Archive for March, 2010

Richard Armitage on Japanese TV

Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage talks to a Japanese TV program about the U.S.-Japan alliance and the issues surrounding the relocation of the US Marine air station at Futenma:

Armitage is introduced as an important member of the Reagan and Bush administrations, and as one of the people who pushed very hard for Japan’s participation in the occupation of Iraq. The interview takes place in Armitage’s consulting firm office, where we can see objects in the background that testify to his years of experience dealing with Japan.

Armitage believes that the Futenma base should have been relocated to a safer location 20 years ago, and that dragging on negotiations for years has not been a very good thing for the people who live next to the air station. When asked about the importance of Okinawa, he stresses its strategic location, near North Korea, China, and the sea lanes that Japan depends upon for economic survival.

The interviewer points out that some people believe the American military bases on Okinawa are just for America’s benefit, but Armitage strongly disagrees. He says that the alliance with Japan means that members of the United States military are obligated to fight and risk their lives for the protection of Japan, while America does not expect Japanese to fight and die in defense of American territory. Prime Minister Hatoyama has called for a more “equal” alliance with America, but Armitage doesn’t see any suggestions from the Japanese site that Japan be obligated to defend America.

After the interview, there is a comment about how Armitage really seems to care about the problems of Japanese who live near the Futenma base. However, Armitage admitted that as an American, he is looking out for the best interests of his own country.

The studio audience is told that America maintains over 700 military bases in 38 countries, which elicits surprise from the Japanese guests. A show of hands from the Japanese-speaking foreign panelists reveals that about half of them have U.S. military bases in their countries of origin.

The German panelist says that he grew up near an American base and the sight of American vehicles driving around was an everyday experience. Many people in his town saw the base as a source of opportunity. The bases would open their doors several times a year to invite their German neighbors to take part in friendship festivals. His brother even dated an American girl who lived on the base. He doesn’t understand why Okinawans have such a negative view of the opportunities for cultural interaction and internationalization.

The South Korean panelist says that people in his country have a different view of the American military because of the dangerous proximity of North Korea. There are some people who oppose the bases, but most tend to accept their necessity.

The Kuwaiti panelist says there is a huge American military presence in her country, but because their bases are isolated in desert areas, there is not much contact between the Americans and the Kuwaiti people. They are apparently not allowed to go off base and walk around in the streets of towns and cities. The German panelist points out that this would make the American soldiers feel lonely, but the Kuwaiti panelist thinks that soldiers shouldn’t be expecting to enjoy themselves.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

The history behind HBO’s “The Pacific”

The first part of HBO’s new miniseries about US Marines in the Pacific War will air on March 14th:

You can read more about it and view other videos on its official homepage. They’ve got a 10 minute mini documentary called “The Atanomy of the Pacific War” which includes footage of interviews with historians Akira Iriye, Donald L. Miller, Richard B. Frank, John W. Dower, and Hugh Ambrose (son of Stephen Ambrose and author of the official companion book to the miniseries). The documentary focuses on how both sides fought with intense hatred against a de-humanized enemy.

Here it is, embedded from YouTube:

And here is a video about how they tried to preserve the greatness of Eugene Sledge’s memoir, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, when creating episodes based on Sledge’s experiences:

You can also head over to YouTube and see a similar video about their adaptation of Robert Leckie’s Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific.

The early trailers and teasers for this miniseries had me wondering about its quality, but these extended videos about the filmmaker’s attention to source material has made me very interested in watching the final product.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

2-channelers respond to Korean cyber attacks by donating money to Chile earthquake victims

“Patriotic” South Korean netizens are apparently continuing their cyber attacks on 2-channel, Japan’s most popular web forum site. The initial 2-channel response to the attacks was a cyber attack on the website of the ultranationalist group VANK, with some success in denying users access to the site.

A new wave of Korean attacks is supposedly being planned, but some 2-channelers are calling on their comrades to take the high road and respond by helping victims of the recent earthquake in Chile:

Weirdo, a regular commenter on this site, has reported on how some 2-channelers are organizing a more appropriate response to the Korean DDoS attacks.

2ch is “retaliating” to the attack from south Koreans by clicking to donate to Chile.

韓国人
「ロシアで
韓国人が殺されたので
日本に報復ために
アメリカのサーバーを落とした」

日本
「韓国の攻撃により
日本　2chの
アメリカサーバーが落ちたので報復のため
チリに募金する」

Korea
“A Korean was killed in Russia
To get revenge on the Japanese
they attack an American server”

Japan:
“Koreans take down Japanese site 2ch
American server is down, to get revenge
they donate to Chile”

Some of the sites users are being directed to have sponsors that will donate food for every person who clicks a button on the organization’s homepage. They are also being encouraged to donate money themselves. It is unclear just how many people are participating in the donation campaign or how much money has been donated, but the topic seems popular on 2-channel and hundreds of messages have been posted about it. Someone has set up a wiki about the campaign here.

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Related article- Just to be clear, there are South Korean media outlets that are denouncing the attacks. The JoongAng Ilbo has a good editorial about the issue:

Some Web postings by Japanese youths can be extreme. But an organized cyber attack on a Web site to punish obnoxious postings by individuals cannot be justified by any account. Critics say their act is tantamount to a hacking crime. Some Korean netizens recently went as far as hunting down the referee that disqualified the Korean women’s short-track speed skating relay team in the recent Vancouver Olympic Games and released his personal details on the Internet.

Being outraged by the referee who allegedly made repeated unfair judgements against Korean skaters is one thing, but exposing information like his phone number and e-mail address is a serious infringement of privacy.

Young Korean athletes have been lauded by the world audience for their perseverance and passion during the Winter Olympic Games. Our young online population should also pass beyond the infantile fighting stage and instead set an example for a mature Internet society in the online community.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Aflac duck and cat at a Japanese wedding

The latest in Aflac’s series of Japanese commercials that have its famous duck dance with a cat:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Jude Law on Japanese TV

Jude Law dines with Japanese comedians on “Tunnels no Minna-san no Okage deshita”:

I believe the appearance was to promote the Japanese release of Sherlock Holmes. (It will be hitting theaters on March 13th, about 3 months after the rest of the world.)
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Domo-kun, Olympic host

Just in case you missed N-H-K’s winter Olympic coverage, here are some of the best moments:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)