Hatoyama Video on YouTube

naritachopper
September 19, 2009

The musical Hatoyama couple
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12825

Visualizing complaints about the American military presence in Japan

american military crime

September 11th, 2009 by James

In a news segment yesterday morning about the Okinawa military base issue, Fuji TV included a summary of some of the complaints Japanese have about American troops enjoying special privileges in Japan. To help the audience understand, they put their cartoonist to work.



Shown in the video:

* Members of the US military do not need alien registration cards to live in Japan.

* They don’t need to pay Japanese sales tax when shopping at on base stores.

* Japanese police are only allowed to arrest US troops if they are caught in the act of committing a crime. In other cases, they must request permission from the US military to question or detain members of the US military. This makes it difficult for Japanese police to carry out investigations.

* The Japanese government must pay for base expenses, including the salary of Japanese civilians who have jobs working for the bases.

The DPJ recently agreed to a coalition government, giving in to requests from its partners, the Social Democratic Party and New People’s Party, that it take a more aggressive stance towards revising the status of forces agreement between the US and Japan. Hatoyama has also maintained that his government will end Japan’s military aid to the international mission in Afghanistan.

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12572

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a36VfKs31YI

Political humor: Yukio Hatoyama forms his cabinet

Political humor: Yukio Hatoyama forms his cabinet

September 3rd, 2009 by James

Political comedy group The Newspaper switches their act from making fun of Taro Aso to making fun of the new Hatoyama administration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1onFlQKkeM
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12386

Aso stays away from Yasukuni Shrine

yasu
by drgbll3345

August 15th, 2009 by James

But, as this video from NTV shows, former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni today

About 40 lawmakers from the nonpartisan “Let’s visit Yasukuni Shrine” group visited today. Minister in charge of consumer affairs Seiko Noda was the only cabinet minister present.

Nippon News Network

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12045
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa64bh_yasu_people

Aso makes offerings to Yasukuni Shrine ahead of visit to China

Apr 21 07:53 AM US/Eastern

(AP) - TOKYO, April 21 (Kyodo) — Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he made offerings to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for its spring and autumn festivals, prompting relatively mild expressions of concern from China and South Korea ahead of his planned visit to China next week.

China called on Japan to deal with the "politically sensitive" issue in a manner that will help promote the progress made in Sino-Japanese relations, while South Korea expressed "deep regrets."

On whether Aso actually will visit the shrine sometime this year, he told reporters, "I will decide appropriately," adding, "It's natural to take into account various situations" in deciding to make visits or present offerings to the shrine.

The shrine, dedicated to the war dead, is seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of Japan's militarist past because it also honors convicted war criminals.

Aso brushed aside concern that the moves may have an adverse effect on planned talks between Aso and Chinese leaders later this month, saying, "I have repeatedly said we will get on with China with future- oriented thinking and I have said to directly face history."

Aso is likely to have judged that making offerings to the shrine is within a "tolerable range," taking into account that China gave a rather mild response to Japan by prioritizing the improvement in the bilateral relationship in 2007 when then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presented an offering.

While Aso's moves are seen as trying to attract conservatives ahead of a House of Representatives election, there is a prevailing view that Aso will forgo a visit to the festival as well as future visits by taking into account relationships with China and South Korea, whose cooperation is essential in dealing with issues related to North Korea such as abductions of Japanese nationals.

Aso presented "masakaki" -- potted branches of the "sakaki" evergreen trees, considered sacred in the Shinto religion -- to the war-related shrine under the name "prime minister" and paid the costs himself, sources close to the prime minister said.

Aso also made offerings to the shrine for its spring festival held from Tuesday to Thursday and for its autumn festival last October, Aso said.

"I basically believe that we, as citizens, should express appreciation and respect for those who sacrificed their lives for the country," Aso said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura expressed a similar view, telling a news conference that it would not have any adverse effect on planned bilateral talks, while saying he believes that ministers who make visits and offerings to Yasukuni Shrine do so in their private capacity.

Aso is slated to visit China on April 29 to 30 and meet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

One masakaki costs 50,000 yen. The masakaki is placed near the stairs leading up to the main shrine.

The last time an incumbent Japanese prime minister made an offering to the shrine was in April 2007, when Abe offered a masakaki for the shrine's spring festival, drawing negative reactions from China and South Korea.

Beijing and Seoul avoided direct protests at the time, however, amid a growing mood of friendship with Japan after Abe succeeded Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who angered the two neighboring countries by repeatedly paying visits to the shrine.

