Do you support his government which has been in Power since September? I heard he is the most umpopular Japanese PM in history and I was just wondering.

I do not support Abe - I think he has done the right thing (so far) by not visiting Yasukuni, but I strongly opposed his education "reforms" - which is why he does not have my support. Not that it matters much...Im not a Japanese citizen!

Abe is nothing but trouble, that idiot is likely capable of causing a war by accident given some of his so-called strategies. His educational reforms are just the tip of the iceberg to pissing China off. His North Korea strategy certainly isn't gonna help on that front either.

I heard he is the most umpopular Japanese PM in history

Are you kidding or do you intend to evoke anti-Japanese sentiments here for any reason or other?
The fact: He earned the highest approval rating in the postwar history when he came to power last year, and his popularity rating is still quite high compared with other admins of neighboring democratic countries such as S.Korea and Taiwan.

BTW, I (and maybe other JAPANESE forumers here ) don't see any point in hearing and reading the shitty and spurious remarks from foreigners and temporary residents in Japan who are never eligible to vote and utterly ignorant of the election system and especially the education system in Japan.

i like him, and im a foreigner. Japan has the right to conduct its internal affairs like any other country in the world..

From outside of Japan, his image is definitely more positive and polished than the former PM (Koizumi).

BTW, I (and maybe other JAPANESE forumers here ) don't see any point in hearing and reading the shitty and spurious remarks from foreigners and temporary residents in Japan who are never eligible to vote and utterly ignorant of the election system and especially the education system in Japan.
Well, foreigners who nationalize (新日本人) are allowed to vote. That doesn't apply to me most likely (could happen I guess but don't plan on it), however, that aside, while everyone is entitled to their own opinions, Japanese friends of mine that I have talked politics with aren't very keen on Abe either. I think Abe may appeal to the older generation. That's good news for him since they vote a lot more than the younger generation, but to base his popularity on polls alone only includes the sentiment of the voting public. There are many Japanese that don't, or in the case of those under 20; can't vote.

I heard he is the most umpopular Japanese PM in history

I bet you have never heard of names such as Yoshiro Mori or Sosuke Uno. :tongue2:

I bet you have never heard of names such as Yoshiro Mori or Sosuke Uno. :tongue2:

Naboru Takeshita and every PM connected to him were the most worthless leaders to ever come out of the LDP.

LOL is this true?
#
# On meeting President Bill Clinton, he asked Clinton "Who are you?", with the intention of saying "How are you?". Since Clinton thought it was a joke, "I'm Hillary's husband, and you?" Clinton answered to him in English. And then, Yoshiro Mori answered "Me, too". — However, there are no proof or record of this funny story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiro_Mori

^I've been told that story a number of times.

So far, he is okay on the international front.

By not visiting Yasukuni Shrine this year and conduting the East Asia summit (along with Japan and Korea), tensions are decreased (while these were unstable during Koizumi's visits to the shrine).

Though I do have doubts on his creation of a full-fledged military to replace the Japan SDF (self-defense forces). IMO, it's better to keep SDF and let the US bases in Okinawa handle any offensive (if one may arise). Since the new F-22 fighter jets will be arriving next month as well as two nuclear-powered submarines, Japan shouldn't need a change in its current military.

In the end, it's all about economic reforms. It's through economic reforms that determine the success of a government leader.

The BOJ and SSC forumer "hkskyline" forsee a balanced budget by year 2011. If Shinzo Abe can make it happen before 2011, then that would be a major economic legacy under his term.

It would be a colossal feat just like Koizumi's economic feat when he proposed his postal privitization bill.

The best part was him abolishing the lower house, calling for snap elections and when he won, the bill was passed. That measure alone would SAVE BILLIONS of money and that was indeed one of the major economic legacies of Junichiro Koizumi.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c7/Koizumi_manifesto.png/250px-Koizumi_manifesto.png

I can't wait to see what major economic legacy would Abe be able to create in his term as leader of Japan (I hope earlier balanced budget is one of them)

I think he is OK only. I don't think any particular politician in Japan can do much with improving the nation's historical consciousness considering how the radical right-wing puts so much nationalistic pressure on officials and other high-profile leaders.

while everyone is entitled to their own opinions, Japanese friends of mine that I have talked politics with aren't very keen on Abe either. I think Abe may appeal to the older generation. That's good news for him since they vote a lot more than the younger generation, but to base his popularity on polls alone only includes the sentiment of the voting public. There are many Japanese that don't, or in the case of those under 20; can't vote.

