Unless you are nuts about Japan (which you must be, if you're reading this blog, c'mon), you have missed the biggest long-running JMSM story over the last couple of months, which is the revelation of a probable double murder of a Japanese-North Korean couple, and the abduction of their two small children by North Korean agents headquartered in Tokyo, which has culminated in an arrest warrant for a prime suspect, likely living in North Korea.
Now, I know from my experience in New York in 2001 that the response from across the pond will be: What about the nuclear issue/(and now) the comfort women? And indeed I myself have had such thoughts. But, as hard as it is for some (including yours truly) to believe, I am Japanese. And from that perspective, I realize that the abductee issue does not matter to you because it's about us, not you. It's the same story with Iraq; for you, it's about your soldiers dying, not the Iraqi civilian casualties. It's Us, and The Others, as far back in history as you can see. Empathy, like the weak force, diminishes greatly with distance.
So, with that note, Happy Golden Week!
Something the foreign MSM will focus on, if they ever get around to it, is something I too cannot understand. It's the timing of the reinvigorated investigation, as well as the way information has been strung out week after week. After all, it's been more than thirty years since it happened. Conspiracy theorists will undoubtedly have a ball speculating over the political motives that may have gone into this renewed interest. But that is one of the least of my concern these days.
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