While the Sixties bring to mind images of hippies, Woodstock, students on the street, The Beatles on a rooftop and Jimi’s guitar on fire, the decade wasn’t all colour and light. In Japan, from the late Fifties through the Sixties, while campuses became battlegrounds, a government project to rebuild national pride was underway. Only four castles – Himeji, Hikone, Matsumoto and Inuyama – had survived the war, and a massive rebuilding programme was undertaken. There was just one flaw in their plan: no one told the government that not only is concrete not a traditional building material, but it is hideous to look at. The larger and more famous castles got the attention they deserved, but many of their smaller brethren were left with the kind of unnatural pockmarked façade we used to associate with Michael Jackson.

Kiyosu castle, near Nagoya, escaped this fate through the simple act of being ignored in the original project. Despite holding an important place in Japanese history – it was the military and administrative centre of Owari, and the launching point for Oda Nobunaga’s ascension to power. It was only surpassed in importance when Tokugawa Ieyasu had it dismantled and used the pieces to build Nagoya castle – despite this, the castle was not rebuilt until 1989. By this time lessons had been learned. Kiyosu is one of the most beautifully and faithfully reconstructed castles in Japan.

The dark-stained wood and blood-red ornamentation are a welcome change from the monochrome normality of the vast majority of castles, and the sculpted Zen garden – all sharp rocks and raked gravel, bamboo and coy – is a peaceful retreat mere minutes from modernity and its bustle. Immediately outside the gate is Otebashi, a beautiful light-veneered bridge curving gently over the river, adorned with eye-catching red lamps.

After paying the princely sum of 300 yen and removing shoes, the first room the visitor encounters, is the armoury. The usual swords and knives are there behind their glass, but an array of modern-made armour is on display and available to the touch. Geared more towards children than six plus foot foreigners (I’m used to clothes shops saying “we don’t have your size” but this was the first time it had happened in a castle), dressing up as a warrior and being photographed looked like a lot of fun. Although there was one kid whose grandfather kept insisting, “don’t smile: Samurai never smiled.” Not sure how factually accurate that is, but the family now possess photos of a six year old sulky samurai.

The reconstruction work inside is as delightful as the exterior. The wood is rich and light, smooth to the touch and easy on the eye. Higher levels exhibit the usual paraphernalia: original roof tiles and carvings, resurrected pottery from the excavation, statues of those who controlled the castle over the years. The general theme is that of Oda Nobunaga, surely the most famous of all Kiyosu’s lords, and Tokugawa Ieyasu gets little mention; apparently dismantling the castle and abandoning the city does not endear you to the citizens, nor their descendants.

The view from the top level is stunningly uninspiring. The castle is the single spot of beauty in Kiyosu, and whatever compass point you stare at, you are always looking away. It may be better in the spring, when the cherry blossom by the river is blooming, but surely even that cannot distract from concrete, corrugated rust and miles of cables. Much more pleasant is a seat by the river looking at the castle.

Kiyosu can be reached by a short walk from either Shin-Kiyosu station on the Meitetsu line, or from JR Kiyosu station. Both are on the respective Nagoya – Gifu lines, just before Ichinomiya.

The center of gravity for misunderstandings right now is the Fatima Marine Air Station in Okinawa. Long a source of irritation to the citizens of Okinawa and the scene of the crime when a young local girl was assaulted by some service members. It was supposed to go away! However, it seems that this Airfield has a life of its own, so that regardless of the good intentions of Japanese or American negotiators it just plans to stick around.

It’s a noisy place to be sure, but then so are all airbases. This one, however, is in the middle of a densely populated area. It is also a little dangerous because of all the surrounding houses, buildings and schools. Not long ago, a helicopter made an emergency landing in a school yard not far from the base. Naturally, this excited all the mothers whose children were in attendance.

