"Blessed are the eyes" - More Christian President

Tokyo Station 2012

More Christian President

The US President should observe the teaching by Christ Jesus as much as possible, as the US is the richest nation in the world.

Should a Christian be a Republican or a Democrat? 

Should a Christian be a conservative or a liberal/progressive?   

... 

The Bible teaches that a leader in the church should be a godly, moral, ethical person (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). This should apply to political leaders as well. If politicians are going to make wise, God-honoring decisions, they must have a basic morality and worldview on which to base the decisions they are going to have to make. So if there is a clear moral distinction between candidates, as Christians, we should choose the more moral, honest, and ethical of the candidates.
http://www.gotquestions.org/Republican-Democrat.html

There is a slight difference between Republicans and Democrats in terms of Christianity:

How Does the Faith of Republicans, Democrats Measure Up?
By Audrey Barrick , Christian Post Reporter
March 6, 2007|4:30 pm

According to survey results, 57 percent of Republicans assert that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches compared to 40 percent of Democrats. Republicans are also twice as likely to believe Satan is a real spiritual entity (33 percent versus 17 percent); more likely to reject the idea that good works can earn salvation (35 percent versus 23 percent); more commonly describe themselves as absolutely committed to Christianity (61 percent versus 48 percent); more likely to deem their religious faith to be important in their life (77 percent versus 67 percent); and more likely to believe that God is the all-knowing, perfect Creator and Ruler of the universe (75 percent to 65 percent).

Overall, 51 percent of Republicans qualify as born-again Christians, according to the Barna Group, compared to 38 percent of Democrats.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-does-the-faith-of-republicans-democrats-measure-up-26175/

But specifically, how do Americans feel about the degree of being Christians of their political leaders?

Are Republicans more Christian than Democrats? 

I am sorry but even though Barak Obama is not as much of a Christian as I would like for him to be, I have concluded that neither is John McCain and the Republican Party. The Republicans don't care about the poor, they want to continue to war and continue to see thousands of young Americans losing their lives, and they have no real interest to see a national health care system that supplies health coverage for everyone. Approximately 18,000 people die every year because they did not have health coverage. Is this any better than killing an unborn baby? By the way, during George Bush's presidency, who is supposedly against abortion, who is a Republican, approximately 1.2 million abortions occured every year. Doesn't sound very anti-abortion to me. The Republicans have been in power but abortion has continued.
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080913134659AA9JHtA

More interestingly with a deep insight....

Column: God vs. GOP politics
By Tom Krattenmaker Updated 9/25/2012 4:50 PM 

As if we harbored any last doubts, we now have statistical evidence of a truth that's seems more obvious by the year. "God" appears 12 times in the Republican platform this election season and just once in the Democrats'.

Couple this with the rhetoric of the candidates and GOP enthusiasts, and it seems clearer than ever that Republicans, the party of tax cuts for the wealthy and up-by-your-own-bootstraps regard for the poor, is the God party, the Christian party, in American politics.

If you're like me, you have often puzzled over the combination of Christianity and hard-edged conservative politics and, like many progressives, you've probably asked how a religion of love, compassion and selflessness could lead to the positions and tactics that seem so at odds with what we think about Jesus.
Allow me to answer the question — by rejecting its premise.

Consider the very real possibility that Christianity is not what fuels Republican politics but rather that the two co-exist in today's conservative movement, as they do in the hearts and minds of its members. 

Not to say that GOP positions are untethered from Christian ideas and teachings. You'll invariably find religious conservatives citing chapter and verse in their justifications for policy stands against gay marriage, for instance, or for keeping government hands off our wallets and religious practices.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-09-25/republicans-religion-evangelicals-election/57841682/1

There is no conclusion in this theme, since an individual should stand before the God but not as a political party.

Nonetheless, if Hitler had not authorized the killing of European Judaists before the end of WWII, he might be still regarded as a great German hero even today.

But, if his decision to terminate existence of those Judaists had been found as a lack of his faith in God and some pious Germans could have stopped Hitler based on their religious motivation, we must admit that Christianity or religion is so important as a measure to check politicians.

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




Luk 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
Luk 10:24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

"he addeth no sorrow with it" - Nanjing in 1920s

The Tokyo Railroad Station Refurbished to the Original State...

Nanjing in 1920s

It was not that crazy Imperial Japanese troops invaded well-governed and peaceful Nation China in 1930s.

There were more complicated backgrounds.

In other word, existence of the Imperial Army in China in 1930s might have been like some European troops stationed in the US during the era of the Civil War in 1860s.

Both the Union Army and  the Confederate Army might have tried to desperately involve such foreign forces in battles going on to turn the situation in favor of them.  If the Union troops had been losing the war, they would have offered the Confederation to cease the fire between them and tie up to fight those foreign troops.  And, meanwhile, the Union Army might have been able to gain strength again, while making the Confederation fight the European Army, and the Union would find a chance to attack the Confederation.  In this case, the European troops were abused.

Nanking Incident 

This event should not be confused with the Nanking Massacre in 1937. 

The Nanking Incident, or Nanjing Incident occurred in March 1927 during the capture of Nanjing by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) in their Northern Expedition. Foreign warships bombarded Nanjing in defense of the foreign citizens against rioting and looting within the city. Several ships were involved in the engagement, including vessels from Great Britain and the United States. Marines and sailors were also landed for rescue operations. Both Nationalists and Communists soldiers within the NRA participated in the rioting and looting of foreign residents in Nanjing.[1]
.....
Nanking in 1927 was a treaty port located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River, a large waterway that separates northern and southern China. Because the foreign interests in China were largely American and European, squadrons of foreign naval vessels were stationed along the Yangtze to protect their citizens doing business at the treaty ports. The British Royal Navy operated the China Station under Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt and the United States Navy the Yangtze Patrol; both lasted for around 80 years until World War II.
.....
By March 26, NRA commander Cheng Qian restored order in Nanjing and successfully restrained soldiers from further hostile actions against foreign forces, while requesting the Red Cross to mediate a cease fire with foreign naval vessels. On March 27, with 70 more refugees aboard, Preston left Nanking and headed downriver. Lieutenant Commander G. B. Ashe later recalled that the Chinese had emplaced a field-piece at a river bend outside of Nanking so he ordered general quarters well in advance of the battery, but when the ship went around the bend the Chinese did not fire. By the end of that day all hostilities ended and about 40 people were killed in total. At least one British sailor was killed, and there was only one American casualty, Fireman Ray D. Plumley. American forces involved in the Nanking incident received the Yangtze Service Medal, three sailors also were awarded the Navy Cross.[1][2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Incident

Shanghai massacre of 1927 

The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). Following the incident, conservative KMT elements carried out a full-scale purge of Communists in all areas under their control, and even more violent suppressions occurred in cities such as Guangzhou and Changsha.[1] The purge led to an open split between KMT left and right wings, with Chiang Kai-shek establishing himself as the leader of the right wing at Nanjing in opposition to the original left-wing KMT government in Wuhan. 

