ODAの開発会社への出資に対する異議

4月22日の日経新聞の夕刊に「国際開発協力機構（JICA）は５月にもミャンマー初の近代的工業団地「ティラワ工業団地」の開発会社に10%程度を出資する。開発会社の株主である日本の商社から株式を取得するなどして5億円前後を投じる」と報じている。このような援助資金の拠出に関して疑問を持つ。

ODA（政府開発援助）とは、「政府または政府の実施機関によって開発途上国または国際機関に供与されるもので、開発途上国の経済・社会の発展や福祉の工場に役立つために行う資金・技術提供による公的資金を用いた協力のこと」である（http://www.mofa.go.jp/
mofaj/gaiko/oda/about/oda/oda.html）。これは通常工業団地の整備を通じて工業化を図ることによって雇用・所得の誘発や対外貿易の強化に寄与すると関連する。

ミャンマーのティラワ工業団地について既に2013年に日本政府は200億円の円借款で400ヘクタール分の工業団地を支える基礎インフラである発電所、工業用水、港湾等の整備を支援することを決定した。経済発展レベルが低いため、ミャンマー政府は基礎インフラの整備にあたって民間資金の調達が極めて困難のため、日本のODAを求めるほかない。しかしながら、直接な受益者となる日本企業に対してなぜODAを用いて当該工業団地の開発会社に出資している日本企業から株を取得する必要があるのかに理解を苦しむ。

まず、利益を追求する民間企業は自らリスクを取るべきであり、国民の税金からなるODAがそのリスクの一部を負担すべきではない。国はそのようなリスクの一部を負担すれば、民間企業のただ乗りを助長し、ビジネス展開の判断における慎重さの欠如をもたらす。

次に、ミャンマーにおいて絶対貧困者が多く、彼らは衣食住や医療衛生等のベシク・ヒュマン・ニーズが満たされていないので、開発公社の株式取得に当たる5億円をそれに充当されることがODAの本来の狙いである。

最後に、財政赤字を削減する手立てがない一方、高齢者への社会保障給付が増加する一方の中で、限られているODAを効果的に使用することを考えないJICAは果たして必要なのか。ベシク・ヒュマン・ニーズすら満たされていないミャンマー人を助けないならば、無用なODA支出を削減し、財政赤字の削減に貢献した方が良い。

Who is Right? Mr. Abe or The NYT

The New York Times' Editorial on 2 March: "Mr. Abe's Dangerous Revisionism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/opinion/mr-abes-dangerous-revisionism.html?ref=editorials&_r=0

This editorial is a clear indication of how the US--the closest ally of Japan--is scrutinizing Mr. Abe Shinzo's political orientation, which might become a liability to the US.

In response to the NYT's Editorial, Japanese government protested furiously,
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140304/japan-protests-new-york-times-editorial-abe

Who is right? 

According to a Japanese news web media, Mr. Abe Shinzo supported a claim by Mr. Takashi Kawamura, the Mayor of Nagoya City, that "that not was probably no such so called Nanjing Incident (literally translated from Japanese)."
http://news4dom.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-613.html(in Japanese)

Abe's Active Pacifism

Quote from Bloomberg:

"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pressed by China and seeking to strengthen ties with the U.S., is considering Japan’s biggest change in military engagement rules since World War II."

Read: http://bloom.bg/MtNHJF

Nationalist PM Abe wants to transform peace loving and war-renouncing Japan to a peace making country that has a strong military capability--which he defines it as the Active Pacifism. Will Abe's self-fulfilling prophecy leads to a higher level of peace and stability in East Asia? Or, it will create more tensions?

Another act from "FOA"

Quote from BBC: "NHK governor denies Nanjing massacre

A governor of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, denies the Nanjing massacre took place, days after a row over Tokyo's use of sex slaves engulfed the new NHK chief."

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26029614

Oxford dictionary explains that massacre is "an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of many people."

It is not an issue about how many were killed in nanjing, the point is even 30 people were killed instead of 300,000 as being claimed by the chinese, it was a massacre, period.

The assertions--of refuting nanjing massacre or of dusputing the number of people killed--by japanese public figures are truly absurd.

Voltaire said: "those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Will the present and future generations of Japanese intelligentsia repeat history??

The "FOA" (freaks of Abe) looks like going down to that path.....They must be stopped...

2014: The Year of the Horse

BBC: "What Japanese history lessons leave out" by Mariko Oi

Here is an explanation of why there are many Japanese people who do not understand the country's war atrocities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21226068

Voltaire was certainly right: "To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth."

An Example of the Mis-use of Official Development Assistance (ODA)?

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-opens-wallet-to-push-smart-cards-for-Asian-mass-transit

Does ODA project fit into economic welfare enhancement of Vietnam? Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is throwing the Japanese tax payers money to Japanese and Vietnamese companies who should have undertaken the project on the basis of market principles?

Why should the Japanese tax payers support companies like Sony, NTT Data and Dai Nippon Printing in starting their businesses in Vietnam? They suppose to be risk takers if not risk neutral, but JICA has helped them to avoid business risks in Vietnam because even if the project does not succeed, after all that investment is Japanese tax payers' money!!!

BBC: "NHK boss sparks 'comfort women' row"

The new chairman of NHK--a public broadcaster equivalent to BBC, Mr. Katsuto Momii said, "such [comfort] women could be found in any nation that was at war, including France and Germany." Mr. Momii is a FOA (Freaks of Abe), and no wonder he made a stupid statement to cover Mr. Abe.

BBC reports that: 

The head of Japanese broadcaster NHK causes controversy by playing down the use of sex slaves - so-called "comfort women" - in World War Two.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25901572

NHK operates under Japan's Broadcast Law, which ensure that NHK's operations are supported by fees receive from every household and business operator with a TV set.

NHK's official statement says that:

"The receiving fee system ensures NHK’s financial independence, which guarantees NHK’s editorial independence and impartiality.

The duty of a public broadcaster is to deliver impartial, high-quality programs. Programs should never be influenced by the government or a private organization. A wide range of programs and a balanced programming should be also provided, with no influence imposed by ratings or the interests of a third party."

Mr. Momii's statement has disgraced NHK's independence and impartiality as a public broadcaster. That statement is unwarranted, intolerable and inexcusable. He ought to make a sincere public apology and resign immediately. Enough of "FOA" nonsense.