(OT) Abe's Visit to Yasukuni Shrine Was Timed With Progress on Okinawa Base

Japan's Prime Minister Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine on December 26 to the resulting loud condemnation of the world's governments and entities.

It was exactly when the prospect of a breakthrough in the construction (or prep thereof) a new US military base in Okinawa was greater than ever (and sure enough on the next day the governor of Okinawa gave his approval of the project, to the loud condemnation from Okinawans who felt betrayed by the governor).

I thought these two events were related, and were presented as a "package", so to speak, to the US government. It is as if to say:

"I visited the shrine. So? I also won the approval from the Okinawa governor of a long-standing issue of a new base in Okinawa. Add two together. Is it net positive or negative for the US interest?"

Abe was confident, clearly, that the it was net positive for the US, and went to the shrine.

The Wall Street Journal's article (12/28/2013) seems to agree with me, though all I can read, as a non-subscriber, is the headline and the first paragraph (emphasis is mine):

Abe's Style Presents U.S. With Dilemma

Japanese Prime Minister Timed Shrine Visit Around Progress on Okinawa Base, Aides Say

TOKYO—In just a matter of days, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has drawn both praise and censure from the U.S., underlining how his assertive style presents a dilemma for Washington policy makers needing his help to counter China's influence in the region.

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Disaster Debris Wide-Area Disposal: US Military in Okinawa Uneasy Over Okinawa's Willingness to Accept and Burn?

From Stars and Stripes (3/27/2012; emphasis is mine):

Opposition grows on Okinawa to burning debris from quake
By Travis J. Tritten

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Radiation fears are raising public opposition to Okinawa’s plan to help burn tsunami and earthquake debris from disaster zones in northeastern Japan.

Despite government assurances, hundreds of residents — including some in the U.S. military community — signed a petition to stop Japan from shipping the debris here, claiming that disposing of the waste could spread radiation and diseases across the island.

The Tohoku region has been struggling with about 25 million tons of debris left after massive tsunamis ground up coastal communities in March 2011 and without help from other areas of Japan, it could take nearly 20 years for some disaster-stricken areas to complete the cleanup, according to the Japan Ministry of Environment. The Japanese government wants to ship 4 million tons, about 16 percent, of the debris in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures to other areas of the country for disposal, an effort scheduled for completion in 2014.

The ministry has said the waste that would be shipped in Okinawa would not come from Fukushima prefecture, home of the damaged nuclear plant, and could be burned in local incinerators that capture virtually 100 percent of any radioactive material.

“The debris to go outside the prefectures has either no [radioactive] cesium concentration detected or contains levels within the [government] safety standards,” said Noriyuki Matsui, spokesman for the ministry’s disaster waste task office. Matsui said high-performance incinerators can filter 99.9 percent of radioactive cesium from emissions and after the debris is incinerated and treated, the government estimates the amount of radiation in the condensed waste will be lower than that found naturally in the environment.

But Tracie Roberts, a Department of Defense teacher living on Okinawa, said she fears that burning the debris could pollute the island’s air and drinking water and cause cancer among the U.S. residents, who account for about 74 percent of military forces stationed in Japan.

“Our students and our children play outside,” Roberts said. “Sometimes we aren’t as informed as we should be about dangerous things until we are exposed. How will we know until it is too late what our level of concern should have been?”

A Facebook page has sprung up to support opponents and pass along information about Okinawa’s plans to dispose of the debris, and an online public petition to the prefecture government had drawn more than 600 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.
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“It seems really, really risky to be sending this debris around to other parts of Japan that have not been affected” by the earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, said James Pankiewicz, an Okinawa bar owner who founded the Facebook page and started the petition drive.

Pankiewicz said many residents doubt the Japan government’s ability to safely monitor and contain radioactive waste that would be shipped out of the Tohoku region disaster zone, an area comprised of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The debris should instead be disposed within the prefectures where it was created, he said.

