投稿日:

Farcical South Korean court should order “Pohang Steel” to pay, not the Nippon Steel. Here’s why | Wartime reparations featuring Lee San

Yujiro Samurai Taniyama, CEO, Japan Broadcasting .net Inc

“Lee San”, a Korean classic soap drama based on one the life of one of the exuberant kings of the Chosun dynasty is truly brilliant. It was produced about a decade ago and is now re-broadcast in Japan, and I’m a huge fan. Seong-yun is prettier than Taylor Swift by far too. And yes, the Korean invasion of K-pop and TV shows is so conspicuous in Tokyo and the popularity is still on the rise.

Nevertheless at the same time, the majority of the Japanese today share the feeling that the so called ‘anti-Nippon hysteria’ among the Korean judges under the influence of ultra-left Mun government is by far erratic and incompatible. I too feel that the so called the sense of ‘Victimhood’ pretty often goes just too far in Seoul, especially the liberal media.

Let me please explain.

On October 30, 2018, Seoul’s Supreme Court ordered the Japanese steelmaker ‘Nippon Steel’ to pay compensation of $88,000 to four Koreans ‘forced to work’ during the last war. This ruling is not only preposterous but baseless, as even the ultra leftist Chicago University Professor Bruce Cummings even argues; “The 1965 Japan-Korea treaty did wonders for the Korean economy, but the settlement remains controversial today because it ended the possibility of future claims against Japan”, also adding that South Korea received from Nippon a direct grant of $300 million and loans of $200 million in 1965 dollars, and private firms put in another $300 million in investment. This was at a time when Korea’s total exports were $200 million.

The sum was actually a huge chunk of money for Tokyo, which took full 18 years to pay off according to the former Tokyo Christian University Professor Nishioka Ricky. Well that’s what he told me when I once interviewed him. Let me also underscore the fact that the Korean President at the time Pak Chong Hee (the father of the now incarcerated former President Pak Geun hye) officially signed an agreement with Tokyo in 1965 that the Seoul government will take full responsibility of providing the Korean individuals with the ‘wartime reparation money’ from the direct grant of $300 million mentioned above, exonerating Tokyo from the need to compensate to Koreans one on one personally. And that explains why Chicago University Professor Cummings acknowledges that ‘the treaty ended the possibility of future claims against Japan’. Period.

However what’s ironic here is that the military strongman Pak Chong hee hardly paid money to his own people, but instead used Japan’s super big 1965 reparation money to boost its own economy investing and setting up Pohang steel company (now called POSCO, one of the giants in steel industry that even owns a professional soccer team) in his hometown. And that’s exactly why Cummings even argues Japan’s money ‘did wonders for the Korean economy’.

So the October 2018 ruling by the Seoul Supreme Court is nothing but an unfathomable farce, suddenly ordering the Nippon Steel to pay some inexplicable money, violating not only the bilateral treaty between the two governments but also defying the very basics of international law and agreements. Such a double-dealing, crooked behavior by the ultra liberal judges (under the pro-North Korean Mun administration) will only humiliate the good-hearted ordinary Korean people, not empower them.

Ludicrous as this whole ruling is, if any ‘steel company’ were to pay it would obviously be the Pohang Steel of course, not the Nippon steel.

The former king of Chosun, Lee San is hailed today as a rational, ethical leader that had lucid thoughts. And I cannot help but ponder that this once a great man now must be weeping up in heaven, for the utterly irrational demeanor by his disingenuous predecessors.

投稿日:

Bloody Saudi oil | R.I.P. Mr.Khasshogi

Japan Broadcasting . net Inc CEO, Yujiro Taniyama

40% of the Japanese oil imports comes from Riyadh. This is synonymous for saying that Tokyo is totally dependent on Saudi oil. Without it, our economy won’t survive. The world famous “washlets” or high-tech toilets won’t move. However, nobody knew until now that the color of their crude oil was not black, but red. ‘Bloody red’.

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was purportedly ‘killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, then later cut into bits and pieces like a Sukiyaki meat’. Hair-raising as it is, it’s highly unlikely that the ‘real culprit’ will turn himself in. Western corporate medias seemingly allege that Prince Salman was the cold blooded murderer that ordered the killing. If that was actually the case no words can describe his irrefutable cowardice; to eliminate a chubby 59 year old just because he’s critical of you. Because he writes for Amazon founder Mr. Jeff Bezos’s little American newspaper. Big deal.

