Saturday, August 15, 2015

"and the fever left her" - 70 Years since WWII



Around Tokyo



70 Years since WWII

This is the 70th year since the end of the Second World War.

However, what has happened in these 70 years is as important as what had happened during and before WWII, since we are living in the ear of 2000 years after the emergence of Christ.

As for Japan, every decade after 1945 has been so symbolic.

1945 - The End of WWII and the Empire of Japan with atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

1955 - Sony (then called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo) releases its first transistor radio; Toyota launches its symbolic upper-class car Crown.  The Liberal Democratic Part is established as the only major conservative/pro-American party to rule Japan till 1993.

1965 - The Anti-Vietnam War Peace Movement is launched in Japan; the Shinkansen bullet train, introduced in 1964, starts to connect Tokyo and Osaka (550 km) in 3 hours and 10 minutes; and the first full-scale inter-city expressway of Japan is completed between Nagoya and Kobe.

1975 - The Emperor and Empress of Japan officially visits the US; Sony release its first videotape recorder; and the Vietnam War ends.

1985 - A Tokyo-to-Osaka jumbo jet liner carrying more than 500 passengers (including major corporate employees) crashes in a mountainous area north of Tokyo; The Plaza Accord is reached among five major countries (the US, Japan, the UK, West Germany, and France) leading to the declining of the dollar value versus the yen by 51% from 1985 to 1987.

1995 - The Great Hanshin Earthquake occurs west of Osaka/Kyoto, sacrificing 6,000 people, while a cult launches a sarin gas attack in Tokyo subway lines, killing a dozen and injuring 6,000 commuters, etc.

The latter half of the 20th century of Japan started with some hope but ended with ominous incidents.

But in the 21st century a series of years to focus on may change.

2001 - The 9/11 Terror Attack in New York and Washington gravely affects Japan.

2005 - Large-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations erupt in major cities in China, since Beijing needs to make the Chinese people hate Japan to consolidate its domestic reign.

2008 - A large-scale financial crisis starts in Wall Street to gravely affect Japan, paving the way for Obama's winning in presidential election.

2011 - An M9.0 earthquake hits northeast Japan, killing almost 19,000 people, to trigger big tsunamis and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident.

2015 - The Abe Cabinet is trying to expand the scope of operations of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces beyond restriction of the Constitution for the first time after WWII, in order to allow for more aggressive activities of the Forces mainly to cope with the Chinese military expansion.


Japan and the world are all the more facing wars, economic crises, natural disasters, industrial disasters, and political/diplomatic crises.  Truly Japan and the world are still around the end of the world.

Prophecies of Christ Jesus must come true in Japan and the world.



Personally, I think I have been somewhat connected to most of those incidents.



Hiroshima, Japan   Before & After USA nuclear bomb
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/362821313700142931/




**** **** ****


Mat 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

"the disciples had forgotten to take bread" - Servants and Wallets



Just around Tokyo



Servants and Wallets

Christ Jesus said that those who want to be leaders of people must serve them as servants.

And to teach what being a servant means Christ Jesus cleaned and washed the feet of His disciples with wet clothes.  This is a well known episode in the Bible.

Shigeru Yoshida (1878-1967) who happened to become a counterpart to General MacArthur as prime minister of Japan after WWII between 1948 and 1954 once went to a social party where many leaders of various sectors of Japan gathered.  But as Yoshida met someone he didn't like, he left the party soon.  However, after having carried Yoshida to the party, Yoshida's car left the place as it was to come back around the time when the party would be over, so that he had to call a taxi.  Then, Yoshida went to a department store, one of the largest ones in Tokyo.  But when he got off the taxi, he had no money.  It is because Yoshida never had a wallet; he did not have a custom to carry a wallet with him.  So, Yoshida, probably at the time ex-prime minister, told a stuff member of the department shop at the entrance to pay the taxi fair for him.  Later his younger daughter called the president of the department store, apologizing Yoshida's rude attitude and promising to send money to the stuff member.

