Creepy stuff. Sounds like they want a return to a "kinder, gentler" version of the prewar era...
Whoops, I put the link where no one will see it.
ttp://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=329230
>"It should be permissible under the law to restrict or ban publication or sale of books that have a detrimental effect on young people's upbringing" — an apparent reference to obscene books or videos.
Ridiculous. Detrimental effects are defined by the whims of the status quo. Is it detrimental to grow up with an appreciation for foreign literature (and consequently develop inconvenient opinions about the nature of one's own heritage)? Is it detrimental to take interest in collaboration-oriented (as opposed to competition-oriented) economical or organisational models (zOMG communism)? Is it detrimental to be aware of negative side-effects associated with frequent use of contemporary technologies (cars and pollution, cell phones and radiation, encryption and illegal filesharing? Easily abusable subjectivity as such doesn't belong in a country's constitution.
Those who complain about the two-party system in the US should take a gander at Japan, which, although it is democratic and doesn't squash smaller parties, is, in practice, a one-party state; the LDP holds all the power. And when that happens, shit like this can occur. Shame on the so-called "conservative" LDP.
I don't think the LDP holds as much power as us outsiders think. A lot of power is held in the ministries.
Can anyone with more than a passing familiarity of Japanese politics comment on Japan's power structure?
This new constitution looks disturbing, yes.
I am an American, and know less than I should about politics in Japan, so I'm not trying to be a wiseass when I ask: is this for real?
When I say that, I mean that in the US, from time to time the far-right ideologues in the Republican party go through the motions of preparing a Constitutional amendment as a response to some controversial issue of the day. The amendment is always quietly forgotten, or dies in committee. They aren't for real. They aren't serious, it's just play-acting for the benefit of certain groups of voters.
So, is this new Japanese constitution real? Or are the politicians just play-acting to get attention in a slow news week, and make the voters think they care?
>Can anyone with more than a passing familiarity of Japanese politics comment on Japan's power structure?
I just did some quick research on Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Japan
...and things don't really look that different from other democracies in the world; the three branches are separate, a bi-cameral parliament creates legislature, an emperor who is even more of a figurehead than the Brits', and so on.
What did you mean by "ministries?"
>>6: Good point; this could be just a small clique of nuts that are either trying to make some sort of half-assed statement (like the Democrats who sponsored a bill to reinstate the draft a few months ago) or sincerely believe this blather but will be ignored by the rest of the diet. As a future resident of Japan (yes, old otaku-bashing Albright is moving to TEH AMINE PARADISE!!! later this month), I can only hope...
Ministry: department of government. The most well known is probably MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry).
The Ministries used to wield so much power that the Diet could jump up and down but actually achieved nothing. In a sense, perhaps, you could claim that democracy was just an illusion, all real decisions occurred in backroom deals within the Ministries themselves.
The question is whether that's an accurate view, and if it's still the case.
Greetings, everyone.
I'm posting from Japan.(Sorry my English is limited)
Let me tell you what's going on in the Japanese diet.
First, as Japan Today said, the amendment was just proposed,
and I think it sure is silly and ridicurous in that it's
very ambiguous whoever ecercises the power, how they
determine what's detremental to young people, etc.
But it still isn't decided(and I hope it's canceled).
What's more urgent matter is, however, that the Japanese
diet tries to apply a new law that violates freedom of
speech and the Japanese mass media still haven't broadcast it.
So most Japanese people haven't known such a law will
be introduced in 10 days! I myself didn't know about it
when I read 2ch.
When the law is made effective,
plivilage will be given to a committee which is not
elected by Japanese citizens but by only a part of persons
who own power. We're concerned that the committe will
grow and have more power than expected because
no law can deter them from doing justice on their whim.
That's why some of us started to ask help from abroad
not to make the horrible law effective.
As a matter of fact, there're lots of threads in 2ch
that deal with this urgent problem.
And here's the thread I read.
http://academy3.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1109953635/l50
Some guy translated what the law is like.
Thanks for reading.
I find it unfortunate that your media isn't reporting about this... Are politics not a big point of discussion in the Japanese media? In the US, radio and TV shows about politics and political debate are very popular...
Why did the eighth post in that link you provided give the address of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?
Anyway, we have a saying in American politics: "Throw the bum out!" I hope you can contact your politicians and make sure that this bill doesn't pass, but if it does, I hope you can vote out of office the people responsible for it. Good luck!
>>10
Concerning politics, yes, it is a big point.
But they seems to like to hide from people what's scheduled to
take place in the diet. I usually don't want to complain about my media but not this time. Actually, those who happened to know about the law from the online media are feeling a bit rebelious now.
As is often the case with the Japanese media, especially
TV news, they are more concerned about ratings than
news quality, I mean, they often get sensational to attract
audience and tend to report only about something appealing
to someone with no interest in serious matters or no
knowledge on politics.
About diplomacy, their reports these days are convergent on a North Korean abduction case.
