From Tokyo to Tahiti, Islanders' Talks about Delicacy

Japanese minister of Agriculture Nakagawa Shoichi
engaged in a chat with the author of Asian Gazette at
the French embassy National Bastille Day July 14, 2006
in Tokyo. A recent delegation of Japanese experts'
visited Tahiti to target and to evaluate potential
methods of bi-lateral cooperation and was initiated
from French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru's visits
to Japan last August and last May. During the May
visit, President Temaru told Japanese Agriculture and
Fishing Minister Shoichi Nakagawa he would be
interested in having Japanese experts visiting Tahiti.



Tahiti Island, Society Islands, French Polynesia,
central South Pacific Ocean. The largest of the
Society Islands, it occupies an area of 402 sq mi
(1,042 sq km) in their eastern group. Papeete, the
capital of French Polynesia, is on Tahiti.



The island's interior is mountainous, rising to 7,339
ft (2,237 m) at Mount Orohena; its towns are located
on the coastal plain. Long inhabited by Polynesians,
it was visited by British Capt. Samuel Wallis in 1767
and in 1768 by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who
claimed it for France.



It became a French colony in 1880 and is now part of
the self-governing overseas territory of French
Polynesia. Continued French nuclear testing in the
area has angered the inhabitants and brought calls for
independence. Tourism is economically important.



Attracted by the Polynesian culture and spectacular
climate and scenery, both Paul Gauguin and Robert
Louis Stevenson lived in Tahiti and expressed its
romantic allure through their works.



Maritime activity has a broad spectrum. Fishing and
farming, defense and security, tourism industry,
cultural diversity, sustainable development, a theme
dear to French president Chirac. For instance, about
defense, the Japanese white paper on defense proposed
to advance the status of defense agency to a defense
ministry. It empowers the defense minister to put up
proposals to cabinet independently, conduct marine
preparation activity, make relevant laws and propose
independent budget in order to get more military funds
in the national budget. Research and developement
included.



French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru met late July
with three Japanese experts prior to an exploratory
visit to Tahiti linked to several projects and more to
come in connection with an aquaculture farm on the
Tuamotu Atoll of Rangiroa and a tuna-breeding project
for the Tuamotu Atoll of Hao.

In the last 10 years, a variety of agreements were
signed between France and Japan and among them to
allow Japanese fishermen to come and fish around the
French Polynesia territory in the Pacific ocean.



The Japanese delegation, which included fishing expert
Shingo Ota, was to visit French Polynesia's fishing
and aquaculture centers, accompanied by Tahiti's sea,
fishing, aquaculture and research minister, Keitapu
Maamaatuaihutapu. Those visits including the
government's Fishing Department, the future Sea
Center, Papeete's commercial fishing port, the South
Pacific Shipyard (CPNS) in Papeete Harbor, commercial
fish wholesalers and meetings with French Polynesia
fish transformation industries.



On the splendid paradise on Earth, Rangiroa, the
Japanese experts showed interest in a visit of a
breeding farm for coral reef larvae destined for the
aquaculture market.

More to come, no doubt.

Japan : Lost paradise for Internet preys

Quote of Matsushita Shuji news:
"My name is Mrs. Fadimatu 'Yar Sakkwato. Once, I was
the second concubine of onetime head of state of
Nigeria, late Alhaji Sani Abacha. As everybody knows
well, he had stashed away more than 3 billion dollars
(US$3,000,000,000)...

Alhaji Sani Abacha, the most corrupt dictator of
Nigeria, who died while whoring. After so many years,
his legacy still works as the central theme of many a
Nigerian letter fraud.

Thus started the infamous Nigerian letter scam, or 419
fraud. Mobile Ojisan receives tons of them in his
inbox everyday. These scammers, I guess, are firm
believers of patterns. Almost all the letters never
deviate from the pattern set around 20 years ago by
creative Igbo gangs in Southern Nigeria.

If only they had translated the emails into readable
Japanese with tolerable honorifics and sent them to
Japan exclusively, those scammers could have retired
very young and rich in Riviera or Bahamas. Because
this land is wall-to-wall carpeted with eager dupes.

Presently, the most fashionable (!) Internet con in
Japan is called One-Click fraud. Of course, there are
millions of variations. But the basic plot is like
this:

First, victim is lured to a dubious Web site by a spam
mail or blog trackback, believing it's a high-powered
libido location. Or, online dating site with full of
supernatural promises.

There on the site, some fineprint is displayed. You
have to click "I AGREE" button to proceed. Then, all
hell breaks out.