...
On April 9 Chiang declared martial law in Shanghai and the Central Control Commission issued the "Party Protection and National Salvation" proclamation, denouncing the Wuhan Nationalist Government's policy of cooperation with CPC. On April 11 Chiang issued a secret order to all provinces under the control of his forces to purge Communists from the KMT. 

Before dawn on April 12 gang members began to attack district offices controlled by the union workers, including Zhabei, Nanshi and Pudong. Under an emergency decree, Chiang ordered the 26th Army to disarm the workers' militias, that process resulting in more than 300 people being killed and wounded. The union workers organized a mass meeting denouncing Chiang Kai-shek on April 13, and thousands of workers and students went to the headquarters of the 2nd Division of the 26th Army to protest. Soldiers opened fire, killing 100 and wounding many more. Chiang dissolved the provisional government of Shanghai, labor unions and all other organizations under Communist control, and reorganized a network of unions with allegiance to the Kuomintang and under the control of Du Yuesheng. Over 1000 Communists were arrested, some 300 were officially executed and more than 5,000 went missing. Western news reports later nicknamed General Bai "The Hewer of Communist Heads".[9] Some National Revolutionary Army commanders with Communist backgrounds who were graduates of Whampoa Military Academy kept their sympathies for the Communists hidden and were not arrested, and many switched their allegiance to the CPC after the start of the Chinese Civil War.[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_massacre_of_1927





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



Pro 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Pro 10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
Pro 10:24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

"all these have I observed" - The Greatest Issue for Imperial Japan

Tokyo, Japan

The Greatest Issue for Imperial Japan

The incumbent Emperor of Japan is the 125th emperor in the Imperial House family line.

This is the only family line for the imperial monarch of Japan.

In other word, only one family has presided over the land of Japan and its history since the beginning of the nation Japan.

So, according to the Japanese myth, 660 years before the birth of Christ Jesus, the first emperor Jinmu was established as he was a descendant of Japanese gods.  Since then to date, only one imperial house occupied the imperial status.

However, from a scientific viewpoint, it is believed that the first emperor whose existence looks so real is Emperor Ojin who lived from the 3rd to the 4th centuries AD.   So, it seems that the imperial family of Japan has a 1700 year-long authentic family history.

The most important thing in this genealogy is that any emperor is a son of the father who is linked to a preceding emperor only through a paternal line.  In other word, any emperor is linked to the first Emperor Jinmu through the paternal line.

It is probably related to the shinto religion, though no theory on it is clear.  Customarily the imperial house has observed this rule.  So, they could prevent other families to get mingled with the imperial family to take over the imperial position.

There were some female emperors in the past.  Nonetheless, they had all fathers who had been an emperor.   Those  Madam Emperors were all on the male line of the imperial succession.

But, according to the current Japanese Constitution, established after WWII, the emperor has no political power and right.  Everything about the Imperial House is decided by the Japanese Government.  And the  Government still upholds an old provision, made before WWII under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, that the emperor shall be a son of the father who was the preceding emperor or a brother (or a son of a brother or a male-line grandson) of a preceding emperor.

Yet, the incumbent  Crown Prince has no sons but only one daughter.  The only younger brother of the Crown Prince has two daughters but one son.  And, there are no other male members in the Imperial Family who might become emperor in future.  There are no living grandsons (except the incumbent Crown Prince and his brother), no great-grandsons (except the said one), no eligible male-line nephews, or  no eligible male-line grand-nephews of the late Showa Emperor, the father of the present emperor.  

There are no noble class in Japan, and there is only a limited number of branches of the Imperial Household (including brothers of the Showa Emperor and their offspring) in Japan after WWII.  Accordingly, if the son of the younger brother of the Crown Prince should not beget boys in future, the imperial family tree could be terminated, unless the Government changes the related provision in the law concerning the Imperial House.

One solution is to bring back old members of branches of the Imperial Family who were forced to step down from the imperial position after WWII.  Some members of those branch families preserve male members who are linked to a preceding emperor though a paternal line.

Though it seems to need to trace their pedigrees over 400 years to connect to the last emperor from their own family line, they had been members of the large imperial family.  They had never lived outside this supreme class of Japan except almost these 70 years after WWII.  So, the gap of 400 years for such branch families to the past emperor from their house might not be a problem at all, since it is also an issue of the shinto religion or the imperial shinto.



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


Mar 10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar 10:20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mar 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

"a division therefore again among the Jews" - A Bullied Girl in Japan

In a Tokyo Governmental District....

A Bullied Girl in Japan

A primary school girl in Japan wrote to the editor of a newspaper.

She wondered if she was truly lucky as she was born as a human being.  She thought a human looks like the sliest but the most easy-going  animal.  So, she wondered if it was truly the greatest thing to be born as a human being.

There is one junior-high school girl in Japan who has been bullied since she entered an intermediate school.  So, she finally gave up learning in the same class room with her enemy pupils.  She started to learn alone in a medical room of the school.  But she made a high score in each test, though she could not join skill practice in a class room with other school boys and girls.  She tackled the same test as other students did, but alone in the medical room.

She studied hard even at home.   It is because she had an aim to get into a first-rate high school through an entrance examination.

But, she got shocked recently to know that high schools in her prefecture check assessment of test-taking pupils concerning their performance in class rooms in addition to giving them a paper test on a test day.  Unfortunately, the junior-high school girl has not joined class-room and group activities, so that assessment of her concerning class-room performance is not so high or at an average at best.  Accordingly her chance to get into one of the the best high schools in the prefecture looks very small.

As a consequence, she has become unable to sustain enthusiasm for learning and studying to make a high score in tests.

However, in some other prefectures in Japan, high schools adopt a special method in their examination process to fairly treat those bullied pupils or handicapped children forced to study in their homes or in special places for any reasons.  In such a prefecture, the said school girl can be fairly assessed and allowed to study in the high school she wants to enroll in.

Indeed, it can be easy or difficult to live as a human in this world depending on a situation and environment.

And Christ Jesus said to follow Him as a yoke he provides is light.


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



Joh 10:19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
Joh 10:20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
Joh 10:21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
Joh 10:22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

"asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter" - Remote Control False Charges

Around the National Diet Bldg., Tokyo

Remote Control False Charges

Some false charges have attracted big attentions from the Japanese society.

Some citizens allegedly sent anonymous blackmail mails over the Internet to some public institutions in Japan, though from their homes using their own PCs.

Some of these mails were sent to a primary school where a grandson of the Emperor studies.  Others were sent to a notable shinto shrine.

The police however soon identified the senders to arrest almost all of them.  It seems that policemen in charge checked IP addresses included in data accompanying the mails.

Those Japanese who got haplessly arrested resisted arrest, but finally confessed that they actually did the crimes.