No doubt it's a big problem, but we are guessing some authoritarian power put a pressure on the media, leading
they won't broadcast about the law.
History said that corrupt leaders often use diplomatic problems
to distract their citizens' attention from what they really intend to do in their nations and urge thier people into doing what they want. And now, the amendment draft of the onstitution tells us the history is right(If the Constitution bans assembly or freedom of speech, no Japanese will speak up when the Japanese diet goes mad and out of control.).
So we're absolutely against it.
P.S.
I'm sorry I don't know about KKK stuff.
I'll ask the person who post it.
Please allow me to post once more.
I have some more background imformation.
As you see, the Japanese media is slanted and off-balance.
Many of us aren't sure what we are supposed to believe.
For instance, NHK, the national broadcasting media, was
reported allowing big politicians to cut in to their program,
which should've delt with warfare, by Asahi shimbun, or a kind of newspaper company in Japan, in return of which the politicians denied what's said in an article was true. As a result, those two media have attacked one verbally or in their articles after another. Which should I believe?
What made us irritable this time is, Japanese politicians permitted only the media freedom of speech in order not to make them complain. As a matter of fact, before the media people was sure they had the right of free speech, they sometimes spoke against the law, saying it was absolutely against the Constitution, which allows people to speak freely. But now...
Can you believe any media if they wanted their own freedom?
This is madness...
Thank you for reading.
> "Throw the bum out!"
> if it does, I hope you can vote out of office the people >responsible for it.
No, we can't if the law is effective.
We couldn't know who's responsible for it because the committee
would have a wide range of power. If we try to rumour about it
online (or offline), they'll sweep us out.
It's nothing but an autocracy, is it?
Ah, yes, we Americans are also familiar with the mainstream press not doing a very good job sometimes... Thank goodness we have the internet nowadays.
Yes, it can make people stand up.
We are getting together and sending e-mails to our ministries.
>>1
Actually, there're some Japanese people who's afraid of
Japan adopting fascism, though I think it's a slight
exaggeration.
"Human Rights" bill includes "includes contentious media controls that will be frozen and wielded over the media for possible invocation whenever the government sees fit."
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050309f1.htm
Oy. What's going on over there?
>>17
To put it this way, "Human Rights" bill violates freedom
of speech. The goverment freely chooses the members of the human rights commitee who I think must be puppets.
The Japanese media sounds to me as if the bill is OK except for the media cotrols. In my opinion, however, the bill is horrible even if the goverment crosses off the contentious articles.
One reason is because the media is very short-sighted and prejudiced, doing nothing for the cancellation of the law. And the most terrible thing is that the law must be aimed at the Internet, especially the like of 2ch. What will become of our rights of free speech?
I'd best tell you overseas people that 2ch helps shape mass opinions in Japan now and some people can leak information that they wnat to keep people away from.
What do you think you would do if your administration tried to regulate your rights?
I heard an American radio personality was kicked out after she made a comment againt the Bush administration. Didn't American people get angry about that, such as supporters of the democrat
party?
>>20: I'm not sure who you are referring to. Actually, most radio talk show hosts are conservative and are in favor of Bush, although there are exceptions... Maybe she said something violent or over-the-top, like "I want to kill Bush?" Do you remember what her name was?
>>21
Well, no, I don't, sorry.
But I think it's reported before the presidential election last year. What I remember is she spoke againt Bush before she was thrown out and a financier of the radio station urged her boss to get rid of her. The details of the event escaped me, though.
(I didn't mean to offend you at all to write this, OK?)
http://www.amconmag.com/2004_02_02/article3.html
"Roxanne Cordonier, a radio personality at Clear Channel’s WMYI 102.5 in Greenville, S.C., didn’t have it as good. Cordonier, who worked under the name Roxanne Walker, was the South Carolina Broadcasters Association’s 2002 Radio Personality of the Year. That apparently wasn’t enough for Clear Channel. Her lawsuit against the company alleges that she was belittled on the air and reprimanded by her station for opposing the invasion of Iraq. Then she was fired."
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/entertainment/9701134.htm
"Maloney, whose weekly show aired for three years on KIRO-AM Radio, said he was fired Friday after telling listeners on Sept. 12 that "Rather should either retire or be forced out" over the memo controversy."
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?noframes;read=1188
"the Clear Channel-owned radio station KMEL in San Francisco fired its popular community affairs director, David "Davey D" Cook, shortly after his show aired the anti-war views of Rep. Barbara Lee, the lone member of Congress to vote against military action in Afghanistan, and rapper Boots Riley of the Coup. The station claimed it did so for financial reasons."
http://www.pastpeak.com/archives/2004/06/the_stern_facto.htm
"Stern, who was recently fired from six Clear Channel stations after criticizing President Bush,"
And a bunch of others who got fired too.
http://www.peacefulresistance.com/article.php?story=2005030114523057
"Bush replied: "People do get fired in American press. They don't get fired by government, however. They get fired by their editors or they get fired by their producers or they get fired by the owners.""
