Ikiteiru heitai (Living soldiers or Soldiers alive) by Ishikawa Tatsuzo (1905-1985) is arguably the best piece of war literature to emerge from the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 to 1945. In Japan, the novella has been published and republished throughout the postwar era, most recently as a Chuko Bunko in 1999, and is now available for the first time in English [1]. Providing a strong indictment not only of the conduct of the Japanese military in China but also of war itself, Ikiteiru heitai is a powerful, deeply disturbing work

[C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR'S article on the rush of foreign financial institutions and investment funds to buy a share of China's big banks is fascinating and. Chandrasekar describes a frenzy to buy into deals that so lack transparency as to be - if you will - opaquely translucent. No matter. As is so common in our bubble-prone era as to pass without notice, the mere scent of speculative profits is enough to set billions of dollars flying across globalized borders. Never mind the proud claim that in the industrialized states no deal is ever done without complete transparency. But with the Renminbi likely to rise, and with the world's most dynamic economy, investors have rushed in blithely and blindly with billions.

[This is the third in a series of articles on Japanese policy toward the Middle East that debates the appropriate framework for unraveling issues of Japan-oil- and the United States in Middle East perspective. See earlier contributions by Raquel Shaoul and John de Boer.]

Dr. John de Boer in his article, “Gauging Japan's Role in the Middle East” (Japan Focus Sep. 6, 2005) portrays Japanese involvement in the Middle East, as characterized by a “multidimensional presence”. In his article De Boer claims that “at various points in time, Japan has had a relatively high political profile in the region and its people/institutions have demonstrated an active commitment to a variety of important causes in the Middle East”, illustrated by examples dated from 1904-5 to the present. He concludes, “Gauging Japan's overall involvement in the region makes clear that Japan and the Japanese did not simply become active in the Middle East with the Madrid Peace Process of 1991. Japan has contributed to the “peace process” on a variety of levels since the 1950s and its presence continues to be felt throughout the Middle East”. A major difficulty emerges from this thesis: its failure to differentiate between Japan's political involvement and her political commitment in the Middle East over the years.

[What is the driving force behind Japan's policy in the Middle East? Can it be summed up in one word, oil? Is Japan essentially the lapdog of the United States, or has it established an independent position on contentious issues in the region such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Iraq War, and Iran's nuclear development? Raquel Shaoul and John de Boer take up these questions in two articles as they evaluate Japan's impact on the Middle East.]

“Energy will be one of the defining issues of this century, and one thing is clear: the era of easy oil is over.” Chevron

Over the past year, benchmark oil prices shot up from a little over US$40 per barrel and reached just over $70 a few weeks ago. As of this writing, prices have fallen back to about $64, but that probably reflects the end of the summer driving season in the US, which somewhat reduces pressure on gasoline supplies. A lot of optimism also animates the markets, in spite of the havoc Hurricane Katrina wreaked on American oil production and refining capacity. The markets look to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) early September decision to coordinate a release of 2 million barrels of oil and oil products per day, for at least 30 days, from its 26 member countries’ strategic reserves and supplies.

On September 29, 1957, at 4:20 p.m., an enormous explosion in a tank containing highly radioactive waste occurred in the Mayak nuclear weapons plant in the southern Ural mountains of the Soviet Union. The fallout plume spread strontium-90 and other dangerous radionuclides over about15,000 square kilometers, which remain contaminated to this day.

[Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of South Korean atomic bomb victims, repatriated to South Korea and bereft of the Japanese citizenship they held under colonial rule, continue to be denied access to Japanese government supported medical care and benefits, despite court victories that guaranteed these rights. Pressure rightly continues to be applied to the Japanese government to assure their rights. No one, however, seems to be asking another question: what is U.S. responsibility for the surviving victims of the atomic bombs, whether Koreans or Chinese, many of them taken to Korea against their will, or Japanese? Japan Focus]

The final reflections of a convicted war criminal enshrined at Yasukuni Jinja

One of the major reasons for Chinese and Korean public criticism of Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine is that 14 out of 28 A-Class Japanese war criminals are enshrined there. Seven among them including Tojo Hideki and Matsui Iwane were executed at the conclusion of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the other seven died either during the tribunal or while serving their sentences. Yasukuni Shrine also sanctifies many B and C- Class war criminals, many of whom were directly responsible for atrocities committed throughout the Asia-Pacific region. One of those is Tomoyuki Yamashita, who was enshrined on 17 October 1959. As the commander who led the Japanese Imperial Army troops to invade Singapore in February 1942, he was nicknamed the ‘Tiger of Malaya.’

[This article by Eamonn Fingleton exemplifies the “Japan as Number One” genre, a type that has become such a rara avis in recent years that it seemed virtually extinct. The conventional wisdom among international economists as well as Japanese neoliberals, is that Japan is washed up and has to learn from America. Using Japan's trade with China as an example, Fingleton raises compelling questions about the failures of American industrial and trade policy.