One of Abe's (and LDP's ) major supporting layers is the younger generation (college students, high school kids, etc). You do better know the fact the younger generation in Japan are not favorably-disposed toward oppositon parties.

Why do foreigners have to or need to rate our PM? Japanese have never felt the necessity for that.
Chinese people ever ask forigners to evaluate Hu Jintao's policy? No way! That's none of your business.

One of Abe's (and LDP's ) major supporting layers is the younger generation (college students, high school kids, etc). You do better know the fact the younger generation in Japan are not favorably-disposed toward oppositon parties.

Why do foreigners have to or need to rate our PM? Japanese have never felt the necessity for that.
Chinese people ever ask forigners to evaluate Hu Jintao's policy? No way! That's none of your business.

Well, because foreigners live in Japan. You could ask the same question about people having opinions about George W Bush. And I have never met a non-American who doesnt have an opinion about Bush, including Japanese.

Neither Japan or Japanese politics are isolated from the rest of the world, and people should be encouraged to learn and have opinions about the political landscape of other countries.

I didnt have much respect for Abe at first, and now I have none. I absolutely cannot believe that Nakayama Nariaki - the former minister of EDUCATION - could compare sex slavery to school cafeteria workers, and have the prime minister respond that that is not a problem. Read on:

The New York Times

March 2, 2007
Abe Rejects Japan’s Files on War Sex
By NORIMITSU ONISHI

TOKYO, March 1 — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied Thursday that Japan’s military had forced foreign women into sexual slavery during World War II, contradicting the Japanese government’s longtime official position.

Mr. Abe’s statement was the clearest so far that the government was preparing to reject a 1993 government statement that acknowledged the military’s role in setting up brothels and forcing, either directly or indirectly, women into sexual slavery. That declaration also offered an apology to the women, euphemistically called “comfort women.”

“There is no evidence to prove there was coercion, nothing to support it,” Mr. Abe told reporters. “So, in respect to this declaration, you have to keep in mind that things have changed greatly.”

The United States House of Representatives has begun debating a resolution that would call on Tokyo to “apologize for and acknowledge” the military’s role in wartime sex slavery.

But at the same time, in keeping with a recent trend to revise Japan’s wartime history, a group of conservatives in the governing Liberal Democratic Party is stepping up calls to rescind the 1993 declaration. Mr. Abe, whose approval ratings have been plummeting over a series of scandals and perceived weak leadership, seemed to side with this group. A nationalist who has led efforts to revise wartime history, Mr. Abe softened his tone after becoming prime minister last fall. In fact, he first said he recognized the validity of the declaration, angering his conservative base.

“Some say it is useful to compare the brothels to college cafeterias run by private companies, who recruit their own staff, procure foodstuffs and set prices,” Nariaki Nakayama, the leader of 120 lawmakers who want to revise the declaration, said Thursday.

“Where there’s demand, business crops up,” Mr. Nakayama said, according to The Associated Press. “But to say women were forced by the Japanese military into service is off the mark. This issue must be reconsidered, based on truth, for the sake of Japanese honor.”

Historians believe some 200,000 women — Koreans, Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipinos, as well as Japanese, Dutch and other European women — served in Japanese military brothels. For decades, Japan denied that its military had been involved, calling the brothels private enterprises and the women prostitutes.

But in 1992, a Japanese historian, Yoshiaki Yoshimi, outraged by government denials, went to the Self-Defense Agency’s library and unearthed, after two days of searching, documents revealing military involvement in establishing brothels. One was titled “Regarding the Recruitment of Women for Military Brothels.” Faced with this evidence, the government acknowledged its role and issued the declaration.

But the response angered people across the political spectrum. The women and their supporters said that the government was not fully acknowledging its responsibility because the declaration was issued by Yohei Kono, then chief cabinet secretary, and not adopted by Parliament. It is known inside Japan simply as the “Kono Statement.”

What is more, supporters accused the government of evading direct responsibility by establishing a private, nongovernment fund to compensate the women. Many former sex slaves have refused to accept compensation from this fund.

But conservatives said the declaration went too far in acknowledging the military’s role in recruiting the women. While the documents showed that the military established the facilities, Mr. Yoshimi did not find documentation that the military had forcibly recruited the women. Conservatives have seized on this distinction to attack the declaration.