Mr. Muhammad Bin Salman won’t come out. Especially if he was the mastermind behind this gruesome slaughter of an innocent man. There was a report that he just invited the victim’s poor old son to express ‘condolences ‘, whatever that means. I find the whole move not only erratic but disingenuous. But who ever ordered this slaughter on the extraterritorial soil in Turkey, the world knows now how creepy and despicable “The world’s No.1 oil exporter “ is. Its public image has been shattered and tainted like rotten tomatoes. And if Donald Trump refrains from “punishing” the kingdom but instead goes on with the monstrous $120 billion arms deal, then that will inevitably undermine the western core value of ‘human rights’. That it’s actually nothing but a ‘fake’ in America.

Beijing admitted recently (October 10th, as far as I remember) that they run this “Re-education” camps for the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. The Chinese communist party intends to ‘ideologically transform’ people it regards as ‘extremists’. The crackdown in Xinjiang is known for its ruthless brutality, some using the term ‘genocide’. It just goes unreported since foreign journalists are banned from entering the area. And for the Saudi crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman, Mr. Jamal Khasshogi must also have been an ‘extremist’. A villain that needed to be erased perpetually. Riyadh and Beijing are both a totalitarian state.

Tomorrow, the Japanese Prime Minister will make a state visit to Beijing for the first time in seven years. Thanks to the ongoing trade wars between Trump and Xi, the latter looks desperate to strengthen its amicable ties with Tokyo. Nevertheless, Abe, the Japanese PM I believe ought to remain adamant regarding Beijing’s brutal suppression on the Muslims downplaying human rights. Trump may be a flip flop, but he is at the same time candid expressing dissatisfaction on Riyadh’s ambiguous explanation of Khasshogi’s disappearance.

When was the last time Abe rebuked the Chinese communists straightforwardly on human rights?! He never has, not the way that needs to be addressed as the world’s 3rd largest economy. If Tokyo intends to become a true global player advocating free speech, human rights and rule of law, we must not turn a blind eye to horrendous challenge against humanity as our post-war governments had done over the past seven decades.

Such an cowardice attitude doesn’t make the world better, but just bloodier.

投稿日:

Speech by Megumi’s MOM | 横田めぐみさんママの声を、今こそ金正恩に届ける時

「拉致問題と言われていますが、これは本当は’問題’ではなくて事件なんです。何の罪のない人が突然他国にさらわれていくのですから」

横田早紀江さんの言葉だ。ぼくは先日、拉致を解決するための集会に参加した。200名ほどでいっぱいになる川崎市平和記念館が会場だ。最前列ど真ん中の席を確保し、2時のスタート前には座席は埋め尽くされた。ただ、その光景をみた第一印象は、高齢者が大半を占めているということに尽きる。時間とお金があるのは、たしかに年配の人たちだからといえばそれまでだが、10代、20代ミレニアム世代がぶいぶい言わせている米国トランプの集会などに比べると、その「大人しさ」と「グランパ感」には正直圧倒された。というか、見渡す限り10代はおろか二十歳前後の男女を見出すのは、トムクルーズのMission Impossibleに近いものがあった。

 

https://youtu.be/92_bDV0Wa00

1977年11月15日、新潟の海岸そばで北朝鮮に拉致された横田めぐみさんは、当時13歳のバトミントン少女だった。先週の10月5日に54歳の誕生日を迎えられたことを考えると、時が経つのは実に早い。早紀江さんたち拉致被害者の家族をサポートしている「あさがおの会」のお姉さんたちは、まるで女子高生の如きストレンスを醸し出しており心強かったが、とはいえ全体的にもっともっと学生たちに「拉致事件」を広めていく必要があるのではないか。それが率直な思いだ。

