THE BULLETIN OF JSA

No.108 (September 25, 2008)
THE JAPAN SCIENTISTS' ASSOCIATION (JSA)

SYMPOSIUM "EXPLORE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN IN THE 21^ST CENTURY, THE FIRST SESSION – PEACE" ORGANIZED

The JSA ad hock research committee of constitutional question organized the first session of above entitled series symposium on March 16, 2008 at Meiji University, Tokyo. The committee has a plan to subsequently organize sessions concerning human rights, democracy, and environment. This time three lecturers presented their opinions.
Dr. Kitamura (philosophy, Emeritus Professor of Waseda Univ.) explained the ideological genealogy of pacifisms as follows: Pacifisms are broadly classified to peace-at-any-price opposing what-like war, and conditional pacifism admitting just war. The Constitution of Japan with unarmed pacifism belongs to the former. Peace-at-any-price, which can be implicitly seen in Christ and Buddha, was as an explicit thought originated in the cosmopolitanism of Seneca (ancient Roman politician) and via humanism of Renaissance has been determined in the Kant's Perpetual Peace. The Kant's thought of global peace, united republic states possessing no regular forces, was inherited by the Paris Antiwar Pact, the Charter of the United Nations, and further the Constitution of Japan. The 21^st century will become the age of peace-at-any-price.
Prof. Urata (jurist, Meiji Univ.) analyzed the governmental interpretation of Article 9: The concept right of self-defense was the Paris Antiwar Pact that disaffirms war in principle. Lots of wars having been conducted since then on the pretext of self-defense exercise, the Charter of the United Nations restricted self-defense exercise to until the Security Council take actions and prohibited the other case. The Japanese Government hammered out a constitutional interpretation that bare essentials of self-defense forces for self-defense are only permitted but for collective self-defense exercise, abroad deployment of troops, authority of belligerency, and possession of aggressive weapons, so as to interface Article 9 with the US-Japan Security Treaty. This interpretation turns out intolerable fetters for belligerent powers that wish to deploy self-defense troops to the Middle-East and further everywhere in the globe using the US-Japan Security Treaty. It is significant to bring into play that positive meaning of the Constitution.
Mr. Yamaguchi (sociology, graduate student, Hitotsubashi Univ.) reported actual conditions of world peace movements: The world observes two kinds of antiwar movements, those opposing specific war like Iraq war, and those opposing specific elements of war system like military base, ammunition and war supplies, military budget, and enlistment. These form movements for elimination of war system itself, which accords with Article 9 of the Constitution. Here are some movements against war culture. In the EU and Australia there arisen actions against war toys. It is dangerous circumstances that as seen in the US, soldiers or maniacs in military attire go into town on a daily basis and celebrities make no secret of supporting civilian personnel. In Japan we must watch such circumstances as recruitment of Self-Defense Officials using idols, the cartooned Self-Defense White Paper and publish of Defense Ministry magazine MAMOR, and the appearance of talents selling an ex-Self-Defense officer.
The participants discussed international contributions and intervention on humanitarian grounds: The responsibility to the country in crisis because of internal fighting basically lies not with unarmed nations, but with nations that recognize the efficacy of armed forces and conduct production and provision of weapons. At the present time, even in the case military intervention seems necessary there are only a few elements solvable using armed forces, and few examples military intervention worked effectively. The military intervention undermines the legitimacy of non-armed aid the natives are anxious for.

