Category: Current Events

DPJ’s Hatoyama-owned Izakaya Closes: Business Suffered from Artificially Low Prices

Hatoyama
I have far too much class to make a crass comment about this story. No, I won’t be calling it “exemplary of the DPJ’s unrealistic approach to economic policymaking,” nor will I point out the dubious authenticity of Hatoyama’s claim that democracy is originally rooted in izakaya (though wouldn’t it be great if that were the case?). I will, however, mention that the establishment has “Hato-bo” (dove sticks, a play on Hatoyama’s name) on the menu. Guess what they are? Chicken meatballs on a stick! With a special sauce!

The izakaya (Japanese-style pub) “Tomoto” opened by (main opposition party) Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and a friend was set to be shut down on December 28.

With the motto “Democracy’s very basis is an izakaya where [politicians] can interact with the citizens knee-to-knee,” [tr: “knee-to-knee” refers to the Japanese practice of kneeling on the floor at Japanese-style restaurants, etc. The Western equivalent would be “face to face”] Hatoyama himself often showed up at the establishment, but business apparently suffered in part due to the fact that prices were kept low in order to allow customers to cheerfully relax.

Before the Democratic and Liberal parties merged [in 2003], Hatoyama would often invite Liberal Party members such as then-party president Ichiro Ozawa, turning the pub into a “political stage.”

Hatoyama was quoted as saying, “I was happy to have met various people and have them enjoy a point of contact between politicians and salarymen for 3 years. Now we are closing shop, but the memory of Tomoto remains, and I would like to reopen it given another chance.”

New Reason to Privatize Japan Post

This guy is so wrong.
So it can be punished by the market for dumb ideas like this. I present a case of Strong Bad’s imagination coming to life:

Japan Post to Deliver New Year’s Postcards to Every House in Area of Choice
[Soon addressing your cards ]”To all those living in X-town” Will Be OK

Japan Post announced on Dec. 22 that it will start a service that will deliver New Year’s postcards (nengajo) with the addressee left off to specific areas. The cards will arrive on the first of next year, and the program will be experimentally implemented in Tokyo and the 14 major cities in Japan. By placing “to all of those living in X-Town” on the cards, they will be delivered to all houses in the specified area. (Jiji Press)

Asahi Sunday Edition Begrudgingly Admits Blood Type Personality Assessment is Bunk

In the Asahi Shimbun in September there was a story as part of the series “[Answers to Questions that you] Can’t Ask Anymore” which offers explanations of complicated things that most people assume everybody understands, such as coral reefs.

On blood types:

“There is a strong tendency in Japan to associate personality traits and ABO blood types, but what are blood types?”

[Explanation of how blood types work omitted. Check Wikipedia if you must know.]

“So, back to [blood types’] relation to people’s personalities: ‘There is no research reported that would form the scientific basis for that,’ [explains the Tokyo University Legal Medicine Asst. Professor quoted for the article]. This is also the general opinion of the scientific community.”

GOTCHA!

A first step in deconstructing the myth and setting Japanese people on the path to rational thinking? Not bloody likely. Still, it’s good to see some public admission that it’s bunch of rubbish, even if it’s only buried at the end of a Sunday magazine article.

Alternative Memorial for War Dead Left Out of 2006 Budget

The “Group to Consider a National [War] Memorial” is a rare ruling-opposition (LDP, Komeito, and DPJ) caucus of lawmakers that is campaigning for the Japanese government to establish an alternative to Yasukuni shrine. The idea, proposed by a 2002 advisory panel and supported by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, is popular among those in the Japan Policy Community (including influential types in Washington) who would prefer to see a speedy, concrete solution to the Yasukuni issue rather than all of Koizumi’s useless (and possibly dangerous) saber-rattling.

Well, don’t count on it this year, based on this year’s budget requests. This was covered in slightly less detail in the Japan Times, but you can enjoy my abstract of the Yomiuri:

Memorial Facility Survey Funds Left Out, PM Firms Stance: “Public opinion not ripe”

PM Koizumi has firmed his stance not to include funds to survey the possibility of a national war memorial in the national budget draft, a move seen to be caused by a lack of public interest.

Government sources explained that the “environment has not been prepared to include survey funds in next year’s budget,” which will be formally decided on Dec. 22. The funds were not included in the MOF’s budget recommendations, released the same day.

Another part of the decision, say government officials, was that including the funds would not likely have contributed to repairing relations with China and South Korea.

