Yoshiko Sakurai
The acquisition of Japan’s forests, water sources, and farmland by Chinese companies has been called into question. Journalist Yoshiko Sakurai said, “Chinese companies are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, even in the form of private companies. For the sake of Japan’s security, we must realize the establishment of laws that prevent China from taking over our land and seas” – he said.
The most dangerous region in the world today is the area around our country.
For the past few weeks, my eyes have been drawn to a map. It is a map of the Pacific Ocean with the South American continent on the right and the Eurasian continent on the left, with the nuclear powers painted in red. Eurasia, with Russia, China, and North Korea in the center, is colored red, and North America, with the United States in red. In the middle of the map, our country, Japan, stands alone on the left edge of the Pacific Ocean. I realize that the most dangerous region in the world today is not the Atlantic or Europe, but the Pacific and Asia, and that it is the area around our country.
With Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, we are so preoccupied with the daily war reports that it is difficult to realize how dangerous Japan is in this major shift in the global balance of power. Our country is in a daze, and we are neither prepared nor ready to take a firm stand for national defense. The thinking is naive and the system is loose. It is time for Japan to cooperate with the U.S. in formulating concrete measures for a strategy toward China that will determine the fate of the nation, and to prepare for such measures, including constitutional reform. It is only natural that China would target them.
Impact of the War of Aggression on Ukraine on Asia
On April 25, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin said that he “wants to see Russia weakened” so that it can never again engage in a war of aggression like the one in Ukraine. True to its word, the United States is becoming more deeply committed to Ukraine with the intention of degrading Russia.
Economic aid to replenish and strengthen Ukraine’s weapons equipment amounted to $3.05 billion from February 24 to April 21 (as of April 2022), when Russia launched its war of full-scale aggression. However, on April 28, President Biden requested an additional $33 billion (approx. 4,308.7 billion yen) in new aid from Congress, totaling 4.7 trillion yen when combined with the actual amount since February, or more than half of Russia’s military budget for 2021 of $65.9 billion (approx. 8.6 trillion yen). It is a natural sentiment to stand by Ukraine and hate Mr. Putin in this war of aggression, which is why the U.S. nods its head in Ukraine’s direction. At the same time, from Japan’s perspective, we must be concerned about what kind of situation the war in Ukraine is creating in Asia. This is symbolized by the map at the beginning of this article, which shows the crisis in Japan. China has always wanted to weaken the United States. It is China that is most pleased that the U.S. is deeply involved in the Ukraine issue and continues to invest economic and military resources in the region. Their major goal is to win the competition with the U.S. and become the dominant power on the planet, and the enemy is the U.S. Therefore, China has always wanted to weaken the US. During the Gulf War of President George W. Bush (father) and the Afghan War of President George H.W. Bush (son), the Chinese were keenly interested in how much power the U.S. would exhaust in the Middle East, and how much this would diminish U.S. national strength and threaten its position. They were eager to see the U.S. depleted and hoped that the war would be protracted and, if possible, bogged down. This time will be no different. They want the war between Ukraine and Russia to drag on, for the U.S. military to become more deeply committed, and for the U.S. military to become depleted and exhausted with massive aid. If only the U.S. were weakened, China could dominate the Asia-Pacific region. Such a development would be extremely dangerous for both the U.S. and Japan, and contrary to President Biden’s strategy in the first place, which was to withdraw the U.S. from the Afghan war in 2021. Biden made it clear that the withdrawal was to focus on the real threat, China. But if the US gets too deeply involved in the Ukraine issue, it will not be able to concentrate its efforts on China. This is a grave crisis for Japan. That is why Japan must consider how quickly it can achieve Russia’s defeat in the war in Ukraine as its own business. The area around Japan has the highest density of nuclear weapons and missiles. Geopolitically, the greatest concern for Japan and the U.S. is that China and Russia will join hands and effectively dominate the Eurasian continent, which is exactly what is happening now. The Biden administration has not been able to focus on dealing with China, the greatest threat, and has not been able to prevent the China-Russia alliance. The greatest concern here is that the administration is losing its strategic direction. For China, on the other hand, now that the U.S. and Europe are concentrating on Ukraine, it is a strategic opportunity. They are building military power as the basis of their national strength without looking aside. Missile units and bombers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will be able to strike 850 targets within 3,200 kilometers of the Chinese mainland twice by 2030, and more than 4,500 targets within 1,400 kilometers twice,” said Masaru Murano, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, a US think tank. “It would be able to strike 850 targets twice, and within 1,400 kilometers, more than 4,500 targets twice. In a few years, China’s strategic missiles, both nuclear and non-nuclear, will be capable of hitting both Japan and Taiwan within range, and will have the ability to comfortably launch multiple strikes. The western edge of the Pacific Ocean, around Japan, is already the area with the highest density of nuclear weapons and missiles, but the density will be even higher and more dangerous. China has effectively taken over the Solomon government center. As the Biden administration has declared, the real threat, the more formidable enemy, is China. Many Japanese have already sensed that Japan is the country most targeted by China. What kind of aggression will China extend to Japan? China will not make the same mistake as Vladimir Putin. So we must be wary of China’s secret negotiations. In April (2022), it was revealed that Solomon Islands and China had signed a security agreement. What a surprise, even the Solomon’s Parliament was not aware of it. Since the Solomon Parliament was unaware of it, it is no wonder that Australia and the United States were unable to stop it. In no time at all, China had effectively taken over the heart of the Solomon government. How many bribes were paid? China’s skill in capturing its targets is inexhaustible.