But, later it was found that some of their PCs used for the criminal acts had been clearly contaminated by computer viruses.  These viruses allowed for remote control of the contaminated PCs from somewhere in the world over the Internet.  A hacker who manipulated this virus could write a blackmail letter and send it to his target from a hijacked PC someone owned.

So, public prosecutors decided to discharge defendants whose PCs were found to have been attacked by some hacker who secretly sent viruses  into those PCs.

And, finally, the hacker sent an e-mail to a TV station and a certain lawyer, telling that he is the one who hijacked others' PCs to use them as platforms for sending the blackmail mails.  The hacker presented critical evidence, as revelation of a secret, that proves that he is the very culprit who has done the Internet crime.

So, it is now clear that the police arrested and indicted several innocent persons for crimes they have never committed.  The Japanese police, of course, know this kind of remote control technique, but failed to carefully check those PCs as to the state of virus contamination after they confirmed IP addresses of those remotely-controlled PCs.

The hacker even used servers operated in Europe as a means to access PCs those innocent Japanese users were using  in their homes.  So, it is almost impossible for the Japanese law enforcement authority to trace the hacker by his footprints left in communications logs of those PCs.

One Japanese university student aged 19 was arrested for the above stated blackmail case.  The young man contended that he was innocent when the police started to investigate him in a police station.  But after days of hard interrogation, he finally falsely confessed that he had sent a blackmail mail to a certain school.  Then, he was placed on probation after a month-long judicial process.  But now the police and the society know that this young man is innocent.

So, do not use the PC and the Internet so often to protect yourself from hackers and policemen acting imprudently.

Malware Dubbed "The Remote Control Virus" by Japanese Media Used to Make Death Threats in Japan 

October 11th, 2012 by Symantec Leave  

News broke over the weekend in Japan that police had arrested three people over the past few months in relation to death threats being posted on bulletin boards and sent through email. However, it was also reported that the suspects were subsequently released without charge due to the discovery of a particular malware infection on all of the suspect’s computers that is believed to have been used to make the threats. Examples of some of the threats include a posting to a government website stating that the person posting the threat will commit mass murder in a popular shopping area; a posting to an Internet forum saying that he/she will blow up a famous shrine; an email sent to an airline company threatening to use a bomb to destroy an aircraft; and an email threatening the kindergarten where a child of the royal family attends. Police are currently investigating the connection between the threats and the malware. 

From our analysis, we have confirmed that the malware is capable of controlling a compromised computer from a remote location, which is not anything new to malware. Furthermore, from the various functions we have confirmed, the creator has the capability to command the malware to make the threats mentioned above. We have also discovered that a string of characters used to process encrypted communication with the creator is in Japanese and the code is taken from a Japanese website. Therefore, we believe the creator is most likely a person who has a good understanding of the Japanese language.

http://www.kashifali.ca/2012/10/11/malware-dubbed-the-remote-control-virus-by-japanese-media-used-to-make-death-threats-in-japan/

http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/04_crime_matters/tcd/smart.html



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



Act 10:17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,
Act 10:18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
Act 10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
Act 10:20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

"you up to the councils" - General Election in Japan

The Japanese National Assembly Bldg., Tokyo

General Election in Japan

A general election seems to be close in Japan.

Prime Minister Mr. Noda promised to dissolve the Lower House soon when he asked help from LDP President Mr. Tanigaki this August.  But Mr. Noda did not keep this promise while Mr. Tanigaki lost the position in the opposition party LDP.

Mr. Noda was successfully reelected as the head of the DPJ in September, though Mr. Tanigaki could not even run for the presidential election of his party in September.  Now, the head of the largest opposition LDP is Mr. Shinzo Abe who once assumed office of Prime Minister of Japan, specifically, between 2006 and 2007.

But the promise PM Mr. Noda made with Mr. Tanigaki still remains.  Mr. Noda was desperate this summer trying to make a tax-rise bill pass the Diet.  He however got support from Mr. Tanigaki who then led the LDP to have lawmakers pass the bill.  But Mr. Tanigaku requested early  dissolution of the Lower House, which premier Noda accepted as everybody now knows.

The DPJ took over power in 2009 through a big and hot general election.  Then, the socialistic party has had three top leaders who have become prime minister: Mr. Hatoyama, Mr. Kan, and Mr. Noda.  But recent polls show that the DPJ will lose the coming election against the conservative LDP.

Among 480 seats in the Lower House of the Diet, the DPJ won 308 seats in the summer of 2009.  But the incumbent ruling party is expected to get only 90 seats or so in the coming snap election.

The capitalistic LDP won only 119 seats in the summer of 2009.  But this  very pro-US party is expected to get 240 seats this time.

So, after the coming general election, it is anticipated that the center of gravity in the Japanese politics will move to the right-wing or conservative side again.  That is why China is so intent on some diplomatic war against Japan, specifically, over the Senkkau Isands in the East China Sea.

But, real negotiations might be only possible with a conservative Japanese regime and the Chinese Communist Party.

Incidentally, the Lower House of the Japanese Parliament has right of priority in choosing the prime minister of Japan, though the Upper House has almost the same constitutional right as the Lower House does.


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




Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

"as sheep in the midst of wolves" - Vulnerable Internet

Downtown, Tokyo

Vulnerable Internet

The technology is progressing so rapidly in a field of electronics.

The advancement of electronics has enabled high-speed computation and ultra-speed telecommunications.

Then, personal computers, cellular phones, and the Internet have triggered a kind of revolution in the society globally.

The point at issue is of course personal information.

As the society has advanced, each individual has more various types of personal data.  And, all these data are stored somewhere in various computer systems.  For these systems to work efficiently, they have to be connected with the Internet.

Of course, in most cases, only an individual who knows a password can access his own personal data in a system.  Or some system administrators who are in charge of maintenance of the system can access personal data of their clients.

What should be noted is that it is not impossible for someone with special skills and knowledge to access and enter such a system as manages a huge amount of personal data, too.

For example, it is probably not impossible for someone with special skills and knowledge to get into database where personal data of President Mr. Obama are stored and saved over the Internet.

So, the best way to keep secrets is to keep personal information on sheets of paper which are locked in a safe or such an appropriate cabinet.         

Yet, banks expect you to use an online account which can be also accessed via the Internet.  And, if a bank system is not connected to the Internet, it is linked to its own separated telecommunication network.  And it is also possible for  someone with special skills and knowledge to break into such a dedicated system independent from the Internet.

Probably you have to use a cash dispenser, but your account is not necessarily perfectly protected from intruders.  Somebody might find a way to get in it through the Internet over some bridge.  Or he might get a help from an insider who connects such an independent system to the Internet.

So, essentially this cyber space is vulnerable.

Accordingly, it is necessary to find a way to protect the society and individuals from cyber attacks.  A war must be always started between bad guys and good guys in the cyber space.

