Blogs » Society » Evidence That Diaoyu Islands Really Do Belong To China, On Nicholas Kristof’s NY Times Blog

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• Evidence That Diaoyu Islands Really Do Belong To China, On Nicholas Kristof’s NY Times Blog
• Professor Han Deqiang, Founder Of Maoist Organization Utopia, Accused Of Slapping Old Man For Besmirching The Dead Chairman
• Health Matters: The Dangers of Heavy Metals
• Here’s One Netizen’s Reaction To McDonald’s Surreal Plan To Serve McNoodles
• Watch: Japanese nationalists rally in Tokyo over island dispute
• In Pictures: 9/18 Anti-Japan protests in Shanghai
• “Ai Weiwei–Without Fear Or Favor’: BBC
• Photo of the Day: Under the Overpass
• Today's Links: Wang Lijun, Leon Panetta and beggars at a temple fair
• Homemade Helicopter Is Neat
• Disputed Territories: Hamlet And Diaoyoutai
• The Saddest “Super Models”: Another Pageant In China
• Dish of the Day: Cong you rou si ban mian (pork and scallion noodles) @ Lao Difang
• 6,000 Flextronics employees strike in Shanghai's Jiading District
• "Ni hao. You hear me?": Snoop Dogg finally joins Weibo
• Mid-Week Diaoyu Links: Tuesday’s Beijing “protest,” the risk of boycotting goods, and those poor innocent cars
• Jiangsu man invents ‘single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock’
• Watch: Car carrying US Ambassador Gary Locke surrounded by anti-American protestors
• Wang Fingers His Former Boss, Bo
• Japan’s no-nuclear policy could prove “hollow promise”

Evidence That Diaoyu Islands Really Do Belong To China, On Nicholas Kristof’s NY Times Blog Posted: 19 Sep 2012 09:09 PM PDT There's no superlative I can offer for Nicholas Kristof that you haven't already heard, so let's just jump to this latest post on his NY Times blog, On the Ground, written by Han-Yi Shaw. Kristof offers a brief introduction to start: This is a dispute that both sides should refer to the International Court of Justice, rather than allow to boil over in the streets. That said, when I look at the underlying question of who has the best claim, I'm sympathetic to China's position. I don't think it is 100 percent clear, partly because China seemed to acquiesce to Japanese sovereignty between 1945 and 1970, but on balance I find the evidence for Chinese sovereignty quite compelling. The most interesting evidence is emerging from old Japanese government documents and suggests that Japan in effect stole the islands from China in 1895 as booty of war. And now, two excerpts from Shaw's piece: Japan asserts that neither Beijing nor Taipei objected to U.S. administration after WWII. That's true, but what Japan does not mention is that neither Beijing nor Taipei were invited as signatories of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, from which the U.S. derived administrative rights. When Japan annexed the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in 1895, it detached them from Taiwan and placed them under Okinawa Prefecture. Moreover, the Japanese name "Senkaku Islands" itself was first introduced in 1900 by academic Kuroiwa Hisashi and adopted by the Japanese government thereafter. Half a century later when Japan returned Taiwan to China, both sides adopted the 1945 administrative arrangement of Taiwan, with the Chinese unaware that the uninhabited "Senkaku Islands" were in fact the former Diaoyu Islands. This explains the belated protest from Taipei and Beijing over U.S. administration of the islands after the war. And: Qing period (1644-1911) records substantiate Chinese ownership of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands prior to 1895. Envoy documents indicate that the islands reside inside the "border that separates Chinese and foreign lands." And according to Taiwan gazetteers, "Diaoyu Island accommodates ten or more large ships" under the jurisdiction of Kavalan, Taiwan. The right to know is the bedrock of every democracy. The Japanese public deserves to know the other side of the story. It is the politicians who flame public sentiments under the name of national interests who pose the greatest risk, not the islands themselves. Obviously it deserves a full reading. Go check it out. And of course, we welcome all discussion.

