Chinese Parents Raised Japanese Orphans

Every morning I get angry or depressed to read newspapers. Today's headlines were "The government is making a new rule to keep education under much tighter control." "The U.S. vice president told Abe not to visit Yasukuni Shrine, but he didn't listen." Abe government is hard working(!!) and everyday they do something wrong and so it's difficult for us even to follow them up. My husband says, "It's no use to complain, bacause the people voted LDP without knowing they are strangling themselves," and writes and prints newsletters and flyers practically.

Yesterday I went to see a documentary film about the Japanese people left in China after the war .
Do you know that Japan sent a lot of people, mainly poor peasant families and teenage boys, to the northern part of China to make farm the place. Of course it was the land of Chinese people, but confiscated by Japan. The government encouraged people and young students saying, "You can have big land and live richer lives there." "It's safe because the Japanese army guard you,""It's a great thing to contribute the nation."
When the Russian army came into China and Japan lost the war, Japanese had to leave China. The first to leave on trains or cars were the army and the officers' families! Those people who were farming, most of them were women and children because adult men had already been taken as soldiers, were left behind without any ways to refuge. But they had to leave and come back to Japan, and it took months and years to walk suffering cold, starvation, deseases, and fear. During their journey, so many people died, or suicided. Some people even killed their own children as it was difficult to take small children along.
Some women left and married Chinese men.
After the war so many Japanese children were left in China without parents. Some were left at Chinese families, sometimes just outside the houses. Those children were raised in China. Decads later many of them wanted to know about their families or identities or to come back to Japan. How hard their lives were! In the film I saw yesterday some of them were telling their stories.

When I think of their adoptive Chinese parents, I am amazed at their generosity. Japan invaded and colonizes their homeland, and behaved cruelly. They adopted their enemy's children, probably dirty, starving, and sick. They had to feed and clothe them for years at least, even if they could expect them as a family member to work later. I've heard stories of the parents who loved their adopted Japanese children, gave education, helped to find out their Japanese parents, cried when they sent them back to Japan .

One of the Chinese leader had the idea in those days that they would not confuse Japan's militarism and its people.
I'm ashamed of the people who shout their hatred to China probably without knowing the history. I hope we, the common people can shake our hands and put the offensive policy down.
Chinese

Learning Korean Language Means

I had a Korean language class today. The teacher is a nice Korean woman who has married a Japanese man. She teaches us, most are elderly women, encouraging patiently. It's not easy for me to memorize the foreign words now, but I'm enjoying learning it. I can find a lot of common words with Japanese and it's not surprising because Korea and Japan are neighbors and the culture of the China, even Europe, came through KOrea. Of course people, too. Before closing the door to foreign countries around 1640 A.D,Japan learned everything from the continent.

After opening the door, Japan wanted to join the militarily and economically strong countries. It invaded, occupied, colonized the other Asian countries, and killed people there. In those days Japan looked down the people and its culture.

Racism is spreading alongside militalism in Japan these years. Hate campaign with violent words against Korea and China is often held in the area where lots of Korean people live. Even among ordinary people dislikeness for the two countries are increasing. It seems that we haven't changed, we haven't learned. It has been stired up mainly by the government and medias that sheepishly follow the power.

The new president of NHK,Japanese broadcasting bureau,said in his statement last Saturday, that every country involving wars has sex slave system for armies and it's ridiculous that Korea has blamed Japan for it. Japan's Primminister Abe says "Call me a right wing militalist if you like." I am desperate there are so many unintelligent people around him like that. and I am really ashamed of those people. I am learning Korean to show respects to its culture wishing to be good friends with its people.

The thing we need is the wisdom to solve the problems between the countries without military power. It's the true intelligence, isn't it?

Taking refuge is useful, but...

