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The Death of Goto Kenji

31/1/2015

Source: Huffington.jp

It does pain me to have to write these words, but the pessimism that I displayed last week concerning Goto Kenji’s chances of emerging from his ordeal alive proved correct. On Sunday, the Chief Cabinet Secretary office informed journalists that a video purporting to be the execution of Goto had been uploaded to the internet, and that the government was hurriedly attempting to verify its authenticity (J). That verification came later in the day, and so on Sunday PM Abe appeared in front of the cameras within the prime ministerial residence to condemn Goto’s execution and declare that Japan would never give in to terrorism (J). It was a tragic end to a week long ordeal, and the strain of it clearly showed on Abe’s face as he made his announcement.

On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga made it clear that while Japan would join other nations in the international fight against terrorism, it would not be making any military contribution to the air campaign currently being waged against Islamic State, and neither would it countenance dispatching its Self Defence Forces to deal directly with IS. Instead, Japan would continue to give its support via non-military means, including the $200m in humanitarian aid that it had already pledged to those forces aligned against IS (J).

Nevertheless, the manner in which the hostage crisis was handled (also here – J and J), and subsequent opposition suspicions that PM Abe might use the pretext of ensuring the safety of Japanese citizens abroad as a reason to send the SDF overseas meant that security questions have dominated Japan’s political environment this week. For a nation that is still wrestling with the implications of constitutional re-interpretation on collective self-defence, the prospect of Japanese troops being sent to war zones to secure the safety of Japanese citizens is a bit too sudden, and there is a clear need to establish exactly what would meet the criteria for SDF involvement in overseas rescue operations.

Apart from the obvious need to have the consent of the country to which the SDF would be dispatched, there are questions as to whether this would then extend to military action. While the SDF might be able to act in response to natural disasters (as occurred in Christchurch in 2011, when SDF members were dispatched to assist in the search for survivors, among them Japanese citizens), the prospect of using military force to repel any threat to Japanese citizens abroad would be stretching constitutional interpretation to its limit, and bar any re-writing of the constitution (which is a slim possibility), it appears impossible to implement.

Yet despite this, one does feel for the family and colleagues of Goto, whose only purpose in being in Syria in the first place was to try to secure the rescue of Yukawa Haruna from the hands of IS. Really, IS may never have intended to free Yukawa or Goto in the first place, merely using them as another means of disseminating propaganda to disaffected Muslim youth and threatening developed states. Until we come to know the full facts behind IS’s motivations, this will all remain speculative. A good man died for no damned reason, and his memory should not be allowed to fade.

The plight of Goto Kenji

25/1/2015

Source: www.japantimes.co.jp

While the hostage situation involving Goto Kenji drags on without any sign yet of a resolution (this follows the confirmation of the execution of fellow Japanese hostage Yukawa Haruna on Sunday - J) it’s been interesting to note the reactions of a variety of commentators on just how Japan has handled the hostage situation, and what sort of options are open to the Abe government to try and secure Goto’s release without further bloodshed. Part of that strategy has been to approach Jordan for its support, ostensibly by asking Jordan to negotiate for IS to release Goto along with a captured Jordanian pilot First Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh for Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi sentenced to death for participating in suicide bombing attempts against hotels in Amman in 2005.

Jake Adelstein, writing for the Daily Beast, essentially questioned whether the Abe government had indeed done everything it could to secure the hostages’ release, given that when Yukawa and Goto went missing in northern Syria last year, Tsuneoka Kosuke, a Japanese journalist with contacts within IS, and Hassan Ko Nakata, a Japanese Islamic scholar, approached the government with offers to assist in getting Yukawa and Goto released, only to themselves fall under suspicion from authorities.

Meanwhile the plight of the hostages has captured the attention of the Japanese media and led to an examination of whether IS’s demands are a response to the Abe government’s more robust form of foreign policy. This has led to questions about whether Japan could dispatch its own forces, using collective self-defence as a justification, in an attempt to rescue the hostages (the answer being “probably not, or at least not under the current understanding of collective self-defence” - J).

Hence while daily press briefings have attempted to show that progress is being made, other Japanese citizens have been expressing their solidarity with Goto and their determination to stand up to terrorism by donning traditional kimono (J) (thereby demonstrating that the Japanese “are as one” in the fight against terrorist organisations) and editing the video footage of Goto, Yukawa and their captor in order to ridicule IS and deprive them of the fear that they hope to create – J.

