Monday, September 12, 2011

12/09 Elton John tells world leaders: stop anti-gay discrimination



By Oliver Wright, Whitehall Editor
Monday, 12 September 2011
Elton John will attend the official launch of Kaleidoscope, which aims to get 19th-century British colonial anti-gay laws revoked in the Commonwealth and beyond
AP
Elton John will attend the official launch of Kaleidoscope, which aims to get 19th-century British colonial anti-gay laws revoked in the Commonwealth and beyond
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The leaders of all three main political parties in Britain are to throw their support behind a new international gay-rights group trying to combat homophobic discrimination in the Commonwealth.
Top UK music stars Elton John and George Michael have been invited to attend the official launch in the House of Commons of Kaleidoscope, which aims to get 19th-century British colonial anti-gay laws revoked in the Commonwealth and beyond, using business and political pressure.
It comes after campaigners grew increasingly concerned at how homosexual persecution is being actively encouraged by some Commonwealth states – particularly in Africa.
In January, a Ugandan gay rights campaigner was beaten to death after being "outed" by a local newspaper which published photographs of people that it said were gay with the headline: "Hang them."
Lesbians in South Africa have been murdered and subjected to violent attacks, including so-called "corrective rapes", while activists in Kenya and Ghana have also been targeted.
Currently, 38 of the 54 members of the Commonwealth criminalise homosexuality. Penalties include 25 years imprisonment in Trinidad and Tobago and 20 years plus flogging in Malaysia. Several countries, including Sierra Leone, Pakistan Tanzania and Bangladesh impose life imprisonment.
Kaleidoscope says while many countries have national gay rights organisations there is no overall international body which can coordinate action.
London has become the base for the new organisation, partly due to the Commonwealth link, but also because it is an international business hub.
The group wants large multi-nationals to pressure regimes to change laws, particularly in more developed Commonwealth countries like Singapore where homosexuality is illegal.
Nearly all the Commonwealth's anti-gay laws are a colonial legacy. They were introduced by Britain in the nineteenth century and never repealed when colonies won independence. Bisi Alimi, who became the first Nigerian to come out on national TV, is one of Kaleidoscope's founding members.
Yesterday he said: "As a result of coming out I was attacked, tied up and beaten in my own home in Lagos. For the first time in my life I not only saw a gun but I felt it right against my head. I was forced to leave my country.
"My dream is that others like me will be free to stay and be happy surrounded by the love of their friends and families."
Kaeleidoscope is supported by Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, as well as by Labour leader Ed Miliband. Mr Cameron said: "In some countries, it's simply appalling how people can be treated – how their rights are trampled on and the prejudices, and even violence, they suffer. I want Britain to be a global beacon for reform."
Mr Miliband said: "I am proud to offer my support to Kaleidoscope to protect people from prejudice and persecution across the world."
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has agreed to become Kaleidoscope's honorary president
Veteran broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, who has donated money to the charity, said: "It is time for those of us who enjoy our rights in the UK to support movements for dignity and decency wherever they are located."
PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS AROUND THE WORLD
EGYPT
Although not illegal, numerous cases have been brought against homosexuals in recent years. In 2004 a 27-year-old student was imprisoned for 17 years including 2 years hard labour for posting a personal profile on a gay dating site.
ZIMBABWE
The law states that any man performing anal sex is liable for a fine or imprisonment of up to a year. In 2006 a law was passed making it illegal for two people of the same sex to hold hands, hug, or kiss.
SINGAPORE
Homosexuality remains illegal between males under the country's Penal Code, punishable by up to two years in prison.
SUDAN
Thejudicial systemis based on the Shari'a and rules that same-sex sexuality activity is illegal and punishable by capital punishment. For homosexual men, lashes are given for the first offence, with the death penalty following the third offence.
BELARUS
Despite making homosexuality legal in 1994, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.



  • So anti-gay hate in Africa and Caribbean countries is all Britain faults? I suppose they were all 'pro-gay' utopias before the British arrived?

    As for Pakistan etc I think we know the position of mainstream Islam on homosexuality....not much to do with Britain.
  • UpLabour 1 day ago
    I wish he would just stick to singing!
  • Interesting that the Indie chooses to spew bile predominately at the Brown races of the Earth eh, and dragging the Belarus folk through the mud too? The very worst form of cultural Imperialism is to hide your racial superiority behind a veil of "equality". I assume as the debaye moves along and the Editor becomes more certain of the validity of his righteous hatred, you'll soon be labelling Africans as savages, and Slavs as untermenshen in the Indie, in what will feel like a wink of an eye...... liberal-fascism...... hate those who disagree with you ..... perhaps a call from the comment section soon for "re-education" Gulags for those of us who disagree ..... or just disposal .... Hitler would be proud.
  • Well, I thought it was more about human rights and highlighting the murderous behaviour of some countries.
    Is that so wrong?
  • Government time would be better spent concentrating on the economic system of this nation than wasting their time on social engineering, as this has up until now, worked very badly (as Elton John and his pals in the entertainment "industry" would know if they ever left their self centred, self indulgent, amoral little world).
  • How has promoting social equality worked badly?

    And what's amoral about the entertainment industry that can't be found in the financial industry?
  • Guest 1 day ago
    Comment removed.
  • OOO....cheeky!!
  • Alastair_93 1 day ago
    Good on Elton John for speaking out against homophobia. But part of me wonders whether they should elect a more diverse range of gay figureheads to speak out against bigotry.