The govt plans to continue deliberating on the merits of including the funds while “carefully watching public opinion.” There is momentum within the “Group to Consider a National [War] Memorial,” which crosses party lines to include members from the ruling LDP and New Komeito as well as the main opposition DPJ, to demand the inclusion of such funding in next fiscal year’s revised budget or reserve funds. However, it is unlikely to be included in a budget during Koizumi’s tenure.

When SK President Roh Moo-hyun asked that Koizumi consider the establishment of a national war memorial during the Korea-Japan summit on June 20, the Japanese leader accepted, saying he would “consider it taking into consideration circumstances including public opinion.” However, the PM’s October 17 visit to Yasukuni Shrine is quickly becoming a diplomatic problem due to China and SK’s strong protests. It seems as if the PM thought that it would look like he would be giving in to their pressure if he included such funds in this year’s budget.

According to a November poll conducted by Nikkei, 49% of Japanese people would approve, while 31% would disapprove of a national war memorial. I guess in the Land of Consensus even clear numbers in favor of such a memorial smack of “divided public opinion.” Of course, Koizumi didn’t let a little thing like internal division stop him from pushing through postal privatization, did he?
Continue reading Alternative Memorial for War Dead Left Out of 2006 Budget

Xmas should be more commercial — Some Perspective from the Founder of the Ayn Rand Institute

There is little that I can add to the “War on Christmas” debate other than to say that I place myself among the segment of the population that (aptly put by “Ross” from Andrewsullivan.com) “thought we were past all that Christianity stuff.” Wasn’t the whole idea behind changing “Merry Xmas” to “Happy Holidays” to make it the first step in the eventual phasing out of the holiday altogether?

Anyway, I am just posting to wish you all a very merry Ayn Rand Christmas:

“It is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.”

Amen!

Fan death- seriously?

When I came back from the Philippines it was already cold enough in Taiwan that I needed something to make sitting at the computer a little more palatable. My superthick blanket is enough for sleep, but I decided to pick up an electric heater. Now, I had just read this article on Yahoo Japan, which says that an 82 year old man in Yamagata City has been hospitalized in serious condition to to carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from a loose rubber hose on a Matsushita (aka Panasonic aka National) oil heat-fan. Despite the fact that I was shopping for an electric and not oil heater, I avoided Panasonic products like the plague.

Earlier today, I glanced at Kushibo’s blog and saw this post about fan death, which I’d never heard of before. Fan death is apparently a very silly Korean urban myth that an electric fan can create “a vortex, which sucks the oxygen from the enclosed and sealed room and creates a partial vacuum inside” or possibly “suck all the air away, preventing one from breathing.”

It’s claimed that this legend has spread to surrounding Asian countries, but the closest thing I’ve heard in Japan is that having an electric fan on you at night can make you catch cold, which is the kind of thing that a grandmother in any country might say without sounding like a vortex-phobe. The fact that the Wikipedia page exists only in English and Korean also seems to indicate that it may not have much of a presence in other countries, although I am at least a little surprised that no enterprising Japanese wikinerd has translated the article as fodder for making fun of Koreans.

LDP Parties Down in a Hurry to Complete Fundraising


Another look at the lighter side of Japanese politics (abstracted translation):

Hotels Bustling as LDP Holds Flurry of Fundraisers
Mainichi Shimbun
Dec 12, 2005

In Nagata-cho (Japan’s version of Capitol Hill), where schedules are filled up with next year’s budget preparations and tax revisions, there has been a flurry of fundraisers for LDP Diet members. It looks as though the parties, usually planned for autumn, had to be pushed back to the end of the year due to the September Lower House election. Members, concerned about their wallets, are trying to raise election funds by year’s end, resulting in a daily boom for area hotels.

“Hidenao Nakagawa, currently at the height of his popularity, has developed into a political strongman”

The 1,200 in attendance went wild when VIP Yoshiro Mori (former Prime Minister), said the above words at the fundraiser of LDP Policy Planning Council Chairman Nakagawa, held at a Tokyo hotel on the evening of Dec. 8. In addition to senior party leaders and top businessmen, 500 guests were invited from Nakagawa’s home prefecture of Hiroshima.

The sheer number of LDP members’ parties can be understood by taking a look at the schedule of LDP Secretary-General Tsutomu Takebe, who has received requests to make speeches. In the SG’s schedule for the coming two weeks are planned attendance at 19 individually-held events and 2 for party factions. Takebe is set to party-hop every day, going so far as to attend 5 events on at least one day.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, is partying just as hard, with Secretary-General Yukio Hatoyama’s fundraiser planned for Dec. 9.

