This is what crisis response and management really mean at the time of disaster.
It has been brought to light that the damage done to the Sanyo bullet train line by the Great Hanshin Earthquake was far more serious than originally estimated.
The area between Shin Osaka and Himeji where the service has been suspended suffered devastating damage that would require "four to five months to restore."
The bullet train lines that serve approximately 750,000 passengers a day on average nationwide have exceptional value with their use as a transportation network.
The "loss" of the main artery for business is expected to make a growing impact on the entire Japanese archipelago down the road.
We hope that the parties involved will do everything in their power to restore the bullet train line.
The most shocking item in the damage is that viaducts and bridges collapsed in eight locations.
Damage including fractures and the like in the sidewalls have been discovered in the Rokko Tunnel as well.
The tall bridge in Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture had the upper-half of all of the four two-storey bridge piers completely destroyed, and the entire girders of approximately thirty meters in length fell by as much as five meters.
Looking at the concrete slab track suspended in mid air, I felt shivers run down my spine thinking, "what if this had happened during the time of railroad operation?"
Parties involved had been saying that the design and construction of anti-seismic structures employed by JR, the former Japan National Railway, was "world-class and so much so that they began to export the technology."
Using the structure that withstands earthquakes comparable to the Great Kanto Earthquake as the basis, they had accumulated expertise by working from the ground up and improved the reinforcement of structures against earthquakes each time a major quake occurred.
However, it is necessary to face the reality that the "myth of safety" of anti-seismic structures with a design standard of maximum acceleration at 200 gal has now crumbled.
In commencing the restoration work, the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) is taking the position that they will "work basically in accordance with the existing design standard."
At this time, let us recall the fact that numerous technical innovations have been made in the process of overcoming "emergency situations."
This is a matter that very much involves the safety of passengers.
Let us demand that a new safety standard be introduced even if only for the damaged areas initially.
From that perspective, we can appreciate that the Ministry of Transport established the Railroad Facility Anti-Seismic Structure Exploratory Committee consisting of specialists and other concerned parties and had them get down to business right away.
We hope that they will disclose to the nation the plain truth about problem areas such as the cause for the failure of the elevated bridges.
We suggest that the study objectives be divided into short, middle and long-term categories and those findings that can produce immediate improvements must be applied to the restoration work without hesitation.
It has been estimated that restoration will cost more than 70 billion yen.
Also, with regard to the idea of providing assistance under the Railroad Track Maintenance Law that the Ministry has started to consider, including the Hankyu Electric Railway and the Hanshin Electric Railway that also sustained considerable damage, it is desirable for the Ministry to handle the matter with flexibility.
On that basis, we strongly request the following to the transportation administration and the various JR companies.
Not to mention the Tokaido bullet train line that shows visible aging in the facilities after thirty years in operation, we first want an immediate implementation of the complete safety check for all of the bullet train lines and execution of reinforcement works.
In conjunction with the new bullet train projects, their manuals also should be re-examined from designs to construction methods.
Second, shouldn't the development of the next-generation bullet trains that the JR-Tokai and JR-West are so enthusiastic about be reviewed across the board?
We want the concerned parties to bear in mind that the best service that they can offer passengers is increased safety as opposed to greater speed.
If funds are available, using them to reinforce safety is what the nation must really want.
It is the lesson that the Great Hanshin Earthquake has presented to the bullet train lines.
One week has passed since the earthquake occurred.
There are still many things that need to be done urgently including the search effort for the remaining missing persons and funeral services for those perished numbering 5,000.
In consideration of the bereaved families and the victims, we hope that these matters will be addressed promptly and cordially.
At the same time, it is necessary to recognize that responding to the earthquake disaster has entered a new phase.
In the second week after the quake, anxieties over the prospect of putting their lives back together are growing among the disaster victims who have survived the present danger.
New challenges are emerging as their lives as evacuees drag on.
In parallel to the rescue operations and restoration efforts for water, gas and electricity, let us start immediately on the efforts to rebuild the lives of the victims from the middle and long-term perspectives.
It is desirable for the government and municipalities to urgently present a specific plan to repair the damage and put the victims' lives back together.
If they can see the prospects of families living together once again and a secure income, the people in despair will be able to get their hopes back.
What are needed in a hurry are the provisions for the prolonged stay in the shelters.
There is a limit to a situation where the adrenalin built up immediately after the disaster struck could sustain the evacuees both physically and mentally.
Crowded communal living with no privacy increases the stress level.
The victims are devastated, realizing anew the magnitude of what they have lost.
In addition to insomnia, many people have caught a cold from the rain and cold weather.
The health issue for both mind and body is growing more and more serious.
We recall how important it was to enhance the medical care system and to accelerate the provision of housing for the evacuees after the earthquake on Okushiri Island, Hokkaido, and the pyroclastic flow disaster of Fugendake in Nagasaki Prefecture.
We must capitalize on this lesson.
There is a growing need for medical attention more in the areas of internal medicine and psychiatry than surgical procedures among the disaster victims.
We want to suggest that with the administration and medical teams working together, treatments, check-ups and counseling will be conducted on a regular basis at where the evacuees live.
We are also looking forward to a greater level of support than present from medical institutions around the country.
There is nothing more welcoming and reassuring for elderly people or mothers with babies than the sight of doctors.
Construction and occupant selection process of temporary housing have finally begun.
A project to move the evacuees into public housing, company housing and private apartment buildings is also underway.
Even though it may not be their own homes, they are restoring life as a family unit for the time being.
However, the absolute number of housing units itself is short.
We want to ask for more provisions in housing whether they come from the public or the private sector.
As well, we hope the municipalities, the contact point for the evacuees to move into the new accommodation, will ensure a fair process based on the severity of suffering.
Nevertheless, some people will still be forced to remain in the shelters.
To take the Okushiri Island and Unzen situations as examples, it has been reported that the mental and physical fatigue will reach its peak in approximately a month among the victims.
At the very least, it is necessary to alleviate overcrowding and to secure a private space in the shelters.
We must exert our utmost effort for these medium-term measures as well as to push ahead with activities in connection with long-term tasks such as rebuilding housing that has been destroyed or damaged, restoring the livelihood of the victims and other issues.
It is time for the government, prefectural, and municipal governments to present the disaster victims with a "blueprint" that incorporates all programs for future building including housing loans, living expenditures, tax-cuts, and career counseling for the unemployed.
To endure life in the evacuation shelters, the presence of a self-governing system where disaster victims support one another plays a major role.
Efforts to reconstruct communities that were nearly destroyed by the earthquake have already started in the evacuation shelters everywhere.
If the shelter life is extended too long, the initial sense of solidarity may fade away and interpersonal conflicts may begin.
Government support is also essential for community building.
We hope that the victims will recover from the suffering more quickly by keeping warm emotional ties.
On the 20th, the U.S. government announced a partial lifting of the economic sanctions against the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea.
Though partial, lifting of the sanctions against North Korea is the first in no less than 45 years since the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.
With the lifting of sanctions, a measure of historical importance that promotes the relaxation of tension, the U.S.-North Korea relations are taking a definite step towards normalization.
This lifting of sanctions was executed in compliance with the framework agreement between North Korea and the U.S. which had been concluded last October.
According to this agreement, the trade and investment barriers are to be lowered within three months in concurrence with both parties following up on their commitments.
North Korea has produced considerable progress in the short period of time after the U.S.-North Korea agreement came into effect.
For a start, the North Korean delegation arrived in the U.S. capitol for the first time to conduct an investigation to mutually set up the liaison offices in both Pyongyang and Washington, D.C.
The U.S. on their part has supplied 50,000 tons of heavy oil to North Korea in accordance with the agreement.
North Korea has been confronted with severe shortages of petroleum and foreign currencies, and it has been estimated that the amount of heavy oil that the country managed to obtain was only around 700,000 tons last year.
Obtaining 50,000 tons of heavy oil free of charge based on the U.S.-North Korea Agreement is a significant achievement for North Korea.
Furthermore, a free annual supply of up to 500,000 tons of heavy oil has been committed for future years.
This volume represents more than half of the annual consumption in North Korea.
By having the freeze on its assets removed, North Korea will be able to access its assets worth over 11 million dollars in total.
In addition, as the respective liaison offices are scheduled to be set up by April, the relations between the two countries will be moving closer to a de facto normalization from both a diplomatic and economic standpoint.
After the thawing of the Cold War, North Korea had been suffering from the disparity between North and South Korea in terms of its exposure to the international political arena, but it finally realized its long-held wish.
It is fair to say that North Korea has gathered many fruits indeed in just three months.
For this reason, the criticism that the Clinton administration made too many concessions to North Korea is growing mainly among the Republicans in Congress.
The Republican congressmen have, however, made it clear that they have no intention of overturning the U.S.-North Korea Agreement.
Unless North Korea fails in its obligations under the agreement the U.S.-North Korea Agreement is not expected to become a major issue in Congress.
Consequently, Congress is keeping a close watch on North Korea to see whether or not it will comply with the agreement.
Some members of the U.S. government insist that unless there are some developments in the North-South dialogue, the U.S. should not rush into the establishment of the liaison offices.
In the U.S.-North Korea Agreement, North Korea has promised to "work on the North-South dialogue."
Efforts on the North Korea's part for the resumption of the North-South dialogue are essential to further promote agreements between the US and North Korea.
For the sake of a voluntary resolution of the North Korean issue and peace and stability in Northeast Asia, the resumption of the North-South dialogue by the direct parties is strongly desired.
The North-South dialogue remains suspended because of the death of President Kim Il Sung last year.
We request that not only the concerned parties of North and South Korea but also both Japan and the U.S. will also endeavor to create an environment for the reopening of the North-South dialogue.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake has confronted us with hefty question marks on both political and economic aspects as to whether there were any problems with the disaster-prevention measures and the urban development that had been implemented and upgraded after the war.
One week has passed since the earthquake occurred and the question-and-answer session has begun at the Diet.
Questions included: What crisis management system did the government have in place? What is the future restoration plan? In what way should the disaster-prevention plan be re-examined?
Not only disaster victims but also most of the Japanese public are anticipating a full-blown discussion in the Diet.
In particular, the focal point has been what stance the opposition, the Shinshin (New Frontier) Party, which has become a major power only second to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will assume to put up a debate against the coalition government consisting of the LDP, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Sakigake (New Harbinger) Party.
All of those who stood up in the question period including Mr. Toshiki Kaifu, the party leader, read aloud "political platform speeches" employing a proposition-style approach that does not seek answers, but this novel approach gave us the impression that it lacked substance.
Was it because overall the opposition party members overdid it by trying to impress everybody with their ability to govern or to play to the gallery?
Of course, all of them did ask questions concerning the Great Hanshin Earthquake in the first part of their speeches, but overall they did not go into any in-depth discussion.
A good example is Mr. Kaifu.
Having faced the Gulf Crisis/War and other issues while in office as prime minister, Mr. Kaifu had bitter experiences of being made to realize the difficult nature of crisis management.
For this question-and-answer session, in-depth and heated debate was expected based on Mr. Kaifu's experiences, such as the government not taking action promptly enough for the major earthquake, cracks in the crisis management system, the functionality of the prime minister's official residence, general problems of the administration, and even what should be done in order to proceed with the reconstruction work efficiently.
It is true that Mr. Kaifu spent the first 15 minutes of his time on the earthquake-related issues and made a number of proposals including the installation of the emergency disaster headquarters under Article 105 of the Disaster Measures Basic Law, the adoption of resolutions in the Diet concerning the disaster countermeasures, and legislation for a law establishing a crisis management system.
Mr. Kaifu, however, sought a response from Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama only on his question concerning the Diet resolutions, which drew an innocuous response from the Prime Minister that he was of the opinion that it should be addressed at the Diet through discussions.
In addition, Mr. Kaifu put forward daring proposals at every turn of his speech in relation to the administrative reform, including the integration of the Science and Technology Agency and the Ministry of Education, and that of the Economic Planning Agency of Japan and the Ministry of Finance; the total elimination of government-affiliated special corporations over the next five years; a five-year moratorium on public utility price increases; a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council; and, organizing a summit on the U.N. reform.
Since Mr. Kaifu did not ask the government to respond to these points at all, however, he ended up playing a one-man show as well as remaining superficial.
It has been some time since it was pointed out that debates in the Diet had lost substance.
They "speak and hear without ever taking any action," and it happens all the time.
It is understood that the New Frontier Party made an attempt to transform the Diet debates into something lively by presenting counter proposals.
But it will be meaningful only if the debate does become energized.
But then, Prime Minister Murayama's response just didn't cut it, either.
Except for calling out to the disaster victims to "comfort one another and keep their chins up," Mr. Murayama, as usual, merely read the response prepared by bureaucrats in his monotone voice.
According to the House of Representative rules, interpellators can repeat a question up to three times.
If the opposition had taken advantage of this rule, they could have had a heated and in-depth debate indeed.
Mr. Kaifu is also scheduled to interpellate at the appropriation committee meeting.
We look forward to a solid debate with substance next time.
As many of our readers may already know, the names of the victims whose identities have been confirmed among the dead of the Great Hanshin Earthquake are shown in the newspapers daily.
A look at their ages strikes us with the large number of the deceased 60 years or older.
They account for well over half of the dead.
It seems that many of them died from asphyxiation or suffocation under the collapsed houses or furniture when they failed to escape.
It has been reported that some succumbed due to the lack of physical strength while they were being rescued.
Even comparing the demography, there is an obvious concentration of casualties among the elderly.
There is the term "vulnerable people."
The word refers to those who have difficulties in taking action in disaster-prevention such as protecting themselves by catching the necessary information quickly and accurately and getting out of danger when a disaster occurs.
The elderly, in particular, those who are bedridden or physically disabled, and small children including babies fall in this category.
It had been often pointed out that the vulnerable people are at a high risk when earthquake occurs and, unfortunately, this was demonstrated.
It is most regrettable that if the measures to address the vulnerable people in disasters had been developed, the number of casualties might have been far smaller than what it actually was.
With the growing trend toward a nuclear family, younger generations have moved out to the surrounding areas and the number of households consisting only of elderly people has been on the rise in urban areas.
It seems that the casualties from the current disaster include many senior citizens of such households.
While quite a few of the elderly were rescued by their neighbors, when we look at the large number of old people who died, the Great Hanshin Earthquake has taught us once again that there is a pressing need for programs that are catered to the vulnerable people.
In terms of the areas where many lives were lost, there was a considerable number of wooden houses built shortly after the Second World War that did not withstand the large tremors.
The current enforcement order for the Building Standard Law was revised in 1980 after the Niigata Earthquake in which buildings are stipulated to withstand earthquakes of 6 or stronger in the Japanese scale.
However, this order is not applicable to the buildings that were constructed prior to its implementation.
We wonder if that situation had a bearing on the damage to the houses in the disaster areas this time.
We definitely want the review of that point and also believe that the retroactive application of the new anti-seismic standard should be considered under a government assistance program.
To improve the safety of old houses where elderly people live would form an effective measure to protect the vulnerable people.
Additionally, in view of the current situation where there is an increasing number of geriatric households, mutual support among neighbors has become absolutely essential.
It became very evident that more than one calamity happens simultaneously when a major earthquake strikes.
Law enforcement and firefighting activities become restricted when they cannot get close to the devastated areas or lack the capacity to handle all the work confronting them.
The vulnerable people have to count on the people who live in the neighborhood to protect them.
A senior citizen who was wearing an emergency pager supplied by the municipality said: "My neighbors had shown up to help me before I pushed the button on the pager."
The Metropolitan Tokyo Government has been conducting an awareness survey on this matter every three years.
To the question asking "whether or not you can assist the sick or the elderly in getting out of danger if a major earthquake occurs," more than 50% of the respondents answered that they can or think they can in each survey.
That is very reassuring.
On the other hand, the number of respondents who answer that they cannot or do not think they can help has increased with each survey, with the percentage being 24% in 1980, 35% in 1989 and 45% in the study of 1992, the latest one conducted.
Why is it so?
We must gain an understanding of the reality of people's attitude toward the community and analyze it as quickly as possible.
Although the national, regional and municipal governments have claimed that they were all working for the "welfare of the elderly," they were forced to realize how fragile their real welfare systems were.
The welfare policies must be re-examined from the perspective of a "friendly community for socially underprivileged people."
When walking around the disaster area, I was amazed to see the way the victims are spending their days in a calm manner under such wretched conditions.
I acutely felt the kindness of people around.
Above all, the fact that there has been no major panic in the area deserves a special mention.
The victims' tough spirit has kept any panicky emotions contained.
One of the reasons may be that unlike the situation seen in the Great Kanto Earthquake no malicious rumors went around.
The real test of the human character is, however, still to come.
Though it may be a reflection of anxiety, it is regrettable that the rumors such as "there will be an aftershock of 6 on the Japanese scale," "another major earthquake is coming," and others have been flying around in many places.
Regardless of the Japan Meteorological Agency's warning about such rumors, it is desirable for everyone to interpret information correctly and not to be misled by rumors.
There have been some incidents about which I cannot help but feel angry.
Break-ins, targeting the collapsed stores and empty homes from which the residents had fled, have become rampant, and robbing vending machines is widespread.
In Kobe and Nishinomiya, residents have organized a neighborhood watch and must conduct all-night guard duties.
At a sushi restaurant in Amagasaki City, the family who was there at the time watched their security monitor and caught a male trespasser.
In the meantime, the Hyogo Prefectural Police has organized patrols of 600 or so policemen in total.
We request the police to fully implement crime prevention measures and eliminate the anxiety of residents.
Rip-off business tactics and me-too price hikes have become conspicuous.
A food stall selling roasted yams for 3,000 yen a piece appeared on Route 2 in the west side of Kobe.
There was also a family who drove over from another prefecture, selling six rice balls for 1,500 yen.
There are stores that are selling daily necessities such as batteries, tissues and the like at twice or three times the regular price.
Consequently, the Hyogo Prefectural government has dispatched the price surveillance agents to communities.
A firm commitment should be made for this issue such as publishing the names of flagrant vendors.
There was a case of attempted fraud in Amagasaki City where a company tried to win a contract by lying that "the city would give a grant for repair work on the house."
The disaster victim avoided any real damage as he contacted the city, but the case has taught us the valuable lesson of the importance of detailed and precise information that is in sync with the specific needs of residents.
Day after day, newspapers and broadcasters have been reporting right from the disaster areas, which is unprecedented.
There are, however, limitations as to what media can do to convey information.
It is critical for the government to maintain a system by which information on administration and community will definitely reach each and every disaster victim.
We request that immediate consideration be given to the coordination with various networks including neighborhood associations, community center activities, and PTA groups.
At the evacuation shelter and other facilities in Higashi-Nada Ward in Kobe City, the residents have been divided into groups to ensure that their group leaders convey all notifications to all their members.
Many shelters also have bulletin boards to provide information to the people.
But there have been complaints such as "notices are not clear as to what they want to say," or "information is too fragmented to be useful."
There are also flaws in the method of communicating to disaster victims who remain at their homes.
There is a need to improve public relation skills and re-examine the current system.
That no television or radio was available at the shelters immediately after the earthquake is another major item to improve on.
They must be added to the list of essentials for disaster supplies.
In some sense, the victims' resilience has done a great deal to make the situation somewhat tolerable in this case.
Let us not take it for granted.
We must reaffirm that to make available a full range of information is the way to prevent panic and guard people against rumors and fear-mongering and call upon a great amount of expertise to this end.
It is said that the President of the United States can hammer out bold policies only during the first two years of office.
It is because the presidential race effectively starts once the third summer is over in the incumbent president's term, with politicians from the opposition party announcing one after another his or her candidacy to seek the nomination.
Candidates from the opposition party who have entered the presidential election race invariably launch a fierce attack on the current president.
There is no doubt that the candidates from the Republican Party will start attacking the president en masse this fall.
The State of the Union address that President Clinton delivered on the 25th shows that it was prepared with the anticipated attacks on the president in mind.
The Democratic Party led by President Clinton suffered a crushing defeat at the congressional mid-term elections last November, and the Republican Party now has a grip on the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The determination to recover the loss of the mid-term elections ran through the State of the Union Address this year.
It has been suggested that the disillusionment of the Democratic Party by the middle-class voters who voted for President Clinton in the last presidential election was the cause of the defeat at the congressional elections.
Consequently, President Clinton emphasized the implementation of a tax cut for the middle class people to restore his popularity among them.
Additionally, Mr. Clinton stressed his track record in job creation in the range of six million as part of his performance in two years in office.
Furthermore, he pledged to implement incentives including the continuation of pump-priming measures, and the support and preferential treatment for private enterprises.
In his presidential nomination acceptance speech of 1992, he held up his "commitment to the American people" and promised to implement changes.
In this State of the Union Address, Mr. Clinton emphasized the "New Covenant" following this example.
Consequently, 90% or more of the speech centered around domestic issues, emphasizing Mr. Clinton's achievements over the past two years.
Also, Mr. Clinton proposed a tax cut for the middle class and a hike in the minimum wage in addition to committing to reinforce the measures to stop illegal immigration.
On the other hand, the diplomatic issues were barely mentioned, allocated only a very small portion in a speech that lasted more than one hour.
The president urged the ratification of the Second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Although Mr. President touched on the agreement with North Korea over nuclear issues, he just made an appeal to other countries for their collaboration in the fight against terrorism but offered no new proposals for diplomacy.
There was no reference to the Chechnya problem or his Asian policy in general, either.
Very few references to diplomatic issues were made in the State of the Union Address last year as well, provoking concerns for the "inward-looking tendency of the U.S."
In addition, there were some fears over the American tendency for isolationism.
On the other hand, the State of the Union Address last year emphasized the significance of the Medicare Reform and focused on Mr. Clinton's determination for "change."
But while declaring the New Covenant, the State of the Union Address this year seems to have failed to convey his will for "change" or the philosophy for the revival of the U.S.
The reference to fiscal deficit reduction and Medicare Reform was not convincing.
Consequently, one cannot deny that many policies seemed to be catering to public opinions that are reportedly shifting to the conservative camp and there was noticeable absence of freshness and vigor.
We wish to expect continued enthusiasm and efforts for "change" from the President who was born after the Second World War.
We strongly request that Mr. Clinton will continue with his effort in the "revival" policy of the U.S. without necessarily playing up to public opinion while promoting such foreign policies that will not accelerate the American tendency for isolationism.
There has never been a situation where volunteers' help is more counted on than the current disaster.
Indeed, their work has been remarkable.
As the initial response from the municipalities was slow in coming, the value of volunteers truly stood out.
In Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture where there was close to 900 deaths, the "Civic Society to Aid People in Disaster Areas" consisting of the Osaka Volunteer Association, Osaka YMCA and other related groups was soldiering on.
There are approximately 600 registered members including workers, students, homemakers and others.
Using bicycles or motorbikes as transportation means for their activities, they visit the shelters or homes of the disaster victims to "give counseling on everything and anything."
There was a cry for help from an elderly man who was living alone about the water shortage of his toilet due to the cut-off of water supply.
A decision was made to "bring water from the river by a bucket brigade."
Mr. Noboru Hayase, Executive Director of the association and also the coordinator of volunteers, glares at requests for aid from disaster victims that pour in continuously and makes snap decisions in assigning personnel to each request.
In a building where the elevators were damaged, patients with intractable diseases were being carried down the stairs.
"We will do anything to help the disaster victims. We will responsibly serve as an intermediary between the victims and the government or specialists for those jobs beyond our ability," says Mr. Hayase.
At the frontline of a disaster which is in total chaos, civic networks that can act with flexibility and attention to details by their own decisions is what is needed.
The government or municipalities cannot possibly respond to all the diverse needs of disaster victims.
Now is the time to listen to suggestions of citizen groups so that they can do their job effectively.
Coordinators should be also trained as quickly as possible.
This is because decisions that appropriately link volunteers that come and go daily with the needs of the people determine the ability to help.
Let me describe what volunteers did in Kobe City.
When they opened telephone lines to recruit volunteers on the day after the earthquake, there was a flurry of responses from around the country, though mainly from the Kinki region, and as many as 7,200 people including specialists such as physicians and foreign language interpreters signed up.
The food supply situation at the shelters that are scattered over a thousand locations has taken a turn for the better after these volunteers began their work in the transportation of relief goods.
Their contributions in caring for elderly people or cleaning toilets are working to relieve anxieties and frustrations of the evacuees who live in the shelters.
They are providing emotional support to the disaster victims instead of remaining in a complementary role for the public administration.
We should commend their tireless work.
Granted that it is still frustrating to see the government side is not taking full advantage of this pool of goodwill.
Kobe City terminated the volunteer recruitment after only four days.
They are turning down any new response since then by telling "there is no longer any urgency."
We wonder if that is really so?
It is not just the people in the evacuation shelters who are being forced to endure an extremely inconvenient life.
Attention to those living in their own homes that escaped destruction is not adequate, either.
There must be more demands from residents than they can address with the existing manpower, such as providing care for the elderly who are living alone.
The question is how the volunteers are to be assigned and what they should do.
We suspect that preparations to receive volunteers, in reality, have yet to be in place.
We must say that it is an extremely sorry situation as it has already been ten days since the onset of the disaster.
It may be necessary to learn from the U.S. model where the public-private coordination is established as a matter of routine that clearly defines "the areas that are left to volunteers."
Of course, we cannot depend on help from the outside alone.
It is also desirable for the community organizations within the devastated areas to rise to the challenge.
Fortunately, it is reassuring to see so many cases where so-called internal volunteerism or community self-help exists to provide mutual support and encouragement.
The Electricity Utility Industry Council Subcommittee of the Rate System has compiled the interim report that sets the direction for the system change.
They are going to implement an incentive regulation to give a boost to cost cutting while maintaining the framework of the existing full-cost principle.
In conjunction with getting into the specific discussion, we want to bring up several points.
First, the yardstick regulation that reflects the efforts to promote efficiency is fairly complex and hard for general users to comprehend.
In addition to making it transparent, we want the system to be simplified and easy to understand as much as possible.
The term "yardstick" itself is very puzzling.
Second, we agree with the idea of increasing efficiency in the management of the entire electric industry by using such efficiency-based index to make the electric utility companies compete with each other, but the question is how are they going to use it.
This type of approach may be effective for places where a large management gap exists, such as in the United States.
However, as for Japan, disparities in figures among the companies are small except their size and regional characteristics.
In other words, where there are few differences, less incentive will kick in.
To be an effective rate system, it could use quite a bit more of tune-ups.
Regional monopoly is the name of the game in the power sector and there is no direct competition among companies.
Therefore, it is critical to encourage newcomers to enter the industry to bring the principle of competition into play.
As for such liberalization of the electric power market, following the already implemented deregulation of the wholesale power industry, it is desirable for the measures to be gradually introduced.
As a prerequisite for the liberalization, we cannot avoid the fundamental problems such as how to balance the heavy responsibility of power supply that the utilities carry and cost cutting.
At present, an effective measure in terms of cost cutting would be to expand the Designated Competitive Bidding for the purchase of materials and equipment as well as construction service contracts.
After all, power companies do not make materials and/or equipment for the power system.
As a step toward improvement in the corporate structure, it is important to control equipment-related expenditures and the principle of competition can be brought into play in this purchasing area.
Also in the nuclear power industry, oligopoly is often observed on the supply side for equipment manufacturers: Toshiba and Hitachi in eastern Japan; Mitsubishi Heavy Industry in the west.
There still must be a lot of room left to cut cost by taking advantage of the high yen and inviting bids from abroad.
Recently, there have been some instances where China was granted an order through Competitive Bidding for small hydroelectric power facilities.
We want competitions like these to be more popular.
The percentage of Designated Competitive Bidding is already nearing of 50%.
It will be necessary to increase this share.
Further, all the electric power companies are developing middle to long-range improvement projects in preparation for integrating operations and organizational downsizing.
However, it has been suggested that these measures are still too soft from the perspective of the manufacturing industries undergoing drastic restructuring.
From that viewpoint, it is desirable to make concrete the effect of the rate system that makes the most of the yardstick method.
In other words, users are anticipating that the power sector will need to become more efficient with the introduction of deregulation and competition thereby achieving lower rates.
To that end, the system should be designed in such a way that the power companies will pursue the principle of self-responsibility and the government will keep its nose out of their business.
What's more, political intervention should be avoided.
In the morning of the 18th, the day after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the Foreign Ministry of South Korea offered to dispatch a medical team and personnel to cooperate in the restoration work through the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
"Let us first assess if the help is necessary in the disaster area," was the response from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then contacted the National Land Agency where the Emergency Disaster Countermeasure Committee was located.
It was not until predawn hours of the 21st before the Japanese foreign ministry had the decision from the National Land Agency and formally responded to South Korea.
The Ministry replied it will "ask for help when the need arises."
In the end, Japan received up to a total of 300 tons of daily necessities in two installments from the South Korean government.
Why did they refuse to accept the medical team from South Korea?
The disaster victims and those injured include many North and South Koreans who live in Japan.
Getting help from doctors from one's homeland is reassuring.
There may have been many doctors who understood the Japanese language.
Concerns over the language barrier would have been a minor issue for the injured Japanese.
As the shortage of doctors was so obvious, they should have accepted the offer.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake is urging us to reflect on ever so many issues as well as to develop and implement new measures.
Among them, how to respond to aids and goodwill offered from abroad cannot be overlooked.
Since immediately after the earthquake, other countries have been offering the Japanese government assistance in human resources and materials as well as dispatching rescue forces.
So far, such offers have come from as many as 59 countries and 3 international organizations.
Among these offers, the government asked for the help of the Swiss and French rescue teams with search-and-rescue dogs.
The government has also received relief goods from the United States Forces stationed in Japan, Mongolia and other places.
A private medical team from the US has also arrived in the disaster area.
While they are getting ready to receive mainly material assistance from 22 countries down the road, the preparation is taking a long time.
Moreover, the government has effectively turned down the offers of assistance from most of those countries.
Why won't it accept their goodwill?
There are many Japanese who found it incomprehensible.
Admittedly, when the Los Angeles/Northridge Earthquake occurred a year ago, the US Government quickly announced that they did not require assistance from abroad.
However, the magnitude of damage caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake is completely different from that of the Los Angeles Earthquake.
Prior to getting back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Land Agency asked concerned ministries and agencies as well as the local governments whether or not they wanted humanitarian aid from abroad.
If the foreigners come into the disaster areas, there will be problems with language and geography.
They will need interpreters.
What about accommodation and meals?
There is already major chaos.
They cannot afford to have manpower taken way to look after foreigners.
People at the scene tended to think that way.
However, the rescue crews would not lay down conditions for meals or accommodation.
Homestay for foreigners could be arranged in nearby cities.
If they recruit interpreters, they can be assured that volunteers will respond.
The Swiss and French rescue crews found 11 people but regrettably they were already dead.
As a matter of fact, if the rescue crews had been accepted earlier, some lives may have been saved.
With regard to medical attention, initially doctors could not examine patients without a Japanese medical license.
It was on the eighth day after the earthquake when the government confirmed that foreign doctors on the rescue mission could examine and treat the victims.
This turned out to be the major reason for rejecting medical teams from abroad.
A quick decision is necessary.
The same goes for supplies.
Many countries with economic difficulties of their own have offered a helping hand.
Yet, they have been turned down.
We do not deserve the compassion from the international community with such a negative attitude, being afraid of the possibility that the volume of administrative work may increase a bit.
Disasters will hit the Japanese archipelago again in the future.
We must think of the way to seamlessly accept the goodwill from foreign countries.
This has remained a critical challenge that will need to be refined by the government and municipalities.
Why are innocent children discriminated against and put at a disadvantage like this?
The four-year-old boy Andre who has asked the government to confirm his nationality has been without national identity since his birth.
To ordinary citizens, nationality is like the air, something that is taken for granted.
However, not to have a nationality means not to have "a country that secures and protects one's rights" and his or her human rights themselves are at risk.
On the 27th, the Supreme Court ruled in Andre's favor and he became eligible to acquire Japanese nationality.
However, with the growing number of foreign laborers working illegally in Japan, there must be a good number of other children who have no nationality.
We hope that today's Supreme Court decision will lead to helping other children under similar circumstances.
Andre was born to a "father" who is believed to be Japanese and a "mother" who is believed to be Southeast Asian.
The identity of the father was completely unknown.
While the mother gave her name to staff at a maternity hospital, there was nothing to verify her identity and she disappeared without having the birth registered.
According to the Nationality Law, one is eligible to acquire the Japanese nationality if he or she "was born in Japan and both the father and the mother are unknown."
Andre's adoptive parents, an American minister and his wife, requested the verification of his nationality from the District Legal Affairs Bureau in accordance with this rule, but the request was denied on the grounds that "the mother is a Filipina."
In the meantime, the Embassy of the Philippines had rejected the request for the opposite reason whereby "the mother could not be identified," and he became a person with no nationality having been turned away by the two countries.
In the trial, the contention was focused on the requirements for "both are unknown."
The court determined that "the state did not prove its case sufficiently" in relation to the identity of the mother and approved the Japanese nationality in the first trial.
Then the appeals court made the opposite decision, ruling "there was circumstance to suggest the identity of the mother," thereby dismissing the petition.
This legal provision was set up to "prevent a person from being without national identity."
In that case, the legal interpretation along such intention could have been expected from the court.
Having confirmed the purpose of the law, the Supreme Court made a broad interpretation as "under the circumstance where the parents' whereabouts are not known, it corresponds to 'both parents are unknown.'"
It was a decision in line with common sense.
The trial concluded in an exceptionally short period of time.
Even then, it was in all too roundabout a way to obtain what was a legitimate right.
The Nationality Law also stipulates that a child who was born in Japan and has no national identity "may naturalize provided he or she has resided in Japan for three years or longer."
We hear that there is the opinion such as "the extent of disadvantage is not great," on the government's side.
Is it true?
The International Covenants of Human Rights declare that "every child has a right to acquire a nationality," and the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires all countries to prevent a child from being without a national identity.
From the global perspective, this perception may be hard to accept.
In the background of stateless children, there seems to be circumstances where their births are not registered as their mothers are afraid of punishment and/or deportation if found to be working illegally.
It has been reported that there are situations where Japanese men renounce the acknowledgement and support of the children.
It is a problem our country cannot turn its back on.
However, it is also a problem for the countries that are shipping off those foreign workers to address seriously.
Leaving their countries without much thought only for the purpose of becoming illegal workers will lead to misfortune for not only themselves but also their children.
At the Supreme Court, a case concerning the discriminatory inheritance issue regarding illegitimate children is on trial.
Again, children who cannot choose their parents are at a disadvantage.
It seems necessary to remind ourselves the greatest principle of the Civil Code: "One shall not be at a disadvantage for causes he or she is not liable."
Sumitomo Bank announced a plan to drastically dispose of bad loans and, as a result, to post a loss in the current account of 280 billion yen at the closing for the period ending March 31, 1995.
Except for the turbulent period immediately after the end of the Second World War, it will be the first time for a city bank to post losses since the end of the war.
It has shed new light on the seriousness of bad loan problems of financial institutions.
Among the city banks, Sumitomo Bank does not have an unproportionately large amount of bad loans, and, considering its powerful profit-making capacity, it has no problem in disposing those loans.
Further, it would be possible to end up in the black like other banks.
The factor behind Sumitomo Bank's taking the plunge and posting losses would be that it wants to accelerate the disposition of bad loans to make the transition to a forward-looking bank management as soon as possible.
By ending up in the red, not only will the bank be exempted from corporate taxation, but it will also receive a refund to help accelerate the disposition of bad loans.
On the other hand, it was apprehensive about the reaction of the market and clients to the losses.
From that perspective, we would like to applaud the management at Sumitomo Bank for their courageous decision in going by the principle of self-responsibility.
These days, decisions cannot be made since bank presidents or officers are reluctant to take any responsibility, which in turn has slowed down the course of reconditioning for banks.
Having the corporate tax from banks that amounted to one trillion yen at one time reduced to almost nothing will have a negative impact on tax revenue.
But the reality is that banks cannot afford to wipe out the stupendous amount of bad loans if they have to go to the length of paying taxes.
Major commercial banks in the US were also put to the test of bad management in the late 1980s.
Among these banks, Citibank, one of the top American banks, was the first to make the bold move of writing off a great amount of bad loans through the sale of real estate and other assets, and it took the measure of posting the loss and eliminated dividends.
Additionally, it took drastic measures for cost-reduction such as layoffs.
As the New York Stock Exchange appraised the losses incurred as an improvement of its management practice, its stock price instead went up.
While Citibank has had more ups and downs since that time, it has come back as a bank boasting profitability and the management skills of John Reed, the chairman, are appraised highly.
We expect that posting of losses by Sumitomo Bank will receive a similar evaluation to that for Citibank.
If anything, the question is why the other banks still cannot go ahead with finishing in the red.
Furthermore, it is most regrettable that none of the banks decided to post losses a few years earlier.
Over the past two and a half years, the Bank of Japan has been encouraging the major banks to dispose of loans by posting losses, and even the conservative Ministry of Finance, which has the strong tendency to put off everything, has been expressing a similar wish.
During the past two years, the balance of the special bad debt reserves for 21 banks including city banks, long-term credit banks and trust companies have ballooned to 3.6 trillion yen and selling off loans to the Cooperative Credit Purchasing Company is at least underway.
In other words, while the financial institutions have made efforts to recover their strength in their own ways, it is still not enough.
Unlike the security industry, there has been no major labor adjustment and the wage standard that is fairly high in comparison to that for the manufacturing sector has remained unchanged.
We hear nothing about the sale of real estate and properties such as buildings and athletic fields.
Banks are making profits from their main business as they are running before the favorable wind that is low interest rate, but the interest rate began to turn around last year.
It is getting more and more difficult to push up profit by selling stocks.
To ride out the backwind that is the global interest-rate hike, Japanese banks need the spirit to take on risks.
They must discard the follow-the-leader mentality.
Construction of a temporary public bath is in progress in the schoolyard.
Temporary washrooms look cleaner than expected.
Sausages and canned goods have been distributed for breakfast.
We feel relieved.
The Seido Municipal Elementary School in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture is in the close vicinity of the City Hall.
The disaster victims have continued to rush into this school building since immediately after the earthquake occurred and some 1,700 people were staying there at the peak period.
In this earthquake, schools that are the place for education have been playing a major role in relief measures for the quake-victims.
In Ashiya City, in conformity to the predefined disaster prevention plan, all of the 12 municipal elementary and middle schools were quickly transformed into evacuation centers and have been taking in over 50% of the evacuees for the entire city.
The gym and nearly 30 classrooms were opened at Seido Elementary School.
The first-aid room and a mortuary were also set up.
The volunteer-like activities by the school staff including teachers are reassuring.
Almost all of the staff of 36 are working hard to answer the phones, to sort relief goods, to dish out meals and so on.
The arrangement for four or five of them to stay overnight has remained in place.
Even though classes still remain suspended, to see teachers keep plugging away at relief efforts must be leaving a vivid and intense impression on the children.
We hope children are getting real-life education through this experience.
Kiyoshi Miura, Chairman of the City's Board of Education, working at the City's disaster countermeasures office in protective clothing, says, "I have been able to reconfirm the meaning of our continuing open-to-public school operation."
Ashiya City has sequentially set up the "community school" at each elementary school since 17 years ago, and the local residents have voluntarily been operating art and cultural courses.
This experience has proven to be useful in this state of emergency.
In cooperation with the neighborhood association officials, the steering committee members of the school are demonstrating leadership in taking the disaster victims' requests and establishing the rules.
The Chairman of the Board of Education made an important point saying that "the more active program they have on the regular basis, the more smoothly they run the shelter."
In Kobe City, which has a 30-year experience with the open-to-public operation, they say, "a strong sense of community has been growing among the residents because of the steering committee."
Their efforts in Kobe City are well known as the "school parks."
Taking notice of "the total area of the schoolyard being 1.5 times that of parks or green space in the city," they have actively opened up schoolyards to the local residents to enjoy various sports activities.
Some areas to reflect on may come to light with this experience.
We hope that they will be thoroughly reviewed and the outcome will be shared with many others.
In response to the recommendation made by the Ad Hoc Council of Education in its third report to "establish schools open to the public and their administration and operation," the operation has become a common assignment for municipalities across the country from the aspect of both social education and continuing education.
Aside from both Kobe and Ashiya cities, there are numerous innovative cases such as the "District House of Continuing Education" in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, and the "Community School" in Yokohama.
If it proves to be useful in cases of emergency, they can do no better than to open schools to the public as soon as possible.
Also, they may consider adding "a local disaster prevention" course to the program that is currently heavy on subjects related to courses that are mainly hobby-related and setting up a disaster prevention reference room using an empty classroom.
Japan is behind the curve on developing disaster-prevention facilities such as parks and "disaster-prevention squares".
This was made evident by the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Responsibilities of the government and administration are extremely heavy.
We have a suggestion.
It is about how to utilize school lots created by closing and/or integration of schools that have been proceeding in pace with a society with fewer and fewer children.
Why don't we at least use them as community-based disaster-prevention facilities for various purposes including evacuation space, first-aid stations, places to install underground water tanks, communication stations, temporary drop-off sites for debris and rubbish?
We will be keeping a close eye on city planning down the road.
The earthquake has hit virtually all of the 2000 or so medical institutions in southern Hyogo Prefecture and more than a half of the small-sized clinics had their operation shut down.
It can be said that it was a catastrophic damage to the local medical system.
Meanwhile, there are many more people in need of medical attention than usual.
Two weeks have passed since the disaster, and while the urgent demand for emergency care has passed its peak, the number of new patients is on the rise.
Although the doctors and nurses who came in to help are doing their very best to make up for the sudden shortage of medical services, it is simply not enough.
The gap between demand and supply must be eliminated immediately.
The number of deaths exceeded one thousand in Higashi-nada Ward in Kobe City.
You cannot help noticing those medical clinics that have been partially or completely destroyed.
Also, there are many doctors who have been injured.
Doctors and nurses from hospitals in Osaka are working at the first-aid station in the Hyogo Prefectural Mikage Senior High School where over one thousand people have taken shelter.
There are 50 to 100 patients a day.
More than a half of them have cold, but complaints about aggravated chronic problems, disorders caused by fatigue and mental instability are on the rise.
They also make house calls at the request of people who live in homes nearby.
The first-aid station staff is being asked to play the role of family physicians.
There are thirty-some first-aid stations among approximately one hundred evacuation shelters within the ward.
Most of the staff members have come in to help from other prefectures bringing medical and food supplies.
The ratio between shelters and first-aid stations would be similar in the other disaster-stricken areas.
The idea of the administrative authorities is that "the medical care system is adequate for the time being," by having the current first-aid stations look after patients including those who live in the surrounding areas and forwarding those critically ill to large hospitals or other prefectures.
Rather than in a temporary measure, they also say they would put in more effort to have the existing medical clinics get back on their own feet and the original community medical system restored sooner.
It is absolutely right from a long-term perspective.
However, rebuilding of medical clinics is not that easy.
Meanwhile, some diseases may develop as life at the shelter drags on.
People with chronic illness such as hypertension and diabetes, who have been trying to make the best of the situation, have reached the point where they cannot take it anymore.
We cannot say that there are adequate medical staff and facilities to respond to all these needs.
There are many health-care professionals who are willing to help across the country.
While there may be cumbersome paperwork and liability issues involved with the acceptance of those medical professionals, the government and municipalities had better call for help more aggressively.
The Osaka Private Hospital Association, which dispatched staff to the first-aid stations at Mikage High School, offered to help the day after the earthquake occurred, but they were delayed in getting mobilized as they had been told that "we have sufficient help."
Dr. Masugi Sato, Vice-Chairman of the Association, says that "it is the administration's job to quickly gather as many resources as possible, allocate them appropriately and make the most of them."
Confusion in the government right after the earthquake could not be helped.
However, now that the emergency response has settled for the time being, we hope that the government will concentrate its efforts to make the patient-oriented "post-disaster medical care" satisfactory.
For that matter, it is to the public health department's credit that the counseling clinic has been set up at several public health centers in response to the increasing cases of mental symptoms.
We look forward to the additional counseling clinics.
We have learned that it is necessary to have the medical support system established based on the assumption that the administrative system will be in chaos at the time of a major disaster.
It should be the government's responsibility.
Once again, there are many groups that entered the disaster areas without going through the government and started working anyway.
We want such mobility and organizational skills from medical professionals as well.
What is important in the future is to bring the demand for medical care to light.
Some of the backup doctors have already started working, and they would visit people at home who are bedridden and cut-off from the outside world or the elderly who live alone to see if they need medical attention or nursing care.
The City of Kobe also says, "more manpower for routine patrols, nursing care and case workers are necessary."
We want to call out for more volunteers.
It has been 50 years since the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was liberated by the Soviet military.
On the 26th and 27th, a commemorative ceremony to remember the dead was held at the remains of the camp that was made into the Polish National Museum after the war.
The number of victims who were slaughtered here has been estimated to be 1.1 to 1.5 millions.
While 90% of the victims were said to be Jewish, the people who were sent to the concentration camp included political detainees from various European countries such as Poland that were under Nazi occupation in addition to prisoners-of-war from the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom; up to 24 nationalities and some Germans as well.
It was as if the Nazis had bulldozered over every social structure including political party, churches, labor unions and journalistic organizations to force them to be the same.
Additionally, it is said that the Nazis had their distinctive trait in "active nihilism" which elicits aggressive energy from the rejection and mockery of the fundamental values of modern democracy such as liberty, equality and human love.
What that nihilism created with cold-blooded systematic planning and organizational skill was the genocide machine at Auschwitz.
"As if to plow through the fields," the Nazis hunted down people who were identified as "Hitler's enemies" including the Jews from all over the European continent and transported them by freight trains to the concentration camp, where those who were considered to be unfit for servile labor were slaughtered and incinerated.
Further, they utilized hair and precious metals used in dentures of the dead as resources.
It was an unqualified denial of human dignity.
As far as the Nazis were concerned, inmates were "things" only to be identified by the numbers tattooed on their left arms, and the camp was nothing more than a large-scale factory to dispose of those "things".
Anyone who visits Auschwitz will be horrified to see that "such insanity could exist in human beings."
The painful experience of Auschwitz must be passed down as a common lesson to humankind.
This is because that incident was not totally unrelated to us Japanese as well.
The Ishii unit conducted biological experimentations on human bodies in China and during the construction of the Thai-Burma Railway line connecting Thailand and Burma, numerous captives and local residents perished under harsh forced labor and appalling living conditions in the detention camps.
It comes as no surprise if the victims' families saw the barbaric acts of the Japanese military as an overlapping image of what took place in Auschwitz.
Even today the German people bear the heavy weight of the cross that is the sins of the Nazis.
But it is also a fact that by facing up to the Nazi history head-on, Germany has maintained the stance of apologizing and compensating the victims in addition to pursuing Nazi crimes with no statute of limitations, which have contributed to a significant progress in the reconciliation between the country and the victims including the Jews.
History textbooks include detailed descriptions of the actual conditions at the concentration camps and young German volunteers are working as janitors at Auschwitz.
We want to point out that there were a considerable number of people who developed their minds to judge history by looking squarely at the Nazi past and detected the "crimes against humanity" in the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and the Chechnya invasion, subsequently rising to criticize those parties to blame and to aid the victims.
In comparison, the atrocity of the Japanese military such as the massacre in Nanjing and the incidents in Southeast Asia have barely been taught in schools in Japan.
Asia's distrust against Japan will not be erased as long as this country maintains the attitude of ignoring history.
While Japan has been blessed with peace after the war, we can hardly say with any certainty that the similar madness to what had set off the massacre at Auschwitz is not waiting to be released with bated breath deep down in our hearts.
We believe that to revisit this "Auschwitz within" would certainly serve as prayers to pay our tribute for those perished in concentration camps for sure.
Although I cannot help but feel hesitant about bringing up such an issue once again, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama answered that they "took the best measures" concerning the government's handling of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
He later on corrected himself as they "took the best system," but, as the saying goes, words cannot be easily retracted once uttered, and besides, it was hardly a correction.
Having decided this statement to be absolutely "offensive," Mr. Seiichi Ota and Mr. Chinpei Nozue of the New Frontier Party and others started to collect signatures calling for the prime minister to step down.
Now, according to Mr. Nozue, the prime minister supposedly said, "Fine, go right ahead," returning tit-for-tat.
As it resulted in aggravating the acrimony, Mr. Ota and Mr. Nozue have stepped up their campaign to collect signatures and they delivered a list of 43 signatures three days later on the 27th.
Though we are hardly impressed with those Diet members who have actually gone to the extent of a signature campaign calling for the resignation in times like this, Mr. Murayama must have been out of his mind as well.
To follow up on the foregoing, during the House of Representatives' meeting on the 30th, when Mr. Nobuaki Futami also of the New Frontier Party asked " if the Prime Minister was going to take the responsibility at the appropriate time," implying a demand for his resignation to take the blame, Mr. Murayama replied that he was "aware of the various criticisms, but I want to make my best efforts in the recovery and reconstruction measures for now."
It was none other than the New Frontier Party that called out for a 10-day political ceasefire on the 20th when the regular Diet session was convened, but the ruling coalition parties dismissed it as "a plot to delay the budget debate."
As we now must say that the ruling parties were "correct," Diet debates seem to be driven by hidden agenda way too often.
Of course, there is simply no justification for the poor handling by the government including the prime minister of the situation.
The prime minister must come to terms with his responsibility, without waiting for the claim from the New Frontier Party.
It is as clear as day that the government has failed to adequately perform every one of the minimum key points in politics such as "to protect the lives, assets and safety of the people," and we found ourselves dumbfounded that everything they have done was one step behind what was needed.
To make matters worse, this situation continues to exist after more than two weeks since the earthquake struck.
The decision to use public funds to remove collapsed buildings was made on the twelfth day after the devastation.
Securing housing for the disaster victims has been handled by supplementing additional units as a stopgap measure.
There are mounting problems such as securing "transportation," medical care, employment and so on.
Furthermore, to begin with, they have not even started the serious debate as to how to allocate resources to address the damage that is said to be as much as 10 trillion yen, and they cannot even reach an agreement on revising the 1995 annual budget in the preliminary phase.
We suppose we could wait for all these issues to be settled first and then call the Murayama cabinet to account for their handling of the disaster-related matters.
Not to state the obvious, I dare say this.
While the opposition parties during the period of the 1955 system behaved exactly like that, they still have not gotten over that notion and all the opposition parties including the New Frontier Party say they would " 'tadasu' at the Diet" at every opportunity.
Now, according to the Koujien Japanese dictionary, there are three different meanings of the word "tadasu," which are, "to correct," "to inquire," and "to ask."
And yet, in terms of the word, "tadasu" that the oppositions use, there have been only two meanings: "to inquire" which means to pursue the rights and wrongs of the government and the ruling parties, and "to ask," meaning to ask for their opinions.
As the government and the ruling parties bungled the handling of the disaster countermeasures at every turn, isn't it time now that a debate "to correct" the situation is expected of the Diet?
Nobody wants a debate obsessed with nailing the prime minister down for the purpose of overthrowing the cabinet.
Winds blowing down from Rokko Mountain must feel bitterly cold to the people who have had their families taken away from them and have lost their homes.
Influenza is going around among the disaster victims.
We fear for the well being of the elderly and small babies.
In a time of disaster, in particular, older people are sickly and healthcare cost is on the rise.
The Elderly Health Care System and its amendment to be tabled at the Diet is facing that heavy challenge.
The national healthcare spending is approximately 24.3 trillion yen.
The benefits package intended for people who are 70 years of age or older amounts to 7.3 trillion yen accounts for approximately one-third of the spending.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has estimated that it will reach 71 trillion yen in fiscal 2025, if the current trend continues.
The Elderly Health Care System assumes 70% of the healthcare expenses for people who are 70 years of age or older regardless of which healthcare plan they subscribe to, as a joint enterprise of each system.
The remaining 30% is paid by public funds.
There will be excessive liabilities for those plans with many elderly subscribers; each plans shares the load equally, assuming that every plan has the same ratio of elderly members across the country.
However, if the percentage of the elderly members is over 20%, it is still counted as 20%, and that plan is supposed to absorb the excess over 20% by itself.
In terms of the national health insurance, the 3,253 municipalities are all underwriters.
When the Elderly Health Care System was launched, the number of municipalities with more than 20% of elderly subscribers was 151, whereas it reached 2,038 in fiscal 1993.
The amount to be absorbed by the municipalities is as much as 47.7 billion yen.
According to the amendment, as an emergency measure, the upper limit will be raised from 20% to 22% for fiscal 1995 and to 24% in fiscal 1996.
As at fiscal 1993, the average age of subscribers is around 47 and the ratio of the elderly subscribers is approximately 18%.
Also, there are many households where nobody is employed and the average annual income is less than 2.8 million yen.
The average insurance premium per household is approximately 150,000 yen per year.
The annual insurance premium per household is 300,000 yen for the association-managed health insurance (for employees of large businesses) and 270,000 yen for the government-managed health insurance (for employees of small businesses).
On the other hand, the average annual healthcare cost per person is approximately 137,000 yen for the national health insurance subscribers, 1.5 times of that for the association-managed health insurance subscribers at 90,000 yen.
Healthcare expenditure per person is heavy on municipalities where elderly patients are hospitalized for a longer period of time.
This gets kicked back to the system and generates the difference in the insurance premium.
The government absorbs half of the national health insurance expenditure as well as half of the insurance premium discount for low-income earners.
While municipalities cover more than 530 billion yen in total using the general account, they have fallen in the red one after another.
Even if the upper-limit of the ratio of elderly subscribers is raised, it will be nothing more than a stopgap measure.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is looking to create a nursing care insurance to cover the expenses for caregivers, day care services and so forth.
The idea is to put more money into care than treatment.
It is getting prepared to go ahead with reforming the Elderly Health Care System and the national health insurance as the cost allocation becomes clear.
With the number of elderly patients who are hospitalized for long periods reaching 300,000, medical spending is estimated to be approximately 2 trillion yen.
Many of those cases are found to be "social hospitalization."
We wonder how many of these elderly people, who really could be living in their own homes or social care facilities, can be moved back from the hospitals?
For a start, there is no choice but to make our utmost effort to make nursing care services more widespread and improved.
Images of the physically disabled elderly people wrapped up in blankets at the shelters confront us with the poor conditions surrounding the welfare facilities and nursing care services.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake has robbed children in the devastated areas of places not only to live but also to learn.
The number of children and students who were forced to temporarily transfer to schools where they evacuated has exceeded 15,000.
These schools scatter across the country.
The term, "pupil-evacuees" that is supposed to have become obsolete after World War II has been resurrected for the first time in half a century.
I suppose that it is an unavoidable measure in view of securing education for young people.
I hope that schools and boards of education across the nation will provide special consideration to warmly welcome these children and students.
Eighteen children have been transferred to attend the Toyooka City Elementary School in snowy Toyooka City, northern Hyogo Prefecture.
With their homes having been destroyed, many children are staying with their parents' families.
I took a peek into Room 3-3 where I found Keiko Umetani from Motoyama Daiichi Elementary School and Eiko Funehara from Nishiwaki Elementary School, both schools in Kobe City.
Japanese class was in progress, with a story called "Chii-chan no Kage Okuri" (Chii-chan plays Kage Okuri) that speaks of the misery of war as the teaching material.
"What do you think Chii-chan felt when she became separated from her mother while fleeing from the air-raid?"
Keiko raised her hand to respond to the female teacher.
"I think she was anxious."
Her answer revealed her frightening experience in the earthquake.
Keiko was hesitant to talk about her earthquake experience for the first four, five days after she transferred.
Although her family was unharmed, she now lives apart from her parents who both work for the prefectural government.
The subject in class turned to the earthquake.
Eiko reported, "The electronic piano fell and hit my little preschooler brother giving him a bump, but all four of us in the family are alright."
A girl who helped with making rice balls in Toyooka for the disaster victims speaks:
"I thought that there were as many kind people as the number of rice balls that were piled up high."
The words and manners of the children strike home to the hearts of those around with their desire to comfort the transfer students.
It will take time until the shock from the disaster subsides.
Also, it is hard to detect the stress of living in unfamiliar surroundings from their appearance.
Some children may have to stay with the transferred school for a long time.
I hope that the local residents will join together in encouraging the transfer students.
Experiencing friendship with compassion will also provide the children at the host school with a remarkable opportunity to cultivate their personality.
We also want the teachers to recognize that this is a great chance to develop interpersonal relationships that are antithetical to "bullying."
There is a sixth-grader who stuck it out at the devastated area for 10 days worrying about the entrance exam for a private junior high school.
"When my school reopens, I want to go back right away. I want to see my friends, too," says the sixth-grader.
Consideration for those children who will be going on to the next stage of education where they have transferred is also essential.
Nevertheless, transfer children are better off compared to those who stayed at the disaster-stricken areas.
While more schools are resuming classes in the affected areas, many of their peers are still enduring tough living conditions at the shelters.
Additionally, I hope that, taking this opportunity, a great effort will be made on the disaster-prevention/countermeasure education including earthquake-related subjects.
At the general assembly of the National Assembly of Educational Research for the Japan Teachers' Union held in Nagasaki City at the end of last month, Ryoichi Ishii, the Chairman of the Hyogo Prefecture Teachers' Union, made the appeal that "disaster-prevention education is necessary."
Not to mention those schools that can make what the transfer students tell about their earthquake experience a real educational material, let us implement such a lesson in every classroom.
Taking the Great Hanshin Earthquake as an opportunity to implement disaster-prevention education, there has been some movement at schools everywhere to regard disasters, which people tend to view as something that happens in someone else's backyard, as everyone's immediate problem.
Let us further solidify this recognition.
Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the monthly magazine, "Marco Polo" that became the target of international criticism by running an article denying the massacre of the Jews by the Nazis as "the Nazi 'gas chambers' did not exist," announced that it would immediately discontinue the magazine and fire the executive editor at the same time.
While one can say that the publisher settled a matter that could have developed into a diplomatic issue by responding quickly, I think they have hardly taken any journalistic responsibility by only providing the explanation that "there were factual errors in the published article."
As this is an issue that concerns the freedom of speech and the press, the publisher must have an obligation to explain the course of events from when they adopted the article to the folding of the magazine.
To summarize the controversial article, gas chambers did not exist in any of the Jewish concentration camps including Auschwitz and no massacre took place.
It suggests that the gas chamber that had been open to the public at Auschwitz was a fabrication by the communist government after the Jews were liberated from the camp, and the Nazi leaders had never planned to exterminate the Jews.
