Love me but leave me alone

Welcome to this week's Funny Friday, it has been a while. Look at the photos, do we need any captions?

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NYT to Shinzo Abe: Stop visiting Yasukuni

Yesterday, New York Times put out an editoral titled, Shinzo Abe's Asian Challenge. This article asks the new Japanese Prime Minister to go beyond Koizumi and Yasukuni, and "The obvious place to start is by rebuilding Japan’s badly damaged relations with China."

The article also points out that the greatest error of the Koizumi administration is to visit Yasukuni Shrine, which plays into the hands of China. To crictize the mistakes,

"The first step should be declaring that he will not continue Mr. Koizumi’s provocative practice of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where the spirits of convicted war criminals are honored."

Japan's Own: Peaceboat

Shinzo Abe, the new Japanese Prime Minister aims to build Japan as a county as trusted and beloved worldwide, there certainly has something for every Japanese to be proud of, Peaceboat.

In 1983, a group of Japanese college students, frustrated by the government's inability to break through its past history of aggression and build friendship with neighboring countries, took peace making into their own hands and rented a boat, sailed to the countries that were victimized by Japan's emperor army during the World War II. Their goal is to learn firsthand of the sufferings and historical facts of the war.

Today, Peaceboat sails around the world; it brings the world to Japanese nationals, bridges the gaps between Japanese people and a real world view of Japan, not through government's filters or lens.

In Japan and Korea relationship building, Peaceboat is working hard, however, Sino-Japan relations seems not yet takes off.

Japan's Future Depends on Past

Washington Post editoral has a pretty harsh words for Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asking him to be honest with the history. Check it out here.

Japan as Quality King is NO More

An article on New York Times talk about Japan's recent accidents, in which Toyota has to recall cars and Sony has to recall batteries.

Is Japan as a king in quality No More? Regarding the article-Japanese Fret that Quality is in Decline, my initial views are,

1. Japanese workers, especially younger ones are not demanding in quality control as their parents, and some even anti-traditions.
2. Technology changes so fast and gets so complicated, Japan has to catch up and to learn, too. Some old traditions such as strictly following manuals, are not applicable any more. Japan is known for being slow to change dramatically.
3. Facing fierce competitions from both the U.S. and Korea, China, Japanese companies turn to American style of profit seeking, and bloody cost cutting, quality control also suffers compromise.

Abe is able to improve sino-japan ties

No bad is too bad and no good is too good, everything has its opposite effect. When China is facing a a more conservative, younger Abe compared to Koizumi, a chance may be present itself, too.

Just as no one predicts that China and Japan bilteral ties can't be too bad with Abe is offically elected to be Japan's next Prime Minister, China cautiously hopes Abe maybe a good start, at least he repeated his intention to improve ties with China and South Korea at his first policy speech as a Japan's ruling party-LDP's president.

I certainly hope that Abe will be able to delivery, but first I have to see where he will choose destination for his first overseas trip, U.S. or China?

At the same time, I will take the rest of the week off, and will return next week. Have a good weekend!

Koizumi's Heir:a Beautiful Japan

Even the final result of Japan's LDP president election will not be announced until some 15 hours away, it seems Shinzo Abe, 51 years old, will be the winner and thus Japan's next Prime Minister.

This forecast has been going on for a while, now even American media seems to favor Abe over Aso and Tanigaki in this 3 way race. In today's Washington Post arcicle, Abe is described as an avowed nationalist, and his slogan, Beautiful Japan, is to offer a Japan pride.

"I have a sense that the postwar generation of politicans in Japan-including Abe-have lost the older generation's sense of war guilt.", the arcitle quoted Takayoshi Miyagawa, a political strategist adn noted pacifist in Tokyo.

Mooncake War heats up

Moon festival is not here until Oct. 6, which is 20 days away, however, a war has been undergoing in China.

In Shanghai, a city wellkown for being Chinese captial of sweats, has launched a kind of mooncakes that is not sweat at all, it is not even edible, a set of four gold mooncakes, each is carefully put in a cystal stand.

I find it is find to image a mooncake that is not to please you taste buds, however, I am not surprised that today's mooncake is not yesterday's moonkcake any more, when I was little, a moonkcake filled with cystal sugar cubes, with a price of 0.5 yuan(less than 10 cents), meant a joy of enjoying a full, harvest autumn moon and the cake, however, today, fewer are fond of eating the cakes any more, whatever you put into the cake, nuts, eggs, dates, won't cause any excitement, so, why not just make a gold mooncake?

Mooncake has changed, so has China.

