Archive for November, 2010

Japan’s Northern Territories

“Bankisha” visits Hokkaido to find out what’s up with Russian President’s Dmitry Medvedev visit to the disputed Kuril islands :

• The islands were attacked and seized by the Russian military following Japan’s August 15th surrender. The islands were then ethnically cleansed: 17,000 Japanese who lived there were kicked out of their homes and replaced with Russian settlers.
• The city of Nemuro still prints maps that label some of the islands as part of its administrative responsibility. The Nemuro city hall also keeps records of the Japanese people who used to live on the islands. There are also 172 Japanese people who have never lived in the Northern Territories but have listed addresses on the islands in their family registries (to protest the Russian occupation).
• The islands are very close to Hokkaido. Japanese fishing boats cannot cross the median line between Russian-controlled sea and Japanese-controlled sea. They are restricted to a narrow area while a far smaller number of Russian fishing boats is able to take advantage of the waters around the islands. Most of the fish caught by the Russians is exported to Japan.
• The Russian population of the islands has been dropping over the years. The Russian government is convincing people to stay there by heavily subsidizing their living expenses. One can observe new houses on the islands, no doubt paid for by the Russian government. Inside one house, the residents describe their television as “a gift from the President.” Medvedev’s visit to the island was meant to underline the government’s commitment to financially supporting the people who choose to live on the islands. [Moscow will spend $600 million on the Kurils for its 2007-2015 budget, with a possible $430 million increase coming soon.]

Although President Medvedev is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kan at the upcoming APEC meeting Yokohama, there is little hope that they will be able to achieve a solution to the territorial dispute.

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Examining the Senkaku Collision Footage

NTV’s “Zoom In” morning show examines the footage of the Senkaku Island boat collision footage:

A Tokai University professor who is knowledgeable about maritime issues watches the video and describes how it shows the Chinese trawler captain intentionally rammed a Japanese coast guard ship. According to international rules, ships that are in risk of collision should turn to the right. In the video, the Chinese ship is very clearly veering to the left: straight into the Japanese ship. Throughout the incident, the Chinese crew appear suspiciously calm. The professor suggests that they might not be normal fishermen.

They take a video screen to the streets of Beijing and show the collision footage to random Chinese people. A few of them think that the video shows the Chinese trawler ramming the Japanese ship, but many others watch the video and conclude the Japanese ship is responsible. Even those that see the Chinese ramming for what it is are skeptical about the existence of other footage that the Japanese are not releasing. Surely, those sneaky Japanese must be hiding the truth…

In other news, approval ratings for the Kan Cabinet have plunged to a new low. The Kan administration’s poor handling of the Senkaku collision crisis is mentioned as a major cause of public disapproval.

Edit: Here is what William O’Neil had to say about the video.

The order of the day in the Chinese media seems to be, “MAKE SMOKE!” They would have us believe that the JCG cutters were really the aggressors. I suppose that someone unused to the sea might read this into the clip I mentioned, but to this seaman’s eye is it clear that the Chinese fisherman (which appears to be a trawler with gear over the stern) is turning into the cutters very deliberately. In any event, in another clip (out of many) we can watch from the deck of one cutter as the fisherman deliberately rams the other.

None of this proves that it was all a Chinese government plot in the first place. For instance, the Chinese fisherman’s master might have been in his cups, and simply reacted belligerently. But at very least the Chinese have deliberately made a cause célèbre of the business.

I will observe that the cutter COs did not play it the way I would have thought most prudent. These cutters are fast, powerful small warships that did not come off as well as they should have in such an encounter. I was taught that with two intercepting ships you should bracket the target, and never allow him to put you forward of his beam while closing the range. They were trying to hail the fisherman and tell him to stop, and I suppose they assumed reasonable behavior. They needed more of the policeman’s mentality — never take it for granted that the other guy does not mean you harm.

I don’t see in the videos what they did to corral him following the collisions. The JCG can be plenty tough, but it seems clear that they were under orders not to use force. I suppose that they caught him between two or more of their rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) filled with armed men who swarmed over the rail and overpowered the crew if they could not just overawe them. It would be interesting to know.

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Selling Takoyaki in Tunisia

“Itte Q” sends Becky to Tunisia, where she sets up a Japanese takoyaki stand:

She sold all of the food, and her survey shows that most of the Tunisians are satisfied with their first taste of takoyaki.

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Tooth Care in Japan

Yesterday was “Good Teeth Day” (11/8 = いい/は) in Japan, so here’s a news report about a “boom” in products that help keep teeth beautiful and clean:

Apparently this “boom” is taking place mostly among women. As you can see from the graph above, many Japanese women keep toothbrushes at their workplaces and brush after eating lunch. A variety of new tooth care products targeted towards women have shown very good sales. One very popular product, the Panasonic Pocket Doltz Sonic Toothbrush, have a slick design that makes it look more like a cosmetic product than a tooth brush.

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Hannah Tan in Japan

Here’s an excerpt from an article about her that appeared a few days ago in the Malay Mail:

She acquired her first of two music Diplo­mas at the age of 13 and has also ap­peared in various TV commercials and advertisements for Epson, Panasonic, Citibank, Nescafe, Maybeline, Lux, Cel­com, Digi and Maxis, in addition to countless magazine covers and some movies.

Whatever the reason, Hannah’s fans clear­ly have not forgotten her or grown less fond of the unassuming singer-song­writer, model and actress. Her Facebook Fan Page plays host to an average of 15 to 25 new subscriptions every day, and as of Oct 6, managed to reach a total of 23,555 fans in less than two years since it started. At the same time, her influ­ence among the pop-culture segment of the market is undeniable, reflected in her blogs at her websites www.han­nahtan.com (English) and www.han­nah-web.jp (Japanese) which she per­sonally updates on a regular basis.

[...]

Her days in Tokyo are filled to the brim with music writing, recording and training sessions, promotional activi­ties and high-intensity Japanese lan­guage classes, which certainly would tire anyone.

“I would be lying if I said that it has been a breeze so far,” said Hannah in a let­ter to The Malay Mail. “Nevertheless, as I carry the hopes of my fellow Malay­sians in pursuing my dreams, I made a commitment to never quit the journey, regardless of how adverse the circum­stances may be.

And here’s a video from a couple months ago, showing her singing in Japanese and making a few comments in English:

I can’t say I’ve seen much about her on Japanese television, but judging from the number of Japanese comments left on her YouTube videos, it appears that she does have quite a few fans in Japan.

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Heavy Security at Japan-China Soccer Match

Japan’s soccer team is set to play against China’s team tonight at the Asian Games in Guangzhou. To prevent its nationalistic citizens from marring the event with violence and rioting, the Chinese authorities have enacted strict security measures. All Japanese spectators will sit in a designated area, with security personnel preventing any contact between Japanese and Chinese fans:

Cameras, banners and bottles containing any liquid will be also banned at the match to prevent any “untoward situation” as part of measures enforced by security authorities, the Japanese consulate-general in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou said on its website.

“Please refrain from heckling opponent players and supporters, insulting the opposite country or cheering in any other unfriendly manner as it is dangerous,” it added in a notice to Japanese visitors.

The warning comes as tensions between the Asian giants persist following Japan’s arrest of a Chinese trawler captain for allegedly ramming Japanese coastguard ships near disputed islands in the East China Sea in September.

At the Asian under-19 football championships in China last month, Japan’s squad were booed and one spectator snatched their national flag from ceremony personnel while their national anthem was played before a match.

The restriction on bottles seems like a good idea, considering that Chinese fans have used them as weapons in previous anti-Japanese soccer riots.

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