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Judi Lynn

(160,218 posts)
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 05:48 PM Jun 2014

The ultimate sacrifice: Pacifist sets himself on fire in protest at Japan's military plans

Source: Sunday Express

The ultimate sacrifice: Pacifist sets himself on fire in protest at Japan's military plans

A PACIFIST set himself on fire in Tokyo in protest at plans to expand Japan's military.

By: Cyrus Engineer
Published: Sun, June 29, 2014

Police say the middle-aged man covered himself in petrol and set himself alight outside a train station in the capital's busy shopping district of Shinjuku.

The man is currently in hospital with serious burns after being extinguished by firefighters soon after his extraordinary act.

Before his self-immolation the man used a megaphone to vent his anger at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's desire to reinterpret Japan's strict pacifist constitution.

Opponents claim the move renounces Article 9 of the Japanese constitution which was introduced in the wake of World War Two.

The clause outlaws war as a method of settling international dispute and prohibits large-scale armed forces with "war potential".


Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/485686/The-ultimate-sacrifice-Pacifist-sets-himself-on-fire-in-protest-at-Japan-s-military-plans?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-world-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+World+Feed%29

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The ultimate sacrifice: Pacifist sets himself on fire in protest at Japan's military plans (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jun 2014 OP
What are they supposed to do, let China do whatever they choose? 7962 Jun 2014 #1
Do you actually support far-right neocon policies? bananas Jun 2014 #6
Oh hell no. Screamed about Iraq. Even though I blame Cheney more than Bush 7962 Jun 2014 #10
What you think of Abe doesn't change the facts over here rpannier Jun 2014 #14
I didn't know those other nations supported Japan now. Interesting, if correct. freshwest Jun 2014 #15
From the Financial Times rpannier Jun 2014 #19
Thanks for the info. In line with this, Abe doesn't sound so crazy, but is protecting his allies. freshwest Jun 2014 #20
Abe is a neocon Bickle Jun 2014 #2
ABE is Japan's Dick Cheney ECHOFIELDS Jun 2014 #13
Do you think this death protesting this will get Japanese to oppose Abe? freshwest Jun 2014 #16
That's a complex question Bickle Jun 2014 #18
Don't Call This the Ultimate Sacrifice ninjanurse Jun 2014 #3
I believe that was the article title. enlightenment Jun 2014 #4
Self-immolation was practiced long before Vietnam. bananas Jun 2014 #8
I agree with your mindset. Does it hold moral weight to the Japanese of this day and age? freshwest Jun 2014 #17
Video posted in the video forum bananas Jun 2014 #5
Gahh! How horrible! truthisfreedom Jun 2014 #7
interesting how this is being covered locally... industry_ Jun 2014 #9
That is interesting - and a bad sign. bananas Jun 2014 #21
Fail JohnnyRingo Jun 2014 #11
Well, that's effective. PeteSelman Jun 2014 #12
Ask the Tunisian Government how ineffective it is rpannier Jul 2014 #22
 

7962

(11,841 posts)
1. What are they supposed to do, let China do whatever they choose?
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 06:30 PM
Jun 2014

Or leave it ALL to the US? They have proven over the years that they can be trusted to have a reasonable self defense force. China is claiming land all over SE Asia.

bananas

(27,509 posts)
6. Do you actually support far-right neocon policies?
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 09:30 PM
Jun 2014

Abe is a right-wing neocon.
Abe can not be trusted with a "reasonable self defense force" any more than Bush could be trusted as commander in chief of the US military.
Were you out protesting the Iraq War, or were you cheering Bush on?
Did you fall for the lies told by his administration?

 

7962

(11,841 posts)
10. Oh hell no. Screamed about Iraq. Even though I blame Cheney more than Bush
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 10:14 PM
Jun 2014

To me, this has nothing to do with "neocon policies". Japan has a real threat. China IS claiming property that is recognized by the UN as being Japan. I dont see a problem with them taking on more of the burden of their own defense. We've been paying for it since WW2, so why not let them pick up a little bigger piece? Like it or not, in this world if you do nothing you get walked on.