Negotiation, to get the base relocated, have been on-going for years.  The latest was part of a deal to realign and reduce the military presence in Okinawa and in mainland Japan. Everyone including the man on the street agreed and so it was a done deal – signed and delivered. Yet, before the ink on the seals (hankos) was dry each side began sharpshooting the content. Four years later nothing has happened.

The new Japanese government came into office with a pledge to do things differently. They especially want politicians to start running the Government and reduce the role of Bureaucrats. They have cancelled a bunch of projects, mostly dams, which were planned by the previous administration to cut the budget. Interestingly, the budget is bigger than when they started the ax swinging. And, most importantly to the Great Debate issue – they were to move the Futima Air Station out of Okinawa.

The Americans cried foul. We have a deal and you must live up to your part of this bargain. Here is where the culture comes to bear on the problem. Americans think a contract is written in stone. If you try to vary a contract even one inch you’re on your way to court. Big settlements are in the offering. Alas, the Japanese have a very different idea about contracts and many other culturally related behaviors that confuse Westerners. Here then, are a few.

(1)   Speaking your mind. American’s say, “if you have something to say – say it.” To the Japanese this behavior, as far back as a thousand years, was thought to be uncouth and barbarian like. In Kyoto, the Capital, indirect speech was in vogue and has not changed over time.

(2)Appearance and Reality. Americans have no legal system of saying one thing but meaning something else. The Japanese system of tatemae (what I said or what it appears that I mean) and honne (what I really intended or maybe the underlying reality) are completely beyond American and maybe any foreigner capability to understand.

(3)Contracts: As mentioned above American and Europeans believe that a contract is a legal document and must be followed to the letter. There are normally no provisions to renegotiate or change a contract unless such is contained within the contract itself. On the other hand Japanese believe that the contract, if there is a written one which there may not be, was drawn up based on a certain set of conditions. If the conditions change then the contract must change.

Beginning from the end of March, each person residing in Japan (including foreigners who are registered with their ward office) will be receiving a stimulus check in the mail from 8,000 to 12,000 yen. This is a part of PM Aso’s highly criticized 5 trillion yen (51 billion dollar) stimulus plan, the bulk of which will be delivered to us by check. But will it really have as big of effect as the government hopes for?

When I received my $300 stimulus check back in early 2008 from my country’s government, I am ashamed to say that I put that money straight into my savings account. Only after feeling a little bit guilty for receiving money which was supposed to be used to stimulate the economy, i.e. retail therapy, I decided to spend $70 of it on an online CD store. When I asked Japanese people what they would do with their stimulus checks from the Japanese Government, most of them replied that they would save it or use it for other bills. No one said they would go out and buy a new pair of shoes. Or CDs.

When Japan had an economic slump in the 90’s, the government spent a lot of money on infrastructure programs. The thought was that by spending money on big construction projects, they would be able to create new jobs. However, the effect was small and many places are still riddled with debt from projects that just didn’t make any money.

So in order to not repeat past mistakes, this time the package consists of stimulus checks, tax cuts, highway toll reductions, and increased loans to small businesses. However, economists are skeptical that this will turn things around for Japan.

So, do your part for Japan. Go buy those new shoes. Or CDs

The launch was deliberately blown out of proportion, and quite effectively fuels the fire needed to scare the gullible Japanese public into allowing the LDP to continue moving closer to Americanizing Japan.  The unpredictable and “evil” North Korea plays perfectly in the minds of safety conscious and neatly framed Japanese society much in the same manner as 9/11 preyed on the American psyche’s tendency to react explosively to perceived threats from unfamiliar cultures.  Their fears were used to manipulate the public into backing the Iraq occupation, which we now know was much more about serving the self interests of the politicians and their corporate lobbyists than it was about securing freedom and safety in the homeland.

