US-Japan Research Institute Week

US-Japan Research Institute (USJI) holds an annual week of programs on Japan featuring speakers from the Institutes associated universities in Japan. The Institute's mission is to produce practical research results based on a sound academic base, and to strategically establish a leading-edge research base in Washington, DC from which to announce its results and contribute to the policy discussion. USJI is an APP member and APP interns will be assisting USJI interns at the events.

Events for September 5 - 9, 2-13:

PROMOTING COMMON PROSPERITY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. 9/5, 10:00am-12:00pm. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: Jun Osawa, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for International Policy Studies; Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the US; James Zumwalt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, US State Department. Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow and Director of Research, Brookings.

MANAGING MULTIPLE FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. 9/5, 1:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: Masahiko Gemma, Operating Adviser, USJI; Mireya Solis, Senior Fellow, Brookings, Moderator: Takashi Terada, Operating Adviser, U.S.-Japan Research Institute / Professor, Doshisha University.

TOMODACHI GENERATION PROGRAM LAUNCH AND NETWORKING RECEPTION. 9/5, 5:30pm-7:00pm. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: Katsuichi Uchida, President USJI; Irene Inouye, President, US-Japan Council; Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the US; Michael Smith, President, Washington Center.

THE US, JAPAN AND THE TPP: STRENGTHENING ASIA'S REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. 9/6, 9:00-10:00am. Sponsor: National Bureau of Asian Research; US-Japan Research Institute; US-Asia Institute. Speakers: Robert Manogue, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of State; Takashi Terada, Professor of International Relations, Doshisha University; Katsuichi Uchida, President, US-Japan Research Institute.

TYPOLOGY OF INBOUND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN JAPAN. 9/6, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: James Fatheree, President and COO, US-Japan Business Council; James Hoadley, Associate Director, Center for International Business Education and Research, Georgia Institute of Technology.

CONTRIBUTION OF US-JAPAN EXCHANGE IN DEVELOPMENT OF DENTAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL MEDICINE. 9/6, 1:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: Naoto Haruyama, Assistant Professor, Kyushu University; Yoshihide Mori, Professor, Kyushu University; Kazuaki Nonaka, Professor, Kyushu University; Yoshihiko Yamada, Senior Investigator, National Institutes of Health; Haruyoshi Yamaza, Assistant Professor, Kyushu University.

CUTTING-EDGE SOCIAL SCIENCE  RESEARCH OF INTERNATIONAL TUNA NEGOTIATIONS  9/9, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: USJI. Speakers: Atsushi Ishii, Associate Professor, Tokohu University; Susan Lieberman, Former Senior Director, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Ayako Okubo, Lecturer, Tokai University; Isao Sakaguchi, Professor, Gakushuin University.

Wednesday in Washington August 28, 2013

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
1833 - Slavery was banned by the British Parliament throughout the British Empire. 

*HOW PRIVACY AND NATIONAL SECURITY IMPACT INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE. 8/28, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: German Marshall Fund. Speaker: Cameron Kerry, General Counsel, US Department of Commerce.

*A NEW LOOK AT AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY. 8/28, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: Heritage Foundation. Speakers: Colin Dueck, Associate Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University; Paul Saunders, Executive Director, Center for National Interest.

*JOSEPHUS DANIELS: HIS LIFE AND TIMES, BOOK DISCUSSION. 8/28, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: US Navy Memorial. Speaker: Lee Craig, Author, Josephus Daniels. As a longtime leader of the Democratic Party and key member of Woodrow Wilson's cabinet, Josephus Daniels was one of the most influential progressive politicians in the country, and as secretary of the navy during the First World War, he became one of the most important men in the world.

*THE US-RUSSIA RELATIONSHIP: WHAT NEXT? 8/28, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Brookings Institution. Speakers: Clifford Gaddy, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, Center on the US and Europe; Angela Stent, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center on the US and Europe; Steven Pifer, Director, Arms Control Initiative.

*INAUGURAL CENTRAL ASIA FELLOWSHIP SEMINAR. 8/28, 4:00-7:00pm, Washington DC. Sponsor: Central Asia Program at IERES. Speakers: Chantal Oudraat, Executive Director, SIPRI-North America; Aitolkyn Kourmanova, Central Asia Fellow (Kazakhstan); Safovudin Jaborov, Central Asia Fellow (Tajikistan); Ross Wilson, Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Kathleen Kuehnast, Director, Center of Innovation for Gender and Peacebuilding, US Institute of Peace.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule August 1-11, 2013

Hiroshima

August 1, 2013 (Thu)

AM
09:44 Office
10:00 Conference call with Nguyen Tan Dung
11:13 Taku Yamamoto, LDP Energy Strategy Research Committee Chair; Yoshiaki Harada, Leader of the East China Sea Resource Development Project Team
11:42 Katsuyuki Kawai, Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair

PM
02:30 Yuuji Miyamoto, Former Ambassador to China
03:40 Kenichiro Hamada, NHK Management Committee Chair
03:50 Kousuke Hori, Lower House Constitution Deliberation Committee Chair
04:16 Hiroshi Hase, Senior Manager of LDP Headquarter for Promoting and Bringing Olympics and Paralympics to Tokyo
04:37 Masuda and Sato New and Old Administrative Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation; Sato, Japan Coast Guard Commander
06:20 Reception to Offer Words of Encouragement to the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV)
06:51 PM Residence
06:58 Dinner with Ambassador Roos of the U.S. and Mrs. Roos; Mrs. Abe; Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga; and Foreign Minister Kishida
09:08 See off Ambassador and Mrs. Roos
09:30 Home in Tomigaya

August 2, 2013 (Fri)

AM
08:54 Office
09:02 Ministerial Meeting
10:16 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Saiki; Hiramatsu, MoFA Foreign Policy Bureau Director-General
10:49 Hiramatsu leaves
10:56 Saiki leaves
10:7 Deputy Foreign Minister Sugiyama
11:11 Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso; and Minister Amari of Economic Revitalization
11:48 Koji Kinutani, Painter

PM
12:27 Parliament
12:30 LDP Lower and Upper House Member General Assembly
12:46 Representatives Meeting
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
01:11 Office
01:16 Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso; and Minister Kishida of Foreign Affairs; Defense Minister Onodera; Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
02:35 Parliament
03:00 Opening Ceremony of the 184th Extraordinary Diet Session
03:22 Yamazaki and Koshiishi, Upper House Chair and Vice Chair
03:30 Office
03:49 Kitamura, Cabinet Intelligence Director
04 :32 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
06:08 PM Residence
06:09 Motohide Yoshikawa, Ambassador to the UN
06:17 Toshihiro Nikai, Japan Vietnam Friendship Caucus Chair; H.E.Mr. To Huy Rua, President of the Viet Nam - Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association
06:33 Kazuyoshi Hanada, Editor in Chief of Monthly Magazine “Will”; and Kimito Kusaka, Publicist
08:39 Home in Tomigaya

August 3, 2013 (Sat)

Spent entire day in his private home in Tomigaya

August 4, 2013 (Sun)

Visits Yamaguchi and Shimane Prefectures
Nippon Jamboree and Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Jamboree

August 5, 2013 (Mon)

AM
09:45 Office
09:30 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Saiki; Hiramatsu, MoFA Foreign Policy Bureau Director General
10:38 Shindo, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
11:14 Courtesy Call from the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Vuk Jeremic; PM Advisor Sekou

PM
12:01 Government・Ruling Party Liaison Meeting
01:45 Yutaka Asahina, President of Mainichi Shimbun; Mrs. Fusako Saito, wife of late former President of Mainichi Shimbun
02:28 Saiki, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Miyagawa, MoFA Middle East and African Affairs Bureau Director General
02:47 Miyagawa leaves
03:04 Saiki leaves
05:25 Haneda Airport
05:50 Leave the airport JAL Flight 1613
06:51 Arrive at Hiroshima Airport
07:51 Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima
08:00 Dinner with PM Advisor Hasegawa and secretaries; Stay in the hotel

August 6, 2013 (Tue)

AM
Attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, and Other Activities
Speech

PM
01:15 Hiroshima Airport
01:43 Leave the airport on JAL Flight 1606
02:51 Arrive at Haneda Airport
03:33 Office
04:30 Receive a Report from the National Council on Social Security System Reform from Chairman Seike
04:47 Hironobu Takesaki, Supreme Court Chief Justice
05:08 Takeo Kawamura, Chair of Non partisan Diet Caucus on “Promoting Establishment of International Linear Collider Research Institute in Japan”; Ryu Shioya, Secretary General
05:20 Eto, PM Advisor
06:32 Hotel New Ohtani Garden Tower; Dialogue with Hyakuta Naoki; Kazuyoshi Hanada, Editor in Chief of Monthly Magazine “Will”, attends
09:18 Home in Tomigaya

August 7, 2013 (Wed)

AM
09:05 Office
09:17 Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties on the Mid-term Fiscal Plan and FY2014 Guidelines for Budget Requests
09:38 Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso
10:04 Palace Hotel Tokyo, Marunouchi
10:05 Mohau N. Pheko, Ambassador of South Africa; Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of Nelson Mandela Foundation
10:18 Opening Ceremony for the Entertainment Art Exhibition
11:11 Office
11:13 Finance Minister Aso; and Economic Revitalization Minister Amari
11:34 Amari leaves
11:45 Aso leaves
11:49 Ishiba, LDP Secretary General

