Viewpoints from Japan

We've Posted December Issue

2009-12-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

We have posted today the December issue of the PHP GeF and experts’ comments.

The issue is "How Should We Evaluate Prime Minister Hatoyama's Proposal of Reducing CO2 by 25%?”

Experts who commented are:

Dr. Shuhei Aida (Professor Emeritus, University of Electro-Communications)
Professor Kazuo Matsushita (Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University)
Professor Kaoru Okamato (National Institute for Public Studies)
Dr. B. Sudhakara Reddy (Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)
Professor Will Steffen (ANU Climate Change Institute at Australian National University)
Dr. Kevin Trenberth (Climate Analysis Section at National Center for Atmospheric Research)
Dr. Adalberto Luis Val & Dr. Antonio Ocimar Manzi (National Institute of Amazon Studies)

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

December Issue of PHP GEF

2009-11-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

Topic for Global e-Forum December Issue is “How Should We Evaluate Prime Minister Hatoyama’s Proposal of Reducing CO2 by 25%?”

This September, Prime Minister Hatoyama said that Japan would seek to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 25% by 2020 compared to the 1990 level at the UN Summit on Climate Change.

We are asking experts for their comments on Mr. Hatoyama’s remark.

We will post the issue and expert’s comments on next Monday, December 7 Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Haruki World

2009-11-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

The December issue of JAPAN CLOSE-UP has been published!

JAPAN CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "Haruki World".

If you're troubled by cats that talk, skies that rain sardines, sheep that hijack people's brains, girls that vanish into other universes and superfrogs that save Tokyo, then Haruki Murakami may not be for you.

But prepare to find yourself in a shrinking minority. Even the critics, once huffily disdainful, are rethinking their earlier hostility. They may be baffled by the enthusiasm Murakami's fiction arouses among readers worldwide — in an age, moreover, when popular passions have lately tended to pass literature by — but they cannot help acknowledging it, or admitting, however grudgingly, that a writer with Murakami's impact must have a finger on the secret pulses of the time.

What are those pulses? What does Murakami's fiction tell us about ourselves?

Read more http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php?page=haruki-world

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
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President Obama & Matcha Ice Cream

2009-11-16T01:07:00.000-08:00

Embassy of the United States invited me to hear “President Obama’s Inaugural Speech in Asia” at Suntory Hall in Akasaka, Tokyo last Saturday.

Suntory Hall is managed and operated by Suntory Holdings Limited, a beverage company.

The US Embassy asked the audiences whether they would come to Suntory Hall by 8:00 a.m. So, I had left my house at around 7:00 a.m. Since public transportations in Tokyo went smoothly, I could arrive there at 7:50 a.m. But, people had already made a long line.

At a time to open main entrances of the hall, we could move and enter inside smoothly, I thought. But, it was not easy to do. On the way to the waiting, we had heavy rain. We opened an umbrella. We were standing each other at close range. An umbrella which a person next to me had held touched me and I got rain drops from the umbrella.

While we were waiting for 20 minutes, the line had come to get out of shape. If a group related to the Japanese government or corporation had hosted such event, they must have put persons who would guide along the line to maintain of order.

I could see many commentators and journalists who were much appeared on TV when I waited.

After I had been screened, I could finally enter inside at around 9:15 a.m. Then, I had waited for another house. President Obama came onstage 10 minutes after ten, and stared his speech.

President’s speech was consisted of US policies toward Asia. Aside from those, what I felt interested in the speech was an episode that his mother took young President to Kamakura, an ancient city in Kanagawa prefecture.

Mr. Obama told that he had been more focused on-- as a child-- the matcha (powered green tea) ice cream than the bronze Amida Buddha. Oh, young Obama was a real expert in Japanese ice cream because he chose match, the taste that an adult is fond of. With the episode, I imagined Mr. President’s good old memory with his mother.

“Obama-Matcha-Ice-Cream” may be on sale before long in Kamakura.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Next Issue Is "Pandemic Panic"

2009-11-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

The November issue of the PHP Global e-Forum is "How Can We Avoid a Pandemic Panic?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Dr. Philip Alcabes (Associate Professor of Urban Public Health at Hunter College in the City University of New York)
Boston Public Health Commission (Boston, Massachusetts)
Dr. John Carnie (Chief Health Officer for Department of Health, Victoria)
Dr. Koya Hakozaki (Director and Clinic Manager of First Department of Internal Medicine, Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital)
Dr. Oliver Pybus (Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
Mr. Yokoo Toshihiko (Mayor of Taku City in Saga Prefecture)

The issue and experts' comments will be posted next Monday (Nov. 9) Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Fewer Students, More Universities?

2009-10-28T21:38:00.001-07:00

The November issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published!

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "Fewer Students, More Universities? It's a Puzzle!" Japan's institutes of higher learning, namely its universities and colleges, are in crisis.

Today there are about 765 four-year national, public, and private post-secondary schools across the country. Although this is an era of so-called universal admissions when anyone who wants to can get into college, half of all private universities are below capacity in terms of enrollment. In a rush to maintain student numbers, many schools are introducing ichigei nyushi, entrance exams geared to a single specialty or field of study, or setting up new "unique" academic departments.

As a result, even students who are subpar academically are now "college students." "They can't do elementary school level computation...." "They can't write decent Japanese…." While we hear more in this vein from the schools, for their part schools have continued to haphazardly add new academic departments that can only be considered transitory and calculating, so to top it all off schools may not even be able to maintain their own academic quality.

What in the world is going on at universities in Japan?

Read more http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

GSK's First Meeting

2009-10-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

The first meeting of Gyosei Sasshin Kaigi (GSK) was held at the Prime Minister’s office residence in the morning of October 22, Thursday.

GSK’s urgent task is to review the budget for next fiscal year. A rough estimate of the budget swelled out to about 95 trillion Japanese yen. Wow. Current fiscal year’s initial budget is about 88.5 trillion yen. Budget requests in the Hatoyama administration are much bigger than the previous administration’s.

What GSK will use is Jigyo Shiwake or “to sorting out government projects”. It is a work to judge whether a project is necessary or not, either central or local governments should take in charge of it and so on. Mr. Hideki Kato, the secretary-general of GSK and the president of Japan Initiative, a think tank invented this Jigyo Shiwake method. It has already been applied for local governments.

