Back to /Commentary/
(Where have all the cremains gone?)
"Recently, a Chicago-based company developed a process whereby cremated
remains could be rendered into synthetic diamonds," says a senior participant,
"that means, we can leave flaming diamonds as the proof that we've
once existed in life." The process involves choice pickings from the
dear departed's being subjected to lots of heat and high pressure and takes
about four months to complete. Synthetic, or man-made, diamonds have been
manufactured from carbon since the mid-1950s in a manner that is subjecting
graphite to extremely high heat and pressure. "It looks feasible to
make a reasonably high-quality diamond from the carbon in a cremated human,"
the senior man says, "the company's gemological process is offered
for prices ranging from 0.5 to 3 million yen for a quarter-carat up to a
full carat." Another company in Canada also started to offer a similar
service. "It may be a good idea," says a middle-aged member, "I
would become a full carat diamond spending 3 million yen, rather than spending
the same amount of money to hold an expensive funeral ceremony for me."
Reflecting the ever-growing aging society, the number of funeral houses
is increasing in Japan. They are charging bereaved families millions of
yen for holding the funeral ceremony. And if you have to start your own
family graveyard, you will spend another 2-3 million yen for purchasing
a plot in the cemeterial site.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(First human clone in Italy?)
"An Italian doctor has announced that the first human baby clone will
be born in a month," says a senior participant, "and an American
company also claimed it had women that were pregnant with baby clones."
Experts say the Italian doctor's announcement is questionable. He made similar
claims about his work in April saying that one woman he was treating was
eight weeks pregnant with a clone. If this pregnancy had gone to full term,
then the woman should have given birth by now. Many countries have now introduced
legislation to outlaw the practice. "Most people see such research
programs as ethically irresponsible," says one lady, "many experts
warn that even if the process succeeds it may produce babies with severe
defects." Skepticism about the present cloning technology is even held
by the man who led the team that created Dolly the sheep in England in 1996.
"The cloned sheep looks to have its biological clock moving too fast,"
says another member, "the sheep is said to be aging far quicker than
the natural sheep." Both genetic engineering and cloning technology
still require the process of trial and error for many years from now. A
lady questions, "is it no problem at all we are already eating beef
of the cloned cow or the one genetically modified?" The present very
low success rate in the cloning and genetic engineering may imply that we
are trying to harvest fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(NTT faces IP phones)
Japan's telecommunication giant NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.)
already suffering from impacts of deregulation now faces the new communication
system, IP phones (Internet protocol-based telephone service, that will
minimize the use of switching equipment owned by the company. At present,
IP phone services operators lease lines from NTT to connect subscribers
with NTT's telephone offices while linking the offices through their own
phone lines. As the operators are required to pay set charges to NTT for
the use of its lines, sharp cuts in phone charges are difficult. The charges
are 20 yen for three minutes for Fusion's IP calls within Japan, for example.
"And when an ADSL-connected PC is given a phone number starting from
050-- in the near future," says a senior participant, "free-of-charge
telephone services worldwide will become possible." Of course, we have
to still pay the Internet provider the fixed monthly charges. This takes
most of NTT's current business away though NTT itself plans to join the
IP phone service. "NTT's latest business report indicates that it has
lost number of calls dialed by the Internet users who left for ADSL,"
says the senior man, "and also lost millions of its ISDN subscribers
to the ADSL providers." There are also wireless Internet services available
that no more depend on the telephone cables of NTT.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(How to boost babies' brain power)
"Every parents will wish their children born intelligent and try to
raise them to a smarter kid," says a senior participant, "there
are many how-to books telling many things." Of course, everyone agrees
that genetics plays an important role. But it seems a baby's future is not
written in its DNA. Besides importance of parent-child interaction, one
of ways being always spotlighted to increase baby brain power is breast
feeding. "It's said breast-fed babies have immunity to infantile diseases,"
says one lady, "the breast milk seems to contain something miraculous."
Experts believe breast feeding is also good for a baby's developing brain.
"It's interesting my newborn baby stops crying," says a young
man, "when I start to play the violin." Listening to music is
still thought by many experts to enhance math skills. Many parents send
their children to early education, or special education for the gifted.
These days, our toddlers are given opportunities to learn English, piano,
calligraphy, swimming and so on. And whenever they show an unexpectedly
excellent performance, that reminds their parents of the proverbial phrase,
"Genius will assert itself at an early age." "But don't be
too optimistic," says a young man, "in any age, there will be
only a limited number of gifted children no matter how the educational environment
is provided well." Although the national education level is certainly
enhanced because of those parents who are obsessed with their children's
education, most of their rising stars will grow to a healthy little man.
(Yomiuri rakes power hitters filling in for Matsui))
The Yomiuri Giants that loses Hideki Matsui, the most talented circuit slugger
in the Japanese professional baseball, to a major league team next year
is busy now in reinforcing its team by spending money like water. Yomiuri,
though being already the most powerful baseball team in Japan even without
Matsui, is still seeking star players with avidity from other teams. "fans
will lose interest in the local professional baseball, simply to confirm
the promised winnings by the Giants," says a middle-aged member, "the
arrogant behavior of the Giants will finally spoil the Japanese baseball."
As one of few profitable baseball teams among 12 members in two leagues,
Yomiuri can afford to spend money for star players. But the profitability
gap between Yomiuri and other teams will be broadened further. "The
Pacific League is miserable," says a senior participant, "its
attendance to ballparks is getting poorer year after year as it has lost
some star players to the MLB and to the Central League which can still enjoy
attendance because of those games with the Giants." There is urgent
need for the Japanese baseball to streamline its business structure.
(Koizumi hears wrong messages)
"The present high approval rate doesn't mean that Koizumi is accepted
for what he has done so far," says a senior participant, "but
it expresses public opinions asking Koizumi to go ahead with his original
reform plans." Junichiro Koizumi has been Japanese prime minister for
just 19 months now. His reform ideas of postal deregulation, privatization
of special purpose public corporations or sorting out of Banks' non-performing
loans have been left unrealized. His original ideas that had effectively
drew public attention 19 months ago went halfway to meet partly the interest
of the antireformers in his political party. Koizumi lost his approval rating
widely early spring when he sent Makiko Tanaka, former foreign minister,
to the showers. He came back however by showing his strong will to reform
the controversial public highway corporations. The abduction issue on which
he wrestled with North Korea in September also boosted his public support.
Koizumi still delegates authority to the wrong people at the wrong time
for the wrong reasons. Having delegated, he seems to wash his hands of the
subjects. He always avoids his personal involvement in any critical issues.
"Under these circumstances, opposing parties have completely lost their
power," says a middle-aged member, "and no powerful politicians
are in existence at present in the ruling LDP to replace Koizumi."
With deteriorating economy and worsening job security, people will soon
become stalled with no way out. Then, the public will have to give him up.
