月24日)
  

Background:

• "Japan's Postwar Economic Recovery"
  H-Net Reviews (November, 2000)

---

¹ If your life won't be complete without one more bit of America-is-terrorist writing, check out "Nagasaki–The First Face of Nuclear Terrorism" Levellers (August 9, 2007).

According to the author, not only was the crew of the bomber American (everybody knows what the American military is like), "The crew of the bomber was Catholic...." That's news to me, but might be true.

I did know that many Catholics lived in Nagasaki, including the nuns in a convent which was destroyed by the nuclear device. I haven't confirmed that "the largest Catholic church, monastery and convent in Asia." But, that could be true.

But, I still won't curl up in an anguished knot of abject guilt over an act that almost certainly saved a great many lives in Japan - and America. The 'America is a racist oppressive warmonger' conditioning didn't quite take, in my case.

North Korea Set to Launch - Communications Satellite?

It's the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, of course: Or, for running-dog warmonger capitalistic aggressor oppressors, North Korea. I tend to call Kim Jong Il's end of the Korean Peninsula "North Korea," but recognize that others prefer different names.

The DPRK, North Korea, or whatever, says it's planning to test-launch a very peaceful communications satellite launch vehicle. Some other countries, including Japan and America, are dubious about just what the DPRK is testing.

Peace Committee: Reduce Puppet Warmongers' Stronghold to Debris

The DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said about the upcoming launch, and the Republic of Korea's ideas about sanctions against the DPRK.

According to the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, South Korea is "trumpeting about 'sanctions'", but foreigners will know "what will soar in the air in the days ahead." (AP)

That last, I believe.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea wasn't finished: " 'If the puppet warmongers infringe upon our inviolable dignity even a bit ... we will not only punish the provokers but reduce their stronghold to debris,' which certainly shows how peaceful the Committee is. (AP)

Why Worry About a Communications Satellite?

I'm not all that concerned about other countries developing advanced transportation systems. India's Chandrayaan 1 mission, for example, is the sort of competition that I think keeps everybody from getting lazy. (There's more than politics to the Asian moon race - communications satellites are big business, and India is one of the countries that wants a piece of the action.)

What's different about North Korea's efforts is partly a matter of what we're calling "transparency" these days. A "transparent" administration allows outsiders to see what's going on inside. That can include:

• Allowing reporters to talk to officials
• Making documents available
• Letting inspectors inspect

Kim Jong Il's DPRK is about as transparent as lead.

Then, there's the matter of attitude.

If the Democratic People's Republic of Korea wants nothing but peace, love, and understanding: They hide it well. Wonderfully choreographed dance numbers, on a scale that directors in Hollywood's golden age might have envied, photograph well. And, make for colorful and entertaining celebrations of the DPRK's achievements.

Equally well-choreographed displays of People's Army soldiers - and their equipment - are what concern me.

I don't have anything against professional dancers, or soldiers: and I think that choreographers and generals both contribute to society as a whole. In different ways, of course.

In both cases, it's not what they do so much as why the do what they do.

Japan, America, and Threats: This Isn't 1942

Japan's Defense Minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said that his country is considering whether or not to shoot down North Korea's "communications satellite," if it goes over Japanese territory. Considering the flight path of a North Korean launch in 1998, they may have an opportunity to act. (The Australian, Al Jazeera)

Meanwhile, over in America, the Navy's head of U.S. Pacific Commands, Admiral Timothy Keating, said that the American military is ready to deal with the launch.

"If a missile leaves the launch pad we'll be prepared to respond upon direction of the president," he said. And: "Should it look like it's not a satellite launch -- that it's something other than a satellite launch -- we'll be ready to respond." (ABC News)

Depending on your point of view, those statements show that Japan is a puppet warmonger, too - or that the Japanese and American military are, reasonably, ready to defend their countries from possible nuclear attack.

This isn't 1917, or 1941 - A Digression

I'm pretty sure that some, on American college campuses and elsewhere, will speak passionately in defense of one of the world's few remaining worker's paradises. I got over socialism in 1968, around the time Russia invaded and purged Czechoslovakia, but for some the fascination with 1917's revolution seems deathless.

