Shinzo Abe aveuglé...

... par un excès de confiance?

Qu'adviendra t il des réformes, de la place du Japon
dans le monde, des lois de défense et sécurité collective
les milieux économiques sont moins inquiets que les
commentateurs des mass medias...

Pourtant.

La coalition au pouvoir au Japon a subi une défaite
historique aux élections sénatoriales de dimanche 29
Juillet, perdant sa majorité à la Chambre haute. Les
électeurs "ont montré leur colère", a reconnu le
Premier ministre Shinzo Abe, tout en excluant de
démissionner. Selon les projections, le Parti
libéral-démocrate (PLD) de Shinzo Abe et son allié, le
petit parti bouddhiste Nouveau Komeito, obtiendraient
105 sièges contre 137 au Parti Démocrate sur 242. Le
gouvernement de Shinzo Abe a été rongé par des
scandales qui ont poussé l'un de ses ministres à se
suicider. L'un des dossiers brûlants concernait la
disparition de 50 millions de dossiers de retraites
des japonais. Le Premier ministre Abe affirme pouvoir
rester en place au sommet du PLD et procédera à un
remaniement gouvernemental fin Août.

Les 2 "étranges" candidats, la petite fille du
criminel de guerre Tojo et l'ancien président Péruvien
Fujimori, retenu par les autorités judiciaires
Chiliennes pour enquête sous les accusations de
corruption et de violations des droits de l'homme, ont
été rejeté par les électeurs dont moins de 59% se sont
rendus aux urnes.


Image, le Japon tel qu'il est.

Les commentaires des media avides de sensations et de
politique spectacle ont bizarrement tous évoqué la
thèse de l'extrême difficulté à gouverner pour le
premier ministre Shinzo Abe, il n'en n'est rien si
l'on prend la peine d'étudier l'article 59 de la
Constitution japonaise:

(En anglais) Article 59: Japan Constitution

"A bill becomes a law on passage by both Houses,
except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution.
2) A bill, which is passed by the House of
Representatives, and upon which the House of
Councillors makes a decision different from that of
the House of Representatives, becomes a law when
passed a second time by the House of Representatives
by a majority of two-thirds or more of the members
present. 3) The provision of the preceding paragraph
does not preclude the House of Representatives from
calling for the meeting of a joint committee of both
Houses, provided for by law. 4) Failure by the House
of Councillors to take final action within sixty(60)
days after receipt of a bill passed by the House of
Representatives, time in recess excepted, may be
determined by the House of Representatives to
constitute a rejection of the said bill by the House
of Councillors."

Shinzo Abe, dont le bloc conservateur a subi une
lourde défaite aux élections sénatoriales, prépare
maintenant un remaniement de son cabinet qui pourrait
intervenir fin août, selon l'agence Kyodo. Abe a
affirmé son intention de rester au pouvoir malgré le
revers essuyé par sa coalition au scrutin de dimanche.

En revanche la difficulté majeure viendra des rangs de
la coalition actuellement au pouvoir qui réunit des
parlementaires PLD, au parti fragilisé, et le parti
Nouveau Komei, allié de la Soka Gakkai. C'est ici que
le ré-alignement des forces politiques est attendu et
pourrait susciter un Eté "chaud" tant la défaite de Mr
Abe a été qualifiée d'historique. Verra t on de
nouveaux ultra conservateurs aux commandes ou le
retour éventuel, suite a de nouvelles élections, du
charismatique Junichiro Koizumi doté d'excellents
sondages de popularité chez les électeurs japonais?
A suivre.


Image, le Japon tel quil se rêve en "terminator."

Resistance sparkling Okinawa shallow waters

Okinawa, July 25th, I fly to Okinawa thousands of
kilometers from Tokyo, I am on a special assignment
report about this pearl of the Pacific island part of
Japan archipelago. Okinawa is the location of an
impressive and dissuasive US military armada. 70% of
US military forces are stationed on Okinawa since it
was reversed to Japan in 1972. About 26000 US
military personal live here and criss cross the whole
Asia and Middle East for security and military
operations. Okinawa is under their thumb and
Okinawans don't like it at all.

Opposition remains firm from population who feels
harassed but also needs the economical assets provided
by US military bases.

There, a few days ago, at Henoko beach where the USA
and Japan government seem to agree to build a new
runway for its Air Forces, an issue far from being
resolved by Tokyo government and local Okinawans
nature lovers, an incident happened, as many before,
between Okinawans and military forces.



One activist, Teruo Onishi of the Nago Peace Commitee,
embarked with us on our frail wooden boat. In spite
of the distance to approach the activists off shore,
we could reach the 3 boats that permanently strike
since nearly 4 years! There we met Taira Natsume, who
could have died from the hand of a JSMDF diver as
local press stated after a very nasty under water
lethal alike struggle between well trained military
divers and peaceful but unwavering activists.

Taira san told us how events got sour after an anti-base
activist action opposed to building a new U.S. airfield at
Henoko and took his protest to a physical violence
level. He was physically trying to block a military diver
from doing his job. The Japan Maritime Self Defense
Forces divers were inspecting underwater sonar
equipment and repairing damages to moorings caused by
Typhoon Man-Yi.

Natsume Taira, leader of the Peace Liaison Network, a
Christian, approached the divers and began disrupting
their work re-securing the sonar units. Taira and
other activists have learned scuba diving in order to
take their protests beneath the water, where they
could watch JSDF divers.



The three divers report that they first ignored Taira
as he interfered with their work. During the scuffle
that ensued, anti-base divers claim one of the JSDF
divers turned off the oxygen valve on Taira’s scuba
air tank, and he was forced to return to the
surface. Taira, whose encounter with the divers was
documented by another underwater anti-base activist
with a camera, now charges the diver tried to kill
him. He is threatening a lawsuit against the JSDF,
claiming the divers’ action prevented him from
breathing. “I am going to contact my lawyer,” he
says, “and see if we can take this to court.”

"Do you think the JMSDF diver wanted to kill you or
just scare you as you are a good diver"? I asked him.
"I do not know for sure if his intentions were to kill
me, but why did he cut air from my tanks? What we
want is simply to preserve life and nature, and this is
why we are opposing the construction of the runway for
the US and Japanese military forces".

When we visited the place, I myself felt a bit of
anxiety when we saw a threatening Japan Coast Guard
helicopter approaching our small boat and the
opponents' cruisers. The chopper flew above our
heads, monitoring and, we guessed, filming our small
boats off shore. Then after spying on us, to the
point to interfere in our freedom of report, and
hearing a few words from the sea... the Coast
Guard helicopter escaped.



Taira's father is a minister who gave him the sense of
moral responsibility and duty and a sense of givings,
his mother Etsumi san said. "

"I belong to a small NGO and I had occasion to bring
medicines to Iraq and went to Fallujah in 2003",
Natsume said. "I consider myself as a responsible
citizen of Okinawa." He said to me before to jump in
the emerald shallow bay of Henoko, marvelous location
for nature lovers indeed and refuge to the famous
endangered specie, the Dugongs.