It also says that the writer, a physician who works at a national sanatorium, had been conducting some research after having come across a thesis denying the massacre at the camps several years ago, and actually went to Poland to gather information this time and write the article.
At any rate, there was no verification of facts that would "reverse" the truth about the genocide, and, I must say, the report lacked historical perceptions to a fault.
Freedom of speech and the press must be absolutely protected.
But it goes without saying that such freedom comes with responsibility.
I am tempted to question whether the editor of Marco Polo was aware of his responsibility as a journalist with the publication of this article.
Japan has yet to conduct a thorough review of the facts concerning the Pacific War even after 50 years since the end of the war.
There have been repeated ambiguous measures including the incident where one of the cabinet ministers came under attack after making a statement that "there was, in fact, no massacre" with regard to the Nanjing Massacre, and subsequently he was replaced.
I wonder if the editor had his presumptuous attitude fostered by such ambiguity that was the reason underlying the latest controversy with an article that says, "Gas chambers did not exist."
Just like this time around, if there is in the world of magazine journalism the feeling that everything is forgiven if one apologizes immediately after an incident occurs, then severe self-criticism is called for.
Bungei Shunju is one of the leading publishers in the magazine journalism field with an outstanding track record, having carried an article in their monthly magazine the Bungei Shunju that aggressively pursued the former Prime Minister Tanaka's money pipeline.
I wonder why many problems have been happening with the publications of this leading company?
The Shukan Bunshun issued an apology for having pushed things too far in their press coverage on the royal family in the year before last and issued another apology for the factual errors contained in the running story criticizing the management make-up at the East Japan Railway Company (JR-East) again last year.
Putting great importance to the series of incidents, Bungei Shunju is supposed to have been exploring the idea of installing an internal audit system that checks the articles in each magazine they publish.
There can be no excuse if their editing stance is accused of being prioritizing sales by resorting to sensationalism with the publishing of an article to push sales of the magazine by a writer with no real experience as a journalist, and, what's more, one that results in the publisher to admit that "there were factual errors."
Bungei Shunju says those including the president would give a press conference as early as tomorrow, and we hope that the course of events surrounding the printing of this article and the company's journalistic responsibility will be clearly explained.
I have seen for the first time in my life the "burned-out site where no water was doused to extinguish the fire."
Only steel material, galvanized sheet metal, bricks and roof tiles remained, while lumber and paper of any type was completely burnt and then disappeared without leaving a trace.
Dust dances in the wind and the parched, scorched earth stretches endlessly before me.
In Nagata Ward in Kobe City, more than 3000 residential buildings in approximately 400,000 square meters went up in flames that broke out after the earthquake.
Parched ruins are also the memorials of poignant regret over letting everything burn with no fire hydrants working due to the disrupted water supply throughout the city.
Difficulties that confronted the firefighting and emergency crews at that time can be roughly divided into three categories: "disrupted water supply," "simultaneous and multiple incidents of fires and people getting buried alive," and "traffic and communications cutoff."
Disrupted water supply, in particular, is a challenge that would loom heavily over all of the cities.
Immediately after the earthquake occurred, the 24 firefighters in the Seventh Squad at the Nagata Fire Department who were on duty received over 10 fire reports and countless requests for rescue.
In addition to the number of requests that were beyond their capacity, fire chief Atsushi Kagimoto, who was in charge of the squad on duty, was astounded at a scream of "No water!" from the site of the fire.
"I had never thought of fighting fire with no running water," recalls Mr. Kagimoto.
The small amount of water in underground water tanks and swimming pools at schools was used up in no time.
They connected no fewer than a hundred hoses to bring water up from the sea and rivers over a distance of 1 to 2 kilometers.
"Even then, it still wasn't good enough," says the frustrated fire chief.
Many of the fires died down when they reached wide streets.
It is most regrettable that the firefighting efforts were also to no avail in preventing the fires from spreading.
Granted it was a disaster beyond the limits of firefighting capability, the fact that measures to minimize damage had been inadequate must be investigated.
The government is promoting the installation of underground earthquake-resistant water tanks as measures against the disruption to the water supply.
Compared to the Kanto region, the installation rate for these tanks is lower in the Kansai region and there is data indicating that the number of installations per area in Kobe City is one-tenth of that of the 23 wards in Tokyo.
Also, another reason is that it is hard to obtain cooperation from schools to keep the swimming pools full as the designated water supply in accordance with the Fire Defense Law even during the winter.
In large cities, while there is a water supply system, there are few natural water resources.
Other cities should also start making efforts to increase man-made water resources immediately.
Aerial firefighting using helicopters and the wrecking measures that hold fire back by destroying buildings were not deployed because "they are dangerous without enough experience," and "being hesitant due to the potential compensation issue."
To make these measures become of help in real situations, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency must expedite research and provisions.
In addition to multiple fires breaking out simultaneously, an overwhelming number of rescue requests poured in fast and furious.
There were many instances where the people who were seeking help stopped the fire engines along the way.
While the firefighting functions in the neighboring municipalities exist to compensate for the deficiency in the absolute level of firefighting capacity, we cannot say that an actual system of regional cooperation had been in place.
Furthermore, the arrival of firefighters was seriously delayed by the traffic congestion.
The police failed in traffic control during the earthquake, of which its necessity has been called for in the past.
Personally, it may be cruel to think of removing the cars of those residents who are fleeing to safety or on their way to aid people they know, but there is no choice but to set priorities during emergency.
Also for firefighting, the priority was to prevent the spread of fire and to rescue survivors; anything else had to be coldly left aside.
We hope that they will sort out the problem areas and use them as references for making improvements for the future.
Also, it has been proven that wide streets, parks and fire-resistant buildings curb the spread of fire.
The instances where the neighborhood associations of old took an active part in fire control and rescue efforts, having faced the reality that firefighting crews could not be counted on, gave us a lesson as to the meaning of a community within a large city where neighborhood relations are tenuous.
Each affected city has embarked reconstruction under the banner of "strong town against disasters."
As all the work will require to form the consent of residents, we hope that the government and citizens will share the lessons that the earthquake taught and will bring their city back as the nation's model disaster-resistant community.
While it is being overshadowed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the fourteen major private railway companies in the Kanto, Chubu and Kansai districts and the Teito Rapid Transit Authority in Tokyo have applied for fare increases.
The rates of increases that are being sought are a whopping 19 percent for the private railway lines and 16 percent for the subways.
It will be difficult to use the logic of "we're in the red; fare hike needed" to obtain the understanding of passengers in a business climate where companies are cutting back in a desperate attempt to tackle the price revolution.
Also, the timing is terrible.
Granted that it has been planned, are they not a bit insensitive to demand a fare-hike in the midst of the chaos after two days since the earthquake struck?
Furthermore, earthquake damage has been considerable for the Hankyu Railway and the Hanshin Electric Railway lines.
Taking those viewpoints into consideration, the Ministry of Transport ought to take a stern position in handling this demand.
To the Ministry of Transport as the assessing government office, we specifically request the following points:
As the reason for the fare-hike, the private railway companies have cited that they have been in the red as the amount of capital investments reached approximately 40 percent of the freight revenue, deteriorating the balance for the railway business.
To put it simply, the more they cooperate with the government policy to ease up the conditions of crowded trains, the more deficit they will have, and they will have no choice but to raise the fare sharply.
In conjunction with the latest demand, the difference in the rate of the fare-increase between Tokyu and Seibu clearly shows the relationship between the capital investments and the fare.
The rate of fare increase was high for Tokyu to carry the quadruple tracking forward, whereas, on the contrary, Seibu came off with a small increase as they have effectively abandoned the quadruple-track project.
There were differences in the management decisions based on the projected passenger trend for these railway lines, but the ramifications of these decisions pose a significant challenge.
We certainly hope that all the private railway companies will go ahead with "augmenting the transportation capacity to alleviate the conditions on crowded trains."
We want the campaign pledge "to limit the number of passengers on a train to allow enough space to read the newspaper without difficulty during the rush hours," which was a part of the "Five-Year Plan for Achieving Better Quality of Life" that the Miyazawa Cabinet had proposed, to come through in the near future.
This is the earnest voice of a passenger.
On the other hand, there are no grounds for approving a big fare-increase just because the capital investments to augment the transportation capacity have a negative effect on the balance of payment.
The stance that the Ministry of Transport takes in relation to assessing the demand for a fare-increase will be critical at this point.
In other words, we expect that the Ministry will make an objective assessment of how much progress the private railway companies are making to beef up the transportation capacity and explore the public funding for investments.
Some time ago, the private railway companies were so preoccupied with developing real estate and recreational facilities along their lines that they cut back on capital investments for the railroad business for a period of time.
Meantime, the fares were kept low as they were.
These days, capital investments are being made while the number of passengers is in a slump.
At this rate, a formula for another big fare-hike will be waiting for us in three years.
In the meantime, it will be necessary for us to revisit the issue as to whether the private railway companies are making sufficient efforts in managing their business as is always the case.
The reason is that the private railways have a regional monopoly, limiting newcomers and their fares are set up based upon the "full-cost principle" that cumulates costs.
The latest application was also made based on this formula, but the important thing is whether or not those "costs" are reasonable.
If they neglected the rationalization efforts and the "costs" were high because they were taking advantage of the monopoly to begin with, then the rationality of this formula will have been lost.
As this flaw has recently been pointed out, measures including the price cap regulation are being discussed.
It seems that the Ministry of Transport has set up a workshop to discuss the pricing policy, and we hope that they will make good use of what comes out of the workshop to make an assessment.
The latest demand is the first instance since the Murayama government lifted the freeze on the public utility rates.
We look forward to a sufficient disclosure of information to satisfy the people as pledged during the election campaign.
It has become apparent that the underground active faults generated the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the worst natural disaster since the end of the Second World War, and the menace of active faults has come into the spotlight.
According to a study conducted by the specialists, the damage caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake was concentrated in the swath of land that runs across Kobe City to Ashiya City and Nishinomiya City, measuring three kilometers wide and twenty-five kilometers long.
As such, the theory suggesting that the existing Nojima fault that runs through the Awaji Island near the epicenter and an unidentified active fault in the area where the damage was concentrated had moved simultaneously has become dominant.
Although it is still possible that the condition of the ground may have contributed to the earthquake, it seems certain that the movement of active faults was closely tied to the damage.
As far as we know, there are more than 1,500 active faults in Japan.
Active faults generate earthquakes with cycles of several hundred to several thousand years and are classified as Class A, Class B and Class C by their level of activities and descending order of cycles.
There are approximately twenty Class A active faults.
However, it does not mean that we can only monitor the Class A active faults.
The Nojima fault that moved this time does not belong to the Class A category.
Meanwhile, there are some active faults among the Class A category that have recently moved generating earthquakes and are thus considered to be safe for a while.
During a meeting of the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction held after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, in addition to the Rokko faults which include the Nojima fault, the Inadani fault in Nagano prefecture, the Fujikawa fault in Shizuoka prefecture, and the Kouzu-Matsuda-Kannawa faults in Kanagawa prefecture were cited as dangerous active faults.
In the past, academics have been conducting the research on active faults on a voluntary basis.
They excavate the areas around active faults to study at what intervals earthquakes have been generated and when they were generated the last time.
Although it is a painstaking task, even the national Earthquake Prediction Project had not thought it was significant.
We hope that the nation will take the lead in developing the specialists to conduct an organized research activity on active faults in the future.
There is an urgent need to track down other dangerous active faults besides those four that the academics have mentioned.
It will be even more helpful if the time frame for impending generation of earthquakes can be determined.
If the level of hazard is high, it will be essential to intensify the observation activities in the surrounding areas as well as to collect additional data.
Even then, it may still be difficult to accurately forecast an earthquake of the Japanese magnitude 7 category as was the latest one.
However, various steps can be taken in preparation for earthquakes that will strike at some point in time.
For example, it will become a significant challenge to carry out restrictions on new developments, reinforcement of buildings, strengthening of the anti-seismic standard in the areas near the active faults where attention is needed.
We wonder if the local governments should disclose detailed maps of active faults for the public to understand the situation his or her home and work place are in.
The State of California in the U.S. has been restricting the development of the areas around active faults and has been achieving successful results.
Japan, the country where earthquakes occur most frequently in the world, should follow California's example.
Specialists on earthquake predictions, active faults, structural safety and other concerned areas have been conducting studies in their own fields separately.
They have seldom released data to each other.
This is not good.
It is critical for them to coordinate with one another in conjunction with the measures against active faults that may wreak major havoc.
Over 5,000 people were killed, and more than 100,000 residential buildings collapsed, were damaged or destroyed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
I should say that these numbers defy all imagination.
Research on active faults requires considerable human and financial resources and no one knows whether it will take immediate effect in any shape or form, but it is our hope that, giving priority to this area, the government and academics will work together to go forward aggressively.
The 40th National Juvenile Book Report Competition to nurture intelligence and sensitivity of children is being held.
The award ceremony is taking place in Tokyo on the 3rd today.
The year 1955, when this competition came into existence, was the year of an "unprecedented booming economy" after the national economy that had been weak due to Japan's defeat in the last war recovered, and television, comic books and magazines were starting to gain popularity in the world of children.
Under these circumstances, it was indeed significant that the National School Library Council called for organizing the book report competition to "raise children's awareness about good books."
The number of entries for the inaugural event was 53,000.
Since then, the number of applications has continued to go up after each time with the number of entries reaching 3.894 million this year.
This means that one out of every five elementary, junior high and senior high school students nationwide has applied.
According to the judges, the contents of the book reports have been improving every year.
Our profound thanks go to everyone concerned including teachers, writers of books for children, publishers and those who spread the word, all of whom have made possible for this competition to develop to where it is in terms of quality and volume.
As the organizer of the event, we take pride in this competition for the following two points:
One of them is that outstanding new books that have been selected as assignments for the book reports by the teachers in the field have captured the hearts of children, have been passed down to succeeding generations, and have become established as the "new classics or masterpieces."
Examples include Hashi no nai kawa (A River with No Bridges), Mochi mochi no ki (The Mochi-mochi Tree), Garasu no Usagi (Glass Rabbit) and other books.
As there are a considerable number of books about the controversial issues of the time among the assigned books, they have served the role of catalysts to open up children's eyes and for them to contemplate about the society.
In recent years, there have been numerous books that are concerned with the environment, family, bullying, disabled children and elderly people.
Another point is that children develop the skills to read deeply, savor the content, think and express what the books have imprinted on them when they write the book report.
Children may also find what they want to do in terms of their ways of life and career options by having a "virtual experience" of the unknown through the characters in the books.
There is a woman who abandoned her aspirations to become a civil servant for a career in nursing after reading a book when she was in grade 12 among the prize winners of the national competition.
Other former prize winners include a librarian who has always been a bookworm, a mother who has opened a home library, and a writer of children's literature.
In the meantime, the former prize winners say that through reading, "they learned to be moved," "they learned ways to live their own lives," and "they were made aware of the big world out there."
Some criticize that "make children detest reading books."
However, we question if there were problems with the teaching ability of teachers instead of the book report being the factor.
We wonder if teachers are teaching a mechanical writing style.
Take one book and one will be assured that it will be read, felt and expressed differently depending on the child.
Teachers ought to accept the diversity in the impressions that children may have.
Teachers will show children the pleasure of reading and the joy of writing the book report by letting them express themselves in their own words spontaneously and without any inhibitions.
As a prerequisite, teachers need to become book lovers first.
At present, the educational trend is going through a transition from the memorization-oriented, knowledge-cramming lessons to learning to develop the ability to think, to judge, to express, and to create as well as to nurture sensitivity.
In light of the foregoing, having read books attentively, writing book reports to express the impression and thoughts on books is becoming increasingly important these days.
Debate over the reconstruction costs in relation to the Great Hanshin Earthquake is ensuing.
We have suggested a revision to the 1995 annual budget that is currently on the table at the Diet from the perspective of disaster-prevention measures, but we now want to reemphasize the budget revision in view of the issue concerning fiscal resources.
The amount of damage caused by the Great Earthquake has been growing day by day, and according to the study conducted by Hyogo Prefecture, it has exceeded 10 trillion yen.
It's an enormous amount.
In addition to the damage done to the roads, railroad lines, ports and other infrastructure, it is reported that the amount of damage to the apartments, single-family dwellings and the like has been skyrocketing.
It is heart-breaking to think of those who have been affected by the disaster.
When considering the reconstruction measures, the most important thing is to widen the scope as much as possible.
While some government officials/ruling party members are of the opinion that the recovery efforts should be narrowed down solely to public works projects that are eligible for the construction bonds, that is outrageous.
Although the opportunism to jumping onto the bandwagon must be closely examined, it will be like putting the cart before the horse to narrow down the scope by being hung up on construction bonds.
We believe that the government should be as generous as possible with the condolence money, cost to remove debris, set-up cost for temporary housing, exemption measures for income tax and other related matters.
Consequently, financial resources become an issue.
Slush fund for the 1994 annual budget that is currently in effect is in the range of 100 billion yen, which is totally inadequate.
It is inevitable that the government will have to issue either the deficit-covering bonds or the ad-hoc "restoration bonds."
However, issuing a government bond like this with no prospect of repayment will distort fiscal discipline.
The focal point of debate is the pros and cons of the "tax-hike" measures such as the temporary suspension of the special tax cut that is scheduled to be implemented in fiscal 1995 and to move up the consumption tax increase that is scheduled to take effect in fiscal 1997 by one year to fund the redemption.
In conjunction with these developments, there is something that we are not happy about.
It is that the government, the Ministry of Finance in particular, has been sticking to the "two-step" supplementary budget.
In short, the strategy is to handle the emergency aid with the second supplementary budget for fiscal 1994 and, upon the adoption of the fiscal 1995 budget, to draw up the supplementary budget for full-scale reconstruction measures.
They say that the time frame is too tight to revise the 1995 annual budget.
What an odd excuse.
The 1995 annual budget was prepared prior to the Great Earthquake and the situation has changed completely since then.
If there is no time to go over, an interim budget for a month could be made up.
The true feeling of the Ministry of Finance must be that they are apprehensive about the situation getting out of control once revisions begin, instead of time being the issue.
Doesn't it show that they have so little confidence in the Japanese people?
As we mentioned earlier, approximately 9.3 trillion yen has been allocated for public works expenditure in the 1995 annual budget proposal.
Instead of reviewing all of the expense items, there is no reason they cannot freeze the new projects within the framework of public works where possible and reallocate the funds to the reconstruction due to the Great Earthquake.
For example, if the construction budget for a new port were diverted to the restoration of districts devastated by the disaster, would the residents of the port area strongly oppose it?
We believe that the people will put up with it as long as the revision is balanced.
They should be able to reduce the amount of to-be-issued government bonds by a large margin, if they cover the emergency measures with the second supplementary budget and revise the 1995 annual budget proposal based on such an arrangement.
If we still find funds are running short, let us think of ways to share the pain.
It has already been close to twenty days.
The people who live at the evacuation shelters look more and more exhausted.
Living in coldness and without privacy is taking a toll on them.
It is important to have a housing measure that conforms to the situation promptly and properly and with consideration.
We hope that a large number of emergency temporary housing units will be provided as soon as possible.
Hyogo Prefecture is preparing to secure 40,000 temporary housing units and 30,000 vacant units owned by local governments or housing corporations.
While the prefecture is trying to reduce the disaster victims' anxiety by announcing a statement by Governor Toshitami Kaihara that "they would provide all applicants with temporary housing as a general rule," they are still short by 20,000 units.
A resolution must be found without delay.
Although people have started to move in some areas, the trouble with temporary housing units is that they take a long time to be completed.
There are no more than 3,000 units that will be ready for move-in in early this month and only 8,000 units will be added even if they wait until later in the month.
It is said that it will be April when all units will be completed.
This means that the disaster victims will be forced to intolerably long and hard days.
We wish we had more "bridging shelters" for the elderly and sick at the very least.
More people have been brought into hospitals to die after their physical condition suddenly deteriorated at the shelters where they had been living.
The prefecture ought to make further efforts in measures such as leasing hotels and Japanese inns.
Then we want to see proactive activities including identifying applicants and inviting them to go to the "bridging shelters."
With regard to the tenants, the best possible consideration should be given to how the location of the temporary housing relates to the locality of their previous homes before the disaster.
There are 124 construction sites for the temporary housing units at present and the vacancies at the apartments built by the Housing Corporation are found all over the country.
Nobody wants to move to a place that is far away from work and where he or she knows nobody in the neighborhood.
At Kobe Municipal Motoyama-Minami Elementary School in Higashinada-ku in Kobe City, a middle-aged man took the "certificate of application for temporary housing" out of his wallet to show me and said, smiling weakly, "It is unlikely that I will get temporary housing within Higashinada-ku. It's hopeless."
The general rule to give the elderly or physically disabled priority should not be bent, and it seems that there are no alternatives but to assign the units by drawing lots.
But then, aren't there any more building lots left near the evacuation shelters?
We want the nation and businesses to look further into this.
Also, we will be looking forward to those enterprises that will offer jobs with company-owned accommodation.
Problems arising after the tenants have moved into the temporary housing are also piling up.
The construction of 134 units in fourteen buildings was in progress in the Honjo Central Park near Motoyama-Minami Elementary School.
As many as ten units have been built in most of the buildings, with only one wall panel dividing them.
In addition to the unit being small at 26 square meters, the size of bathroom fixtures is smaller than those of regular size.
Based on the experience of the disaster victims in Okushiri-cho in Hokkaido and Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture, it will be obvious that stress will build up among the tenants for various reasons such as "The people next door can hear everything we say and we have to be careful all the time," and" The bathtub is so small that I can't even stretch my legs."
It will be necessary to concentrate efforts to enhance counseling and mental health services and to secure the vacant units in public housing as "the third shelters."
Basically, they will have to wait for permanent housing to be built and offered.
In conjunction with the disaster-resistant city development utilizing what we have learned, securing a large number of public housing units ought to be a focal issue.
Also, the concerned residents must be informed that the interim measure act has been invoked to recognize the priority of land and/or residential lessees.
Aid for the disaster victims who are thinking of rebuilding or purchasing a home is also important.
They should extensively make use of the special loans packages offered by the Housing Loan Corporation and the local governments.
Use the recovery / restoration measures from the Great Hanshin Earthquake as a pretext, the sentiment to postpone the proposal to reorganize / streamline special corporations is emerging within the government.
That is outrageous.
While it goes without saying that all possible measures should be taken to handle earthquake-related matters, it does not mean that the reorganization or streamlining of special corporations should be "temporarily frozen."
The perspective needed at present is that the administrative reform and earthquake-related disaster are two different issues.
Administrative reform is not just about making the administration more efficient and cutting down what is unnecessary.
The administrative reform was supposed to change the government that had become dysfunctional, as evidenced in its delayed initial reaction to the great earthquake, to be able to handle new situations.
The current review process for the special corporations has started with the backing of public support whereby if the government was to increase the consumption tax expecting the people to assume greater burden in two years, then they should also cut back.
Additionally, it has come to a situation where the burden on the people will likely further increase due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Under this situation, it is necessary for the government to take the initiative to streamline itself.
The government has asked all the ministries and agencies to put together a proposal for reviewing all 92 special corporations by the 10th of this month.
However, because about twenty of these target corporations including the Japan Development Bank, Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation, the Housing and Urban Development Public Corporation, and the Housing Loan Corporation have been involved in the recovery and/or restoration work in relation to the Great Earthquake, the argument to postpone their reorganization has begun to emerge within the government and ruling parties.
The typical example is that with regard to Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation and the Housing and Urban Development Public Corporation, the Minister of Construction Koken Nosaka has stated they were "severely short-handed, and I have told the people in charge not to think of anything else but to put all their effort into their job at hand. This is not the time to mention the review."
With such argument in favor of postponement, one gets a glimpse of the hidden motives of the ministries and agencies that are trying to preserve their organizations intact by taking advantage of the reconstruction measures.
However, Tsuruo Yamaguchi, Director-General of the Management and Coordination Agency, has denied the argument in favor of postponement by saying that he will review all of the 92 special corporations based on the same criteria.
That is only natural.
We want him to hold his ground.
The next important item is the substance of the revision.
While it seems that the government's intention is to cut the 92 special corporations by about 10 percent, from the proposal we have seen so far, there are conspicuous instances that are nothing more than just "playing with numbers" such as the consolidation of the Japan Raw Silk and Sugar Price Stabilization Agency and the Livestock Industry Promotion Corporation.
According to the revision proposal that the Sakigake has issued earlier, both corporations had already outlived their mission and should be abolished.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery that has jurisdiction over these corporations came up with the consolidation plan arguing that they should remain to ensure price stabilization for agricultural and livestock products.
However, if it is just a consolidation that will not lead to significant cost savings with just a few officers' posts eliminated.
The government should present a clear-cut conclusion on the corporations that should be dissolved will go out of existence, and if they were to be consolidated out of necessity, the real state of those corporations should go under a full review to essentially achieve a cutback.
Also, the government should not leave out the privatization or consolidation of the government-affiliated financial institutions such as the Japan Development Bank and Japan Financial Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise.
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama has just announced his resolution to "spearhead the promotion of reorganization and streamlining including integration measures by the end of March" during his administrative policy speech at the opening session of the Diet.
The prime minister's statement and action have been both shaky in response to the earthquake, and it won't do for administrative reform that he declared to put the fate of his Cabinet at stake.
Mr. Murayama cannot fail this one.
Giving a positive feedback to Chinese President Jiang Zemin's Eight-point Proposal with regard to the Taiwan issue that he put forward the other day, the Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui has ordered the departments concerned to conduct a thorough review.
Mainland China is about to enter a time of uncertainty called "the post-Deng Xiaoping era."
It is desirable that Mainland China and Taiwan will promote the various interactions including economic cooperation to cultivate mutual understanding to avert unexpected situations and to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
We welcome the new activities on each side of the strait.
In the Eight-point Proposal that Mr. Jiang, as General-Secretary, made on the 30th of last month, the Chinese New Year's Eve, it is worth noting that he has declared to "greatly develop economic exchanges and cooperation."
While it confirms the "one country, two systems" line by the paramount leader Mr. Deng Xiaoping as the guiding principle for Jiang Zemin's Eight-point Proposal and emphasizes that an "early unification is a common wish of the Chinese people," the focal point of China's calling out to Taiwan is, first and foremost, the promotion of economic exchanges.
Another characteristic of the Jiang Zemin proposal is that it makes a point of repeating the peaceful unification policy over and over again.
It also suggests that they begin the negotiations to end the hostility between them for starters.
Although it does not go to the extent of promising not to use armed forces, it emphasizes that the use of force would be for preventing "interference from foreign powers from promoting the conspiracy to make Taiwan sovereign," and "there will not be a situation where Chinese will be fighting one another."
At the first provincial gubernatorial election held in Taiwan at the end of last year, the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT) candidate Mr. James Soong, who is a waisheng ren (Mainlander) whose native province is not Taiwan but in mainland China, was elected to office by defeating by a landslide the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, who held up Taiwan sovereignty as the party platform, and it proved that public opinion was behind neither unification nor independence but the maintaining the status quo.
There is also a strong call from the business community for direct trade with the Mainland.
It appears that in view of the public opinion in Taiwan, Jiang Zemin's Eight-point Proposal has returned its attention to promoting economic exchanges that were likely to win the support of the Taiwanese people as a political maneuver.
As well, the Taiwanese side holds as its basic stance at the moment to "develop the cross-strait relationship around economy and trade," and part of the views on both sides seem to have begun to mesh.
The Taiwanese reaction to the Jiang proposal is intriguing.
While the immediate reaction to the proposal was dismissive as "there is nothing new," on the 3rd, President Lee appreciated it by saying, "It is an extremely important proposal and I have a high regard for it."
What made his remarks changed from "there is nothing new" to the positive feedback must have been that Mr. Lee had two objectives: to get ready for the first direct presidential election that is scheduled for the next year, and to prepare for the post-Deng Xiaoping era.
To win the presidential election, it is necessary to be in sync with public opinion that is asking to maintain the status quo and peace.
Also, General-Secretary Jiang is the person who has been positioned in the core of the "third-generation leadership" that will lead China in the post-Deng Xiaoping era.
It cannot be said that a clear indication of assurance to carry on with Mr. Deng's "peaceful unification" and the stance to attach importance to economic exchanges coming from Mr. Jiang should be disadvantageous to the Taiwanese.
Mr. Deng, the leader of the "second generation," had a dream of accomplishing the unification of his homeland in his lifetime.
As such, he was aiming for unification in the 1980s and subsequently in the 1990s.
However, for the third-generation leaders including General-Secretary Jiang, the pressing need may be the administration of China with a population of 1.2 billion where numerous contradictions have been erupting, rather than unification with Taiwan.
With regard to Taiwan, it will help unification in the long run to promote the various exchanges, with economic exchanges as the main pillar, and to cultivate mutual understanding, instead of rushing into unification.
"Slow but sure wins the race."
The currency market has finally calmed down after President Clinton announced the support measures in the total amount of up to 50 billion dollars to handle the Mexican currency crisis.
Such currency crisis is not limited to just Mexico.
The global economy is becoming more integrated and money, in particular, travels across borders instantaneously.
Money drawn into countries that used to be called emerging markets such as Mexico, China and Hungary could flow back at any moment depending on the situation both at home and abroad.
Furthermore, as the peso crisis has spilled over to Europe and Asian countries in no time, the effect is immeasurable.
During the meeting of the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Toronto, they discussed how best to take joint action in times of such emergency.
From now, with the G7 countries taking the lead, it will be necessary to take ample time to consider the crisis management measures for international finance.
International financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank played a major role in the debt crisis of developing nations during the 1980s.
However, it is difficult for the existing international financial institutions alone to handle the new situation where a vast sum of money quickly moves on a global scale.
Although the G7 implemented a mutual monitoring system on economic management to ensure the exchange stability, one can hardly say that it has been successful.
The bubble economy in Japan developed under these circumstances.
There would be considerable opposition to extending this monitoring system to include developing countries and there may be no guarantee that it works, either.
What worries us is that the political situation of major countries may become unstable contrary to the globalization of the world, and the framework of financial cooperation becomes threatened.
This time in the US, President Clinton put forward the 40-billion-dollar support program, but since Congress objected, he has exercised executive privilege, bypassed Congress, and switched to the plan to primarily use the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF).
Had it not been for the shrewd handling by the president and the Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Mexico would have remained in a more serious situation.
In that sense, we applaud the prompt step taken by the president and at the same time question the US congress's judgment and the ability of its members to deal with such issues.
However, the European monetary authorities are offended by the support measures by the US that went ahead without advance coordination.
This may be related to the instance where the US did not extend an offer of assistance during the sterling crisis in the summer of 1992, regarding it as a regional problem.
The G7 is not monolithic but instead there are fractures in the framework of cooperation, that is to say.
Compared to the enormous amount of speculative money that flows through the private sector, funds that the major countries can mobilize for exchange stabilization are already powerless.
That is why it shall be an essential premise that the monetary authorities maintain a cooperative attitude.
There should be no room for quarreling among themselves.
In addition, there are a growing number of central banks that have ample foreign currency reserve among Newly Industrializing Economies (NIES).
It is essential that the monetary authorities of these countries or regions participate in the framework of cooperation to stabilize currencies.
To repeat, building trusting relationships among the authorities concerned will play a central role in exchange stabilization, as it was in security.
The G7 meets about four times a year, and while it may not make any specific decisions, the meetings must be helping to build the network of trust.
We want the Japanese monetary authority to deepen the trusting relationship with other countries and international financial institutions.
It seems that educational reform has been in progress in classrooms.
During the four-day national assembly of Educational Research for the Japan Teacher's Union held in Nagasaki at the end of last month, the various ingenious innovations that had been implemented were reported one after the other.
For example, at one of the elementary schools in Otaru City in Hokkaido, they had two Saturdays a month for "comprehensive learning" where the lessons are named such as "A journey of a banana," "When a piece of chocolate..." "After the nata de coco rage ..." to make children think about peace, human rights and environmental issues.
The objective of this comprehensive learning is to deepen awareness for the society and nature and to learn how to live their lives by using the knowledge acquired during the lessons for all the subjects, conducting research, contemplating and discussing together, and some cases about their activities were presented in subgroup meetings.
As emphasis has been placed on "education that accepts uniqueness" of each child these days, a learning experience to study together with other children and enhance one another through bringing out the thoughts, individual personalities, and abilities of each other will become increasingly necessary in the future.
Additionally, an example of a team approach to environmental education by teachers of social studies, science and home economics at senior high school and the implementation of the "expression" class incorporating recitations, drama and dance along with music and art were presented.
Also reported were trial cases such as designating every third Saturday as a "Self-Study Day," having children study at a place of their choice such as at home, school, and the library, and having children choose the subject they want to study among the 20 courses including woodwork and cooking with parents and people in the community as the instructors.
Taking the idea that "school is not the only place to learn," lessons on nature, culture and history of the local community took place outside the classroom, and these were also reported one after the other.
Teachers invariably mentioned that "children are bright-eyed and are enjoying the class" with these new styles of learning.
That is great.
The switch from the suffocating cram education to an open-minded learning experience in which children participate using their whole bodies should lead to revitalized schools.
However, during the meeting, some commented, "No matter how much we want to try out a new approach, the board of education tries to tie our hands by telling us not to deviate from the standard number of school hours."
As the Ministry of Education is demanding creativity and ingenuity from schools, the boards of education should relax the rules and deal with the frontline with more flexibility.
Otherwise, it will turn off the valuable enthusiasm of teachers in classrooms.
While the various efforts for class reform have been reported, many teachers suggested one after the other, "there were things that needed to be changed in everyday life at school."
"Are we, the teachers, not viewing the children from the perspective of persons at the tail end of the government? Isn't it our task to figure out how we can be there for the stray children first?" asked a teacher.
Another teacher said, "I am looking to education that accepts mistakes and makes what is difficult understood."
Also, there was another teacher who called for "classrooms with warmth" where there is personal contact among children as well as between children and teachers.
To put warmth in everyday classrooms first of all must be what children and parents are hoping for more than anything else.
With such relationships of mutual trust between teachers and children/parents, new approaches to learning will finally work out, won't they?
The Japanese archipelago is full of "distortions" due possibly to the political reorganization still underway.
When we searched our database for the articles containing the two key words of "election" and "distortion" just out of curiosity, the search results showed that they have appeared as much as 36 times in the last one year.
While all the parties throw around the "Nagata-cho's logic," or the belief that "a major-forming group will seize power," the parties ignore it and team up with each other at local elections.
"Logic" in local politics takes top priority in everything.
The phenomenon of all parties becoming the ruling parties is accelerating.
While "election" and "distortion" seem to have turned into a set pair of words by now, what we can see through those words is the hidden agenda of political parties to establish their footing for political realignment by using their muscle getting the local political circle involved and, conversely, the ego of local assembly members who are hanging onto the cozy local ruling party, thinking that the political realignment "has nothing to do with me."
The voters' silent rejection of this situation has been manifested in the low voter turnout across the nation.
As the preliminaries to the April nationwide local elections, gubernatorial elections for Aomori, Aichi and Kumamoto prefectures and mayoral elections for two government ordinance-designated cities, Hiroshima and Kitakyushu, were held and the votes were cast and counted on the 5th, the day before yesterday.
Except for Aomori, the elections were virtually confidence votes for the governor with the ruling and opposition parties both backing him or her, and the voting rate was record-low as expected.
For all of the gubernatorial elections, the worst voting rate was 25.38 percent for Chiba in 1981, but 32.38 percent for Aichi this time around is not a whole lot better than Chiba's record.
The locals are in high spirits as "the first New Frontier Governor has been elected" in Aomori where the only head-on clash between the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Frontier Party took place, but the reality is that the advanced age of the LDP-backed incumbent whose long tenure in the job had been criticized as well as the circumstance of the district dictating the new governor to be "somebody from Tsugaru, this time" helped win the election for the New Frontier Party.
As the turf war at the national political level did not strike a chord with the local residents, the voting rate was 62.19 percent, being 4 points lower than that of the previous election.
Elections at the local level often build momentum which affects national politics.
In particular, it is well known that the consumption tax that was called sales tax back then was scrapped as a result of the landslide victory by the Social Democratic Party in the House of Councillors by-elections in Iwate in 1987.
However, it was only the elections for the House of Councillors and not the local elections.
But then, even for the House of Councillors' elections, while the "former Coalition" that eventually transformed into the current New Frontier Party won decisively in a reelection in Aichi last year, it settled for a low turnout as the voters were turned off by election campaigns that paid no attention to constituents.
It seems that it has been a long time since local elections ceased to function as leading indicators of politics.
In his book "Modern Democracies," the British political scientist James Bryce said, "Local politics is the best school for democracy and the best guarantor of its success."
National politics is remote from the people, whereas local administration is the politics in one's backyard so issues and problems are easy to follow.
Consequently, one might say the people are getting trained on politics through local autonomy.
At present, however, the intrinsic bone of contention for local politics are obscured by the Nagata-cho logic that is rushing to political realignment, and the local government cannot shake off its long-standing affiliation with the ruling party.
How has this enormous distortion made local autonomy or local politics so hollow and uninteresting?
The bottom line is that the current political realignment was a power struggle acted out by the residents of Nagata-cho as a result of the general election of 1993 and constituents had no say in it.
However, political realignment in the real sense should be constituency-driven and ideas coming from politics in people's backyard are also a necessary point of view.
In the golden days of the progressive local governments some time ago, their key phrase was, "The national political reform starts from local politics."
While the progressive local governments themselves have faded away, it seems that we may have to follow the example of their enthusiasm once more.
The psychological trauma experienced by the victims has grown into a serious problem.
There are children who cry endlessly at night from the horror of the earthquake, and men who cannot settle down to work because of the shock of losing their wives and children.
There are also many people who are losing their patience because of the prolonged stay at evacuation shelters.
Disaster-stricken areas are plagued with numerous "symptoms" which, if left untreated, might have a serious detrimental effect on the mind.
It is essential that societal supports to heal these mental wounds be provided quickly.
The telephone counseling service Kokoro no sodan launched by the Hyogo Prefectural Women's Centre after the earthquake receives around 100 complaints everyday.
The elderly frightened by the aftershocks speak of how they remind them of "the horror of air raids," and office workers voice their anxiety over the future, burdened with the mortgage after their houses were destroyed.
In addition, there is an increase in family disputes about who will take in their parents who have lost their homes.
Many of these types of counseling services are efforts by volunteers.
Although the counselors take each call and provide compassionate advice, it is self-evident that there is a limit as to how much they can grasp within short period of time the depth of the emotional wounds of the person at the other end of the phone line.
In psychology, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder refers to a psychological state traumatized by disasters and the like.
Symptoms such as a persistent state of excessive tension and haunting memories of the scene of the disaster can cause physical disturbances including insomnia, loss of concentration, shaking, nausea, headache, and menstrual disorder.
Although it is apparent that some of these phone complaints are indicative of these symptoms, it is hard to say that the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments are giving proper attention to the situation.
Regrettably, the treatment for psychological trauma has not been included in Japan's disaster countermeasures.
Psychiatric aid stations were established in the health centers in Kobe City and Nishinomiya City within days after the earthquake, which was really a voluntary initiative by the doctors in the area and neighboring prefectures.
Even though the Ministry of Health and Welfare later took over the operation, the treatment is still offered only at municipal healthcare centers and medical institutes that were not damaged.
The present situation is far from being capable of accommodating what seems to be a vast number of patients with psychological trauma.
What is troublesome is that the aftereffects of a psychological trauma may not always emerge soon after the disaster experience and they may even show up half a year later.
Some experts point out that for children the symptoms may get more serious after six months.
Long-term support is needed more than anything.
Even if all the available psychiatrists are called out the numbers will be limited.
Wouldn't it be possible to ask medical doctors, other than psychiatrists, to render assistance as well?
It is the local physicians and pediatricians who know the victims well.
How about providing these doctors training in psychiatric treatment to expand the support network?
The government should spare no expense or effort in order to realize such a project.
Though young volunteers' help has provided a great emotional support for the victims, there is a concern as to how long their activities will last.
Sincere commitment is desired to achieve a long-term support through a reasonable arrangement of placement and turnover of human resources.
At the time of the Los Angeles earthquake, support centers established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency immediately following the earthquake incorporated "psychological care" consultation and treatment windows along with various aid and reconstruction measures.
It is reported that the government spent a great sum of 3.5 billion yen and called up approximately 600 psychologists at its peak for these efforts.
While psychological trauma tends to be neglected in Japan due to its elusive nature, in the West it is dealt with on the same level as physical illnesses.
This makes sense.
We should learn from their philosophy and the generous system of the US.
The Defense Agency, whose delay in invoking the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) for the Great Hanshin Earthquake has been pointed out, has set out to study the nature of the activities to be carried out for large-scale disasters by establishing an internal project team.
Reflecting on this earthquake, some commented that the Self-Defense Force should have been mobilized extralegally.
Moreover, the New Frontier Party has proposed to establish a regulation on the new role of the SDF in the Disaster Measures Basic Law, revise the Self-Defense Forces Law for that purpose as well as implement an "emergency defense legislation for national crisis management" when national security is threatened and/or in the time of disaster.
However, from the perspective of civilian control the demand for an "extralegal mobilization" has gone too far and is hardly agreeable, and it is unlikely their proposition of emergency defense legislation that simply connects security issues with countermeasures against natural calamities will convince the public.
It is, however, also true that discontent remains within the government as well as the ruling and non-ruling parties since there is a provision in paragraph 2 of Article 83 of the Self-Defense Forces Law that, if applied, could have enabled the mobilization of the SDF more quickly.
Although the SDF side explains, "there has never been a case of mobilization dictated by paragraph 2,"it is undeniable that by attaching too much importance to such reasons they were one step behind in responding to the actual situation.
Consequently, judging that the present legislation itself has no shortcomings, the Defense Agency is planning to put in the form of a government or ministerial ordinance the judgment criteria for the voluntary mobilization of SDF rather than amending the law or enacting a new legislation.
Yet this does not change the fact that the SDF is an armed force.
For that reason, we should avoid making a simplistic statement out of the temporary excitement over the "emergency" issue in which the SDF should have mobilized a large troop without any restrictions.
In that sense, the Defense Agency's approach to keep "within the framework of the present legislation" may be supported.
In addition, the Defense Agency conducts studies on the reinforcement of the information collecting system, the improvement of disaster drills with local governments, and the necessary equipment for rescue and relief.
Needless to say, concerning the improvement in information gathering in particular, the initial conveyance of information this time around made one doubt if the Defense Agency and the SDF had a full and effective system.
At 7:14 am on the day of the earthquake, a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter surveyed Kobe City and Awaji Island, and returned at 8:50 am, reporting to the GSDF Middle Army headquarters that "the damage is extensive."
Yet this piece of information did not pass beyond the Middle Army headquarters, reaching neither the Director General of the Defense Agency nor the National Land Agency's Disaster Prevention Bureau, let alone the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
Even though the SDF claims that it followed the existing manual such as the Disaster Measures Basic Law, should they not have acted according to the circumstances and transmitted such information to Tokyo in order to rescue human lives and to prevent further damage?
Emergency calls took a long time in securing enough rescue members and many of them reside outside the bases, so improvement should be made in this area.
The Defense Agency should undertake a radical review of the present system in order to establish the ways and means of collecting and transmitting information that enhance the chief commander's ability to make decisions as well as to make its crisis management capacity reliable.
With the successive approvals by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Welfare of the gene therapy implementation protocols applied by Hokkaido University Medical Hospital, it is expected that the first gene therapy in Japan will soon be put into practice.
While organ transplants from the brain-dead, another cutting-edge procedure, have become a common medical procedure in Europe and the US, it has yet to gain public support in Japan.
As such, gene therapy has taken a lead.
The team from Hokkaido University is planning a gene therapy for a four-year-old boy who has severe immunodeficiency due to the abnormality of genes that create ADA, a type of enzyme.
Many patients with ADA deficiency die by the age of four or five due to an infection.
Therefore, Hokkaido University hoped for the approval of the implementation of gene therapy as soon as possible.
Some members among the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Evaluation Council for Clinical Research on Gene Therapy and the Gene Therapy Clinical Research Committee of the Council of Science, Ministry of Education, showed their understanding of the situation.
On the other hand, there was the concern that if they rush to approve the implementation of gene therapy and an undesirable result turns out, then social criticism would increase, and it will fall into the same trap as in the case for transplants from brain-dead donors.
The Hokkaido University team not only studied gene therapy for ADA deficiency in the US but will also be provided by the US with the neutralized virus called vector used for carrying normal genes in the therapy.
However, it turned out that there had not been enough data concerning the safety of vector.
Some councillors of the review committee voiced, "the safety of vector should be thoroughly checked from scratch in Japan."
Eventually, it was decided that Hokkaido University would provide additional safety data from the United States, and it was arranged to have the US check on whether or not the neutralized virus is increasing during a therapy.
Moreover, a number of committee members pointed out that the method of obtaining consent from the patients or family members was flawed, therefore Hokkaido University decided to make corrections on the informed consent form and provide the explanation all over again.
Yet the quick approval within less than six months after the submission seems a little too hasty, and the concern remains in situations such as the case of emergency situations since the therapy is dependent on the US.
Hokkaido University needs to carefully consider this.
It is hoped that the therapy be carried forward cautiously, while putting a great deal of effort in dealing with patients and their families.
Not only genetic diseases but also AIDS and cancer are the targets of gene therapy abroad.
Japan is also heading in the same direction, but so far ADA deficiency has been the only disorder in which genetic therapy is proven to be effective.
It will be quite a long time before gene therapy is firmly established.
In that sense, it is not desirable for Japan to neglect the basic research on gene therapy and completely depend on the US.
We should immediately develop our own system so that we will be able to develop the vector and check its safety on our own.
There were considerable problems with the review structure for this case.
It was so confusing: the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education have each set up independent organizations yet built a task force with the same members under them.
While we can applaud the Ministry of Health and Welfare for making the central evaluation council open to the public, the Ministry of Education held its committee behind closed doors.
It is necessary for them to conduct discussions in a more straightforward manner as well as to make them open to the public even more.
Gene therapy controls genes, and once it goes a little too far, it steps into the boundary of euphenics.
On the other hand it is also called "the ultimate treatment," and there is great hope for it.
A thorough discussion on its safety and ethical aspects would lead to a greater level of understanding in society and provide a passage towards its firm establishment.
Prior to the completion of the proposed review of government-affiliated public corporations which is expected to take place on the 10th, a sudden proposal to set up an advisory committee on the consolidation of government-affiliated financial institutions was put forward by some members of the government and the ruling parties, and this has caused a growing, unexpected tension.
Looking back on the process briefly, Kiyoshi Mizuno, the head of the ruling coalition's project team on administrative reform, called for the consolidation of some government-affiliated financial institutions: Japan Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Japan, and Hokkaido-Tohoku Development Finance Public Corporation as one; the People's Finance Corporation, Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business, and Environmental Sanitation Business Finance Corporation as one institution.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, among others, opposed this and proposed an advisory committee.
The viewpoint that the six institutions subject to consolidation make up the core of the government loan and investment program, and should therefore be considered together with the existence of postal savings and so forth, is logical in its own way.
The problems concerning the "public funds intermediary system," a system based on investment and loans unique to our country, have been debated for many years.
The savings are collected through the postal savings which functions as an "entrance," and the gathered funds are deposited in the fund management department.
Then they are used for investment and loan through the government-affiliated financial institutions, or the "exit."
It may not have been problematic if this system remained just complementary to the private financial industry, but in reality it kept on expanding, its balance reaching 200 trillion yen in both postal savings and the fund management department.
If these are considered as one bank, then it is the largest bank in the world.
And they are engaged in intense competition with private financial institutions at the "entrance" and "exit" of the postal savings.
It is even called the "One Hundred Years' War."
There is no doubt that it is high time to radically review the system.
In that sense, we have no objection to the establishment of an advisory committee to examine the problems.
In reality, however, it reeked of a political maneuver: the advisory committee might have been proposed as a means to delay the consolidation of the government-affiliated financial institutions.
One senior official of the Ministry of Finance clearly expresses his dissatisfaction about the consolidation of Japan Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Japan, saying, "the Ministry of Finance is proposing the privatization of the salt business. Why that alone is not enough?"
Moreover, the officials of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry are even negative about the consolidation of the People's Finance Corporation and Small Business Finance Corporation, and are poised to completely oppose the consolidation of the three institutions including the Environmental Sanitation Business Financing Corporation controlled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
It is a rhetoric commonly used by the government officials: "partial reform is not possible without a comprehensive blueprint."
But this is not acceptable.
The reason is that the six institutions in question are all considered to have either fulfilled their "mission demanded by an era" or very close to that state.
At least we cannot find a reason to keep on expanding them as had been up to now.
Japan Development Bank, for example, played a major role during the postwar reconstruction period but now private financial institutions can alternatively handle most of the financing.
This is also the case with People's Finance Corporation and Small Business Finance Corporation.
Ever since Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama announced the review of government-affiliated corporations, we have demanded that the government put in serious efforts to tackle it.
We especially hoped for substantial reforms such as abolition and/or drastic downsizing rather than consolidations for the sake of adjusting the number of institutions.
As such, we cannot stop at just consolidation which is not even considered a small step.
At the very least, we expect Prime Minister Murayama to never change the deadline set for the 10th, and carry out the reducing the number of presidents and executives along with the consolidation of the six institutions.
How can the damaged houses and buildings be pulled down most efficiently?
How can we quickly remove the huge amount of debris and waste material?
The disaster area's problems have become serious.
We should establish at once rules and strictly enforce them.
It has reached the point where there are concerns about the effect on the health of workers and passerbys from the dust scattered by the demolition of large buildings in Kobe and Sannomiya.
This problem must not be neglected.
It is a shame that the basic rule of tearing down buildings, where they are covered with a sheet and constantly sprayed with water, is hardly observed.
It is understandable that the operation has been rushed in order to prevent a second disaster due to aftershocks, and water use has been restricted due to disrupted water supply.
Yet this does not mean that "dust pollution" should be tolerated.
In particular, we must prevent the scattering of asbestos used in older buildings for fireproof purpose.
This is because it is a hazardous substance and its link to lung cancer has raised much concern.
It must be removed before tearing down the building, and the workers must be strongly advised to wear dust respirators
We expect the Environment Agency, which began an investigation on concentration levels, to collect a wide range of information and disclose detailed results.
Once a high concentration of contamination is confirmed, the emission source must be identified, and the working method must be improved immediately.
In Hyogo Prefecture, there are approximately 110,000 buildings that need to be torn down and removed, and over 10,000,000 tons of debris and waste material if we include those of public facilities.
A speedy disposal is desired in order to put the reconstruction of the community back on track.
However, it is estimated that the disposal will take more than a year in the three cities, namely, Kobe, Nishinomiya and Ashiya.
We want more effort to speed up the process.
As for the general residential buildings, a decision to use public fund removed any financial burden on their part.
But procedures such as "preliminary inspection, permission and clearance" are cumbersome and complicated, and which are assigned to different sections in city hall.
Extreme dissatisfaction has been expressed by the disaster victims saying "we are required to make similar applications a number of times, but no progress has been made."
In addition, since the demolition and removal are premised on victim's consent, extra work is required for such things as confirming the whereabouts of the person in question, and this causes poor progress in the operation itself.
It is understandable that the administration is trying to be careful, but could they not integrate the application procedures?
Also, to make up for the labor shortage, couldn't further assistance be asked from the neighboring municipalities?
These issues should be re-examined.
The transportation of debris and waste material to the temporary storage sites also faces many challenges.
Some municipalities have not yet completely secured such sites.
The rubble left on the street is not only dangerous but also obstructs traffic.
The "debris pollution" should be eliminated right away.
Each city should begin by making an effort to secure the sites, and if the sites are not available, then cooperation from a wide area may be requested.
On the other hand, moves such as those taken by some major companies in offering vacant factory lots are highly welcome.
We would like to call for further cooperation.
Also, for the necessary transportation, a total of 2.5 million four-ton trucks is estimated to be required.
When we checked the temporary dumpsite at Koshienhama in Nishinomiya City, about 300 dump trucks and trucks were lining up bumper-to-bumper near the entrance area.
It seems unavoidable that the traffic jam will worsen markedly in the downtown area once the demolition and removal are well underway, and the building materials start coming in at the same time.
In order to reduce "dump truck pollution," we need to secure the temporary dumpsites as soon as possible.
From the point of view of placing emphasis on "reconstruction-related matters," the order of priority concerning road-use should be promptly reviewed.
It may also be necessary to strive for efficient use of the vehicles such as having the vehicles that carry out the rubble to bring in materials on the way back.
It is encouraging that local economic organizations are becoming active towards the rebuilding of the Kansai region's economy that was hard-hit by the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Rebuilding of the economy is an urgent business in order to bring new vigor to the battered area.
The Kansai business community has both the know-how and the ability to get things done, acquired through its partnership with the national and local governments in promoting numerous regional projects.
It is hoped that, this time around, they will fully apply and exercise such expertise and ability for the purpose of reconstruction from the earthquake disaster.
With approximately 300 businessmen attending the Great Hanshin Earthquake Reconstruction Conference held in Osaka City on the 9th by the head office of Kansai Productivity Center and Kansai Association of Corporate Executives, it looked like almost a pep rally.
This fervor should surely be carried into the reconstruction efforts.
The conference heard the reports on the true state of damage presented by the representatives from the quake-stricken communities and companies, and had a grand session where an in-depth debate on 'The Role of Businessmen in Reconstruction and Revitalization' was carried out.
Emergency appeal was adopted including measures and decisions covering a broad range of details.
The problem lies in how to put them into practice.
Many detailed measures were set out, including the mobilization of materials and the labor force for the restoration of lifeline and transit facilities, provision of sites for temporary residences, and cooperation in making company residences, dormitories and other accommodations open to the public.
The local residents will support them.
The decision to demand the government to take special measures in the areas of taxation, public finance, and money and banking in relation to the restoration of production activities and distribution of goods, also leads to indirect support of local governments.
We should note that as a vision for the new regional development it defined an approach that stressed safety in addition to "the development of appealing industries."
The suggestion to create a "volunteer city" is an example of putting lessons to good use.
At the same time, we can also appreciate the decision to "fully cooperate" in the development of the disaster-stricken communities' vision to promote and implement such suggestions.
There is no economy without a community.
We hope business communities develop a new perspective in tandem with the local governments.
The Kansai region consists of two fu (urban prefectures) and five ken (prefectures) including Fukui Prefecture, and it accounts for approximately 17 percent of Japan's GNP; a region whose economic power is comparable to that of Canada.
As its economic activities with Asian nations are on the rise, the effect of this earthquake disaster extends overseas as well.
At the National Conference for the Finance Bureau Chiefs held at the Ministry of Finance the other day, it was reported that personal consumption and industrial activity are expected to slow down, particularly in the Hyogo Prefecture.
An analysis indicating that the delay in import-export transactions would be inevitable due to a functional decline of the Port of Kobe was also presented.
Local industries including the synthetic shoe business which accounts for 70 percent of the national share as well as the brewing industry, which produces the sake Nada-no-ki-ippon, also suffered catastrophic damage.
The Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Kansai Economic Federation each established its own rehabilitation measure task force.
Moreover, senior executives of the related economic organizations came to directly request Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama for support and cooperation.
Economic organizations in the Kansai area have achieved great results thus far in such projects as the construction of the Kansai International Airport and Kansai Cultural and Academic Research City as well as the maintenance of the Osaka Bay Area.
On the other hand, it cannot be denied that "economy-oriented development" caused criticism that it alienated residents in the area and was destroying the environment.
In the opening speech given at the conference, Mr. Seiji Morii, the chairman of Kansai Productivity Center, candidly reflected on the fact that they have been "preoccupied with the pursuit of economic efficiency and comfort alone," and called for the "promotion of a comprehensive urban planning that incorporates a pluralistic and multi-layered safety system."
This is what the residents expect, too.
It is hoped that they become aware of the significance of the role the economic organizations play, and work together and execute the plans without compromise.
The middle-aged woman was squatting down all alone.
She was at an elementary school refuge shelter near JR Shin-Nagata station in Nagata-ku, Kobe City.
She was smoking a cigarette outside the gym where futons were laid all over the floor.
Looking far away, her eyes do not move.
"What shall we do from now on? No idea."
She uttered.
Her health condition is not very good, either.
She worked at a rubber shoe factory.
The employees there numbered less than ten.
It was simple work of wiping the finished shoes clean and putting them into boxes, but it supported her female-only household.
The factory no longer exists.
No one knows if the factory owner is dead or alive.
Uncertainty and worries about employment are creeping upon the disaster victims who survived a life-threatening situation and took refuge in shelters.
If you were employed at a company that possessed a clear definition of employment relationships, then the company system could somehow protect the victim regardless of the company's size, be it small, medium or large.
However, one can imagine that there is a considerable number of cases like this woman in and around Nagata-ku, where there are many small businesses.
They cannot live in their own homes and have lost their jobs.
Their means of income are lost.
Yet, in fact, even in the case of this woman, there is a great chance for her to receive unemployment benefit.
It is the management's responsibility to enter into an unemployment insurance system as long as they are employing someone.
While this is supposed to be the law, in reality many small businesses do not participate in an insurance system in order to avoid the burden of insurance premiums.
Even so, one should submit to the Employment Security Bureau some sort of document proving that he or she was employed anyway, since the area has been designated to be subject to the Law Concerning Special Financial Support to Deal with the Designated Disaster of Extreme Severity.
Then one can receive the unemployment benefit.
Even when the whereabouts of the proprietor is unknown, it only requires the fact of employment.
This is called the retroactive confirmation system of the unemployment insurance.
If there is no document of proof, then a fellow worker's testimony serves the purpose.
The Ministry of Labor states that it hopes to ensure the victims to somehow receive the benefit.
Such measure needs to be made aware all the more among the disaster victims.
If not, unnecessary fears will increase.
Although local media are announcing the information repeatedly, a more thorough PR is still necessary.
This is an unprecedented situation.
While this flexible use of the unemployment insurance has already been communicated to the disaster-striken area, it has not yet been thoroughly understood by the disaster victims.
For example, could the Ministry of Labour establish a team to be sent over to the shelters to promote information about the unemployment benefit?
The local offices of the local governments and Ministry of Labour are quite busy.
However, they could team up with labor-related staff in the central government and neighboring prefectures.
And how about opening the temporary consultation windows in addition to the seventeen existing Employment Service Agencies in Hyogo Prefecture?
