(Mt. Fuji from around Tokyo)Forgotten Heroes
There are many people in this world who live like a hero but are forgotten for some reason or other.
Christopher Columbus could have been one of them without records and reports by himself and others of the era.
Yet, there must have been many such heroes on Americas, including present-day Haiti, even before Columbus reached there. Where have those indigenous Americans gone?
SECTION I: Tanaka-Takeshita-Ozawa Legacy
Japan's political sector is not a strongly individual-initiative oriented society like in the U.S. where a candidate's personality and ability weigh much.
Japan's political sector is not a strongly political-party centric society like in the U.K. where a manifesto of a party matters.
It is neither non-democratic one-party dictatorship oriented society like in China where nothing but loyalty to the Communist Party is a measure.
Japanese voters mostly first select a party and then check its candidate. If he/she is not satisfied at all with a candidate of a party of his/her choice, a voter might not go for voting or rather vote for a more reasonable candidate of other party.
Yet, voters in big cities have usually no personal obligation to vote for a specific candidate their relatives have supported, their local leaders have supported, or their close business associates have supported down the ages.
Nonaffliated voters in big cities of Japan need information. The media and political critics have a big market. But, media companies in Japan are roughly divided into a conservative camp and a liberal one. Being conservative means mostly pro-LDP which is however very pro-American. Being liberal means nowadays pro-DPJ which now holds power with Prime Minister Mr. Yukio Hatoyama at its top.
Yet, this liberalism of DPJ is rooted in one old faction of the LDP: the Tanaka faction where P.M. Mr. Hatoyama and DPJ Secretary-General Mr. Ichiro Ozawa once belonged.
LDP Lawmaker Kakuei Tanaka, a remarkable start-up from nowhere after WWII, formed his own faction in 1972 to be soon elected as prime minister. He visited China to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries in the year, despite his poor tie-up with America. Nonetheless, various money scandals, including the Lockheed payoff scandal, forced Tanaka to step down from premiership in just two years since he had assumed P.M. office with great support from the Media and voters as a kind of revolutionary leader.
Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, presently the Secretary-General of the DPJ, was a young promising member of the Tanaka's faction. Mr. Ozawa married a daughter of Tanaka's supporter who ran a construction company in Tanaka's home prefecture as Kakuei Tanaka introduced her to him. Mr. Ozawa even today claims that Kakuei Tanaka is innocent in the Lockheed bribery case.
As if betraying Tanaka suffering a judicial trial, LDP lawmaker Noboru Takeshita formed his own faction in 1987, leaving the Tanaka's faction to be soon elected as prime minister. However, in 1988 the Recruit scandal was exposed involving many influential LDP politicians including P.M. Takeshita himself. This money scandal forced Takeshita to step down from premiership.
Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, presently the Secretary-General of the DPJ, became one of major members of the Takeshita's faction. Though he was a kind of relative to Takeshita accompanying him on some doubtful occasions with Takeshita's senior and strong friend Shin Kanamaru, Mr. Ozawa could avoid being involved in various money scandals and legal prosecutions where Takeshita and Kanamaru were alleged to have received illegal money.
Having failed in succeeding Takeshita and Kanamaru as faction leader, then LDP lawmaker Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, presently the Secretary-General of the DPJ, formed his own political party in 1993, leaving the Takeshita's faction and the LDP. His new party called Shinseito succeeded in launching the coalition Cabinet, thus taking over power from the LDP. Mr. Ozawa did not become prime minister, but kept a strong influence on then new Prime Minister Mr. Morihiro Hosokawa.
Yet, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, presently the Secretary-General of the DPJ, could not prevent a money scandal from forcing Mr. Hosokawa to step down and thus crashing the coalition Cabinet in 1994. Eventually, Mr. Ozawa was driven into political wilderness, which was about to continue for 15 years except some period when he tied up with then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi of the LDP who tragically fell and died of disease in 2000 after a harsh meeting with Mr. Ozawa.
And now, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, a lawmaker since 1969, is said to have de-facto authority over P.M. Mr. Hatoyama, since the DPJ won a majority of the Lower House in the general election conducted in the summer of 2009. There seems to be no one able to force him to concede in whatever agenda for democracy of Japan, which is neither a Japanese, an American, nor a British way.
When Mr. Ichiro Ozawa left the LDP in 1993, notable critic Mr. Takashi Tachibana who had once revealed Kakuei Tanaka's doubtful money sources to force Tanaka to resign wrote that Mr. Ichiro Ozawa's political stance was laughable, since Mr. Ozawa lacked a true sense of justice. Former Lower House Speaker and former LDP president Mr. Yohei Kono recently took out this Mr. Tachibana's writing to show it to his son, lawmaker Mr. Taro Kono who ran for LDP presidency last year, though failed, to improve LDP's status.
(http://www.taro.org/2010/01/post-696.php)
SECTION II: Columbus and Haiti Earthquake
Around 1500, Judaists living on the Mediterranean were good at various technology-related arts including sea navigation.
Columbus really could be one of them who disguised himself as a sailor coming from Genoa, a port city he must have well known, while Judaists were being severely suppressed or persecuted by Christians at that time. In addition, Columbus did not use Italian at least in his writing, though merchants of Genoa contributed much money to his voyage.
So, it is very symbolic that Columbus tried to sail westward while so many Judaists were sailing eastward to flee Spain. Judaists as a whole had to find a new haven. And, their chance could be multiplied by the Columbus' adventure. It is also why Columbus requested the Spanish monarch to give him vast power over the newly discovered land if so close to Asia or Jerusalem, so that most probably he could allow many other Judaists to settle down there without fear of persecution by a Christian governor or monarch.
In this context, Haiti or Hispaniola Island could have been another Israel of 500 years ago.
However, the fact is that for some mysterious reasons Columbus was alienated by the Spanish elite after his fourth and last voyage. Subsequently and strangely, this greatest hero of adventure of the era was gradually forgotten. As he was so much forgotten that the New Continent Columbus had discovered was named America after Amerigo Vespucci, one of other adventurers into the New Continent.
After Columbus was virtually forced to retire from society, he started to live like a second-class prophet, writing a book of prophecy in which he claimed that the prophecy of Isaiah was perfectly fulfilled by his discovery of the New Continent or the new portion of Asia as he belived till the end of his life.
However, the mainstream theory is that Columbus was a Christian strongly associated with Franciscans the queen of Spain at the time also intimately affiliated with.
Even his signature "S/SAS/XMY" could read as "Servus Sum Altissimi Salvatoris (I am a servant of supreme Savior) /Christ, Mary, and Joseph."
When Columbus died, he was buried as Christian at a Christian church in Spain, Catedral de Sevilla. But, in 1542 the remains in his grave were transferred to Santo Domingo, in eastern Hispaniola, namely today’s Dominican Republic.
In any way, the recent great earthquake in Haiti might be really suggesting a need for reviewing who Christopher Columbus was, since Haiti shared Hispaniola Island with Dominican Republic.
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Supporters of homeless people are now being interviewed in an NHK TV program broadcast from Tokyo.
They look sorry to comment that young homeless people in Japan tend to blame themselves but not society or other rich people. One of the supporters argued that it is a result from social brain-washing to have them think so, so that other rich people do not have to bother themselves in helping homeless people.
To turn a spotlight on homeless people is the most unthinkable thing arrogant politicians would rather try in their so-called political activities not only in Japan but also anywhere in the world.
Indeed, in a sense, Jesus Christ was the one who lived a homeless life, though as a true hero. Do not forget Jesus Christ as a homeless hero of 2000 years ago!
Mat 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.