On April 8 of this year, Bloomberg released an article entitled, “American jury awards 620 billion yen in case of Actos diabetes mellitus medicine from Takeda Pharmaceutical.” It said:

Over the past year alone, many Japanese corporations have been made to pay large sums in fines and settlements in the United States. According to a Reuters article from June 21, 2013, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ entered into an agreement with the State of New York to pay a settlement of 250 million dollars for reasons including the inappropriate processing of transactions related to Iran and other companies on which the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions.

　were found guilty of participating in an international cartel related to automobile parts. They agreed to pay fines totaling 1.6 billion dollars. Tire manufacturer Toyo Tire & Rubber also paid a fine of 120 million dollars in December for taking part in a price cartel, and in March of this year Marubeni was found guilty according to the American Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, for which it agreed to pay a 88-million dollar fine. Toyota also settled with the U.S. Department of Justice to pay a sanction of 1.2 billion dollars related to the vehicle acceleration lawsuits. I assume it is a given that Japanese corporations hired American lawyers for these disputes, which cost from 10 to 20% of the amount of the fines. Adding these fines and lawyer remuneration together, money to the tune of approximately one trillion yen is flowing from Japan to the U.S.

　Twenty-two years have passed since the end of the Cold War. The U.S. expended a great deal of blood, sweat, and money to win this fierce fight, but Japan was the country that gained economic superiority by profiting while others fought. After the end of the Cold War, the U.S. commenced an economic war in which the economic strength of Japan and Germany were its main opponents. It focused attention on stealing away Japan’s economic strength using ECHELON, which had been directed at the Soviet Union. This renowned American system was used to intercept war correspondence, with participation by the information agencies of the Anglo-Saxon countries: the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The U.S. utilized this system for intelligence gathering activities; for instance, it procured development information for new products and also released information that was advantageous to American corporations in international bidding. The U.S. also discovered content in this stolen information that could be used to set legal traps and levy outrageous fines. Edward Snowden, formerly of the CSA and NSA, exposed the fact that ECHELON is used to intercept telephone calls and online communications, which is now generally known. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone was tapped, so it is reasonable to assume that information from the mobile phones and computers of the Japanese prime minister and cabinet ministers – as well as top figures at Japanese corporations that have dealings with the U.S. – is being leaked as well.

　These things are not limited to economics. The main disputes between nations used to be wars settled using military power, but they are being transformed into information strategy warfare. As demonstrated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) finally launching a 90-person Cyber Defense Unit in March, the armed forces of various nations are strengthening their responses to cyber warfare related to computers and the Internet. The U.S. and many other countries are gathering all sorts of information from other nations and are manipulating it to their advantage. At times, this information is used to impose fines on foreign corporations. The Japanese National Security Council (NSC) was finally founded last year, the Act on Protection of Specified Secrets (Special Secrecy Law) was passed in the National Diet, and preparations have been made for Japan’s full-fledged participation in information warfare.

　After the inauguration of the Shinzo Abe administration, the overseas publicity budget was tripled from 500 million to 1.5 billion yen. I believe this should be further increased by 200 times so Japan can construct a “Ministry of Information” with a budget of 300 billion yen and 3,000 employees. This ministry should collect and analyze all sorts of information from across the globe, including media reports concerning Japan, and should refute any mistaken reports or news that is unfavorable to Japan in the local language within 24 hours. If Japan does not respond in this way, information warfare cavils will results in Japanese corporations paying fines and being excluded from markets, no matter how many efforts are made for market development.

　The U.S. is said to be ruled by White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). Successive generations of American presidents were WASPs; exceptions include John F. Kennedy, who was Catholic, and Barack Obama, a black man. But Kennedy – who had a non-expansionist policy regarding Vietnam War – was assassinated, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was automatically promoted to the position of president with no election. Consequently, he expanded the Vietnam War. In the U.S. war is a type of public-works project, which is why it has fought in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, and Iraq War. During the Cold War it fought due to ideological conflicts, after which it has continually clashed in the Middle East to secure oil under the pretext of the “War on Terror.” However, the U.S. is being significantly transformed today. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell, a black man who was a hero of the Gulf War, became secretary of state afterwards and was asked to run as a Republican presidential candidate. But he declined due to strong opposition from his wife, was afraid that Powell would be assassinated like Kennedy since he isn’t a WASP. Meanwhile, Obama – a black Protestant – shouldered this risk and became the first black president. He has withdrawn the armed forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, drastically cut military spending, and reduced the Marine Corps in Okinawa. In these and other ways, the U.S. does not appear to be the

　Even though Obama announced he would conduct an airstrike if chemical weapons were used in Syria, in the end he decided otherwise. The government and antigovernment forces continued criticizing each other, saying the other party had used chemical weapons. The top figure in the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency was dismissed in February. It is thought this was because he failed to maneuver the U.S. into an airstrike over the Syria issue. The Saudi Arabian intelligence agency supported the Syrian antigovernment forces and wanted the U.S. to carry out an aerial bombing of Syria, but it was unsuccessful. Apparently, the agency’s chief was dismissed because of the question of who was to blame for this.

　Now is the time for Japan – located between the declining U.S. and expanding China – to establish a structure as a truly independent nation that is capable of its own self-defense. If the Japanese constitution is not amended underneath the Abe administration, over the next 100 years it will probably not be able to become a respectable state, and will likely end up as an American colony or autonomous region of China.