Professor Han Deqiang, Founder Of Maoist Organization Utopia, Accused Of Slapping Old Man For Besmirching The Dead Chairman Posted: 19 Sep 2012 08:38 PM PDT Remember last week's senseless beating of an old man in Zhengzhou, Henan province just because he dared to criticize Mao Zedong? A similar case sprung up recently in Beijing, featuring a significantly higher-profiled Maoist. As exposed by @1798旅行者, the incident began Tuesday when an old man out for a walk took issue with the slogan, "Chairman Mao, we miss you." He pointed out that it was unreasonable to pin desires for national dignity on Mao. A younger man who heard this strode up to the elder and slapped him twice across the face, accusing him of insulting Chairman Mao. Both began calling the other a traitor. The next morning, netizens identified the younger man as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics professor Han Deqiang, a well known economist and better-known founder of Utopia, a Maoist organization whose website remains shut down since April (read about it here). (UPDATE, 11:52 am: Joel Martinsen in the comments has pointed out that Utopia is not only back up, but features Han's self-written defense of his actions in an article titled, "Why did I strike this traitor?")Judging by Han's previous work, including a public lecture titled, "Save China by resisting the US: start preparing for war" — prompting comments such as, "China's real No. 1 enemy is itself" — he would exactly be the type to shoot first and ask later, even if the target is an elderly man. This post on Sina Weibo, published yesterday at 11:02 am, already has nearly 49,000 forwards and more than 23,000 comments. I've looked at a couple of pages and seen enough trash to make me support nuking comment sections. There's all the predictable name-calling, with some saying traitors deserve to be killed on the spot. There are those who call Han a wolf in sheep's clothing, while others voicing their support of him and his actions. @青哥儿 points out that, "Han dog only picks the weakest to fight, let's see him try to fight a young person." Yes, can we set a place and time to see Han get his ass kicked? Alas, we understand how the powder keg of emotion, collective and individual, could have erupted in violence, forcing Han's hand to strike an elderly man. On one side you had the anti-Japan protests, which brought together society's more irrational elements and fooled individuals into believing that violence is condonable when the target is Japanese. On the other side you have a scholar inculcated with Maoist thought, which dictates slapping around even suspected roadie rightists is one's patriotic duty. Also, Han is a dipshit. Let's not forget that. There's your trump, outweighing Maoism or neoconservatism or nationalism or anything else. To slap a stranger for expressing an opinion, you just have to be a real piece of shit. So, yeah. We eagerly await this "public intellectual's" comeuppance.

Health Matters: The Dangers of Heavy Metals Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:49 PM PDT Date: Sep 20th 2012 10:15a.m. Contributed by: clairebared

Here’s One Netizen’s Reaction To McDonald’s Surreal Plan To Serve McNoodles Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT We've survived the black and white burger. We've done beef and mash. We'll happily tolerate every chicken and/or beef concoction McDonald's throws at us. But this? "McNoodles" will go on sale at its Austrian restaurants from Thursday in a test set to last two to three months, a spokeswoman said. The meals feature noodles with vegetables, chicken, salad and either sweet-and-sour or curry sauce, and will cost around 4.99 euros ($6.56). The company said it hoped to tap a trend toward noodle dishes and show off its ability to innovate by launching the products, which it will import from Thailand. Hmm. Bring it on! We fear for Ronald's well being though. If he's not rolling in his clown grave, he's indeed belching a silent scream. Five-euro fast-food noodles from McDonald's? Yeah. That'll be the day…

Watch: Japanese nationalists rally in Tokyo over island dispute Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:00 PM PDT Right-wing activists hold a rally in Tokyo to protest against China's activities near several disputed islands in the East China Sea. [No Comment TV] [ more › ]

In Pictures: 9/18 Anti-Japan protests in Shanghai Posted: 19 Sep 2012 05:55 PM PDT                                Thousands of demonstrators showed up at the Japanese Consulate-General on Tuesday to protest the Japanese government's nationalisation of the disputed islands known as Diaoyu to China and Senkaku to Japan. The anti-Japan protests were held on this day to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the Mukden Incident, referred to in Chinese as the 九一八事變 (lit., the "918 incident"), in which the Imperial Japanese Army began its invasion of Manchuria on September 18, 1931. [ more › ]