I'd say the bill we've been talking about is a worst version of
the Clear Channel-owned radio station.
The goverment-owned committee can decide what Human rights are.
Guess what!
Our tenatious efforts seem to be slightly repaid.
http://www.sankei.co.jp/news/050310/morning/editoria.htm
Here's what I'd translate into English:
The human rights bill needs to be canceled that has a lot of problems.
Sure, any distinction according to people's nationality or people's ancestry must not have to be made. But the difinition the bill decides on about human rights is so ambiguous that the committee members can use their power on their whim to the extend that the Japanese community is full of anonymous tips. The committee is conprised of 20,000 members, looking for any
violation against the law, and have powers as if it's the police such as when they search the houses where violators live. That can violate human rights that the Constitution promises.
Any bill that is thought to violate the Constitution must be given up.
It's important to note that in all of Sling's cases, the broadcaster was fired by the company, and not silenced by the government. Clear Channel is the biggest single source of radio content in the nation, but they're not the only one. Not yet. However, I'll admit that often the things Clear Channel does leave a bitter taste in my mouth as well.
Anyway, congrats, >>29, on the exposure. Good luck in the future.
Well, yes, it's true the goverment didn't fire the person, but if the company was connected with it, it was a different story, wasn't it? Indeed, it'd depend on the company whether they follow the authority or not, given that such a creature existed.
The X day is just put off until we calm down and forget about the dumbfounding law. I found it so optimistic that we felt as if we achieved our goal, though I think the fact that one of the media said No against the bill did make a difference indeed.
There are lots of news everyday like trantial rain, big or small. But we are faced with the point from which we live peaceful lives or harsh ones. And I hope overseas people also continue to keep an eye on this matter.
http://academy3.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1109953635/258
Someone introduced an article on Burakumin from NewYork Times.
A little bird told me a big group of Burakumin is pulling a string behind the scene this time.
What is/are burakumin? I tried looking it up in a dictionary, and all I could find was "buraku," which is a "subunit of village." That's not too helpful...
burakumin are equivalent to the indian untouchable class. japanese who handle bodies or work in slaughterhouses or work with sewage are considered burakumin, and it is a status that can be carried down for generations through the family. i knew a girl whose parents had private detectives follow all of her boyfriends to find out if they or their family were burakumin.
its part of buddhisms influence on japanese culture.
I don't know about the indian class vry much.
All I know is they've dominated Japan's underground organizations known as Yakuza, etc. Even almost all of the Japanese media haven't mentioned them publicly. So they have been treated with great caution, which made them more influential behind the scene, sometimes blackmailing buisinesses or some of the Diet members. Horrible..
Ah, "dominate" may be too strong a word. Let me correct it. I'd say they make up a large propotion of the underground communities.
Help!
Koga Makoto is going to sell Japan,and he is going to let Japan war again.
Hey, >>39, I strongly disagree with your "let Japan war" thing.
"Make" or "force" would explain their wacky attempt to regulate our freedom the Constitution gives to Japanese citizens.
Anyway, people, as you may or may not have believed what we said about some horrible politicians pulling strings behind the scene and trying to make the bill effective, I found out that a broadcaster explained what was going on in the diet. Here, someone uploaded a movie file running by media player.
http://www.dela-grante.net/michelin/up/so/No_2847.wmv
In the program, he was greatly concerned not only about the regulation against freedom of speech, but also whoever makes up the Human Rights committee. He suspected the would-be members are picked up from some political body, and that they use their power to squash whoever they don't like. I'd say it's like Gestapo, do you?
>>39
I hope he will fall out of favor and never win a general election even if he has the balls to stand in the next one.
>>36
You're wrong.
I swear we don't discriminate against any minority in such a gratuitous manner. Let me put you straight. Burakumin pretend they're weak and live a hard lives, but in truth, some of them have expensive cars such as Mercedes, while they take social benefits and never pay a tax. Why? As they've formed horrible organizations, the fact won't easily come to light in public.
If the bill we've been talking about is effective, we'll lose ways to objectively say something against such a organization.
To sum up, the USA Patriot Act is silimar to the Human Rights bill except that the idea of the bill is to give minorities a wide range of privilages.
This law is pleased by only a few people who have strong privilege.
Because the law protects them and punishes Japanese who wants and talks the Fact.
this law can make Japanese become silent like north corea.
This law surely deprives Japanese people of freedom of speech.
Privileged peple can easily punish the obstruct people for them by this law.
This law is like "Chian-iji-hou(1923)" the fasism law.
>>44
I'm afraid I don't think English-speaking people know a lot about North Korea save that the nation said it has nuclear weapons now.
Most Americans probably don't know much, but I personally find the situation on the Korean peninsula very interesting and have done a lot of research on it. This web site links to a lot of cool sites about NK, and has often-updated news as well:
http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone/
I find the Soviet-style propaganda music and artwork NK is putting out very interesting... It's like stepping back in time fifty years.