Tent offices are good enough.
"Proximity" is vital to the victims.
As an employment measure for the disaster-stricken area, the labor ministry also hammered out several policies including a special measure for providing subsidies for employment adjustment.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, too, already made a proposal to the government concerning the implementation of emergency measures including employment measures.
These are all reasonable propositions.
It is, however, important for the time being to secure the thorough understanding of the measures already in place.
No matter how wonderful the measures are, they mean nothing if they have no use for the disaster victims.
In the medium run, we can have plans such as employment creation through public works projects and securing of workplace through the revitalization of smaller businesses.
Yet what is most important now is the administration's proactiveness.
It is not the time to be bound by precedents.
It has been 25 days since the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
The government's structural plan for recovery has finally gelled.
The establishment of the "Hanshin-Awaji Reconstruction Committee," which draws a blueprint for rebuilding and gives advice to the prime minister, was decided at the cabinet meeting on the 10th.
"Hanshin-Awaji Reconstruction Headquarters," with the prime minister as its chief, will be established shortly.
The delay in the government's initial move in this great earthquake disaster was nothing but a matter of deep regret, and what followed was even extreme confusion.
The government initially established the "Headquarters for Major Disaster Countermeasures" in accordance with the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law, but being surprised by how great the actual damage was, changed it to the "Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters."
When they learned of flaws in their collaboration with the local scene, it set up its "Local Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters."
The bureaucracy adhering to precedents as well as the government's "vertical administrative" system of agencies only looking after their own duties spurred the confusion.
It was only natural that the world's mass media pointed to the government's lack of policy in contrast to how the victims bravely picked themselves up.
Though belatedly, it attempts to unify the reconstruction work by establishing the "Reconstruction Committee" and "Reconstruction Headquarters": it is a good chance to start afresh and reconstruct the whole system.
Japan's urban reconstruction has been disorderly and haphazard with no need to bring up the Great Kanto Earthquake and postwar confusions immediately after the Second World War.
It tended to place a high priority on a temporary recovery.
Katakana spelling designated for loan words better suits this international city of Kobe than Chinese-style spelling; however, in contrast to its colorful appearance, this city has traditionally been supported by its heavy industries and smaller businesses.
Skillfully transforming this industrial structure, Kobe carried out a highly motivated urban development which served a dual purpose: creation of residential land by carving the hills of Mt. Rokko; and, by using the surplus soil, creation of an offshore city.
This was the result of the efforts by several former city mayors and the wisdom of its citizens, but all at once it vanished into smoke with this earthquake.
The restoration of Kobe should not be a shortsighted "recovery," but rather it should intend to be an all-out "reconstruction," which can become the model for a disaster-prevention city for the 21st century.
If we choose Kobe Port as one of the examples, we may expect a fundamental change in the distribution system during the several years of reconstruction, and once a ship decides not to come to the port, its return is not guaranteed.
It may be expected that among the local companies some will leave Kobe.
It is essential to secure a large public space for the creation of a disaster-resistant city, but this will require restriction of private rights.
Therefore, it is a natural sentiment to go for "recovery" rather than "reconstruction" that means no progress made from the experience.
If the government makes a serious effort to gain the understanding of citizens, perhaps the citizens would demonstrate their wisdom and unite their efforts, just as they had done rising strongly from the burnt ruins 50 years ago.
It is hoped that the government fully support all these efforts by the citizens of the Awaji and Hanshin area, and not only those in Kobe.
It is also hoped that the reconstruction committee puts forth ideas without regrets.
Though we are not using an example from abroad just because it is easy to find, there is a well known story involving the former Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Schmidt: When Schmidt was the internal affairs minister of Hamburg, the city state was hit by a major flood, he saved the lives of 19,000 people by boldly spearheading the rescue project.
Former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Mr. Schmidt's senior, also proceeded with the reconstruction of Cologne when he was the mayor of the city by securing a large open space in a wise decision to turn all the burnt ruins of war into city-owned land.
Backed by their reputed leadership ability, both men solidified their positions as politicians, but now our Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama is nowhere near close to them in comparison.
Yet knowing that one would like to make a request.
Reconstruction is a race against time and rests on the ability to conceive ideas for development after ascertaining the future, therefore political leadership is needed more than anything else for reconstruction.
It is Prime Minister Murayama who sits at the heart of reconstruction.
He should keep this in mind.
Former US Senator J. William Fulbright who passed away on the 9th was known as a politician who never stopped opposing military interventionism, expounding a high standard of internationalism.
There are two directions observed in US diplomacy: isolationism and internationalism.
Traditional US diplomacy was that of isolationism until Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
America, however, shifted to internationalism overnight once national sentiments exploded with the Pearl Harbor attack.
American post-war diplomacy has been called internationalism or interventionism in the US.
The terms have been used without a clear distinction between internationalism and military interventionism.
Mr. Fulbright stressed the wrongness of military interventionism, and kept emphasizing on taking the course of sound internationalism through human interaction and education.
During the Vietnam War, he became skeptical about the information concerning "North Vietnam's attack on US naval vessels" in the Tonkin Gulf incident, and succeeded in making a law restricting presidential war power.
As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, what Mr. Fulbright kept on advocating for a diplomacy based on accurate information and realism.
He thoroughly established Congress's role in checking information and policies without swallowing information from the president and government agencies such as the State Department and the Pentagon.
The Japanese Diet and politicians should learn from this spirit.
Mr. Fulbright continued to oppose the simplistic "anti-communism" and "policy of containment toward the Soviet Union" which determined the nature of American post-war diplomacy.
In the midst of the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union in 1964, he proposed that "America should embark on constructing a bridge of reconciliation with the communist world."
Behind his internationalism was the regret that the US did not join the League of Nations after World War I, sticking to isolationism.
He made his view explicit, saying that this isolationism had lead to World War II, causing crisis in the international community.
During the war in 1943, this reflection led him to have Congress adopt a resolution requesting the "establishment of an international organization to maintain permanent peace as well as its participation by the US."
This in turn lead to the establishment of the United Nations.
It is well known that after the war the Japan-US Fulbright Exchange Program came out of his regret over the atomic bombing.
Mr. Fulbright criticized the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as "they were not necessary."
The Fulbright Exchange Program was supported by a philosophy that it is the "young people's long-term stay and exchange through academic research" that creates international peace.
It is said that he had hoped the exchanges would promote the understanding that internationalism truly begins when one loses "one's arrogance that his or her nation is special and the most superior in the world."
He was said to have acquired such an idea in his youth when he was studying in the UK.
He spoke of his experience living in the UK as a "culture shock" even though the same language was spoken there as in his home country.
This appears to have led him to think that a mutual understanding at an international level would be difficult to achieve without ever experiencing culture shock.
The Fulbright Exchange Program was also criticized for being a "political tactic to create pro-Americans."
However, what Mr. Fulbright advocated was not for the interest of the US but the promotion of sound internationalism.
The years of overseas residency of young people and academic research steadily contributed to the establishment of mutual understanding on an international level and detente.
There is much that Japanese international exchange programs can learn from his philosophy.
From a distance, the Great Hanshin Earthquake came as a fresh reminder of the importance and greatness of manufacturing in the context of the Japanese economy.
As a result of closing down disaster-stricken factories, there is a shortage of supply of special parts and materials that are made only in the Hanshin area, and this is beginning to affect the production activity not only in Japan but also in Asian nations.
This tells us that companies that possess goods and know-how that " cannot be duplicated by others," or "only-one" (one-of-a-kind) products and technologies, are concentrated in the Hanshin area.
Such business groups can be seen nationwide.
Fifty years have passed since the end of Second World War.
It has been said that the strength of Japan's economy lie in the single-minded pursuit by each company to expand market share and the ability to improve technologies developed in the West.
However, reality surpassed this recognition.
It is a shift from being "number one to only-one," if we try to sound like a marketing copy.
It is this bold challenge that is the greatest driving force behind the rebuilding of Japan's economy, which faces the problem of deindustrialization.
There is a hi-tech company called Mitsui High-tec in Yahatanishi-ku, Kita-Kyushu City.
The course taken by the president Yoshiaki Mitsui, who founded the company 46 years ago literally from scratch, is a typical example of the persistent challenge to be the one-of-a-kind.
Mr. Mitsui was born in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture.
He lost his parents when he was very young, and set to work at Yaskawa Electric Manufacturing Co. in Kita-Kyushu as a mold maker.
He was 14 years of age.
A metallic mold is a mold form to stamp out a part such as a mortar into a specific shape.
To stamp out solid steel requires hardness and precision.
At that time, metal molds were produced by repeating the heat treatment and filing, just like making a Japanese sword.
It was a field much governed by the craftman's hunch.
He was conscripted 8 years later, and became in charge of the maintenance of airplanes at the Sasebo Marine Corps.
After the end of the war, he returned to Yaskawa Electric Manufacturing.
If his sole career was that of a craftsman, his life would have been completely different.
When he observed, though indirectly, the US strategy focused on quantity in the marine's airplane repair shop, he could no longer remain in a craftsman's world.
He apparently thought that the "era of mass-production of molds has arrived."
He was 27 then.
He started his own business with two partners.
He had no hope of success.
No money, either.
This launch of a new enterprise coincided with Japan's economic re-start from the burning ruins of war.
At first there was nothing but trouble.
The molding was only recognized as a part of the production process, nothing more.
Nobody listened to him even when he walked himself lame trying to take orders.
But then someone said to him, "if you can halve the delivery schedule, then we can order from you."
By making a 24-hour shift among the three of them, they were able to meet the customer's orders.
Thanks to their diligence, the company steadily grew, and the number of employees rose; however, it still remained within the category of subcontractor factory.
"There's no other way for us to grow than to produce a unique type of mold in Japan."
Mr. Mitsui became obsessively interested in this idea, and attempted to make molds using tungsten carbide, known as cemented carbide.
He consulted university laboratories and national research institutions but received no response.
It is impossible to scrape against the hardest material.
This story is like the etymological explanation of the word "contradiction."
A scene provided the answer.
When he joined the Productivity Center's delegation to the US he visited a diamond-processing factory.
They were grinding diamond with diamond.
There he had an inspiration: "This is it!"
Filing was enabled by giving velocity to the diamond which functioned as a file.
Now all he had to do was to repeat numerous experiments with persistence.
He experimented changing the velocity and angles until he finally succeeded in developing a tungsten carbide die.
It marked the birth of the "one of a kind" metal mold far beyond common knowledge at that time.
It was also the milestone that led sales to grow in leaps and bounds, and now the company has established its status as an excellent company which focuses on metal molds and integrated circuit manufacturing and is listed in the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Mr. Mistui, who enjoys visiting his factories in his working clothes even now, recollects, "We made it this far because we have worked frantically to meet our users' needs. Japanese users are the most demanding in the world in all areas including product quality, delivery schedule, and after-sales services. So we worked like hell to meet them."
In business administration it is referred to as the "recipients' mind-set."
He also asserts that the driving force to develop such one-of-a-kind technology comes from the workplace.
It may be developed in a laboratory, but his actual feeling is it is the result of struggles encountered during the manufacturing process.
It is said that the Japanese economy has been hit by the sharp rise in the yen, and its system as a whole has been experiencing institutional fatigue.
Above all, there is a strong concern about deindustrialization, with many corporations moving their production bases overseas.
The answer by Mr. Mitsui, who has carried out in practice his "only-one" philosophy, is clear-cut.
"There is nothing other than enhancing the performance at the production site. That's the only way to prevent the hollowing-out of technologies."
It is not just words: he built a technical training facility within the company-owned property, and has continued to provide basic employee education on lathing, welding and other techniques.
It is said that this facility is open to non-employees of the company as well as to trainees from overseas.
There are numerous problems the Japanese economy faces, and Mr. Mitsui's answer may be just one of many.
Yet his words backed by experience carry weight.
With regards to the integration and rationalization of the government-affiliated corporations, which Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama declared to address even if he had to put the fate of the Cabinet at stake, decisions have been made on the abolition and privatization of 3 corporations as well as the consolidation of 14 corporations; however, the review of government-affiliated financial institutions, the main focus of this discussion, has been postponed until after May when nationwide local elections will be over.
If we are to grade the details of the integration, regrettably it will get a failing grade.
It is at its best just a numbers game, and none of them leads to a large-scale cut in expenditure.
The lack of leadership by Mr. Murayama, who had announced an official commitment to "conduct a review by the end of March" and then took no effective action, is too embarrassing to see and he faces a heavy responsibility.
It can be said that carrying out administrative reform and increasing the consumption tax rate have come in as a package.
As has been pointed out repeatedly, this administrative reform started with the thought that as long as the government requires citizens to shoulder a greater burden it should make an effort to streamline its own system.
It also mainly aims for, along with reducing the negative effects of "vertical administration," trimming down the bloated bureaucracy and rebuilding administrative organizations that are suitable for current conditions.
The integration and rationalization of the government-affiliated corporations would have marked its first step.
Yet it resulted in the betrayal of public expectations.
Until these decisions were made, the labyrinthine drama named "adjustment" played out by the government and ruling coalition parties was nothing but a ridiculous display.
It fell into disarray as a multitude of political elements and calculations were intricately intertwined with one another, including the power game among the executive members who aimed for a "post Murayama"and the upcoming leadership election for the Democratic Liberal Party this fall, the feud between the Democratic Liberal Party and the New Party Sakigake, led by the finance minister Masayoshi Takemura, which upholds the idea of the "promotion of administrative reform" banner, and the resistance by bureaucrats who were wary of the decrease in the plum jobs via the amakudari system.
This must have been the result of their preoccupation with political fighting, to the extent that they forgot the purpose for and the idea of reviewing government-affiliated corporations.
The first point to address with regard to the failure is the issue of reviewing government-affiliated financial institutions, which emerged in the final stage but ended up being shunted aside.
We have strongly insisted that the review must not be postponed since among such financial institutions were those which have fulfilled the mission once demanded of them by the sign of the times or those which were quite close to achieving it.
It is true that proposals for review emerged, such as the integration of Japan Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Japan, the integration of Japan Development Bank and Hokkaido-Tohoku Development Finance Public Corporation as well as the unification of the three financial public corporations, namely, People's Finance Corporation, Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business, and Environmental Sanitation Business Finance Corporation; in the end, however, the proposals all became lost in the conflicts among the political parties.
The second problem is that in spite of the statement to abolish, privatize and integrate a total of 17 corporations, the effectiveness of rationalization could hardly be expected if we look at the details.
For example, the only corporation deemed to be abolished is the Social Development Research Institute, which is overseen by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, an organization that employs only 23 people.
Speaking of integration, if it is like the case of Japan Raw Silk and Sugar Stabilization Agency as well as the Livestock Industry Promotion Corporation where business continued as before even after the unification, then it is in effect a continuation under a different name, with just one less president's position.
In the recently compiled "initial recommendation on the administrative reform," the New Frontier Party makes specific proposals including the establishment of the "Sunset Law" which would review all the quasi-government corporations within five years, and in case of unification, the reduction of the number of executives to less than 70 percent of that prior to the unification.
The government and the ruling coalition parties state that in future they will conduct a radical review of not only government-affiliated corporations but also the government's investment and loan programs in their entirety, but the issues addressed by the New Frontier Party should serve as a good reference.
The reform of government-affiliated corporations must not end here.
A number of allegations and issues emerged with the two failed credit unions in Tokyo.
The two credit unions in question, Tokyo Kyowa Credit Union and Anzen Credit Union, held an extraordinary meeting for their representatives, and resolved to dissolve the unions and business and to transfer their business to a new bank, as well as to pursue the former officers' responsibilities under both civil and criminal codes.
The failures of both credit unions were caused by reckless management, and yet why must public money be used to save them?
Why is it that city banks and other financial institutions across the nation that bear no relation to these credit unions have to pitch in and donate funds to the new takeover bank?
This type of arrangement is inconceivable in the West.
Moreover, questions were raised about the relationship between Mr. Harunori Takahashi, the former chairman of Tokyo Kyowa Credit Union, and some powerful politicians, high-level bureaucrats, and financial officials.
While we demand a thorough investigation by the investigative authorities, we also hope that the parties concerned disclose the truth by themselves.
A partial list of the two credit unions' large-amount depositors has been made public, and it includes two accounts over 10 billion yen.
No responsibility is questioned against those wishful speculators who deposited the large amount of over a double-digit million yen, which is said to account for 90 percent of total deposits.
We are concerned that this type of arrangement leads to the promotion of moral hazard, but the real problem is the authorities' perception that if taking responsibility is questioned too soon, it will create chaos in the financial system as there are other financial institutions equally unreliable.
If we suppose that is the reality, then it is terrifying.
Then what steps should we take in order to prevent moral hazard?
Can we expect that, over time, financial institutions will gain strength, and normalize themselves as a matter of course?
That is the problem.
Based on common sense, it is important to try to stabilize the financial system without causing moral hazard.
Financial organizations should disclose adequate information to depositors, and depositors should then select financial organizations based on such information and deposit their money with the awareness of the risks involved.
There should be a rational decision-making system which makes sense to all that determines whether or not to bankrupt a financial organization once it fails.
We also need a measure to prevent the repercussions from the effect of bankruptcy of financial institutions.
Yet in contrast to the ideal, in reality there was not enough disclosure and in the cases of the two credit unions their business activities were virtually non-observable from the outside.
The financial authorities must make more serious effort in the disclosure of information.
Consensus-building on the necessity of bankruptcy has also been slow.
The Diet should have more in-depth discussions on the handling of failed financial institutions.
What is demanded is the development of a transparent and fair decision-making system.
In accordance with Article 25 of the Bank of Japan Law, public funds cannot be used unlimitedly at the discretion of the Bank of Japan Governor and Finance Minster without the approval from the Diet if for the purpose of the "preservation and development of the credit system."
It is essential to maintain financial order.
Once more, we urge the Diet not just to rely on the judgment of the authorities, but also to discuss this issue from the standpoint of the national economy.
The trouble concerning the two credit unions is sending warning signals to Japan's financial system.
Europe and the United States, too, had a similar experience in the past, but they succeeded in applying a "surgical procedure" which involved a bold injection of financial resources.
Can Japan overcome its present crisis by putting off these problems?
Management needs a philosophy.
Among those one-of-a-kind companies targeting a specific market there are many that are backed by their management philosophy to develop creative human resources and established core technologies no other company in the field can follow.
There is Maekawa Manufacturing which has its main office in Koto ward, Tokyo.
This company has thrived on the manufacturing of industrial freezing machines, with its overall sales increasing from 80 billion yen to 100 billion yen in the past 5 years even during the recent recession.
If you visit their so-called headquarter building, you will find a ten-storey, apartment-like structure.
In the past, the headquarters occupied up to the third floor and the upper floors were leased out.
The reception room I was led to was a simple meeting room converted from an apartment room.
There was no picture on the wall.
There are many things ordinary companies have but "lacking" in this company.
There are no offices for the president or upper management.
No dining room for the executives.
No personnel department.
There are no department or section to begin with.
Titles such as manager of a department or section are only used externally.
There is virtually no debt.
"Since there is no need to raise money, we don't bother being listed on the stock market."
The company did not play with stocks or real estate during the bubble period.
It does not set a target number for the business.
If numbers have wings, it "hinders truly unique creativity and unrestrained production activities," they say.
Mr. Masao Maekawa, the president, was in the corner of a large room on the second floor.
The senior managing directors and managing directors are scattered about in the center of the room having regular employees sitting next to them and using desks and chairs which are the same as others.
It is possible to continue to work after one's retirement at age 60 after receiving severance pay.
"When you are in your 20s you are in a trial-and-error phase, and in your 30s you set your directions in life. The name of the game is really the 50 years between your 40s and 80s,"President Maekawa says.
Some workers in the room seem to be in their 80s.
The company has been in business for 71 years.
The current president succeeded from the first one, Mr. Kisaku Maekawa.
The company started all over again from the burnt ruins of the last war.
In 1955 it had seven ice plants in Tokyo, with its employees numbering about 150.
At that time, it organized itself into a system made up of departments and sections, just like ordinary companies.
While this helped increase the productivity, it created disharmony in relationships.
In its attempt to encourage a more "human-focused" lifestyle, it adopted a group system around 1970, and then since about 1980 it began converting those groups into independent corporations one after another, beginning with those engaged in actual manufacturing.
At present, this company, which employs 1700 domestic and 800 overseas employees, is branched into more than 100 independent corporations.
Branch offices throughout Japan are all independent corporations.
The Ibaraki plant, one of its manufacturing bases, has been divided into six companies according to their products.
Maekawa Manufacturing Ski & Skate System, which was incorporated last year, has eight employees which includes three directors.
On average, one company has approximately 25 employees who cover all the work from general administration, sales, to accounting.
Once incorporated, the material transfer between the branch companies becomes a matter of buying and selling, but this in turn creates extra work such as the required procedures and handling for these activities.
However, Mr. Shigeo Sakakibara, the former vice president and present advisor says that the workers developed a sense of involvement in the company's survival, and "to make decisions on the settlement of ten or one hundred million yen is intimidating but fascinating. They will be conscious of their responsibilities as the management and more enthusiastic."
For the salaryman, their time spent at work occupies a significant part of their lives.
If it were a painful place, it would bring the worst misfortune upon their lives.
Therefore, the company must be a place where an employee is happy.
President Maekawa has aimed for quality rather than quantity based on his own theory: "Creating is living, not competing."
Taking freezing machines as an example, customers' needs are different from one to another.
Words fall short to articulate such needs.
At Maekawa Manufacturing, specialists' groups including mechanical and electrical engineers go out and listen to their clients when making suggestions.
And if a plant is created as a result, it is just one single product they can sell.
Pursuit of quantity leads to price slashing, but pursuit of quality leads to survival.
President Maekawa says, "Other companies have chased quantity but we have always sold quality. It is the era of quality now. As a result, quantity increased for us."
Their method of hiring is unique as well.
At the interview, the company does not ask questions.
"You ask us questions since you are more eager to know about our company," they say.
For now, the decision to hire an employee does not lie with the company; it is up to the individual applying for the job and no one is turned down.
Then, after joining the company, you have to decide your own placement including a position overseas.
Since the company is divided into more than 100 independent corporations, the new employees try hard to gather information for two or three months before they decide where to go.
Even after the placement, no one gives them any directions.
They are left alone at work since they can contribute very little.
Others are waiting for them to get something going on their own.
Maekawa Manufacturing has been aiming at the creation of a craft workers' group, a community centering on a master craftsman which goes back to the Edo period.
In this environment the company trains the employees everything, from sales, design to construction work.
"Today's education crams one's head with knowledge, but it neither teaches how to understand people nor makes one understand oneself. Just like the apprentice system of the old days, one spends two years to know oneself, doing cleaning work or the like."
Maekawa Manufacturing's unique company culture is hard to imitate, and one might feel distant from it.
But their attempt to place respect for humanity and creativity as their original starting point so that individuals and organizations may coexist harmoniously carries a universal message for any company.
Yukiguni Maitake is another "only-one" company: it suddenly rose to success from a farming village in a heavy snowfall area.
It is located in Muikamachi, Minamiuonuma-gun, Niigata Prefecture, a town with a population of less than 30,000.
The fourteen-storey company building was standing tall in a snowstorm.
This is the headquarters of Yukiguni Maitake Corporation that accounts for a nationwide 70 percent share of the cultivation of maitake, the premium mushrooms.
It is surrounded by rice fields.
At present, this company produces 55 tons of maitake mushrooms per day, and it has a nationwide sales channel.
Do not think of this as "just mushrooms."
In order to have a stable mass production of maitake mushrooms, which require delicate growth conditions, it is essential to command a delicate cultivation technique and high-level environmental control technology.
These technique and technologies are the biggest company secret.
The company is capitalized at about 1.59 billion yen, with approximately 6.4 billion yen in sales in fiscal 1993 and approximately 700 employees including part-time workers.
Last March it was listed on the Niigata Stock Exchange.
Having established the business only 13 years ago, the president Yoshinobu Ohira, who at first glance appears to be an ordinary "salary man," speaks of the future outlook of his company based in a farming village.
"With a focus on mushrooms, I would like to sell a variety of food items. I hope to develop this home region of Uonuma into one big biofarm."
Mr. Ohira was born into a farmer's family in the mountain area of Muika-machi shortly after the war in 1948.
The family's rice field was only 1 tan (991.7 m2) in size.
Since childhood, his biggest dream was to break free from poverty.
Though to a varying degree, the desire to "escape from poverty" was shared by all Japanese after the war.
After graduating from junior high school, Mr. Ohira found a job in Kanagawa Prefecture, but he returned home after about two years and started working at an electrical parts factory which had ventured into his native home.
However, Mr. Ohira, who felt the educational "glass ceiling" through this salary man experience, pushed away his parents' objections and chose to work for himself after giving up his relatively stable life as a part-time farmer.
He was 26 years old then.
Mr. Ohira succeeded in cultivating soy sprouts, which were not popular yet, but in due time recognized the potential of maitake mushrooms, and decided this was the product he should focus on.
He was convinced that if he succeeded in the mass production of maitake mushrooms his company would become the "only one" in the industry since its artificial cultivation had just begun and both the number of producers and production quantity were limited across the country.
After repeated trials-and-errors, forgetting to eat and sleep, he finally discovered a unique mass-production technology.
Thus he launched the production of mushrooms at 80 kg per day in
In July 1983, he established Yukiguni Maitake Corporation with 10 million yen capital, and it has continued to grow remarkably ever since.
Yet its success did not happen by chance or luck.
It was achieved through a rational business practice that can be generalized.
Mr. Ohira came up with three conditions when establishing his maitake mushroom business.
First, his company must have a unique production technology superior to other companies'.
Second, the company adopts a "direct from farm" distribution system where the product is delivered directly to produce markets and mass merchandisers without going through the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) whose distribution route is quite complicated.
Third, the company never provides more than 20 percent share to a particular mass merchandiser in order to protect the "producer's lead."
He did not copy these strategies from someone else, but created them on his own.
Another important contributing factor not to be ignored is the fact that from the start Mr. Ohira aimed for the price-slashing of maitake mushrooms as a result of their mass production.
Maitake mushrooms can be sold at a high price to some degree.
It is therefore possible to earn the founder's profit that way, but Mr. Ohira chose instead to lower the price and increase consumption.
While it is the producer's morals to provide quality merchandise at a low price, lowering the price could also restrict the competitor's entry into the market.
Because of this strategy, Mr. Ohira aimed for a mass-production system from the beginning.
Yet it required a considerable amount of money for capital investment.
Mr. Ohira had the passion and confidence but no assets.
Banks were reluctant to finance him.
Then Mr. Ohira bought a large amount of life insurance.
He thought of using this as security.
Recognizing his determination, a local bank had come to take the bold move of financing his company.
We could say that Mr. Ohira's zeal and personality finally moved the bank into action.
Here, we can see an example of a favorable bond between a bank and a venture business.
For the Japanese economy which is experiencing a drop in vitality half a century after the Second World War, it is very important now to discover unknown companies with great potential, and to support and nurture them.
No matter what idea, technology and desire you may have, you cannot start a business enterprise without money.
Mr. Motohira Nakayama, a special advisor for the Industrial Bank of Japan, once listed the conditions for judging whether or not the bank should finance a company: 1. the proprietor's personality and qualifications; 2. company culture; and, 3. assets.
In reality, the order may be reversed due to the bank's emphasis on security in many cases.
It is true that financing a venture company accompanies risks.
The judgment is difficult, but bankers are required to have personal insight and be decisive, rather than a mechanical one.
At the same time, there is a pressing need to promote systematic reforms such as those for the stock market so that a more positive investment would be made in venture businesses, as in the United States.
The experience of Yukiguni Maitake Corporation teaches us what conditions may be necessary to successfully utilize a business opportunity.
Needless to say, the resolution and creative ingenuity of an entrepreneur are the most important requirements, but, in addition, it is extremely vital for one to have financial support.
One month ago on the 17th southern Hyogo Prefecture encountered "sudden destruction."
For several days following that, most of the residents of the disaster-stricken area functioned as rescue workers, firefighters, and doctors.
Together they rescued people buried alive, doused fires, and treated the injured.
Disregarding their own safety, they battled against the disaster doggedly.
This is an excellent example of how human beings can act without losing their dignity, when facing a kind of "anarchy" where public agencies, which should be dependable, are helpless.
Since then, their underlying spirit of cheerfully helping and encouraging one another has not changed since.
The earthquake made us realize the terrible power of nature; but we also learned the splendor of humanity during the one month following the quake.
The quake-stricken area has now begun to move towards rebuilding.
And yet, the starting point of the reconstruction plan should be the "residents' spirit" shared in the quake-stricken communities.
If we look at it this way, the perspectives essential to the plan reveal themselves.
We strongly demand the government and local authorities to implement a reconstruction plan that accommodates the residents' spirit.
The first perspective we need is to recognize the importance of maintaining the residents' emotional ties that have sustained the quake-stricken communities, in addition to dealing with tangibles such as buildings and roads.
Along the road to reconstruction, one can expect that conflicts of interest may occur among the residents.
The communities will enter a phase in which touching tales alone are not sufficient.
Ms. Seiko Tanabe, an writer and also a disaster-victim, states in her contribution to our paper: "Unlike material things such as buildings, the human heart and spirit neither collapse nor disappear. If we put our hearts together we can start all over again."
She is absolutely right.
The process of reconstruction should neither incite the conflicts among the residents nor destroy their solidarity.
Moreover, discrimination against foreigners and persons with low-income should not be allowed.
It is hoped that the plan can transform the spirit of "independence and mutual assistance" in the disaster area to vital energy towards reconstruction.
The second perspective is the realization of the reconstruction through the residents' participation in the true sense.
Given the paralysis of government agencies, there is no better example than this disaster, which demonstrates how residents themselves may maintain order and life in the disaster area.
The government administration regained its function afterwards, and public workers, who are also victims themselves, are working very hard.
The residents and public workers recognize each other's contribution and help one another.
This is an opportunity to build such new relationship.
There is also the move among the residents of the shopping strip to create the community's reconstruction plan by themselves.
It is hoped that a thorough participation by the residents be ensured from the planning stage of the reconstruction.
It is also necessary to secure volunteers' assistance that has contributed greatly so far.
When a local government becomes aware that it cannot do anything without the residents, it can establish an administration in which residents can be involved, and it can be a model for other local governments nationwide.
Thirdly, there needs to be a drastic change in the principle of community development, which used to be economy and efficiency-oriented.
This earthquake disaster brought out many valuable things we have almost forgotten.
It taught us the importance of human bonds over money.
The community development itself is forcing the transformation of our values.
Hyogo Prefecture has already expressed the idea of changing its urban policy from that of pursuing "convenience and efficiency" to that which is "safety and security" oriented.
Local financial circles, too, began reflecting on "urban policies obsessed only with the pursuit of economic efficiency and comfort."
Including the review of our lifestyle preoccupied by materialistic values, we expect this reconstruction to become an ideal model for the future of Japan.
In this regard, we hope the future of the disaster area is neither a simple restoration to get back what they had nor a revival, but a reconstruction and a rebirth which bring in new values.
The actual situation of the reckless management of failed two credit unions, Tokyo Kyowa and Anzen, is just hideous.
Why was public money used to save these credit unions?
It is absolutely beyond the understanding of the public.
It is only natural that the Diet began exercising its administrative investigation rights in order not to repeat such an incident again.
Especially since the credit unions' relationship with bureaucrats and powerful politicians have been rumored, we expect the government to uncover the truth and to put their effort into policymaking to normalize the financial system.
The new management teams of the two credit unions and the Tokyo Government are expected to soon file a complaint against the former chairman and others for breach of trust with the Special Investigation Department from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, which in turn will open a full-scale investigation into this major financial scandal, but the role of the Diet is still important.
The supervising authorities of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Finance submitted a list of depositors of large amounts exceeding 100 million yen to the Lower House Budget Committee, which was subsequently made public.
Of course, caution is now required to determine how this disclosure might concern the duty of confidentiality, which protects the privacy of the depositors.
However, given that the list is a critical document for the revelation of the truth, and that depositors of an amount exceeding 10 million yen receive the benefit of a special protection using public funds, the submission of the list is quite appropriate.
Moreover, there are many complaints both in the Diet and on the street about the anonymity of the list.
While deeply respecting the spirit of confidentiality, still, the relevant information should be provided to the concerned parties to an extent that is necessary to reveal the truth.
Past reports also pointed out the causal relationship between loans and deposits.
There are many questions about the method of lending.
Of course, a list of big loans should also be submitted to the Diet.
In the Diet, deliberations for next year's budget and the second supplementary budget in consideration of the recovery from the Great Hanshin Earthquake is of importance.
Therefore, some may try to draw the curtain on the financial allegation as swiftly as possible, making the excuse that there is not enough time.
One opposes such an idea.
It is hoped that the Diet sets out the direction on how to investigate the matter in question, and use the time effectively.
It brings disgrace to the name of national administrative investigation if nothing gets accomplished after so much fuss.
It will also be necessary to summon the related parties for their testimonies.
Even if no breach of the law is involved, some politicians may have to set straight his or her moral principles.
Even not judicially tried, if a politician is found lacking in moral principle, he or she will face the judgment of the voters at an election.
At the same time, the Diet should focus on the appropriateness of the financial policy that saved both credit unions.
In other words, this time the financial authorities have taken the stance of not being concerned about who borrows or deposits, but rather attaching importance to the maintenance and stability of the credit order
Therefore, it is assumed that there are other risky financial agencies that disturb the credit order; that is why they did not let the credit unions go bankrupt.
But if another similar case comes up, will it be saved in the same manner?
Or will no mercy apply?
Some already addressed this issue during the question period at the Diet, and it is important to clarify this point.
If the same situation happens to a bank, regular financial administration, such as the Ministry of Finance's inspection and the Bank of Japan's assessment, will become quite relevant.
In that case, I wonder to what extent the logic of "it doesn't matter who deposits or lends" can be supported.
That is why the establishment of a system based on self-responsibility is urgently needed.
"Isn't this black humor?"
I cannot help but have such an impression from the New Year's presidential message President Yeltsin gave at the Russian parliament.
It addressed issues such as "strengthening of human rights protection," "cultivation of national reconciliation," and "continuation of economic reform and improvement of society."
The speech was full of words pleasing to the ear.
Yet the reality Russia is facing is completely opposite to what the president described in such eloquent phrases.
It is only understandable that the members of parliament were completely apathetic.
First of all, if mentioning "human rights protection," the president should admit more clearly about his responsibility with respect to military intervention in Chechnya which caused numerous noncombatant casualties.
The president cannot escape from the shameful criticism of "protecting his own interest by passing the buck," if he pushes the blame for tactical failure onto the military and information agency.
According to field reports, in the area occupied by the Russian military, vandalism and assault are an everyday occurrence, and there are even cases of cruel torture.
The president still keeps his eyes closed to these atrocities.
The phrase "cultivation of national reconciliation," too, sounds feigned.
The military aggression in Chechnya caused a deep rift in Russian society.
The only way to mend this rift is to settle the dispute through negotiations, but the president made no reference at all to a political resolution.
Perhaps trying to avoid both domestic and international criticisms against the Chechen invasion, in his speech he proclaimed the continuation of economic reform and democratic administration of the country.
However, one cannot help but put a big question mark on both the result of the reform in the past reforms, and the pledge for continued reforms.
While the nouveau-riche that drives around expensive imported cars and uses up a large amount of money in casinos accounts for less than 10 percent of the total population, the gap between them and the poor who are on the brink of starvation, struggling with hardships and not even able to afford funeral cost, is far too great.
The recent value of the ruble against the dollar depreciated by more than 50 percent within less than a year, and inflation hit the monthly rate of double digits again.
Since it is not a "country where one who lives by the sweat of one's brow would be rewarded," as shown by a job strike by coal miners angered by the lack of payments, the black-market economy continues to grow and crime and corruption spread widely.
Today's Russia is a "capitalism in a jungle where the strong prey upon the weak."
Its social reform requires neither the exaggeration of state power nor an empty promise in its grandstanding but a firm direction, prioritizing the allocation of the limited national funds, and steady, unrelenting efforts.
However, his message is only an" enumeration of slogans to please everyone," putting up banners such as "enhancement of social security" and "reinforcement of military sections."
His message reveals that Russia is drifting, unable to set its course.
Further, if both the Lower House election expected at the end of this year and the presidential election in next June will take place as scheduled, it will be inevitable that power struggles will intensify with the reforms totally set aside.
The Clinton administration and Western European nations such as Germany still continue their policies to support Russia and provided only a mild warning that they hope "the Yeltsin administration will not retreat from the reform line."
But the International Monetary Fund that is supposed to be the window of support is reluctant to provide its planned finance loan of 13 billion dollars, as it distrusts the Yeltsin administration's handling of the economy.
Taking measures which make Russia lose face is not very wise.
Yet we must not let the international society be taken as a "hostage of Russia;" we must avoid being trapped into supporting Russia no matter what the Yeltsin administration would do.
The purpose of the international support is to encourage Russia to put the economy back on a stable path and to improve the lives of its citizens.
The international society should stick to this principle, and should approach the Yeltsin administration with a firm attitude.
It is time for the cherry buds to bloom, and the sound of balls being hit will echo in the Hanshin Koshien Stadium again this year.
With regard to the Invitational Tournament, there were discussions on the positive and negative aspects of it being held, considering the sentiments of the victims of the great earthquake.
Upon its decision to hold the Tournament, its steering committee defined the theme of this year's tournament as "a tournament to contribute to the restoration from the disaster."
The donation from its operating budget to the restoration fund for sports education in Hyogo Prefecture is one part of such initiative.
But the real contribution to the restoration would be the earnest and intense games filled with young energy that cheer up the victims.
I cannot help but hope that the tournament will provide an opportunity for the victims to regain happiness.
Of course, considering the victims who are in the midst of deep grief and suffering, they should try to manage the tournament in an unpretentious and practical manner so as not to make it too festive.
The pros and cons have been heard from all directions about holding this year's Invitational Tournament.
Fathoming the residents' feelings, some opposed the Tournament, saying, "Never mind baseball games. That would rub the victims the wrong way."
Such opinion is understandable considering the victims numbered over 5000, and that those who lost homes continue to live in evacuation shelters.
Yet the high school students in their spring of life, devoting themselves to playing ball, created numerous emotional dramas.
It is hard to imagine that their smiles and lively play can hurt the victims' feelings.
Rather, it could be an opportunity to turn their mind off from their depression, and to empower them.
Kaoru Yosano, the Minister of Education, spoke at the Diet the other day, saying, "The restoration may also need the bright cheers of high school students."
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama also agreed, saying, "It means a lot if it can cheer up the people in the disaster area."
Then Toshitami Kaihara, the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, announced that we hope a tournament to cheer up the victims.
We should take all of these remarks as an enthusiastic anticipation that the Invitational Tournament will provide the spiritual support to those who are engaged in the restoration.
Many of our readers also agreed that "In such a time of hardship in particular, it should surely be held as a cheerful event."
On this occasion, I hope that the players and the students who come to support their peers in Koshien consider the meaning of holding this tournament in the middle of the disaster-stricken area.
Many young people their age are working hard as volunteers.
These visitors could get to know the spirit of mutual aid at the quake-stricken area, and ask themselves what they could do.
Participating in the Koshien Tournament and cheering schoolmates are both part of education.
I would like them to be keenly aware that they are not going on some field trip.
There had been administrative challenges to consider before it was finally decided to hold the Tournament.
One of these difficulties was the problem of transportation to and from the baseball stadium.
Because "Never Disturb Restoration Work" was an absolute imperative, the players and the cheer groups were prohibited from taking charter buses to the stadium this time.
The general spectators, too, were asked to voluntarily refrain from using their cars.
It is indeed a proper measure.
The road that connects Osaka and Kobe is a valuable artery for the transportation of restoration materials and everyday necessities.
This year, the Koshien Tournament will have neither an opening ceremony with flashy shows nor showy cheerleading.
It is expected to be a tournament with only clapping and cheers of support.
Also with its summer tournament, the Koshien will provide a good opportunity to think about the desired way for high school baseball.
I wish to send to the hearts of the disaster victims a fresh start with "spring delivered by the tournament."
The great earthquake caused extensive damage to the cultural properties in the Kobe and Hanshin area.
Exhibits and collections in the museums and art galleries were mostly broken, and many of the traditional buildings were damaged as well.
It is truly regrettable.
One might argue that this type of damage is not as significant as "human loss," but the cultural properties are the very accumulation of the regional culture and the residents' pride.
These are the necessary "relaxation of the mind" for the recovery from the devastation.
One hopes that the restoration and repairs of these properties be hastened so that their restoration may act as some encouragement to the residents.
According to the data gathered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the damage done to the national treasures and important cultural properties amounted to 160 cases concentrating around the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area.
In Kobe, twenty buildings in the Ijinkan district were damaged.
The residents lament "our town's symbol is ruined," which shows their shock at the loss.
Fortunately, these are all repairable.
Repair and restoration works are underway on the western-style houses in this district that were devastated.
One hopes for the speedy restoration of these romantic streetscapes, to cheer up the Kobe residents.
The damage done to the museums and art galleries is truly heartbreaking.
Kobe and Hanshin have been known for their high degree of cultural accumulation.
Only in these areas can you find an art gallery where you least expect.
There were 19 buildings that lost a wall or were tilted.
A great many exhibits were also damaged.
Oil painting canvasses were torn apart, and a sculpture of a nude woman lost its head.
There is a museum that had 3,000 of its Chinese ceramics broken, and its estimated total damage amounted to approximately one billion yen.
As the survey of storage rooms progresses, more damage will be revealed.
Even though these facilities are for the preservation of cultural properties, many of them were virtually unprepared against earthquakes.
They should face the reality and build future disaster countermeasures from this experience.
Immediate challenges are measures against aftershocks and emergency repairs.
It was encouraging that some young and mid-level curators rose to the occasion, having a sense of crisis about the situation.
Through the Japanese Council of Art Museums, they called for assistance in the preservation of damaged pieces and the emergency repairs.
This month, the "Art Works Rescue Corps," a team of eleven experts made up of curators from art galleries in Tokyo, a U.S. restoration expert from The J. Paul Getty Museum in L.A., and investigators from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, visited the disaster area for three days.
Yet, it is to our regret that they covered only several places.
It is reported that when the team approached the damaged facilities, most of them refused their assistance by saying that they "have no time for it."
The members learned for the first time on the scene that public art gallery staffs were also mobilized to provide care for the quake evacuees.
The lobby of the Otani Memorial Art Museum in Nishinomiya City was allotted for an evacuation center.
There was no alternative, given the dismal state of affairs in the vicinities.
Yet, it is too pitiful for a city proud of its rich cultural heritage to be unable to provide personnel for attending to the emergency repair works.
The curator who acted as the spark plug for the effort reminisced: "We were made aware of our lack of knowledge and preparation. We did not have sufficient discussion in order to maintain peer networks, either."
Nevertheless, the implication of such action is quite significant.
It deserves recognition that they raised the need to create a relief network at the time of a disaster in view of the fact that there are only so many curators specializing in repairs and restoration.
A thick disaster-control manual brought by the curator of J. Paul Getty Museum surprised those involved in Japan.
From earthquakes to a nuclear disaster, the manual contained the know-how of how to protect art works from all sorts of disasters.
We need to actively absorb these overseas efforts.
Incorporating the lessons learned in this disaster, a domestic version of such a full-scale manual should be created as soon as possible.
The legal writing of the present criminal law, which is written in a literary style mixed with katakana and filled with abstruse terms, and which has perplexed even law students, will be rewritten in modern Japanese.
The Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice is making a report on its draft for simplification, which will be submitted to the present session of the Diet.
This will be the first major revision in 88 years since the law's enactment in 1907.
The criminal law went through a revision many times in the past, but it was always a "partial revision."
This will be the first time for the entire law to receive revisions, and format-wise, it is an "overhaul."
It is, in effect, a simple conversion from an old-fashioned, Classical Chinese literary style to a contemporary style; some say that it is "only a change from what's vertical to what's horizontal."
Nonetheless, the significance of this simplification is not small at all.
We have no shortage of examples demonstrating the esotericism of the existing criminal law.
The draft for simplification uses such a plain expression as, for example, "person who gambled."
It is not only simple but also so much easier to understand.
There is a legal theory called the "legality principle for crimes and punishment."
It means that there exist neither crimes nor punishments unless law provides for them first.
Naturally this principle is maintained in laws such as the Constitution and the criminal law.
It must be criticized that the arcane legal writing mixed with katakana persisted for nearly fifty years after the enforcement of the present constitution.
Computer crimes were added to the criminal law in 1987, but the wording "business interference by damage or destruction of an electric computer" was deliberately "translated" into a difficult and strange letter of law rather than written in a contemporary language.
If the people involved at the time of the introduction of the criminal law see the current situation, they must be surprised: "Our writing of the law is still in use!"
This is a revision long overdue.
However, considering that this is premised on the history of intense debates on revisions with the "Preliminary Draft for the Revised Criminal Law" of 1960, as well as the "Draft for the Revised Criminal Law" of 1972, perhaps it could not be helped.
Remember, it is never too late to mend.
Yet even this simplification draft is still difficult to understand.
There remain peculiar expressions such as "for the same kind of punishment, the longer of long-term or the larger of large amount of money shall be the heavier sentence...."
Words reflect their time.
We can therefore understand how difficult it must have been to do any overall changes.
Even so, also from the point of view of human rights protection, it is necessary to always aim for simplification.
It can be said that this proposal for revision, though inadequate, allows the citizens with whom the sovereign power lies to finally reclaim the criminal law.
Traditionally, debates on a revision of the criminal law started with the tug-of-war between the Ministry of Justice and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
This time, the revision proceeded without much opposition since it was essentially limited to the simplification.
Yet it cannot stop there.
A revision in the real sense of the word that penetrates the substance itself should not be overlooked.
We must seek a form of law suited to the twenty-first century from the perspective of "what the true target for punishment should be," while keeping a close tab on the cultural, social, and economic changes.
The next step should be the discussion as to whether to maintain the conventional method of accumulating partial revisions or to prepare an overhaul also for the substance.
Discussions on the revision which would produce a national consensus are desired.
It is awful and depressing.
Why is it that day-by-day we see more garbage casually thrown out in parks, empty lots, and roadsides?
Most recently, plastic bags started to stand out among the empty beverage cans, wastepaper, and cigarette butts.
They are stuffed with empty lunch boxes, foam polystyrene containers, and so forth.
During holidays there are many "sightseers" in addition to those who visit and help the victims.
It is perhaps not unrelated to the fact that the comings and goings of people who sell goods on the street in makeshift booths or who engage in the rebuilding and restoration works are growing.
The victims are feeling down.
To get one's precious living environment fouled by litter is all the more painful.
Some people dumped waste on the collapsed private homes.
They should think how the residents feel.
One can understand the circumstance where the removal of debris and waste materials is not as easy as one wishes it to be.
Yet we can stop littering if we try.
Everyone should take his or her garbage home.
Neither the country nor the municipalities have the capacity to collect this litter now.
On the contrary, the reality is that the collection of household garbage is very difficult.
Some evacuation centers are even calling for the cooperation of the visitors to dispose the waste produced by the victims who live there.
In Kobe City, two out of its five waste incineration plants sat idle for a long time since the earthquake.
This was due to a delay in the recovery of city gas and no service of cooling water because the water supply was cut off.
One of them finally began its operation recently; the earthquake has its profound impact in areas such as this.
The key is how to maintain the operation of a waste incineration plant at the time of emergency.
This could be a subject of major study in the future.
Nonflammables and large waste are landfilled at the final waste disposable site, or disposed by outdoor burning.
However, these are also losing efficiency drastically.
The City of Kobe has been trying its best to collect its waste: within the regular collection area alone, it mobilized a total of about 400 garbage trucks and 1,200-strong crew, which included backups from Tokyo and Yokohama City.
A difficult situation persisted, however, in which traffic jams hinder the collection work and the city can perform only approximately 60% of its usual waste collection capacity, in addition to the increased number of stop-offs by the addition of temporary garbage collection locations.
It is no wonder.
Household waste, which decreased just after the earthquake, is now on the increase again.
The volume of large garbage has increased sharply, as some take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of their garbage.
The City of Kobe has a pessimistic view of the situation, that at least "through the end of this year" it will not be able to go back to normal.
The governments are surely expected to make maximum efforts.
It may be necessary, on the other hand, to consider a lifestyle that produces the least amount of waste.
Shops are gradually reopening.
Yet they should use wrapping sparingly.
In the markets and similar places, there must be merchandises that have no need to be handed in a plastic bag to the customer at each store.
If possible, customers should bring their own large bags when they go shopping.
Offices, too, can reduce their garbage by reusing forms and writing papers.
Can we devise an approach of waste reduction that can be termed the "Kobe-Hanshin system," by taking this disaster as an opportunity to do so?
If such system is extended nationwide, also acting as an opportunity for us to reflect on the mass-consumption type of lifestyle, then it will certainly help alleviate the waste problem in Japan that is becoming more serious year after year.
The Ministry of Transport is going ahead with its final assessment work for a revision of the taxi fares in the Tokyo area.
Since the Ministry froze the taxi companies' application for a fare increase for six months, its intention appears to come up with a decision within this month: we would like to make a specific proposal at this stage.
That is, the introduction of a price-cap system.
It is a system whereby only the maximum price limit is established, and each taxi company freely sets its fare as long as it is below the limit.
There may be a concern as to the possible confusion caused by differing rates depending on the taxi one takes, but we believe that we should introduce the principle of market mechanism.
The taxi fares in the Tokyo area have been raised every two or three years recently.
The most recent fare hike occurred in May 1992, with an average increase of 12.3%.
Why do we need fare increases now?
The reasons for application include "the improvement of the working conditions of drivers."
They claim that because personnel costs account for approximately 80% of the taxi's transport cost, there is no other way for them to improve the working conditions than to increase fares.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Transport, it is true that the annual income of a taxi driver is 5.16 million yen, 1.38 million yen less than the average for all industries.
In contrast, their annual working hours are 2,460 hours, 360 hours longer than the average of all industries.
Once we get firsthand information such as this, we become emotionally inclined to consider the need for some degree of fare increase; however, a review of the course of events up to now will change the story.
Last time, too, the reason for the fare increase had to do with the improvement of the working conditions of the drivers.
Yet as a result of the fare hike, consumers' taxi use declined, and the working conditions have been going down contrary to what was expected.
Their annual income fell by approximately 540,000 yen, and the annual working hours increased by 12 hours.
Because of the wage calculation based on the percentage pay, the drivers were the ultimate victims of the decreasing demand.
The management is to be blamed for underestimating the supply-demand relationship.
To cite an example, the taxi companies have increased the number of drivers since about the time of the last fare hike.
The year 1992 was the midst of recession, and it was the time when many corporations were intensifying their restructuring efforts.
Taxi companies continued to expand the crew size: the increase reached approximately 5,000 over the last three years.
It appears that there was guidance from the Ministry of Transport to do so in order to promote shorter working hours, but the measure does not make sense.
Strictly speaking, if fares were raised, then users would decrease.
This is a cat-and-mouse game, necessitating another fare hike.
An objective look at the situation reveals that this sort of fare revision has reached a limit.
The only way to overcome the limit is to apply the principle of market mechanism.
Each taxi company determines its fare, taking the supply-and-demand situation into consideration.
A shift from "the same area, the same fare" principle that has continued till now to the diversification of rates seems necessary in order to revitalize the taxi industry.
The price cap system was born in the U.K., which was suffering from price hikes in utilities.
In the West, the system has been widely used in such areas as telephone fees, and its effectiveness in price control has been recognized.
The diversification of taxi fees has already been partially put into practice in Kyoto.
It should be possible to implement it in the Tokyo area.
The impact of the Great Hanshin Earthquake came to be seen directly in this year's spring labor offensive.
Among the major members of the General Federation of Private Railway Workers' Unions of Japan, which has considerably influenced the formulation of average rates for the spring labor offensive wage increase, the Hanshin Railway and the Hankyu Railway suffered heavily from the quake.
The private railways will conduct a strike vote but their policy is not to fix the schedule for the strike in advance.
Moreover, industrial trade unions that engage in public services such as the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers' Unions of Japan and the Japan Telecommunications Workers' Union, have either given up or are going to give up the battle with management with their right to strike as a back up.
With the exception of private railways, these industrial trade unions have not entered a strike for a long period.
Therefore, one can say it will be the same after all either way, but the negotiating power will be different depending on whether they can exercise a right to vote or not.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) came up with a target increase in the amount of 14,000 yen.
But the Japanese Electrical Electronic & Information Unions, the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions, and Japan Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Workers' Unions, which are the main industrial trade unions of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (IMF-JC) that has been responsible for the establishment of the average rate of the spring wage increase, came up with the target increase amount of less than 14,000 yen.
As of this spring labor offensive, Rengo changed its wage-hike demand from a percentage denomination to an amount one.
Its main aim is to reduce the wage disparity between large corporations and small-to-medium companies.
Even if they win the same price-increase rate, base wages are different between large and small businesses.
The change is based on the reflection that the real wage gaps thus only increase, contrary to what is hoped for.
Yet seeing that the backbone of the spring labor offensive is demanding such a low wage increase from the start, one wants to make a cynical comment that they must be just going after a reduction of gaps between the big and small businesses.
They lack the zeal to provide a momentum for the workers in small businesses through winning their own sizable increases.
Rengo, which formulates the comprehensive strategy for spring labor offensives, was wary of JC's low increase agreement having an impact on other industrial trade unions.
In order to avoid that, it sought the answers from major industrial trade unions including private railways with the demand for a 20,000-yen increase in mid March, before March 20 or later when JC responses were expected to be collected.
It tried to get these responses reflected on those from JC.
This strategy became out of the question due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake, but even without the disaster it would not have worked.
This is because the employers have no intention of changing the sequential order of JC - utility industries including private railways - small businesses for wage negotiations.
It may require a considerable struggle just for changing the fixated sequence.
The spring labor offensive will practically become an armistice if nothing is done.
It may be called a crisis of the spring labor offensive.
Yet the real crisis lies in a more fundamental question.
It is the problem of whether or not the spring labor offensive is capable of responding to the changing employment format and wage system.
These days, 14% of the businesses affiliated with the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) have partially integrated an annual salary approach into their payroll system.
A variety of surveys targeting corporate personnel specialists have been conducted, including the latest survey of 304 companies that are customers of Asahi Bank.
Here, too, 27% replied that "the collapse of lifetime employment system has already begun," and, 45.7 % stated that "our seniority system, including wages and promotion, has collapsed."
The spring labor offensive has been addressing the challenge of average wage increases for the blue-collar workers who were mainly employed for life by major companies.
That explains why its sensitivity to respond to the changing circumstances is low.
Yet it has become difficult to draw a fine line between blue-collar workers and white-collar workers due to a series of technological innovations.
Sooner or later, the blue-collar workers will face the problem of what portion of their wage should be the subject of wage increase, and what ratios should be used to define the annual basic pay portion and the seniority or performance portion of the wage.
The labor side must hasten to prepare for the spring labor offensive that can respond to these questions.
During the Great Hanshin Earthquake unexpected things happened one after another to structures, causing the damage to be magnified.
Based on this reflection, an overall review of the seismic standard and others is sought.
Elevated bridges for highways and bullet trains collapsed.
Not only subways, considered earthquake-resistant, were damaged, but also the main pillars of skyscrapers failed.
This has proved the weakness of the infrastructure of Japanese cities.
The seismic design in the past shared the slogan of "Proven against the tremors in the class of the Great Kanto Earthquake," but such a safety myth is gone.
It also became clear how superficial Japanese scientific technology is.
"The tremors in the class of the Great Kanto Earthquake" is a problematic phrase in the first place.
Based on the acceleration recorded in the vicinities of the highway damage, the Ministry of Construction announced that, "The quake of the Great Hanshin Earthquake was twice that of the Great Kanto Earthquake."
However, the acceleration of the Great Kanto Earthquake was estimated from the recording of the seismometers in Tokyo.
It is only natural that the acceleration of the Great Hanshin Earthquake exceeds that of the Kanto one since the acceleration gets smaller further away from the epicenter, which was Sagami Gulf in the case of the Kanto one.
Acceleration alone does not determine the strength of a quake; the acceleration recorded at the Kushiro-Oki Earthquake two years ago exceeded the acceleration recorded at this disaster.
Although various types of seismic standards have been improved, they were after all not based on science.
Moreover, the emphasis has been traditionally placed on the tolerance against a certain horizontal oscillation, and vertical movements were hardly taken into consideration.
Yet the strength of vertical vibrations stood out in the recent near-field earthquake, as its vertical acceleration exceeded the horizontal acceleration in some locations.
That increased the damage.
In reviewing the seismic standards, the effect of vertical vibrations should be taken into full consideration.
As far as regular buildings were concerned, the damage was reportedly small for those buildings built after 1981 when the new seismic standard was introduced, but there were many exceptions.
The damage to skyscrapers was not significant because it was a near-field earthquake with weak long-period oscillations, and thus it does not mean their safety was confirmed at all.
It is desirable that the detailed information of a scientific investigation concerning the damage done to various types of buildings be made publicly available.
The slipshod work and construction errors by the builders and contractors have been pointed out; the reality of such problems should also be completely revealed.
Another matter that worries us in connection with the collapse of the safety myth is that 49 nuclear power plants are operating in Japan.
Although we are told that the nuclear power plants are built directly into the strong bedrock, it is not certain whether or not they are as quake-resistant as estimated by a calculation.
The terror of an active fault that suddenly starts to move came to our close attention as well in this disaster.
That is why it was decided that the National Nuclear Safety Commission would re-evaluate the influence of vertical oscillations and other factors by establishing a panel to review the safety of nuclear facilities against the earthquake in order to reconfirm the safety of the nuclear power plants in the event of an earthquake.
Since there are some areas where the nuclear power plants are concentrated, one hopes that the panel engages in a thorough discussion in order to reduce the fear among the public.
The aging power plants should be provided with some measures.
We must avoid the horrible situation where an earthquake disaster is combined with a serious accident at a nuclear power station.
Academics carry a lot of weight in the review of various seismic standards.
Seismic engineers are requested to make demands to the government squarely based on the results of studies and investigations.
The mutual dependency among the government, industries and the academic community must be ended.
"The more strict the seismic standard is, the more costly it gets, leading to the increased burden on tax payers. It also goes against the move towards deregulation."
There is such criticism, but if something is absolutely necessary for the safety of lives, no expense should be spared.