PM
12:55 Parliament
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
01:11 Office
02:02 Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters
02:37 Kimura, PM Advisor
03:00 Takehiko Kiyotake, Board Chair of Sankei Shimbun
03:21 Hiroshi Kishi, President of National Fishery Union Confederation
03:42 Administrative Foreign Minister Saiki
04:01 Inada, Minister for Administrative Reform
04:36 Governor Nakaima of Okinawa; Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Sekou and Sugita
05:03 Furuya, Minister in charge of Building National Resilience
05:28 LDP Headquarters
05:32 Attend and made remarks in freshmen diet members meeting
05:46 Office
05:47 Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
06:43 Shin Nittetsu Kioi Building; dinner with Takashi Imai, Board Chair Emeritus of Shin Nittetsu Sumikin (New Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metal) and Shoji Muneoka, Board Chair
09:09 Home in Tomigaya

August 8, 2013 (Thu)

AM
08:14 Office
08:21 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
08:45 Ministerial Meeting
09:14 Headquarters for Healthcare and Medical Strategy Promotion
09:32 Headquarters on Creating Dynamism through Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industries and Local Communities
09:56 Ihara, MOFA Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director General
10:12 Hiramatsu, MOFA Foreign Policy Bureau Director-General; Mitani, Headquarters for the Abduction Issue
11:16 Deputy Foreign Minister Nagamine; Furusawa, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs
11:50 Junko Kawaguchi, Former Foreign Minister
11:52 Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

PM
12:50 Video Message Recording for National High School Parent-Teacher Association Assembly in Yamaguchi Prefecture
02:25 National Governors Association President, Governor Keiji Yamada of Kyoto
02:44 Amari, Minister of Economic Revitalization; Sugawara, Deputy Director of Japan Economic Revitalization Headquarters
04:02 Receives the National Personnel Authority (NPA) Recommendation and Report; Shindo, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
04:09 Kitamura, Cabinet Intelligence Director
04:15 Yonemura, Cabinet Crisis Management Directo ; Nakajima, Ministry of Defense, Operation Policy Bureau Director General
04:24 Yonemura and Nakajima leave
04:46 Kitamura leaves
05:01 Mitsuhiko Kawato, Auditor General; Issue appointment to Komatsu and Yamamoto, new and old Cabinet Legislation Bureau Director; Taichi Sakaiya, Former Economic Planning Director, Issue appointment to Takeo Hirata, Professor of Waseda Universaity, to Cabinet Secretariat Councilor
05:57 Yamaguchi, President of New Komei Party
06:31 Dinner with Yamaguchi and Inouye, Secretary General of New Komei Party; Suga attends
08:56 Home in Tomigaya

Obama in Egypt Could Learn From MacArthur in Japan

The following essay by James Gibney, a member of  Bloomberg View's editorial board and an APP member, appeared on Bloomberg View on August 20, 2013.  Follow him on Twitter.

So far, President Barack Obama has yet to call the coup that ousted Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi a coup, or to cut off U.S. military aid to its increasingly autocratic and brutal regime. As Obama put it in his statement last Thursday, "Given the depths of our partnership with Egypt, our national security interest in this pivotal part of the world and our belief that engagement can support a transition back to a democratically elected civilian government, we've sustained our commitment to Egypt and its people." A murmured consensus says that the U.S. can't afford to sacrifice the advantages of its security relationship -- military overflight rights, priority for U.S Navy ships at the Suez Canal, intelligence cooperation and upholding peace with Israel -- in order to stand up for democratic principles.

There's a cautionary counterpoint to this realist catechism, and it comes from an episode frequently, and mistakenly, cited as an unqualified policy success: the U.S. occupation of Japan.

The short, happy version of the nearly seven-year occupation history is that a magnanimous U.S. occupying force led by supremo Douglas MacArthur thoroughly transformed a defeated Japan into a model democracy and staunch ally. The behavior of current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, is a reminder that there's more to the story. Abe's nationalist rhetoric, his unyielding prosecution of territorial quarrels and his penchant for revisionist history about the war flow in part from a fateful occupation-era U.S. choice.

It was called the "reverse course": Roughly two years after the occupation began in 1945, U.S. policy-makers concerned about the developing Cold War and the spread of communism in Asia dropped the emphasis on "demilitarization and democratization" in favor of building up Japan's economy, restoring its conservative political establishment and, eventually, rearming it. As numerous scholars have documented -- including John Dower in his Pulitzer Prize-winning occupation history "Embracing Defeat" -- the purging of war criminals and militarists gave way to the purging of leftists.