Over the weekend, the Air Force notified the U.S. consulate of the growing public concerns, according to the 18th Wing public affairs office at Kadena Air Base. The Marine Corps said Tuesday it is aware of the issue and referred questions to the Ministry of Environment.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Karen Kelley said Tuesday the United States has not discussed the issue with Japan but trusts the national and prefectural government will handle the debris safely under the country’s existing regulations.

The decision to burn the waste is now up to local governments on Okinawa.

Last week, the prefecture sent letters to 41 of its municipal governments asking if local incinerators could be used, according to a spokesman for the prefecture’s Waste Management Office.

Naha city and the municipality of Haebaru in southern Okinawa both said earlier this month they may be willing to burn the Tohoku debris if residents do not oppose the idea.

As of Monday, Naha had not made a final decision and was still grappling with some technical issues related to using the incinerators and growing public concerns over safety, said Seishu Ishikawa, chief of Naha city’s Waste Management Office.

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PM Kan's Hamaoka Nuke Plant Shut Down Request Was Made Under Pressure from the US

Shigeharu Aoyama, former journalist and a current member of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission who went in and took the ground-level video of Fukushima I Nuke Plant on April 22 and caused consternation at Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, appeared on Asahi TV on the morning of May 8 (Japan Time) and revealed that Prime Minister Naoto Kan requested that Chubu Electric Power Company shut down Hamaoka Nuke Plant because of a strong pressure from the United States since early April.

So much for Kan's words, that he was requesting the shutdown for the "safety and security of the Japanese citizens". (See my previous post on Hamaoka.)

The interest of the US, alleges Aoyama, is the safety of its base in Yokosuka, home to the US 7th Fleet, which is downwind from Hamaoka.

Aoyama said he himself received phone calls from both the US Defense Department and the State Department, and was told by the US officials: "We're just out of Fukushima. That Hamaoka..." (These are his words in English, in the video.)

Aoyama also revealed that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) did the estimate of power demand and supply in case of Hamaoka shutdown at the request from the government, but the Prime Minister didn't request to see the estimate before he made the "request" to Chubu Electric to shut down Hamaoka.

Well, METI bureaucrats didn't bother to offer, either.

As Aoyama said, the area that Chubu Electric covers has Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki, among other companies large and small. Oops.

The video is in Japanese. The talk about Hamaoka and the US pressure is right in the beginning.

(h/t あ)

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#Japan #Earthquake: US Marines to the Rescue

Asahi Shinbun (in Japanese; 9:29PM JST 3/27/2011) reports that the US Marines landed in a island off the coast of Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture:

The US Marines from Okinawa landed on Oshima, an island off the coast of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture on March 27, which lost their ferries in the tsunami and has been isolated from the mainland. They delivered boxes of relief goods, and equipments and vehicles necessary to restore electricity, using the LCU [Landing Craft Utility].

Early morning of March 27, 40 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit landed in Kesennuma Port in their LCUs from USS Essex (amphibious assault ship) parked outside the harbor. They loaded the goods, and headed for Oshima. On arriving in Oshima, they unloaded the goods with the help of the residents. They also brought the workers to to restore electricity, and electricity was being restored in part of the island. They also measured the radiation on the island.

When the March 11 earthquake hit, the 31st MEU was in Southeast Asia for a emergency rescue training, but headed back to Japan on hearing the news of the earthquake.

This is not the first rescue mission by USS Essex and the 31st MEU, either. They have been conducting the relief missions, which they dubbed "Operation Tomodachi ("Friends" in Japanese)", since March 20, without much fanfare in Japan.

Here's in their own words, from the 31st MEU website about the March 27 operation, by Lance Cpl. Garry J. Welch:

OSHIMA, Japan — Two U.S. Navy landing craft carrying Marines and Sailors with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11, as well as disaster relief supplies and Japanese electrical utility trucks, arrived in Oshima Island, March 27.