Supporters of the women say that the Japanese authorities famously burned incriminating documents or kept them hidden.

At the same time, many former sex slaves have stepped forward in recent years with their stories. Three testified in the United States Congress recently, saying that Japanese soldiers had kidnapped them and forced them to have sex with dozens of soldiers a day.

One of Abe's (and LDP's ) major supporting layers is the younger generation (college students, high school kids, etc). You do better know the fact the younger generation in Japan are not favorably-disposed toward oppositon parties.

Why do foreigners have to or need to rate our PM? Japanese have never felt the necessity for that.
Chinese people ever ask forigners to evaluate Hu Jintao's policy? No way! That's none of your business.

High school kids are not a supporting layer of Abe or his party. Regardless of what they actually think on an individual level, and given the rise in suicides, I don't think there'd be much support on that note, but the fact of the matter is high schoolers can't support any party because they can't vote (I think they should be allowed to, just like I think they should be allowed to in Canada, I think it should be allowed world-wide - if we choose our study subjects for our future (as we do in high school), we should also be allowed to choose a leader for our future).

Why do Japanese rate Bush? Both pro- (新米) and anti-Bush Japanese are around, and in large numbers. The same applies in Canada. The Chinese government gets rated from abroad too, particularly on human rights a lot of the time. Canada's PM has been getting negative ratings from the European public of late. Do I have a problem with this? Hell no! I want other countries to care about how my country runs things since we play a role in the world. Japan is the same (just invert its population to space relationship ;P ), it plays a role in the world, so people of all countries should care, and the fact that they do care is a sign of respect. If they didn't care, it'd be insulting ("Psh, Japan/Canada doesn't matter, what are they to the world?, who cares about their PM or what that person does" - Offensive, no?). People can say negative things about the Canadian PM and I will support them! I didn't vote for that guy, I voted for another. I will bash my own PM with pride because I don't beleive he does my country justice in the least, in fact, he is destroying my country completely (and with a minority government even, and there is not much for coalition governments in Canada). If I voted for the PM, I'd still hear out people who disagree, and debate it/defend it as appropriate. You are not doing much to defend Abe, just stating figures and saying non-Japanese have no right to say anything. Non-Japanese can't vote, just like non-Canadians can't vote in Canada, that's fine, nobody is arguing that, but we can say whatever we want, and we will.

If Japanese can talk about Bush, Americans can talk about Abe.

We're just exchanging opinions here, not questioning the legitimacy of another country's government. =)

BTW
Norimitsu onishi is a famous former Zainichi.
I dont konw why he is still using a Japanese name

If Japanese can talk about Bush, Americans can talk about Abe.

We're just exchanging opinions here, not questioning the legitimacy of another country's government. =)

Well said.

When you're in politics, you don't just get observed/monitored in your home country. In fact, there are "eyes" of people overseas looking at you and you and you.

It's fact about politics. Deal with it.

I myself am a critic of the Mainland Chinese government. Since I'm against their totalitarianistic nature, I careful observe as to which of their moves are good for the international community and those that would make it an imperialistic prick.

For instance, I appreciate what they've done with their economy (with 10% GDP growth rates and all that) BUT I HATE the fact that they are planning to BAN Japanese anime & manga in the future. As of now, they banned it from afternoon timeslots so the only time you can watch it on TV is at night.

Something like that.

Even if it sucks for us to hear negativity, we should all be OPEN to any form of criticism.

If Japanese can talk about Bush, Americans can talk about Abe.

We're just exchanging opinions here, not questioning the legitimacy of another country's government. =)

No need to make a mountain out of a molehill.
As far as I know, no Japanese forumers have ever made Hu Jintao thread in China Forum, Roh Moo-hyun thread in S. Korea thread.
Once again, this is SSC, and this thread was made not even in Izakaya subcatergory.
BTW, where is there "opinion" in this thread? Obviously, Not a single guy here is acquanted with PM's policy and the background of his power and philosophy. All the "opinions" so far have NO value for the Japanese.
(As the Japanese forumers designate not once or twice, the thread starter himself is utterly illiterate.)
Do the votes by laymen and outlanders have any significance? Wanna bet!