　On April 12, the International Section of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper contained an article about Obama’s speech at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in which he said, “I am standing here today thanks to the Civil Rights Act.” The article stated that the civil rights movement opened up a path towards Obama becoming the first black president, and read:

　But Obama did not mention Japan’s contributions to the abolition of racial discrimination, so I think his awareness is lacking to a certain degree. After World War I, Japan submitted a proposal to the League of Nations commission at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, saying that racial discrimination should be clearly repealed in the League of Nations constitution. It was approved by 11 of the 16 nations, a majority. However, American President Woodrow Wilson, the chairman, rejected this proposal because he arbitrarily decided it could not be adopted without a unanimous vote.

　The waves of colonialism from the Western European countries stretched from Africa and Central and South America to Asia in the 19th century. Matthew C. Perry came to Japan from the U.S. and made many demands, hoping to turn Japan into a Christian colony like the Philippines. Russia and other countries also wanted Japan to be opened up. But even after Japan was opened to the world, it could not be colonized due to its high cultural level and the fact that it was a “family state” with a tradition centered on the Emperor of Japan. On the contrary, Japan was victorious in the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars due to its policy of increasing national prosperity and military power by completely changing the country’s systems through the Meiji Restoration. In particular, the colored countries that had been colonized were encouraged by Japan’s triumph over Russia, which had the largest army in the world. This also provided greater strength to independence movements. Japan touted the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere during World War II as well. At the Greater East Asia Conference held in Tokyo in 1943, Japan supported various Asian countries in their independence from Western Europe.

　President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected because of his public promise not to participate in the war in Europe, but Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were sweeping over Europe, and the fate of England was in a precarious state. Japan entered the Triple Alliance because it believed Hitler’s momentum would soon result in Germany gaining control of Europe.

　Roosevelt used the Triple Alliance as an opportunity to drive Japan into a corner and take up arms against it. In this way, he plotted to automatically enter the European war with Germany through the back door. He implemented measures such as a full-scale oil embargo and the ABCD encirclement. After deciphering all of Japan’s diplomatic codes, Roosevelt thrust the Hull Note – essentially a declaration of war – at Japan, dragging it into the war. Japan was beaten in this struggle, but after the war it helped many countries free themselves of colonial rule and form a worldwide consensus for the abolition of racial discrimination. This trend bore fruit in the American Civil Rights Act. Obama should understand this truth more fully, and should have declared that he was able to become president thanks to Japan, which achieved racial equality.

　The information strategies of China and South Korea have resulted in untruths about the Nanking Massacre and comfort women issue being spread throughout the world. The Japanese media has been unable to clearly refute these falsehoods due to the 30-item press code determined by the U.S. army of occupation, which clearly prohibits criticisms of China (Item 9) and Korean people (Item 8). The many other items suppressed speech to an unprecedented level in human history. Japan became independent when the Treaty of San Francisco came into effect in 1952, but the people who had carried out censorship according to the press code became part of a “stealth complex” – a group consisting of bureaucrats, diplomats, members of the media, and people from legal circles who graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law. They profited from Japan’s war defeat and cooperated in a harmonious way, becoming anti-Japanese Japanese people who flatter the U.S. and China. This still continues today.

　Japan was forced from its successful economic position after the Cold War and was made to implement policy to increase the value of the yen. The yen to dollar exchange rate rose to its highest level (75.32 yen) in October 2011. This sapped the strength of Japan’s export companies. But when the second Abe government gained power, it finally implemented ultra-loose monetary policy to halt deflation, and the yen fell in value. The weak yen has impacted some industries connected to imports, but this has not harmed Japan’s economic recovery. Furthermore, the Abe administration is also executing multiple economic incentives that do not require money. A bill to lift the casino ban has been submitted at the National Diet, and it is expected that a decision will be made on not factoring elevator shafts into the floor space index, which will allow for efficient architectural structures. The domestic economy must be put on an upward trajectory, and Japan must become a country that can assert itself against the U.S., which snares many Japanese corporations in legal traps via information warfare.

　In fact, the American economy is sustained by Japan in many ways. Americans use money exceeding what they have personally earned; they take out large mortgages to make up for this and enjoy affluent lifestyles, and then finally balance their accounts by selling off real estate after prices have risen. In contrast, Japanese people put up with electricity and water rates several times higher than the worldwide standard, eat high-priced foods, pay mortgages, and save the remaining portion for their retirement. The bulk of these savings is used to purchase American Treasury securities, but these U.S. government bonds are not returned. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto attempted to sell off these bonds, but he lost his position in the end. In other words, Japan is essentially using its profit to finance the U.S., not to mention the fact that tribute has continually been provided to China such as the compensation paid by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines after World War II.

　The JSDF is bound by the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and has been reduced to a colonial army that can only fulfill its potential when it fights as a friendly force with the U.S. It should be turned into an army that adheres to Japan’s national interests – a country is only independent if it has an independent army, which presupposes the right of belligerency. Nations that lack the right to wage war cannot be described as independent, and diplomatic negotiations are conducted against a backdrop of military strength. Japan should not be manipulated through information stratagems, such as the fines imposed on Japanese corporations. Instead, Japan must recognize the importance of military power, reduce the National Diet members that are in the traditional Chinese and American camps, increase the number of pro-Japanese Diet members, and take steps down the road to becoming a respectable, independent state.

11:00 p.m., April 24, 2014 (Thursday)