(Sensationalized North Korean issues))
"Today, all news media, tabloid papers and TV wide show programs are
busy in reporting sensationally stories about those five abductees returned
from North Korea," says a senior participant, "and it looks all
news items are nearly controlled by the association of the abductees' families
and its supporter block consisting of some Diet members." All little
happenings and events of their everyday life back home are reported emotionally
and in detail. However, there are little arguments whether, as promised
between diplomats, the Japanese government must return the abductees to
North Korea at least once and let them join their family members there to
talk about their future, whether talks of diplomatic ties comes first, or
whether the humanitarian aid to North Korean starved people must continue
any way. "Here, journalists are quiet and sabotaging commenting from
a broad perspective," says a young man, "they don't write in the
major news media what is against the main stream." The political pendulum
looks to start swinging to the right on each and every event that appeals
to the nationalistic emotions. We don't need any more the mainstream media
who had simply given up journalism and turned out the spokesman of the military
government 60 years ago.
(IF Osaka)
(Some are overliving)
"It's slowly the season for us to receive letters from those excusing
their willing not to express New Year's greetings since they have lost their
loved ones this year and are now in mourning," says a senior participant,
"the first such letter I received last week is a good one. The card
tells the one my friend has lost was 107 years old." In fact, the defunct
107-year-old woman who was my friend's mother had been the oldest person
in Hirakata City. Usually such messages arriving in early December every
year offer us some surprises and regrets for families who have lost their
loved ones in the year. "But when I read the card," the senior
man continues, "I felt the softening of relief and pleasure in the
area of my diaphragm. I have still 40 years to go!" Today, the average
life expectancy of Japanese is 85 years for women and 79 years for men.
"Here, I have only 12 years in front of me to reach the average life,"
he further says, "it makes me feel at peace, however, to know there
are increasing number of longevity people in the society." There are
13 million people older than 80 years old in Japan. And more than 17,000
among them are above 100 years old. And everyone knows these numbers are
swelling year after year.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Hideki Matsui leaves for MLB)
"I'm very sorry Matsui declared himself a free agent last week,"
says a middle-aged participant, "and decided to join an American major
league team next year." In his 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants,
Hideki Matsui, Japan's most talented center fielder, has belted 332 home
runs and batted .304, missed only a handful of games and led his team to
the Japan Series four times. The success of Hideo Nomo and Ichiro Suzuki
in recent years has led to a wave of Japanese players eager to test their
abilities in the majors. Though Matsui says he has not decided where he
would like to play next year, the Japanese media are reporting that the
Yankees will sign him to a two-year contract worth 2.8 billion yen. "If
all talented baseball players leave for the MLB," the participant continues,
"the Japan's professional baseball would turn out a farm team for America."
Japanese baseball suffers from an imbalance of power that leads to lopsided
pennant races. The Giants overwhelmed the Seibu Lions in the last Japan
Series and frustrated fans rooting for teams in the Pacific League. The
Giants are the oldest and one of the only profitable baseball franchises
and so dominate the sport that half the country's fans root for them. "No
able players want to stay in the Pacific League that has no drawing power,"
says one lady, "I think Norihiro Nakamura of the Kintetsu Buffaloes
will join a team in the Central League next year." Nakamura, one of
the leading power hitters of the Pacific League, has also declared free
agency and seems to enter shortly into negotiations with the Giants. "This
means the Pacific group is a farm team for the Central," says a senior
participant, "Japanese baseball must be restructured to improve its
business." In fact, baseball fans are simply divided between groups
for the Giants and against them. And the Central League can draw attendance
just because of having the Giants as its member team. "I don't know
whether this explains somehow Japanese culture," says a member, "in
politics, for example, bipartisanship couldn't be achieved here." Opinion
polls are always divided into two big blocks, namely, 30-40 percent supporting
the ruling LDP and more than 50 percent having no party to support. The
champion of opposing parties, the Democratic Party which once developed
its power very close to the LDP is rapidly losing its popularity, below
5 percent.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Lottery tickets sell well)
"Tickets for the Year-end Jumbo lottery will go on sale nationwide
shortly," says a senior participant, "sales of lottery tickets
in Japan exceeded one trillion yen this year." Lotteries were losing
their popularity about seven years ago. However, after the maximum jackpot
was raised to 300 million yen in summer 1999 and with introduction of Lottery
Six that could give the highest prize by hitting six numbers out of 43 numbers,
the country's sales of the lottery has been growing year by year. "A
survey shows 90 percent Japanese buy at least one lottery ticket a year,"
says one lady, "and until the drawing takes place in a few weeks, they
dream of their winning the jackpot and of spending it for houses, around-the-world
tour, etc." Out of the one-trillion-yen sales, about 50 percent goes
into the revenue of the central and local governments. "The amount
bears comparison with almost one quarter percentage point of the consumption
tax," says a member, "we are paying in effect a painless tax here,
namely, 5.25 percent instead of the 5 percent consumption tax."
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Making English work)
"In Japan, most people learn English at school for eight years,"
says a senior participant, "but as soon as they graduate from school,
they go out into the world where they need little to use English."
In fact, living in Japan does not require English at all. People's knowledge
on English acquired during the eight-year education will vanish away shortly
after they leave school. Some people still pursue English. Some need it
in business and some others love it by avocation. They are often a member
of some English speaking clubs active in the city or in the local communities.
"I've just attended today's meeting of Osaka Toastmasters Club,"
says a young lady, "the club's all-English meetings give me the opportunity
to deliver prepared speeches and impromptu talks." Today, this round
table of International Forum is joined by several members from the local
Toastmasters clubs in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. "I think we can have discussions
in depth here on various current topics," says one lady, "we are
enlightened at the IF meetings not only about English skills but also about
structuring personal views on a variety of current subjects covering politics,
economy, tendency of society, etc." For those people who do not need
English at worksites, they need more energy and their strong will to continue
with studying English by themselves. "Continuation is power,"
says a senior member, "having a talking partner in this kind of club
activities is great help to develop your personal ability." Even for
those people who use English at worksites, they must have fresh air here
as what they speak or write in business is often very much technical and
not usable for other general conversation.
(Foot care parlors prevail)
"The prevailing foot care therapy won't last long," says a young
lady, "there are many parlors newly open here and there." Reflexology
is becoming popular in Japan. When people have their bottoms of feet massaged
in a particular way, they feel very much relaxed. "It started a boom,"
says a young man, "some Shinkansen trains started a traveling foot
care parlor for passengers who like the reflexology." Businesspaersons
on the road are mostly stressed out. On the way home, they always look for
something therapeutic. "Reflexology may be an alternative therapy to
cure some stress-related diseases," says a senior member, "but
people, particularly women, are trying it just to feel relaxed." Perhaps
other Oriental therapies such as acupuncture and moxibustion treatment will
be spotlighted more to replace the reflexology. "Anyone can become
a reflexologist by attending a private training school," says one lady,
"one of my friends took a training course and could start a foot care
shop seemingly without any authorization by the local government or Health
and Welfare Ministry for the health care intervention." In some Asian
countries where the reflexology prevails widely, the care parlors are often
associated with a shady business and the therapists are almost women of
a certain description.