.Your IP address: xxxxxxxx,
.Your remote-host: yyyyyyyy,
.Your provicer: zzzzzzzz,
.Your network: aaaaaaa, bbbbbb, ccccc ...
THANK YOU FOR JOINING OUR EXCLUSIVE CLUB.
.Your membership fee is 60,000 yen for 60 days. Please
transfer the amount within three days. If not, we
have no choice but to acquire your name, address, and
phone number from your provider, and physically
contact you. Our agent might call on your
office/school/family, then.
.Our account particulars: ddddddddd, eeeeeeee

Sometimes, a naughty .exe file is quietly pushed into
viewer's PC, and threatening window pops out
constantly to intimidate the victim.

If he calls or sends an email to this con site to
protest, these jokers will be overjoyed. Adding some
concrete information to their easy dupe database!

I guess, most of the Asian Net users, if faced with
this kind of ridiculous but threatening message, would
laugh away scornfully and forget it immediately. But
in Japan, quite a few people take it rather seriously.
Besides, the guilty conscience that one has ventured
into a libido site does not help the situation.

Also, the ingrained Japanese psychological urge to
avoid any kind of fuss, trouble, conflict or dispute
at any cost kicks in.

"Ah, what the heck. Just a matter of small money!"

Oho, you've clicked! Display says: Registration of
your membership application completed. Thank you for
your agreeing with the contract!!

Yes, those con artists never overdo. Their demand
seldom exceeds, say, 50,000 yen (US$435), the
psychological threshold between small money and
not-so-small-money. Online bank transfer completed.
Naughty .exe warning refuses to go away, of course.
The victim finally realizes that he has been done for.

The most beautiful point of this scam is that nobody
rushes to the police station because he's been scraped
off a tiny amount of dough. Thus, One-Click software
keeps on working silently and dilligently without let
and hindrance from the side of law. Con artists' bank
account (constantly shifting from one to another, as
usual) gets fatter and fatter. These scammers shed
absolutely no sweat and toil. Hurray, Internet!

Sure, the One-Crick fraud works only in Japanese
mental environment, as you notice. Wanna stick your
finger in the honeypot? I'm afraid it's a bit too
late because, already, the field is pretty cluttered
up with Chinese and Korean (South, not from North) Net
tricksters." (Copyright From Matsushita Shuji)

Scholars say : Pyongyang's new missiles aim Japan

Kim Sung-han is a professor and director general for
American studies, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and
National Security :

" Now that North Korea has turned its back on the
international community's wish and committed a
provocative act, Washington has no option but to
discuss pressure and sanctions against Pyongyang at
bilateral and multilateral levels. The United States
is seeking ways to "punish" North Korea politically
and economically at the bilateral level and in the
United Nations. Japan, which has always reacted more
sensitively to North Korea's missile threat than to
its nuclear program, has also found it difficult to
just sit and watch as North Korea takes steps to
aggravate the situation. Thanks to the "failure" of
North Korea's latest Taepodong-2 missile test, a
missile did not pass through Japan's airspace, unlike
in 1998. Even if the missile test failure was not the
intended outcome on the part of Pyongyang, however,
Japan has to take preventive measures at all levels."

So, it is said :

North Korea is building new bases on its east coast,
possibly to deploy ballistic missiles targeting Japan
and its U.S. military installations, a state-run
South Korean think tank said. The move could involve
plans to deploy the long-range Taepodong-2 missile
that the North test-fired last month, the Institute of
Foreign Affairs and National Security said in a
report. The reclusive state is also believed to have
obtained Chinese technology via Iran while developing
the Taepodong-2, its newest long-range missile and one
believed capable of reaching the U.S., the state-run
institute said in the report.

"New underground missile bases have been built or are
under construction around the border with China and
along the east coast," the report said. Those "on the
east coast could be seen as bases for medium- or
long-range missiles targeting Japan and U.S. military
bases in Japan," it said. Taepodong-2 and SSN-6
missiles, which have a range of up to 4,000 km, could
be deployed to the new bases, the think tank said. The
report, dated July 26, didn't give a source for the
information. Its main author, Yun Deok Min, could not
be reached for comment. Missile exports have been a
major source of hard currency for North Korea. The
report said the North makes $ 150 million a year from
missile exports. Buyers of North Korean missiles
include Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Yemen, according
to the report. "North Korea is at the center of
global ballistic missile proliferation," it said.



Since North Korea launched a shorter-range Taepodong-1
over Japan in 1998, Pyongyang's missile program has
become a major security issue in Northeast Asia,
adding to concerns about the hardline regime's pursuit
of nuclear arms. Tensions flared anew when the
Pyongyang regime test-fired seven missiles toward
Japan on July 5, including a Taepodong-2. The
missiles landed harmlessly in waters between the
Korean Peninsula and Japan, but the Taepodong-2 failed
right after launch. The report said North Korea
closely cooperated with Iran in developing the
Taepodong-2 and there is a high possibility Chinese
designs and technology are being used in its
development because Iran has cooperative relations
with China in the defense industry. The report also
said the North has a Scud missile base just 50 km
north of the border with South Korea that can hit
targets deep in the South.