At the first meeting, GSK decided to establish three shiwake (sorting out) groups. Each group consists of Diet members, experts and former local government officials. They are called shiwake-nin, or a sorting out person.

Shiwake groups will hold hearings from each department and agency about the rough estimate of the budget. Then, they will choose 200 to 300 projects which should be sorted out. In this month, works to sort out the project will be open to the public. That will, I am sure, promote transparency of a process to select necessary or unnecessary government projects. By the end of coming November, the groups will arrange their sorting-out-evaluations and propose a reducing expenditure to the Hatoyama administration.

Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “We should cut down on expenses as much as possible.”

With his all-out support, GSK has started.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Change: Foreign Minister's Press Conference

2009-10-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

A month ago, Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan announced “Regarding Basic Principle Related to a Press Conference”.

He announced that press conferences would be open to all mass media.

So far, only media organizations that belonged to Gaimusho Kisha Kai, or the Journalists Club of Ministry for Foreign Affairs could attend press conferences. Nor all the journalists have participated.

Mr. Okada wants to promote transparency in a government.

All mass media means members of Nihon Shinbun Kyokai or the Japan News Papers Publishers & Editors Association, Nihon Minkan Hoso Renmei or the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan, Nihon Zasshi Kyokai or Japan Magazine Publishers Association, Nihon Internet Hodo Kyoukai or Internet News Association of Japan, Nihon Gaikoku Tokuhaiin Kyokai or Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, persons who hold a foreign journalist registration card, and persons who regularly write and distribute an article to mass media stated above.

According to Mainishi, a Japanese Newspaper, Minister for Foreign Affairs admitted 18 persons who have not belonged to Gaimusho Kisha Kai to attend a press conference dated September 29th.

Wow! The PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office can also join the Foreign Minister’s press conferences if we wish.

That’s the difference between DPJ and LDP.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Comments by Mr. Kerim Yildiz

2009-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

We have posted Mr. Kerim Yildiz's comments on the October issue: "How Can Ethnic Minorities Live together with Other People Prosperously in a Nation-State?"

Mr. Yildiz is a co-founder of the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP).

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Secretary-General of GSK

2009-10-08T02:35:00.001-07:00

I have got an email today from the Tokyo Foundation (TF) whose chairperson is Mr. Hideki Kato. As I described on yesterday's blog, he has become the secretary-general of Gyosei Sasshin Kaigi (GSK).

I told that Mr. Kato would be in charge of GSK's day-to-day operations. 　

According to the email, “Kato will tackle for reinventing administration and finances as a coordinator at GSK. But, his job is part-time. Kato as the chairperson of TF will continuously aim at social reforms with essential and effective measures, promoting policy studies and personnel trainings in the foundation.”

Oh, Mr. Kato is the part-time secretary-general? I thought.

So, he won’t be able to deal in the day-to-day operations at GSK. I was wrong.

The chairperson of TK, president of Japan Initiative (JI). And more, the GSK's secretary-general. I am wondering how he will handle three jobs at the same time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Reinventing Japanese Government

2009-10-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Hatoyama administration decided 11 members of Gyosei Sasshin Kaigi or the Administrative Reform Council on October 6th. Gyosei Sasshin Kaigi (GSK) was newly established to find out wasting taxes, people’s money.

The chairperson of GSK is Prime Minister Hatoyama. The vice chairperson is Mr. Yoshito Sengoku, State Minister in Charge of Administrative Reform.

From the administrative side, with both Mr. Hatoyama and Mr. Sengoku, Mr. Naoto Kan, Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for National Strategy, Economic and Fiscal Policy, Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, Finance Minister, Mr. Hirofumi Hirano, Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Mr. Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications have become the members.

From the non-governmental side, Mr. Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera and DDI (now KDDI), Mr. Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kikkoman Corporation (Soy Sauce Company), Mr. Yoshihiro Katayama, Professor of Faculty of Law, Keio University and former Governor of Tottori Prefecture, Mr. Tadayoshi Kusano, Board Chairman of RENGO or Japanese Trade Union Confederation Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards, and Mr. Hideki Kato, President of Japan Initiative (JI) or Koso Nippon and Chairman of the Tokyo Foundation (TF) have become the members. JI and TK are think tanks located in Tokyo.

Mr. Hideki Kato is also the secretary-general of GSK. He will be in charge of GSK’s day-to-day operations.

What you may be surprised is that you see a name of “Kazuo Inamori”. He is a very prominent Japanese entrepreneur. In the Japanese business world, few expressed his or her support for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) so far. But, Mr. Inamori had been clearly expressing his support for DPJ. He regularly meets Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, Secretary General.

GSK will hold the first meeting in this month.

I am very interested in how GSK will reinvent the Japanese government and administrative system.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Next Issue Is "Ethnic Minorities"

2009-10-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

The October issue of the PHP Global e-Fourm is "How Can Ethnic Minorities Live together with Other People Prosperously in a Nation-State?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Dr. Katsuhiko Mori (Professor of Politics and International Relations at the International Christian University)
Dr. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam (Spokesperson for the Website “Iran Human Rights” and Senior Scientist at the Center for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience at the University of Oslo)
Dr. Noriyuki Ueda (Associate Professor, Department of Value and Decision Science, Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Mr. Toru Sakai (Journalist)

The issue and comments will be posted tomorrow Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Konkatsu

2009-09-28T21:58:00.001-07:00

The October issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published!

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "Konkatsu".

The term konkatsu (marriage/partner hunting) recently sprung up from shu-katsu (job hunting) to describe modern strategies in Japan on the ageold search for a good marriage partner.

Konkatsu was also born of a popular Japanese romantic comedy featuring Kuniyuki Amamiya, in his mid- 30's and son of a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant owner, who finds a job he wants but with one catch—he must be married—and so his search for the right partner begins while keeping his job prospects open by pretending to be engaged to a part-timer in his father's restaurant.

What is konkatsu all about?

Read more http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Silver Week

2009-09-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

From September 19 (Saturday) to 23 (Wednesday), we have had consecutive holidays in Japan due to the Happy Monday System (HMS). By revising a law, some of national public holidays have been moved to Monday. That is the HMS.

