Jon MitchellIntroductionOn August 19th, 2011, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in response to recent media coverage about the US military’s use and storage of defoliants (including Agent Orange) on Okinawa during the Vietnam War. MOFA announced that, although it had requested the US Department of Defense to investigate these allegations, Washington had … [Read more...] about US Military Defoliants on Okinawa: Agent Orange
Japan and Asia/日本とアジア
Understanding the Ongoing Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima: A “Two-Headed Dragon” Descends into the Earth’s Biosphere
The author assesses the Fukushima nuclear disaster in light of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hanford, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and the nexus between nuclear weapons and nuclear power.This summer, I participated in the seventeenth “Pilgrimage for Peace,” traveling to Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a group that included seventeen American students led by Professor Peter Kuznick of … [Read more...] about Understanding the Ongoing Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima: A “Two-Headed Dragon” Descends into the Earth’s Biosphere
Koreans fight against military base: Why should you care?
The South Korean Government is constructing a naval base on Jeju Island. Officially named an “Island of Peace” by the late President Roh Moo Hyun, Jeju was the site of a 1948 massacre in which more than 30,000 civilians were estimated to have been slaughtered during a democratic uprising. Located strategically in the Korea Strait, the island’s potential to become a … [Read more...] about Koreans fight against military base: Why should you care?
Songs for Fukushima 福島のための歌数曲
June 2, APJ Editors- Popular culture has long been an important tool used by the Japanese government and energy companies to promote nuclear power. In the two months since the 3.11 quake and the beginning of the Fukushima crisis, Japanese netizens have circulated key examples as a reminder of past propaganda. This 1993 video “Our Reliable Friend Pluto” was produced … [Read more...] about Songs for Fukushima 福島のための歌数曲
JAPAN-U.S. TIES (3): Numbers inflated in Marine relocation plan to increase political impact
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN2011/05/04Due to political considerations, the plan to relocate thousands of U.S. Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam under a 2006 agreement included doctored figures related to Japan's financial burden and troop levels.Such manipulation, uncovered in an Asahi Shimbun analysis of about 7,000 Japan-related diplomatic cables obtained from WikiLeaks, could … [Read more...] about JAPAN-U.S. TIES (3): Numbers inflated in Marine relocation plan to increase political impact