(Takenaka's bank plan climbs down))
"A last-minute rebellion was staged by Japanese conservative politicians
last week against plans to deal with the country's troubled banking sector,"
says a senior participant, "Koizumi and Takenaka face again the arrogant
interest group in the ruling Liberal Democratic party like in the cases
of restructuring the public highway corporation and the nationwide postal
service system." Heizo Takenaka, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
economic supremo, was forced to postpone the announcement of its plan to
accelerate the disposal of banks' non-performing loans, citing "political
reasons." "Seeing such a scene Koizumi is blocked by his LDP colleagues
who hold fast to vested interests, we are tempted more to support him and
his reform programs." Despite Koizumi's pledges to reform the country's
evil practices in politics and budget execution, no visible results of his
attempted crusades have been so far presented since he started his cabinet
18 months ago. "Now, Japan is running out of gas," says a middle-aged
member, "it's too late for us to accept a crash landing in the banking
sector." With the current record high jobless rate and deflationary
trend, we will face catastrophic consequences in the society if the original
Takenaka plan is strictly implemented. Before its implementation, a dependable
safety net must be structured for possible increases in the rate of business
failures and unemployment. The government must be active in leading the
Japanese industry to a change in its structure. We need many new industrial
players that give the society job opportunities.
(North Korea develops nuclear weapons)
"It's North Korea's another brinkmanship," says a senior participant,
"they admit their guilt and shift to a defiant attitude." The
U.S. prompted two weeks ago the North's defiant declaration that it had
secretly started a program to enrich uranium in violation of its past commitments.
"In early 1990s, North Korea threatened the international community
saying they would withdraw from the NPT circle," the senior man continues,
"and they could obtain the KEDO project from the United States."
The KEDO (Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization) project which
builds several LWR power generation facilities in North Korea is strongly
sponsored by South Korea and Japan. "I doubt timing of the disclosure
of the U.S.-North talks that took place two weeks ago," says a middle-aged
member, "why the story comes out now while those five abductees are
just back home in Japan?" The nuclear issue will certainly complicate
Japan's negotiations with North Korea on the further treatment of the abductees.
(IF Osaka)
(Organ transplants from brain dead donors)
"Five years have passed since the Japan's Organ Transplant Law was
enacted in 1997," says a senior participant, "surprisingly, however,
there are only ten local cases of organ transplants from brain dead donors."
In many other countries, thousands of organ transplants from brain dead
donors are taking place each year. "The news media and general public
were very hot when the first case to harvest organs from a brain dead patient
was spotlighted a few years ago," the senior member continues, "but
the fever didn't last long and the campaign to invite people to have an
organ donor card has been meantime cooled down." The current Organ
Transplant Law specifies that an individual must have signed a government-authorized
organ donor card to be diagnosed as brain dead with the intention of becoming
a donor. "Although it's five years since the law started, only 9 percent
of the country's potential donors have the card," he says, "and
only about 50 percent people know how to get the donor card." There
is a revision proposal that would overturn the basic principle of the current
law, which requires prior written consent from donors. Such a proposal also
includes legal ideas, particularly, how to permit those under 15 to donate,
and therefore receive, organs. Under the current law, people under 15 cannot
donate organs. This stipulation is included to maintain consistency with
the Civil Law, which allows only people aged 15 or over to leave a will.
"Parent groups of pediatric patients demand that organ transplantation
be allowed for ill children," says one lady, "otherwise, they
are forced to travel abroad to seek transplants in other countries."
In the near future, organ donation from brain-dead patients would become
possible with a written permission from bereaved families, unless the potential
donor has previously stated a direct refusal to donate.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(New lifestyle for young Nobel-prize winner)
"It's another Cinderella story," says a senior participant, "Koichi
Tanaka, the 43-year-old Nobel Prize winner, faces a completely new life."
The Shimazu employee will be promoted shortly to an executive post from
the present rank-and-file worker's position as early as this week in recognition
of his winning the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry. "His annual income
from Shimazu will be doubled or tripled," the senior member continues,
"and furthermore, he will be given the order of Culture from Emperor
in early November." Eventually, Tanaka will also be given a PhD from
one of prestigious universities. Tanaka shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry
with two other scientists in the United States and Switzerland. They were
rewarded for their contributions to the study of proteins that have paved
the way for the development of new medicines and the early diagnosis of
cancer. Another Japanese winner, Masatoshi Koshiba, 76, a professor emeritus
of the University of Tokyo, shared his Nobel in physics with two American
scientists. He was honored for his contributions to confirming the existence
of cosmic neutrinos by developing and using the gigantic Kamiokande neutrino
detector. "Koshiba has long been on the rumored waiting list of those
Nobel-prize candidates," says one lady, "and he has already been
given the order of Culture." For Koshiba, Nobel was no surprise. "But
for Tanaka," she says, "the public, academic clubs, the news media
and even most people in Shimazu first voiced, Tanaka who?" Tanaka has
become one of the world's academic celebrities. Although he insists to continue
in Shimazu with his research projects, he would certainly face temptations
taking him away from his original wish. "Tanaka will have a completely
different lifestyle henceforth," a senior member says, "it'll
be difficult for him to geek further and most probable that he ends up one
of those smart celebrities in Japan."
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Fire damages Diamond Princess)
"I made a trip to Nagasaki last week," says a senior member, "and
I was fascinated with the beautiful night view from the hilltop hotel, Yataro."
The view from the hilltop covered the Mitsubishi shipyard where the 113,000-ton
passenger liner, Diamond Princess, and one more luxury liner were under
construction. "I became aware two days later that the blaze had broken
out aboard the Diamond Princess," he continues, "and I was shocked
very much because those two luxury cruise liners looked so beautiful in
the night view from the hilltop." The multi-million dollar luxury cruise
liner being built for the UK's biggest cruise operator was severely damaged
by a fire. The fire started in the forward part of the fifth deck, which
was to house an art gallery and passenger cabins. The ship, whose water
sprinkler system has yet to be installed, has 14 decks. About 70 percent
of the ship was damaged. The Diamond Princess, 290 meters long and 41.5
meters wide, will accommodate 3,100 passengers, making it one of the world's
largest luxury liners. "There were suspected cases of arson aboard
during the past few months," says a middle-aged member, "this
time again, somebody must have set the ship aflame." Mitsubishi Shipyard
made the Japan's first passenger liner, the 6,800-ton Hitachi-Maru, in 1898.
The ship had however a very short life. It was sent to the bottom in the
Japanese-Russo War in 1904. "I must be careful," says a senior
man, "as I'll make a voyage to Okinawa on the NYK's Asuka next month."
NYK's ships are all built by Mitsubishi Shipyard.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(
Foot care in Thailand)
"I'll leave for Thailand next week for a four-week trip," says
a senior member, "and there, I'll receive a reflexology treatment."