Ysohida's younger daughter married a rich businessman named Takakichi Aso.  The Aso clan accumulated fortune and wealth as a coal owner in Kyusyu.  Takakichi Aso liked his father-in-law, so that he also became a politician.  As a national lawmaker, Aso helped Prime Minister Yoshida who took a huge responsibility in the process of recovering war-torn Japan through difficult negotiations with General MacArthur, the supreme commander of US forces stationed in Japan after WWII.  But as a politician, Yoshida needed political money.  Yoshida had to distribute money to lawmakers of his political party to maintain his position.  It is Aso that supplied a huge amount of money for Yoshida's political machinations, since Shigeru Yoshida, an ex-diplomat, had no other source of big money.

Yoshida worked very well even as an intermediate between the Emperor and General MacArthur.  The good relationship between the Emperor and General MacArthur was one of Yoshida's feats.  And their relationship contributed to good relationship between Japan and the US after WWII.  General MacArthur showed necessary respect for the Emperor, though the General never visited the Imperial Palace.  The Emperor visited the US embassy in Tokyo where General MacArthur lived to directly talk with the General 11 times till his departure from Japan in 1951 to promote mutual understanding.  Especially, the Emperor never showed his grudge to the US, though the Empire of Japan was even attacked with atomic bombs by the US in WWII, which suggested to the Japanese people that Japan should become a friendly nation to the US, now that the war was over.  And the then PM Yoshida contributed to this good relationship between the Emperor and General MacArthur.

Probably, the Emperor had no wallet.  General MacArthur had no wallet, either.  They were the people who did not need money and wallets.  Accordingly, the three persons must have felt intimacy to one another.

And, in ancient days, servants must not have their wallets.  Though the Emperor, General MacArthur, and PM Yoshida were at the top of the social hierarchy in Japan under occupation by the US military after WWII, they had at least something common with ancient servants: they never carried wallets.

It is indeed very difficult for an emperor, a supreme commander of military forces, or a prime minister to become servants to the nation, soldiers, or voters.

(Note: It is not confirmed whether General MacArthur carried a wallet during his days in Tokyo.)

Anyway, the three main players in Japan under occupation of US military forces after WWII were the Emperor (of Showa), General Douglas MacArthur, and Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.



MacArthur and Yoshida in New York in 1954
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A9%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%EF%BC%9D%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A2




**** **** ****



Mar 8:14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
Mar 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Friday, August 14, 2015

"choked with cares and riches" - Controversial Kamikaze Attack on August 15, 1945


Around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo



Controversial Kamikaze Attack on August 15, 1945

There was an admiral of the Imperial Navy of Japan during WWII who carried out a kamikaze suicide attack after the Emperor announced his decision to surrender to the allied forces at noon of August 15, 1945, by radio to the general public of the Empire.
Matome Ugaki (1890–1945) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, remembered for his extensive and revealing war diary, role at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and kamikaze suicide hours after the announced surrender of Japan at the end of the war.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matome_Ugaki
The controversy about his act is mainly related to the fact that Admiral Ugaki did not pilot a military plane by himself but he led 11 Imperial Navy bombers to the post-surrender kamikaze attack, though three bombers made emergency landing before reaching a target sea area around Okinawa.  Ugaki forced 16 airmen of the Imperial Navy to die in the post-surrender kamikaze attack.

At least two of those kamikaze bombers led by Ugaki reached an island of Okinawa, and crashed on rocks on the shore and the ground beside a US military base, respectively.  No American military's damage was confirmed.  Admiral Ugaki is believed to have been on the bomber that fell on the rocks on the shore.  Officers who piloted these bombers seem to have avoided hitting their planes to American military ships or troops on purpose.



Admiral Ugaki before his Kamikaze Attack
http://www.geocities.jp/torikai007/war/1945/ugaki.html

Admiral Ugaki, as Chief-of-Staff of the Combined Fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, had been so close to Admiral Yamamoto.  Yamamoto was the planner of the 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack.  Following the direct order from Yamamoto, an imperial fleet with six aircraft carriers attacked US bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to start the war against America.

But, while Admiral Yamamoto was making an inspection tour to Solomon in the South Pacific in 1943, a plane he was on was shot down by US fighters.  (It is said that Yamamoto's flying plan had been known to the US military forces beforehand through decoding of secret messages having been sent by the Imperial Navy.)  Admiral Ugaki accompanied Yamamoto on this tour.  The plane carrying Ugaki was also shot down, but Ugaki survived.  Later, Ugaki received Yamamoto's dagger as a memento.
   
