warispeace comments

With the emergence of "total war" in WWI, war itself became a crime against humanity, as the target was no longer just enemy combatants. So what makes what is happening in Ukraine more of a war crime than what is happening in the many conflicts around the globe (Yemen a good example) some directly and many indirectly (through arms sales) involving the same Western government regimes now condemning Russia?

The evidence shows war crimes are occurring in Ukraine, the leadership in Russia must be held accountable, but rather than a serious discussion about how our taxes support the war industries and war crimes, we hear daily the righteous hypocrisy of the same world leaders and their talking heads who benefit from the political donations from those industries and who could also be examined for their possible criminal actions.

We need to think about what this "investment" really is. As in most of these Japanese initiatives, it is mostly corporate welfare for Japanese companies that get contracts for huge development projects, that often have questionable benefits for local populations.

So let's see, if an imperial regime invades and occupies a distant country across the globe, that poses no real threat, perhaps to secure future oil supplies, and not have countries around the world heap financial punishment, then why is another regime dumped on when it is trying to maintain security in its regional sphere of influence? Why this unequal response to unacceptable warfare against another sovereign nation?

Reading this article, two questions come to mind. One, why the need for a subsidy if so-called "free market" neoliberal capitalism, the ideology of deregulation and competition that dominates our world, is so wonderful? Two, why are there so many subsidies for life-killing fossil fuel and nuclear businesses and investments and so few for sustainable alternative energies?

In other countries, minority ethnic groups and immigrants are targeted by would-be politicians, to gather the votes of the formerly adventageous groups tossed to the margins by neoliberal capitalism. In a more monocultural country such as Korea, women become the target. In Japan, since there are so few foreign others within and women have never been given consideration, people in other nations are blamed.

It seems like a much healthier approach would be for people to unite to renew the commons and take back all that has been privatized for the gain of the few.

Capitalism loves nothing better than a crisis to profit off of suffering.

Prayers, vows, wishes, urges... all that air could fill the Hindenburg. How about just just telling us what your administration is actually doing.

Overwork people, for the sake of capital accumulation, and then create "convenience" stores, which are mainly convenient for companies. Now comes some convenient AI dating app, so office workers never have to abandon their computer screens.

A quick look at historical global GDP growth data (it's assumed these business guys are talking about GDP measured growth, and not greater happiness) shows that the two key factors are greater use of energy, especially fossil fuel based energy, and population increase. So given the fact of population decline and the climate emergency, to even talk about real growth in Japan is nonsense. Rather than these redundant voices, the country needs new activist political leaders who will tell the truth, shift the discourse from economic growth to ecological sustainability, life quality and fairness, and abandon the tired policies of precarity.

Of course Biden, who does the bidding of the war industries in his nation, will make such a sales pitch to Japan, a loyal customer. But we shouldn't take this as Kishida bowing to US pressure. Kishida is also in favour of using any excuse possible to transfer public money to LDP friendly, home grown, weapons makers. As for the China threat, the real concern under late capitalism and the growing scarcity of resources, is that the first and third largest economies and their corporations no longer have trade hegemony. It's the freedom to exploit that these governments want to defend, now that a legitimate rival has emerged.

The key question is when will the neoliberal governments, such as Japan, Germany, the US, the UK, etc., oppose the greed of big pharma and agree to make vaccines a common global good and freely share production information with the world?

As the sales revenues for other industrial work declined in the 1980, Japan's major heavy industry manufactures (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Corporation, etc.) saw an opportunity to expand global arms industry sales. The problem was how to shift public opinion, so LDP politicians in the pocket of the war profiteers could change key laws banning the export of weapons. This wasn't easy, but the Hawkish LDP general, Abe, saw a great opportunity in the election after the earthquake and Fukushima disaster, to shift public anger and dissatisfaction of the government and target the foreign other as the source of country's ills, using nationalist rhetoric and fearmongering about China and North Korea. It was a highly cynical but effective strategy. Once elected, he moved quickly to increase defense spending and eliminate the arms export ban.

Now every year during budgeting season, the same rhetoric spins through the media, stoking more fear, less opposition and higher profits with the transfer of public money to private corporations. Kishida will carry on with this massive redistribution scheme, while trying to rebrand the usual neoliberal scam as a New Capitalism.

Don't we have to ask, if China is such a threat and a weaker and contained China is the goal, then why doesn't Japan unbind its deep economic ties rather than increase corporate welfare spending for the war industries. Oh, right, Japanese companies continue to enjoy the benefits of Chinese labour and land exploitation and we all like filling our living spaces and garbage dumps with the cheaper commodities.

Wasn't the point of global regulatory changes to free up the movement of global capital and allow transnational corporations to roam the planet looking for the least regulated and protected labour and environmental conditions, so they could maximize profit through means of exploitation and appropriation?

As late capitalism nears its end, seemingly no longer able to manage its contradictions, we see the political and corporate Kishida type Kabuki dancing in an attempt to mask the fundamental inequities of the system, rather than proposing real structural change.

This piece of journalism has it all wrong, by suggesting the democratic slide occurred during the pandemic

The demographic backsliding is the result of the earlier and ongoing neoliberal pandemic, which has left the social infrastructure of too many states weak and prone to the magical potions sold by populist and neo-fascist politicians, who care little for social justice and democracy.

"I want us to build a worldwide network of liberty that advances freedom, democracy and enterprise and encourages like-minded countries to work together from a position of strength," Truss added.

The usual mantra of neoliberal globalization, which has led to a massive increase in wealth inequality and the ecological destruction of the planet. These G-7 corporate states, after their brief turn, during the Covid pandemic, to the greater good, seem intent on getting back to policy making for their business backers. Rather than promoting democracy, such a practice and ideology again opens the door to those with fascist intent.

