エコノミスト社の出版している年次世界経済統計のPocket World in Figuresの新しい版が出たば かりなので、この冊子の「世界の主要な輸出国」というのをみれば、これはvisible とinvisible の輸出入を合計した金額で表していて、トップの米国に次ぐのは日本やドイツでなくて英国なのだ。 中国はリストのはるかに下のほうで、フランス以下である。
Bank of China and two banks based in Macau are under U.S. scrutiny for possible connections to North Korea's sprawling, illicit fund-raising network, which U.S. officials believe finances Pyongyang's nuclear program. 中国銀行と二つのマカオの銀行が北朝鮮との連携を疑われて、アメリカ政府の捜査を受けている。 北朝鮮の不法な外貨獲得を支援して折、それは北朝鮮の核開発計画を助けるもの、とアメリカ政府 の高官が言っている。
The banks, which could face stiff sanctions, are caught up in a major new U.S. operation to shut down lucrative North Korean enterprises producing narcotics, counterfeit U.S. currency and fake cigarettes. Law-enforcement officials from several countries described the wide-ranging U.S. operation, while several North Korean defectors gave accounts of Pyongyang's financial network.
The underlying object of the inquiry is Zokwang Trading Co., a Macau firm run by North Koreans that law-enforcement officials say does business with Banco Delta Asia. In the mid-1990s, Zokwang officials were arrested by Macau police on suspicion of attempting to pass a large number of counterfeit U.S. bills, some of which were traced to Banco Delta Asia. The officials, who had diplomatic immunity, were sent home to North Korea, but Zokwang has remained in business. South Korean officials say that the firm has been involved in raising funds by selling gold and other commodities. The officials believe Zokwang has worked to obtain parts for North Korean weapons programs.
"Every North Korean bank has accounts at the Bank of China," through which money is moved, said one former North Korean businessman. Much of the business goes through Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., which functions as a semiautonomous unit of the mainland China bank. Gao Desheng, deputy director of the main bank's overseas business-management department in Beijing, said the bank keeps close tabs on North Korean customers.
A number of U.S. officials said they are frustrated by the decision not to publicly name North Korea and China as the sources for much of the contraband. The 10 indictments the Justice Department unsealed only referred to the countries by numbers, and FBI officials declined to publicly confirm that North Korea was the source of the super notes.
U.S. law-enforcement officials say they expect more busts, focused particularly on North Korea's counterfeit-currency operations, which threaten to undercut the integrity of the U.S. dollar. The crackdown is the fruit of more than three years of studying North Korea's smuggling networks and involved cooperation between police in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan and roughly 14 U.S. government agencies, including units of the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department, and Department of Homeland Security.
The sweep was anticipated to begin as early as February, according to one official involved in the investigation, but the Justice Department felt it needed to continue to build its case. Federal officials began taking down the network -- indicting nearly 100 officials last month -- when some of its leaders offered to sell undercover agents mobile surface-to -air missiles. "There was fear these gangsters could try and sell them to terrorists," said the official involved in the investigation.
"There's no question in my mind that the upbeat economy is actually having a very positive impact on the efforts of Prime Minister Koizumi going into this election," said David Satterwhite, a political analyst and executive director of Fullbright Commission Japan.
And the economy, which had been shrinking in 2001, is now expanding at a steady rate. "The reforms must go through to revive the economy," he told a campaign crowd recently in support of a Liberal Democratic legislator running in Tokyo. "In politics, giving the opposition a trial-run for running a nation is very risky," he said. "That's why the Liberal Democrats must win."
And if the changes in many countries remain shallow, the whole floor of public debate has clearly shifted to questions of when and how to reform, rather than why. This is true even of regional laggards such as Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria, which have all taken wobbly first steps towards wider public participation in government. Where bigger steps have been taken, such as in Egypt, the public appetite has been whetted rather than appeased. “This election was just a drill, which the government would never have accepted without foreign badgering,” admits an Egyptian official. “But it sets the stage for parliamentary elections that may get really interesting.” These are due in November. If debate stays lively until then, a lot more Egyptians may actually bother to vote.
GERMANY AND JAPAN will be going to the polls over the next two weekends, in their most important elections for a generation.
今後、二週間、日本とドイツで、週末に総選挙がある。これは今の世代にとって最も重要な選挙 になる。
Obviously no two countries or historical periods are ever identical, but the British experience of the 1980s suggests that optimism about reform in Germany is probably misguided, whereas quiet confidence about Japan probably does make sense.
In Japan, by contrast, conditions are now much closer to those in the mid-1980s heyday of Mrs Thatcher’s popularity. Monetary conditions have for several years been exceptionally generous, with interest rates at zero and the Bank of Japan printing money like wallpaper. In the past 18 months the benign results of this ultra-expansionary monetary policy have started to appear: consumption has accelerated; house prices are slowly recovering and consumers are starting to borrow. With interest rates at zero and consumers becoming more confident, Thatcherite structural reforms have a good chance of economic success and political popularity in Japan.
Koizumi comes much closer than Merkel to sharing Mrs Thatcher’s combination of political toughness and pragmatism, economic conviction and good business sense. That is why Japan is a better bet than Germany to re-emerge as a great economic power.
ttp://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B53D3BAFB-EE22-4948-8D25-24B5CB4CE0E9 %7D&siteid=google THIS WEEK'S MUTUAL FUND STORIES 株式投資信託、今週の話題(マーケットウオッチ) By MarketWatch Last Update: 3:48 PM ET Sept. 8, 2005 [ Page 1 | 2 ] The potential for change is boundless. At least that's what long-suffering investors are hoping on the eve of pivotal Japanese elections.
日本の選挙前夜で、長らく経済低迷に苦しんできた投資家は変化の可能性に注目している。
Returns on Japan stock mutual-funds have lagged most international fund rivals for years, the net effect of a punishing bear market that began in 1990. At various times since, Japanese stocks have rallied, only to fizzle. Eventually, wary investors came to expect disappointment.
Japan's stock market has rallied over the past few weeks in anticipation of a Koizumi victory. In our lead story, Global Markets Editor Barbara Kollmeyer asks whether investor optimism about Japan is realistic, or another false dawn. Plus, read how the investments of a Supreme Court nominee teach a judicious lesson about diversification, and why columnist Paul Farrell sees no bubbles around the stock market, on this week's Mutual Fund page.
That's why the upcoming vote is such a watershed. Koizumi is encouraging Japanese to do something radical. He's asking them to view their insular, established systems as sticking nails that pierce the country's social and economic fabric -- and then to lift a hammer.
It is clear, though, that many of Japan's voters are energised, and mostly for reform. Mr Koizumi's attack on the rebels has clearly inspired much of the country. He has sharply boosted his standing in the polls, and many young and urban voters who have shunned the ruling party in recent years now say that they support the prime minister and his purged LDP.
There is a big difference between now and then, however. In 2001, pundits worried that Mr Koizumi's popularity would wane once the media spotlight went off, and once voters started to shy away from his calls for reform. Now the worry is that he is still popular, but will not carry out as much reform as the voters want. Mr Koizumi has not changed all that much. The voters, though, have come a long way.
New Delhi-based economist Bibek Debroy tells us that FDI inflows from Japan have increased sharply, to $122 million in 2004-2005 from $67 million in the preceding year. We appreciate that these numbers are still small by international standards, but what's important here is the growth over the last year. Interestingly, 2003-2004 experienced hardly any growth over 2002-2003, which saw inflows of $66 million.
And Dilip Gadkar, a hedge fund advisor to Greylock Capital Management in New York, tells us that during the first six months of 2005, Japan emerged as the largest investor in the Indian equity market with investment of over $1.5 billion. In contrast, from 1991-2004, the extent of Japanese investment in India was $1.79 billion.
The rethink under way vis-a-vis China raises the possibility of Japanese FDI following the same shifting pattern as Japan's official development assistance (ODA), or concessionary aid to developing countries. After having provided China with nearly $30 billion in ODA over a quarter-century, Japan under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has cut development aid to China in half, and now intends to phase it out entirely by fiscal 2008. The biggest beneficiary has been India, which now tops the list of ODA recipients.
Proof of change would be irrefutable if Mr Okada's Democratic Party of Japan defied the opinion polls and won. Instead, on Monday when the official result is known, Japan will probably have to check the political pulse by looking for other signs that it has entered a new era.
The most telling indicator will be voter turnout because, unlike in Australia, voting is voluntary. "There is tremendous interest in the election," said Mr Nakamura, predicting a high turnout of 20- and 30-year-olds. Until now about 60 per cent of young voters have not bothered - preferring, it would appear, to shop or go to the hairdresser.
The Nikkei ended up 158.15 points at 12,692.04. That was the highest close since July 3, 2001, when it ended at 12,817.41. The broader TOPIX index rose 1.13 percent to 1,293.35.
日経平均は2001年7月3日以来の高値、12817を付けて終わった。
"If they win only slightly more than 241 seats, the market will react negatively," said Masaru Ueda, head of investment strategy at Marusan Securities. A win of 241 seats would be a bare majority in the 480-seat lower house. "If they win more than 250 seats, the Nikkei may try the 13,000 level," Ueda added.
