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 Japanese Reconstruction Minister Creates PR Disaster, QuitsPosted on Jul 5, 2011
After spring’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s administration created the position of minister for reconstruction and looked to appointee Ryu Matsumoto to help the recovery effort on several levels. That didn’t turn out so well. As it happened, Matsumoto’s tenure lasted all of one week, ending with his resignation announcement Tuesday. Turns out his diplomacy skills were severely lacking, which was the last thing Kan needed from his last line of PR defense. Now, the prime minister himself is expected to step down and says he will as soon as some reconstruction-related bills are passed. —KA
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By gerard, July 6, 2011 at 11:30 am Link to this comment
Who said anything about “peevish people”, I wonder?
My criticism was with the peevish cast of the personalities presented, as opposed to the vastness and crucial importance of the real issues, such as:
Why does Japan depend on nuclear power?
Who sold them on nuclear power?
Why has people’s protesting nuclear power for years been suppressed? Has the amount and effectiveness of protest increased since Fukushima? If so, how and where? Or is it still being suppressed?
Are there possible alternatives to nuclear, here and in Japan? If so, what? And how can we help this tiny super-polluted island turn away from this dependence and save itself?
To push to the ultimate conclusion, probably the continuation of nuclear power and weapons development signals the suicide not just of Japan but of the human race. Peevishness is scarcely an adequate response, nor one that would be approved by the vast majority of Japanese. Therefore it does not warrant publication at the expense of more helpful information, such as proposals to answer any part of any of the questions above.
Report thisBy ApprxAm, July 6, 2011 at 12:44 am Link to this comment
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume that the power companies throughout Nipon is facing what they believe to be an existential threat which is probably scarier, to them, than any real-world threat the Japanese people face imminently or in the future.
Business must be first, even if the peevish people tired of living in fear and trying to face the recent past and the future with dignity demand to be protected.
Report thisBy gerard, July 5, 2011 at 12:44 pm Link to this comment
To show the attitudes of the people most intimately concerned, and to help others understand the disaster
Report thisfrom the viewpoint of the Japanese people, this article from BBC leaves much to be desired. The most important persons are cast as merely peevish.
There is probably much more than that involved, and to understand the situation at all, we need to understand more about the contending issues. It is probably much more than a silly dispute between two personalities.