US congress concerns about Yasukuni Issue

During a congress hearing regarding Japan’s diplomacy in Asia yesterday, several U.S. congressmen showed their concerns over Koizumi’s Yasukuni shrine visit.

Co-host of the hearing, titled Japan’s Relations with Its Neighbors: Back to the Future?, Congressmen Lantos(D-CA), said,

"My massage to Japan’s incoming Prime Minister is very simple, paying respects to the war criminals is morally bankrupt and unworldly for a great nation such as Japan. This practice MUST END.”

Chairman of Congress International relations committee, Congressman Hyde(R-PA)， who blocked Mr. Koizumi’s attempt to give a speech in the US Congress on a visit to Washington this April, also criticizes the Yasukuni Shrine’s newly open museum hall, 遊就館, he said, that it is perplex that (the exhibit of the hall) focus Japan as a liberator to free other parts of Asia from invasion of Western imperialism.

Republican congressman Rohrabacher of California, point out China’s role in Japan’s foreign policy with the U.S.,

“Chinese regime in Beijing, which is a dictatorship, wants to drive at a wedge between the U.S. and Japan, they would like us to focus on the past.”

I don't see why the U.S. should not concern about the Yasukuni issue, I am only surprised that why it takes so long to get here. Now that U.S. Congress has voiced out concerns, the ball is now in the President Bush's court, for him to throw the ball to Japan's leaders.

Dragon &Elephant: China races with India

No topic hotter than the raising of China and India, and with both courtiers, with each has over 1 billion people and huge pool of talented engineers and students pose to be the No. 1 economy in the world, but at the end of the day, between China and India, who will get there first?

Yesterday, The question is tried to be answered by Pieter Bottelier, SAIS senior adjunct professor of China Studies, SAIS of John Hopkins University in Washington DC. "India's Economic Progress and Prospects: Perspectives from China's Experience"

Compared to China,

1.India has a democracy, rule of law and people enjoy greater freedom. However female education is much lower
2. India has limited infrastructure to start with, the nation has no reliable electricity supply, and no big cities in India meet international logistic standards. All Multi-Nation Corps have to build their own systems out of the current ones.
3. India has more private companies, better corporate governance. Both India and China has a state dominated banking system.

India, China's Relationship with the U.S.
Sino-US trade is much larger, due to bigger Foreign Direct Trade to China from the U.S.

Access to Capital:
Indians enjoy easier access to capital, Chinese rely more on personal savings.

In Conclusion,

India is on a way to something every significant, however, the sustainability is not assured, five factors will decide:
1. manufacture sector, currently the ratio in GDP is too low.
2. Agriculture
2. Infrastructure
4. National saving has to raise
5. greater political consensus

Anime, MIC(Made in China)

China is planning to develop its own anime industry, instead of just importing from Japan, Chinese governmnet certainly sees the Anime's huge business chance and the potential influence to Chinese youth.

If you have read my previous post on Anime, Everything about China and Japan in DC, you won't be surprised by how popular the Anime is among American youth and even adults.

I grew up with Japanese Anime cartoons TV series, everday at 6:30pm is the unchangealble channel for such hit shows such as the 阿童木 (ｱﾄﾑ)(Astoy Boy). However, I don't remember any such cartoons made in China, can such shows be made in China without being poor quality?

Books that I read and like

Here are the list of books that I read and like,
China:

One billion Customers

Asian Woman:
Geisha Girl, Dragon Lady and Asian Mythstic

Self-Improvement:
Now, Discovery your Strengths

Business
Blue Ocean Stragety

Roh in DC, but no Korean Wave

South Korean President Roh( prounced as Noh in Japanese) is in Washington DC today, he is scheduled to meet President Bush tomorrow, North Korea will dominate their talks.

However, even Japanese women go crazy about South Korean Men, so called Korean Wave didn't reach to American shore at all. Compared to evergrowing popularity of Anime, Japanese carton comic books and movies, Korean idols, men or women, still remain unknown to most Americans.

China Japan News Roundup

1. Chinese again asks Japan to make moves to improve ties, right before Japan's Prime Minister electioin, a gesture to make sure that Japan's next PM will focus on frozen cold bilateral ties. (Xinhua)
2. 1 out of four college students in Beijing suffers from depression, and suicidial rate is increasing. What's alarming is that out of 19 students who committed suicides in year 2004, eight students are from the Beijing(Peking) University, nicknamed Chinese Harvard University. (Asahi Shimbun)
3. To Chinese, A photo seems to be enough to improve ties with Japan. At ongoing Eurasia summit, even both Japan's PM Koizumi and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao didn't talk, except handshakes and exchange of greetings, Chinese still took a photo of Wen shaking hands with Koizumi and ask the host, Finland government to post it on the website. (Yomiuri Shimbun)

Chinese Youth Hunger for Sex Ed

"Food and Sex, are human's desires", by the Confucius, is actually only partially true in China. Yes, Chinese foods are worldwide known for being delicious and desirable, however, the Chinese don't talk Sex, at least not publicly.

