Liberal Japan

Mentally ill child-killer gets 22 years in prison
…
According to the ruling, Ujiie stole a knife at an Ito-Yokado Co. supermarket in Anjo at around 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2005. He then stabbed to death 11-month-old Shoma Aoyama of Okazaki in the prefecture, who was in a baby buggy near his mother around the children’s clothing section. Ujiie also kicked and injured the boy’s 6-year-old sister and a 27-year-old woman nearby.

Oh. But he didn’t mean to do this. He wasn’t in his right mind. There were voices in his head that told him to do this, but he didn’t really want to do it. So he gets only 22 years as opposed to 30 years.

I don’t like capital punishment. The danger is so great that an innocent could be killed, and I could never really accept that. But a man killing a baby in cold blood? I might have to rethink my opinion on this.

I’ve been to that specific Ito-Yokado more than a few times, though never with my children. I did often take one of my children to an Ito-Yokado in a near by town, when he was a toddler.

I don’t believe in the insanity plea for several reasons. One reason is because issues like guilt should not be up to pseudo-scientific experts of the mind. In a certain sense, we’re all crazy.

There’s no question that he committed the crime, so there shouldn’t be too much debate over what punishment he deserves.

U.S. marine held over illegal entry in Okinawa
NAHA–A 21-year-old U.S. Marine Corps corporal was arrested Monday on suspicion of breaking into a house in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, and falling asleep on a sofa, police said. Cpl. Shawn Jake, stationed at Camp Schwab, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing after the prefectural police arrived at the scene at the Henoko area in the city, in response to an emergency call early Monday from a 54-year-old woman who lives in the house.

What are these guys doing down there?

Here’s a link to a fascinating article. A large hotel refused to allow a union organization to have its annual meeting on its premises. The main reason for this was that the hotel felt threatened by rightest organizations. So there is a kind of leftists versus rightest feel to the article. Interestingly enough, the owners of the hotel make a libertarian argument that the hotel is their property, and they should be free to rent it out to whoever they wish.

As is typical the rightists seem pro-business because they are anti-union, but this is really misconceived. The right to organize and petition doesn’t necessarily mean someone advocates socialist government policies. And even to the extent it does, the right often want something similar. The main difference between the left and the right at the extremes is the same difference between international socialism and national socialism. That is both are pretty much against the free market.

The hotel owners are correct that they should be free to rent to whomever they choose, but they seem really wimpish here. But if the government will not provide adequate security then that is the real problem. What can be said of a government that won’t protect people from far rightest organizations?

Government eyes increase in class hours
The education ministry on Friday unveiled a draft of new teaching guidelines for primary and middle schools that would increase classroom hours for arithmetic and mathematics as well as science subjects by around 15 percent during the nine-year study period, in a departure from the current guidelines, which emphasize “education with latitude.” …
As in the current guidelines, the new guidelines’ basic philosophy is “to foster the power to live.” To improve the ability to think, judge and express oneself, the new guidelines attach importance to activities such as observation, conducting experiments and writing reports.

Right. We need to make sure that the ability to think, judge and express oneself is completely consistent throughout Japan.

Transport ministry spent 526 mil. yen on musicals
The Construction and Transport Ministry spent more than 500 million yen on staging musicals using funds earmarked for roads, it was revealed in a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting Thursday.
In response to a question posed by the Social Democratic Party’s Nobuto Hosaka, the ministry revealed it had spent 526 million yen earmarked for roads to put on 85 performances of a musical. It said the shows, staged between fiscal 2003 and 2005, were aimed at educating people about road maintenance and improvement.
“We did it to win over landowners,” Construction and Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba said. “But we won’t do this kind of thing again.”
Following a question by the Democratic Party of Japan’s Akira Nagatsuma, the ministry also revealed its Nagoya-based Meishi National Highway Office had bought two aromatherapy machines worth a total of 46,390 yen.

These activities speak for themselves. What I find weird is how stories like this constantly crop up in the press, yet there’s not sense of anyone doing anything serious about it.

Foreign students may get to skip fingerprinting
The Justice Ministry will consider exempting foreign students attending Japanese high schools from having their fingerprints and mug shots taken at immigration sections when they return to Japan from school excursions, if the schools make a request.
Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama on Thursday said he will consider taking necessary measures including revising a ministerial ordinance, after receiving a request from New Komeito to exempt the students from having their fingerprints and mug shots taken. “This is a thing we have to do,” Hatoyama said.
The Revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law came into force last year and requires foreigners aged 16 and older entering Japan to have their fingerprints and mug shots taken at airport and seaport immigration checkpoints.

I don’t think anyone should be fingerprinted. But this article is a bit rich. Hatoyama says “This is a thing we have to do.” Give me a break! How about permanent residents?

Some of the people who have been kind enough to read this blog have referred to me as a libertarian. Of course, I’d prefer to think of myself as a liberal of the classical mold, but I have to admit in many ways that aligns me with modern libertarians.

Anyway, let me pose a question. According to the views I hold, which party would I be best off to support in Japan? (I’m not a citizen, so speaking in terms of moral support.) Ironically enough, if my decision were to be based on campaign posters, it would have to be the Japanese Communist Party.

For literally years now, I’ve been seeing campaign posters arguing for a strict interpretation of article 9 of the Japanese constitution, the antiwar clause. Wow, that’s just what I believe. The constitution should be taken seriously and interpreted strictly. Good on you, JCP.

Now, recently, I’ve noticed a new poster from the JCP. This poster says something like stop the sales tax increase. It’s an anti-tax message. Wow, I can get into that. Fight the tax raise, the government already gets too much money.

So there you have it. Based on campaign posters, the JCP is the party of strict constitutionalism and antitax to boot. Now, that’s the party for me. Okay, if I actually checked their platform, I’d probably have to revise this a bit, but anyway …

I can’t help but wish JCP luck next election cycle with their anti-tax, strict constitutional platform.