moonbloom comments

It used to be that they would physically grab you.

After the law was passed, at least they don't do that anymore.

It was not an attitude confined to California. The spirit of the time was based on the theory of eugenics. Standardized testing was based on it and was said to prove the superiority of certain people.

If the Japanese ruling party had a shred of independence from their overlords (who via the CIA financed their formation and rise to power n the 1950's and 60's) they would be able to deduce and then verbalize something which would acknowledge that it would be difficult to honor an agreement that Trump reneged on. They are not able to for obvious reasons.

Sh1mon M4sada,

I agree that the politicians here have been cleverer in understanding that they can enrich themselves better if they create a more stable work force.

However, your statement that ch'aebols only think about enriching themselves while the Japanese corporations were "the pioneers of leftie ideas" is completely false. In fact the corporations worked closely with Japanese bureaucrats in using yakuza to break strikes and any opposition. It is the workers and opposition parties (yes, EXACTLY like the public forces in South Korea) who lifted their voices and forced Japan Inc. to provide better working conditions.

Sh1mon M4sadaToday 06:35 am JST

hmmm, Japan doesn't have chaebols...as a matter of facts Japan's corporations were the pioneer of cushy lifetime employment and other 'leftie' ideas, whereas SK chaebol were just there to enrich themselves at the expensive of the rest of the country.

Well Sh1mon M4sada I think you need to learn a little more about Japan-

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/japans-political-thugs-exposed-1553629.html

[ JAPANESE citizens have long suspected it, but for the first time it has come out in court: the nation's notoriously bribeable politicians are in hock even to the underworld syndicates, or yakuza, which perform much of their dirty work for them. And, appropriately, the politician at the centre of the bribery and gangster scandal is Shin Kanemaru, whose family name translates as 'circle of gold'.

The link between the political world and the yakuza came out this week in a court statement by the public prosecutor at the beginning of a long-awaited case over the Sagawa Kyubin trucking company. The case involves about 500bn yen ( pounds 2.3bn) in fraudulent loan guarantees and bribes made by the company to other firms and to politicians.

This kind of corruption has become standard fare and on its own would have raised few eyebrows among the cynical electorate. But during their investigations the prosecutor's office also dug up evidence that executives from Sagawa were acting as go-betweens for Mr Kanemaru, the most powerful politician within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and the Inagawa-kai, the main yakuza gang in Tokyo.

The revelation of this 'circle of gold' linking politicians to crime syndicates is highly embarrassing to Mr Kanemaru and the LDP. 'Our country has been made to look ridiculous,' editorialised the Mainichi newspaper in Tokyo. ]

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html

[ "This story reveals the intimate role that Americans at official and private levels played in promoting structured corruption and one-party conservative democracy in post-war Japan, and that's new," said John Dower, a leading Japan scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We look at the L.D.P. and say it's corrupt and it's unfortunate to have a one-party democracy. But we have played a role in creating that misshapen structure."

The American occupation forces freed accused war criminals like Nobusuke Kishi, later Japan's Prime Minister. Some of the rehabilitated politicians had close contacts with organized crime groups, known as yakuza. So did Yoshio Kodama, a political fixer and later a major C.I.A. contact in Japan who worked behind the scenes to finance the conservatives.

A United States Senate subcommittee discovered that Lockheed Corp., seeking lucrative aircraft contracts, had paid $12 million in bribes to Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and the Liberal Democrats. The conduit was Mr. Kodama -- political fixer, tungsten smuggler and C.I.A. contact. ]

Of course you want to say this is all in the past, right? Well, everyone knows how eager Abe was to shred his hanami party guest list. And everyone knows Abe is the grandson of class A war criminal Kishi Nobusuke, who worked closely with yakuza.

✕

[ u_s__reamerToday  09:42 am JST

Anyone care to explain?

Maybe, the Japanese, who have a neurotic penchant for comparing themselves to other peoples, will begin to wonder about themselves, ask questions about their own society: their capitalist values, the disparities in wealth, the socially-structured injustices and their feckless, responsibility-averse politicians who preside over the worsening standards of living of the majority. My teaching Korean films to Japanese students has produced precisely this effect. ]

Great that your university allows you the freedom to do this.

sensei258Today  04:22 pm JST

No, teenage males who want to disrupt the final exams.

Actually no, if you've been following the news (i.e. the controversy over showing the documentary in Kanagawa which makes it plain that the Japanese gov't did use coercion and chicanery to make Korean women service Japanese soldiers) it is obvious this is totally about Japanese neo-nationalists.

