Perhaps the most interesting thing about this Japanese holiday, traditionally celebrated on April 29th, is that it was “renamed” this year as Showa Day while a new Greenery Day was established on May 4th. Not sure why they say it was renamed when they could just say it moved. Maybe the rules prevent moving holidays.

And what ever happened to the People’s Day of May 4th? Apparently “Greenery” is a veiled reference to the Emperor’s love of greenery, so the effect has been to create a double holiday for the same guy separated by only a few days.

Showa Day now openly acknowledges the infamous Emperor Hirohito’s rule during the 1940s.

…critics say the move will upset other nations, especially China and the two Koreas, who will say it glorifies Japan’s often brutal militaristic past.

A similar bill was abandoned in the past, due to political pressure.

But this time the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan backed the bill, which was proposed by the ruling coalition.

The opposition said it now accepted the idea that the holiday would encourage public reflection of the turbulent 63 years of Hirohito’s reign, rather than glorify the emperor himself.

I think they should have stuck with Greenery, and left the People’s Day alone, as they already provide plenty of reflection.

There is something terribly wrong when you compare how these two news reports have been written. First, the story from last month:

ABC News has learned that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans to visit Syria next week to meet with President Bashar Al-Assad. The visit will make Pelosi the most senior U.S. official ever to meet with President Assad.

White House spokesperson Dana Perino strongly criticized Pelosi’s planned visit, saying, “We think it is a really bad idea.

“People should take a stop back and think about the message it sends and the message it sends to our allies,” Perino said.

Pelosi will be traveling to Syria has part of a congressional delegation with five other members of the House of Representatives, including one Republican.

Ok, I’m taking a step back and thinking about the message. Am I supposed to be worried because she is a Democrat, that she was elected by popular vote, or that no one but the President is allowed to make positive change?

And now, today’s message:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held a ground-breaking meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem at a summit in Egypt.

Mr Muallem said the highest-level talks between the two countries in several years were “frank and constructive”.

Ground-breaking? The Bush administration first bashes those in office who try to reach out to Syria and then steps in and tries to take credit for following behind?

Here is an even more insightful comparison:

As the weblog Think Progress noted, during a March 30 White House press briefing, deputy press secretary Dana Perino attacked Pelosi for her decision to spend time in Syria as part of a Mideast tour. Perino stated: “I know that Assad probably really wants people to come and have a photo opportunity and have tea with him, and have discussions about where they’re coming from, but we do think that’s a really bad idea.” But the White House did not criticize Republican lawmakers who were separately slated to visit Syria. Indeed, on April 1, Reps. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) traveled to Damascus and met with Assad, two days before Pelosi’s scheduled trip.

What’s with the glaring double-standards and slimy propaganda? Rove at work again? I think Bush was simply trying to make his own party look good by bashing someone doing something good for the country and trying to prevent them from getting any credit. The bottom line is the Iraq Study Group called for discussions with Syria and so Pelosi was doing her job, despite all the partisan muckraking, to improve America’s security.