Bellflower comments

What is nonsense is the cheerleading for the illegal and dangerous action of the MSDF ship. The area in question is in the general vicinity of Shanghai. Imagine if this was taking place close to Tokyo.

The area in question is not disputed. It is undeniably Chinese waters.

Think about who is really interested in peace in Asia. Think about who is pursuing a political agenda without any regard for the safety of you and your family.

"To counter China..."

It's a loaded headline. The implication is that China is an aggressor.

"NATO and China had little conflict until tensions grew between Beijing and Washington in 2019"

Think about this statement. It is revealing, even embarrassing. It means NATO simply followed US policy.

This is why some people say the NATO countries are US lapdogs.

"commemorating the atomic bomb attack on the city"

By who? Of course everyone knows it was the American government which did it. But in the Japanese news media it is most important not to embarrass the US government with direct language.

Targeting civilians is a war crime.

The servile LDP shields the US from any inconvenient talk about the US atomic bombings being war crimes.

So it is totally appropriate for the LDP-backed mayor of Hiroshima to invite the Israeli war criminals to the "peace ceremony" since the IDF specializes in targeting civilians.

And no one is surprised the IDF targets civilians in Gaza because the IDF is supplied and paid for by the US, the world leader in war crimes.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui is backed by the LDP and Komeito. When questioned by a reporter about the obvious double standards being applied in the invitations he showed a noticeable defensiveness and irritation.

The US is the world leader of double standards and the US-Japan security treaty essentially requires the LDP to adopt US policy on all important international issues.

Hiroshima's mayor makes a mockery out of the "peace ceremony", using it to promote US war policy in both Ukraine and Gaza.

But then that is exactly what you expect from an LDP backed mayor.

”Finding aspiring female candidates, however, isn't easy”

This Associated Press story is obviously contradicted by the Tokyo election it tries to peg the article on, in which there were two prominent female choices. The Japanese Communist Party runs many female candidates, but they won't get any praise from the American AP news agency.

The article complains about the "slow pace" of gender equality wanting more female candidates elected... but could not care less about what their actual political programs are. The article is not interested in social and economic progress, only window dressing for the status quo.

It is not wise to want very cold temperatures inside trains or restaurants in the summer. Your body will better adjust to the temperature when you enter and exit if there is not an extreme temperature difference.

How many of those 119 Tokyo area ambulance trips with sirens blaring were real emergencies?

Judging by the fact that only 3 people were not already released, we can conclude that the vast majority of cases did not require an ambulance.

Compare current news from exceptionally hot Shizuoka. Out of 35 heat related ambulance trips, 32 were mild and 3 were moderate.

This is an abuse of the emergency care system. Meanwhile the few real emergency incidents face slow response times.

This "online symposium" was not big news in Japan, if it was even reported at all. The only interesting thing about it is the appeal for "global cooperation". This is just a way to use this tired old issue to promote current US alliance building in Asia.

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were abducted by the Japanese government and placed in factories and mines in Japan.

Try doing a search for "Korean citizens abducted by japan during war".

What results will you get? You will get results about... North Korea abductions.

The Korean abductees are always referred to as "forced labor", a less politically charged expression.

Have you ever seen this phrase used in an article?

"Italy's growing maritime assertiveness in the Indo-pacific region"

Let's look at how the LDP responded:

"Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said it is "unacceptable" to refuse accommodation on the basis of nationality."

So in this statement Kamikawa ignores the issue of the individual's connection to the Israeli military and falsely poses the issue as one of nationality, basically repeating the Israeli Embassy position.

This makes one wonder what exactly is the LDP position on Gaza? Do you notice that Kishida talks and smiles endlessly about Ukraine, but is tight-lipped and vague about Gaza.

The elephant in the room is the US, as hinted at by the reference to the joint maritime exercises at the end of the article.

Why is the Philippines at this particular time making a big issue out of this shoal?

Marcos's father was ousted from power by a revolution in 1986. The father was widely viewed as a dictator.

Marcos Jr has tried to rewrite his father's image and (Trump style) portray that period as a golden age. The key change of the Marcos Jr administration, compared to the previous Duterte administration, has been to adopt complete support for US policies along with US hostility to China.

Neither the Israeli Embassy nor the Israeli man denied the connection with the Israeli military. Naturally they prefer not to talk about the subject of the Israeli military since they know its war crimes are despised worldwide.

This connection with Israeli war crimes was the reason for the denial of service at Hotel Material... not nationality.

The charge against the hotel that they are guilty of "discrimination" is laughable. The hotel is concerned about hosting members of the Israeli military, not all Israelis.

It is well known that there are huge protests in Israel against Netanyahu's government. Not all Israelis support Netanyahu's crimes. One of the hostages, the dancer, famously condemned Netanyahu after she was released.

Where does utterly dishonest charge of "discrimination" come from. Naturally it comes from the US media, the same US which is funding and enabling everything Israel does in Gaza. The US media charges the Americans who protest all this with being "anti-semitic". The US media falsely claims the protesters are anti-Jewish when in fact the protesters are anti-genocide.

The way in which the Kyoto city administration has unjustly treated this hotel should be noted by the countless tourists who flock to the city with only a rosy view of Kyoto. Of course the administration does not reflect the real views of the majority of good Kyoto people. Rather the city administration reflects the position of the LDP which parrots everything the US media and government says and does.

If you think this is simply a matter of the power of the Israeli Embassy, think again. Behind Israel is the US. Israel is completely funded and supported by the US.

The hotel is correct.

This article says: "citing possible ties with his country's military engaging in conflict in the Gaza Strip"

Note the phrase "engaging in conflict".

