Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Submarine Hakuryu

　　Submarines are constructed in various developed countries. Japan doesn't have an A-sub, but has the incomparable technology of building non-atomic powered submarines. Actually Australia apparently wants to get Japanese submarines, according to the media. In general, submarines are veiled in the highest secrecy everywhere, but I was invited by JMSDF (the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) to see inside the submarine. I immediately said yes without a second thought.
　　The submarine which I was showed into was "Hakuryu", one of the most developed types of submarines, which the Australian Government is eager to have. I'll upload several pictures. I was allowed to take pictures outside, but was required to deposit digital devices like cameras, smartphones, tablet terminals on the reception desk when entering the submarine. It would be natural to protect the secrets of the submarine.
　　When I stood on its deck, I noticed the softness of its outer envelope. It was like a slightly hard rubber. I was able to see from the anterior part of the torpedo room to the posterior part of the diesel and starling engine room. I also learned the living environment of the crew members. I don't write about the details so much, but I realized their work must have been so hard and I admire their sense of loyalty to the nation. I believe that the existence of the Chinese Fleet is nonsense in front of this type of submarine.

(Vocabulary)
a sense of loyalty 忠誠心

Henoko

　　Henoko is a small and originally serene village located in the middle of Okinawa, though it holds Camp Schwab, one of the U.S. Marine bases. I wrote about MCASF (Marine Corps Air Station Futenma) in the previous entry and now its relocation plan to Henoko is well under way. It's the decided policy of the Japanese Government, but the Chinese communists dare a group of people to interfere with the plan. Almost all of them are recruited outside Okinawa and are engaged in various illegal activities in Okinawa with a respectable pay.
　　Off the coast of Henoko, the Government will build the Air Station with two long runways as the replacement of MCASF, and the seabed investigation has just started a few months ago. It must be a favorable plan for ordinary people to move the Air Station from the populated city to a deserted area on the sea, but it would be unfavorable for China to modernize the U.S. Marine base.
　　I wanted to see and talk with the activists, but I repressed the urge to get out of the car, following my wife's appeal not to respond to ugly jerks. They were violent like fierce animals. My wife's opinion was acceptable. I gave up taking pictures of them.
　　Henoko has a beautiful serene sea. I'd like to preserve it as it is, but I believe the construction of new runways is inevitable as long as China exists.

(Vocabulary)
decided
1 (利点・欠点などが) はっきりした, 目立った[同意] distinct
2 (意見などが) 断固とした, 確固たる[同意] firm
dare sb to do sth ～するようけしかける
respectable〈結果・成績などが〉まずまずの, まあまあの
jerk   someone, especially a man, who is stupid or who does things that annoy or hurt other people

German Chancellor

　　The German Chancellor Merkel made the third visit to Japan the other day after 7 years' interval. The last two visits were for attendance at international meetings and not for bilateral talks with Japan, though she had visited China more than five times. This time, however, she came for the talk with Japan's prime minister and other political figures. No concrete statement was made and it has triggered a flurry of speculation about the content of the meeting.
　　Aside from the content, anyway, it is said that she had asked Japan to apologize to Korea about "Comfort Women" issues. It might be a fiction by a vicious politician, but she surely left a poor impression. She had been praised as well as Thatcher up to today in Japan, but actually,,,. I was surprised that she also had been brainwashed by Korean rumors.
　　Do you know about the IWG report by the U.S. Government? It was examined and submitted at great expense, as well as 7 years' time and labor. They couldn't find any evidence of Japan's abduction of Korean women. The report is a massive document and you'd better conduct a search using the key "comfort women". Japan's abduction of Korean women is only a distortion by Korea. I'd like to advise her not to step into the issue and to take care not to be trapped by groundless Korean stories.