ブロガー谷山雄二朗、今回はその場で見たもの感じたものをストレートに読者に伝えることにする。一人でも多くの日本人とシェアすべきだと考えるからに他ならない。

午後2時の開演直前、横田早紀江さんがご入場された。ぼくの斜め前の関係者席に座られたが、インターネットやその他メディアでご拝見するよりも御年齢を感じさせられた。1977年の今頃、突然「行方不明」になった愛娘を探すこと今年で41年。その塗炭の苦しみおよびストレスは、到底我々の想像を絶する次元でないわけがない。今回アップロードしたショート・ヴィデオを見ればわかるように、早紀江さんは若い頃からそれは大変美しい方であった。しかしながら読者もご存知のように、ここ四十一年間はめぐみさんを救出すべく戦ってこられた。1997年になるまで、即ち「北朝鮮の国家犯罪だった」ことが判明するまでじつに20年もかかったこの「事件」を考えれば、Japanという列島が果たして本当に国家の体をなしているのか疑わしいと言わざるを得ない。そしてそれを最も痛感されているのもまた、横田滋さん、早紀江さん、拓也さんたちをはじめとする拉致被害者のご家族の方々に違いない。

いずれにせよ、ぼくが初めて肉眼でみた早紀江さん（馴れ馴れしく聞こえるかもしれないが、これが一番自然なのでそう呼ばせていただきます）は、実に美しい方であった。頭髪は雲の色になられ、お顔には無数のラインが刻まれている。その背中はじつに小さく、繊細だ。しかしながらぼくはそこにとてつもない美と滴り落ちるかのような気品及び剛健さをも肌で感じたのはなぜだろう。

確か五木寛之がなんらかの連載コラムで「金、金、金の世の中だ」と書いていたが、残念ながらぼくはそれを否定できるほどの立派な人間ではない。しかし横田早紀江さん、飯塚耕一郎さん、蓮池透さん、曽我ひとみさんたち拉致被害者家族の方々が戦ってきたこの「事件」は、決してお金では解決できない性質のものだ。何百万、何千万、何億円を積んでも愛する家族を取り戻すことはこれぞMission Impossible(MI)。その「解決策のない」血の滲むような苦悩と気の遠くなるような40年もの間（来年で42年目になる）体を張って猛進してこられた早紀江さんのその後ろ姿に、ぼくは地球より大きいものを感じたのかもしれない。そして自分の小ささも。

やがてめぐみさんの弟の拓也さんが会場に現れ、それに続き菅義偉官房長官が入り、早紀江さんの隣に座った。ぼくは今から五年ほど前、偶然東京駅新幹線ホームで同氏とすれ違って以来、勝手に同氏に親近感を抱いているが、最近「拉致担当大臣」なる新ポストを兼任することになったという。とはいえ、国は、政府はこれまで北朝鮮に取り残されている同胞たちを事実上見殺しにしてきた。これは何も菅さん一人に責任を押し付ける訳ではないものの、2002年の小泉訪朝でわずか5名の日本人が救出されただけで、この16年間何もできないできたことを考えると、我々一般の国民は決して政府への厳しい視線を切らしてはなるまい。だいいち、国民も国境も守れずしてなんのための国会議員か。化粧するだけが才能の三原じゅん子さんのような ‘fake politicians’ が、この国は単純に多すぎるのだ。そして何と言っても無能で、無気力で無思考の世襲議員の圧倒的数的優位が、横田めぐみさんたち同胞の救出にこの41年間障害物として作用してきたことを、いったい誰が否定できよう。アメリカ合衆国のダイナミズムは、その「世襲の欠如」からうまれている。せいぜいブッシュ親子ぐらいだ。その点、ぼくは菅義偉というマーヴェリックなポリティシャン（少なくともその親類に元首相はいない）に、密かに期待している。

川崎の福田市長が、オープニング挨拶をした。最初はテニスの松岡修造かと思ったが、「私はこの集会は毎年これが最後であることを願っています。北朝鮮から全員が帰国すれば、もう開く必要がありません」と、じつに心に染みる言葉をマイクに吹き込んだ。そうだ、その通りだ。横田ご夫妻は、長年川崎に住んでこられたということもあり、市のバックアップ、そしてご近所のみなさんの支援体制も目にみはるものがある。1990年代の終わりごろだったと思うが、JR川崎駅前のビルの一室で「横田めぐみさん写真展」が行われ足を運んだことがあった。あの時も、川崎市主催か後援だったと記憶している。今年の春、新宿駅の地下通路でめぐみさんの写真展示ディスプレーに行った時も、あさがおの会がフルサポートしていた。カネ、カネ