On most years, Diet members’ parties are held in the fall to avoid conflicting with budget preparations. LDP General Council Chair Fumio Kyuma said wryly of this year’s party situation, “They were put off because of the election, I guess. The elections ended, and since they cost money, [the members] must be raising funds.”

According to the 2004 Political Funds Balance Report, total contributions totaled Y26.4 billion, down 9.9% from 2003, while revenue garnered from fundraising parties increased 9.9% to Y14.3 billion. One member commented, “Contributions are down, so there is no choice but to rely on fundraising parties, and the ratio of intake from parties to total revenue is trending upward. (Eriko Horii reporting)

Takebe Scolds Koizumi Children for bad Party Etiquette
Mainichi Shimbun
Dec 12, 2005

LDP Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe, the self-appointed “headmaster” of the “Koizumi Children” (new LDP Diet members elected this September) scolded his students for “bad etiquette” at a recent party.

The outburst took place on the evening of Nov 30 at a party held by the party leader for close associates in Tokyo. According to one person in attendance, Takebe screamed, “Looking just now, the new members are just eating and not making the rounds!” causing the attendees to hurriedly begin distributing meishi (business cards, the ritualized distribution of which is a custom in Japan).

Meanwhile, at a party for veteran Diet members, Low Birthrate Minister Kuniko Inoguchi, who is also a new Diet member, gave an overlong speech, forcing former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who hurried to the event, to go home without giving any speech.

Koizumi Rides Segway to Work!!!!!!!

Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will ride off into the sunset in September 2006, but let’s hope he does it in style… ON A SEGWAY!

Koizumi rides Segway to work

Japan’s media-friendly Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi turned up to work on Friday on a new motorised Segway scooter.

It was the first time Mr Koizumi had been seen on the scooter since he was given it as a present by US President George W Bush.

Mr Koizumi said he got to grips with the machine at his home on Thursday.

He steered around his courtyard and reversed easily.

“It’s pretty comfortable,” he told reporters.

Mr Bush has appeared less at ease, falling off his Segway in 2003.

Video HERE

And HERE

YES

And HERE!

And HERE!

Ah, this made my day.

The ANN piece mentions that Koizumi is “earnestly showcasing good relations with the US as he is under fire from China and Korea over the Yasukuni issue.” Haters!

New Ghibli Movie ‘Ged War Journal’ directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s Son despite protest from father

Bitchin'!
While we’re on the topic of linking to blogs, Kaiju Shakedown, an official blog of Variety magazine (meaning he gets paid for it, I guess), has been one of my favorites lately. I’ve always been a firm believer that close, obsessive scrutiny of a nation’s pop culture can tell one a lot about that nation’s people, so Grady Hendrix’s posts, written with that true Variety-style sarcastic wit, always entertain and inform.

So it was the Shakedown where I learned about Ghibli Studios’ latest feature “Ged War History” (English title is apparently not finalized), directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro:

But father Miyazaki was against it! In an unsuccessful effort to find out why, I translated the first diary entry from Goro’s blog. This first appeared in the comments section of Kaiju Shakedown, but I will reproduce it here:

Introductory remarks — My father was against this

My father, Hayao Miyazaki, was against me directing “Ged War Journal” [tr: my guess at a literal translation of the movie’s title].

This may sound abrupt. However, first, I would like to make this clear.
Continue reading New Ghibli Movie ‘Ged War Journal’ directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s Son despite protest from father

How many Upper House members does it take to change a light bulb?

None, they have the maintenance staff do it! This has got to be the lamest story ever!

To paraphrase the news stories:

Upper House Lights Undergo Major Cleaning, ‘Illuminating’ Debates Hoped for

The lights illuminating the main floor of Japan’s Upper House of parliament (the “Diet” as it is known), which was the stage of “Koizumi Theater” during which the postal privatization bills were defeated leading to a whirlwind Lower House election, underwent a thorough cleaning on the morning of December 9. Workers lowered the wires suspending the [Victorian-style?] lights, carefully wiped off the glass exteriors, and replaced the light bulbs. The cleaning usually takes place soon after the new year, but was moved ahead in the agenda to coincide with other construction.

After the lights were cleaned, the main floor looked much brighter. One official remarked, “I hope to see some illuminating debates in the regular Diet session next January.”