MTV interviews Japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama [whose name is apparently now written as "CHiAKi KURiYAMA"]:
The Washington Post has run an editorial asking why the hell 9/11 truther Yukihisa Fujita is holding an influential position within Japan’s ruling party:
As chief of the DPJ’s international department and head of the Research Committee on Foreign Affairs in the upper house of Japan’s parliament, to which he was elected in 2007, he is a Brahmin in the foreign policy establishment of Washington’s most important East Asian ally. He also seems to think that America’s rendering of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, is a gigantic hoax.
Mr. Fujita’s ideas about the attack on the World Trade Center, which he shared with us in a recent interview, are too bizarre, half-baked and intellectually bogus to merit serious discussion. He questions whether it was really the work of terrorists; suggests that shadowy forces with advance knowledge of the plot played the stock market to profit from it; peddles the fantastic idea that eight of the 19 hijackers are alive and well; and hints that controlled demolition rather than fire or debris may be a more likely explanation for at least the collapse of the building at 7 World Trade Center, which was adjacent to the twin towers.
As with almost any calamity whose scale and scope assume historic proportions, the events of Sept. 11 have spawned a thriving subculture of conspiracy theorists at home and abroad. The only thing novel about Mr. Fujita is that a man so susceptible to the imaginings of the lunatic fringe happens to occupy a notable position in the governing apparatus of a nation that boasts the world’s second-largest economy.
The post rightly wonders why Prime Minister Hatoyama and the DPJ are tolerating Fujita’s views and even allowing him to hold a top foreign policy-related position.
[via JapanSoc]
Related Link: Mutantfrog had a post about Fujita’s 9/11 beliefs last year. Like the Washington Post, Adamu wonders why Hatoyama doesn’t speak out against Fujita. Could Hatoyama himself believe that 9/11 was an inside job?
Update: Over at the F**ked Gaijin forums, Gen has posted the official response that the DPJ is sending out:
Comment on Circumstances of Washington Post Editorial Dated Mar 8, 2010
Yukihisa Fujita
Member of the House of Councillors
Office Tel: 3508-8205
At 10:30 am on March 3, 2010, Lee Hockstader, Editorial Writer for the Washington Post, visited myself (Yukihisa Fujita, member of the House of Councillors, and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) International Department Director General) having made an interview request on the subject of “Japan’s stance on and shifting attitudes toward immigration” via the Foreign Press Center, Japan. (original interview request and questions in Japanese available on request)
1. The requested interview time of one hour was spent discussing the current situation relating to Japan’s response to immigration and my opinions on this issue. During the interview Hockstader typed my comments into his laptop computer, as he had requested. However, once the one hour interview had ended and Hockstader had closed his laptop, he mentioned as an aside that he had noticed from my resume that I had raised the issue of the 9/11 terror attacks in a Diet committee, and asked whether I had some doubts about this issue. In response, I explained the circumstances that led me to become involved in the 9/11 issue and pointed out a number of points that still remained unexplained about the events of that day.
2. In other words, after answering questions on the agreed upon theme for around one hour, I naturally responded to this question as being separate from the interview itself.
3. Ms. Fukasawa of the Foreign Press Center, Japan also attended the interview (DPJ International Department Manager Ms. Uchida and Deputy Manager Ms. Burnicle were also in attendance), and she confirmed that during his visit to Japan, Hockstader did not conduct interviews on any other subject than immigration. (following the interview, I received a letter of thanks from Foreign Press Center, Japan President Terusuke Terada). The entire interview was recorded and I intend to disclose the content of the entire interview in due course.
4. As stated in 1. above, this was an informal chat regarding 9/11 following the actual interview itself. At no point did I draw the conclusion that 9/11 was a conspiracy, and I clearly stated that the collapse of the Twin Towers could not be judged to be a result of a controlled demolition. Rather, I stated I had made my speech in the Diet from the stance that it was necessary to investigate the origins of the “War on Terror” from the perspective of assisting the relatives of the victims of 9/11, and in relation to the war in Afghanistan and the provision of humanitarian assistance.
5. Furthermore, I have many American friends from various walks of life, and have worked for many years to serve as a bridge between Japan and the United States, including by providing assistance to former US POWs held captive by Japan.
6. I currently serve as Director of the Research Committee on International Affairs and Global Warming Issues in the House of Councillors, but I was introduced in the article as “the head of the Research Committee on Foreign Affairs”. Moreover, the article describes me as “a Brahmin in the foreign policy establishment” of Japan, while in fact, as Director General of the Democratic Party of Japan’s International Department, I am not involved in policy matters. I find it totally regrettable that this kind of biased article should be published in the Washington Post.
