(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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(Updated) Gift of Snow from Fukushima Children to Okinawa Children

(UPDATE: I was wrong. It was not just tiny containers of snowmen but a whole lot more, enough for the kids in one Okinawa school to throw snowballs at each other. Watch the video at the link. H/T Japanese twitter follower)

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probably to the horror of mothers who took their small children to Okinawa to escape radiation contamination in east Japan.

It's not that they are sending a ton of snow but only 5 20-centimeter containers. It is only a symbolic gesture of .... uhhh goodwill and friendship?

Fukushima Prefecture is supposed to be measuring the radiation levels of snow, but the result won't be available until March.

From NNN News (2/9/2012):

福島の雪を沖縄へプレゼントするため、「雪だるま親善大使」の小学生がけさ、沖縄へ飛び立った。
福島空港で行われた出発式に臨んだのは２人の雪だるま親善大使。猪苗代町の小学校に通う森川恵さんと寺林裕也くん。

2 elementary school children, as "friendship ambassadors of snowman", flew off this morning to Okinawa to bring Fukushima snow as a gift to Okinawa.

これは今年１１回目を迎える県の事業で、沖縄の子どもたちに福島の雪をプレゼントすることで両県の子どもの交流を図ることが目的。２人は高さ２０センチの発泡スチロールの型に詰めた雪だるま５体を沖縄に届ける。

It is the 11th year of the project by the Fukushima government. The purpose is to promote friendship between children of Fukushima and children of Okinawa by giving the snow from Fukushima to Okinawa children. The two will deliver 5 snowmen in 20-centimeter tall styrofoam containers [shaped like a snowman] to Okinawa.

The friendship ambassadors are a boy and a girl. The boy says he wants to appeal the beautiful scenery and great food of Fukushima. In the news clip at the link, the girl doesn't seem one bit thrilled.

Using the children to promote agendas of the adults has been ongoing on both sides - the governments (national and local) and the citizens' groups demanding anything from stopping the nuke plants in Japan to compensating the voluntary evacuees.

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#Radioactive Okinawa Noodles and Pizzas from Radioactive Ashes from Radioactive Firewood from Fukushima

Radiation's reach is indeed long. Okinawa is as far away as you can get in Japan from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and there has hardly been any radioactive fallout. Maybe because of that, businesses in Okinawa don't seem to be much concerned about radioactive contamination in goods.

Here's an example of some Okinawa restaurants having bought firewood from (of all places) Fukushima Prefecture via a distributor in Gifu Prefecture who clearly thought it could get away with it; one of the restaurants made the traditional "Okinawa Soba (noodle)" using the ashes from the radioactive firewood, and has already served the noodles to the customers.

As usual, the familiar refrain from the government officials: "There is no effect on health." They might as well add "Just keep on smiling."

From Okinawa Times (2/8/2012):

県は７日、福島県産のまきを本島内の４飲食店がすでに使用し、うち１店舗では未使用のまきからは最大で、国の指標値４０ベクレル（１キログラム当たり）の約１１倍に当たる４６８ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出したと発表した。別の店では、使用後の灰からも最大で指標値８０００ベクレルの約５倍に当たる３万９９６０ベクレルを検出。県は「消費者、従業員とも健康に影響が出る量ではない」としている。

Okinawa Prefecture announced on February 7 that 4 restaurants in Okinawa have used firewood from Fukushima Prefecture, and in one of the restaurant the maximum 468 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the firewood, which is about 11 times the level of the national safety limit for radioactive cesium in firewood (40 becquerels/kg). In another restaurant, 39,960 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the ashes after the firewood was burned, which is about 5 times the level of the national safety limit of 8,000 becquerels/kg. The Okinawa prefectural government says, "For both the consumers and the employees at these restaurants, there is no effect on health at these levels."

　一方、まきを県内に出荷した岐阜県の流通業者代表は「高圧洗浄し、本巣市の検査も通っているので、大丈夫だと思った」と話し、問題を指摘されたまきは早急に回収するという。

The distributor who sold the firewood to Okinawa says, "We washed the firewood with a high-pressure washer, and it passed the test by Motosu City [in Gifu Prefecture]. So we thought it would be OK." The distributor will recall the firewood in question.