That being said, is there an English translation of this bill available anywhere? I find it hard to believe that it could make things as bad as North Korea... Even the PATRIOT Act, for all people complained about it, didn't effect hardly any Americans at all, though many middle-Eastern immigrants with suspicious backgrounds were more closely scrutinized.
>>47
I'd say there's not been an English translation yet, because some of the Diet members want to keep the contents of it a secret and even to keep away as many Japanese citizens as possible. As a matter of fact, major broadcasting stations haven't(or couldn't, maybe because of the authoritarian control) reported about it, as I said before. But some Japanese websites deal with/make open to us what's written in the bill. Here, take a look:http://blog6.fc2.com/kirakiraseed/blog-entry-8.html
And this is another site referring to the ploblems which, acording to the Paris Principles, violate human rights:
http://www.jca.apc.org/jhrf21/Campaign/20020417.html
If you want me to translate the ploblematic points of the bill, I'll try doing it as far as I can(of course, I will avoid my subjectivity).
>for all people complained about it
So most of the American citizens know about the act, don't they?
I guess the American media is fair and balanced in a way.
But it may be a different story in Japan even now, compared to the States.
And I should've explained something. Unlike in the USA, Cable is not well developed in Japan, so most people watch only major broadcasting stations. As a result, most people don't know about the bill except for those who read about it online.(some information became available/accessible in the newspaper recently, though there're not so many readers as opposed to TV watchers.
>it could make things as bad as North Korea
You have a point, but in my opinion, things could change little by little like rain poured into a river before a great amount of flood hits a town. It's anybody's guess what things will be like in Japan, though.
>I find the Soviet-style propaganda music and artwork NK is >putting out very interesting... It's like stepping back in >time fifty years.
Yes. We japanese know very much about them because the Japanese media love to broadcast them. I watched them on TV many times indeed. But I find it very ironic that the media have pointed out how ridicurous the autocracy of NK is while they've been concealing the fact that some Diet members try to pass the bill which may lead to an autocracy-like community...
I wonder there're other cases around the world in this era like this one in Japan.
>So most of the American citizens know about the act, don't they?
Very much so. It's been the topic of much debate, online, on TV, and in real life. Many of the anti-war protesters also protest against the PATRIOT Act, though I believe that much of their energy is misguided. (Incidentally, the 19th is going to be the anniversary of the war on Iraq, so there are going to be many protests around the country on that day... It's strange that anti-war protesters can be so full of hate sometimes.)
Indeed, there really isn't much to the PATRIOT Act that most people would find objectionable. Most of the people who don't like it probably don't know much about it, in fact. A lot of the Act is pretty boring stuff; stuff like giving the federal government the ability to wire-tap suspicious citizens' phone lines, something that most state governments could already do. Also, most (if not all) of the provisions in the bill were set to expire in time, so those that haven't already expired will soon do so.
Still, it was a bill that was passed in the midst of the panic after September 11. I'd like to think that, if the Congress were to go back and work at passing a similar bill today, we could make it to be a bit less objectionable to those concerned about privacy.
america is the nicest, friendliest country i've ever lived in. considering how tightly shackled their government is, its amazing that there haven't been more sept. 11th level attacks.
it makes me wonder if the reality of games like splinter cell and rainbow six doesn't have some truth to it. perhaps there really are super-secret nigh-omniscient assassin squads running around killing america's enemies and never letting anyone find out that there was any danger at all. but i actually just think that you're all a bunch of lucky bastards.
There actually are. Well, the stuff that really goes on is probably a lot more mundane than what happens in video games, but we definitely have agents out there keeping the pulse of some particularly nasty spots of the world whilst remaining incognito. (Whether that's scary or comforting, I can't decide, but it's nonetheless pretty cool.) One of the unfortunate realities of a lot of the stuff the CIA and its equivalent organizations around the world does is that we can't really hear about their successes; but when something slips by them, well, 9/11 happens, and then people stand around and wonder why the government didn't protect us.
Just recently there was a bust on the east coast of a gang trying to sell old Soviet rocket launchers and other nasty things; the "buyer" in this deal was posing as a thug who had ties to Al Qaeda. And this was just one of the things we do get to hear about...
Hmmm, I understand why the Patriot Act was applied after 9/11.
I would have feared what would happen next such as another hijack or something if I'd lived in the States then.
If NK attacked and bombed Japan, what would we do? Could I say, "we'd never scurutinize any suspicious person(or agent) because of thier nationality? That's tough to answer.
By the way, people, who's responsible for the Act? I mean, who has the power to interrogate or look into people? In the case of the Human rights bill, oddly enough, people who come from NK and represent the nation can join in the Human Rights committee. This is mad. They can suppress any objective report on NK if they think it's a distinction. Where can I find out freedom of speech? As in >>29, any gratuitous distiction must not be made, but that doesn't mean it's fair to take away our free speech by any political body's norm.