Francais : Commentaire

"Toute exacerbation de la confrontation politique
débouchant sur un isolement de la Corée du Nord et
l'application de sanctions contre elle contrediraient
nos intérêts à long terme en Asie du Nord-Est. De
toutes les conséquences négatives éventuelles qui en
découleraient les plus graves seraient la disparition
des perspectives d'un règlement du problème nucléaire,
le torpillage du projet de construction de la voie
ferrée Transcoréenne avec notre participation et de
son raccordement sur le Transsibérien pour assurer
l'acheminement de conteneurs entre l'Asie et l'Europe.
Il faudrait aussi abandonner le projet prévoyant des
livraisons d'hydrocarbures en République de Corée.

Depuis le vote au Conseil de sécurité la Russie ne
détient plus de leviers réels permettant de contrôler
la situation autour de la Corée du Nord. Ils sont
désormais entre les mains des Américains. Avec de
tels atouts, Washington va pouvoir chercher à
attribuer à Moscou le rôle d?auxiliaire. Il est
probable que les Etats-Unis vont concocter un
programme à eux de "mise à mort" de la Corée du Nord,
conforme à leur manière d?agir à l'égard des "Bad
Boys".

Il est patent que maintenant Moscou aura énormément de
mal à renouer la discussion avec les Nord-coréens qui
ont douloureusement réagi aux démarches diplomatiques
russes à l'ONU. Cependant, nous devrions dire
clairement à nos partenaires occidentaux que la Russie
ne considère pas l'histoire des missiles comme un
prétexte pour exacerber la situation autour de la
Corée du Nord et prendre de nouvelles décisions
draconiennes, aussi motivées soient-elles. Maintenant
que la résolution 1695 du Conseil de sécurité a été
adoptée, il faut tirer un trait sur la question des
missiles. La Russie ne saurait appuyer des actions
susceptibles d'approfondir l'isolement et de durcir le
châtiment de la Corée du Nord."

Alexandre Vorontsov, de l'Institut d'études
orientales. Académie des sciences de Russie. Cité par
Vremia novostei, 04/08/2006. (Traduction)


" Hotoke no kao mo, san do made! "

Life begins at 70 for Fukuda who goes fishing

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said
Friday July 21st that he would not run in the Liberal
Democratic Party's presidential election in autumn.
This was a serious blow to the supporters of Fukuda
who lobbied for him expecting gains from his
candidacy. His decision is explained by Fukuda's
flock as "one made by a responsible politician who
earnestly considers the future of the nation". Fukuda
reportedly decided against throwing his hat in the
ring because he thought running for the presidency
would stir up Yasukuni Shrine visits as a key campaign
issue.



Fukuda has been circumspect about visits to the
shrine, whereas Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe,
the prime contender to eventually become the next LDP
president and therefore prime minister, has not been
shy in expressing his support for visits by lawmakers
to the shrine.

In opinion polls on prime ministerial quality, Mr.
Abe Shinzo, current chief cabinet secretary, has
scored about 50 per cent, while Fukuda has only been
able to muster about a mere 18 per cent approval
rating. The move, however, comes as a disappointment
to observers who considered Mr. Fukuda more able to
build friendly relations with China and South Korea by
vowing to shun visits to the Yasukuni shrine, which
honors convicted war criminals, and a steadier pair
of hands when it comes to running the economy. Abe
since admitted he won't go to the Yasukuni shrine
either.



Fukuda had called for updating the last century Fukuda
Doctrine, a policy of conciliation towards the rest of
east Asia. "If I join the race, the issue of Yasukuni
and Japanese diplomacy in Asia will be the biggest
issue. That would divide national opinion into two
blocs. We should avoid such a situation", said an LDP
lawmaker quoting Mr. Fukuda, according to Kyodo wire
news. Mr. Abe's political slap rose greatly after
North Korea test fired missiles, when he warned
Pyongyang that its actions would not be tolerated and
mentioned military surgical strike back against North
Korea. He has also taken a hard line on China at a
time of growing regional friction. His conviction
that Japan should be "normal" again makes him a
natural champion of the sort of active global role
Washington and most European nations' leaders envisage
for Japan.

DPJ Chief Ozawa : a missile attack on North Korea? "Rude, extreme, dangerous"

Japan observers would choose Ozawa Ichiro if they were
asked to pick one single Japanese politician who
attracted the most attention in the 1990s. It was
Ozawa who broke off from the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) in 1993, and played a leading part in bringing
an end to the LDP's single-party dominance which
lasted 38 years. Ozawa also handpicked Hosokawa
Morihiro to head the fragile eight-party coalition
government.

