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/
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
GSK's First Meeting
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]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
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]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Change: Foreign Minister's Press Conference
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/
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/
Friday, October 9, 2009
Comments by Mr. Kerim Yildiz
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/
Mr. Yildiz is a co-founder of the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP).
[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Secretary-General of GSK
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]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
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]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Reinventing Japanese Government
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/
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/
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Next Issue Is "Ethnic Minorities"
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:
[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
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)
[PHP Global e-Forum Editorial Office]
http://www.globaleforum.com/en/
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