(Vocabulary)
aside from 〈米〉～はさておき、～は別として、～はこっちに置いといて、～を除いては
vicious 悪意のある, 意地悪な

Noboribetsu Hot Spring

　　We rode our motorcycles southwest from Tomakomai City, which meant approaching the center of the storm. I'd like to have avoided the southwest direction, but the arrangement of accommodation at an old inn was already done. No matter what route we chose, we had to reach the inn. The rain got harder, and we took a rest in front of a warehouse company, which you can see in the first picture.
　　I wondered if we could take a footbath in Noboribetsu Hot Spring, which is now well-known even out of Japan, but the rain was too heavy to do so. We could only ride around the town and headed for the south. We had planned to go over a hill from Noboribetsu and view Mt. Youtei and Lake Toyako from the top of the hill, but a landslide alarm was issued on the route. So, we changed the route and went south to Muroran City. I like caldera lakes. I wanted to have a rest at the lakeside of Kuttara Lake, but didn't do it due to the terrible rain.
　　The blue flag in the last picture was presented from ANA in commemoration of the tour. The color of blue is the color of the company. I assumed that ANA wanted to raise it on my motorcycle through the trip, but the horrible rain hampered it. There are generally so many riders in Hokkaido who put flags up on their motorcycles. I'll write about the custom of doing that later in another entry.

(Vocabulary)
footbath 足湯

Kuttara Lake 倶多楽湖
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/lake-kuttara.html


大雨の中を出発。登別温泉をまずは目指しました。雨はだんだん酷くなり、白老町あたりの潰れた？倉庫会社の軒下で雨装備を厳重にしています。登別温泉では足湯くらいは浸かりたかったのですが、そんな余裕なし。倶多楽湖畔で珈琲タイムとしゃれるつもりでしたがレストランも閉まっていました。どういうわけかカルデラ湖に興味があり、十和田湖とか、摩周湖とか、小ぶりではありますがこの倶多楽湖も好きな湖です。いつか長白山(支那側の呼称)、白頭山(朝鮮名：この麓で金正日が生まれたことになっている）のてっぺんの池(天池）にも立ち寄ってみたいと思っています。登別からは山を越えて、その峠から羊蹄山を眺める予定が、、崖崩れ危険情報があり、室蘭を回ることにコース変更しました。最後の写真の青い旗ですが、帰宅後に撮りました。ＡＮＡのカウンターでいただきました。本来はこれをバイクに付けて走って欲しいと言うことでしたが、この雨では傷んでしまうので出せませんでした。北海道ツーリングと旗の関係についてはまた後ほど。

Counterfeit Virtue of Obama

　　These hot days have reminded me of August 15th, the memorial day of the declaration of the surrender, which is just around the corner. Every August, Yasukuni Shrine, which is the national memorial of Japan, becomes one of the major topics in the media. NHK, which is the leader of anti-Japanese movement if you ask me, makes war related programs ad nauseam and reiterates its claims that the Japanese committed so many crimes during the Second World War.
　　Japan's Prime Minister Abe visited the shrine at the end of the last year and Obama's response to it surprised me. He expressed "disappointment" at the visit. There was a dash of controversy in Japan about how to translate "disappointment" into Japanese, that is, was Obama serious or was he forced to say so by someone? Anyway, it's clear that he didn't hold a good opinion of the visit. Those who had fought the United Nations in the war are also honored in the shrine, which would be the major reason of his disappointment.
　　By the way, do you know anything about Washington National Cathedral, which honors Robert Edward Lee and Stonewall Jackson who fought for the U.S. to continue slavery and were named war criminals after the war? Naturally, the facility is also for people who had died for the sake of the country. I think this mourning place is just the counterpart of Japan's Yasukuni Shrine!
　　Obama's standard of value is obviously conflicting between his country and Japan. The Cathedral towering over the heart of the city has been the place for mourning and prayer. State funerals of lots of the U.S. Presidents and memorial events for historic figures have been held and numerous U.S. citizens have visited the Cathedral. People haven't minded that two above-mentioned generals were honored in the same place. This fact didn't come to an issue so often, but when the memorial ceremony of late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was held there, the fact was a magnet for controversy.
　　A columnist of the Washington Post, John Kerry, threw doubt on the fact: Why are Lee and Johnson, who fought to block racial equality, honored at this place where Mr. Mandela, who lived for non-violent struggle for racial equality, is honored? Professor Evie Terrono at Randolph-Macon College explained that it was inconsistent to honor people who had tried to destroy the capital in the Cathedral which lies in the capital.
　　The spokesman of the Cathedral said that history has both aspects of good and bad. The spirit of the dead should never be blamed with respect to what they had done in life. That's apparently why Obama and his colleagues visit the Cathedral, but he and his Administration have bruited misleading impressions about Yasukuni Shrine.
　　The former Bush Administration admitted to then prime minister Koizumi that he formally visited the shrine. It additionally advised him not to cave in to China's pressure. What Obama is doing now is quite contrary to the Bush era.
　　Kevin M Doak, who works at Georgetown University, insists that Japan's prime minister should visit Yasukuni Shrine often and the attitude of Obama Administration toward the shrine is clearly hypocritical, judging from their attitude to the Cathedral. I really think so.

