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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Japan Rightists Fan Fury Over North Korea Abductions |
| 2006-12-17 |
| NYT piece with as much opinion as news. The writer figures that since the Times has lost interest in Japan's kidnapped citizens, Japan should have, too. The Japanese government’s posters show the map of a blood-red North Korea blotting out the eyes of a Japanese teenager. They hint darkly that this country’s youth are at risk and urge Japanese to open their eyes to the threat from North Korea. The posters were on prominent display at a rally this week to call attention to Japanese abducted by North Korea three decades ago and who, Japan says, are still being held there. The people who usually show up at such events — family members, their supporters, members of right-wing organizations — waited for a special first-time guest: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “We can never compromise on the abduction issue,” Mr. Abe told the crowd. “I swear that my administration will tackle this as its top priority.” Outside Japan, the abductions may have played out long ago, after North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, admitted four years ago that the crimes had occurred and returned five survivors. But here, they are still a burning issue, kept alive in the news media every day by nationalist politicians and groups that pound at the topic as firmly as their cherished goals, like jettisoning the pacifist Constitution and instilling patriotism and moral values in schools. The highly emotional issue has contributed to silencing more moderate voices who expose themselves to physical harm or verbal threats from the right wing. By championing this one cause, Mr. Abe rose from obscurity to become prime minister three months ago. But Mr. Abe, who has backpedaled on economic changes undertaken by his popular predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, has begun to plummet in the polls. To survive politically, he will probably have to keep leaning on the abduction issue. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Hee hee! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-12-17 16:44 |
| #3 I have a little list, I have a little list, of folks who won't be missed. of folks who won't he missed, On the News Staffs all aroumd town. (Actualy quite a big list) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-12-17 09:47 |
| #2 DMFD, I'll go you one better. If they kidnapped the ENTIRE staff of the New Yuk Times, I'm certain it would be one of those MIB memory-erasure moments for me. Absolutely sure of it. I'd just have a big smile, followed by "New Yuk Who? Is that a new Chinese band?" |
| Posted by: mac 2006-12-17 01:06 |
| #1 If Kim Jong-Il kidnapped the senior staff of the New York Times, I'd be willing to forget about it. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-12-17 00:24 |