There is a Japanese saying that goes, it takes three days, three months, and then three years of persistent efforts for anything; things tend to reveal their own pace within three months or so.
It will soon be three months since last December's inauguration of the New Frontier Party or Shinshin Party, but for some reason it has not quite settled itself yet.
Even though some sympathy is extended to the party that is having difficulty in squarely confronting the government and the ruling coalition because of the recovery issue concerning the Great Hanshin Earthquake, still, it lacks spirit.
Even its feature, the "Tomorrow Cabinet," copied after the British "Shadow Cabinet," lacks substance as a steady stream of internal conflicts beset the hodgepodge party.
Actually, the current political situation should be most favorable for the New Frontier Party.
As you know, the Murayama Cabinet was exposed of its poor crisis management through the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
This is equal to giving up the minimum political duty of protecting the people's lives and properties.
The administrative reform that the prime minister ventured with his "unyielding resolve" turned out to be false advertising.
The integration and re-organization of the government-affiliated special corporations ended up simply as a game of numbers.
The issue of the integration of the government-affiliated financial institutions is still to be dealt with, but the subsidies and investments which amount to 4 trillion yen annually are left the way they are.
We can expect very little about the effectiveness of fiscal cost reduction.
The administrative reform has as its major premise a raise of the consumption tax rate to 5% in 2 years: nothing makes a clearer example of the breach of election pledges.
For all these faults, the New Frontier Party is sitting on its own hands.
Pursuit of the government's responsibility for crisis management and the debate on administrative reform are not strong, either.
The first New Frontier Party governor was born as a result of the Aomori Prefecture's gubernatorial election the other day, and in the unified local elections of this April the party must have felt a strong response in Iwate, Akita, and Mie prefectures as it did in Aomori, but there is not much life within the party.
The involvement of its party leaders in the Tokyo Kyodo Bank scandal, to which an extremely questionable bailout package was given, has become a hot topic, but this cannot possibly stand in its way.
It is none other than the New Frontier Party that detected the true color of the Murayama administration with its slogan of "People Friendly Politics" that is the protection of the status quo and the preservation of the "Japanese system" that has been the basis of the post-war growth.
If so, then it should not be too difficult to develop an antithesis.
There is an excellent model of "ordinary country" that its Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa advocates.
A political party must be prepared to pursue both policy and power, but in the case of the New Frontier Party, it has got neither because it gave its priority to a short-term numbers-crunching tactic.
It appears that the party is now paying for not developing the discussion on how to transform the "Japanese system."
There is a growing suspicion over the division of duties according to the former political party lines, such as the party affairs for the Japan Renewal Party or the business in the Diet for the Komeito, and some criticize former Komeito's discretionary management of Diet affairs.
Yet such negative opinions tend to be hidden especially in the event of elections in which many politicians are dependent on the former Komei Party that has a solid voter base.
It was not so long ago when "no party affiliation" left the Liberal Democratic Party behind and became "the No. 1 party" in various opinion polls; and, this has become the norm lately.
The New Frontier Party was left in the dust of the LDP, and shows no sign of rising to the spotlight at all.
But is it not also the New Frontier Party that is within easy reach of penetrating the "no party affiliation" stratum?
The public sees through the excessive art and intrigue, such as delaying the official endorsement process for the general election by expecting some politicians including Mr. Sadao Yamahana of the Social Democratic Party to leave the party, as well as avoiding the criticism in the Tokyo Kyodo Bank case.
It is sincerely hoped that the New Frontier Party once more recalls its vital role: it is its energetic action that is the key to the revitalization of Japanese politics.
The nearly 500-page thick "National Telephone Directory of the Handicapped Persons Work Places" lists approximately 3,300 collaborative workshops and 1,200 public sheltered work centers.
"Little Workplaces" listed in the book's Hyogo prefecture section was also directly hit by the earthquake.
According to the survey done by a support organization for the disabled, nearly half of the 134 workplaces had to be shut down or were unable to resume operation due to the collapse, damage, alternative use of the building as an evacuation center, or the evacuation of the staff.
Fifteen people who commute to these workplaces and two staff members died.
These humble workplaces operated in prefabricated structures built in vacant lots or in rented private houses, are also called "unauthorized workplaces" since they fail to meet the official criteria.
Of the nearly 10,000 handicapped persons graduating from the schools for the disabled every year, only about 30% is estimated to be able to find jobs.
These collaborative group workshops were born everywhere as a result of the search for a place for friends to interact, for finding a purpose in life, and a means to gain independence.
These workplaces require a location close enough for their members to commute from home without difficulty and a very reasonable rent for the land and buildings, in addition to the consent and understanding of the neighbors.
A wide range of works is offered.
These include bagging, assembling of electronic goods, sewing, woodworks, gardening, printing, food processing, and food services.
However, in the current prolonged recession it is difficult to earn even an average of 7,000 yen per month per person.
There has been an increase of municipalities that provide subsidies, but the income of full-time staff members who train the workers is only about 100,000 yen per month.
Every one of these group workplaces has a hard-luck story relating to its establishment and operation.
In spite of this, these workplaces grew to accommodate nearly 60,000 in total, exceeding the number of users for the sheltered work centers.
Its gross annual sales must surpass well above approximately 50 billion yen of the sheltered work centers.
Why are these group workplaces growing in number?
It is not simply because of a shortage of the sheltered work centers or the stagnation of the employment of people with disabilities.
There are the physically challenged and the mentally challenged.
The sheltered work centers tend to carefully separate the workers according to their disabilities, but the group workplaces try not to make distinctions as much as possible.
These workplaces welcome people with severe disabilities.
Compared to the public sheltered work centers with 20 or more in capacity, there are quite a lot of group workplaces that operate in a family size, of five or six workers.
Diverse characters gather out of their own will, and each of them finds a job suited to his or her individuality.
The charm of a small group with a free atmosphere, where everyone is within the sweep of the eye, must have been the engine behind the establishment and growth of these collaborative workplaces.
Some even call these workplaces, "Little Giants."
But the reconstruction of the workplaces buried in debris faces extreme challenges.
There are handicapped people and staffs who lost both home and workplace.
It is only natural that the government deals with the reconstruction of the sheltered centers, but the support towards the group workplaces is said to be "impossible without legal authorization."
The role of these group workplaces needs to be considered once more.
The handicapped people and their supporters have built these places together by themselves, through their search for a place within the community which compensates for the absence or defect of the welfare system, and enables them to work and have a normal life.
Might we not say that they set the benchmark for the government to correct its welfare policy?
The restoration plan should incorporate places for the reconstruction of the group workplaces.
It is neither very difficult nor costly to spare a corner of a building when public facilities are rebuilt or to permit the use of vacant classrooms in a school.
We sincerely hope that if more than one workplace collaborates for reconstruction, they will receive a warm and flexible response to allow the new workplace as an approved facility even if they do not meet the basic criteria of 20 people in size.
We may say that it was a judgment for the incalculable "pathologies" in post-war politics.
The Lockheed Scandal posed a heavy and dark burden not only to the political circles but also to the people of Japan.
That is why it has taken about 20 years for the justice system to settle it, even though a "speedy trial" has been demanded.
I complained candidly before, but justice has taken way too long.
It was forgotten in the world of politics a long time ago.
The ruling of the Grand Bench of the Supreme Court delivered on the 22nd in the absence of the key players represents the final conclusion of the case under the criminal law.
The case will never be heard again in court.
There is a chance that the decision will end up in burying the scandal in a page of a history book.
There may be some politicians who particularly wish that to happen, but we must not allow that.
It was, of course, the first time in the history of scandals that someone in the office of prime minister was accused of bribery.
It was an unprecedented "money politics," and it illustrated how an illegal political contribution can influence a political decision.
It threatened the democratic principle of the Constitution: "Government is a sacred trust of the people."
In that sense, too, it shall not be forgotten at all.
Especially in the world of politics it should be constantly reminded.
The trial started with four cases and 16 accused.
Six accused died over the course of this long trial.
One of the key players, former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, too, passed away, and was dismissed from the prosecution.
The two accused remained till the end: the former chairman of Marubeni Corporation charged with giving the former prime minister a bribe in the amount of half a billion yen, and the former secretary to the prime minister who was accused of breaching the foreign exchange control law by accepting that half billion yen.
The Grand Bench tried these two accused, not the former prime minister.
However, the essence of the case was that the "prime minister's crime" emerging from the dark called bribery was the subject of the trial.
It was an unprecedented case where the "prime minister's administrative authority" became an issue.
It has taken a unique course of investigation through its first exposure in the U.S. and faced the unprecedented issue of the admissibility of the interrogation provided as international judicial assistance.
With regards to the prime minister's administrative authority concerning aviation, the Grand Bench presented a broad interpretation that "it extends even to the selection of models of private airline passenger planes through the administrative guidance of the Minister of Transport."
I would say to accept it as an appropriate decision.
With regards to the administrative guidance, however, there is also a view that, since the enforcement of the "Administrative Procedures Law" last year, the kind of administrative guidance observed at the Lockheed Scandal is outside the scope of official responsibilities.
Separately from the Administrative Procedures Law, there is also a legal doctrine known as "intimately related acts" concerning the limit of administrative authority versus corruption, and thus the scope of administrative authority should not be narrowed easily.
Otherwise, it may produce politicians who escape into the "grey area" in the midst of the "structuring of corruption."
The admissibility of the report from the interrogation of witnesses as an act of international judicial assistance, which the witnesses consented for immunity from criminal prosecution, was denied as inappropriate.
The "immunity from criminal prosecution," which does not exist in the laws of Japan, was generally suspected to be illegal.
Even so, the first and the second courts dismissed its illegality by upholding the ideology of "substantive truth," but the Grand Bench did not accept it.
It could be commended that the ruling was objectively made in accordance with the spirit of the Criminal Procedure Law, which stands for the "protection of individual's human rights."
It must be noted that as crimes are becoming international, the number of cases in which evidence obtained through collaboration with overseas investigation agencies is introduced in our courts is increasing.
There are some cases where the immunity from criminal prosecution can be an obstacle, and hence its influence on the investigation cannot be calculated.
How are we going to cope with the internationalization of crimes?
The issue of revising the Criminal Procedures Law should be discussed along with the revision of the criminal law.
Although some of the evidence the prosecution built up fell apart, the scenario of the Lockheed Scandal drawn by the prosecution was judicially concluded.
Many citizens must have an empty feeling.
The late Takeo Miki, who was the prime minister at the time the scandal was exposed, reportedly deplored that "Tanaka-like elements delayed the progress of Japanese politics by fifty years."
Unfortunately, this insight is still alive.
What he meant was the money politics and singled-sided abuse of the principle of a majority rule.
During the course of the Lockheed scandal trial, the "Tanaka-like elements" look-alikes prevailed.
Without waiting for the examples exposed afterwards, such as the Recruit stock-for-favors scandal, Kyowa corruption scandal, Tokyo Sagawa Express scandal, the general contractors scandal, and the tax evasion of political contributions, corruption by money politics kept on propagating.
Without any valid preventative measures, it has left us only with a distrust in politics.
The impudence of those politicians who never learned anything from the Lockheed Scandal is appalling.
The seriousness of the situation is that it is not an accidental phenomenon.
Therefore, we would very much like to demand that the prosecutors, especially special investigation department prosecutors, be increased and enhanced.
The number of prosecutors in Japan is only slightly over 1,100.
A majority of them is busy dealing with general criminal cases and trials.
Under such circumstances, we cannot expect much from the prosecution to "fight great evil."
No charges were made on politicians for a while after the Lockheed Scandal, and thus it was called the "blank decade."
Although the prosecution handles many cases after that, some criticized the prosecution for its "inadequate investigation" and that it was "letting the great evil go."
Even in the investigation of the Lockheed Scandal, the prosecution was criticized for not resolving the alleged military aircrafts case.
The special investigation department that undertakes its own investigations is established only in the Tokyo District Court and the Osaka District Court.
The evil of money politics extends to local and regional politics.
Why not expand the special investigation department and assign the staff to spread out in the jurisdictions of High Public Prosecutors' Offices throughout the country?
This is a request to the Legal Affairs authority.
These pathologies must be terminated quickly.
The Diet must, needless to say, ceaselessly deal with the issue of establishing a self-purification process.
The public must also be prepared.
It is hard to imagine that the background of our tolerance of the "Tanaka-like elements" was foreign to the general societal values.
An 18th century British politician once said as follows:
"Some politicians go to Parliament, and others go to prison. Either way, it's all the same."
If one sits on one's hands, this proverb might become true.
"Introduce a program by which general office workers who were hired by local offices are able to switch to the main career track of those who were hired by the headquarters, regardless of gender, and implement it without delay."
Most recently, the Ministry of Labor's Equal Opportunity Mediation Commission in Osaka presented a mediation plan which goes like this to the direct parties and recommended them to accept it.
This is the first mediation plan in Japan based on the Equal Employment Opportunity Law.
The mediation plan also includes such items as "the enhancement of female workers' internal training opportunities," and "a thorough education among the managers regarding the importance of the active employment of female workers."
Seven female workers, who work at the Engineering and Planning Department and other departments in Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., requested the mediation, and the company also agreed to start a mediation process, and both parties were being interviewed.
But this mediation plan strongly offended the female workers concerned, since it "did not refer to the major point of the application or the request for the correction of promotional gap by raising us from the current low ranks to the same level as our male contemporaries."
How did the seven workers decide to make this application?
For example, the central figure of this action joined the company as a high school graduate for a position of a general office clerk, and she has only five more years left before her retirement at the age of 60.
While she is proud of being a veteran, there is also a certain objective assessment supporting her self-worth.
In spite of this, she was left behind compared to her male contemporaries with the same educational background.
She was overtaken by the male workers who joined the company later.
She continued to negotiate within the company on her own, but the situation did not change.
Therefore, she made the application to the general manager of Osaka Women's and Young Workers' Department, Ministry of Labor.
In accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, "a mediation is granted if a female worker makes an application, the business agrees, and then the head of the Women's and Young Workers' department in the respective prefectural government deems it necessary."
The Osaka mediation commission consisted of three experts: a legal scholar, a labor economist, and an attorney.
They were two males and one female.
They must have naturally studied the individual circumstances of each of the female workers, and examined whether or not a discrete answer should be provided for each and everyone.
But the proposed mediation plan was nothing more than simply making a special request concerning the operation of the company's human resource management system.
Given this, it is reasonable why the female workers felt they were being stonewalled and reacted as they were misled.
It avoided making any judgment on the essential point: is there a promotional gap complained by the applicants?
Was the mediation plan such because it was premised on the determination that there were basically no promotional gaps between male and female workers?
If that is the case, then, it should be clearly stated.
The company claims that the male workers targeted by the applicants for comparison were headquarter employees with the possibility of regional transfers.
It is reasonable that the degree of their promotion differs from the applicants' because they were not hired by the operations to perform general office work.
The company has taken a position that this is not a matter of gender discrimination.
In that respect, the mediation plan does recommend the introduction of a career switch system from general office workers to a comprehensive, main career track.
Many large corporations use these two personnel management programs with respect to their female employees.
It certainly means a lot to the workers of these systems that they are not fixated and left flexible.
One can read at the back of this application an implied criticism for the rigid human resource management system.
Nevertheless, the Commission should have first specifically determined if the application is justified, and then make recommendations about their human resource management systems.
It should be also pointed out that it is not easy in reality to start mediation even though an application is filed.
There have been 103 applications involving 11 companies since the implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, but this is the only case in which the company has agreed to come to the mediation table.
Rather than settling gender inequality cases in an unclear manner, we should aim for the active utilization of this worthwhile mediation procedure.
A transport ship loaded with high-level radioactive waste left Port of Cherbourg on the 23rd to be returned to Japan from France.
Already, voices of protest and concerns are raised among some twenty countries.
In order to obtain plutonium, Japan entrusts the nuclear reprocessing to France and the UK, and this time the ship carries the high-level waste produced through the reprocessing done by Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires in France.
Vitrified high-level radioactive waste is to be stacked into a specialized British vessel, and is expected to arrive in Japan in mid April.
Over two years ago, plutonium was transported from France to Japan in a ship named Akatsuki Maru.
Japan was severely criticized by many countries because it transported highly toxic plutonium, which could be diverted to nuclear weapons, without releasing the transportation route.
A high-level radioactive waste is different from plutonium in that it is not targeted by nuclear piracy, and thus there should be no problem in releasing the transportation route.
Japanese government and the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) set the policy to disclose the route, but both France and Britain protested it since "no one knows what act of sabotage there may be."
Therefore, the route was kept secret, and only the name of the ship and its departure date was made public.
Japan declared that, when transporting plutonium "its carrier, in principle, is to pass outside the territorial waters," but it has made no comment this time yet.
It is said that its policy is not to notify in advance the countries the ship passes through.
This gives the impression as though it is receding and the protests by the countries involved could only intensify.
It is necessary for the three concerned countries to continue to talk, and
The issue of safety during transportation cannot be neglected, either.
The Science and Technology Agency explains that, even if the vitrified high-level radioactive waste sinks into the sea in its containers, the effects of radiation on the human body is negligible.
But there are criticisms such as "the durability of vitrified high-level radioactive waste is problematic" and "the standard based on the assumption of a serious accidents during transportation, set by the International Atomic Energy Agency, is inadequate."
I hope that in order to obtain understanding among these countries, the government and FEPC respond to the questions put forward with an explanation referring to the specific data and evidence.
They should also provide the adequate explanation that Japanese nuclear power policy makes use of plutonium as fuel in fast breeder reactors and light-water reactors.
In the future, the transporting of the high-level radioactive waste is expected to take place one to two times per year, and within 10-something odd years, three thousand and some hundred canisters of vitrified high-level radioactive waste are expected to be returned from the UK and France.
In order to make the transport routine, collaboration with the countries involved is an absolute necessity.
The high-level waste is stored in Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited's temporary storage facility at Rokkasho Village in Aomori Prefecture for 30 to 50 years, but the local people fear that the facility might "become the final dumping ground without due debate."
The Atomic Energy Commission of Japan tentatively plans to establish the administrative body of the disposal business of high-level radioactive waste targeting in 2000, and to start operating the disposal site, to be built in the strata several hundred meters underground by the mid 2040s at the latest.
This looks like an easy-going plan, but the research and development of geological disposals are not going fast enough, and it is not certain whether or not the plan will be carried out according to schedule, since no local governments want to be a nuclear dumping ground.
Once a recycling plant for commercial use is completed in Rokkasho Village after 2000, the domestic production of high-level radioactive waste will gain momentum as well.
In order to gain understanding and support at home and abroad, public information disclosure and a sincere attitude are very important.
In that respect, it is not reasonable that FEPC does not disclose the cost of the recent transportation.
This is a matter that has an impact on electricity prices, and thus requires an explanation to the people.
As Japan is a nuclear superpower, it will forever face the issue of radioactive waste along with the task of securing its safety.
It should give up the wishful thinking that the issue "will take care of itself," and start wrestling with the waste measures seriously.
The House of Representatives Budget Committee concluded its two-day intensive deliberations concerning the bailout for the two failed credit unions, the Tokyo Kyowa and the Anzen, but the details are still not sufficiently revealed.
The crux of the matter is the validity of the financial policy that saved these credit unions and the people are not satisfied with the mere pretext of maintaining the credit and order in the financial industry.
The deliberations revealed that two years ago when Tokyo Metropolitan Government, with aid from the Ministry of Finance, investigated the credit unions, it was confirmed that both credit unions together already had uncollectible bad debts in the amount of nearly 50 billion yen.
The Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura replied in the Diet, "The government officials at that time probably thought that they could handle this amount through conventional means such as amalgamation," as if the issue had nothing to do with himself.
One year later, the uncollectible amount bloated to double the amount, exceeding 100 billion yen.
It means that this public money, that is, the public financial burden contributed by and donated from the people's savings and taxes, increased to cover that.
Then the question to ask is even with the Ministry of Finance participating in the inspection, why was a measure to prevent the increase of uncollectible debt not taken two years ago?
Why could they not tell them to suspend business operations sooner?
Harunori Takahashi, the former chairman of Tokyo Kyowa Credit Association, was renowned then as the head of the EIE group that had many problems due to the collapse of the bubble economy, and he must have been of great interest to the Ministry of Finance concerning the bad-loan disposal of banks such as the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan.
Moreover, the rationale for the bailout this time is that there are many financial institutions similarly at risk and there were fears for the ramification of banking panic.
If that is the case, does that mean that the uncollectible bad debts are also ballooning in other financial institutions at this very moment?
If the people are expected to pay the price eventually, that is unendurable.
One of the lessons the US learned in the rescue of savings and loan association (S&L) is the importance of early disposal of bad loans.
In the case of S&L, too, the management opened up the wound by pushing too much in six months or one year before the business failed, and as a result the citizens' financial burden rapidly increased.
Here, to our concern, it has revealed that Japanese authorities did not learn from this lesson from the US and postponed the handling of the issue for no reason, and in turn, they have been aggravating the situation.
On the other hand, even though both credit unions were saved in consideration of the credit and order of financial industry, as the actual conditions of reckless management are revealed one after another, day-by-day the people are losing their trust in financial systems and authorities.
In the backdrop against the Showa Financial Crisis which occurred nearly seventy years ago, there was the suspicion that, with the exposure of the unsavory ties between the Bank of Taiwan and Suzuki Shoten at that time, the two bills concerning the disposition of earthquake bills may be linked to the bailout of specific banks, and such suspicion fomented the banking panic.
Although its circumstance differs greatly from the recent case in question, risking people's trust in financial authorities must be avoided.
At the time of the Showa Financial Crisis, through the voluntary proposal of private banks, "Showa Bank" was established, which functioned as a bailout bank and played a part in calming down the banking panic.
Yet the "Tokyo Kyodo Bank," established to save the two credit unions this time, cannot be expected to open the way for such function.
If the people's trust is lost, money and banking have no use just like politics.
The authorities should never forget the fact that the people's trust lies at the bottom of the credit and order of the financial industry.
Lawsuits concerning information disclosure is on the increase lately.
Many of them demand the access to information in accordance with the bylaws of local governments, but the case ruled by the Supreme Court on the 24th was somewhat different.
What was in dispute was not whether the political fund reports can be accessed, but whether or not the granting of a copy can be requested.
With regards to the meaning of "disclosure" in the Political Fund Control Law, the Supreme Court expressed the interpretation that "the law acknowledges "access," but it does not secure the right to demand the granting of copies."
Their interpretation is that it is difficult to include the granting of copies to "access."
As a practice of disclosure, it is accepted to take handwritten notes when accessing the information.
Therefore, there is a view that "it can be said that the information is fully disclosed."
However, this is a matter relating to the release of political funds.
Will the notes be sufficient?
The judicial intention of the Fund Control Law is clearly stated in the general provisions.
"In order that the political activities be conducted under the people's constant supervision and judgment... contribute to the sound development of a democratic government by releasing the balance of political funds."
By its nature, the balance report should be the subject of supervision, and it serves the purpose of securing valuable information for the execution of suffrage.
Under the political situation where money politics is pointed out, it is essential to grasp the flow of money.
A report consisting of rows of figures cannot be checked thoroughly by taking notes alone.
Is there a logical reason at all, for one to take notes by hand in our contemporary society where photocopying is an integral part of our way of life?
I have reservations about the ruling.
In accordance with the bylaw, the residents of Osaka Prefecture demanded the issue of the photocopies of the balance report.
The background of this case is that as their request was rejected because the Ministry of Home Affairs instructed "not to accept" it, they in turn demanded the Prefectural Election Administration Commission to cancel the rejection.
The prefecture's bylaw states that "by its nature, the information kept by the prefecture shall belong to the prefectural residents, and hence it shall be shared."
The prefectural bylaw, too, is positive towards information disclosure, just as the Political Fund Control Law.
The photocopying issue could have been considered from this point.
Information disclosure is a systematic protection of the "right to know."
Of course, no one thinks that all the information possessed by the central and local governments should be disclosed.
Privacy must be respected.
If unfair damages are anticipated, corporate information can be protected.
There may also be "real term secrets" involving defense and foreign affairs.
Is it not the reality, however, that the information, which should be released, may be kept secret without much consideration, including the issue of photocopies?
Local governments are positive towards the institutionalization of information disclosure.
In 1982 the first bylaw in this respect was established in Kaneyama Town in Yamagata Prefecture, and now there are over 250 local governments which have realized the institutionalization.
In comparison to local governments, the state's attitude has so far been negative.
There is no prospect to establish a relevant law.
However, the "Administrative Reform Committee," established last year as an organization to oversee administrative reform, is said to be planning to make a proposal for the system within two years.
By all means, I would like the committee to carry out this task.
Information disclosure is not a "service" to be provided by the government administration.
It is the right of the people.
From this point of view, measures that would allow those who access the information to sufficiently understand it should be considered.
The citizens must also be carefully to "use information properly."
Infringement of rights by abusive use must never be permitted.
The development of a blue print for the reconstruction of the areas destroyed by the earthquake is underway.
A wide range of opinions must be taken up and be reflected in the process of building a "model city for disaster prevention."
In establishing the reconstruction plan, the main focus should be the construction of a city where the residents can truly feel the happiness of living there.
There are three things I would like to request.
First, how to view the city's optimal size is of an extreme importance.
For example, in the case of Kobe City, which is located between the Seto Inland Sea and the Rokko Mountains, 70% of its land is mountainous.
Including the farmland, flat land occupies only 30%.
Yet 1.5 million people have lived in the area.
The way the city was developed, that is, by securing the residential and business sites by scraping the mountains and filling in the sea, has been highly recognized as an urban management model partly because of its uniqueness, which was dubbed as the "Corp of Kobe City method."
On the other hand, it is an undeniable fact that the local residents had natural fears for and reservations about the large-scale manipulation of the natural environment.
It also should not be forgotten that in the Port Island and the Rokko Island, developed through reclamation, the residents have been greatly inconvenienced by the spread of secondary effects of the earthquake such as traffic problems, due to the prevalence of soil liquefaction.
Does a city need to aim for its expansion and growth to such an extent?
The urban planning draft compiled by the City of Kobe includes the development of a disaster-prevention park, widening of roads, and the development of community-oriented housing.
The directions of the particulars are good.
However, are there not issues to be reviewed with respect to the basic urban planning concept in the past?
It should be inspected unostentatiously.
Second, one would like to ask that the plan to secure permanent housing be finalized as the top priority among the reconstruction measures.
Prolonging the living in evacuation centers and temporary residences would make the residents lose their spirit.
In particular, it is essential to secure to the fullest extent dwellings with a reasonable price or rent payment for the average income class to easily move in.
To what extent could the public houses cover?
How much could be complemented by the private houses?
The construction site, number of houses to be supplied, construction schedule, and prices and rent should be decided quickly, and presented to the residents.
Certainly, the City of Kobe is planning these through the Emergency 3-year Earthquake Disaster Restoration Housing Construction and Improvement Project.
Hyogo Prefecture, too, is prepared to deal with the construction of "New 100-Year Houses" that are highly earthquake-resistant and durable through the "Hyogo Phoenix Plan" for the restoration.
However, it will take some time before the plan becomes concrete.
At such time, Hyogo Prefecture included the "early construction" of the Kobe Airport in its emergency plan for transportation and communication.
But this might cause opposition among the residents such as "do not mix up the order of priority."
This is because one can also sense the local political motivation after the attempt to attract the Kansai International Airport ended up in failure.
Third, I strongly hope that the principle of residents' participation be carried out from the draw-up stage of the urban planning.
Moreover, it is more important than anything else to devise a method to take up a diverse range of opinions and requests as much as possible.
In constructing a disaster-prevention park, it is inevitable to restrict the private rights to some extent.
Yet our country's government administration tends to dash linearly towards the enforcement of projects.
One fears for this even more, considering that there is an aspect of a time limit this time.
It is hoped that no effort be spared in carefully explaining the plan to the residents, and getting their approvals at the time of presenting the draft of the plan, at the start of the project, and at each phase of its progress.
The spirit of "make haste slowly" is rather essential.
President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea entered the third year of his term in office on the 25th.
Under the country's presidential system, the term of office is five years and reelection is prohibited.
Kim Young Sam's civilian government has now entered into the most important phase in South Korea's political history as it prepares to hand over power to the next regime.
The nation's political developments and its people's choice over the next couple of years might well affect the stability and prosperity of South Korea a hundred years from now and peace in the entire Northeast Asian region.
In June this year, for the first time in 35 years, South Korea will hold nationwide local elections to directly elect mayors and governors of provinces.
National Assembly elections are also scheduled for next year.
These will then be followed by the presidential election.
A recent opinion poll conducted by a private corporation in South Korean showed public support for President Kim at 67%.
We welcome this high rate of public support as an indication of the stability of its civilian administration and democracy taking root in South Korea.
Great hopes for the restoration of civilian rule for the first time in 32 years since 1961 and its stabilization were pinned on Kim Young Sam.
It took great political skill on his part to bring about this stable political state while wiping out the legacy of an over 30-year regime by leaders with a military background.
President Kim went about resolutely replacing the military leadership.
This smooth implementation of civilian rule is a tribute not just to the determination of South Korea's people to embrace democracy, but also to the maturity and realism of its military leaders in being able to understand and accept the changing times.
The political culture of South Korea had always been plagued by tit-for-tat politics directed at political adversaries and other opposing powers and "grudge politics."
President Kim bravely checked the re-emergence of such retaliatory politics.
Some opposition and dissatisfaction was voiced at the fact that he did not hold past military leaders liable for their misdeeds, but this can be interpreted as part of his effort to overcome the typically South Korean political culture.
Also on the diplomatic front, President Kim has made great achievements in the past two years.
Japan-Korea relations have improved, and the government has shown a willingness to allow Japanese movies and music to be released in South Korea.
We certainly hope it comes true.
In close cooperation with Japan and the United States, President Kim has also helped bring about a resolution of sorts on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He also played a critical role in the historic realization of the first summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and its continuation thereafter.
Against this backdrop of South Korea's improved international standing, President Kim launched a national segyehwa (globalization) policy as a new diplomatic strategy.
We welcome this as an initiative that will promote the globalization of South Korea and acceptance of North Korea as a member of global society.
Traditionally, South Korea has placed emphasis on strong nationalism as a way to confront foreign influences.
This was an inevitable choice for a country yet to have any economic clout.
Now, however, having become one of the economic giants in Asia, South Korea needs to adjust its system and mindset to meet global criteria and standards.
Segyehwa and human resources development are indispensable for South Korea not to be washed aside by the currents that shape world history.
In South Korean political circles, speculation is already rife regarding a power struggle in the next government.
Besides the debate on the generation change, there has also been a dramatic party split.
We urge Korean politicians to remember the philosophy whereby democratization and a civil government was intended for the people rather than politicians' desire for power.
For the further progress and the future of South Korea, politicians should do their best and expect some self-sacrifice.
The further stabilization of the civilian regime and the maturation and progress of South Korean politics will be the most important factors that affect peace and stability in Northeastern Asia.
Wiser in the face of the delay in emergency response during the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the government as well as and opposition parties are now reviewing the country's crisis management system.
As for one, the Cabinet meeting held on the 21st passed the government's "Enhancement of primary information-gathering during major disasters and provisional measures to establish a system for information conveyance to the Prime Minister and others."
It is stipulated that if an earthquake of five or above on the Japanese intensity scale or a major volcanic eruption takes place, the Cabinet Information Research Office will gather and summarize the information obtained from the Meteorological, National Police, Defense, Maritime Safety, and Fire Defense agencies, and promptly report to the Prime Minister's official residence.
The deputy chief cabinet secretary will call a meeting of the heads of all concerned offices, and a disaster-information squad comprising of experts from the National Police, Defense, Fire Defense, and Maritime Safety Agency will analyze and assess all the information coming in, including television pictures taken from helicopters.
In crisis management, grasping the whole picture of the incident or disaster promptly and accurately is of utmost priority.
In case of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, however, this most important collection of information was delayed, and as the controversy surrounding the initial mobilization of the Self-Defense Forces shows, not just at the Prime Minister's official residence but the entire government ended up playing an extremely passive role in responding to the crisis.
Under the current system, any information on natural disasters is sent to the National Land Agency's Disaster Prevention Bureau through local governments and in turn to the Prime Minister's official residence.
This time around in Kobe, however, as the local governments themselves were affected and the "vertical administrative" structure of government compounded the problem, this system failed to function, and the prime minister's official residence ended up being an "information-deserted area."
Compiled after reflecting on this experience, Provisional Measures consist solely of steps that should have been taken as a matter of course.
With a closer look, however, they appear to be makeshift measures barely enough to overcome the crisis.
It also is dissatisfactory that the review of the situation was internally done by the officials.
The most critical issue, that is, the obstacles caused by the vertical administrative structure, has not been completely addressed either.
On the contrary, it is rather surprising that even such a mediocre system had not been in place earlier.
They deserve the criticism for their lack of a responsibility structure and a sense of emergency, as well as being negligent.
For infallible crisis management of natural disasters, we require a system that will work across ministries and agencies involved, unhampered by the limitations of individual organizations, and the viewpoint that the nation, municipal bodies, and citizens all join hands to effectively deal with emergencies.
A bureaucrat-led review of the current system has its own limit, as clearly shown by the Provisional Measures.
Radical steps, such as incorporating bold ideas from specialists from the private sector must be taken.
In this regard, setting up the "Interim Disaster Prevention Investigating Committee" in early March, as planned by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and others, is agreeable.
The plan was initiated by an urgent appeal at the "Great Hanshin Earthquake Reconstruction Conference" held in Osaka City on the 9th by the Kansai Productivity Center and the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives (Kansai Keizai Doyukai).
The appeal was to hold a "People's Crisis Management Forum" for the general public to deliberate an effective crisis management system, and Prime Minister Murayama, hearing of this, conceived the idea of setting up the Committee.
The Committee will be made up of about ten people from the private sector and it is expected to submit a recommendation sometime around the end of the year.
I wonder, however.
Since major disasters strike without warning, they should better not take until the end of the year but provide the recommendation by, for instance, the summer, and expedite the actual formation of the crisis management system.
And while we are at it, the reformation of ministries and agencies such as the National Land Agency, which is designated as responsible for handling disasters, must also be discussed as part of administrative reform.
The South Asian giant India is lately the focus of a lot of attention from the advanced nations.
The reason is that India has begun to wield the charms of its huge market of over 800 million people.
It was with the coming to power of Narasimha Rao in 1991 that the Indian government, which had, since the country's independence in 1947, always been highly protective of its domestic industries, first embarked on economic liberalization.
The government has hammered out drastic economic liberalization policies such as opening up to private enterprises of industries traditionally monopolized by the public sector, and loosening of import restrictions and foreign currency controls.
The highlight is the deregulation of foreign investment.
The upper limit of foreign ownership was first raised from 40 per cent to 51 per cent, and eventually 100 percent foreign-owned was also approved.
The Gulf War of 1991 was the trigger for this switchover in policies.
With oil prices hitting the roof due to the war and money sent home by Indian expatriates in the Middle East dramatically reduced, foreign currency reserves were depleting fast and the country's enormous overseas debt sent it into a state of bankruptcy.
The International Monetary Fund offered assistance on condition of economic liberalization, and in an effort to breathe new life into an economy suffocating under the stress of closed policies, the Rao government decided to open the doors.
Also, the international environment surrounding India had also changed.
In its conflicts with Pakistan and China, India had maintained close ties with the former Soviet Union, but with the breaking up of the USSR, India lost this backing, and became compelled to improve relations with the West.
Against this backdrop of the country's changed domestic and international status, foreign investment from advanced nations has risen sharply.
It rose from 291 investments totaling 5.3 billion rupee in 1991 to 785 at 88.5 billion rupee in 1993, and between January and September last year, the total volume of foreign investment was 91.1 billion rupee, already surpassing the previous year's volume.
Among them, American companies are the most active, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all foreign investment in India.
Even Japanese corporations, which had so far concentrated their investment efforts in China and Southeast Asia, have now started looking toward India, and direct investments have risen 2.6 billion rupee in 1993 to 3.55 billion rupee between January and September last year, making Japan India's fifth largest foreign investor.
Primarily in joint ventures for small passenger vehicle production, Japanese companies have entered into a wide range of areas including electrical household appliances, communications, and finance.
India's per-capita GNP is just over 300 dollars, but the country has a middle class of about 200 million people.
The class that can afford cars and electrical household appliances has up to 50 to 60 million people, making it quite an attractive market.
The United States, forced by Japanese companies to take a back seat in Southeast Asia, is desperate to capture the Indian market.
In January this year, the Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, visited India with twenty-plus delegates from the business community, and made an agreement to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
Earlier, the Secretary of Defense, William Perry, had visited India and succeeded in further promoting a close cooperative relationship in security areas, including an agreement on setting up a council consisting of military experts.
As for Japan, six delegations from business organizations and trade companies visited India last year, and Ryutaro Hashimoto, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, visited the country in January this year and promised to promote investment.
It is as though advanced nations are all on a "pilgrimage" to India.
While more and more businesses are expected to head to India in the future, we should not be too preoccupied with seeing India as only a market.
We should not forget that behind the economic liberalization there are still a few ten million poor people in this country who live hand to mouth.
Up to fiscal 1993, aid in both forms of grant and loan offered by Japan to India has added up to 1.5 trillion yen.
Japan is the biggest donor country, and we hope it will continue to be so.
We also cannot ignore India as a political giant who has started looking to the West.
Japan's interest in Asian diplomacy has extended only to the Association of South East Asian Nations.
The time has come for us to commit ourselves to building a relationship with this great nation beyond this.
On the 27th, the budget for fiscal 1995 was sent to the Upper House, having been passed by the Lower House.
Passed at a speed equaling the current postwar record and certain to be finalized by the end of the current fiscal year, it may give us the impression that the Murayama cabinet securely maintains and runs the government.
In truth, and quite to the contrary, the latest rumors are that the government is now "on its deathbed."
The exceptional speed of deliberations is attributed to the whole-hearted cooperation from non-government parties which prioritized setting rehabilitation measures for the aftermath of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and a controversial secession attempt of the "New Democratic League" (Shinminren), the Social Democratic Party's center and right-wing policy-making group, which had been rocking the Murayama government to its very foundation, was also stopped by the earthquake.
As it were, the current political "stability" is nothing more than a superficial one caused by the "political ceasefire" that stemmed from the earthquake.
Regarding the restoration budget, even though we had claimed that the funds should be obtained by rearranging other budget items through ways including thorough review of public works spending, it is quite regrettable that the government should have given in to the whims of the Ministry of Finance and simply passed the original budget without any changes, giving excuses like the lack of time.
At any rate, political chaos in the two months since the New Year has been too horrific.
The inability of Prime Minister Murayama to control or lead his government is, in particular, unbearable to watch.
The government's disorganization, such as the delay in mobilizing forces in the wake of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, is the result of successive generations of postwar cabinets neglecting to create an effective crisis management system to deal with major disasters or national crises, and it is, perhaps, rather harsh to lay the blame squarely on Mr. Murayama.
Having said that, the Prime Minister's lack of crisis awareness, the incoherence of his words and actions, and the sluggishness with which he responded to the crisis, and, in all, the poor show he put up, are enough to question his suitability for the post at the helm of the Japanese government.
The same could be said about the administrative reform that he positioned as "the biggest political challenge of the cabinet" and proudly declared he would leave his fate to the outcome of the reform.
While Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura of Sakigake and the Liberal Democratic Party are confronting head on about the liquidation or abolishment and merger of quasi-governmental corporations, laying bare the egos protecting "ministerial interests" and those acting as agents for the central government, all Mr. Murayama did was twiddle his thumbs like a bystander, postponing the resolution of the issue.
With regard to deregulation, which aims at economic revitalization and is regarded as important in Japan-US relations, the government has only submitted an "interim report" while Mr. Murayama has not determined his own policy.
Although the appointment of a civilian as Secretary for the Administrative Reforms Committee was strongly called for, the government buckled under the pressure from government offices and decided unofficially to appoint a bureaucrat.
There is absolutely no sign of "Murayama, the Man of Administrative Reforms."
While the bailout of credit unions that collapsed due to reckless management takes on the hue of a "collusive" bailout involving the government and bureaucrats and the business community misusing taxpayers' money to relieve the damages, Prime Minister Murayama seems to have no intention of taking any countermeasures.
As the Murayama government's leadership and appeal have rapidly been deteriorating and his prestige greatly damaged, already "post-Murayama" movements are clearly taking shape in a number of ways.
He always says, "It is not as though I wanted to be prime minister," and if this be true, he should not have anything to lose.
If Mr. Murayama can give up his attachment to the post, he could exercise his power as prime minister more decisively and deal with difficult situations with dauntless courage.
Also, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Here we suggest to the prime minister that rather than devoting himself to prolonging his time in office, he should be resolute in exercising strong leadership even at the cost of his post.
The waters are getting murky around the Spratly Islands.
The origin of this dispute is a concrete structure built by China on the Mischief Reef in the Eastern Spratlys, which the Philippines claim sovereignty.
As President Ramos of the Philippines has condemned the "act of invasion" by China, and the Philippine Congress hurriedly passed the bill to modernize the nation's armed forces, which had been long delayed, the situation has become disquieting.
The China defends its action by saying that what it built on the reef is not a military facility as the Philippines claim, but rather an emergency shelter for Chinese fishermen.
At around the same time, the Governor of Hainan Province, which has jurisdiction over the Spratly Islands, known to the Chinese as the Nansha Islands, inspected the area and erected a stone monument indicating its administrative rights on the southernmost shore reef, Zengmu Reef.
In territorial disputes, what it all boils down to is actual control.
There seems to be little doubt that, through this series of actions, China has been aiming at expanding its effective territory of control in the Spratly Islands.
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim control of the entire archipelago, the surrounding seabed of the Spratly Islands being rich in oil resources, while the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have claimed ownership of some of the islands.
There was even a naval confrontation between China and Vietnam over some shore reef in these islands in 1988.
Those countries have continued to build sentry posts and erect stone monuments on even those shore reefs that become almost submerged during high tides, in their effort to expand the territory under their control.
Also in 1992, China enacted the Law on the Territorial Sea and formally stated that its territory includes the Spratly Islands, and since then it has gone all out to develop the marine resources in the South China Sea.
This Mischief Reef incident appeared to have shocked related nations since China's expansion of its effective territorial control has extended to the shore reef for which a member state of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has claimed sovereignty.
There is no brilliant idea yet on the table to resolve the dispute concerning the Spratly Islands, for which there are complicated overlapping claims from several countries, and it might be most practical for them to shelve the territorial issue and seek a breakthrough by making efforts to establish a joint development of the resources.
While China was the first to propose this scheme, and now the number of supporting countries, such as Malaysia, has gradually increased, the issue has also been brought up at the unofficial international workshop on the disputes over the Spratly Islands, hosted by Indonesia and held annually since 1990.
They should urgently finalize the details including how to promote joint development and profit distribution.
China's share of the responsibility, having already shown its strong presence as a regional superpower, is large.
China has been calling for shelving the territory issue to concentrate on joint development.
For these very reasons, China should refrain from taking action that may affect the present situation.
Why does China not take the initiative and offer a proposal including freezing the present effective control of the Spratly Islands?
Also, China has always rejected the "internationalization of the Spratly dispute," demanding peaceful solutions through bilateral talks, but for the third parties it is hard to understand why multi-lateral talks are no good.
We suggest that they should take more advantage of such opportunities as the ASEAN Regional Forum, which will meet for the second time this summer.
The proclamation of the ASEAN foreign minister's meeting in 1992, which underscored the non-use of force in the South China Sea and emphasized the peaceful resolution of the territorial-rights issue has played a major role in preventing conflicts in the region.
We look forward to the second ARF bringing out a new instrument promoting a peaceful solution to the disputes.
The bill to promote decentralization, aimed at systematically promoting the devolution of central bureaucratic power and authority to local governments, was approved by the Cabinet and submitted to the Diet.
This is a highly significant development since it means that the doors to decentralization, which had been long shut, will be finally opened.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake showed us that there are inadequacies in the government's disaster prevention system for large-scale natural disasters, and that it cannot function effectively under the current management system of a centralized government.
The importance of reviewing the power distribution between the central and local governments and the transformation to a decentralized nation are the very lessons learnt from the earthquake and are critical for modern society.
The utmost focal issue in the bill to promote decentralization was to what extent authority is to be given to the "Committee to Promote Decentralization," a watchdog for the government's performance.
Last fall, six local bodies including the National Governors' Association, and the Local Government System Research Council jointly recommended that the Committee should be given great authority.
In its "Government Policy Principles on Decentralization" developed at the end of last year, however, the government regressed with its noncommittal statement that the Committee may submit suggestions to the government.
The positioning of the Promotion Committee is the core issue of this bill.
We had asked that any emasculated bill should be called off.
As a result, the scope of the Committee's authority is now clearly defined.
Specifically, it was first clearly stipulated in the bill that the Committee would recommend specific guidelines for plans to promote decentralization to the prime minister and monitor the implementation of such plans.
Besides mandating the prime minister to respect such guidelines and inputs, the bill also makes it possible for the Committee to request the submission of information from administrative offices and local governments, and to investigate their performance.
All these clauses are quite appropriate in their content, and their inclusion in the proposed bill can be appreciated.
Prime Minister Murayama has always ranked decentralization, together with administrative reform, deregulation, and information disclosure, as the most important task for the Cabinet.
Administrative reform has already stumbled over the abolishment and merger of government-affiliated financial institutions; if decentralization is choked by resistance from the central government, then that could prove fatal.
Perhaps the central government had no choice but to accept the criticism from local governments and public opinions.
Nonetheless, it is hard to imagine that this can trigger off the rapid progression of decentralization.
There also are many unresolved issues.
One of them is the selection of the seven members of the Committee to Promote Decentralization.
The fate of the decentralization effort hinges on the people who form this Committee.
Desirably, the chairperson should be a person who is regarded as someone with great influence in the central government, while the committee members should include citizens and those related to local governments who have constructive ideas about decentralization.
We would like the "old boys" from the central government to be avoided as much as possible.
Another issue is that the way to realize decentralization still remains unclear.
Everything, including how to transfer authority such as agency-delegated tasks, has been entrusted entirely with the Committee and the Cabinet.
In that sense, the doors have been opened, but we are still only at the entrance.
In response to the government's proposal, the New Frontier Party and some private organizations have offered new proposals and more radical counterproposals.
We hope an unambiguous plan for promoting decentralization will be developed through the medium of debates in the Diet.
The local governments also have a role that they must play.
Rather than consider decentralization as a process of getting authority distributed from the central government, they must work at further strengthening their approach towards the central government, considering the move at par with aiming for "local sovereignty."
The Pentagon's "East Asia Security Strategy Report," announced on the 27th, makes note of a new cause for instability in Asia, and revealed that a 100,000 strong US military will continue to be stationed in the region.
Rather than being the Clinton administration's new Asian policy, the report expresses its perception of the current situation in Asia and its understanding of Asia as a whole that form the basis of a security strategy for this region.
It repeatedly explains again the necessity of continuing to position the US military in Asia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in response to an isolationist mood in the US which centered on the demands by Congress to cut down on defense spending and reduce the US forces in Asia.
The report, perhaps considering the Japan-bashing in Congress, also stresses that Japan has been shelling out a huge sum of money to accommodate the US military and to cooperate with UN peacekeeping operations.
It is a document aimed at containing isolationist tendencies and emphasizing the importance of internationalism.
The report acknowledges that with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of a US-Russia partnership, a serious threat in Asia has been destroyed.
On the other hand, it points out the possibility of regional conflicts such as the Spratly Islands dispute to increase.
The report warns that if the American military's presence in Asia were to decline under these circumstances, "other countries may replace us in a way that would not be to the advantage of the US or our allies."
The report also tries to rally back to the economy-based foreign policy promoted by the State Department.
The Clinton administration's No.1 priority in its diplomacy has, from the start, been to expand US exports through the opening up of foreign markets.
The report, having noted that it is only with economic growth in Asia that the opening of markets can benefit the US, emphasizes that this economic growth cannot be achieved in the absence of security and regional stability.
This is a clear statement of awareness that the expansion of US exports can only be realized with the establishment of security in the region, which could be called a very realistic judgment.
As for the US-Japan relationship, the report states "no other bilateral relationship is more important than that with Japan," and highly appreciates that such relationship "will be a foundation" of its regional security policy and "the US's global strategy initiative," and drive a wedge in the persistent "Neglect Japan" argument voiced by some Americans.
It underscores the need for confidence building through conventions such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and dispute-settlement through negotiations.
It also proposes the establishment of the Northeast Asia Security Consultations Committee to further deepen confidence building and to discuss problems in that region.
If "marked" from an Asian standpoint, the Pentagon's report can be praised for its composed awareness of circumstances and understanding of Asia more than ever.
However, we cannot help but feel concerned about the fact that the role of their military base in Okinawa is still underscored.
While the report shows the understanding of Japan's constitutional constraints, clearer and more specific references regarding the limit of our responsibilities was called for.
One of the reasons post-Cold War Japan-US and US-Asia relations are complex is that the two parties have failed to find a common value regarding security.
Even in this report, while benefits to the US have been underscored, it is evident that common values and/or principles have yet to be discovered.
In a hearing on whether registered foreign nationals ought to be allowed voting rights in local elections, the Supreme Court has adopted a constitutional decision that would open the doors to its possibility.
This decision could be a major step forward in guaranteeing human rights for registered foreign nationals.
While the actual appeal by second-generation Korean nationals living in Japan was dismissed, the decision was still unusually progressive for a Supreme Court that is normally humbly self-restrained.
However, while stating, "the constitution does legally forbid a local public body to take action to grant voting rights," it also added that "not taking such action does not constitute a breach of the constitution."
In short, the decision has left it entirely up to the local legislature.
The Diet must treat this with due seriousness and further deepen the debate.
Concerning national elections, they are constitutionally stipulated to be a "right reserved for citizens," and the Supreme Court does not approve the right of the registered foreign nationals to vote.
For voting rights in local elections, the constitution stipulates that "residents will cast their votes," and the case was woven around the definition of "resident": the court passed a judgment leading to the approval of suffrage based on the interpretation that "public affairs closely related to the everyday life of residents ought to be settled based on the wishes of the residents of that area."
This can be seen as a conclusion that upholds the principle of local self-governance.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been all along of the opinion that "granting voting rights to foreign nationals is an extremely complicated issue."
There are academic theories suggesting the same view.
On the other hand, there are other theories that accept voting rights for foreign residents in local elections based on the understanding that "since national laws takes precedence over local bylaws, the formulation of regulations reflecting the wishes of foreign nationals at the local level will not undermine the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty."
At the district-court level as well, even though the claims were ultimately dismissed, court decisions displayed a certain level of understanding of the plaintiff's case through observations such as, "it is possible to interpret the constitution allowing certain foreign nationals the rights of suffrage in municipal elections," or, "it could be viewed unfair that permanent foreign residents, who are important members of local communities, are unable to participate in local administration."
The Supreme Court's decision was made as a result of all these progress, and can be seen as a sign of changing times.
The past few years have witnessed mounting claim for the registered foreign nationals' voting rights.
Questions against the current situation where foreign nationals "cannot even participate in the close-to-home local administration while being obliged to pay taxes" is evident not only among foreign nationals themselves, but has also gained ground among the various local assemblies.
Starting with the passing of a resolution to submit a letter of request to the government requesting suffrage in local elections by the Council of Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, in September 1993, there has been a spate of written opinions and petitions being adopted in many local assemblies.
The home affairs ministry has also received letters to request the granting of suffrage.
Moreover, last year's debate on political reforms included the enactment of the Political Party Subsidization Law, and the issue of suffrage has been discussed in light of the fact that foreign residents also bear the burden of public expenditure for political parties.
However, it seems that even among permanent foreign residents the same consensus does not necessarily exist.
There are those who do not aggressively seek the right, fearing that debating the issue at this point could lead to a policy of forced assimilation.
There are also those who assert that "acquiring rights as a foreign citizen from their native country is the foremost priority."
In last year's debate on electoral reforms, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that, along with issues such as the electoral participation of Japanese nationals living abroad and the lowering of the voting age to 18 years, it would also review the issue of the participation of registered foreign nationals in local elections.
Taking the opportunity provided by the Supreme Court's judgment, we would like to call for an early review on the issue.
The time has come to devise a course of action that will draw wide consensus.
Why has a renowned investment bank, Barings Bank, which was managing some funds of, among others, the British royal family, failed so quickly?
What prompted them to allow a 28-year-old dealer to speculate without any limit in the range of 2 billion yen?
It is a story very difficult for us to believe.
Since not all the facts have been revealed, we cannot draw any conclusions yet.
But this news of a fiasco overseas doesn't feel foreign to Japan.
We would like to request that the financial and securities sectors as well as their responsible authorities follow how the situation evolves and draw some lessons for themselves.
The primary factor behind the cause of this failure is derivatives trading, generally nick-named the high-technology of finance.
Financial services have become very complex with the introduction of different products such as futures, swaps, in which interest rates are traded, and options, in which trading rights themselves of stocks or other products are exchanged.
While derivatives have the positive aspect of reducing fluctuation risks in exchange and interest rates, leading to lower financial costs, they also possess an element of speculation due to the fact that you can trade large sums with a small amount of seed money.
In addition, if you are not the dealer directly involved, the specifics of derivatives trading are difficult to understand because it is typically conducted off the books, meaning that trades are not directly reflected in the balance sheet.
This type of trading, however, has spread in Japan as well, acting as a major profit generator for certain city banks and long-term credit banks.
In order to expand their derivative divisions, major banks and security firms are working hard to secure staff, as seen in hiring sprees of graduate students in science or math.
The collapse of Barings in a sense highlights the risky side of derivatives trading again.
Why did they fail in risk management?
The shockwave of its fall has been all the greater because it was such a prestigious investment bank.
In Japan, Tokyo Securities lost 32 billion yen in derivatives trading.
In the U.S.A., California's Orange County is suffering from a reduction in the level of public services such as education and healthcare because losses in derivatives trading have forced the county into bankruptcy.
Japanese banks are laden with huge bad debts due to the collapse of the bubble economy and are facing a challenging situation which may shake up the financial system itself.
Banks are still producing fairly presentable financial results simply because of the continuation of low interest rates.
However, interest rates are now shifting into reverse gear, and the future warrants no optimism.
It is rumored that the chairman of a major American bank that is keen on derivatives trading directly checks out the bank's derivatives transactions every day.
This shows the importance of risk management surrounding derivatives trading, which we wish to emphasize repeatedly.
Even though it was a single corporation that collapsed, the ripple effect has caused confusion throughout the financial and capital markets.
International financial organizations have discussed possible regulations and controls for derivatives trading in the past as well.
Many think that it is difficult to enforce information disclosure or regulations because of the fact that derivatives are traded in huge amounts and in a short span of time.
Still, we should define the roles of the responsible authorities and the central bank for the purpose of preventing confusion in the financial and capital markets.
We do not deny the positive side of derivatives trading, but we must also point out its other side, where it has separated from the real economy and is represented by ups and downs amongst financial insiders.
Trading itself is not supposed to be the main goal in the financial sector.
In that sense, excessive derivatives trading should be prepared to see a backlash sooner or later.
Suppose you are visiting a government office for some business.
At the wicket, the machine will ask you, "Please enter your ten-digit number."
What is required is not your name but a number.
According to an announcement made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the first of this month, we understand that the Ministry intends to assign numbers to the population based on the Basic Resident Register.
They even express their wish to implement the idea in three years.
Their reasoning is that the numbering system will "allow sophisticated paperwork to be processed quickly."
We are not sure what the sophisticated paperwork constitutes, but they likely want, in short, to instantaneously grasp any address or income changes.
The Ministry of Home Affairs must have lots of time on its hands or look down on the public to have come up with such a selfish idea.
Let us first look at the study group that prepared this report.
"The Study Group on Resident Recording System's Network Building," which we understand is a private advisory committee for the director general of the Local Administration Bureau, was organized last August with 14 committee members.
Although the Ministry maintains that it recruited the members from academia or experts, half of the members are staff and retired staff of the ministry as well as staff of regional and municipal governments.
Not only that, they have had only four meetings so far.
Such criticism is unavoidable, as the study group is a name only and, in reality, is a facade to cover up the ministry's intent.
Secondly, the announcement came so suddenly.
We understand that the establishment of the study group itself was not made public.
The group seems to have avoided the mass media in their work.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also started to work towards the integration of ID numbers of different public pension plans.
The Ministry of Finance has for some time now been very active in promoting a taxpayer identification number to secure complete tax collection.
In this time of an advancing information society, those government agencies that are to manage ID numbers will gain great power in their hands.
It is not certain if these moves represent a competition amongst the ministries or their joint strategy, but it is certain that things are moving ahead steadily without the knowledge of us, the public.
Thirdly and most importantly, there is the question of two sides of a coin: the protection of privacy and the disclosure of information.
Although the Study Group's report provides the condition of "upon full consideration to the protection of privacy," nothing is stated on how such consideration should be given.
This January it was found that a listing business had taken a copy of the Basic Residents' Registry from the city hall of Shiki, Saitama.
Although it is strongly suspected that the crime was committed by an insider, no suspects have been identified.
It will probably remain unsolved.
It is only such government offices that have this level of management performance.
They have no respect for privacy or for anything else.
Nevertheless, they have no intention of disclosing information of their own.
It has been over twenty years since the civil movement demanding the introduction of an information disclosure law began.
Since the era of the Liberal Democratic Party administrations began, prime ministers have always expressed their commitment to the Diet to work on the introduction of the law at the earliest possible time.
The Murayama Cabinet has also made the pledge, but the work is stagnating and not progressing at all.
It is because bureaucrats are strongly opposing the idea.
The disclosure of information has two sides to it.
One is to make transparent the information that government offices hold and own, and the other is to check how personal information is collected and handled at government offices.
In this information age, people should have the right to control the flow of information concerning themselves.
Yet this aspect is almost neglected at present.
What they are doing is concentrating the power to manage the information on the Japanese people while opposing the introduction of the information disclosure law.
Which developed country has such pompous and arrogant government officials?
The slogans "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Power" were used in a political world governed by terror created by the writer George Orwell.
We have a chilling feeling, as if our government officials are the officers described in that novel.
"Never mind your nationality! Come and eat your fill, everybody!"
These were the words a noodle shop owner spoke to non-Japanese people who were shy to come forward at an evacuation center, when he was offering the first ever hot food there after the earthquake.
His action typifies the principle of help and rescue for foreigners at the time of emergency.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake caused damage to residents regardless of their nationalities.