Okinawa Mayor Mrs. Toumon raised strong issues against
American and Japanese military forces recently at
FCCJ. She strongly believes that the message of peace
from Okinawa has strengthened. Her city of
Okinawa organizes the Kijimuna Festa, an International
Festival for Young Audience, currently into its third
year of its dreamlike art project, at public
facilities in Okinawa City. 250 performing artists
from 15 countries are coming to Okinawa with their
sophisticated art including workshop for Ballet star
such as the extraordinary Dominique Genevois.

Okinawa's Mayor Toumon more than ever stated her
desire to lead Okinawa and youth's lives with ideals
of peace and "nurture individuals and sensitivity".
Are they all ready to face challenges? One roof is
certainly the vitality of the environmental appeal for
the protection of Okinawa's nature to the point of
close confrontation.

Mayor Toumon is helped in this Festa by the famous producer
Shimoyama Hisashi and Okinawa history specialist, the
excellent academic and author Ooshiro Masayasu. (Pen
name Shima Tsuyoshi)

Today, the Oceanic culture of Okinawa, a crossroad
between Asian seas and the Pacific ocean, an Umi no
Kuni, developed a strong commitment to natural
"resistance and identity" as the author Shima
Tsuyoshi wrote. Indeed it is necessary to come and
see the pearl of southern waters to understand what
these words mean to the proud and gentle islanders.



This pic shows how many military bases the United
States has on Okinawa. With these multitudes of
military bases which are present on the Ryukyu Islands, the
Okinawans do not enjoy the military presence. In the
spring of 1996, three United States serviceman were
found guilty in the rape of a 12 year old Okinawan
girl. Since then, more actions have been made to
reduce the amount of space the military bases take up.

The United States military bases have taken up 20
percent of the best Okinawan beaches. The beaches in
Okinawa are a large attraction to tourists. In July
2000 another U.S. serviceman was found guilty of
breaking into a 14 year old girl's room and molesting
her. Time to reflect on the people's needs, with realism.
Okinawans say.

Culture of Okinawa:

To understand the personality of Okinawans:
Two main religions are dominating Okinawa. Animism
and Shamanism have both been influenced by other
religions brought during the influence of Japan and
China.

Animism is the belief that spirits can be found
everywhere in the world. The ancestral spirits, heart
spirit, well spirit, spring spirit, house spirit, tree
spirit, and rock spirit are known as kami. People
involved with Animism believe that relgious rituals
and making the gods happy will keep the bad away and
bring blessings. The most beloved worship sites are
utake, a sacred grove, and the uganju, an honorable
praying place.

Shamanism has two major spirits, the kaminchu and
yuta. Both positions are held by women. The kaminchu
performs relgious rites and the position is passed
down hereditarily. The yuta, a figure between the
spirit world and living world, has supernatural powers
of seeing and hearing. She makes suggestions of what
actions to take. A role held by men is the sanjinso,
fortuneteller. This role has lesser importance than
the kaminchu or yuta. The fortunes are told using the
lunar almanac, I Ching, and some other sources. The
hinukan, fire god, is used as a messenger to the gods.
Many Okinawans use a ceramic censer, kouro, to pray to
hinukan. Many Okinawans also have ancestral shirnes
in the house.

Statistics

Total Population: 1.3 million
Exact Location: 24'' 02' N to 27'' 51' N
Number of Islands: 42 inhabited and 16 uninhabited
Total Land Area: 2,267.48 sq. km
Land Area of Okinawa Island only: 1,199 sq. km

Life style:
Small villages with red tile-roofed houses are the
main housing for Okinawans. Rice and pork are the
main foods eaten. Farming and fishing are a major
occupation. Only the cities have become somewhat
westernized with heavy traffic and Western clothing.
The University of the Ryukyus is located in Naha and
is Okinawa's major higher education system.

Journey into Japan neo fascists dark waters

Photo: Ms. Yuko Tojo with her grand father, the war criminal
Tojo Hideki.

Tojo's grand daughter : "My grandfather has been
maligned as a war criminal"!

She might be more than an embarrassment to the Japanese
democrats who are engaged in the race for the upper
house election partial renewal this July. She is
supported by unknown friends, powerful and rich.
Nostalgic and dangerous fanatics some say, she is the
top of the iceberg of the new neo fascist forces and
intolerant generation of politicians ready to deny
historical evidences.

Tojo's grandfather was prime minister from 1941
through 1944. His granddaughter is running as an
independent for the 2007 Upper House election. She is
among 20 candidates vying for five seats in the Tokyo
constituency.

Tojo was responsible for ordering the attack on Pearl
Harbor that brought Japan into a disastrous war.
Hideki Tojo was found guilty of war crimes by the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East and
sentenced to death. He was hanged at Tokyo's Sugamo
Prison in 1948. His grand daughter, over 60's, is
considered to have almost zero chance of winning a
seat in the face of expected strong showings among
candidates from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party,
Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) and New Komeito.

"This is a great opportunity for me to express my
views and say what must be said in public," she added.
Because of her name-recognition, Tojo was tapped in
2001 and 2004 to run in Upper House elections. She
met with officials of one of the conservative parties
in 2001 and geared up for a run with full party
backing. However, she eventually abandoned the
attempt because of opposition to her running.

"We should never be afraid of generating controversy,"
she says. "It is quite natural to express our sorrow
and sympathy for those who sacrificed their lives for
the country. We should reject such interference in
our domestic affairs. I feel chagrined at Abe's
ambivalent attitude."

If she wins a Diet seat, Tojo said she would call on
the Emperor and the Prime minister to publicly visit
Yasukuni Shrine. "Japan did not commit a war of
aggression. We fought a 'right' war," she said,
echoing the rightist belief that Japan was liberating
Asia from Western colonialism.

"My grandfather was responsible for losing the war,
not starting it," she said. Tojo also vowed to lay to
rest controversies over historical perceptions. She
insists that the death toll in the Nanking Massacre
was exaggerated by China and that the Japanese
government was not directly involved in rounding up
"comfort women" to work in front-line brothels during
the war. She said she would also press for a Diet
resolution criticizing the United States for its 1945
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.


Photo: Japanese wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stands
trail for his crimes during World War Two at the the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
(IMTFE) in 1948.

Tojo also wanted pacifist Article 9 of the
Constitution amended so that Japan can have
full-fledged armed forces. "We cannot protect our
country by ourselves, so how can we call this country
a 'nation'?" she asked. On a final campaign note, she
said that if she is elected she would establish an
official organization to repatriate the remains of
Imperial Japanese Army soldiers from overseas.

Turning once again to her family heritage, she said:
"My grandfather has been maligned as a war criminal. I
want to restore his honor and redeem the honor of
Japan."