Today's Washington Post has a feature story on How Chinese Radio stations hotline operators educate high students on Sex. A story I like is like this, a 15 year boy asked that since he and his girlfriend had experiment and they both wear underwear, weather she will be pregnant.

A very good article, check it out here.

911 five years and pearl harbor

There is no other comparison between 911 terror attack and Pearl Harbor, when America was under attack. However, if you consider how many non-Americans died on September. 11, 2001, from annual reading of victim's names in NYC, you will realize how the world has changed.

Five years from the horrible event, the World Trade Center is gone, here comes a more globalized world, even terror attacks has gone more global, not only in New York, Washington DC any more, you see in London, Bali, India, Spain, etc. Some experts even suggest the world of terror is not about Osama Bin Laden any more, but a worldwide Islam extremists' movement.

Pear Harbor leads to a war and a resurgence of Japan and Germany, War on terror is still going on, five years after the 911, there is still no clear winners.

Mao's anniversary, the day I can't forget

9/9/06 marks the 30th anniversary of Mao Zedong's death, however you think about Mao, he is a certainly a controversal person. (Xinhua)

What I remember about Mao is the day when he died. At 1976, I was a kinder garden student, when the news of his death came out, everyone cried out. Everyone around me, old or young, men or women, for real saddness or for fear of cost of not doing so.

The funeral day is dark, rainy and gloomy. Our kids were arranged to line up along the streets, actually every walkable person was there, with a traditional mourning black banner on their arms, cried along with live broadcasting of the funeral held in Beijing. To me, There seemed to be a competition of crying going on, several person, who cried out so loud that they fainted and had to be carried away, and then more people fell to the ground.

That took place at a small mountain village where my family resided. Now I realize that the same scene must had taken place everywhere in China on that day. For me, that day was unforgetable.

High School killings, Japan and China

Just when a male student of a high school in Tokuyama, Japan killed his female classmate, and then hang himself, Chinese media reports a story that a male high schooler killed a senior girl in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang provience in southeast China.

Compared to Japanese media questioning why it took 10 days to find out the suspect, who killed himself just 7,000 meters away from the school, Chinese media didn't ask why the Xiaoshan killing, which took place in the summer of 2005, didn't surface until now, a year later, but instead focus on the vitcm's parents presenting a thank you banner to local police. Take a look at the video.

Baby Boom

Just when Tom Cruise's baby Suri debuts in the U.S., appreaing in the Vanity Fair mag, Japan's Princess Kiko gives birth to a baby boy, no name announced yet, but the boy is already placed in the 3rd place to become Japan's emperior.

Everyone in Japan seems happy, however, no one doubts that hotly debated topic of woman emperior will be pushed off the table, and a chance of leveling women to a higher social status will be delayed further.

Ramen Cup Noodles, BEST in Japan

Japan Ministry of Economy and Industry, in an effort to promote products "Made in Japan", decieds to select BEST of JAPAN 100. One hundred products, ranging from foods to electronics, from robots to Anime, will be named BOJ.

Among the 240 candidates, there are Instant Ramen Cup noodles, One time use Hand Warmer and Art Gallery constuction, etc. My vote will go to Instant Ramen noodles, even Ramen noodles were invented in China, Japan is certainly the place to go for a cup of hot, delicious, mouth watering, so-many-kind-to-choose Ramen noodles.

Especailly when I am in DC, writing this on a raining, cool, gloomy early fall day.

What's your choice for BEST of Japan?

Livedoor's Horiemon big in China, too

China Japan News Roundup:

1. Today, Horie Takafumi, fromer president of Japan's Livingdoor, is under trail in Tokyo. Even Xinhua news agency also post the story as a breaking news in its website.
2. Sino-Japan economic coopreation continues to grow, even amid the frozen political environment. A Japanese delegation is sent to China to discuss with Chinese counterparts on energy saving and environmental technogoly. (Asahi Shimbun)
3. Japan's Womon only train cars spreads to Taiwan, however, the good intention doesn't work out well, as more men use the women only cars than women, which draws criticizes from all. (Yomiuri Shimbun)

Japanese women crazy about Korean Men

Korean wave catches big in Japan, with Japanese women are crazy about young Korean singers and actors. Washington Post has a feature story and a slide show about Star Power of Korean Men.