Author of IQ84 has something else to say

Sunday, Sep. 30, 2012


Murakami calls for cool heads amid Senkakus flareup

AFP-Jiji


Haruki Murakami, one of the world's foremost novelists, has waded into the Senkakus sovereignty row, warning of the peril of politicians peddling the "cheap liquor" of nationalism.

His intervention Friday came as Beijing launched a blistering attack on Tokyo at a U.N. session in New York, accusing Japan of theft as the dispute over the Japanese-controlled islet group intensified.

The author of "1Q84," who has a large following in China, called for cool heads to prevail.

Writing in the liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun, Murakami, who has been tipped as a future Nobel laureate, said territorial disagreements are bound to occur because of the unfortunate system of dividing the world into countries with national borders.

"When a territorial issue ceases to be a practical matter and enters the realm of 'national emotions,' it creates a dangerous situation with no exit," Murakami said.

"It is like cheap liquor: Cheap liquor gets you drunk after only a few shots and makes you hysterical. It makes you speak loudly and act rudely. . . . But after your drunken rampage you are left with nothing but an awful headache the next morning.

"We must be careful about politicians and polemicists who lavish us with this cheap liquor and fan this kind of rampage."

How would you feel?

A reckless driver impulsively tries to pass another vehicle on a narrow road, veering into the opposite lane and killing the teenage driver whose car he smashes into. One stupid move by an impatient 25-year-old vs one life ended for an innocent 19-year-old.

What happens next?

In the old days (last year), the 25-year-old guilty driver would be spirited away by his very powerful employer--the US armed forces--leaving the family of the 19-year-old with nothing but their grief. This time, the guilty driver had to go to court, where it was decided that the life of the boy--whose life was abruptly terminated at age 19--was worth 18 months of the other guy's time. That's all??? The guilty man argued that 18 months out of his life was too much to spend.


This is the first time ever to see even a slight nod to the civil rights of the Okinawan people whose land has been taken over by foreign armed forces.

(There is a longer story about this in The Japan Times Online)


Friday, Sep. 21, 2012


Civilian U.S. base worker loses appeal in fatal Okinawa hit-and-run

AFP-Jiji


The Fukuoka High Court on Thursday upheld the prison term of an American who was working for the U.S. Air Force during a fatal car crash that killed a teenager in Okinawa, marking the first time a domestic court has incarcerated a U.S. civilian base employee.

Something to Look Forward To

Saturday, Sep. 1, 2012


Four sources face sixfold boost

Renewable energy plan sees no nukes

Kyodo, Jiji


Environment Minister Goshi Hosono released a new strategy Friday to boost power generation capacity by more than sixfold for four renewable energy categories by 2030 to make it possible to eliminate all nuclear power plants.

Announcing the promotion strategy after the day's Cabinet meeting, Hosono said his ministry plans to increase the combined annual capacity of electricity generation using offshore wind, geothermal, biomass and tidal power sources to as much as 19.41 million kw by 2030, compared with 2.96 million kw in fiscal 2010.

Specific targets were set at 8.03 million kw for offshore wind power, 3.88 million kw for geothermal power, 6 million kw for biomass power, and 1.5 million kw for tidal power.

In fiscal 2010, offshore wind power generation totaled 30,000 kw, geothermal power 530,000 kw, biomass power 2.4 million kw and tidal power zero.

While the government is studying options to cut nuclear energy's share of total power generation to zero, 15 percent, or 20 to 25 percent by 2030 in light of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the strategy is designed to allow for the zero percent option.

Hosono said floating ocean wind power generators should be developed by 2020 to achieve the target of generating the same output as eight nuclear reactors.