Tojo told a news conference at FCCJ that one of her
primary goals in office would be to settle issues from
World War II that remain deeply controversial. On
Japan's mobilization of tens to hundreds of thousands
of "comfort women" to serve in front-line brothels,
Tojo said the government was not directly involved, a
commonly held belief among Japanese conservatives
despite evidence to the contrary. She also said the
often-cited death toll from the Rape of Nanking — as
many as 300,000 — has been grossly inflated by the
Chinese and it must be corrected. Today in Asia -
Pacific

Tojo said the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki went "beyond all the savage acts that
occurred in history up until that time," and accused
the United States of being racially motivated.


(Ms. Yuko Tojo Photo FCCJ)

She claimed the U.S. would not have dropped such
bombs on other "white" nations. Japan, meanwhile,
went to war to "liberate people of color from the
white nations in the world" who were colonizing Asia
at the time, she said. Tojo's positions received
attention because of her family legacy.

Tojo's grandfather, Hideki Tojo, Japan's prime
minister from 1941 to 1944, is widely remembered as a
warmonger who was behind Tokyo's invasions of its
Asian and Pacific neighbors. It was Tojo who also
ordered the Pearl Harbor attack that killed 2,388
American troops and brought the U.S. into World War
II."

Western Courts in Europe and USA might not appreciate
Ms. Tojo views on races and on her ways to express
her horrendous views.



Photo: New Guinea, 1943. An Australian soldier, Sgt
Leonard Siffleet, about to be beheaded with a katana
sword. Many Allied prisoners of war were summarily
executed by Japanese forces during the Pacific War.

[ Definition of Historical revisionism : It is the
attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past.
In its legitimate form (see historical revisionism) it
is the reexamination of historical facts, with an eye
towards updating historical narratives with newly
discovered, more accurate, or less biased information,
acknowledging that history of an event, as it has been
traditionally told, may not be entirely accurate.

"Historical revisionism" (also but less often in
English "negationism") describes the process that
attempts to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or
simply ignoring essential facts.

Perpetrators of such attempts to distort the
historical record often use the term because it allows
them to cloak their illegitimate activities with a
phrase which has a legitimate meaning.

In some countries historical revisionism (negationism)
of certain historical events is a criminal offense.
Examples of historical revisionism (negationism)
include: Japan's comfort women, Holocaust denial, and
Soviet history.

Negationism relies on a number of techniques such as
logical fallacies and appeal to fear. Examples of
negationism and its effects can be found described in
literature, for example Nineteen Eighty-Four by George
Orwell and is used by hate groups on the Internet. ]

Click the link to read the add that a group of Japanese
politicians and academics took out in The Washington
Post, mid June 2007.

More to come about Nippon Kaigi.
(Author text and agencies)

Lee Teng-hui: "I cannot go to France!"

So, I finally talked to Lee Teng-hui!

So many people disapeared in one of the most abhorrent
scandal my country has known... Speaking at the
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, 200
guests attended this record press event, I asked a few
questions to the 84-year-old former leader, one on the
risk of his visit to anger China, and one on the
Taiwan frigates scandal. His answer on the first
question follows but on the frigates, he simply
confessed with a sorrow in the throat that he cannot
even go to France, and voice his respect" for French
culture." He could have said more if my honorable
colleague Dennis had not cut me in the middle of my
question. Anyhow, Lee, quotes: " reiterated that
Taiwan is an "independent country" and urged Beijing
to promote democracy. On Yasukuni Shrine, which
honors Japan's war dead, Lee said, "There is no
rationale for a foreign government to say anything at
all about or criticize" visits by Japanese leaders to
the shrine because "it is natural to pay homage to
young people who died for their own country." Lee said
the problem of Yasukuni visits is an issue "made up by
mainland China and Korea" in an attempt to divert
criticism by their peoples away from domestic issues
that they have "failed to deal with." "Even so, the
Japanese government has been too soft in dealing with
them," he said.

The Yasukuni shrine venerates 2.5 million war dead
including colonial subjects and — most controversially
— 14 top war criminals from World War II. Lee said he
paid the pilgrimage to mourn his late brother, who is
enshrined as he died fighting in the Japanese navy in
1945 when Taiwan was Tokyo's colony. "There is no
reason for Japan to be criticized by foreign countries
or foreign governments over this kind of issue," Lee
said. "It is such a natural thing to honor young
people who died for their country." Japan's former
prime minister Junichiro Koizumi paid annual
pilgrimages to the Yasukuni shrine, infuriating China
and South Korea which refused any summits with him.
In a bid to improve relations, Koizumi's successor
Shinzo Abe has maintained a strategic silence on
whether he will go while in office, even though he was
a frequent visitor before becoming premier in
September. Lee angered Beijing during his 1988-2000
tenure by seeking a separate identity for Taiwan.

Beijing lobbed missiles near the island in 1995 and
1996, prompting the United States to send in warships.
In remarks that will likely trigger more furor in
Beijing, Lee repeated the island was already
effectively independent. "I won't be daunted at all
by whatever China says about Taiwan," Lee said. "The
people in Taiwan shouldn't care about it, either."
"The residents of Taiwan must hold the opinion that
this is our country, otherwise no one would help us,"
Lee said. China's defeated Kuomintang nationalists
fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the mainland's
civil war. Beijing considers the island a territory
awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Lee's
remarks came hours after Chinese President Hu Jintao,
on the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit in
Germany, warned Abe to exercise caution on any
Taiwanese moves for independence. Abe replied there
was no change in Japan's policy of recognising only
Beijing. His government has said Lee was on a private
visit. As a Taiwanese, he does not need a visa to
enter Japan.

Only a dwindling handful of countries recognise Taipei
as China's legitimate government, with Costa Rica on
Wednesday switching allegiance to Beijing. Despite
repeated protests by Beijing, Lee said his trip to
Japan was "a big success" and he wants to visit again.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945 and
many Taiwanese tend to be friendlier than Koreans and
mainland Chinese towards Japan. But indigenous
Taiwanese leaders were outraged by Lee's visit to the
Yasukuni shrine, saying Japan has not yet atoned for
its colonial rule." End of quotes and memo.

Some Taiwanese officials and journalists asked me to
visit Taiwan, they want to invite me there. I'd say,
I ll go for sure once visit the province's museum...

"Yukos is not Enron", Lawyer Robert Amsterdam

(Photo de Akiko Miyake, FCCJ)

Ai assuré la présentation de la conférence de presse
de l'avocat Canadien Robert Amsterdam au FCCJ de
Tokyo, Robert est le défenseur de Mikhail
Khodorkovsky.***

L'empire pétrolier Yukos de M. Khodorkovsky a été
démantelé en 2003, après que celui-ci eût été arrêté
pour fraude. Il purge présentement une peine de
prison en Sibérie. Il pourrait bientôt faire face à
de nouvelles accusations. Son défenseur s'inquiète de
la proximité d'uranium dans sa prison sibérienne me
confiait il en fin de conférence.

Yukos a depuis été démantelée et vendue, avec la
participation de firmes européennes que Robert
Amsterdam accuse de "blanchir les réputations" afin de
demeurer dans les bonnes grâces de M. Poutine.