Beneficiaries included Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi, one of 19 Class A war criminal suspects released as a result of the policy u-turn, who went on to become prime minister. Losers included outspoken left-leaning journalists, academics and trade unionists. With the onset of the Korean War, the U.S. largely abandoned efforts to reform Japan's corporate and financial structure in favor of bolstering the economy, not least its ability to supply U.S. forces in Korea. As Dower writes, "The political and ideological rationale behind the economic 'reverse course' ... was to ensure Japan's emergence as a strong anticommunist bastion, and this necessarily entailed support of the most conservative and corporatist elements in Japanese society -- and, as it happened, the continued American parenting of [Japan's] 'abnormal' market economy."

We all know how that worked out: Among other results, it birthed an export juggernaut operating behind a formidable wall of tariff and non-tariff barriers. The U.S. reliance on Japanese ministries to carry out occupation directives reinforced Japan's bureaucracies, and its support for Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (including slush money from the CIA) helped to entrench the LDP's stultifying one-party rule.

Of course, Japan's people and their leaders were hardly passive spectators in this process. And who's to say what modern Japan would look like if the U.S. had had the courage of its founders' convictions and persevered with its democratic reforms? My opinion is that the world would be a better place if it had. Certainly Abe's revisionist views of the war, with all their dangerous belligerence, would be less likely to take root. Now, in Egypt, the U.S. decision to sacrifice democracy on the altar of realism seems likely once again to yield an inferior result.

Ninoy Aquino Day, August 21

August 21st is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., In The Philippines Ninoy Aquino Day is a national non-working holiday in the Philippines observed annually on August 21. His People Power Revolution returned democracy to The Philippines. Along with his wife, former President Corazon Aquino, the two are regarded as heroes of democracy in the country. Ninoy is the father of current President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. To commemorate this day,

THE PHILIPPINES EMBASSY INVITES YOU

to a free screening of 

A Dangerous Life

Romulo Hall

Philippine Embassy

20 August 2013, Tuesday

5:00 PM

click for more

A Dangerous Life is a 1988 English-language film about the final years of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos’ rule, from the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 to the People Power Revolution of 1986. Originally a TV mini-series, it has been edited to a 162 minute home video. Gary Busy plays a TV journalist who cover the Aquino assasination. Performing various roles in the 162-minute movie are Filipino artists Ruben Rustia, Laurice Guillen, Tessie Tomas, Jaime Fabregas, Dinna Bonnevie, Johnny Delgado, Rez Cortez, and Noel Trinidad.

Please Email the Embassy’s Cultural Section for more information or a reservation

If you are unable to attend the screening, you can purchase the movie or 

view it below

 

This Week in Washington August 19-26, 2013

SHAPING AMERICA'S FUTURE MILITARY. 8/19, 9:30-10:30am. Sponsor: Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies. Speaker: Mark Gunzinger, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

TECHNO-ACTIVISM THIRD MONDAYS. 8/19, 6:00-8:00pm. Sponsor: New America Foundation. Speaker: Katherine Maher, Director of Strategy and Communications, Access Now.

LIVING ON ONE DOLLAR: GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT MOVIE NIGHT. 8/20, 5:30-7:00pm. Sponsor: Center for Global Development. Speakers: Zach Ingrasci, Executive Director, Co-Founder, Living on One; Chris Temple, Executive Director, Co-Founder, Living on One.

COMMEMORATING NINOY AQUINO DAY: A DANGEROUS LIFE SCREENING. 8/20, 5:00pm, Washington DC. Sponsor: Embassy of the Philippines.

CHINA'S WAR ON DRUGS. 8/21, 10:30am-12:00pm. Sponsor: East-West Center. Speaker: Xiaobo Su, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Oregon.

THE COMING ASIAN ARMS RACE? 8/22, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: Ely Ratner, Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; Randall Schriver, President, Chief Executive Officer, Project 2049 Institute. 

MOTHERLAND LOST: THE EGYPTIAN AND COPTIC QUEST FOR MODERNITY. 8/22, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Samuel Tadros, Author, Lecturer, SAIS at Johns Hopkins; Robert Satloff, Executive Director, Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

EMERGENCE OF NEW DONORS IN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL AID. 8/22, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: Sigur Center for Asian Studies. Speaker: Shoko Yamada, Associate Professor of International Development and Educational Policy Studies, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University.

IN THE SHADOW OF VIOLENCE: BOOK LAUNCH. 8/22, 12:30-2:00pm. Sponsor: Info Shop, World Bank. Speakers: Nicholas Manning, Adviser, Public Sector Governance, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, World Bank; John Wallis, Book editor, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Maryland; Steven Webb, Book Editor, Consultant, World Bank; Philip Keefer, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank.

