Bad Timing

Some of the Marine Corps operations now at its Futenma Air Station are moving to the Air Force's Kadena Air Base this month. There has to be some comedy in this. The U.S. Government has spent the better part of the last three months explaining to the Government of Japan that this is operationally not possible, feasible, or reasonable. Then, in a December 28th press release the Marine Corps punched a hole that argument.

In fairness, only fixed-wing aircraft are involved and their moving to Kadena on January 10th is only temporary. The Futenma runway is to undergo three months of routine repairs and maintenance. The press release was also quick to note: "The temporary movement of Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft from MCAS Futenma to Kadena Air Base in no way supports or implies the feasibility of consolidating Futenma aviation operations at Kadena Air Base."

My first question is "when was the last time Marine operations moved to Kadena?" And my second is what happens if suddenly within the next three months there is a "contingency"? For example, North Korea, which is always problematic, is closer to turmoil than ever before.

Pyongyang's recent currency reform and banning of foreign currency is a sure fire formula to antagonize and dispossess the very few who have some stake in preserving the totalitarian system. Taking away privileges from North Korea's elite can have consequences. Now that they have nothing else to lose, all bets are off.

Apocalypse in Lilac: Capriccio

Many people think it is foolish to dwell on issues of history, especially that of the Asia-Pacific War. They are mistaken. History permeates every sector of Asian life.

Whether it is how a noodle dish is made or who votes or where an airfield is located, the past is the context. History is not ready to go away and it returns inconveniently.

The death of a former comfort woman is front-page news in Korea, rightists in Japan surround a Korean elementary school shouting that the Korean-Japanese should go back to Korea, the U.S. State Department is asking for justice for former American POWs of Japan, and the Okinawans are finding their voice against the caprices of Tokyo.

I always marvel at those who tell me to stop caring about "those" history issues. It seems, to me, perilous to ignore them. So much of the controversy over the Futenma relocation has to do with unresolved history. There is a history to corruption, willful power, and secret agreements.

Westerners should not be so surprised by this. We are not immune. Japanese-Americans wanted and got after over 40 years an apology. After months of negotiations the German government pledged $87.2 million in December to a new endowment for the Auschwitz memorial in Poland.  In October, after decades of denial, a monument was dedicated in Bucharest recognizing and memorializing Romanian Holocaust victims.

The painting, Apocalypse in Lilac: Capriccio, at the right really says it all. Marc Chagall kept the work to himself. Painted in 1945, it is uncharacteristically dark and literal depiction of the Holocaust was never exhibited or cataloged. There is none of the usual (and to me annoying) vivid color and folkloric fantasy of most Chagalls. This was a personal expression of trying to put to memory the horrors being exposed at the time. The work only surfaced when it was sold to a private collector after the artist's death.

Purchased by the London Museum of Jewish Art in October, the painting will go on exhibit this week. After over 60 years, this powerful, rare image is finally ready for its public.

Farewell 2009

2009 was difficult, very difficult. I look forward to 2010 with the hope that energy, inspiration, health, and friendships will return.

[I realize most people take the picture of the big Buddha in Kamakura from the front. But, I am not most people. Photo taken March 2008.]

Christmas Revisionism II

The Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI has had a rough year reconciling the Church’s wartime record with contemporary sensibilities. Efforts to follow traditional Catholic doctrine have run up against larger issues of modern remembrance and reconciliation. Too often the Vatican finds itself in the same equivocal position as Japan. Measured words of contrition become undone by startling deeds of insensitivity and cultural defensiveness.

On Saturday, December 19th, Benedict confirmed the “heroic virtues” of Pope Pius XII—along with those of John Paul II—opening the door to beatification once a miracle is attributed to each.  A second miracle would be required for sainthood. Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, is often accused of not having spoken out vocally enough against the Nazis or intervening to save Jews and others during World War II as well as condoning the use of Nazi-procured slave labor for the Church and assisting Nazis to escape to South America.

The Jewish community and others reacted with such outrage, that the Vatican issued a statement on December 23rd that "It is, then, clear that the recent signing of the decree is in no way to be read as a hostile act towards the Jewish people, and it is to be hoped that it will not be considered as an obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church.”

In other words, the statement acknowledges the consequences of enshrining a man whose decisions negatively affected millions, although not quite willing to forego the tradition. The Vatican is rightly worried of the reception when the Pope visits the Synagogue in Rome and the State of Israel in the coming months. The Church's efforts to strengthen understanding with the Jewish people have been clouded and it is being made to be accountable for its actions.

This recent action by Pope Benedict XVI  adds to others over the past year that seem disconnected from the goal of reconciliation. In January, Pope Benedict created firestorm by revoking the excommunications of four ultra-conservative schismatic bishops. One, Bishop Williamson of Argentina, was an outspoken anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.  Worse when the Pope demanded that the Bishop recant these views, he equivocated saying he did not have enough information.

As he told Der Speigel "It is not about emotions but about historic evidence," he said. "If I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time."

The wayward Bishop posted on his blog in February a peculiar rebuke to the Pope.  [The blog, was shut down in July and the below quote had been retrieved in February. Now you can subscribe to an email newsletter of sermons ranting about Pope Benedict's destruction of the Church.]:

Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12; 

"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." 

Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

No Japanese denier could be more eloquent in avoiding responsibility. So sorry to cause trouble, but I have no regrets, says the Bishop. Like all deniers, the objective simply is to sow doubt. And if the Holocaust did not happen or if Imperial Japan did not rampage across Asia, then maybe, just maybe Fascism or Emperor worship was not so bad. These governments of a "greater time" had to be better alternatives to democracy. Or as Pierre Vidal-Naquet wrote in his 1992 book, Assassins of Memory, “One revives the dead in order to better strike the living.”

Exasperated and pressured by Germany and international outcry, the Vatican firmly admonished the Bishop, stating that “in order to be admitted to the Episcopal functions of the Church, [he] must in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions regarding the Shoah [Holocaust]."

The Pope essentially admitted to a rare misjudgment and set a strict standard for contrition. More important, he set an international standard for an apology from those who deny historical fact. He said it should be "unequivocal" and "public." These words are the very same written in 2007 by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) for his resolution (H. Res. 121) outlining an appropriate official Japanese apology to the Comfort Women.

There is a difference between unambiguous and unequivocal. There is not room for doubt in the latter. "Unequivocal" has become the universal value associated with apology. Unfortunately, both the Vatican and Mr. Honda still await their apologies.

Disappeared but Not Forgotten

The Bruces at Australian National University have taken down its blog, Reconciliation between China and Japan and the Cooperative Security Network. This is unfortunate as some of the posts were unique and of historical significance. I was not pleased.

However, the author of those posts has given us permission to repost some of the more important observations and reports. So don't be surprised if over the next month you find some less-than-timely reporting here.

The replacement blog for China and Japan is PeaceBuilder. It has promise, but is currently a lot of whining about how unjust war is.

Christmas Revisionism I

This Christmas week was good for denials. World War II issues of responsibility that most thought were settled reemerged. After of a year of considerable progress for both Japan and the Vatican in acknowledging atrocities allowed by their wartime regimes, this is both surprising and disappointing. Saying sorry is no substitute for a genuine apology of words and deeds.

Japan 
On December 20th, an Australian search team found the hospital ship, The Centaur, that was sunk during World War II off the coast of Australia in 1943. The Centaur went down with the loss of 268 lives after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine—despite being painted white with red crosses.

According to Japan’s official 1979 submarine warfare history, it was submarine 1-177, under the command of Lt Commander Nakagawa who had sunk the Centaur. Lt Commander Nakagawa was convicted as a war criminal for firing on survivors of the British Chivalry, which his ship had sunk in the Indian Ocean. He was not charged, however, for the sinking of The Centaur.

Japan’s embassy in Canberra hastily issued a statement to the press (which cannot be found on their website) on December 23rd that said the circumstances in which the Centaur went down were not conclusive. "The Japanese government had conducted its own inquiry into the Centaur," the statement said, without giving any indication when the inquiry took place. “The circumstances were not clear given that it occurred during the Second World War. We will see how the on-going investigation by Australia unfolds." The Embassy continued with a reworking of the traditional and tired Murayama apology, "Japan, reflecting on the past, has since made the greatest efforts for world peace and prosperity as a responsible member of the international community and has also developed a close relationship with Australia.”

Members of the Centaur Memorial Association were disgusted by the Embassy’s response and some demanded an apology. But the Australian government jumped into damage control and a Foreign Ministry spokesman referred to Japan's past apologies for other wartime atrocities and said (also not on their website) that "The Australian government recognises the suffering endured by families of those killed as a result of the sinking of the Australian hospital ship Centaur in 1943." And added that "Australia accepts Japan's repeated apologies -- the 1951 Peace Treaty, which Australia signed, drew a line under Japan's crimes during the World War II for which many Japanese were rightly tried, convicted and sentenced. Japan is now a different country; it contributes greatly to regional prosperity and security."

Maybe after filming the remains of The Centaur and confirmation of what sunk the hospital ship, Japan will send a representative to the annual memorial, as some have suggested. The Hatoyama Administration came to office saying it wanted to face squarely Japan's history. We are waiting.

Later:  Sunk Australia WWII hospital ship Centaur: first images

Next post, The Vatican

Child Abduction Politics IV

Nine-year old Sean Goldman will return to the United States with his father and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ). They will be home in time for Christmas. Sean's grandmother, Silvana Bianchi, has decided not to file any further appeals.

The U.S. government at the highest levels and the U.S. media assisted the divorced father, David Goldman, with his quest to have his son returned to him. Presidential talking points included the issue, Congress held hearings, and Senators placed holds on crucial trade legislation.

The grandmother told CNN Wednesday it was "very sad, a country that exchanges children for economic agreements."

According to CNN, while the chief justice was still studying the case, Brazilian Attorney General Luis Inacio Adams said the executive branch of Brazilian government sided with Goldman. The Attorney General reportedly said:

Once we stop cooperating and start breaking our treaties andinternational obligations, Brazil risks the chance of not having its own requests in the matters regarding international judicial help granted, based on the principle of international reciprocity. 

Not releasing the minor into the custody of his father could bring sanctions against Brazil. It could damage Brazil's image before the international community.

Yes, it is a triumph for the rule of law.