CONCERNS ABOUT THE RAILROADED BASIC LAW ON SPACE

K. Noguchi
Japan Federation of Private University Teachers' and Employees' Unions

As soon as passed at the House of Representative plenary session of May 13, the Basic Law on Space was railroaded at the Upper House plenary session of May 21 by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Komeito, and the Democratic Party (DP). I am worried about the future of space development, because that law aims to pave the way to military use of space.
Japanese has supported non-military development and use of outer space. The core of the multilateral convention determined the fundamental principles on the exploitation and use of outer space including the moon and other celestial bodies being adopted at the UN General Assembly in October 1966, the convention entered into force in October 1967, which restricts the use to the peaceful use as the forbidding of establishment of military bases, military facilities, and defensive facilities, experiments of any type of weapons, and military exercise. The military use of outer space yet is far less regulated than for celestial bodies, namely, any objects carrying weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons are forbidden if they are placed in orbit around the Earth, otherwise not as intercontinental ballistic missiles. The space convention originally has been made as a result of the collaboration of the US and the USSR to accord with both countries' needs in their nuclear strategies.
Japan ratified this space convention in October 1967. One should notice that Japanese principles of peace on the ground of international pacifism stipulated in Article 9 of the Constitution are more thorough than that of the convention. In May 1969 prior to the establishment of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), one of predecessors of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), "Resolution on Basics of Space Development and Utilization in Japan" was unanimously adopted at the Lower House plenary session, which stipulates conducting space development and utilization only for peaceful purposes. The term only for peaceful purposes has been interpreted as non-military through deliberation and explanation in the Diet. The National Space Development Agency Law enacted in June 1969 also stipulates the establishment of NASDA to conduct space development and utilization only for peaceful purposes. The Law further accompanies the additional resolution of the Diet that Japanese space development and utilization shall be conducted only for peaceful purposes under the principles of independent and democratic management, disclosure of results, and international cooperation. NASDA and JAXA have been conducting space development and utilization in accordance with non-military principles.
Concern 1 – It will pave the way to military use
The established space law threw the Diet Resolution of May 1969 into a dust bin in a sense of the translation from non-military to military. Articles 1 (purposes) and 2 (peaceful space use), though peaceful expressions seemingly found, the term only for peaceful purposes can not be seen. On the other hand Article 3 (improvement of people's lives etc.) states "… the space development and utilization shall contribute to reserve safety and security of this country", and Article 14 (reservation of peace and safety of international community and security of this country) "the government shall implement a necessary measure to promote space development and utilization conducible to reservation of peace and safety of international community and security of this country". That paves the way to military use of outer space on the pretext of contribution to security.
The Basic Law on Space has been moved ahead on by the group of Diet members interested in self-defense in the LDP for Self-Defense Forces that aims to realize the possession and utilization of early-warning satellites to explore advanced search satellites and ballistic missiles. Demand of space and military industry to increase orders for satellites and rockets is pointed out as its background.
The additional resolution accompanied in the National Space Development Agency Law describes the revision of the Agency in one year after the inaction. Since the term only for peaceful purposes was not stipulated in the Basic Law on Space, superior to the Agency Law, I am afraid that the term would be taken away therefrom. Our struggle to block the enhancement of military space use is called in question.
Concern 2 – The dangerous real identity of the two-party system
The Basic Law on Space originally has been laid on the table in June 2007 by Diet members of the LDP, DP and Komeito. Since then it has been put on the shelf on account of the resignation of Premier Abe and the payoff scandal surrounding defense equipment procure. But the Basic Law was called up on May 8, 2008 by Diet members of LDP, Komeito, and DP, then railroaded day 9 only after two-hour discussion in the Lower House Cabinet Committee, day 13 in the plenary assembly, day 20 only after two-hour discussion in the Upper House, and at last day 21 the plenary assembly.
Although LDP inserted in Article 1 the term "building on the pacifism of the Constitution, considering harmony with the environment" in order to take the support of DP, there is no essential difference between the last and this years' bills, viewing there is a term "building on the pacifism of the Constitution" in the last year's one. What matters is that the term only for peaceful purposes is not included while the term for the contribution to security was inserted.
I observed the dangerous real identity of the two-party system in the forcible passage through two-hour discussion in both Houses that they conducted under prior consultation between the two parties even on significant affairs.
Concern 3 – The peaceful principles of the Atomic Energy Fundamental Law
What I concern about considering that the established Law opened the gate for military space development and use is whether the peaceful principle of the Atomic Energy Fundamental Law is safe. As is known the Fundamental Law advocates that the research and utilization of atomic energy are conducted only for peaceful purposes aiming at ensuring safety under the independent and democratic management, its results shall be disclosed, and contribution to international cooperation promoted. I do not think that the peaceful principle in the research and development of atomic energy will be revised at hand since that in the development and use of outer space was thrown into a dust bin, but I am anxious about the revision just the same. Considering that administrations in LDP rule till now consistently have maintained the interpretation that bare minimum of defensive possession and utilization of nuclear weapons does not violate Article 9, although the Diet resolution on three anti-nuclear principles exists, we can not relax our guard.
(Quoted from Commoners' News Vol.3)