According to some report, some airmen mobilized for this post-surrender kamikaze attack led by Admiral Ugaki were not informed of the Emperor's radio address, and thus they did not realize the war was over.  Therefore, this kamikaze attack has been under criticism and not counted as a legitimate one carried out following an official order of the imperial military.

But what influence has this episode had on the Japanese people after WWII?

At least the Japanese people have come to abhor the rule by military after WWII.

When a war is being won due to brave acts of the military, the public naturally respect generals and bellicose politicians.  But even if a war is being lost due to poor management and planning by military leaders, it is difficult for the public to blame those generals and bellicose politicians.  People without knowledge and freedom would rather fight and die with leaders who are promoting war with confidence or madness.  Some would rather join a post-surrender kamikaze attack with a general they have been taught to respect unconditionally in the society under control by the military.

The lesson must be that a nation must not have its supreme leader or a monarch who is a military man by his nature.

(But was Hitler a military man by his nature?)

Luckily, successive emperors of Japan, except those in ancient days, have not been warriors but rather cultural figures.  It was unthinkable even during WWII that the emperor would directly command the military and plan operations.  The Emperor of Japan in WWII could not carry out a kamikaze attack, because without him, there was no reason for the imperial military to fight any foreign forces.  

Incidentally, if the Emperor directly ordered Admiral Ugaki no to conduct a kamikaze attack, Ugaki would not commit a suicide attack with other soldiers.  But, it is apparent that the Emperor had no intention and ability to directly plan any military operations and command any imperial forces, though he was the supreme commander of the Imperial military according to the Imperial Constitution.


APPENDIX.  Kamikaze Attack Related Pictures


76303
http://ameblo.jp/tubasanotou/entry-12025645730.html


http://www1.mahoroba.ne.jp/~ple/t071.html


http://www.geocities.jp/torikai007/1945/1944kamikaze.html


http://www.geocities.jp/torikai007/1945/1944kamikaze.html


http://www.rak2.jp/hp/rak2_pv.cgi?no=kamikaze0&prof_view=1


http://www.rak2.jp/hp/user/kamikaze0/



http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sakurasakuya7/e/2a659f51810048e6456c808adfe75879

神風_特攻隊01
http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/grossblg05/diary/200707180000/

img_0
http://ameblo.jp/tubasanotou/entry-12025645730.html



**** **** ****




Luk 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

"no sign be given" - A Case of Soseki Natsume, Great Author of Japan



Just around Tokyo


A Case of Soseki Natsume, Great Author of Japan

The purpose of preaching by Christ Jesus is to invite the Kingdom of God.  But what is the Kingdom while Christ Jesus said that it would come as intangible?

Simply we may think that any community in this world includes evil men.  If the population of a community is ten, there would be surely nine bad men and three of them should be evil.

But in the Kingdom of God, if its population is ten, there would be no bad men and evil men among the ten; all the ten people should be good and righteous.  And, this must be the final target of mankind.  It is not to attain the highest status possible materially, scientifically, technologically, and economically what mankind should target.  To wipe out all the evil men from the world must be the ultimate end of mankind.

It is a process of purification of souls.  Every year a ratio of evil men to all the population of any human community must be decreased to reach zero eventually.  And then, we may say that the Kingdom of God has come.


There living was one very successful author in Japan 100 years ago.  Soseki Natume (1867-1916) is still today counted as one of the most popular and praised authors in the modern era of Japan.

Natsume had one close disciple, among a dozen or so who periodically gathered in his home for friendly talks about literature and so on, that often borrowed money from him.  This young disciple, named Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971), graduated from the Imperial University of Tokyo to be a German language teacher in schools of the Imperial Army and Navy and a certain private university.  Uchida, who admired Natsume since his collage days, even became himself a popular author in 1930s.  But, despite these social conditions, he was uniquely poor or needed money more than he earned.  So, he sometimes went to Natsume's house to borrow money, often a big amount of money.

As Natsume contracted with a major newspaper company to write novels for its readers, he was somewhat affluent.  But, he never rejected requests from Uchida for money, though there seems to have been no other close followers of Natsume who would ask him for money.

Once, Soseki Natsume was spending his holidays in a hot-spring hotel in Yugawara on the Pacific coast, 100 km west of Tokyo, since Natsume had a chronic gastric disorder.  But, one night suddenly Uchida came to the hotel to borrow money without prior notice.  Though railroad services were available from Tokyo to Yugawara even 100 years ago, Uchida had to make hard travelling as he had almost no money but a train ticket.