All the acrimony and accusation on both sides in the leader's political speeches is just pandering for the tribalism of certain segments of their populations. The real workings of the China-US relationship is financial and corporate and all the talk is distraction, as the elites in both countries are busy increasing their wealth and authority.

Trampling on human rights, exploiting workers, appropriating the resources of other nations, polluting the planet: these are just the unacceptable acts of the other side. Yeah right.

Besides the obvious question, which is why wasn't a expert human rights lawyer appointed, shouldn't Gen Nakatani also be looking into Japan's human rights abuses at home and the US abuses around the world? Why limit it to China, Hong Kong and Myanmar? Also, shouldn't he look into Japanese corporations that profit doing business in countries where labour conditions and regulations don't uphold human rights?

Besides reducing quarantines periods for residents of Japan, the government should trash the AI Google app that annoyingly calls three times a day and takes videos to add to their global facial recognition database they'll be busy trying to profit from.

So let's see. The wealthy nations are suppose to give money to poorer nations, to help them reduce emissions caused by the outsourcing of factories to these poor nations to produce goods consumed in wealthy nations that then provide nice value added profits for corporations in wealthy nations, which do their best to to avoid paying taxes to their governments, so there is less money for wealthy nations to provide to poorer nations, but lots of money for corporations to invest in fossil fuel company stocks.

So a plan that should have been made a year ago is now coming to light. And how long will it take to actually be implemented?

Rather than providing more corporate welfare for companies, why not provide funds and more support for labour unions. It's a historical fact that a strong union movement leads to better living conditions for workers.

Another impactful move would be to strengthen the government's Hello Work database and recruitment system and tax the private recruitment agencies into oblivion, as these outsourcing agencies thrive on garnishing workers' wages. With the available technology today, there is very little need for these rent seeking middle agents.

Mr. Pledge is at it again. More empty words? What about the details. Is this "up to $10 billion" grants, low interest loans, high interest loans, money given to Japanese corporations to "assist" other Asian countries? Will this be money for nuclear technology?

Kishida also said Japan will pursue a $100 million project to develop hydrogen or ammonia-fired power generation, which are known as non-carbon emitting, and explore various technologies to realize carbon neutral cars.

The writer of this story should clarify that if this is from blue hydrogen technology, which Japan has been pursuing, it uses unsustainable and polluting energy sources, and should point out a carbon neutral car is still a decade or more off, and the crisis is now.

So Mr. Pledge, what will Japan actually do in the next ten years to reduce emissions? At least reading this article, with nothing mentioned about redirecting investment from fossil fuels and nuclear to green energy, it seems little or nothing.

Oh, yes. Kishida will have the challenge of how to completely ignore the existential threats of ecological collapse and climate heating and get on with the usual business of using public money and policies to support the nuclear, war, auto, plastics, and construction industries.

@John

Wealth redistribution isn’t capitalism, it’s socialism....what do we have to do to get this extra money I wonder....

Tell the wealthy that and they will laugh all the way to the bank. Capitalism, especially in its neoliberal form today, is an extreme form of wealth redistribution.

Kishida idea of a new capitalism is really neoliberal Keynesianism, which is where government not only changes laws and policies to promote the privatization of the public sphere, but uses corporate welfare to juice the profits of the investing class even more.

One issue, not mentioned in the article, is that the thirsty crops also have shallow roots, so they do not put CO2 back deep in the soil, where it needs to go.

A good alternative might be quinoa, which is a drought resistant crop, as it requires less water, and can adapt to different climatic conditions.

So what we really need to know, and what the article fails to inform us, because of weak journalistic standards, is how much the convenience stores benefit from government subsidy programmes for "employing" these elderly. If there are no benefits, then it could be a good public service.

Fresh like my socks after a game of soccer, are the LDP, which have manage to take Japan from the top of OECD positive social indicators for a healthy society to near the bottom, competing with Greece. So let's elect the same lot and expect something different.

Kishida, 64, has pledged to issue a fresh stimulus package worth tens of trillions of yen to counter the impact of the pandemic on the world's third-largest economy.

Read this to mean a new package of corporate welfare handouts, as part of the ongoing class war, that will just increase the wealth gap. An example is an increase in spending to boost the profits of companies in the war industry sector.

He has also outlined plans to distribute wealth more fairly under a so-called "new capitalism", although details so far remain vague.

Read this to mean, a rebranding of Abenomics and the neoliberal policies that have a led to a huge increase in the number of working poor and a rise in precarious work.

Encouraging young people to vote is OK, but voting means little if we just get the status quo when everything is falling apart. How about encouraging them to learn about how the structures of power and finance control the conditions of their lives and their life chances? Encourage them to talk with their friends and debate various issues. Make these discussions "Kako-ii" rather than "Dasai".

Also, use your creative abilities to make information easier to understand. Why not explain how the Japan pension fund invests in corporations that are destroying the ecological conditions of the planet, or how the regressive consumption tax hurts the working poor and how the income tax rate has been changed to benefit the higher income earners? Tell them how if they vote for people who really are trying to challenge the structural conditions, then change just might be possible.

FIFA and Qatari organizers of next year's World Cup teamed up with the World Health Organization on Monday to use soccer’s marquee event for promoting public health.

This is laughable considering the high number of deaths of migrant workers involved in build the sports facilities and all the other construction associated with the development boom that began after the world cup was awarded.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022

The same tired appeal to fear and nationalism. Abe used the same strategy to get elected. A complete ruse to cover up 30 years of LDP class warfare and mismanagement of Japan, that has seen a country with some of the top social indicators among OECD countries sink to one with some of the worst.