Oshima Island has been without running water and electricity since the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami ravaged the northeast coast of Japan, March 11.

“This island was supplied with water from a pipeline from mainland Japan,” said Kiichro Onodera, a local city worker. “After the earthquake, the tsunami destroyed the pump station. Since then, people have purified the water in the city pool and made it drinkable; that’s all we had.”

The Marines delivered nearly 2,000 gallons of water to the island today. Approximately 900 gallons were brought directly to a junior high school, which was being used as a shelter for 450 locals displaced by the disaster.

“This water will help supply over 3,000 people,” Onodera said. “People will now be able to shower, and do things they have not been able to do since the disaster happened.”

The Marines also delivered 1,738 meals ready to eat, 136 tarps, and 300 health and comfort kits to the Japan Self Defense Forces to distribute to those in need.

The health and comfort kits contain baby wipes, sun screen, toilet paper, soap, tooth paste and tooth brushes, shampoo and conditioner, lotion, eye drops, foot powder, razors, lip balm and tissues.

In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, the Marines and Sailors also transported local electrical utility vehicles from Kesennuma city to Oshima Island, to assist with restoring power to the isolated community.

The trucks were brought from the mainland port of Kessenuma nearby by a U.S. Navy landing craft because the bridge to the island was destroyed by the tsunami.

“This will help us to restore vital lifelines to Oshima from Kesennuma as soon as possible. Oshima island residents are suffering greatly,” said JSDF Maj. Shinya Takase, operations officer, 1st Division, 41st Infantry Regiment, in charge of disaster response in Kesennuma. “There is no electrical power at all. These vehicles will help them and help ease the situation. Japanese forces and Marines are doing very well in working through this together. At this moment, there is no other option to get these vehicles to Oshima. That is why we are so grateful for your help.”

With the landing craft transporting the vehicles, the vital infrastructure needed by the people of the island began to be repaired. By 5 p.m. today, the Marines of the 31st MEU received word that electricity had been restored for the first time in 16 days, due to their efforts in assisting the Japanese workers.

“We are extremely grateful for your cooperation and help,” Sasaki Masaetsu, maintenance manager in Kesennuma who rode an LCU to Oshima Island. “We now have a 400 kilowatt emergency generator, two bucket trucks, one crane, and a tools and materials truck, which arrived on your landing craft. We have 450 displaced people here on the island. These trucks will help us provide power for the displaced persons’ shelters, and the remaining homes, so they can have heat and light. It is an extreme honor to have the Marines here, we did not expect it, and we are so thankful.”

As happy as the Japanese were to receive the supplies, the Marines and Sailors of the 31st MEU were just as happy to lend a helping hand.

“To be able to come out here and do this was mind-blowing,” said Sgt. Kyle O. Mills, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear assessment and consequence management technician, 31st MEU. “We all saw the destruction on the news, but you just don’t know what it’s like until you are out here experiencing it firsthand, it was great to be able to do something to help these people.”

CBRN Marines were present during the operation as a precautionary measure to monitor radiation levels; ensuring there were no unexpected levels. In the event of any possible contamination; Marines were ready to decontaminate any equipment and personnel exposed.

“We took readings every half-hour to ensure it was safe,” said Mills. “For the entire operation the levels remained completely normal.”

As the day came to an end, and the Marines returned to the LCU’s, everyone who was involved knew they had made a difference.

“We came here to help our Japanese friends and support them in any way possible,” said 1st Lt. Robert Jankowski, the engineering platoon commander with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st MEU. “This operation was very successful, we were able to give help and disperse aid to the displaced. All the Marines did a great job.”

The 31st MEU’s involvement is part of a larger U.S. government response, after a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan causing widespread damage. The 31st MEU is ready to support our Japanese partners and to provide assistance when called upon.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Reactor 1 Pressure Has Stopped Rising, TEPCO Resumes Work on Reactor 3

says Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. (Believe them at your own risk.)