September 8, 2005: China has sold 80 K-8E jet trainers to Egypt, for $4.4 million each. The price includes the transfer of manufacturing technology, so that the aircraft can be assembled in Egypt. The 4.2 ton K-8 is a joint Chinese-Pakistani design. Some of the parts are made in Pakistan, but the aircraft were assembled in Chin(後略)
The three current favorites are: (1) global warming, (2) the war in Iraq and (3) tax cuts. Katrina hits and the unholy trinity is immediately invoked to damn sinner-in-chief George W. Bush.
This kind of stupidity merits no attention whatsoever, but I'll give it a paragraph. There is no relationship between global warming and the frequency and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Period. The problem with the evacuation of New Orleans is not that National Guardsmen in Iraq could not get to New Orleans but that National Guardsmen in Louisiana did not get to New Orleans. As for the Bush tax cuts, administration budget requests for New Orleans flood control during the five Bush years exceed those of the five preceding Clinton years.
They say he'll be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who'd been overseeing relief and rescue efforts in New Orleans. Brown has run into criticism over the federal response to the hurricane. And now, questions are being raised about whether he exaggerated his emergency management background. ttp://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/12602929.htm
Unless polls have it terribly wrong, the Japanese public is set to reward Mr Koizumi's political gamble in calling a snap election, sealing his place as one of the most remarkable political figures in Japan's post-war history. という、世論調査の示す現状にいたく不満の様子で;
According to a flurry of polls, it would take an enormous last-minute swing among the admittedly large swathe of undecided voters to give the DPJ any chance of victory. Most polls have the DPJ at best clinging on to the seats it won last time, with many predicting an LDP majority without any need of its coalition partner. ・・・ ・・・ Unless the polls are catastrophically wrong, the best the DPJ can possibly hope for is a hung parliament in which neither of the main parties emerge decisively victorious. If Mr Koizumi is true to his word, he would then quit, clearing the way for coalition talks to begin.
Even under this scenario, the most likely government would be LDP-led, but under a new leader able to reunite the party after the bruising internal squabbling of the past few weeks. Several candidates could emerge, including Yasuo Fukuda, former chief cabinet secretary; Taro Aso, public works minister; or Sadakazu Tanigaki, finance minister.
``It looks pretty good for Mr. Koizumi,'' said Scott Schultz, a currency trader in New York at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. ``That would be yen bullish -- I was surprised people weren't buying yen in the last couple of days.''
Japan's general election tomorrow will be among the most important in its postwar history, although not necessarily for the reasons suggested by Junichiro Koizumi, the popular yet enigmatic prime minister.
What Mr Koizumi has changed is not the economy but Japanese politics. Just as postwar Japan has never wholeheartedly adopted western competitive capitalism, so it has never been a western-style competitive democracy except in its structure. By challenging the old factions in the LDP, gathering power in his own hands at the centre of the party, insisting on an ideological election platform and fighting a teleA?A-visual campaign, Mr Koizumi has become a political moderniser
Ironically, Mr Koizumi has been so successful at transforming the LDP that he may undermine another aspect of modernisation - the arrival of competitive two-party politics - by defeating the previously resurgent DPJ and splitting the party as badly as his own.
Sunday's vote therefore provides a chance for creative chaos. Many DPJ members support Mr Koizumi's emphasis on reform, even if they disagree on the details, and will be tempted to side with him if he consolidates his power by winning at the polls. Equally, there are plenty of LDP members - on top of those who openly rebelled - who oppose postal privatisation and favour keeping a consensual and paternalistic system of government in Japan.
Logic suggests that Japanese politics should be reshuffled to create an economically liberal party on one side and a conservative party on the other. This election may provide the opportunity.
Among the most important lessons I've learned, blindingly obvious though it might at first appear, is one I think applies with equal force not just to Washington journalists but also to the people we write about--and to our readers. It concerns a central, chronic misunderstanding of modern political life. Let's call it "the fallacy of hidden design."
Generally speaking, the clearest and most reliable expressions of a public figure's intentions are his own words and deeds. Put another way: The most accurate and intelligent interpretation of the news tends to be the one that best concentrates its attention not on some imagined, backstage Wizard of Oz, but on what's happening in front of the curtain, for all to see and hear.
And as I've discovered these past 10 years, it turns out that much the same is true where interpretations of the news media are concerned. A magazine editor gets mugged by that reality on a regular basis. Certain articles you've commissioned never materialize. Others show up but prove to be unusable. Halfway through the week, some unexpected occurrence in the world will inspire one of your writers to dash off a dazzling, must- publish piece, and all of a sudden, the "ideal balance of subject matter" becomes an unobtainable mirage. You're left, instead, with five different articles--each of which is a good, strong, just-right-for-The Weekly Standard piece, but all of which happen also to be about, say, developments in the Middle East.
The Weekly Standard is a conservative magazine, of course. We make no bones about it. And ours tends toward a particular kind of conservatism; our pages are its home, we like to think. But that's the point: The distinctive point of view in question has been worked out--and is still being worked out--on paper, in public, over the long haul. And it's also the case that in these very same pages we have routinely run authors who manifestly don't agree with one another. I often get asked: "Why are you printing this particular argument about that particular subject at this particular time?" And just as often the honest answer is that someone's recently offered us the article in question and we've decided we like it. Simple as that. Sometimes a magazine is really just a magazine.
Once upon a time, I see from an early cover article, we apparently believed it possible to "Smash the Internet!" Oops. One of us, who shall remain nameless, argued in late 1995 that Colin Powell might make a fine president. Some of us thought the Republicans should nominate John McCain in 2000; others of us thought the McCain idea was nuts. And in each of these and dozens of other instances, lots of readers got irked with us. Early in the magazine's history, I remember mentioning to a friend that I seemed to have made more enemies in one year at The Weekly Standard than I had during my previous 10 years in government and politics combined.
Then came 9/11, the ultimate in unexpected developments. Not everyone was taken entirely by surprise, it's important to note--and here I would refer you to "A Cowering Superpower," an eerily prescient Reuel Marc Gerecht essay on Osama bin Laden that ran in our July 30, 2001, issue. But I think it fair to say, at the very least, that before the fact of 9/11, my colleagues and I would never have anticipated that The Weekly Standard's pages were soon to be so thoroughly and persistently dominated by coverage of a global- scale war on Middle Eastern terrorism and despotism. And since 9/11, I don't suppose any of us would think we had much serious choice in the matter.
そして突然、911が起きた。最も全ての人が予期していなかったということではなかった。 2001年7月30日号にReuel Marc Gerechtが、オサマ・ビン・ラーデンについて「来るべき スーパーパワー」という評論を書いている。しかし正直に言って、私も同僚も、911によって ウイークリー・スタンダードのページの大半がグローバルな戦争と中東情勢に独占されることに なるとは予期していなかった。そして911以降には、私たちは、よりシアリアスな主題という ものを、他に見つけられるとは思わない。
Early on, back in the "Permanent Offense" days, I remember lamenting aloud at an editorial meeting that there was one article in the otherwise terrific issue we'd shortly be printing that was okay, but wasn't really at the highest level of quality. Fred Barnes immediately set me straight about this. Perhaps it wasn't the best imaginable piece of writing, Fred said of the essay in question. But the best imaginable piece of writing, in this case, did not exist, he pointed out. And the piece we had in hand, by contrast, possessed what Fred considered among the most important journalistic qualities: "the quality of doneness."
ttp://www.powerlineblog.com/ And here I've only skimmed the surface of the rich issue the Standard has served up in honor of its milestone. Congratulations to Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes and the rest of the crew that has made the Standard a must-read for ten years. Long may it run!
ttp://www.metronews.ca/reuters_international.asp?id=94531 Media surveys have predicted Koizumi's two-party ruling bloc will win a comfortable or possibly overwhelming majority, and that the LDP could even win a majority on its own in parliament's lower house for the first time since 1990. (ロイター)
A hefty win could also prompt calls for Koizumi to stay on after his term as LDP president ends in September 2006. Analysts have cautioned, though, that predictions of overwhelming victory may be overdone.