    Picking Elton John and George Michael reinforces the false image of gay men as nothing more than camp, flamboyant entertainers. Why aren't the gay MPs, scientists, authors and doctors speaking out? Or perhaps more accurately, why aren't they given more press coverage?

    It's important for people not to become complacent about worldwide persecution of gays, since poverty and tough times are giving rise to far-right, lunatic political movements.
  • Yeah! Me! I could that....I am not flamboyant, I don't care about fashion and I don't conform to those stereotypes. I'm just not gay enough sometimes...(Although I am 100% gay )
    I'll do it for £40 K plus expenses. I need a career change......
  • davidt37 1 day ago
    For me, British people should create laws for the UK and people of other countries should create laws for their country. I don't see the need to interfere.
  • When it comes to people being murdered and violently attacked because they are Gay then no country should have the right to do that surely?
  • I apparently have a radical approach to people I meet. I just like people who are friendly and thoughtful, regardless of color, or sexual orientation, and try to respond to them the  same way. If they're gay, so what? Incidentally Elton John will be appearing in Las Vegas in 2012, and will be welcomed here.
  • That indeed is radical....You and me are the future.......
  • Davross 1 day ago
    "Anti Gay Discrimination". Isn't that discrimination against pepole who are opposed to homsoexuality?
  • The British empire is dead..Why should there be a commonwealth with the 'Queen!' as its head? ceremonial or not!
  • It's the Commonwealth of Nations. Perhaps that will put you out of some of your anti-monarchist misery.  It contains 54 sovereign states, including states not connected at any time to the former Empire, and membership is voluntary.

    There are several other Commonwealths throughout the world, including four American states that carry that appellation. Why aren't you whingeing about them?
  • Because it is the 'commonwealth of the british' which concerns me as i am a 'native' to one of their erstwhile 'colonies' and I see that they want to come back and forcefully revoke laws in my country which they had forcefully imposed when they came around announcing that they happen to be the only 'civilized' people of this world.
  • I've already explained there is no such entity as the 'commonwealth of the british'. It would help to know which country you are taking about.  I assume this is the Caribbean one (please forgive my memory loss) which is so out of control that talks are in progress to retake control until we can re-establish democracy.

    If you want to be 'civilised' about this then it would help if you avoided untrue and inflammatory comments such as insisting that we announced we were the only civilised people of the world.  I cannot imagine such a thing occurred and actually neither can you, since you were not there at the time.

    It seems you have joined Disqus especially to comment on this matter, since you are hijacking another topic to make your assertions. Why, I wonder?
  • "Top UK music stars Elton John and George Michael have been invited to attend the official launch in the House of Commons of Kaleidoscope, which aims to get 19th-century British colonial anti-gay laws revoked in the Commonwealth and beyond, using business and political pressure". Even if I admit that there is nothing like the 'commonwealth of the british' it is quite clear which group of nations Indy is refering to. History, you should accept, is written by the winner...hence you may not have heard it in your country but the general view in the 'colonies' is eactly as I said i.e 'civilise them'. Also, let it be quite clear that I've not hijacked this topic as it is totally relevant. It is simple...why should the commonwealth route be used for a topic as controversial as this?? It will surely meet a lot of criticism in the erstwhile colonies. Britain has not used the commonwealth to do anything else of a positive nature in the erstwhile colonies...why this?
  • Stop being so evasive and answer the question I put to you. You have a real chip on your shoulder, far more than ayone else I've known from former 'colonies'.
  • I_See_Dead_Truth 2 days ago
    I'm straight, yet I am discriminated against by people, I also discriminate when it comes to choosing my friends...funny thing is though that I don't feel the need nor desire to shout to the world that I much prefer to have "intimate relations" with women.  I think that if I did go about announcing to everyone and anyone "I prefer to have intimate relations with women", they would either regard me as looney, odd, extremely offensive, insecure, overly self-conscious with an over-active ego for thinking that they would even care. 

    There is a word that describes a true lady/gentleman, "discretion".  If you "kiss n tell" regardless of who you choose then really, you should be prepared for the fact that someone, somewhere, sometime in the world may not quite like you.  If you feel there is anti-gay discrimination out there that you find offensive, think about how the anti-anti-gay discrimination supporters would feel, doubtless just as offended.  People won't change their minds and surrender their personal opinions simply because some law changes to make it illegal for someone to have a certain opinion, it would be undemocratic and dictatorial.  Just try and live with the fact that not every man, woman and child will not like you whether gay, straight or anything else, thats life as a grown-up.  But from what I have seen and heard of Mr John, he is far from one of the more pleasantly behaved people alive.

    I won't like nor hate anyone more or less for who they choose to loudly announce as their partner...the key is in their discretion, manners, interests, style...etc etc etc
  • Don't be so pathetic. No-one beats you up, threatens you with imprisonment or capital punishment just because you happen to like women. Anyone would get the impression you are defending homophobia.
  • sorry but not a good arguement. gay people are not asking straight people to like them when the fight for the gay rights...they doing it so they are equal. equal at work, equal by the law, so they are not bullied in school to point some kids commit suicide and in some countries so they dont get stoned to death for being openly gay.

    is the key still in their discretion, manners, interests, style...etc etc etc?
  • The difference here is that being straight is not illegal anywhere in the world and religious groups do not preach against sex between men and women.
    Some people like me, some don't , but some people don't like me just because I exist ( because I am Gay )
    I'll stop going on about it when religious groups,politicians etc stay out of my business and stop preaching hatred.
  • You don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. In these countries, homosexuality is illegal and can be punished by imprisonment. In Uganda, there is still a movement to push for execution of homosexuals.