DETERRENCE AND STRATEGIC STABILITY IN NORTHEAST ASIA. 8/26, 9:00-10:30am. Sponsor: Stimson. Speaker: Brad Roberts, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule July 25-31, 2013

July 25, 2013 (Thurs)

AM

08:46 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya

09:10 Arrives at Haneda Airport

09:25 Interview with journalism companies

09:54 Leaves airport on a government plane headed for Malaysia for a three country tour of Southeast Asia

Malaysia

José Rizal Monument

July 26, 2013 (Fri)

Singapore
Meeting with Mr. Joseph Biden, Vice President of the United States
Prime Minister delivered an address at the Singapore Lecture

July 27, 2013 (Sat)

The Philippines

PM

9:40 Southeast Asia three country tour finishes, takes private government airplane home from the Philippines

9:55 Arrives Haneda airport

10:26 Arrives private residence in Tomigaya

July 28, 2013 (Sun)

AM

9:57 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya

10:10 Arrives Grand Hyatt Hotel in Roppongi district in Tokyo. Works out at Nagomi Spa and Fitness club in the hotel.

PM

1:10 Depart hotel

1:28 Arrives at private residence

July 29, 2013 (Mon) 

AM

7:30 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya

7:50 Arrives Tokyo station

7:56 Leaves from station Hayate Bullet Train #103

9:37 Arrives JR Sendai station

9:44 Leaves station. Meets with Minister Nemoto of Reconstruction, and Deputy Ministers of Reconstruction

10:47 Arrives at public housing for disaster victims in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture. Meets with Governor Yoshihiro Murai and Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama.

10:49 Round table discussion and residents to visit

11:01 Departs

11:13 Arrive at Comprehensive Care Center in Ishinomaki

11:14 Inspects the Temporary Health and Welfare Housing for citizens

11:30 Departs 

PM

12:15 Arrives at Minami Sanriku Ocean Hotel in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi prefecture. Has lunch with Nemoto and Mr. Murai.

12:59 Departs hotel

1:09 Arrives at the high ground of Shizu river inMinamisanriku, does and inspection and then a silent prayer. The town mayor Hitoshi Sato also joins in

1:19 Departs

1:21 Arrives in the temporary market, Minamisanriku San San Market

1:26 Sample food from several vendors

1:29 Shops at a store called Yamauchi

1:38 Departs market

1:47 Arrives at the public health clinic in Minamisanriku

1:53 Departs

1:54 Arrives at temporary town hall and government building. Encourages the personnel working there

2:01 Short interview with information companies

2:10 Departs

4:20 Arrives at JR Sendai train station

4:25 inside the station reception office Nemoto, Tani, and Akiba, Minister and Deputy Ministersof Reconstruction

4:41 Departs on train number 148, Yamabiko

6:48 Arrives at JR Tokyo train station

6:52 Departs station

7:18 Arrives at private residence

August 14 Memorial

Kim Hak-soon

August 14th is the anniversary of the first former comfort woman, Kim Hak-soon, to speak publicly about her ordeal. She detailed how she was forced to carry ammunition for Japanese soldiers by day and serve as a prostitute at a military-run brothel by night at age 17.

Whether she was abducted professional traffickers or sold by her parents--by 1991 her traumatized memory could be excused--the result was the same. She was a sex slave robbed of her free will because the Imperial Japanese government organized and managed the procurement of sex for its troops. This was wrong then, and is wrong now.

Shinjuku Alta

Thus, a movement is underway to designate August 14th a United Nations-recognized memorial day for the Comfort Women. The effort is in part to preserve the memory of this war crime and in part a way to pressure today's Japanese government to do more to take responsibility for wartime sex slavery. The day falls just one day short Japan's August 15 end-of-war anniversary.

Former UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul Karin Chowdhury, who attended the meeting on the issue August 11, said Kim is “a global symbol” who has helped raise international awareness and support for her cause. Chowdhury, who was behind a landmark 2000 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the rights of women and children in conflict, said he would support a campaign for a UN memorial day.

Ros-Lehtinen

At a July 17th program on Capitol Hill celebrating the 6th anniversary of passage of the US House of Representatives Resolution 121 calling on the Government of Japan to officially and unequivocally apologize to the Comfort Women, many of the Members of Congress attending spoke out in support of UN day of remembrance. Such as Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), pictured to the right, who is holding a flyer supporting the August 14th movement.

On this year's anniversary there will be a rally at 6:00pm at the Shinjuku Alta east subway exit in Tokyo at to support a UN-desingated day for the Comfort Women. Opponents are also planning to show up to voice their opinions. They will gather at 5:30pm.

Abe Visiting the Dead

January 13, 2013, Meiji Jingu, Tokyo

February 22, 2013, Arlington Cemetery, Washington, DC

March 11, 2013, 2nd Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tokyo

April 14, 2013, Iwo Jima

May 25, 2013, Burma Peace Memorial, Yangon

May 27, 2013, Chidorigafuchi, Tokyo

June 23, 2013, Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial

July 1, 2013, Hisanohama, Iwaki, Fukushima

This Week in Washington, August 11-17, 2013

JAPAN'S RELATIONS WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA. 8/13, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Speaker: Ashok Mirpuri, Singapore Ambassador to U.S.

BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE: NEW TOOLS FOR MESSY TRANSITIONS? 8/13, 9:30 - 11:00am. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers: Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; James Schear, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Partnership Strategy and Stability Operations; William Durch, Stimson Senior Associate and Co-director, Future of Peace Operations Program.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE AND RESILIENCE. 8/14, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: Center for American Progress. Speaker: Maya Soetoro-Ng, Writer [Ladder to the Moon], step-sister of President Barak Obama and Spoken word performance with Omékongo Dibinga, spoken word artist. They will address the importance of ending trafficking and exploitation of women and children. Dr. Soetoro-Ng is the author of the children's book featured to the left.


WOMEN ADRIFT: THE LITERATURE OF JAPAN'S IMPERIAL BODY: BOOK DISCUSSION. 8/14, Noon. Sponsor: Asian Division, Library of Congress. Speaker: Noriko Horiguchi, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee, Author, Women Adrift.

A CONVERSATION WITH EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR RAOUF SAAD. 8/14, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: Middle East Institute. Speaker: Raouf Saad, former Special Envoy to Africa of the Interim President of Egypt.

JAPAN-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS AT A CROSSROADS. 8/14, 12:00 - 1:00pm. Sponsor: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University. Speaker: Junya Nishino, Associate Professor, Keio University.

VICTORY AT BESSANG PASS: BOOK LAUNCH AND RECEPTION. 8/14, 5:00 - 7:00pm. Sponsors: Embassy of the Philippines, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, Migrant Heritage Commission. Speaker: Ben Cal, Author, Victory at Bessang Pass. [It was at Bessang Pass that the Filipino guerrillas defeated the Japanese troops led by Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita that forced the latter, whose nom de guerre is “Tiger of Malaya,” to surrender. The final battle at Bessang Pass between the Filipino guerrillas and Japanese forces lasted for almost six months — from January to June 1945 — before the Filipinos conquered the strategic mountain fortress on June 14, 1945.]

GROSS EXPORTING ACCOUNTING AND THE GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN. 8/15, 11:30am-1:00pm. Sponsor: US International Trade Commission (USITC), Office of Economics. Speaker: Zhi Wang, USITC. Forthcoming paper in American Economic Review

EXTENDING THE US-ROK NUCLEAR COOPERATION AGREEMENT. 8/15, 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsors: US-Korea Institute at SAIS, Global America Business Institute. Speaker: Mark Holt, Specialist in Energy Policy, Congressional Research Service. U.S. and South Korean Cooperation in the World Nuclear Energy Market, January 2013.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule July 17-24, 2013

July 17, 2013 (Wed)

AM
08:46 Leaves ANA Crown Plaza Hotel Okinawa Harbor View in Naha
08:57 Arrives at Naha Airport
09:32 Leaves airport on ANA flight 1763
10:16 Arrives at Ishigaki Airport
10:26 Leaves airport
10:38 Arrives at Sugarcane Field in Ohama, Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture. Observes
10:44 Leaves field
11:07 Arrives at mooring pier in Hamasaki, Ishigaki. Boards Ishigaki Coast Guard’s patrol boat and observes. Encourages Coast Guard members
11:27 Leaves pier
11:41 Arrives at Maezato Park in Ishigaki. Gives street speech

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PM
12:10 Leaves park
12:16 Arrives at tavern in Ishigaki. Dines with Kosaburo Nishime, LDP Lower House Member
12:56 Leaves tavern
01:14 Arrives at Ishigaki Airport
01:15 In the airport’s special waiting room, Yoshitaka Nakayama, Mayor of Ishigaki
01:27 Shopping at the airport’s souvenir shop
02:34 Leaves airport on ANA flight 1792
02:56 Arrives at Miyako Airport
03:06 Leaves airport
03:15 Arrives at Air Self-Defense Force Miyakojima Sub Base in Miyakojima, Okinawa. Ministry of Defense’s Haruhiko Kataoka, Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff; and the commander of the base

03:27 Encourages personnel
03:31 Leaves base
03:50 Arrives at Kamamamine Park in Miyakojima. Gives street speech
04:17 Leaves park
04:28 Arrives at Miyako Airport
04:29 In airport paid waiting room, Kazuyuki Zakimi, Policy Chief, LDP Okinawa Chapter
04:58 Leaves Miyako Airport on Japan Transocean Air flight 566
05:34 Arrives at Naha Airport
06:24 Leaves airport on ANA flight 134
08:28 Arrives at Haneda Airport
08:43 Leaves airport
09:11 Arrives at private residence in Tomigaya

July 18, 2013 (Thurs)
AM
07:21 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya
07:49 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
07:56 Leaves station on Hayate 103 train
10:32 Arrives at JR Mizusawa-Esashi Station
10:35 Leaves station