People in Japan, in general, have a five-day workweek. They have a day off on both Saturday and Sunday.

21st is Respect-for-the-Aged Day. 23rd is Autumnal Equinox Day. Then, the Japanese government has decided to make Tuesday, 22nd, “Holiday for the People” that is placed between them.

Japanese mass media called the holidays “Silver Week”.

But, the new Hatoyama administration did business without ceasing during Silver Week.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/

Mr. Maehara Joined the New Cabinet

2009-09-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Mr. Yukio Hatoyama has become the Prime Minster yesterday, and two Matsushita Institute of Government and Management (MIGM) or Matsushita Seikei Juku graduates have joined his Cabinet.

Matsushita Seikei Juku was established in 1979 by Konosuke Matsushita, founder of PHP Research Institute, for training leadership.

One is Mr. Kazuhiro Haraguchi. He has become Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications were merged into the organization in 2001.

Another is Mr. Seiji Maehara. He has become Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Construction were merged into the organization also in 2001.

Mr. Maehara gave us his comments on the PHP Global e-Forum July issue: “How Can We Realize a World Free of Nuclear Weapons? Also, Can the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Guarantee World Security?”

http://www.globaleforum.com/en/expert.jsp?mId=4&yId=26

He is very well known in Japan as an expert on security and defense policies.

The MIGM graduates will lead the huge public organizations.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
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What Will the Shift in Power Mean for Japan?

2009-09-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

“Extra! Extra! Government shift in power!” People swarmed around the train station, practically fighting for copies of the newspaper extra edition. The August 30 House of Representatives election marked the first shift of power in Japan in 16 years as the reins of government passed to the Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan). It was another moment in which a people seeking “Change” chose to support a complete remodeling of their government.

During the forty-odd years that led up the last power shift, in 1993, Japan was able to achieve high economic growth based on so-called alignments of mutual economic interest, but with the economic downturn that followed the bursting of the bubble, people became frustrated with government corruption and ended up bringing a reform-based alliance of opposition parties to power. But that coalition government made up of eight different parties succumbed to internal dissension within a year. The LDP revived itself instantly with the next election, and continued on the path of “protect vested interests, reject change.”

When Koizumi came to power in 2001, he managed to force the conservative factions in the LDP into submission and hammer through reform measures. But no sooner did Koizumi step down in 2006 than the conservative factions that had been lying dormant resuscitate themselves and government for the vested interests began to raise its head again. However, the internal LDP power structure that had been dismantled by Koizumi never returned to its original position. LDP members were like sheep without a shepherd, and their position of political power just melted away. Instead Minshuto made its carefully thought-out bailout policies the key issue of the election. The LPD went down without a fight.

So what will this shift in power mean for Japan? Instead of making the overall economic pie bigger, Minshuto policy would redistribute larger slices of the pie to the vested interests of the organizations that are its main constituency, namely agricultural coops, medical associations, and labor unions, as well as to the economically disadvantaged population. These policies are ironically close to what the LDP did from 1955 through 1993. In that sense, although the media called Minshuto the “Revolution Party,” the reality is actually the opposite.

Aren’t the Japanese people a little too carried away right now with the idea of redistributing wealth? Even though the overall amount of wealth has declined? Is this the way to survive and thrive in a world where state capitalism is at the forefront? At least I would hope we are not choosing a path that will make all our people poorer, instead of joining in the global competition.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
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Next Issue Is about "State Capitalism"

2009-09-04T02:49:00.000-07:00

Next issue is "Will State Capitalism Bring Peace, Happiness, and Prosperity to Humanity?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Mr. Vladimir Dovgan (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Edelstar Limited)
Dr. Jayati Ghosh (Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Dr. Aldo Musacchio (Associate Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit, Harvard Business School)
Dr. Jeffrey D. Straussman　(Dean of Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York)
Mr. Masaharu Takenaka (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Ryukoku University)
Mr. Toru Watanabe (Executive Director, Shin-Nihon Public Affairs)

The issue and comments will be posted on September 7, next Monday Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Hatoyama's Opinion of NYT Comes Originally from "VOICE", Our Monthly Journal

2009-08-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, President of the Democratic Party of Japan wrote his opinion on the New York Time, August 27. The title is “A New Path for Japan”.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/opinion/27iht-edhatoyama.html

According to NYT, A longer version of this article appears in the September issue of the monthly Japanese journal Voice.

Voice is the monthly magazine that we, PHP Institute publishes. Yes, we do.

On the top page of the PHP Global e-Forum, you will find a banner of VOICE+ on the right side.

If you click it, you will be able to read the original article: Sofu Ichiro ni Mananda “Yuuai” to Iu Tatakai no Hatajirushi.

That is “Fraternity”, A Fighting Motto that I Learned from the Grandfather, Ichiro in English.

Read more http://voiceplus-php.jp/archive/detail.jsp?id=197

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
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You've Just Got to Laugh

2009-08-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

The September issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published.

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "You've Just Got to Laugh."

Not long ago you'd have had a tough time convincing anyone outside Japan that "funny" had any relevance to the Japanese mindset. The tendency for the legions of white-collar representatives of Japan Inc. working abroad to wear a collective poker face didn't help. Countless YouTube videos of seriously wacky local TV shows have proven, however, that Japanese are just as nutty as the rest of us.

From storytelling to standup to mimicry to wordplay and the kind of loopy physical comedy that would do Monty Python proud, plenty of funny stuff has been going on in Japan for centuries. And the current owarai (laugh) boom is proving to be the biggest yet.

Read more http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
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Mr. Newt Gingrich Is Here in Tokyo

2009-08-19T02:46:00.000-07:00

Today, on the way to the office, I read an article: “Newt’s Conversion. The former U.S. Speaker finds a new home in the Catholic Church on TIME (VOL. I74, No.7) on a train.

After I had arrived at the office, I accessed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. I happened to notice that there was a press release: a group of the former U.S. Speaker, Mr. Gingrich visited MOF.

Oh, Mr. Newt Gingrich is here in Tokyo? I thought.