When Uchida somehow arrived at the hotel at night, Natsume warmly accepted him.  Natsume arranged a room and a supper for Uchida at his expense.  And, after hearing a request for money, Natsume told Uchida to go back to Natsume's house in Tokyo and receive the money from Natsume's wife next day, though he would continue to stay in the hotel.  In this way, Uchida borrowed money from great author Soseki Natsume so many times; however Uchida seems to have never returned money.

When Soseki Natsume died, Uchida went to the funeral service hall.  There were many notable authors and parties concerned in the ceremony.  But when Uchida was entering the hall, he saw a strange gentleman, though looking neat and tidy or even dignified, uttering strange words outside the entrance to the hall like a mad man.  He sometimes expressed words such as those of Soseki Natsume.  And before the mad man, a strange dog was hotly barking at him.  Nobody else seemed to mind the mad man and the dog.  Maybe only Uchida could see them.

I think that the mad man was the soul of Soseki Natsume and the dog was Satan.  It proves that Natsume wrote some great novels against the evil spirit of Satan.  Natsume gave money so many times unconditionally to young, poor, and strange followers such as Uchida, which must be an act that Satan most dislikes.


Like in Nastume's case, the Kingdom of God can be realized by giving one's money generously to the needy.





**** **** ****


Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

"with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob" - What Newton Said about Truth


Government Office District, Tokyo



What Newton Said about Truth


Issac Newton (1642-1727) wrote: It is not a location but a state that is important.

Newton studied orbits and movements of celestial objects.  He then found those objects followed some laws.  He further found these laws could be expressed in simple equations mathematically.  It was as if they had been controlled by God but not randomly behaving like stupid men.

No matter wherever you may go, if a state in your mind did not change, it must be useless from a viewpoint of human value.  The main part is the state of your mind and the subject part is the location.  Accordingly, Newton never traveled far from the zone between the University of Cambridge and London.  But the state of his mind dynamically changed as his mind traveled across the solar system.

Newton also wrote: In a small area under our feet, there are a great number of living things; therefore in the great space above our heads, there must be a great number of spiritual entities looking down on us.

No matter how much successful you are, you are just small kings in small domains.  If you conquered the whole world, your empires would last only for a few years, days, or hours.  If your kingdom continued for 2000 years, your family would be able to occupy only a small area on the earth.  Your pride should be shattered when some superior existence shows you truth of the universe and history.

But how can we access truth so that we don't look like a fool with only $1 trillion before God who created all the gold and silver in this universe?   Newton indicated that the keys are the state of our mind and our humility before God.


No matter how stupid and lazy you are, you can travel the world.  You don't have to make any efforts and take any responsibility when you are sigh-seeing the world.  You just enjoy interesting scenery and landscapes, while enriching your knowledge about the world without any pains.  Then when you return to your home town, you can proudly tell others what you have experienced in the world.  You may even feel like a hero.  What a smart man you are to travel the world!

But truth is that you lack some knowledge and experiences about your hometown which you must have fully comprehended if you staid in your hometown without travelling.  And among what you lose, there might be some crucial elements needed to understand the world.  To understand the world, you need a steady base.  And, your hometown can be a better base than any other locations you travel to.

Accordingly, the more you travel, the less you understand the world at deeper levels.  Meaning of information and experiences can be only deepened if you take necessary time to analyze and reflect them.  But when you are absent in your hometown, you cannot have such enough time for understanding your hometown, the place from which or through which you can best understand the truth of the world.

If you understand 10% of Tokyo, 10% of New York, and 10% of London, your understanding of your hometown will be 70%.  You cannot even win somebody in your hometown who understands 100% of your hometown.  Accordingly, you have to belong to a community, where your experience of 10% for each major city works well.  It is the global economy and the money market.  But, you will be lost in your hometown that is your home where you can protect your soul and humanity.

In other word, rich people traveling the world so busily are dangerous people.  They have already lost their spiritual hometowns.  They would sell even their countries as well as their consciences for meager additional wealth or entertainment.  They despise what is called love, ethics, fairness, or friendship.  They are servants of Satan.