    You make it sound like gay people simply won't be invited for a Sunday roast with the neighbours if they make their homosexuality too obvious. Sorry, but it's a bit more serious than that. We're talking about active murder of people for having relationships with the same sex. It's both chilling and disgusting -- and goes beyond trivial concerns with being a gentleman or lady.

    Try going to Uganda and telling people you're a gay man. If you make it out alive, *then* you can come back to the UK and lecture about gays being 'pleasantly behaved'.
  • 1) Heterosexuality is legal in 100% of countries. As a man, you will be shunned, insulted, beaten up and murdered precisely nowhere in the world for sleeping with women. This means you have straight privilege, which means that you have certain freedoms that LGBTQI people do not have, which means you cannot use your own experience as a yardstick when discussing the experience of gay people.

    2) I find discretion regarding sex to be tiresome and prudish. I wish people of all sexual orientations would be more open and honest about their sexuality. The discomfort felt in Western culture towards sex is a relic of our ascetic Christian past and the more people are able to overcome it the better.
  • Well, it still depends on the manner of the straight sex you have. Adultery and fornication are punishable variously accross the Middle Eastern world by corporal and capital punishment, which are surely also just as bad. I know adultery is more debateable but it certainly doesn't deserve the death penalty.

    With regard to your second point, I disagree because there will always be disagreements about what people find tasteful and distasteful about sex, regardless of their background. Best thing is for everyone to keep their sex lives private. We should not shy away from talking about things which relate to sexual health but this shuld be on a purely factual basis. Now, when someone starts talking about what they did with their girlfriend (or sheep) the other day, please keep that to yourself, thanks.
  • I would love to keep my private life private, but as long as religion and politics keeps making it a big deal then I have no choice but to defend myself and speak out.

    PS, Why do some people end up mentioning bestiality when they talk about homosexuality? Are they trying to tell us something?
  • But this isn't about privacy to do as you wish,  is it? it's about State enforced sanction of certain white, liberal cultural norms and values at the expense of racial, social and philosophical/ moral diversity of opinion.
    I'd be far more disturbed by the long stated support for lowering the age of consent far below sixteen by a number of Homosexual activists than spurious and unfounded tales of their involvement in bestiality.

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12/09 Tsunami survivors and volunteers put one foot in front of the other amid flashbacks （和英）



A volunteer who'd come from Tokyo stares at the rubble left by tsunami with a solemn look on his face. He says that he can't get the smell of something smoldering under the soil out of his nose.
A supporter from Saitama talks about hushed silence. About three weeks after the March 11 quake and tsunami, the supporter was helping with house-to-house searches trying to confirm the safety of disabled residents. The local welfare evacuation center was notified as soon as a body was found. And whenever that happened, the air filled with tension.
In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, photo, a woman walks through the ruins of her home, which was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami, near the waterfront in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, photo, a woman walks through the ruins of her home, which was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami, near the waterfront in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
The reason was a local social welfare worker who was posted at the shelter. He happened to be at city hall when the tsunami hit, and for the next three days and three nights, continued to tend to the area's victims.
Only later did he learn that his family had been swallowed whole by the waves as they sat in their car. His wife, fortunately, was spared, but their children, aged 1 and 3, went missing. And yet, he couldn't take time away from work, and continued his search for disabled residents among the rubble. Out of consideration for his situation, his colleagues fell silent whenever talk turned to children and bodies.
Unlike the connected series of memories that we generally accumulate from childhood, flashbulb memories are scenes that have caused us sadness or fear that return to our consciousness in a flash of images. Six months have passed since that day, but some scenes are stuck in the minds of both local survivors and volunteers who have gathered to help.
Around 20,000 people have died or are missing from the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Even today, at least 80,000 people are still living in evacuation shelters. As time goes on, the needs on the front lines continue to change.
In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, photo, the town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, is seen at dusk almost six months after it was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, photo, the town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, is seen at dusk almost six months after it was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Determining that it was no longer enough just to dispatch support staff, the aforementioned supporter from Saitama will be setting up a consultation support center in the disaster-struck region at the request of a local municipal government.
The local welfare worker will also be working at the center. Though his 1-year-old has yet to be found, some days, a drink or two gets him talking about his children, a little bit at a time. ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun)
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) September 12, 2011