Un pavé dans la mare du G-8 de Heiligendamm.

- Le blog de Robert Amsterdam est complet sur les cas
d'abus aux droits humains, et apporte de nombreuses
informations sur les questions geopolitiques soulevees
par le levier petrolier et gazier de la Russie.

Citations: "Robert Amsterdam : Perspectives on Russia,
Europe, and International Affairs. On Orders from
Moscow (May 24).

Imagine my dismay when I picked up the International
Herald Tribune today, only to read the following
headline on front cover:

Europe's Energy Giants Call for Business as Usual with
Russia Yes, it seems that with particularly bad
timing, Eni of Italy, Gaz de France and E.ON Ruhrgas
of Germany have jointly called for business-as-usual
with Russia, despite growing tensions between Moscow
and Brussels over a broad range of issues.

Once firms become beholden to Gazprom and the Kremlin
in long-term deals, it seems they must fulfill an
unspoken contractual condition to evangelize against
the national interest of their own countries. At a
moment in which the European Union is struggling to
achieve solidarity and commit to a common energy
policy, enticing the Russians to ratify the Energy
Charter and creating a fair and equitable rule-based
system to de-politicize the energy trade, here come
three opportunistic firms seeking to undermine energy
security and pursue their own bilateral deals with
Gazprom." End of quotes

L'avocat Robert Amsterdam a été interviewé par mes
radios en France. Ses vives critiques sur l'affaire
Yukos citées ici dans PR Newswire:

Citations: (Anglais) LONDON, May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- As
the Russian bankruptcy liquidator organizes the final
auctions of Yukos, once Russia's largest and most
prestigious private oil company, an attorney for
political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky issued the
following comments:

"This is the ending we have been expecting for some
time," said Robert Amsterdam, international defense
counsel to Khodorkovsky. "From the beginning of the
attack on Yukos and the unlawful imprisonment of my
client, to the final rigged auction, the process has
been riddled with procedural and legal violations
which have thoroughly discredited any claim of
legitimacy to the charges by the State."

"The media is wont to say that the conclusion of the
Yukos affair marks the end of an era of vast personal
enrichment - but that's not true. Now it is the
siloviki inside the Kremlin lining their pockets under
the guise of public trust. I challenge the government
to show where the auction money is really going," Mr.
Amsterdam said. "The Kremlin would like you to
believe that Yukos was the Enron of Russia - but
that's not true, and there's no plausible explanation
how in 2004 the company should owe a preposterous
eight rubles tax for every one ruble of revenue, or
how the chief bankruptcy liquidator gets nominated for
the board of Rosneft next to the president's other
friends."

"The most shameful feature of the Yukos auctions has
been Russia's successful arm-twisting of energy
multinationals to provide a service of 'reputation
laundering' in the fencing of these stolen goods,"
said Mr. Amsterdam. "But let it be known to firms
such as ENI, Enel, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell who have
bought or expressed interest in bidding on Yukos
assets, that the number of accomplices does not lessen
the gravity of the crime. Aside from making a mockery
out of their pledges to corporate social
responsibility, their shameful attempts to curry favor
with a corrupt regime at the cost of human rights will
ultimately fail, and within the year these companies
will again face harassment from the authorities."

Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam &
Peroff, is international counsel to the political
prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He writes a blog at
http://www.robertamsterdam.com/. End of quotes

-*** Rappel de l'affaire: (En anglais)



Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (born June 26, 1963)
is a Russian businessman, a former Komsomol activist
who became one of Russia's oligarchs at a very early
age. He was later convicted for fraud and tax evasion
and received a 9-year sentence. As of 2004,
Khodorkovsky was the wealthiest man in Russia, and was
the 16th wealthiest man in the world, although much of
his wealth evaporated because of the collapse in the
value of his holding in the Russian petroleum company
YUKOS.

On October 25, 2003, Khodorkovsky was arrested at
Novosibirsk airport by the Russian prosecutor
general's office on charges of fraud. Shortly
thereafter, on October 31, the government under
Vladimir Putin froze shares of Yukos because of tax
charges. The Russian Government took further actions
against Yukos, leading to a collapse in the share
price. It purported to sell a major asset of Yukos in
December 2004.

On May 31, 2005, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to ten
years in prison, guilty of fraud. A wide variety of
international journalists, politicians, and
businessmen — both in Russia and internationally —
consider this process to be largely political; in
2003, prior to his arrest, Khodorkovsky funded a
Russian political opposition party. Though many
speculate that an independent court would have found
him guilty of fraud (mainly due to the circumstances
of his acquisition of vast sums of money during
privatization efforts after the collapse of the Soviet
economic system), the politics of the decision are
clear. Kremlin involvement has not been proven, but
many dispute the correctness of investigations and
court proceedings. Much of the "western" media
covering the situation tended to side with
Khodorkovsky.

In October 2005 he was moved into prison camp number
13 in the city of Krasnokamensk, Chita Oblast.

In March 2006, Forbes magazine surmised that
Khodorkovsky's personal fortune had declined to a
fraction of its former level, stating that he "still
has somewhere below $500m".

(Ref: Press reports, Forbes, Agencies, Blog)

Journalists, be tough !

Nishiyama said...

I saw him and asked him about other financial
arrangement between Japan and USA and he quoted cases
related to introduction of nuclear vessels into
Japanese waters. But the most important part of his
comments was related to the fact that from times to
times Japanese press lie. How tough judgment not
related only to the indigenous press I'd say.

"A newspaper reporter convicted of writing about
government secrets in the Mainichi more than 20 years
ago is telling journalists they must do more to keep
the public informed. Takichi , whose revelations in
1971 that the U.S. and Japan had secret deals
involving the return of Okinawa to Japanese control
led to his arrest, acquittal and then subsequent
conviction, told the Foreign Correspondents Club in
Japan “The bureaucracy has an iron curtain” that they
must penetrate. In his own case, he revealed that
Tokyo agreed to pay America $4 million extra, beyond
costs, to get Okinawa back. The now elderly reporter
is continuing to try clearing his name, but courts
have rebuffed his challenge to the conviction, saying
it’s too late because the 20 year statute of the
limitation to appeal has expired. He is appealing the
latest decision, arguing that documents made public
since 2000 prove he was right."




Imperial desire of invisibility?

In English:

Is this an expectation for a Royal highness to be quiet or the sign of
a shadow discomfort with protocol? Both, most probably, but
also the sign of a lot of consideration for the Imperial entourage
who cares about their Highnesses who appeared in front of me
at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, (former Edo Castle) as a very
harmonious, elegant and simple, indeed quite tender Royal couple.

In front of a few paintings, one being an Onin in red face...
Japan's Emperor Akihito, left, and Empress Michiko smile as
they attend our news conference ahead of Europe, in their trip
to Sweden, Britain and the three Baltic countries at Imperial Palace
in Tokyo Monday, May 14, 2007. The Japanese royal couple
will take a 10-day trip departing Tokyo on May 21. Emperor
Akihito, an avid scientist, said he does sometimes wish he
had more time to do research, or "to take long walks." But,
busy though his official duties may keep him, he said he does
not spend much time thinking about being anything but what he is.

