Wall Street Journal Interviews Abe

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Japanese PM Shinzo Abe recently sat down and spoke with the Wall Street Journal. In his interview he discusses his opinions on how Japan has approached teaching history since World War II.

Abe suggests that children from Japan are lacking self-confidence and "sense of pride".  He also states that thanks to the alliance with America, Japan has "protected the pace and stability of Japan and the region".

Abe continues to also stress the importance of militarizing Japan. He told WSJ: "if there was an attack against the U.S. destroyer, Japan would not be able to prevent that from happening under the current law, even if Japan had the capability to protect the U.S".

Here is my favorite Abe moment from the interview:
"Americans are really frank when they speak. In Japan, you have to use polite language when you speak with someone senior to you, but I was deeply impressed how in the U.S., even if you’re young, junior or senior, you can talk candidly."

The interview is very interesting, and it is rare to have a transcribed interview like this with a very powerful world leader. I encourage everyone to read the interview. It provides a perspective on the "new" Japan, and how they can impact international relations diplomatically, economically, and militarily.

Abe's mission for this trip is to reinforce strong Japanese-United States relation, and talk about how powerful it is for future generations.

Death by Malaria

Malaria is Everywhere and Mosquitoes Suck.

The following map shows the Malaria index. Red = lots of malaria. Yellow = some. Green = none..

The other day we discussed the British and how many of them actually came back from India. We learned that over half of them (I forget) died or did not return. I postulated that the main cause had to be Malaria.

Well, Today-I-Learned (TIL) that mosquitoes are actually the deadliest "animal" in the world, taking over 750,000 human lives each year. Before I traveled to India, I had to get vaccinated for Malaria. I wonder why these countries don't vaccinate? If there's Malaria, EVERYWHERE, there needs to be precautions taken.

With the exception of war, mosquitoes always win.

My first guess would have been humans, however, it wasn't such a surprise that mosquitoes were substantially higher than any other animal. To put it in perspective.. here's some calculations


There are (humans deceasing)..... 72,500 mosquito deaths per ONE shark and wolf death.
7,250 for every lion death.
29 for every dog death via rabies
14.5 for every snake death

Of course, mosquitoes are not that scary, but if you plan on traveling Southeast Asia, Africa, or India get vaccinated before you go. Or run whenever you see one.. Run fast....Before you become a statistic.



Quote from the article: "The number of mosquito-caused deaths really is a mind-blowing thing. Other than humans killing humans during periods of war, most years, the mosquito wins,

The Plague in Asia: Gerbils

According to BBC Science it has been recently discovered that the epidemics of "The Black Death", "The Plague", or Bubonic Plague may have actually been traced to gerbils, rather than rats. The history books we have read may actually need some editing.

The bubonic plague originated in Asia, and terrorized the world for hundreds of years. The scientific explanation basically says that the weather patterns in Asia would be more ideal for giant gerbils rather than rats.

For those who are curious, the World Health Organization, reported 800 cases of the plague in 2013 which included 126 deaths.

It's pretty interesting how closely studied the plague is still studied. I do not think there has ever been a case reported in the Americas (need to check). It would not surprise me that most of these cases discovered by the WHO would be in the Indochina region.

Japan to increase aid to fight terrorism

via BBC News

After the Islamic State killed two Japanese hostages, PM Shinzo Abe has indicated that Japan will contribute 15.5 Million dollars "to efforts to curb terrorism in the Middle East and Africa".

This funding will go towards stepping up border controls to stop foreign fighters from joining the Islamic State.

Abe originally offered to commit 200 Million to countries like Syria for aid, and ISIS demanded a 200 Million dollar ransom for the two hostages. After both hostages were killed, Japan has decided to increase aid.

If the war on terrorism was unpopular, it seems as if ISIS has attracted the attention of many global players, aside from the United States. The threat of ISIS has already been felt in Australia and other places, and it is only a matter of time before other countries start feeling more threatened.

Arrange Marriage and Divorce

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It's rare to see someone speak out on platforms about arrange marriage. Simply put, divorce is very common. It's a harsh reality, but in the Indian community, divorce gets you "shunned". The author of this article basically says that Indian divorcees are shunned like lepers.

However, this particular marriage is interesting. Both people come from the same caste as I identify myself with.. with one exception. The author's mother moved to India when she was seven, and therefore with a marriage, could offer citizenship to her newlywed husband via marriage. Possession of citizenship allows people who would be traditionally lower-caste to soar up in status.

The article takes a feminist viewpoint that basically call out my culture's chauvinistic ways. It's actually pretty sad, because there are many truths to her points. Men carry out affairs, disregard their women's feelings, and hold double-standards.

Going through a divorce, as an Indian woman, is basically committing social suicide. Chastity is something revered in my culture, and once a woman is divorced, they are very unlikely to remarry, unlike males.

One particular passage really moved me: "My culture teaches us that "boys will be boys" and that our role is to deal with it. A good wife can manage her husband and police herself so as not to displease him or upset the balance"

As a Punjabi, Jatt-Sikh, I can safely say that woman are advancing, while men are falling behind to alcohol abuse and general laziness.  Some of her points are a bit brash, but it was a very interesting read for me that hit home. 

Kim Does Russia

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According to BBC, Kim Jong Un has accepted an invitation to visit Moscow. This will be his first trip overseas since taking over North Korea in 2011. Russian presidential spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov did not mention Kim Jong Un by name, so it is possible that Kim will send one (or a few) of his cronies.

The invitation was sent to celebrate the 70th anniversary of World War II,

What makes this interesting, is that Kim Jong Un is visiting Moscow before Beijing. His father's biggest ally was said to be China. Perhaps visiting Russia will show that Chinese and North Korean relationships are not exactly in-tact.

China has received pressure from South Korea and Japan for not putting enough pressure on North Korea's nuclear program. As recent as 2013, they also backed sanctions proposed by the UN.

Perhaps the two sociopaths (Putin and Un) will become best of friends. You never know.

America and North Korea: The Internet

According to BBC Asia, the United States has been infiltrating North Korea's network since 2010. Although North Korea denies the Sony incident, software installed alerted U.S intelligence that they were in fact involved in hacking.

It gets interesting, because the NSA did not inform Sony of a potential attack, citing "security reasons".

In terms of national security, the Sony attack was insignificant; North Korea attacked a Japanese company, because Americans made a movie about killing their "Supreme Leader".

Security experts insist that the USA has been trying to breach North Korea's internet long before 2010, and perhaps DDoS attacks will ensue.