A friend of ours has grandchildren who lived in a city very near to Tokyo. It is more than 200km far from exploded Fukushima nuke plants but the area is a hot spot, badly contaminated area with the radiation from Fukushima. One of them, a 13-year-old girl was found out to be exposed to radiation through the checking with whole body radiation counter. Her family worried about her health and decided to make her take refuge to her grandparents' place, our friend's house here. After half a year the radioactive material in her body diappeared. Young people are more affected with radiation, and so they need refuge from the contaminated places. The girl is a good example to prove the effectiveness of refuge.

The government and Tokyo Electoric Co. is doing nothing with the children's refuge. Fifty-nine children are already reported to suffer thyroid carcinoma, but the doctors who work for the government say it's not because of the radiation from Fukushima. Who can believe it? So many people are worrying about their children's exposure, but not many can move to other places.

Some people want to help children refuge from the radiation. Most of them voluntarily offer summer camp for the children. My family offer our log cabin to the families who want to spend their holidays in the unpoluted place. Children play outside not worrying exposure here. But those people who are available to take refuge , if only a short time, are not many. Most of the children go to school, play or do sports, live on the contaminated soil.

Actually our place is not clean even though it is far from Fukushima and is enclosed by high mountains. We are told mot to eat wild mashrooms and some berries, also not to burn the fallen leaves. We have a problem about ash from fire woods.
Once something wrong happens with the nuke plants, it's like opened Pandora's box.

Do You Know Japanese Cuisine?

Japanese cuisine was registered by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage . Though I don't know a lot about it, it is a good news.
What do you thnk of when you hear the word Japanese dishes? Tenpura? Sukiyaki? Sushi? They are of course Japanese, but they are not all. Our dishes are basically boiled or grilled vegetables and fishes. We have so many different kind of them. Professional cooks decorate their dishes beautifully according with the seasons.
I'm a member of a women's group in this area, and I really surprised how they are good at cooking. Most of them grow vegetables in the garden themselves and cook everyday meals for their families. They make 'miso' together. They make many kinds of pickles. Their cooking doesn't need long time, much money, but is good for health. When they have a gathering they bring one dish from their kitchen and enjoy them. They often exchange recipes. Some days ago they said laughing, "Our cooking is the true Japanese cuisine,isn't it?"
But Japanese cuisine has a big problem. The rate of our self sustenance of food is only less than 40 percent now. It is said the number will be less than 20 when Japan joins the TPP,Trans pacific Treaty. Is Japanese cuisine made from foreign products a true Japanese?

Just now I got a news that the people who oppose the new U.S.base in Okinawa won the election of the Nago mayor. What a great news! I realy respect the people of Okinawa.

Olimpic Games and Nukes

The newest news; Mori, the head of the Commitee for the Tokyo Olimpic Games in 2020 and ex primminister of Japan, said today that we will have to give up the Games in Tokyo if we stop nuclear power plants because Olimpic games need much more electoricity. What does it mean?
The election of the governer of Tokyo is coming next month, and the nuclear issue is now becoming the point. Candidate Hosokawa supported by Koizumi is promising to stop nuke plants. Both are ex prime ministers and big names. Also it's clear most of the people think we should walk out of the nukes. Abe Government and LDP are distressed with this and doing and saying everything to stop them.
And so, Mori's statement. He is threatening the voters saying, "Are you opposig the Olimpic Games we all should work together to welcome?"

I welcome Mori's idea. Let's stop all the nukes and give the Olimpic Games back!!
By the way, do you know that no nuclear plants are working now in Japan, and we don't have any black out or we are not freezing. It is proving that we can manage without nukes, isn't it? Tokyo voters, don't be tricked.

Thank You for the Support for Okinawa

I live in a mountainous area 150km from Tokyo. It is the coldest season now, and the snow-covered fields and mountains are so beautiful in every moment; with rosy sun beams on the tops of mountains at dawn, with blue long shadows on the rice fields at twilight.
Tomorrow, people are going to pile up the new years decorations from the neighborhood to make a bon fire. It is a traditional festival mainly for children. Our grandchildren and their parents made small dumplings and put them on tree branches to take tomorrow.