“Ai Weiwei–Without Fear Or Favor’: BBC Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:23 PM PDT The BBC released 'Ai Weiwei–Without Fear Or Favor' in 2010, I just got around to watching it. It's terrific. As CHINA Debate readers know, I am a huge fan of Mr. Ai's art. But I respect him many more times over for his courage in confronting the Chinese establishment; he is one of my few heroes. If you haven't seen the documentary or want to see it again, here you go:

Photo of the Day: Under the Overpass Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:30 PM PDT Want to see your picture here? Share your photos with us on Instagram and Flickr using the tag #shanghaiist! [ more › ]

Today's Links: Wang Lijun, Leon Panetta and beggars at a temple fair Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:18 PM PDT A few links to start off your day: Wang Lijun, Leon Panetta and beggars at a temple fair [ more › ]

Homemade Helicopter Is Neat Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT A man in Zhuhai, Guangdong province has supposedly made his own helicopter. (I say supposedly because one never knows about these things.) Here he is testing it out. Scant information is available on the guy, so if you're able to enlighten us on how helicopters work, please do let us know. One last thing: Is that a ceiling fan? Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Disputed Territories: Hamlet And Diaoyoutai Posted: 18 Sep 2012 06:55 AM PDT I have seen many photos of the Chinese protests against recent Japanese actions regarding the islands (the best I've found were referred to on China Geeks) and read numerous reports of the incidents and violence. As a lawyer, I have made a brief study of the respective and conclude that Japan has the legal rights to the chain; as a supporter of China and especially Taiwan, I say to Japan 'don't tread on me.' Still, until I viewed a series of photos in The Atlantic, I somehow had not seen, or don't recall having seen, pictures of the Daioyu Islands. WhenI saw Diaoyu Dao, the largest weighing in at 4.3 square kilometers… …I thought of an exchange in Hamlet. To set the scene, Fortinbras of Norway sends one of his captains to secure from Hamlet permission for the Norwegian army to cross Denmark on its way to war with Poland: HAMLET: Goes it against the main of Poland, sir, Or for some frontier? Captain: Truly to speak, and with no addition, We go to gain a little patch of ground That hath in it no profit but the name.To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it; Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. HAMLET: Why, then the Polack never will defend it. Captain: Yes, it is already garrison'd. HAMLET: Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats Will not debate the question of this straw: This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir. Captain: God be wi' you, sir. Exit  The Chinese are equally poetic, here's an example: Even if China becomes nothing but tombstones, we must exterminate the Japanese; even if we have to destroy our own country, we must take back the Diaoyu Islands. So, says the sign here: HAMLET: Goes it against the main of Poland, sir, Or for some frontier? Captain: Truly to speak, and with no addition, We go to gain a little patch of ground That hath in it no profit but the name.To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it; Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee. HAMLET: Why, then the Polack never will defend it. Captain: Yes, it is already garrison'd. HAMLET: Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats Will not debate the question of this straw: This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace, That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Why the man dies. I humbly thank you, sir. Captain: God be wi' you, sir. Exit The Chinese are equally poetic: Even if China becomes nothing but tombstones, we must exterminate the Japanese; even if we have to destroy our own country, we must take back the Diaoyu Islands. So says the sign at this Audi dealership: Which shows once again that times and places may change, but people and human nature don't. May the Chinese end the violence in China and in the end be victorious in the Diaoyutai.