Everybody in the world must help good guys win; otherwise everybody might lose all his personal data and money over the Internet.



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


Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

"salute it" - Patriotic Nobel Prize Winner

Patriotic Nobel Prize Winner

Mr. Shinya Yamanaka of Japan won the Nobel Prize for his iPS study this year.

But he was not a blessed medical doctor.

After graduation from Kobe University, he first worked as a surgeon but could not make great progress in his skill.  So, Mr. Yamanaka changed his career to medical research.  Then he went to the US to advance his study.

After returning to Japan, he started to tackle some biological issue in a university in Osaka.  But he was not regraded as a promising doctor.  He received very limited budget for his study.  There were no assistants in his laboratory.

He even asked his wife and daughter to go to an airport to receive lab mice some US laboratory sent to him.  He was busy taking care of rats in his laboratory alone.  He was really depressed about his circumstances finally.

So, he decided to abandon his medical study.  He thought to go back to a hospital and diagnose patients.  To fix his mind he planned to buy a house.  As a new hose cost much, he thought he could be determined to work as a clinician and make more money.   But, one night his mother saw her late husband in dream at night; he said to her not to have his son buy a new house.  So, following this advice from his late father who had been glad to see his son become a medical doctor in his dying bed some years before, Mr. Yamanaka abandoned the idea of ending the career in research.

He then applied for a position as assistant professor in a university in Nara Prefecture, south of Kyoto.  At the time he held a new subject of study: Make a master cell from a skin cell.

Then Mr. Yamanaka could make great progress. Finally he was rewarded the Nobel Prize to "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent." He could show his iPS cells were "pluripotent, i.e. capable of generating all cell lineages of the body."

One cell on the skin of a man can be engineered to became a primary cell that can develop again to become any organ or part of his body, according to his discovery.

So, if Mr. Yamaka had bought a new house, his discovery would not have been realized.

Today, Mr. Yamanaka is invited by many foreign universities that offer to him a big salary and better environment for his research.  But he is not going to leave Japan.  Then his late father might help him again even in dream at night.



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




Mat 10:12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
Mat 10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

"his disciples asked him again" - New Economics for Japan

Tokyo Skytree Tower Street...

New Economics for Japan

Now the annual conferences of IMF and the World Bank are held in Tokyo.

The amount of total assets possessed by Japanese individuals has reached about $20 trillion.

But most of this money is in domestic bank accounts.  And Japanese banks buy government bonds in large quantity.

Even it is suspected that the Japanese Government does not especially recommend Japanese individuals to invest into foreign markets.  Japanese money should be kept in Japan to sustain the government budget.  Maybe they thin so.

Due to deflation, continuing more than a decade, the Japanese Government has experienced a plunge in tax revenues for many years.  The total amount of accumulated financial deficits of Japan gets 200% in a ratio over its GDP, which is the largest or the worst in the world.  Therefore to compensate the budget deficit, the Japanese Government issued so many bonds year after year.

Now the amount of outstanding Japanese government bonds has reached  $9 trillion.  By comparison, the amount of outstanding US government bonds has reached  $14 trillion.

On the other hand, the total accumulated amount of direct investment from Japan to China was $45 billion from 2001 to 2010.  It accounted for about 7% of the total direct foreign investment into China.  However, there is also a huge amount of transfer of technology and know-hows from Japan to China.  Japan has helped Chinese economic growth as one of major players or as the key contributor.

Japanese deflation has progressed in parallel with an increase of Japanese involvement in Chinese industry and economy.  Japanese makers built plants and factories to make the best use of cheap labor force in China.  It is estimated that 6,000 Japanese makers are in operation in China while total 15,000 Japanese businesses have offices and plants in China.  Accordingly, the wage level of Japanese workers in Japan has been heavily influenced.  With intensification of global economy, Japanese workers have to face competition with less salaries.  As a result, tax revenues of the Japanese Government has continued to decline.

But, Japanese businesses are not losing in this global competition in economy and industry.  They are securing reasonable profits, making products with less costs and less wages.  So, corporate executives and other middle-class workers have received reasonable payments.  It resulted in $20 trillion of total assets possessed by Japanese individuals.

In fact, though the Japanese society has suffered deflation for 15 years, the number of wealthy people is increasing in Japan.

What's more, compare with euro and the US dollar, the Japanese yen is appreciated higher; the yen is now the strongest currency in the world.  It is partly because of financial crises the US and the EU are now  struggling with.  It is also partly because of stable transactions of the Japanese Government bond in the Japanese financial market.

But, the Japanese Government has recently decided to take a concrete measure to deal with the huge budget deficit by increasing the consumption tax rate from 5% to 10% in several years.

But, any conventional financial measures do not look like working well in this scale of economy of Japan which is virtually and substantially the second largest in the world.  (Chinese economy does not possess quality necessary to be evaluated on equal terms with Japan and the US.)

So, a new theory is needed to handle the financial problem of Japan.

The point at issue is that such creative work  looks so costly even with $20 trillion of  individual assets all the Japanese have.  But Japan has to devise one.

Incidentally, Japan has no Nobel laureates in economics so far, though 16 Japanese natural scientists have won the Nobel prize.

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




Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

"The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" - American Attitudes toward Senkaku

Tokyo Skytree Tower...the tallest TV tower in the world, 634 meters

American Attitudes toward Senkaku

How has the US Government ever discussed the Senkaku Islands issue?

Lending clarity to the China-Japan dispute 

ANURAG VISWANATH
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012 at 0336 hrs IST 

However, the Japanese dismiss this version. They contend that Senkaku/Diaoyu was discovered by Japan in 1884. Then Senkaku/Diaoyu showed no traces of Chinese control, nor did China protest any activity by the Japanese on the islands. It was made a part of Okinawa in 1895 and markers erected. Okinawa was carved from the Ryukuku Islands (once an independent sovereign kingdom incorporated into Japan as Ryuku-han in 1872). The Japanese contend that Senkaku/Diaoyu was never “transferred to Japan via Treaty of Shimonoseki” as the Chinese claim....
Hara notes that Senkaku (and Okinawa) were placed under US control under Article 3 of the peace treaty. The US relinquished its administrative rights over Senkaku in 1972, but despite “reversion” remained stationed in Okinawa. Japan’s residual sovereignty over Senkaku/Diaoyu was recognised by successive Presidents—Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. But Nixon made a departure.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/lending-clarity-to-the-chinajapan-dispute/1004556/0

As Nixon at the time wanted to improve relationship with China to end the American involvement in the Vietnam War where China played some supportive role to North Vietnam, Nixon refrained from continuing support for Japan regarding the sovereignty issue over Senkaku.

Senkaku (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Islands Dispute:  U.S. Treaty Obligations 

Mark E. Manyin
Specialist in Asian Affairs
September 25, 2012   

....