From Asahi Shinbun (in Japanese; 11:46AM JST 3/24/2011) reports:

Concerning the Reactor No.1 whose core pressure was rising on March 23 and was described by Nuclear Safety Commission chairman Madarame as "most dangerous", the pressure stopped rising about 7:00AM on March 24 as the amount of sea water being poured into the Vessel was reduced from 187 liters per minute to 160 liters per minute. NISA doesn't feel it necessary at the moment to release the steam [from the Reactor Pressure Vessel] in order to lower the pressure.

The central control room for the Reactor no.1 now has power, as of 11:30 AM today. Repairs on instruments [in the control room] continue.

other reactors, according to Asahi:

• Reactor No.3: Black smoke subsided by 4:30AM. TEPCO decided that it was safe to resume work, and has directing the workers to restore cooling pumps. [ARE THEY INSANE?]
  

• Reactor No.2: the procedure is being discussed on how to identify the radiation source (high reading registered on March 18, 500 to 720 milli-sievert) and how to protect workers using lead plates. [ARE THEY INSANE?]

In the meantime, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano says his government may ask the US military for help.

Help on what? Isn't it rather..... late?

Edano was one of the politicians who spoke against asking for the assistance from the US military, say many Japanese bloggers and posters on the Japanese message boards. Others include Prime Minister Kan, METI Minister Kaieda (and author of books on how to make money investing in bubbly assets). Edano officially denied that the Japanese government declined help offered, he didn't convince many Japanese.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Japanese Government Finally Accepts US Offer of 4 Unmanned Fire Engines

that can pump water CONTINUOUSLY by REMOTE CONTROL, according to Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 3:04AM JST 3/20/2011).

Duh.

But the Japanese government had to do the grandstanding to show to the foreigners and to the Japanese that they were fully in charge, that what they were doing was what foreigners could have done anyway. "Look at our own brave soldiers and police and fire fighters are saving the plant!"

In the process they unnecessarily exposed the SDF soldiers, TEPCO employees, fire fighters, police to high radiation, probably ruined their fire engines with salt water, and exposed the earthquake-stricken Japanese with increasing radiation. All for the show.

All the while, there were these US-made engines that can pump water continuously and with remote control. All they needed to do was to ask, or to accept the offer.

As I posted in my last post, the Japanese government has had a reconnaissance video taken by the US Air Force drones, ever since March 12; they've been sitting on it. They have thermal imaging of one of the badly damaged reactor from the Israeli company, and they've been sitting on it.

What a criminal act that has been, suppressing and/or ignoring the data that didn't come from themselves, refusing the help that could have made a tremendous difference if accepted at the onset of the crisis. It is a crime against humanity. No amount of bowing and crying in the press conference will excuse their bureaucratic tunnel vision in the time of crisis.

In the time of the gravest crisis that the nation has faced, these politicians and bureaucrats (I count TEPCO in, as it was a government corporation) have retreated into what they know best - how to be bureaucratic and stickler for the rules and regulations.

Sadly, the Japanese people are so docile and so conditioned at this point that it is difficult for them to see that it is the government that kills. Instead, they continue to look to their government to do the right things for them. Just sad.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Japanese Government Says It Was TEPCO Who Turned Down the US Offer for Help

not them. Whatever.

Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 3:11PM JST 3/18/2011) says:

The government source said today that the Japanese government declined the offer for help from the US government after the accident at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant because "TEPCO said they can do it all by themselves", that it was TEPCO who deemed any foreign assistance unnecessary.

According to the government source, the US government offered the US military helicopters for use right after the March 11 earthquake. The Japanese government has been accepting foreign aids only after it thoroughly considers the needs in the earthquake/tsunami-hit areas. Some say the government "did not decline, but put it on hold for further consideration".