BTW
Norimitsu onishi is a famous former Zainichi.
I dont konw why he is still using a Japanese name

right. He is a fake Japanse.

right. He is a fake Japanse.

Was he born in Japan?

Then I dont blame him for taking a Japanese name. He probably could not get a job with any reputable Japanese company with a Korean name. Does one have to have ancestors who enslaved Koreans and brought them here to be considered a "real Japanese," like the Foreign Minister? :)

BTW, where is there "opinion" in this thread? Obviously, Not a single guy here is acquanted with PM's policy and the background of his power and philosophy. All the "opinions" so far have NO value for the Japanese.

The opinion has been stated quite clearly about some of the actions that Abe has made to date. I can't speak for other people, but I read the news, I know what I'm talking about. We are not so critical of what he claims he will do (as coming from a politician, meaning he is guaranteed to lie to some degree, claims of what he will do don't mean much until they actually happen), we are targetting what he has already begun, so our opinions are perfectly valid since they are based on current events in motion. His educational reform is an attempt to politicize the educational system, this is quite clear by the make up of the panel set up to revise the education law. The same kind of thing is going on in Canada with its judicial system, where the government is trying to politicize the selection of judges that get appointed to the bench. Both of these acts are extremely dangerous and little good is likely to come of it. Both are facing fairly strong opposition in their respective countries, in fact, in Canada's case it is almost unprecendented.
Abe's history knowledge seems to be extremely poor considering his policy decisions, he was likely raised by an education system full of fake history text books as is common in Japan's public [government controlled] system, which Korea and China have been quite vocal about in the past and I am quite sure it is going to come up again in the future with Abe's plans for the system. The educational policy he is aiming for is a kind of system with similar values that was in place during the early 1900s; Japan's militaristic past that it so loves to leave out of its history texts since it's not a pretty picture, yet Abe hasn't got a clue about the trouble he could unleash in the long term.

It should also be noted that Abe has not won an election, nobody has voted for him yet except the LDP members.

To be fair, if our opinions are of no value to the Japanese, then Mr. Abe's "opinion" on wartime sexual slavery is of no value to us. It represents no effort, no honesty, no transparency and 80% puppetry. We (the world, historians, activists, even governments) have photographs, videos, testimony even from Japan's own soldiers, and the Japanese government continues to make half-hearted apologies, claim a "lack of evidence" and make no compensation. I personally believe this is because the right-wing conservatives don't want to believe that this horrible thing happened (or they believe they should be proud that it happened) and they continue to threaten people who wish to expose the "truth." And then forcefully rewrite the history books (the people never got to vote on this....democratic?) so that children never know what happened.

In fact, almost nobody on this planet agrees with the right-wing Japanese militarists. We wish the Japanese PM would distance himself from the chauvinistic sentiment, but unfortunately it seems like he is under their control. Again, to be fair, this problem is not limited to Japan but many so-called "democratic" governments suffer from restrictive control by a small party of "behind-the-door" people.

There are two sides to every problem in this world, and I wish some hardcore nationalists would just wake up and REALIZE that not everybody will agree with a leader. In this case, I'm afraid Mr. Abe's image outside Japan is quite questionable.

From this, I conclude that I can't really say I hate somebody because of his policies, but I (and many others) find it difficult to ENDORSE Prime Minister Abe.

Yeah, we're not Japanese and we won't vote in Japan. But we have every right to talk about another country, just like Japanese have every right to talk and criticize other countries. Who knows, if our discussions are constructive maybe our leaders would actually take note of the people!

Well well, guys, I'm so busy today, so I reply only to cjfjapan today.
Anyway, TRZ and superchan7, suit yourself. Sadly Japanese voters will never pay attention to your 'opinions' as heretofore. Instead, you'd better approach your own governments.



Then I dont blame him for taking a Japanese name. He probably could not get a job with any reputable Japanese company with a Korean name. Does one have to have ancestors who enslaved Koreans and brought them here to be considered a "real Japanese," like the Foreign Minister? :)

What're you talking about? Don't spin a daydream.:lol:
He cannot speak smooth Japanese, is fluent in Korean language instead, and has refused to communicate with Japanese readers, thus his personal history is something of a mystery.
But these things are widely recognized as 'facts'.
1. He was born at a Korean community in Japan.
2. His parents came to Japan, to escape the Korean War. (Hence, his parents are believed to be N. Koreans not S. Koreans.)
3. In his childhood, his family emigrated to Montreal, Canada, because of the revelation of the economic collapsing of NK.
4. Since that time, he has been using the Japanese name.

