(I sometimes wonder if a Japanese living overseas for so long without visiting Tokyo might be impressed with these pictures...)Behind the Veil
According to a telephone survey conducted on this Friday and Saturday by Kyodo News Service, support ratings among Japanese voters for the two DJP candidates for the next P.M. of Japan are as follows,
Mr. Naoto Kan: 69.9%
Mr. Ichiro Ozawa: 15.6%
Specifically, the DJP supporters who want Mr. Kan to continue his premiership account for 82.0%.
(http://www.47news.jp/CN/201008/CN2010082801000428.html)
Notable lawmaker Mr. Taro Kono of the opposition LDP wrote in his twitter entry that it is a big surprise that 15.6% of voters named Mr. Ozawa as desirable next prime minister of Japan.
Remember I will not pick up the phone if a disbeliever calls me.
SECTION I: Election after Election
It began with an alarming exposure of large-scale inappropriate management of pension-fund recordings by the Japanese Government over decades.
It caused an unprecedented fear of losing a right to get a full amount of their pension among tens of millions of Japanese voters, taxpayers, workers, and citizens. The ruling LDP looked also upset so much, though labor unions of public servants that today support the DPJ are apparently responsible, too.
(After a sweeping victory in the 9-11-2005 general election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [LDP] however announced that he would spontaneously step down next year. His possible successor Shinzo Abe was expected to enjoy his premiership at least for three years, a time limit till the next general election, and more...)
2007
- February: Responding to a question from DPJ lawmaker Akira Nagatsuma, the LDP-led Government admits that there are more than 50 million items yet to be correctly filled in the pension fund records the Japanese Government has managed. This number later increases to over 100 millions.
Inevitably, the approval rating for the LDP plummets down.
- May: Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Toshikatsu Matsuoka (LDP) commits a suicide amid fierce attacks from the DPJ, under the leadership of party head Ichiro Ozawa and Director-General Yukio Hatoyama, on his dubious political fund reporting, though an amount of money involved is about five million yen or $60,000 which is minimal compared with a total amount of money involved in alleged cases of Ichiro Ozawa around 400 or 800 million yen.
- July: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (LDP) faces a drastic defeat in the Upper-House election where the ruling LDP has won only 37 seats while the opposition DPJ 60, which is a great shock to conservative and pro-American LDP members.
- September: P.M. Shinzo Abe steps down due to his illness; Yasuo Fukuda (LDP) is elected as new P.M.
- November: P.M. Fukuda proposes to Ichiro Ozawa establishment of the coalition Cabinet by the LDP and the DPJ. Ozawa agrees to Fukuda's idea, but the DPJ executives are all against it. Losing face, Ozawa disappears for several days from the front stage of politics.
2008
- September: P.M. Yasuo Fukuda steps down; Taro Aso (LDP) is elected as new P.M.
- September/October: P.M. Taro Aso has been expected to soon dissolve the Lower House and call for the general election, which he cannot due to grave influences of the Lehman Shock.
(If P.M. Aso had dared to launch the election, the DPJ would have probably won, paving the way for premiership of Ichiro Ozawa, since he was head of the DPJ then.)
- November: In America, Senator Barack Obama is elected as new President as he has promoted a change in the American politics, which makes P.M. Taro Aso more reluctant to dissolve the Lower House of the National Diet for a general election.
2009
- January: Former DPJ Upper-House member Hisayasu Nagata commits a suicide, though he resigned in 2006 from a Diet member, taking responsibility for miring the DPJ due to his groundless accusation of inappropriate relationship between LDP Director General Tsutomu Takebe and IT businessman Takahumi Horie, which led to resignation of the then rising young leader Seiji Maehara from the head of the DPJ, paving the way for Ichiro Ozawa to be elected as new head of the DPJ. When Ozawa was actually elected as head of the DPJ defeating Naoto Kan, he appointed Yukio Hatoyama as Director-General in 2006.
- February: Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa (LDP) resigns due to his inappropriate behaviors in the G7 meeting and the Vatican. Accordingly, P.M. Taro Aso appoints Kaoru Yosano (LDP) as successor.
- May: DPJ Head Ichiro Ozawa steps down due to a legal investigation going on about his dubious political fund reporting and an arrest of his secretary. Accordingly, the then Director-General of the party Yukio Hatoyama is elected as head of the DPJ. Hatoyama chooses Katsuya Okada, ex-head of the DPJ before Maehara, as new Director-General of the party.
(If the then DPJ Head Ichiro Ozawa had not resigned, the 30-08-2009 general election might have paved the way for premiership of Ichiro Ozawa, since he was head of the DPJ then.)
- August 30: The long-waited general election is at last held, resulting in regime change with the opposition DPJ (led by Yukio Hatoyama) winning 308 seats and the ruling LDP (led by Taro Aso) 119 seats.
- September: New P.M. Yukio Hatoyama appoints Katsuya Okada as new Foreign Minister and Ichiro Ozawa as new Director-General of the DPJ. Naoto Kan, who founded the DPJ in cooperation with Hatoyama a decade ago, is also appointed to Vice Prime Minister. P.M. Hatoyama is expected to enjoy his premiership at least for four years and more.
- October: Former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa (LDP) abruptly dies of a disease (he failed in reelection in August); he is a hawkish politician in good terms with Former P.M. Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso, thus disappointing many LDP members and their supporters or symbolizing the change in the Japanese political landscape.
In sharp contrast, Nakagawa's rival Muneo Suzuki of the New Party Daichi is appointed to the chairman of the Lower-House foreign committee with strong support from Ichiro Ozawa. However, Muneo Suzuki has been under indictment and on trial in the Supreme Court of Japan for allegedly illegal political money transactions.
