On March 16, 2011, the author denounces Japan’s ruling administration for relying on bureaucratic rigidity, blocking volunteers and public servants, and delaying critical relief. Pointing to the needless prime ministerial visit that cost lives and triggered a ¥51 trillion stock market crash, he brands it a “killer cabinet” and calls for Kan’s resignation and replacement by a true leader.

On March 16, 2011, the author cites a blog post to argue that the stagnation of post-disaster supply transport was caused by the current government’s over-reliance on the bureaucracy. The author harshly criticizes the government’s actions, which obstructed the life-risking efforts of volunteers and civil servants, claiming this led to the 51 trillion yen stock market loss and the suffering of the victims. Naming the administration the “murderous cabinet,” the author condemns its lack of leadership and also attributes responsibility to media overreaction and the bureaucracy’s culture of avoiding accountability.

This is what happened under the current executive branch.
2011/3/16
I just read a blog post from someone who runs a children’s English education company, who left a “like” on my blog saying they read it. I’ll quote from their blog here: http://ameblo.jp/funatsuhiroshi/entry-10832334762.html. … (Excerpt) However, the people who really need generators, fuel, batteries, food, and water are not here; they are in the disaster-stricken areas. The expressways are regulated and impassable. That’s why people from the disaster area have to go all the way to their relatives’ place via Yamagata. Supplies aren’t reaching the disaster areas. Of course, because of the traffic regulations. And now, they are finally considering centralizing the supply of goods. Whether it’s the nuclear plant accident or anything else, they are probably just following the law, but it seems to me there’s a lack of flexibility. The people in the disaster areas must be so cold and hungry. I feel so terribly sorry for them, so sorry, my heart aches…

The current executive branch was originally a dying administration that had even been reported in a front-page scoop by the Asahi Shimbun… for reasons I don’t understand, they were supported by them. They have been incompetent so far, but I thought we needed them to work as if their lives depended on it, as a final service. And once it’s over, they would be immediately fired.

What a double disappointment. After reading the blog of the person I just mentioned, I finally understood why supplies weren’t reaching the shelters… It all came down to this administration. It was an executive branch with no insight or conviction… just a bunch of people who jump at whatever topic is current. Not only the budget, but all the measures for this disaster must have been left to the bureaucrats… and it’s easy to imagine what a bureaucrat would say… “It’s impossible because there’s a risk of a secondary disaster.” And the current executive branch must have nodded their heads instantly… What a double disappointment. One of my readers wrote on their blog, “I’m heading to help the victims. I don’t know when I’ll be able to return home…” and went to volunteer. I sent them a message saying, “You are great. Please do your best.” When people go to volunteer in a great disaster area like this, or to deliver supplies, they are, so to speak, risking their lives, aren’t they? If not, they shouldn’t go. There are people there who need help, so they go. They are fully aware of the dangers involved in the process. That is the creed of a person who goes to disaster relief. I believe it’s the antithesis of the bureaucrats’ idea of “closing the roads to prevent a secondary disaster”… In simple terms, they go with a resolve to die. Mr. Kan, that is what it means to act as if your life depends on it. They didn’t just stop those fearless volunteers; they also continued to stop various other brave and well-intentioned people, including civil servants, from going where they should have. This executive branch, without using any of their brains, caused a terrible secondary disaster—a 51 trillion yen drop in market capitalization over two days—and further fueled the public’s anxiety. That former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission knew the current prime minister well since he was a university student… He said he was always in the fourth row, a “Mr. Escape.” I will never forgive those who have done nothing for the last 20 years but create this kind of an executive branch… I repeat that they should never again be on the public stage. When I left the office, I said, “Oh, it’s cold today,” and my senior managing director replied, “When you think about the people enduring in a gymnasium like that, you can’t complain about being cold…” If it’s this cold even in Osaka tonight, I can’t imagine how cold it is for the people in the shelters.

As for Sendai Airport, the US military has brought in cranes and other equipment to make it operational for takeoffs and landings. I’m watching NHK News 9 now, and for the first time, the full picture of the current situation of the people in the disaster areas has been clearly conveyed. Even before watching this, when I was writing the previous section, I had realized that Naoto Kan is an outrageous man. Because this man was prime minister, he caused a massive 51 trillion yen stock market crash in just two days, which then sent a chill down the spine of the entire nation. He was unable to take responsibility for a single thing; the only thing he could do was yell at TEPCO for being slow with their reports… But it was he himself who performed that useless and unnecessary inspection, which critically delayed the initial response—the most important thing in a disaster of this magnitude—and this can be said to have led to the deaths of the victims and the current dangerous shortage of gasoline and food and water. … If he hadn’t performed that meaningless act, this situation could have been avoided for at least one day. TEPCO, too, should have had urgent matters to attend to instead of wasting time dealing with that unnecessary inspection, and the employees and others who are desperately responding now must be risking their lives to take various measures.

Kan, you may think your head is still attached because of this incident, but it’s not. I am naming this cabinet the “Murderous Cabinet.” Bureaucrats are people steeped in a “culture of shirking responsibility”… and the media up until now bears a great deal of responsibility for this. A few years ago, I visited Okinawa for the first time and stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. I think many people who know the area know that this is the only good hotel on the main island where you can see beautiful tropical fish right in front of the sea. An employee came to me as soon as I started snorkeling… He said it was forbidden. When I asked why, he said it was because a child had almost drowned while snorkeling a long time ago, and the hotel was criticized by the media. This kind of situation only increased the bureaucrats’ culture of avoiding responsibility… and that is the truth of Japan. This cabinet, which has no experience, insight, or philosophy to handle a situation like this, is, so to speak, an “amateur cabinet”… as he himself has referred to it… and especially in this great catastrophe, it was a “provisional license cabinet.”

What else could they have done but nod in agreement with the bureaucrats’ explanations? There’s no need to bring up the example of 9/11 in New York; rescue is always a life-risking job, which is why it is an honorable job and profession. And yet, this man… who can only nod at the words of the bureaucrats… performs for the public as if he is fulfilling his role… but he stopped the people who were heading out to rescue others at the risk of their lives. Today, on the sixth day, the news finally came out in a ticker at night that what the public had been waiting to hear was happening… supplies would be transported via Iwate’s Hanamaki Airport, Sendai Airport, and Yamagata Airport, with the Self-Defense Forces handling the transport and each local government serving as a point of contact. NHK just showed a report that the US military had brought in cranes and other equipment to make Sendai Airport operational for takeoffs and landings… This is rescue; this is rescue work and action that is done without regard for danger. I will never forgive the commentators who gave this man a lifeline. Once things have settled down, Kan must take responsibility for the six days of unbearable cold, hunger, and anxiety he inflicted and continues to inflict on the victims, and he must be replaced immediately by a true general.