Archive for April, 2011

Anti-Japanese Nationalism Sours Korean Efforts to Donate Relief to Japanese Tsunami Victims

After the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, there was great sympathy in South Korea for the plight of Japanese victims. Millions of dollars were donated by ordinary citizens and celebrities, and the the government sent search and rescue teams to Japan.

Optimists said it was a new sign of improved relations between Japan and Korea. However, it only took a few weeks for anti-Japanese nationalism to fuel protests and retractions of charity donations.

What happened?

At the end of March, a Japanese government screening panel approved a textbook that mentioned Japan’s territorial claim on the Liancourt Rocks. It should not have been unexpected, as the Japanese government has been approving similar textbooks for years now.

The Japanese government’s territorial claim to the rocks has not changed in the past 100 years. For some reason, Korean nationalists go into a rage whenever the continued and unchanged existence of Japan’s territorial claim is mentioned. The routine printing of Japanese government white papers or routine approval of new editions of textbooks are seen as Japanese attempts to “re-assert” its claim and “escalate” the dispute.

One poor nationalist go so worked up that he almost cut off his finger:

The 47-year-old identified only by his surname Choi shouted ‘Japanese ambassador apologise!’ outside the Japanese embassy, with his left little finger almost severed, an officer told AFP.

He threatened to commit suicide and pointed a knife at his jugular. Police took him to a nearby hospital.

More from Reuters:

“It is heart-wrenching that Koreans with a big heart wanted to donate money for Japan, which keeps insisting on its sovereignty of the islands that are undeniably ours,” said Yeo Mi-ok, a 51-year-old art teacher staging a display of children’s drawings of the islets at a busy Seoul subway station.

A Seoul district office that raised about $10,000 for Japanese disaster relief changed its mind and sent most of the funds to a civic group promoting Korea’s claims to the islets, which are also a symbol of South Korea standing up to its neighbour.

“I asked myself, why did Japan do this at this tragic moment. We had to discuss what to do next with this fund,” said Ra Tae-sung, an official at the office in southwestern Seoul.

The LA Times also reported about the issue, framing events in a manner that put much of the blame on Japan:

…ties recently appeared to be improving. Trade has boomed. Movies, music and other forms of pop culture that were once restricted have flowed more freely between the two sides.

Last summer, Japan’s prime minister, Naoto Kan, had offered an apology for Japan’s brutal colonial rule and promised to return books and art to South Korea. The two nations have also discussed signing a defense pact in the midst of rising threats from North Korea.

So when the March 11 earthquake struck, Koreans reached out.

Then came a pair of thunderbolts out of Tokyo: On April 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2011 detailing developments in Japan’s foreign relations — a release that came just two days after the central government approved new school textbook content. Both reiterated Japan’s claims to the disputed Dokdo/Takeshima islands.

South Koreans were stunned at the bad timing. Rather than a conciliatory gesture, or an effort at a new dialogue, the abusive spouse of long-held memory seemed back to its old ways.

The same LA Times article contains this odd passage:

The two countries seem to have fallen back into old habits — like a couple in an abusive relationship where one has lorded over the other. They’ve gone to counseling, tried all the couples therapies. And just when one spouse is about to forgive the other, another unforgivable event comes to pass. Once again, signals are misread, and the relationship is back at a dysfunctional impasse.

A very strange thing to write, as they clearly have not gone to counseling over this issue. Since the 1950′s, Japan has repeatedly requested that the territorial dispute be referred to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and the South Korean government has refused all such requests.

Reporters for both Reuters and the LA Times seem to be unaware of the very serious steps the South Korean government has taken recently, steps that will worsen the situation far more than a textbook:

• Korea Plans Research Station on Liancourt Rocks
• Korea Mulls Stationing Soldiers on Liancourt Rocks
• Lawmaker proposes bill to make Liancourt Rocks an inhabited area

Construction of the research station, which will resemble the above-pictured facility, may start by the end of this month.

In response to the Korean escalations, a few nationalist lawmakers in Japan’s opposition party have proposed that “Takeshima Day” be turned into an official holiday.

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Resuming Shinkansen Service to Northern Japan

JR resumed service on the Tohoku shinkansen line between Tokyo and Sendai yesterday:

The new aerodynamic green, pink and silver train, named “Hayabusa” in Japanese, is one of the fastest in the nation. It travels at 180 miles per hour.

The Sendai-Fukushima section of the line runs through the region most severely affected by the earthquake.