(If this is the false information, correct me, thx)

Well the only reason we talk here is to show what people outside Japan think. If the PM does not value the opinions of the world, then that is his problem.

Bush has the exact same problem. Almost nobody outside the US likes him, even in the US his support base is very polarized. Whether our leaders can accommodate these 'opinions' is a good question.

Well well, guys, I'm so busy today, so I reply only to cjfjapan today.
Anyway, TRZ and superchan7, suit yourself. Sadly Japanese voters will never pay attention to your 'opinions' as heretofore. Instead, you'd better approach your own governments.

What're you talking about? Don't spin a daydream.:lol:
He cannot speak smooth Japanese, is fluent in Korean language instead, and has refused to communicate with Japanese readers, thus his personal history is something of a mystery.
But these things are widely recognized as 'facts'.
1. He was born at a Korean community in Japan.
2. His parents came to Japan, to escape the Korean War. (Hence, his parents are believed to be N. Koreans not S. Koreans.)
3. In his childhood, his family emigrated to Montreal, Canada, because of the revelation of the economic collapsing of NK.
4. Since that time, he has been using the Japanese name.

(If this is the false information, correct me, thx)

I looked on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norimitsu_Onishi and there doesnt seem to be any proof that he was Zainichi, etc. Is there any proof of this? And, does it really matter? Onishi takes a critical look at Japanese politics, and makes conservatives mad. Is that such a bad thing? Furthermore, if was born in Japan, why shouldnt he have a Japanese name? And, if his family fled Korea during the war, whats to suggest that they are necessarily supporters of the North Koreans? Most people who identify as "North Korean" in Japan came from South Korea, and only joined the NK groups in Japan in opposition to US involvement in the Korean War and in East Asia in general, a position that was not unpopular in Japan at the time (AMPO, 1960). Is it his point of view that people object to, or his ethnicity?

there doesnt seem to be any proof that he was Zainichi

It is easy to understand he was a Zainichi...
If Japan is duly criticized, it is excellent.
however we can find alot of mistakes of him as a non-japanese
For example...
even a child understant who he is...
because name is a basic thing
http://homepages.stuy.edu/~jrolle/asialetter.htm
there are many Katakana name of old　persons
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000608.html
it is very interesting to read.

http://kf.typepad.com//jlog/2004/03/kanji_for_perso.html

While other media are talking about prof Hwang, only Norimitsu writes how Korean christians are superior.

Helping North Koreans Defect Is Easy Part, Missionaries Find
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: December 19, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/19/in...issionary.html

this is interesting..

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=ht...vNXjb9V,Q5BQ3F

Norimitsu finally made stem cell fraud article.
In a Country That Craved Respect, Stem Cell Scientist Rode a Wave of Korean Pride
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: January 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/sc...lone.html?_r=1


BUT

as usual, he never forget to blame Japan.
quote:

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 20 - After first gaining attention in South Korea for cloning a cow in 1999, Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, the fallen stem-cell scientist, promised to clone next an animal with deeper meaning to Koreans: a tiger.

You Sung-Ho/Reuters
South Korean children rallied Saturday in support of Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, the disgraced stem-cell researcher, in Seoul, next to a portrait of him.
A holy animal according to Korean lore, tigers once populated the peninsula but were hunted to virtual extinction during Japanese colonial rule. They are believed to exist today, if they exist at all, in North Korea's Mount Paektu, which Koreans consider their ancestral origin.

NORIMITSU ONISHI on WBC

South Korea at Classic: No Title, Much Pride
By NORIMITSU ONISHI Published: March 20, 2006
quote:

SEOUL, South Korea, The game was watched Sunday afternoon here on giant television screens in public squares and in stadiums across the country.

The victories became laden with deeper significance in South Korea; feelings toward Japan's half-century of colonial rule remain raw
and resentment toward the perceived heavy-handedness of its American ally has grown.

Before the tournament began, Japan's Ichiro Suzuki, a Seattle Mariners outfielder,
angered South Koreans by saying that he wanted to beat their team in such a way that they would "feel that they won't be able to beat Japan for the next 30 years."
South Korea responded by twice beating Japan, considered baseball's Asian powerhouse, and also by defeating the United States

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/sp...=1&oref=slogin

as usual, he never forget to blame Japan.