And to my first statement, I dont think its an accident that we never see Bush with Cheney since they left office. I think he knows he was lied to, but keeps quiet. Colin Powell has let it be known they were lied to. And today we see the wonderful results

rpannier

(24,304 posts)
14. What you think of Abe doesn't change the facts over here
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:10 AM
Jun 2014

1. The Chinese are building up their military
2. There has been calls in the US to scale down US military presence in Japan
3. The Chinese have been extremely provocative for more than a decade
4. The Chinese are claiming territory that belongs to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, etc. (Hell, they're claiming one-third of Korea as a historic Chinese province)

If you're afraid Abe is going to get away with it, blame the Chinese. Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc are cheering the Japanese on

rpannier

(24,304 posts)
19. From the Financial Times
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 02:28 AM
Jun 2014

Philippines backs rearming of Japan

The Philippines would strongly support a rearmed Japan shorn of its pacifist constitution as a counterweight to the growing military assertiveness of China, according to the Philippine ¬foreign minister.
“We would welcome that very much,” Albert del Rosario told the Financial Times in an interview. “We are looking for balancing factors in the region and Japan could be a significant balancing factor.”

The unusual statement, which risks upsetting Beijing, reflects alarm in Manila at what it sees as Chinese provocation over the South China Sea, virtually all of which is claimed by Beijing.

snip

In July, Japan and the Philippines signed a five-year agreement to strengthen military co-operation though exchanges of personnel and technology. Japan is providing 12 new patrol ships for the Philippine coast guard, financed with a combination of soft loans and foreign aid grants.

link:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/250430bc-41ba-11e2-a8c3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz366FZShZe


China U-turn on Vietnam charm offensive

snip

But six months on, relations are again on the rocks following a decision by China to move an oil rig to disputed waters near the Paracel Islands – an action the US described as “provocative”. Vietnam protested loudly and sent dozens of ships to the area, where they were then involved in clashes with Chinese vessels

snip

Vietnam, which lost the Paracels to China in a brief war in 1974, has in recent years edged a little closer to the US to balance ties with Beijing. Illustrating that shift, Leon Panetta in 2012 became the first Pentagon chief in three decades to visit Cam Ranh Bay – a key port for US ships during the Vietnam war.

Snip

Mr Ross said China may also be angry that Vietnam in December asked Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, if Japan could provide patrol boats – a request that the Japanese foreign ministry said Tokyo was still considering.


freshwest

(53,661 posts)
20. Thanks for the info. In line with this, Abe doesn't sound so crazy, but is protecting his allies.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 02:57 AM
Jun 2014

This could be a good thing for all involved. Japan's technological prowess and the biodiversity of these other nations, all working together as a team.

And it's things like this is why the USA keeps on getting called in to work with these countries. I'd say, 'if only the Chinese would leave well enough alone,' but they obviously feel they need more land for themselves.

A peaceful balance would be best, but this may be inevitable with the growth of population. Our national memories, some of us at least who are not curently related to people in those regions, is confined to history.

It appears they've moved beyond the antagonisms of the past which is good. This may not turn out as badly as some suggest.

Thanks again, this is so much more info than we get here usually.

Bickle

(109 posts)
2. Abe is a neocon
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 06:33 PM
Jun 2014

With strong ties to Japan's batshit right. That's why he visits the temple to the war criminals, because he believes in the restoration if the empire. The populace does not, and it's a source of endless frustration to him. He desperately wants to blow up North Korea and flex his muscles. The only difference is that it's far harder for him to get this done in their government

 

ECHOFIELDS

(25 posts)
13. ABE is Japan's Dick Cheney
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:39 PM
Jun 2014

ABE is Japan's Dick Cheney but doesn't sneer as much, at least not in public

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
16. Do you think this death protesting this will get Japanese to oppose Abe?
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 01:04 AM
Jun 2014
Do such deaths effect the Japanese people deeply?