Sir Humphrey Appleby would be so proud.... I remember him saying in one of the episode, something like this:

"Prime Minister, we never "decline" a request from our constituents. We just tell them we will consider their request thoroughly in a committee, then we don't need to do anything..."

Exactly what's happening in Japan.

And always blame others. So what they've probably unnecessarily endangered large number of people in the area.?

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Sovereign Capture and Arbitrage: Israel Could Force US to Join the War with Iran

Great chess players not only read the moves ahead but also narrow the choices left to the opponent in such a way that the opponent will make a move that will result in the checkmate.

I saw this article (linked below) yesterday at Zero Hedge, but I had read the similar articles elsewhere earlier. Even you haven't read any, it's not hard to figure out by yourself.

It is a sovereign capture and arbitrage, just like the financial crisis of 2008 and the European sovereign debt crisis of 2010 were a regulatory capture and arbitrage. You create a situation where the other party has no other choice but acting the way you want them - dump your garbage on the regulators (the government), and have taxpayers pay it, even if that's not the best interest of the regulators or the taxpayers. But the maneuver is such that the regulators and/or taxpayers feel they simply had to do it to "save the system". The TBTF Wall Street banks got bailed out by the US taxpayers, and the European taxpayers are presented with $1 trillion so that the big European (and the US) banks continue to get paid.

Israel is simply doing the same capture and arbitrage on a sovereign nation level. Instead of "too big to fail (TBTF)", it is "too special for the US to fail". With 46 Republican Congressmen as co-sponsors for the House Resolution (H.Res. 1553) giving Israel unconditional support on whatever it may do regarding Iran, and over 70% of the US population believes Iran already has nuclear weapons (it doesn't), it seems the checkmate is only one or two moves away.

But just so that they can say "We told you so", more than anything else, the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity sent a letter to President Obama:

VIPS Sends Memo To Obama Warning Israel May Bomb Iran "As Early As This Month" (Tyler Durden, 8/3/2010 Zero Hedge)

"The Steering Group of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) which consists of Phil Giraldi, former CIA (20 years), Larry Johnson, former CIA; DoS, (24 years), W. Patrick Lang, Col., USA, Special Forces (ret.); Director of HUMINT Collection, Defense Intelligence Agency (30 years), Ray McGovern, US Army Intelligence Officer, CIA (30 years), Coleen Rowley, FBI (24 years), and Ann Wright, Col., US Army Reserve (ret.), (29 years); Foreign Service Officer, Department of State (16 years), have penned a memo to the president in an attempt to alert him "to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war." Read on for the full memo by the activist group.

First appearing in TruthOut

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: War With Iran

We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war.

Israel’s leaders would calculate that once the battle is joined, it will be politically untenable for you to give anything less than unstinting support to Israel, no matter how the war started, and that U.S. troops and weaponry would flow freely. Wider war could eventually result in destruction of the state of Israel.

This can be stopped, but only if you move quickly to pre-empt an Israeli attack by publicly condemning such a move before it happens."

The letter continues, and you can read it in its entirety at Zero Hedge or at the Truth Out.

Why this month? Because...

"Last week’s announcement that U.S. officials will meet next month with Iranian counterparts to resume talks on ways to arrange higher enrichment of Iranian low enriched uranium for Tehran’s medical research reactor was welcome news to all but the Israeli leaders.

"In addition, Iran reportedly has said it would be prepared to halt enrichment to 20 percent (the level needed for the medical research reactor), and has made it clear that it looks forward to the resumption of talks.

"Again, an agreement that would send a large portion of Iran’s LEU abroad would, at a minimum, hinder progress toward nuclear weapons, should Iran decide to develop them. But it would also greatly weaken Israel’s scariest rationale for an attack on Iran.

"Bottom line: with the talks on what Israel’s leaders earlier labeled a “trick” now scheduled to resume in September, incentive builds in Tel Aviv for the Israelis to attack before any such agreement can be reached.

"We’ll say it again: the objective is regime change..."