A few days ago I found news that 29 American people in academic or artistic career announced a statement about Okinawa and its American military bases. I found the whole statement on the internet. I really appreciate the statement and the people who undersigned it. The statement shows that they understand the situation of Okinawa very much and it opposes the deal to make a new U.S.base quoting from the U.S.Declaration of Independence and the U.S.Civil Right struggle. It says,"We support the people of Okinawa in their non-violent struggle for peace, dignity, human rights and protection of the environment. The Henoko marine base project must be canceled and Futenma returned forthwith to the people of Okinawa."

What an encouragement it is for the people of Okinawa! Okinawa is a small islands prefecture and actually, most of the other Japanese people are not interested in Okinawa's suffering. The government of Japan has pressed the heavy burden to Okinawa for decades.

The election of the mayor of Nago-City that has Henoko area in it is held next Sunday. It is not just a small city affair, but a struggle between the government and LDP with money and threats and the people of Okinawa with dignity and wish for peace. I wish I could be there and did something.

What is the Education for?

I am feeling a little sick because of the cold I caught in Tokyo. Thus I don't fit for a big city or civilization.

The editorial of Shinano Mainichi Shinnbun, a newspaper read the most in this prefecture, was about education the day before yesterday. The point of the editor was that freedom is necessary for education and schools. To start it, the editor wrote about our son's social studies class at a junior high as an example in which students learn a lot with his original deta and text. We got several mails and phonecalls to praise him from our friends. Why freedom in education? Japan has a censorship for school textbooks, and only after passing it, publishing companies can sell their textbooks to schools. When they find any sentences they don't like, or against their idea, they demand to rewrite it. You can guess what happens. We are now worrying all the school textbooks will be like government-designated.

Abe's government is trying to place school education under its far more stricter control than ever. They changed a law about education and is forcing their sence of values to teachers and schools. Their sense of value; anti democracy, denying human rights, restoration to military and imperial government, justification what Japan did to the other Asian countries during the war, it seems. What an anachronism! But we can't laugh at. They have power now,and they are hoping to change the nationhrough education. And I feel dreadful that there are many followers and supporters of Abe and his politics.

I can give you an example of their craziness. Some of them are checking the teachers' mouths during the school ceremonies if they are really singing the national anthem. You might ask what does it mean. Our national anthem is praising and wishing the emperor's age to be blessed and last forever. After the war we didn't accept the song as a national anthem but they tried to force schools to sing it and at last they made a law for it. Even though there are teachers who refuse to be forced to sing it in accordance with their beliefs. And then the checking of the mouths. When they find a teacher who doesn't sing, they can punish him or her.

I wonder if the civilization of our country is true thing.

Back From Tokyo

We are now back from Tokyo. We enjoyed being with two-year-old granddaughter, who is gaining more words to comunicate day by day.
We saw a fire in Tokyo yesterday. It was one of the busiest area near the railroad station. We saw thick smoke from a modern building walled mirror-like. Later we read on the newspaper that the fire started early in the morning, and was put out after 12 hours with more than fifty fire engines. Because of the fire, much of the railroad transportation in Tokyo stopped or delayed, and more than five hundred thousand people underwent it. I don't think it was a big fire, but when it is in the megalopolis, it becomes such serious.
The system of big cities seems so fragile. Tokyo and its suburbs is a densely populated area with 40,000,000 people, which number I resently knew myself. A huge earthquake in this area during a few decades is predicted. I'm seriously worrying about my son's family, but I've not heard about the people who are fleeing. Tokyo was bright and busy as usual,and people looked happy with their big shopping bags.
I heard a womman from Fukushima before. She said, " We, Fukushima, have produced and supplied electric power for Tokyo for a long time. Then, the collapse of the power plants. We thought Tokyo would do all the effort to help us, but did nothing. They seems to have no idea even to say sorry. They are enjoying its prosperity with bright lights. And the Olimpic Games saying Tokyo is safe because it is far from Fukushima."