It's also plainly stated in this story that not only schools but also a community center where cultural exchanges take place between foreigners and Japanese was targeted.

Interesting that when certain nationalities are targeted, no one generally seems to mind...had this involved overt hatred towards US or UK nationals, you can bet this article's comments would be lit up.

In the end, what does it matter? Everyone knows about the [ working poor ] situation in Japan, and its low ranking in life satisfaction survey. Foreigners like myself are fortunate to be able to have certain privileges/priority to certain jobs, but one cannot fail to see how hard it is for the average Japanese citizen.

[ Yes, Ghosn escaping Japan while on bail is illegal. However, the real criminals are the prosecutors who locked him up in solitary confinement indefinitely with constant threats of "Confess or it will get worse for you."}

Well-stated.

I had read that a FBI guy took a deep look into Japanese industries and found that most of them were connected to or involved with the yaks. I have heard they are connected to any industry that has to do with foreign labor like IT etc.

Yes that is correct. Unfortunately after the war we (the US) released A list war criminal core yakuza ring leaders and intimate associates from prison such as Kodama Yoshio and Kishi Nobusuke and then actually supported them financially to put the hammer down on student and worker activists. With this assistance the yakuza and their government associates have completely taken over Japanese society...after the Olympics it'll be onto the casino projects.

Sounds like you hope other yaks don’t kill themselves.

Was referring to his choice of living a pointless futile life of crime, one in which he was involved in killing other people.

Eerie that this occurred the day after Lebron passed him on the the all-time scoring list.

More yakuza wonderfullness.

Hopefully some of his associates will learn a lesson or two from his untimely end, and refrain from emulating him.

If it is Sex related..... the Yakuza actually have somewhat of a Mandate from the Japanese Government to handle that vice. Many other countries.... instead of gifting it to organized criminals have just legalized it. Some things.... if there is enough demand and plenty of supply.... you just cannot stop.

The yaks are not just in sex-related businesses, they are a core component of Japanese society and are deeply entrenched in all matter of businesses both legit and not, as well as the government (most often as financial supporters of ruling party candidates)...all areas of major entertainment, loads of restaurants, hotels, real estate, construction, etc. They are a major force pushing for the casinos to open sooner rather than later.

Absolutely.

The yakuza remain entrenched very deeply in Japanese society (i.e. the guest list for the hanami party which Abe disposed of), and will continue to fight over turf as long as they are.

Even if Ghosn were prosecuted by France it would not disprove the shortcomings of Japan's judicial system.

Abe said Akimoto's arrest is "very regrettable" but that the administration aims to introduce casinos as part of "integrated resorts."

"Integrated resorts involve international conference and exhibition halls as well as large hotels. They are entertainment facilities that will be enjoyed by families and help Japan become a country of advanced tourism," Abe said.

This demonstrates how much Abe really cares about the youth/future of Japan- prioritizing casinos/"entertainment facilities" (everyone knows they are the domain of yakuza) over things such as providing better working conditions for secondary school teachers, raising the wages of workers so they can raise a family, etc.

The LDP would not be in power if it were not for the voting public, time and time again. They deserve half the blame. And you get the 'leader' you deserve.

Yes, but educators must also share in this.

Well now with the Ghosn case out of the bag, people around the world are beginning to wake up to the true nature of the LDP.

Endless projects to divert more money to...of course only certain people know the true costs, how convenient.

"Hence, it belongs to the prosecution to prove guilt and not to the accused person to prove...innocence," it said, adding that the Japanese justice system "ignores these principles," although Tokyo has ratified the treaty.

Asserting that the Japanese "hostage system" aims to "crush the accused and not to seek truth through a fair and balanced dialogue," the lawyer said, "Mr Ghosn was one of many victims in this system."

In fact, Japanese paralegals and academics have called on the government to do away with the "hostage justice" system- http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904110045.html

[ The intense spotlight thrown on Japan's "hostage justice" system by the arrest of Carlos Ghosn led 1,010 lawyers and scholars to submit a petition to the Justice Ministry on April 10 to end the practice.

Under Japan's criminal justice system, long a target of criticism both overseas and at home, suspects are held in detention longer if they continue denying allegations made against them.

Well-known criminal lawyers, scholars and a former judge initiated the petition in early March. ]

The problem is that most of the Japanese media refuses to elaborate on this.

@Osaka_Doug

 Japan does need to train the population to analyze if it is going to reinvent itself. Ghosn has given Japan a great gift, and I hope the population that understands starts to take more leadership to educate others.