Then, he upset the Socialist Party which left the
coalition government, leaving the Hata Tsutomu
administration as a minority government. When the
Hata administration collapsed, the antipathy against
Ozawa among the LDP and the Socialist members
contributed to the establishment of the LDP Socialist
Sakigake coalition government under the leadership of
the Socialist Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi. For
better or worse, Ozawa was the leading figure of the
Japanese political scene in the 1990s.



Ozawa, however, is not only active in domestic
politics but also in the foreign policy decision
making. Ozawa was vocal about foreign policy, and he
was consistent throughout the 1990s. He always put
emphasis on a larger international role for Japan, and
he pursued this objective and DPJ Chief does not stop
convincing domestic crowds, international audiences
and foreign correspondents.

The leader of Japan's largest opposition party on
Wednesday denounced government officials' argument of
"ensuring (Japan's) capability to attack overseas
enemy bases" as a baseless fallacy, Kyodo News
reported. Ichiro Ozawa, chief of the Democratic Party
of Japan (DPJ), made the remarks when he was asked by
reporters about his view on the argument that Japan
should consider building the capability to attack
foreign bases in case a missile attack was imminent.
Ozawa said the viewpoint, which was put forward
recently by government and ruling camp figures, was
too "rude" and "extreme." He described the argument as
"dangerous," which he said was intended to legitimize
any preemptive attack whenever Japan named an area as
"overseas enemy bases."



During his lecture at the Foreign Correspondents Club
Japan, Ozawa said he believed the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea's rocket and nuclear technologies
had not reached levels high enough to stage
destructive attacks on Japan and other countries.
Ozawa, a seasoned lawmaker who was elected president
of the DPJ in early April, dismissed the idea of
arming Japan with nuclear power, saying it was "not
favorable both politically and militarily."

Ozawa also strongly criticized Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's foreign policy. "As a member of
the Asian community, Japan should have played an
important role, but the fact is it even failed to
build up reliable ties with neighboring countries," he
said. He added that regaining the trust of other
Asian nations toward Japan was a precondition for
Japan to play a larger role in the region in the
coming decades. (Wire news & report)

Reporting in Takeshima : Under Seoul good will ?

Sixteen members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Japan have signed up for a visit later this month to a
pair of South Korean-controlled islets claimed by
Tokyo, sources familiar with the planned trip said
Friday.

The 16 participants, including two Japanese, will
travel on a Korean Coast Guard ship to visit the
disputed territory known as Takeshima in Japan and
Dokdo in South Korea as part of their July 23-25 trip,
the sources said.


According to the FCCJ, the group will arrive in Seoul
on July 23 and proceed to Mukho port. It will leave
Mukho by Korean Coast Guard vessel for Ullungdo and
later visit Dokdo.



After spending a minimum one hour on Dokdo, the group
will return to Mukho, where it will stay overnight
before leaving for Seoul on July 25, the press club
said.

Yoshinori Katori, the Foreign Ministry's press
secretary, told FCCJ President Dennis Normile and his
predecessor Daniel Sloan earlier this month that the
Japanese government's position is that going to the
disputed islets through South Korea implies
recognition of South Korean sovereignty.
Normile said he and Sloan told Katori that the FCCJ is
"completely neutral on the sovereignty issue."
(Wire news July 14,06)



Histoire (Francais) :

La question de Takeshima

1. La position du Japon

(1) Au regard de l?histoire et du droit international,
il est clair que Takeshima fait partie intégrante du
territoire japonais.

(2) L?occupation de Takeshima par la République de
Corée est illégale, sans aucun fondement légal du
point de vue du droit international. Toutes les
mesures concernant Takeshima que la République de
Corée prend, sur la base de cette occupation illégale,
n?ont aucune valeur juridique.

(Note : La République de Corée n?a jamais apporté de
preuves claires permettant de justifier ses
prétentions selon lesquelles elle aurait établi une
autorité effective sur Takeshima avant l?établissement
de l?autorité effective et de la souveraineté du Japon
sur Takeshima.)

2. Les thèses du Japon concernant la souveraineté sur
Takehima

(1) Réalité historique sur la souveraineté de
Takeshima

A la lumière de la réalité historique, rappelée
ci-dessous, il est évident qu?au milieu du
dix-septième siècle, au plus tard, le Japon a établi
sa souveraineté sur Takeshima en s?appuyant sur une
autorité effective ; ce qui a été réaffirmé par le
Japon moderne en 1905, Takeshima étant toujours
effectivement sous l?autorité du Japon.