余録：がれきを見つめながら、東京からやってきたボランティア…

　がれきを見つめながら、東京からやってきたボランティアの男性は神妙な顔をしていた。土の中で何かがくすぶっている。そんなにおいが鼻孔から離れないという▲静寂について話すのは埼玉の支援者である。震災から３週間目のころ、障害者の安否確認のため全戸をしらみつぶしに歩いた。新たな遺体が見つかると福祉避難所にも知らせが届いたが、いつも異様に張り詰めた空気が漂う。その静寂の正体が気になった▲理由は、避難所で働いていた地元の福祉職員だった。市役所を訪れた時に被災し、そのまま三日三晩被災者を救援した。家族が車ごと津波にのまれたことは後で知った。幸い妻は助かったが、３歳と１歳の子の行方がわからない。それでも仕事から離れられず、がれきの野に障害者を捜し回った。心中を察してであろう、子どもや遺体の話題になると同僚の誰もが沈黙した▲幼いころから連なる記憶とは違って、悲しみや恐怖に襲われた場面がフラッシュをたいた写真のように残ることがある。細部まで長く消えない「フラッシュバルブ記憶」という。あの日から半年が過ぎた。被災者だけでなく支援に入った人々の脳裏にも焼き付いた記憶がある▲死者と行方不明者は約２万人。今も８万人以上が避難生活をしている。復旧とともに被災地のニーズは刻々と変わる。「もはや職員を派遣するだけでは無理だ」。埼玉の支援者は地元自治体の要請を受け、被災地に相談支援事業所を設立することになった▲あの若い福祉職員も一緒に働く予定だ。まだ１歳の子は見つからないが、酒を飲むと子どものことを少し話すようになったという。

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12/09 10 gương mặt triển vọng tại Miss Universe 2011


Thứ hai, 12/9/2011, 14:34 GMT+7

Miss Universe lần thứ 60 được đánh giá là một trong những kỳ Hoa hậu Hoàn vũ có chất lượng thí sinh tốt nhất. Dưới đây là 10 ứng viên có khả năng đăng quang trong đêm chung kết diễn ra vào 21h (giờ EST) ngày 12/9 tại Sao Paulo, Brazil (9h sáng 13/9 Hà Nội).
> Global Beauties bình chọn top 10 Miss Universe 2011

Hoa hậu Ukraine - Olesia Stefanko
Cô gái 23 tuổi
Cô gái 23 tuổi có tóc nâu hạt dẻ, làn da khỏe khoắn và đôi mắt đẹp sâu thẳm. Olesia cũng sở hữu thân hình đẹp và có những chuyển động hút hồn trên sân khấu.
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

11/09 Govt must offer visible support for reconstruction

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Six months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11.

Recovery and reconstruction efforts have been continuing in disaster-hit areas. But the scars left by the massive earthquake and tsunami are so profound that many affected municipalities have yet to draw up blueprints to rebuild their areas.

In areas around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, where evacuation orders have been issued, municipal government offices and residents were uprooted en masse. No prospect is in sight for their return home.

In his first news conference after taking office, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said recovery and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas and measures to end the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant are at the top of his administration's agenda. After inspecting the crippled plant Thursday, Noda pledged to Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato his government's commitment to swiftly decontaminate areas affected by radioactive material released by the nuclear power plant.

People in disaster-hit areas became increasingly impatient with the slow response to the disaster by the previous Kan administration. The current administration must provide swift, strong and visible support for recovery and reconstruction of the devastated areas.

===

Debris disposal key issue

Nearly 4,000 residents died or went missing in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which had a pre-disaster population of 160,000.

With debris removal completed in the city center, shops have resumed business there. Residential streets and principal roads have also been cleared of debris.

But in suburban areas, debris lies scattered on farmland and elsewhere and has been piled up in temporary storage locations. Painstaking efforts were reportedly made to eradicate the swarms of flies infesting the garbage.

The dismantling of wrecked houses and office buildings will add to the heaps of debris, overwhelming the capacity of temporary storage places. Through consultations with the prefectural government, the municipal government is accelerating efforts to build a new incinerator and select a final debris disposal center.

Disposal of the huge amount of debris hampers reconstruction. The central government must do everything it can to reduce the financial burdens of local governments.

The reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture cannot be completed without ending the nuclear crisis. Stable cooling of the reactors is under way and almost no new radioactive substances are reportedly being released. By January without fail, the reactors must be cooled so their inner temperatures are stabilized at less than 100 C.

Decontamination is indispensable to bring about the day when evacuated residents can return home. Even in areas not subject to evacuation, there are places where radioactive contamination is high enough to cause health concerns among residents.

Soil improvement must be carried out immediately at school grounds and on agricultural land. Removing the surface soil up to a depth of five centimeters will reduce radioactive cesium levels to just one-tenth, experts say. By replacing this soil with untainted earth, radioactive cesium contamination will be reduced to one-hundredth, they say.

The government should take the lead in promoting decontamination work without farming it out to local governments.

===

Disaster victims need jobs

Although production at factories and related facilities has begun to recover, the employment situation in the disaster-hit areas remains severe. More than 70,000 people are estimated to have lost their jobs in the three disaster-hit Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.

Job offers have been on the rise as workers are being sought for reconstruction projects. Many people, however, cannot find work to suit the job skills they acquired before the disaster. As unemployment benefit payments for many of them will expire soon, it is vital to create new full-fledged jobs through a wide variety of reconstruction projects.

Hospitals and nursing care facilities sustained tremendous damage in the disaster. Even before the disaster, the affected regions have long suffered a serious shortage of doctors, and the region's residents have continued to age.

Although a number of medical and nursing care professionals have provided emergency support over the past six months, this cannot continue for much longer.

Making the best possible use of such information technologies as electronic patient files and deploying medical personnel efficiently would make medical and nursing care services more effective.

The government should take speedy legislative steps and extend financial assistance to set up a medical and nursing service special zone to provide advanced services by an adequate number of medical professionals.