John Zogby, founder and chief executive of Zogby International, one of America’s leading polling companies, shared the results of his latest survey with the conference which showed that 40 percent of those polled had put management and structural reform as the first task in any UN reform effort, followed by reform of its funding and resource distribution structure. As for Security Council expansion, the top three contenders were Japan, Germany and India. ttp://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-9-2005_pg7_51
The State Department looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Japanese government, said spokeswoman Darla Jordan, and "to move ahead in our close cooperation on a broad range of global, regional and bilateral issues."
http://www.rednova.com/news/international/204698/japan_pm_strategy_may_leave_opposition_in_the_cold/ Japan PM strategy may leave opposition in the cold By Linda Sieg Thursday, 11 August 2005, 06:14 CDT ロイター;小泉首相の戦略で、野党は蚊帳の外 (8月11日のリンダ・シーグの記事) ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー htp://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&cid=greiff&sid=azeQYHUbG2Tg Koizumi's Move to Purge Foes May Save Japan William Pesek Jr. August 9, 2005 18:13 EDT (8月9日のウイリアム・ぺスケの評論) ブルームバーグ:小泉首相の、抵抗勢力排除は日本を救う鴨 By William Pesek Jr.
ttp://news.ft.com/cms/s/684f4d52-22e6-11da-86cc-00000e2511c8.html Koizumi's pulls off inspired political trick By David Pilling by Tokyo Published: September 11 2005 18:08 | Last updated: September 11 2005 18:08 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー FT東京特派員のDavid Pillingの記事なので、自民党の勝因を政治的マジックや刺客 にもとめていて、FTの記事がこれでは、あまりにも幼いような。
A new era will continue in Japan. Call it thie Koizumi Era: a restoration of Japan's prominent role in world affairs ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー アメリカン・シンカー・ブログ、おめでとうございます、とまずは祝福を表している。
While seen as a boon for Japan's halting reform effort, Koizumi's new mandate is likely to continue a time of high tension in East Asia -- particularly with neighboring China. Koizumi's four-year tenure has seen the region's two great powers escalate disagreement over disputed drilling rights to natural gas reserves in the East China Sea and a debate over Japan's perceived lack of contrition for past war crimes.
But it will be greeted with caution in Asia, especially in China and South Korea. China and South Korea view with trepidation the rightward tilt and rising nationalism in Japan under Mr. Koizumi.
小泉首相による郵政改革を評価した後で: This is only the beginning, however. Japanese society remains too consensual for its own good and its economy too inflexible to prosper without further reforms, including spending cuts to reduce a budget deficit of 6% of gross domestic product and a slashing of the country’s bloated bureaucracy. The cosy relationships between Japan’s banks, big corporations and politicians should have been swept away years ago. While it has been doing better on the back of the surging Chinese dragon, victory for the reformers will help ensure that revival is not another false dawn.
``Sentiment for the yen is very positive following Koizumi's victory,'' said Sue Trinh, Wellington-based currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand, a unit of National Australia Bank Ltd., that natio
``People were expecting a comfortable victory, but nobody in the market was talking about a landslide,'' said Neil Jones, a director of foreign-exchange sales at BNP Paribas SA in London. ``We should see the yen go to 108'' per dollar in the next few days, he said.
衆議院の480の議席の中で、自民党は296席を得て、比較的に前期の多い47の席;15年来初めて過 半数に達する議席を得る。最大の野党の民主党の議席は175席から、113席まで減少する;党首の 岡田も選挙の失敗の辞職を承認している。 Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Co. Ltd.Copyright 2005
WSJ(アジア版、寄稿):日本の選挙は、重要な歴史的ターニング・ポイント By KENSUKE HOTTA(モルガンスタンレー日本・会長)
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's resounding election victory yesterday boldly underlines the fact that old Japan has been consigned to history. A new Japan has quietly taken its place.
Whereas the old Japan was built on a quasi-socialist model that focused Japan's economic and corporate resources on rebuilding after World War II, the new Japan is the polar opposite. It is embracing capitalism, individualism and conspicuous consumption.
History will view this election as a key turning point. The defeat of both the opposition and the prime minister's own opposition within his Liberal Democratic Party highlights the public's desire for continued reform and leadership. It also marks the demise of the LDPs factions and behind-the-scenes power broking of the post war years.
It was rather obvious to me on the streets of Japan last week (and on their television) that Junichiro Koizumi looked like a winner. And he was - big. So it's hard to take any credit for prognostication - I didn't make a prediction anyway. What is surprising, although mildly, is that the most charismatic - and in many ways progressive - politician on the world stage today is Japanese. That country always had the reputation for having the dullest, consensus-oriented prime ministers. It's yet another example of changing times.
Japan and the Babe Theory 日本政治とかわいこちゃん論 Although I had mentioned it earlier in jest, it seems like Koizumi, now enjoying his party's landslide victory in yesterday's election, really was using the Babe Theory of Political Movements after all. Daniel Drezner links to the following from the Washington Post. (これは、口紅忍者とか刺客マドンナとか騒がれていることへのジョーク) ttp://www.ridingsun.com/posts/1126500035.shtml
From a U.S. perspective, this is a huge win. A staunch U.S. ally has been re-elected, and if Koizumi's proposed reforms are implemented, then Japanese growth could finally escape its 15-year doldrums. Since Japan is a natural market for U.S. exports, a growing Japanese economy would be a very good thing.
Some reporters will credit Koizumi's charismatic leadership as the key to victory. I choose to credit the lipstick ninjas.
ttp://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2304/ Features > September 12, 2005 China’s Press Crackdown The broadening of economic reforms in China has been met with greater restrictions on journalists By Jehangir Pocha
Chu Tian, a journalist associated with Southern Weekend who was made to leave the publication under official pressure, says that like many other journalists and activists he’s learned to couch his words and use allegory or metaphors when writing about controversial issues. “It’s like getting the ping-pong ball to just nick the table. You get to make the point, but barely,” he says. “Luckily, readers have learnt how to decode what we say, to read our real feelings.”
OK, the title is a bit inflammatory, I admit. But I can't help but notice the glaring contradictions in these two stories: The first piece, which ran a few days ago in the Tornoto Globe and Mail (link via China Digital Times), discusses how the PRC government is opening "Confucius Institutes" all around the world in an effort to promote its image abroad.
The new Disney park opened in Hong Kong, but to underscore the fact that this is a vision of China's future, the opening was attended by Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong. And we know what Disney does to culture: it turns it into happy sound-bite "experiences," devoid of critical depth and challenging complexity and, ultimately, messy reality.
Chinese culture is no longer about either China or culture. It is about the power of the state to project a pleasing image abroad and the power of money to reduce all social relations to material calculations. Marx, who the CCP would probably not want us to read at this point, reminds us of this tumult: "All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned..."
WASHINGTON ? U.S. President George W Bush plans to visit Japan around Nov. 15 or 16 for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese and U.S. diplomatic sources said Monday.
中国は小泉首相の勝利を面白からぬ思いで見ており、何しろ中国の好むのはより従順な、謝罪的な (外交的に)小人のような日本が戦争被害にあった国に多額の経済支援を振りまくというものであ る(Beijing has preferred the compliant, apologetic Tokyo that played political dwarf on the international stage and threw millions of yen in aid to countries that suffered from Japanese atrocities in World War II)中国政府は選挙直線に、日本との紛争海域周辺に5隻の艦 船をおくっているのだが、もしその意図が日本の選挙への干渉にあったのであれば、北京政府はま たもや判断の誤りを犯したということになる。
1980年代の経済的巨人であった日本は、改革について何年も語ってきた。日本の有権者はいまや政 治家にメッセージを送って失った時間を取り戻せという。15年をして始めて、日本の与党は圧倒的 多数派となった。日本の自民党がその力を、日本が世界の繁栄のためのエンジンの一つとなるべく 使うことを期待したい。(Japan, the economic giant of the 1980s, has been talking about reform for years, and its electorate has now sent a message to the politicians to make up for lost time. For the first time in 15 years, the ruling party has an overwhelming majority. Let's hope they use it to return Japan as one of the engines of global prosperity)
WaPoも郵政民営化に賛成で、衆議院選挙で民営化が支持されたことをよしとするのだけれど 民営化のプロセスが遅すぎるし、小泉首相は来年で辞めるので,改革の今後は不安だとする。 (Yet it's not clear how much Japan's long-term project of fostering competitive, pluralistic politics will benefit.)
外交政策では「普通の国」を目指す政策や、より積極的な国際貢献をよしとするもののWaPo は小泉政権の中国との軋轢、なかんずく歴史問題を日本の咎とする。 (But Mr. Koizumi has simultaneously refused to back away from the symbols of Japan's aggression in the 1930s and 1940s -- a refusal that renders Japan's new assertiveness troubling in the eyes of its neighbors, especially China.)
In the end people simply trusted Koizumi to do what he says he would do. In a world of diminished political figures, an ailing French president, a tired Gerhard Shroeder, a wounded Tony Blair, a floundering George W. Bush, Koizumi stands out as a real leader. Odd that he should be a Japanese.
Can Koizumi now bring a wind of change to Japan's foreign policy - not so much to its basis, but to its presentation? Most of the world would be agreeable to a more active role that would underscore Japan's right to be a member of an enlarged UN Security Council. 小泉首相は日本の外交政策にも新風を送って積極策に出るのだろうか?世界の多くの国は日本が 国連安保理の常任メンバーになることに賛成なのだ。
Can Japan present itself as it is, not as a nation run by ageing, defensive and inarticulate bureaucrats? 日本は防衛的で歯切れの悪い官僚の支配する国から脱することが 可能なのだろうか?
