JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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U.S. Navy investigating how parts fell off aircraft near Atsugi
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Confrontation
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California court to decide if SeaWorld whales are illegal 'slaves'
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5
Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi
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mareo2
Gandhi
I try to imagine to achieve independence for a country through no-violence and I don't think that many people have such moral strength. Thinking on people like him restore my faith in humanity.
Posted in: What is your definition of a hero and who are some persons, either living or deceased, whom you would consider to be heroes?
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mareo2
Like a security officer touching your body searching for weapons or scanning you with a metal detector. Just faster, but I guess that before we realize, is going to become so "normal" that when the price get enough down, some people is going to say that is the kind of stuff that you need to put in the entrance of schools in some countries where civilians have an easer access to firearms. In my humble opinion, the price of safety is a directly proportional loss of privacy.
Posted in: Are airport body scanners an invasion of privacy?
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mareo2
some14some at 07:35 AM JST - 11th October
Wife of Nobel Winner 'Under House Arrest' in China
Source: south korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo.
Posted in: Wife of Nobel Peace laureate under house arrest in Beijing
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mareo2
In Argentina a kiss in the cheek is a common way of greeting a friend, so I am used to rather effusive demonstrations of affect in public. Keep an open mind with other cultures. In especial show more tolerance when people feel more "friendliness" after some drinks.
Posted in: How do you feel when someone you are greeting wants to hug you or kiss you on the cheek? When is it appropriate and do you think the custom can be misinterpreted in some cultures, such as Japan, for example?
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mareo2
Jong Un looks like a fat figure in a country of hungry people. As a symbol, is a bad signal.
Posted in: N Korea's Kim, heir-apparent son appear on live TV
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mareo2
I think that the question is not about what "form of democracy" is the best, the question is relevant because some people point to China and say "look they are not a democracy and they are doing good, right? Maybe we need something like that for make the reforms our country need." I born in a military dictatorship that expended a lot of money in weapons, destroyed the economy, kidnaped, tortured and executed people for their political opinions and started a war for a few islands for get popular support. So no matter how corrupt or inept a "democracy" can look, I think that is better than the "undemocratic" options.
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government?
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mareo2
Some people said: "just release the captain and end the conflict". After days of release the captain, do it look like the conflict ended? Do it look like things are improving after doing it?
Posted in: Do you agree with Japan's decision to release the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with a Japanese patrol boat that was pursuing it near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea?
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mareo2
raysimlee at 01:28 PM JST - 24th September
I don't see any anti-chinese protest on the streets of Japan.
We are happy that China keep growing because we are trade partners. If China economy do well, Japan economy do well.
I think that it was the Kuomintang how give their best protecting chinese people and helping the US defeat the Empire. The communist avoided most of the fight and worked behind for control the country.
Is that an expression of the communists sense of gratitude to the US and Taiwan for their sacrifices in end the Empire ocupation of China?
What that have to do with a fisherman ramming two coast guard vessels? Is about Ownership of the islands or revenge against a dead empire?
Moderator: All readers back on topic please.
Posted in: China holding 4 Japanese for illegally filming military targets
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mareo2
hokkaidoguy at 08:53 AM JST - 24th September
Perhaps this egiptian ad sum up China's foreign policy to Asian countries lately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=X21mJh6j9i4#!
Posted in: China holding 4 Japanese for illegally filming military targets
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mareo2
I am not an expert, but four entering a military zone looks like a little big group for filming espionage undetected.
That imply that four guys with a digital video camera wander inside a chinese military zone filming military targets and the chinese security noticed only after they got a phone call?
Posted in: China holding 4 Japanese for illegally filming military targets
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mareo2
efisher at 10:54 PM JST - 23rd September
In Japan all the pro-China faction, me included are called "naive" and worst things, before we said "we don't need so many US bases in Japan. China is not going to attack Japan", now we feel betrayed by the China's communist government. They promised a "peaceful rise" to all the Asians. China's aggressive foreign policy made the DPJ look like they got backstabbed just after got out of and internal battle for decide the leadership of the party. The leaders in China are cornering the weakened moderates until their only choices was show a hard stance for avoid lose control of the government. People inside the DJP start to think that to trust China was a big mistake, some say that maybe the party have to take a more hawkish policy for survive.
