Yoshimi Onishi comments

Some of the comments above seem to suggest that other countries (like the USA in Korea) have done something similar during wartime so why pick on Japan? This is a typical reasoning of irresponsible children--- "I'm not the only one, why pick on me?" In the world of responsible adults when you do a bad thing, you have to sincerely apologize again and again and try to make amends no matter if there are others who have done something similar.

The fact that Emperor, who has been trying very hard to visit so many places that are built in memory of the victims of war or disasters even including some in foreign lands, has never once visited the shrine tells us a lot about it. And the fact that the previous emperor had stopped visiting the shrine after he learned that it had decided to enshrine the war criminals only shows how dangerous Abe has been proving himself to be and how much this country needs to make him quit as soon as possible.

"I think that is all Japan can do---apologise until the countries say: "We don't necessarily get over it completely, but you have apologised enough. Alright, let's leave it now."

I love the above comment. This country needs more people like Murakami, and what he says should get much, much more pubilicity.

"Young people should be encouraged to travel abroad," he says. "In the future, when the Japanese economy becomes more globalised, they will need people who understand what is happening in the rest of the world."

The above sounds like something from more than half a century ago. Out of date and very stereotyped reasoning.

This place is really a must not just for people from abroad but for any visitors to Tokyo.

After all Hayashi is a Minister in Abe's Cabinet. What else did you expect?

Earlier this month China's foreign minister said Abe would be welcome if he is "sincere", and that Japan should face up to its wartime past and not "lose its conscience"

With a comment like the above, the nationalist Abe had no choice but skip it altogether. China probably didn't really expect him to come any way. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to defend Abe at all. I'm just hoping China will come up with a subtler and better idea to have him see their points.

Without casinos, we already have more than enough gambling places in this country as it is. If they must build a casino, build one in their own constituency first.

"Richard Lawless, a former undersecretary of defense for the Asia-Pacific, said he sees little chance of improvement in Japan-South Korea relations in the next two years."

What does he exactly mean, "in the next two year"? Does he mean that the two countries' relations will not improve much until Abe quits? If so, he is probably right.

A USJ park will be much better for the local economy,and certainly more welcomed by the locals than a casino complex Abe's government was originally trying to build there.

What did they expect? Like many have said, I'd have thought the figure would be 80 % or higher..

"It was also accompanied by an English proficiency exam in which a large percentage of test takers performed far below government targets" "Ministry officials also noted that when asked to compare reading and listening ability to writing and speaking, more students stated that they were less proficient at writing and speaking".

Again what did they expect? The survey has only proved how little the Education Ministry knows about the reality of English education in this country.

This is a fantastic idea to liven up rural communities in this country or maybe in any other countries with similar problems. Good on you, Ayano-san!

As others have long pointed out, this time round Hatoyama has certainly proved himself to be someone from outer space, whom no one can relate to nor understand.

A lot of people have been wondering what sort of statement Abe will make on 70th anniversary of the end of the war. My thinking is that with so much pressure on Abe from other countries that includes Japan's allies, he will not able to go as far to the right or revisionist as he wants. So his statement will basically have to be a somewhat water-downed version of Murayama Statement, which will be welcomed neither by China and South Korea nor by his right-wing supporters.

The best thing that can instantly improve the relationship between Japan and the two neighboring countries is for Abe to quit.

"Everyone thinks at first that it's nothing, but more and more things accumulate, and then it's repression. I worry about what happens to women and children in this situation."

This is what I'm afraid of. War and what it entails, like repression, doesn't come about all of a sudden. Like the above, more and more things accumulate and slowly creep up on the unwary. By the time people realize what's really happening, it is often too late to stop it.

I wonder what's going to happen to the children. Someone said in his comment that the oldest is already in a juvenile home. If so, what will happen to the other two children? Their parents will most probably be put behind bars. Like most people here, I really feel sorry for them.

So this year in most part of the country, cherry blossoms in school playgrounds might not stay in full bloom when all the 6 year-olds and their parents attend their entrance ceremonies at their primary schools around April 7. It would be a bit disappointing.

In my previous comment I mistakenly wrote "GPO," I should have written "GPS" instead. Sorry about that.

"Yoshimi, the point is how do you know someone is a criminal? What's to stop the police from putting trackers on whomever they want?"

Dear Lazybones,

I exactly understand your concern. Of course, there is a possibility the police might put GPO on someone who will turn out to have nothing to do with the suspected crime. And I understand that someone could be you or me. That's exactly why I said "a price to pay." I'm quite willing to pay the price if they can protect us better.

I don't understand why some readers are complaining about the police using tracking devices on their suspects. It's really a small price to pay if the police can better protect people from criminals.

When North Korea agreed last year in May to reopen an investigation into the abductees Japan responded by easing some sanctions

As families of the victims pointed out at that time, this has really proved to be a bad move on the part of Abe's government. They gave a reward without getting anything substantial in return from North Korea. From his usual tough talk, it's kind of difficult to realize how naive Abe could be.

I'm a big fan of Godzilla. I must go and see it when I go to Shinjuku next time.

Whatever has become of Komeito, who, till very recently, used to claim to be a party for the pacifist Constitution?

Most 18 year-olds in this country are just too immature to vote. I do not mean to offend young people. It's just that young people here tend to grow more slowly than in other countries, which I think is perfectly fine. There is no real need for them to grow fast, is there? If you compare young people here and their equivalants in your country (if you are from abroad), you'll see my point. Just because other major countries have been doing it, it doesn't mean this country has to copy it.

No one mentions it, but I think one big reason the government and the LDP are proposing to lower the voting age at this time is that they think that young people today are easy to manipulate and more conservative in their thinking than they used to be and thus are no longer a big threat to the LDP and its government. And they are probably right. There is going to be a good chance they will get most of their votes.

smithinjapan@ is right again. Abe isn't going to resign, though. There needs to be a lot more of something like this to make him have a stomachache and force him to quit.

warispeace@ is righ when he says, "So basically Abe is going to report to his boss and see if there are any other orders he need to follow"

However, there are two execptions, where Abe is adamant that he is going to go on his own. One of them is about Japan's war-time wrongdoing in Asia, and the other one is about the issue of "comfort women." America tries hard to appear neutral, but it's obvious that they want Abe to unequivocally admit the country's war-time wrongdoing especially in China and Korea. And they want Abe to sincerely apologize and make amends to the "comfort women." On these accounts they are right. What' more, their views about the issues are a lot more realistic and forward-looking than Abe. By sticking to his ultra-rightist views, he's actually been doing a lot of harm to the interests of his people and country.

Strangerland Due to the fact that NHK has been shown to be a voicepiece for the Abe administration, the requirement to pay does not sit well with me

I totally agree with "Strangerland." I'd very much like to go one more step further to find some legal way to stop paying the fees at least until Abe's friend, that self-important guy Momii, steps down as president of NHK.

According to some news on TV, the 18-year-old has finally started to talk, giving his very perverted and selfish reason for killing the boy. What was his father's statement when his son got arrested? His statement claimed that his son had nothing to do with the crime. How could he have said that, knowing his son's often violent past behavior prior to the arrest?

To get rid of Kuroda, people must first get rid of Abe, who more or less handpicked him for the job.