　福島県産まきを取り扱っていた飲食店は窯焼きピザを提供するレストラン３店舗と沖縄そば店。レストラン２店舗のまきと使用後の灰から指標値を超えるセシウムが検出された。

The restaurants that used the firewood from Fukushima were 3 restaurants offering kiln-baked pizzas and 1 noodle shop offering "Okinawa Soba" noodles. From the firewood and the ashes at 2 restaurants, radioactive cesium exceeding the safety standards was detected.

　一方、沖縄そば店は、セシウムが検出されたレストランから、使用後の灰を譲り受け、麺を製造。一部はすでに客へ提供していた。県の検査では、客へ提供する前の麺から２５８ベクレル（指標値５００ベクレル）、灰１２６０～８０６０ベクレルが検出された。灰を調べた３検体のうち、一つで指標値を超えた。

The noodle shop got the ashes from burning the firewood from the restaurant where radioactive cesium exceeding the safety limit was detected to make noodles. Part of the noodles has already been served to the customers. According to the test by the prefectural government, 258 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the noodles (safety standard is 500 becquerels/kg), and 1,260 to 8060 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the ashes. Of three samples of ashes, one of them exceeded the safety limit [of 8,000 becquerels/kg].

　残りのレストラン１店舗と配送業者は測定中で、２～３日後に検査結果を公表する。

The tests at the remaining 1 restaurant and the shipper are on-going, and the test results will be published in 2 to 3 days.

　県は、まきを使用して調理した場合、放射性セシウムが食品に付着する量は２％以下との国の指針を示し、「（まきから検出された）最大値の４６８ベクレルでも、食品には９ベクレル程度しか付着せず、この食品を摂取しても健康被害は出ない」と強調。調理する従業員についても常にまきの側にいるわけでなく、放射線を浴びる時間が短いことなどから影響はないとしている。

The Okinawa prefectural government points to the national guideline that says less than 2% of radioactive cesium in the firewood will be transferred to the food being cooked, and says "Even at the maximum 468 becquerels/kg, only 9 becquerels will be transferred to food, and there is no health effect even if you ingest this food." The prefectural government also says there is no effect on the employees who cook with the firewood, because they won't be at the firewood all the time, and the amount of time they are exposed to radiation is short.

　福島県産のまきは、岐阜県の流通業者が昨年１１月に１５・７トンを県内に出荷。８・４トンをレストランに販売した。残り７・３トンは那覇港近くのコンテナに保管している。レストランで保管している未使用のまきは０・７トンで、県内の配送業者が回収し、コンテナで保管している分と合わせて、８日に大阪経由で福島に送り返す。

The distributor in Gifu Prefecture sold 15.7 tonnes of firewood from Fukushima Prefecture in Okinawa. 8.4 tonnes of it have been sold to restaurants. The remaining 7.3 tonnes are stored in a container near the Naha Port. 0.7 tonne of the firewood sold to restaurants is not used, and the shipper in the prefecture will collect them and ship it, along with what remains in the container, back to Fukushima via Osaka on February 8.

"Okinawa Soba" is like ramen noodles, and instead of brine it often uses lye from the ashes.

If you burn firewood with 468 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, it will result in ashes with 85,176 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium (468 x 182). Even by the lax "standard" of the Ministry of the Environment, you wouldn't be able to bury these ashes in a regular dump, not to mention using it in your garden. You certainly wouldn't want to use them in your noodles, because the transfer rate from the ashes to the noodles seems rather high from the example in the article.

Radioactive beef and radioactive leaf compost have already reached Okinawa, and I hear that Kanto and Tohoku vegetables are freely sold in Okinawa.

Still, the national government, just like last year, is set to do everything to help the producers in Fukushima who have been suffering from "baseless rumors" called radioactive materials.

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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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US Ambassador to Japan Shouts at Japan's Ministers in Rage Over Okinawa Base

Chicagoland thuggery goes to Japan.

Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power, promising "change" (just like the new U.S. administration). Unlike the U.S. counterpart, though, they are actually trying. One of the things they are trying to change is the relocation plan of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa.