Construction of temporary housing has made considerable progress, allowing many disaster victims to move out of evacuation centers. However, it is important to provide the victims with a proper range of care after they move into temporary housing or other publicly operated housing facilities.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, many elderly persons died after being left unattended in temporary housing. This should never be repeated.

===

Preparedness essential

As of Friday, the number of deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake stood at 15,780, while 4,122 remain missing.

We sincerely pray for the souls of those who perished in the disaster and hope that those still missing will be found as soon as possible.

In Japan, which can be called a "disaster archipelago," Typhoon No. 12 left more than 100 people dead or missing earlier this month. We are sure many people in the past six months have felt anew the horror of natural disasters and the importance of preparing such calamities.

On Sept. 1, Disaster Prevention Day, about 510,000 people took part in disaster drills in 35 prefectures, including Tokyo and Hokkaido.

Some companies and public organizations carried out such practical exercises as confirming the safety of all personnel, as well as drills conducted on the assumption that many of their personnel were unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive disaster.

In its most recent opinion survey, The Yomiuri Shimbun asked people what measures they had taken after the March 11 disaster. Allowed multiple answers, many respondents cited "stockpiling of drinking water and food" and "confirmation of how family members can keep in touch with each other" in the event of a disaster.

Asked what they wanted the central and local governments to do in the event of a disaster, more than 50 percent of the respondents replied--again allowed multiple answers--they wanted "safety measures taken at nuclear power plants" and "ensuring safe evacuation routes and evacuation facilities."

We believe the lessons learned from the March 11 disaster should better prepare people in the future to swiftly and safely evacuate in the event of a disaster and to cooperate more closely with each other to deal with any hardships they might encounter.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 10, 2011)

(Sep. 11, 2011)
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11/09 78% of people worry about future big quake

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Nearly 80 percent of Japanese worry that a major earthquake could occur in the area they live--the highest figure since 2002--and only 3 percent believe the Diet has done a good job handling the March 11 disaster, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they are concerned radioactive substances that leaked from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant could harm the health of themselves and their families, according to the survey, which was conducted Sept. 3 and 4.

The proportion of people worried about radioactive materials harming their health was highest in the Tohoku and Kanto regions at 76 percent. The figure was 51 percent in the Chugoku region and Shikoku, and 59 percent in Kyushu.

Although 82 percent of respondents said the Self-Defense Forces had performed well in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, just 6 percent felt the government had done a good job--and only 3 percent said the Diet had done so.

This suggests the public was unhappy with the confrontation between ruling and opposition parties that hindered government efforts to provide assistance and start rebuilding after the disaster.

Seventy-three percent were impressed with the efforts of volunteers, 52 percent with firefighters, 42 percent with local governments in devastated areas, and 40 percent with the police. Multiple answers were allowed to this question.

When asked what worried them most about the earthquake and the nuclear accident, 68 percent of respondents said "the spread of radioactive material," followed by "a downturn in the economy" at 51 percent, "the deteriorating employment situation" at 34 percent and "electricity shortages" at 33 percent.

The survey also revealed that many people have reaffirmed the importance of ties with close relatives and friends since the disaster. This tendency was especially evident among women.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they increasingly valued their relationships with their families. The figure was 61 percent for women and 50 percent for men.

The survey was conducted on 3,000 eligible voters randomly chosen nationwide, with 1,673, or 56 percent, giving valid responses.

(Sep. 11, 2011)
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11/09 6 MONTHS ON FROM MARCH 11 DISASTER / Onagawacho fighting for existence / After losing most buildings, hundreds of lives, town quickly maps out reconstruction



The Yomiuri Shimbun


ONAGAWACHO, Miyagi--Hard hit by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, Onagawacho, Miyagi Prefecture, is fighting for its existence.
The disaster destroyed 80 percent of the town's buildings and left 829 of its residents dead or missing.
The fisheries industry of the town, which had been one of the nation's largest saury landing sites in terms of volume, was devastated by the disaster.
Onagawacho has lost little time in mapping out a recovery plan--it launched a reconstruction planning committee only 1-1/2 months after the disaster.
The municipal government submitted a reconstruction plan to the town assembly on Sept. 5, less than six months after the earthquake and tsunami and before most disaster-hit municipalities had completed their plans.
The town's busiest area faced Onagawa Bay. In areas where debris has been removed, buildings with only their walls remaining dot the landscape.
The Onagawa police box, a two-story ferroconcrete building, remains on its side after being ripped from its foundation.
The tsunami reached about 1.5 kilometers inland, and 5,374 or 82 percent, of the buildings in the town were destroyed or badly damaged.
After the disaster, 5,720 people--more than half the town's residents--moved to 23 evacuation shelters set up in the town. And about 2,600 residents temporarily evacuated to areas outside the town.
"Unless we present a plan for the future quickly, town residents will begin wondering whether they want to continue living here," said Onagawa Mayor Nobutaka Azumi, 66.
This sense of urgency led the mayor to establish the town's reconstruction promotion office on April 15.
In the town government office set up in borrowed space of the Onagawa No. 2 Primary School, Azumi encouraged officials, saying, "We'll send out a message on [restoration] to town residents by the Bon holiday period."
Since March 11, many of the officials have been extremely busy distributing goods to the shelters.
Residents, too, are taking an active role in their town's reconstruction.
One resident said: "The administrative authorities were short of staff. The private sector should also work to rebuild our town."
People in commercial, industrial, fisheries and tourism sectors living in the shelters held a meeting in late March. On April 19, they established the Onagawacho Fukko Renraku Kyogikai (the Onagawacho reconstruction liaison council).
Like other disaster-hit municipalities, Onagawacho has been worried about depopulation for some time.
Even before the disaster, the town's population had been declining sharply, from 14,018 in 1990 to 10,059 last year. After the earthquake, it stood at 8,686.
Masanori Takahashi, 61, the head of the town chamber of commerce and industry and also head of the reconstruction council, said, "I thought our town would never be able to revive unless we acted quickly."
Takahashi's home was destroyed by the tsunami, and the production lines of a fish-processing company he ran were damaged.
But he shared with the town government officials the view a continued outflow of town residents could threaten the town's existence.
The town's committee for reconstruction planning comprises three members of the reconstruction council and 14 local representatives, academics and others.
The committee has held five meetings since May 1 and compiled the final draft of the reconstruction plan on Aug. 10.
Under the plan, the town will be divided into eight zones depending on use--including residential areas and facilities for processing marine products.
The time line of the plan calls for repair and redevelopment of residential areas through fiscal 2012, improvement of infrastructure such as fishing ports from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2015 and full-fledged reconstruction of fish-processing plants and commercial facilities from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2018.
(Sep. 11, 2011)
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11/09 6 MONTHS ON FROM MARCH 11 DISASTER / Town wants to turn popular athletics park into residential area