In a Wired South Korea, Robots Will Feel Right at Home
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: April 2, 2006
quote:


Quote:SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea, the world's most wired country, is rushing to turn what sounds like science fiction into everyday life. The government, which succeeded in getting broadband Internet into 72 percent of all households in the last half decade, has marshaled an army of scientists and business leaders to make robots full members of society.

quote:


Quote:As with robots and most other specific technologies, the government has had a strong hand in guiding businesses and research centers. Failures have occurred — most spectacularly in biotechnology, when the cloning scientist, Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, was exposed as a fraud — but the successes are many

.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/wo...in&oref=slogin


Shukan Shincho March23 a weeky magazine
They have been asking interview with Onishi but Onishi keeps hiding away.


http://asahi.kirisute-gomen.com/


Shukan Shincho's latest issue.
Norimitsu Onishi is Korean who was naturalized Japanese.
http://upjo.com/up2/html/nyt_0713_sincho.html

He use japanese name because he has an intention.

It is easy to understand he was a Zainichi...
If Japan is duly criticized, it is excellent.
however we can find alot of mistakes of him as a non-japanese
For example...
even a child understant who he is...
because name is a basic thing
http://homepages.stuy.edu/~jrolle/asialetter.htm
there are many Katakana name of old　persons
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000608.html
it is very interesting to read.

http://kf.typepad.com//jlog/2004/03/kanji_for_perso.html

Well, I read the articles - and what Onishi points out is absolutely true - that foreign names are always written in katakana in Japanese. Now, maybe it is the case that overseas/emigrant Japanese forget how to write their names in kanji. but Onishi did not say that katakana is ONLY used for foreign words, but foreign words have ALWAYS been written in Katakana.

And those links do nothing to support the claim that Onishi is Zainichi - they just repeat them.

I can see looking at what Onishi has written recently about Japan's rightists, and some soft pieces on Korea, that some Japanese might think he is biased, but honestly, the Abe cabinet has given the press a lot of juicy quotations that Onishi HASNT written about yet.

You say we allege without evidence? Wikipedia? Laughable... Political maneuvers always make wiki shady.
Look a little harder at his articles and theses for yourself. Even a moron would smell a rat. It is reported his collegues and acquaintances admit he is Korean.
His activities for news gathering as chief correspondent of Tokyo branch are unnatural. He is nothing but an agitator without substance. (I never met a single Japanese who agrees with him, even far-leftists in Japan). Because his papers are always lacking in the objective correctness ,even as to non-political matters.
Beyond that, strangely enough, his news coverage and concern are mainly in details of Korea (Korea's politics, cultures, history, industries ..). In fact Japanese things are no concern to him, thus his knowledge of Japan (including the language) has kept crude until now. He so often repairs to the Korean peninsula to reinforce the hostility to Japan and then send out the negative images of Japan.
But the real problem is that he is a mere spokesman of the Workers' Party of NK at any time. Whenever NK is in the time of emergency, he provides the assistance towards NK by posting his distorted bunkum. He has never try to have the opinions of the people in the place of his assignment.


Now, maybe it is the case that overseas/emigrant Japanese forget how to write their names in kanji. but Onishi did not say that katakana is ONLY used for foreign words, but foreign words have ALWAYS been written in Katakana.


supreme fool!
His name is '大西 哲光' in kanji. But this given name is often used by Koreans in Japan.
By using Japanese name, I suppose, he succeeded in winning the current position.

but foreign words have ALWAYS been written in Katakana.

all we know Kanji is defferent from western words

the chinese name is written in chinese in Japan

Hiragana and katakana are just simplified in kanji by sound
a(安）i(以）u（宇）e（江）o
that is why foreign words were just applied in phonetic words that is , katakana and hiragana that were made from Kanji

anyway
japanese name is also writen in katakana or hiragana.
every kanji has a meaning .
so ,a person who does not want meaning in a name writes kid's name in katakana or hiragana
katakana names are very common nowday like emi(エミ）eri(エリ)ryo(リョウ）....
Many old lady's name are not writen in kanji.

I think It is very impolite to write foreign names in kanji because there is a meaning.
the meaning of foreigner's name was permitted by him?

You say we allege without evidence? Wikipedia? Laughable... Political maneuvers always make wiki shady.