(Vocabulary)
counterfeit virtue 偽善
Washington National Cathedral ワシントン国立大聖堂
bruit sth about (フォーマル) ＜…＞を言い触らす, 広める
mislead〈人〉に誤解を与える, を惑わせる
misleading 誤解を招きかねない
a misleading impression 誤解を招きかねない印象

Blue Ribbon

　　There are several blue ribbon movements in the world. However, the blue ribbon I mean here is the symbol of the cause to bring all the Japanese abductees back from North Korea. The present Abe administration is addressing this issue passionately. Before him, Japan couldn't tackle this issue in full blast due to Korean operatives in the Japanese Administration itself. Lots of people in Japan want to see all of them getting off the plane from North Korea.
　　There are several types of blue ribbon and I bought three of the newest ones, which have a clip and require no piercing of the clothes. As you see below, I attached them on my uniform of the Lions Club and my office. They symbolize my wish for the return of all Japanese abductees from North Korea. Japan's prime minister, Abe, and other politicians always wear it as well.

(Vocabulary)
tackle 難題などに取り組む, 対処する
tackle a problem/an issue　問題に取り組む
operative〈米〉工作員

Automobiles As Hobby

　　I'd like to direct your attention to the pictures that follow. They were taken on the way back home from Yamaguchi City on Apr. 27th. I dropped in at a rest area along the highway. Just after I parked and left my car, a cluster of small cars came in the area. Those cars had yellow car license plates, which stands for its displacement being under 660cc. They were small, but convertible, and they were designed as sports cars. The owners of those cars love driving cars and enjoy driving itself. They drive cars not for moving from A to B, but for enjoyment. Lots of people in Japan have such hobbies. It indicates, I think, that Japan still has cultural and economical strength even in the deflation.
　　Nearly 10 years ago, I had planned to travel around South Korea with my friends by my motorcycle. When I asked a Japanese woman living in South Korea for information about motorcyclists in Korea, she advised us not to use motorcycles, because the transportation condition in South Korea was bad, and up-to-date models of Japanese motorcycles were frequently stolen. I was surprised to hear it and gave up the plan. Looking at this group in the picture, I remembered this advice and I was grateful for peaceful everyday life in Japan.

Mandarin Chinese

　　When I visited Vancouver last time, which was two years ago, the departure of my flight from Vancouver was delayed and moreover the plane couldn't land in Japan due to a furious wind. I was supposed to arrive at Narita International Airport, but the plane couldn't land, not only in Narita but in any other airport in Japan. My plane had to stop over in Seoul and I was stranded there for a day.
　　Back to the track, I dropped in at a Chinese restaurant for lunch, which was located in Chinatown in Vancouver before departure. Lots of the same Kanji characters are used in Japan and China, but to my regret, I couldn't confidently understand the name of the dishes on the menu, though it was written using Kanji characters. I've heard most Chinese people in Vancouver came from Hong Kong and so the language on the menu might be Cantonese. However, I silently decided to start learning Mandarin at that time and two years have passed since then.
　　Today, I finished a 2-year curriculum of Mandarin Chinese in a nearby private school. My present Chinese level is only that of fundamental beginners, but I'll continue to learn it. Next time I'll visit the same restaurant, and I'm going to order what I want to eat IN CHINESE! I can manage to read Chinese news websites with the help of dictionaries and I'm very pleased with the sense of attainment of a basic understanding of Chinese.

Weird Signs

　　After the 2011's catastrophic disaster in eastern Japan, every place in Japan dealt with strengthening the resilience of the land. In the Nagahama area in Ozu City, in which my office is located, is also one of those places. The city authorities made the banks higher and raised up the position of the iconic bridge of Nagahama, Akabashi, along with the banks. I heard of its completion and I went and saw it during lunch break today.
　　To no one's surprise now, there were some weird signs on the bridge, one of which is shown below. It is for bicycle riders and must be noticeable from moving bicycles. However, what do you think about the legibility of this sign. The Chinese and Korean signs shouldn't be written here, because it makes the visibility worse and at the same time it's impolite to people from other countries but China and Korea. It's the response to the immigrants', mainly from China and Korea, urge to display their words and phrases in Japanese society. However, Japanese and English are enough on such roadsigns.
　　Now, in Japan, more and more people began hating Chinese and Koreans due to their selfish behaviour. What became of this cause of exclusion of Koreans and Chinese in Japan?

