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The Mainichi
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Opinion: 80 years on, could Okinawa again become a battlefield?
It has been over three years since our daily routine has come to include being shown the ominous flashes of light from missiles and their violent flames on the morning and evening TV news. The abnormal reality of civilians in urban areas suddenly being killed by the latest weapons has extended from Ukraine and Palestine to Iran and Israel. Television and newspapers often avoid showing viewers and readers what they don't want to see, but under the light and flames lie crushed faces, torn limbs and bodies with exposed organs. On May 3, during a meeting hosted by the Shinto Seiji Renmei (Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership) and the right-wing group Nippon Kaigi in the Okinawa Prefecture capital of Naha, ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) House of Councillors legislator Shoji Nishida made a misguided statement about the Himeyuri Cenotaph, built in memory of female student corps members who were mobilized and died in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The comment caused a stir when it became widely known, but there was a serious omission in the media's coverage of the issue: Nishida's motivation. Nishida prefaced his remarks with the following words: "Before an extraordinary emergency situation actually arises in the future, we must establish laws that are able to protect the people. To do so, LDP lawmakers must tackle the incorrect postwar education and nonsense that has been perpetuated." In essence, he was suggesting that the day when Japanese citizens could die in war was not far off, and the first battleground would likely be Okinawa. In the July issue of the opinion magazine Gekkan Nippon, former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki, a heavyweight among the party's lawmakers with influence over defense policies and budgets, harshly criticized hawkish statements by Japanese and U.S. politicians who claimed that a Taiwan contingency would be a Japan contingency. "If that were the case, although everyone hesitates to say it, there is even a possibility that the whole of Okinawa could be destroyed," he said. It was a warning that such a situation must never be allowed to happen, and that the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) could not legally be deployed in the first place. Despite the concerns of senior figures, however, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida repeatedly stated, "Ukraine could be East Asia tomorrow," and increased Japan's defense budget by more than 1.5 times, explicitly including the capability to strike enemy bases in the country's National Defense Strategy. I have previously written about issues relating to Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Japan's war dead. The SDF is steadily "preparing for death." According to the May 16 digital edition of the Japanese Communist Party's Shimbun Akahata newspaper, the Ground Self-Defense Force has concluded an agreement, details of which are unknown, with the largest domestic funeral service business group to "prepare for any eventuality." This is no different from the prewar period. Military personnel are only concerned about their own prestige and their compensation, with no time to think about the fate of civilians. Yasukuni Shrine represents a state-sponsored scheme to divide the war dead between the public and private sectors, between the famous and the obscure, between honorable and futile deaths. It appears dormant now, but it wouldn't be surprising for it to start up again at any moment. We have become numb to missile footage, and some of us have started to passively accept the idea that we might die that way, too, sooner or later. June 23 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa.
02-06-2025
- Business
Timeline for May 2025
The Bank of Japan decides at its policy meeting to keep its short-term interest rate at 0.5%. Due to the impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, it also significantly revises downward its economic growth forecast for this fiscal year. After the second round of negotiations over tariffs between Japan and the United States is held in Washington, Minister for Economic Revitalization Akazawa Ryōsei says that discussions went further in-depth concerning trade expansion, nontariff barriers, and economic security. From right, Minister for Economic Revitalization Akazawa Ryōsei and US representatives Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer line up for a photograph during Japan-US tariff negotiations in Washington DC on May 1, 2025. (© Jiji) 2 A search team discovers a body inside the truck that fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened on a road in Yashio, Saitama, in January. The body is removed from the sewage network and brought to the surface. 3 A man is arrested by Kanagawa police after the body of a woman who was his former girlfriend is found in his house in Kawasaki. The woman's family criticizes the police for failing to respond appropriately. 4 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announces that Japan's child population aged under 15 as of April 1, including foreign residents, is 13.7 million, after a decrease of 350,000 year on year. This is the forty-fourth straight year that the number has fallen. 