Aid efforts must be equally provided to them.
As aid plans take shape, however, this principle of equality tends to break down.
The local communities affected by the disaster should make the commitment and efforts to remove the barrier of nationality that exists in many administrative procedures.
At the time of the earthquake, 100,000 people from approximately 100 countries were living in Hyogo Prefecture.
Besides the permanent residents from South and North Korea, the prefecture has many international students and corporate trainees.
It is also estimated that there were approximately 4,000 foreigners who were overstaying their visa at that time.
Many among them were killed or injured and suffered a loss of dwelling or job, but the actual loss and damage are not fully tallied yet.
The fates of some students are still unknown because they had very few acquaintances to report on them.
A search for their whereabouts should be conducted as soon as possible.
There is a stream of international students going home, giving up on their study after losing their rented rooms or part-time jobs.
Their return home is evidence of the insufficiency of our aid to them.
It is disheartening to see these young people who had their dreams taken away.
Although private organizations are working hard to find alternative locations for destroyed Japanese language schools or accommodations, we would very much like to see the active involvement of the national government and regional or local governments.
Such programs as the assignment of temporary housing, distribution of donated moneys, medical assistance, and the payout of outstanding wages by the government are commendable for their administration without regard for nationality.
The private support organizations that offer consultation to foreign residents have had no shortage of complaints from them that they don't understand the programs or procedures because the explanations are available only in the Japanese language.
The problem can be characterized as a nationality barrier.
The information provided should be made fully understandable.
It is also desirable to be flexible over things like the allocation of condolence monies for deceased students so that their families do not have to come to Japan more than once just for the application procedures for the money.
Those who are overstaying their visas are in the most difficult situation.
They are very likely excluded from every aid and support program.
The Japan Red Cross and other organizations plan to distribute donated relief funds to them as well, but not too many people come forth due to their fear of deportation.
That also explains why the full picture of the damage is not known yet.
This may be a good opportunity to hand over the contact function to the private organizations that have been providing advice and consultation to these people as on-going services.
What we need is an arrangement that goes beyond the principles of law.
The issue of people without any health insurance coverage, common among foreign residents, is becoming serious.
Those who stay in Japan for a year or less are not eligible for health insurance and are, as a rule, required to pay in full out of their own pocket.
There are already pleas reaching the helpdesks of private support groups that they cannot afford the healthcare cost.
Some hospitals and municipal governments are making efforts to make these people eligible for free services by on-site medical relief squads, which are provided subject to the Disaster Relief Law.
There is one city that provides relief from outstanding medical payments.
The national government should come up with a general policy to make sure the people who were affected by the same earthquake are not treated differently depending on their locations or the medical facilities they visit.
There should be no discrimination by nationality in the relief measures for non-Japanese permanent residents, but the reality demands close scrutiny.
It is desired that there be no unfair discrimination against them in things like grants for rebuilding of foreign schools, low-interest loans for reopening of business, and lay-offs using the earthquake as an excuse.
Not only non-Japanese permanent residents but also other temporary residents from overseas such as students are part of our community and our comrades in the reconstruction of the region.
Local citizens keep helping each other regardless of their nationalities.
The government should work out such progressive policies that would realize a nationality-free social system for the affected area before anywhere else.
In a sense, the Great Hanshin Earthquake is demanding us to closely reexamine the relationship between the community and its residents as well as the natural environment and human beings in a densely populated city.
The Osaka Nishi-Yodogawa case, a lawsuit fought for 17 years on the causal relationship between air pollution and diseases alleged to be caused by the pollution, has come to a significant breakthrough.
Let us first simply celebrate the successful settlement between the plaintiffs, who are patients of the disease, and the defendant corporations, negotiated at the Osaka District Court and High Court.
This earthquake disaster is reported to have acted as a major catalyst for the decisions on both sides.
Nishi-Yodogawa Ward in Osaka City, where the plaintiffs reside, has suffered the most from the pollution in the city, and the impact on the defendant companies has been huge as well.
Both probably felt strongly that "This is no time for fighting."
It should be a welcome sign that defendant companies expressly made their commitment to further advance their anti-pollution measures and work together with the residents to revive the community.
The plaintiffs say that they will devote 1.5 billion yen, approximately 40% of the settlement, to the improvement of living environments and revitalization of the community rather than to personal compensation.
It is an innovative approach that could be also characterized as refreshing.
Let us look forward to its future results.
But we cannot help feeling the case took too long.
It took so long that some claim that approximately 100 patients have passed away since the proceedings began.
Their bitterness about the case must have been immeasurable.
In the settlement, however, many of the demands from the plaintiffs were accepted, including apologies from the defendant companies and the admission of the causal relationship between the emissions from their factories and the air pollution.
We empathize with the plaintiffs as they celebrate "a settlement of victory."
In the background behind the about-face in the rigid stance that the defendant corporations had maintained for so long, we see the establishment of the judicial decisions handed down in a series of cases involving air pollution.
In all of the Chiba Kawatetsu, Primary Nishi-Yodobashi, Kawasaki, and Kurashiki cases, the first court decided that the companies involved were jointly liable in tort and should pay compensation.
It is hoped that this settlement will positively influence other pollution cases in different areas, especially in such a manner as to facilitate their end and favor prompt relief for plaintiff patients.
It is truly regrettable, on the other hand, that the resolution of the major issue is deferred.
That is the fact that the national government and the Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation, which are the parties charged with the responsibility of automobile emission creating compound pollution with emission from factories, are not involved in the settlement.
The sky over Japan suffers far more from NOx than from Sox, which comes mainly from factory stacks.
Automobiles are one of the biggest producers of Nox.
A causal relationship between Nox and health problems has been recognized in the Chiba Kawatetsu and Kurashiki. pollution cases
It is also necessary to remember that the Osaka High Court, in the Highway 43 case, made a strong statement in its decision recognizing the damage from noise as being among the pollution caused by cars: "The road had no considerations for its impact on the local residents and is still defective today in that regard."
The government and the Hanshin Expressway Public Corporation should realize that there is no way they can keep denying their responsibility.
At the same time, we want to demand that our national government develop comprehensive policies on roads and the environment with the aim of reducing automobile pollution.
A revival plan for the community prepared by the residents of Nishi-Yodogawa, in cooperation with various experts, includes a recommendation to enclose the expressway in a shelter-type structure and make the highway go underground.
This type of innovative idea is needed if we want to make urban planning and regional development truly owned by the respective community.
Let us not forget that this is exactly what we are facing in the reconstruction planning following the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Since the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly decided to freeze its decision on possible low-interest loans to the Tokyo Kyowa Credit Union and Anzen Credit Union as part of a measure to address their failures, the resolution of the problem has been delayed.
Let us present several demands for any measures the financial authority may propose in the future.
First of all, clearly define the oversight responsibilities that the Ministry of Finance and Metropolitan Tokyo had in relation to the relief measures for these financial institutions.
In addition, make decisions promptly to take necessary actions.
While they procrastinate in their decision, the nation's trust in the financial authority only wavers.
With a loss of credibility, the authority will be unable to take the next step in the reconstruction of the financial system.
There is some room for sympathy in the fact that they are held responsible for the result coming out despite all their diligent work, but they should draw the line here by giving their priority to the maintenance of the financial system.
Secondly, be aware that the concern over a possible spread of credit uneasiness to other parts of society is becoming a reality in addition to the outflow of deposits from these two credit unions.
The Bank of Japan should declare its continued supply of liquidity in order to cut off any such chain reaction of credit insecurity.
Thirdly, the relief provided to poorly managed institutions such as these credit unions and the protection their large accounts enjoy are causing a moral hazard in the population, and this type of vicious cycle should be prevented.
Payment of public funds to financial institutions that collapsed due to terrible management goes against the popular sentiment.
The simplest way to prevent any further problems is for the financial authority to declare again that only the first 10 million yen in any bank account is insured by the Deposit Insurance Corporation, and, as in the United States, notices to this effect should be displayed at tellers' counters.
Unfortunately, many large account holders at the two credit unions have already withdrawn their money, with no possibilities to reverse the relief measures introduced last December.
Granted that the criminal and civil responsibilities of the former management should be left in the hands of justice, is there a more equitable burden sharing with the large deposit holders who had the luck of salvation, such as not paying them the excessive interest portion of the deposit balance?
In the case of the financial crisis in the early Showa period, the population reacted to a political merchant scandal involving the Bank of Taiwan and Suzuki Shoten, and the Shinsai (Earthquake) Promissory Note Arrangement Bill and other bills needed for the maintenance of credit order were rejected in the Diet, causing further confusion.
This time again, we should strictly separate the issue of pursuing scandals such as the chaotic management of these credit unions or their relations with political and government circles from that of the required reconstruction of the financial system.
Finance is the heart of the capitalistic economy.
We need to be very cautious so as not to turn the bashing of bad guys in the financial sector into ganging up and bashing to destroy the pumping function of the heart.
In retrospect, it was last fall when the deregulation of the financial sector was completed at the demand of the U.S., and, on observing the formation and collapse of the bubble economy during the deregulation and this upheaval in the financial system, we cannot help questioning the Ministry of finance and the Bank of Japan as to what they have really been doing.
What benefits or meaning did this financial deregulation bring to the national economy?
Further, what do those banks represent to us, infatuated as they are with derivatives trading, which has little to do with the real economy?
They have no confidence to reflect on the basics and respond accordingly.
Since 1971, when the U.S. suspended the convertibility of the dollar to gold, the world of paper money has been bloated outrageously, with the dollar's decreasing value tormenting Japan as an appreciating yen even today.
Did financial deregulation end up as an attempt to do what the U.S. did after all?
We hope the current situation initiates a real and objective debate on the subject.
Mr. Taichi Sakaiya, a critic, made an interesting comment.
It came two years ago when the Law Regarding the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations was enacted.
He said: "Although the law itself has been enacted, the population, the critical party to the idea, is far from convinced, being 30% of in favor and 70% against, much less than 50:50. It is imperative to get the nation to believe that the relocation of the capital is indeed possible."
Mr. Sakaiya is one of the major members in the Investigating Committee for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations, which is composed of experts and Diet members.
His comment is right on the honest feeling of the citizens with respect to the relocation of the capital.
It is true that the argument for relocation has a history that may well be seen as useless repetition, just like ocean waves coming and going all the time.
This is because it has never got off the ground towards realization.
In the late 1950s, there was a blossoming of pro-relocation opinions.
In 1960, Mr. Eiichi Isomura advocated the Capital Building Plan at Mt Fuji, attracting a lot of attention.
His idea was to relocate the Diet and other capital functions at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
Stimulated by this relocation proposal, a variety of relocation plans was born.
Among these, the plan that likely came the closest to being implemented was one to relocate to the area surrounding Lake Hamana, prepared by the Ministry of Construction under the auspices of a powerful politician and then Minister, Ichiro Kohno.
The plan proposed to relocate the central functions of legislation, justice and administration in the first phase, and the related and ancillary functions in the second phase, at a cost of 1.3 trillion yen, a grand figure at that time.
The plan also included a projection that the relocation would eventually form a city of one million residents; it received a certain amount of public support, but the untimely death of Mr. Kohno put a quick end to its popularity.
Perhaps hoping to revitalize the discussion of relocation, the government in 1967 held a competition entitled "The Future Vision of Japan's Land and Lifestyle in the 21st Century."
Four years later, three winning teams were announced, with the Waseda University Team attracting special attention for its argument for "Relocation to the North."
The proposal was innovative in that it was based on an anti-Tokaido megalopolis view, opposing any megacity construction along the Tokaido route.
The selection of Tohoku for the relocation site, a complete departure from the conventional candidates, was highly regarded as the feature that set it apart from the traditional relocation concepts and as an effort to correct the ultra-concentration of power in Tokyo and of social assets along the Tokaido corridor.
Previous relocation plans shared a few things in common.
All certainly assumed a specific location as the destination, which fuelled the debate.
Then a movement to attract a relocated capital popped up, with both volunteer and recommended candidates stepping forward one after another.
It is a good thing to have more people and many opinions involved in the debate, but there was a tendency to vulgarize the issue to the level of the economic benefits or negative effects that the relocated community may have.
The discussion on the relocation was not very active from 1975 to1990.
On the other hand, the concentration of societal functions in Tokyo continued growing to a critical limit.
The housing and land shortage was getting serious, the urban problems associated with the megalopolis such as long commutes were only worsening, and the regions were losing their vitality.
As a response to these issues, the relocation debate was reinitiated.
On the national level, both houses of the Diet, on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the Diet in November 1990, adopted a resolution calling for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Government Organizations.
Following this initiative, the Advisory Committee on Relocating the Capital Functions, a personal advisory organization to the Director-General of the National Land Agency, produced an interim report in February 1992.
In the same year, the Law regarding the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations, a private member's bill, was enacted, and the Investigating Committee for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations was established in the Prime Minister's Office.
The Committee submitted an interim report last June.
The report is unique in that it advocates the need to relocate the capital not only to correct the excessive centralization in Tokyo but also to change the Tokyo-centered public perception that "Tokyo is the best" in everything.
Reviewing the history of the relocation debate, we can see that the candidate site for relocation came before any reasoning until around 1965 the first discussion was about the candidate site for relocation.
As a result, the debate did not go any further than to discuss where to relocate.
The Investigating Committee is to produce its second interim report this summer, with its conclusion to be made by next spring.
The discussion of where to relocate will finally commence after that.
The debate on the capital relocation is again gaining momentum after a period of quiet, prompted by the terrible potential consequences of a disaster in a large city, as the recent Great Hanshin Earthquake demonstrated.
The Investigating Committee has already discussed earthquake planning as part of its agenda.
In the Questionnaire Survey regarding the New Capital Vision conducted by the National Land Agency last September, the most common response to the question of 'Benefits from the relocation of capital functions' was "strengthened disaster management."
In other words, the response represents a concern that it would be disastrous if the cores of the political and administrative function and economic functions were simultaneously affected.
AS we have pointed out repeatedly, fair and open debate shall be always the basis for a decision on relocating the capital.
If any distrust or unexplainable suspicions arise, then the fruits of the discussion to date will be completely wiped out.
From this perspective, the departure of the former vice-president of the Liberal Democratic Party, Mr. Shin Kanemaru, who has been involved in the relocation issue for a long time, is good news.
We would like to raise one issue to assist in the formation of the national opinion.
That is the approach to the question of Tokyo.
The part of the interim reports by the Investigating Committee with which we most concur is the proposal to relocate the capital from Tokyo for the purpose of reforming the strong national belief that Tokyo is No.1 or Tokyo is first class in everything.
When the capital function is moved, will Tokyo become a mere mammoth city?
It is critical that the debate involve everybody, even though there is no guarantee that this kind of thinking pattern will change among the people.
We feel this emptiness in our heart which no word can describe, even though we are not the victims and have not lost our home or family.
It is a serious fact that a major city was destroyed in an instant, and over 5,400 precious lives were lost.
We would like to draw your attention to a seismologist for the discussion of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which rocked Japan 50 years after the war.
It is Mr. Katsuhiko Ishibashi, Head of the Applied Seismology Office of the Building Research Institute, the Ministry of Construction.
He has just turned 50.
In 1976, when he was an assistant at the Faculty of Science, the University of Tokyo, he argued about the possibility of an earthquake at a level of M8 in the Tokai region, calling for the enactment of the Large-Scale Earthquake Countermeasures Law.
He has also warned that a major quake hits Odawara approximately every 70 years.
He published a book entitled Daichidoran no jidai (literally, "Time of Upheavals of the Earth").
The book has the subtitle "A seismologist warns" and focuses on the huge earthquake that is expected to hit the metropolitan area.
He is an active person who believes that "it's no good staying in the lab all the time."
Mr. Ishibashi writes in the book that, "the Tokyo metropolitan area is a huge testing ground for a seismic test of a major earthquake involving numerous Tokyo residents," and says that "many of what the book points out have come true."
Although the location of the earthquake was different, the lateral shifts in which a liquefied ground moves several meters over a large area, strong vertical oscillations, and other phenomena actually occurred.
Japan has been hit by major earthquakes repeatedly.
More than 140,000 people perished in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Between 1943 and 1948, there was a concentration of five earthquakes with 1,000 people or more dead, namely Tottori, Higashi Nankai, Mikawa, Nankai, and Fukui, but they did not attract too much attention due to the fact that they occurred during a chaotic time in Japan.
After them, seismic activity appeared to have settled down.
Meanwhile, the Japanese economy rapidly grew, and densely populated urban centers were created.
The development was oriented for economy efficiency, and expressways, bullet trains, and high-rise buildings were constructed.
There also emerged the trend where "good architecture and seismic strength are two different things."
Cities became very fragile compared to the time when water was taken from wells and cooking was done with firewood.
Mr. Kiyoo Mogi, professor, Nihon University, and chairman of The Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction said in a symposium last fall that the seismic activities in the surrounding area of Japan had not calmed down after the Fukui Earthquake, and that the earthquakes had simply avoided the land as had been seen in the Hokkaido Nansei-Oki Earthquake of 1993.
The correct interpretation that it was simply a coincidence to have had a geologically quiet time was not prevalent.
In association with the theory for the would-be Great Tokai Earthquake, a new program that linked earthquake prediction and disaster prevention was started, resulting in a heightened awareness of earthquakes, but that did not last long.
A near-field earthquake of M7 class could come at any time, but disaster prevention continued to be not properly addressed.
There was a strong awareness among academics and government officials that they "should not scare the nation too much."
When Mr. Ishibashi published Daichidoran no jidai, there were people who criticized it for being "over-the-top."
Somehow the fatal misconception that "no major earthquake will occur in Kansai" was born.
In this environment, the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred as if targeting population centers.
The number of victims increased while the national and local governments were unable to take proper actions.
While the governments were in confusion, volunteers came from all over Japan and did outstanding jobs.
The world was shocked to see Japan suffer a huge blow from the Great Hanshin Earthquake after achieving a remarkable recovery after the war.
Japan, a country of wonderful science and technology, was supposed to have put into disaster prevention more than other countries.
There were disappointments for the powerless governments.
We never want to repeat this tragedy.
There is a view that Western Japan entered into a seismically active period, leading to a possible M8 earthquake in the Nankai region.
In Eastern Japan, Mr. Ishibashi has written a scenario in which the expected earthquake in Odawara will trigger earthquakes in the Tokai region, resulting in a series of near-field tremors in the Tokyo area, with their "vibrations" also felt in the world economy.
We must never forget again.
We should urgently start working on a disaster-resistant urban planning.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake showed us the spacious redundancy, such as many plazas or wide roads and streets, is very effective at the time of a disaster.
We should watch the reconstruction of the Hanshin area with its emphasis on the safety of living.
An enormous amount of time and money will be required to rebuild cities.
That is why real-time seismology has been advocated.
Real-time seismology refers to a study in which disaster information is instantaneously analyzed and grasped, such as the earthquake's epicenter and magnitude, and where are the areas being inflicted the most damage, by processing data from observation equipment placed to form a grid so that the appropriate rescue and fire-fighting operations can be arranged.
Mr. Ishibashi, on the other hand, stresses the importance of taking up earthquake disaster mitigation measures designed for each region such as a tsunami monitoring in the Sanriku region as well as the Okushiri Island of Hokkaido, an earthquake prediction research in the Tokai region, and restricted development in the active fault areas.
Further efforts are desirable in the earthquake prediction research.
This request echoes a comment made by then mayor of Matsushiro, Nagano Prefecture, at the time of the Matsushiro earthquake swarm between 1965 and 1967: "What we want now more than anything else is the study of earthquakes."
There is also a need to strengthen the connection between scientists working on earthquake prediction or active faults and engineers involved in the construction of different buildings and structures.
Professor Tsuneo Okada of the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, says with remorse: "The fact that there had been no lateral coordination among experts working in architecture, civil engineering, urban planning, transportation and other areas in the building of cities may be one of the major factors contributing to the aggravation of this disaster."
We can contribute to other earthquake-prone nations by building a disaster-resistant country and making earthquake prediction a reality.
Hopefully we will have more and more scholars like Mr. Ishibashi who speaks out and change our attitude of pursuing only efficiency and convenience.
The Fair Trade Commission laid criminal charges on nine electric appliance manufacturers for serious violations of the Anti-Monopoly Law.
This criminal indictment under the Anti-Monopoly Law has come after a two-year absence since the Seal bid-rigging charge of 1993 and marks the third instance since the Fair Trade Commission expressed its intention to actively pursue criminal charges as part of its efforts to strengthen the anti-monopoly policy in 1990.
These nine companies are said to have allocated contracts amongst themselves through rigging for electrical related contracts of a sewage treatment system tendered by the Japan Sewage Works Agency.
It is likely that the rigging had been going on for a long time, but the charge was laid for those contracts in fiscal 1993 for which there was sufficient evidence.
Criminal prosecution is employed for serious cases where their respective violations affect a broad spectrum of people's lives and are also repeated.
From this criteria as well, this case is extremely serious and more than enough in its qualification for the criminal charge.
The case involves internationally well-known major corporations that lead Japan's core industries.
These powerful companies have significant influence economically and socially.
Being companies of such caliber, they must be sternly prosecuted for their responsibility in violating the fundamental rules of economy.
It is reported that bid-rigging has been going on since around 1989, and the Japanese anti-monopoly policy went through a major change in 1990.
The change was made in that the anti-monopoly policy was reinforced, punitive levies and criminal punishments were increased, and criminal prosecution, dormant for many years, was reactivated.
At the same time, the awareness of bid-rigging and cartel as wrongdoings must have been heightened.
The fact that they still repeated their bid-rigging activities in this situation can allow them no excuse for their grave disrespect of laws and regulations.
Strangely, the Japan Sewage Works Agency, the client itself, is suspected of providing guidance for bid-rigging and informing the would-be winner the budget or the expected winning price for the work.
It is the last thing we expect the administrator of our tax money would do.
The Prosecutors' Office should shed light on the role the agency played for us, the public.
We deeply regret that Japan's leading companies committed such violations of rules.
This shows how deep-rooted the propensity of the Japanese corporate circle for bid-rigging is.
To our regret, we cannot deny our suspicion that the instances known for the violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law are just the tip of the iceberg and similar activities must be widely going on deep in the water.
One way to correct the situation is to further strengthen the anti-monopoly policy.
Although the penalty for a criminal charge on an Anti-Monopoly Law violation is increased to 100 million yen, it is still less than the one billion yen in the US, where approximately 80 cases are prosecuted per year in contrast to Japan's only three cases in five years.
The strengthening of the Fair Trade Commission is something that at least warrants active consideration in the larger framework of administrative reform.
But the most important thing is a change in the thinking of corporate managers.
This incident shows the lack of awareness for the "fair and free competition," the philosophy of the Anti-Monopoly Law, in the Japanese corporate society.
The lack of concern for this principle is, more than anything else, the problem of corporate leaders, and the top management of the companies involved in this case should fully recognize their responsibilities.
At the same time, I would like to request the Japanese corporate world as a whole to take the far-reaching implications of this case seriously and renew and correct their commitment to the free market principle of fair and free competitions.
China, with a population of 1.2 billion and 56 ethnic groups, is at the threshold of the post-Deng Xiaoping era, a time of uncertainties.
The report on the government activities presented at the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China which was opened on the 5th of this month indicates that the leadership of the Third Generation including President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng are determined to run the country with more caution than before in this time of uncertainties.
The main theme of the report is no longer those bold moves of introducing the free market economy or facilitating rapid growth which were advocated by the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
The report attempts to pay attention to solving a variety of already prevalent problems such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as different regions, corruption and deterioration of public order, to strengthen market control, and to work towards more moderate reforms and a balanced and stable growth.
The Chinese economy had a three-year run of 11 percent or more in annual growth, overheating the economy with the worst rate of price increase in its history at 21.7 percent.
The frustration of the general public is about to explode.
The Li Peng report is therefore reasonable in its decision to set this year's target growth rate at 8 to 9 percent, lower than last year's, and to propose a target of 15 percent for the price increase.
As for its socialist market economy structure, the report confirms that the country targets the end of this century to establish it in its very rough form, but it also shows that China is in no hurry to do so by stating that it will require a further 20 to 30 years to perfect it.
Slowly and thoroughly, China is taking an approach to look for a market economy model that may be best suited to China and to achieve a soft-landing.
The report also reaffirms the position of China's state-owned enterprises as a pillar of the national economy and a major source of income for the government coffer.
It is also trying to preserve the properties and assets the central government owns which were being taken advantage of for personal gains during the reform.
In terms of reforming the state-owned enterprises, most of which are losing money, China is trying to initiate new experimental programs such as holding companies owned by the country and at the same time committing several years to the reform.
The nation may be implying the possibility of bankrupting companies with long standing losses, which did not turn up in last year's report, for the purpose of generating a shock effect.
There is an increased number of red financial reports produced by profitable companies simply for tax planning purposes.
Until a new social security system is established and replaces China's traditional social security system which depends on nationally owned corporations, an increasing number of jobless may trigger a much more serious social unrest than the Tiananmen Square incident.
An increase in the number of unemployed would make the society unstable even in Western nations.
The report also emphasizes, to an extent unseen before, the tax collection from high-income earners in the tax reform as well as enhanced support to the mid-west and areas inhabited by minorities which have been left out of the nation's prosperity, clearly marking the government's intent to narrow the existing inequalities.
This could be described as a de facto revision of Deng Xiaoping's policy to "enrich certain areas and people first."
With only 5 years left before the 21st century, China's steady and stable growth, through the transition period of "post Deng Xiaoping" is desirable for its surrounding countries as well.
From this perspective, the policy of stable growth and moderate reform as shown in the report by Li Peng should be positively received.
That does not mean there are no dark clouds in sight.
One concern is that the report declares and reconfirms China's intent to defend its marine interests using military force.
There was no such expression in last year's report.
If the wording is based on the issue of the Spratly Islands, the sovereignty of which is disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries, it indeed represents a behavior going against the tides of time.
China should urgently put its diplomatic efforts into an early realization of what China has been pushing, namely, "put aside disputes and conduct joint development."
Political parties could be described as "collusive organizations for the purpose of making politics infinitely uninteresting" in the manner of the rhetoric of The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.
The biggest ticket items in the coming unified local elections are the elections of governors for Tokyo and Osaka, and in the process of candidate selection political parties played out a role that could only be described as them being trapped in the syndrome of "joint endorsement" or "all parties to join the ruling party" while they pay no attention to voters.
In Tokyo, it has been almost decided that Mr. Nobuo Ishihara, the previous assistant cabinet secretary, will be jointly endorsed as the candidate of the ruling parties of the Metropolitan Assembly such as the LDP and SDPJ, and in Osaka, the maintenance of the framework in which all are ruling parties excluding the Communist Party is the basic premise.
Different from national politics, it used to be said that the broader the base for support, the easier the election battle would be in regional politics.
In addition, risk management is becoming a major mission of administration, a lesson learned from the experience of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and it is fully understandable that those who have a solid reputation for their administrative skills and expertise such as Mr. Ishihara are recruited.
I would not, therefore, unilaterally deny the trend of all parties joining the ruling coalition, but such explicit efforts to endorse the same candidates shown by these parties convince me that they do it out of the fear of ending up as an opposition party deprived of privileges.
In the case of Tokyo, Mr. Saburo Kuroki, Professor Emeritus of Waseda University expressed his intention to run with the endorsement of the Communist Party, followed by Kenichi Omae, the Principal of Heisei Ishin no Kai, Tetsuto Iwakuni, former mayor of Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, Tetsu Ueda, a former member of the House of Representatives, Yukio Aoshima, current member of the House of Councillors, while Mr. Kunio Hatoyama, former Minister of Labour, was discussed as a possible candidate till the last minute.
These candidates represent more than enough choices, but every group in every party in the Metropolitan Assembly had their priority set on their remaining in the ruling side under the next governor.
In particular, the Komei Party, the second majority in the Assembly, used as their battle cry the Three Principles including that the LDP and Komei as the principle ruling parties; they went for a "winning candidate" ignoring the friction with the Shinshin Party which explored the possibility of having their own candidate, and the other parties seemed simply to have followed suit.
In Osaka, on the other hand, the efforts for firmly maintaining the premise that all are the majority party except the Communist Party members were more evident than those for other concerns.
The Communist Party nominated Mr. Tsutomu Kobayashi, the first candidate in the election by far, while the ruling coalition parties were having trouble in identifying a candidate whom they could jointly endorse.
To put it bluntly, these parties represent continuing chaos where we can see the candidate only as a mere secondary consideration for these parties as long as they can maintain the framework of the ruling coalition they had during the governorship of Kazuo Nakagawa, who had no choice but to give up his re-election due to the secret bribery incident.
It has been some time since voters who do not support any specific party became the largest majority.
It is amply shown that such seemingly solid partnership among political parties will be easily defeated under the revolt of such non-partisan voters, including the example of Mr. Ken Amano, running under the "anti-Kanemura faction" slogan in the Yamanashi gubernatorial election four years ago, who defeated the candidate with the endorsements from four main parties of the Liberal Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party of Japan, Komei Party, and Democratic Socialist Party of Japan as well as numerous examples found in the municipalities.
In Tokyo, where things are supposed to have been settled, a fear that even the all-inclusive coalition may not be enough to win if the non-partisan coalition is formed has appeared among the ruling camp, but such fear may be too late.
Moreover, the ruling side has no policy discussion whatsoever because the circumstances surrounding the election of the candidate have been as such.
Although I have not enough space to describe the main issues here, the approach to the administration of Tokyo or Osaka is questioned, and the earthquake countermeasures are also an urgent matter.
The vision for the next four years in the administration of Tokyo or Osaka was supposedly more pressing than the search for a candidate who could win or accommodate a multi-party endorsement.
How unfair it is if voters have to pay for the absence of such policies.
It has been some time since the yen was said to go down.
In reality, the yen has remained at a very high level, rewriting its historical records.
It is no use to reword this yen's appreciation as a "cheap dollar" or "yen's appreciation is due to a rising mark."
As to which country is suffering the most in this environment of cheap dollar, expensive yen and mark, it is most likely Japan after all.
The appreciation of the mark is accepted in Germany.
Stock prices are at a historical high in the US, and the cries about the dollar crisis are clearly not being heard by the US monetary authority.
The central banks of almost 20 countries cooperated together to buy dollar, but failed to put a stop on dollar's slide.
That should come as no surprise since the dollar trade in the exchange market worldwide reaches 1 trillion dollars per day including speculations.
An intervention by a central bank in the range of 1 or 2 billion dollars per day will not make much of a difference in the direction of the trade.
With no effectiveness coming from interventions, the only solution left is an interest rate adjustment among the advanced nations, but it is difficult for the US to raise interest in relation to the Mexican currency crisis.
Germany is not in the position to reduce its interest rate.
After all, the only measure available today with real impact would be the Bank of Japan's policy of coaxing interest rates lower.
On the other hand, some believe it wise to let the situation take its own course because there is an excessive amount of speculation going on behind this rapid rise of the yen.
For the greenback to recover, the US has to correct its excessive consumption and lack of savings.
In short, the US must solve its fiscal deficit.
America, however, turns a deaf ear no matter how much it is warned about them.
The US ceased to exchange its dollar with gold 24 years ago, and the dollar became paper money since then.
As long as the country keeps its printing machine rolling and endlessly feeds the world with its dollar bills, the dollar must naturally lose its value.
When the New York Stock Exchange experienced a plunge on Black Monday eight years ago, the American fiscal authority became very sensitive to the dollar depreciation and serious about deficit reduction.
It seems that Americans do not really care about the dollar's moves as long as the cheap dollar has no impact on stock prices, interest rates, and inflation.
The market principles will, however, work out themselves, and the dollar crisis will come to the surface at some point in time, making the American fiscal authority scramble for cover.
A state of confusion in the international currency market has already spread in Europe, and its impact is feared to reach Asia.
Yen, which had a ratio of 242 yen per dollar at the Plaza meeting 10 years ago, has gone up as high as 92 yen per dollar.
Meanwhile, not much progress has been made in the price gap between international and domestic markets, signaling that the yen has not changed its characteristics of external strength but internal weakness.
We can see that instantly in utility prices such as electricity and gas.
The bureaucracy has no desire to do anything in real terms, and its administration for the benefit of consumers remains only a slogan.
The Japanese economy appears healthy, with excess savings and a current account surplus.
However, from mid-1870 to the end of the century, the economy of the United Kingdom went through a history of falling into a great depression after more than 20 years of continuous declines in stock prices and deindustrialization even though it had enjoyed excess savings and current account surpluses.
It is a case of the so-called trap of developed countries, in which a successful country is unable to adapt to structural changes in the environment precisely because of its own success.
Because the United Kingdom was slow in adjusting to the changing times during that period, it fell behind Germany and the U.S. in the development of heavy chemical industries, which directly contributed to the fall of the great empire with seven seas under its control.
Japan will also go downhill without any taste of prosperity in the 21st century if no great strategies are formulated now.
We are at that turning point.
The three nations of Japan, the U.S., and South Korea will officially establish the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) on the 9th, which is to assist and support the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in its conversion to light-water reactors.
The Agreed Framework concluded last October between the U.S. and North Korea expressly says: "The U.S. will organize ......an international consortium to finance and supply the LWR project."
KEDO was organized based on this agreement.
Let us welcome the establishment of this organization as a good development coming out of the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework.
The Agreed Framework also states it will "make best efforts to secure the conclusion" of a light-water supply contract by April 21.
Therefore the U.S., as the representative of the organization, has to enter into the supply contract with North Korea, but as things stand now, it is very unlikely it will do so in time.
Because President Clinton was in such a hurry to have the Framework before the mid-term elections and therefore did not define the scope of assistance in specific terms, this can be described as a blunder by the U.S.
As for the type of light-water reactor to be installed, North Korea is opposing the camp of Japan, the U.S. and South Korea, which is pushing for the South Korean model, claiming that they question its safety.
Yet, ultimately North Korea is expected to accept the South Korean type, since it is South Korea that is contributing most of the required funds.
It seems safe to say that North Korea is using the argument as a tactic in the negotiations to extract compromises from the other side on things like the construction of a container wharf.
But it will take more time before the supply contract is concluded between the U.S. and North Korea.
The situation may become so tense that the negotiations will come to the brink of complete failure.
If no agreement is reached before the deadline, North Korea is likely to send unilateral notice it will unfreeze the experimental plant and restart its operation.
The establishment of KEDO signifies progress in the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework.
But it does not mean that there have been no questionable actions on the part the Japanese government.
There is no small number of outstanding questions that have not been fully explained.
First, the finance required in assisting the conversion to light-water reactors is to be provided by South Korea and Japan.
Why is the U.S. providing no funds for the light-water reactors?
Is it because the Japanese government asked for no money from the United States?
It is reported that Japan's share of the cost of the assistance for the conversion will be around 100 billion yen.
This is an astronomical amount of money.
It is still not clear as to whether this contribution will be a loan or no-strings aid to North Korea.
The only explanation we have been given is that it is the "cost of Japan's security and safety."
If it is a cost we have to accept for national security in order to force North Korea to quit its nuclear development, then their development of missiles that are reported to have a range capable of hitting Japan is the problem.
The termination of that development should have been included in the agreement, should it not?
The U.S. Head of Delegation, Mr. Robert Gallucci, has opened his diplomatic activities to the American public by holding press conferences periodically and making presentations to Congressional hearings on the development of the negotiations with North Korea.
Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also make clear its North Korean strategy with its vision for the security and future of Northeast Asia and explain fully to the nation how our participation in KEDO is positioned.
Let's work toward the integration and stabilization of society by reducing poverty, expanding employment, and eliminating discrimination.
That is the way to bring out real security in post-Cold War society.
We strongly support the objectives of the World Summit for Social Development, currently being held by the United Nations in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
A high-level meeting of government representatives from approximately 130 countries will on the 6th begin preparing a declaration and an action plan that are to be adopted in the meeting of government heads on the 12th.
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama should reveal in his speech at the summit what types of specific measures are involved in the "people-friendly politics" he constantly advocates.
We want him to clarify the new philosophy and actual measures as the representative of Japan, the world's largest contributor of official development aid by value, which is essential for the social development of developing nations.
Social development attempts to aim for a fair development of society by correcting the gaps and misalignments that grow as the economy develops, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor or the marginalization of the socially vulnerable, which accompany economic progress.
Social development represents efforts toward new values, creation of social order, and security in its true sense to replace the Cold War politics of arms and power.
The World Summit for Social Development is an international conference similar in nature to the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development, the 1993 Human Rights Conference, and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, all of which were held to discuss issues that were ignored during the Cold War concerning the environment, population, and human rights.
It is no wonder that the preamble to its declaration describes the summit as a historical first that places the greatest priority on the happiness of humankind.
Yet the reality is that 120 million people are unemployed and 1 billion are suffering from dire poverty.
There is no end to the list of difficult challenges, and no hopes have been clearly identified.
The draft declaration emphasizes poverty, employment, and integration of society because these are the problems threatening life and safety and causing fissures in society.
The draft calls for assistance by countries providing ODA and international financial institutions such as the World Bank in building the basic necessities of life, including food production, basic education, and shelter in the developing countries.
For funding, the "20:20 contract for human development" is advocated, in which it is argued that 20% of the annual budget of developing nations and 20% of ODA will provide enough capital to invest in social development.
The issue is how to rectify a situation where a huge amount is spent for defense and only 7% of the bilateral grant is allocated to human development.
It is hoped that the summit will act as a catalyst for Japan to reconsider its ODA, which tends to concentrate on investment in industrial infrastructure such as dams and port construction.
Job creation is a universally urgent problem around the world.
The declaration requests the use of domestic savings for productive investments that would create employment, make taxation fair, and reduce military spending.
First of all we must start in our own backyard.
The declaration also points out the effect of structural adjustment loans on the societies of developing countries.
The industrial structural adjustment loans provided by the IMF and the World Bank require fiscal rebuilding through controlled spending and the promotion of market competition by privatization as part of the qualification standards.
That is why these loans are attracting the criticism that they cause a reduction in the level of social security for the underprivileged and poor as well as unemployment.
As the contributor to the World Bank and IMF second in size only to the U.S., Japan must answer to this issue.
In order to achieve the integration of society, it is imperative to eliminate different forms of discrimination.
We wish to take a leadership role in ratifying international treaties that protect against and eliminate discrimination, and in faithfully putting them into practice through domestic laws.
Witnesses were called before the House of Representatives budget committee meeting on the 9th with respect to the creation of the Tokyo Kyodo Bank as a rescue plan for Tokyo Kyowa and Anzen Credit Unions, which failed due to mismanagement, and it was regrettable that the questions and answers exchanged were, in short, very superficial and far from a fact-finding mission.
It is no wonder that the session had a serious lack of realism, since those doing the questioning had with them no materials or information based on their own research and simply repeated predictable questions based on newspaper and magazine articles.
It was evident that they had little to work with, and any witness hearing is not worth its name if it is just for making a "political show."
This is, in essence, a question of lining up the taxpayers' money, or the taxes paid by Metropolitan Tokyo residents, for the benefit of these credit unions, which committed every possible type of mismanagement; the Bank of Japan will contribute 20 billion yen and Tokyo will lend 30 billion yen at a lower interest rate in order to rescue the failed institutions with their approximately 110 billion yen in bad debts, the result of uncontrolled loan provisions.
Facing a public uproar, the Metropolitan Tokyo Government suspended the rescue plan for the time being, but the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan have not changed their scheme and apparently intend to proceed with the existing plan of incorporating the Tokyo Kyodo Bank once the witness hearing in the Diet is successfully over.
The hearing of the witnesses this time was therefore of utmost importance, and the examiners had the obligation to ask questions from the very perspective of taxpayers and to find out the truth regarding the reasons for spending public money to help out the mismanaged credit unions, the actual picture of mismanagement, and the circumstances behind the creation of the rescue scheme.
The people expected that, watched the hearing, and felt completely betrayed.
While the coalition parties have the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, which are pursued relentlessly for their oversight responsibilities, they also have some politicians who are implicated in the planning process of the rescue scheme.
The opposition New Frontier or Shinshin Party, on the other hand, has more than one politician who is suspected of involvement due to a close association with Harunori Takahashi, the former head of the Tokyo Kyowa Credit Union.
We should be appalled if it were simply a performance targeting the public that was arranged by politicians conscious of their own scandals to fake pursuit of the credit union rescue issue because of the coming regional general election.
Even though it was a witness hearing without too much substance, the extent of the credit unions' chaotic management came to light, though still dimly, along with the extraordinary interpersonal relationships Mr. Takahashi had with politicians and bureaucrats, and some of the outrageous loan arrangements that mixed private and public aspects.
It could also be true that the hearing actually deepened the mystery as to why the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, the bank overseeing the two credit unions, allowed such wild lending to go on as well as why the Tokyo government failed in its responsibility to provide proper disciplinary guidance to them despite the fact that it had their management reports.
With Mr. Yasushi Mieno, former governor of the Bank of Japan, and Mr. Tetsuya Horie, president of LTCB, to be summoned before the budget committee of the House of Councillors on the 16th, let us request that the Diet make sincere efforts to find the truth in order not to lose public trust in politics.
Also let us make special requests regarding the TV broadcasting of the witness hearing.
Despite the fact that the entire nation is closely watched the hearing, the TV broadcasts again used only still images.
We have long contended that live broadcasts of witness examinations should be allowed in order to protect the public's right to know and to permit the audience to obtain proper information on which to base their decisions, but the Liberal Democratic Party and the Shinshin Party have procrastinated in producing their conclusions by saying that they are working on the matter internally.
The Steering Committee of both Houses should discuss the matter urgently and make a decision in order to allow moving images in broadcasts from the next witness hearing.
Donations for victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake exceeded 110 billion yen in total.
This is the largest disaster relief donation on record.
It represents active support coming from inside and outside of Japan.
Yet the work of distributing the money to victims is falling behind.
The major reason is that the municipalities and victims disagree over the assessment of damaged houses.
It is a worrisome situation since the donations were meant to be a temporary means for living.
In the first distribution, a sum of 100,000 yen was paid out across the board for those who died or had still not been found as well as for houses totally and half destroyed.
Already approximately 30 billion yen has been already distributed to municipalities in the affected region, including Metropolitan Osaka, through a Fund-Raising Committee composed of 29 organizations including Hyogo Prefecture, the Hyogo and Osaka chapters of the Red Cross, the Community Chest, and the mass media.
There has been trouble after trouble over the assessment of building damage as described in disaster damage certificates.
Victims are appealing their assessments of "partial damage," which is not eligible for the donation distribution.
Municipalities are being forced to conduct reinspections, and in the case of Kobe, even the payouts it commenced early last month under the first distribution have not been completed.
That is why the Fund-Raising Committee is unable to commence the second distribution of the outstanding balance of more than 80 billion yen.
The goodwill of people is not going anywhere right now.
The Cabinet Office has established a unified standard for the classification of structural damage as complete, half, or partial, according to the extent of damage by percentage of roof, walls, and other parts.
The problem stems from the fact that the standard is not being universally applied by municipalities, which means they are using different judgment criteria.
Some municipalities conducted only inspections by external appearance, due to the huge number of damaged houses or a shortage of labor and time.
The fact should be accepted that there was a limit to what governments could do in that chaos.
But it is only natural that victims feel enraged if they find they are assessed differently for the same damage.
The disaster damage certificate is used not only for the allocation of donations, but also as the base information for Hyogo Prefecture's disaster relief grant, insurance payouts, and tax reductions for relief decisions.
The respective municipalities are requested to conduct fair reinspections in consideration of the perspective of victims.
With that in mind, the distribution of the donations should not be delayed.
Preparations for the second distribution should commence right away even if it means a temporary suspension of the work to resolve the disputes that resulted from the first distribution.
It is also the desire of those who survive in the shelters each day without any extra clothing.
In addition to the donations that the Fund-Raising Committee consolidated, there is a large amount of donations that municipalities in the affected region received directly from donors.
The distribution of such monies caused a minor stir in the news, but, with the exception of a few municipalities, the question was settled with the Fund-Raising Committee's decision to pool the funds and redistribute them.
It was reasoned that direct distribution would produce inequality by creating gaps in the amounts given.
This is commendable as the right decision that shows empathy for the victims' feelings.
The committee will soon be discussing the second distribution to determine the payout criteria and method.
Let us make a proposal here.
Please broaden the recipient criteria.
Besides the dead victims, how about providing a certain amount to victims hospitalized with serious illnesses or injuries?
Some consideration should be shown to households of victims with many dependents and the households of senior citizens.
The call for donations will last till April 17.
The amount of goodwill is increasing, and even a third distribution may be expected.
Yet there are too many victims, and it is in no way possible to provide such substantial amounts of assistance as were seen in the Okushiri Island Earthquake in Hokkaido, or the Unzen-Hogendake Disaster.
Let us at least request creative solutions in the distribution that will ensure that the help reaches as many victims as possible.
In its monthly economic report for March, the Economic Planning Agency listed the impact of the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the appreciation of the yen as concerns, though the report claims that "the economy of our country is on a recovery path, though the pace is slow."
Although rather early, the economy, which has been on a recovery path since hitting bottom in October 1993, is already seeing an amber light blinking on its path forward.
The earthquake caused major damage in infrastructure such as housing, roads, railroads, and port facilities, and the report confirms its effect on the economy.
The nationwide sales of department stores and that of franchised or syndicated retail stores, the main indicators of personal consumption, were down approximately 5% and 2% respectively in January compared to the same period of last year.
There was also a large setback in domestic travel sales, with major travel agencies reporting drops of approximately 8% in value.
It is understood to be a result of the atmosphere of self-restraint spreading across Japan, that is, "if we think about the victims, we must not have fun."
If this trend continues, it is feared that the personal consumption that had supported the economy may suffer.
In addition, imports and exports decreased due to the damage the Port of Kobe has sustained.
The reduction in January reached approximately 11 percent for exports and 3 percent for imports.
Although some efforts are made to move cargo to other ports, the effect of the damage is expected to last for some time.
Any decline in imports and exports is something like an obstruction to blood circulation, affecting economic activities as a whole.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake can be said to have turned the future of the economy opaque despite a huge amount of reconstruction demand that it certainly caused.
Another concern, the rise of the yen, suddenly hit the Japanese economy with its full force.
As everybody knows, the impact of the yen appreciation climbing beyond 90 yen per dollar is so strong that all economic sectors are screaming in pain.
The report describes these two only as "concerns" in subdued language, but in reality they have huge implications.
If left untouched, my concern is that they may not only put an end to the economic recovery but also drive the economy into a long deflationary period as seen after the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Then what shall we do?
Unfortunately, there is no miracle drug available.
It is a matter of feelings among the Japanese population as a whole as to how long this restrained sentiment continues, and we cannot tell them to stop their self-restraint for the benefit of the economy.
This yen appreciation is basically a reflection of the cheap dollar across the board, which is not something Japan can stop single-handedly through its policy measures.
The choice in our actions is very limited.
Needless to say, however, we cannot just watch and do nothing.
There is an urgent need to devise as many countermeasures as we can come up with.
The important thing to remember in that effort is to create a package of measures.
Isolated actions divided up between finance and fiscal measures will not be effective.
As for fiscal measures, I believe that a supplementary budget should be prepared immediately, in which the reconstruction expense is provided as much as the fiscal condition can permit.
Since immediately after the quake we have contended that the budget for fiscal 1995 be reorganized to free up some funds for reconstruction but without success.
At this point in time, let us propose, as the second best choice, that out of the amount earmarked for public works in the fiscal 1995 budget a few dozen percent of the amount allocated to new projects be redirected to the reconstruction account.
In the fiscal policy, the government should do its best to guide interest rates lower, especially short-term ones.
A reduction in the official discount rate will surely come up in discussions.
Let me emphasize again that the later the remedy, the deeper the wound.
The reproductive revolution is advancing steadily as exemplified in the in-vitro fertilization by which infertile couples are having their babies, and Japan's first gene therapy will be conducted at Hokkaido University soon.
Thus, more and more cutting-edge technologies are applied to clinical situations, and here is a case where a new page is added to the history of bioethics.
The ethics committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kagoshima, has effectively approved a clinical application for genetic diagnosis of fertilized eggs.
It must be good news for couples who are concerned with the possibility of their offspring being born with a genetic disease.
It is still technically difficult to directly investigate the genes that are the cause of diseases using gene diagnosis of fertilized eggs.
That is why the University of Kagoshima has accepted the use of gene diagnosis only for the three diseases which occur almost exclusively in male patients including hemophilia and progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD), and the procedure approved is to determine the sex of a fertilized egg by gene diagnosis and return it to the mother's body only if it is to grow to be a female.
In the case of couples with one spouse having a gene of a serious genetic disease, the conventional approach is to conduct a prenatal diagnosis.
There are two options for diagnosis: amniocentesis to be performed when the fetus has grown sufficiently, and the villus test to be performed at around ten weeks of pregnancy.
In either way, once diagnosed as abnormal, many cases will end up in the termination of pregnancy.
Abortion is a difficult choice for would-be parents and has ethical questions as well.
The diagnostic test of a fertilized egg or embryo is an extension of the prenatal diagnosis.
The doctor who applied for the approval of the egg test in this case talks about his motivation for the test, "I don't like it that a fetus is tested and aborted if it is an unlucky one."
In the case of the diagnosis of fertilized eggs, the choice is not to use those eggs with a problem, thus alleviating the emotional load on the parents.
There is no impact on the mother's body, either.
Such diagnosis, however, has many issues.
One is the question of safety.
The test determines the sex of the egg using one or two cells when the fertilized egg is divided into 418 cells and returns the remaining egg to the mother's body if it is a female egg, but there is concern about damage to the egg.
Experts insist that Western countries have dozens of clinical cases where the fertilized egg genetic diagnosis was used and that the safety has been verified by animal studies, but the procedure has not reached the stage where its safety is fully assured for human application.
We cannot say that it is alright to dispose fertilized eggs just because they are eggs.
There is the strong opinion that artificial selection of fertilized eggs, the source of life, is against the law of nature and may lead to the rejection or discrimination of people with a genetic disease.
In addition, the success rate of in-vitro fertilization, which produces subject eggs for the fertilized egg genetic diagnosis, is low, and therefore a large gap exits between the number of diagnoses and that of actual pregnancies.
The in-vitro fertilization has a greater impact on the mother's body than natural pregnancy due to egg extraction and other procedures.
The sex selection of the embryo by a special method is allowed by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology only for those couples who may have a baby with a genetic disease, and some say that the fertilized egg genetic diagnosis should not be a problem.
If this genetic diagnosis is accepted without any further discussion, however, there is a possibility that the scope of the diagnosis will keep expanding, so it is necessary to have a full debate of the issue now.
The ethics committee of the University of Kagoshima studied the issue for more than one and half years, but their work could not be called perfect in the selection of the committee members, the disclosure of the proceedings and in other matters.
Ministry of Health and Welfare took a leadership role in the debate over gene therapy, but is tentative about gene diagnosis due to its association with the issue of abortion, the area in which the ministry does not want to get involved.
I think that the ministry and related academic organizations such as the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology should put their efforts into furthering the debate.
There are only a few people who know anything about the fertilized egg genetic diagnosis.
The situation is far from a consensus at large, and it is no way to put an end to the matter by an approval given by a single university.
I would like to ask the group at the University of Kagoshima to be cautious in their approach to clinical application.
I have on hand a pamphlet entitled "Deregulation."
It is a so-called government publication for public relations which was prepared by the Cabinet Office, with the subtitles Keizai iki-iki (Dynamic economy) and Kurashi nobi-nobi (Freedom in life) leaping out from the cover page.
The pamphlet is filled with "deregulation praise," advocating how dynamic the economy will become and how much life will improve if the regulations are relaxed.
For instance, it says as the objective of deregulation, "Deregulation aims to review the institutions which have so far controlled goods and information in many ways and to realize a more open and free, dynamic economy and society," and lists 7 pillars of challenges towards the 21st century including "a full review of the existing regulations from the supply-demand perspective."
If taken at face value, this statement means that most of more than 10,000 existing regulations will disappear, and I wonder if the central government offices in Kasumigaseki will be no longer needed.
What a gap there is between the wording in this pamphlet and that in the interim report on deregulation published on the 10th!
Even after taking into account that it is an interim report and not the final one, it is not worth even discussing.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it is unbelievable that the two documents were produced by the same cabinet.
Some items seen as highlights of the deregulation are dismissed simply as "difficult to implement," including: the relaxation of criteria for liquor sales license to large-scale retail stores; the delegation of approval authority for agricultural land rezoning to prefectural governors; the review of price maintenance programs for agricultural products; and, the relaxation of qualification criteria for large commercial vehicle driver's license.
In addition, such items like the review of rental car regulations and the deregulation concerning the parking lot attached to a multi-unit residential building are deferred forward as "under study."
More than 700 items are classified as "to be acted on," meaning that as a rule they will be deregulated, but a majority of them have already been announced by the advisory committee and other panels.
Among the newly added items, deregulation proposals worth noting are limited to the harmonization of the Japanese Agricultural Standards and the Japanese Industrial Standards to international standards.
As for the introduction of self-service gas stations, which has attracted a lot of attention, nothing has been decided about the implementation date, and the only thing determined so far is that a committee to study the proposal will be established.
It was expected, as a matter of fact, that the interim report would be half-hearted based on the observation of the deregulation process.
First, the private sector, mainly the business circle, works out demands for deregulation and submits them to the government.
The procedure is to have them classified into three categories, namely "to be acted on," "under study," and "difficult to implement," by respective ministries and agencies, which is the last approach to produce innovative deregulation measures.
The business community which advocates deregulation as the general discussion, but they will do their best to keep their status quo once the discussion turns to specific industries which are protected by regulations.
The bureaucracy will remain reluctant from the beginning to the end since deregulation means a decrease in their workload or a denial of their raison d'etre.
This is the true reality.
It is politicians that can terminate this collusive relationship between the bureaucracy and industries.
This is a matter with no hope of progress unless politicians listen to working people's demands and take decisive action.
Upon presentation to and hearing requests from embassy circles stationed in Japan on the 13th, feasible items will be added to the report, which will then be voted on by the Cabinet as the Five-Year Deregulation Plan at the end of the month.
The Murayama cabinet has positioned the deregulation and the review of special corporations as the focus of its administrative reform and publicly pledged that they would "work on them with an unyielding resolve."
There is not much time left for them, but the prime minister should take up his leadership this time for sure.
"I live with my 90-year-old mother-in-law, 83-year-old father, and 80-year-old mother, and I am taking care of them. Please increase the number of day services available."
"I provide care to my 92-year-old mother, but my husband is 72 and I am 71, both seeing doctors on a regular basis. One of us could become completely bed-ridden at any time."
A survey of present and retired union members conducted by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) on care-giving has resulted in a collection of vivid descriptions.
The responses collected from approximately 2,100 people convey the "burden of care-giving" as statistical numbers.
The duration of care-giving is, on average, 5.8 years including care provided at home, in institutions such as special nursing homes, and hospitals.
Specially noted are the lengths of stay in hospitals for the elderly and nursing homes with 6 years and a little over 7 years respectively.
How many of us are qualified to criticize those who harbor hate or engage in abuse of the people being cared for?
Care-giving is a tough, 24-hour non-stop "marathon," in which you can't expect to reach your goal.
The concern is what type of pacemaker or escort runner should be arranged as well as what drinks and food should be offered along the route, and how the runners should be encouraged.
The question is social support.
The blank space for comments in the questionnaire is filled with answers to that question.
Examples are: "I was sent around from one wicket to another at the government office." "Because I am a caregiver but I am disabled myself, I was not accepted in the care-giving workshop, though I supported my brothers by working as a teacher despite my disability."
The list still goes on: "I get a visiting service of a "home helper" twice a week for a total of 4 hours, but it is far from enough." "I never get a short-stay service, a temporary residential service, due to the age limit and no vacancy." "Please increase the visiting care service to at least twice a month." "Some nursing homes routinely offer ten residents per room or eight per room with less than 50 cm between beds."
"Residential facilities for early onset of dementia are desirable." "My mother-in-law goes to day service four days a week, and I work part-time. I am happy that I have some time of my own without the person requiring care." "Both the workers and set-up of the facility my mother has entered are good, but it is located far from my house; I would like a smaller facility at a more convenient location." The list continues.
It is a survey which makes you think.
To observe the joy, sorrow, anger, and happiness of working people through a magnifying glass is one of the most important roles that the union movement should play.
The Summertime Bill, which aims to makes it easier to make use of the hours of sunlight by advancing the clock hands by one hour between April to October, will be likely tabled at the Diet in this coming session, and will be implemented two years later if enacted.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and other organizations which have promoted the introduction of this system since the year before last year calculate that the energy savings from lighting and air conditioning will equal the annual consumption of electricity in the Kochi Prefecture, and the expansion of domestic demand expected to come from the effective advancement of the end of working hours will be up to 1.23 trillion yen per year at most; these are the major advantages of the system.
Daylight savings time (DST) has been left unadopted despite the number of occasions in which it has been discussed, including the two oil shocks, without ever attempting to obtain public consensus.
MITI's stance this time around, which is more active than before, is the result of the international commitment concerning the CO2 emission per capita for 2000 and onwards, the fact that energy consumption continues to grow even after the collapse of the bubble economy, and the reality that energy-saving policies are not going anywhere.
At the same time, the effectiveness of energy saving and the additional domestic demand which MITI is publicizing as the positive results of daylight savings time are nothing more than projected numbers, and the energy savings which the growth of domestic demand may produce is indeed excluded from the calculation.
The daylight savings time evokes a not-so-happy memory for senior citizens, when it was abolished just 4 years after its introduction in 1948 right after the Second World War due to opposition from labor unions.
Some contend that daylight savings will only increase the hours for children to attend juku or after-school cram schools and the opportunities for drinks in the case of businessmen because they will not like to go home when it is still bright outside.
If we have something to gain from the introduction of DST, it is a hope that it may act as a catalyst for us to review our Japanese lifestyle which is a far cry from that of advanced nations and introduce changes rather than just numbers calculated on a piece of paper.
Even if DST is implemented, it will not mean that individuals or private companies are left with no room to accommodate the system on a case-by-case basis.
For instance, if we link daylight savings with a flexible working hour program in which working hours are determined by workers, or make a bold change in the starting time of schools, the variation in time use will increase and it may contribute to a solution to the ever-persistent commuting hell.
There are ways to actively utilize the one-hour difference produced by the daylight savings such as increasing the recreational time after work by advancing the start time of work even earlier if you have many young workers in your workplace.
