edward12 comments

The Russians made a significant contribution to the surrender of Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria. Contrary to what western propaganda would have believe, the atomic bombs were not enough to persuade Japan to surrender. The Japanese understood the willingness of the Russians to invade the Japanese islands at whatever price with the same savagery as they themselves employed in their conquests in Asia. Imagine the effect of Russian brutality (think of the Russians in Berlin) on Japanese culture and society. Japan got off very lightly with only the loss of a few islands.

Any re-starting of any nuclear power plants should be contingent upon Tepco cleaning up the mess at Fukashima. The clean up needs to be done to an international standard with international inspection.

It seems he's trying to get all the perks of the job before Japan wakes up to his real agenda.

This spotlight on Japan presents the perfect opportunity for it to remind the world of the forward thinking, ingenuity, and global leadership which the country possesses, giving it a renewed and more influential role on the world stage.>

This must be intended as sarcasm as the article describes in detail a lack of forward thinking, ingenuity and global leadership.

Well, this looks like the right technology to replace the natural environment that has been destroyed by the Fukushima fiasco. Japan will certainly need more of these plants as the government continues to push for the restarting of nuclear reactors some of which are just about guaranteed to fail.

This is a sensible campaign and sadly rare example of responsible government leadership. It shows the power of competition to meet demand. The government needs to end its protective policies that have permitted Tepco to smugly inflict its incompetence on Japan and allow a truly open grid.

There have be NO power shortages since the nuclear power plants were shut down following the Fukashima disaster. If energy saving policies, energy sharing over an open grid, and the potential of rapidly developing alternate energy sources can meet Japan's energy needs, it makes a mockery of the professed "need" to restart the reactors.

Isn't there an old Japanese tradition of using a short bladed sword when one disgraces oneself?

The only thing that will end the denials and revisionism of the Japanese ultra-conservatives is a rapidly declining population that will turn Japan into uninhabited islands, probably radioactive and only fit for robots.

Sorry Japan, but this is where history catches up with the story you are trying to promote. If the international community could believe in Japan's sincere atonement for its WW2 atrocities, there would be a much greater willingness to accept that Japan is a victim of Chinese propaganda.

fxgaiJUN. 12, 2014 "The Chinese governments's attitude is always one of "blame, blame, blame". I don't see that from the Japanese government."

That's very true because the Japanese choose instead to ignore and deny. The human rights atrocities from the war don't fit the Japanese self perspective of being the victims so they conveniently forgotten by the mass of Japanese and vehemently denied by the right wing nationalists.

If the Hiroshima Peace Memorial is on the register, then why not a memorial to the Nanjing victims of Japanese aggression.

There's no doubt that Tokyo has its attractions but as a first time visitor I was not bowled over by the place. I have to wonder how easy it is to manipulate TripAdvisor ratings because there is certainly a lot of incentive to do so.

If only Japan really wanted to end the comfort women issue and all the other accusations regarding Japanese wartime atrocities. Japan could easily end the issue by having every PM for the next decade get down on his/her knees in atonement at the numerous memorials to the victims of Japanese aggression. Suddenly, Japan would assume a leadership position in Asia, live up to its ostensible reputation of being an advanced nation, and gain international prestige and credence. It would probably do wonders for the economy too. If only ---

Japan is not suffering a shortage of electricity even with all the nuclear reactors shut down. Electrical appliances here are much more efficient than anywhere else. For example, after the Fukushima disaster there was a rapid and ubiquitous shift to LED lighting instead of florescent light, which is more efficient than incandescent lighting. There has also been a massive expansion of solar panel installations throughout Japan. While solar and other renewable energy maybe not supply the base-load requirements, natural gas fired plants can. Japan's current deficit reflects the import of natural gas and that's the motivation for restarting the reactors. With a declining population and industrial capacity a longterm investment in nuclear power is a short-sighted and dangerous solution to solve the deficit. There's also the overly cosy relationship of the nuclear industry, the LDP and the bureaucrats http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/world/asia/after-fukushima-fighting-the-power-of-tepco.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry680%23%2Ftepco.

Yes, it looks like self-defense preparation but in Japan nothing is quite what it seems. In the name of Japanese honor things take on a momentum and consequences be damned. Read "Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy" by Eri Hotta see how this happens.

Japan's clinging to tariff protection is an attempt to deny the reality of geography. Have a look at this link http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/wheat-kings/article18731866/to see state of the art wheat farming in Canada. Limited land resources in Japan suggest that Japan might be better off to focus on developing and enhancing the products in which it can and has competed so successfully. There are many things that Japan does well and could trade with the world but trading is a two-way street and is based on trust. Unfortunately, here is yet another example of a lack of trust between Japan and the international community.

Considering all that Japan has to offer the number of tourists is very low. Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong have twice as many visitors. Macau, a mere city, has as many visitors as Japan. If Japan got used to seeing more foreigners, it might help the Japanese to experience the diversity of ideas in the international community. Then again, it might not.