The complementary therapy, reflexology, in which points in the feet are
massaged in a particular way to ease discomfort in other parts of the body,
is getting popular also in Japan. "Today, Thailand is promoting so-called
medical tourism," he continues, "it offers high-level medical
services ranging from dental care to cancer treatment." Thailand is
becoming one of the most reliable medical destinations offering an inexpensive
alternative to visitors who may need procedures not covered by health insurance.
"People visiting the medical destination are generally suffering not
from a serious disease," the senior man says, "they come here
for dental care, cosmetic surgery, cataract operations, sex-change operations,
etc." And, at the same time, they take a vacation here in the land
of temples, floating markets and elephant rides. "We see foot care
parlors here and there in Osaka," says one lady, "I know one in
the Umeda underground town and it looks always busy with customers."
It seems the contemporary therapy does not have to be authorized by the
local government. Most massagers are giving reflexology after quickly finishing
their internship at some unauthorized training schools. "Reflexology
is not for me," says another member, "I'm too sensitive to tickling
there on the bottoms of my feet." JR East and Shiseido jointly open
a foot care parlor in JR Mejiro station shortly and they plan to develop
the business in many other stations.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(McDonald's reduces some fat)
"These days, companies cannot stay absent-mindedly simply enjoying
their sales growth," says a senior participant, "because one day,
some of their good customers will suddenly sue them claiming their products
were defective." A man sued McDonald's and other fast food chains,
claiming their food made him obese. Then, McDonald's has decided to use
a new cooking oil for its french fries that will do less damage to the diet
of its customers. "I think everybody understands it's not good for
our health if we keep eating fast food only," says a young lady, "it's
an individual responsibility to try getting a balanced diet." Nevertheless,
it is not bad that McDonald's starts using a new oil that contains a reduced
level of trans fatty acid as people are driven more frequently to McDonald's
for its attractive campaign prices. "I could get rid of my fatness,"
says a young man, "besides the dietary care by my wife, largely by
doing my exercise to protect against obesity." People are shifting
from greasy food to lightly seasoned food. Foe example, the onigiri, rice
ball, is getting popular for its diverse types. And McDonald's has already
invested in the rice-ball business sector.
(North Korea confesses to kidnapping)
"The local newspapers are unisonous with their tone asking the government
to take a tough attitude toward North Korea on the abduction issue,"
says a senior member, "today, they almost shifted taking the side of
Sankei Shinbun, the most conservative Japanese news media that had long
been accusing North Korea and its local sympathizers." Japanese people
are shocked by the news that the majority of abductees have already been
dead in their 30s or 40s in the communist country. At the same time, people
place a high value on the Koizumi-Kim talks that has reached a positive
agreement for North Korea to freeze missile tests indefinitely. Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi could improve his approval ratings by 15 percent after
his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang. "I think
we must promote security dialogue first with North Korea," says one
lady, "and the abduction issue will become clear automatically when
two countries achieve normalized bilateral ties." The emotional reaction
of the public to the abduction issue pushes the Japanese government to say
that the economic aid to North Korea must be based on the settlement of
the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. Japanese fact-finding
mission members are now in North Korea to check the accuracy of North Korea's
claim that eight of the Japanese it abducted are dead. We will see their
survey report next week.
(Sea of Japan to remain Sea of Japan)
"South Korea argues that the current use of the term Sea of Japan reflects
Japan's one-time predominance in the region," says a senior participant,
"and asks to call the body of water, bordered by the Korean Peninsula,
the Russian Far East and the western side of the Japanese archipelago, the
East Sea." Discussions were not made in depth at the UN conference
on geographical names and at the last meeting of IHO (International Hydrographic
Organization). The Japanese government argues that the term Sea of Japan
has been used internationally since the late 18th century. "I think
it's all right for South Korea to call the body of water the East Sea domestically,"
says a middle-aged member, "countries often have their own way of calling
the geographical spots over the border such as Chomolungma against Mount
Everest." North Korea locally calls the body of water the Sea of Korea.
"Perhaps, we can even call North Pacific Japanese Ocean if we wish
to do so," says a young man, "and we print it right in locally
published maps." However, we need an internationally agreed name for
the waters to chart a course. The international hydrographic map will continue
to carry the term Sea of Japan.
(Cross-dressing creates problems)
An office worker who suffers from gender identity disorder was fired by
a top publishing company for cross-dressing. The company says it is difficult
to accept that a man it hired has suddenly become a woman. The effects of
his hormone treatment were beginning to show. His body became more feminine.
"I think it's not good for people to discriminate the office worker
who unfortunately suffers from the strange problem," says one lady,
"but it's a pity for other colleagues too in the workplace being puzzled
to accept the extraordinary situation." The office worker will shortly
undergo a sex-change operation to live physically as the gender he believed
to be. He has sued the company to retain his job. Because of the medical
care, it became already difficult for him to continue using a male toilet.
"I can understand the situation and cannot caricature reality,"
says a senior participant, "but, this morning, I could hardly use the
male toilet at the JR Takatsuki station, because I saw suddenly myself wearing
my long pants back to front."
(Unprecedented declaration by BOJ)
"The announcement of the Bank of Japan to buy the shares from the ailing
banks was made to push the government to take a drastic measure in parallel
from its part," says a senior member, "but Koizumi's reaction
was very modest and the stock market couldn't keep its welcoming rally more
than two days." Anyway, the skeptics think the BOJ decision is simply
a stopgap measure. This is a ploy to stop the stock market falling thus
helping Japan's commercial banks to demonstrate that they have adequate
capital to tide them over the half-year financial period ending September
30. Banks must book latent losses from falling stock prices. "I think
the BOJ can buy anything, either shares or nonperforming loans from the
banks," says another member, "they can divert funds to do this
using money from their printing machines." Certainly, this will drive
the country to the extremity of hyperinflation. "No choice! Japan is
heading for that end," says a middle-aged member, "we must now
think of buying more foreign currencies." Nobody can deny there will
be an active capital flight from the financial assets of households, now
estimated at 1.4 quadrillion yen, if the local economic malaise advances
further. Some European critics say the world second biggest economic power
is now getting a banana republic.
(IF Osaka)
(Takanohana sets up clash with Musashimaru)
"Two weeks ago, nobody believed Takanohana would come back in shape,"
says a senior participant, "today, he fights with Musashimaru for the
prized Emperor's Cup." The highlight of the Aki Basho, the autumn sumo
tournament, was Takanohana's attempt at a comeback after being absent since
the final day of the May 2001 tournament. The consensus of opinion prior
to the Aki Basho was that the 30-year-old yokozuna was doomed. "I thought
he'd drop out winless after the first few days and retire," the senior
member continues, "but, after his second defeat, Taka rallied dramatically
from that point on." Takanohana's return generated a level of excitement
which has been missing from sumo in the last few years. He has contributed
to a high TV audience rating and drawing power for attendance to the Kokugikan
sumo ring. "Takanohana has lost his power," says a middle-aged
member, "he was sidestepping ozeki Chiyotaikai on the 13th day, the
first time he had done so since many years ago." But nevertheless Takanohana's
comeback was incredible. There is no reason to believe that Takanohana will
not take the victory again. Takanohana is battleworn and a very old 30.