(a) Le Japon connaissait depuis très longtemps
l?existence de Takeshima (alors connue sous le nom de
Matsushima). Cela est confirmé dans de nombreux
écrits et sur quantité de cartes.

(Note : Sur le Kaisei Nippon Yochi Rotei Zenzu (Carte
complète révisée des régions et routes japonaises ?
1779) de Sekisui Nagakubo, qui est la publication
cartographique la plus représentative du Japon,
Takeshima est localisée précisément sur son
emplacement actuel. Plusieurs autres documents avant
l?ère Meiji en font aussi état.)

(b) Au début de l?époque d?Edo (1618), les familles
Ohya et Murakawa du fief de Houki reçurent du shogunat
des Tokugawa l?autorisation d?exercer leurs droits
féodaux sur l?île d?Utsuryo. Ces familles y menèrent
ensuite des opérations de pêches, sur l?île, et autour
de celle-ci, envoyant chaque année au shogunat une
partie des ormeaux qu?elles y avaient attrapés pour
payer leur tribut. Takeshima qui se trouvait sur le
trajet menant à l?île d?Utsuryo était un port de pêche
et un lieu d?escale. De plus, en 1661, au plus tard,
les familles Ohya et Murakawa reçurent du shogunat
l?autorisation d?exercer leurs droits féodaux sur
Takeshima.

(c) En 1696, à la suite de négociations menées entre
le Japon et la Corée concernant la pêche à proximité
de l?île Utsuryo, le shogunat interdit la circulation
des bateaux autour d?Utsuryo, mais pas de Takeshima.

(d) En 1905, le Japon réaffirma son intention de
continuer à posséder Takeshima par une décision du
Conseil des ministres en janvier, suivie d?une
déclaration de la Préfecture de Shimane en février,
qui intégrait Takeshima au sein de la Préfecture de
Shimane. Par la suite, Takeshima fut mentionné sur le
registre foncier officiel, et un permis de chasse à
l?otarie sur l?île de Takeshima fut instauré, jusqu?à
sa suppression, en 1941, lors de la Seconde guerre
mondiale.

(2) Validité de l?intégration de Takeshima par le
gouvernement japonais en 1905

Les mesures prises pour intégrer Takeshima à la
Préfecture de Shimane en 1905 réaffirmèrent
l?intention du gouvernement japonais de se prévaloir,
en tant qu?état moderne, de droits territoriaux sur
Takeshima. Elles ne peuvent nullement être
interprétées d?une manière qui pourrait laisser penser
que le Japon ne possédait pas Takeshima avant cela, et
que d?autres pays étaient en possession de Takeshima.
De plus, l?intégration de Takeshima fut relayée par la
presse écrite et ne s?est pas faite dans le secret.
Par conséquent, elle a été réalisée effectivement.

(Note : le droit international ne fait pas obligation
d?informer les gouvernements étrangers de mesures qui
intègrent des territoires.)

(3) En septembre 1954, le Japon proposa, dans une note
verbale, à la République de Corée de saisir la Cour
internationale de justice afin de pouvoir régler le
différend ; mais la République de Corée n?accepta pas
cette proposition.

Lors d?une réunion ministérielle, en mars 1962, le
Ministre japonais des Affaires étrangères proposa de
nouveau à son homologue coréen de saisir, une nouvelle
fois, la Cour internationale de justice, ce qui fut
accueilli défavorablement par les Coréens.

www.fr.emb-japan.go.jp/act/gd/06_takeshima.html



History (English)

The tiny islets, about equidistant between Japan and
South Korea, are held by Seoul but claimed by Tokyo
after its colonial occupation of Korea in 1910-1945. A
South Korean garrison has occupied the two tiny
islands since 1954. In 1965 talks to normalise
relations between the two countries saw discussions
about the issue postponed. Talks held in 1996 about
their respective maritime borders were interrupted in
2000. The latest move is part of a series of mutual
provocations that began last year when the governments
of both countries started sending warships and survey
vessels to the islands. Under international law, each
country has rights to explore and use marine resources
within 370 kilometres from its shores. It seems there
is no doubt, from a historical perspective, that Korea
should enjoy sovereignty of the islands. Prof Mark
Seldon of Cornell University said: ?Data from
historical archives bear Korea out. It can claim
possession from the time of the Silla Dynasty (in 8th
century).? Japanese diplomacy has sought to overrule
the case of history by presenting a document stating
that the Kingdom of Korea ceded the two islets to
Japan in 1905, but no one has able to prove its
authenticity.

Is it really time for North Korean bunker capitalism ?

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, located just north of the
heavily fortified border, is considered to be one of the
main achievements of the landmark inter-Korean summit in
2000. The zone is a testing ground for mixing South
Korean capitalism and technology with the North's cheap
labor. The ambitious plan by the two Koreas to transform
their border area into a joint industrial park has been
thrown into deep uncertainty in the wake of missile
launches by the North that have heighten geopolitical
risks on the divided peninsula.




