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This edition of Seijigiri begins with a look at a recent Washington Post article entitled “A leading Japanese politician espouses a 9/11 fantasy.” This bizarre unsigned editorial has been dragged over the coals by many bloggers, and co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley offer their thoughts on the piece.

Also brought into question is a recent Japan Times editorial entitled “Yet another ‘Battle of Okinawa’.” In that editorial the author writes, “[The Guam Treaty] was unconstitutional since under Article 95 of the Japanese Constitution any law applicable only to one local public entity requires the consent of the majority of the voters of that district and the Okinawan wishes were clearly ignored in the Guam Treaty.”

We checked the Japanese Constitution and it does indeed say, “A special law, applicable only to one local public entity, cannot be enacted by the Diet without the consent of the majority of the voters of the local public entity concerned, obtained in accordance with law.” However, it says nothing about treaties or construction projects, which the Guam Treaty essentially amounts to.

The show winds up with a discussion of ongoing funding scandals at the DPJ and a quick turn back to the Washington Post editorial.

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