2010
- January: Minister of Finance Hirohisa Fujii, once a close aid for Ozawa, resigns spontaneously weeks after he was rebuked openly by Director-General Ozawa in a governmental meeting with P.M. Hatoyama present for his failure in execution of a certain policy the DPJ promised in the 30-08-2009 election. However, Fujii explains that his resignation is only due to his physical condition since he is in his 70's.
Vice Prime Minister Naoto Kan takes over the office of the Finance Minister, though he is sharply criticized by opposition parties for his lack of knowledge in economics.
- April: Former Ministry of Finance Kaoru Yosano deserts the LDP and its president Sadakzu Tanigaki who has not appointed Yosano to any key post in the party, launching a new small party. Yosano is said to be in good terms with Ichiro Ozawa, looking for forming a new coalition Cabinet with the DPJ or causing drastic realignment in the Japanese politics.
- June: P.M. Yukio Hatoyama steps down voluntarily due to a too low approval rating, partly ascribed to his own money scandal and the U.S. Marines base issue, before the scheduled Upper-House election. DPJ Director-General Ichiro Ozawa with his own money scandal still entangled also steps down as P.M. Hatoyama so wishes strongly.
- June: Vive Prime Minister & Finance Minister Naoto Kan was elected as head of the DPJ and new prime minister with help from Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and other anti-Ozawa members.
- July: The DPJ loses the Upper-House election against the LDP; the DPJ wins 44 seats and the LDP 51. The media analyzes that the major factor of DPJ's defeat is P.M. Kan's hasty proposal of raising a consumption tax rate to 10%.
- August: Ex-Head/Ex-Director-General of the DPJ Ichiro Ozawa announces his entry to the party periodic election to choose the new head, which is scheduled on September 14. Despite a speculation that Ozawa cannot undertake a demanding position such as prime minister, 40-years-long lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa decides to challenge P.M. Naoto Kan virtually over premiership, while Former P.M. Yukio Hatoyama has endorsed Ozawa (Both Ozawa and Hatoyama once belonged to the LDP, but Kan has not) as if betraying incumbent P.M. Kan.
The media analyzes that Ichiro Ozawa has requested resignation of some key state ministers and party executives, all anti-Ozawa, because of losing the Upper-House election. But P.M. Naoto Kan, a little younger than Ozawa, refuses it, making the veteran proud politician Ozawa so angry to take a risk of future compelled spin-off from the DPJ.
Since despotic Ichiro Ozawa is still dragging money scandal suspicions, 80% of voters do not want him to assume the premiership of Japan.
SECTION II: Has America Lost the Iraqi War?
The U.S. and President Mr. George W. Bush thought that occupation of Iraq would be successful since the U.S. had successfully occupied Japan after WWII, introducing American democracy.
The U.S. thought the success in Japan was the norm, which is actually not.
The U.S. failed in Vietnam, still believing the success in Japan after WWII was the norm.
The U.S. is failing in Iraq, still believing the success in Japan after WWII is the norm.
This is a predominant opinion among journalists in Japan, a very exceptional nation in the world.
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Iraq War Facts, Results & Statistics at July 27, 2010
4,4136 US Soldiers Killed, 31,897 Seriously Wounded
By Deborah White, About.com Guide
Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $900 billion of US taxpayers' funds spent or approved for spending through Sept 2010.
Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000 (Congressional Research Service).
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.
Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion
Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion
Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.
Journalists killed - 141, 94 by murder and 47 by acts of war
Journalists killed by US Forces - 14
Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 9,571
Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000
Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 571
Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.
Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007
Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24
Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%
Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%
http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm
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However, since no AlQaeda terrorists and Iraqi insurgents have landed on America to fire and bomb American citizens and cities like in the case of the 9/11 Terror in 2001, the Iraqi War can be regarded as a kind of success.
However, it is one of the worst cases as success in war in the human history.
It is so, since American troops have killed almost 10 Iraqi civilians so as to kill one insurgent.
America has spent $16.4 million to kill one insurgent.
Anyway, it is believed that Mr. Osama bin Laden is not included in 55,000 insurgents killed by US troops and its allies in Iraq since September 11, 2001. In this context, it is a disastrous failure as security operation.
America will have to pay at least a $1 triilion compensation to Iraq where five million orphans are now suffering due to the American failure and transgressions.
*** *** *** ***
One Japanese priest once suggested a kind of gangsters to harass a member in his church, since the priest hated the member so much.
So, a Vatican official might be using a kind of Mafia members to harass a member in its organization, since the official hates the member so much.
So, an American priest might be using a kind of criminal to harass a member in his church, since he hates the member so much.
So, a rabbi might be using a kind of terrorists to harass a member in his synagogue, since he hates the member so much.
Indeed, a kind of gangsters, the Mafia, criminals, and terrorists were hired by enemies of Jesus Christ to harass Him 2000 years ago.
Anyway, a follower of the Son of God with any such a title as priest is himself an insult to the God, since Jesus Christ only calls himself "the son of man," the least title for a man even the poorest can use.
Jesus Christ never tested a man before taking him as a disciple.
But, I cannot help but check a man before taking him for any purpose. So, what do you think about the following proverb?
"A disciple sometimes outshines his master" or "Being produced from a Japanese indigo plant, a blue is bluer than the indigo."
Note: Blue is "Ao" in Japanese. An indigo plant is "Ai" in Japanese.
(http://www.fukuchan.ac/music/j-folk2/mizumushinouta.html
Once there was a band called "Zuu-Tol-Bee" in Japan. They sang a song titled "Athlete's Foot" which impressed me very much, though they were not another Beatles somewhat.)
Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
Pro 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
Pro 8:30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.