According to the press release, the group of the former Speaker visited MOF on August 18 (Tuesday) , and they had a talk with Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka (a career bureaucrat, not politician) . They exchanged frankly opinions about Japan-US relationships and the situation of the Asian-Pacific region.

Just a brief statement.

I am very curious what brought Mr. Gingrich here.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Former State Minister Won't Seek Re-election

2009-08-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

Campaigning for the August 30 Lower House election has started today.

According to opinions surveys conducted by newspaper publishing companies and news agencies, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is likely to come to power. So, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) seems to be anxious about losing power.

The Lower House consists of 300 seats from single-seat constituencies and 180 seats through the proportional representation system. Single-seat candidates can show on their party’s lists for the proportional representation system, too.

That means although they do not win in the single-seat constituencies, they get elected as proportional representation candidates. This time, more LDP candidates tend to take double candidacy in the election.

Ms. Kuniko Inoguchi decided not to run in the election yesterday. She won her Lower House seat in 2005. She was at the top of the LDP’s list on the Tokyo proportional representation proportion of the ballot. Then Prime Minster Koizumi had called on her to run, and appointed her state minister in charge of gender equality. This time, Ms. Inoguchi was at the 24th-ranking of the list. She was asking the LDP headquarters to put her name at a higher rank of the list.

She must regret. But, Dr. Inoguchi was a prominent professor specializing international relations, and former Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament.

My observation is that she matches handling foreign issues rather than domestic. I hope she will come back to the academic world or work at an international organization soon.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Next Issue Is About "US Dollar"

2009-08-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Next issue is "Is There a Way to Sustain Stable Growth of the World Economy Even If the US Dollar Loses its Position as the Key Currency?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Dr. Mark Blyth (Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University)
Mr. Bill Emmott (Independent Writer, Former Editor Economist)
Mr. Guy de Jonquières (Writer, Senior Fellow of the European Centre for International Political Economy)
Dr. Daniel I. Okimoto (Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Senior Fellow of the Institute for International Studies, and Director Emeritus and Co-Founder of the Asia/Pacific Research Center at Stanford University)
Professor Yukimitsu Sanada (Professor of Faculty of Business at Aichi Shukutoku University)
Dr. Sayuri Shirai (Professor of Economics, Keio University)
Dr. Mingqi Xu (Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and Director of European Studies Centre at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)

The issue and comments will be posted on August 10, next Monday Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

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Hokkaido: the Other Japan

2009-07-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

The August issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published.

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "Hokkaido: The Other Japan."

Hokkaido, literally "North Sea Circuit," is Japan’s largest and northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, the largest island in Japan, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel, which is a 53.85km railway tunnel, with a 23.3km portion under the seabed, the longest undersea tunnel in the world.

It has wonderful natural gifts, not the least of which is wide open space to stir the expansive imagination that tends to get stifled in Tokyo. Its population density, 72.5 people per square kilometer, is one-fifth the national average.

Why, one wonders, is Hokkaido not flourishing?

Read more http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Fortitude to Not Sell Something

2009-07-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

Keihoku Super is the name of a small chain of supermarkets with eight stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area. When they first opened, almost anything that was for sale could be found on their shelves. The stores did very well at the time.

Today however, Keihoku Super carries almost none of the mass produced items that sell well at other stores. Mr. Ishido as the founding president of Keihoku says, “We decided that even if we know it is a good seller, if it's not good for your health then we will not sell it.” This policy has been well received by customers and Keihoku is doing even better than before.

One of the vendors that supplies Mr. Ishido's stores is a kamaboko fish paste manufacturing and sales company. Its president Matoishi was too mixed up in partying as a young man to be much interested in the business. But ever since the day that a customer requested a kamaboko fish paste without any additives in it, he became passionate about the business.

The resulting kamaboko product was costly to develop and had to be sold at a premium price, but boy, did it sell. A number of urban department stores came with head bowed to ask if they wouldn't consider opening a sales kiosk. But they were turned away.

The reasoning was if distribution were expanded the company would not be able to use only local fish for its product. If they used fish from non-local areas the product would lose freshness, and the integrity of local production would be compromised. Mr. Matoishi shares with Mr. Ishido the fortitude to not sell something they don't believe in.

The media hypes the age of nothing selling, or the age when only cheap goods sell. There are certainly many goods of this type in the home electronics field. But is it really true?

Even in home electronics, the higher priced goods that excel in safety, reliability, and energy consumption are what's selling. Bicycles and smaller cars that are easy on the environment are also selling at a reasonable pace.

In contrast to the discount supermarkets that are going under one by one, the convenience stores which sell at full price but are quick to respond to customer needs are actually increasing sales. Goods that sell even during a depression all share something with the customer, and that is a sense of value.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Mr. Issey Miyake's Op-Ed "A Flash of Memory"

2009-07-16T02:03:00.000-07:00

Mr. Issey Miyake, a prominent clothing designer wrote op-ed, “A Flash of Memory” on New York Times on July 13.

It is about Mr. Miyake’s experience of the atomic bomb over sixty yeas ago. He was in Hiroshima and seven years old.

Japanese news media extensively reported his op-ed because many people did not know that Mr. Miyake is an A-bomb victim.

Neither did I.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/opinion/14miyake.html

“When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should every experience: a bright red light, the black cloud soon after, people running in very direction trying to desperately to escape—I remember it all. Within three years, my mother dies from radiation exposure.” He told.

Mr. Miyake had not revealed his memories and thoughts of August 6, 1945. He disliked to be labeled as “the designer who survived the atomic bomb”.

But, President Obama’s speech in Prague changed Mr. Miyake’s state of mind. Mr. Obama asserted to quest peace and prosperity without nuclear weapons in the world.

Mr. Miyake says, “The President’s words awakened something buried deeply within me, something about which I have until now been reluctant to discuss.”

He also hopes that President of the USA will accept to attend Universal Peace Day on August 6.

When I was a college student over 20 years ago, I went to Hiroshima from Tokyo as a translator for an American professor who interviewed dozens of Hiroshima survivors. Before visiting there, I thought I had known about Hiroshima’s August 6 through books and pictures. However, through meeting, interviewing the survivors and translating what they told, I realized that I had not known much about shocks, tragedies and pains that they had received.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

LDP's Difficult Campaign on Tokyo Assembly Election

2009-07-13T03:22:00.000-07:00

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election was held yesterday. 221 candidates aimed at 127 seats. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was majority with New Komeito, another political party before the election. LDP had 48 seats and New Komeito had 22 seats.