This is not an accurate description of the hotel's position. The hotel maintains that there is reason to believe the Israeli in question is connected with war crimes. Note war crimes.

The hotel maintains that it could be held as complicit if it were to host such a person.

Note also the article states the law allows "special circumstances". The Kyoto city ruling avoided all of these issues.

"tackle Japan's rapidly declining birthrate while trying to raise real wages"

The above makes no sense. If there truly is a shortage of workers, then wages will rise. Increasing the birthrate will result in a downward pressure on wages. Therefore it is no surprise that Kishida's "new capitalism" has amounted to nothing.

If you watch NHK dramas, if only in passing, you cannot help but notice babies showing up again and again. It is almost as if the producers got some LDP memo to market baby making propaganda. Of course most young people don't watch NHK dramas, so the effort is wasted. Young women are busy working low wage jobs or low level corporate positions. They have little prospect of wage equality... but as a consolation prize they can aspire to not change their name when they marry.

Which country pioneered low wage temp jobs which Japan so enthusiastically imitated? Ahhh... it was the USA, the great promoter of gender equality.

This is an AFP (Agence France-Presse) article. It's good that Japan Today ran it.

The Japanese media does not report that the LDP is planning a huge increase in tourism. Major Japanese cities lack the infrastructure to deal with such an increase. There is little investment being done in local train and bus service. Tourists themselves often talk about how overcrowded Kyoto is. People who do know the Kyoto of 10 or 20 years ago do not realize the extent of the change.

The LDP is indeed spending money, but not on infrastructure. LDP policy is identical to US policy. Big increases in military spending along with a steady flow of funds to Ukraine.

US historian Gar Alperovitz:

It was only with the entry of the Soviet Union’s Red Army into the war two days after the bombing of Hiroshima that the Japanese moved to finally surrender.

US historian Gar Alperovitz:

American intelligence had broken the Japanese codes, knew the Japanese government was trying to negotiate surrender through Moscow, and had long advised that the expected early August Russian declaration of war, along with assurances that Japan’s emperor would be allowed to stay as a figurehead, would bring surrender long before the first step in a November US invasion could begin.

This is the truth about the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Admiral William Leahy, Truman's Chief of Staff: “The use of this barbarous weapon…was of no material assistance in our war against Japan.”

Major General Curtis LeMay: “the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at all.”

Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet: “the atomic bomb played no decisive part, from a purely military standpoint, in the defeat of Japan”

General Dwight Eisenhower: “It wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.”

You will notice that the LDP promotes a huge increase in tourism along with zero discussion of the infrastructure needed to support it.

This is at a time when the media complains (falsely) of a lack of drivers, when trains are insufficient and overcrowded and late. In many places buses are overburdened with tourists.

The LDP is intentionally creating overtourism. This is a very conscious, thought-out policy.

The electorate does not really understand this. The news media often implies that the weak yen is the primary driver. However the surge in tourism began before the weak yen.

So will the LDP be held accountable at the polls?

JJE explained it well above.

This announcement is to show support for the US on the Korean Peninsula in response to Putin's trip. But it will make it clearer to the South Korean electorate what their government is doing in Ukraine.

If you do an internet search on the subject Ukrainian refugees who are men, you will find that there are hundreds of thousands of them. Interviews invariably go like this: "I support the war... but it's better if I don't have to fight in it."

You will also find that there are draft-age Ukrainian men who have been admitted to Japan. The news media typically shows only young Ukrainian women. The acceptance of all these Ukrainian refugees is a complete reversal of previous Japanese strict refugee policy. But the open door was only opened to Ukrainians.

Further no expense was spared to fund the Ukrainian refugees. Compare the treatment of Noto earthquake victims who got cardboard cubes while Ukrainian refugees got hotel rooms.

Young Ukrainian women were highlighted in the media resulting in many donation campaigns and widespread support for Ukraine by Japanese. Of course this coincided with official LDP policy, which coincided with official US policy.

When one thinks of refugees today, one cannot fail to think of Gaza. One cannot also fail to notice the difference in concern of Kishida and the LDP.

Kishida likes to talk about the "Global South" as if he has its support.

Isn't it strange for Kishida to ignore India... as he claims to "reform" the UN?

There is no such thing in today's world as "overproduction in sectors such as electric vehicles and solar panels".

Better to ask who is giving lip service to dealing with climate change.

It should be noted that it is the US Biden administration that initiated this campaign against China and its production of EVs and solar panels. This is the same Biden who campaigned promising to lead the world in the fight against climate change.

I think it would be wiser for the supporters of US bases in Okinawa to keep quiet about the US presence in Syria. Russia is in Syria at the request of the Syrian government and both have been fighting IS.

The US, on the other hand, is in Syria against the will of the Syrian government. The US claims to fight IS. However, the US opposes the government of Syria. IS also opposes the government of Syria.

If US forces take ("protect" LOL) oil belonging to the Syrian government and give it to Kurds allied with the US... is this stealing or protecting? In the bigger picture, the revenues (which cannot really be tracked) are a minor issue. More important is that this all undermines the economy of Syria, which benefits the US which desires the overthrow of the Syrian government.

These "dark tourists" seem well intentioned. The real problem is if the Noto Peninsula reconstruction does not get the attention and support it deserves.

Kishida sent a large amount of money to Ukraine which could have been used for earthquake reconstruction. Taxpayers are still paying a surcharge for Fukushima reconstruction.

Where is Kishida today?

"I was under the impression that it stood for questionable labour practices."

Uniqlo makes good clothes and is innocent of these old unproven claims about Uyghur labor. It's a shame a good brand's name was tarnished by NGOs with an obvious political agenda.