The Saddest “Super Models”: Another Pageant In China Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT We're going to let People's Daily do the heavy lifting on this one. Take it away, boys (assume [sic]'s): On that day, the final of the 23rd Super Model of The World .Guangxi .China was held in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A total of 20 contestants competed in several awards including The Best Camera-Shy, The Best Stature, The Best vigor, The Best Talent and The Best Smile. No. 26 contestant Wang Yiran crowned the champion, No. 88 contestant Du Nana won the runner-up and No. 37 contestant Mo Yingchen took the third place. We're not sure who won "The Best Camera-Shy," but that's one individual we'd like to meet. "Best vigor" is tempting as well, though we're not certain about what "vigor" refers to. (Tilling the fields? Ability to giggle?) Five more pictures after the jump from People's Daily's website. These women are all better than Miss World Yu Wenxia, by the way, aka the woman with one smile. (H/T Alicia)

Dish of the Day: Cong you rou si ban mian (pork and scallion noodles) @ Lao Difang Posted: 19 Sep 2012 09:18 AM PDT For those wondering what defines a great bowl of noodles, let the scallion and pork noodles be your Merriam-Webster example. For one, despite being as thin as angel hair pasta they still pack a slight chew, marking quality. And second, the scallion oil manages to be deliciously unctuous and yet also clean-tasting so you don't feel it pooling in your stomach like molten lead. [ more › ]

6,000 Flextronics employees strike in Shanghai's Jiading District Posted: 19 Sep 2012 08:18 AM PDT 6,000 employees of the Singaporean electronics powerhouse Flextronics walked out of the company's plant in Shanghai's Jiading district Monday to protest plans to move the factory to Suzhou. [ more › ]

"Ni hao. You hear me?": Snoop Dogg finally joins Weibo Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:36 AM PDT From Straight Outta Compton, Snoop Dogg finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined Sina Weibo earlier today. From here on out, it shall be referred to as his "Weibizzle." [ more › ]

Mid-Week Diaoyu Links: Tuesday’s Beijing “protest,” the risk of boycotting goods, and those poor innocent cars Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:39 AM PDT U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, via NBC News (picture by Larry Downing / Reuters) As nationalistic fervor cools across the country, here's one last compilation of Diaoyu-, Mukden-, and Japan-related links. Tuesday's protest in Beijing: "Police equaled or outnumbered protesters, and they had been issued megaphones to whisk people along when they lingered. About halfway down the protest route, I heard the recorded voice of a woman, and initially thought it was a recording from the protesters. It took me a second to realize it was coming from the police station, and the message was not directed to the Japanese at all. In Chinese, it said: // 'Since Japan has violated our national sovereignty, it is natural that we express our feelings. We share the same feeling with you. The government's stance is clear: the government will not tolerate the violation of our national sovereignty. We should support our government, express our patriotic sentiments in a legal, orderly, and rational fashion. We should obey the laws and regulations, and not adopt extreme behavior, or disturb the social order. Please coördinate yourselves with our work, and obey the instructions of the police. Please do not linger here after you express yourself. Thank you everyone.'" [Evan Osnos, The New Yorker] Channeling dissent, to an extent. "So now there are people who really do want to march, chant and throw plastic bottles at Japan's embassy. And the authorities—either because they are afraid of angering people by denying them the opportunity or because they like the idea—are allowing it, up to a point. Since it would be riskier to let protesters march long distances across Beijing and pick up steam as they went, it makes a good deal of sense to provide the masses with buses. And since they are loth to pass up any opportunity to guide public opinion, they are probably also handing out flags and signs with approved messages." [Analects] Boycotting goods can backfire, namely in that one is unable to obtain those goods. "Yet despite China's growing clout in international economics, the boycott/consumer action sword can cut both ways.  Whilst Japan is the current target of action in the mainland and Hong Kong, companies from all nations are being made more aware of the particularities of political risk in China – and will also remember the recent experiences of Carrefour and MacDonald's.  Investment decisions are affected by risk, and a company's costs are increased if insurance premiums rise. Even shutting down facilities for a week or two is damaging to a corporation." [The Diplomat] A Chinese student in Japan weighs in. "What do we make of the hundred thousand Okinawans confronting American military bases in large-scale demonstrations? // At our university, I have already come across quite a few Japanese students who have been to China. Once they know I'm from China, they all 'show off' and use Chinese to give a self-introduction, and then in stilted tones say China's food is delicious, and so spicy! They do this in a very friendly way… // Saying this, I just want to remind my comrades: Beating up ordinary Japanese back in China just closes the last door to exchange among our people." [Tea Leaf Nation] Yes, our ability to be stupid is embedded in our DNA. "What is nationalism, after all, but tribalism writ large? We human beings, despite leaving the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and congregating into political entities with millions of others, have found it quite difficult to shed our old monkey ways." [Stan Abrams, China Hearsay] Well that's one way of ensuring the safety of Japanese cars. "Cable from the Hunan Huaihua Municipal Party Committee: Japanese Cars Banned from Road September 17-19: The Huaihua Municipal Party Committee gives notice in the cable below that all brands of Japanese cars are barred from driving on the road from September 17 through 19." [China Digital Times] Shed a tear for poor tourism companies. "Travel companies say they are seeing slowing business between China and Japan as the two countries ratchet up the rhetoric in a territorial dispute over a group of East China Sea islands. That has led to occasionally violent protests in China with a definite anti-Japanese tone." [WSJ] Chinese stone flute interlude: Finally… Protest in Guangzhou. [The Nanfang] Advocating nonviolent protest. [Antiviolence.zhiliao.cc] Gary Locke's car is damaged by protesters. [AP] Half-imagining a US-China conflict. [The Diplomat] "Thousands take to the streets to express nuanced views on complex issue." [China Daily Show] Finally, finally… Sola Aoi again: "Diaoyu Islands belong to China," via Global Times (story taken offline for whatever reason).

