Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

Congressman Mike Honda speaks on legistlation urging Japan to apologize for war-era sexual slavery.

There were once women called "Ianfu" meaning Comfort Women in Japanese. They were focibly taken to battlefield to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.

The congressman is trying to let our government make official apology to those women.

In fact, Japanese government did in 1993, but very grudgingly. The government at that time gave some speech of the apology and has made compensations to those women but by civil donation not by our tax.

 The textbooks barely mentioned such history. The right wingers including some ruling party's politicians deny such women were forced to do so by the army and claim the women are all liars and making accusation for money.

They are doing the same things on Nanking Massacre which Japanese army slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Chinese including POWs and civilians in Nanking, the capitol of China in 1937.

 I am afraid that I do not want such legistlation pass in US Congress because this is something our country should have done a long time ago so that no other country would claim Japan has not done enough of such matters. Unfortunately, we failed. Germans has succeeded in this and recovered relationship with former enemies, France and Britain. It is illegal to deny hollocaust in public. If you say that there was no mass-murder of Jews in Germany, you are put into jail.

Well, but I do support Mr. Honda's action. He is Japanese American. I just guess if he is doing this because he does not want to be considered that he is too gentle to his anscestral country. This should come from his childhood memory of Internment Camp. I know the tales of Japanese American during the war between Japan and the US.  

Japanese should reflect on the past whether it is comfortable or uncomfortable to look to the future and recover relationship with neighboring nations. Maybe the legistlation would give a great chance for this.  

Five year have passed since 911.

 Again, your president is misleading you, guys.

 I read all of his speech transcript. As far as I read, he insists your country is good and free, helping other nations safer and freer.

Only evils are Islamic extremists.

Have you ever thought about why such terrorism came out to the world?

911 has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein. Bush admits that, and then said that he attacked Hussein because he was a clear threat.

Hussein was found not having weapons of mass-destruction. He was no threat at the time the war started.

Using this rethoric, you can attack anybody if you think he is a threat. Bush is a big liar.

After the toppling of Sadam Hussein, what is happening in Iraq? The situation is in fact worse. The security is getting worse. Conflicts between religious sects intesified. You can't provide democracy unless a legitimate and widely trusted regime exists there.

 How many innocent lives were taken away in Iraq and Afghanistan after 911? Much more than 911 victims.

Terror attacks are still going on. The world is just getting more dangerous.   

Please cool down, Americans. Don't be misled by such a fool any more. He is just playing war games.

Today, the third child of Princess Kiko who is married to the 2nd prince of Japanese royal family was born. It was a boy.

 So finally Japanese royal family got a legitimate successor under the current royal system. The family have got 3 girls prior to the birth of this boy. Two girls between Princess Kiko and her husband. One girl between 1st prince and his wife. If the system allows female successor. this child birth might not have happened.

 The news of the Princess's pregnancy came coincided with the Parliament debate of changing royal succession system to allow a woman to be in line to the throne. This debate was brought about by the fact that there is no male successor in royal family and then the wife of 1st prince had been distressed because of the pressure to give birth to a boy. She had been mentally ill and is now in Holland to rest hiding from public. It seemed she lost the ability to act as a public person.

 Was it just a coincident that Princess Kiko got pregnant and now gave birth to a boy?

 I do not think so. This should be because Kiko and royal family were concerned about the other Princess.

Kiko is already 39 years old. It is hard for her to give birth to a new child. It seems they set up pregnancy and did the gender selection of the child.

I just feel so awkward. Why should we be so persistent with having a male royal successor? It is now 21st century.

I don't care if the throne was taken over by a woman. In fact I do want to see a queen in the future.

 The conservatives say it is not the issue of gender equality. Royal family is out of the constitution. Their family line has run through male successors. Yes there were some empres in history but they were the daughters of male successors and their children never took over the throne. We should not cut this family line. That is why conservative do not like 3 girls to take over the throne.

If the system cannot work without such sexist and feudal notion, it may be better to abolish such royal system.

It cannot work in such modern time of Japan.

Actually the story of royal family line may be a bit of fiction.  

 There is doubt about the royal family line has gone over 1000 years. There is no concrete evidence that today's emperor shared the famliy line with the first emperor, Jimu. Only the records on the paper. In fact there is a doubt that if the first several emperrors really exist. The average life span of first 8 emperors in history was more than 100 years. It is so hard to belive people of over 1000 years ago could live such long years.

 It is still as mysterious story as "Da vinci Code."  I just simply do not believe such story.

I cannot say "Congratulation" to Princess Kiko and royal family.

Have you thought about such things?

Which category would you identify yourself?

Do you think Bush is real conservative?

Is Micheal Moore really liberal?

Which TV channel is most liberal in US? CBS?

Which channel is most conservative? FOX?

 Is New York Times liberal?

Do you know Edmund Burke?