In the middle of the Obon holidays, I expected the trains to be nearly empty, but they were not as empty as I expected. Perhaps there were quite a few people using substitute transportation because of the power outage. The Chuo Line did not stop.
Power supply was cut off to 1.39 million households. They say there is a backup, but in reality it goes through a single transmission tower. That is of course not a backup. It made me think again how vulnerable the urban infrastructure is: an attack on a few transmission towers could paralyze Tokyo’s urban functions.
The Internet has moved beyond the situation where destroying the KDD and NTT buildings in Otemachi would have brought it to an end. But when one looks closer to home, it is striking that the even more fundamental power supply is in such a vulnerable condition. A Tokyo Electric Power Company representative said that there was a backup system and that it was highly unlikely both systems would be destroyed by lightning. Yet this seemed to make clear that terrorism and intentional causes like this incident had not been considered. Perhaps it is time to emerge from such peaceful, complacent lukewarm water.
By the way, tomorrow is August 15. Prime Minister Koizumi is apparently going to visit Yasukuni Shrine.
Today, I watched news reports from various broadcasters for about 2 hours concerning this issue. In summary:
(1) Enshrinement at Yasukuni was conducted by the state. This also applies to Class-A war criminals. Therefore, the state bears responsibility.
(2) The list of Class-A war criminals was sent to Yasukuni unilaterally by the responsible department of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, composed mainly of former military personnel, without reporting it to higher levels. Transcriber’s note: presumably because they thought it would be stopped. In a sense, it was a runaway action or conspiracy that had not received a legitimate institutional decision.
(3) The chief priest at the time, a former member of the imperial family, saw through this and shelved it.
(4) However, Matsudaira, the next chief priest and a former military officer, overturned the previous practice and enshrined them with only the decision of a very small number of people. Transcriber’s note: presumably because he thought it would not pass through a proper, ordinary process.
(5) The first person to propose separate enshrinement was Hiromu Nonaka, the chief cabinet secretary at the time. He argued that because this was a shrine established by the state, originally not even a religious corporation, and because those enshrined there were based on a list sent by the state, the state bore responsibility. Although there is separation of religion and state, he said that this was a special case in which the state should intervene. Transcriber’s note: I think he was right. Becoming a religious corporation was, after all, only a survival measure under GHQ.
The sleeping medication is starting to take effect, so I will stop here for today.