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A tug-of-war erupted over whether an Onagawacho athletics park that survived the March 11 disaster should be used as a site for desperately needed land for housing, or retained as one of the town's few remaining "assets."

"Our top priority is to help local residents live with a sense of assurance as soon as possible," said Noriyuki Suzuki, head of the Onagawacho tourism association. He was speaking at the first meeting of a disaster reconstruction committee consisting of local representatives, academics and others.

Suzuki, 60, proposed the town's athletics park, 33 meters above sea level and one of the few facilities spared by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, be used as a site for housing for residents displaced by the disaster.

"[Residential areas] should be established in locations where preparatory development can be completed quickly," he said at the meeting, which was held May 1 at Onagawa No. 2 Primary School.

However, in an initial draft reconstruction plan submitted at the meeting by the Onagawacho government, the park was listed as part of the "education and sports facility area," and therefore not to be used for relocating displaced residents.

Instead, the town government planned to establish residential land by clearing nearby hilly areas.

"As local residents, we felt slightly awkward [about the plan]. It would be quicker to use land already available," said Suzuki, whose house was swept away by the tsunami.

At a second meeting on May 9, it was agreed to turn the athletics park, which covers 24.5 hectares and accounts for about 13 percent of the town's available land for housing, into an area for residential development.

However, town residents voiced objections at a public hearing session in late July. Some insisted the land remain an athletics park because it was one of the few assets remaining in the town.

The athletics park had a number of popular facilities and attracted about 230,000 people annually. By 1998, about 3.6 billion yen had been injected into facilities in the park, including a baseball stadium and an athletics field. The town government used the park as part of a "sports tourism" initiative and held softball games there during the 2001 National Sports Festival hosted by the prefecture.

Repairing the park is expected to cost about 1 billion yen for the athletics field alone, which was damaged by the earthquake.

Onagawacho government officials also said land for houses for displaced residents could be prepared a year earlier by using the park instead of developing new land.

After the public hearing, committee members agreed to consider keeping some of the park's facilities, but did not entirely retract their initial decision to use it for residential purposes.

===

Safer commercial center

Eighty-two percent of land in Onagawacho is hilly or forested, and less than 3 percent is residential, meaning the town will proceed with redevelopment plans in areas hit by the tsunami.

The envisaged new commerce and tourism zone for the town is planned for the Onagawa Station vicinity, an area swamped by the tsunami.

"The area is convenient in terms of transport systems [connecting the town with the city of] Ishinomaki. There's no choice but to rebuild here," said Masanori Takahashi, chairman of the Onagawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Reconstruction plans for the town have been devised from the standpoint of minimizing potential natural disaster damage.

Specific measures include raising the ground level of the commercial zone; raising a national highway running along the coast so it also functions as a dike; and constructing tall buildings 500 meters apart so people could evacuate to them easily in a tsunami.

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Fishing communities affected

Fifteen fishing communities in Onagawacho were almost entirely wiped out by the March disaster. The town government proposed in its draft reconstruction plan that the communities be consolidated into two locations on higher ground and that fisheries ports also be consolidated.

Some local fishermen opposed the plan.

"We agree with plans to relocate [our communities] to higher ground, but it's difficult to consolidate them," said Shoki Abe, 61, a senior official of the Onagawacho branch of the Miyagi prefectural fisheries cooperatives association and a member of the committee.

Abe, who cultivates silver salmon, was speaking at the disaster reconstruction committee's second meeting.

"Different coastal areas have different cultures and styles of festive shishimai lion dances," he said. "We fishermen are empowered by fishing in these places, which we inherited from our ancestors."

At a public hearing in late May, a number of fishermen said they would not accept relocation to areas where they could not keep their eyes on their boats. Some fishermen repeatedly visited the town government to request each community could be relocated as a whole.

The disaster reconstruction committee has put off a decision on the relocation of fishing communities.