But under such unstable labor situation where the industry sectors coming out of their stagnation immediately reversed the reduction in working hours and increasing working hours again, these hopes may be too optimistic.
It is also necessary to fully equip public facilities where people can enjoy sports or cultural activities comfortably and inexpensively, which is the preceding condition for utilizing daylight savings.
Also needed is the close attention to the treatment of the underprivileged.
Following this thinking pattern, the seven months from the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of October as originally proposed is too long in view of the fact that hopes and concerns are mixed for the introduction of daylight savings time.
I would like to suggest a period from July after the rainy season to September after the peak season of typhoons as a reasonable alternative.
Let me suggest, moreover, to introduce the program initially for three years or so in order to find out the effects of daylight savings.
Time is nothing more than life itself.
If there are 100 lives, there must be 100 ways of thinking about daylight savings.
It is not too late to aim for full implementation after individuals and corporations have become familiarized with daylight savings by introducing it as a test case over a shorter period of time.
Time flies.
One month has passed since the review of government financial institutions for policy implementation was deferred in the reorganization or streamlining of special corporations.
And there is only so much time left before the committed deadline of the end of March.
Despite that, we have not heard anything from the ruling party's project team on administrative reform project team.
It is no time to make fun by quoting "no news is good news."
Along with deregulation, the review of special corporations should be understood as one of the critical issues on which the fate of the Murayama cabinet depends.
The last time extension was for the reason of lack of study time due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
If the cabinet brings up the rescue plan of the two credit unions, then it will surely become more of a laughing stock of the nation.
There is no more room left to play.
Let us express our position again.
Of the 13 government financial institutions for policy implementation, many have completed their historical roles.
Some had no original need to be established because their role could be filled by other institutions.
Some institutions should be eliminated within a certain time frame, and some should be privatized in due course after reducing their scope of business.
Others should be merged together as one to strive for a more efficient operation.
Of course, there are some institutions that are fulfilling certain meaningful roles as long as they make efforts to operate efficiently.
The decision criteria lies in the question of whether or not the policy-led financial services are still needed or not.
The job of the national government is said to be leadership and supplementation.
It includes such cases which are too vanguard to expect from the private financial sector where failures are not tolerated, and which are something Japan should do as a country but impossible for the private sector to do due to lack of financial feasibility.
Not a few of these cases, though initially unsuited for private financial institutions, become sufficiently feasible over time.
If such cases are left in the hands of government financial institutions, they will start competing against private banks.
Their government-sponsored low interest rates sometimes interfere with new possibilities in the private sector and obstruct the mechanism of a free economy.
The Japan Development Bank and Government Housing Loan Corporation (GHLC) are such organizations.
It has been some time since banks in the private sector started to protest that the Development Bank and GHLC are "squeezing the private sector with low interest rates as their weapon."
The Develpment Bank was established in 1951 for the purpose of the "reconstruction of the economy," but it should transfer most of its functions to the private sector.
In other words, it should retain only a small portion of its business limited to the public sector.
In addition, the GHLC should reexamine its existence now that loans are abundantly provided by private-sector banks.
Maybe it should go for privatization, or reduce its scope of business by, for instance, eliminating loans for high-income earners.
There are, on the other hand, a few agencies that are still expected to play the role of supplementary service providers into the future.
The activities of the Export-Import Bank of Japan are clearly distinct from ODAs provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) or the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF).
More than anything else, ODAs are mostly dependent on the general account for their seed funds.
On the other hand, the Export-Import Bank utilizes the government investment and loan fund with its interest rates higher than those of ODAs but lower than the rates of private banks.
It is indeed described as a supplementing agency for overseas financing, facilitating external economic exchanges.
Allow me to repeat again here that there is only so much time left.
The ruling party and the ministries concerned should show their plans based on clear and rational criteria as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Finance announced its penal actions to show its resolve in the entertainment scandal involving its own executive officers.
Punishments are a matter of course, I would say.
These alone, however, will not warrant any immediate recovery of public trust.
The ministry needs to be cognizant of the fact that the public is still watching them with critical eyes, and it will likely take a long time to regain their trust.
A top official from the ministry is said to have made a trip to Hong Kong in a personal jet owned by Mr. Harunori Takahashi, former chairman of the Tokyo Kyowa Credit Union which failed due to reckless management.
Such an elite individual should fulfill certain responsibilities and self-discipline to be worthy of such status.
This is simply an outrageous act.
Because this entertainment issue came out in the midst of the financial scandals, it caused a negative impact on the rebuilding of the financial system.
The distrust in the people involved in the ministry has led to the distrust in the policies of the ministry.
It is indeed regrettable to see the Ministry of Finance as a whole lose its prestige and credibility simply because of these unscrupulous people.
It is understandable that the ministry has many power-oriented people because of the nature of the ministry, but I believe that some time ago there were many patriots who would not mind leading a frugal life and were concerned about the world and national interests.
I am also aware there are still many people who are swamped with work, being deprived of their sleep.
I want to believe that the top officials of the ministry still include such people.
But moral hazard seems to be spreading not only in the financial sector but also in the public offices.
Other central government agencies and ministries as well as local governments should also take this opportunity to refresh their ethical disciplines by using this incident as a good lesson.
After World War II, the Ministry of Finance had implemented its policies with the back up of the Liberal Democratic Party, the former perennial ruling party.
Elite officials of the Ministry of Finance must feel proud that they have pursued the interests of the country as a whole through bargaining with LDP's lobbyist-Diet members who speak for regional and industrial interests.
Amidst the collapse of the "1955 system" and diversification of political parties, however, the intra-party concerns likely shifted to their control of short-sighted politics and public opinions as exemplified by their "concern for tomorrow's Diet session' rather than thinking about what policies are appropriate.
In other words, behind-the-scenes work tends to be valued more, resulting in the tendency to take advantage of "fixers."
That is when the biased idea that expanding personal networks and getting to know influential people are for the benefit of the Ministry of Finance as a whole has become the mainstream.
In that environment, it seemingly became difficult to determine with whom one should be associated, losing control on this regard, so personal relationships became deeper to an extent that is against the accepted norm in society.
One retired ministry official says: "Unlike what it used to be, they are not short of money and should enjoy drinks with their own money. They have much more things to do than that."
They certainly need to collect information and build personal networks, but there are many ways to do that.
They can exchange views and gather information during lunch hour at a noodle shop rather than at a ryotei or traditional Japanese restaurant in the evening.
There are many people just like Mr. Takahashi, the former chairman, who love to get close to powerful people and act as if they themselves have some influential power.
The situation is not to be taken lightly since the official in question is the elite of the elites, the top or second in the career race.
The Ministry of Finance is not comparable to other ministries in terms of its scope of responsibilities to the nation as it is responsible for budgeting, taxation, finance, tax collection, and government investments and loans.
They are originally positioned to take a comprehensive perspective, study hard, and design policies with the interest of the people in mind.
The scandal is basically a question of personal character, but the lesson to be learned is extremely serious.
"It is possible to have a negative feeling generated by the existence of opposing people."
President Kim Young Sam of South Korea, in his meeting with Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in Denmark, expressed his concern as above on the issue of the "no war resolution" to be tabled in the Diet, which aims to show the world Japan's reflection on the last World War and its commitment for no war but peace at the 50th anniversary of the end of the war.
This is the first time President Kim referred to this matter, and his comment implies that Japan may offend not only South Korea but also other Asian nations if it makes a mistake in the settlement of the resolution issue.
After the war we have often repeated a vicious circle where an LDP cabinet member makes a comment that is similar to denying a historical fact, receives complaints from Asian countries, and is then forced to resign.
Even after the arrival of the era of coalition administrations, Shigeto Nagano, justice minister in the Hata cabinet, and Shin Sakurai, director-general of the Environment Agency in the Murayama cabinet, resigned after making comments to the effect that the war was not a war of aggression.
It is a weighty and difficult task for us Japanese to objectively reexamine the past history and learn how we should develop our future vision based on it.
It is because we must admit the fact that we were victims but also oppressors at the same time.
It is also true that this is an issue we cannot avoid addressing.
We have insisted that this is the year when we should seriously address the need to have, as a nation, a common understanding of the past, and have demanded to carry out a resolution in the Diet which contains our regret and apology for our acts of invasion and colonial control as well as our commitment to no wars but peace for the future.
In the memorial service for veterans last August, Madame Takako Doi, the speaker of the House of Representatives stated: "We have yet to achieve true reconciliation with our Asian neighbors who suffered disastrous victimization by our mistake."
It is an important point.
It is our opinion that the "no war resolution" is the way for Japan to show its intent to keep working for international peace as a member of Asia in order to obtain true reconciliation with Asian nations.
The coalition government of the LDP, the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the Sakigake Party, which was formed last June, expressly states in their tri-party agreement that they will "reflect on the past war, taking the opportunity of 50 years after the end of the Second World War, and actively address the adoption in the Diet of a resolution expressing our commitment for future peace as well as other efforts."
Mr. Toshiki Kaifu, leader, and Mr. Tsutomu Hata, the deputy leader, Michihiko Kano, the foreign affairs specialist in the "Tomorrow Cabinet," and others of the Shinshin Party also argue for the need of the resolution.
The Communist Party also demands a sincere reflection and a resolution of apology.
As seen, all political parties are positive about the resolution, which appears as if ready to be made right away, but both LDP and Shinshin Party have large groups of Diet members who are against the resolution and are in reality not ready even for the discussion of its specifics.
President Kim was concerned about this point.
While the Social Democratic Party is working on a draft, saying that a conclusion should be made within March, the coordination among the parties in the coalition has been slow, making it likely to be determined after the unified local elections.
In the LDP, some are for delaying it further to after the House of Councillors election.
It seems that both LDP and Shinshin Party are worried that an attempt to adopt the resolution may cause their parties to split, but we fear that it may never be adopted if this opportunity is missed.
In that case, the way other countries look at Japan may change.
It is our wish that both ruling and opposition parties show broad perspectives, insights, and historical views toward the adoption of the resolution within this session of the Diet.
The greetings by Yohei Kono, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, "we must go beyond love and hate, and grasp each other's hands in friendship," was read by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs' staff member.
This took place on the 14th at the Japan-US joint war memorial service held on Iwo Jima commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
There are two points that bother us about these greetings.
One is the act of having someone read on your behalf.
On Iwo Jima, about twenty thousand Japanese and seven thousand Americans were killed during the war, and over twenty two thousand were injured.
It was literally a fierce battle, and almost all the Japanese officers and soldiers sacrificed their lives to the battle.
To have a substitute read the speech at the service to commemorate these lost souls is simply wretched.
The second is that the content of the greetings are just plain and innocuous.
Less than five hundred Japanese characters.
Just an emotionless arrangement of words such as "that unfortunate period," "regrettable estrangement" between Japan and the US, and "beyond love and hate."
It is imagined that the Foreign Minister also had heart-wrenching sentiments, but the greetings carried no hint of such emotions.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, we cannot shake the impression that the government is still wavering over how to approach the history leading from the Sino-Japanese War to the Pacific War.
A good example is the fact that the ruling coalition cannot come to an agreement on the war-renouncing resolution.
An administration supported by a party that tried to eliminate a comment made by the Communist Party that the casualties in Asia were "twenty million" from the Diet minutes.
The irresolute attitude and the Foreign Minister's mundane greetings come as no surprise.
It is often pointed out that the Japanese tend to emphasize that they were victims of the war, and are trying to forget that they were perpetrators.
In the US, similar opinions were expressed during a debate regarding the atomic bomb exhibition at an American museum.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea recently protested at the United Nations against the removal of the "enemy clause" from the UN Charter claiming it "justifies the Japanese actions of glorifying invasion and crime."
While there may be various opinions to this claim, it is suspected that criticism about Japan not facing its past properly is not limited to Asia but is more widespread.
I sympathize so much with the bereaved family's sentiments to "refuse the deceased to be labeled as invaders and their deaths to be in vain" that it is almost painful.
If we do not take those feelings into consideration, no argument can make them satisfied.
However, while it was considered noble to die for one's country, the war was unimaginably cruel.
And the deaths so tragic.
When you dare to consider these factors, it seems imperative that the cause of war be relentlessly scrutinized and the responsibilities questioned.
This in turn will serve as atonement for the war dead.
Some say that "We sure caused inconveniences in Asia. But the war with countries such as the US could be considered fights between imperialists."
What was a heated debate over thirty years ago has seen a recent revival and is even ubiquitous in the Diet.
If China had not been invaded, however, the Pacific War probably would never have occurred.
For the Southeast Asian nations that were turned into battlefields, inconvenience would be a blatant understatement.
From now until the hot days in August, there will be a series of events offering an opportunity to think about the 50 years since the end of the war.
We will most certainly be scoffed, disdained and scorned by the rest of the world if we continue this vague and abstract attitude, refusing to come to terms with our past.
We may be embarrassed by our past, but we should not carry it into the future.
Next time, I want to hear words that truly resonate with emotion.
The government and the ruling parties have reached a conclusion regarding the problems with the review of government-affiliated financial institutions.
Apparently the Export-Import Bank of Japan and Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) will be merged over the next four years.
The consolidation of these two institutions is one of the focal points of the consolidation of public corporations and it took months to materialize, so it is hard to believe that this ridiculous proposal turned up to be the end result.
Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura and Director General of the Economic Planning Agency Masahiko Takamura, the ministers concerned, both claim one of the benefits will be "one less director-general post."
We find this less than amusing.
Originally, it was Finance Minister Takemura, who was also the leader of New Party Sakigake, that brought up the idea of restructuring public corporations as the highlight of administrative reform.
When the five-percent raise of the consumption tax was adopted, the government claimed that the insufficient revenue would be made up by means of administrative reform.
It was acknowledged right from the start that it is impossible to come up with large amounts of funding from only the abolition and merger of public corporations.
Having known this, we still supported them anyway because we applauded their attitude of tackling this problem head-on.
These are the reasons I call it a ridiculous plan.
First of all, there is virtually no financial benefit, and in the grand scheme of things, the loss is greater than the gain.
As mentioned earlier, it is true that there will be "one less director-general post," and there may be savings in indirect department labor costs.
But all these are really not a big deal.
There are numerous disadvantages in comparison.
The official development assistance operation, which is currently under OECF, used to be among the responsibilities of the Export-Import Bank of Japan.
They were separated in 1975, however, due to mounting international criticism that the aid policy may be used advantageously for the promotion of exports if the export financing and ODA were a combined entity.
That comes as no surprise.
It is unfair to use aid as leverage for business.
Knowing this, the government decided to integrate the two once again.
According to Finance Minister Takemura, they will "strive to separate ODA accounts from that of non-ODA accounts, thus addressing the expected international criticism."
Moreover, they took the trouble to include that they will "try to gain the understanding of international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and nations involved within the four years leading to the merger" in the government and ruling parties' agreement.
How much time and money will it take to resolve an international misunderstanding, for the sake of "one less director-general post"?
Those involved with the government and ruling parties should calculate the costs and weigh them against the benefits.
They will eventually realize that compared to the time expended, there will be very little to be gained.
Once they realize this, they should graciously withdraw their proposal.
There is something strange about all of this.
The original candidates for restructuring and consolidation, such as the Japan Development Bank, small-to-medium-sized financial institutions and regional financial institutions, somehow dropped out of the debate unnoticed.
On the other hand, out of all the government-affiliated financial institutions, the Export-Import Bank of Japan was even cited as a candidate for dissolution.
It is rumored that the Japan Development Bank and the others have many Diet backers, while the Export-Import Bank have few, and that's why they are being used as scapegoats.
If this is true, then it is a serious problem.
We suggest the Murayama Cabinet continue to promote the reviewing of public corporations in order to demonstrate a strong stance toward administrative reform.
It is crucial that in so doing they tackle policy-based financing head-on, including the government's loans and investments.
The mother, who was receiving welfare, was inflicted with terminal cancer.
I often saw the oldest daughter, a high school student, reading a study guide while caring for her mother.
The second daughter said she "wanted a job that would help others," and was accepted into the nursing department of a girl's high school in another prefecture.
The mother died soon after, but the oldest daughter clearly replied that she will "work hard until graduation," and the second daughter that it is her "dream to become a nurse."
The director and all the staff at the Akashi welfare office in Hyogo prefecture discussed the situation.
Respecting their strong determination, they decided to approve that the oldest daughter and the second daughter, who is boarding in another prefecture, belong to a single household, and continue their welfare status.
This is a summary of a welfare case study published in "Life and Welfare."
It was not right away that the daughters opened up to the case worker.
Instead of the guidance counseling sessions four times a year, the Akashi welfare staff visited the girls every month and worked in cooperation with social workers, Child Committee members and teachers in order to provide an environment conducive to studying.
They also got the community to cooperate in keeping away an alcoholic man who once had a relationship with the mother.
They visited the second daughter at the dormitory to provide encouragement.
These efforts beyond their jurisdiction continued for a long time.
"The oldest daughter's voice quivered with excitement when she got a job offer from a large corporation." "The second daughter is in training at a hospital working towards becoming a registered nurse"...
This is how this matter-of-factly written report is concluded.
The goal of welfare is for the recipient and their family to become independent.
Considering that out of the approximately 880,000 recipients, more than 90 percent are households of the elderly, the diseased or disabled, or single mothers, it must be extremely difficult to become self-sustaining, but it is important not to lose the drive to get a step closer to the goal, one case at a time.
The Fukuoka district court's ruling on the 14th regarding welfare once again posed this major challenge.
The father, who used to be a carpenter, was saving up for his two daughter's high-school education through educational insurance, but the welfare office considered it to be an "asset" and reduced the welfare amount.
The two daughters pursued legal action claiming it was an "unfair reduction."
The ruling was that "the lawsuit ended" when the father died, which was the equivalent of slamming the door on their faces, but it did acknowledge the necessity of saving for a high school education.
Although the father's enrollment in several life insurance plans was questioned, it was pointed out that "the high school advancement rate is now over 95 percent, and it is recognized as a means for getting families out of welfare" and "although children of welfare families are allowed to study in high school, in reality it is very difficult financially."
Public funds must be disbursed in a strict and fair manner.
At the same time, it must support the recipients and their families, and be used to encourage them.
Public administration that stifles hope and prevents the desire to further one's education is against the original philosophy and goals of welfare.
In April 1993, the Akita District Court ruled that "unless the purpose is unsound or the amount is ridiculously high, saving from the welfare funds is permitted," in response to welfare cuts made to an old couple because they were saving up part of the welfare funds in preparation for hospital admission.
Wishing for high school advancement and preparing for hospital admission are both acts with "the future" in mind.
It should be the government's role to recognize such positive attitude and provide support.
The images of the welfare administration held by the two daughters who wish to pursue their education in the first example I gave and this case would be worlds apart.
The problems regarding the two credit unions, Tokyo-Kyowa and Anzen, can be broken down into two elements.
The first is the validity of the monetary policy to establish the Tokyo-Kyodo Bank, and the second is the clarification of the supervisory responsibility and scandal of the financial administration.
The testimony from witnesses before the Upper House Budget Committee on the 16th was still stuck in the stage of clarifying the facts.
However, it is important to keep focused on what to do in the event that other financial institutions continue to fail in a similar manner.
One of the witnesses, the president of Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan Tetsuya Horie, said that the termination of financing to "EIE International Corporation" was "a farewell at an amicable party."
It's not that I'm trying to pick on his wording, but I wonder if he understands how the public views the banks' behavior during the bubble years and its results.
During the bubble years, the banks departed from the banker's principle of financing entrepreneurs based on credit, making financing decisions based on goods, land and real-estate.
Now the hefty tab is being passed on to the public.
To claim that "we were swayed by the times" shows lack of repentance.
The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan is heavily responsible for financially backing up the bubble investment of EIE.
The explanation that it was only managing the cash flow of both credit unions does not lighten this responsibility.
Had the public witnessed the hearing, their trust towards banks would have diminished.
The regulatory authorities are also bargaining off their own credibility.
They ran to the rescue of the two recklessly managed credit unions using the preservation of credit and order as their justification, but their closed-door decision-making process and unilateral claim for cooperation from financed institutions, ending up damaging the trust between regulatory authorities and the heads of financial institutions.
On the other hand, the moral decay of senior government officials is causing grave public mistrust.
The trade-off for temporary maintenance of order was the loss of trust, and the damaged credibility is amplifying the instability of the financial system.
It is as simple as this.
Both credit and order are ending up damaged under the banner of credit and order.
A similar vicious circle was observed during the process of the Showa Financial Crisis that started in 1927.
At the time, the scandal between Suzuki Shoten and the Bank of Taiwan caused credit and order to crumble.
What is necessary now is therefore the recovery of credit from all related parties.
The Finance Ministry Banking Bureau should learn the lesson that credit and order cannot be maintained through authority and regulations alone.
In order for this to happen, experienced authority figures with no vested interest should be made aware of the situation, and this can be used as a starting point for obtaining public consensus on the current situation.
It seems like a roundabout way, but it is the only way to expand credit.
The problems with the financial system are so vast in scale; they are too serious to be handled in a casual manner.
How we handle the many financial institutions that cannot save themselves will directly affect stock prices, the economy and Japan's future.
Many people think that someone is going to do something about it.
However, in actuality even the authorities have no specific provisions.
If none of us do anything about it, there is no guarantee that we will be struck by a large banking disaster someday.
We must not turn the maintenance of credit and order into the story of the boy who cried wolf.
It has been two months since the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
A gap has formed between the government and local citizens, right at the important starting point of a full-scale reconstruction.
The mistrust stems from the decision on the city-planning proposal aimed at building a disaster-resistant city through land rezoning and redevelopment.
The "reconstruction with citizen participation" will be reduced to an empty slogan if the trust relationship is not swiftly recovered.
By the 16th, the proposal had been approved by the urban planning committees of both the Hyogo Prefecture and local municipalities.
The decision will be announced on the 17th.
A large-scale overhaul of the city with taller buildings, large roads and parks would span 13 zones with approximately 250 hectares within four cities, including Kobe City, and one town that were most extensively damaged.
It would be an undertaking paving the way for all reconstruction focusing on disaster prevention and beautification of the municipalities, but it is a serious concern for citizens as their living environment is to be drastically altered and part of their property may be expropriated.
The strength of opposition varied from one zone to another, but the criticism was focused on "decision-making without citizen involvement."
It is no wonder that the plan was perceived as a forceful imposition by the government, given that the presentation of the citizens' report, the deliberation by the urban planning committee and the final decision took only two short weeks since the proposed plan was announced and its information became available in late February.
The residents had no input in the making of the plan, and there was insufficient explanation to the earthquake victims who evacuated far away.
There were some opposition to the content of the plan proposal, but there were not enough opportunities for debate.
It is evident from their approach that dialogue with the residents was not a high priority for the government.
At Kobe City's committee meeting, picketing city employees squared off with opposing citizens inside the government building.
It is hard to believe they are supposed to be partners in reconstruction.
There was an outburst of government mistrust for "shutting out the citizens."
The government admits the lack of dialogue and hastiness, but stresses that things must be rushed in order to "prevent unregulated construction and proceed with a systematic reconstruction."
An urban planning decision is not the only way to extend the two-month time limit of the Building Standard Law's building restrictions for disaster areas, but other options "will confuse citizens even more if we continue the restrictions without indicating a direction for reconstruction," the government says.
This is understandable from the standpoint of government responsibilities.
But the government's distrust towards the citizens is implied in its comments such as "those in opposition are only a sector of the residents," and "it will take 50 or even 100 years if we wait for their consent."
There may also be the confidence in the "Kobe method" of development under strong government leadership.
It is probably one of the factors preventing mutual understanding.
The development plan that started off with "mutual distrust" is causing the dispute to prolong.
I'm afraid the reconstruction of the quake-stricken areas started off on the wrong foot.
Apparently in some areas, lawsuits demanding retraction of the city planning decision are in the works.
The government maintains that it has "only presented a framework, and the details of the business plan are to be established at a later date."
In that case, it should guarantee future citizen participation in the reconstruction plan, including amendments through dialogue to the plans that have already been decided.
Each target area must establish a venue for regular dialogue between the government and residents.
They should try their best to make up for the lack of dialogue there.
In approving the plan, each committee also requested that the residents should be involved to substantialize it.
I hope the government will remain true to its words.
The citizens must be prepared to suffer once again during reconstruction.
It will also be necessary to voluntarily refrain from rampant development.
We hope they can present counterproposals and engage in constructive dialogue with the administrative authorities in order to realize true reconstruction through citizen participation.
The stagnation of the Social Democratic Party has become more evident, as if coinciding with the downturn of the Murayama cabinet.
Numbers are the best indicator of its decline.
According to an opinion poll by Mainichi Newspaper Company conducted from the 10th to 12th, the Social Democratic Party's approval ratings dropped 2 points since the last poll to 7 percent, equaling their record low.
In addition, with the announcement of the nationwide local elections nearing, the Social Democratic Party had 395 official candidates for the 43 prefectural assemblies as of the 15th, 147 less than the last time and once again a record low.
The party seems to be suffering from the "Social Democratic Party avoidance syndrome," with both its constituency and candidates shunning it.
The Social Democratic Party is in the midst of unprecedented danger.
Strangely enough, it seems to have no sense of an impending crisis.
Perhaps its senses are numbed by being in a chronically perilous state for so long.
It is, however, necessary that the Social Democratic party be intensely aware that it makes no sense for the Party, hitting rock bottom and shunned by its constituency and candidates, to have had its member be the Prime Minister heading the ruling coalition.
The Social Democratic Party recently compiled two documents, the "Declaration of 1995" proposal and an "Interim report" dealing with the issues posed by the new party.
The "Declaration of 1995" proposal was adopted during the extraordinary convention last September as the new fundamental document embodying the party's political platform, as a replacement to the "New Program," the party's mantra, but it also serves as a guideline for the new party.
As a whole, it should be reasonably commendable that they are stressing the need for the emergence of a new political power through the progressive dismantling of the Social Democratic Party, and that they have shifted away from the ideology of the "New Program" in order to establish guiding principles and policy objectives based on reality.
Unfortunately, the all-important new party concept, which should have come hand in hand with the "Declaration of 1995" proposal, serves only as a "show of intent" and totally lacks details on the steps for forming the new party and which parties and groups it will be partnering with, although the "interim report" clearly states "formation in advance of the Upper House election."
It will end up being like a "birthday cake without icing or candles," just a meaningless piece of paper with no impact until the "Declaration of 1995" proposal takes effect.
It was obvious right from the beginning that the "interim report" will be a mere formality, since most of the new party deliberation committee members were either left-wingers reluctant to form the new party and/or belonged to a group supporting Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.
In short, the "interim report" was a vivid reflection of factional infighting, aimed at suppressing the right-wing new democratic league, and driving out those such as former chairman Sadao Yamahana who belong to the group favoring the new party formation in order to preempt their opposition.
It seems to boil down to the wheeling and dealing between the left and right factions, with no "ambition" or "passion" for opening up new political grounds through the formation of a new party.
Prime Minister Murayama's words to accompanying reporters in Copenhagen, "the Social Democratic Party must not end at simply changing its outer wear, but needs to transform itself into a new party both in name and substance," ring hollow.
Even within the Social Democratic Party, there is open talk about its inevitable bitter defeat in the nationwide local elections.
What will they do with the Party, or where is the Party going?
Do we just have to wait until the answers become clear?
Egyptian President Mubarak visited Japan as a state guest for four days starting on the 13th, and met with Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and others.
Visits by key Middle East dignitaries, following the visit by Israeli Prime Minister Rabin at the end of last year, should give Japan's Mideast diplomacy a new boost.
Egypt is a major Arabic nation.
Its bold initiatives are still fresh in my mind: it paved the way for today's Middle East peace efforts, becoming the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, a year after signing the Camp David Accord.
This separate signing of the peace agreement was perceived as a betrayal of the "Arab Cause," resulting in the assassination of President Sadat by Muslim radicals and Egypt becoming isolated from the Arab world.
But thanks to the efforts of President Mubarak who inherited Sadat's peace track, Egypt was able to resume diplomatic relations with many Arab nations by the late 1980s, and was reinstated into the League of Arab States in 1989.
The defining moment in Egypt's resurgence was the 1991 Gulf War.
It managed to gain the trust of the western nations while recovering its leadership role by gathering Arab nations to the anti-Iraqi camp.
After the Gulf War, it supported the US-led Middle East peace talks from the sidelines, resulting in the interim self-government agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty.
Now, along with the US, it is mediating talks between Israel and Syria, who hold the key to future developments in the Middle East.
Based on these track records, Egypt is attempting to strengthen ties with estranged regions, expanding its range of supporting countries.
The visit of Egyptian President Mubarak to Japan can be interpreted as part of this strategy.
Arab unity was upset by the Gulf War, and its unifying force was lost with the commencement of the Palestinian Interim Self-Government.
Although we cannot hope for the same kind of leadership it showed when it confronted Israel as an Arab leader, it is a fact that Egypt still holds the power to influence the situation in the Middle East.
This is a good opportunity for Japan to strengthen its ties with the "alpha male" of the Middle East.
When the conference of creditor nations decided in 1991 to reduce Egypt's debt after delayed payments, Japan also agreed to a 50 percent reduction in exchange for discontinuing acceptance of trade insurance.
I welcome Japan's unconventional decision to resume acceptance of trade insurance.
We must not hold back on grant assistance or technical cooperation for the Suez Canal bridge construction, which will serve as a bridge for peace.
There has been a rise in Muslim radicals in the Middle East, resulting from delays in expanding the Palestinian Interim Self-Government.
Even in Egypt, there have been frequent terrorist attacks by fundamentalist organizations, fueled by public discontent with chronic poverty and the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Turmoil in Egypt could result in instability in all of the Middle East.
Japan must contribute to the stability of Egypt based on a long-term perspective, if we want to help promote peace in the Middle East.
On the other hand, when Japan requested Egypt to comply with an indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in light of the review conference scheduled next month, President Mubarak made his position clear that he was against an indefinite extension since "Israel is causing a sense of unfairness by refusing to join the NPT."
Egypt has a strong influence on Arab nations over this matter, as seen in the release of a statement urging Israel to sign this treaty during a ministerial meeting of the Damascus Eight it played hosted to last month.
Japan must continue its efforts to convince Egypt to accept the extension, in cooperation with the US.
Diplomacy involving the Korean Peninsula is complicated and defies any simple solution.
There always seem to be pitfalls and unexpected twists around the corner.
This is because there are many interests that are intricately intertwined behind the scenes.
We may further complicate the problem if we don't take into consideration the complexities of the international relations between North and South Korea as well as Japan, the U.S. and China; the differences in feelings of the affected parties in both Koreas; and past history.
Pursuing diplomacy on a whim without a philosophy and strategy on a desirable relationship between Japan and the Korean Peninsula could therefore negatively impact national interests and, on top of it, ruin our relationships with friendly nations.
A good example is the 1990 "war atonement" problem of delegates visiting North Korea caused by Shin Kanemaru, former vice president of the LDP, which is still fresh in our memory.
The LDP is continuing its efforts to coordinate a visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea within the month by the ruling triumvirate.
Apparently an agreement will be formed to resume talks on diplomatic normalization during the ruling parties' visit to North Korea, but why must the ruling parties of both countries agree on resuming normalization talks in the first place?
Diplomacy by congressmen is important, and helps promote international understanding.
But why is a ruling party delegation necessary only in the case of North Korea?
When to resume Japan-North Korea diplomatic normalization talks and what kinds of problems will be handled is an issue of diplomatic tactics.
Diplomatic talks should be allowed to proceed freely, without constraints or restrictions.
The Japan-North Korea diplomatic normalization talks began with the three-party joint declaration by the Kanemaru delegation to North Korea.
Because of this, North Korea is demanding "war atonement" specified by the three-party declaration.
North Korea is insisting that diplomatic normalization be bound by the three-party declaration.
This is understandable given North Korea's position.
The problem lies with the precariousness of Japanese politicians who did not have the diplomatic common sense to realize that signing the joint declaration could impede diplomatic talks.
They also lacked awareness that proceeding with the Japan-North Korea diplomatic normalization talks before resolving the nuclear issue may result in strong objections by the U.S. and South Korea.
What is to say that this time, the ruling parties' delegation to North Korea won't follow in their predecessor's footsteps?
It is said that the consensus document prepared specifies the timing for diplomatic normalization talks, but does not include an agreement on dropping "war atonement."
The timing for diplomatic normalization talks is an issue of diplomatic tactics.
It should not be imposed by a political party.
The Kanemaru delegation to North Korea served as a lesson on the dangers of political parties embarking on diplomacy as if it were parliamentary affairs.
There were also movements to acquire concessions.
How do we know that this delegation to North Korea is free of party politics or the administration's agendas?
Furthermore, are there not movements to acquire concessions associated with diplomatic normalization?
Politicians and those involved in the business community must not seek concessions from North Korea.
If resuming normalization talks is simply a matter of the ruling party delegates visiting, then it seems contact between both countries' foreign affairs offices would be the proper way to reach a resumption agreement.
There are some reports that senior officials of the Foreign Ministry were heavily involved in behind the scenes contacts leading to the agreement on the ruling parties' delegation to North Korea.
If this is true, it is a serious concern.
South Korea is questioning the resumption of Japan-North Korea negotiations at a time when there is no prospect for the reestablishment of the North-South dialogue.
There are concerns in the U.S. about normalization talks resuming before the U.S.- North Korea light-water reactor supply contract is entered.
Why does it have to be a ruling parties' delegation to North Korea?
We would like to see a clear roadmap for friendship, future prospects and diplomatic strategy.
The end of the cold war opened up the road to nuclear disarmament.
There are also serious efforts being made to regulate biological and chemical weapons.
However, there is still a large void in the arms control/disarmament framework on a worldwide scale.
It is in the field of conventional weapons.
Approximately one trillion dollars are spent annually on weapons procurement around the world, of which 75% goes to conventional weapons.
In terms of export value, the weapons industry is the number two manufacturing industry in the world.
Furthermore, the supply of large weapons and leading-edge technology weapons has been in an oligopoly for a while, with countries that not only are holders of permanent seats in the U.N. but also are nuclear weapons states themselves, such as the U.S., Russia, France, England and China, accounting for more than 80% of weapons exports.
Our goal for the foreseeable future is to stave off the international weapons trade.
The international symposium with the theme "transfer of conventional weapons," held in Tokyo last week, provided valuable hints on how we may deal with this problem.
First of all, it should be pointed out that the end of the cold war did not provide equal benefits around the world.
The value of weapons exported last year has decreased to about one third of what it was in the mid-1980s during the cold war.
Large contributing factors are: Weapons exports to the Middle East and Africa have decreased with the dissipation of the U.S. - Soviet Union conflict; and Europe's progress in disarmament.
In contrast, Asia, which continues its dynamic economic development, has increased its share of the international weapons market.
While it comprised a mere 10% of world imports up to the 1980s, it has now grown to more than 30%.
Exports have also exceeded 7%, mainly because of the increase in China's export power.
In particular, the South-East Asian nations are a target for weapons exports.
The US and Russian weapons industries, which lost most of their domestic procurements, are spurring their sales efforts to South-East Asia, which is economically more powerful than ever.
The same is true for Europe.
Germany's selling of the corvettes and naval minesweepers of the old East German Army to Indonesia for dirt-cheap is a good example of the disarmament of Europe bouncing back to Asia's military buildup.
Because of these changes, the weapons trade shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market.
Faced with fierce competition, the sellers are struggling to make sales by using leading-edge weapons and lower prices to promote their products.
In particular, Russia seems to have thrown its pride to the wind to sell off fighter planes, submarines, tanks, and even as far as antiaircraft missiles in order to acquire foreign currency and maintain its arms industry.
There are terrific obstacles in regulating a weapons trade that involves national egos.
Japan, however, is not involved in the weapons trade and should therefore eagerly take on the initiative.
Another challenge is the enforcement of the United Nations registration system for weapons trade, which began in 1992.
The aim of this system is to increase the transparency of weapons transfers and indirectly stave off international trade, but small firearms such as machine guns, landmines and rifles do not have to be registered.
In war-torn regions such as the former Yugoslavia, small firearms have been claiming many victims.
Unless arms control is strengthened for all conventional weapons, including small firearms, it will be difficult to resolve or prevent regional disputes.
The P5 countries have a heavy responsibility when it comes to strengthening the controls on conventional weapons.
Japan, which is the largest contributor of Official Development Assistance, should partner with developing and non-aligned countries and show its courage to stand up to the P5 countries and demand export restrictions on conventional weapons at the UN.
In addition, we would like our government to deepen its dialogue with Asian countries and concentrate on future planning of confidence-building and arms control in the Asia-Pacific region.
We wonder if one day we will reminisce, "Ah, that year was the beginning of the end."
For the past few years, it has been said that the spring labor offensive has come to a turning point.
But we think we are truly at a crossroads this year, as we mark the 40th anniversary of the spring labor offensive.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake came right as the spring labor offensive was about to start.
In the midst of all of that, there was a sudden rise in the value of the yen.
As if it wasn't enough that we had an economic recovery so sluggish that it evoked fears of a slowdown, falling commodity prices and employment insecurity caused by restructuring.
There was an atmosphere surrounding the whole spring labor offensive that signaled an end before ever reaching a 3% wage increase.
But there is much going on beneath the waters, aside from the immediate objective circumstances.
The seniority-based remuneration system, which is the core of our wage system, is starting to crumble.
Daiei, Inc.'s introduction of an annual salary system applying to all employees and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.'s revision of its bonus plan for management-level employees carry symbolic significance.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is about to cut its periodic pay raise.
Changes in the wage system inevitably bring about changes in the employment system.
The Japanese employment practice, which assumes employment for life, will change as well.
The union membership rate in Japan is only 24.1% of the labor force.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, which accounts for more than 60% of these union members, represents a mere 1.7% of workers in companies with less than 100 employees.
Even with a law protecting basic labor rights, there are always ways for management to cut back staff when it wants to.
The manufacturing industries are shifting their plants overseas, while the trend toward reducing payroll costs, which are a fixed expense, continues to pick up its pace.
The transition of the industrial structure from manufacturing to service industries is also speeding up.
The number of people working in the service sector has already exceeded those in the manufacturing sector.
On top of that, there came the wave of deregulation.
Job creation by the much-awaited entrepreneurs and new companies is fraught with the fear of weakening the labor movement.
At many new companies there seems to be a notion that "unions are an impediment to both the growth of the company and the self-actualization of workers."
These are the voices we seem to be hearing.
The union membership rate is even lower in the U.S.
15.5%.
Ten years ago it was 18.0%.
The union membership rate is dropping even in major Western European countries, which boasted higher union membership rates compared to Japan.
Unions are losing popularity.
This is the cold truth accompanying the shift in industrial structure.
As such, Japan is about to enter a new era of major changes in its wage system and employment practices, along with deregulation in which many areas must be realized.
Is it all right for us to face the same situation as the US and Europe?
The appreciation of the yen was a major factor in Japan's nominal wages making their way to world-class status.
In terms of purchasing power parity, which compares the quantity of goods that can be purchased for the same amount of money, the strength of the yen is rated at 1 dollar = 180 yen.
The current yen is twice that strength.
Despite the nominally high wages, the burden of mortgages, rent and education expenses result in an unequivocally low disposable income.
It is difficult to reduce fixed living expenses.
Still, the high nominal wages cause the aggregate labor costs to inflate, giving rise to seemingly paradoxical export difficulties.
The cycle of yen appreciation has established itself in a separate dimension from the honest working population.
Actually, the working population must accept its share of the responsibility for causing this dilemma.
The labor movement has exercised restraint for a long time, when it comes to wage increases.
The retained earnings that remained in the corporation under the guise of strengthening corporate health ended up causing land prices to skyrocket.
It created a bubble economy based on speculative demand, instead of achieving expansion of domestic demand based on actual demand.
The first crossroads in the 40 years of spring labor offensives was reached in 1975.
Workers had acquired a 33% wage increase the previous year.
They surely overcame the runaway inflation after the oil shock, and secured a real wage.
However, on the political level there was an increasing sense of danger that the Japanese economy was headed for the brink of disaster, and more so among some strong private-sector unions.
Discussions between the workers and government produced a proposal that led to the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations' 15% guideline on wage increases.
It was the Japanese equivalent of the income policy.
The results were in the 13% range, even lower than the guideline.
The Japanese economy was back on a path of stable growth.
If it had been purely based on these results, the policy would have been working.
In the late fall of the same year, the Federation of Public Corporation and Government Enterprise Workers' Unions' large-scale battle for striking rights and the strike to establish the right to strike ended in utter defeat.
The spring labor offensive thereafter became a process of gradual loss in actual bargaining power.
At the same time, it seems like the movement was rather too "tolerant" when it came to wage increases for far too long since 1975.
In order to prevent the beginning of "the end of the spring labor offensive," there has to be a higher level of healthy tension between labor and management.
And the negotiations must proceed without too much emphasis on reaching an agreement in the first round.
Then, the labor movement needs to devise new methods to cope with new situations.
Up until now, an increase in the average wage of blue-collar workers was the basis for the spring labor offensive.
In the future, an offensive strategy must be established that can deal with the wage system shifting to annual salary systems, performance-based compensation and pay based on ability, without losing sight of the benefits to the worker.
The "Basic workers' wage hike indication" demands put forward by the Confederation during this year's spring labor offensive seem to fit along these lines, but lack clear positioning.
The advancement of women is another challenge.
The unions cannot remain male-dominated forever.
A mature society should not necessitate quiet unions.
We must increase our efforts not only to achieve wage increases, but also to take actions to further the rights of the workers, and demand programs and national policies for the people that meet the needs of both workers and ordinary citizens.
No matter what age we live in, it is the citizens' steady lives that are important.
If the spring labor offensive is to further these rights, we should not let it fade away.
This is the responsibility carried by the leaders of the labor movement.
Were they aiming for indiscriminate killing?
The simultaneous multiple releases of the poisonous gas "Sarin," a type of organophosphate, claimed many victims.
It is a bone-chilling incident.
Who could commit such an atrocity, and to what purpose?
We hope that the investigative authorities will make a speedy arrest.
It was during the morning rush on the 20th.
An irritating odor filled the train cars and platforms of the Hibiya and Marunouchi subway lines running through Tokyo, and passengers fell to the ground one after another.
The number of injuries was astonishing.
The death toll was not small either.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department announced that they had "analyzed the evidence and think that it is most likely sarin," and set up a task force named "subway station poisonous gas mass murder case."
Sarin is a poisonous gas developed in Germany during the Second World War, and is said to kill most people who are exposed for 30 seconds to air containing 100mg per cubic meter.
Some reports claim that the gas came from a newspaper package in the train car.
The gas was deployed in a subway, which is a closed space from which there is no escape, and if that was the perpetrator's intention, it is truly an unimaginable crime.
Speaking of sarin, the investigative authorities suspected that "sarin" was used in the poisonous gas incident in Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture that left 7 dead and over 200 injured in June last year.
The following month, an organophosphorus substance similar to sarin was detected in a malodorous incident in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture.
All of these cases are unresolved.
In addition, similar cases targeting trains and stations used by many passengers have occurred twice since the beginning of this month in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
At Kasumigaseki subway station, a bag started spewing steam near the ticket gate, and in Yokohama City, a foul odor filled the car of a Keihin Express train while it was running.
Since last year, gun proliferation has shaken the nation, with ordinary citizens finding themselves dodging bullets.
At school, there seems to be no end to the "bullying suicides."
And now, the fear of "gas" creeping up without a sound.
Today's Japan is obviously suffering from pathological problems, and we do not think it is an exaggeration when we say the archipelago once called a "safe country" has fallen to the depths of fear.
What has happened to Japan?
The Prime Minister's Office conducts a "citizens' social awareness public opinion poll" every year.
According to the March findings, the percentage of people who answered "low crime rate" in response to the question "what are you proud of?" was 42.6%, marking a 10-point drop since the last poll.
41.6% answered "a bad direction" to the question "what direction do you think Japan is headed in?"
The citizens, who were leading vulnerable lives under the myth of a safe society, can no longer hide their fear of pathogens creeping up.
Are the investigative authorities properly dealing with these situations?
Unfortunately, our answer is "no."
Major heinous crimes such as terrorist attacks on businesses have been occurring repeatedly, but the arrest rate has not been very impressive.
It has been 9 months since the poisonous gas incident in Matsumoto City, but we have not heard of any progress in the case.
How can this be, when there were so many deaths and evidence left behind?
To leave crime unresolved may encourage those planning new crimes.
They do say "there is no better crime prevention than a conviction."
There must be a conviction in this incident.
And it must be swift.
If this case ends up in the unresolved case file, it will seriously damage the prestige and credibility of the investigative authorities.
The Tokyo-Kyodo Bank, established to bail out the two failed credit unions, Tokyo-Kyowa and Anzen, has begun operation, and the two credit unions have disappeared in both name and reality.
Although this course of events was expected, the fact that it has reached this stage will likely boost the activities of the investigative authorities.
We do not want them jumping to a hasty conclusion, but we hope there is thorough investigation soon.
Japanese financial institutions have been in a difficult situation.
We hear that there are many financial institutions in the danger zone.
We must get to the bottom of the problems that plagued the two credit unions and clearly identify the responsible parties, in order to quickly restore trust in the financial system as a whole.
If the public's distrust continues to mount, there is no telling how badly it will influence Japan's economy.
It has not been that long since former chairmen Harunori Takahashi and Shinsuke Suzuki were charged with breach of trust.
The investigative authorities, however, had already begun gathering information before the end of last year.
The questioning of the parties concerned has also been active lately.
We hope this means that the groundwork for a criminal investigation is well on its way.
Although they were small-scale credit unions, it is extremely difficult to trace the flow of funds since their bad debts totaled over 100 billion yen.
In addition, a breach of trust charge cannot be laid for monetary damages alone.
It is a difficult crime to establish, and must include the "intent to defraud/cause damage" and "infringement of duty."
It would normally take at least half a year to resolve.
But things cannot wait that long.
A credit union is an organization based on the "Law on the Cooperative Association of Small and Medium Enterprises," originally intended as a nonprofit financial institution promoting mutual assistance between small and medium enterprises and workers, and the improvement of local economies.
In principle, deposits and loans are restricted to members, with strict limits on lending to non-members and on the maximum amount of individual loans.
The two credit unions did not follow these regulations.
Even worse, their management was in a shambles with no regard to its public position, collecting funds from certain large depositors at a high interest rate, and administering self loans,unsecured loans and by-pass loans.
At the Diet summons, the two former chairmen repeatedly justified themselves as if to deny criminal intent, emphasizing that the chaotic lending was "for improving management," and that they were "reporting to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government" and "under the supervision of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan" regarding the state of management.
However, even if the purpose of the loan was for debt collection, if the loan were too excessive there are judicial precedents that would deem it to be "a mere desire with no realistic prospect of it being returned."
We will have to wait and see how the investigation goes to determine the presence of criminal liability, but there is a good chance it will develop into a large-scale economic incident comparable to past breach of trust cases involving financial institutions.
While it is said that Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura lamented "I can't believe this kind of financial institution existed," there have been many cases in the past where politicians were suspected to have been linked to large-scale economic allegations/incidents.
This case is no exception.
To us laypersons, it appears that the chaos has ballooned to this extent because of the involvement of politicians and bureaucrats.
Along with criminal liability, we would like to see them get to the bottom of political and administrative liabilities.
Of course, the scope of the investigation is limited to pursuing criminal liability.
We cannot leave everything up to the arms of the law.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Finance Ministry, which have supervisory responsibility, and even the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, which was the main bank of former chairman Takahashi's group of companies, should lead the way by disclosing information and endeavor to clarify the facts.
In order to get rid of distrust towards the financial system, it is essential to break away from the conventional attitude of avoiding or shifting responsibility.
The gubernatorial elections of 13 prefectures, the first series in the first half of the unified local elections, are going to be announced today, on the 23rd.
The next announcement for the election will be on the 31st, for the prefectural assembly elections of 43 prefectures and city assembly elections of 10 designated cities.
April 9 is the polling date for both.
The polling date for the general city/ward mayor, municipal council, town/village mayor and town/village council elections is April 23, the latter half of the elections.
The unified local elections seem to have gradually become less and less "unified," having reached the 13th election after the war.
In particular, the gubernatorial election is being held in less than 30 percent of all prefectures, and less than half even if we include Yamanashi, Ehime, Aomori, Aichi and Kumamoto that had their governors elected in the pre-unified elections vote.
Even so, approximately 2,500 elections are held at once, accounting for almost 40 percent of the 6,600 various local elections to be held during a four-year period, engulfing the Japanese archipelago in an election mood.
The first thing that requires attention about these elections is the fact that although they are regional and local elections, they are the first national scale elections to be held since the collapse of the 1955 party system, and that it predates the general election which is expected to come before too long.
What are striking about these elections of administrative chiefs including governors are the "all parties join the ruling coalition" phenomenon in the regional and municipal assemblies and the "twisting" phenomenon between regional and central politics, which is partly triggered by the coalition forming.
The unified local elections used to act as an advance indicator of expected results of the on-coming national election, with interactions between the national and regional or local elections, as seen in 1965 to 1975 when reform-minded regional governments were spread like wildfire, acting as the precursor of the era in which the ruling and opposition parties were very close in the number of seats in the two houses of the Diet.
Today that connection has become blurred.
Different from the days when the regional and local assemblies were divided in accordance with the political map on the national level, some of the reasons are that the political parties themselves are now so mobile after repeating alliance and separation, preventing the national political situation from influencing the regional level, and that the policy orientations at the national level cannot be directly transplanted to the regional level.
It is suspected, however, that the chorus of joining the ruling coalition heard in the regional and municipal assemblies are a unilateral action on the part of the assembly members for their self-complacent desire to "continue a comfortable existence as part of the ruling party," forcing us voters to accept it.
Today the checking function of regional assemblies is not working, resulting in a lack of tension in regional politics.
The collusive candidate selection process among the coalition in the gubernatorial and mayoral elections has resulted in the alienation of voters, increasing the lack of tension even further.
Now is the time for voters to strike back against this logic of the to-be-elected.
By invigorating regional and municipal politics, it is very possible to stimulate the reorganization of the national political map.
We should be reminded that the isolation of local politics from national politics signifies the poor health of democracy.
From this perspective, making strong demands for an information disclosure program to regional and municipal governments must be an effective approach for increasing the public's interest in regional and municipal politics and the oversight functionality.
One more feature of this election is the fact that it is an election to be held with the memory and damage of the Great Hanshin Earthquake still fresh in our minds.
Since the Great Hanshin Earthquake highlighted the structural defects in the disaster prevention planning of the city and voters are very interested in urban planning that addresses major disasters such as earthquakes, the disaster prevention is likely to join the list of major election issues including the aging society and decentralization.
Although not only Kobe but also municipal governments across Japan have concentrated on development-oriented urban planning so far, it is the major responsibility of voters to cast a vote for the reexamination for such tendency.
The investigative authorities raided the premises of the newly formed cult Aum Shinrikyo in connection with the abduction of the head of the Notary Public Office in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
Based on suspicions that cult members were involved, the investigative authorities have apparently issued one arrest warrant on charges of apprehension and confinement.
The fact that 2,500 investigators and troopers were mobilized demonstrates their extraordinary determination.
The cult protested that "the raid is illegal, and is religious oppression."
We must solemnly refrain from prejudgment.
That is why we would like the investigative authorities to clarify the unbiased truth as soon as possible.
What was particularly striking about the scene of investigation was that many of the investigators wore protective combat gear and gas masks.
Both items were borrowed from the Defense Agency.
On top of that, we hear that cooperation was requested for technical guidance on handling poisonous gas.
Based on advice from the Self-Defense Forces, they brought in a canary sensitive to poisonous gas.
There was a foul odor incident in July last year near the cult's compound in Yamanashi Prefecture, and by-products of sarin were detected.
So they are showing vigilance towards poisonous gas, and taking "unforeseen circumstances" into consideration.
There are reports that acetonitrile, similar to the organic solvent detected in the "The subway sarin gas incident" on the 20th, was seized.
This solvent itself can be easily acquired by anyone for "experimental use."
Even so, this incident has left over 5000 dead and injured.
The public, terrified of sarin, is closely following the progress of the police search and investigation.
It is of utmost urgency that the authorities clarify the existence of any connections.
The abduction incident, for which the charges are being investigated, occurred on the 28th of last month in Shinagawa-ku.
The head notary was swarmed by 4 or 5 men while on his way home at around 4:30 in the afternoon when the sun was still up.
Despite repeated cries of "help," he was shoved into a minivan in a matter of a minute and completely disappeared.
The incident was deeply shocking, given the fact that an adult disappeared in broad daylight in the middle of a big city.
It is said that the head notary's sister was once a member of the cult, and there had been troubles associated with her leaving the cult.
The minivan had been leased from a rental company, and the recovery of fingerprints from the rental agreement was in progress.
Speaking of abductions, the November 1989 case in Yokohama City in which a lawyer and his family disappeared is still fresh in our memory.
Apparently, there are still no clues in this case.
Who abducted them, and for what purpose?
It is just as urgent for this case to be solved.
It just seems that there are too many ghastly crimes in Japan lately.
Crimes that seem to be challenging law and order, such as the dog-lover murder case, mutilation murders and shooting deaths, stand out.
To top it off, there is now the fear of sarin.
What is to be gained from destroying order?
It just needlessly and terribly frightens the public.
It is not easy to build the safety system of a society.
But it is very easy to destroy it.
If we cannot put an end to it now, there is no going back.
It seems like an increase in the number of crimes and in their severity is a common pathogen of advanced nations.
The Tokyo subway sarin incident was reported in Europe and the United States with extraordinary interest and response.
They were worried about the possibility of imitations.
Although the concept of safety has become more of a myth in Japan, the image of a "safe nation" still remains abroad.
This Japan is causing worldwide angst.
It is truly regrettable.
We must say that the strategy of this year's spring labor offensive has failed.
The workers' side has lost its cohesion during the negotiation process.
On top of that, it caused a downward leveling phenomenon instigated by NTT's response, which was 1,500 yen lower than last year.
It was a spring labor offensive where the workers' side trod a path full of contradictions.
On the 23rd, a response was issued to all Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (IMF-JC), with the spring labor offensives of the main industrial unions such as electricity and automotive concluding with the lowest wage increase in history.
How could this have happened?
There is no explanation other than that the contradictions in the labor side's strategy were too large.
In this year marking the 40th anniversary of the spring labor offensive, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, which oversees the unions of the main industries, hammered out a policy of self-determination by industry unions.
Towards the end of last year, capital investment was gaining upward momentum.
It is inevitable that there is a significant difference in wage increases from one industry to another, depending on business conditions.
That is how they convinced themselves.
Regrets from last year, also the worst spring labor offensive in history, were reflected in the policy.
Even if unity is weakened, they will try to achieve a large wage increase if the possibility exists, regardless of the state of the other industry unions.
That was the goal of the Confederation's policy of self-determination among industry unions.
At the same time, they tried to create two climaxes in the spring labor offensive.
A reform of the pattern, much like the 1955 system of the spring labor offensive.
To change the strategy in which JC's concentrated response used to be the biggest climax and which influenced the subsequent negotiations.
This year, industrial unions of the large public enterprises, i.e. private railways, electric companies and NTT, tried to get a response prior to JC on March 15th and 16th.
They in turn aimed to use the standard of these responses to influence JC's negotiations.
The outcome?
In the case of private railways and electric companies, management did not accept labor's demand.
NTT's union, the Japan Telecommunications Workers' Union, reached a speedy agreement on March 3rd of 9,300 yen, or 2.8%.
The Great Hanshin Earthquake caused great damage, and a public-interest industry should work for a speedy recovery.
That was the official explanation.
In the background, the plan to break up NTT is emerging.
It is assumed that the anti-breakup union made a decision not to let the spring labor offensive drag out.
The explanation for reaching an agreement in early March against the Confederation's concept was to keep it independent, so that the lowball agreement would not affect the others.
Equally problematic was the fact that the large industry unions such as JC could not break through the standard set by the NTT response.
Only the Japanese Electrical, Electronic and Information Unions came close to last year in terms of amount, but they did not reach the 3% mark in terms of a wage increase rate.
We must point out that the policy of union self-determination ended in mere sloganeering.
Perhaps it is the result of the Confederation having lost its leadership.
Or was it a failure to make management feel the power of the unions?
It is true that, for this year, it was just an "attempt" to reform the spring labor offensive.
Part of it was the demanding of a reply in terms of a wage increase amount instead of a wage increase rate, and demands to specify the average worker's wage hike.
But in actuality, most of it was rejected by management.
It is difficult to successfully implement a reform if it is just a concept on the workers' side.
What is needed are the bargaining power and debating skills to make management accept the reform.
If they are going to change the order of events for the spring labor offensive and add climaxes other than the JC response, they must begin preparing for negotiations right now.
If the union's contentions are weak, they will still be rejected by management.
Instead of relying on sticking to the idea of the "first answer should be the last," continue fighting if the response is unsatisfactory.
The results from the spring labor offensive taught us that what really is of utmost urgency is arming themselves with tough bargaining power and contention.
That will serve as the foundation, allowing the unions to effectively deal with future changes in salary systems and /or employment practices.
When it comes to real estate, it used to be that "today is the lowest price."
Tomorrow's prices will be higher than today's, and they will go up further the day after.
This is how the "myth of ever-higher land prices" came to be.
Now, it's a different story.
"Today's price is the highest," and tomorrow it will be lower than today.
According to the appraised land value assessments conducted by the National Land Agency, as of January 1st this year, both residential and commercial properties had dropped in value compared to last year.
This is the first four-year consecutive decline.
In the case of residential property, the rate of decline has decreased.
On the other hand, commercial property, which was the breeding ground for the economic bubble, declined significantly, with a double-digit drop in metropolitan areas.
In particular, the wards of Tokyo suffered a 20% drop.
The downward trend is still continuing this year.
Land prices, which along with stocks had supported the bubble economy, still seem to be undergoing an adjustment process.
The multiple of annual salary needed to obtain a home has improved slightly from last year's 5.3 times the annual salary to 5.2 times in the Tokyo metropolitan area, reflecting this decline in land prices.
This value is calculated by the National Land Agency based on brand new condominium prices, but the floor area is only 56 square meters.
When we convert this calculation based on an area of 70 square meters, the multiple becomes 5.6 times the annual salary.
From the buyer's point of view, the honest truth is probably that we would like the prices to get a little cheaper.