Between Japan's Aso administration and U.S.'s Bush administration, they agreed in 2006 to move the Marine airbase in Futenma, Okinawa, to another city, Nago, also in Okinawa. The strong opposition of Nago citizens as well as environmentalists' opposition (the base would be built on a landfill over coral reef) was totally ignored. Now, Prime Minister Hatoyama, whatever his political calculation is (or lack thereof), seems aligned with the citizens of both Futenma and Nago in opposing ANY U.S. military presence at all in Okinawa. He has delayed the decision on Futenma until next year.

This has angered the Obama administration, which has just expanded the Afghan war. Defense Secrerary Gates went to Japan and threatened Japanese of "serious consequences" if they didn't do the U.S. bidding. President Obama couldn't solve the Futenma issue when he visited Japan. (Why did he go to Asia, to begin with?) Now, Japan and the U.S. have started high-level negotiations in Tokyo to resolve the relocation issues.

The American Ambassador to Japan, John V. Roos, a big Obama campaign donor with zero foreign and diplomatic experience or knowledge, is a member of the U.S. negotiation team. He apparently blew up on the first day of the negotiation, according to Sankei Shinbun:

"In a closed session of the negotiation, Ambassador Roos flew into a rage and started shouting at Japan's Foreign Minister Okada and Defense Minister Kitazawa."

Don't you dare renege on the promise under Bush administration!

That sounds like Rahm Emanuel cloned.

(Sankei Shinbun, by the way, seems highly approving of the rude manner of the ambassador. The newspaper is heavily right-leaning, and heavily pro-U.S., a combination possible only in Japan.)

The base relocation was agreed upon in 2006 after an incident in 1995 of an abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. Marines. Violent crimes (rape, armed robbery, homicide) committed by the U.S. soldiers based in Japan, particularly in Okinawa, have irked and angered Japanese over the years, but this particular incident triggered an overwhelming disgust and protest against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. (One of the Marines later killed himself after raping a woman in Georgia.)

Japan, like so many other nations in the world, was ecstatic over the election of Barack Obama, welcoming the "change" from Bush administration. Now the reality sets in. Okinawa's newspaper Ryukyu Shinpo, in its editorial, has this to say to Obama administration: "Change? What change?" [rough translation from original Japanese]:

"It is highly doubtful that Ambassador Roos knew or understood anything about Okinawa's situation before he visited Okinawa. Obama administration's call for "change" rings so hollow now.

"New administrations in Japan and the U.S. have sparked the hope that problems associated with the U.S. bases in Okinawa, which have been highly contentious and divisive, may finally be resolved. But Ambassador Roos simply repeats the same old official U.S. line that the U.S. believes the current plan (move the base from Futenma to Nago, with Japanese government paying for most of the cost) is the best option.

"The Japan-U.S. working group, which is made up of ministers and high-ranking officials including Mr. Roos, is supposedly examining the issues and exploring options. But if the U.S. has already decided on the conclusion (that the current plan is the best one for the U.S.), what is the point of even negotiating?"

According to Yomiuri Shinbun, Michael Green, former senior director of Asian affairs of the U.S. National Security Council under George W. Bush, warned that if the Japanese government does not proceed with the base relocation plan as agreed, it will jeopardize the entire U.S. plan for military reorganization in the Far East. He predicted total collapse of trust between the U.S. and Japan, and threatened that the U.S. would go over Japan's head and discuss important issues with China only. (Just like it routinely bypass Korea now.)

So the Obama "Change" administration enlists a former official from the previous administration to bully the new Japanese administration. Same old, same old. I guess the occupation of Japan has never been lifted.

Japan has almost always liked and respected the U.S. ambassadors sent by the administrations over the years. The U.S. always took care to pick a respected, senior member of the diplomatic corp, senior politician, or noted scholar - Reischauer, Mansfield, Mondale. The ambassador under George Bush, Tom Schieffer, was also very much liked and respected by the Japanese politicians and businessmen. That tradition was rudely ended when Obama appointed his campaign contributor and political/diplomatic/scholarly nobody as the ambassador.

Several days ago Zero Hedge reported the rumor that Japan is planning to sell U.S. Treasuries [that they hold]. I hope the U.S. won't regret having bullied a long-time subservient "ally" if and when that rumor turns out to be true.

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