With time running out for Goto and no indication that he is to be released, there is trepidation as to what the next move by IS will be. Given the amount of exposure that the case has made around the world, one could say that IS has fulfilled its goal of focusing attention on its activities. Yet the fact that IS has specifically demanded the release of al-Rishawi points towards a possible compromise, given that al-Rishawi probably has relatives within IS who do not wish to see her executed (since much of IS’s executive stem from northern Iraq and are led by Iraqi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mind you, given IS’s brand of fanaticism and their opinion of women, one might think that a failed suicide bomber like al-Rishawi might not garner much sympathy from IS).

However right now much depends on how convincing Jordan can be in negotiating a release. The Jordanians clearly want to give priority to the release of Lt al-Kasaesbeh before considering the merits of Goto, although Japan is willing to work for both sides. The uncertainty of the outcome is a significant factor in the increasingly desperate attempts to find a solution, and with 24 hours to go, a breakthrough has yet to be reached .

IS's threats against Japanese hostages

18/1/2015

Source: www.newsweek.com

What was meant to be a fairly standard visit by PM Abe to the Middle East has suddenly transformed into a hostage situation with the release of footage by Islamic State late on Tuesday of two Japanese citizens, Goto Kenji and Yukawa Haruna, threatening their execution unless Japan agreed to pay $200m (the amount of money PM Abe had pledged in Egypt for use in aiding refugees from the conflict in Syria) within 72 hours.

PM Abe, in a press conference held in Jerusalem on Tuesday night (J), said that Japan would not be intimidated by threats to its citizens, with PM Abe himself making a demand that the hostages be released immediately and expressing his ‘strong resentment’ at IS’s use of the lives of Japanese citizens as a shield for its threats.

As was reported on Wednesday morning, IS’s execution of hostages on video is not in itself unusual, given that this is one of its preferred methods of disseminating propaganda, yet the fact that two Japanese citizens had been chosen as victims, and that both a set time limit and ransom amount had been explicitly demanded by IS, pointed to a new development.

Japan has no military involvement in the conflict against IS, but it is allied to the United States and maintains close ties with other nations that are directly involved in the fight against IS. By threatening to execute two Japanese citizens, IS is apparently sending a message that any country that aids and abets forces ranged against them will suffer the consequences. Japan has not completely ruled out negotiating with IS, but there would be a strong incentive for it not to do so.

Other nations within the Middle East, such as Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Jordan, and Israel, have all been engaged in fighting against Islamic extremism, and any move that would placate extremists through the payment of ransom money would be an unwelcome move by Japan. It would give an incentive for IS to conduct more kidnappings, possible even in surrounding countries, in order to provide an additional form of revenue raising for its activities. Of course, IS might then be forced to release the hostages, for taking hostages merely for the purposes of killing them is a self-defeating strategy (if money is one of the motives for this latest action).

Yet one suspects that IS have no intention of releasing the hostages, and have merely made the video as another means of inciting fear and demands within Japan for a halt to any further assistance for the campaign against IS. In that sense, it will not work. If the past few years have taught us anything, Japan does not give in to any attempt to threaten its interests. If anything, it just hardens its resolve even further. Rather than dissuading Japan from providing assistance, this incident will trigger a greater demand for action against IS in conjunction with other nations.

Japan might not have military assets, but it does have an extensive diplomatic presence in the Middle East and strong relations with many countries in that region (Turkey, Iran, Israel, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt). Its technological prowess could also be brought to bear against IS, although such an act would pre-empt the collective self-defence debate that has continued on from last year.

PM Abe has already stated that Israel and the US have offered to share information about the possible whereabouts of the hostages, and it is reasonable to expect that other nations would now be making similar offers of information concerning IS’s motives. The execution of the hostages would be a tragic outcome, but it would not fundamentally change the Abe government’s strategy of support for the campaign against IS and of US involvement in the Middle East region.

A plea for sanity

16/1/2015

This short post has been inspired (or provoked) by recent events across the globe.

Are we fated to destroy ourselves?

This is a question that no one person can answer. Over the passage of time humanity has behaved as though its future is predetermined, as though its actions do not have consequences that will influence how its future will unfold. Humans have seen fit to find fault with themselves, to prefer division rather than seek unity. Whether it be gender, age, nationality, or religion, if there exists a means for some to diverge from others, to promote self-interest, then that is the path that will be taken. Humanity as a species will not survive the next millennium without a collective effort to rescind that which divides us and embrace all. Our resources are not infinite, neither is the space that we occupy. We threaten our own existence through our parochial behaviour, and if we do not address this now then we will never will.