However, LDP has lost 10 seats. Instead, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) had gained substantially 54 seats from 34. It became a majority party.

With regard to LDP, distinctive election result was that legislators of influence were defeated.

One is Mr. Shigeru Uchida at the age of 70. His constituency is Chiyoda ward, the very center of Tokyo. Mr. Uchida is the Tokyo LDP’s Secretary General and former Speaker of the Assembly. He has been a legislator for 24 years. Tokyo Metropolitan Governor Shintaro Ishihara said, “Uchida-san is the most reliable politician for me.”

Another is Mr. Naoki Takashima at the age of 59. His constituency is Adachi ward, eastern part of Tokyo and near Saitama prefecture. Mr. Takashima is the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Secretary General for LDP. He has been a legislator for 12 years.

Mr. Nobuteru Ishihara, a member of the House of Representatives and son of Governor Ishihara expressed his resignation as Chairperson of the Tokyo LDP to bear the responsibility for the defeat of LDP.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

A Mission from Iraq

2009-07-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Dr. Sami Al-Araji: Chairman of the National Investment Commission, H.E. Dr．Hussain Ibrahim Al-Shahristani, Minister of Oil, and H.E. Mr. Fawzi Hariri: Minister of Industry and Minerals have arrived at Tokyo from Iraq today.

They are a mission to invite Japanese investments to Iraq. They will stay here for four days.

On July 10th, the Iraq Investment Seminar will be held with the mission cosponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Yesterday’s NIKKEI NET (a Japanese newspaper website) said that Japanese trading companies, oil corporations, and enterprises related to infrastructures would participate in the seminar.

At last, economic opportunities would come for them.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Next Issue Is About "Nuclear Weapons"

2009-07-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Next issue is "How Can We Realize a World Free of Nuclear Weapons? Also, Can the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Guarantee World Security?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Dr. Ian Anthony (Director of Research and Head of the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)
Dr. Kurt Gottfried (Union of Concerned Scientists and Cornell University)
Mr. Seiji Maehara (Vice President of the Democratic Party of Japan, Member of the House of Representatives)
Dr. Katsuhiko Mori (Professor of Politics and International Relations at the International Christian University)
Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak (Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies and Associate Professor of International Political Economy at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University)
Mr. Prabir Purkayastha (Vice President at All India Peace and Solidarity Organization)
Mr. Kazuo Shii (Chairman of the Japanese Communist Party and Member of the House of Representatives)

The issue and comments will be posted on July 6, next Monday Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

What Is Management?

2009-06-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

In October 1929, a worldwide panic erupted, set off by the New York stock market crash. This was the celebrated Black Tuesday. In Japan alone, many banks went under and businesses collapsed one after the other, or were forced to shut down factories or lay off workers. The unemployed filled the streets. Panasonic (Matsushita Electric at the time) was no exception. Unable to sell product, its inventory turned into a mountain. At that point, the top management counseled president Konosuke Matsushita to weather the hard times by laying off half of his employees. Considering the circumstances, it was a justifiable suggestion.

But, Konosuke Matsushita responded like this. "I'll cut production in half, but I won't reduce employees or salaries. Instead, I'll have all employees give up their holidays to do their utmost to sell some inventory." Hearing this, employees who had been afraid of losing their jobs were jubilant, and an atmosphere of solidarity grew within the company. As a result, just two months later the inventory was cleared and the company had recovered to the point where the factory had to resume full time production. Today Panasonic has become a major corporation and home to 300,000 employees worldwide.

As the world economy cries out for help these past few months, layoffs are taking place as a matter of course. Just like a deja vu of the world panic. Many companies and academics say complacently, "Business does not exist for the purpose of employing people." They certainly have a point since this is a capitalist society. Their idea is based on the perception that labor costs are not fixed costs but variable expenses. People are something that you obtain as cheaply as possible and only when you need them. Some companies only have employees that are like cheap disposable gears. Other companies only have employees that work with an energetic goodwill, each one for the good of the company and the good of the customer. I wonder which one will succeed.

Businesses that do not care about their employees cannot be expected to care about their customers. That is because management is an activity performed by people for the purpose of making people happy.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Downsized Indulgences

2009-06-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

The July issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published.

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the issue is "Downsized Indulgences: Consumers Savor Small Pleasures amid Economic Crisis."

Japanese consumers are used to hard times. During World War II the Japanese government propagated the slogan, "Luxury is an enemy." The selling of fancy goods was banned. Inconspicuous consumption was a trend. Now the trend seems to come back. Unlike the situation in the United States, they do not feel as if a mountain has suddenly fallen on them. They are somewhat inured to the pain of austerity and were better prepared psychologically for the shock following the stock market crash that began in October 2008. Let's look at the new Japanese consumer trend closely in the current global recession.

Read more
http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Security of Prime Minister's Official Residence

2009-06-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Today's Yomiuri, a Japanese newspapers, revealed on its web that one of staff members dispatched by the Akasaka Prince Hotel (currently, Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka), that had been in charge of the service of the dinner party for President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Republic of Yemen at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in November 2005, had been into the Official Residence setting him/herself up as a different person.

The staff member presented a fabricated ID card before the Official Residence's employees. He or she was allowed to enter there undoubtedly. Staff members' names for services in the Residence are supposed to be registered beforehand. A manager of the Akasaka Price Hotel came to know that the staff member dispatched by a temporary-employment company was another person on that day. The hotel manager decided to change a picture on the ID card without changing his or her name.

The Hotel said, All we could do was to inform a change of a staff member to the Official Residence. The manager didn't know that. We deeply apologize.

Today, Mr. Kawamura, Chief Cabinet Secretary told that he had received the report from the hotel in August 2007. It is deeply regrettable that a hotel which has had satisfactory performances for serving foreign VIPs did a very disappointed act, he added.

Oh, scary.

How about a security system of the Prime Minster's Residential Office?