Japan’s Seas and Seabed Targeted by Chinese Capital
Japan can no longer laugh at the Solomon Islands, as Masashi Miyamoto, an editorial writer of the Sankei Shimbun dated May 7, 2022, in his article “The Day Borders Disappear: Offshore Wind Power Touches Japan,” warns that China is moving to seize the source of Japan’s electricity supply by taking orders for offshore wind power generation projects in Japan. While it is dangerous to have another country, especially China, take over the source of Japan’s electricity supply, even if only a portion of it, there is more to it than that, Miyamoto says.
For example, a Chinese company has decided to enter the offshore wind power generation business in the town of Nyuzen in Toyama Prefecture. The power generation contractor can survey the wind power, ocean currents, seafloor topography, and geology of the area where the generators will be installed. The company that receives the order can occupy and survey the area for up to 30 years.
Mr. Miyamoto, who has been covering the acquisition of Japanese land by Chinese capital for more than 20 years and knows the realities of the evil hand of Japanese aggression, adds, “The Chinese are also involved in the acquisition of forests, watersheds, agricultural land, and other natural resources.
Not only the forests, water sources, farmlands, and other national lands, but also the seas and seabeds of Japan, a maritime nation, could fall into the hands of Chinese capital.
It is a frightening prospect. Strengthening the nation’s defense capability is far from enough to confront the Chinese threat. Politicians need to put their crisis antennae up around themselves like a pinwheel and emphasize the Chinese threat to the U.S. as well. We must grasp the problem and realize a legal framework that will prevent China from taking over our land and seas.
A large tract of land in Aomori Prefecture bought by Shanghai Electric Power Co.
In the spring of 2011, it was discovered that a Chinese woman had bought Yanaha Island, an uninhabited island in Shimajiri County, Okinawa Prefecture. Japanese law allows Chinese nationals to buy up islands not far from the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military bases in Okinawa.
Soon after, it was revealed that Shanghai Power Company had purchased a large tract of land in Aomori Prefecture, where Japan’s energy and security critical facilities are concentrated. Yasuko Kato was the one who uncovered this matter. She is the person who made it possible to register the “Industrial Revolutionary Heritage of Meiji Japan” as a World Heritage site. She told us the following.
Mutsu City is located next to Rokkasho Village in Kamikita County, where the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant is located. Mutsu City is constructing an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. However, a large area of land in front of this facility has been purchased by Shanghai Electric Power Co.
The vast field in front of the interim storage facility is registered in the name of a Japanese woman, but the application and approval for the project on this land was made under the name of a limited liability company called SMW Tohoku. The limited liability company involves several companies, making it difficult to ascertain the actual status of the company. However, when SMW Northeast is traced, the location leads to the address of Shanghai Electric Power Co. They are supposed to be engaged in the wind power generation business here, according to the paperwork.
Electricity rates paid by the public enrich Chinese companies.
Renewable energy projects, whether wind or solar, are protected by feed-in tariffs (FIT). Once approved, the industrial electricity generated can be purchased for 20 years at a relatively high feed-in tariff. It is a lucrative business. The power companies are responsible for purchasing the electricity, but the cost is added to each household’s electricity bill as a surcharge for renewable energy, all of which is borne by the public.
In the case of Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, if Shanghai Electric Power Co. were to start a wind power generation business here, Tohoku Electric Power Co. would have to purchase all the electricity generated, and the public would pay for it all.
We must not forget one more important thing here. All electricity charges will go into the pockets of Shanghai Electric Power Co. In other words, in the renewable energy business using the FIT, the electricity rates paid by the public directly enrich Chinese companies.
From Dots to Lines: China’s Acquisition of Japan
In fact, this is not the only site that Shanghai Power Company has been acquiring. An area near the base of the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Ominato Regional Unit, facing Mutsu Bay in Mutsu City, was also purchased. The property is owned by a Japanese national on the registry, and the business license is held by a limited liability company called SMW Tohoku, with the company’s address being Shanghai Power Company. It is exactly the same pattern.
Sankei Shimbun editorial board member Masashi Miyamoto has been covering the issue of Japanese national land being bought by foreign capital for many years. He states that the pattern of Chinese acquisition of Japanese land has changed since then Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Hokkaido in 2018. Where once they bought as a point, they are now buying as a line, he said.
For example, he says, an international school near Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, an international school in Abe Kogen in Iwate Prefecture, land near Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture, and a large logistics center planned near the Self-Defense Forces base in Sendai City, all reveal strange things. Miyamoto also pointed out that if land transactions other than those listed here are grouped under “Chinese capital” or “Chinese capital,” the dots along National Route 4 from Aomori to Tokyo are connected by a line, and the location of the SDF base and the distribution center connected to that base emerge along that line.
Legally Naked in the Name of Offshore Wind Power
Another important point he made was related to offshore wind power generation. As mentioned earlier in this article, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) are leading the bidding process for the project based on the Renewable Energy Sea Area Utilization Law. At that time, all data on the seafloor is disclosed to the publicly solicited companies. This information includes currents, wind direction, seafloor topography, and geology of the surrounding sea area.
The above information can be obtained simply by applying for the project. The information is disclosed not only to the successful bidder, but also to all other bidders. Furthermore, if selected, the operator will be given a permit to occupy the area and can occupy the sea area for 30 years. They can also conduct their own seafloor surveys.
The Japanese archipelago is legally stripped bare in the name of offshore wind power generation.
Chinese companies, even in the form of private companies, are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. For the sake of homeland security, Japanese politicians must now move swiftly, bearing in mind that all Chinese companies are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping’s store as the parent company.