However, younger members of these communities have expressed different views to the town government. Some said they could not expect women to come to marry local fishermen if their communities were small, while others said young residents would move away unless people are relocated to form large communities.

Town officials said there is still room for talks with residents on the matter.

(Sep. 11, 2011)
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11/09 6 MONTHS ON FROM MARCH 11 DISASTER / Consideration given to how to preserve bldgs



The Yomiuri Shimbun

A two-story police box in Onagawacho, made of reinforced concrete, that was knocked over by the tsunami.
Onagawacho's reconstruction plan calls for the preservation of four tsunami-hit buildings, including a toppled police box and an office building owned by dietary supplement maker Onagawa Supplement. Surrounding areas will be turned into a memorial park.
"We want there to be two major aspects to the preservation: passing on a record of the damage caused by the disaster to future generations and promoting tourism," Takuro Kimura, 62, managing director of the Glocal Empowerment, Support and Aid Institute, said at the third meeting of the reconstruction committee.
Yet a committee member chosen from among local residents said, "I couldn't object when a scholar talked about the 'academic value' [of preserving damaged structures]."
Some building owners have turned down proposals to preserve the structures and some residents at a public hearing on the subject said it was painful to see them.
"We'll think carefully about how to preserve them," Kimura said.
"I hope the plan doesn't end up as a pipe dream," Takanobu Takahashi, 67, head of a buyers' cooperative association at the Onagawa fish market, said at his prefab office late last month.
Despite the many blueprints for post-disaster reconstruction, Onagawacho currently has no prospects of securing the necessary funds.
Regarding the procurement and development of plots of land for communities to relocate their houses en masse, there is a plan whereby the central government bears 94 percent of the cost through subsidies and other means.
However, there is a upper limit on subsidies, making it highly likely local municipalities will bear a heavy financial burden.
The Miyagi prefectural government did a tentative calculation in June of a post-disaster reconstruction project, including the relocation of residents' homes. It envisioned a municipality on essentially the same scale as Onagawacho, with about 10,000 people and an initial budget of about 6 billion yen in fiscal 2010.
The prefecture estimated such a project would cost 210.7 billion yen to implement, of which the local government would have to shoulder 116.5 billion yen.
According to these figures, Onagawacho would have to pay about 20 times its actual annual budget for the reconstruction project.
Many local municipalities are drawing up their post-disaster plans based on the steps to be taken by the central government, but Onagawacho drafted its plan fairly quickly.
"I wanted to show the will of our residents early, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach," Mayor Nobutaka Azumi said.
"With the existing framework, the town's finances will collapse. We want the central government to respond to our wishes through such measures as creating a new system whereby local municipalities have a small [financial] burden," he said.
(Sep. 11, 2011)

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11/09 Hachiro's radioactive gaffe / Mock contamination leads to calls for resignation or dismissal



The Yomiuri Shimbun

Yoshio Hachiro
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoshio Hachiro's infelicitous remark and gesture about radiation have sparked calls for his resignation among the ruling and opposition parties.
"Here's some radiation," Hachiro allegedly said Thursday evening, gesturing as if to press the sleeve of his jacket against a reporter after returning from his inspection tour to areas around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
His remark and gesture have sparked a controversy within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan over whether he should stay in Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet.
According to members of the ruling coalition parties, such behavior is inappropriate for a Cabinet minister in charge of nuclear power plants, and is bound to spark calls for his resignation.
About the incident, Hachiro explained to the press Friday evening, "Actually, I wanted to talk about the disaster-hit areas, as there were many reporters whom I know well."
"I don't think I said anything like that [such as contaminating someone with radiation]," he added.
Prior to the latest trouble, Hachiro said at a press conference Friday morning: "I saw not a single person [in areas around the nuclear plant]. They were literally towns of death."
He withdrew the remark and apologized at a press conference in the afternoon.
"It was an expression that might lead to misunderstanding among the disaster victims," Hachiro said. "I sincerely regret it, withdraw the comment and deeply apologize for that."
While an increasing number of DPJ members have been discussing the possibility of Hachiro's resignation, senior officials of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party have begun calling on Noda to dismiss him outright.
"I know of the news report [about Hachiro]," Noda told reporters Saturday while on a visit to inspect the tsunami-hit city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. "Since I want to know his real intention, I'll meet him as soon as possible."
Noda was to return to Tokyo later Saturday, while Hachiro was scheduled to visit a plant in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the afternoon. Thus, a meeting between them may not occur until Saturday evening at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Hachiro apologized over the remark and gesture on Saturday afternoon in a dormitory building for House of Representatives members in Tokyo's Akasaka district.
"If I upset people in Fukushima Prefecture [who are victims of the nuclear disaster] and made them lose faith in the government, I want to apologize," Hachiro said.
However, Hachiro also said: "I want to work hard as far as I can. I'll consult [the prime minister on whether to resign]."
About his remark and gesture Thursday evening, Hachiro said, "I just made a little feint [toward a reporter], and I did never catch his arm. I might have done something like that."
Criticism against Hachiro was mounting in the DPJ.
Seiji Maehara, chairman of the DPJ Policy Research Committee, told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday morning: "If it's true, it's a very serious problem. It's important to explain his real intention by the end of today."
Former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said on a TBS program Saturday: "The remark was improper. There may be various debates from now on." He suggested the problem may develop into a controversy over whether Hachiro can stay in the post.
Shigeru Ishiba, chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council, told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday, "Unless he resigns or Prime Minister Noda dismisses him, nothing can move [in the next extraordinary Diet session]."
(Sep. 11, 2011)
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Saturday, September 10, 2011

10/09 Unclear why pro-Pyongyang schools should be free

The Yomiuri Shimbun

It is an enigmatic keepsake from former Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Kan told former Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takaki on Aug. 29, shortly before his resignation as prime minister, to resume screening procedures to include pro-Pyongyang high schools in the government's tuition waiver program.