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
PHP Research Institute
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Considering from Food Safety

2009-06-18T23:44:00.001-07:00

Maybe it's my age, but in recent years the idea of eating has become a concern.

Calorie count, vitamins, minerals, food combinations, drinks, and dessert…. I'm not talking about food quantity or quality or direct matters like that. I'm talking about things like, how are we going to increase Japan's rate of food self-sufficiency which has fallen below 40%? Even though there are so many people suffering from famine in the world today, one day's leftovers in Tokyo alone is enough to provide 500,000 meals. What a waste! The situation seems absurd.

Since none other than the Michelin Guide considers Tokyo to be the culinary capital of the world, it seems there'll be no end to the overeating and gluttony. Food and diet impact not only the physical energy and health of our children but also their spiritual health. Educating them about proper diet is essential. If I start worrying about food I can't stop.

What worries me the most is food safety. There has been a string of incidents of contaminated rice and vegetables, falsification of expiration dates, concealment of origin and ingredients. I would hope that these people who think only about making money would never again be engaged in work that had anything to do with human lives. They should probably be severely punished. They have never been remotely concerned with serving people or society.

Regarding these issues, we consumers must defend ourselves, and not leave it up to others to do so.

That said, though we are able to act calmly and preemptively when we can foresee the nature and location of the danger, as with obesity, accidents, overwork, etc., when we don't know what is dangerous, or are uncertain as to when and where the danger could occur, we easily slip into panic mode.

Food is the same way, and disappearing pensions and bad financial products like securitized subprime loans are the same as well. In a practical sense, there is no way to defend ourselves but to eat only foods that are made by someone whose face we know, and to stay away from "virtual" goods.

In a way, these are all man-made problems. If manufacturers and businesspeople would just do their job honestly, in service of people and society, most of this would not have occurred.

If you don't work in a way that makes other people happy, there is no point in working at all. There is no job in this world that needs to make people unhappy, or dead.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

Candidate & Cheering-Up Party

2009-06-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

The prime minister will call general election or House of Representatives election within coming a couple of months. Candidates and incumbents need campaign fund. So, they will have a plan to hold a party to collect campaign fund.

I have recently received letters to encourage me to participate in the party from them. A participation fee is generally 20,000 yen or about $200.

It is usual to call the party, Hagemasu-Kai. Hagemasu means “encourage” or “cheer up.” Kai is “gathering” or “party.”

My son found the letters and looked at the title. Then, he said to me, “Is this person depressed? So, cheer him up?”

I laughed. “Well, you are right. To encourage.” I replied. But, with low-spirited, people can not run.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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GEF Next Issue Is about "Speculative Money"

2009-06-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Next issue is "How far should speculative money be allowed to go?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Dr. Mohammed Abu Arida (CEO of The Qatar National Bank- Syria）
Dr. Mark Blyth (Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University)
Sir Howard Davies (Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science)
Dr. Jayati Ghosh (Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Mr. George Hara (Group Chairman and CEO, DEFTA Partners Group)
Mr. Raita Sakai (CEO of the Multilateral Investment Development Corporation: MIDC Group)
Dr. Gun Setu (Associate Professor of Faculty of Economics at Nagasaki University)
Ms. Anne Stausboll (CEO of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System: CalPERS)

The issue and comments will be posted on June 8, next Monday Japan time.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

True "Kandou"

2009-06-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

Some people are moved, to a surprising degree, by what seems the slightest thing. Someone I work with, Ms. S, is one of those people. On the other hand, there are those who cannot be moved, even if they want to be moved. That would be me. What makes us react so differently? They say atsui or hot people (namely enthusiastic people) or those society regards as "innocents" tend to be easily moved, while those seen as "cold" or sophisticated are not, but there must be more to it than that.

The dictionary defines kandou (emotion, impression) thusly: the emotions or heart are moved. Certainly on a day-to-day basis my emotions are moved, but it seems to be a mostly negative way, like anger or dissatisfaction, or envy. However I certainly have plenty to feel light-hearted and happy about.

Einstein said, "He to whom emotion is a stranger is as good as dead." So does that mean people who are difficult to be moved emotionally are already dead? Maybe because there are so many of us, but there are more and more businesses that try to sell kandou as a product, like Kandou Moving Center, Kandou Gift, Kandou House. Same with TV programs. Every episode the announcer is somehow moved to tears. This over-exposure leaves me more unmoved than ever. At the least, being moved is an extremely personal emotion, so it should remain an intransitive verb, and not be used as a transitive verb, as if you could give such an emotion to anyone but yourself. But out in the world, the expression "kandou-ryoku" or "power to be moved" seems to be becoming a necessary business skill, and even a competency.

It's said that all who crossed paths with the venerable Konosuke Matsushita were moved. Once when Matsushita was on the bullet train, a man seated nearby wanted to speak with the great man, and as a way to break the ice, gave Matsushita a tangerine as a snack. When Matsushita got off the train at his station, he bowed deeply from outside the train in thanks to the man still inside, and stayed bowing until the train was out of sight. The man was so deeply impressed by this behavior that as soon as he got home he had every appliance in his home and business replaced with a Panasonic model. Konosuke Matsushita did not try to "move" this man purposely, but just connected with him in a completely natural way. Isn't the idea of "kandou" more something like this?

First off, so as not to forget how it feels to be moved, let's watch a mushy movie and make sure we can still cry, even if we have to fake the tears.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
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Momorial Service in Chidorigafuchi

2009-05-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

On the day North Korea carried out nuclear test, there was a memorial service for the war dead at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo. Chidorigafuchi is very famous for cherry blossoms every spring.

The memorial service was under the auspices of Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Prime Minister Aso attended it and offered flowers.

The Japanese government formed groups for collecting remains of the war dead and has been sending every year overseas. This time, the groups went to the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and so on to find remains. Among them, 1,406 remains that could not be handed over to bereaved families were put in the Ossuaries of the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery.

In all, 354,332 remains have been laid.

On the day people should be solemn and quiet, they blew up nuclear equipment.

Did they know the Japanese memorial service beforehand?

http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp
[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Opening Japan's Courtrooms to the Public

2009-05-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

The June issue of Japan CLOSE-UP has been published.