ACTIVITIES OF RESEARCH COMMITTEES AND GROUPS
The JSA headquarters organize a number of research committees and groups undertaken
on a nationwide scale, which are encouraging the members across th country

1) ACTIVITY OF THE COMMITTEE OF WOMEN RESEARCHERS AND TECHNICIANS The committee and friendly labor bodies organized the 12th national symposium of women researchers and technicians in June 2007, where they wrote up a document of their requests. The request document was submitted to the Council for Science and Technology, the Gender Information Site, the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology, political parties. The organizing committee and representatives from the JSA visited governmental agencies, LDP, and DP to have a friendly talk about contents in the request document. The document describes in the preamble that women researchers and technicians wish to utilize and polish their ability in study conditions with no discrimination and no prejudice to contribute to society, and to this end seeks institutional security and environmental improvement, under which the research activity consists with marriage, childbirth, child care, and caring. It also claims the improvement of science-technology policy and labor policy from the broader and log-range viewpoint. The percentage of women researchers in Japan is 12%, which is lower than 16% in Germany, lowest in rank among 26 countries in the EU and the US. That of women professors is 10%, while 25% in less than 38 aged researchers. The percentage of women in senior researchers would rise if the institutional support for child caring women researchers were arranged and if the acceptance and promotion were strived to do without sexual discrimination.

2) STUDY MEETING “AGRICULTURAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY GLOBAL WARMING FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF ENTOMOLOGY” HELD

The JSA research committee of food problem held the study meeting on April 19 in Tokyo, where Dr. Emura (Saitama Agriculture and Forestry Research Center) as a specialist in pest control for main crops production reported his research theme entitled above.
First of all, he commented on two phenomena, "EHUS (Effective heat unit summation)" and "dormancy of insect", and explained the case of Neozephyrus japonicusas as an example. This Saitama prefectural butterfly was sketched on June 15, 1809 (the Edo period) in Iwatuki, Saitama (the sketch is owned by National Museum, which shows it then was warm. He focused on two insect pests, common cutworm (Spodoptera litura), and rice skipper (Pamara guttata). The former, the main pest of soybean, buckwheat and vegetables, has increased the damage since 1999, and the latter, the main pest of rice, has a distinctive feature that the best time of pest control changed remarkably. The damage caused by common cutworm was reported in part of some worm regions in around 1950. The damage of soybean became obvious since 1965 and constant since 1980s. The eating damage of buckwheat leaves caused by a larva in Saitama was found since 1999. This was due to the generation increment caused by the global warming that was 3.5 (the Meiji era) to 4.5 (now) generations throughout the year. Concerning rice skipper, the peak date of hatching was August 12 in 1993, the date when rice was damaged by cold weather, while people has an impression it is hot because they had "a hot summer in1945”, the end day of World WarII. This fact provoked us into investigating the peaked date of hatching during past 100 years. It was interesting that the year of war corresponds to the year of cold weather which caused the delay of hatching. The Taisho era (1912-1926) was known to that of Romanticism that people enjoyed peaceful days, and also was remembered as the period of warm weather. These plots were full of interesting suggestions to think of a close relation between peace and war years and warm and cold years.
In conclusion, the global warming basically has an advantage to food production in Japan using progressed pest control techniques, and contributes to outgrow the cold whether damage. Participants asked what will go 50 years later and how to practice the organic agriculture. It was pointed out that the rice crop decrease was caused not by hot weather but to rice quality.