(Vocabulary)
deal with sb/sth ＜…＞に対処［対応］する
Don't worry, I'll deal with this. 大丈夫ですよ．私が対処しますから．
resilience 立ち直る力, 回復力;(ゴムなどの) 弾力性 [同意] flexibility
noticeable〈影響・違い・変化などが〉目立つ, 目をみはらせる, 際立った, 著しい
legibility（筆跡などの）読みやすさ.
readability (本・雑誌などの) おもしろさ, わかりやすさ; 読みやすさ, 可読性
visibility 目につきやすいこと, 視認性
act on the public urge to  ～せよという一般人の要求に迎合する
adjust one's opinions and behavior to please  （人）に迎合する

Japanese Garden

　　We visited the Japanese Garden next after 10 minutes' walk from the ökostation through the park of late autumn. I'll show you several pictures below. The first one is the entrance of the garden. You'll see the flags of both cities of Freiburg and Matsuyama. Additionally, there was the logo of Matsuyama City on the ground. I was grateful for a favor from citizens of Freiburg. The entrance closely resembled the gates of Matsuyama Castle. Just after stepping in the garden, I found the stone monument on which "肝胆相照" in Tokio Nakamura's original handwriting was carved. For your information, he was the mayor of Matsuyama City when the sister city treaty was signed 25 years ago. If this Japanese phrase could be translated literally into English, let each other see to the liver and gallbladder. That is to say, say what you think without pulling your punches and be good friends. I admired that he chose this phrase as the words on the monument which stood there.
　　The present mayor of Matsuyama City was formerly a popular announcer of the local broadcasting company. He was well known and some people wanted to take pictures with him. I don't have permission to upload pictures from them, but it would be no problem. The last picture shows me and my daughter. Do you see that I wore a blue pin to express my opposition to the kidnapping by DPRK (North Korea)?

(Vocabulary)
in sb's original handwriting （人）の直筆の
original 《[名]の前でのみ》自筆の, 原画の, 真作の
not pull any punches (informal)  (反対・非難などで) 手かげんしない, 遠慮せずに述べる

Zero Fighter

　　I had another purpose in this trip to Tokyo. It was a visit to Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, which exhibits several planes of historic importance.
　　Now in the museum, a zero fighter went on display for a limited time until Aug. 31st. It was captured by the Allied Forces during the Greater East Asian War and has been preserved by them with great care. It's a single zero fighter that can fly even now. The museum borrowed it for the exhibition. My father-in-law frequently told me about Japan's fighters and bombers, when he was alive. The maintenance of them was his task on an isolated island in the military field in the southern Pacific Ocean. I was really eager to see it.
　　The zero fighter in the room looked like taking on the pride of the Japanese Imperial Navy. Japan strived to avoid using force for the settlement of international issues until the last minute. Lots of people believe that Japan started the last war, but it's wrong. Who would want to wage war on superpowers whose industrial products are ten times bigger. Japan, however, had to fight the Allied Forces against its will. The zero fighter was designed and produced with the cutting-edge technology at that time to survive the war.
　　The other day, a Buddha statue stolen from Tsushima island near Kyushu in Japan was found in South Korea. The owner expected that it would be returned to him soon, but the Korean court handed down a verdict that the statue had been crafted in Korea several hundred years ago and so the statue should be kept in Korea. What do you think of that? Incredible! What would become of Greek or Egyptian historical items such as carved statues, ancient mummies and so on preserved in British and French museums. I wondered if Korea might not return the fighter plane to the U.S.