Japan CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the June issue is "Opening Japan's Courtrooms to the Public: Floodgates or a Breath of Fresh Air?"

Scheduled to start in May 2009, what is being termed the saibanin system marks a major societal watershed, as it will be the first time in postwar history for the general public to participate in the hermetically closed operation of Japan’s criminal justice system. Japanese tend to view lawsuits as a distasteful admission of failure, a last resort after patience, negotiation, and mediation have failed. Now, in response to pressure from Japanese scholars and lawyers, and a bit of badgering from foreign interests as well, the Japanese Government is taking steps to make its legal system more open.

Read more
http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

New Ambassador to Japan

2009-05-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

On May 20, the Japanese news media reported that President Obama on Tuesday decide to nominate Mr. John Roos, a California-Silicon Valley based attorney as ambassador to Japan.

An end result was not Dr. Nye.

Who is Roos? Japanese government officials and American watchers thought.

The attorney is an active fund raiser in the presidential campaign for Mr. Obama. The President has also recently chosen Mr. Louis Susman who is another big fund raiser as the new ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Picking Mr. Roos, perhaps, is a plum as successive American Presidents have done as usual. With regard to that, it is difficult for me to see "change" in the American envoy.

But, there is a hope. Mr. Jim Zumwalt, the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy of Tokyo has started his blog since the middle of March. That is a part of "public diplomacy."

I enjoy reading it.

http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/zblog/e/zblog-emain.html

I would like the new ambassador to Japan start his blog and the Charge d'Affaires continue the blog after the arrival of the ambassador.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

The New Flu in Japan

2009-05-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

More than 200 people have been infected with the new flu in Japan.

When I heard an outbreak of the flu in Mexico, it was called "buta influenza." Buta means "pig" in Japanese. After a while, it has come to be called "shingata influenza," which is "new style," or "new" influenza. I wonder if to avoid a rumor related to pig and pork. We generally do not call in the H1N1 virus in Western countries.

After high school students in the Kansai region were confirmed infected with the new flu, about 2,500 schools in the area have been closed for 5 to 7 days.

On May 9, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced three persons including two high school students returning from Canada after their arrival at the Narita International Airport were infected with new flu. This was the first case in Japan.

There is no correlation between the first infected persons and Kansai-region-high school students. However, I pay attention to students, or youths.

Every morning, my daughter and son take their temperatures, fill out the numbers on check forms, and take them to their school. School teachers collect, check the forms and return to children.

If there is a student with a high temperature, a school is supposed to report to a local government's board of education in order to take necessary measures rapidly. The local government where I live decided to do in each public school.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Japan-US Accord on Marine Trasfer from Okinawa Ratified

2009-05-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

On May 14, there was a press release by Mr. Ian Kelly, Spokesman of the US Department of State. That is the United States government welcomed the Japanese Diet ratified the Agreement on the Relocation of US Marine Corps fro Okinawa to Guam on the previous day. Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone and Secretary Clinton signed this Agreement when Madam Secretary visited Tokyo in February this year. It took about three months to be confirmed in the legislative side.

We have to realize this Agreement was not born by unanimous consent.

The Japanese parliament is the bicameral system: the House of Representative and House of Councilors. This Agreement was rejected by Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Communist and Social Democratic Parties in the House of Councilors. The opposition parties have a majority.

However, on the Constitution, the House of Representatives is superior to Councilors. Since ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds majority in the House of Representative, the Agreement was finally approved.

We will have general election in this year. There is a possibility that DPJ will get the majority in the House of Representative. That is why foreign leaders have been recently meeting both the Prime Minster and President of DPJ.

If the opposition party comes to power, I wonder whether it executes the Agreement smoothly.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Pondering "Eco"

2009-05-11T23:57:00.001-07:00

Recently, I had a chance to tour the showroom of a major electronics maker. In Japan, this appears to be the only showroom whose special feature is proposing new lifestyles centered on eco- and universal design. It was chock-full of goods that the envisioned three-generation household would find totally convenient and eco-conscious. It was fun just to walk around and look at everything. And yet, to be so saturated in eco left me with the honest impression that though I get the whole reason for eco design, I don't want to pay more for it, and I feel like I'm running a marathon with no goal in sight.

In the general mood today, where it is alright for things to be expensive if they're eco-conscious, or that people who don't follow-conscious lifestyoles are bad citizens, I feel something akin to fascism or mass hysteria. If this mood goes too far, the next thing will be a return of darkness to cities at night, with all-night businesses and night street lighting prohibited, or an end to legitimate sales of non-eco-conscious goods that waste resources, like newspapers and magazines. Maybe there will even be a gluttony tax on foods that exceed a certain calorie count, because that would be a waste of food resources, or tax on people living alone because single-member households are a waste of resources. "An Inconvenient Life" really may come true.

Danish political scholar Bjorn Lomborg was widely lambasted the world over when he was critical in his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, of overly emotional global warming debates, saying environmentalists need to cool their heads together with the earth. Environmentalism to that extent is a brand of fundamentalism, and has a strong element of out-of-control compulsion. And, yet at last year's G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit "ego" won out over "eco," as most expected. Swinging back and forth between these two polar oposites is problematic because it seems to leave no room for finding a middle ground.

I would hope at least that a goal can be established that is premised on eco-consciousness coexisting with pleasurable human existence on the one hand and with capitalism on the other.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

May Issue & Comments Posted!

2009-05-08T02:27:00.000-07:00

The May issue and comments have been posted today.

http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

We are glad to take your comments.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Next Issue Is Economic Protectionism

2009-04-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

Next issue (May) is "Who Will Benefit From And Who Will Be Damaged By Economic Protectionism?"

Experts who comments on the issue are as of today:

Ms. Michelle Applebaum (Managing Director of Steel Market Intelligence)
Professor Noriko Hama (Doshisha University)
Dr. Tsai Ing-wen (Chairperson of Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan)
Mr. Daniel M. Price (Senior Partner of Sidley Austin LLP.)
Professor Yukimitsu Sanada (Aichi Shukutoku University)
Professor Frank Trentmann (Birkbeck College, University of London)
Professor Steven Vogel (University of California, Berkeley)

From May 2 to 6, we have holidays in Japan. May 3 is Constitution Day. The fourth is Green Day. The fifth is Children's Day. The sixth becomes a holiday in lieu of Constitution Day.