3) TO RECOVER LOCAL COMMUNITY, SOCIETY, AND ENVIRONMENTS IN THE SETOUCHI

4) ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE OF TECHNICIANS AND RESEARCHERS IN PRIVATE COMPANIES

5) ACTIVITIES OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE OF PEACE QUESTIONS

The JSA plays an important role in the peace movement. In fact its members as well as those of this committee are acting in various movements such as elimination of nuclear weapons, class suit of recognition as radiation sufferers, participation in Article 9 Society, opposition against nuclear aircraft career homeporting, opposition against the reinforcement of the US bases in Okinawa, and participation in Japan Peace Association. We still have no sufficient framework to reflect on such activities like as daily information sharing among committee members in concert with ongoing situations. The committee participated in the following: 1) Scientists' Forum against A&H Bombs on August 1, 2) Tokyo Scientific Symposium, and 3) Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War on May 4-6, 2008.

DISTRICTS AND BRANCHES' ACTIVITIES
The JSA consisits of 47 branches which are grouped into 9 districts, and they are independently
and/or cooperatively carrying out their activities in addition to the headquarters' ones

1) "MANAGEMENT, EDUCATION AND STUDY IN UNIVERSITY" HELD

The Okinawa branch held the above spring study meeting on March 19 at Ryukyu University. Prof. Takasaku (Ryukyu Univ.) presented an address titled “Task, research and education of the constitution study at Okinawa in the actual place of the legal profession training”. He mentioned three points concerning the problem and the solution of the law school. The first point is that the understanding of existing laws and judicial precedents is seriously overemphasized, but it is necessary to learn the limit of the precedent and the presentation of different viewpoint. The second point is that there is no opportunity where the special research of the stuff is utilized for education, because of the curriculum overemphasizes the education of professional training. Time and opportunity of the research for the stuff should be guaranteed. The third point is necessity to discuss the stuff organization in the law school.　Prof. Nonaka (Meiji Univ.) presented a report titled “The finance analysis of national university – comparison of Ryukyu University, Kyusyu University and Tokyo University”. He explained how to read the balance sheet, the profit and loss statement, the cash flow account and the business execution cost account and the balancing of accounts report.　He pointed out the difference between three Universities and Meiji University and analyzed it. The JSA members in national universities may think that it is not possible to understand the vivid university problems by the analysis of financial affairs statement, but in the discussion they understood that they could grasp the true situation that has happened at the university by comparing numerical data. He also pointed out the following. Working conditions of the school personnel show the level of the university and scientific culture of the country. The improvement of efficiency of current public finance is nothing other than the reduction of level. In addition the consecutive structural reconstruction resulted to reduce the level of the Japanese university to that of the developing country.

2) "THINKING OF UNDER GROUND WATER POLLUTION" IN SHIGA

3) FORUM "CONTRADICTION IN PRIORITY POLICY OF GRADUATE SCHOOL" IN HYOGO

The Hyogo branch held the above forum on May 10, 2008, where Dr. Mizuki (Buddhist monk), the author of book "Working-poor with high academic background" was invited as a lecturer. After expressing his feelings for a friend with doctorate but no regular occupation who was made ill, the lecturer explained actual situations in labor and education. The number of graduate students has rapidly increased according to policy with priority in graduate school despite diminished population of 18 aged since 1990's. Graduate students were 260,000 last year, while 70,000 20years ago. The employment rate is very severe noting it is 50% now. In the academic staff young researchers occupy 10% and 40 and more aged 90%. Professors, however, do not understand the reality in academic circumstances. It must be reconsidered to evaluate academic activities as a means for position especially for the youth. We need appraise learning from various values and the viewpoint to utilize capability.