Nagase Takashi tortured British POWs during the building of the Thai-Burma railway. He has spent his life since trying to make amends and wants the railway declared a UN World Heritage Site before he dies.

Nagase Takashi still breaks down when he remembers the young British man he helped torture. “I couldn't bear his pain,” he says, choking back tears. “He was crying Mother! Mother! And I thought: what she would feel if she could see her son like this. I still dream about it.”

Inoue Daisuke taught the world to sing with the karaoke machine but never bothered to patent it, losing his chance to become one of Japan's richest men. Is he bitter?

For a man who lost out on one of music's biggest paychecks, Inoue Daisuke is in fine form: toothy smile spreading over the big, rough-hewn face of a natural comedian.

No country is closer to Japan than Korea. From ancient times, the two neighbors have enjoyed intimate exchanges. Yet today Japan has relations with only one of the two Korean states, and even that relationship is contentious. While Japan normalized relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) in 1965, it has not yet formally recognized the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). This asymmetry is a major obstacle not only to repairing Japanese-Korean relations overall, but ending the Cold War in Asia.

WASHINGTON - Arms merchants from industrialized nations are increasingly finding Asia, which has replaced the Near East as the world's top conventional-weapons market, the place to go, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Led by purchases by China and India, the world's most populous region accounted for nearly 50% of the total value of all new armstransfer agreements with developing nations from 2001 through 2004, according to the report. India led the rankings in 2004 by signing US$5.7 billion in new arms deals that year, according to the report, the latest in an annual series.

After nine years of stalling and prevarication over the replacement of Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, and nearly eighteen months of protests against its proposed replacement, a solution of sorts is finally stirring in the dusty halls of power in Kasumigaseki.

On September 24, the Yomiuri newspaper reported that the Japanese government is backing the relocation of Futenma's Marine chopper base to the Marines Camp Schwab in Nago. Tokyo had initially supported the construction of a joint civil-military airport off the coast of Henoko village to replace Futenma.

As we reach the anniversary of the end of World War II, North-east Asia has changed in so many ways since the devastation brought about by years of conflict. But tragically, many historical problems remain unresolved. The Korean peninsula is still divided; the United States is the predominant military power in the region; and nationalism remains a powerful force in Japan, China and in the Koreas. These alone should give rise to major concern for the future peace and stability of the region. But the threats to peace in the region could soon get worse.

In spring 2004, Shuzenji and three small Shizuoka Prefectural towns were consolidated into Izu City. Perhaps to celebrate, early this year City Hall distributed fancy calendars to the residents. Usually these are simple affairs from the agricultural cooperative with snapshots of local life - Mt Fuji landscapes, rice harvesting, the geta marathon, and the like. This year, however, someone decided to do one better: it was a glossy affair printed by Yasukuni Jinja, now adorning a sitting room in my father-in-law's house. Half calendar, half guide book for the shrine's own particular blend of tourism history, each month features a time, event, or individual of pride. Not surprisingly, one entry is dedicated to the tokkotai brigade, whose suicide missions are read as victories for national spirit if not tactics (that explosive-laden human torpedoes were named baka, or “idiot” puts in doubt how respectful state leaders actually were of their young charges).

What lies behind a series of over-the-top police interventions against antiwar activists?

Venerated by neonationalists and marinated in over a century of militarism and war, Yasukuni Shrine may well be Japan's least friendly venue for a demonstration by pacifists.

The removal and confinement of some 120,000 American citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast during 1942, popularly (if inaccurately) known as the Japanese American internment, remains a powerful event in the nation's consciousness. In the decades since the war, historians have exhaustively documented the primary role of anti-Japanese prejudice and war hysteria by West Coast Army officers and civilians in bringing about the issuing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized removal.

[What is the driving force behind Japan's policy in the Middle East? Can it be summed up in one word, oil? Is Japan essentially the lapdog of the United States, or has it established an independent position on contentious issues in the region such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Iraq War, and Iran's nuclear development? Raquel Shaoul and John de Boer take up these questions in two articles as they evaluate Japan's impact on the Middle East.]

The nature of Japan's Middle East policy vis-avis Middle East regional issues during the past 30 years can be summarized by the following two main characteristics: First, a low political profile, which has meant a policy of little involvement and non-commitment. Although Japan's political involvement has been increasing since the first oil shock in the early 1970s, and there was incremental movement towards greater economic involvement in the region during the 1980s, a low political commitment remained till the early 1990s.

He is perhaps the best-known governor in Japan, largely because he has been breaking with tradition ever since he took office in Nagano Prefecture in October 2000.

After converting his private office into a glass-walled room to make his work as transparent as possible, Gov. Tanaka Yasuo defiantly declared “No More Dams” in a direct counter to the local economy's heavy reliance on public works projects at the expense of ecological concerns. He also abolished the traditional, self-serving press club system in his prefecture, and has been busily promoting environmental protection in his mountainous domain since day one.