During the news conference, a representative of my club, the
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan asked where
the Imperial Couple would go if they could spend the
day in hiding. Empress Michiko first stated that she wouldn't
hide herself, but then smiled and added, "If I could become
like an invisible person with a cloak of invisibility, then I
would like to go the second-hand bookstores in Kanda
or Jinbocho (in Tokyo), and spend time browsing through
the books." The Empress mentioned the idea of a cloak
of invisibility as she recalled an incident in which she
abandoned the idea of going to an art exhibition over
concerns that traffic regulations would cause inconvenience.
However, she suggested using such a cloak would be difficult.
"The Imperial Palace police and people from the Metropolitan
Police Department (handling security) might worry a bit about
that," she said, smiling.

Extraordinary event for an extraordinarily kind and caring
Imperial family.

En langue francaise :

Audience extraordinaire question ambiance et pour moi
qui travaille depuis des annees sur la famille
imperiale et sur l histoire japonaise qu'elle accompagne
depuis plus de 2.000 ans, cette fois ci etait
vraiment tres particuliere car j ai vu un couple
imperial heureux, malgre la chape de plomb du
protocole imperial seculaire qui pese sur leurs
epaules fragiles. C' est ma 2 eme "rencontre" avec le
couple Imperial du Japon en quelques semaines. (Un
livre sur la famille imperiale japonaise auquel j ai
participe sur certains points a ete publie au Japon
le mois dernier). Mais si je m'attendais a un strapontin
de presse, j'ai eu la surprise d'etre assis
au premier rang des invites lors du Japan Prize 2007.
Hasard ou pour mieux observer le " Foreign Correspondent".

Mais l'actualite Imperiale n'est pas "ciblee" pour Paris, en
cette periode de changement de dirigeants a la tete de la
France, avec Nicolas Sarkozy succedant a Jacques Chirac,
passionne par le dialogue des cultures et par le Japon et
en particulier par ces redoutables geants Sumotori.

La visite du coupe imperial est liee au passé
des pays Baltes et aux liens delicats des pays Baltes
avec l'ex URSS... Akihito et Michiko, l' empereur et
l' imperatrice, ont exprime leur interet pour la facon
dont les pays Baltes ont lutte pour affirmer et
conserver leurs cultures et "folklores" (sous la
conduite de l'URSS).

Ce qui interesse le Japon est egalement lie aux
questions politiques (le Japon a les Russes en face de
son archipel) et energetiques, le Japon pourrait jouer
un certain role d'engineering, tandis que le voyage en
Suede et en GB est plus dans la tradition des voyages
des Altesses imperiales.

Durant cette audience lundi au palais, il m' est
clairement apparu que l Imperatrice n est donc plus en
"greve de la communication" avec les fonctionnaires de
l'agence imperiale et vis a vis des medias japonais.
Elle etait souvent silencieuse ou grippee ces derniers
mois, en raison de la pression mise par les medias
japonais.

Et le couple imperial m est apparu detendu,
chaleureux, intentionne, si humain! C' est mon
constat personnel. Le couple imperial japonais (plus
de 70 ans) est vu comme un couple de beaux oiseaux
veneres comme des Dieux mais vivant en cage doree, une
famille imperiale un peu encadree par un carcan de
regles centenaires inadaptees au 21e siecle. Pourtant
le couple imperial n en demeure pas moins tres
"naturel", amoureux semble t il l' un de l autre, et
offre un visage sympathique et d'une simplicite
authentique. L'Empereur me confiait un diplomate japonais
est tres informe des choses du monde. Il est source
de joie et de fierte authentique pour les japonais.
(Peu etonnant vu la deception notee face a bien des
politiciens japonais en general)

Cette famille royale japonaise c'est un symbole de
stabilite, certes un phenomene un peu incomprehensible
pour un francais republicain mais c'est la realite d'ici.

En reponse a une de nos deux questions, les " reves "
de l Imperatrice a 72 ans sont de revetir un manteau
d'invisibilite pour "aller faire les bouquinistes a
Tokyo" et pour ne pas perturber eternellement les japonais
lors des deplacements officiels, tandis que l Empereur
ne souhaite pas etre autre chose que ce qu'il est.
Mais il a insiste sur la chance qu'ont eu les jeunes
princes heritiers de la couronne japonaise de pouvoir
voyager a l etranger avec leurs enfants. Allusion
directe aux pressions souvent insupportables des
fonctionnaires japonais et des medias nippons sur les
membres de la famille imperiale et sur la celebre
princesse Masako, sur son epoux heritier du trone des
Chrysantheme Naruhito, et, sur leur petite fille Aiko,
peut etre la future imperatrice.

C'est une jeune femme japonaise qui clamait les
questions devant le couple imperial lors de l audience
a la presse au palais lundi.

J ai note que le Luxembourg a ete mentionne,
l'Empereur rappelait que lors d' un voyage en Europe
il y a bien lontemps, le prince heritier du Luxembourg
avait ete approche par le secretaire americain
Marshall pour qu il lui presente Akihito, celui qui
etait alors Prince heritier, aujourd hui l' actuel
empereur. (Cette reference na pas ete reprise par la
presse japonaise)

L'Empereur est un scientifique specialiste de la vie
marine. Un ecologiste au sens "moderne" du terme. Il
appartient a la celebre societe de Londres du
botaniste suedois Carl Linnaeus. Ce voyage europeen
sera donc place sous le signe de la protection de
l'environnement. Priorite techologique des industries
japonaises qui aime user des symboles aussi.

Pour ce qui est de l'atmosphere du Palais, il y aurait
beaucoup de pages "a noircir d'octets"! Les
batiments, les couloirs, les passages etroits quasi
secrets entre les batiments et les jardins splendides
sont autant de surprises qui muent les visiteurs
en admirateurs calmes et paisibles, cette elegance digne
peut rendre tout un chaucun un peu plus humble face a la
conception du pouvoir en ces lieux historiques.
(rappelons-le, ce palais est bati sur l'emplacement du
chateau d'Edo, l'ancienne capitale du Japon sous les
Shogun Tokugawa). J ai pris des images avec mon
portable ce qui est d' ordinaire interdit, mais
clemence des responsables de la securite, personne ne
m' a oppose de faire ce film une fois le couple
imperial sorti de la salle d audience.

Cette salle affichait des tableaux de fleurs et un
tableau representant un "Onin rouge" enveloppe d'une
chevelure rouge ebouriffee comme un Aka shi-shi Un
"lion rouge" si cher au theatre Kabuki. Un Onin est
un genre d'ogre de personnage mythique terrifiant, une
sorte d ogre, effrayant les enfants dans les montagnes
du nord du Japon...

