Japan to Shed its Nuclear Abstinence?

The Japanese government recently commissioned a study to look into the possibility of developing indigenous nuclear warheads, according to a newspaper report. Findings of the study were, however, disappointing as the effort and investment required to produce nuclear warheads have been estimated to be far more than earlier believed.

According to the Sankei Shimbun report, the experts study concluded that it would take at least three to five years and an investment of about ¥200 to 300 billion (US$1.7 to 2.5 billion) for Japan to make a prototype nuclear warhead. This is contrary to the claims made in the wake of North Korean missile and nuclear tests that Japan can quickly produce nuclear weapons if it chooses to, due to its high level of technology and civilian nuclear industry.

Government officials have denied the existence of any such study and maintain that there are no plans to launch a nuclear weapons development programme. As the only nation ever attacked by nuclear weapons, Japan has for decades espoused a policy of not possessing, developing or allowing the introduction of nuclear bombs on its soil. However, the growing security concerns in Japan following North Korea’s intransigent nuclear weapons programme, have more voices calling for a debate on the non-nuclear stance. With the new government led by Shinzo Abe pursuing a nationalist agenda, Japan may finally take the plunge to go nuclear.

Google's Top 10 Searches for 2006

Google's list of top 10 searches in 2006 includes usual suspects like myspace, wikipedia, but also some unusual terms like "bebo". The list came in for some criticism for including fairly unlikely terms (for example, “Bebo” at the top of the list). The raised eyeborws forced Google to come out with a clarification on how the list is complied and what it represents. Google calls its list of top searches as “Zeitgeist” - the spirit of time. The list, according to Google, is not just a mechanical compilation of the most frequently-searched terms, it rather represents what sorts of things were top of mind and best represented the passing year. Google says in its clarification:

"The Zeitgeist is "the spirit of time." This is why … we do not simply retrieve the most frequently-searched terms for the period -- the truth is, they don't change that much from year to year. …Instead, we looked for those searches that were very popular in 2006 but were not as popular in 2005 -- the explosive queries, the topics that everyone obsessed over. To come up with this list, we looked at several thousand of 2006's most popular searches, and ranked them based on how much their popularity increased compared to 2005. … We also gave a bit higher score to searches with more traffic."

Here is the top 10 list :

1. bebo
2. myspace
3. world cup
4. metacafe
5. radioblog
6. wikipedia
7. video
8. rebelde
9. mininova
10. wiki

The Top 10 news search items published by Google are as below.

1. paris hilton

2. orlando bloom

3. cancer

4. podcasting

5. hurricane katrina

6. bankruptcy

7. martina hingis

8. autism

9. 2006 nfl draft

10. celebrity big brother 2006

Top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2006 from CNN

After TIME recognized the explosive growth and influence of user generated content and role of individuals in transforming the information age by naming ‘You’ as the "Person of the Year", CNN.Com has judged the “ubiquitous YouTube, MySpace, etc.” as its top entertainment story of 2006. In its list of top 10 entertainment stories, CNN has said that these sites are redefining who makes entertainment, when it's available (whenever you want) -- and what it is, for that matter.

The top 10 list includes Britney Spears, Mel Gibson (for his drunken, racist tirade and "Apocalypto"), Steve Irwin (the "Crocodile Hunter"), Celebrities in Africa (George Clooney in Darfur, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Namibia, Madonna), Borat, Lost love (high-profile breakups including Britney and K-Fed) and the old folks still have it (Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Judi Dench, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep).

Rising nationalism in Japan - history re-visited?

If last decade of the 20th century marked the 'end of history', is the first decade of this century going to be one of ‘history re-visited’? Rising nationalism in Japan is a trend that has largely been ignored in the contemporary world's obsession with the wars being fought in the name of religion. Or, is it too early to call it a trend?

Japan is seeing a revival of nationalist sentiments after half a century of ‘pacifism’ imposed by the US-drafted post-war constitution. After series of visits by the former Prime Minister Koijumi to a controversial war shrine that had evoked angry reactions from neighbours China and South Korea, there are more subtle signs of a shift in national psyche that wants to shed the post-war guilt, build up a sense of patriotism and national pride and have a larger role in international military operations.

Japan’s parliament has enacted a new law upgrading the Defense Agency to a full ministry for the first time since World War II and also passed a new education reform bill that requires schools to teach patriotism.

The upgrading of the Defense Agency under the Cabinet Office to a full ministry gives Japan's generals greater budgetary powers and prestige. This comes in the backdrop of deep concern in the country over North Korean pursuit of missile and nuclear weapons development programme which some observers believe may push Japan to go nuclear sooner or later.

Japan’s military has maintained a low profile under the US-drafted pacifist constitution which prevents Japan from using force to settle international disputes. Tokyo maintains fighting forces only for self-defense and U.S. has some 50,000 troops in Japan under a security alliance. Of late, there has been a discernible shift and Japan seeks a greater role in global military co-operation. Japanese troops have begun participating in international military operations, including in Iraq.

The education reform bill, the first change to Japan's main education law since 1947, calls on schools to “to cultivate an attitude that respects tradition and culture, that loves the nation and homeland.” Critics say this reminds of Japan's war-era education system, in which children were instructed to support the country's imperialist military and sacrifice themselves for the emperor and nation.