Under American guidance, the LDP has likely been advised to inflate the capabilities and potential catastrophe already associated with its rogue neighbor.  Like Iraq, most people who are taught to fear North Korea, know very little about it.  The secretive operations of the NPRK provide the same smokescreen that ignorance did in the early stages of the War on Terror.  We know very little about the regime, but the media and opposing governments are happy to fill in the blanks for us.  That is not to say that Kim Jong Il’s dictatorship is a peace loving nation.  Indeed it should be well monitored and respected with a healthy fear, but the policing bodies charged with its supervision should be carefully kept an eye on as well to ensure the masses aren’t easily led into a mess like they were in the Iraq fiasco

Perhaps suggesting that Japan may use North Korea’s threat as a pretext for war is a bit far fetched.  Whether perceived or real, the threat could however, be enough justification to manipulate the media and convince the public to sit idle while the LDP strengthens Japan’s ties with the US.  Support for the large US military presence in Japan has been slipping.  Parading the recent missile launch will no doubt create some backing for allowing US forces greater freedom and power inside Japan. The overhyped intimidation of Pyongyang can also serve to legitimize increasing Japan’s Self Defense Force budget.  Ultimately it could prove to be what is needed to win over the Japanese public as the LDP pushes for increased patriotism and constitutional changes that will permit Japan’s Defense Force to become an attack force-a semantic that may be important if Japan were to assist the Americans in any future operations.

Star Wars

Russia, who calls North Korea’s arms build up “justified” in the face of a growing global US military presence, has been the most vocal adversary against America’s “Star Wars” missile defense program which places US bases around the world and satellites in space to carefully monitor international military action.  The stated aim of the program is to create a virtual shield around the US and its allies by stationing missile launch pads that are capable of blasting enemy ballistic missiles out of the sky.

The official name of the program has often changed since its initiation in the Reagan days.  This makes it difficult to track spending and even the program’s implementation.  Regardless, space-related defense encompasses a huge budget. Many aspects of “Star Wars” are considered classified “off-budget” “black projects“. Publically, however, not including privately contracted research which likely includes ridiculous sums, the US admits it has invested well over $100 Billion on “Space Defense” and is determined to hold on tightly to its commanding lead over all present or potential future competitors of space warfare.

The Star Wars moniker became attached to the missile defense program in the 1980’s because of its potential for science fiction like evil.  The program, which is now in the final stages of completion, makes the US the sole holder of nuclear arms in space and gives it unprecedented strike and threat power over the entire planet.  Opponents see it not simply as a safety measure but a way to ensure US military dominance.  Nations who do not allow the bases on their territory will be left exposed to potential enemy (or American) fire as well as economic backlash.  Another criticism is that the implementation of the satellite system requires the United States to modify, withdraw from, or violate several agreements and treaties designed to ensure world peace.

The fears of opponents to the militarization of space were perhaps best confirmed by Joseph W. Ashly, who was the Commander in Chief of the US Strategic Command from 1994 to 1996.

“It’s politically sensitive, but it’s going to happen. Some people don’t want to hear this, and it sure isn’t in vogue, but – absolutely – we’re going to fight in space. We’re going to fight from space and we’re going to fight into space. That’s why the US has development programs in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms. We will engage terrestrial targets someday – ships, airplanes, land targets – from space.”

The recent North Korean launch raised eyebrows in Washington and in its staunch alley, Japan, largely because it threatens US and friends’ massive investments in monopolizing space militarization.  If the North’s launch was in fact a satellite as it claims, it may have been Kim Jong Il’s own attempt at initiating a “Star Wars” program.

Either way, whether it was a satellite or a missile, the launch poses a far bigger threat to America’s domination in world arms sales than it does to regional peace.  Led by notorious mega-arms dealers, Lockheed Martin and Boeing (who have a near worldwide monopoly on space warfare technology), the US arms budget makes up more than half of the total world spending on military weapons.  Even more relevant, is that America is by far the world’s largest arms dealer with 36% of total word sales.  Coincidently, China and Russia are the two largest markets that the US doesn’t sell weapons to, and they are the most vocal nations calling for restraint in the current North Korea situation.  While the US-Japan coalition calls for tough but vague economic sanctions and punishment, China and Russia are “concerned about further alienating” the reclusive and secretive fascist state.