Nous n'etions pas effrayes, loin de la, mais
simplement, mes camarades et moi, impressionnes par
cette rencontre avec le Tenno pour un etonnant voyage
hors du commun des mortels, emportes quelques heures
durant par des vents divins, eux aussi, invisibles...

Mishima Yukio dit un jour a l'un de mes collegues de
la television francaise qui s'etonnait de decouvrir sa
residence de Tokyo si moderne dans l'arrondissement
d'Ohta ku a Tokyo que seul l'invisible etait la
caracteristique de la philosophie et de l'art de vivre
a la japonaise...

NB: Sur les 5 questions posees pendant une heure et
1/4 : 2 etaient posees par les 10 journalistes de la
presse etrangere invites au Palais qui succedait aux 3
autres par les journalistes japonais invites a
assister a l audience imperiale.

Jlk (Author text & agency)

Chine - Japon: Le réchauffement de la planète Asie!

Une impression de dégel, impression mitigée avec les
mots du premier ministre Wen qui devant les
parlementaires japonais réunis en session unique sur
les bancs de la Chambre des représentants, donnait
parfois dans le trémolo pour convaincre son auditoire
des bonnes intentions chinoises.



Réchauffement, bonne entente, liens privilégiés entre
Wen et Abe... des mots sortis tout droit de
l'imaginaire des thuriféraires propagandistes et de
leurs porte - paroles des médias japonais et chinois,
engagés de concert dans une manip des opinions
publiques sans précèdent dans l'histoire des relations
sino japonaise d'après guerre.

Même Tanaka Kakuei, l'artisan de la normalisation
chinoise doit se retourner dans ses cendres, devant le
théâtre de marionnettes qui a été interprété ces
derniers jours a Tokyo qu'elles soient chinoises ou
japonaises. Les politiciens ont exécuté leur mission
a merveille. Un grand bravo a Abe Shinzo et Wen
Jiabao qui transpiraient sous le poids des
responsabilités arborant des visages figés par la
laque des sourires de circonstances et des prises de
mains tremblantes sous le coup de l'émotion, parfaits
exécutants des partitions que leurs hauts
fonctionnaires leur ont préparé depuis deux ans.



Car depuis des mois ce sont les hauts fonctionnaires
japonais et chinois et les entrepreneurs et banquiers,
qui, furieux du climat détestable imposé par le
conservateur populiste Junichiro Koizumi, ont oeuvré,
assez habilement, au profit du réchauffement entre ces
deux géants asiatiques. En apparence, selon les rites
de la diplomatie des masques, tout s'est bien passé.

Affluence record de négociateurs officiels et non,
d'entrepreneurs et de VIP des deux pays, mesures de
sécurité exceptionnelle a cette heure, a grand renfort
de service secrets japonais et chinois, les premiers
courtois mais armés jusqu'au dent sous les vestons,
ont transformé Tokyo en citadelle assiégée, les
seconds, arborant une politesse exquise mais l'oeil
terrifié des qu'une bande vieux copains journalistes
chinois s'approchent de moi pour renouer des liens
tissés des années auparavant a Tokyo ou Pékin... Il
n'y a pourtant pas de danger dans nos échanges dictés
par le "réchauffement" et "l'amitié mutuelle"...



Donc, le monde aura vu l'image de ces deux dirigeants
se serrant la main! Ouf! Engagés dans un dialogue
stratégique, entendez surtout économique, énergie,
environnement, commerce, deux onces de technologies,
des échanges de jeunes, et quelques rendez vous sur
les questions de défense, et les armes chimiques
oubliées par les japonais en 1945 en Mandchourie (Nord
Est de la Chine) en prenant garde ne pas fâcher les
alliés des japonais, les américains, dont l'un des
porte parole, un Amiral, était hier dans le bureau
d'Abe Shinzo pour lui rappeler que la diplomatie
japonaise était conduite par Washington et au
Pentagone... tandis que Wen discutait avec le
Keidanren, le patronat japonais, non loin.

Mais au demeurant, mission accomplie:
Une impression de bon travail des diplomates sino
japonais, une excellente coopération des services du
premier ministre Abe du "Kantei et du "Gaimusho" qui
n'ont pas hésité a recevoir jusqu'à minuit quelques
journalistes correspondants comme S, S ou A, pour les
briefer. Qu'ils en soient remerciés. Le premier
d'entre eux, proche d'Abe Shinzo a l'envergure d'un
grand diplomate et je ne serai pas surpris qu'il soit
un jour l'un des meilleurs ambassadeurs du Japon qui
"ose". Tout comme l'excellent directeur général du
Gaimusho en charge de la Chine, ou encore comme le
professeur de l'université Keio, Kokubun sensei,
passionné par la Chine et par la réalisation d'une
amitié fidèle et d'une authentique coopération entre
ces deux puissance que sont Chine et Japon, bien
au-delà de l'Asie que veulent réaliser les marchands
et les banquiers... et les américains profiteurs des
bonnes opérations.

Mais le Japon est il prêt?



Les japonais, bornés, carrés, coincés, timides,
sensibles, capables de la pire noirceur des desseins
et d'immoralités comme des meilleurs sentiments et
entreprises, se prennent les pieds dans les tapis de
leurs éternelles contradictions au nom de ce sport
national nippon qu'est la dualité et ses ambiguïtés
souvent pathétiques, parfois lâches ou même
trahissantes au point de les rendre malfaisants aux
yeux des "Gaijins"!

Dualisme (Tatemae - Honne en japonais)

Sont ils prêts a lutter avec les maîtres du nord? Les
élites chinoises que près de 60 ans de communisme,
amadoués par le chant des sirènes capitalistes depuis
les réformes de Deng de 1978, ont transformé en
admirables négociateurs, en apparence redoutables
diplomates et bâtisseurs d'Empires économiques et
financiers, parfaits copieurs de scénarii écrits
ailleurs et par d'autres jouent les re-créateurs.
Donc, l'envers du décors chinois demeure encore
fragile, bien fluet et inexpérimenté, comme des
infrastructures en ombres chinoises, a l'image de ces
gratte ciels de 50 étages, corsetés par des murs de
bambous qui dessinent des grilles immuables sur le
béton et la glace...?



Mais sur les dossiers qui fâchent: énergie, gisement
gaziers de mer de Chine, défense, et harmonisation des
vues historiques, point d'accord. Sur le dossier des
gisements gaziers, motif possible de futures
escarmouches, un haut dirigeant du ministère japonais
des affaires étrangères me déclarait hier a Iikura
House, que les chinois demeuraient intraitables sur le
dossier. Gaz ou pétrole, deux motifs suffisants pour
ne pas tomber ans les génuflexions idéologiques
auxquelles se sont livrées bien des reporters
japonais, incultes de l'histoire et de la civilisation
chinoise, prêts, comme leurs rédacteurs en chefs (la
soixantaine) a vilipender les chinois, les jalousant
voire même les haïssant secrètement, car élevés dans
un Japon pauvre et vaincu, blessés dans leur honneur
d'ex samouraïs a la petite semaine, aveugles par leur
Mikado et leur clique du "Mandchukuo", puis par les
errements de la guerre froide ou le moto était de
considérer les chinois et les coréens comme des
peuples sous développés, ignares, dangereux,
barbares.