The letter also mentions Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has said that Pentagon has a war plan with Iran, just in case. Nonetheless, Admiral Mullen, who served in the Vietnam War, has been instrumental in preventing a blowup in the Middle East since the days of the previous administration under George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

I am not very optimistic that Admiral Mullen will succeed this time, even though I hope and pray that he will. The US will end up with three open wars - Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, none of which has attacked the US. (Remember 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.) For Obama, it is a chance to become an overnight sensation among the Republican leadership and conventional Republicans in the flyover states. Most Democrats are no longer anti-war now that their party is the government. He wouldn't gain much by restraining Israel.

I'm sure the stock market will melt up when (not even if at this point) the attack takes place. Oil and gold will skyrocket, along with the US dollar, Treasuries, and everything else.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, ........ (fill in the blank).

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Connection Between Toyota's Sticking Pedal Problem and US Military

It's two-fold.

Lewrockwell.com has an article on Toyota recalls that says, among others, President Obama and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel decided to blow up Toyota's sticking pedal problem in order to pressure the new Japanese administration who wants U.S. military bases out of Okinawa.

It also says something very curious and interesting: Toyota's accelerator assembly made by an American company CTS, who also supplies to GM, Ford and to the U.S. military, is susceptible to "non-civilian" (i.e. "military") frequencies.

Here's the original article that Lewrockwell.com linked:

Obama waging economic warfare on several fronts, including Japan
(Wayne Madsen, 2/12/2010 Online Journal)

"(WMR) -- The Obama administration has expanded its economic warfare against other countries, first reported on January 18 by WMR in the case of an authorized financial campaign against Venezuela. The Obama administration, according to WMR’s Asian sources, is waging an economic warfare campaign, coupled with industrial sabotage, against Japan through a pre-planned operation directed against the Japanese automobile manufacturer, Toyota.

"WMR has learned that the Obama administration authorized the anti-Toyota campaign as a warning shot to Japan over its reformist government’s insistence that the U.S. pull its military troops out of Okinawa. WMR has learned that Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, have decided to turn the screws on Japan, not only for auto market leverage, but also to punish Japan over the insistence by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and the newly-elected anti-U.S. military mayor of Nago on Okinawa to move the U.S. military off of Okinawa."

The article continues, and this is the part where he discusses CTS's accelerator assembly:

"Ironically, Toyota does not make the sensor-equipped accelerator pedal for its recalled vehicles. Elkhart, Indiana-based CTS (formerly known as Chicago Telephone Supply) manufactures the pedals for Toyota, as well as for Ford and GM. China’s Jiangling Motors has complained about sticking gas pedals from CTS and the firm has developed a reputation for faulty accelerator pedals and their associated sensors. CTS’s president and CEO is India-born Vinod Khilnani. Curiously, the Obama administration, which is flush with Indian-Americans at high levels, has not criticized CTS, especially since it supplied the very same accelerator pedals it manufactures for Toyota and GM to the U.S. military."

and

"The CTS-manufactured accelerator pedal used in Toyotas relies on an electronic pressure sensor. WMR has been informed by knowledgeable sources that the sensors are vulnerable to non-civilian frequencies. The Obama administration, fearful that military transmissions may be responsible for accelerator accidents, may have sought to jump the gun by blaming Toyota for the accelerator problems." [emphasis is mine]

I have no idea whether Mr. Madsen's sources are reliable or telling the truth. I wouldn't have noticed the article if it hadn't been featured at Lewrockwell.com.

By the way, that Obama administration's intent is political is evident by the fact that the US government is demanding the data for Toyota's European recalls. Since when has the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started regulating internationally?

Is the agency demanding the international recall data from GM and Ford, too? Honda? I haven't heard about it. Have you? How about demanding the data from CTS?

Toyota will be fined if it doesn't submit the data within 30 to 60 days.

And the problem may have been caused by the U.S. military frequencies.

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