In addition, Shakespeare did not travel much, either.  What he tried to secure finally in his life is his tomb as he engraved the following word on his tomb stone:
Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be man spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he moves my bones. 
(Modern spelling: Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear, / To dig the dust enclosed here. / Blessed be the man that spares these stones, / And cursed be he that moves my bones.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Later_years_and_death

Truly, if people should stop travelling all over the world or from London to New York and from New York to Tokyo, the global warming can be alleviated.  Energy consumed accompanying peoples' travelling all over the world is enormous.  Goods and services used for such travelling need also a huge amount of energy in their production and provision.  If 1.3 billion Chinese should start to travel like rich Americans and Europeans, energy needed and consumed for their terrible travelling would quickly invite the Jurassic period again.

And no matter how rich you may be, you cannot be another Newton or another Shakespeare.  You will be at most just another Judas Iscariot who earned 30 or so silver coins by betraying Christ Jesus.




http://backreaction.blogspot.jp/2011/05/cube-of-physical-theories.html


You must fix the origin in any observation of phenomena.  To establish an effective origin, you have to put in, at least, a necessary and minimum required time as our brain and mind are so designed by God.




**** **** ****


Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Monday, August 10, 2015

"came into the parts of Dalmanutha" - The 1972 Election for Japanese PM






To Summer Fireworks Event around Tokyo



The 1972 Election for Japanese PM

I was walking in a city, wishing for a sign God would benevolently give.

Then I saw a car with the license plate number 11-11.  So, I found what to write here.

The most famous past prime minister of Japan seems to be Kakuei Tanaka (1918-1993). Tanaka was elected as PM in 1972 and forced to resign in 1974 for some money scandals and the like. However, it was Tanaka who realized the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China after WWII.  After President Nixon visited Beijing in February in 1972, PM Tanaka flew to China in September 1972 to meet Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Chinese PM Chou En-lai.

It is interesting that in their meeting in Beijing, Tanaka took on a subject of the Senkaku Islands.  But Chou said, "I don't want to discuss it.  As crude oil was found in the East China Sea, even Taiwan claimed sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands."  Tanaka did not request further discussions on this territorial issue, though Japan is confident that the international community, including the US, admits Japan's claim.

After leaving the prime minister office, Tanaka faced a personal crisis: the Lockheed Scandal.
Later, Lockheed hired right-wing nationalist underworld figure Yoshio Kodama as a consultant in order to influence Japanese parastatal airlines, including All Nippon Airways (ANA), to buy the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar instead of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. On February 6, 1976, the vice-chairman of Lockheed told the Senate subcommittee that Lockheed had paid approximately $3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka for aid in the matter.

Lockheed paid ¥2.4 billion to earn the contract from ANA. ¥500 million of the total was received by the Prime Minister. ¥160 million was received by ANA's officials. ¥1.7 billion was received by Kodama.[11] On October 30, 1972, ANA announced its decision to purchase 21 Lockheed L1011 Tristars, which cost approximately $5 million each, even though it had previously announced options to purchase the DC-10.[12]
In March 1976, in a protest at the scandal, actor Mitsuyasu Maeno made a suicide attack on Kodama's Tokyo home by crashing a light aircraft onto it.

Tanaka was arrested on July 27, 1976 and was released in August on a ¥200 million ($690,000) bond. He was found guilty by a Tokyo court on October 12, 1983 for violations of foreign exchange control laws but not on bribery. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but remained free on appeal until his death of a stroke in 1984.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals#Japan
Tanaka was arrested to be the only prime minister of Japan against whom criminal charges have been ever filed for his conduct during the term of premiership.  Tanaka was adjudicated guilty in the first instance, but he appealed the conviction.  And, the litigation was finally brought to the Supreme Court of Japan.  But before the case was ruled definitely, Tanaka died in 1993.

However, Tanaka continued to lead the strongest and largest faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party even after he was indicted to become the accused.  He lost his political influence only when he fell in cerebral infarction in 1985.

Kakuei Tanaka was and is still so popular among the Japanese but not because he claimed that he was victimized by US CIA but rather because Tanaka was a self-made man without graduating from an elite university and working in government as an elite official.  Tanaka was the prime minister of Japan whose official educational history stopped at an elementary school, though he learnt in a private vocational school in Tokyo to become a first-class architect.  And, there have been no such prime ministers of Japan after WWII.