U.S. Administration of the Islands, 1953-1971  

U.S. administration of the islands began in 1953 as a result of the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan. The Treaty did not mention the Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai), but it referred to other islands that had reverted to Chinese control or which China claimed. These included Taiwan, the Pescadores (off the western coast of Taiwan), as well as the Spratlys and the Paracels (both in the South China Sea). Article 3 gave the United States sole powers of administration of "Nansei Shoto south of 29 north latitude (including the Ryukyu and the Daito Islands)...." In 1953, the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyus issued U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyus Proclamation 27 (USCAR 27), which defined the boundaries of "Nansei Shoto [the southwestern islands] south of 29 degrees north latitude" to include the Senkakus.  At the time of the signing of the Okinawa Reversion Treaty, several State Department officials asserted that following the signing of the Japan Peace Treaty, "Nansei Shoto south of 29 degrees north latitude" was "understood by the United States and Japan to include the Senkaku Islands." Moreover, during the period of U.S. administration, the U.S. Navy established firing ranges on the islands and paid an annual rent of $11,000 to Jinji Koga, the son of the first Japanese settler of the islands. China has described the U.S.-Japan understandings related to the islands as “backroom deals” that are "illegal and invalid."

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/198821.pdf

So, the US has conventionally admitted that Japan possesses the Senkaku Islands, since it came to be directly involved in international and diplomatic issues in East Asia after WWII, though the US colonized the Philippines before WWII.

More specifically, the Senkaku Islands are situated far closer to Japan, namely Okinawa Prefecture with so many islands such as Ishigaki, than to mainland China.  The Senkaku Islands also naturally accompanies 36 Okinawa islands.

http://shokasen.blog122.fc2.com/blog-entry-57.html

The island to the right in the Senkaku Islands (in the above map) is called Taisho-to which is possessed by the Japanese Gov. for more than a century  unlike other islands of Senkaku.

Therefore it is very unreasonable that China recently started to release its hostility to Japan in the wake of the transaction of the Japanese Government, concluded in September 2012, purchasing the main island, called Uotsuri-jima, and two other small ones accompanying Uotsuri of Senkaku from a private Japanese owner.

Incidentally, the history of Taiwan has made it a little complicated, but the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) of China regarded the Senkaku Islands as lands out of its territory as Taiwan was then.  It could be confirmed in some old maps made in Ming.  The then Chinese Imperial court regarded Senkaku as part of the Ryukyu (Okinawa) kingdom which brought a tribute to Ming.

Finally, you had better refer to the Historical Analysis on the Senkaku Islands in http://eereporter.blogspot.jp/2010/10/yesterday-two-miracles-however-you.html.


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




Luk 10:8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
Luk 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
Luk 10:10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
Luk 10:11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

"Peace be to this house" - Obama vs Romney

A Tokyo Street on a Rainy Sunday...

Obama vs Romney

One sub-era is passing by.

China is gong to have a new top team that will lead the nation for the coming decade.

Russia has new Mr. Putin as new president.

The memory of Mr. Blair and Mr. Sarkozy is now so far away.

Japan is also expected to undergo other regime change from the labor-union supported DPJ to the capitalist LDP within a few months at the earliest.

So, there is a strong momentum around the US to allow for a change from Mr. Obama to Mr. Romney.

It is not economy that is at issue.  If the US unemployment is improved, you do not need Mr. Obama any more.  If the   US unemployment is not improved, you do not need Mr. Obama any more, either.

In the era of President Mr. W. Bush, the US exposed so many scandals in the business sector.  But, the stable status of religion in the US sustained its society facing the War against Violent and Mad Muslims through those difficult years after the 9/11 Terror.  No grave spiritual degradation was observed in the US apart from usual and conventional corruption among rich people which culminated in the 2008 Lehman Shock.

But, under the Obama Administration which succeeded in improving the American health insurance system to some extent, loosening of  morals and  other disciplinary problems might be surfacing, though absolute number of crimes has been decreasing in the US.

Especially, nowadays people are engaged in dubious or criminal activities in the cyber space.  So, the trend of Internet crimes in the US must be reflecting some significant spiritual corruption in the US.  

IC3 2011 Internet Crime Report Released   

More Than 300,000 Complaints of Online Criminal Activity Reported in 2011

Washington, D.C.May 10, 2012

FBI National Press Office

FAIRMONT, WV—The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) today released the 2011 Internet Crime Report—an overview of the latest data and trends of online criminal activity. According to the report, 2011 marked the third year in a row that the IC3 received more than 300,000 complaints. The 314,246 complaints represent a 3.4 percent increase over 2010. The reported dollar loss was $485.3 million. As more Internet crimes are reported, IC3 can better assist law enforcement in the apprehension and prosecution of those responsible for perpetrating Internet crime. 

In 2011, IC3 received and processed, on average, more than 26,000 complaints per month. The most common complaints received in 2011 included FBI-related scams—schemes in which a criminal poses as the FBI to defraud victims—identity theft, and advance-fee fraud. The report also lists states with the top complaints, and provides loss and complaint statistics organized by state. It describes complaints by type, demographics, and state.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/february/internet_022411/internet_022411

Though President Mr. Obama was supported greatly by power of the Internet in 2008, it might be contributing to degradation of the American spiritual sector.

In this context, a very strong faction of Christianity in the real world might be wanted.  And, Mr. Romney might be rather closer to it than Mr. Obama.  A trend might be in favor of Mr. Romney.


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



Luk 10:5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
Luk 10:6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

"as lambs among wolves" - Diaries in WWII

The 333-meter Tokyo Tower in Tokyo since 1958...

Diaries in WWII

In the Pacific Theater of WWII, many Japanese soldiers were killed, but some were captured alive.

But it was not only from Japanese prisoners of war that the US military got precious information.

Most of Imperial soldiers and officers of Japan kept a diary even in a battle field.  After a fierce battle was over and Japanese troops were driven out, US soldiers picked up many diaries and other documents from corpses of Japanese and from inside trenches.

Those diaries gave precious military information to US forces.  Americans could understand how Imperial forces were organized and how their bases were fortified in addition to minds and heats of Japanese soldiers.

In order to read and translate these documents and inquire Japanese prisoners of war, the US Government recruited a large number of second-generation Japanese Americans and other Americans who were learning Japanese in universities and so on.

In the Imperial Army, Japanese soldiers and officers were advised to keep a diary.  It was probably regraded as a kind of discipline.  Soldiers wrote many things almost freely without inspection by supervisors.

Especially in lines of battle in the Pacific Ocean, the Imperial Army did not mind if those diaries could be taken by Americans.  Japanese generals thought that Americans could not read and understand diaries Japanese wrote, since the written Japanese language was complicated and difficult.  They even did not strictly control handling of military documents so as not to leave them behind when Japanese troops retreated.  No Japanese elites even dreamed that the US military was mobilizing thousands of second-generation Japanese Americans and other Americans who could read and speak Japanese to get information in front lines.