So, the issue and comments will be posted on May 8, next Friday.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Sengoku Boom: Spellbound Young Women

2009-04-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

The May issue of JAPAN CLOSE-UP has been published.

JAPAN CLOSE-UP is an English-language monthly magazine bringing you the latest news on Japanese business, products, culture, society, trends, and people.

One of featured articles on the May issue is "Sengoku Boom: Spellbound Young Women."

There is a current samurai boom amongst young Japanese women. Mesmerized by TV dramas and uncertain about their seemingly feminine male contemporaries, they are embracing a war-time era(sengoku) in the country's history, when men were men and the samurai code prevailed.

At a November 2008 Sengoku manga festival, over 8,000 participants came from across the country. Many wore colorful handmade costumes, most showed off an array of samurai trinkets.

What is the reason behind it?

Read more
http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Pakistan Donors Conference & IOC Evaluation Commission

2009-04-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

On April 17, the Japanese government co-hosted the Pakistan Donors Conference in Tokyo. The place for the conference was Fuyonoma (which means Confederate Rose Room in English) on the first floor of the Hotel New Otani. It is a 600 to 1,400-person banquet hall. Here, the PHP Research Institute holds a symposium every November. You may receive an invitation card for the symposium from us.

At the conference, the Tokyo government expressed a decision to extend US$1 billion in assistance. It had extended ODA loans of 48 billion yen for Pakistan's infrastructure development last May. On April 7 this year, it had also determined to increase emergency assistance for internally displaced people as results of a fight against extremism in Pakistan. Our government is broad-minded.

According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the representatives of 31 countries and 18 international organizations & agencies attended the conference. But, I did not see all faces of the representatives through the media.

On the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister met the representatives of Pakistan, UAE, Turkey, Iran, Australia and South Korea. I did not find descriptions except for them. Where were 24 representatives? Was it difficult for Mr. Nakasone to find time to meet each representative separately?

On the same day, the IOC Evaluation Commission visited Tokyo to see Tokyo as a site proposed for Olympic Game in 2016. I thought that news media covered this event more than the Donors Conference. I wondered which was more important for Japan and the Japanese people.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Will Dr. Nye be next envoy to Japan?

2009-04-15T02:37:00.000-07:00

On April 13, former U.S. Vice President and Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Walter Mondale paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Aso at the PM's official residence. Visiting time was just 23 minutes. So, Japanee news media covered that Mr. Mondale met Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, President of Democratic Party of Japan more than the meeting with Mr. Aso.

Mr. Mondale has been the Ambassador to Japan from September, 1993 to December, 1996. The words, "the U.S. Ambassador to Japan" reminds me of a scoop, "Harvard professor Joseph Nye to be new envoy to Japan" in last January by one of Japanese major newspapers.

As of today, Dr. Nye has not been confirmed as the next ambassador to Japan.

"Joe will be the envoy to Japan? Great!" "How excited Professor Nye assumes office as ambassador to Japan!" Some scholars and government officials in Japan rejoiced the news.

But, I am suspicious whether Professor Nye will take the ambassadorship. At the Senate confirmation hearing on January 13, Mrs. Clinton emphasized her State Department would use "smart power" without reserve. It is Mr. Nye that created the word and its concept.

If Professor Nye becomes the ambassador, his superior will be theoretically Madam Secretary. I am wondering whether a person who invented "soft power" will consent to situation around him.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Senator McCain Should Have Visted Yokohama

2009-04-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

From April 9 to 11, Senator John McCain had visited Tokyo. During the stay, he met the Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, plus the leader of Democratic Party of Japan. Mr. McCain came here with Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Amy Klobuchar. That is bipartisan.

The delegation seemed to stay only in Tokyo.

If I were one of policy makers in the Aso administration, I would suggest Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to take Senator McCain to City of Yokohama, Kanagawa to see "Hama Wing," wind power generation facing the harbor.

The rotor diameter is 80m and the tower is about 78m tall. Its operation started from April 2007. Yokohama city officials say it would provide enough power for 860 homes. VESTAS made the wind turbine.

Do you remember the relation between Mr. McCain and VESTAS?

On May 12 last year, Mr. McCain as U.S. Presidential Candidate visited the headquarters of VESTAS Americas in Portland, Oregon. He delivered a speech in front of VESTAS' employees.

"Like other environmental challenges -- only more so -- global warming presents a test of foresight, of political courage, and of the unselfish concern that one generation owes to the next. We need to think straight about the dangers ahead, and to meet the problem with all the resources of human ingenuity at our disposal."

Mr. McCain could emphasize on protecting environment even in Japan.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Venezuelan President Came to Tokyo

2009-04-09T02:48:00.000-07:00

President Hugo Chavez Frias of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela came to Japan and met Prime Minster Taro Aso at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence on April 6.

Mr. Aso welcomed Mr. Chavez.

President Chavez told that he wanted to build a strong relationship with Japan chiefly in an oil and natural gas field. Two heads agreed to strengthening cooperation in an area of energy. They also agreed to establish a working group that considers possibilities of the Orinoco oil field and natural gas developments, and funds treatment.

This meeting lasted for about an hour.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

Open! PHP Global e-Forum

2009-04-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

We opened PHP Global e-Forum, the English website.

URL: http://www.globaleforum.com/en/index.jsp

The first issue (April 2009) is “Can You Give Capital Punishment?”

The issue is related to chaning a Japese trial system next month. Under the new system, lay judges will come to particiapte in major criminnal trials.

Severn experts in the world wrote their opinions.

You can comment on the issue and the experts’ opinions.

Join us!

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]

We will open the PHP Global e-Forum

2009-03-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone.

We are the Editorial Office of the PHP Global e-Forum, PHP Research Institute in Japan.

The PHP Global e-Forum is an electronic forum for discussing concrete measures to solve the various problems that Japan shares with other countries in the world. We would like to collect the wisdom of many people and provoke world opinion so that we can together fulfill the roles and responsibilities that have been given to human beings living in the world of today.

The website will open soon.

[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]