Bickle

(109 posts)
18. That's a complex question
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 01:46 AM
Jun 2014

Japan is a parliamentary system, and right now with the economy, their "neocon" platform is appealing to many people, as tends to happen in such a situation.

I guarantee you that it will effect many people, but pushback against Abe will be quiet, even if eventually effective. Japanese people are raised in a culture of respect for authority and procedure, and much is situated around saving face. In order to get the kind of reaction you are implying, he'd pretty much actively gave to be thing to start a war. This is not the first tine he's tried this sort of thing, but certainly one of his more aggressive pushes. Abe doesn't have quite the allies he once did, and frankly, I believe the single best way if defusing him is taking out
North Korea. But doing it not in a traditional military campaign manner. It has to cut the head off the military and leave the body with a strong follow up to integrate
Korea.

This will take most of the wind out of Abe's sails, and more importantly is the kind of action tat the whole world can get behind. Once China decides NK is SIMOKY more trouble than they're worth, a day soon coming, it'll happen in fast order

ninjanurse

(92 posts)
3. Don't Call This the Ultimate Sacrifice
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 06:47 PM
Jun 2014

Don't glorify violence to the self. There has been too much of this self-destruction over the decades since Vietnam. The ultimate commitment is to stay alive and strong and work every day for peace.

bananas

(27,509 posts)
8. Self-immolation was practiced long before Vietnam.
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 09:47 PM
Jun 2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation

Self-immolation refers to killing oneself as a sacrifice. While usage since the 1960s has typically referred only to setting oneself on fire, the term historically refers to a much wider range of suicidal options, such as leaping off a cliff, starvation, or seppuku (ritual disembowelling) . Self-immolation is often used as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest.

<snip>

industry_

(33 posts)
9. interesting how this is being covered locally...
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 10:04 PM
Jun 2014

Pretty much every English-language news source makes it very clear that this was an act of protest against Abe's military policy. Local (Japanese-language) media, however, seems far more keen on either ignoring it altogether (NHK's 7 o'clock evening news last night and this morning's news made absolutely ZERO mention of it), or obfuscating the details (one show I watched last night said that "the man said something and then lit himself on fire&quot . Any mention of the protest angle either got immediately sidestepped into a totally off-topic follow-up question (an eyewitness being interviewed brought up the protest, and the follow-up question from the anchor was "It sure was crowded in Shinjuku today, wasn't it??&quot or discarded while playing up the crazy angle, implying that he was just seeking attention so he could have a bigger audience for his self-immolation.

bananas

(27,509 posts)
21. That is interesting - and a bad sign.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 04:31 AM
Jun 2014

He even used a megaphone to get his message out.
Thanks for the report.

JohnnyRingo

(18,581 posts)
11. Fail
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 10:21 PM
Jun 2014

Since no one in their right mind does such a thing, it's not a protest, but a desperate cry for help. I'll guarantee he'll be in the mental ward after he heals some, as well he should.

Noble cause, ignoble act.

PeteSelman

(1,508 posts)
12. Well, that's effective.
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 10:21 PM
Jun 2014

I'm sure they're going to halt their plans now. I've always thought this was a ridiculous form of "protest".

rpannier

(24,304 posts)
22. Ask the Tunisian Government how ineffective it is
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 01:23 AM
Jul 2014

or rather,
the former Tunisian Government

When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight, on Dec. 17, 2010, he sparked flames far greater than the ones that would ultimately kill him. The Tunisian man, an unemployed college graduate with children to feed, had tried to find work hawking vegetables, but was thwarted by police, who insulted him and confiscated his cart. His appeals of protest were ignored so, in a grisly act of protest and anguish, Bouazizi doused himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze.

The act of self-immolation not only triggered the political crisis in Tunisia, which ousted the president on January 14, 2011, it has led to a series of protests and overthrown governments in the Middle East. It also inspired copycat self-immolations across North Africa.

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