He must be covering declining strength with his experience and technique.
"Takanohana always keeps silence and not friendly to the media,"
a senior member says, "apparently he hates the mass media that had
often bothered himself and his family members in the gossip columns."
At his last winning tournament 16 months ago, Takanohana was praised by
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi with his famous emotional comment "Good
job despite your injury! I'm touched!" "If Taka wins Musashi,
I'm interested to hear how Koizumi will speak to Taka this time," another
member says, "unfortunately, Koizumi is out for the ASEM in Denmark."
Takanohana doesn't keep an across-the-board popularity. Some people favor
him, some other people hate him, but still never ignore him.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Paying electricity bills cheaper)
"The other day, I had the visit of a door-to-door salesman," says
a senior participant, "who wanted me to hire a device to lower the
electric power consumption at my home." The concept the door knocker
tried to sell was use of a special transformer that would adjust the domestic
power voltage exactly at 97V. While the local utility is generally supplying
us with electricity at 104V, the salesman says, we are wasting some excessive
power for our household appliances which are originally designed to work
most efficiently at 97V. By introducing the voltage regulator, the traveling
salesman says, we will be getting a 15 percent cheaper electricity bill
every month. "The idea has a logic of its own," the senior member
continues, "and I became almost convinced though I didn't accept the
offer at last." The rental rate of the device is not attractive. "The
system to be leased costs us 1,000 yen every month," he says, "this
means the two-thirds benefit from the arrangement goes to the rental agency
while my monthly average electricity bill reads around 10,000 yen these
days." If such leasing companies get only one-third or one-quarter,
there will be more customers buying this idea. "Furthermore, on the
subject, it was interesting to realize the difference between myself and
my wife in responses to such a sales pitch," the senior man says, "husbands
are more easily convinced, but wives are always skeptical." Women see
things in their mind's eye while men are often reasoned readily.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Stroke by stroke in sequence)
"The other day, I was suddenly paralyzed to write a kanji character
stroke by stroke in exact sequence," says a senior member, "it's
the Chinese character 'Hi' which means flying." The kanji character
'Hi' consists of nine strokes that, however, must be written in sequence.
When one ignores the right order to lay each stroke down, the written character
doesn't look handsomely. "Finally, I learned the right stroke sequence
for the kanji from the Internet," he continues, "there's a homepage
that provides animated instructions for many kanji characters how to write
them in sequence." Today, in any case, these volunteers' websites offer
us a helping hand so timely and smartly. "Although, at school, we learn
chirography and how to write Chinese characters in sequence," says
one lady, "we come across in the real world very few opportunities
to handwrite a paper using many kanji characters." On the PC, however,
it's not big deal to write papers full of kanji characters. Characters are
all there conveniently installed in the word processor. Perhaps, kanji characters
are much more used these days in personal letters and papers printed by
the PC though not many people can handwrite them correctly in sequence.
"Aliteracy advances among students," says another lady, "they
don't read books, and they don't understand traditional idiomatic phrases
that appear in novels from the classics." The modern digital gadgets
are having a great impact on our charactery culture.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Voyage by luxury liners)
"In November, I'll make a two-week sea trip with my wife to Okinawa,"
says a senior member, "we will take NYK's Asuka, the luxury liner,
again this time." The trip costs them more than one million yen. "The
price is still for them to sail economy," he says, "if you go
first-class, you need to pay three times more." And there are certainly
many people traveling first-class. Luxury cruises have grown in popularity
among the middle-aged and wealthy elderly people in Japan. NYK's Asuka,
built ten years ago as Japan's largest cruise ship, is creating a new dimension
in Japanese culture among the affluent. "People are easily addicted
to cruises," he continues, "particularly, women are happy with
three free meals and a nap everyday." They can make many shipboard
friends on the sea trip. During and after the trip, they forge close ties
with each other. And they come back to gather again on board for the next
cruise program. "On Asuka, we really feel disconnected from our ordinary
society," the senior member says, "for some dinners, we will be
in full dress, and for some others, we will be in casual dress. We feel
like participating in a drama." Some women say they never see their
husbands dressed in tuxedo in their day-to-day lives. And they are of course
happy themselves dressed everyday up to the nines. Each woman takes at least
three suitcases with her to such a seagoing journey. "Today, however,
it looks people are not so much satisfied with such a luxury cruise any
longer," says another senior participant, "in the United States
and Canada, more people are becoming interested in a sea trip that offers
a special objective or a theme for the event." The standard round-the-world
voyage is losing its popularity. Cruises with a special theme such as "shipboard
strip farm" for nudists, "smoking cessation sea trip" for
those who wish to stop smoking, etc., are attracting customers. In the smoking
cessation voyage, for instance, participants must follow a stringent regulation
on board. If you violate the no-smoking lifestyle during the sea trip, you
will be definitely kicked out at the next calling port. Then, you have to
head home at your own expense. At the same time, the cruise provides you
orientation classes, counselings and other aids to help you quit smoking.
For passengers, this is the cruise no more to blow off steam, but to come
under further stress.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(JR's seasonal gifts, Youth 18 Tickets)
"We, a middle-aged backpacked couple, recently made a budget tour to
Atami," says a participant, "we used in the trip the Seishun Juhachi
Kippu (Youth 18 Ticket)." With the Seishun Juhachi Kippu, you can travel
practically anywhere in Japan for just 2300 yen, however, being only allowed
to take local trains. Of course, it's always a bit of a long trip, and you
will have to do some difficult train changes. "We started 8:02 in the
morning at the JR Takatsuki station," says the backpacker, "taking
a 66-minute ride on a rapid train to Maibara, then waited there 18 minutes
for the next 32-minute ride to Ogaki, waited there five minutes for another
81-minute ride to Toyohashi, waited three minutes for the next 31-minute
ride to Hamamatsu, waited there 11 minutes and took the final 139-minute
ride arriving at the Atami station at 14:28." The 2,300-yen travel
covering 431km in six and a half hours is compared to a standard travel
on a bullet train that can be made in less than three hours but costing
12,000 yen. The Youth 18 tickets are only available at certain times of
the year. You have to buy them in sets of five, making the price 11 500
yen altogether. 11 500 yen, which gets you five days of unlimited travel,
is still cheaper than what you would pay for a typical two or three hour
journey. As it says 'Youth 18 (years old) ticket', main customers of this
ticket are young students. But there is no restriction rule about user's
age, and actually this ticket is popular among all travelers. "Then,
we stayed at the hot-spring hotel in Atami," the member says, "and
we did the sights in Atami and around Hakone though we couldn't view Mount
Fuji as the weather was not good." Their lodging expenses were not
so cheap in contradiction with the budget train trip. And on the way back,
the same boring seven-hour journey on the JR local trains including many
troublesome changes took a lot out of his wife and himself.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Mountaineering no more attracts youth)
"These days, those people who mountaineer are all the elderly or middle-aged,"
says a senior participant,, "everywhere, the trail up a mountain has
been kept well up for the elderly and beginners." He shows a 46-year-old
black-and-white picture where five young mountaineers sit at the summit
of Mt. Yarigadake. The photo shows two guys wearing apparently not a pair
of mountaineering boots. "They are in fact ammunition boots released
by the American occupation army," he says, "in Akihabara, we could
buy all such released goods from the GHQ in those days as the climbing gear,
boots, parkas, sleeping bags, etc." Climbing in the mountains was not
an easy one 40 years ago. There were not many safe tracks. And there were
still many unexplored routes and peaks. "Young mountaineers then attempted
to conquer a new summit in competition with others," says another senior
member, "quite a number of youth was enchanted by the hill walking
in those days." These days, however, there are no more unexplored peaks
and routes left in the Japanese mountains. "Youth has lost its motivation,"
a young member says, "because there's no challenge left any more in
the mountains." It looks, however, the area where youth has lost its
motivation is not only in the mountains. In politics, in businesses and,
particularly in Japan, in academic circles, younger people are hard to see
the biggest challenge during their morning of life. You, the elderly! You've
done too much in your life. You've harvested too much wealth for the younger
people!