カネの現代において純粋に凄い人たちだと言わざるを得ない。武士だ。

菅さんが登壇した。そのスピーチの一部は、ニュースでも大きく報道されたのでここで述べるまでもない。「今が正念場」とのニュアンスを感じたが、軍備なき外交を標榜する我が国の政府に過度に期待しては到底なるまい。相手が狡猾極まりない北朝鮮であるならば尚更だ。どうであれ、この神奈川肉ならぬ神奈川二区（勝手に変換されてしまった、神奈川ビーフ）の官房長官からは誠意が伝わってきた。ぼくに欠けているものだけに、大いに勉強になった。とはいえ、そのSincerityだけでは横田めぐみさんたちは帰ってこないのも事実だ。

金正恩に語りかけた横田早紀江さん

そして早紀江さんがご登壇された。そのお姿をニュースで拝見した読者もいるだろうが、数秒間の映像を切り取って編集後に番組で使われるため全体像を掴めないのがいけない。だからこそ、今回、Team JBとともに作ったショート・ヴィデオはフルにアップロードさせていただいた。

結論からいえば、すべての日本人が横田めぐみさんのお母さんの言葉に耳を傾けるべきだとの一点に尽きる。これまでこれといった支援活動をしてこなかった身としては、偉そうに言える立場にないのは毛頭承知している。そこは反省材料だが、率直な話これまでぼくはどうすればめぐみさんたちの救出に関われるのか、まったく見当がつかなかったのだ。自分に一体何ができるのかわからかなったのだ。いや、現時点でも確信をもっているわけではない。おそらく大半の読者も同じではないだろうか。単なる狼少年の遠吠えというか、言い訳にすぎないといえばそれまでだが、それが偽らざる素直な気持ちだ。そしてそれは同時に、ぼくが「逃げてきた」ことの同義語ともいえる。横田滋さんや早紀江さんたちが戦っていたとき、ぼくは逃げていたのだ。ただおこがましく言わせていただくのならば、いや、ぼくも、あなたも自民党議員も誰もかれもが放置していたわけだ。その間、早紀江さんの美しい髪のカラーは変化し、曽我ひとみさんの夫は天国に召された。

うまくは決して言えない。ただ言えることは、今までのぼくは間違っていたということだ。お調子者のトランプさんと、肥満児のキムさんがシンガポールで会談した今、どんな手段を取ろうとも、いかなる道を外れたマキアヴェリズムに徹しようともわれわれは日本人として同じ日本人を助けるべきではないか。巨人の次期監督がHARAさんになろうとも、EGAWAさんになろうともどうでもいいことだ。ただ、金正恩さんが自分の祖父および父親の代に行われた国家犯罪に対し真摯に向き合い、それを償う気持ちが1mgでもあれば、それはこれまでのMIが、インポッシブルならぬ “Mission Possible” 即ち拉致被害者救出というこれまで考えられなかった筋書きへと180度転換しうるということに他ならない。

早紀江さんはスピーチのなかで、北朝鮮の三代目に真摯に語りかけられた。思えば被害者のご家族たちは、金日成、金正日そして金正恩と三代の最高権力者たちと戦ってきたとてつもない侍たちだ。誇り高き日本人だ。ただもう時間がない。横田滋さんは、胃ろうをされていると少し前に新聞で読んだ。やはり「今」が勝負だ、1秒1秒が。

室町時代の15世紀から16世紀さらには朱印船貿易が行われた頃、我が国の祖先たちは中国王朝、朝鮮そして東南アジア諸国に日本刀を売って外貨を稼いだ。他に類を見ないほど「キレた」からだ。それでは、この21世紀の刀とは何か。情けなくも憲法により軍事力に制約がかけられたままの今、それは日本海のはるか向こうに片手を伸ばし故郷の大地をもう一度踏みたいとの一心で助けをまっている人々を想う力、Imaginationではないだろうか。アインシュタインはかつていった。

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

今こそ日本刀を帯刀しようではないか。

投稿日:

‘Novichok Sushi’ Putin must compensate for enslaving 600,000 Japanese prisoners before proposing a murky ‘peace treaty’

Yujiro Taniyama, Japan Broadcasting.net Editor in Chief

Abe must ignore Putin’s bogus

Beer belly Vladimir has done it once again.

