English-Club-ET4

Dangerous Japan

     Emergency contingency bills are being deliberated by Congress. They are about to clear
the Diet without satisfactory consideration although they are important bills concerning life
and property of the nation directly. The late Obuchi Cabinet, the coalition government of the
Liberal Democratic and the Komei Party rammed the bills of Hinomaru and Kimigayo through
the Diet in 1999. Similarly, the same coalition government is aiming at passing emergency
contingency bills in an undemocratic way. Nowadays, the Koizumi Cabinet is not a government
that practices sweeping reforms, but has changed into a reactionary one.
     The truth of the incident caused by five North Korean asylum-seekers in Shenyang on
May 8 of 2002 is still a mystery. The Chinese government has claimed that Japan is agreed
on dragging asylum-seekers out of the Japan consulate, but the Japanese government has
not agreed on that point. It follows from what both governments say that at least one of them
is telling a lie. In such a complicated situation, Yasuo Fukuda, the chief Cabinet Secretary,
asked Japanese people in a press conference, “Which country do you believe, Japan or China?”
His question does not make sense at all, for he has not given any objective evidence. Certainly,
there was a case in which even natives of Japan cannot believe what their government said.
The Lukow-kiao Incident that happened in China on July 7 of 1937 is a suitable example. The
Japanese military authorities invaded China by artifice, tricking the then Wakatsuki Cabinet into
a big series of wars. Ultimately, Japan rushed into the Pacific War in 1941. At that time, it was
impossible for the nation to get information about the war. Although Japan became lighthearted
on account of a victory, violation of human rights and massacres were carried out in Nanking in
1937. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (Penguin Books, 1997) describes the miserable situation
in detail. What is written in the book is certainly a historical fact. Putting such a fact out of his
mind, it is ridiculous that Yasuo Fukuda asked the nation which government they believe. In
reality, Japanese people are doubtful about the current government regarding the asylum-seekers’
incident in Shenyang.
     Such an unreliable government is not qualified to deal with emergency contingency bills. It may
be like a case putting a naked sword in a madman’s hand. To what extent has military strength
succeeded in settling international disputes although Junichro Koizumi said, “Forewarned is
forearmed” in connection with the bills? It is true that no military operations have attained the
purpose of preventing terrorism from spreading. In this irredeemable situation of the world, what
Japan should do is not to make the laws of the emergency contingency, but to persuade the U.S.
or Israel not to use the military power in order to settle international conflicts. Moreover, Japan
should try to convince Arabs to stop suicide bombing terrorism so as to keep the peace. In
particular, Japan should try to come in contact with North Korea, the third nearest country to
Japan. The Japanese government has to decide its attitude toward the asylum problem as soon
as possible. It is clear that Japan should try to accept refugees, while some other developing
countries have been accepting hundreds or thousands of them. What Japan should do as only
atom-bombed country in the world is to SHOW THE FLAG to spread the peace under her unique
constitution.