Of course, in addition to Americans capable of reading Japanese, many Japanese prisoners of war cooperated in reading and interpreting diaries in addition to providing information they had.  (However, it is also true that many Japanese soldiers and officers chose to commit a suicide before being taken captive by US or other allied forces.)

During WWII, the US had not CIA, but their experiences in the war against the Empire of Japan gave precious experiences in collecting information from an enemy whose language and culture were so different from those of the US.

Anyway, even today, many Japanese like to keep a diary.  In primary school in Japan, teachers always teach pupils how to keep a diary.  And they show good examples of a diary.

In addition, it was expected that 100% of Japanese soldiers could read and write during WWII as  the literacy rate of the Empire of Japan was almost 100% far exceeding the wold average at the time.

What's more, Korea before annexation to the Empire of Japan in 1910 had only 10% of the literacy rate.  But 25 years after the annexation, the literacy rate among Koreans increased to 65% in 1936.  The Empire of Japan saved and educated the Korean people who had been abandoned by their royal government before the annexation to the Empire.




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


Luk 10:3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

"but the labourers are few" - Voting Right

Tokyo Tower...

Voting Right

How long can Chinese citizens endure the current political condition that they have virtually no voting right.

But it was in 1889 that Japanese citizens got right of vote for the first time, though only rich people could exercise this power.

Those who were 25 years old or older and paid 15 yen or more of direct tax to the central government were given this right of vote.  Those eligible to vote to choose lawmakers accounted for just 1% of all the Japanese people at the time.  But it was vote in an open ballot.

 n 1900, those who were 25 years old or older and paid 10 yen or more of direct tax to the central government of Japan were allowed to exercise anonymous vote.   Those eligible at the time accounted for 2.2%.

In 1919, the tax condition was changed to 3 yen and more.   Those eligible at the time accounted for 5.5%.

In 1925, the restriction on tax was abolished.  All the male Japanese aged 25 or more were allowed to cast a ballot in a national election.  Those eligible at the time accounted for 20%.

So, far before the beginning of WWII or the Pearl Harbor attack, all the Japanese male could participate in national politics.

And when WWII ended in 1945, all the Japanese males and females aged 20 years old or older were given voting right without any restrictions.   For reference, French women also got voting right in 1945 though US women in 1920.

Nonetheless even today  Chinese citizens have virtually no voting right.  Their congress is not a real national assembly.  Their Cabinet is not filled with ministers or secretaries who are chosen through a democratic process.  Their prime minister and president have no democratic backgrounds.

It is time to think about how to introduce real democracy and a true voting system in China.


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


Luk 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

"the LORD appointed other seventy also" - Japanese View on China and Korea

The Tokyo Tower...

Japanese View on China and Korea

The First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was the first big incident Japan was engaged in after the fall of the last samurai regime and the establishment of modern government in 1860s.

At the time the Meiji Government of Japan was tackling treaty revision with the UK.  And when this effort of Japan was fulfilled, not only the Japanese elites but also the general public of Japan felt that their country became an equal partner with Western powers.

Then when they looked around, China, namely the Qing dynasty, and Korea, namely Yi-Dynasty Korea, were behind the times.  China behaved as the sole suzerain in East Asia as it had been for centuries.  As Japan had not been fully subject to Chinese dynasties at least since the sixth century, this situation in Korea did look so irrational for Japan.  As Japan wanted to promote and strengthen economic, diplomatic, and military ties with Korea, the Chinese influence on the Korean royal court was so troublesome.  But, Korean politicians still lived on the old paradigm that the universe worked with China at its center and Korea was the best follower of the Great Chinese Civilization.  

Accordingly, the Meiji Government of Japan started to drive out Chinese influences from the Korean Peninsula.  As Korea was split into a pro-Chinese faction and a pro-Japanese group, the Korean royal government could not manage the situation.  They could not even modernize its society and westernize its industry to have strong military.  Finally, Japan and the Qing dynasty embarked in a war in and around the Korean Peninsula.

Most of the Japanese people at the time, namely in the Meiji era, supported the Government starting the war as one of Westernized and modern countries in the world against the old-fashioned Asian empire Qing that was against progress of Asia toward full Westernization.  

Put simply, the First Sino-Japanese War meant the right and just war for the Japanese people who believed and supported the progress in new civilization; it was a war between a civilized country (Japan) waking up to a new era and an old-guard empire (China) trying to sleep in an old dream.

But, one notable Japanese politician at the time named Katsu Kaisyu (1823-1899) was against this war.  Ex-elite samurai directly subject to shogun (the king of samurais) Katsu did not despise Koreans and Chinese unlike most of his contemporaries.

Katsu who also occupied key positions in the Meiji Government, such the Navy Minister, said that Japan should not behave like one of Western countries that were busy cruelly colonizing Africa and Asia.

And, even today the psychology of the Japanese people nurtured in the era of the First Sino-Japanese War still lingers in the Japanese society.  But the spirit of Katsu Kaisyu has been also alive in both the leftist camp and the nationalistic group in the Japanese society, though it does not necessarily mean an increase of Japanese who become so pro-Chinese or pro-Korean.

Anyway, in the samurai era, Japanese people did not especially despise Chinese and Koreans.  They rather respected many cultural and religious figures in China and Korea as culture came to Japan through the Korean Peninsula from the Asian Continent.  




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



Luk 10:1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

"Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years" - China in Future

Tokyo Bay

China in Future

The biggest social turmoil expected is not a future one in Iran but in China.

Libya and Egypt have already passed this dangerous phase in transformation of society.  Syria is now undergoing it, and Iran will have to face a drastic revolution.  But the biggest one should be set off in China, being accompanied by a similar but less graver one in North Korea.

It is very unreasonable that Chinese people are forbidden to exercise democratic rights in their society while enjoying the free-market economy.  While they can travel to the US to study in Harvard and other American universities, they cannot even criticize their government.  Such condition cannot last forever.

As the recent anti-Japanese violent protests in Chinese cities indicate, Chinese citizens are only allowed to demonstrate for some anti-Japanese purpose, but they cannot give a demonstration for any anti-government reasons.  There is no freedom of expression in China.  If you, in any city of China, reprove any leaders in Beijing, you will be surely arrested by the police.

The Chinese Government controls all the media in China, except some functions of the Internet.  So, they can hide any facts and truth that are objectionable to the Chinese elites.  For example, the scenes that Chinese demonstrators were attacking Japanese plants and setting fire to Japanese shops in China for the Senkaku issue were completely hidden from the public eye.

This situation cannot be sustained forever.  People will come to get freedom of express and other democratic rights. The Chinese Communist Party will be driven out of Beijing sooner or later.

But such a movement can be a bloody one like what is now observed in Syria.