Change is hard to accept.

In 1941, many of America's self-defined best and brightest still believed a Pulitzer Prize winner's glowing accounts of Stalin's efforts to industrialize Russia.

Five-Year Plans weren't quite so in vogue in 1975, when the Fall of Saigon was hailed as a triumph of the peace movement: by some of my fellow-students, anyway. At that time, some Americans still hadn't gotten over Pearl Harbor. Some haven't, to this day.

In Japan, some have tried to replace the less palatable aspects of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere with a nicer history. They haven't been entirely successful. Japan, along with America and some other countries, has embraced the Information Age, with its occasionally-embarrassing lack of respect for national boundaries.

Actually, in terms of consumer electronics, Japan has made quite a bit of the Information Age. But I'm digressing from this digression.

Today, I get the impression that a few people are still living in 1975, basking in the glories of righteous indignation over Watergate and My Lai, and looking back with nostalgia to a time when the worker's paradise was truly appreciated.

Living in the past isn't a good idea.

About two and a half millennia back, Heraclitus said: "Nothing endures but change." I'd say that he still has a point.

Change happens.

North Korean Leaders May Believe What They Say

North Korea doesn't seem to have gotten over failing to conquer the rest of the Korean Peninsula, after WWII. And, there's a chance that some of the DPRK's leaders actually believe their propaganda about America.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification's statement on reducing the puppet warmongers' stronghold to debris shows, I think, just how peace-loving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is.

I don't mind the thought of a country like India having nuclear weapons and advanced missile systems so much. That country has its problems, like everyone, but it's a relatively stable democracy, and seems to have realized that there's more to gain through trade, than conquest.

The DPKR, on the other hand, is an ideologically-driven, tightly controlled, self-isolated country with a very top-down leadership. The DPRK may be trying to get into the communications satellite business, but they could also be getting ready to spread peace to Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, and China. Minnesota is out of range of North Korea's missiles - for now - but that's not all that comforting a thought.

Related posts:

• "Iran Launched Satellite, Probably: and North Korea's Preparing for Launch"
  (February 3, 2009)
• "Indian Spaceship Crashes Into Moon: Right on Schedule"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 15, 2008)
• "Syria Accuses America, North Korea Threatens South Korea: Nothing New Here"
  (October 28, 2008)
• "Spaceship to the Moon: This One's from India"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 22, 2008)
• "Kim Jong Il Watches Football Game: And That's News"
  (October 4, 2008)
• ""Axis of Oil" - Slippery Situation for Next President"
  (October 3, 2008)
  • AoO, and North Korea, are on President Obama's desk
• "North Korea Un-disables Reactor"
  (September 27, 2008)
• "North Korea Disables Reactor: Progress, of a Sort"
  (June 27, 2008)
• "Iranian Nukes, Israeli Attack, Diplomacy, and Common Sense"
  (June 21, 2008)
  • (Keeping diplomacy in the real world.)

In the news:

• "Japan may aim to down North Korea missile"
  The Australian (February 28, 2009)
• "DPRK shows tough stand on satellite launch"
  Xinhua (February 27, 2009)
• "NKorea lashes out over missile-test warnings"
  The Associated Press (February 26, 2009)
• "U.S. Ready to Respond to N.Korea Missile"
  ABC News (US) (February 26, 2009)
• "N Korea defends 'space launch' "
  Al Jazeera (February 27, 2009)
• "North Korean Space Launch a 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' "
  Spaceflight Now (February 26, 2009)
• "Conference focuses on North Korea's infrastructure"
  CNN (February 26, 2009)
• "TEXT-North Korea says preparing satellite launch"
  Reuters (February 23, 2009)
• "North Korea: Launch prep not for missile but for space - Summary"
  The Earth Times (February 16, 2009)

Background:

• "Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) / North Korea Missiles"
  GlobalSecurity.org
• "THEATER BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE OPERATING FORWARD FROM THE SEA"
  Paper presented to Air Command and Staff College, via GlobalSecurity.org (March, 1997) (pdf)
• "Chapter 19 / REST OF WORLD MISSILE SYSTEMS"
  Air University Space Primer, via GlobalSecurity.org (July 23, 2003) (pdf)
  • More at GlobalSecurity.org Space / 2003 reports

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Japan: Join Us, America Will be Gone (and Israeli Official Warns Iran)

I'll give Iran's President Ahmadinejad credit: he seems to have a good understanding of how important alliances are.