Not to change the subject, but I'm curious to know whether your nation gives suffrage to whoever live in it but doesn't have the nationality.
I must've made a mistake, Albright!LC/IWhc3yc san.
(san means a general title of respect in Japanese)
>stuff like giving the federal government the ability to wire-tap suspicious citizens' phone lines
So they don't have the abilitiy to interrogate any person and put him behind bars? Then I have to emphasize the equivocal provisions of the human rights bill and let you know what deserves punishment depends on the committee, so we suspect there's possibility the members will have the right to incarcerate anyone whose ideology isn't to their tastes..
What sounds silly and horrible about the bill to me is,
the committee will be given all of the three powers Montesquieu defined.
>If NK attacked and bombed Japan, what would we do? Could I say, "we'd never scurutinize any suspicious person(or agent) because of thier nationality? That's tough to answer.
This is a tough issue in the US as well... It's called "Racial Profiling." Arabs or people with Arabic names often get more closely scrutinized at airports... This doesn't really seem fair, but almost of the people involved in the 9/11 attacks, as well as the 3/11 attack in Spain last year, the attack on the USS Cole ship in 2000, and many other attacks against Americans and allies have been Muslim Arabs. Of course, very few Muslim Arabs actually want to blow up buildings, so it's unfair to treat them all as if they might be murderers, but... It's definitely not an issue with an easy answer.
Personally, were such a thing to happen, I hope you would not harbor resentment toward the NK people. The Koreans are fine people; it's their government that's crazy.
>Not to change the subject, but I'm curious to know whether your nation gives suffrage to whoever live in it but doesn't have the nationality.
If you are referring to the United States, then no; you must be a citizen to have voting rights. Surely Japan doesn't allow such a thing... do they? It would seem quite bizarre to me. Anyway, becoming a legal citizen of the US is a fairly simple process compared to most other countries.
>So they don't have the abilitiy to interrogate any person and put him behind bars?
The Constitution of the US says a lot about this issue. One of its most important parts says that someone can't be arrested unless they are charged with a crime, soon after which they must be allowed a fair trial. If, however, they cannot charge someone for a crime, because of lack of evidence or for any other reason, that person must be let go. So it is illegal to arrest a US citizen and hold them indefinitely.
Where this gets tricky is that this is exactly what we're doing to a lot of terror suspects... Have you heard of the Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba? Many people are being arrested (mostly from overseas, but some from America) and imprisoned there while they are interrogated about their connections to terrorist groups. However, as these people are not US citizens, this is not a violation of the Constitution.
This doesn't sit well with some people, who think that the Constitution should apply to the government's behavior to non-citizens as well. Myself, I don't think that should happen, but I'll admit that I do find the idea of what's going on at Guantanamo Bay a bit unsettling.
By the way, I'm not sure how many of you Japanese folk are posting here, since you're all posting anonymously, but I must say that you all have some pretty solid English skills. Good work.
Just to clarify, what I mentioned above about Guantanamo Bay and such isn't anything that came about because of the PATRIOT Act. As far as I know, the PATRIOT Act doesn't define or change any of the rules in regard to arresting and charging citizens, or non-citizens for that matter.
>It's definitely not an issue with an easy answer.
I know what you mean. It all depends on which side you are on, I guess. Actually, I'm of two minds about this matter: People need to be treated fairly
but if my friend fell victim to a crime, would I still say the some thing...?, etc.
>Japan doesn't allow such a thing... do they?
Of course, not. As I see it, though, it seems natural to me. Let me take an extreme example to get to the point: If the number of muslim immigrants without the US nationality greatly surged, had a voting rights and influenced on the way the US are, they could control your nation behind the scenes. That means your rights are eroded, doesn't it?
So it doesn't seem to me a distinction at all if somebody doesn't receive a voting right because they don't have the nationality of a nation. (It's a shame that becoming a legal citizen of Japan needs a comlicated process, though...)
>The Constitution of the US says a lot about this issue.
I adore it. In the Human rights bill case, however, some politicians are trying to leave the committee members as they like to act. No one can interfere with them. Think this is one of the biggest problems the bill includes...
>I'm not sure how many of you Japanese folk are posting here, since you're all posting anonymously, but I must say that you all have some pretty solid English skills.
Well, I've posted often, but I'm not sure exactly how many of us, since we've been staying anonymous.:) I'd say maybe three or four of us. Anyway, I'm very flattered. I know I'm not fluent in English, especially when it comes to everyday expressions. So I sometimes ask questions about some of them in the nihongo board of 4ch. People in there are kind enough to teach them to me.
In the US, only citizens are permitted to vote. However, any immigrant who does not have a criminal record and is willing to spend several years going through the legal process can become a citizen.