The United States wants a larger Japanese role. Most of Asia wants it, too, even if some are not willing to speak out for fear of offending a bullying China. Can Koizumi articulate an active policy that gives Japan a bigger presence but without raising the sort of concerns created by nationalistic outbursts such as those of Tokyo's mayor, Shintaro Ishihara? アメリカもアジアの多くの国もそうした積極的な貢献をする日本を歓迎するだろう。石原新太郎 東京都知事のような民族主義的な主張に傾き過ぎないようにしながら、小泉首相は中国に対抗して より大きな日本の役割を果たすように出来るのだろうか。
Koizumi should be bold and grasp the nettle of his annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial to Japan's war dead. While these visits are probably not offensive to most people in Asia or elsewhere, other than Chinese and Koreans - most countries, after all, honor their war dead, even when the wars were not honorable - they are a diplomatic disaster. They hand China a small but endlessly repeated propaganda victory. 小泉首相は靖国神社参拝にかかわる論争を正しく把握して取り扱うべきであろう。殆どのアジアの 国、つまり中国と韓国以外は、戦没者の慰霊を理解し、それに反対しないであろうけれど、参拝は 外交的に災難になり、中国のプロパガンダ戦争に加担するだけになるだろう。
To stop the visits might be seen as giving in to China, but that should be a minor risk for the theatrical Koizumi. To do so might not improve relations with China but would at least force Beijing to use a different nationalistic stick with which to beat Japan. The same goes for South Korea. Both China and South Korea are raising the profile of island and seabed disputes, but given China's huge claims elsewhere, these are unlikely to elicit sympathy in the rest of Asia. 靖国参拝をやめても、それは中国に譲っていることになるが、小泉首相を傷つける恐れは少ない。 参拝をやめても中国との関係は改善しないが、少なくとも中国は日本バッシングの別の手を考え なければならなくなる。中国や韓国は領土問題でも主張を声高にしているけれど、アジア諸国で それらを支持するものはないだろう。
It is a measure of Japan's international failure that so little attention has been paid, even in Asia, to Chinese (and Korean) obstruction of Japan's Security Council bid - insulting though it is for others, including India, that China is Asia's only permanent representative. 日本が安保理の常任理事国入りを望み、中国と韓国がかくも大きな反対を行ったことについて注意 が足りなかったのは日本外交のミスであろう。
Japan needs to keep building its defense capability as China's ambitions grow and as the strains on U.S. budgets increase. It cannot avoid taking positions, such as on Taiwan, which will anger China. But there is no reason why the rest of Asia should not welcome a revived, articulate Japan. 日本は対中国での防衛能力増大の必要があり、台湾問題のような中国と対立する問題で立場を明確 にすることを避けては通れない。それに、中国韓国以外のアジア諸国が、日本の主張を明確にした 防衛政策を支持しないという理由は無い。
Gestures to Russia would also help. Doesn't Koizumi now have enough national and nationalist credentials to try for a deal on at least two of the islands that Japan and Russia disagree over? If he had imagination he would see that the islands, like the post office, are symbols of an earlier age and are now a dead weight on Japan's interests. 露西亜との関係改善も課題であるが、北方領土の二島返還を成功させることは可能ではなかろうか
It is fortunate for Koizumi that his electoral success coincides with the apparent revival of Japan's economy after years of minimal growth and declining prices. These woes obscured the fact that the technology and investment stimulus that Japan provides to its neighbors remains economically more important to them than China, which is a big and growing market but is competitive as much as complementary. 日本の経済が長期低迷から抜け出して、アジアの技術と投資の中心に返り咲けば、それはアジアに とって中国よりも経済的に重要な国になるのである。アジア諸国にとって中国は貿易相手でもあり、 競合の相手でもある。
With Asia's only significant convertible currency, Japan is also needed to play a much bigger role in ending Asia's linkages to the U.S. dollar. Defensive attitudes, fear of a strong yen and fear of (badly needed) immigration, have limited its leadership role in Asia and resulted in its acquisition of low-yielding Western assets rather than playing the lead role in a dynamic Asia. アジアの通貨の最大のものとして日本はドル支配体制のアジアにおいて、円がより大きな役割を 果たすべく考えるべきで、強い円や移民の(強すぎる)制限緩和は、アジアのリーダーとしての 役割を助けるだろう。
ttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=ah7ABp4eUaOQ&refer=japan Prospects for faster growth have encouraged investors abroad to buy yen-denominated assets, with the benchmark Topix index of stocks today headed for a four-year high. Overseas investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks for a 12th week, according to Ministry of Finance figures released on Sept. 8. Foreign investors bought a net 249.8 billion yen in stocks in the week ended Sept. 3, it said.
Director of security policy studies at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs Gordon Adams, who was also senior White House budget official for national security in the Clinton Administration, has written this incredible screed filled with misrepresentations and hyperbole in the Baltimore Sun, which reads in part:
We have a president who is apparently ill-informed, lackadaisical and narrow-minded, surrounded by oil baron cronies, religious fundamentalist crazies and right-wing extremists and ideologues. He has appointed officials who give incompetence new meaning, who replace the positive role of government with expensive baloney. ... It is time to hold them accountable - this ugly, troglodyte crowd of Capital Beltway insiders, rich lawyers, ideologues, incompetents and their strap-hangers should be tarred, feathered and ridden gracefully and mindfully out of Washington and returned to their caves, clubs in hand.
It's good to know such level-headed thinking adorns the hallways of one the nation's universities (and formerly advised near the highest levels of government)....
The most clear-cut example is Vice President Zeng Qinghong, a former Shanghai party vice secretary who used to be the right-hand man and top strategist for Jiang. Zeng is supposed to be the head of the Shanghai Faction after Jiang’s retirement in September 2004. Yet it is clear that the vice president no longer holds any important portfolio. He now merely performs routine state functions, such as attending ceremonies or anniversaries.
Other close followers of Jiang in the Politburo Standing Committee, such as NPC chairman Wu Bangguo and Executive Vice-Premier Huang Ju, have also crossed over to the dominant camp led by Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao. It is fair to say that Hu only faces discontents?and some opposition?from PLA officers. Since the spring, there have been several cases of disgruntled PLA officers and soldiers holding demonstrations, mainly to demand better living conditions and better retirement benefits. And the CMC Office last month took the unusual step of issuing a circular forbidding PLA personnel to take part in demonstrations, petitions, or other forms of protest. It is thus clear that as the new commander-in-chief, Hu has to do more to win over the support of both the top brass and the rank and file.
Liu Yazhou, a 53 year-old PLA general, erstwhile novelist, and rising political star, has published a series of frequent and provocative essays in China over the last few years to considerable acclaim?and controversy. In a regime where political expression is strictly limited, and where discussion of political issues may be construed as “revealing state secrets,” for someone to speak with establishment credentials and without censorship can be a startling indication of policy discussion and change.
>>173 ttp://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1569436,00.html Some believe that if Ms Merkel's centre-right coalition failed to win an outright majority on Sunday, the powerful CDU premiers who rule 11 of Germany's states would topple her from power. Others, though, believe that if she does win a narrow majority she will prove an equally divisive figure. "She will divide German society," Michael Schaaf, 30, a student who had turned up to disrupt the rally. "There will be a hard fight between left and right."
Intellectually, most Germans seem to understand that economic reforms are necessary. Emotionally, they resist them. That's why they probably believe that a grand coalition could bring about painless change. But rather than more "gentle" reforms, such a coalition would be able to implement no serious reforms at all. It would be a government of the lowest common denominator -- and that's pretty low in this case.
Ms. Merkel can use the next few days to try to regain her momentum. If she succeeds in claiming her majority Sunday, it wouldn't be the first time that polls have misjudged the mood of the people. But if the closer race they are signaling comes to pass, Germans may find after the election that none of their problems have been solved.
The President's Job Approval: 46% approve [UP from last week's 45% and last month's 40% . . . similar to Rasmussen's 47% approval (50%/likely voters)and certainly much higher than the BOGUS ratings recently published by AP, Newsweek and ABCNews/WashPost]
ギャラップ調査の大統領支持率は46%で、先回の45%から向上しており、別のRasmussenの調査の 47%と同じような数字である。これは最近のAP, Newsweek and ABCNews/WashPostの数字より高い。
The Blame Game: 49% of Americans say the media are spending too much time trying to affix blame 48% say the same about Democrat leaders in Congress 31% say the same about Republican leaders in Congress [Not all Americans are brain dead sheeple!]
For all their inflammatory public rhetoric, the North Koreans have proved to be skilled negotiators. Their latest success is to have everyone arguing about whether Pyongyang has the right to a peaceful nuclear power programme (they say yes, the Americans say no) when the real issue is nuclear weapons, not nuclear electricity. とにかく北朝鮮は交渉がうまいわけで、ついに核の平和利用というのを議題にでっち上げること に成功しているわけだ。交渉している問題は、核爆弾であって、原子力発電ではないのだが。
Washington's case is almost fatally undermined by an inconsistent approach to nuclear proliferation, which the US tolerates in Pakistan, India and Israel but rejects in Iran and North Korea. Even so, and in spite of widespread pessimism, a two-point solution to the crisis is in reach if all sides are willing to grasp it and make the necessary concessions. アメリカはNPTにかかわる政策の一貫性の無さでグダグダであって、印度やイスラエルやパキ スタンに対する(寛容な)態度と、北朝鮮やイランに対する(非寛容な)態度が違い過ぎるのだ が、それはそれとして、核拡散を防止しなくてはいけないわけで、双方の譲歩も必要である。
First, the Chinese, South Korean and Russian governments that have given comfort to the North Koreans must accept that indefinite negotiations are not acceptable まず、北朝鮮を助けている中国、韓国、露西亜は、無期限の交渉というのはありえないことを知る べきである。
Second, the US and its ally Japan should not allow themselves to be blinded by the North Korean smokescreen over peaceful nuclear programmes and should make every concession they can to remove the issue from the immediate agenda. 日米は、北朝鮮の言う核の平和利用などという煙幕に惑わされてはいけない。そのアジェンダを除 去するように他の譲歩をすべきだ。
Washington should call North Korea's bluff on its latest demand. Mr Hill should say aloud that North Korea has as much right as any country to nuclear power - provided it rejoins the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and accepts verifiable dismantling of its weapons programmes. アメリカは北朝鮮の(平和利用という)ブラフに対して、ヒル代表はNPTへの加盟、北朝鮮の査察 受け入れの元でなら北朝鮮が他の国と同じ平和利用の権利を持つというべきだ。
The question then will be whether North Korea was ever serious about the talks in the first place. 問題は、北朝鮮が、はたしてまじめに交渉を続ける意思があるのかどうかということなのであるが。
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang breezily defended his company's role: "To be doing business in China, or anywhere else in the world, we have to comply with local law." I wonder how far Yang would take that logic. What if local law required Yahoo to cooperate in strictly separating races? Or the rounding up and extermination of a certain race? Or the stoning of homosexuals? Would Yang eagerly do the government's bidding in those cases too?
A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an investigation by the Guardian has discovered. ・・・ "In China it is considered very normal and I was very shocked that Western countries can make such a big fuss about this," he said.
Speaking from his office in northern China, he added: "The government has put some pressure on all the medical facilities to keep this type of work in low profile."
ttp://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200509141614-1201-RT1-CRO-0-NF51&page=0&id=agionline-eng.arab GERMANY: BERLUSCONI, MERKEL WILL WIN, BROUGHT LUCK TO KOIZUMI (AGI) - New York, USA, Sep 14 - Silvio Berlusconi expects CDU candidate Angela Merkel to win the German elections next Sunday. "I think there is a change". The Premier joked on the victory of Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi, whom he will visit at the end of October: "See, being my friend brings luck". On Germany, the Italian premier sides with Merkel and hot his colleague: "I am friends with Schroeder, but I am of the same family as Merkel, and I could not not support her". (AGI) . 141614 SET 05 COPYRIGHTS 2002-2005 AGI S.p.A.
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average may climb 40 percent in three years as the government pushes ahead with the breakup of the postal service, releasing $3.2 trillion of savings to banks and insurers, Marc Faber said.
The benchmark may rise to 18,000 in the ``next two to three years,'' Faber, author of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, said in an interview on Sept. 13. The Nikkei closed yesterday at 12,834.25, near June 2001 highs.
``The Japanese share market will strongly outperform New York in the next five years,'' said Faber, who oversees about $300 million as managing director of Marc Faber Ltd. in Hong Kong. 「今後5年間は、日本株式がニューヨーク株式を大きく上回る上昇を見せるだろう」という。Faber 氏は香港のMarc Faber Ltd.の取締役として3億ドルのファンドの管理をも行う。
``I'm very positive regarding Japan's markets,'' Faber said.
"On what issue or issues (if any!) have you changed your mind in the last 10 years- and why?" Their responses follow. 過去10年で、あなたにとって心変わりした(見解を変えた)事はあるか?もしあれば、それは なぜ見解をかえたのか?
Gerard Baker Max Boot David Brooks Christopher Caldwell Eric Cohen John J. DiIulio Jr. Noemie Emery Joseph Epstein Andrew Ferguson David Frum David Gelernter Reuel Marc Gerecht Robert Kagan Tod Lindberg Harvey Mansfield P.J. O'Rourke John Podhoretz Irwin M. Stelzer
Sept. 12 Sept. 5 Aug. 29 Christian-Democratic Union Bavarian Christian-Social (CDU-CSU) 42% 42% 42% Social Democratic Party (SPD) 33.5% 32% 30% Left Party (Linke) 8% 9% 10% Green Party (Grune) 7% 7% 7% Free Democratic Party (FDP) 6.5% 7% 7% Source: Emnid / N24
The circular was issued in light of the fact that some overseas gambling dens have reopened and continue to attract Chinese citizens in various ways, Xinhua reported.
September 12, 2005: Recently, a Chinese surface group was detected by a Japanese P-3C in disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands. The group, which consisted of a Sovremenny- class destroyer, two Jianghu I-class missile frigates, a replenishment ship, and a missile observation support ship, was a reasonably powerful force. It does lead to the question: Who would prevail in a fight with Japan over the Senkaku Islands?
Such a battle would primarily involve the navies of both sides. Each operates on a different premise. Japan has a force of destroyers that are highly capable in anti-surface and anti-submarine operations. Japan’s guided missile destroyers are also highly capable anti-air vessels.
Japan has a total of 30 destroyers, nine guided-missile destroyers, and nine frigates. At least two of the older Tachikaze-class guided-missile destroyers will be replaced by the new Atago-class destroyers. Japan also has 16 modern diesel-electric submarines.
The Chinese navy is larger in numbers ? carrying 25 destroyers and 45 frigates. However, of these 25 destroyers, 16 are the obsolete Luda class. The same is true for the Chinese frigates ? two-thirds of them are the obsolete Jianghu-class ships. These are equipped with antiquated HY-2 missiles, which are copies of the old SS-N-2 Styx ? state of the art for 1960. These days, a Styx is an easy kill for any modern surface-to-air missile. China has 65 diesel-electric submarines, but 52 of them are obsolete Romeo and Ming-class submarines. China’s Han-class SSNs are also old and noisy. Again, in terms of modern vessels, China is outnumbered.
Another factor is air cover. The disputed waters are within 300 kilometers of Okinawa. This is easily within the combat radius of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s F-1, F-4EJ Kai, F-15J, and F-2 fighters. Japan has a major air base in Naha, and there is also Kadena Air Force Base, where the United States Air Force keeps a wing of F-15s. The oldest aircraft in service with Japan are the F-4EJ Kais and F-1s ? the latter are being replaced by the F-2.
China’s fighters tend to be very old. The only real modern fighters are the J-11 (Russian Su-27) and the Su-30MKK (an Su-27 variant). Japan is almost at parity in terms of numbers (187 F-15J/DJs and 140 F-2s to 380 J-11/Su-30MKK in Chinese service). Japan has superb pilots as well, who get plenty of training. Chinese pilots get less flying time, although they are increasing their training.
Japan also has E-2 and E-767 airborne early warning aircraft that they have years of practice using, while China has only recently acquired Russian A-50 Mainstays.
In a straight naval-air fight over the Senkaku Islands, Japan has an advantage, even if they are on their own. While China is modernizing, Japan is not standing still, modernizing its military and keeping a qualitative edge over its larger neighbor. ? Harold C. Hutchison ([email protected]) ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー いまのところ装備の近代性や訓練のおかげで、軍事衝突があれば、日本側が有利という判例のよう だけれど、中国軍が軍備増強中なのは気になる。
New satellite photos showing the 5MWe reactor at Yongbyon with a steam plume, indicating that it is again operational and the construction site for the 50MWe reactor showing some new activity at the site. Posted September 14, 2005. 5メガワット原子炉に水蒸気が見られる。50メガワット原子炉の建設現場にも活動が伺える。
> The world must completely divest itself of mindsets and vestiges > reminiscent of imperialistic tendencies that appear to linger in various forms. > Vigilance against a resurgence of major-power centrism in certain circles > is also in order. The leading nations of contemporary international politics > should be more forthcoming in their introspection of the past and future > and also exercise greater self-restraint.
アジアタイムズ:人民解放軍海軍の軍備近代化計画 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー 比較的良くまとまった解説。筆者はPINR(Power and Interest News Report) のメンバー。
In relation to US Navy battle groups, PLAN can, at most, aim for the possibility of exerting some form of deterrence (especially through the use of submarine forces), thus refuting all those who, since the beginning of the 21st century, have imagined American and Chinese battle groups confronting one another to decide which state will rule over the Pacific Ocean.
ttp://www.instapundit.com/ インスタプンディットの15日の記録に、被害者の一人の投稿した記事があって; A MISSISSIPPI READER WRITES ON KATRINA RESPONSE
Regular reader who just got internet access in South Mississippi tonight! I hope it does not go out before I finish this email. I live in Gautier, just north of I 10 on the gulf coast. (今晩、やっとネットに接続できるようになった。私は南ミシシッピのGautierの住民だ)
I must disagree with those who appear to have made some kind of holy writ that the response was slow or inadequate ・・・and I must report that I think the emergency response was very fast, considering the size of the storm and the barriers to the response. (ハリケーン被害のもたらした状況を考慮すれば、政府のレスポンスが遅すぎるという意見 には賛成できない。むしろ早いというべきだ)
So where did this idea of a slow response originate? I believe it came from fearful local politicians, mostly in Louisiana, eager to deflect blame to anyone else. It was picked up enthusiastically by the media. The Cindy Sheehan story was rapidly fading, so this was simply another attack by the media, beleieving they have finally got Bush. The Plame story, the Rumsfield story, Cindy Sheehan, Abu Graib, etc… etc…
The political trauma that has followed Katrina is almost entirely a result of the slow, haphazard government response in the first days after the storm hit. Mayor Nagin had an evacuation plan sitting in a drawer but never got the buses in place to implement it. He then blamed everyone else. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco froze amid the crisis and failed to deploy the National Guard properly to protect those stranded at the Convention Center and Superdome. She is still blaming everyone else. ttp://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112675213693441472,00.html?mod=opinion%5Fmain%5Freview%5Fand%5Foutlooks
ヘリテージ財団;郵政改革を進める日本 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー ヘリテージ財団のサイトにうpされている論評だけれど、全く感心しない、勘違いの多いもの。 これをかいている、Balbina Y. Hwang Ph.D. という女史は
Hwang, a native of Korea, was a Fulbright Scholar to South Korea in 1998-99 where she conducted doctoral dissertation field research. She has received several writing awards, including ones from the International Studies Association and the National Capital Area Political Science Association. Hwang is the editor of U.S. Korea Tomorrow, a quarterly magazine. She is a frequent guest on media programs including: CNN, MSNBC, Fox, BBC, NPR, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of America. という人なのだけれど、韓国色が強すぎて、日本外交へのバイアスがあまりにも酷い。この評論でも
He will also have to address weighty foreign policy challenges, which went largely unmentioned during the campaign, such as China’s growing influence and assertiveness in the region, the ongoing nuclear standoff with North Korea, tense relations with South Korea, and the revamping of Japan’s own security and defense policies.
CSIS:日本の選挙結果につて、コメンタリー by:William T. Breer ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー このSCISの先生は、衆議院解散後の日本の政局で政権交代の起こることを本気で心配していた 人なので、圧倒的な自民党大勝という選挙結果に戸惑っているような。
When Koizumi dissolved the lower house in August most pundits were saying that he had committed political suicide. (8月に小泉首相が衆議院を解散したときには多くの学者は 政治的な自殺だといっていた)
とかいているけれど、それは理解力や観察力の不足した、出来の悪い、怠け者の学者のことだと 思われ。
Actually, his record of reform is not perfect. The economy has begun to show signs of growth, however, and the pessimism that was prevalent at the beginning of his term has diminished. Japanese feel better about themselves and their country than they did four years ago, and the banking situation is much better. He has taken on major quasi-government enterprises that have been seen by the public as massive consumers of public money and sinecures for retired bureaucrats.
What Koizumi will do with his strong mandate is not so clear. He will, of course, get his postal savings reform legislation, and on the domestic front, will also concentrate on constitutional reform. Beyond that, Mr. Koizumi’s views on other pressing issues are less clear. (無論、小泉首相は郵政改革や憲法改正に向かうのであろうが、それ以上のことは 現状では良くわからない)この先生は日本(人と日本)の政治について勉強しなおしたほうが良 いのかも。
・US flexibility reflects new pragmatism ・Pakistan assistance complicates the issue ・Painting itself into a corner ・North Korean charm offensive ・Appeal to Seoul ・Rising cost of engagement ・Backing into an agreement ・The 'seventh party' ・Implications of failed talks
A collapse of the talks would lead Bush administration hawks to call for increased pressure against North Korea, including UN resolutions, enhanced measures to prevent nuclear proliferation, increased sanctions and blockade.
Yet, the US would ultimately be hampered by strong South Korean, Chinese and Russian resistance, and all three countries have vowed they will not allow the issue to be brought to the UN Security Council.
Moreover, none would agree to escalatory actions absent provocative North Korean behavior, such as a nuclear weapons test or proliferation of nuclear materials. Washington would then be faced with a choice of ratcheting up pressure with limited international support, a policy that it would be increasingly reluctant to pursue given competing crises in Iraq, Iran and the southern United States. ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー Bruce Klingnerは6者協議が決裂する可能性がかなりあると見て、その場合のシナリオを示唆 している。アメリカの鷹派は「それみたことか」と大喜びだろうけれど、国連安保理などでの 北朝鮮制裁は中国・露西亜・韓国の烈しい反対にあうだろう。その結果、使える政策オプション が減って、アメリカも手詰まりになる可能性がある、という。もっとも、この筆者はブッシュ 政権やネオコンに批判的な立場の人なので、そういうバイアスがあるけれど。
日米両政府が、機動運用部隊や専門部隊の一元的な管理・運営のため陸上自衛隊が06年度に 新設する中央即応集団について、その司令部(約200人)を米軍キャンプ座間(神奈川県) に置く方向で調整していることがわかった。両政府は在日米軍の再配置をめぐり、米陸軍第1 軍団司令部(米ワシントン州)を改編してキャンプ座間に移す方針で、陸自と米陸軍の両司令 部による基地の共同使用が実現すれば「日米一体化」がさらに進むことになる。(後略) ttp://www.asahi.com/politics/update/0916/003.html ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー ttp://www.chinapost.com.tw/asiapacific/detail.asp?GRP=C&id=68680 Japan may set up anti-terror unit at U.S. base: paper 2005/9/16 TOKYO, Reuters (東京発、ロイター)
Among the most egregious of these burdens are those imposed by the nation's bankruptcy statutes, which allow a failed carrier to use Chapter 11 to dramatically reduce its costs. In bankruptcy, airlines renegotiate aircraft and facility leases, disavow selected contractual obligations, revise or abrogate labor contracts, and even repudiate pension obligations -- all the while continuing to operate. Airlines often remain in bankruptcy for extended periods of time. ・・・ ・・・ Chapter 11 also undermines responsible managements. In an intensely competitive industry providing a commodity product, the "dumbest competitor" -- unrestrained by fear of failure -- sets the standard.
Mr. Hu's statement that China will increase purchases of big-ticket items is not really a sign of progress 胡錦涛のいっている、中国がアメリカから大型商品(航空機とか)をさらに買う意思があるとい うのは、進歩のサインとはみなせない。
Indeed, it would be good for all concerned if the whole area of trade were depoliticized. Let's not forget that Chinese products such as electronics, clothes and toys sell well in the U.S. because they are price competitive.
抗議集団の主体は学生と組合員で、Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (韓国通商組合連合) Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union(韓教組)を含む。彼らの主張によれば朝鮮戦争 は韓国の自由と民主主義を守るものではなく、極東地域のアメリカのヘゲモニー確保のためであり その結果として朝鮮半島が分断された。
In a poll taken last week, 53% of respondents listed the U.S. as the country most responsible for the division of Korea.
"We will never give up our nuclear" program before the U.S. nuclear threat is removed from the Korean peninsula, North Korean spokesman Hyun Hak Bong told reporters, referring to Pyongyang's claims that it needs nuclear arms to defend itself. 北朝鮮のスポークスマンは「アメリカの核の脅威が除去されない以上、我々は核開発計画を放棄 しない」とのべた。
"We will just do it our way. For us, we cannot stop our way of peaceful nuclear activities for one minute," Hyun said, reading from a written statement. 「我々は我々独自の道を行く。我々の平和的な核開発計画をあきらめない」
Western officials have acknowledged in recent days that they may lack international support for such a move. 西側外交筋によれな、国連安保理付託して制裁などを検討するには国際的な支持が不足している
Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, met the foreign ministers of the EU trio on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. イラン大統領モハメッド・アーマディネジャドを含む高官は、木曜日に国連総会出席の傍ら、EU 三国の外相らと会談している。
"After the talks with the Europeans they know now that we haven't been planning to defeat Europe ... I think the talks (with the EU trio) will be resumed," said Ali Aghamohammadi, spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council. イランの最高安全保障会議のスポークマン、アリ・アーマホマディは「欧州諸国と会談した結果、 彼らもイランがヨーロッパを打ち倒すことは考えていないと理解したので、欧州三国との交渉は 再開するものと思う」と述べた。
The question in Japan is whether Koizumi's victory will be exploited to change the stultified Japanese political system. It is noteworthy that when Japan changes, it often does so dramatically, collectively and radically - as in the Meiji Restoration, and again in 1945. ここで注意すべきは、日本では物事が変わる時には、それはしばしばドラマティック に変わるということである。明治維新はその例であり、日本は1945年(の終戦時)にもそれを行った
There are plenty of domestic changes waiting to be made, but possibly more important is that Japan's international situation and foreign policy are entering a period of tension, with threatened assumptions. 日本が変わるべき国内的な理由も多くあるのだが、むしろ国際的 な理由が大きいと思われる。日本を取り巻く外交の状況は脅威を増し、緊張が高まっている。
The geopolitics of the Far East have been frozen since the end of the Korean War, when the American strategic position in northern Asia was fixed by permanent strategic installation in military bases in Japan and South Korea. On the Allied side, nothing much has changed since then. 極東の地政学的状況は朝鮮戦争の休戦時のままに凍結されていて、軍事的には米軍の 日本と韓国にある基地によって抑えられていて、今まで何も変化が無い。
On China's side there has been a thaw since Mao Zedong's death in 1976 brought to power Communist Party figures intent on modernizing the country, while silently jettisoning ideology - a course that was affirmed in January 1979, when China establishing formal diplomatic relations with the United States. 中国では1976年の毛沢東の死後大きな変化があって、中国の近代化が起こり、1979年には中国が アメリカとの正式の国交を樹立した。
Japan had no role in these events, other than as a passive American ally. South Korea has confronted the erratic and dangerous radicalism of the North Korean regime, but until very recently - when it set its own course in dealing with North Korea - it also remained an obedient and dependent ally of the United States. 日本はアメリカの同盟国として受身の立場であり続け中国の承認などになんらの役割を担わなかった 韓国は危険でラディカルな北朝鮮との間でもめごとを持ち続けてきた。韓国もアメリカに依存せざる を得ない同盟国である。
Now two forces are at work to break down this East Asian geopolitical structure. The first is China's economic rise and its developing claim to be the great power of the region. Both claims have been given exaggerated credit in international opinion, and in American perceptions in particular. いまや、東アジアの地政学的構造を変える力が働いているのだが、そのひとつは中国の経済発展と アジア地域の大国になるという意思である。これは誇張されたところがあって、アメリカの受け取 り方にもその傾向が強い。
The U.S. relationship to China now combines America's unpredictably dangerous financial dependence on Chinese purchases of its debt and a reciprocal Chinese economic dependence on trade with the United States. アメリカの中国との関係は、アメリカが予測不可能的に、危険にも中国がアメリカとの貿易の結果 溜め込んだ外貨で購入する財務省債券という負債に依存している。
At the same time, there is widespread fear in the United States that China poses a political and potential military challenge to American international primacy. This automatically affects Japan's politically isolated and dependent position as American ally. Japan has its own deep problems with China, derived from World War II, but possessing much older and deeper roots in a rivalry that began in the 16th century, when Japan first tried to expand on the mainland at the expense of a weakened Chinese empire.
Japan's difficult relationship with China, however, has nothing to do with the American -Chinese rivalry. The latter is an unwanted complication for Japan, since it depends on the United States for security (even though its military establishment is one of the most significant in the world, and except in the nuclear sphere is much more sophisticated than that of China). しかしこの日本と中国の困難な関係は米中の競合関係とは何の関係も無い ものである。米中の競合関係は日本にとっては望ましくない状況の複雑化である。日本はアメリカに 安全保障を依存しているためである。日本の核以外の軍事力は中国のそれより先進的であり日本の 自衛力は国際的にも顕著なものであるとはいえ、それでも日本は、その防衛をアメリカの軍事力に 依存しているのだ。
Japan has no interest in becoming involved in an American conflict with China, driven by alleged Chinese global ambitions and by right-wing figures in Washington convinced that war with China, over the exercise of hegemony in Asia, is probable. 日本は中国のグローバルな野心やアメリカの右翼による、米中の衝突に巻き込まれたくないのであ るが、アジアのヘゲモニーをかけた米中の衝突というのはあり得るのである。
AEI:日本に注目せよ (ビジネスウイークに掲載の記事) By R. Glenn Hubbard ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー 小泉首相の選挙勝利の後に日本には、大きな経済的チャンスがあるとするもの。
The U.S. has an economic stake in Koizumi's success. The postwar revitalization of the Japanese economy is one of the outstanding episodes in modern economic history. Better performance would continue this story for the next generation, while easing pressure on the U.S. economy to fuel global growth. A politically and economically muscular Japan is a better ally on the world stage. And successful restructuring in Japan serves as an example of the benefits of reform for emerging capitalists like China as well.
Investors would also benefit. China, of course, is today's star. But it and many other nations lack some of the special characteristics that make Japan so attractive to investors: a positive business climate, rule of law, advanced infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce, and affluent consumers. Financial reform offers the best hope to further strengthen these positive attributes--and Japan's long-term growth.
September 16, 2005: France was not always opposed to the American invasion of Iraq. One persistent Pentagon rumor, however, might explain why the French went the way they did. In December, 2002, a French staff officer visited the Pentagon with a proposal from his government. France would send 18,000 troops (about what they contributed in 1991) to join the Iraq invasion force. However, France wanted a specific area of occupation after the war, with full authority in that area for as long as Iraq needed to be occupied. The American State Department backed the French proposal, but the Department of Defense didn’t trust the French, and were suspicious of their motives. So the French officer went home empty handed, and the French government decided that invading Iraq was really an evil thing to do.
Foreign investors have embarked on a passionate affair with Japanese stocks and are hoping that domestic Japanese investors will soon join them in their ardor.
"It's real," said Andy Brunner, chief investment strategist at Britain's Forsyth Partners, a fund researcher and investment manager. "Enough structural changes are taking place that this is actually a real turn in the economy and a real turn in the market."
"If the Japanese domestic buyers come back into play, that could have a further impetus," Wiener said. "We are very bullish on Japan."
「もし日本国内の投資家が参入してくれば、相場がさらに活況となる」「我々は日本株に強気だ」
"When the big domestic institutions return they will start by buying blue chips. This is why the blue chips are due a period of outperformance," he said in a note.
The survey carried out by Forsa between Monday and Friday put support for the Christian Democrats at between 41 and 43 percent, with the Free Democrats between 7 and 8 percent. Schroeder's Social Democrats polled between 32 and 34 percent, with his junior partner, the Greens, at 6-7 percent. The Left Party, an alliance of ex-communists and former Social Democrats alienated by Schroeder's efforts to trim the welfare state, polled between 7 and 8 percent. All three parties on the left have rejected speculation that they could link up to keep the chancellor in power ? a combination that would run into major policy and personality clashes.
MOSCOW, Sep 16 : Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a North Korean source today as saying China's draft declaration for talks on its nuclear programme was unacceptable and ''practically repeats the position of the United States''. 露西亜のインターファクス通信は北朝鮮ソースが中国の提案を受け入れ不能として拒否したと 報じている。中国提案は「アメリカの立場を代弁したものに過ぎない」としている。
In the Hong Kong-datelined report, Interfax's source said the disagreements would probably mean the current fourth round of talks on the issue would come to an end tomorrow.
IN A country that so often settles for mixed messages, the stunning victory of Junichiro Koizumi this week is a clear signal from Japan's voters. They are ready and eager to break with outworn special interests and modernise the ties between their government and the economy. The public may not know quite how to go about it; but having given their champion a clear mandate, and with economic recovery at last gathering force, the Japanese have more cause to be optimistic than they have had for a very long time
誤っていないけれど、この程度の分析ならたいしたことは無いような。>>246のIHTに書いている William Pfaff の歴史的なパースペクティブの分析のほうが魅力的に見えるような。
"She would have sent soldiers," is emblazoned across the poster for Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD). 「メルケルは(ドイツ)兵をおくるのだろう」とポスターには書かれている。CDUはこれに反発 して:
"It's totally tasteless! There are limits even in an election campaign - you don't use the dead to win votes," said CDU Secretary General Volker Kauder. 「このポスターは不適切で、選挙キャンペーンといえども限度というものがある。死者を使って選挙 に勝とうというのか」
A wise leader knows how to translate nationalism into reform, as Margaret Thatcher did, to some extent, in the wake of the British victory over Argentina in the Falkland Islands. Whereas Thatcher skillfully exploited that nationalistic sentiment and channeled it into a reform agenda, in Japan's case, the reverse may prove to be true, as Japanese leaders may unwisely attempt to channel popular support for a reform agenda into nationalistic sentiment.
China, unfortunately, may continue to embolden this type of pro-nationalistic leadership style in Tokyo, as Japan seems to be an ostensible exception to Beijing's peaceful rise strategy.
The danger ahead, then, is the momentum that an increasingly strong, bold, nationalistic premier would add to what seems like an increasingly possible collision course between China and Japan as they vie for the spot of East Asia's preeminent power. Despite increasing economic interdependence, Japan and China seem to be driven more by passion and animus than economic rationality. Status, prestige, and pride are proving dangerous bedfellows for two nations consecutively vying for more regional predominance and maritime control. Although the inevitability of such a collision is far from assured, the months and years ahead will prove to be formative ones not only on Japan's domestic political culture, but on the implications for East Asian stability, as well.
ttp://japantoday.com/e/?content=comment&id=841 Why the DPJ lost the election By Kenzo Fujisue (Kenzo Fujisue, Ph.D., is a Democratic Party of Japan member of the House of Councilors and visiting professor of Waseda University. )
ジャパントディ:民主党の敗因は何か By Kenzo Fujisue
I felt that the people were hoping for a clearer political message from the DPJ on its basic policies, not just postal reform. We were unable to bring other issues, such as pension reform, to the forefront. Koizumi had made postal reform a top issue and that's where all the attention went. 選挙戦を通じて、私の感じたのは有権者は民主党からの明確な政治的姿勢のメッセージを聴きたかった ということで、それは郵政改革にとどまらず、基本政策についてである。民主党は年金やそうした他の イシューを選挙の争点に出来なかった。小泉首相の持ち出した郵政改革が全ての関心を奪ってしまった
I think that the DPJ passed up the opportunity to focus on constitutional reform, especially Article 9. If we could have made clear our stance on constitutional reform, we could have won. Wherever I went, many voters, especially women, showed their understanding of the DPJ's views on constitutional reform. 私は民主党が憲法改正、特に9条の改正問題を論じる機会を失ったと思う。民主党が憲法改正への明確な スタンスを示せば選挙に勝てたのではないかと思う。選挙戦であった有権者、とくに女性には民主党の 憲法改正への理解があった。
This election will probably be a turning point in the Japanese political environment in which political parties will be organized on their basic policies rather than personal connections. 今回の選挙はおそらく日本の政治のターニングポイントで、政党が地縁や人縁に頼るのではなく政策を 中心に構成されるようになるのではないかと思う。
But at least some of the countries did not get answers from their governments in time to meet the deadline, a South Korean official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Some countries also felt they needed to further review their final positions, the official said.
Anatole Kaletsky of the FT had an interesting analysis of the prospects for Thatcherism Merkel's Germany and Koizumi's Japan. Gist was that Japan will succeed but Germany will fail miserably because Japan, with a reviving economy, needs Thatcherite contraction (basically, privatization, high interest rates and slashed spending), while Germany desperately needs more spending and easier credit, not the opposite. Buy Japanese equities. And pity the Germans. As Lee Kuan Yew put it in his recent Der Spiegel interview, Link... this will be a very bitter ten years for the Germans.
"Several delegations, including ours, had difficulties with it," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said after a long day of discussions that dragged late into the night "Clearly, they have some problems with the draft, but we have some problems as well," Hill told reporters.
この他、「東トルキスタン」「ウイグル」「チベット」という語彙も接続不能である。海外のアク セス禁止サイトには、「人民報」「大紀元」「大参考」「看中国」「博訊」などがある。 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/ Empirical Analysis of Internet Filtering in China
ttp://msnbc.msn.com/id/9379210/site/newsweek/ China Needs New Priorities If this trend continues, Japan will realize more of what has been a latent military potential?and China's emergence will be delayed. By Robert Madsen Newsweek International (Madsen is a senior fellow at the Center for International Studies at MIT.)
If Pyongyang persists in pushing Tokyo in this direction, Japan will realize more of what has until now been its latent martial potential, and China's emergence as the predominant regional power will be delayed.
They could also discuss the possibility of limiting or reducing the size of the U.S. troop garrisons in a unified Korea, or perhaps keeping all American forces in their present locations rather than moving some of them northward. Such an understanding would assuage Beijing's strategic worries and make the idea of the two countries' cooperating to impose coercive sanctions against North Korea more feasible.
In fact, recognition that Beijing and Washington were discussing these eventualities might itself persuade Pyongyang to make major concessions. By failing to explore the possibility of a comprehensive agreement with the United States, however, China has missed the opportunity to achieve these strategic gains. The day may come when it regrets this oversight. ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー 誤ってはいないと思われる評論。日本の軍事力や日米同盟強化が中国台頭の邪魔になるというのを 従来より、アメリカの評論が明確に言うようになってきたのはおもしろいような。まあこの評論は (リベラル系論者なので)中国について少し甘すぎのところはあるけれど、言っている大きな構造 のシナリオでは正解のような。
"It's a good draft for all concerned, and I think it's especially a really great opportunity for" North Korea, Hill said. これはとてもよい提案で、特に北朝鮮によい機会を与えるもの、と ヒル代表が述べた。
Still, he declined to speculate about the outcome of the talks, saying only that negotiations were continuing and all sides would meet Monday morning to respond to the Chinese proposal. しかし彼は交渉の先行きにはコメントせず、交渉が続行するとのみ述べている。月曜日に各国は中国提案 に対する立場を明らかにする。
The most likely outcome of an election that ended up far tighter than expected appeared to be a so-called "grand coalition" between Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the SPD.
"They claim they have enough food coming in from other sources," he said, indicating that it included aid from South Korea and increased trade with China. "They didn't want to create a culture of dependency." 北朝鮮は、別の支援組織(韓国、中国?)からの食糧支援があるといっており、彼等は依存の文化 を作り出したくないといっている」
"We still believe there are large numbers of people in the country who are struggling to meet their basic food needs," he said. 「我々WFPは、依然として多くの北朝鮮国民が食糧支援を必要としていると信じている」
``Looks like it will be a bad week for the euro,'' said Carsten Fritsch, a currency strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. ``Reforms are going to be slow and very minor in Germany over the next four years.'' ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー ドイツの先行きにとっては良からぬ兆候。ドイツ経済と政治の低迷が長引くのかも。
The North ''promised to drop all nuclear weapons and current nuclear programs and to get back to the (Nuclear) Nonproliferation Treaty as soon as possible and to accept inspections'' 北朝鮮は「核開爆弾発計画と現行の核開発計画の廃棄を約束し、速やかにNPTに復帰して査察を 受ける」
The North and the United States also pledged to mutually respect each other's sovereignty and right to peaceful coexistence in the agreement. 北朝鮮とアメリカは相互に国家主権を尊重し平和共存することを約束する。
''All six parties emphasized that to realize the inspectable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the target of the six-party talks,'' the statement said. 「全ての関係6カ国は、朝鮮半島の査察可能な非核化の実現を目標とする」
"The United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade (North Korea) with nuclear or conventional weapons," アメリカは朝鮮半島に核爆弾の無いことを確かにし、通常兵器あるいは核兵器により、北朝鮮 を攻撃ないし侵略する意図の無いことを約束する
Negotiators agreed to hold more talks in November, where they were expected to move on to concrete discussions about implementing the broad principles outlined in Monday's agreement. 今回合意した原則事項の具体的な実施について、より確固たる議論を詰めるための会議を11月に行う
Putting aside the question for now, the joint statement said: "The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss at an appropriate time the subject of the provision of light-water reactor" to North Korea. 合意文書は「アメリカ以外の国が、適切な時期に、北朝鮮と軽水炉について議論する事に合意した」 としている。
The statement, however, says the sides agree to take steps to implement the agreement "in a phased manner in line with the principle of 'commitment for commitment, action for action."' 合意文書は「段階的に、原則に従ってコミットメントに対してコミットメント、行為に対して行為 の方式で、合意事項を実現する」
The DPRK and Japan also undertook to take steps to normalize their relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration, on the basis of the settlement of unfortunate past and the outstanding issues of concern, the statement says.
北朝鮮と日本はピョンヤン宣言にしたがって、過去の不幸な出来事を清算すべく、また現行の諸関心 事項を解決すべく、国交回復のためのステップをとるものとする、と合意文書はのべている。 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー outstanding issues of concernというのは拉致やミサイルのことを言うと解釈すべき鴨。
-- A 1992 inter-Korean accord calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula should be honored. South Korea and the United States have confirmed that there are no nuclear weapons on South Korean soil. 1992年の朝鮮半島非核化協定を守るべく、韓国と米国は韓国内に核爆弾の無いこと を確認する
-- South Korea confirms its proposal to provide North Korea with 2 million kilowatts of electricity beginning in 2008 if the North's nuclear issue is verifiably resolved. 韓国は北朝鮮の核廃棄の検証が進めば、北朝鮮への200万キロワットの電力を2008年から提供する
-- The six countries will discuss setting up a new multilateral security forum for Northeast Asia, separate from the six-nation talks. 6ヶ国は北東アジアの安全保障フォーラムの設定に ついて、6者協議とは別に、これを議論する
The stunning electoral victory engineered by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan last week ought to make leaders in Washington, Beijing, Pyongyang, Seoul, and at the United Nations sit up and take note because it marks a great leap forward in Japan's emergence from the passive and pacifist cocoon in which it had wrapped itself since the end of World War II 60 years ago. 小泉首相のもたらした選挙の大勝利について、アメリカ、中国、北朝鮮、韓国そして国連の指導者は 姿勢を正して、このニュースに注意すべきなのだが、これは第二次世界大戦後の、過去60年間の日本 の、受身の、平和主義の引きこもりからの脱出で、大躍進(のはじまり)を示すものである。
The prospect of a grand coalition is not unpopular with many Germans. A poll last month indicated that one-third supported the idea, roughly as many as voted yesterday for either the CDU/CSU or the SPD. But Germany needs no further layer of consensus superimposed on a political system with more than enough checks and balances. It had seemed that Germany's Christian Democrats might have been free to take reform beyond what its Social Democrats were ready to contemplate. That chance may now be lost.