Jiangsu man invents ‘single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock’ Posted: 19 Sep 2012 06:57 AM PDT by Barry van Wyk on September 19, 2012 Have you ever had the problem of wanting to play badminton but no opponent was available? The front page of the Huaihai Evening News (淮海晚报) from Jiangsu province today reports that Wu Hongzhong (吴宏中) from Huai'an (淮安) has just obtained a patent for a type of single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock (一种单人健身娱乐羽毛球), meaning that where there is a wall, there can now be badminton. The 'single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock' 单人健身娱乐羽毛球 On first impressions the single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock looks like any other shuttlecock, but its head is mostly made out of the material used in a rubber ball, giving the shuttlecock a whole lot of extra bounce. The inventor himself gave the journalist a demonstration, softly hitting the new shuttlecock against a wall. The journalist remarked that it very much resembled a ping pong ball with rapid rebounds and strokes, so that one player, the journalist concluded, can play with unbridled joy (不亦乐乎). Inventor Wu explains that he came to the idea for this invention one day when he was unable to find a partner to play badminton with,  his favorite hobby. So he sat thinking, what to do?, when he struck on the idea of using the more flexible material of a rubber ball in the head of the shuttlecock. This greatly increased the flexibility of the shuttlecock, and changed its trajectory as well, making it suitable for single players to enjoy it for both 'fitness and fun,' hence the name. Wu first perfected his invention in May last year, and has since enjoyed many hours of single player badminton. But because many people did not really take his single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock very seriously, Wu decided to apply for a patent at China's Intellectual Property Office. It took nearly half a year, during which Wu almost gave up because it took so long, but he finally got his patent approved on 22 August this year. So what's next for Wu? Perhaps he could take his single player fitness and entertainment shuttlecock overseas? No, Wu is keeping his feet firmly on the ground, acknowledging that his invention is really very simple and anyone can do it. People should just use their brains, he says, think a bit more, have the courage to try something new, and you too could get your own patent. Links and sources Huaihai Wanbao (一个人打羽毛球？这个可以有!) More Front Page of the Day stories on Danwei