>>64
I read on the news paper that more foreign students stay and work in the US after they graduate from the US colleges than ones who get a diploma in Japan, which is one reason why the US keeps staying as the world best power. Some of them will go through the process. I personally think Japan has to follow suit to some degree in this issue.
Well, then, let me go back to the Human Rights bill. Its introduction is being put off now, though no Japanese citizen was tipped off exactly when. I guess it's because they want the information on the bill confined to very limited numbers. We'll continue keeping an eye on what they're going to do.
Accorging to the news paper, 70 percent of the Diet members like to turn the contents of the draft into the ones which are more acceptable to us like a nationality requirement (As things a little bit changed, the news paper started reporting about the bill, though you'll find articles about it very small. Now I'm dubious about the Japanese media...) But all we want them to do is repeal the horrible bill itself, because the things we're afraid of will happen if they pass the bill and the law is made effective.
>>67: Well, that's kind of a wide question, so allow me a wide answer. An ideal human rights situation is one in which no person is placed above or below any other person by society or government due to either "accidents of their birth," such as their race or nationality, or by their fundamental beliefs, such as their religion.
If only it could be that simple...!
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/all/display.jsp?an=20050317213
Human rights protection monitors are volunteers commissioned by the Justice Ministry to promote human rights awareness, to check for any violations of human rights and to make efforts to protect such rights in their communities.
The LDP members involved in the bill revision are thought to have decided to include the nationality clause because they think Japanese people are especially sensitive to nationality issues due to North Korea's abductions of Japanese.
Thousands of Koreans with permanent resident status in Japan belong to a pro-Pyongyang residents group.
Here's an article about foreign journalists in Japan and how they often feel they have more freedom when writing for the Japanese press than native Japanese people themselves:
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050322zg.htm
It's very sad to reconfirm the Japanese media won't do what they're supposed to do.. On the bright side, though, I hope non-Japanese jornalists except Dave Spector continue struggling to reach for the truth the Japanese media won't touch.
About what Dave said:
>"The media gets bashed all the time in Japan," he argues. "I >don't see that people have kid gloves on."
I think he's feeling that way because he's on the media's side.
He's fawning up to them. If he had played the roles that he said he was asked for, I would've looked up to him, but what he's been doing is nothing worth paying attention to. He's just a TV talent/comedian. Most Japanese don't take him seriously.
This is one of the things he did on TV:http://my.reset.jp/~mars/btg/document18/yakisoban.html
The ninth picture from the above in the site.
You mean the guy with the gold teapot-looking thing on his head? Wow, he must be one serious and hard-hitting journalist!
Yes, that's him. And sorry the tenth was correct. That being said, what the other journalists said in the article sounds convincing to me. There're lots of secrets in Japan which most overseas people don't know about and which even the Japanese media won't deal with. I hope the true journalists fight against such taboos in Japan. I'm assured only they can do it now that I know the Japanese media is being controled by some horrible organizations just as I thought..
I heard before that things about the media in Korea and China was worse than in Japan.
>One of its most important parts says that someone can't be arrested unless they are charged with a crime, soon after which they must be allowed a fair trial. If, however, they cannot charge someone for a crime, because of lack of evidence or for any other reason, that person must be let go.
Sorry for taking this long to reply to your points. I was wondering if the police in the US are empowered to seach a suspect's place without any permission given by the court before arresting him. The constitution of Japan strictly limites the abilities to do it unless he is arrested red-handed,
so that the police won't put the wrong person to a hard position(though such a system is established, they sometimes cook up a story and take a wrong one to the police station...). I mean to say, although the police' action is limited, why does the human rights commitee have the right to "do justice" according to their standards? I guess no other establishment can do such a thing. Horriblly disgusting and depressing, many of those who want to become a member of the committee are thought to belong to some political/religious organization. The constitution sure gives people the right to believe religion, but doesn't allow them to play God. Japanese Diet members should base their decisions on the Constitution.
Can I ask you something? "A hard position" made sense in my context? I meant a hard life or a precarious position or something like that. I often feel worried if what I really want to say can get across to English-speaking people, because of lack of my English skills..
I haven't been following the thread, but I understand the phrase you used. I am not a native speaker myself (though not Japanese), so I cannot say for sure, but since English is somewhat of a lingua franca on the internet, native speakers get used to a lot of different slang, jargon and peculiar phrases. Don't worry about, esp. American English is pretty flexible in its development.
>>79
Thank you. Now I feel better. Does a "lingua franca" means the most frequently used language to communicate with people from all over the world, right? Anyway, I hope you'll participate in the discussion as well. Thanks again.
http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=lingua+franca&x=0&y=0
Main Entry: lin·gua fran·ca
Pronunciation: 'li[ng]-gw&-'fra[ng]-k&
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural lingua francas or lin·guae fran·cae /-gwE-'fra[ng]-(")kE/
Etymology: Italian, literally, Frankish language
1 often capitalized : a common language consisting of Italian mixed with French, Spanish, Greek, and Arabic that was formerly spoken in Mediterranean ports
2 : any of various languages used as common or commercial tongues among peoples of diverse speech
3 : something resembling a common language
Lingua Franca = 共通語
France = 語?