The Russian president in imploring Japan’s Abe Shinzo to invest on his soil to boost its struggling economy.

But he did it through an irrational way yesterday at the Eastern Economic Forum currently being held in Vladivostok. That’s right, Putin proposed a ‘peace treaty without preconditions’.

What a disingenuous, unfeasible intimidation against Tokyo.

Abe must repudiate this deplorable offer without question.

I emphatically claim so based on three Soviet transgressions of the past.

The first is Stalin’s blatant violation of a peace treaty.

On April 13, 1941, Japan signed a non-aggression pact with then Soviet Union which was valid for five years till April 1946. Despite the fact, after Truman dropped the notorious indiscriminate bomb on innocent men, women and children in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, Stalin immediately ordered his men to prepare for the invasion of Japanese territories in which he began three days later.

Russians attacked Japan’s Chishima Islands (Kuril Is), tortured and raped women and occupied it all including the northern territories of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Habomai and Shicotan.

No matter how the Russians self justify themselves, this is a clear violation of a bilateral pact. So when Putin said yesterday “a peace treaty without preconditions” – it meant that Russia has no intention to return the four islands in which Tokyo claims its sovereign rights.

Putin de facto kicked Abe in the crotch without warning.

Boy is he a typical Russian.

The second reason why the Russian President’s “sham peace treaty” offer ought to be neglected is due to a Soviet war crime hardly known to the western world today.

An abduction and enslavement of over six-hundred-thousand Japanese prisoners for 10 YEARS AFTER WW2 ENDED. They were sent to -40℃ freezing Siberia and elsewhere to construct railroads and various infrastructures.

The actual figure of the fatalities is yet unclear, but an American historian William F. Nima estimated 254,000 died and 93,000 missing.

This is not only a clear violation of international law but also an egregious war crime. Ex-Soviet/Russian governments have never given an official apology or compensation which inevitably has deepened Japanese antipathy towards the Kremlin in the past years.

And now we have Putin proposing a “peace treaty without preconditions?”

Give me a break, give me a Vodka fellas.

Thirdly, and lastly.

I simply don’t trust the Russians.

The Slav women are beautiful as they are indeed, but Kremlin stole Crimea in 2014, allegedly assassinated its former spy agent with deadly agent polonium, and the recent Novichok poisoning in the U.K. And Putin’s perpetual “don’t underestimate our nukes” bravado is more than repugnant. Therefore I believe my apprehension of Russia’s illicit occupation of Japan’s northern territories off the coast of Hokkaido (hit by a devastating earthquake last week) and its arrogant ‘peace treaty’ narrative surely is not baseless.

I mean, how can you forge a trustworthy relationship with a country whose allegedly infiltrated U.S democratic elections?! Moscow mule surely tastes good, but Moscow itself is nothing but a loose cannon far more than Trump to my understanding.

Viable approach is indispensable of course, but I am quite precarious on how Abe in the recent years has been contained by this beer belly loose cannon, having met more than 22 times in the recent years. Abe boasts that they call each other by their first names, but what’s hilarious at the same time deplorable is that Putin downplays the Japanese PM occasionally. In December 2016 meeting in Nagato (Abe’s home territory), the loose cannon was two hours forty minutes late.

That’s pretty humiliating for the host.

There’s no denying the fact that Putin is a formidable adversary like China’s Xi.

Foes and allies.

I understand Abe’s ambition to mark a historical legacy regarding the ‘4 disputed islands’, but he’s got to bear in mind that acting like a friend and being a friend is a totally different thing.

“Vladimir-Shinzo” sentimental indulgence may result in an irretrievable damage.

You may as well call it a “Novichok Sushi”.

投稿日:

Long live Liu Xia! Freedom-fighter Germany has done it once again

Yujiro Taniyama, CEO, Japan Broadcasting.net, Inc.【JB】


 

 

Her husband “incited subversion”.