Well-stated.

The Japan Times article packs a bit more of a punch and sheds light on why the Japanese government has been so desperately pulling out all the stops to prevent Ghosn from speaking:

[ Ghosn says he will reveal names of Japanese officials behind his arrest

KYODO, BLOOMBERG

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn plans to name those he thinks were behind his 2018 arrest for alleged financial misconduct, including some in the Japanese government, at a news conference on Wednesday, a U.S. broadcaster said Tuesday.

Ghosn told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo over the weekend that he has “actual evidence” and documents that will prove there was a plot to “take him out” in response to his plan to merge Nissan with its alliance partner Renault SA, the automaker’s largest shareholder, according to the report. ]

Steve Jackman • 16 hours ago

The YouTube clip ("Details emerge of Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan") accompanying this piece is extremely damning of the Japanese judicial system. In it, host Maria Bartiromo discusses the Ghosn case with Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano, on her U.S. TV show Mornings with Maria on Fox Business News yesterday (Jan 6, 2020). This is the new image of Japan now in the U.S. (starting at 4:12 of this video):

Bartitomo: I've said it from the start, I've never seen a judicial esystem like this - the one in Japan. There is no due process.

Judge: There's no due process. This is a judicial system in which you're presumed guilty rather than presumed innocent, because the government wins north of 99 percent of all criminal trials...

Bartitomo: What you just said is so important. How could a system be fair if 99 percent of the people get convicted? It's just not fair.

Judge: The system is profoundly unfair. Look, this was a civil dispute over control of a corporation and whether or not it ought to have merged. To criminalize a civil dispute like this is a profound violation of basic human rights and certainly of our Western style due process...I'm saying this as someone who believes in the rule of law, but who understands that the rule of law as we appreciate it in the Western world flatly does not exist in Japan. And Ghosn and his people knew that.

Bartitomo: It especially doesn't exist if you're not Japanese. Non-Japanese Gaijin - that's how they treat people who're not from that country.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/07/national/crime-legal/ghosn-to-name-japan-names/?utm_source=Daily+News+Updates&utm_campaign=d44f404018-Wednesday_email_updates08_01_2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5a6080d40-d44f404018-333569363

People are becoming aware of the heavy-handed, almost feudalistic justice system in this country... perhaps this will lead people to inquire into the post-war developments which led to neonationalist ultra-conservative war criminals being reinstated to positions of authority.

Chip StarToday  07:17 am JST

Ghosn did what any rational adult with the means would have done in his position. Nobody gets a fair trial in Japan, not even Japanese people.

Japan: Reform your “justice” system and join the rest of the developed world in 2020.

Well stated.

And it is not just their judicial system which needs to be reconsidered.

However, realistically nothing changes so long as the old order remains entrenched, aided by their collaborator/overlords.

Vince BlackToday  05:31 pm JST

I really hope this gets widespread coverage in the Japanese news.

...who do you think has been able to reinforce/maintain gender stereotypes via their control of the mass media? Abe is merely the face of certain forces in Jpn society.

vanityofvanitiesToday  06:19 pm JST

We are behind China and Korea and may be a little above Muslim world. So, it is not necessarily the influences of feudal Confucianism. We may have some other reasons.

Yes they also insure that the imperial system remains in place to enforce the traditional hierarchy.

Not only the mayor of Hiroshima, also the mayor of Nagasaki " in a brazen attack by a gangster who was apparently enraged that the city had refused to compensate him after his car was damaged at a public works construction site."

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/world/asia/17iht-nagasaki.5.5325169.html

In other words, they are always careful to fabricate excuses to deny it has anything to do with political motives that could lead to bigger questions being asked.

And yes, the mayor of Nagasaki was openly anti-nuke.

Concerning another incident discussed in the link posted above, "In 1990, Mayor Hitoshi Motoshima was shot and seriously wounded after saying that Japan's emperor, beloved by rightists, bore some responsibility for World War II."

Educator60,

Your analysis fails to take into account a key component- the borrowed handgun (as noted by other posters, not a hunting rifle).

Try finding someone to borrow a handgun from someone in Iwate ken.

You will see what type of organization he belongs to.

He borrowed a handgun from a "friend" and was disgruntled over the result of an election...not so hard to put together, especially as farmers have traditionally been a core constituency for the LDP.

excellent post sir!

Thank you, appreciate it.

Certain organizations are keen on insuring that the LDP remain in power, and view intimidation as a valid tactic.