(Vocabulary)
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum 所沢航空発祥記念館
on display  展示［陳列］されて
put sth on display  ＜…＞を展示する
go on display  展示される
hand sth down
＜伝統・技術など＞を後世に伝える, ＜財産・家業など＞を残す
＜衣服・おもちゃなど＞をお下がりとしてあげる
hand down a decision/verdict/ruling  〈裁判所などが〉 判決［評決，裁定］を下す

Imperial Rescript

　　It's really comfortable to have a coffee break in the early hours in the grounds of the shrine. Amid a scorching summer, only this time slot is acceptable. I'm terrible with summer. Anyway, it became noisy outside the shrine. Many riot policemen gathered in a few lines in a strict manner guarding the entrance of the shrine. Their existence wasn't in harmony with the solemnity of Yasukuni shrine. The unrest was due to Korean and Chinese people. I horribly resented them causing a commotion.
　　Then I visited the National Archives of Japan to see the special display of the imperial rescript to end the Greater East Asian War. On Aug. 15th in 1945, this rescript travelled on the radio not only across Japan but to overseas military personnel. By it all the Japanese people completely stopped fighting except for the fight against the northern territory's Russian invasion. In the display, you can see several drafts with various remarks and corrections. I'll show you the original writing below.
　　What was then in the mind of what you call the Emperor of Japan, Tennoh, though "Emperor" isn't a proper word for Tennoh. I saw some melancholy in those drafts. I'd like to write about the moment when the government decided to stop fighting someday. You'll be amazed to know it and at the same time understand why the Japanese people promptly accepted the defeat and obeyed the disarmament.

(Vocabulary)
time slot  時間帯、時間割
in harmony with sth  (外観について) ＜…＞と調和して
solemnity [U] 厳粛さ, 荘厳さ
unrest (社会的な) 不安, 不穏な状態
resent (sb) doing sth （＜人＞が）＜…＞することに憤慨する
cause a commotion 騒ぎを起こす
National Archives of Japan 国立公文書館
rescript 布告、法令、勅令、勅語
imperial rescript 詔勅
Imperial Rescript on Education 《the ～》〔1890年の日本の〕教育に関する勅語、教育勅語

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/08/aug-15th-war-en.html

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/08/german-and-engl.html

Yasukuni Shrine

　　I'll write a piece about Yasukuni Shrine, the Shinto style shrine. Japanese troops stopped fighting in the Greater East Asian War on Aug. 15th in 1945 at least on the face of it. Since then the day, Aug. 15th, has been recognized as the day the war ended. On this day every year, lots of Japanese people visit Shinto shrines designated as places of worship for those who died not only in the last war, but various wars before it. Those shrines are called Gokoku Jinja, literally meaning "protect Japan", which spread throughout Japan. The iconic one is Yasukuni Shrine.
　　I had been thinking of buying a new suitcase by November, which wasn't sold in my hometown, and went to Tokyo on Aug. 15th. It was for the visit to Yasukuni Shrine that I had chosen this day. People in Japan calmly recall how the wars are cruel and pray for peace in the world on this day. Only two nations in Asia, China and Korea, criticize us, insisting that the Japanese want to wage war, but they miss the whole point. In front of me, lots of Chinese, Korean and their followers got together and seriously affected the peaceful and serene atmosphere in the grounds of the shrine. I will never forgive them. I tried to take some snapshots, but a riot policeman stopped me, saying that I might become their target and should not take pictures. I followed his advice.

(Vocabulary)
miss the whole point　（発言・認識などが）的外れだ

Tendency of Japanese Way of Thinking

　　Firstly, look at the cap shown in the following picture. It was delivered to me from a friend who had attended the exercises of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which was open to the public. Civilians who had been luckily selected in a draw were invited onto the military vessels. He got on board the destroyer DD-114 Suzunami, the name of which is printed on the front of the cap. I had stepped on board a destroyer DD-228 Yuubetsu once, but it was moored. In his case, Suzunami was deployed along with other military vessels. It would have been a spectacular scene.
　　After the Greater East Asian War, we Japanese have been educated by the rule written by Allied Forces. We were infused with Western-oriented ways of looking at history. It was favorable to the U.S. Despite lots of the Allied Forces' breaches of international law such as indiscriminate bombings - more than 100,000 civilians were killed in one night in Tokyo in March 1945, more than 300,000 in Hiroshima by a single atomic bomb -, law-abiding Japan has been accused. Lots of young Japanese people have been educated to believe the evil of Japan and programmed to hate Japan. However, thanks to the recent violence of China and South Korea, ordinary people in Japan began to notice the distorted history. The activity of Japan's Self-defence Force started to attract people's attention. Japan is considerably changing now.