If the goal is to keep the multiple of annual salary at under 5 times for first-time buyers, then a cut-off point for affordability would be 40 million yen.
A drop in land prices will not be enough to produce conditions that will bring us closer to this standard.
The government must improve its housing policy, chiefly deregulating land and housing policies.
Relaxed policies that promote effective land use will lead to an increase in housing supply, causing prices to drop.
We would like to recap that stepping up tax breaks on mortgages would have the same effect as lowering prices for buyers.
The residential land prices in the Tokyo area, with the 1983 prices as a baseline, rose 2.5 times at one point but have now dropped to 1.73 times.
This is almost the same growth rate as the nominal gross national product.
Some consider this to be a sign that land prices have settled to a more or less reasonable level.
It is true that this is a valid argument based on the trends up to now.
But what if the baseline around 1988, before the price surge, already included a structural bubble?
One might also question whether the fact that land prices show the same growth rate as the nominal gross national product is abnormal.
There are arguments that land prices should rather be viewed along the same line as commodity prices.
Either way, the following is certain.
First of all, Tokyo's land prices are exceptionally high from an international standpoint.
Seven times higher than New York, and twice as much as Seoul.
This is a direct indication of the housing problems faced by those who work in Tokyo.
Secondly, the persistence of the "myth of ever-higher land prices" for a long time in our country is one of the largest sources of this problem.
This is because land investment was considered a means to increase the assets of businesses and individuals based on an assumption that land prices will continue to soar.
But what happens if the coordinate axis that land once occupied within the Japanese economy is gradually shifting, set off by the collapse of the bubble?
What was meant by "Today is the highest" becomes much more serious.
The economy is not doing well.
The average stock price of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section has dropped below the 16,000-yen mark for the first time in 2 years and 4 months, reflecting the uncertainty over the future course of the economy.
In addition, there seems to be no end to the yen's appreciation against the U.S. dollar.
At one point, it reached the $1 = 87 yen mark on the New York market.
The yen's appreciation is casting a dark shadow over the economy and corporate performance, negatively affecting stock prices as well.
At the very least, the monetary authorities of the major advanced countries need to cooperate with each other in order to prevent a further decline of the dollar.
The rift between the authorities of major advanced countries is evident from the disagreement on whether or not to support the dollar during the meeting of the European Union finance ministers earlier this week.
In addition, there is turmoil in the financial system.
The unrealized capital gains that financial institutions are counting on are dropping rapidly due to falling stock prices.
The prospect of dealing with bad loans has become even gloomier.
The problems revolving around the two failed credit unions, Tokyo-Kyowa and Anzen, seem to be spreading to other financial institutions, causing a shift in deposits out of those institutions that are experiencing financial difficulties.
Problems of different dimensions, such as the pursuit of scandals and the maintenance of trust and order, are getting jumbled up, diminishing trust in the Finance Ministry and weakening the ability of the parties involved.
The public seems not to be taking things very seriously, but we are actually facing a dangerous situation.
It is more serious than in August 1992, when the average stock price dropped to the 14,000-yen level.
So, what can be done about it?
The private sector still seems to be sluggish, as indicated by the spring labor offensive's low wage increase rate.
Therefore, strong support from the public sector is a fundamental necessity.
As a short-term measure, the 1995 public works spending can be administered earlier than originally planned.
Contracts can be expedited, and administration can be encouraged to proceed during the first half of the year.
An earthquake disaster recovery plan in the region of 10 billion yen should be set up, and the bulk of it should be included in the first supplementary budget of the new fiscal year.
Compared to the numbers speculated on in rumors and ad balloons regarding earthquake disaster recovery and economic measures, it seems to be a recent trend that government decisions are dwindling.
In the past, the numbers used to gradually grow.
There is no announcement effect here.
The funding for disaster recovery can be procured if a portion of the public works spending in the initial budget is put on hold, but if economic stimulus is a higher priority, there may be no alternative but to cover the stepped-up fiscal spending with construction bonds.
At the same time, reducing the bank rate is also a viable option in terms of monetary policy.
The bank rate is 1.75%, the lowest level in history, and there is a danger that lowering it further will someday spark inflation.
But here in Japan, where the "land standard" has been adopted, the real interest rate is still quite high considering asset deflation, with the posted price of commercial land in the Tokyo and Osaka areas dropping by 15% a year.
Perhaps we can change the trend of the yen's appreciation if we reduce interest rates and wheel out some of the over-saved Japanese money overseas.
If we are to put the brakes on the appreciation of the yen and the drop in stock prices, we need to resort to drastic measures.
On the other hand, the abolition/relaxing of regulations are necessary as a medium to long-term plan.
The Ministry of Finance should not be picky about approving new products such as new types of mutual funds.
It may take a while to change the bureaucratic mentality, but the success of abolition/relaxing of regulations will affect the course of Japan's future economic vigor.
Financial system planning, including the creation of a blueprint for the restructuring of mortgage companies, is a matter of the utmost importance.
The melody of "Gambarimasho" will fill the Hanshin Koshien Stadium where the 67th National High School Invitational Baseball Tournament is opening today.
It was before the Great Hanshin Earthquake that this song by SMAP was selected as this year's tournament march.
It is an ideal cheer, since the theme of this tournament is "let's raise the spirits of the quake-stricken area, and provide cheer for reconstruction."
The young baseball players from 32 schools will enter their anxiously awaited dream field to the accompaniment of the upbeat melody.
We would like to see them challenge each other head to head with their youth and results of their practice, bringing life to this spring of rebirth and reconstruction.
Although there are only 7 newcomer teams, we are glad to see that as many as 20 teams have made a comeback.
Nostalgic names line up the list, such as Toyama Commercial High School, making a comeback after 4 and a half decades, and Choshi Commercial High School, returning after 18 years.
It is a tournament filled with fresh faces.
In particular, it is of great interest how the three schools from the quake-stricken area, Shinko Gakuen, Ikuei and Hotoku Gakuen, will perform.
Fans from all over the country will be following them closely.
How have they gotten over the mental trauma of the earthquake, and to what extent have they been able to overcome the lack of practice?
The players of all three schools were directly affected.
Shinko lost two schoolmates, while Hotoku lost one.
Ikuei's gymnasium is still being used as an emergency shelter.
Many players had to commute to school from emergency shelters or teammates' homes, since their houses collapsed.
We are sure that, for a while, baseball was the least of their concerns.
But the players from the quake-stricken area were resilient.
They cut down on practice time to volunteer to help fellow disaster victims by cleaning and loading and unloading cargo.
Atsushi Fujimoto, the captain of Ikuei, spoke about the significance of what he gained from the earthquake experience.
"Through the earthquake experience, I learned the wonders of the human spirit in helping each other. I am going to try my best so that this invitational tournament will bring spring to the reconstruction of Kobe."
It is the arousal of his spirits, backed by the intensity of his experience.
The coaches were amazed that even the spirit during practice was "completely different from before the earthquake."
We think we can expect plenty of good effort that will cheer up the earthquake victims.
We hope that this spirit is embraced by both the teams playing against them and those that are not.
This means to tackle the game with vigor rivaling that of the disaster-stricken schools.
In addition, we would like the players to experience the actual state of the quake-stricken area first-hand.
The aftermath of the earthquake is still astonishingly real.
Life in emergency shelters still continues.
It is important that we realize these scenes are not isolated from our own everyday lives, as we live on an earthquake-prone archipelago.
This tournament, which pays respect to the sentiments of the earthquake victims through measures such as refraining from rowdy cheering, is also a tournament for resident participation in the quake-stricken area.
In place of the police band, which is busy patrolling the quake-stricken areas, the marching bands from seven schools in the local Nishinomiya City volunteered to perform the entrance march.
Two sets of elementary school batteries threw out the ceremonial first pitch, alongside the Minister of Education.
It was the idea of the Mayor of Nishinomiya City.
He is swamped with work, dealing with the aftermath of an unprecedented disaster.
Despite this, he is still aspiring to liven up a traditional event held in his locale, which we find truly remarkable.
We would like to believe that it is this kind of coming together of feelings beyond personal interests that would become the definitive force towards the reconstruction of the city and putting lives back in order.
It has been a quite a while since the commercialization of amateur sports became a concern.
The aim of the Koshien tournament as a part of education is neither to give rise to a handful of heroes, nor to be a breeding ground for potential professional baseball players.
It must be the humble, down-to-earth, unyielding fighting spirit.
We have a feeling that this year's invitational tournament can come within close reach of the very founding principles of high school baseball.
"I am still skeptical about whether or not the new election system is going to function as intended, but since it is going to be implemented, we will have to experiment once or twice, and correct any disadvantages that may arise. If that doesn't work, we will have to reconsider the whole system. The monitoring of the new system is the new goal of our movement."
Mr. Yasushi Koshikawa, a lawyer who has been working on electoral reform from a citizen's position, renewed his determination as he looked back over the long history of the movement.
Mr. Koshikawa's relationship with the electoral system goes back to 1962.
The battle began when an "invalid election" lawsuit was filed, claiming that the voting rights of the public are not being fairly treated since the disproportionate allocation of the Lower House members' seats violates the "equality under the law" provision of Article 14 of the Constitution.
Since then, the one theme pursued throughout the total of 13 lawsuits has been the "equality for the will of the people" through the "value of one vote."
In 1985, they finally won a "verdict that the allocation of seats to prefectures is unconstitutional" from the Supreme Court.
The "unconstitutional verdict" sent a shockwave through the political world, which had been covering up the situation by correcting the quota as they went along.
When the political world hit the limit of manipulating the quota, they were forced to set electoral reform into motion, along with preventative strategies for the political corruption that had become a frequent problem.
When the Liberal-Democratic Party tried to push forward the introduction of a system combining single-seat constituencies and proportional representation based on the report of the eighth Election System Council, Mr. Koshikawa challenged the government Council by rallying scholars, lawyers and journalists to establish the "Citizens' Election System Council," compile a recommendation against a "combination system," and lobby the Diet and political parties.
With the exception of a period after the war, our country has been administering the multiple-seat constituency system since 1925, approximately 70 years.
During this time, since the founding of the Liberal-Democratic Party in 1955 the four cabinets of Hatoyama, Tanaka, Kaifu and Miyazawa tried to introduce the single-seat constituency system but all of them failed in the face of strong resistance from the opposition parties.
The implementation of the "combined system" came about in 1994 when some Liberal-Democratic Party members left the ruling party to establish the non-LDP Hosokawa cabinet.
From the Kaifu cabinet onward, the constituency system reform debate intensified partly because of the "unconstitutional verdict," but the deciding blow came when it was positioned as the focal point of political reform in the face of public criticism of political corruption following the Recruit shares-for-influence scandal.
The strong argument for implementing the single-seat constituency system was that this system, with one candidate per party, was suitable for political cleansing and would cost little money in comparison with the multiple-seat constituency system, where candidates from the same party compete to offer the most attractive "services" to voters, which was said to lead to corruption.
However, looking at the movements in the political world during the year and two months after it was decided to implement a "combined system" based on the single-seat constituency, the reality is that it is becoming increasingly doubtful that the merits promised by the catch-phrase will be realized under the new electoral system.
As for the political cleansing effect that was the justification for implementing the single-seat constituency system, it has been pointed out that there is fear corruption may spread, since it is looking more like a hard-fought election, in which candidates try hard to dig out every available vote in the grassroots level with constituencies becoming smaller than multiple-seat constituencies.
We hear that bribery with dirty money just like the real elections, aimed at the grouping of supporters, has already begun amongst a select few.
When politics is party-oriented and policy-oriented, the creation of administrations and new parties seems to come first, ignoring the conformance of philosophy to policy; the balance of power between the ruling and opposing parties is lost; and the election becomes individual-oriented.
The settlement into two large parties has given rise to concerns that the formation of giant parties could lead to one or the other becoming entrenched, Gulliver-style, in long-term single-party domination, although this scenario would depend on whether a third pole is formed.
What is most disappointing is that the parties and politicians seem to have become preoccupied with the single-seat constituency issue since the system was established, and are not paying as much attention to national politics, which is supposedly their duty, resulting in the impression that the whole political world is in suspension and there is an absence of politics.
A Mainichi Newspaper public opinion poll conducted this month found that 51% "don't support a particular party," marking the first time in the history of the poll that the figure had exceeded 50%.
It is the epitome of irony that the results of a political reform aimed at the revitalization of politics, on which the whole political world had worked for 7 years, has resulted in an unprecedented increase of distrust in politics.
The completed "political reform legislation" already looks tarnished and dim.
"Don't support a particular party" boils down to the loss of the sense of presence of political parties, which is proof of the decreased function of political parties.
If we don't take immediate measures to recover the public's trust in politics, there is a danger it could lead to the collapse of the whole political system, never mind the election system.
The election system is an important channel through which the public's will can be reflected onto politics.
It is a matter of course that constant and immediate efforts have to be made to correct any deficiencies that may occur.
At the same time, political parties must squarely face voter "antagonism" and seriously work towards the establishment of politics sensitive to the public's will.
The 13th unified local elections since the war have started even as the draft bill to promote decentralization is presented to the Diet, and it is said that this is the "starting year of decentralization."
Why is there a proliferation of "non-" words such as nonparty, indifference, non-voting, nonaffiliated, no principals, etc., when this election holds such significance for local autonomy and decentralization?
The nonparty ranks made up more than 50% in several different public opinion polls.
The tendency towards "all-party rule" is increasing as parties, fearing the existence of these nonparty ranks, balance the tickets for local gubernatorial elections even if it causes conflicts with the central government.
Although the parties claim that "they cannot force the logic of the central government onto the local governments" and "there has been less differences in our policies," the lack of principles in politics is further pushing voters into indifference.
It is a huge liability.
Although the prefectural assembly elections to be held in 43 prefectures will be announced on the 31st, according to a Mainichi Newspaper poll, the competition rate for the total quota is the lowest in history due to the decrease in the number of expected candidates, and apparently there is a good chance that almost 30% of the total will win by default.
Voter interest would probably increase and result in a higher voting rate if there were several candidates running and battling over familiar themes, but the more the competition rate amongst the candidates decreases, the less voter interest it will generate, causing the voting rate to fall.
The voting rate for the unified local elections has actually been falling steadily with each election.
In this light, we are forced to conclude that the system of unified local elections is starting to experience systemic fatigue.
It is just like when the central government's repeated scandals revolving around "politics and money" increased distrust in politics.
It should be recalled that there have been never-ending scandals involving local leaders and assembly members, with the corruption between government officials and big construction companies topping the list.
In 1946, an argument between the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces and the former Japanese Interior Ministry on what to do about local elections after the war instigated the creation of the system.
While the GHQ insisted that the leaders and members of local government assemblies should be selected through a direct or popular election, in relationship with the drafting of the new constitution, "the interior ministry took a very conservative approach towards the reform of local systems. Through proactive intervention by the GHQ, however, a far more democratic electoral system for local governments was able to materialize."
Specific measures for democratization included a direct balloting system for leaders and assembly members and a recall system where leaders can be removed from office or the Diet can be dissolved.
After that, the first unified local election took place in April of 1947 when the Local Autonomy Law was proclaimed.
The reasoning behind unifying was that it would save money and increase voter interest.
Forty-eight years have passed since then.
National elections for both the Upper House and Lower House have undergone a major overhaul, but the fundamental building blocks of the local election system have not changed at all.
We suppose you could simply argue that it is well established, but the current state gives us the strong impression that the time has come to completely reform the current local election system revolving around the unified local elections.
Out of these, the "reunification" of the unified local elections and the system of re-electing half the members of the Diet have been submitted by the 16th Local Government System Research Council.
The idea was that if they newly established "local autonomy day" as a holiday and reunited on this day, the voting rate should go up, but the submission did not see the light of day.
Regarding the problem of giving permanent-resident foreigners the right to vote in local elections, the Supreme Court for the first time reached the decision that "with proper legislative proceedings, it would not be against the Constitution to grant local election voting rights."
In a worldwide scale, the Northern European countries have already acknowledged local election voting rights, and the preparation of conditions is in progress amongst European Union countries to grant voting rights.
Domestically, there has been a rapid increase in the number of district councils adopting the opinion brief that the government should begin legislative proceedings to grant local election voting rights after the Supreme Court decision; the number of such councils has already reached 320.
This problem is also related to the internationalization of Japan and to the granting of voting rights to Japanese nationals living overseas.
If this becomes a reality, it should help increase interest in local elections.
The government and all parties should revise the relevant laws as soon as possible with the judicial ruling in mind.
There is also an opinion that a volunteer assembly member system should be created, since local assembly members do not necessarily have to be politicians by occupation.
They would monitor and audit the municipalities from an amateur point of view, but considering the current conditions, we think it is an idea worth considering.
Of course, it is not a simple matter of tampering with the system.
But it is possible to increase awareness of politicians and voter interest through system reform.
Now is the time to reevaluate the roles of the nation and localities, promoting decentralization in order to increase the autonomy of municipalities and local citizens.
We must question the existing state of the leaders through system reform bringing forth change to assemblies that have become mere ornaments and lower the checking function.
The police investigation of the Aum Shinrikyo compound in Kamikuishiki village, Yamanashi Prefecture, was changed from that of kidnapping to conspiracy to commit murder.
It can be interpreted as an indication that the investigation of Aum Shinrikyo has reached a new stage.
So far the investigation turned up large amounts of chemical agents.
Reportedly there were as many as thirty to forty different kinds of chemicals including ingredients required for synthesizing the deadly poisonous gas sarin.
It appeared that an experimental facility was also found.
What do those chemical agents and an experimental facility have to do with religious activities?
Reportedly Aum offered various explanations such as "they are ingredients for pesticides," "they are for making pottery," "we ourselves have been attacked with poisonous gas" and so forth, all of which are anything but convincing.
Charges of conspiracy to murder are for preparing dangerous weapons and/or poisons for the purpose of killing people.
In this case, no direct evidence of sarin production has turned up so far at the Aum facility.
However, with the emergence of the possibility to synthesize a deadly poisonous gas that has no use other than for killing people, police switched the investigation to that for conspiracy to commit murder.
The investigation has just begun, and investigators will continue to gather supporting evidence.
There are many other problems related to Aum Shinrikyo.
Local law enforcement agencies around the country have received a number of reports including those of alleged confinements, kidnappings for ransom, and wiretappings.
There are also disputes related to donation of property and goods to this religious organization.
Laws and regulations should be strictly observed by everybody, and religious organizations are no exception.
If any activity that would give rise to criminal liability is found, an investigation must be undertaken immediately.
There is more.
The clerical chief of a notary public office believed to be abducted by Aum Shinrikyo has yet to be found.
There is still no breakthrough in the serious case of the sarin attacks in Matsumoto and the Tokyo subway.
The possible connection between these incidents and Aum Shinrikyo must be revealed immediately.
This is what the public, who is becoming edgy, really want to know.
At any rate, what we are most concerned is the fact that a large amount of phosphorus trichloride, the main ingredient in sarin nerve gas, was found during the investigation.
Chemical weapons are called "the poor man's nuclear bomb," and one of them is sarin gas, an extremely deadly substance that is 500 times as toxic as potassium cyanide.
Sarin was developed in Germany some sixty years ago, but it is said that people hesitated to use it during the Second World War.
Assuming that all of the phosphorus trichloride found in the investigation was used to synthesize sarin, it would be enough to kill as many as millions of people.
The very thought makes one shudder.
Figuratively speaking, it can be said that phosphorus trichloride "corresponds to plutonium for an atomic bomb."
Because of its possibility to be used for sarin, phosphorus trichloride was once taken up in negotiations at the Chemical Weapons Convention.
But the investigation of the Aum compound proved that the regulation of such dangerous gases were not enforced.
It is true that phosphorus trichloride is an ingredient in agricultural chemicals and herbicides, but they are extremely dangerous too.
As a result of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, legislation banning the possession and production of certain toxic substances such as sarin is expected to pass during the current diet session.
This is, of course, a good thing, but legislation alone has almost no meaning for those who consciously violate laws.
What is important is to take preventive measures.
Like the management of plutonium, stricter regulations that help manage and monitor sarin's main ingredients such as phosphorus trichloride should be called for.
A series of sarin attacks in Japan have shocked the world enormously.
While continuing the investigation, additional preventive measures against such crimes should be considered and discussed.
With the objective of slowing down global warming, the first "Climate Summit" will be held in Berlin from March 28 through April 7.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was signed at the 1992 Earth Summit, has 122 member countries and came into effect last March.
The Convention requires signatory nations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions generated by burning oil and coal to 1990 levels by the year 2000 and later.
Among them, 15 industrial countries including Japan and the United States submitted their reports last year regarding the process to reduce greenhouse gases such as CO2.
The reports showed little enthusiasm, and Japan expects a 3% increase in CO2 emissions in the year 2000 from 1990 levels.
However, without effective measures taken by industrial countries that are mostly responsible for the current accelerated state of global warming, no improvement can be expected.
Since the oil shock in 1973, Japan itself has reduced energy consumption by as much as 38% in the steel industry and 16% in the chemical industry.
That is why Japan, which accounts for about 15% of the world's industrial output, can keep CO2 emissions as low as 4.8% of total global emissions.
Japan's energy efficiency stands out when compared to 21.8% of the United States, 15.8% of the former Soviet Union, and 11.2% of China.
Using it as a rationale, opinions such as "Japan has already done what it has to do" have become dominant over the issues addressed in the Convention.
Such opinions, however, will not be internationally accepted.
The CO2 emission of Japan alone has reached 4.8% of the world's total emissions, compared to 3% for all African countries and 2.6% for all South American countries.
This figure is still high for a country with about 2% of the world's population.
It is said that the concentration of past emissions in the atmosphere is the primary cause of global warming.
The total amount of CO2 emissions by Japan during the past 40 years since the beginning of its full-scale industrialization is enormous.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), which has been destroying the ozone layer, also causes the greenhouse effect 10,000 times more than carbon dioxide.
The production of CFC will be terminated by the end of this year, but Japan has consumed about 10,000 tons of CFC every year, representing 10% of the world's total production.
And the concentration of CFC has not reached its peak yet.
China and the G77 group of developing nations, which will attend the Berlin Climate Summit, are expressing doubt about continuing negotiations until industrial countries themselves can reduce their CO2 emissions, which is understandable.
It is time for us to change the idea that we are just a model student in global-warming countermeasures, and prove our seriousness about "Japan as a state founded on the principles of environmental protection" pledged by our prime ministers.
The Summit has two important agenda.
The alliance of 36 small island nations, including Kiribati, is requesting industrialized nations to "reduce their CO2 emissions by 2005 by 20% from 1990 levels" in fear that they may be "submerged" due to rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Upon the proposal from Germany, the participating countries will also discuss the creation of a protocol for industrialized nations to switch to recyclable energy, such as solar and wind power, improve energy efficiency, and stabilize CO2 emissions in 2000 and beyond.
We should work with CO2 reduction measures and not take refuge in the skepticism against global warming, which has a weaker rationale compared to the warming scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted by over 300 world scientists.
Considering the limitation of fossil fuel resources, reduction of CO2 emissions based on energy-efficient and resource-saving approaches is also economically rational as well.
In addition to its advanced energy-efficient technologies, Japan should urgently realize the use of alternate energy sources, in which it has fallen behind.
The merger between Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo, which has been rumored from time to time, has turned into reality.
This is the first merger between city banks since the birth of Kyowa-Saitama Bank through the merger of Kyowa Bank and Saitama Bank.
Recently, the president of Mitsubishi Bank Mr. Tsuneo Wakai has emphasized the need for brave actions without being washed away by the times.
This merger must have required a brave decision from the management of both banks.
The merger will make the bank not only large but also unique.
Having already acquired Nippon Trust Bank as an affiliate, Mitsubishi can provide fiduciary services in all areas of banking, and the merger with the Bank of Tokyo will further allow it to issue bank debentures.
It has also been pointed out that Mitsubishi's expertise in yen operation and Tokyo's in foreign currencies can complement one another.
Securities are tradable through its subsidiary company, but except that, the bank will offer more universal banking that covers all banking services.
The objective of the merger is to complement one another in other banking services while securely maintaining their respective conventional services.
They are also seeking the merits of business diversification as well as the advantage of size.
Bank of Tokyo has more expertise in the know-how of derivative-related business and products.
If they can show their ability in multiple areas, for instance, by combining trust services with depository transfer services, or by utilizing Tokyo's authorized foreign exchange special operations, and can offer a wide variety of advanced financial products, depositors and companies borrowing funds will be able to reap benefits.
It is worth noting what types of measures other major banks will be taking in the wake of this merger.
When the new bank starts its operation, the climate of competition among city banks will be completely changed.
In other words, if the foundation of the conventional financial administration requiring uniform services is destroyed, competition among domestic and overseas banks inevitably will become intensified.
Each bank is having a hard time trying to dispose hefty bad loans left over from the bubble economy, and as a result Japanese banks as a whole are now very tentative and are facing relentless confrontation from European and American banks.
We hope that the current situation stimulates and greatly revitalizes the Japanese banking industry and promotes competition.
And we would like to see the new bank play not only a leading role in the domestic market but also an active part in the international banking market.
The birth of a megabank will strongly affect industry and society.
Of course, the new bank has to be fully aware of its social responsibility.
On one hand, the Ministry of Finance should go back to the spirit of financial liberalization and conduct a thorough review of the banking administration.
The administration should abolish unnecessary regulations as much as possible.
At the same time, they have to fulfill their responsibility of maintaining the financial system without postponing their confrontation of tough problems.
The measures applied to the two bankrupt credit unions offended the public and a feeling of insecurity is becoming widespread.
If drastic measures were taken in August 1993 when the situation turned more serious, things might have been different.
Economic recovery will not move forward smoothly if the current financial system ceases to function properly.
Most of the nonperforming loans of the financial institutions are real estate backed loans, and land prices in commercial districts have declined about one-fourth from its peak in big cities.
How to liquidate the loans and securitize real estate assets under a long-term scheme is the key to resolving this problem.
We hope the positive decision made by the Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo will revitalize the financial sector and administration in Japan.
The toughest part of diplomatic negotiations with Democratic People's Republic of Korea is at the beginning and the end - this is the lesson Robert Gallucci, the chief US negotiator, learned from the high-level talks between the US and North Korea.
According to him, North Korea offers a proposal, which is absolutely unacceptable, at the beginning of the negotiation and then lowers the barrier depending on compromises made by the other party.
Then they make another tough request just before reaching an agreement.
Such being the North Korea's diplomatic strategy, it may explain why the working-level negotiation, which had taken place in Berlin, Germany to discuss the light water reactor aid, broke down on 27th just before reaching an agreement.
North Korea declared that they would resume their nuclear development if the contract for the light water reactor project cannot be entered by April 21, the target deadline.
What brought the negotiation to a standstill is the problem concerning the stipulation about "South Korean light water reactors."
Japan, the US and South Korea requested North Korea to accept the words "South Korean."
On the other hand, North Korea rejected their request, saying, "There is no such thing as a South Korean type light water reactor."
What made the light-water reactor negotiation more complicated is the Agreed Framework reached between the U.S. and North Korea last October.
The agreement did not specifically define the scope regarding type of the light-water reactor to be provided and the support.
North Korea cleverly is taking advantage of this "blank space."
According to the U.S. government authority, the chief negotiator Gallucci was not going to sign the agreement until details are confirmed, but the president Clinton rushed through an agreement.
The president needed diplomatic accomplishments before the U.S. mid-term election held in November last year.
Since diplomatic negotiation is a kind of game, it cannot necessarily be said that North Korea request is unfair.
If South Korea persists "South Korea type," it would be naturally expected that North Korea would reject it for appearance's sake.
Rather, the more the three countries of Japan, the U.S. and South Korea persist the "South Korea type," the more "diplomatic ammunition" will be given to North Korea, which is an ironic phenomenon.
Considering the South and North Korea's sense of value that gives priority to "appearances" over actual profits, it is not easy for them to make a compromise in the appearance competition over the "South Korea type".
That is because the construction of the light-water reactor cannot be started without constructing a container quay and roads.
It seems that North Korea is trying to make Japan, the U.S. and South Korea accept this request in exchange for its making a compromise over the light-water reactor issue.
The United States declared its position that it would lead the United Nations Security Council to sanction North Korea for its any action that would cancel the U.S. - North Korea agreement.
This is because the hard-line approach is on the rise in the U.S. Congress and the State of Department.
North Korea should fully understand changes in the atmosphere of the United States.
The delegation to North Korea, consisting of members of three ruling parties and led by Michio Watanabe, a former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, reached an agreement on 28th to reopen the talks for the normalization of Japan-North Korea diplomatic relations.
However, Japan has to realize the fact that both the United States and South Korea are upset about Japan's agreement to reopen the normalization talks while the U.S. - North Korea negotiation has broken off and there is no prospect of opening South and North Korea talks.
The timing of Japan's reopening the negotiation for the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations should be carefully determined so as not to have a negative influence on the direction of South and North Korea talks and the U.S.-North Korea bargaining.
Because the vagueness of the agreement from the U.S. - North Korea high-level talks has resulted in a deadlock in the negotiations over the light-water reactor, it is hoped that the U.S. and North Korea reopen the high-level talks between Gallucci, the chief negotiator and Kang Sok Ju, the first vice minister of foreign affairs and work together to discuss specific terms of the agreement and find compromise.
"People will be able to leave the shelters by the time cherry blossoms bloom."
That was the forecast Toshitami Kaihara, the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture told early this month.
Somei-yoshino cherry blossoms now began blooming in the areas struck by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, but more than 60 thousands people are still living in shelters such as tents in parks or schools.
There is no hope of closing down the shelters early April when people enjoy cherry blossoms.
Early transition from shelter life to normal life is the basis for revival.
If people remain unable to have places to feel at home, city planning does not generate energy for revival.
We would like the central and local governments to make an effort toward "zero refugees."
It is an abnormal situation for a major urban area in a economic superpower to have hundreds of thousands of people living like refugees in the third month after the earthquake.
It cannot be denied that "housing measures" from victim-oriented perspective were insufficient.
According to the plan, a total of 50,000 units of temporary accommodations, including temporary houses and vacant public houses, are needed.
But only about half of them have been provided so far.
It is said that the delay of land acquisition and the shortage of building materials and workers are the reasons.
It is undeniable that the outlook was too optimistic.
Some local governments limited the eligibility for moving into temporary housing to those people whose houses were completely destroyed or entirely burnt down, and excluded those whose houses were partially destroyed; as a result, evacuees who have nowhere to go have increased.
Flexible measures, for instance, allowing people to stay in temporary housing until they are able to return to their homes are called for.
Despite being eligible, more than 600 people have excused themselves from moving into temporary housing.
Temporary housing should be more favorable than an evacuation shelter that provides no privacy.
Those who refused claim, "the temporary houses are far away from home so transportation is inconvenient so we cannot go take care of collapsed homes and household goods," and "it is very difficult for the elderly and the sick to cope with drastic changes in the living environment."
They want to stay within sight of their own homes damaged by the earthquake.
It is hard to ignore such a request by labeling it "selfish."
It is the local governments' duty to consider the feelings of the victims as much as possible.
In Nada-ku, Kobe, temporary housing units built there are only in excess of 300 units, and there are still more than 10,000 evacuees who are forced to live away from their homes.
Resident groups submitted to the City of Kobe a request along with the concrete measures developed based on their investigation: "Please provide more temporary houses close to our homes. By utilizing unused parks and vacant lands, it is possible to build approximately 5000 units."
Instead of simply matching the number of evacuees with the number of temporary houses, measures that closely pursue every possibility need to be taken.
Many of the elderly people and tenants are continuing their lives at the shelter, losing their drive to become independent because their life planning for the future has fallen apart.
In some cases, income insecurity or low earnings is making it difficult for people to move out of shelters.
In order to expedite activities for "zero evacuees," overall efforts, such as mental health care, consultations about daily living, provision of assistance in finding permanent housing, are required.
It is also important that the administration quickly offers clear guidelines for the rebuilding of homes of the earthquake victims.
Whether a destroyed home simply requires repairing, or it is in a dangerous state requiring rebuilding, or if public support or low-interest is applicable.
Some people are at a loss as to what to do and continue living in shelters.
Living in shelters for more than two months inevitably has negative effects on their health.
Not a few elderly people died of diseases in shelters.
Volunteers began withdrawing one after another, and the victims must support their life at shelters by themselves from now on.
Difficulties are just increasing.
Later, Hyogo Prefecture revised its forecast for ending shelter life and postponed it till a later time, but we hope that all local governments can close shelters at least by end of April when all the cherry blossoms have fallen.
The head of the Japanese National Police Agency was gunned down.
It is a challenge to the maintenance of law and order, and, moreover, to our entire society and population.
This is a serious matter that makes us think that Japan's "safe society" has collapsed.
We hope the culprit will be arrested soon.
If not, heavy and dark clouds will hang over the Japan archipelago.
Takaji Kunimatsu, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency was shot in the back four times and seriously injured outside his apartment while leaving for work on the rainy morning of the 30th.
There is a report that the he was still being shot after he fell to the ground, which indicates an intent to kill.
He was accompanied by his secretary holding an umbrella, but there were no bodyguards.
The culprit fled by bicycle.
In the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, some people thought that the actual target was Kasumigaseki in Tokyo, where many government offices including the National Police Agency are located, and therefore guards were stationed around the house of the Director-General of the National Policy Agency.
That is why we, the general public, can't believe how easy it was that he got shot.
The search of the Aum Shinrikyo compounds was in progress, and furthermore many policemen were on guard because many general shareholders' meetings were held on that day.
It can be also said that the culprit took advantage of the fact that the police manpower was spread thin.
Doubts may arise, however, about the police's capability in security and investigations.
Their prestige may be also affected.
The investigative authority should devote all their strength to the investigation of this case.
Mr. Kunimatsu, the head of the National Policy Agency, has been aggressively working on the crackdowns against gangs and sokaiya or corporate racketeers.
He is also working on the stricter gun control, creating an organization dedicated to catching violations of the firearm regulations.
In addition, as the head of the police, he was leading the recent investigations of the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, the Matsumoto sarin incident, and raid of the Aum Shinrikyo compound.
There are likely some people or organizations with grudges against the head of the police who is now burdened with many serious and eerie cases.
So far, whether that fact has anything to do with this shooting incident is of course unknown.
It cannot be denied that the hostility was toward the police authority rather than being personal.
Unless we are in utopia, hostility will not disappear from human society, and may sometimes lead to crime.
Even so, I believe that there used be a certain rule people abided by.
I wonder if what we are seeing recently is a reflection of that rule being broken.
These two sarin incidents and the shooting of the head of police symbolize it.
It seems that the world's safest country has transformed to the world's most dangerous country.
Nobody knows what will happen next.
So I would like to make a suggestion.
The strengthened security should be made routine.
Police should show their presence to the public on the streets, instead of hiding their presence.
It will certainly become a deterrent.
I don't mean they should do so forever.
It should be in place until the public's great anxiety is wiped away.
It may feel oppressive.
It may make our society look gloomy.
I would like to suggest that the pathology of Japan has deteriorated so much that that must be tolerated.
We should discuss this problem in depth.
I cannot help thinking that a "slack phenomenon" has spread throughout Japan while the country has achieved great economic growth 50 years after the Second World War.
It is seen not only in the social order.
It is prevalent also in politics and the economy.
Then such slackness may, in turn, affect the social order.
Both politics and public administration are responsible for it.
But the general public must also brace themselves for the blame.
The "ostrich policy" of turning a blind eye and indifference sometimes facilitates crimes, especially in large cities.
We all have to earnestly think what we can do in order to restore "the safe Japan."
"An employee must not be dismissed just because he or she has been infected with HIV."
The Tokyo District Court clearly stated so on the 30th.
This is the first judgment for an employment case related to HIV.
This decision will likely have a great impact on what the society or its norm should be like in the future.
I would like to commend that it was a reasonable judgment.
At the same time, we should keep an eye on whether the corporate community can utilize the spirit of the decision in their practices.
The plaintiff was a 35-year-old man who was temporarily transferred to an affiliated software distributing company immediately after joining a computer software company in Tokyo.
He had a medical checkup immediately after he had started his new assignment in a country in Southeast Asia in the autumn of 1992.
At that time, an HIV antibody test was conducted without his knowledge, and the result was positive.
The hospital which carried out the test informed the result to the software distributing company to which he was assigned.
The software distributing company informed the test result to the computer software company, his original employer, and, as a result, he was instructed to return to Japan.
During this time, the test result was not communicated to him.
He was given the test result by the employer company immediately after returning to Japan and received a termination notice shortly afterwards.
He brought these two companies to court on the grounds that it was obvious that his employment was terminated for the reason of HIV infection.
He demanded the invalidation of the dismissal and the payment of outstanding wages and compensation.
There were two key issues in this trial.
First was whether or not he had been dismissed because he was infected with HIV.
Second was whether or not the plaintiff's privacy was protected.
The companies provided other reasons for dismissal and claimed that they were diligent about privacy protection.
The Tokyo District Court, however, accepted the plaintiff's claim completely against every claim of the companies.
How should we manage the relationship between an HIV-infected person and his employment and workplace?
In fact, the Ministry of Labour created a guideline this February.
It expressly states that "HIV infection by itself cannot be the reason for dismissal."
It also requests businesses to "keep information about the existence of HIV infection completely confidential."
The guideline has been distributed to companies.
The guideline is based on the conclusion from the discussions conducted by experts for 6 months last year, and it can be said that the contents are convincing.
Medical evidence so far tells us that being infected with HIV does not mean he or she is inferior to others in labor productivity.
There is no risk of secondary infections through ordinary contacts, except for a direct contact with blood or body fluid.
It has to be understood that being infected with HIV is a completely different stage from that of having AIDS.
But the guideline also says the following:
Even if an employee shows the AIDS-related complex (ARC), he or she "shall be treated the same as employees of other illness."
In the statistics by the Ministry of Health and Welfare alone, there are more than 4,000 people who are AIDS patients or are infected with HIV.
In addition to the victims of imported blood products, there are many people who were infected through sexual contact.
It is desirable that business people and ordinary citizens come to share the awareness that regardless of the route of infection, HIV carriers should not be discriminated in either workplace or society.
But it is not always easy to change the attitude of society.
Two summers ago, the Ministry of Labour conducted a survey to which the people in charge of personnel management of 633 companies responded.
In this survey, the question on the company's attitude when an employee is found infected with HIV produced a total of close to 20% of responses in "do not know," "give a long-term leave," "suggest early retirement," and "dismiss if possible."
The decision of the Tokyo District Court will be meaningful in changing the attitude of business people and the public.
Both should work together.
That is the key.
The Five-Year Program for Promoting Deregulation was approved at the cabinet meeting on the 31st.
This puts an end to the deregulation policies that have been updated four times since the Hosokawa Cabinet proposed the first one two summers ago.
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama stated his view that "it turned out to be full of substance," but is it true?
It is true that there are 1,091 items for deregulation in 11 sectors such as housing/land, information/communication, and distribution, representing a considerable increase compared to approximately 700 items contained in the interim report.
The Five-Year Program, however, include those items which had been already selected for deregulation for the reason that the implementation time line is now fixed, and there are also many items, such as the price support system for agricultural products, where the deregulation has been postponed.
The Prime Minister likely said "full of substance" by looking at the increase from the interim report, but he shouldn't set his standard so low.
At the beginning, the focus was supposed to be on the reduction of the price difference between the domestic and overseas markets by drastically eliminating or deregulating economic restrictions and reform of the Japanese system.
Assuming that the Five-Year Program is implemented as planned, how much effect will it have on the reduction in the price difference between the domestic and overseas markets and in Japan's current account surplus?
It is difficult to quantify such effects, but I would say very small, like "an eyedrop coming down from the second floor."
Among various regulations numbering over 10,000, we have been requesting to remove or relax especially those for adjusting the supply/demand balance.
It is because forecasting demands and controlling new entries to prevent excess capacity by the central government is a typical "producer-oriented" idea.
It may have been a system that is efficient to catch up with the advanced nations in America and Europe, but what is required now is a "customer-oriented" approach.
From this viewpoint, the necessity of deregulation of the programs related to supply/demand adjustment is obvious.
Nevertheless, the deregulation in the price support system for agricultural products, the Large-scale Retail Store Law, and the restrictions of new entries to the information/communication sector is now effectively all postponed.
It seems that the business community, which has been promoting deregulation in general, opposed when it came to the deregulation of individual industries, and there were also strong resistance from local governments.
For those who have been protected by regulations, deregulation means losing their vested interests, which will be painful for them.
If the government recalls the original idea of deregulation, however, it should not be allowed to make any easy compromises.
It is also regrettable that the expansion of the Fair Trade Commission to reinforce the competition policy, which should be integrated with the deregulation, was not made.
The particulars of the Fiver-Year Program are very dissatisfactory, but the work process and the system for future deregulation efforts are welcome at any rate.
To develop the Five-Year Program, all ministries and agencies examined their respective regulations, and the Management and Coordination Agency put them together, while inputs from a broad spectrum of the society including the business community and other areas, domestic and international, were incorporated into the program.
Although it is the most natural thing to do, it is exceptional in the conventional policy-making process up till now.
If the process had left everything to the bureaucrats as it used to be, then the result would have been much worse.
Regarding the future deregulation efforts, the Management and Coordination Agency says they will establish a contact point in each ministry in order to hear requests and/or comments from domestic and overseas circles in order to make a solid follow-up work to the Five-Year Program and will issue a White Paper on Deregulation every fiscal year.
In that sense, the development of the Five-Year Program can be described as a new start rather than the goal.
We all have to watch the progress of the Five-Year Program and continue voicing our opinions for the elimination or deregulation of unnecessary or unreasonable regulations.
When former Vice Foreign Minister Ryozo Sunobe was the ambassador to South Korea, he was extremely cautious about politicians' interference in diplomacy in the Korean Peninsula and diplomats' involvement in political agenda.
It was because he believed the fate of Japan and the peace of Asia were more dependent on the success of diplomacy in the Korean Peninsula than in anywhere else.
That is why it is dangerous to address the Korean Peninsula diplomacy at a whim or with an expectation for gain in a political situation.
If the preparations for diplomatic negotiations are not sufficient, we will be playing into the other's hands.
A group of politicians from the three ruling coalition parties visited and signed an agreement to reopen negotiations for normalization of relations between Japan and the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea on the 30th.
The agreement on the reopening of the discussion for normalization is welcome.
The outcome expected of this group of politicians from the ruling coalition parties is the withdrawal of the "post-war compensation" which was incorporated into the 1990 three-party joint declaration.
But rather the new four-party agreement has its writing confirming the validity of the three-party joint declaration.
Moreover, the document can be interpreted as having the claims and conditions of North Korea fully incorporated in it.
The agreement says: "The historical three-party joint declaration was adopted. By this ...."
In Korean, the word "historical" has the nuance of "still alive," and for North Korea, it means to confirm that the normalization negotiations will be bound by the three-party joint declaration.
It was also agreed that the normalization negotiations do not "have any prerequisites ... entirely for the improvement of the relationship."
Moreover, the agreement confirms that each will negotiate from a "voluntary and independent position."
For North Korea, this agreement means that Japan cannot bring up the issues of nuclear development and the missing Japanese Li Un Hye which have "completely" nothing to do with the improvement of the relationship.
In addition, North Korea gained a foothold in refuting Japan's argument in reference to the positions of South Korea and the U.S. on the reopening of the South-North dialogue and the light-water reactor contract as being against the "voluntary and independent position."
If so, it is worried that the new four-party agreement might have placed Japan under more restraints instead of removing barriers to the normalization negotiations.
Since high-level officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also there, it may be difficult for Japan to contend that the Japanese government is not bound in its negotiations by agreements made by political parties.
Diplomatic negotiations are games played between countries, and each country exhausts its intelligence in order to secure the interests and objectives of the country.
Negotiating with North Korea, an expert in the game called diplomacy, might have been too heavy a burden for the delegation of the ruling coalition.
As a matter of fact, since the beginning of this year, North Korea has been repeatedly expressing its wish to reopen the North Korea-Japan negotiations unconditionally.
North Korea was the one who had been strongly requesting to reopen negotiations.
Through the diplomatic channel with North Korea, there was already a prospect of restarting the normalization negotiations.
Japan could have engaged North Korea fully in the negotiations for not to include the "post-war compensation" in the agenda of normalization talks because North Korea was the one who had been strongly requesting for the negotiations.
It can be said that Japan lost its biggest opportunity for negotiations right before its own eyes.
In order not to repeat such a failure, Japan should practice consistent and strategic diplomacy.
With the possibilities of Japan-North Korea normalization and south-north unification in mind, the government should reveal its plan for the future of Northeast Asia based on the cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea.
Japan should also demand North Korea to discontinue the development of long-range missiles.
It is time to clearly show a strategy and a road map for regional peace and stability.
Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the most important challenges the international community is facing.
Smuggling of nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union and "alleged nuclear program" of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea proved that the end of the Cold War does not automatically make the world safer.
To prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms, further international cooperation and efforts are required.
In this perspective, the New York Conference on the Extension of the NPT, which will start on the 17th, has the importance of influencing the future of nuclear stewardship.
The NPT is the only multilateral treaty concluded for the purpose of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and it was concluded in 1968 and came into effect in 1970.
Japan joined in 1976.
The NPT stipulates that a meeting shall be held 25 years after the NPT's taking effect in order to decide on the extension of the treaty for an indefinite period or for a fixed period.
The New York Conference will be held based on this provision, and the decision will be made by a majority vote of 175 countries which have so far joined the NPT.
The situation is tense, however, and there is no knowing what conclusion will be coming out of the conference.
The U.S. demands an unconditional and indefinite extension of the treaty, saying that maintaining the NPT framework is essential in the control of nuclear arms worldwide, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization affiliated countries such as the U.K and France, as well as Russia are supporting it.
Japan stated its position in support of the unconditional and indefinite extension of the treaty during the days of the Hosokawa cabinet, and the Murayama cabinet inherited that stance.
On the other hand, many of the non-allied countries in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia oppose the extension of the treaty for an indefinite period because they see "the NPT as a way to secure the status quo of the nuclear nations."
The main objective of the NPT is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries while acknowledging the nuclear ownership of the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, and China as fait accomplis.
Non-nuclear member nations of the treaty are obliged to accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to prevent the nuclear development for non-military purposes such as power generation from being diverted for military applications.
The position of the non-allied countries is that the current NPT system must be modified, granting the need for the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Their opinions can be summarized as "nuclear nations' efforts in nuclear disarmament are not sufficient,""nuclear nations should pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear nations or provide a security guarantee," and, "the complete ban on the development of new nuclear weapons and nuclear tests should be introduced as soon as possible."
Israel, India, and Pakistan are seen as de facto nuclear nations, but they are not NPT members.
Arab countries such as Egypt, cite Israel's not joining the NPT as the main reason for its opposition to the extension of the treaty for an indefinite period.
It is true that the NPT has an inequality issue regarding the advantageous position of have-nations, but the role the treaty has played out so far in the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons must be recognized.
If the decision is to extend the treaty for a short period, such as 5 or 10 years, then the future of the nuclear proliferation prevention will become uncertain, which will in turn have a significant backlash.
But it is also true that nuclear countries have not fulfilled "the responsibility of have-nations."
Japan, as the only country that has been the victim of nuclear bombing and has also declared the three non-nuclear principles, should forward its opinions and take action with courage for both nuclear weapon proliferation prevention and nuclear disarmament.
The Japanese government is hereby requested to fully recognize that Japanese people wish further progress in nuclear disarmament and, ultimately, the complete abolition of nuclear weapons before attending the conference to decide the extension of the treaty.
Japan should at least take the initiative for the signing of a protocol that requires nuclear powers to further nuclear disarmament and completely ban nuclear testing.
Already over 250 regional and local governments across the nation have established information disclosure ordinances or bylaws of their own for making the administration more open to the public and securing "the right to know."
Seemingly urged by these regional governments, the national government, which had been slow to act, finally began deliberations by the Administrative Information Disclosure Subcommittee of the Administrative Reform Committee in mid-March.
A potential large barrier in the information disclosure system is to what extent information related to defense and diplomacy may be disclosed.
The Naha District Court made a decision on March 28, which has significant implications on the relationship between confidential security-related information and information disclosure, as well as the way these types of information should be treated.
The target of the lawsuit is the Anti-Submarine Warfare Operations Center (ASWOC) located in the Naha Base of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces, and its primary missions are tactical support and command/control for P3C anti-submarine aircrafts.
Currently, the Self-Defense Forces has ASWOC in five locations across Japan, including Naha, to search for submarines of the Russian Far East Division and others in the waters around Japan using the P3C and identify their names and movements.
In 1988, the Naha Regional Defense Facilities Administration Bureau submitted to Naha City a notice for the construction work plan of this center, in accordance with the Building Standard Law.
In response to this, people in Naha requested the disclosure of the notice of the construction work plan in accordance with the Information Disclosure Ordinance.
The City accepted this request and decided to disclose all 44 materials in September 1989.
Of these, the Japanese government later unwillingly accepted the disclosure of 23 items, but kept fighting for the withdrawal of the decision by the City, insisting that "the disclosure of the 21 items which relate to the basement which would primarily house electronic equipment would cause serious problems in national defense and security because the ASWOC is the core base for sea-lane defense."
In the trial, major disputes were whether the Japanese government could appeal to a higher court against the Naha City in accordance with the Administrative Case Litigation Law, and to what extent defense "secrets" should be disclosed under the Information Disclosure Ordinance.
The court in its decision threw away the Japanese government's claim for appeal and demanded the disclosure of the 21 items upon recognizing they are "not worth protecting as confidential information."
In other words, the court gave priority to the public's right to know and showed that even for the information concerning defense, not all should be deemed sacred.
There are two type of confidential information related to defense, which are "defense secrets" and "secrets of the Defense Agency," and there are reportedly as many as 140,000 items and 1,800,000 documents in total.
This is a significant increase compared to 110,000 items and 1,230,000 documents of 10 years ago.
There is criticism that the scope of confidential information has been arbitrarily inflated simply based on the directives of the Defense Agency.
Certainly, some of confidential information related to defense is clearly important enough to cause damage to people's lives, health, and property as well as a failure of defense efforts if they were to be disclosed.
Thus, we can't say universally that all information should be open to the public.
The Defense Agency says they do disclose such information that used to be confidential but is no longer so, but is that enough?
What is critical for the defense policy is a national consensus, and efforts are needed to increase people's understanding by disclosing defense information as much as possible.
The government should create criteria that are easy for people to understand for distinguishing true confidential information from non-confidential information depending on the changes in the social conditions or the military environment.
The ruling of the Naha District Court is demanding that.
It has been a quarter of a century since the Bretton Woods system, the post-war international currency order, collapsed.
The dollar became paper money because exchanging dollar for gold was cancelled in 1971, and the major currencies of the world moved to the floating exchange rate system in 1973.
Presently Japan earns more than 100 billion dollars per year mainly through exports, but the value of dollar assets is rapidly going down.
Dollar bills in the safe are rapidly turning to tree leaves from the bottom.
The cause of the dollar depreciation is that the U.S. is freely producing budget deficits and current account deficits in the world.
Only the U.S., the key-currency country, can pay external deficits with its own currency.
Since the conversion of dollar to gold stopped, the only thing the U.S. needs to do is to run its printing machine for dollar bills.
But this situation cannot continue forever.
Recent declines of the dollar indicate that the end of the Dollar Standard system of paper money is coming near.
It is unnatural that the U.S. dollar, which represents only one quarter of the gross national product of the world, maintains a 60% share of international currencies.
Major countries have been making cooperative efforts to stabilize currencies for over the past 20 years, but it is clear that there are limits to what they can do.
The Meeting of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and the Summit were all part of such collaborative efforts.
Those nations tried to seek consistency in their financial and monetary policies by monitoring each other, but it did not result in any reduction in the U.S. fiscal deficit.
There is no prospect of improving the excessive consumption and low savings rate in the U.S., and the bleeding of the greenback will likely continue.
If the situation is left as is, the dollar will fall dramatically, and a fundamental reform of the international monetary system will become inevitable.
If that is the case, we need to prepare for it.
Japan and Germany should send the message under the present condition where the U.S. is simply enjoying its privilege of using dollar-printing machines.
The Japanese monetary authority cannot afford to take a passive attitude in international monetary issues.
For the development of the world economy and the stabilization of currencies, what shall we do to reform the international monetary system?
How about organizing Nobel laureate-class scholars and practitioners and have them study how monetary reform should be done for a period of about one year?
Then we will request them to make neutral and fair policy proposals for the world rather than for Japan's national interests, and publish them.
There may be little possibility that the U.S. will accept this proposal.
But that is fine.
The message from Japan will surely form the basis for a monetary reform and increase the weight of Japan's opinions and credibility.
Examples of monetary reforms include setting target zones for the three key currencies of dollar, mark, and yen, or linking currencies to commodity baskets, such as gold or oil.
What is important for international collaboration in currencies is to establish a system that eventually produces benefits to all participating countries, but not a system that demands sacrifices from other countries while providing benefits to only some.
In reality, the world economy is on its way to be divided into three blocs: Americas, Europe and Asia.
In addition, because the key currency, dollar, has been bleeding badly, the currency market speculation is increasing, and the confusion in the financial market is accelerating.
The world economy needs to hastily get out of this crisis which is similar to that of the 1930s.
A civil war is raging on in Afghanistan, a landlocked country in Southeast Asia.
At the end of 1979 during the Cold War, the Soviet Union invaded the country with an army of 100,000 solders and established a socialist puppet regime, and the subsequent civil war in which Afghan guerrilla forces fiercely resisted the regime is still fresh in our minds.
The Soviet Union withdrew its military force in 1989 through mediation by the United Nations and due to the shake-up of the Soviet Union.
The Afghan socialist regime collapsed after losing its backing, and in 1992 the guerrilla forces captured the capital, Kabul, and established a provisional government, but then conflicts of interests among the guerrilla forces came up to the surface, eventually leading Afghanistan into another fierce civil war.
International public opinion, which showed great interest in the situation in Afghanistan when it was invaded by the Soviet Union, has completely lost interest in this second civil war.
That is why it is called the "forgotten civil war."
We should not, however, forget the fact that bloodshed is continuing in a corner of Asia where people are suffering from cold and hunger.
The chaos and turmoil of the country are caused by its complex ethnic structure and opposing religious sects of Islam.
Another concern is the information that the countries surrounding Afghanistan are providing the guerrilla forces with weapons and funds.
The group which mainly consists of Tajiks and is led by President Rabbani has the control of the capital; the southern part of Afghanistan has been taken by a new organization called the Taliban consisting of theology students of Pashtun, the major ethnic group of the country; the northern part by Uzbeks who are closely connected with Uzbekistan; and the southwest region by the Hazaras of Mongolian origin who belong to Shia Islam which is thought to have some connections with Iran.
It is all right to say that a central government virtually does not exist in Afghanistan.
Under such circumstances, only the United Nations can take on the role of mediator to bring the civil war to an end.
The U.N. set out on a full-scale mediation effort last year and dispatched Mr. Mestiri, former Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a special envoy to Afghanistan and is currently negotiating with guerrillas, the representatives of tribes, religious groups, and others.
The U.N. aims to create an interim governing organization, followed by the establishment of the government for national reconciliation through a general election.
The United Nations is calling all armed groups to participate in the negotiations, but the Taliban and some other groups set preconditions on their participation, so the road to negotiations appears long and hard.
The guerrilla forces should unconditionally sit at the negotiation table.
We also want to request the neighboring countries to stop their interference right away if their rumored involvement by way of arms and monetary contributions is true.
Of the 20 million people in Afghanistan, more than 5 million became refugees and fled to surrounding countries such as Pakistan and Iran during the invasion by the Soviet Union.
After the withdrawal of the Red Army, some of the refugees returned to Afghanistan, but more than 3 million people are still forced to live under the difficult conditions in foreign lands.
Already over 30,000 people have died in the civil war after the collapse of the socialist regime, and there is no end in sight to the fighting that is victimizing citizens.
The nation's industries and infrastructure were completely destroyed.
It is said that one third of cultivated lands for agriculture, which is the key industry of Afghanistan, has become unfit for cultivation.
Our hope lies with the tenacious efforts for mediation by the United Nations in order to stop the bloodshed and realize national reconciliation as soon as possible.
The voting day for the first half of the 13th nationwide unified local elections is approaching.
The Japanese archipelago must be totally immersed in elections because gubernatorial elections in 13 prefectures, elections for prefectural assembly members in 43 prefectures, municipal assembly elections in 10 major designated cities, and the mayoral election in Sapporo city are all taking place simultaneously.
But why do the election campaigns provide no excitement at all?
Right before the announcement of the gubernatorial elections on the 23rd of last month, the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway occurred and shocked the world.
The search and investigation of the Aum Shinrikyo immediately began, and there was also the news about the birth of the world's largest mega bank through the merger of the Mitsubishi Bank and Tokyo Bank.
There appears to be no end to the appreciation of the yen, and the exchange rate finally reached the 85-yen level, surpassing the rate of 87 yen per dollar recorded on the day the gubernatorial elections were announced.
Do you know the phrase "spectator democracy?"
Recently voters look at politics and elections as if they were watching TV but do not take any actual political action, and the phrase is used to explain the gap between the public's high interest in politics and the low voting percentage.
But today, there are too many events which are more interesting to the "spectator" than the election, and therefore the election itself does not effectively enter the field of vision of the "spectator."
There is no knowing, but we can see signs of upheaval from many places in the public-opinion polls conducted by our head office during six gubernatorial elections including Tokyo and Osaka.
Frankly speaking, the signs are for the rejection of candidates chosen "collusively" by political parties and the major move of a generation change.
Nevertheless, in Tokyo, for instance, those who would go voting without fail accounted for 59%, 10 points lower than the survey of the previous gubernatorial election.
Are the "spectators" going to keep their silence and watch the upheavals in the local politics?
It is common that the actual turn out on the voting day is lower than the percentage of people who responded they would go for voting in the public-opinion poll, and the actual turn out was a little less than 52%, though 69% of people indicated they would vote in the survey at the previous gubernatorial election in Tokyo.
If this trend continues, the voting rate may decline in all elections, and the worst record of 25% in the gubernatorial election of Chiba in 1981 may be broken.
What is confusing the exchange market in the world in recent times is a financial secondary product called derivatives.
It allows a big transaction with a small amount of money.
A 28-year old young man forced a famous investment bank in the U.K. to go bankrupt because of these derivatives.