True enough. But the evidence against him has all been hearsay and right-wing anti Asahi-Shimbun sites.

Look a little harder at his articles and theses for yourself. Even a moron would smell a rat.

It is reported his collegues and acquaintances admit he is Korean.

His activities for news gathering as chief correspondent of Tokyo branch are unnatural. He is nothing but an agitator without substance. (I never met a single Japanese who agrees with him, even far-leftists in Japan). Because his papers are always lacking in the objective correctness ,even as to non-political matters. Beyond that, strangely enough, his news coverage and concern are mainly in details of Korea (Korea's politics, cultures, history, industries ..). In fact Japanese things are no concern to him, thus his knowledge of Japan (including the language) has kept crude until now. He so often repairs to the Korean peninsula to reinforce the hostility to Japan and then send out the negative images of Japan.

Looking at his recent articles, there have been several critical of Japan, and laudatory of Korea. Is he only the JAPAN correspondent for the NYTimes? or is he also supposed to cover Korea?

He is nothing but an agitator without substance. (I never met a single Japanese who agrees with him, even far-leftists in Japan). Because his papers are always lacking in the objective correctness ,even as to non-political matters.

Always? Is there never anything he writes that Japanese might agree upon? Let me take a few lines from his most recent story:


Mr. Abe, a nationalist who had built his career partly on playing down Japan’s wartime past, made his comments in response to a confluence of events, beginning with the Democratic victory in the American Congressional elections last fall. That gave impetus to a proposed nonbinding resolution in the House that would call on Japan to unequivocally acknowledge and apologize for its brutal mistreatment of the women.

Even as Mr. Abe’s closest allies pressed him to soften a 1993 government statement that acknowledged the military’s role in forcing the women into sexual slavery, three former victims testified in Congress last month.

Is this untrue? I have seen this reported in the Japanese press. Is this totally subjective?


But the real problem is that he is a mere spokesman of the Workers' Party of NK at any time. Whenever NK is in the time of emergency, he provides the assistance towards NK by posting his distorted bunkum. He has never try to have the opinions of the people in the place of his assignment.

supreme fool!
His name is '大西 哲光' in kanji. But this given name is often used by Koreans in Japan. By using Japanese name, I suppose, he succeeded in winning the current position.

Sounds to me like sour grapes - like he is actually giving some objective commentary - holding Japan to a higher standard than, say North Korea, while people want him just to parrot the lines of his adopted country. What good does that do? :)

all we know Kanji is defferent from western words

the chinese name is written in chinese in Japan

Hiragana and katakana are just simplified in kanji by sound
a(安）i(以）u（宇）e（江）o
that is why foreign words were just applied in phonetic words that is , katakana and hiragana that were made from Kanji

anyway
japanese name is also writen in katakana or hiragana.
every kanji has a meaning .
so ,a person who does not want meaning in a name writes kid's name in katakana or hiragana
katakana names are very common nowday like emi(エミ）eri(エリ)ryo(リョウ）....
Many old lady's name are not writen in kanji.

I think It is very impolite to write foreign names in kanji because there is a meaning.
the meaning of foreigner's name was permitted by him?

All very good reasons for writing foreign names in katakana. Thank you for giving so many very interesting details.

True enough. But the evidence against him has all been hearsay and right-wing anti Asahi-Shimbun sites.
Looking at his recent articles, there have been several critical of Japan, and laudatory of Korea. Is he only the JAPAN correspondent for the NYTimes? or is he also supposed to cover Korea?


As you know, Tokyo branch of the NY Times lies in the Asahi Shinbum Tokyo HQ. The Asahi is usually referred to as "Tokyo branch of Rodong Sinmun (Newspaper of the workers in NK) " sarcastically by the centrists and rightists (that is, the majority of Japan)
His articles are always quoted by the Asahi as the opinions of the NY Times, and once again, he adduces the Asahi as the voices of "the sensible people in Japan": infinite spiral..really absurd. Everything is happening conspiratorially inside the same building in Tokyo.
Anyway, that's the reason the magazines and the papers in Japan except the Asahi have been disclosing his secret identity.
I doubt if we might address him as journalist. To be honest, he is widely recognized as "agent of NK" here. Since his by-line articles on the NY Time are becoming a laughing stock more and more, I have to say, for the Japanese readers, NY Times has lost its authority completely now.