Alors qui était ce Wen? Le visiteur devant le Congres
du Peuple de Pékin, ou bien était ce le dignitaire
représentant de commerce venu défricher le terrain
avant la visite de son président Hu Jintao en 2008,
devant une nation japonaise insulaire, méfiante,
engagée sur une dangereuse pente nationaliste et
encouragée dans cette méfiance par son fidèle allié
américain, qui nourrit a l'égard de la Chine beaucoup
d'inquiétudes sur les intentions qu'il croit
belliqueuse et querelleuse? C'est bien mal connaître
le coeur et l'âme chinoise, plus passionnée qu'un
fleuve en furie... et qui selon Confucius est prête a
"Rendre le bien pour le bien et la justice pour le
mal..."


Politiquement, j'ai choisi de retenir les commentaires
de deux politiciens japonais qui me semblent
caractéristiques du climat juste après le discours de
Wen Jiabao a la Diète, "une meilleure atmosphère entre
Pékin et Tokyo" estime Kato Koichi, un politicien
ancien proche de Junichiro Koizumi et ardent défenseur
de ce rapprochement.



"Beaucoup de bonne volonté des chinois permettront au
Japon de parvenir au Conseil de Sécurité des Nations
Unies" estime quant a elle "Kuni chan" Madame Kuniko
Inoguchi, parlementaire et ancien ministre de Koizumi.
Et très francophile.

Voila pour les impressions personnelles, a chaud,
voici maintenant un déroulé des événements, plus
factuel, plus "agencier". Je n'ai pas trouve de photo
de Wen Jiabao en train de faire son Jogging a 06h30 du
matin jeudi au parc Yoyogi, la presse japonaise,
toujours aussi aimable et coopérative n'a pas juge bon
d'informer les journalistes européens de ce petit
épisode théâtrale ou M. Wen Jiabao a destressé au pas
de course des body - guards de la police secrète
chinoise et japonaise...

Wen au Parlement japonais le 12 avril:

"Nous espérons sincèrement que le Japon mettra en
pratique par des actions, ses déclarations et ses
promesses, il existe des intérêts communs en constante
progression entre la Chine et le Japon", a déclaré Wen
Jiabao durant son allocution de 35 minutes, Wen qui a
eu droit aux applaudissements répétés de son auditoire
avec ce premier discours d'un dirigeant chinois devant
la Diète nippone. Ce discours entre dans le cadre de
la visite de trois jours de Wen au Japon, visant à
confirmer le réchauffement des relations diplomatiques
amorcé en octobre, avec la visite à Pékin de son
homologue Shinzo Abe. S'il a rappelé que "l'invasion
japonaise a été une calamité pour le peuple chinois",
Wen a affirmé que "le peuple chinois veut vivre en
toute amitié avec le peuple japonais", ajoutant que
Pékin ne souhaite pas de confrontation sur les projets
militaires, les frontières maritimes ou l'énergie. Il
a notamment tenu à rassurer les Japonais sur la
puissance militaire grandissante de la Chine. "Je
peux prendre la responsabilité personnelle de vous
dire que la Chine porte le drapeau du développement
pacifique". Sans vraiment convaincre les
nationalistes du régime, notamment Junichiro Koizumi
et Shoichi Nakagawa, apparemment absents de
l'hémicycle durant le discours de Wen Jiabao.

Répétant un message déjà délivré à son homologue
Shinzo Abe, le Premier ministre chinois a prévenu que
le Japon ne devait pas soutenir l'idée d'une
indépendance de Taiwan, ancienne colonie japonaise
considérée par Pékin comme une province rebelle qui
doit accepter tôt ou tard la réunification. "Le Japon
doit reconnaître la sensibilité de cette question" qui
est au "coeur des intérêts de la Chine", a-t-il dit.
Les deux voisins asiatiques ont vu leurs relations se
tendre pendant le quinquennat du Premier ministre
japonais Junichiro Koizumi, le prédécesseur d'Abe, qui
s'est rendu chaque année au sanctuaire controversé de
Yasukuni, dédié aux morts de la guerre. Jeudi, Shinzo
Abe a salué la visite de son homologue chinois. "Le
Japon et la Chine ont une longue histoire, qui s'étend
sur 2.000 ans. En ayant à l'esprit cette longue
histoire, nous devons bâtir des relations stratégiques
mutuellement profitables et tournées vers l'avenir",
a-t-il déclaré aux journalistes. "Cette visite au
Japon du Premier ministre Wen constitue un grand pas
dans cette direction."




Image: Manifestations japonaises, Falun Gong, agriculteurs,
extrême droite & Yakuza.


J'étais au discours de Wen Jiabao, "séquence historique", pris ici avec
une collègue de Singapour.

Wen Jiabao to Japan: success if good atmosphere!

"Governing by laws and punishments does not cultivate
the virtue of the people. Governing by "moral force"
(te) and "ritual" (good manners, ) does."

This is what Confucius wrote and may inspire both
leaders at that crucial and historical crossroad of
Japan and China relation.

Beijing and Tokyo "both countries' top priority will
be to maintain a good atmosphere and create it for the
best of the two nations, so Japan has to make sure
that prime minister Wen's visit is a great success,
according to Ryosei Kokubun, director of the Institute
of East Asian Studies at Tokyo's Keio University.

"A successful visit will require that both sides
accentuate the positive and avoid generating an
expectation of breakthroughs on points of tension. One
potentially fruitful ? and uncontroversial ? area of
cooperation is the environment: China's rapid
industrialization and inefficient energy use has
created a horrific pollution problem; Japan has coped
with similar problems in the past to become one of the
world's most efficient energy users, and its expertise
in this field could be of great benefit to China.

A more challenging energy issue, however, is the
disputed ownership of rich underwater natural gas
deposits in the East China Sea. Maritime boundary
lines between China and Japan aren't fixed, and both
claim a right to the gas ? ships from the two
countries faced off in tense confrontations in the
area in 2004 and 2005. Even if they've managed to
ease the standoff, the competition for scarce energy
resources between two countries without adequate
domestic supplies of their own make it difficult to
resolve.