Watch: Car carrying US Ambassador Gary Locke surrounded by anti-American protestors Posted: 19 Sep 2012 07:12 AM PDT During Tuesday's anti-Japan protests to mark the 81st anniversary of the invasion of Japan into China, a small group of about 50 protestors in Beijing decided to make a detour to the US Embassy. There they shouted anti-American slogans ("打倒美帝！Down with American Imperialism!") and later surrounded a car carrying the US Ambassador to China Gary Locke, hurling bottles at it. The car sustained minor damage and the ambassador remained unharmed. In a similar incident late August, a man ripped off the Japanese flag from a car carrying the former Japanese ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa. [ more › ]

Wang Fingers His Former Boss, Bo Posted: 19 Sep 2012 05:53 AM PDT The trial of ex-Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun has implicated for the first time the city's disgraced Party boss Bo Xilai in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Bo was not mentioned by name. Wang spoke of the "Chongqing … Continue reading →

Japan’s no-nuclear policy could prove “hollow promise” Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:23 AM PDT The decision to scrap all Japanese nuclear plants over the next 30 years is a short-term political move that leaves plenty of room for u-turns. After months of turmoil, on September 14 the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) announced a new energy policy. As Japan's Asahi newspaper correctly argues, the policy is chock full of contradictions and escape clauses. Even so, the policy will almost certainly – perhaps in the course of this month – be adopted as is by the cabinet and frame the new "energy basic plan" put out by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The energy policy's main components, so far as much of the domestic and international debate are concerned, are a commitment to withdraw from nuclear energy by the late 2030s and emphasise renewable energy. An example of international reaction is the September 14 declaration by the Financial Times that Japan's "decision to phase out nuclear power has sent shockwaves through the energy industry, and could affect everything from global gas prices to the business of making and selling solar panels." Certainly the policy is different from the June 2010 plan that committed Japan to getting over half its power from nuclear plants by 2030 and included a reluctant nod to renewables (20% of power by 2030). That policy announcement was followed by Fukushima, of course, and Japanese energy politics and policymaking continue to be profoundly shaken by it. In particular, energy policy is no longer the technocratic exercise it was before Fukushima, when it was dominated by METI and the "nuclear village" of pro-nuclear monopoly utilities, big business, reactor-dependent communities and legions of politicians, bureaucrats and academics. Among the actors actually and effectively at the table now are other bureaucracies, non-nuclear local governments organised into increasingly coherent regional blocs, social-media mobilised civil society, renewable-investing big capital, SMEs, farm coops and households. Imagine the DPJ's challenge of representing all these interests. The party was never a compact vehicle to begin with, only achieving a certain brief coherence in the 2009 election campaign's imperative of clearly differentiating itself from the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Now it faces an election campaign in the coming months while it attracts an abysmal 10% support in recent polls. Prime minister Noda Yoshihiko knows he needs to appeal to the powerful anti-nuclear, green-growth streams within his own party as well as in the public at large. Asahi also notes, quite correctly, that other factors may wield significant influence before the election. The September 19 inauguration of the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may lead to further approvals for restarts. Among other problematic outcomes, more restarts could weaken incentives for energy conservation, deployment of renewable energy and progress towards a distributed energy economy. On the other hand, post-Fukushima Japan is increasingly incentivised to move in the renewable direction by its feed-in tariff (FIT). The FIT was installed in late August 2011 by outgoing prime minister Kan Naoto. In the first month after it came into effect on July 1, the policy attracted 33,695 renewable projects worth about US$2 billion (12.6 billion yuan), well beyond what was anticipated. Led by local banks and credit unions, Japanese finance capital is opening its faucets in this direction. Electricity is at the core of Japan's "local production, local consumption" boom, and the FIT is the key policy accelerating it. So we need a sense of perspective: the new energy policy is interesting as a snapshot of Japan's fluid energy politics, but the FIT serves as an important institutional conduit channelling that flow. Flimsy no-nuke promise The government's pledge to pull the plug on nuclear power by the 2030s could prove to be a hollow promise, with few details yet given on how to achieve it, how quickly to proceed and how to reconcile contradictions along the way. Observers see the policy as a product of