To my knowledge the police of Hong Kong stopped them.
Do you know that the communist leaders of China escalated the conflict again by starting an unofficial ban on export of rare earth minerals to Japan?
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
efisher at 04:28 PM JST - 23rd September
Then let's take the discussion to the International Court of Justice, all or nothing but in a peaceful way.
That's why we really need a neutral judge. Otherwise the loser side is going to complain forever.
We are adults, better share today than keep it there waiting or fight to death risking to lose it all.
Is a minority of old politicians that talk big, but have few popular support for militarism. Cold Fact: China have NUKES. No country is willing to risk invade a country with nukes, because the final nuclear retaliation can seriously damage or even destroy the invading country. That is why North Korea want nukes. Is called nuclear deterrence. The idea of Japan invading China is a fantasy, a tale for keep people distracted just like the paranoid regime in North Korea talk about an "US invasion for finish the job".
But every time that China push the envelope in the borders by sending submarines and destroyers. The hawks gain more credibility, because japanese think that the chinese want to start a war. The DPJ proposed an East Asia Community based on China-South Korea-Japan. The entire policy was pro-china business from day one. The last Sino-Japan incidents at sea are hurting their support in the parliament and pushing Japan deeper in the arms of the US. If this keep going on the conservatives are going to retake control, start to look alternative trade partners for investments, raise the defense budget and revert the trend to decrease the US presence in Japan. China can try to trust the progressive DPJ or face the conservative LDP and this is getting bigger than just China-Japan. If there is even a few shoots in a short incident, the hawks in India and the ASEAN are going to get more power in their countries, demand raise their military budgets and doing naval exercises with the US.
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
That means eradicate unfair trade barrier and subsidies to farmers? Somehow I doubt that first world countries made that happening any time soon. Some credible plan there or just another project that is going to get so amended by lawmakers that is going to be a very small improvement?
I like that, in Japan we have a lot of corruption. Please tell us more.
Posted in: Obama announces new U.S. approach on development
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mareo2
@efisher
I think that we can work in another apology that sound more satisfactory to the chinese and koreans. If the progressive DPJ is not replaced by conservative LDP and relations improve again.
Making an autocratic, I think that our government make all us japanese looks just like greedy merchants. But I guess that is just a reflection of the business oriented model of the modern japanese society more than a lack of sense of guilt. Lacking natural resources make everyone obsessed with money so we can buy imported food and oil for feed our country. I think that you are right and we have a moral obligation to pay at least a symbolic compensation to that old people survivors. In my opinion the best way of advance this issues is in separated negotiations and solve one at time. When we mix issues is a mess and end looking like unsolvable.
Again, no offense but on the Senkaku resources. I don't have any right to speak for people of other countries with similar territorial disputes, but I think that they share with japanese the feeling that the government of a country so big like China looking for take control of resources from smaller countries in size, it look so mean. Even if we agree that Japan is not poor, that is not the case with India, and the ASEAN countries. Japan can afford negotiate share the resources with China, but I doubt that is the same for the other countries. I hope that the chinese government can share with Japan and waive the other countries for peace and show a benevolent face to Asia.
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
efisher at 05:13 PM JST - 22nd September
Thanks for the chance of talk it. I hope that in the future we can do it with the mainlanders.
No offense, but is difficult to imagine the people making protests on the street in China if the government don't want it. Depending on how the controlled media present the facts is not impossible that the people side with a war faction. I saw the argentine people supporting the militar dictatorship in the Falklands war against britain. Nationalism is like a drug.
Technically is an official apology made by the Prime Minister of Japan and for some japanese is enough. But it was so short and ambiguously worded that most chinese and koreans think that is not enough. But that was the conservative LDP, the DPJ is more open to apologies and increased trade make it more ease to happen than 5 years ago.