Another prime minister who made an offering to Yasukuni Shrine was Yasuhiro Nakasone, who did so on Aug. 15, 1985, the anniversary of the end of World War II.

Aso, who is known to have hawkish beliefs, visited the shrine when he served as internal affairs and communications minister from 2003 to But he did not make clear whether he would visit the shrine after taking the premiership last September, simply saying he would "monitor the situation."

In 2006, Aso suggested that the shrine voluntarily give up its religious status and effectively be put under state control.

Taro Aso sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine

shubbery
by gariisenab

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x91qw7_shubbery_people

U.S. Marine arrested in attempted robbery case at pharmacy in Okinawa

Apr 20 09:25 PM US/Eastern

NAHA, Japan, April 21 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A U.S. Marine has been arrested on suspicion of trying to rob a pharmacy owner of cash in Okinawa Prefecture, police said Tuesday.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Anthony Massimino, 30, allegedly demanded in English that the 70-year-old male drugstore owner in the city of Okinawa give him $20 at around 10:15 p.m. Monday, pretending he had a handgun, according to investigations.

Massimino denies the allegation, the police said.

Massimino fled the scene in a car empty-handed after a store employee who was also present at the time called the police, they said.

Police officers found Massimino about 15 minutes later and detained him, according to the police.

The owner and the employee were not injured in the incident. No handgun was found, they said.

Okinawa-robbery
Uploaded by gariisenab

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x91rg3_okinawarobbery_people

Tommy Lee Jones wins gubernatorial election in Japan

In a Boss Coffee commercial, at least:



The commercial pokes fun at all the celebrity governors in the news these days. After being forced to resign in disgrace, Tommy Lee Jones reflects on the fleeting nature of popularity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNW3Rb8d0Nc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EepEIsIEq84

Protests as US warship docks in Nagasaki

Thu-Feb 05, 2009

A US warship docked Thursday in Nagasaki to the protests of residents and a boycott by local leaders who said the visit was in poor taste in a city obliterated by a US atomic bomb.

The USS Blue Ridge, which is stationed in Yokosuka near Tokyo, sailed to Nagasaki with a stated goal of promoting friendship between Japan and the United States.

Hundreds of residents including atomic bomb survivors chanted, "We are opposed to the port call!" as the 19,600-ton vessel arrived in the southwestern city.

"We don't want to see the US flag flying at this port and this feeling will not change until the United States takes a policy towards the elimination of nuclear weapons," Osamu Yoshitomi, an official at Nagasaki city, told AFP.

Nagasaki's mayor and regional governor both refused to take part in the welcome ceremony after unsuccessfully asking Japanese and US authorities to cancel the visit.

The United States stations more than 40,000 troops in Japan under a post-World War II alliance. Under a 1960 agreement, local authorities do not have the right to refuse US warships' port calls.

It was the seventh visit by a US military vessel to the city of Nagasaki. The US Navy also maintains a major base in the nearby city of Sasebo, part of Nagasaki prefecture.

Nagasaki Mayor Tomohisa Taue regretted the timing of the visit, saying that atomic bomb survivors had been optimistic that newly installed US President Barack Obama would move towards nuclear abolition.

"Nagasaki cannot accept a port call which rouses anxiety in a city hit by an atomic bomb," Taue said in a statement.

Some 70,000 people died on August 9, 1945 when US forces dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Three days earlier, another atomic bomb killed more than 140,000 people in Hiroshima.

Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.


SEE ALSO: US warship docks in Nagasaki



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKG3hGJRLTM

Aso speaks to Obama

January 29th, 2009 by James

Prime Minister Taro Aso has finally been able to have a chat with President Barack Obama:

The two leaders had a 10-minute telephone conversation this morning, pledging to cooperate on the economic crisis, the global war on terrorism, and the North Korean abduction issue. Aso spoke in English the entire time and did not need an interpreter. (Look forward to some “yes he can” [speak English] jokes on this evening’s news broadcasts.)

Since taking office last week, Obama has spoken to quite a few world leaders. Taro Aso was 15th on his list (6th in the G8), but the 1st East Asian leader to speak with the new president.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

The shrinking profile of Taro Aso

January 28th, 2009
by James

As Taro Aso’s approval ratings continue to drop, Fuji TV News has noted that the LDP’s latest promotional poster has dropped its emphasis on the Prime Minister:

Whereas the previous posters put out by the LDP (right) had a huge image of Aso’s face with a slogan proclaiming that Aso would fix things, the new poster (left) shrinks down Aso and doesn’t even include his name.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 6:35 am