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Suicide and longevity)
A total of 31,042 people committed suicide last year in Japan with its population
of 127 million. It was the fourth straight year that the number of suicides
exceeded 30,000. The income-related suicides were highest ever reflecting
the present bad economy in Japan. "Out of the number of suicides, more
than 70 percent cases are by men," says one lady, "why do more
men commit suicide than women do?" This proves that we are in a male-dominated
society where women depend still highly on men's earning power. And when
a man faces an unsolvable problem and knows he loses his position of the
breadwinner, for shame, he will be tempted to commit suicide. At the same
time, it looks women are tough mentally and biologically. "In general,
women rarely buy an expensive life insurance policy for their lives,"
says a middle-aged member, "for men, by committing suicide it's often
the case that they could cover all their financial debts from the life insurance."
Life insurance seems to be working as temptation of suicide. There is an
increasing number of people who are stressed out working and living in the
modern society. Such people suffering from manic-depression are also likely
to commit suicide. "Japan, the country that enjoys today the world
longest life expectancy has a high suicide rate," says a senior participant,
"suicide is not talked at all in those developing countries where people
have a short life anyway due to food hunger and civil wars." For a
mature country, quality of life is an important question for the elderly
as one-third victims of those committing suicide are over 60. We must know
suicide is one of the side-effects of civilization.
(New bills boost economy?)
"New banknotes will be issued in fiscal 2004 mainly to fight forgery,"
says a senior participant, "the government and Bank of Japan, however,
seem to wish the issuance could also contribute to an upswing in the country's
economy." A private think tank put the economic benefits of the issuance
at nearly 1 trillion yen. However, industry reaction has been mixed. "Vending
machine companies, for example, will gain more business," says one
lady, "but some additional financial burden is given to those companies
who have to upgrade their machines." There was little influence on
Japan's economy when the new 2,000-yen banknote and anti-counterfeit 500-yen
coin were issued two years ago. "If Japan's economy dips further in
the course of the next year," says a senior member, "the issuance
of the new banknotes would invite the government to play their last chip."
He means the government could either limit the validity of the old bills
or devalue them against the face value by 5 percent for example. Then, all
those so-called cabinet savings at home in older bills would start to move.
They would suddenly head for consumer spending and bank deposits. In fact,
many consumers still keep some cash even in 20-year old bills under mattresses.
"With regard to the first woman since 120 years ago selected for the
portrait on a banknote in Japan," a young lady says, "I don't
know why Ichiyo Higuchi was the right figure for the new 5,000-yen bill."
There were apparently other candidates such as the legendary poet, Akiko
Yosano, or the women's movement activist, Raicho Hiratsuka. Ichiyo might
have been regarded a little bit more nationalistic than two other women.
Anyhow, it doesn't make much difference and creates no big issue.
(Vasectomy prevails)
"Many men in their 30-40s are undergoing a vasectomy in western countries,"
says a senior participant, "for couples who don't want any more children,
they decide husbands to undergo an operation for contraception." Vasectomy
is an operation that renders the man infertile by cutting the tubes to the
sperm-producing testicles. In the UK, 16 percent of men are undergoing the
operation. In the United States, a half million men undergo a vasectomy
every year. In these countries, it looks the number of cases that men undergo
an operation for sterilization exceeds the number of cases that women undergo
an operation such as tubal ligation. "It seems vasectomy is simpler
than an operation that women have to undergo," says a member, "it
is safer and less expensive, for instance, 60,000 yen in Japan." And
people in these countries say it is only fair that couples share the responsibility
for contraception. But even here, vasectomy prevails mainly among the middle-class
and above. In those countries suffering from population explosion, such
as India, women are still pushed into sterilization. The direction, however,
is clear. As the society becomes mature, women are more protected. Our society
is seemingly getting back more to nature, while we try more to modernize
it. Like in the college of bees, the queen bee could only survive with its
ability of fertility. Worker bees live a life only dedicated to the queen.
Female-dominated society will come soon. We hope it would not be a warlike
society. Who knows?
(Shintaro Ishihara; ambition for political power)
As the present cabinet keeps disappointing the general public in Japan on
its original campaign pledges for crusade, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
becomes already the one who provides a subject for his potential successor.
Shintaro Ishihara, the Tokyo governor and novelist, is then regarded by
the media as one of the potential candidates for Koizumi's successor. "Public
opinion polls always include Ishihara as one of the ideal characters for
the country's prime minister," says a senior participant, "but
I don't know why people like him so much." Ishihara looks speaking
his mind. Like Makiko Tanaka, the former foreign minister, who was sent
to showers by Koizumi six months ago for her poor performance, Ishihara
often elucidates a kind of truth which is rarely articulated in Japan's
polite society. He is bombastic and a foot-in-mouth personality. In the
recent interview by Financial Times, for instance, Ishihara said that Japanese
technology was 10 times useful during the Gulf War than the despatch of
80,000 British soldiers. "He is liked for his straightforward character,"
says one lady, "but he is clearly to the right." He often speaks
racial prejudices like those rising right-winger politicians do in Europe.
"From the list of today's popular politicians, Tanaka has gone and
Koizumi is getting a goner," says a middle-aged member, "Ishihara
is only one left in the list." It looks, however, Ishihara's political
gospel is not accepted by many other politicians and majority of the general
public. It will be not the case that he succeeds Koizumi. Ishihara is 70
years old but he looks still ambitious.
(Law to protect 'wangiri' phone scams)
"I have once been trapped by a so-called wangiri call,"says a
young lady, "it was a dirty message on the phone when I called back."