PM
12:09 Arrives at temporary apartments in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. Gives street speech
12:20 Leaves apartments
12:38 Arrives at Japanese restaurant Katsugyo Sugou in Ofunato, Iwate
01:37 Leaves restaurant
01:39 Arrives at Ofunato Yume Shopping Street. Parades and gives street speech
02:06 Leaves shopping street
03:06 Arrives before JA Bank Iwate Hanamaki-Kamaishi Branch in Kamaishi, Iwate. Gives street speech
03:26 Leaves place
04:17 Arrives in front of Tono Branch of LDP Iwate Prefectural Chapter in Tono, Iwate. Gives street speech
04:50 Leaves place
05:47 Arrives before Nahan Plaza in Hanamaki, Iwate. Gives street speech
06:20 Leaves plaza
06:29 Arrives at JR Shin-Hanamaki Station
06:56 Leaves station on Yamabiko 66 train
10:02 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
10:07 Leaves station
10:26 Arrives at private residence

July 19, 2013 (Fri)

AM
08:37 Leaves private residence
09:02 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
09:10 Leaves station on Nozomi 19 train
10:50 Arrives at JR Nagoya Station
10:53 Leaves station
10:54 Arrives at Kintetsu Nagoya Station
11:00 Leaves station on Kintetsu Limited Express
11:44 Arrives at Kintetsu Tsu Station
11:47 Leaves station
11:54 Arrives at Oshiro-Nishi Park in Tsu. Gives street speech

PM
12:22 Leaves park
12:29 Arrives at Chinese restaurant in Tsu
12:42 Has lunch with LDP Mie Prefectural Chapter’s President Jiro Kawasaki, and Chief Secretary Takashi Mizutani
01:14 Leaves restaurant
01:18 Arrives at Kintetsu Tsu station
01:27 Leaves station on Kintetsu Limited Express
01:47 Arrives at Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station
01:51 Leaves station
01:52 Arrives at Yokkaichi Public Park in Yokkaichi, Mie. Gives street speech
02:23 Leaves park
02:24 Arrives at Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station
02:48 Leaves station on Kintetsu Limited Express
03:01 NHK Interview
03:16 Arrives at Kintetsu Nagoya Station
03:17 Leaves station
03:18 Arrives at JR Nagoya Station
03:32 Leaves station on Nozomi 28 train
05:13 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
05:17 Leaves station
05:57 Arrives at south gate of JR Funabashi Station. Gives street speech
06:24 Leaves station
07:24 Arrives at private residence

July 20, 2013 (Sat)

AM
07:26 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya
07:49 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
07:56 Leaves station on Hayate 103 train
09:38 Arrives at JR Sendai Station
09:40 Leaves station
11:07 Arrives in front of city planning cultural complex facility Shoyo Plaza in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture. Gives street speech
11:35 Leaves facility

PM
12:00 Arrives in front of roadside station Sagae Cherryland in Sagae, Yamagata. Gives street speech
12:27 Leaves roadside station
12:56 Arrives at JR Yamagata Station
12:58 In station master’s reception office, Toshiaki Endo, President of LDP Yamagata Chapter
01:12 Leaves station on Tsubasa 142 train
04:00 Arrives at JR Tokyo Station
04:04 Leaves station
04:36 Arrives at west gate of JR Kamata Station. Gives street speech
04:54 Leaves station
06:01 Arrives at north gate of JR Nakano Station. Gives street speech
06:15 Leaves station
06:52 Arrives in front of Kaminarimon in Asakusa, Tokyo. Gives street speech
07:07 Leaves Kaminarimon
07:45 Arrives in front of Akihabara Station. Gives street speech
08:04 Leaves station
08:28 Arrives at private residence

July 21, 2013 (Sun)

AM
11:09 At private residence in Tomigaya, Akitaka Saiki, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs
11:46 Leaves private residence

PM
12:00 Arrives at Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel in Roppongi, Tokyo
12:03 Inside hotel’s Japanese restaurant, has lunch with Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
1:15 In private room of the hotel, Eiichi Hasegawa, Aide to the Prime Minister
02:05 Exercises at NAGOMI Spa and Fitness inside hotel
05:40 Leaves hotel
05:50 Arrives at Hotel Okura in Toranomon, Tokyo. Dines with secretary at Teppan restaurant Sazanka
07:33 Leaves hotel
07:39 Arrives at LDP headquarters
07:55 Takeo Kawamura, LDP Election Committee Chairman
09:45 In press conference room, makes appearances on TV news programs
10:30 Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
10:35 In press conference room, appears on Internet video site Niconico Video
10:48 In press conference room, appears on TV and radio news programs
10:52 Interview with media outlets
10:54 Leaves party headquarters
12:08am (7/22) Arrives at private residence