4) THE 35^th OSAKA COMPREHENSIVE STUDY SYMPOSIUM HELD

The symposium "Wasteful structure and culture" was held on May 17 at Senriyama Campus of Kansai University with the theme "Understanding of wasteful structure and studying alternatives for human existence and a state of our life". Five lectures were delivered: 1) "Point of view from ecological footprint" by Dr. Shirai (Associate Prof., Okayama Univ.). She compared economic activities of each country based on the thought of ecological footprint, and showed the economic gap all over the world. She showed relationship between Human Development Index (HDI) and ecological footprint, and considered policy for maintaining social activities. 2) "Wasteful structure of eating and safety of food -- viewpoint from food importation" by Mr. Fukumoto ("Zenzeikan", trade union of customs officers). He reported on the actual situation of food importation, especially safety. He was worried that the safety of food was lost because of poison of preservatores for food. He proposed that the nation has to secure agriculture for maintenance of food safety. 3) "Food mileage and water mileage" by Ms. Nakamura (Hannnan Univ.). She reported the thought of "Food mileage" and "Water mileage" and showed relation between these "mileage" and an effect to environment. She showed safety and economy of water from "Water mileage". 4) "To Eco Campus -- Kansai University" by Prof. Yoshinaga (Kansai Univ.). He reported activities for enviromnental preservation in the campus of Kansai Univ. and explained his ideas about possibility of university to contribute to society. 5) "A plan for kitchen garden" by Prof. Onuki (professor emeritus, the Univ. of Shiga Prefecture), Ms. Ito ("Satoyama-Kenkyu-ann Nomad", protecting local commons). They proposed agricultural life and new life style kitchen garden and family for changing from wasteful structure. And they reported common possession and management in Mongolia.

ARTICLES OF "JOURNAL OF JAPANESE SCIENTISTS"
The Journal of Japanese Scientists or NIHON NO KAGAKUSHA (in Japanese) covering all the
scientific fields is monthly published and distributed to all the members and other readers

vol.43 No.6 (2008)

[Title-page message]
Shimada, I.: Safety-net for protecting Japanese universities from crumbling
[Special feature: Social pathology in contemporary Japan]
Usui, M.: Introduction
Shimazaki, T.: "Individual pathology" and "social pathology"
Iwama, K.: Unhappy class makes bullying
Kawahara, Y.: Family and illness
Kitamura, H.: Pathology in contemporary society and social world of young people
[Essay]
Sakon, T.: Educational system of "Physics laboratory work" in Akita University Review
Kohyama, S.: Discussion of forestry public welfare and national forests reform
[Frontier]
Arakawa, M.: Historic change of the habitation areas in a mountainous area of Aichi Prefecture: Based on the micro-landform survey of the remains around the Shitara Dam site
[Series: the Constitution of Japan (1)]
Yokota, T.: Ideas for amendment of the Constitution at present and the problem of 'Liberal' theory
[Opinion]
Sokawa, Y.: Views on genes for human brain from molecular evolution – Reply to Hiroki's comment

vol.43 No.7 (2008)

[Title-page message]
Akiba, S.: Improvement of college mathematics
[Special feature: The illegal dumping of industrial waste in Tokai area]
Minami, A.: Introduction
Awaya, K.: The build up of the illegal dumping of industrial waste in the Oyachi-Heize district, Yokkaichi City in Mie Prefecture
Matsui, E.: An illegal dumping of industrial waste in Tsubakibora, Gifu City
Hagiwara, R.: Imitative recycle of industrial waste – "Ferosilt" of Isihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd.
Hata, A.: The policy proposal on illegal dumping of industrial waste in Tokai region
[Essay]
Goto, T.: Report on the Korea-Japan exchange meeting on citizens' movement against air polution
[Review]
Mastukawa, Y.: Social and economic structure of Japan accused of the global warming
Fukai, H.: Workfare, social exclusion and solidarity in the new labor
Series: Constitution of Japan (2)
Ozawa, R.: Political right and democracy of today
[Opinion]
Miyamura, M.: Cooling of the Earth, peace and food sovereignty

vol.43 No.8 (2008)