Wangiri calls ring only once, leaving the caller's number on the cell-phone
display and tricking the receiver into returning the "missed"
call. Callers are then directed to a taped phone-sex message or to information
on other types of adult entertainment. Those who stay on the line are usually
charged huge fees. Telephone networks have been paralyzed recently due to
the wangiri scams making thousands of random calls a minute to cell phones.
Phone carriers, NTT East and NTT West, asked for ministry approval to tighten
their contracts for telephone services, enabling them to suspend connections
for malicious callers that disrupt their phone networks. "I think not
so many people are victimized these days," says a senior member, "because
NTT couldn't disclose the address of such callers to a third person, unless
the published telephone directory has it." Not many owners of household
phones agree these days to disclose their addresses on the local telephone
directory. "I think the system of cell phones to leave the record of
missed calls is illegal by itself," says a middle-aged participant,
"because, even without lifting the phone, a kind of communication is
achieved between the two parties." Some years ago, a business bachelor
was arrested for his violating the telecommunication law. He used a pay
telephone as a communication tool by just ringing once or twice his family
phone in Osaka. His wife at home never lifted the phone before it rang at
least four times. Then, she knows, by a call at stipulated time every evening,
how her husband is doing. They coded the number of ringing in advance, for
example, ringing once meant "I'm fine," and ringing twice meant
"I'll be back tomorrow." So, without lifting the phone, namely
without paying any long-distance rate, a kind of daily communication could
be achieved between the business bachelor in Tokyo and his wife in Osaka.
(IF Osaka)
(Old private railways not in good shape)
"Hankyu Railway will ran shortly a new model train on its Kyoto line,"
says a senior participant, "the 9300-model cars to be used as express
trains between Kyoto and Osaka have a six-door bodywork with its passenger
seats all set in the direction of travel." Currently, Hankyu's Kyoto
express trains have a four-door bodywork with passenger seats set also in
the direction of travel, so-called 'romance seats.' In recent years, however,
the nonstop Kyoto express trains could not keep running in their traditional
manner to skip all those in-between stations with potential passengers in
the newly developed residential areas. "In fact, Hankyu is losing its
passengers to JR West running in parallel," says one lady, "because
after being privatized ten years ago, JR has become friendly and flexible
to its passengers and improved drastically its customer satisfaction."
JR with its fastest service between cities in the Kansai area picks up more
passengers from those stations where other private railways do not stop
frequently. Hankyu's nonstop trains, therefore, have started to compete
with JR by also stopping at such stations. And in order to increase the
capacity of its cars for passengers without seats joining at in-between
stations, the new model car is designed to have additional doors and more
space for standers. "Like the other private railway companies in Kansai,
Hankyu is not in good shape with its business performance," says a
middle-aged member, "it has to streamline its business lines."
Hankyu has already decided to close its 90-year-old amusement park, Takarazuka
Family Grounds,next spring. It has sold its modern trains to a leasing company
and is now leasing them back for its daily train services. Most private
railway companies are suffering from the bursting of the bubble economy
as they all aggressively invested in real estate in those days. "And
now, they have to compete with the lifeful JR companies," says a senior
member, "who were privatized and entitled ten years ago to get relief
from the astronomical debts at the time that had depressed railmen in their
daily services."
(ESD Takatsuki)
(
Qualification expenses for jobless people)
"Labor Ministry is going to review its subsidy of the qualification
expenses for jobless people," says a senior participant, "because
the subsidy exceeded 40 billion yen last year for training 280,000 jobseekers
and most of them were unsuccessful to achieve their goals." When those
people looking for jobs wish to go to a vocational school to learn some
professional skills such as English, personal computers, etc., their tuition
costs are financed by the government up to 300,000 yen. With the limited
budget out of the unemployment insurance and increasing number of jobseekers
who wish to use the qualification subsidy, the government must now review
the system in terms of its real effect. "So, perhaps from the next
year, only those applicants who could pass the qualification examination
at a vocational school will be given money from the government," says
the senior participant, "if he passes, for example, STEP 2nd grade,
he will be credited his tuition costs." Similarly, to promote the IT
society, the government has spent substantial amount of money to train middle-aged
and elderly people for the user of personal computers. Several aged participants
at this club have also benefited from the program. "I attended a five-day
course a few months ago," says a senior member, "I enjoyed learning
computers at the local community center. The woman teacher was very kind
to me." But after the course, nothing has happened. He didn't buy a
PC. He didn't feel he needed it and he has almost forgotten what he studied
at the tax-supported course. "I think this was typically waste of money
by the government," says a middle-aged member, "it's not so easy
to motivate people, particularly the elderly." In this campaign, the
government could have asked trainees at least to buy a PC even though it
ended up an idling gadget at their home. "Oh no, if I was asked to
buy a PC before the training course," the senior member says, "I
wouldn't have attended it." You see, these guys just enjoyed gathering
for their leisure hours in a room where a nice young lady taught them by
the hand how to use computers.
(ESD Takatsuki)
(Women-only cars repel gropers)
As part of its efforts to stop the problem of groping on commuter trains,
West Japan Railway Co. introduced female-only cars on its trains of Osaka
Loop Line and Gakkentoshi Line. "I think this is good," says a
lady, "as summer comes, the number of victims of sexual molestation
on commuter trains increases." She says she saw a young girl loudly
decrying a man on the platform of Osaka Station the other day for having
attempted groping on the train they just got off. And the man was making
a firm denial of the accusal. "Some women have a strong sense of being
victimized," says a middle-aged member, "on a crowded train, I'm
cautious about my own position. I always try to distance myself from women
on the train." It is said a wise man never counts danger. "A few
weeks ago, a 30-year-old civil servant in Takatsuki was punished for sexually
harassing a female visitor to his office," says a senior participant,
"in that case, however, the perpetrator told regretfully that he had
been witless of his misconduct. He simply tried to date her." It looks
he must have not been the woman's favorite counterpart. If he were affirmative,
she would have not made an issue of the case but accepted to date him. "Some
50 years ago, we had such women-and-children-only cars on the national railways,"
says a senior member, "but this was not made against Eve-teasers."
In those days, trains were overly crowded everywhere in Tokyo. It was almost
impossible for women and children to physically squeeze themselves in the
train. Therefore, the national railways provided them a little more loose-fitting
cars.
