Post by Otaku on Sept 4, 2008 13:16:45 GMT 8
Japan is going through Prime Ministers really quick. If this new guy, Aso Taro, gets the position, that will be the 4th Prime Minister I've gone through since my time in Japan.
I'm not quite sure I'm hip on this guy. I pulled these tidbits from Wikipedia:
1. In 2001, as economics minister, he was quoted as saying he wanted to make Japan a country where "rich Jews" would like to live.
2. On October 15, 2005, he praised Japan for having "one nation, one civilization, one language, one culture and one race," and stated that it was the only such country in the world. At a lecture in Nagasaki Prefecture, Aso referred to a Japanese peace initiative on the Middle East, stating, "The Japanese were trusted because they had never been involved in exploitation there, or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Japan is doing what the Americans can't do. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair. Luckily, we Japanese have yellow faces"
3. Kyodo News reported that he had said on February 4, 2006 "our predecessors did a good thing" regarding compulsory education implemented during Japan's colonization of Taiwan.
4. Mainichi Daily News reported that on March 9, 2006 he referred to Taiwan as a "law-abiding country", which drew strong protest from Beijing, which considers the island a part of China. His implication that Taiwan is an independent nation contradicts the agreement made between Japan and China in 1972 (the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China) that the Beijing rather than Taipei government be considered the sole legal government of China and that Taiwan be considered "an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China."
5. On December 21, 2005, he said China was "a neighbor with one billion people equipped with nuclear bombs and has expanded its military outlays by double digits for 17 years in a row, and it is unclear as to what this is being used for. It is beginning to be a considerable threat."
6. On January 28, 2006, he called for the emperor to visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine. He later backtracked on the comment, but stated that he hoped such a visit would be possible in the future.
I'm not quite sure I'm hip on this guy. I pulled these tidbits from Wikipedia:
1. In 2001, as economics minister, he was quoted as saying he wanted to make Japan a country where "rich Jews" would like to live.
2. On October 15, 2005, he praised Japan for having "one nation, one civilization, one language, one culture and one race," and stated that it was the only such country in the world. At a lecture in Nagasaki Prefecture, Aso referred to a Japanese peace initiative on the Middle East, stating, "The Japanese were trusted because they had never been involved in exploitation there, or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Japan is doing what the Americans can't do. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair. Luckily, we Japanese have yellow faces"
3. Kyodo News reported that he had said on February 4, 2006 "our predecessors did a good thing" regarding compulsory education implemented during Japan's colonization of Taiwan.
4. Mainichi Daily News reported that on March 9, 2006 he referred to Taiwan as a "law-abiding country", which drew strong protest from Beijing, which considers the island a part of China. His implication that Taiwan is an independent nation contradicts the agreement made between Japan and China in 1972 (the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China) that the Beijing rather than Taipei government be considered the sole legal government of China and that Taiwan be considered "an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China."
5. On December 21, 2005, he said China was "a neighbor with one billion people equipped with nuclear bombs and has expanded its military outlays by double digits for 17 years in a row, and it is unclear as to what this is being used for. It is beginning to be a considerable threat."
6. On January 28, 2006, he called for the emperor to visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine. He later backtracked on the comment, but stated that he hoped such a visit would be possible in the future.