Echoes of World War II – Japan in Iraq – Narita Divorce

Podcast Feed – MP3 TOKYO – With the end of the Second World War nearly 61 years behind us echoes of the the past remain in the news, and in Asia the headlines often deal with Japan’s failure to face up effectively to its militaristic past. This week the Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Ryuichiro Yamazaki made an apology to Filipinos for the estimated 100,000 deaths in the Battle for the Liberation of Manila. Meanwhile Japan is considering sending more troops to Iraq before a rumored pullout, and later, just what is a Narita divorce?

Imperial Crisis – JAL Crash Exhibit – Whale Meat Surplus

RSS Podcast Feed – MP3 TOKYO – Japan’s imperial family is said to be the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world. Now the country is facing a succession crisis, no male heirs to the throne have been born in 40 years. Will Japan allow an Empress to occupy the Imperial throne?

Late in the day on August 12th 1985 a drama was unfolding over the skies of Japan that would quickly lead to the single worst air disaster of all time claiming the lives of 520 people on JAL Flight 123. The cause? A tail strike on the 747’s rear bulkhead had occurred 7 years earlier, a flawed repair job by Boeing led to metal fatigue and the subsequent in flight loss of the plane’s rear stabilizer. Now, 21 years on, Japan Airlines is set to display key components of the recovered wreckage at, of all places, Haneda airport, Tokyo’s city air terminal.

Whaling might be against international law but that hasn’t stopped Japan catching the mammals under the guise of “scientific research.” With reports that surplus stocks are being used in pet food, many are questioning why Japan needs to continue with its controversial practice.