6 The J-pop group Arashi announces that it will disband after its 2026 concert tour. 8 Toyota forecasts a 34.9% drop in its net profit to ¥3.1 trillion in the current fiscal year, due in part to the impact of the Trump tariffs. 9 House of Councillors lawmaker Nishida Shōji of the Liberal Democratic Party retracts his comment criticizing the Himeyuri Cenotaph that commemorates student nurses who died during the Battle of Okinawa as 'rewriting history,' saying that it was highly inappropriate. However, he says that his opinion has not changed. On May 16, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passes a resolution protesting his comment as an insult to the war dead. 10 A Buddhist statue, stolen in 2012 from the temple Kannonji in Tsushima, Nagasaki, and taken to South Korea, is returned to the temple. 12 A 15-year-old boy is arrested on suspicion that he killed an 84-year-old woman who was stabbed to death the previous day in the city of Chiba. 13 After posting a huge net loss for fiscal 2024 of ¥671 billion, Nissan announces plans to close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs. A research team identifies a fossil found in Mifune, Kumamoto, around 30 years ago as a new kind of pterosaur, the first to be discovered in Japan. Its scientific name is Nipponopterus mifunensis . 15 The combined net profit of Japan's big three megabanks hits a record ¥3.9 trillion for fiscal 2024, due partly to higher interest rates. 16 Japan's Diet passes a new active cyberdefense bill, making it possible for the government to monitor internet communications to prevent attacks. The Japan Meteorological Agency announces that Southern Kyūshū has entered the rainy season. This is 23 days earlier than in 2024 and 14 days earlier than average. It is the first time for an area other than Okinawa and Amami Ōshima to enter rainy season first since records began 62 years ago. 18 Princess Aiko goes to the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture for two days until May 19, in her first official visit to a disaster-hit area. Princess Aiko talks to residents of Shika on the Noto Peninsula on May 19, 2025. (© Jiji; pool photo) 20 Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko announces that the metropolitan government will waive basic water supply charges for all ordinary households for around four months this summer as a measure against the effects of inflation. The overall reduction in utility bills aims to free up funds for the use of air conditioning to reduce incidences of heatstroke. 21 Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Etō Taku resigns after a gaffe in which he said he had never bought rice because his supporters give it to him. He is succeeded by Koizumi Shinjirō. 22 At the inaugural Music Awards Japan, the musical act Creepy Nuts wins nine awards, including Song of the Year for 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.' The members of Creepy Nuts show big smiles after winning the Song of the Year award at Rohm Theater in Kyoto on May 22, 2025. (© Jiji) 23 After the third round of negotiations over tariffs between Japan and the United States is held in Washington, Minister for Economic Revitalization Akazawa states that it was possible to have franker and more in-depth discussions than on the previous occasion. The two sides are targeting an agreement before the next Group of Seven summit in June. President Trump announces his backing for a 'planned partnership' between Nippon Steel and US Steel on social media, claiming that the huge investment will create 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the US economy. 26 New Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Koizumi announces the sale of 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice on no-bid contracts at prices around half of winning bids at previous auctions, in an attempt to bring down soaring rice prices. The ministry begins accepting applications from major retailers on the same day. 28 The Japan Sumō Association board decides unanimously to promote rikishi Ōnosato to the rank of yokozuna . He is the first Japanese-born wrestler to become yokozuna since 2017, when the title went to Kisenosato, who is now Ōnosato's stablemaster under the name Nishinoseki. Ōnosato (center) holds two celebratory sea breams in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, on May 25, 2025, after winning the summer tournament. (© Jiji) 29 Tsutsui Yoshinobu becomes the new chair of Keidanren shortly after leaving his position as chairman of Nippon Life Insurance. He is the first representative of the finance world to head the business organization. 30 After the fourth round of negotiations over tariffs between Japan and the United States is held in Washington, Minister for Economic Revitalization Akazawa says that the two sides have confirmed each other's positions and are working toward an agreement. The Imperial Household Agency announces that Komuro Mako—formerly Princess Mako—has given birth to a child. It is unclear when the child was born and if it is a boy or girl. (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Koizumi Shinjirō inspects the rice on sale at a Tokyo supermarket on May 23, 2025. © Jiji.)