Between 1912 when the Qing Dynasty fell and 1949 when the People's Republic of China was established, China was in a big turmoil.  Many warlords occupied various regions in China.  The Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party were fighting each other, though they tied up in the war against the Empire of Japan.  And, not only the Japanese Empire but other Western powers and Russia held their own interest in the Chinese Continent.

So, the so-called Japanese invasion of China before WWII was not a unilateral invasion of a well-governed nation with order and law by the Imperial Army.  China was not a well-governed nation with order and law at all at the period of time.  China was in a great turmoil and a civil war.

And, a similar situation might happen in near future in China, far surpassing the degree of the tragedy in Syria.



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



Gen 9:28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

"Jesus took him by the hand" - Politicians and Gangsters

Around the Tokyo Station in the Rain

Politicians and Gangsters

The fundamentals of Japan are of course industry.

Most of people work in fields to take out natural resources, in factories and plants to manufacture products, and in distribution systems and shops to sell goods.  After graduation from universities, colleges, and high-schools, young people usually get involved in economic activities in various fields of industries.

But some others work in the public sector as civil servants in municipal offices or the central government.    

In addition, there are experts in the society such as lawyers and medical doctors.

And above them in the social structure, politicians and lawmakers work in local assemblies and the national parliament which is called the Diet in Japan.

One dark side of Japan has been, however, linkage between some lawmakers and gangsters.

For example, an ex-gangster starts real-estate business.  With support from a bank, it can be very successful.  Then he starts to back a key lawmaker who has influences in the industry.  And the lawmaker gets big money from the ex-gangster businessman and distribute it among other politicians who follow him to form a faction.  Then this political faction might become dominant in a political party; accordingly some of those politicians can be appointed to a state minister in the Cabinet.

So, if a trouble occurs to the ex-gangster businessman and he is put under investigation by the police or public prosecutors, he would ask help from the key politician he has been associated with.  The key politician would tell his henchman who happens to be a state minister to help the dubious businessman.  Them the minister would exercise his power on some bureaucrats to handle the case in favor for his boss or his client.  When the matter is fixed, the virtually criminal businessman would present more money or other convenience for the key politician.

In fact, as this kind of cases became too much to tolerate over the era of the bubble economy around 1990, Japan introduced various improvement and correction in its political system in 1990s.  So, there are not so many cases of political corruption reported nowadays.

But there are many second-generation or hereditary politicians in the National Diet.  They might have no dubious connection with gangsters or ex-gangsters, but their fathers or grandfathers as politicians might have had.  Therefore, in rare condition, such an old dark linkage of his family might surface to harm reputation of a national lawmaker who might be very popular or trusted so much by the public.

So, if you look at a politician, such as Mr. W. Bush, you might feel envious of him; but his father, such as Mr. H.W. Bush, might have a dark connection with a kind of gangsters.

So, Christ Jesus said not to go to a place to see people well dressed and walking proudly.



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




Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

"of him shall the Son of man be ashamed" - New PM of Japan Promised

Imperial Palace District, Tokyo

New PM of Japan Promised

Mr. Shinzo Abe was today elected as new president of the LDP, the major opposition party in Japan.

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sakurasakuya7/e/7f3cc8eb97a73b9a0f89a2ab32729883

The conservative LDP had kept power for almost 50 years, except a year or so since 1955, till it lost the 2009 general election to the DPJ that includes many leftist members.

But, Mr. Abe was once prime minister of Japan after Mr. Junichiro Koizumi who had consolidated a diplomatic tie with the Bush Administration.  From 2006 to 2007, LDP lawmaker Abe led Japan as prime minister, taking a nationalistic stance in his governance.  He was even regarded as a kind of dangerous nationalist by The New York Times.

Mr. Abe's father was also an LDP lawmaker who had his own faction with an ambition to become prime minister of Japan.  But Shintaro Abe died in 1991 for some disease to be succeeded by his son Mr. Shinzo Abe.  Shintaro Abe's wife, namely the mother of Mr. Shinzo Abe, was a daughter of Nobuskuke Kishi, the prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960.

Nobusuke Kishi is one of the most notable and controversial politicians in the modern Japanese history.  Kishi was an elite official of the Imperial Government of Japan.  He also worked in the Manchukuo Government in 1930s, taking an important part in development of the subject country to the Empire of Japan.  Kishi then became a state minister in the Cabinet formed by Prime Minister/General Hideki Tojyo who launched the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.  When the Empire of Japan lost the war against the US in 1945, Kishi was taken captive as a war criminal by the US military that occupied Japan.  However, in 1948 Kishi was released from a prison to become a lawmaker of post-war democratic Japan.        

So, being a grandson of notorious Nobusuke Kishi is a big merit for Mr. Shinzo Abe.  When Mr. Abe became prime minister of Japan in 2006, he was 52 years old, the youngest as prime minister of Japan after WWII.  But in the next year, he was taken illness suddenly at the beginning of sessions of the National Diet to resign, surprising the people so terribly.  One of the causes of his illness was defeat of the then ruling party LDP in the Upper House election held a few months earlier.  Mr. Abe was under strong pressure at the time which was said to trigger his illness.

And today, LDP lawmaker Mr. Abe was elected again as new president of the LDP, the major opposition party in Japan, since he was running for this presidential election as he had recovered from the illness that had affected him so badly in 2007.

And as most of today's polls indicate, it is expected that the LDP will take over power from the DPJ now being led by Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihiko Noda in the next general election.  What is more critical is that PM Mr. Noda already promised former President of the LDP Mr. Sadakazu Tanigaki to dissolve the Lower House in near future and hold a general election in exchange of support from Mr. Tanigaki in passing a tax rise bill.  The Lower House has power to choose the prime minister of Japan.  Accordingly, Lower House member Mr. Abe is expected to be elected as new prime minister of Japan after the LDP wins the next general election.

Put simply, as today Mr. Abe became president of the very-pro-American/capitalistic LDP, it is almost promised that Mr. Shinzo Abe will be next prime minister of Japan within a few months at the earliest.

Anyway, the term of office for incumbent Lower House members of the Japanese parliament ends in August 2013.  So, at the latest, Mr. Shinzo Abe of the LDP will be new prime minister of Japan one year later.  It will be his second time as prime minister of Japan after the first resignation in 2007, which is the first case in Japan after WWII.

So, a very rare situation is going to surface in the Japanese politics with a so-called nationalistic lawmaker, Mr. Shinzo Abe.



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



Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

"whereas I was blind, now I see" - One National Treasure in Japan

Tokyo

One National Treasure in Japan

In 1329 a samurai had some notable sword smiths make a sword.  He then dedicated it to a shrine.

Today, the sword is designated as a national treasure.

This is one typical incident of the samurai era in Japan.

A powerful samurai became a feudal lord.  He governed a farming area, including some villages.  He took rice and other agricultural products from farmers as customs.  Then a samurai lord sold rice in the market in a big city to get money if necessary.