The (Hayabusa) service began just one week before the earthquake and having it back in operation is seen as one of the milestones of recovery for northern Japan.

Although some of the trains ran yesterday, a power outage caused by a loose cable forced the trains to stop for several hours in the afternoon.

Service up to Aomori is expected to resume on the 29th:

Another stretch of the line between Ichinoseki and Shin-Aomori stations has also been repaired, leaving only the section between Sendai and Ichinoseki to be completed before the entire length of the Tohoku Shinkansen Line, from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori, is reopened. The stretch between Sendai and Ichinoseki is scheduled to reopen on April 29.

Also from April 29, the cutting-edge E5-type train “Hayabusa” will run round trips between Shin-Aomori and Tokyo, and Sendai and Tokyo, both once per day, as a symbol of Tohoku’s recovery. Five thousand yen out of the price of tickets for the train’s luxury “Gran Class” seats will be donated to disaster victims. Reserved seat tickets will go on sale from April 26 at 11:00 a.m.

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Police Search For Bodies Near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant

An ATV reporter joins Japanese police officers as they search for bodies in the town of Futaba, just 4.5 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant:

Police have been searching the area since April 20th. Although the amount of radiation in the area has dropped since March, there is still some risk of contamination, so everyone is wearing protective gear.

In what was probably no coincidence, ATV was allowed to film the searches on the same day that National Police Agency Chief Takaharu Ando came to the area to inspect the work and give a pep talk to his officers. Ando said that the police are working hard, knowing that their work is important to the families that are still waiting to find out about missing relatives.

The number of missing people is still over 11,800. By finding the bodies of the missing, the police can help give closure to surviving family members.

Related Link: The Asahi has an article about the surviving residents of Futaba, many of whom have relocated to other prefectures. The town government is now operating out of Saitama.

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Tokyo Survives Without Bright Lights / Not Much Darker Than London

After the March 11th earthquake knocked out several of the nuclear power plants that provided Tokyo with its electricity, the whole city has been striving to conserve energy so that blackouts will not be necessary. Lighting has been reduced in subway stations, escalators have been turned off, and bright flashing advertisement billboards have gone dark.

It may seem like a drastic change for Tokyoites, but as this ATV news report shows, the amount of lighting in Tokyo was abnormally high when compared to cities like London:

A correspondent in London shows us the interior of that city’s subway system and a busy street at night. Both have less lighting than Tokyo, but people are okay with it.

People in Tokyo seem to be getting used to reduced lighting on subways, in restaurants, and on the streets. A few people interviewed on the street say that it was “too bright” before, and that things are just fine now.

At the end of the clip, the news anchor shows a satellite map of the world at night, with Japan standing out as having a lot of electric lights. A university professor comments on his work experience in Germany, noting that German offices conserve electricity by rarely using electric lights during the daytime. He thinks that the Japanese people should come to a new understanding about lighting and energy conservation.

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Kyushu Shinkansen

On March 12th, the Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line fully opened for service, connecting Hakata in the north to Kagoshima in the South. Because of the massive earthquake and tsunami on the day before, its opening has barely made the news. In the weeks immediately following the disaster, nobody wanted to air celebratory commercials, so the Kyushu Shinkansen was not advertised.

Its main commercial, which is quite great, is apparently getting some air time again:

“They took special efforts to film it, and 10,000+ people showed up at various places along the route, hoping to be in the commercial. They filmed 3 hours of tape, and edited it down to 3 minutes, which the director said was extremely difficult, because everything was so good that they didn’t want to leave anything out. It aired maybe a dozen times, and then the disaster struck, and the commercial was pulled, as it was thought that it was bad to show people happy and having a good time in such a difficult time. Recently though, people have begun to wish for the commercial to be shown again, as it’s a good example of how Japan can do anything when people work together, and people can and will strive again.”

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All Hands – Foreign Volunteers in Tohoku

Ofunato, where foreign volunteers from All Hands are helping survivors retrieve precious items from wrecked homes:

The volunteers sift through junk that has accumulated in one elderly woman’s home, helping find family photos, religious items, and an engagement ring. The woman is very happy to be receiving help from All Hands.

FTV mentions that All Hands will be doing volunteer work in the disaster area for at least 3 months. In addition to helping with houses, the organization will also be cleaning up schools.

All Hands has also received attention from the American media. Here is a clip from CNN:

If you would like to join All Hands’ efforts in Tohoku, you can fill out a volunteer inquiry form on their website.

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)