The following is an excerpt from an article by Mr. Taishi Sugiyama, a senior fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, that appeared in the "Sound Argument" column of the Sankei Shimbun on September 13th.
This article also proves that he is a national treasure, the supreme national treasure, as defined by Saicho.
This article also proves how foolish Japan has become after the assassination of Abe.
The Asahi Shimbun and the things that the honor students who grew up reading it and then entered the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law with the supreme goal of joining the Ministry of Finance or the Bank of Japan are doing are an ineradicable propensity to try to brainwash the Japanese people.
Having been brainwashed by GHQ, they have made it their mission to brainwash the Japanese people.
That is why they make foolish decisions that mislead the country at a critical juncture.
China must have realized that, once Mr. Abe was gone, Japan would easily fall into the trap of pseudo-moralistic policies.
Who was behind the assassination of Mr. Abe?
This column has repeatedly mentioned that the real culprits were the media, including the Asahi Shimbun, and the foolish Asahi intellectuals who sympathized with them and that there must have been a state or organization behind them that opposed Mr. Abe.
This paper also proves that these references were correct.
The new administration must reconsider decarbonization and renewable energy.
Japan's energy policy has become a top priority, with the Suga Yoshihide administration declaring a goal of zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and the Kishida Fumio administration pushing for legislation to achieve this. However, security and the economy have been ignored.
It endangers Japan's peace and freedom.
The Liberal Democratic Party presidential election has started, and with the birth of a new administration, a fundamental review is needed.
Energy in the event of a Taiwanese contingency
What would happen if China were to blockade Taiwan by sea or launch a military attack?
Unless the US military intervenes, Taiwan will be defeated.
If the US military were to intervene, Japanese bases would be used, and these would become targets for Chinese attack.
It is why a contingency in the Taiwan Strait is called a contingency in Japan.
China would first threaten Japan.
However, once war breaks out, they will target Japan's Achilles heel: energy.
In recent wars, energy has become a target for attack.
Russia has destroyed many of Ukraine's power plants with missiles and drones.
European transport ships have been attacked by the Houthi rebels in Yemen in the Red Sea and have been forced to detour as far as the Cape of Good Hope.
The range of the Iranian-made drones used by Russia exceeds 2,000 km.
In other words, the entirety of Japan is within range from the coast of China.
In an emergency, Japan's energy infrastructure and the tankers that enter its ports would also be targets for attack.
However, Japan's preparations are poor.
The domestic stockpiles of coal and natural gas, which account for 70% of Japan's power generation, are only enough for one month of coal and half a month of natural gas.
The public and private sectors have a stockpile of more than 200 days of oil, but more preparation for an attack is needed.
If tankers are threatened by drones and the sea is blockaded, Japan may not last three months before its energy runs out and it surrenders.
For China, it is crucial to complete the unification of Taiwan in a short period.
It plans to have the world recognize this as a fait accompli and to return to the international community quickly.
If it drags on, the blow to the Chinese economy will be enormous, and domestic unrest will increase.
That is why Japan needs to be prepared to not give in in a short period.
Energy is the key to this.
In addition to strengthening our defense capabilities, we must thoroughly invest in our energy infrastructure from peacetime.
In addition to stockpiling sufficient fuel, we need to implement mechanisms that will ensure stable procurement even in times of emergency, such as long-term contracts for purchasing gas from the United States.
The folly of demonizing fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are still Japan's largest energy source, accounting for over 80% of the total.
There is no chance of this changing significantly in the next few years.
This stable procurement is the most critical issue in energy policy.
However, the government is currently pushing for a decarbonization agenda and strengthening regulations and taxes on fossil fuels.
As a result, upstream businesses are not developing resources and are transferring their rights to overseas companies.
They are also not entering into long-term contracts necessary for stable procurement.
Downstream, thermal power plants are being closed one after another without the necessary repairs to maintain them.
As a result, there are requests for power saving every year.
Economic efficiency is also essential when it comes to energy.
Cheap and stable energy is essential for the manufacturing industry.
It, in turn, generates economic growth and forms the basis of our defense capabilities.
The government should stop its foolish policy of demonizing fossil fuels.
It is a complete lie that renewable energy is the cheapest.
Germany, which has introduced large amounts of renewable energy, is suffering from a sharp rise in electricity prices, and its industry is fleeing the country.
In Japan, the "renewable energy first" policy has also led to the mass introduction of solar power, and electricity prices have risen sharply due to the renewable energy surcharge.
And now, under the government's Green Transformation (GX) initiative, 150 trillion yen, or 3% of the annual GDP, will be invested over the next ten years in offshore wind power, hydrogen, and other technologies.
However, as with solar power, this is a heavy-handed introduction of high-cost technologies that will further drive up utility bills.
It will only accelerate the hollowing out of industry that is already underway.
The Prime Minister's Office must protect vital national interests
The government says achieving zero CO2 emissions by 2050 is an international commitment.
However, China, the world's largest emitter, is in the midst of a rush to build coal-fired power plants.
India and other countries in the Global South will not follow the G7's preaching about decarbonization.
Russia's economy is based on oil and gas; of course, they will not stop mining.
The Biden administration in the US was keen on decarbonization, but in reality, it increased oil and gas production significantly and became the world's largest producer.
If the Trump administration comes to power, the Republican Party in the US will reverse all decarbonization policies.
And even if CO2 is reduced, there will be no benefits.
If you look at statistics such as the increase in the severity of disasters, you will see that this is a lie.
Even if Japan were to reduce its CO2 emissions to zero, the temperature would drop by at most 0.006 degrees.
What is Japan's vital national interest?
It is to protect peace and freedom from China's threat.
It is not about CO2.
What is needed is an energy policy for security and economic growth.
The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy was established during the oil shock era to ensure a stable energy supply.
However, it has now become a vanguard that destroys a stable energy supply in the name of decarbonization.
The blame for this lies with the Suga and Kishida administrations.
It is the mission of the new administration to correct this.
2024/9/13 in Miyajima, Hiroshima