South Korean officials are meeting their U.S.
counterparts to discuss a free trade deal this week, but
they can hardly win a U.S. concession to recognize items
manufactured at the complex in the North Korean border
city of Kaesong as South Korean products. If the Kaesong
products are not considered as South Korean-made, which
ensures tariff benefits, they can hardly be sold in the
United States and elsewhere. South Korean manufacturers
will be reluctant to make ventures in the North Korean
industrial complex at a time when tensions are running
high across the border following the North's missile
tests last week.




A total of 15 South Korean companies produce goods
ranging from clothes to kitchenware at the complex,
hiring thousands of North Korean workers. More than
6,500 North Korean workers are working for a dozen South
Korean firms operating in the joint complex. Under an
inter-Korean government accord, North Korean workers
there are paid about $58 a month. The money is not paid
directly to the workers, but instead goes to the North
Korean authorities. South Korean manufacturers have
relocated their factories to the Kaesong complex to
benefit from cheap labor and land, want to export goods
at competitive prices to the United States and other
countries. With the labels of being "made in DPRK (North
Korea)," however, Kaesong products can hardly be sold in
the United States due to high tariffs that would cut
their price competitiveness. Nations are concerned that
strategic products such as precision machinery and
high-tech personal computers, may reach the industrial
park in the North viewed as supporting terrorism. The
U.S. State Department has already conveyed its concerns
about Seoul's easy shipments of strategic items through
the Kaesong project. Blacklisted North Korea, a country
that sponsors terrorism was imposed financial sanctions
for its alleged counterfeiting, money-laundering and WMD
traffic.

Abe Shinzo : "Japan premptive strike on North Korea permitted if attack imminent".

Japan has the right to strike a foreign missile base if
the country is under imminent threat of attack, Chief
Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday. Speaking to
reporters and referring to the pacifist Constitution, Abe
said overseas strikes would fall within the legal
parameters of self-defense "if there is no other way to
prevent a missile attack on Japan."

Abe, however, appeared to be discussing a theoretical
possibility rather than a realistic response to the launch
of ballistic missiles by North Korea into the Sea of Japan
last week. In making the remark, Abe referred to an
official government view on overseas attacks expressed in
1956 by the then Defense Agency chief during a Lower House
session. "We have to have deeper debate on the issue" of
the Constitution's ban on the use of force to settle
international disputes, and its limits on Japan having
only self-defense capability, Abe added. Later, Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters: "We have to
think carefully about whether we can really resort to arms
before we are attacked because this is also a
constitutional issue."



Abe's statements mirrored remarks Sunday by Defense Agency
chief Fukushiro Nukaga. "As a sovereign nation, it is
natural to consider possessing the minimum capability (for
pre-emptive strikes) under a certain framework," Nukaga
said, adding that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and
its coalition partner, New Komeito, need to agree on this.
Nukaga also said on a TV program that Japan should have
the option of launching an overseas strike if it is clear
an enemy is poised to attack. North Korea test-fired
seven ballistic missiles Wednesday, including a
Taepodong-2, a model that is believed to have a design
range that puts the U.S. mainland within its reach.

In January 2003, then Defense Agency Director General
Shigeru Ishiba stirred controversy with comments about a
pre-emptive strike on North Korea, saying Japan can ask
the U.S. to attack the North's missile bases if Pyongyang
appears bent on an attack on Japan and is preparing for
such hostility. As for Tokyo's tough stance against North
Korea's missile tests, Abe also said Monday there is no
surprise that Japan is on the alert. "We are of the
belief that North Korea's missile launches pose a positive
threat to Japan and the surrounding areas," he said. (JT
& agencies)

Ryutaro Hashimoto, l'homme du dialogue avec la Chine et le Moyen-Orient, disparaît brutalement a 68 ans.

"Je m'efforcerai de promouvoir des relations de confiance
entre le Japon et la Chine en gardant à l'esprit les
leçons de notre histoire. Ceci est le but premier de ma
visite en Chine" disait le premier ministre Ryutaro
Hashimoto en septembre 1997 lors de sa visite officielle
en Chine. Le chef de l'exécutif nippon a instauré en
Chine sa politique de "diplomatie eurasienne", qu'il
caractérisait auprès de nous par un réchauffement des
liens avec la Russie et dont la détente des rivalités en
Asie du Nord-Est constituait l'objectif prioritaire.
Politique remise en cause par Junichiro Koizumi.