July 22, 2013

AM
10:39 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya
10:56 Arrives at LDP Headquarters
11:01 Special Party Board Meeting
11:18 Shigeru Ishiba, LDP Secretary-General
11:32 Hiroyuki Hosoda, LDP Executive Acting Secretary-General
11:46 Takeo Kawamura, LDP Election Committee Chairman
11:59 Leaves headquarters

PM
12:02 Arrives at office
12:58 Leaves office
12:59 Arrives at National Diet
01:01 Chamber of Chairperson of Standing Committee
01:04 Party Leader Discussion with Natsuo Yamaguchi, Head of the New Komeito Party. Shigeru Ishiba; Yoshihisa Inoue, New Komeito Secretary General are present
01:23 Leaves National Diet
01:25 Arrives at office
01:48 Leaves office
01:51 Arrives at LDP Headquarters
02:00 Press conference
02:40 Masahiko Komura, LDP Vice-President
02:53 Leaves party headquarters
02:55 Arrives at office
04:49 Director of Yamaguchi Prefecture Barber Health Guild
05:12 Akitaka Saiki, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs; Shinsuke Sugiyama, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; Junichi Ihara, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
05:50 Yoshihide Suga, Katsunobu Kato, Hiroshige Seko, Kazuhiro Sugita, Chief and Vice-Chief Cabinet Secretaries
07:00 Leaves office
07:02 Arrives at Japanese restaurant in Nagatacho, Tokyo. Dines with Kiyotaka Kato, Jiji Press Commentary Committee; Kenji Goto, journalist
08:57 Leaves restaurant
08:59 Arrives at The Capitol Hotel Tokyu in Nagatacho, Tokyo. In Japanese restaurant inside, informal talk with Shigeru Kitamura, Cabinet Intelligence Officer; Kazuho Tanaka, Director General of the Tax Bureau
10:20 Leaves hotel
10:39 Arrives at private residence

July 23, 2013

AM
09:35 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya
09:53 Arrives at office
10:03 Cabinet meeting
10:20 Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
10:59 Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
11:36 Isao Ijima, Cabinet Secretariat Adviser

PM
01:10 Yoshihide Suga, Katsunobu Kato, Hiroshige Seko, Kazuhiro Sugita, Chief and Vice-Chief Cabinet Secretaries
02:06 Yasumasa Nagamine, Foreign Ministry official
02:55 Akinori Eto, Senior Vice Minister of Defense; Hideshi Tokuchi, Director-General of the Defense Ministry’s Policy Bureau
03:29 Hiroya Masuda, Chairman of Postal Service Privatization Committee
05:09 Motonari Hatahara, Vice-Chairman of Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly
05:22 Shigeru Kitamura, Cabinet Intelligence Officer; Kenichi Kinomura, Head of Defense Intelligence Headquarters enter
05:34 Mr. Kinomura leaves
05:45 Mr. Kitamura leaves
05:53 Leaves office
06:01 Arrives Aoyama Funeral Parlor in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo. Attends wake of Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose’s wife Yuriko
06:17 Leaves funeral
06:32 Arrives at Chinese restaurant in Roppongi, Tokyo. Dines with wife Akie
09:02 Leaves restaurant
09:18 Arrives at private residence

July 24, 2013 (Wed)

AM
09:41 Leaves private residence in Tomigaya
09:57 Arrives at office
10:13 Shinsuke Sugiyama, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; Norihiko Ishiguro, Director-General of the Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau, Hajime Ishizu, Vice-Minister for Transport and International Affairs enter
11:45 Mr. Ishiguro and Mr. Ishizu both leave

PM
12:02 Mr. Sugiyama leaves
12:03 Akitaka Saiki, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs; Shinichi Yamanaka, Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
12:14 Yoichi Funabashi, Chairman of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation; Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair at Center for Strategic and International Studies () [Green’s thoughts on a possible Yasukuni visit, Japan Times July 16]
01:39 Takeshi Noda, Head of LDP Tax Research Commission
02:28 Taro Aso, Finance Minister; Yasushi Kinoshita, Vice Finance Minister enter
03:42 Mr. Kinoshita exits
03:46 Mr. Aso exits
03:47 Katsutoshi Kaneda, LDP Lower House Member
04:24 Yosuke Isozaki, Aide to the Prime Minister; Kenji Hiramatsu, Director-General of Foreign Policy Bureau; Hideshi Tokuchi, Director-General of the Defense Ministry’s Defense Policy Bureau
05:06 Leaves office
05:21 Arrives at hair salon HAIR GUEST in Shibuya, Tokyo. Gets hair cut
06:44 Leaves salon
07:02 Arrives at Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu in Nagatacho, Tokyo. At restaurant inside, dines with news people
09:51 Leaves hotel
10:07 Arrives at private residence