In the radio interview embedded at the top of this post, Fujita has said that he questions the official explanation of the collapse of Building 7, the debris found at the Pentagon, the lack of a video showing a plane hitting it, and the put options placed on American Airlines stock before the attacks. In the same interview, he declares that 9/11 conspiracy theorist Yumi Kikuchi is his “teacher” about 9/11. Fujita has been very active in advancing the view that the attacks were an inside job and he openly cooperates with people who clearly state that they think the attacks were carried out by the U.S. government. Evasive press releases can’t change that fact.
He may deny that he has any influence over foreign policy, but his title as Director General of the Democratic Party of Japan’s International Department still sounds important enough to make people in Washington question the DPJ’s decision to appoint him to such a position.
The Academy Award results are in, and it appears that award for best documentary went to The Cove, a film about American animal rights activists fighting against the Taiji dolphin hunt.
Fuji TV went to the small town of Taiji to see how locals would react to the news:
Back in the news studio, the Fuji TV anchors agree that the film was biased. One says just showing images of dolphins being killed without properly explaining Taiji’s long history of eating whale/dolphin meat was unfair. The other compared it to the infamous YouTube video of male chicks being crushed to death at an American factory farm. If a Japanese film company decided to make a documentary highlighting the cruelty and brutality of how Americans slaughter chickens or other “meat” animals, would it be able to win an Academy Award?
Update: The AP has an article about this.
“The Cove” refers to Taiji and its dolphin fishing as “a little town with a really big secret,” but local councilman Hisato Ryono said there is nothing to hide.
“Everyone around here knows about it. The water nearby turns red during the hunt. The actual killing is done in a concealed area because it is unpleasant to look at, as is true of killing cows or pigs or any other animal,” said Ryono, who says he was tricked into appearing in the film.
“This is a close-knit group of fishermen. The more they feel squeezed, the more they will close off to outsiders. They won’t stop this hunt because of such pressure,” Ryono said.
[...]
The Japanese government, which allows about 19,000 dolphins to be killed each year, acknowledges that dolphin meat is contaminated with mercury, but denies it’s dangerous unless consumed in huge quantities.
I take some succor from the fact that the most popular food in the world today is not the Big Mac, but pizza. And what is pizza? It’s a flat piece of bread that every society has, on which every society and every community throws its own local ingredients and culture. In India, you can get tandoori pizza; in Japan, you can get sushi pizza; and in Mexico, you can get salsa pizza.
It may work for the English-speaking audience that reads his books, but many Japanese people would probably be puzzled by the idea that Americans think they eat sushi pizza.
In fact, the idea of sushi pizza is so strange, it was worth mentioning on a recent TV program:
“I am quite fat, actually,” said Michie Takagi, a 70-year-old grandmother and retired clothing store executive. She has a body mass index (BMI) of 19.9, which is at the thin end of normal. While the average American woman has gained about 25 pounds over the past 30 years, Takagi has gained 4.5 pounds, typical for her age cohort in Japan, according to U.S. and Japanese government figures.
Skinnier still are Japanese women younger than 60, who were thin by international standards three decades ago and who, taken as a group, have since been steadily losing weight.
The trend is most pronounced among women in their 20s. A quarter-century ago, they were twice as likely to be thin as overweight; now they are four times more likely to be thin. For U.S. women of all ages, obesity rates have about doubled since 1980, rising from 17 percent to 35 percent.
Men and children, however, seem to be gaining weight. The trend among women is explained by social pressure and the media’s promotion of thinness as beauty. There still seems to be some questions about why Japanese women are so easily influenced by what they see in TV and magazines:
“In the United States, you see all these beautiful skinny people on television, and yet Americans keep getting fatter anyway,” said Sasaki, the public health expert at Tokyo University. “Why is that?”
[hat tip to Brian]
A cafe in Kochi city that sells a Sakamoto Ryoma Latté:
Also spotted recently in Japan: Sakamoto Ryoma ramen chips.
Even though soldiers diagnosed with venereal disease risked having their beer ration suspended for 15 days, we learn that many still took their chances with the local “moose,” the Aussie rendering of musume (daughter). Not to mention the widows, wives and girls they encountered in bars, on the streets, in dance halls and as servants. Most of these liaisons were temporary, but there were also many marriages between couples looking for something more than casual sex, despite the best efforts of racist officials to prevent such ties.
Local women were discouraged from taking up with the soldiers by authorities who “warned that if they consorted with the Australians, they would give birth to kangaroos.” Many apparently took their chances due to destitute circumstances and the shortage of Japanese men.
Unfortunately, it is about $50. Somebody call the publisher and ask them to print it in paperback!
Why is a 9/11 truther the head of the DPJ’s Research Committee on Foreign Affairs?
Taiji disappointed to hear that “The Cove” won an Oscar
Japanese women getting thinner as American women become fatter
Australia and the occupation of Japan
Richard Armitage on Japanese TV
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