Her husband was a criminal because he demanded the basic rights any human being are entitled to; free speech, human rights and the rule of law.

Her husband was imprisoned for 11 years in 2009.

Her husband took part in 1989 Tiananmen massacre that slaughtered thousands of its own innocent people.

Her husband was diagnosed with liver cancer while held custody in prison and died soon after on July 13, 2017.

 

The “husband” mentioned above was a prominent Nobel prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo. And “her” refers to his widow Liu Xia.

 

What a country, China.

 

 

Because these two Samurais were both “former” Chinese citizens. I use the term because the husband has already passed away, while his adoring soulmate and wife finally arrived in Germany today (Jul. 10th, local time) after eight gruesome years of house arrest by the ruthless Beijing authorities.

 

Undeniably it was conducive to German-Sino relations that Mrs. Angela Markell and her mighty friends purportedly put enormous pressure on the suppressors of basic human rights in CCP – or China Communist Party. It also taught the world today how inexplicably malice and spite this authoritarian regime of 1.5 billion people is.
I have always been incredulous on how CCP downplays its people as well as the rule of law.

 

Look at the ongoing “South China sea dispute” for example. Their arrogance is beyond belief.
And as an imperfect Samurai, I am unequivocally adamant that Japan should and must remain vigilant on the procedures on how the CCP inflicts violence on truly brave men, including Nobel peace prize winner His Holiness the Dalian Lama 14th of Tibet but also its neighbors of Asia by using its rising economic power as the leverage.

 

 

Tokyo must prove that it has the balls, instead of behaving in a nonchalant manner when it comes to blatant human rights abuses such as this Liu Xiaobo, Liu Xia case. Just because the Dalai Lama was welcomed by Mongolia back in 2016, CCP started bullying Ulanbaator soon after freezing its $4 billion loan as well as imposing higher ‘commodity tax’.
This shows how frivolous and brash Beijing’s assertion is, whenever they claim “We intend to pursue dialogue through peaceful means. China is a country based on rule of law” – whatever that means. It’s nothing but a hype considering how they de facto use human rights issues (like Liu Xia case) for its political gains.

 

 

 

When Merkel visited Beijing this May, Chinese premier Li Keqiang argued that “China’s constitution protects human rights” , which is of course nothing but a petty nonsense.
And here he is today, right at this very moment in Berlin signing a commercial deal said to worth over $23 billion USD.

 

 

I fully thank the defiant courage of the German lawmakers, activists and all those involved in rescuing Mrs.Lu Xia from a folly nation that imprisons not only those who cherish freedom as a human being, but also their partners. Communism indeed has historically proven its failure when the wall of Berlin went down in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapsing in 1991. Communism labels materialism above the rights of its people. Communism is also a practice that allows the ruling party CCP to behave as the GOD.

 

 

Preposterous as it may be, its how things work in that country.
Tokyo enjoys over $330 billion USD trade with Beijing today.
But that does not mean it should turn a blind eye to opaque motives that brings vertigo among the civilized due to its unilateral self-righteous behavior. Not only the incumbent but also the post-Abe administration must have the balls and the guts to raise acrimonious debate over CCP’s relentless actions whenever needed.

 

Why?

Because it is only Japan that can balance them, both economically and militarily.
Diplomacy is not only about acting as a pawn of Washington or Beijing to gain economic surplus. That’s what you call a slave of capitalism.

 

 

As I condone the spirit of free-trade, I do not fully agree with the Trump administration’s policies. But still, I must admit that it would be counterproductive for mankind and the region, for a communist-insidious-bully to become the hegemon of Asia in the 21st century.

 

My understanding is that Liu Xiaobo should never have been incarcerated in the first place, if it actually the “Chinese constitution protects human rights” as claimed by Mr Li. With Kim Jong Un with his new “toy” called the nukes, the Japanese should wake up from its longtime sleep since 1945 if it longs to decide its own fate.
And in order to do so, its national security strategy must change.

Constitutional wise and military wise.
 Vietnam, the Phillippines and Taiwan surely counts on Tokyo to play a decisive role to maintain freedom and rule of law.

 

Asia is not a Disneyland.

 

 

 

 

 

Long live Liu Xia!

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

By Yujiro san