語 = word/speech/language
>>77
Sometimes. Significant court cases in the US turn on a point of whether the judge decides that the police had "probable cause" to carry out a search without a warrant from a judge in a specific situation. So there is no firm yes-or-no answer to your question.
According to the Japanese TV news, the popularity of the Bush administration declined because he tried making a law which is in favor of surviving a female who's been in coma or sufferred what's called brain death(My English vocabulary is small...). Many Americans also feel disgusted when politicians cut a deal with their supportive political body, don't they?
We've been worried that the Human Rithts bill destories democracy, as we said in this thread. But things are getting better little by little. Those who are opposed to the bill planed to set up a big meeting in Tokyo on April 4, where 2000 people can be accomodated. We must stand up against any threat to violate freedom of speech. Now we know that only several politicians have tried to pass the bill before most Japanese didn't know about the bill thanks to the Internet-if we lose access to information that the media don't report then we will lose the right to know. And the politicians can do whatever they want. It's unfair. The bill should be repealed.
Note: a former politician who recieved politically non-acceptable humongous money from some political body(and as a result, was publicly criticised and let go before) is thought to be controling his former subordinates as he like to now.
Sorry.
>before most Japanese didn't know
My mistake
It's >before most Japanese know.
>>86
I see. But no other organization than the police could carry out such a search, couldn't they?
http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/no_gestapo/imgs/e/a/ea923ea6.gif
The images in the site implies that the Human Rights committe will have the most influential power after the law and citizens in Japan will be ignored.
Note:
人権委員会：The Human rights committe
国民：Citizens
立法：The Japanese Diet
行政：The administration
司法：The court house
>>87
yes, that has been very big news here in the USA for the past few weeks, although I haven't heard that it has decreased Bush's popularity.
the woman, Terri Schiavo, has been brain dead for 15 years. Her husband finally wanted to remove her feeding tube and let her die, but her parents disagreed. the matter went to court (many times) and locally, they decided that Terri herself would want to die. However, the Bush administration disagreed, and it turned into national news.
Terri Schiavo died this morning after her feeding tube had been out for the 13th day.
>>62
I thought that the PATRIOT Act did allow for those arrests, but I can't find it in the text now, so I may be mistaken.
>>92
I didn't know about the conclusion of the event. Thank you for your information. Considering how difficult it is to deal with brain death, I can't decide which side was correct.. By the way, I found an artcle about the Bush's approval rating on the Internet:http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-24-bush-poll_x.htm
Bush approval slips to 45%, lowest of his presidency
Independent political analysts said the drop may reflect opposition to the White House and Congress intervening in the Terri Schiavo matter.
> Bush approval slips to 45%, lowest of his presidency. Independent political analysts said the drop may reflect opposition to the White House and Congress intervening in the Terri Schiavo matter.
I said I wasn't going to talk any more about this, but this at least give me some faith in humanity back, that people are smart enough not to fall for such utterly cheap populist tricks.
>>94
No matter the public approval now, the bill the crusaders have longed for was passed. Also, Randall Terry and his band of loons have made good use of the matter at hand and have gained reasonable momentum, allowing them to crawl forth from the stones they've been hiding under. Time to lose that faith again!
I heard Fuji TV, one of the Japanese broadcasting systems, finally reported that if the bill was passed, then we'd be faced with a horrible oppression against free speech of Japanese citizens. That was a great progress. Some other discussion program in prime hours(like Cross Fire of CNN) is supposed to take up the issue. Things are getting ahead.
If Chinese people become members of the human rights committee and they decide any comment against anything like the protest now happening in China is discrimination, then we can't insist our human rights be violated... You may think I'm a bit too worried, but the bill is really very flawed and imperfect. What are human rights? What is most important? I think the bill needs reforming.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/797754.stm
>Risky alliance for Japan's ruling party
>It is a risky strategy because many Japanese are deeply >suspicious of the religious sect - the Soka Gakkai lay >Buddhist group - that provides the party's electoral support.
It is obvious The Soka Gakkai is pulling strings behind the scene about the Human Rights bill. The religious fanatics are trying to control Japan. Magagines in Japan often criticise the cult group for what they're doing like they threaten former members of the cult, saying "you let go and die if you get out of our group". What they want is very clear. They want to silence Japanese citizens.
I don't have French language skills, but I read a translation of a French TV program. And it turned out that French people also have the same concern most Japanese have: cult parties often try to invade the politics of their own country-Koumei tou(one of the political parties in Japan) is supported by the Soka Gakkai.
Soka Gakkai is not a cult group. It is more like the USA's right-wing Christian conservatives. Neither Soka Gakkai nor the US's Southern Baptists actually brainwash and abuse their members, unlike most cults. They're just extremely conservative and think they are on a mission from the heavens to help the rest of us see how wrong we are.