(Nobody likes afterlife in liquid nitrogen)
All participants at this meeting say, "I wouldn't like to live afterlife
with my body in a frozen state." They say they want cremation. The
story refers to the MLB legend, Ted Williams, who could be hanging upside-down
in a vat of liquid nitrogen at the offices of a cryonics group in Arizona,
waiting for a new life after death. "Cryonics business started about
40 years ago," says a senior participant, "and the idea was this:
in the future, when medical science figured out how to repair and revive
them, they could be thawed out." No one knows how far knowledge will
advance in a century or two. "As cryonics has become less sensational
these days," says one lady, "Ted Williams could draw again public
attention to the technology." Nearly one hundred bodies are said to
be stored in a frozen state. But some of them are doubted not perfectly
maintained. "By spending 12 million yen, not so many people wish to
be frozen and revive in the very remote future," says a lady, "I'd
better pay my family temple instead the lump sum payment of a half million
yen for permanent memorial services." Perhaps, Ted will not be happy
when he revives and starts the first day of his remaining second life among
so many unfriendly strangers. "then, he will be certainly involved
in the struggle of mundane rights of inheritance." Here, a woman has
given birth to a baby through artificial insemination using sperm from her
husband that was kept frozen after his death. The mother has filed a suit
with a local district court demanding that the boy be registered as the
legitimate son of the deceased man. The Civil Code stipulates that a baby
must be born to a woman within 300 days of the end of her marriage if it
is to be registered as a child of the couple. "Development of technology
creates conflicts with our common sense," says a senior member, "and
laws cannot catch up with the modern age."
(ESD Takatsuki)
(World Cup result mixed)
The 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan ended on June 30, having given a month of
excitement to people around the world. "It was great fun, indeed,"
says one lady, "during that period, I really became a football fan."
Yet various issues are left behind. It is apparent that the ticketing problem
was attributable to the poor handling of ticket distribution by the FIFA's
small ticketing representative in Britain. Excessive commercialism pushed
by FIFA, for instance to raise the charge for broadcast rights, made it
impossible to broadcast every match on conventional television. Problems
related to the poor performance of some referees also caused repercussions.
"I often hated to see rough plays in many matches," says a middle-aged
member, "referees were not strict enough in condemning a player getting
a foul." There did not show much fair play which should impress our
children. And we must plan now how to make use of many of those stadiums
particularly constructed for the World Cup games. They will need substantial
amount of budgets at the respective local governments every year for operation
and maintenance. "On the other hand, the event has been justified by
some people," says a senior member, "they say Japanese were unusually
united in rooting for their own team, and later, even the Korean team, co-host
country's team." Some say the long-lasting critical atmosphere between
people in Japan and Korea is beginning to move on the occasion of this co-hosting
World Cup. "As soon as those nouveau soccer fans get sober, however,"
says one gentleman, "I think, suddenly activated nationalism and neighborly
love extended to Korea would be cooled down." Anyway, visitors and
the overseas media praised the two co-host countries for organizing almost
perfectly the 2002 World Cup held first time in Asia.
(Midair collision over Germany)
"It looks a Swiss air traffic controller in effect put the planes on
a collision course," says a young member, "by ordering the Russian
pilot to descend at the same time that the plane's own collision-avoidance
system, TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System), was urging
him to climb." The midair collision, near Lake Constance in Germany
and just north of the Swiss border, was between a passenger plane operated
by Bashkirian Airlines and a Boeing 757 cargo plane operated by DHL Worldwide,
an overnight courier service. "The accident would probably not have
occurred if the Russian pilot had simply ignored the Swiss controller in
Zurich," he continues, "a human error killed 52 Russian schoolchildren
and 19 adults." In Europe, air traffic has been increasing steadily
by about 6 percent a year for the last decade. It is said that the air crash
was a result of an increasingly acute shortage of qualified air traffic
controllers. "It surprises me," says a senior participant, "a
privatized air traffic company, Skyguide in this case, plays such an important
role in Switzerland." Our own sky in Japan is not spacious either.
In Tokyo area, a very narrow space is allocated for the civil airway to
give enough openings for the SDF and the US Air force. "When we have
the Kobe airport in a few years," says a young participant, "the
air traffic in the Kansai area will also become congested." Generally
speaking, most air disasters take place during a few minutes on takeoff
and landing. But human beings are not perfect. And a human error often misleads
people to midair crushes because people basically tend to trust human more
than machine.
(International Criminal Court starts without America)
"We don't hear this issue talked much in the local media," says
a senior participant, "while International Criminal Court (ICC) has
started on July 1." The world's first permanent war crimes court will
have universal jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes. But it has no retrospective jurisdiction. It can deal only
with crimes committed after July 1 this year when the 1998 Rome Treaty came
into force. "The court, however, should stay being so far seen as geographically
unrepresentative and Western dominated," says a middle-aged member,
"many important countries such as Japan, China, India and Russia as
well as most Islamic countries have not yet signed the Rome Treaty."
Some seventy states have ratified the Rome Treaty and 100 others will follow
in the future. The Americans argued that their soldiers might be the subject
of politically motivated or frivolous prosecutions. They are negotiating
a permanent immunity for their peacekeeping forces delegated to places of
conflict in the world from possible prosecutions. "It's strange, however,"
says a senior member, "Japan who promoted positively the concept of
the Rome Treaty four years ago has not yet even signed it." And we
hear no discussions on the issue locally. "Perhaps, we are in a critical
position facing the issue," says a young member, "since we have
our no-war constitution, we couldn't even judge which war crimes are against
humanity." We must worry that ICC is finally motivated to become the
winner's court in a war.
(Japan's business confidence rises)
Executives at Japan's largest manufacturers, encouraged by rising exports
and production, were more upbeat about business conditions for the first
time in nearly two years, a central bank poll (quarterly Tankan report,)
just showed. While the survey showed that pessimists still outnumber optimists,
confidence is improving in corporate boardrooms. "This is not our feeling,"
says a senior participant, "we see everything still worsening today
in Japan." Burdened with too many factories and swollen payrolls, Japanese
companies continue to eliminate jobs. They are shifting manufacturing facilities
to China and other Asian countries. This has pushed the unemployment rate
to a near-record 5.4 percent in May. "With our jobs in doubt,"
says one lady, "we will be spending less on cars, homes and other expensive
items." With consumers sitting tight although it is believed that they
keep 1.4 quadrillion yen as household financial assets, Japanese companies
are unlikely to benefit from a turnaround at home. The recent yen's rise
will be weakening Japan's exports that have largely contributed to the upsurge
in the local economy. "Dollar is losing its strength," says a
middle-aged member, "the series of accounting scandals have damaged
reliability of Wall Street." Sales at technology companies in the United
States are still depressed. This is a shadow thrown over many Japanese companies.
(Students demand their money back)
"Students are suing universities they chose not to attend for keeping
their up-front money, admission fee and tuition," says a senior participant,
"and some schools are accepting to return tuition." The courts
must decide whether the Consumer Contract Law enacted last April applies
to students who are accepted by, but then opt out of, certain schools. "I,
actually my parents, also paid half a million yen as admission fee to a
private university when I took it on the safe side," says a young member,
"I didn't enter the school as I was successful later in passing the
school of my preference." It was a rule of custom in those days. Such
an up-front payment is still an important revenue for schools that are not
popular and prestigious. These schools set registration deadlines well ahead
of other popular schools and keep the fees regardless of the school students
finally choose them. If the move becomes rampant, many unpopular schools
would face a big financial problem while they must be now getting ready
for falling number of students because of the declining birthrate. For them,
things turned from bad to worse.
(IF Osaka)