(Vocabulary)
in a draw くじで
Western-oriented ways of looking at history  欧米中心史観
breachs [C,U] (法律・規則・約束などの) 違反, 不履行, 侵害

Destroyer DD-114 Suzunami


DD-228 Yuubetsu

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/japan-self-defe.html

Korean Delusive Act

To the citizens of Glendale City, California

Are you sane?　Or victims of Korean fabrication?

http://youtu.be/ggQaYD37Jm4

 

グレンデール市の市民の皆さんへ

あなた方は正気ですか？　それとも朝鮮人の嘘の被害者ですか？

To City Councilman Frank Quintero, and the members of the City Council of Glendale:

 

 

Dear Mr. Frank Quintero and To whom it may concern

I've heard that you have a plan of building a monument of comfort women. If you are aware of photogaraphic or documented evidence of forced comfort women, please have it forwarded to me so that I may examine it. Please read the top entry of my blog: http://kumo.typepad.jp/ and http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2013/06/comfort-women-in-korea.html

Sincerely

(My name) M.D. Ph.D
General Surgeon
http://kumo.typepad.jp/

Staff Response: The City of Glendale received your message regarding the “Korean Comfort Women” issue. First, we would like to thank you for expressing your views on the topic. Second, we would like to give further clarification on the topic as it relates to our City and our 193,000 diverse residents.

We here in the City of Glendale are proud of our broad ethnic and cultural base, and seek to find cohesiveness for all those who choose to live here. For many years, the City of Glendale has maintained a strong relationship with other cities outside of the United States through our Sister City Program. Glendale currently has seven Sister Cities around the world (two in Mexico, one in Armenia, two in South Korea, and one in Japan).

In conjunction with the Sister City Program, the City of Glendale has been approached by representatives of the local Korean community seeking the approval for a memorial at a location designated for displays and monuments dedicated to our Sister Cities. To be clear, this is not a dedicated area of land exclusively for a Korean Comfort Women monument, but rather, this plot will be open and available for all of our sister cities to erect monuments of their own.

I hope this helps answers some of your questions and concerns. Thank you again for your correspondence.

(Vocabulary from comments)
as to sth
1 ＜…＞に関して, について
He kept everyone guessing as to his real intentions.  彼の本当の意図についてみんなあれこれ考えさせられた．
2 (話題を切りだして) ＜…＞に関しては, については
As to my plans for the future, I don't have any.  将来の計画といっても何もありません．
succinct [形](ほめて) 簡明な, 簡潔な
a succinct answer 簡明な答え
--------------------------------------------
enchanting  魅惑的な
The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small.
いろいろ調べた結果、"天網恢々（てんもうかいかい）粗（そ）にして漏らさず" としている辞書を見つけたが、？。原文を読むだけで意味は自明ですね。

COMFORT WOMEN IN KOREA

REPRINT FROM Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact

日本語原文(Japanese Translation) ：
http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/KOREA.pdf

COMFORT WOMEN IN KOREA
　　Repercussions from remarks made by Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto Toru about the so-called “comfort women” have been felt throughout the world. However, Japanese authorities never abducted women. Nor did they force them to become comfort women against their will.
Every nation has been involved in and in charge of facilities enabling soldiers to satisfy their sexual needs without the risk of contracting venereal disease when those soldiers are engaged in combat on foreign soil. The Japanese military was no exception. During World War II, Japanese military authorities established brothels and contracted with local civilian Japanese and Korean brothel operators to recruit prostitutes.
　　Then, how about the situation in Korea after the WW II?　 The results of research on comfort women in South Korea, done by a group of Korean scholars, were published in book form two years ago under the title The Military and Sexual Violence.The book provides verification that United Nations Forces (US troops) and the South Korean government were both involved in and in charge of military prostitutes from the moment the Korean War erupted.
　　Mr. Kase further explains the situation in his essay based on this book and wonders if we can expect to see demonstrators erect statues of comfort women ― this time in front of the Korean Parliament and the US Embassy.

http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/98_S4.pdf

Your questions are welcome.
Sincerely,

MOTEKI Hiromichi, Secretary General　for KASE Hideaki, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact
Email [email protected]
URL http://www.sdh-fact.com
Note: Japanese names are rendered surname first in accordance with Japanese custom.