The latent possibilities of humanity are obvious to any member of the species homo sapien, for humanity has transformed the environment, reduced distance to mere seconds, mapped the heavens and catalogued the elements from which it is made. Humanity has transcended time, looked into the face of oblivion and still found hope, and sought an existence beyond physical limitations. This capacity for invention, for compassion, and for organisation has served us well, but the future of humanity lies in its capacity for cooperation, in recognising that if we allow division to dictate our actions then our potential to evolve will be forever impeded. We are not condemned to such a future, we have the capacity within us to achieve a utopia that will define the character of humanity. But it will not be through the self-interest that we, all of us, currently pursue. We are all as great as our collective sum, and together we can find meaning to this thing called existence.

Domon Fuyuji

12/1/2015

Source: www.yourepeat.com

First of all, Happy New Year!

During the end of year period there was a great deal of activity in Japan in preparation for 2015, including PM Abe’s address at Ise Shrine where he declared that he intended to issue another statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, and that this statement would be in keeping with those of previous PMs including Murayama Tomiichi, along with a later announcement of budgetary arrangements for 2015 that included the largest increase in defence spending in postwar Japan (for the third year in a row. This is mainly because of the need for purchases of the F-35, a new fleet of P-1 surveillance aircraft, amphibious vehicles, and preliminary construction of facilities at the designated US forces base at Henoko in northern Okinawa) (J).

Yet despite these developments, I wanted to look at a more personal matter that I’ve been meaning to bring up for some time. It concerns the work of author Dōmon Fuyuji (otherwise known as Ōta Hisayuki), and the contribution I believe he has made to a better understanding of Japan’s past and the drama contained within it. I’d hazard a guess that Dōmon is not well known outside of Japanese historical circles, but his writings and essays do deserve a wider audience given the way in which he is able to present quite complicated historical events in clear, direct prose.

My first contact with Dōmon occurred during my final years in university, when I was looking to find Japanese language material that would explain events in Japan’s past in language that I, a Japanese language novice, would still be able to understand (with a little help from a dictionary). I managed to obtain a copy of a reference book detailing the ‘business savvy’ of various Sengoku era generals edited by Dōmon. While the subject matter was fairly frivolous, Dōmon’s use of clear, modern prose, and his ability to illustrate a point that highlighted the human character of Sengoku generals, impressed so much that I vowed to look up more of his work when I had the chance.

That chance came later while I was living in Japan. It was while I was there that I learned that Dōmon had begun his career as a bureaucrat in the Tokyo municipal government, eventually working his way up to speech writer and secretary to the governor. He was in his early 30s when turned his hand to writing historical novels, covering periods from the Kamakura era through to the Meiji Restoration. While other writers of historical novels, in order to increase the ‘historical credentials’ within, choose archaic terms and old linguistic forms to pad their text, Dōmon eschews the more ‘traditional’ approach to historical novels in order to promote the story itself.

Purists might deride this as pandering, but the fact remains that it has made Dōmon famous, almost (but not quite) to the same level as Shiba Ryōtarō (a contemporary, incidentally, of Dōmon). Dōmon regularly features in NHK documentaries on historical figures of note, and his opinion is sought out by editors keen to get a sense of prominent figures of Japan’s past. I’m currently reading Dōmon’s novel of the life of Kuroda Kanbe’ei (Nyosui), which coincided (possibly not by coincidence) with an NHK Taiga drama on the very same individual. As per usual the writing is very straight-forward, and Dōmon obviously has a lot of admiration for his subject. He has previously described Kuroda as being one of the most brilliant strategists of the Sengoku era who never attained his true potential, and portrays Nyosui’s cunning against the more ‘honest’ character of Nyosui’s heir Nagamasa (‘honest’ being a very subjective term in relation to Nagamasa).

In sum, Dōmon is well worth a read for those with Japanese language ability, and is certainly very useful for expanding one’s knowledge of historical characters. His exhaustive bibliography alone will consume many of my reading hours for years to come.

Author

This is a blog maintained by Greg Pampling in order to complement his webpage, Pre-Modern Japanese Resources. All posts are attributable to Mr Pampling alone, and reflect his personal opinion on various aspects of Japanese history and politics (among other things).

弊ブログをご覧になって頂きまして誠に有難うございます。グレッグ・パンプリングと申しましす。このブログに記載されている記事は全て我の個人的な意見であり、日本の歴史、又は政治状態、色々な話題について触れています。