compromise, and something prime minister Noda hopes will both get him re-elected in a party leadership race this month and win support from ordinary voters in the upcoming Lower House election. Noda himself is unwilling to dump nuclear power. It is instead what the public and many in his party have increasingly been demanding. Noda himself leaned toward shrinking nuclear power by 2030 but not abolishing it. He would have preferred to keep it at 15% of the nation's total energy makeup, according to aides. But Noda could not ignore demands from the public, which overwhelmingly called for a full phase-out by 2030. The government held open forums nationwide and solicited comments on the ideal future contribution of nuclear power. It offered two alternatives to zero-nuclear: 15% and 20-25%, both of which the public rejected. "Noda needs to win the party's presidential race first," said a lawmaker close to him. "Some DPJ members working on his re-election team back zero nuclear energy. If they turned their backs on him, it would have cast a pall on the management of a new administration even if he was re-elected." But the decision for abolition by 2039, albeit a decade later than 2030, provoked criticism, too. The United States expressed concern over how Japan would manage plutonium generated in recycling spent fuel. And Yonekura Hiromasa, chairman of Japanese business federation Keidanren, the nation's most powerful lobby, called Noda on September 13 to voice his opposition to zero nuclear power. Under pressure from both an international ally and business leaders, the administration included a clause at the last minute which allows leeway toward scrapping the policy entirely. "Energy sources available to the nation have been significantly affected by factors such as fuel supply and development of technology in the global market," the clause read. "It is extremely hard to predict how things may develop in the future and we should make sure that we are able to take a flexible approach." Furukawa Motohisa, national policy minister, insisted on retaining a clause that makes it a legal requirement for central and local governments to achieve the new energy policy. But in a session on the morning of September 14, the clause was taken out. With no legal basis behind the policy, the energy industry and local governments are not bound by it. METI is expected to flesh out the policy's details as it compiles the Basic Energy Plan this month. But that plan comes up for review every three years. There is no guarantee that an administration in power in 2015 will stick to it. "If a new administration is formed, the new energy policy could fall through," said a senior official with the industry ministry, referring to the possible outcome of dissolving the Lower House for a snap election. What appears in conflict with public sentiment and the overall target for the 2030s is the administration's pledge to restart reactors as "important sources of electricity" if they are confirmed to be safe. Since the 2011 nuclear disaster, officials have authorised two of Japan's 50 reactors to resume activity. The restart came amid widespread public opposition. The Noda administration plans to approve further reactor restarts if the new NRC declares they are safe. The commission is due to be formed on September 19. That, however, could pave the way for Japan to slip back to the situation before the Fukushima disaster, in which it relied on nuclear energy for close to 30% of all electricity output. Once reactors are restarted, plant operators could step up their opposition to abolishing nuclear energy. It could also slow a nationwide drive to reduce energy use and sap momentum towards a nuclear-free future. Plutonium plans unchanged Recycling spent fuel is another question entirely. Despite pledging to end nuclear power, the administration offered no change to the problem-laden plan to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to obtain plutonium. Plutonium can be used to generate electricity, but it can also be used to produce nuclear weapons. Critics accuse the Noda administration of planning to stockpile plutonium, even as Japan turns its back on nuclear power. "It makes no sense that rectors will use recycled fuel when they will be decommissioned just a few decades later," said Katsuta Tadahiro, an associate professor of nuclear power policy at Meiji University. The government has envisaged bringing a fast breeder reactor on-line around 2050 to get the nuclear-fuel recycling project to take off. Meanwhile, the plutonium stockpile could raise questions about Japan's motives for the nuclear-fuel recycling programme. "The international community will cast a suspicious eye on Japan if it retains large plutonium reserves that it cannot use at nuclear power plants," said Yoshioka Hitoshi, a professor of history of science and vice president of Kyushu University. Andrew DeWit is professor in the School of Policy Studies at Rikkyo University and an Asia-Pacific Journal coordinator. This article was first published as Andrew DeWit, "Japan's Energy Policy at a Crossroads: A Renewable Energy Future?" The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 10, Issue 38 No. 4, September 17, 2012. Homepage image by Greenpeace

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