< HEADQUARTERS >
HOKURIKU DISTRICT SYMPOSIUM GATEHRING
The citizens in the Hokuriku district (Fukui, Ishikawa and Toyama Prefecture), especially in small cities and towns, have faced tough human rights problems due to a cutback in public transportation. The local governments in question have cut down public transportation and then carried out road construction instead, which has consequently provided a great convenience only for people who have their own car. As a result, the enterprises of automobile, engineering and construction have become grown, causing a number of problems including energy, global warming and pollution. Such the governmental policy has therefore harassed people who have a difficulty to give access to the facilities of public transportation, which is basically against developing a local system for living people. When the present conventional lines come to be operated by the third sector organization, which is not avoidable in accordance with the opening of the new Hokuriku bullet-train corporation, it will become difficult for many citizens to utilize a public transportation system. For instance, the diffusion of public transportation in the Hokuriku district is 9% in Ishikawa Prefecture and less in Toyama and Fukui Prefecture (2002), which is not compared with Tokyo Metropolitan (77%). In order to comprehensively discuss the above transportation system in the Hokuriku district, the organizing committee held a district symposium entitled gThe present public transportation and its future developmenth on April 21 in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. They made many discussions, which was followed by a get-together meeting to exchange their views.
< LOCAL ACTIVITIES IN APRIL >
1. TOKYO BRANCH
1) The individual membersf gathering was held on April 7 at National Science Museum in Tokyo, where they attended a special lecture meeting entitled gFlowery worldh. The Museum has held a special exhibition on the theme gFlower: From ancient flower to eblue rosesf recently developedh. All the participants enjoyed many displays and invaluable lectures regarding to gflowerh.
2) The 4th citizensf colloquium to think of intellectual property rights was organized on April 21 in Tokyo, where they exchanged their views on the theme: (1) intellectual property rights, ethics, and enterprisefs profits and their return to the society, and (2) recent move related to intellectual property rights.
2. OSAKA BRANCH
The Kansai-areafs colloquium for scientific workers in private enterprises was organized on April 8, where Dr. Kushimoto (Osaka branch) gave a seminar on the scandals of enterprises, which included: (1) adhesion of scientific workers to enterprise and bureaucrat, (2) nonperformance of duties, (3) false reports, (4) manufacture and selling in disregard of the standard, (5) many offenses against law, and (6) unfair labor practice.
3. IBARAKI BRANCH
The branch organized a lecture meeting on April 14 in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, where Dr. Sato (Meteorological Inst.) gave a lecture entitled gMongolian program for developing human resources related to meteorology, climate and environmenth. He analyzed the up-to-date data in relation to climate change and meteorological catastrophe, which was followed by a get-together meeting to exchange their views on the branch activity.
4. TOTTORI BRANCH
On the basis of the governmental gneo-liberalismh policy (gist: structural reform, downsizing, outsourcing, deregulation, market economy, competition, cost performance etc.), all the public facilities across the country have forced to privatize so as to realize the market economy (e.g. result-first or/and profit-first), which are inevitably operated under different type of competition. Nursery schools are also privatized, which causes severe problems of infantsf nurture. On April 21, the branch co-organized a lecture meeting on gnurtureh with a friendly organization, where Prof. Okuno (Tottori Univ.) lectured on the title gHow we protect childrenfs rights under the environment of structural reform and deregulation policyh, which was to find out a better environment for the growth of children. The talk stimulated all the participants, which was followed by discussions.5. FUKUOKA BRANCH
The branch held the Fukuoka environmental research meeting on April 21 at a Kurume University Fukuoka satellite, where Prof. Kondo (Kyushu Univ.) gave a seminar on a recycle-performed local society in the presence of citizens. Her talk was based upon the movements of treating waste in a local society.
PROMPTLY SOLVE gSEX SLAVERY ISSUEh IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH HUMAN RIGHTS
The Japanese government berates North Korea over North Korean abduction of Japanese nationals but denies coercion in World War-II era brothels regardless of a number of data presented. Rapidly increasing in the international community is the criticism of the Japanese government over having such a double standard concerning human rights issues. Before loudly complaining about human rights violations by other countries against Japanese nationals, the government must at first apologize to the world for Japanfs doing in the past. It is quite insensitive to leave similar violations against foreigners by Japan as they are, at a time when the Japanese governmentfs emphasis on the abduction issue as an important international human rights issue has become widely acknowledged by the international community. Again, the abduction issue must be solved promptly, but by the same token, the wartime sex slavery issue must not be left untouched. Since 1993, the Japanese successive governments have dealt with the wartime sex slave issue from the standpoint as expressed in a statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono. The statement admitted, gThe then Japanfs military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women. In many cases they were recruited against their will, through coaxing coercion, etc., and at times, administrative and/or military personnel directly took part in the recruitments. They lived in misery at comfort stations under a coercive atmosphere, thus expressing sincere apology and remorse.h However, Premier Abe said on March 1, gThe fact is that there is no evidence to prove the coercion as defined in the above Mr. Konofs statement.h On March 5, Mr. Abe also said, gWe will not make an apologyh over the issue, even if the US House of Representatives has passed a resolution urging him to do so. The six-party talksf statement in Beijing (March 2007) included the bilateral issues in regard to North Korea and Japan, which is to discuss the pending bilateral issues on the abduction, the settlement of the past and the normalization of their relations. The wartime sex slavery issue that is drawing international attention more than before is directly connected with the issue for Japan to settle the past with North Korea. North Korea has a bitter memory that during Japanfs occupation many Korean women were taken to battlefields as sex slaves, while men were as soldiers for the Japanfs Imperial Army. The Japanese government must strongly be called upon to sincerely face up to its past in order to advance the settlement of the past and to bring progress in the negotiations including the abduction issue. Otherwise, international understanding over the abduction issue cannot be obtained. The US government is urging the Japanese government to make an official apology and to gofficially and clearlyh reject the argument that the wartime sex slaves did not exist as stated in the House of Representatives resolution. Very serious becomes the situation that the international community is raising the fundamental objection that the Japanese governmentfs perception of human rights reneges on the principle of universal applicability. The Japanese government must respond to the objection in a serious manner and address human rights in compliance with the international standards. (S. YUASA)