Tsunoshima Island

　　Getting a shower of rain, we arrived at Tsunoshima Ohashi Bridge connecting Shimonoseki City, the west end of Honshu, and Tsunoshima Island. This bridge was one of the principal destinations of this trip, but the weather was unfavorable. If the sky had been blue, it would have been fun to ride my scooter on the bridge. The scenery around the area is so beautiful that the area has been designated as a national park called Kitanagato Coast Quasi-National Park, in which the whole of Tsunoshima Island was included. However, the weather also disrupted the view from here.
　　The 4th picture is a big rock alongside the bridge. The distinctive columnar rocks attracted me, which reminded me of a view from a boat which was shown in the 4th picture of this page(link). Both scenes are located at the side of the Sea of Japan in Japan. If you can see the bed of the sea, this shape of rocks might be linked along the Japanese archipelago.
　　On the eastward way, several mythologies are alive in Nagato City. With the mythologies, these strange spectacles of the area attract visitors. Then suddenly I recalled the abductions which had been committed by North Korea for more than 30 years. These unusual terrains must have been favorable for them to hide themselves.
　　The rain becoming fierce, we rushed to our inn. The Japanese traditional inn is called "rhokan" and has its distinctive features. I'd like to write about it in another entry later.

(Vocabulary)
disrupt the view from ～の眺めを台無しにする
quasi- 《「ある程度の…」「準…」などを意味する語を作る》quasi-legal  準法的な
《「見せかけの」「擬（似）…」などを意味する語を作る》quasi-scientific  擬似科学的な

ROUTE

Wandering in the City

　　I wanted to see a street, DiHua St., where more than 90% of Taiwanese medicine wholesalers supposedly gather. I headed for the street, checking where we were on the map on my smartphone. Incidentally, I came across a monument and a memorial hall on the way, both of which were unfavorable views for me. I'll show you the pictures of them with some remarks.
　　According to its description, the monument was built in commemoration of the victory in the war against Japan. Historically strictly speaking, however, it's undoubtedly untrue. Japan was defeated by the U.S., and stopped fighting on all the fronts. The weapons which the Japanese army was forced to abandon were utilized by the Chinese Communist Party and they expelled Guomindang into Taiwan, which was the opening of the darkness of the originally beautiful Taiwan, which is still stuck in the darkness.
　　The big hall in the picture was named after Sun Wen, who is said to be the Father of China. However, for people who know the real history, he was only a con man.
　　Now, DiHua St. was extraordinary for me. There were numerous curious items here and there. Some of them didn't look like medicine or even things that we took in orally - just a wooden rod, insect larvae' carcasses and so on. I wished I could have spoken in Chinese and communicated with people in those wholesalers.

Wandering Route in Taipei:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/Taiwan13/Taiwan0404_1.html

(Vocabulary)
wholesale dealer  問屋
Guomindang government（中華民国）台湾の国民党政府
Chiang Kai-shek  蒋介石
larva  a young insect with a soft tube-shaped body, which will later become an insect with wings
carcass  the body of a dead animal

The Last Day

　　I noticed that I hadn't written about breakfast in the hotel. It was very nice. On the last day of the trip, we spent a slightly longer time in the hotel restaurant over a cup of tea, checking the plan of walking in the streets in Taipei. Another guide, different from the one who had guided us until the previous day, was supposed to pick us up in the hotel lobby and take us to the Taipei Songshan Airport at 1400 o'clock. We had a free time until the pick up.
　　There was the Taipei Railway Station just in front of the hotel. We started walking from here and dropped in at 228 Peace Park. "228" derives from the huge conflict between the original Taiwanese and Chinese from mainland China, which broke out on February 28th in 1947 and continued for about 40 years. A large number of original Taiwanese had been killed by the Chinese government. I learned about the complexity of the country's history in the 228 memorial museum in the park and understood why this museum wasn't included in the ordinary tour course. I was interested in the history and visited it. The last picture shows the building of the Taiwan Government, which used to be the office of the Governor-General of Taiwan. I marveled at how beautiful and awesome it was.

(Vocabulary)
marvel at/over something  ＜…＞に驚嘆する
I marveled at my mother's ability to remain calm in a crisis. 危機に際して落ち着いていられる母の力に私は驚嘆した．