Tanaka was born poor in a village of Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan.  When he was a teenager, he came to Tokyo to work and learn.  He started his professional life as a residential worker of a small company.  However, his efforts and talent allowed him to succeed in business to be a president of a medium-size construction company in Tokyo during WWII.  Only this successful story of a young man coming to Tokyo from a local village without academic qualifications or noble lineage before the end of WWII can be a great episode.  But, Kakueia Tanaka was a very ambitious and smart guy.

After WWII, Tanaka started to seek a political career to run for a national election in 1946.  But he failed to be elected.  Nonetheless, he learnt a lesson to succeed in the election next year to be a Diet lawmaker when he was 29 years old.  His voting district was a heavy snowfall area without big industry.  Voters expected young and energetic Tanaka to contribute to economic development of their communities.  And Kakuei Tanaka promoted public works in the area by acquiring budgets from the central government.  His electoral power base was firmly consolidated.  The local economy was improved, but Tanaka also became rich.

For example, Kakuei Tanaka became a president of a local railway company that could benefit from public works he arranged as a member of the parliament or a minister-class official in the government.  It is even said that Tanaka got some big money by acting as an intermediate when a utility company purchased a land to build a nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture where his constituency was situated.

As time went by, Tanaka became an influential politician.  He belonged to a faction led by Prime Minister Eisaku Sato who assumed office of prime minister between 1964 and 1972.  As a matter of fact, Kakuei Tanaka became the next PM after Sato, but the process was not so simple.

Eisaku Sato, from an established family, had been an elite official of the Imperial Government.  He continued to shape his career after WWII till he became a Diet member.  So, Sato liked another ex-elite bureaucrat lawmaker Takeo Fukuda to succeed him as PM.  Sato even told Tanaka to wait for another chance to allow Fukuda to become prime minister after Sato.  However, lawmakers who had been financially helped and supported by Tanaka requested him to run for the election for the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, though Tanaka was relatively young for the prime minister.  In addition, the general public also wanted a self-made prime minister as most of prime ministers after WWII were ex-elite officials of the central government.

The competition was so much heated.  Big money was handed to almost every lawmaker of the Party.  (At the time, namely 40 years ago, there were no such effective laws and regulations to regulate political funds as those observed in Japan today.)  And finally Tanaka was elected as the president of the Party and then as prime minister of Japan in 1972.

However, Tanaka alone could not finance the intra-party election campaign that lasted for months.  Tanaka reportedly distributed about 10 billion yen (probably $300 million for present value) in total to lawmakers of the Party who had voting rights as well as influential people in the Media and so on.  But how could Tanaka collect the huge amount of money?

It is said that Tanaka had a very intimate friend who had become a billionaire after WWII.  The man named Kenji Osano (1917-1986) was also a self-made man.

Osano first succeeded as a transport service provider for the Imperial Army.  After WWII, Osano became further rich by supplying transportation services for US military forces stationed in Japan.  When Tanaka became a candidate for next PM, Osano was already a very successful businessman, managing bus companies, hotels (including those in Hawaii), and many real estates.  Osano even bought up stocks of a certain air carrier.  His personnel association and connection even covered leaders of major gangster syndicates and right-wing political fixers such as Yoshio Kodama.  Before Osano died in 1986, he successfully became chairman of the Imperial Hotel.

Osano himself once said that he had spent 15 billion yen or so to make Tanaka the prime minister of Japan.  Some author wrote a book to claim that Osano provided 6 billion yen for Tanaka during the LDP presidential election in 1972.  Of course, Osano must have been helped in return by influential lawmaker Tanaka in many times as he and his companies were sometimes investigated by the police for dubious business activities.

Tanaka reportedly said that democracy depended on a number of voters, and a number of voters depended on money; thus democracy depended on money.  Indeed, Kenji Osano bought Kakuei Tanaka the Japanese premiership in 1972, though it seems to be the only case, as widely believed, that big money supplied by one individual really counted in the election directly linked to selection of the prime minister of Japan.



By the way, the car with the license plate number of 11-11 today I encountered had also a description of its registration location on the plate.  The location belonged to an area associated with Osano's home town.



田中角栄
Kakuei Tanaka

小佐野賢治
Kenji Osano
http://co-smart.net/?p=5430


**** **** ****




Mar 8:10 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
Mar 8:11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.