Abe and Wen will discuss the possibility of jointly
developing the gas deposits, but Tokyo isn't hopeful.
"I don't think we'll sign anything specific," says a
senior Japanese foreign ministry official. "If it's
worthwhile we will, and if it's not, we won't." The
two sides may also sidestep their differences on how
to handle North Korea's nuclear program ? Japan wants
more pressure on Pyongyang, but China has orchestrated
a softer compromise in the Six-Party process. Despite
the strains ? and the rivalry dating back millennia ?
today's China-Japan relationship is held together by
an overwhelming imperative: business. Even when ties
were at their frostiest over Koizumi's visits to
Yasukuni and the response of Chinese protestors,
economic ties continued to strengthen ? last year,
bilateral trade passed $200 billion, and China will
soon become Japan's top trading partner."
(Agencies)

Revue de presse en Francais (Source (Amb Fr)

C?est la première fois depuis six ans et demi qu?un
Premier ministre chinois se rend au Japon. Le
MAINICHI note que les deux pays envisagent de mettre
en avant une ambiance amicale, en publiant un
communiqué commun sur leur coopération en matière
énergétique et environnementale, conformément à l?idée
de créer une « relation d?intérêt mutuel stratégique »
sur laquelle MM. Abe et Wen s?étaient mis d?accord en
octobre dernier, lors de la visite du Premier ministre
nippon en Chine. Le quotidien souligne en outre que
les deux hommes assisteront jeudi à la première
réunion des ministres économiques des deux pays, qui
servira de base à un dialogue économique stratégique
régulier tel qu?il existe entre la Chine et les
Etats-Unis. Toutefois, poursuit le quotidien, la
question des gisements gaziers de la Mer de Chine
orientale reste sans perspective de déblocage, tandis
que la question du passé historique continue d?être
susceptible de plonger les relations nippo-chinoises
dans la mésentente.

Le NIKKEI et le TOKYO SHINBUN soulignent que les
gouvernements japonais et chinois visent à se mettre
d?accord, au moment de la rencontre des Premiers
ministres Abe et Wen le 11 avril, sur la mise en
service d?ici la fin de l?année d?un vol charter
reliant directement Haneda et Shanghai, à raison de
deux à quatre vols aller-retour par jour.

Le YOMIURI signale pour sa part que la Chine coopèrera
au règlement de la question des kidnappés. Le
communiqué commun mentionnerait que la Chine «
fournira la coopération nécessaire » pour le règlement
de la question des kidnappés. Ce serait la première
fois que la l?on évoque cette question dans un
communiqué commun nippo-chinois.

Le SANKEI signale de son côté que les médias chinois
présentent successivement le Japon : China Central TV
a diffusé, durant trois semaines, des émissions
présentant le Japon aux heures de grande écoute,
tandis qu?un hebdomadaire édité par l?agence de presse
nationale a publié un dossier spécial intitulé «
voyage pour faire fondre la glace » (de l?expression
employée par le Premier ministre Wen Jiabao pour sa
visite au Japon) ; plusieurs journaux ont publié des
articles présentant le Japon. Le SANKEI y voit
l?intention des autorités chinoises d?atténuer
l?opinion anti-japonaise du pays et de prêter main
forte à la politique de Pékin de promouvoir les
relation avec l?Archipel.

Exchange of students and cultural grassroots
cooperation: target to a better future for a better
Asia. More humane, more respectful and creative with
more diversity and imagination in the shaping of their
common design and destiny.

Pyongyang sales everything everywhere!

The United States did not act to prevent a recent
shipment of arms from North Korea to Ethiopia, even
though sketchy intelligence indicated the delivery
might violate a U.N. Security Council resolution
restricting North Korean arms sales, Bush
administration officials said yesterday.

In the same time, Japan forbids a shipment of clams
from North Korea to Japan Furusato (Home province) of
Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

The president of a seafood company in Sanyoonoda,
Yamaguchi Prefecture, and seven employees were
arrested Saturday for allegedly importing North Korean
clams in February without authorization. The Japan
Coast Guard and Yamaguchi Prefectural Police suspect
that Toen Boeki K.K. President Noboru Fujioka, his
brother and company executive Yoshio Fujioka, and six
other employees imported littleneck clams from North
Korea and sold them as Chinese products. Clams are
subject to Japan's economic sanctions on North Korea.
Eleven crew members of a Chinese cargo ship, which
allegedly imported the clams, were also served with
fresh arrest warrants. The company has said it has
ordered shipments of Chinese clams but never ordered
North Korean products.

2 acts of confusion... or fact that North Korea did
indeed convert to market economy when it likes it?

Back to the weapons sales, full story in French:
(Sources Agences, NYT, WP)


Image de Michael Kamber (NYT)

L'administration Bush a autorisé l'Ethiopie à aller au
bout d'un achat secret d'armements à la Corée du Nord,
qui viole une résolution du Conseil de sécurité sur
des sanctions contre Pyongyang, rapporte le New York
Times dans son édition de dimanche.

Citant des responsables américains de plusieurs
organismes, le New York Times écrit que les Etats-Unis
ont donné leur feu vert à la livraison d'armes en
janvier parce que l'Ethiopie était engagée dans des
combats contre les milices islamistes en Somalie et
parce que cette offensive aide la lutte que mène
Washington contre les militants d'Al Qaïda dans la
Corne de l'Afrique.

Un porte-parole du département d'Etat américain s'est
refusé à tout commentaire sur les détails de cette
livraison d'armes, mais a déclaré que les Etats-Unis
étaient "profondément attachés au maintien et à
l'application des résolutions du Conseil de sécurité
de l'Onu", écrit le journal. L'ambassade d'Ethiopie
aux Etats-Unis n'a fait aucune déclaration.

L'ex-ambassadeur des Etats-Unis à l'Onu John Bolton,
qui a contribué à faire adopter la résolution imposant
des sanctions contre la Corée du Nord en octobre
dernier, après l'essai nucléaire réalisé par
Pyongyang, a estimé que les Etats-Unis auraient dû
demander à l'Ethiopie, pays allié de Washington, de
renvoyer ces armes à la Corée du Nord.

LIVRAISON CONNUE DEPUIS OCTOBRE

"Je sais qu'elles (les armes) ont été utiles en
Somalie, mais la Corée du Nord a un programme
d'armements nucléaires qui est inutile pour le monde
entier", a-t-il dit, cité par le New York Times.

Les services de renseignement américains ont signalé
fin janvier qu'un cargo éthiopien ayant probablement à
son bord des pièces de blindés et d'autres matériels
militaires avait appareillé d'un port nord-coréen.
Après un bref débat à Washington, il a été décidé de
ne pas faire obstacle à cette vente d'armes et de
presser les Ethiopiens de ne plus acheter à l'avenir
d'armes à la Corée du Nord, selon le journal.

On ignore si les Etats-Unis ont signalé cette vente
d'armes nord-coréennes au Conseil de sécurité, ajoute
le NYT.

Plusieurs responsables américains ont déclaré au
journal qu'ils avaient appris pour la première fois
que l'Ethiopie prévoyait de recevoir une cargaison
d'armes de Corée du Nord lorsque le gouvernement
d'Addis-Abeba en a informé l'ambassade des Etats-Unis
en Ethiopie après l'adoption de la résolution de
sanctions le 14 octobre.

"Les Ethiopiens sont venus nous voir et ont dit
'voyez, nous savons que nous devons passer à d'autres
clients, mais nous ne pouvons pas le faire du jour au
lendemain", déclare un responsable américain, cité par
les journalistes MICHAEL R. GORDON and MARK MAZZETTI
du New York Times.