Critics of North Korea’s nuclear program (which has never been proven to be anything more than for peaceful energy development) fail to mention the massive arsenal of nuclear weapons the US has.  The US maintains more nukes than any other country and during the cold war alone spent more money making nuclear weapons than the entire global economic output of the nineteenth century.

Whether there is legitimate evidence or not to support the theory that North Korea is arming itself with nuclear weapons, the fear of such a possibility may be used to justify a change in Japan’s nuclear policy.  Currently Japan’s defensive military stance prohibits it from having nuclear weapons (although, its energy program is set up in a way to make it relatively quick and easy to convert uranium into weapons grade plutonium).

The DPRK’s missile launch challenges the US arms monopoly and strengthens North Korea’s role as a weapons dealer.  The launch effectively was nothing short of an elaborate advertisement to Russia, China and other so called “rogue” nations that the US has yet to secure as weapons trading partners.  Having an arms trading agreement with massive markets like China and Russia would create exponentially huge profits for whoever holds the contract.  If Pyongyang is successful in creating for itself an entire new industry, it might become less dependant on foreign aid, and therefore gain a lot of leverage in future six-party talks.

Obama stuck with the party line saying, “North Korea broke the rules, once again, by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles.”  The statement was left unchallenged by Japanese media who failed to point out that North Korea gave plenty of advanced notice before the launch, making the event far more transparent than US or Japanese missile tests which happen regularly but receive no media attention at all.  As well, no evidence whatsoever has been presented to contradict the North’s claim that it was attempting to launch a perfectly legal satellite.

Iran, is in a similar position over its nuclear program, and is said to be assisting North Korea’s missile technology, defended the launch.

“North Korea, like any other country, has the right to enter space,” Iran’s state TV said adding that the “pressure on North Korea to give up its undisputable right” was “unfair and dishonest.”

Balbina Hwang, a former adviser to the US in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, told Al Jazeera that there really isn’t any evidence to say that the NPRK did anything wrong since Pyongyang was very clear in conveying its intentions.

“The ability to test a satellite is within the purview of any sovereign nation,” she said.

“The problem is that most satellite launches are done on equipment or missile-rockets that are in fact ballistic-missile capable,” which is against the UN resolution.

Whether the launch was in fact a satellite that now orbits the Earth like Pyongyang claims, is counter to the US and Japan’s assertion that it was a military rocket that hit the Pacific Ocean.  If the media were to do its job properly and launch its own investigation independent of any government instead of just swallowing whole whatever information is fed to them, perhaps we might know who to really believe.  Until then, there is no way to verify either side of the story.

Sources (BBC, CBC, NHK, Reuters, AP, Al-Jazeera, Global Post, National Post, Infowars.com):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7970985.stm

http://www.globalpost.com/breaking-news/south-korea/nkorea-launch-threatens-undo-disarmament-talks

http://www.globalpost.com/breaking-news/japan/us-has-no-plans-down-nkorean-missile-gates

http://ca.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9j8eu4RKNBJqSYBjgXwFAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHZkMjZyBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNzcg–/SIG=12bnmlvqr/EXP=1238464913/**http%3a//www.nationalpost.com/rss/story.html%3fid=1434696

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090330/n_top_news/cnews_us_korea_north

http://ca.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9j8euyGKNBJX3IA.QvwFAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBjcXBoZjEwBHBvcwMzBHNlYwNzcg–/SIG=134gdovmp/EXP=1238465030/**http%3a//ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090328/world/international_us_korea_north_256

http://www.english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/04/20094601758486829.html

http://www.infowars.com/north-korea-shooting-down-rocket-an-act-of-war/

http://www.infowars.com/pentagon-deploys-warships-in-response-to-north-korea-rocket/

http://www.infowars.com/japan-prepares-to-blast-north-korean-missile-out-of-the-sky/