Ryutaro Hashimoto, 68 ans, est décédé samedi des suites
de problèmes intestinaux, a annoncé l'institut où il
était soigné. M. Hashimoto, qui avait dirigé le
gouvernement nippon de 1996 à 1998, avait été admis au
Centre médical international du Japon début juin. Il y
avait été opéré du gros intestin, souffrant d'une
ischémie, a précisé un responsable des relations
publiques de l'établissement.



L'ancien chef de gouvernement avait annoncé en août 2005
son retrait de la vie politique, après avoir été
éclaboussé pendant des mois par un scandale. En juillet
2004, il avait dû démissionner de la direction de la plus
grande faction du Parti libéral-démocrate (PLD, au
pouvoir) à la suite d'une affaire de don non déclaré. La
presse japonaise l'accusait d'avoir reçu un chèque de 100
millions de yens (près d'un million de dollars) de
l'Association dentaire japonaise, elle-même frappée par
des scandales, juste avant les élections sénatoriales de
juillet 2001, et de n'avoir pas déclaré ce don.



L'ancien Premier ministre avait affirmé ne pas se
souvenir de ce chèque. Appartenant à une importante
faction du PLD, M. Hashimoto était un opposant à la ligne
de l'actuel Premier ministre Junichiro Koizumi dont il
disait qu'il n'agissait que par entêtement et n'était
qu'à l'écoute de Washington. Les médias n'ont pas manqué
de spéculer que sa chute avait été orchestrée par
l'entourage du chef du gouvernement.



En arrivant au pouvoir en 2001, M. Koizumi s'était engagé
à "détruire" la vieille garde et les vieilles habitudes
du PLD, et à "éradiquer" la corruption de la politique.

Mandaté député à 14 reprises, M. Hashimoto fut Premier
ministre de janvier 1996 à juillet 1998, date à laquelle
le PLD avait perdu les élections à la Chambre haute. Ce
revers avait été imputé à la décision de M. Hashimoto de
relever la taxe sur la consommation de trois à cinq pour
cent. Cette hausse avait été jugée responsable du
ralentissement de la reprise économique du Japon.
Négociateur chevronné, amateur d'art martial, Maitre de
Kendo, il a été le premier réformateur a l'origine du Big
Bang de la rénovation entreprise par le Japon en 1996.





A la tête du gouvernement, M. Hashimoto avait plaidé en
faveur de réformes financières et administratives et
ouvert la voie à une cure d'amaigrissement de la
bureaucratie du gouvernement central. Sur le plan
diplomatique, il a fait entendre la voix du Japon en 1998
lors des sommets du G7 a Birmingham et de l'Asem a
Londres, il était un ami de l'Europe, de la Chine et des
pays arabes. Il a débloqué en février 2004 avec Takeo
Iranuma les difficiles négociations avec l'Iran sur les
gisements d'Azadegan qui recueillaient l'opposition des
Etats-Unis. L'ancien Premier Ministre Hashimoto avait en
outre âprement négocié avec les Etats-Unis sur les
questions commerciales et militaires. M. Hashimoto avait
été pour la dernière fois au gouvernement comme
secrétaire d'Etat chargé des réformes administratives
dans le cabinet du Premier ministre Yoshiro Mori de
décembre 2000 à avril 2001.



Diplômé de la faculté de droit de la prestigieuse
université de Keio à Tokyo, il avait été élu pour la
première fois en 1963 à l'âge de 26 ans dans la
circonscription de son père, après le décès de ce
dernier. Francophile, proche du président français
Jacques Chirac, il a co-présidé le Forum de dialogue
franco-japonais, une réunion annuelle consacrée aux
échanges économiques et politiques entre les deux pays.
Mais "le Dragon" (son prénom en japonais) était aussi un
défenseur passionné par les questions liées à la
protection de l'environnement.



Ryutaro Hashimoto considérait que la résolution des
problèmes liés à l'eau serait le grand défi du 21e siècle:

Citation:

"Quelque 2 milliards d'humains sont confrontés à des
pénuries d'eau. Notre planète Terre a perdu l'équilibre
entre les quantités d'eau disponibles et la demande, et
même celui entre l'écosystème et notre capacité à
coexister avec la nature. Le déséquilibre entre le volume
d'eau disponible et la demande a non seulement conduit à
des pénuries d'eau mais également à d'autres problèmes
aussi graves que la baisse des réserves souterraines, la
pollution de l'eau et la détérioration générale des
ressources en eau. Ces problèmes ont provoqué une baisse
de la diversité des espèces associées à l'eau et une
augmentation du nombre des espèces en voie d'extinction à
travers le monde. On dirait vraiment que la Terre hurle.
L'année dernière, elle s'exprima à travers les nombreuses
inondations qui frappèrent diverses régions du monde, y
compris l'Europe qui est rarement confrontée à ce
problème. Rien d'étonnant donc à ce que l'on entende
parler de "crise de l'eau". De plus, compte tenu de
l'accroissement continu de la population mondiale, il
n'est pas exagéré de dire que les questions liées à l'eau
constituent le principal défi du 21e siècle si nous
voulons protéger notre Terre nourricière."