Peace-Loving, Forward-Looking Iran?

Ahmadinejad was in Rome this week, at an international summit. He said that "as two civilized and influential states, Iran and Japan should get prepared for a world without the US.
(Ahmadinejad quotes from "President: Iran, Japan should be prepared for a world without US" IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) (June 4, 2008))

I've put key words and phrases in bold

" 'The US domination is on the fall. Iran and Japan as two civilized and influential nations should get ready for a world minus the US,' President Ahmadinejad told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on the sidelines of the UN food summit on Tuesday.

Ahmadinejad wants long-term cooperation between Iran and Japan - a reasonable idea - and said that Iran has always promoted peace and stability in the region and the world - a debatable idea.

The state news agency said "that Iran's progress is not against any country and expansion of friendly relations with all countries based on mutual respect is the absolute policy of the country...."

It gets better. IRNA paraphrases Iran's president's remarks: "Iran has a humanitarian solution and proposal even for the world's only forged regime, i.e. the Zionist Regime: Holding a referendum with participation of all Palestinians." I hope Iran's "humanitarian solution" doesn't wind up being as messy as the German National Socialists' "final solution."

Ahmadinejad: Remember Hiroshima, Join Us

President Ahmadinejad also understands how history and culture can influence decisions. IRNA quotes him, again speaking to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda: " 'Iran and Japan should launch coordinated measures and actions against the countries that use nuclear technology for non-peaceful and military purposes. And as victims of Weapons of Mass Destruction, they (Iran and Japan) should form a front to proceed the cause for nuclear disarmament.' ..."

Nobody, in Japan, or America, or anywhere else, is likely to forget that nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What is often forgotten is what the alternatives were.

The de facto leaders of Imperial Japan did not treat citizens of other countries - or their own subjects - well, although some alternatively-accurate textbooks and WWII Japanese veterans whose feeling were hurt disagree.

As I wrote a few months ago: "What happened to those two cities was terrible. But the policies of the Empire of Japan could not be tolerated - and ending the war by a conventional invasion would have involved massive losses on both sides, along with much more widespread destruction than the obliteration of two cities."

I'm one of the people who is alive because my father survived WWII. I'm pretty sure that there are many people in Japan, and America, who wouldn't be here if their parents or grandparents had been non-survivors of a desperate last stand in Tokyo, or Okinawa, or some small village in Japan.

Alternatives: Wishful, Appalling, and Unpleasant

I have trouble forgetting that Iran's current government helped popularize "Death to Israel! Death to the great Satan America!" And, that there's little-to-no evidence that Iran has reversed its position that Israel should be obliterated.

I don't think that the Ayatollahs are any friendlier toward America, or any other place where people don't follow Islam - their way.

I also don't think that Iran is pursuing a strictly peaceful nuclear program. Given their stated objectives, Iran's government could use nuclear weapons, to make their long-range missiles more effective. And, there's very good reason to think that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, and is all too likely to start a nuclear war.

Eventually, the IAEA, talks, and talks about talks, might defuse the problem that a nuclear Iran presents. I think it's more likely that Iran would add a few cities to the dreadful duo of Hiroshima and Nagasaki first.

Israel may solve the problem for all of us, before either of those alternatives plays out. "An Israeli daily says Cabinet Minister Shaul Mofaz has said Israel should attack Iran if it continues with its nuclear program.