Koreans say that they want the Emperor of Japan as a symbol of the state, travel to Korea made a long and detailed list of what they want apology, say that we all are very sorry and do a deep bow to the koreans. In public and with international media present of course.
What you think that the majority of your compatriots think is a proper apology?
One of the main obstacles is that conservatives say that if we do a more detailed apology, millions of people are going to demand compensations. They want assurance that the chinese and koreans make clear that all they want is an apology and there is not going to be more demands of reparations (like North Korea).
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
efisher at 03:10 PM JST - 22nd September
I think that some high rank military officers in China seem to be deadly serious about go to war with the US and about the political benefits of do so when negotiating with other countries.
The USA have their hands full with the war on terror and if they defeat China then Taiwan, Japan, India and ASEAN nations with territorial disputes with China don't need to buy more weapons for counter-balance China's growing arsenal.
US pay an old debt of honor to Taiwan. The Kuomintang give their lives trying to expel the invader japanese empire from China. That helped the US to defeat the Empire. Unlike the chinese communist party that avoided combat the Empire for preserve their strength and expel the weakened Kuomintang from mainland China after the US defeated the Empire.
US answer to China's ally North Korea provocative behavior to the US ally South Korea. AKA "Cheonan incident". If china don't want to see the US making maneuvers close to China, then China can try to keep North korea under control (don't kill south koreans).
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
@efisher at 02:49 PM JST - 22nd September
I noticed that you avoided to explain the desire of the chinese military to go to war with the US and the public chinese policy to expand their borders with other countries that don't participated in what the empire did to chinese.
Also you imply that this is not about China right over the Senkaku islands but is all about take revenge on an empire that no longer exist except in the history books. And you talk like Japan never apologized, but in reality is that China rejected the apologies, because China can't forgive. It is to convenient for the communist government keep nationalism alive, it help to distract people and give an excuse for militarism.
China don't build up the armed forces for fear to Japan that can't defend itself without the US, it do it for fight the US and control natural resources in Asia.
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
@efisher
Japan was defeated by the US that killed the empire by nuke two cities. We can say that the US saved China from be a satelite state of Japan. How do you explain this words coming from chinese military officers?
http://the-diplomat.com/2010/09/21/the-remilitarization-of-beijing/
And what the long dead japanese empire did to the chinese have to do with chinese territorial claims in the ASEAN and India?
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
Months ago I brushed this off, thinking that is just a minor incident that can easily be played down by China and Japan. But from the ASEAN summit, China's foreign policy made a clear public U-turn from "peaceful rise" to a threatening hegemony looking to expand their borders. There is a growing perception that success as made China not satisfied with just be the number two, only enough arrogant for try risky moves with a mix of thinly veiled economic and military threats. The next logic step for China is to invest and work for improve the living standard of the chinese people, education, health, technology, ecology, etc... Some things where they are still behind the US, EU, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. In place of that, there is a huge expenditure in the military budget. Is like China have a confusion between be "respected" and be "feared". I think that is not to late and there still are room for use the brakes and change the collision course by re-direct their budget and energies in direct benefit of the chinese people and indirect benefit of their trade partners. But I am worried that perhaps the budget expenditure reflect how much influence generals have in Beijing policies this days, like the soldiers of the japanese Empire in 1930 talking about taking direct control of natural resources and going to war with the US.
Posted in: How bad do you think tensions between Japan and China are going to get over the disputed islands? Is Japan's detention of the Chinese fishing boat skipper the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?
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mareo2
@ubikwit
After reading this...
http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/20/chinasmaritimeaggressionshouldbewakeupcallto_japan
I got the impression that asian countries with territorial disputes with China suspect that the country that "fancies itself a hegemon in this region" is China and they are going to feel more sympathy for Japan. Because China seems to use similar arguments with other territorial claims: "We discovered an old map that say that a long time ago this belonged to us."
Posted in: Japan urges calm after China severs contacts