Now Aum Shinrikyo, those guys were (are?) a real cult.
significant part of LDP's nostalgic way of behavior comes from the fact that shinto shrines have supported the party. so soka gakkai, which is one of buddhism sects, might dissent in many points, especially in religious or spiritual conception of history.
Shitty thread Wasshoi！！
＼＼ Shitty thread Wasshoi！ ／／
+ + ＼＼Shitty thread Wasshoi！／+
∬ ∬ ∬ ∬ ∬ ∬ +
+ 人 人 人 +
（＿） （＿） （＿_）
+ （＿＿） （＿＿） （＿＿） +
. + （ ＿＿ ） （ ＿＿ ） （ ＿＿ ） +
（ ´∀｀∩ （´∀｀∩） （ ´∀｀）
+ （( （つ ノ （つ 丿 （つ つ )） +
ヽ （ ノ （ ヽノ ） ） ）
（＿）し' し（＿） （＿）＿）
Its Funny many americans are washed their brains by Chinese commy's" Militalist Japan Propaganda" & some stupid nationalist
LDP guys (Koizumi Aso Nakagawa)playing the free actor of the Chinese Propaganda
Think! Why commy continuously digging the memory of 60years ago.
CIA report that Y2000 china's Purcaseing Power Pariry GDP
become NO2 of the world
And 2006 China's PPP GDP is Twice of Japan's PPP GDP
That mean
Even Japan go to Militalism and try to compete military expenditure expansion----Japan will bankrupt before china--- like USSR bankrupt before USA----Because China's PPP=Actual GDP is twice of Japan
Listen!
There is big difference of Price level between US/JPN and China
And China can employee 1Million troops with same amount of
Only 50000 of JGSDF troops salary
So when you evaluate potential military strength from GDP,you should compare Purchaseing Power Parity Base not Exchange Base
OKay I figure out Military Expenditure
Excahnge Base
US 400-500Bil
Rus 55Bil
China2004 60Bli
China2005 80Bil
China2006 100Bil
JPN 2006 47Bil
PPPBase USD
US 400-500Bil
Rus 110Bil
China2004 240Bli
China2005 320Bil
China2006 400Bil
JPN 2006 47Bil
PLAAF Fighters2400 USAF Fighters3600 JASDF260
PLA Tanks 7010 USArmyTanks7000 JGSDFTanks 600
PLAN Sub 60 USNPAC FleetSub35 JMSDF Sub16
Hello? Where is Militalist JPN?
Militalist with ONLY 600Tanks 260Fighters 16 Sub?
Very Funny Joke made in RED CHINA
Evil New Facist doing respect celemony for OLD Evil Facist at war Shirine
Evil New Facist going to Nuke armament and establish New Nuke Empire like USSR
So dramatic SF Movie like Star Wars, we shold prise Golden Razzy award to Mr Stupid Koizumi & Mr Aho & Nakagawa The Drunker
But before you believe Commy's propaganda Film
at least Check the statistics then you will aware how commy
scare that US aware china's Mil Expanding and stop it
Commy's Trick is by anouncing "Hey World NO2 GDP JPN GOING TO MILITASLIST!" and let US chase it, for prevent US Aware THE FACT actually world NO2 is China and China's PPP Mil Expebditure have already chaught up US
It seems to be Korean common sense
Jesus Christ is a Korean
Tom Cruise is a Korean
Carl Lewis is a Korean
Michael Jordan is a Korean
Queen Elizabeth is a Korean
American ancestors are Koreans
A Korean forges it
Don't be reading Japan Today and be freaking out. Many of their articles were written with anti-Japan agenda funded by you know who (e.g. our real totalitarian neighbors to the west). You have to know where the writer is standing when judging left vs. right. In Japan, most stand on the extreme left (or unpatriotic). From where they stand, everything will look right and nationalistic. You also have to be aware that the writers will use every method available to quill any movements that would not be beneficial to their sponsors. Labeling (e.g. calling the registration and various issues with words such as totalitarian and nationalistic) is one of the most frequently used methods.
This is one of the often looked-over cost of freedom of speech. China and North Korea don't have this problem. The receiver/consumer of the information need to be really smart about what to believe and what to just toss out of the window. So don't freak out. Think for yourself.
Below, I'll give you an example of how different "middle of the road" is between Japan & US.
I'm a parent with a kindergarten-aged child in US. It really, really, really, blew me away when I saw one of the "school performance," where kids yelled out "I'm proud of soldiers who gave their lives to this country." I personally think above is healthy, but in Japan, this healthy expression of patriotism would be considered extreme right & extremely nationalistic. The leftist media will have a field day if any kindergarten ever taught their children to say this, so this simply doesn't happen in Japan. US's middle of the road (at least good/mainstream enough to teach a 5-year old) is beyond extreme right in Japan.