"The Yediot Ahronot newspaper has quoted Mofaz as saying 'If Iran will continue with its plan to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it.' "
("Minister: Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon nuclear program International Herald Tribune (June 6, 2008))

And, from another article in the same paper:

"... 'If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective,' Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper...."
(" Israeli official says Iran attack 'unavoidable' " (June 6, 2008))

You'll notice, once you get past the headlines, that the "Israel will attack Iran" is conditional: that the official who made the threat said "If Iran continues with its programme...." [emphasis mine]

Still, it's a clear threat. And, I think, a serious one. Israel derailed Saddam Hussein's nuclear program, in 1981, and destroyed a Syrian reactor (or something else, if you believe some of Syria's versions) last year. Faced with another real and present threat, I don't think Israel's leaders will wait to see how many of their citizens are killed in the first wave of a nuclear war.

In the News (official and otherwise):

• "President: Iran, Japan should be prepared for a world without US"
  IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) (June 4, 2008)
  • " 'The US domination is on the fall. Iran and Japan as two civilized and influential nations should get ready for a world minus the US,' President Ahmadinejad told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on the sidelines of the UN food summit on Tuesday.
  • "President Ahmadinejad also called for long-term cooperation between Iran and Japan.
  • " 'Enemies do not wish Iran and Japan to find their historical and true status. The time has come for both countries to draw up the horizon for their long-term cooperation,' Ahmadinejad noted.
  • "He said that based on historical evidence, Iran has always been the promoter of peace and stability in the region and the world.
  • " 'No body or power can wipe Iran off the world scene and Iranian nation of course can well manage its affairs under such an atmosphere,' he said.
  • "He went on to say that Iran's progress is not against any country and expansion of friendly relations with all countries based on mutual respect is the absolute policy of the country...."
  • Iran's state news agency goes on to say that Iran wants a nuclear consortium, and that "Iran has a humanitarian solution and proposal even for the world's only forged regime, i.e. the Zionist Regime: Holding a referendum with participation of all Palestinians.
  • "He stressed that Iran and Japan can not accept extra demands.
  • " 'Iran and Japan should launch coordinated measures and actions against the countries that use nuclear technology for non-peaceful and military purposes. And as victims of Weapons of Mass Destruction, they (Iran and Japan) should form a front to proceed the cause for nuclear disarmament.' ...
  • "...Fukuda for his part hoped for all-out expansion of Iran-Japan ties and said the two countries' officials will in the future have meetings in each other's capitals.
  • "He also thanked Iran for securing release of Japanese hostages.
  • "He went on to say that Tokyo believes Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful and civilian. 'Iran is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear technology for energy generation. It should however find other means for optimal energy consumption and Japan is ready to help Iran in that respect.'..."
• " Israeli official says Iran attack 'unavoidable' "
  International Herald Tribune (June 6, 2008)
  • "An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said on Friday.
  • " 'If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective,' Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
  • " 'Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable,' said the former army chief who has also been defence minister.
  • "It was the most explicit threat yet against Iran from a member of Olmert's government, which, like the Bush administration, has preferred to hint at force as a last resort should U.N. Security Council sanctions be deemed a dead end."
• " Minister: Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon nuclear program"
  International Herald Tribune (June 6, 2008)
  • "Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclear program, a Cabinet minister hoping to replace embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted Friday as saying.
  • "Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz also said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will disappear before Israel does," the Yediot Ahronot daily reported. Ahmadinejad has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction."

I've mentioned alliances and lessons from the past before:

• "Holocaust Remembrance Day: May 1, 2008"
  (April 30, 2008)
• "The War on Terror? This May be The War For Freedom"
  (March 18, 2008)
• "Unintended Consequences? The West May be Getting Over Hiroshima"
  (January 25, 2008)
• "EEEK! Guns! Hoplophobia and Foreign Policy"
  (December 23, 2007)
• "Things Take Time: World War II Timeline"
  (October 21, 2007)
• "Iran and Russia and Germany and Japan"
  (October 19, 2007)

Japanese Court, Okinawa, Kenzaburo Oe: There's a Lesson Here

"Japanese court defends author, says military was involved in mass suicides in Okinawa"
International Herald Tribune (March 28, 2008)

Japan? Okinawa? What does a world leader in robotics and 'ancient history' from WWII have to do with the War on Terror?