The screening procedures were suspended in the wake of North Korea's artillery shelling of a South Korean island last November. The former prime minister's administration said the situation on the Korean Peninsula was considered to have returned to conditions prior to the shelling, but we would like to ask if there are any grounds for that.

It is true that talks between North and South Korean senior officials were held in July for the first time in two years and seven months. U.S.-North Korean talks also took place in the same month.

However, the former administration did not explain in detail its assessment of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. It is still very difficult to understand why screening procedures would be resumed on what looked like last-minute instructions from the outgoing prime minister.

===

New govt should explain

In the last Diet session, Kan was grilled over suspicious donations by his political funds management organization to a civic group closely connected with a relative of a suspect in the abduction of Japanese citizens to North Korea.

It is a matter of course that the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which has raised concerns about Kan's abrupt instruction regarding pro-Pyongyang high schools, is demanding the new administration rescind the instruction.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and education minister Masaharu Nakagawa, however, have indicated they will carry on with the former prime minister's directive.

The two said in their inauguration speeches that Kan seemed to have made the judgment based on such factors as the resumption of talks between North and South Korea.

However, we think the current Cabinet cannot obtain public understanding for resumption of the procedures unless it makes a clear explanation based on its own assessment.

The screening will take two months. If they are deemed eligible for the government's tuition waiver program, 10 pro-Pyongyang high schools around the country will receive schooling assistance grants totaling at least 200 million yen from the government to compensate them for tuition.

Since the screening procedures have already started, the education ministry must scrutinize whether the schools' accounts are transparent.

The pro-Pyongyang schools are closely linked with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), which is under North Korea's influence. We are afraid the grants might be used for purposes other than waiving tuition.

The education ministry is said to check documents submitted to it by the schools, but if necessary, the ministry should send officials to the schools and seek direct explanations from their administrators.

===

Program needs review

Some observers say students at pro-Pyongyang schools may have been taught untruths about the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea and other issues.

According to screening standards set by the education ministry, if problems are found in the curriculum or other elements of a school, the education minister can inform its administrator about them as points of concern. If any problem is found during the screening procedures, the education minister should strongly urge school officials to improve it voluntarily.

Reviewing the government's high school tuition waiver program, which has been advocated by the Democratic Party of Japan-led governments, is also a pressing issue.

A joint agreement reached by the DPJ, the LDP and New Komeito includes a clause that they would discuss necessary reviews of what form the waiver program should take from next fiscal year.

We hope the new administration will study the effects of the program thoroughly, considering the nation's difficult fiscal condition.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 9, 2011)

(Sep. 10, 2011)
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10/09 Lawmakers cautious over Maehara's arms remark

Lawmakers in both the ruling and opposition parties are taking a cautious stance toward remarks about a possible review Japan's three principles on arms exports made by Seiji Maehara, chairman of the Democratic Party of Japan's Policy Research Committee.

The possibility of reviewing the principles was discussed last December, when the administration of former Prime Minister Naoto Kan was working out a national defense program guideline.

However, the Social Democratic Party opposed the idea, and with Kan not keen on it, the issue was dropped. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who was serving as the finance minister of the Kan Cabinet at the time, supported the possible review.

Some officials in the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry said that though they thought such a review was impossible under the Kan administration, they expected Noda might move forward on the matter.

However, one of Noda's aides said, "Nothing indicated that he [Maehara] had coordinated his views with the government." It is therefore uncertain whether the issue will be on the agenda at the Japan-U.S. summit meeting.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said, "We'll consider the issue." But in the afternoon he revised his remark.

"For now, we have made no concrete decisions on how to proceed with the debate. I believe [Maehara] was giving his personal opinion," Fujimura said.

The positions of Fujimura and other DPJ members remain to be articulated due to the party's internal situation, in which members who formerly belonged to the Japan Socialist Party and some other members strongly oppose the review.

In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun and other media, Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said, "It remains to be seen whether [Maehara's remark] will be considered as merely one opinion within the party."

Some members of the opposition parties, which the Noda administration wants to cooperate with on post-disaster reconstruction, voiced cautious views on the matter.

New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said: "How does the [new] government interpret the original purpose behind the three principles, namely that Japan should not be party to escalating or expanding armed conflict? How does the government intend to project or change Japan's image in the international community? Debates on these points have been totally insufficient."

In the wake of changes to decision-making policies after the launch of the new Cabinet, the DPJ's chairman of the Policy Research Committee has gained strong authority, such as the power to prescreen government-sponsored bills prior to submission to the Diet.

Maehara himself has a reputation for voicing strong ideas, but not being able to realize them, as was seen in his reactions to the construction of Yamba Dam when he served as the land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister.

Some lawmakers expressed concern that his stance over the review of the three principles may cause confusion.

(Sep. 10, 2011)
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