Japan Watching: Society, Politics, Culture, Economy, Environment, And the World

Greenpeace anti-whaling activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki (the “Tokyo Two”) have just been convicted of stealing whale meat.  But who really is guilty in this murky affair?

The controversial American made film “The Cove”, which documents the horrors of Japan’s dolphin hunting, is not being shown in Japan.  As reported in the media, this is not because of formal censorship, but due to pressure from extremist, right-wing, nationalist groups. 

Japan has never been a global giant in diplomacy.  Too locked in a national mindset, based on its peculiar culture.  A natural follower of the US, which provides its security shield. 

An air of sadness has descended on Tokyo.  The sky is grey.  The weather is cold, with drizzling rain.  And what’s more, the cherry blossoms (“Sakura”) are late.

Tokyo’s airports are puzzling.  Its number 1 airport at Narita is nothing compared with those in Hong Kong or Singapore.  It is certainly nothing compared with Beijing's new airport!  And Tokyo’s Haneda airport looks almost third world. 

The Australian government is now threatening to take Japan to the International Court of Justice because of its whale hunting.  This follows ferocious clashes between Japanese whalers and an anti-whaling protestor, the Sea Shepherd Society, and strong criticism by the environmental movement in Australia (supported by New Zealand, EU and US).  Every year, Japan's whale hunt seems to attract more and more of the world's attention. 

Japan’s bureaucrats and business leaders were aghast when Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced at the United Nations in September this year that Japan was going to cut its carbon emissions by 25 per cent between 1990 and 2020.  How could a democratically elected Prime Minister do such a thing without first getting approval from the bureaucrats?  And won’t this compromise Japan’s fragile business competitiveness?

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, has taken the climate change world by storm in pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in the next 10 years from 1990 levels.  There is however one big condition -- if other major polluters do the same – “We will seek to build an international framework that involves all major countries and is fair and realistic.”

Is Hatoyama on the right track?

“You never know when the Japanese are going to go ape”, said George Ball, undersecretary of state in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (quoted from Pyle).  He described the Japanese “as repeatedly unpredictable and irrational”.

It may not have been apish to elect the Democratic Party of Japan to govern the country, with Yukio Hatoyama as the Prime Minister.  But Hatoyama and his wife have certainly raised a few eyebrows.

I said to Tomoka-san, “don’t worry, we have many years to discover Tokyo together”.  “But we can’t be sure of the future”, he insisted.  “Is it your health?”  “No”.  “We have been waiting for another big earthquake for many years.  It’ll probably happen in the next two years.  We don’t know if we will still be here after that.”