Quite a bit, as a cautionary tale.

Japan, WWII, and the 21st Century

The Osaka District Court's Judge Toshimasa Fukami has been hearing a case involving WWII Japanese veterans, including one who is 91 years old. Their feeling were hurt by "Okinawa Notes," a book of essays by Kenzaburo Oe. And, they've been suing him.

Basically, the disagreement is:

• Kenzaburo Oe said that "the Japanese military was deeply involved in the mass suicides of civilians in Okinawa at the end of World War II."
• The vets don't want that to be so.

This time, truth won over preference. Judge Toshimasa Fukami's ruling said "The military was deeply involved in the mass suicides," and cited some of the evidence:

• Survivors testified that soldiers gave grenades to civilians to commit suicide
• Mass suicides happened only where Japanese soldiers were stationed

The International Herald Tribune reports: "The suit, filed in 2005, was seized upon by rightist scholars and politicians to try to delete references to the military's coercion of civilians in the mass suicides from the country's high school history textbooks. Last April, during the administration of the nationalist former prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Ministry of Education announced that textbooks would be rid of references to the military's role." [emphasis mine]

That's when I got very interested in Japan's educational system. So, apparently, did quite a few Japanese citizens. One prefecture saw the biggest demonstration since the seventies, Prime Minister Abe resigned, and the Ministry of Education decided "to reinstate most of the references in December."

The Japanese government now has an embarrassment on its hands. It:

• Claimed that its textbooks are free of bias
• Ordered inconvenient facts to be deleted from textbooks
• Then put most of them back in, under protest

In America, it's called "waffling," and I doubt that Japanese culture regards that sort of back-and-forth behavior any more favorably than American culture.

I have a great deal of respect for Japan's people, culture, and history. But I recognize that the country committed some very unacceptable acts, including the coerced mass suicides behind that lawsuit.

But, the Japan of WWII is not the Japan of the Information Age. Other people are in charge. My hope is that Japan will embrace, and learn from, its past. Actually, it looks like Japan is already doing that: with these "Dancing Japanese Robots," for example.


(pongielan08, YouTube (December 29, 2005)- video 3:25) (December 29, 2005)

America, the War on Terror, and Balance

"It's not the crime that hurts you: It's the cover-up" has been said about everything from Richard Nixon's Watergate to Martha Stewart's stock scandal. The idea is that the greatest damage to reputation and legal status comes, not from the original offense, but from attempts to keep it secret.

It's a very real temptation, the desire to bury or destroy evidence of one's own wrongdoing.

It's also, in my opinion, self-destructive. Whatever the original offense, lies intended to cover it up will almost certainly be uncovered. When that happens, there's more damage to reputation.

Worse, when knowledge of an offense remains hidden, there's no opportunity to make reparations, or learn and so avoid similar offenses.

America's problem, for the last forty years, has been the reverse of Japan's recent attempt at re-writing history. Instead of trying to erase past offenses from history, it's been the fashion for the last forty years to ignore what's been done well, and focus on America's faults.

Neither is a healthy approach.

I like to think that the 'America can do no right' attitude is waning. A hopeful indication was public response to the Abu Ghraib scandal of 2004. By the time news media began shocking the American public, and people around the world, with what promised to be the My Lai of the war in Iraq, military officials had been investigating the offenses for months.

It may have been a disappointment to anti-war enthusiasts, when Americans failed to line up behind the Abu Ghraib banner. Times have changed, since My Lai was marketed as a massacre.

All the more disappointing, since the appalling treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib had actually been a serious offense against common decency and military protocol. Unlike My Lai, which despite its accepted reputation appears to have been a military operation against an enemy base.

Americans may have more common sense now, than they did during the Vietnam War. I think the difference is that we now have more sources of information: and have learned from mistakes of the past.

---

Posts on related topics:

• " 'The Army is Unraveling' - Just Like Vietnam!"
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