Archive for August, 2011

Kevin Maher Disputes Media Reports About His Views on Okinawans

Kevin Maher lost his position as director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Japan Affairs after the the media reported some disparaging remarks he made about Okinawans during a speech to American students. Now that his diplomatic career is over, he’s back in Japan to promote his new book and repeat his denials about the accuracy of the quotes:

The disparaging remarks Maher allegedly made about Okinawa residents were based on notes students made during the meeting that were subsequently obtained by Japanese media.

As news of Maher’s alleged comments made headlines, the State Department scrambled to limit the fallout, saying the remarks did not represent the U.S. government’s views.

Maher was removed from his post March 10, the day before the Great East Japan Earthquake, but was immediately called in to help lead the State Department’s disaster-relief task force.

Maher called for the facts behind the article to be reinvestigated, saying the American University students who gave Ishiyama the notes were on close terms with the reporter, and even stayed at his Tokyo home when they visited Japan in late December.

He also noted that a followup Kyodo article claimed the students gave Ishiyama the notes in mid-February — about 2½ months after Maher’s controversial briefing.

“The main point is, for a journalist to host someone like that and then have them write something and claim that it’s an objective record of something that was said almost three months earlier just doesn’t have credibility, it violates journalistic standards,” Maher told The Japan Times after the news conference.

Shortly after the March 11th earthquake, the ROK Drop blog reported about Maher’s service during the disaster relief efforts. In the comment thread of the post, somebody claiming to be a relative of Kevin Maher wrote that the whole episode was part of a scheme David Vine of American University, an “activist” professor who opposes the existence of overseas American military bases:

His 30 career of service to Japanese-American relations was trashed because an anti-base professor convinced his students to compile “notes” weeks after the actual speech, then take those “notes” to the Japanese press. There is one particularly idiot kid named Tory Miyagi who became the spokesman for the group to get his 15 minutes of fame. The professor from American University has said that all American military bases not on American soil should be shut down. A real moron.

[...]

…the day of the earthquake he had his retirement papers to turn in.His immediate boss defended him, but the next level went into defense mode, not allowing him to defend himself publicly. He could have retired 6 years ago and gotten a much better paying job in the private sector. I doubt that the State Department will let him deal with Japan again in an official capacity. It’s ironic that the Japanese called him racist and his wife is Japanese. He has worked closely with the military on the Okinawa issue and he had to put up with tons of abuse when he was Consul General there.

[...]

Kevin had his reputation trashed by an activist professor, who manipulated his students, and who stayed at the home of the editor of the newspaper who originally published the “transcripts” of Kevin’s speech. That “transcript” was prepared by 4 of the 14 students with the assistance of the Japanese editor and the professor. Kevin has recently resigned and will now be free to defend himself publicly, something he wasn’t allowed to do by the state department, which caved to one editor, one professor, and some students who thought it would be cool to be in the media. I believe Kevin will be in Japan in a couple of weeks to help with the earthquake recovery as a private citizen.

And the same person left this comment on an article by Vine in the Eurasia Review:

David Vine is an anti-base activist and peacenik who used his students to generate press for himself. He is a master of self promotion who appalling used his students to compile a “memo” which he presented to the Japanese press as facts. He has no recording of the speech, yet he continues to claim he can remember verbatim everything that was said based on his “notes” which just amazingly coincide with his opinions about base issues in Okinawa. His agenda and his motives are obvious as are his lack of respect for basic rules of evidence, proof, and attribution. I could attend one of his lectures, create a document containing anything that suited my beliefs, and release it to the press as facts and call his denials “unbelievable” and have just as much credibility as he does in this situation. He and his “memo” are a joke.

As these are just comments on the internet, it’s hard to tell if the comments were really written by a member of Maher’s family. Whoever it is, he/she is taking a very active role in trying to defend Maher’s reputation.

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Hot Tap Water in Urayasu

The city of Urayasu in Chiba prefecture suffered some pretty serious damage due to soil liquefaction that took place during the March 11th earthquake. Pipes were damaged and many households were left without running water.

Now that the tap water is flowing again, there is a new problem. The water is too freaking hot:

Residents don’t need to use water heaters because water is already very hot when it comes out of the tap. Some people consider the water too hot for bathing, so they fill up their tubs and let it sit until it cools down. Anyone who wants to drink a cool glass of water will need to fill a bottle with tap water and then place it in their refrigerator for a while.

The problem lies with the temporary pipes installed after the earthquake. The city’s pre-earthquake water mains were about 1-meter underground. The new temporary pipes are about 30-centimeters underground. Because the pipes are closer to the surface, the heat of the sun is causing them to become hot.

Unfortunately, there is no quick solution to the problem. Residents will have to wait until the city government builds a new sewage system, which will hopefully be completed by the end of this year.

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Japanese Schoolchildren Learn About War

A veteran of the Japanese Imperial Navy Air Service talks to elementary school students about what it’s like to go to war (aired on August 15):

After about the scariness of war, the children were given a chance to eat a thin vegetable soup that was regularly eaten in Japan during the 1940′s. One girl says that it has almost no flavor. The other kids say that the special lesson helped them learn the importance of peace.

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Japanese Exchange Student Swept Over Niagara Falls

Divers are searching for the body of a Japanese exchange student who accidentally slipped off a ledge and was swept down Niagara Falls:

Niagara Parks Police said the incident happened at about 8:30 p.m. when two female international students were taking photos on the Canadian side of the falls.

Trouble arose when one of the women, a 19-year-old from Japan, climbed onto the concrete ledge next to Horseshoe Falls to pose for a picture.

Police said the woman was sitting with her legs straddling the barrier. When she attempted to stand up again, she lost her footing and fell into the water below.

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Naoto Kan & All Cabinet Ministers Stay Away From Yasukuni Shrine (August 15, 2011)

Today is the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II. It is seen as a day of reflection, on which many Japanese people pray for all those who died in the conflict.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and all of his Cabinet Ministers decided not to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. This came as a surprise to nobody, since Kan didn’t visit last year and has made statements in the past announcing that he would not visit the shrine. The Cabinet was expected to follow his lead.

Instead, they have put their focus the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery and the Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead at the Nippon Budokan:

A quote from Prime Minister’s official site:

The Government of Japan will hold a Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead at Nippon Budokan Hall to commemorate more than three million people who lost their lives in the war, in the presence of Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan and with the attendance of representatives of bereaved family members and representatives from all the sectors of society.

This ceremony is held by the Government of Japan, so as to reflect that the peace and prosperity that Japan enjoys today are founded on the ultimate sacrifices of those who lost their lives against their will in the war, thinking about their homeland and worrying about their families. The ceremony is intended for all the people of Japan to deeply offer their heartfelt prayers to the war dead and to renew our pledge to achieve everlasting peace.

Meanwhile, 52 lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine. According to the Sankei Shimbun, most were members of opposition parties: 31 from the Liberal Democratic Party (including Sadakazu Tanigaki), 1 from the People’s New Party, and 4 from the Sunrise Part of Japan. There were also 14 from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, including Yuichiro Hata and Kazuhiro Haraguchi.

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Narita-san Temple Will Burn Ceremonial Wood From Iwate

Last week, it was reported that fears about radioactivity had caused a Kyoto festival to abandon its plan to burn ceremonial wood from Iwate prefecture’s Rikuzen-Takata city.

Now, there is some good news for the people of Rikuzen-Takata. Chiba prefeture’s famous Narita-san temple will accept their wood and their prayers:

The wood will be burned during a memorial ceremony on September 25th. The bark was removed from the wood, and it has been confirmed as safe. There will be no dangerous radiation.

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