"Le Dragon" s'est éteint à l'âge de 68 ans.

Après le théâtre Koizumi, le Karaoke Koizumi!

Après les vives tensions créées par la Corée du Nord qui
menace de lancer un missile balistique, le Premier
ministre japonais, Junichiro Koizumi, en visite
officielle aux Etats-Unis, s'est détendu jeudi à la
Maison Blanche. Koizumi est un fan inconditionnel
d'Elvis Presley. Il est d'ailleurs né le même jour que
le « King », un 8 janvier.

Itinéraire d'un Premier Ministre japonais singulier sur
les pas d'Elvis et de la Grande Alliance Nippo-US :

Le Japon est fermement engagé sous le parapluie nucléaire
des Etats-Unis, et Washington base environ 50.000 soldats
dans des bases et dans les ports japonais. Les deux pays
mettent progressivement en place une coopération
militaire qui s'étendra bien au delà des frontières
naturelles de l'archipel japonais de l'Asie Pacifique au
Moyen Orient devant une Europe empêtrée dans ses
discordes.

L'ombre d'Elvis a accompagné le dernier jour de la visite
aux Etats-Unis du Premier ministre japonais Junichiro
Koizumi. Après lui avoir offert un jukebox des années 50
proposant 25 titres de son chanteur favori, George W.
Bush a fait visiter à son invité Graceland, la propriété
de la légende du rock'n'roll à Memphis (Tennessee).



Gentiment poussé par le président américain -"Vous êtes
un très bon interprète d'Elvis..."-, le chef du
gouvernement a entonné sans se faire prier des succès
comme "Love Me Tender" et "Wise Men Say, Only Fools Rush
In"', confirmant sa propension à pousser la chansonnette
dès que l'on évoque son idole.

Et de roucouler avec ses deux guides exceptionnelles pour
la visite de la propriété, la fille et unique héritière
du "King" Lisa Marie, et la mère de cette dernière,
Priscilla. "I Want You, I Love You" ("Je te désire, je
t'aime"), a-t-il lancé à la première, l'entourant de son
bras en chantant "Hold Me Close, Hold Me Tight"
("Serre-moi contre toi, serre-moi fort").

Les déhanchés, costumes à paillette et décors exhubérants
n'étant pas la tasse de thé de George W. Bush, qui
s'arrange le plus souvent pour échapper aux excursions,
même celle au Taj Mahal en Inde, emmener son invité, au
surplus en avion, dans un tel haut-lieu touristique
montre à quel point il l'apprécie depuis cinq ans qu'ils
se connaissent. Même si le chef de la Maison Blanche a
toujours préféré la diplomatie détendue et personnalisée
aux dîners d'Etat.



Selon ses conseillers, le président a considéré qu'une
visite à Graceland et un jukebox spécial Elvis étaient
les meilleurs cadeaux à offrir à un Premier ministre qui
quittera ses fonctions en septembre après s'être illustré
comme l'un des plus ardents alliés et défenseurs des
Etats-Unis.

"C'est une telle joie d'être ici, à Graceland", a déclaré
George Bush lors de la promenade dans la résidence de
couleur blanche et de style colonial. "C'est un rêve", a
répondu Junichiro Koizumi, qui a essayé les lunettes de
soleil de son chanteur favori.



Dans l'avion présidentiel Air Force One, il avait pu se
régaler avec "Love Me Tender", "Don't Be Cruel" et autres
chansons d'Elvis Presley, ainsi que des DVD des films du
chanteur, tout en se voyant proposer les spécialités
culinaires préférées du "King": beurre de cacahuète
grillé et sandwiches à la banane. Les deux dirigeants
ont passé leur tour sur les casse-croûte et, pour ce qui
est de la boisson, M. Bush a opté pour le café et M.
Koizumi pour le thé vert.



A Graceland, les deux hommes ont suivi le parcours
imposé, passant par la Jungle Room au décor
simili-aricain, mais, toutes personnalités qu'ils soient,
ils n'ont pas eu accès à l'étage privé, où est mort Elvis
en 1977. La visite à Graceland couronnait deux jours de
sérieuses consultations et de pompe toute protocolaire.



Pour découvrir quelques uns de ces défis lancés au monde
par l'alliance Nippo-US, cliquer sur le titre afin de
lire l'étude : " The Japan-US Alliance, 21st Century
Challenges in East Asia " par H.D.P. Envall (Electronic
journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies).