Vietnam bound

I am due to leave for Hanoi and Ho Chin Min city today. Never been to Vietnam, so I am quite excited about it.

Not much time to goof around town as I shall be occupied with work.

But, I hope to try out the famous noodles, the water puppet show, the cruise along the Mekong and some other touristy stuff.

And hopefully, avoid getting pick-pocketed or conned by the taxi man.

Groping and Japanese war crimes

A friend suggested that I blog on the report that 64% of young Japanese women are regularly groped on the trains in the major urban areas.

I live in a small city serviced by an old cranky rail system. It is so excruciatingly slow that I christened it, 'roba-den' (literally, Donkey Train). No groping here, I suppose.

Meanwhile, I am more attached to why Koizumi seems to be so adamant to continue going to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japan screwed up bad during the Pacific War. And she has not been forthcoming on it.

Yasukuni Shrine, to victims of the war, is the premier symbol of Japanese imperialism.

The shrine houses the spirits of all Japanese soldiers killed in conflict, as well as approximately 50,000 civilians; women and children.

Fine.

The point of contention is, it houses the remains of 1,068 convicted war criminals, among them were 13 notorious Class A war criminals.

The most notorious war criminal was General Hideki Tojo, who was considered responsible for killing almost four million Chinese. (http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/T/Tojo-Hideki.htm)

I am reminded of to my visit to the Hiroshima Peace Park when I first came to Japan as a student. I recall I was drawn to tears upon seeing the gory exhibits.

Upon reflection, the Peace Park focuses on the horrors of the nuclear bomb and the 'crime' committed by the US in dropping the bomb on innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Again, Japan is not forthcoming on this.

Why, exhibits on only the anguish wrought by the nuclear bomb? Why not on war as a whole?

Why not exhibits on the miseries forced upon the innocent war victims in other parts of Asia as well?

I hope Koizumi will take a break and choose to go to Meiji Shrine instead.

It is quite a lovely place, actually, if you can avoid getting groped in the trains while on the way there.

On unity and losers

On Unity... the Star reports: Najib says N.S. needed because schools failed in integration.

'The current education system has failed to integrate young people, thus the need for the national service (NS) programme, said Najib.

Students were not comfortable mixing with other races and kept to themselves. So we saw the need for the NS to integrate the various races'.

So, after so much talk of unity over the decades, we come to naught?

Fair enough. Now citizens of Malaysia should be looking forward to a full report in the near future on how successful the 'national service' is.

But, somehow one gets the feeling that it is a little difficult to believe that a 'national service' set up hastily, calling for a few months of service by the youths, can solve the unity problem when years of education cannot.

On Losers... the Sun reports: Singapore's GIC invests in Proton.

'The Government of Singapore Investment Corp. bought about 5% of Proton Holdings, signaling rising investor confidence in Malaysia's largest carmaker after it announced an alliance with Volkswagen AG'.

Wooah, do we not know something that Singaporeans do?

I think they have too much cash idling around, so why not bet on a dark horse and have some chuckles along the way.

There is a racehorse in Kochi prefecture, near (not really, actually) to where I live. Haru-Urara has not won a single race in 112 continuous appearances.

During her 100th race, the Japanese came from all over the country, expecting to see a miracle. But win she did, although not the race.

The Kochi Race Course had been bleeding red ink for years. That race alone brought in profits enough to cover years of loses.

Since then, Haru-Urara has become a star of sorts. She became the mascot of safe driving. Now, the Japanese are making a movie about her.

Haru-Urara. Beautiful Spring. A loser, turned winner.

Can that dark horse of Malaysia strike a miracle?

Jittery Japan

Three pieces of news illustrate a nervous Japan.

The first news concerns a 19-year-old Tottori University student was arrested for posting terror threats on the Net under the name of bin Laden, threatening to blow up Tokyo Tower on September 11.

This chap must be bored with attending classes. But then again, I think the Japanese are really wary of the possibility of being attacked, albeit not by this guy.

While I do not wish it, I cannot imagine the mayhem if Shibuya subway is being bombed out during the early morning rush hour.

Next, the Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told U.S. President George Bush on Saturday that Japan will continue to support Iraq's reconstruction efforts, indicating Tokyo's readiness to extend the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces in the country beyond the Dec 14 deadline.

Was there any other option for Koizumi or Japan, when the choice was (a) Yes or (b) Yes?

Since Japan lost that war, she has been depending on the US to 'protect' her from external threats, terrorism included.

It will be interesting to observe how the imminent rise of China will affect this US-Japan arrangement in the near and far future.

And thirdly, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe expressed caution on Saturday over imposing economic sanctions against North Korea, saying the North might attack Japan with nuclear weapons.

Families of the Japanese people who were kidnapped by N. Korea decades ago are demanding the sanctions. By doing so, the families hope to force N. Korea to expedite the return of the victims.

I assume this man is contemplating on the overly 'bright' side for North Korea. I don't think North Korea has any capability of launching the N. bomb.

However, in the event that North Korea does have that capability and is foolish enough to hit Japan with it, she is as good as committing harakiri.

First and foremost, the US will certainly have no problems organizing a 'friendly coalition' to crush N. Korea to shreds.

And by doing so, she might even be able to regain some friendships lost in the current Iraq quagmire.

Sipadan operators must vacate by year-end

The New Straits Times reports that the Malaysian government has turned down a request from diving resort operators to be allowed to stay on Sipadan island for another year.

The five operators on the island are Borneo Divers, Sipadan Dive Centre, Pulau Sipadan Resort, Abdillah Sipadan Paradise and Sipadan Lodge.

It was learnt that the five dive operators had, through their lawyers, asked for the extension in September, citing the need for more time to relocate.

For the uninitiated, Sipadan Island is listed among the world's top 10 diving destinations. It is also a nesting spot for turtles and a transit point for migratory birds.

Sipadan was thrust into the limelight when members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped 21 people, including 10 foreign tourists, from the island in April 2000.

The island was also a subject of dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia until the International Court of Justice ruled on Dec 17, 2002 that the island belonged to Malaysia.

The Dec 31 deadline remains for the five operators to vacate the popular diving destination. The Government will allow only day trips from Jan 1 next year and only 80 visitors at a time.

The decision is expected to strengthen the Government's application for the island to be listed as a world heritage site by Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

But eighty divers at a time? Hmmm, how do they calculate this? Is it, eighty divers at any one time?

To the extent of my knowledge, besides the five operators in Sipadan, there are two in Mabul (not counting Borneo Divers twice), one each at Kapalai, Lankayan, and Roach Reef, making a total of ten operators.

This does not include other operators such as in Mataking. And how about the many liveaboards that come plying around the waters of Sipadan?

Now, imagine the quota of eighty divers at one time. How will the rangers (I believe Sabah Parks, the relevant authority, will put some at Sipadan) monitor the numbers? How will the operators 'share' these numbers among themselves?

The recent tragedy of the two Japanese dive instructors in Cebu has prompted the Philippine government to launch a team of "scuba cops" to watch the protected marine areas in the Philippines.

Will Sabah Parks install a similar team of "scuba cops" to check the diver quota as well as to patrol the vicinity for foul play?

Also, imagine the operators relocating to other islands like Mabul. (Borneo Divers have already done so).

Then, visualize the morning rush hour from these islands to Sipadan to catch the bumpheads cruising, and the reverse afternoon rush hour back to the islands.

Plus, as commented by one veteran diver I talked to, the effect on the water table of Mabul Island for example, if and when the operators come ashore.

It is good news that Sipadan gets cleared up.

High time, I must say.

But at the same time, I hope that the other islands, especially beautiful Mabul, will not become over-burdened with accommodating too many operators.