But there were usually other authorities in a farming area: shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

So, it was natural for a samurai lord to donate something important for him to a major shrine or a major temple in his fiefdom so as to be blessed by holy spirits and to be respected by farmers and townsmen.

Therefore in this case of the sword, a samurai called Okawara Tokimoto asked sword smiths named Osafune Kagemitsu and Osafune Kagemasa to make a good sword.  Then, Tokimoto donated it to a shrine called Hiromine Jinjya which is situated in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka/Kyoto., though Tokimoto was originally from the Chichibu region, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo.

At the time, namely around 1329, Japan was governed by the first samurai regime with its capital in Kamakura, 60 km west of Tokyo.  Kamakura samurai leaders gave a feud to each of their subject samurais.  So, Okawara Tokimoto was given a territory in Hyogo, 700 km far from his home ground in Saitama.  And his act of reverence for a dominant shrine in his feud resulted in preservation of a fine sword over a time period of 700 years.

So, as you see in the picture above, a successful samurai in Japan 700 years ago had such a sword as is today ranked as a national treasure of Japan.

It also tells that before modernization and westernization of Japan or during the samurai era, the society was under the rule of sword in Japan.  But samurais respected shinto and Buddhism.  The symbol of their soul, namely a sword, was also subject to religion, too.  And they might rather donate a better sword to a shrine or a temple than they had and used as a way of expressing their reverence for religion.  This is one of Japanese traditions.


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



Joh 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

"their laying await was known of Saul" - Christ at the Right Time

Toward Tokyo Bay

Christ at the Right Time

When Christ Jesus was walking with His followers, what did he talk about?

 In His era, the world must have looked so simple.  Only Romans had power to govern the world around Jerusalem.  Egypt now belonged to Rome.  But the east of the Euphrates remained out of power of the Roman Empire.  And, Israelites had to live subject to Romans, though they could maintain their religion.  Great cities at the time must be Rome, Athens, and Alexandria.  Not so many mighty cities were there around the Mediterranean.

So, Christ Jesus did not tell much about international situations surrounding Palestine at the time.

Then, was it just domestic issues and problems that required the emergence of the Son of God among Israelites at the time point in history?

For example, should we consider that Jaudaists at the time degraded themselves so much that they needed Christ to save their society.  Or as their religion went astray, did they need Christ to save their souls?  Maybe, it might have been just domestic crises that requested the first coming of Christ Jesus in those specified years.

However, the timing of His emergence in ancient Israel must have been critical.  He should come in those years around AD 1.  Indeed, He might have come 100 years earlier or later, but He appeared in the very years.

If Jesus had come 100 years later, Jerusalem had been already destroyed by Roman troops.  If He had come 100 years earlier, the region called Galilee was just conquered and annexed to the territory of Judaists so that it could not be a good stage for early activities of Christ..

In c.135 BCE, John Hyrcanus, Simon's third son, assumed the leadership and ruled as high priest (Kohen Gadol) and took a Greek "regnal name" (see Hyrcania) in an acceptance of the Hellenistic culture of his Seleucid suzerains. Within a year of the death of Simon, Seleucid King Antiochus VII Sidetes attacked Jerusalem. According to Josephus,[46] John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents which he paid as tribute to spare the city. He remained as governor as a Seleucid vassal. For the next two decades of his reign, Hyrcanus continued, like his father, to rule semi-autonomously from the Seleucids. 

The Seleucid empire had been disintegrating in the face of the Seleucid–Parthian wars and in 129 BCE Antiochus VII Sidetes was killed in Media by the forces of Phraates II of Parthia, permanently ending Seleucid rule east of the Euphrates. In 116 BCE, a civil war between Seleucid half-brothers Antiochus VIII Grypus and Antiochus IX Cyzicenus broke out, resulting in a further breakup of the already significantly reduced kingdom. 

This provided opportunity for semi-independent Seleucid client states such as Judea to revolt.[47][48][49] In 110 BCE John Hyrcanus carried out the first military conquests of the newly independent Hasmonean kingdom, raising a mercenary army to capture Madaba and Schechem, significantly increasing his regional influence[50][51] 

Hyrcanus conquered Transjordan, Samaria, Galilee, and Idumea (also known as Edom), and forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty


So, for Christ Jesus to encounter fully the Roman power, it must have been just around 1 A.D. when Galilee was cultivated fully by Judaists and the last remnants of Alexander the Great were wiped away from the east part of the Mediterranean.

In summary, it was probably not only domestic situations of Israelites but some diplomatic or neighboring situations for the nation of Judaists that set the timing for the First Coming of Christ among Israelites.

Today, some such situations also seem to be set in these days around Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, the Middle East, and the world.

As I mentioned, the Second Coming of Christ Jesus  must have already started around 2010.


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



Act 9:23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Act 9:24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Act 9:25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
Act 9:26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

"if any man did confess that he was Christ" - Civilization

Near Ueno, Tokyo

Civilization

What is civilization?

You might think of the Great Pyramids in Giza, but Christ Jesus never mentioned the Pyramids.

Or you might think of City Rome which Christ Jesus never mentioned, either.

Christ Jesus did not even praise Athens, though Greek was the common language among the elites in the era of Christ Jesus.

Civilization is based on great production of agricultural products that allowed for stable maintenance of a community.  The community grows with an increase of population.  And then it will need law and order.  And what can be authority for governance of the society with law and order is a religion.  And this religion should be moralistic.  In this context Judaism could be the core of civilization.

However, the Greek/Roman Civilization was established and sustained without Judaism or any other moralistic religion.  So, the Civilization was not rooted in sound ground.  It must have been destined that the Greek/Roman Civilization would be destroyed someday.  And it would be lost like the ancient Egyptian Civilization.

So many great works by ancient Greek philosophers would be lost, and so many great works and systems developed by ancient Romans would be lost.  They should have been forgotten in history.

However, with advancement of Judaism and Christianity into the region influenced by the Greek/Roman Civilization, they could survive on a sound basis in terms of morality.  As Europeans got a true religion, Christianity, its future success was promised, since they came to be able to carry out all the works of Greek/Roman Civilization into a new phase of development.

As the Greek/Roman Civilization got a new moralistic core, Christianity, it has survived into the 21st century.

So, for any emerging countries, including China and India, it is critical how they will face Christianity.  For example, the reason why Muslims cannot well adapt to the modern material civilization lies in this issue of religion.  For Muslims to be materially successful, they have to accept the modern European Civilization which was an extension of the Greek/Roman Civilization with Judaism and Christianity embeded there.

As for Japan, Japanese understanding of Judaism and Christianity is deep enough to master the European Civilization, though 99% of the Japanese people are not Christians.

But, what should be more concerned about is how well Chinese could understand Christianity.  If they cannot get over this hurdle, China could be the second Nazi Germany in the worst case.   That is a nation with great industry but with a very wrong basis for its civilization.   
  
 

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


Joh 9:22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.