It may sound strange, but it is similar to the situation where the lower the voting percentage, the smaller the group of people whose will determines the direction of politics.
We do not want any derivative phenomenon spreading in the world of politics.
It seems that many countries are working hard to raise their voting ratios: for example, the U.K. and Italy allow people to vote until 10 o'clock at night; Austria, Australia and Belgium have a compulsory voting system and collect penalties from people who have failed to cast a vote.
We may need to use such ideas.
But the biggest problem is that our political parties do not provide attractive choices.
As long as they repeat their collusive behavior of choosing candidates only for their own conveniences and enter into back-room deals so that the election would be easy with no real fighting, no matter what actions are taken, the voting percentage will not go up.
It is only natural that the spectators would turn away, with as many as 550 wins by default in the prefectural assembly elections.
It is said: "Those who despise politics only deserve politics worth despising."
The cherry-blossom front is going north, and it will be an ideal day for outing on the 9th.
Voters should keep in mind that if they forget voting just because of the excitement of the nice weather, somebody will decide on the politics without their knowledge.
By the decision of Mr. Koken Nosaka, Minister of Construction, the operation of the Nagara River Estuary Dam, which was originally planned to start on the 1st, has been postponed by at least one month, probably until after May 18, by the time the study of Japanese trout migration up the river will probably be completed.
During that time, the dam will be operated only for the purpose of research.
We commend the decision of the Minister of Construction as appropriate.
It is because there are many questions on the impact of the dam ranging from safety and disaster prevention to the natural ecosystem, and they are not fully clarified yet.
In addition, the results of the Nagara River Estuary Dam Roundtable Conference (modeled after the "Narita Airport Roundtable Conference" which led to a resolution of the Narita Airport issue), in which groups for and against the dam project and the Ministry of Construction sat together at the same table, have not come out yet.
An unusual schedule of four open meetings in 10 days, starting at the location of the dam in Nagashima-cho, Mie Prefecture, began on the 12th of last month.
Since information disclosure by the Ministry of Construction has just begun, such as disclosure of the study results, we think the time is not ripe yet to reach a common understanding, which is the aim of the roundtable conference.
We welcome the continuation of the roundtable in April and beyond.
The Ministry of Construction established the "Fundamental Principles on Environmental Policies" last January, taking the opportunity of the introduction of the Basic Environment Law that is based on circulation, symbiosis, and participation as its pillars.
It aims to expand and improve environmental impact assessments and to provide the people with information on the particulars of public works projects and conservation measures in a timely and appropriate manner.
The Ministry of Construction pledges in the Fundamental Principles that it will actively incorporate inputs from third parties in its policies through the environmental policy advisory program and so on.
Mr. Kozo Igarashi, former Minister of Construction, organized the "Nagara River Estuary Dam Review Committee" last April as a response to a request from the "Nagaragawa Citizens' Coalition."
Mr. Nosaka, the Minister of Construction who succeeded Mr. Igarashi, is also making efforts to respect the opinions of the opposition group.
He created the "Nagara River Estuary Dam Roundtable Conference," which is chaired by a scholar who was a member of the "Nagara River Estuary Dam Review Committee" and consists of members from the Ministry of Construction, local governments, community representatives and representatives from the opposition groups, and the Roundtable is continuing to search for common ground.
Both ministers who are from the Social Democratic Party and the Ministry of Construction appear to be making efforts to implement the "Fundamental Principles on Environmental Policies," at least in form.
But why are the specifics of such good agenda not fully covered ?
There are four key issues planned to be discussed, which are disaster prevention, water supply and demand, environment, and salt damage, but the roundtable was held only 4 times in total, 3 hours for each time, during the latter half of March.
There is no comparison with the Narita Airport Roundtable through which the group against the Narita Airport construction and the Ministry of Construction met and discussed 12 times in total over 1 year and found common ground.
I wonder if it was because the Ministry of Construction and the Water Resources Development Public Corporation intended to start a full-scale operation of the dam on April 1 at any rate.
The environmental impact assessment is, by its definition, a procedure that requires the stoppage of the construction or a change to an alternative plan depending on the assessment results.
Although there are difficulties associated with the post-construction assessment, if the decision to start the operation of the facility precedes the assessment, then it is against the very objective of the environmental impact assessment.
Even though the roundtable meetings were limited in the time and information available for them, there were noteworthy issues raised, which were agreed by both camps.
For example, it should be noted that an agreement was reached on the necessity of an investigation of active faults around the Nagara River Estuary Dam, especially the area between the Tenpaku estuary fault running under the bottom of the river of the lower basin and the Isewan fault, based on the lessons learned from the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
There are still many things that need to be changed in the Review Committee and the Roundtable.
It may not be impossible to reach an agreement, either.
Stakeholders should make further efforts.
Following the complete restoration of services of the JR Tokaido Line which was damaged by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the entire Sanyo Bullet Line will be open to traffic on the weekend of the 8th.
The losses caused by the cut-off of the trunk line connecting Tokyo to Chugoku-Shikoku and Kyushu to the Japanese economy and people's daily lives are immeasurable.
The railroad service is the locomotive that pulls the recovery and an important element that gives courage to residents.
There is a great expectation for opening the line one month earlier than scheduled.
On one hand, we should not forget the fact that the Shinkansen elevated tracks, which have been the pride of Shinkansen for their safety record, have collapsed in eight locations.
Disastrous scenes of damage to railroads, including conventional lines and private railroads, are still vivid in our memory.
In fact, the reexamination of safety of railroads has just begun.
We hereby request the Ministry of Transport, which is currently working on the final inspection for the reopening of bullet train services, to recognize this fact again, conduct a thorough inspection, but not to make haste in opening if there are any concerns for safety.
There was a debate about early restoration versus safety measures, but West Japan Railway Company pushed ahead the reconstruction work 24 hours a day, claiming there was no contradiction between the two.
In their hurry to rebuild, did they overlook any safety concerns?
The inspection by the Ministry of Construction needs a third-party viewpoint.
JR West declared the "reinforcement of earthquake resistance of facility" and "improvement of safety measures for operation" as its goals when the restoration work started.
It is said that, as a result of wrapping the concrete pillars of the elevated tracks with steel plates, the earthquake resistance became 2.5 times higher compared to the conventional ones, and the structures have become strong enough to withstand an earthquake of the Great Hanshin Earthquake level.
In terms of operation, JR West has decided to introduce the UrEDAS, which is already used in the Tokaido Shinkansen.
Although the company has implemented the minimally necessary measures, some safety measures will not be completed in time for the opening, therefore it cannot be said that they have done enough.
It is because accidents always exceed the anticipation of us humans and human errors get into systems that are supposed to be safe.
On the day the Tokaido Line was opened for service, there was an accident where a special overnight express hit a construction trolley in the restored section late at night.
It is suspected that a construction worker might have brought the trolley on the track without checking if it was safe to do so.
It is not sure if the same mistake will not happen with the Shinkansen.
Let me request everybody concerned not to feel relaxed by the opening of all lines and rather share the tension and caution of a "temporary restoration" in emergency.
JR plans to run the Shinkansen at a slow speed first and then shift to the full speed at the earliest possible time.
The Nozomi, the star of Shinkansen, is tested at 270 km, which is the highest operation speed for Shinkansen.
Their desire to redeem the inconvenience for passengers and recover the huge loss as soon as possible is evident.
But there is no need to hurry.
Mr. Masataka Ide, President of JR West, has repeatedly said that "railroad companies could not exist without safety."
We want that spirit to be put into full practice on the front line.
This earthquake disaster is naturally forcing other JR lines and all private lines to reexamine their safety measures.
The enhancement of earthquake resistance is an urgent challenge not only for the Tokaido Shinkansen which has been operating for over 30 years but also for other lines.
The reinforcement of the bridge pillars with steel plates may be necessary for those sections not damaged by the disaster as well.
This item should be discussed urgently at the Railway Facility Earthquake-Resistance Structure Review Committee or a similar forum of the Ministry of Construction that has lead the way in the restoration works.
In any case, the disconnection of the main transportation corridor in one region has clearly demonstrated the fragility of the Japanese archipelago by halting the entire flow of people and goods for two and half months.
Let us take this opportunity to rethink the entire transportation networks of the Japanese archipelago, including corrective measures for the concentration of roads and railroad trunk lines in specific areas and the establishment of efficient alternative routes.
The Central League of professional baseball teams started to play on the 7th, following the opening of the Pacific League, and with the Japan Soccer League already playing exciting games, the spring sports season has begun.
The talk of town in this season is, more than anything else, "Mr. Oh's Daiei."
How far will Mr. Oh take the team which has been a B-class team for a long time?
And will the Oh-Nagashima showdown, which used to cause so much excitement, be repeated again with Mr. Nagashima, manager of the Tokyo Giants, in the Japan Series in the fall?
For baseball fans, this must be the arrival of the long-awaited spring season for baseball, with so much anticipation including whether Ichiro will play as well as last year.
It was in the fall of two years ago when professional baseball was claimed to be in crisis and the entire world of baseball, including amateur baseball organizations, embarked on a reform, but where has that reform discussion gone?
Just then, a 232-day strike of the MLB Players' Association, which shocked the U.S. and the world with the fear that the America's national sport, major league baseball, would disappear, was finally declared over and the decision was made to reopen games on the 26th.
The strike was originally triggered by the team owners, who had a growing sense of crisis about payroll costs as the average annual pay was 1.8 million per player, when they proposed the introduction of a salary cap system which sets the maximum aggregate amount of players' payroll a team can spend.
The strike interrupted the season in mid-August of last year and cancelled the World Series for the first time in 90 years after surviving two World Wars, and it is said that the total amount of damage will reach 100 billion yen.
Including the loss of fans and the tarnished image, which cannot be assessed in monetary value, the damage caused by the strike is immeasurable.
In addition, although the strike was called off, thanks to the arbitration by court which effectively made the owners the loser, the end result was the mere reinstatement of the original agreement between the owners and the players' union.
Baseball games will start with the conflict still remaining unresolved; it is the beginning of sharing the damage on both sides.
In Japan, the free agent system introduced to professional baseball rapidly raised payroll costs, and according to the players' association, the average annual salary of top players, except for foreigners whose annual salary was about 20 million yen, was increased to 42.2 million yen, which is more than twice that of two years ago.
Opinions are divided as to whether the average annual salary of 40 million yen or so is low or high for professional baseball players because they still represent the dream of young baseball players.
It is a fact that the sense of crisis is spreading over the professional baseball team owners who think a rapid rise of payroll costs is hard on the operation of the teams, and Mr. Yoshikuni, Commissioner of the Japan Professional Baseball Organization, is working to put together a specific proposal for setting the maximum rate of raise by June, after declaring at the professional baseball system reform headquarters at the end of March that they might repeat the mistake of the U.S. Major League if nothing is done.
In that sense, it can be said that Japanese professional baseball has an element of the same problem as the Major League in the U.S., but the professional baseball system reform headquarters, which were established last September when the Japan Soccer League was started amid wild enthusiasm and cheer, have yet to announce any firm reform plans.
The rapid rise of payroll costs cannot be solved by force as indicated by the example of the U.S. Major League.
When the number of young baseball players continues to decline though incrementally, the attendance at stadiums which is the main source of income is almost flat, and television broadcasting rights and admission fees are difficult to raise, an easy remedy of setting the upper limit on the payroll-hikes is far from a real solution to the problem.
It is my request that the discussion be first started on the present situation where owner corporations are using professional baseball as their promotional tool, and that aggressive measures be explored earnestly in order to significantly increase the attractiveness of the game or the size of the customer base, since no fans means no professional baseball.
The ruling coalition parties and the government will send their respective study missions in order to make a decision on whether Japan should send the Self-Defense Forces for a peacekeeping operation slated to start on the 10th of this month in the Golan Heights.
In the Israel occupied territory of the Heights, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force has been supervising the ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974.
Last May, the United Nations unofficially requested Japan to take over the transportation unit of the logistic support troop currently manned by Canada.
In response, the government has been working on the plan to send the Self-Defense Forces to the Golan Heights including sending a delegation to Canada for research.
There was once a plan to deploy the Self-Defense Forces in August when part of the Canadian contingent is to be replaced, but the conclusion has not been made because of the change of governments and the poor coordination within the ruling coalition, and also because there was increased criticism within the coalition against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it was running away on its own in its rush to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces.
The Social Democratic Party of Japan has especially opposed the dispatch of the study mission itself, insisting that UNDOF is a peacekeeping force which is not allowed for Japan to participate under the PKO Cooperation Law and that there may be problems even if the participation is limited to the transportation unit for logistic support.
After all, the SDPJ agreed to the dispatch of the study mission on the condition that no participation of the Self-Defense Forces should be presumed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that the five principles for Japan's participation in peacekeeping operations as the UNDOF, such as a ceasefire agreement among the parties of the armed conflict and the consent of the host country are fully met, while advocating the significance of the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces as a contribution to peace in the Middle East.
But is it really so?
There are many reasons to be concerned.
One of them is how it relates to lifting the freeze on Japan's participation in PKF activities.
It has been three years since the PKO Cooperation Law took effect, and August is the deadline for its review.
Whether or not to lift the freeze is the point of greatest contention in the review.
If the Self-Defense Forces take over the transportation unit from Canada, will they ever transport the infantry, arms and ammunitions of other countries?
If it becomes a reality, it will represent a huge step for Japan in the PKF, and the nature of the troop deployed may have to change.
The second contention is the fact that the local situation is still unclear, and once Japan sends the Self-Defense Forces, there is a good chance that the deployment may become longer.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that the discussion on the withdrawal of the Israel army from the Golan Heights is underway among the three countries of the United States, Israel and Syria and the situation is stable, and that Japan can set a cut-off date for the deployment of its forces, but there must be a small possibility of a sudden change in the situation.
In that case, will Japan be able to withdraw at its own discretion?
In addition, because some members of the extremists groups from Japan remain in this area, the Defense Agency is concerned that the Self-Defense Forces itself may become a target.
Although there is a concern that a refusal after all would be permitted by the world or not after sending a study mission, the study delegation should make careful investigations without any presumptions about the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces.
As a result of the investigation, I wonder if Japan has a choice of increasing its contribution by further expanding the infrastructure upgrading and economic supports which Japan has been providing for the reconstruction of the Middle East.
It is our demand to the ruling coalition and the government not to expand the interpretation of the five principles for Japan's participation in PKO gradually by building up a fait accompli.
The review of the management structure of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph, which has been suspended for five years, is going to be restarted.
On the 6th, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications submitted a question to the Telecommunications Council about how the management of NTT should be, and the Council will submit a report within this year.
Five years ago, the Telecommunications Council submitted a report on dividing NTT, suggesting that fair competition must be realized first in order to activate and increase efficiency of the information communication market.
The report was to divide NTT into two companies: the long-distance communication division and the local communication division.
However, the government decided to postpone the implementation of the split and review again in 5 years.
The main reason for the postponement was that there was a strong opinion within the Ministry of Finance and the Liberal Democratic Party that dividing NTT might cause further adverse effects on its stock price because the decline of NTT's stock price turned into a social problem at that time.
It has now been 5 years since then, and the management format of NTT has become a more significant problem.
The term "multimedia society," which did not exist 5 years ago, has become well known by people, and the image of an "advanced information society" combining communication, broadcasting, and computer has been highlighted.
The issue is what the core company providing information communication network services should be, which comprise the foundation of the "multimedia society."
The fundamental viewpoint of the review must be, of course, how the company should be in order to realize the interests of the people to the utmost.
In other words, what system is most suitable to provide various advanced services efficiently and constantly.
It will be the system that can realize fair and effective competition.
NTT has been taking various measures for these 5 years, such as spinning off the cellular communication division, disclosure of details of management by introducing a divisional system, reduction of long-distance call rates, and drastic layoffs.
Those measures can be evaluated as appropriate management efforts, but at the same time it cannot be denied that the adverse effects of the monopolistic structure of NTT were revealed through various problems.
A typical example was that NTT had trouble with other communication companies regarding connections.
Other communication companies cannot realize end-user services without connecting to the local communication networks monopolized by NTT.
Here is the bottleneck of competition.
The most fundamental problem is whether revitialization and efficiency of the information communication market can be realized under the NTT monopoly of local communication network.
In this respect, the division of the US company AT&T is a good example.
AT&T was divided into one long-distance call company and 7 local companies in 1984.
As a result, the information communication market has become remarkably active because, for example, the competition offers customers various new services.
The reason Japan gets terribly behind the US in the information communication industry must be related to the difference in competitive conditions between the markets of the two countries.
In addition, an issue that should be examined is the change in the market environment with the advance of technology and the global trend towards liberalization of the communication industry.
There is an indication that NTT's monopoly of local communication service will collapse shortly due to the rapidly spreading cellular phone use, the spread of cable television networks and so on.
There is also the question about the necessity of dividing business areas into local, long-distance, international and the like because of the nature of the information communication being globalized.
Improving the international competitiveness of the Japanese information communication industry, including research and development, must also be considered.
This is the matter that affects the foundation of Japan's future industrial society and people's lives.
Examination should be based on a wide range of opinions from people in each level of society.
Why is the rugby ball oval-shaped?
Mr. Toshio Nakamura was flabbergasted by this question asked by his student soon after he became a teacher at the Tokyo University of Education High School.
He has been enjoying sports for nearly 20 years, including his years in professional education as a physical education teacher.
But now, countless questions, such as why each team is allowed to touch the ball up to three times before returning it to the opponent's court, came to his mind, although he had been a volleyball player.
If that is all, it is no more than a quiz.
But as he investigated the history of gear and equipment as well as the rules of volleyball little by little he came to know the national and cultural background that volleyball was born from people's lifestyle, such as hunting and farming, and came to exist as a sport, he was convinced that "the physical education in Japan was thoroughly not the proper form of sports," and published in 1968 his first book "Criticism of Modern Japanese Sports."
According to Mr. Nakamura, the origins of "physical education" dates back to the beginning of the Meiji Period when foreign sports were introduced from abroad and incorporated into the concept of "wealth nation, strong army" as "physical education" in places of education.
And it is said that the Japanese sporting world, from the level of sandlot baseball to national team players, has not changed its conventional attitude after the end of World War II, which was a perfect chance for reform, and is still unable to get out of the "physical education" world in all its aspects, including traninig method and human relations.
Mr. Nakamura, who is "now living on pension" after teaching as a high school teacher for about 30 years and then as a professor at Yamaguchi University and Hiroshima University, has continued writing a book called "The Climate of Sports."
Mr. Nakamura says, "With regard to the 50-year postwar period, although sports suffered under oppression, such as changing baseball terms to Japanese equivalents and were incorporated into the right-wing regime during the wartime, the sporting world has not strictly pursued the relationship between peace or war and sports, so that is the primary reason the sporting world was unable to reform."
He also says that "the sporting world has turned to "supreme triumphalism," making efforts only to raise the level of competition," while people got excited over sports because professional baseball and sumo wrestling were already resumed in three months after the war, and then two years later the swimmer Hironoshin Furuhashi, dubbed "the flying fish of Fujiyama," appeared.
He analyzes the historical background where Japan went through reconstruction after being burnt to the ground in its defeat in the war, and the whole country kept running at full speed under the slogan of "catch up with and get ahead of the world": "That was why Japan hosted the Tokyo Olympic Games, which should serve as an indicator of Japan's return to the international stage as well as a part of the high economic growth policy, and, in turn, made the Japanese sporting world fall further into "gold-medalism." As a result, without looking at sports as culture or the continuation of a cultural heritage, the concept of sports that denies the pleasure and fun which sports were originally intended for and undermines the spirit of self-reliance and independence was accelerated.
The Tokyo Olympic Games were the greatest event in the post-war sporting world.
The gold medal won by the "Toyo no Majo" (literally "witches" of the East) in the women's volleyball competiton was symbolic, but Mr. Hirofumi Daimatsu, the coach of the Japanese women's volleyball team, was called "Demon Daimatsu" because he trained them extremely hard.
Despite having won the bronze medal in the men's marathon, Mr. Kokichi Tsuburaya later killed himself and left a suicide note, which says,"Father and mother, I cannot run any more ...," and it is now belived that he was unable to bear the strong pressure to win a medal in the next Mexico Olympics.
"The supreme triumphalism generates feudalistic human relations. Recently, Japanese players failed to win at the last moment of international competitions because they lost the spirit of self-reliance while practicing as their coach says. As for high school baseball, pitchers take the mound in consecutive games day after day in self-annihilating devotion. Even in the professional baseball teams, kanri yakyu or "controlled baseball" is the mainstream."
His cutting critisim still continues: "Supreme triumphalism also emphasized that the more gold medals at the Olympics, the more helpful to develop advance technique and the popularization of sports, thus leading to improvement in international competitiveness, but the number of gold medals is on the decrease after the peak at the Tokyo Olympics. After 50 years since the end of the war, it has now become clear that how the supreme triumphaslim that was an obsession for Japan after the war is now filled with contradictions and deceptions."
However, in his recent book,"Critism on Japanese-style sports environments," he proposes "sports environment science," which looks at sports from a different perspective, while continuing to criticize again the conventional supreme triumphalism.
It has been 50 years since the end of the war, and Mr. Nakamura thinks that the natural environment for playing sports has been polluted or destroyed worldwide, the social environment produces "dropouts" and "disposables," and the corruption and turpitude by commercialism is symbolically represented in doping.
And he shows a growing concern that "the current trend to take any means to win makes one think that there will be the emergence of human clones where their genes are manipulated to have an aptitude for sports."
On the other hand, a bipolarization of "people watching sports" and "people playing sports" will progress quickly.
Especially afther the collapse of the bubble economy, more people have become outdoor-oriented, and there are many people enjoying various new types of sports with their families in open spaces, such as parks and riverbeds on weekends.
For such a new trend of "people playing sports,"he stresses that we are "contining to be aware of the reality that the old "amateurism" had collapsed and sports have become a means of making money, yet at the same time we are enjoying new sports. It is as if to say a diversification is in progress where we are trying to move away from the conventional physical education and competition-centered mantra, and we should not make this diversification return to the past or move towards traditionalism. Rather, we need to reunify it in view of "sports environments" that are friendly and comfortable for people to live."
In summary, it is breaking a bad spell casted on the "physical education" which the Japanese sporting world has been continuously soaking itself in since the beginning of the Meiji period, far more than the 50 years after the end of the war, sounding like the death knell for "physical education."
The newspaper at that time says "his linear speed and shooting power are outstanding."
Mr. Saburo Kawabuchi, the Chairman of the Japanese Professional Football League, made the Japanese national team for the Tokyo Olympics.
He is leading the J-League, which he calls "a grand experiment," with as much energy as he has shown as a player and strong leadership that has made even be called sarcastically"the dictator."
The J-League became a social phenomenon with support from enthusiastic fans when it started, and this is its third year.
However, its TV audience rating declined in its second, and some were saying "the J-League boom has ended."
Mr. Kawaguchi does not mind such an opinion.
"The first year was simply too good. The average number of spectators per game is increasing and everything is going fine. If there are 100 things to be done, only 2 or 3 have been realized, but it is no problem. I will certainly get things done one by one."
His love was baseball until his junior-high school days.
He started playing soccer at the Mikunigaoka High School of Osaka prefecture, and he has been in the soccer circle for most of the 50 years after the end of the war.
He was chosen as a national team player when he was a student at Waseda University.
After joining Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd, which had a top team in the All Japan Businessmen's Football tournament, he took part in the Asian Games and the Tokyo Olympics and also played an active role in the Japan Soccer League, and later he experienced being a manager for the Furukawa soccer club and the Japan's national soccer team.
And, in February of 1991 when he was general director of the Japan Football League, he took the lead in preparations for organizing the J- League as the head of the organizing office, thinking that he "has nothing to lose."
What popped up vividly in his mind then was the green grass he saw in Duisburg some 30 years ago.
For the team's training in Europe before the Tokyo Olympics, he visited a town near Cologne in the former West Germany.
He says, "In a vast site surrounded by deep green forests, where thick grass like green carpet was covering all over the place. There were dormitories and gyms, furnished with medical facilities and restaurants. But what surprised me more was that physically disabled people were actively enjoying sports with the assistance of volunteers. At that time I never thought they could enjoy sports."
Mr. Kawabuchi thought about how happy people were living in this country, compared to Japan, also a defeated nation, which must be almost impossible in Japan, and it "left me an unforgettable shock for life."
There are sport clubs very well accepted in their local communities in cities throughout Germany, where people, as well as the disabled, can easily enjoy sports, and the professional soccer teams are positioned at the top of these clubs.
Those sport clubs, seen as "the team of my hometown" fanatic support from local people, who work as volunteers to manage the team while earning working funds.
On the one hand, how about Japan?
After the end of the war, especially after the mid 1960s upon closing the Tokyo Olympic Games, the focus of Japan's sports shifted to companies.
However, reflecting on those days: "Companies distorted sports in Japan. The era has arrived when sports is used in advertisements and nurtured the fomenting devotion to companies at the beginning, and soon businessmen's amateur players were used as a main force for competition between companies. Although their status was guaranteed, the level of those amateur players was far from professional players so they attracted few spectators. No doubt that is the threshold for businessmen's amateur players. The Japan League I succeeded was a typical example."
Speaking of company sports, professional baseball teams are in the same situation in terms of being controlled under their parent companies.
Mr. Kawabuchi, who had thoroughly studied the professional baseball business before the creation of the J-League, resentlessly criticizes: "In the 60 years of baseball history in Japan, professional baseball only came of age these 20 years or so. The management of teams was too easy, as they rested on their laurels with the popularity of the game after Oh and Nagashima joined the professional baseball teams, and relied on their parent companies if there was any deficit. Parent companies also consider their teams merely as a tool for promotion. For example, if they have properly studied the US Major League Baseball's franchise system based in local cities, they could have built a financial base."
Therefore, considering professional baseball as "a bad role model," the J-League decided to call each soccer team using the name of the region and a nickname, instead of using the name of a company supporting it, and was responsible for establishing subordinate organizations by age in that region in a cohesive manner.
The J-League has built a unique system where, for instance, facilities are constructed with the support from the local government, and the citizens participate in management as volunteers.
That is a strategy to realize the ultimate goal of "European-type sport clubs originated in local areas."
So, will he be able to realize the "ideal of Duisburg?"
Mr. Kawabuchi says, "I used to think it would take 50 years to establish the system, before I actually got involved in the J-League business, but looking at recent movements in each place, I have come to believe that it could be realized in 30 years, not 50 years. The problem is the construction of facilities, but anyhow I took a step toward my ideal from scratch, and once things get started they move quickly, which is the administration dynamics of Japan."
It is said that for the construction of facilities, with the FIFA World Cup in 2002 in mind, the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Land Agency took action to implement various measures to realize the ideal of the J-League.
"There is an 80% prospect of holding the FIFA World Cup, and if we coud hold the World Cup in Japan, society will change. A thousand to two-thousand cores of communities focused on sports are necessary in Tokyo alone. The era when people grow out of their"company-oriented" skin and live in communities will definitely be upon us."
Mr. Kawabuchi is firmly gazing at the current of the times in the near future.
It has been corporations that supported sports along with school's physical education for 50 years since the end of the war.
But after the bubble burst, some major companies easily cut off their sport clubs, such as closing well-known baseball clubs which were known for their history and tradition.
In front of the Japanese business logic that sees sports as tools for labor tactics and advertisement and thus not wash with the international community, the life of corporate sports is so fleeting.
We need to make sports clubs so that anyone can easily enjoy sports anytime and for life.
The realization of the"green carpet" that is the symbol of the whole idea should not end as just being a mere"grand experiment."
Taiwan's president Lee Teng-hui made a peace proposal consisting of six items regarding the unification with Mainland China.
The proposal was an official response to Jiang Zemin's Eight-point Proposal made by President Jiang Zemin of mainland China in end January, and it means that peace proposals from both China and Taiwan are now on the table.
When comparing both proposals, although differences are noticeable, there are many overlapping areas of interest in expanding the various exchanges and cooperation centering on the economy.
The main characteristic of the previous proposal made by Jiang Zemin was that it rather focused on appealing for "opposition to Taiwan's independence and promotion of economic exchanges" while assuming the peaceful unification policy of the "one country, two systems" advocated by the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
The idea of the proposal was to maintain the present situation for the time being and deepen reciprocal cooperation and mutural understanding by expanding bilateral exchanges, rather than hurry the unification.
The proposal also mentioned to start negotiations for officially ending their state of hostility and the reciprocal top-level visits as the first steps in the unification negotiations.
Despite the Taiwan authority's policy to ban direct trading between China and Taiwan, economical trade relations with China via Hong Kong has been rapidly increasing recently, and calls requesting the lift of the ban on direct trade are intensifying in the Taiwan business world.
In the various opinion polls, the overwhelming majority supports the maintenance of the status quo, which is neither immediate unification nor immediate independence.
In the election for the heads of local governments in the end of last year, the results showed that the will of the people was for the preservation of the status quo.
Because President Lee Teng-hui evaluated Jiang's proposal as an "important proposal," the official response from Taiwan drew much attention, but in the end the proposal made by Taiwan was no more than the existing policy based on the Guidelines for National Unification established four years ago.
President Lee requested China to accept Taiwan's equal participation in international organizations, emphasizing again that China and Taiwan are two different political entities located across the Taiwan Strait, as different countries with different governments, and also proposed that he may accept preliminary talks for the negotiation if mainland China declares the non-use of military force.
President Jiang explained in the Eight-point Proposal that China cannot promise not exercising military force to prevent "plots for Taiwan' independence" by "foreign powers."
Recently, there have been activities in the US Congress to request the US government to accept Taiwan's participation in the United Nations or President Lee Teng-hui's private visit to the US, and the cautiousness of China against any acitivities involving "foreign powers" had rather increased.
Regarding top-level exchanges between the two sides, President Lee only repeated its existing position that top-level meetings between Taiwan and China would take place only at international conferences.
Taiwan has long been aiming to realize President Lee Teng-hui's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) summit, but mainland China has been firmly against it: if it accepts the participation of Mr. Lee, an equivalent to a head of state, it may lead to the approval of "two Chinas."
In this manner, disagreements between the two proposals are more noticeable about the principle issues, but there also are some overlapping areas.
"Promotion of economic/trade exchanges and cross-strait reciprocity and development of mutually complementing relationship" in the Lee proposal was a response to the mainland's appeal for "strengthening of economic exchange and cooperation," the core of the Jiang proposal.
Considering the gaps actually existing between mainland China and Taiwan in terms of those including economic levels and the social system, deepening of the various exchanges centering on the economy will be beneficial for both China and Taiwan and will help them understand each other and reduce the disparities, which are necessary for their unification.
The uncertain "post-Deng Xiaoping period" is drawing near.
We hope that the leaders of both China and Taiwan will search for a new path to coexistence and shared prosperity using their common interests as a stepping-stone, instead of looking at disagreements.
The exchange rate of the yen in the Tokyo foreign exchange market momentarily marked 80.15 yen to the greenback on the 10th.
It means the value of the US dollar declined to one-third compared to the exchange rate of 242 yen to the greenback just before the Plaza Meeting ten years ago.
This long-lasting appreciation of the yen will soon reach the ceiling.
Currency dealers also have become nervous about when a counter-reaction will take place, and therefore the exchange rate is fluctuating up and down significantly.
In the market, the monetary authorities are troubled by the strong yen and are urging for a decrease in the official discount rate.
This market situation means that the market made light of the monetary authorities, taking advantage of the rift developed between the Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance during their talks concerning the interest rate reduction.
However, many specialists see the Japanese yen, if you make a cool judgment on its purchasing power, has become too strong.
Before the Plaza Meeting, the dollar was overrated in the market.
In the past, there were many cases where the market estimate went too far.
Now what we have to avoid the most is to be upset with the strong yen.
Export industries suffering from great damage are waiting for the tides of change while making efforts to raise prices in the overseas market.
The authorities should not blame each other.
The monetary authorities should pull themselves together.
They should make a clear view of the situation and quickly take bold steps.
Once this strong-yen level is established, there will be an immeasurable impact on the export industries.
Mid and long-term measures such as deregulation are also important.
What is needed is a dramatic message what will change the flow of funds.
Reduction of official discount rate is also one of the means.
A large-scale import plan to buy a huge quantity of cars from the US would serve it as well.
A strong yen has various merits.
If the purchasing power of the yen is an average of 140 yen to the US dollar, it shows the strong yen is not made to good use.
Having advocated the priority of consumers, the government should hammer out concrete plans for making good use of the strong yen to the benefit of consumers and correct the price difference between the domestic and overseas market.
At any rate, it is important that politics realize the ideas which bureaucrats have never thought of before.
Other countries see that Japan always speaks about "reform, reform" out loud but cannot do anything, and we must take action to overthrow such a view.
Coordinated intervention of buying dollar by the countries of major currencies usually sends out a warning signal to the market, but it has no effect this time.
In terms of adjustment of interest rates, while Germany's reduction was made at the best timing, the Bank of Japan missed a chance to lower its official discount rate.
And the market is taking advantage of the spreading arguments bashing the Bank of Japan.
A performance that shows that Japan and US authorities are working closely together is also necessary.
US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin knows the frightfulness of a sudden fall of the US dollar as he came from Wall Street.
Japan and the US can cooperate at least in putting the US dollar back to a 90-yen level.
Japan has to make use of opportunities in a series of monetary/financial meetings to be held in Washington at the end of this month.
Economic recovery has become irregular in terms of consumption and the future has become unclear.
Reinforcement of business is inevitable not only from a monetary aspect but also from a financial one.
The government should immediately develop measures at a 10-trillion-yen scale for reconstruction from earthquake disasters and include into the first supplementary budget of the new year.
The government expects 2.8% of real growth in the current fiscal year.
At this rate, however, the growth will be 1% at most.
Stimulating the economy from both financial and monetary aspects is a legitimate policy.
The emergence of an "nonpartisan" governor in the gubernatorial elections shocked the central political world during the first half of the unified local elections, and in the elections for prefectural assembly members in 43 prefectures that show the rise and fall of each party's power, voter distrust towards the existing political parties was clearly shown as both the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) lost many seats while the number of successful candidates of unaffiliated parties drastically increased.
Local assembly members such as those in prefectural assemblies are like the limbs of a political party.
Both the LDP and the SDP loss in those prefectural assembly elections is evidence of the collapse of the 1955 system in local politics and, in particular, the regression of the SDP stands out.
The total number of SDP members elected to the prefectural assembly was 277, and this number was less than the 333 elected in the previous elections, a drop of 56, that had been the lowest ever since the unification of the right-and-left Social Democratic Party, resulting in a crushing defeat.
The reason the number of official candidates of the Social Democratic Party was the lowest ever in these elections for prefectural assembly members was the difficulties in finding candidates or returning of the party's approval, and therefore it can be said that they were fighting a losing battle.
This was a crushing defeat since the general election of two years ago, in which the number of seats of the SDP was halved; the party's downfall is too hideous to watch.
The main cause for voters' disapproval of the SDP is the party's rigid nature which makes it unable to flexibly cope with drastic changes in international politics, like the collapse of the Cold War between East and West, but, above all, it is that there are too many things done by the current SDP that are difficult for people to understand, which seems to accelerate voter disillusionment of the party.
Examples include it first opposed the introduction of the single-seat constituency electorate system but approved it after the general election, and it entered into a coalition with the Japan Renewal Party which has significantly different ideals and basic policies simply because they both are "non-LDP" and later, making an about-turn, entered into a coalition with the LDP.
When it has come into power, it changed overnight its basic policies, which have been the party's principles, with no explanation to its members.
Other examples are its attitude to tax reform and intra-party troubles related to the formation of a new party, and so on; there are too many to count.
In short, it does not function as a party.
The recent gubernatorial elections that took place in Tokyo and Osaka proved the malfunction of the existing political parties, which is symbolically embodied in the present situation of the Social Democratic Party.
What is more surprising is a sense of crisis does not surge at all within the Party despite being in such a critical situation.
In the previous unified local elections that took place 4 years ago, Ms Takako Doi, then-chairperson of SDP, took responsibility for the defeat and resigned.
However, this time, the Secretary-General Wataru Kubo and others are trying to hush up the responsibility for the defeat in the elections for governor and prefectural assembly member, using the logic that the defeat in the elections does not have direct connection with the responsibility of Mr. Tomiichi Murayama, the SDP chairperson.
At this rate, it is obvious that the results of the House of Councillors elections in summer and the next House of Representatives elections, which will take place for the first time under a single-seat and proportional representation constituency system, will be ever harsher for the SDP.
Last month, with the idea for forming a new party to find a new way to live by dissolving the party for the better, the executives of the SDP have announced its plan to form a new party before the House of Representatives elections, but recently they chopped and changed the plan, and the idea to postpone it until "after the elections of the House of Councillors" has become dominant.
It is all right if the most effective conditions for the formation of a new party become ready "after the elections of the House of Councillors," but how bright will the outlook be "after the elections?"
The party cannot resolve anything if it takes no action but to use equivocal explanation or postponement, in their mastery of the elusive "postpone-it" tactics, a conventional technique.
There is only "natural dissolution" of the Party.
Mr. Ryokichi Minobe, who twenty-eight years ago entered the Tokyo metropolitan government as a reformist governor, later recalls that he "was prepared to parachute down alone into enemy camp."
That sense of tragic heroism is probably unknown to Mr. Yukio Aoshima, but there is something that concerns us even more than Mr. Minobe.
To begin with, Mr. Minobe was not left with unfinished business from his predecessor Mr. Ryutaro Azuma, and his initial attitude toward the Metropolitan Assembly was humble, but Mr. Aoshima during his election campaign expressed strong doubts about the Tokyo waterfront sub-center project and the World City Exposition, the jewels in the crown of the Suzuki administration, and there are indications that he is expecting, and determined, to bump heads to a considerable degree with the Assembly.
What's more, Mr. Aoshima adamantly rejects the 30-billion yen loan to rescue the former Tokyo Kyowa Credit Association and Anzen Credit Bank, the two failed credit unions, and is unyielding in his resolve.
Although this is just a technical assumption, if the governor directly challenges the Assembly, it will be complicated because the governor, unlike the Prime Minister, is like a president.
And if officials of the metropolitan government possess an outer obedience but inner rebelliousness, then the confusion will multiply and escalate.
Even if the public servants are somehow persuaded, when the governor's proposed items are voted down one by one, then the government itself will be completely paralyzed.
This is because the governor does not have the power to dissolve the Assembly, unlike the Prime Minister dissolving the Diet, and is in a passive position.
The governor can only dissolve it by passing a no-confidence motion or rejecting a budget such as that on compulsory expenditure which may be regarded as a passage of a no-confidence motion, and unless two-thirds or more assemblymen are present, of which three-quarters vote in favor, the no-confidence motion cannot be passed.
In the beginning the Local Government Law itself did not assume there would be unavoidable confrontation between the governor and the Assembly.
At the metropolitan and prefectural government level, there was only one case where in Gifu Prefecture in 1976 the passage of a no-confidence motion and a request by the governor to resign occurred at the same time, so there was no dissolution of the Assembly.
Now, we have Mr. Aoshima.
With respect to the loans to the two credit unions, the Metropolitan Assembly decided to freeze them and came to entrust the decision with the new governor.
If that is the case, the Assembly should probably follow Mr. Aoshima.
It seems that the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan would be in a difficult position, but Mr. Aoshima will also be unworthy of being governor if he simply says No to the loans.
The responsibility of the metropolitan government is unmistakable.
It should take its full responsibility and show an alternate plan for a secure financial system.
The Tokyo waterfront sub-center project is undoubtedly a byproduct of the bubble economy, but already nearly 1 trillion 800 billion yen has been invested, and the building of the Rainbow Bridge, a new transportation system, and other projects are underway as planned.
Even if there is an extensive review of projects, careful consideration of the utmost degree is necessary to determine where and how to change them.
On the other hand, we have the World City Exposition.
It is less than a year until the opening next spring, and the pavilion construction has been started.
Forty-six cities and ports plan to display and admission tickets are being sold.
"Calling it quits" will affect international trust and lawsuits are imminent.
At any rate, the call to proceed or bow out should not be directed to the media but should be quickly made known to those actually working in preparation for the Expo.
In that case, Mr. Aoshima should realize that if he only aims to please the crowds then government would be at a standstill.
The Tokyo waterfront development and the city expo are inseparable, but what must be called to mind is that of the six prominent candidates running for the metropolitan governorship, besides Mr. Nobuo Ishihara all of them campaigned on the extensive overhaul or to put on hold the waterfront development.
If the total votes to be garnered by the five exceed well over 70 percent, then this is the will of the people.
Saying they were "campaign pledges for elections" would simply be spitting in the public's face.
It is not an easy task to make a new departure while securing the continuity of government.
Making a sudden and impulsive turn of the steering wheel will not only inconvenience the 128 metropolitan assemblymen and 190,000 officials of the metropolitan government but also the 12 million citizens of Tokyo.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has decided to sell 80 percent of the shares of its subsidiary MCA, the American film and entertainment company, to major Canadian beverage manufacturer Seagram.
It means that the Matsushita corporate strategy that drew attention as one of the largest business acquisition five years ago has finally ended in failure.
This kind of failure not only applies to Matsushita.
Carried away by the bubble economy from the latter half of 1980 to the early 1990s, many of the overseas companies and real estate gobbled up by Japanese corporations now find themselves under severe circumstances.
Where were the problems?
First there was probably the disregard of cultural differences surrounding an industry.
MCA is a movie and entertainment giant based in Hollywood.
Compared to the many overseas home electrical appliance assembly plants managed by Matsushita, the corporate culture is completely different.
For example, the cost to make one film changes greatly depending on the producer.
It is said that the rift between MCA (positively put, "proud artists"; negatively put, "free spenders") and the Matsushita camp that calls for Japanese-style discipline was becoming gradually wider.
Ahead of Matsushita, Sony, which bought the American movie studio Columbia Pictures Entertainment, is encountering a similar experience.
When making inroads overseas, Japanese corporations study in their own way the political and economic situation of the other country.
However, one can only say they have somewhat overlooked the cultural climate.
Second, with the yen appreciation these past few years, the timing for settlement of accounts was delayed.
In 1990 Matsushita bought MCA for 6.1 billion dollars.
The exchange rate at the time was 1 US dollar to approximately 127 yen.
The yen has then continued to rise with virtually no fall at all.
If the yen becomes strong and the dollar weak, when liquidating the investment and then carrying the funds back to Japan, a loss from the difference will occur.
There is probably no doubt that the thinking of Matsushita was that they "want to wait until the yen weakens and the dollar strengthens."
The sales price this time around is 5.7 billion dollars.
When calculating 1 US dollar at less than 80.5 yen, it accounts for a loss of nearly 200 billon yen.
For this reason Matsushita says it will not immediately exchange to yen and intends to make another investment in the dollar, but it is not easy to find an effective investment.
During the bubble period, the assets injected in the US and overseas by Japanese companies resulted in a significant appraisal loss due to the strong yen.
As many of these accounts must be settled from now on, its impact may not be limited to just the investors.
Third, the prototype for multimedia strategies initiated by manufacturers has suffered a setback.
Matsushita's greatest objective in buying MCA was to enhance its software business in preparation for the multimedia era.
The aim was for a "synergistic effect as a result of the linkage between hardware and software."
However, the aim was off.
Some say that the movie Jurassic Park is probably the only software produced by MCA that ran on Matsushita's hardware.
This reality seems to underscore the difficulty of electrical home appliance manufacturers to lead the way in the area of software.
The excellence of Japanese manufacturers is found in their production process and quality control.
However, in multimedia, while they are developing high quality products in optic fiber and telephone terminals, they are falling significantly behind the US in terms of software products.
If we look at it this way, we can say the drama of Matsushita's sale of MCA demonstrated the high price of failure in business acquisitions.
At the same time, it clearly showed the difficulty in software development as we enter the multimedia age.
Against the backdrop of medical advancement and an aging society, every industrialized nation is troubled by spiraling medical costs and especially struggling with the burden of staggering drug costs.
Recently, the Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) sent a research group to France and Germany to study the actual use of drugs and their prices.
Looking at the report, we clearly understand the current status of "fellow sufferers pitying one another."
France, like Japan, sets official prices for drugs.
The overall price compared to the average of European Union member states is nearly forty-percent cheaper.
But the low price has resulted in the administration of high doses.
In Germany, pharmaceutical companies are allowed to set their own prices.
Both doctors and patients have never been cost-conscious and have heavily used drugs that are more expensive.
Even if the starting points are different in these countries, they are trapped in the same position of spiraling drug costs.
Japan is also experiencing the same steep rise in the cost of drugs.
If we look at the possibility of raising insurance premiums, in France already 19.6 percent of a worker's salary is contributed to health insurance and shared by employers and employees at a ratio of 1 to 2; in Germany, an average 13.4 percent contribution rate is shared equally by employers and employees.
Their insurance premiums are much higher than those of Japan.
How can we contain the rise in medical costs including the cost of drugs?
In France, the level of necessity in terms of treatment for each drug group are determined, and the rates to be paid by insurance are strictly laid out from the full amount to zero.
This measure is more thorough than in Japan, where the use of nutritional vitamin supplements has not been approved for insurance coverage.
Depending on the treatment guideline, for example, in the case of mild hypertension, the administration of anti-hypertension medication or excessive examinations is avoided.
If this is not upheld, then the doctors' remuneration for medical services will be cut.
Patients show the notes of the medical record of the physician in charge and claim insurance.
With the aim of preventing duplicate administrations, unnecessary prescriptions by physicians, and over-visitations, from 1996 the treatment guideline has been applied first to patients of age 70 or older, who have multiple illnesses and require long-term care.
Also in Germany various types of measures are underway.
There are three levels for every drug group, and patients are responsible for payments not covered by insurance.
Although drugs are freely priced, they are determined by reference prices that become the maximum price covered by insurance.
If that price is exceeded, the difference will be borne by the patient.
In addition to hospitals, the total budget for drugs used by private practitioners is also set; if the budget is exceeded the remuneration for these physicians is cut and/or it is borne by pharmaceutical companies.
Germany's approach yielded a "dramatic change in prescriptions" and led to a reduction in medical expenditure of over 10 percent in 1993 compared to the year before.
Drugs prescribed by physicians in one visit is an average of 1.7 drugs in Germany and 3.2 in France, where the administration of high doses had been a problem.
In Japan, it is 3.5 drugs per visit by private practitioners and 3.9 drugs by hospitals, where fewer prescriptions are expected, due to the separation of dispensing and prescribing functions.
Perhaps prescription bags almost overflowing with drugs contribute to a drug cost of over 7 trillion yen or 30 percent of the overall medical costs, or approximately 24 trillion yen per year, while this ratio is estimated to be just under 20 percent in Germany and France.
As dispensing and prescribing functions are separated in France and Germany, where physicians mainly sell their expertise and not drugs, we cannot just follow the reform methods of these countries.
But both countries are exhibiting a position that considers the quantity and quality of truly essential drugs.
We also want to make a fresh start from there.
It is well known that Japan's total amount of official development assistance (ODA) is one of the world's largest.
It is an enormous sum of 1.1061 trillion yen even in this year's budget.
However, from this amount the total amount of subsidies budgeted for non-profit and non-governmental organizations in developing countries is merely 3 billion yen.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls this "grass-roots grant aid" cooperation.
An amount of 760 million yen is separately allocated for NGOs in Japan for their activities in developing nations.
Although the budget for such organizations is increasing every year, it is still small, and it is difficult to say if their operations are not active enough.
What do NGOs in Japan need then?
A report by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) that was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lately, a collection of research results of NGO activities in five Western countries, is quite thought-provoking.
There are several recommendations in it.
NGOs in Japan do not have a long history.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to subsidize them in 1989.
On the other hand, NGOs in the West have developed alongside the long history of churches, foundations, labor unions and consumer movements.
That makes it easy for NGOs to build an equal and trusting relationship with the government.
The current situation of these five countries pointed out in the report shows that fundamentally there is a relationship of trust between the government and NGOs.
Therefore, NGOs play a major role in the ODA programs in their respective countries.
Germany allocates around 800 million marks for an NGO-related budget every year.
In the US, it reached 1.51 billion dollars in 1992.
Compared to Japan, this figure is too small.
When it comes to active NGO undertakings in Japan, you may be reminded of the volunteer activities associated with the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
If anything, ODA-based NGOs focus on everyday routine activities.
The point is that NGOs work together with people in developing countries to alleviate poverty and enhance their standards of living.
And they help them to become independent.
Japan's total amount of ODA is enormous, but it has been criticized repeatedly for its tendency to provide just public works and assistance in construction and civil engineering works.
Making ODA flexible will be critical in the future.
In that sense, NGOs will play an important role.
Just by looking at operations related to labor issues, we can see in 1993 the US Agency for International Development (USAID) spent as much as 2.58 million dollars on the Asian-American Free Labor Institute (AAFLI), an organization established by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO) in 1968.
Japan also has the Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF), which launched seminars for workers, education programs and medical assistance which is held in developing countries.
JILAF was given an ODA budget for the first time last year but it was no more than 20 million yen.
There are a lot of challenges to invigorating NGO activities.
What is also required is the streamlining of the overly complicated procedures to receive government spending and make it easy for NGOs to be incorporated.
NGOs in industrialized nations also have problems.
Large NGOs are prone to be an instrument and "subcontractor" of the government or a political party.
At the same time, I wonder if those organizations are too keen on promoting themselves?
Competition among NGOs to increase their budget while trying to stand in each other's way.
Spending their budget in a careless manner.
However, in spite of these kinds of misgivings, it is not right that the government hardly lends a helping hand to voluntary activities by the private sector.
The stimulation of NGO activities must begin with the government placing trust in the private sector.
The Fair Trade Commission will start sending a questionnaire concerning holding companies from the end of this month.
This marks the beginning of the study on the question of holding companies, to which the Cabinet decided that they would produce a conclusion within three years.
I would like to take this opportunity to request in-depth fact-finding studies and thorough discussions about holding companies.
Article 9 of the Antimonopoly Law prohibiting the establishment of holding companies is also known as "the other Article 9," in reference to the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.
This is, in some ways, a very important article as it has served as the framework of Japan's economy for fifty years after World War II.
Historically speaking, it was incorporated into the Anti-Monopoly Law as one of its major principles by the Japanese government at the insistence of the General Headquarters in an effort to promote economic democracy, upon the realization that the pre-war zaibatsu, or giant family-owned industrial and financial combines, had led Japan to war by exercising their enormous economic control.
According to the Anti-Monopoly Law, holding companies are defined as those companies which own shares of domestic companies and do business mainly by controlling business activities of such companies through their stockholdings, and they are also called pure holding companies.
The law does not prohibit a company engaging in business of its own from having 100%-owned subsidiaries, resulting in the existence of a number of so-called holding-operating companies.
This time it was the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and part of the business circle that strongly advocated that the ban on pure holding companies be lifted as part of deregulation.
The main point of their argument is: (1) Corporations must make flexible and prompt decisions in order to make progress in their restructuring.
In order for that to happen, pure holding companies serving as a strategic division are necessary; the ban is causing economic friction with Western countries where pure share holding companies are legalized; and so forth.
The Fair Trade Commission fiercely opposed the idea with the following reasons.
This debate came to involve ruling party members, and heated discussion continued until right before the "Five-Year Deregulation Action Program" was decided by the Cabinet, and resulted in no definite directions and a mere decision that a conclusion would be drawn within three years.
Looking at the whole process, one has the impression that the arguments on both sides do not mesh.
For example, those who advocate lifting the ban on holding companies insist that holding companies are effective tools for restructuring, but they do not have any convincing argument as to why holding-operating companies cannot sufficiently serve the same purpose.
In addition, their argument cannot be possibly characterized as based on detailed research on the kinds of activities holding companies overseas are actually performing.
On the other hand, it is difficult to understand what the advocates for the ban mean by the threat of keiretsu formation or corporate grouping.
There needs to be a clear discussion about the current state of the keiretsu in Japan and which types of control by pure holding companies would be a problem.
Those who support lifting the ban stress simply the globalization of economy and shifts in the industrial structure.
The defenders of the ban are stuck to the outdated lessons from the past and repeatedly emphasize the harm caused by the concentration of power.
The present status of this issue appears that it is not going anywhere with both camps failing to counter the other's points.
The philosophy of the Anti-Monopoly Law is that fair competition among businesses benefit consumers.
Ernest debates and discussions based on the original spirit of the law are desired.
Mr. Knock Yokoyama, Governor-Elect of Osaka, will enter the prefectural office on the 24th, which is ten days away from now, and carry the heavy responsibility of protecting the livelihood and health of 8.7 million people in Osaka Prefecture.
In contrast to the situation in Tokyo, there are no commanding issues where the new Governor would drastically break up the continuity of the prefectural administration, but Mr. Yokoyama's position on many pending issues has yet to be made clear.
Ten days is rather short, but it is hoped that he will give as much thought as possible to the issues and make his directions for the running of the prefecture clear in his first speech as Governor.
When the excitement and enthusiasm of non-affiliated voters for his win subsides, the demanding reality of practicing politics will be waiting for him.
There is no time for Mr. Yokoyama, who will start office without any party support, to enjoy and luxuriate in the taste of his sweeping victory in the election.
The issues facing him at this moment include the overall planning for the Kansai International Airport, the preparation for the APEC meeting, and regional disaster preparedness.
As for the airport which was opened with only one runway, the key issue at present is how the national government and the region shall share the enormous cost of constructing two additional runaways as set out in the master plan.
The Ministry of Transport's plan is to place this project as part of the national airport improvement project on the condition that the region provides a large chunk of the required funds.
Mr. Yokoyama originally stated: "It is the national government that should be responsible for the airport improvement," but later altered his position to: "The Osaka prefecture would consider sharing the cost, if the national government contributes the amount reasonably expected of them."
It is true that whether or not Japan will be the hub for air traffic in Asia is a national issue.
But it is also true that nothing will move forward by just demanding the national government to take its responsibility.
The Kansai Airport was originally conceived as a joint project between the national and local governments.
We need him to make a prompt decision after taking into account the background of the airport as well as the interests of the people of Osaka as considered by Mr. Yokoyama.
Concerning the APEC meeting to be held in Osaka this fall, Mr. Yokoyama is expected, as the governor of the hosting prefecture, to promote Osaka and the Kansai region to the world.
We also want him to present truly effective measures for disaster prevention as the governor "who understands the heart of the common people."
Not only these individual issues, but also the ethical dimension of Mr. Yokoyama's private and public life and the relationship with the prefectural assembly will also be important.
The source of Mr. Yokoyama's victory was the voters' anger at the under-the-table donation scandal by the present governor's support group.
He needs to realize that the ethical standard a governor is expected to maintain is much higher than that for private citizens or those in show business.
First of all, he should start with making the governor's entertainment expenses public as he promised in his election campaign, and move on to disclose his own private assets and liabilities.
We would like him to be prepared to lead the other prefectures by proposing a piece of legislation regarding political ethics, the first of its kind at the prefectural level.
Mr. Yokoyama has collected 1.62 million votes.
But once taking office in the prefectural government, he is all alone against the non-ruling parties in the assembly.
He speaks of his intention of "not taking part in closed negotiations at the assembly," which is naturally expected from the background of this election permeated with the criticism against the previous multi-party administration that was riddled with backroom dealings.
We can understand his statement that he will work with the prefectural assembly depending on the issue, and if a compromise is necessary, he will consult the people in the prefecture.
It is desired that each faction in the assembly work together for the sole purpose of "the interests of the prefectural residents" instead of causing meaningless confusion in the government.
It could cause misunderstanding, however, if Mr. Yokoyama publicly keeps talking about his use of mass media such as the television, his intention to report on any assembly member who interferes with the proceedings in the assembly to the public, and his hesitation to retire from show business even after taking office as Governor.
Some assembly members have already reacted by describing Mr. Yokoyama's statements as "a threat to use the media for personal attacks."
Instead of being complacent with his effective campaign strategy of "personal image is power," Mr. Yokoyama should recognize the necessity of low-key efforts in the administration.
He should be modest enough to wait for his decision of whether or not he should continue his show business until after he gains some experience in the governor's work.
The government and the Bank of Japan decided on their "Emergency Economic Countermeasures against the Rising Yen" on the 14th.
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said: "This decision incorporated every conceivable action as an immediate measure in order to deal with the appreciation of the yen," but the statement received little response in the exchange market on that day.
This is probably because the foreign exchange market already anticipated and incorporated the six measures that the government has come up as if there were a precipice in front and a wolf behind, as well as the Bank of Japan's decision to lower the official discount rate.
The preparation of the first revised budget of fiscal 1995, the biggest ticket item in the government's emergency measures, has been taken for granted even immediately after the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
The lowest official rate in history of one per cent was already predicted two weeks ago when the Bank of Japan made a move to induce lower short-term interest rates.
It is necessary to bring in a factor that will prompt a swift turnaround in market psychology in order to drastically change the direction of this rush toward a strong yen and weak dollar.
It can be said that the market saw this measure to be not effective enough in both its timing and its specifics.
Let us set aside the question of how the market evaluated it and give some thought to the meaning of this measure from the standpoint of the national economy.
Its objective is to protect the economy, which is on a path to a gradual recovery, from the danger of losing its momentum due to a strong yen.
It is a measure to prevent in advance a vicious cycle of deflation where prices and wages would spiral downward.
This, however, is an enormous challenge.
A comparison to a human illness could be made in which first aid has been provided to a patient who is about to suffer pneumonia due to a prolonged cold.
As an emergency treatment, the medication given is rather potent.
The official rate of one per cent will make the life of pensioners even more difficult.
The inclusion of new issues of deficit-covering bonds to finance the revised budget is also against the policy of maintaining fiscal health as much as possible.
Priority has been given to the objective of preventing an immediate loss of upward momentum in the economy even though it is known to have considerable side effects.
If you are a basically healthy person and happen to catch a cold, you can just take some primary treatment and rest in order to get better.
But the Japanese economy is disposed such that even if Japanese exports lose their price competitiveness due to a stronger yen, companies will do their best to restructure so as not to decrease exports.
In other words, we are at a point where fundamental changes in the system as well as immediate emergency measures are needed.
This recognition was probably the reason that the ruling party insisted on meeting its goal of reducing Japan's current account surplus.
We have always stressed the importance of structural improvements.
There is no way for Japan to put a stop to the rise of the yen single-handedly unless it reorganizes its industrial structure and changes its corporate behavior to step down from the position of the sole winner in world trade.
Reviewed from this perspective, the proposed set of measures includes some actions to bring in fundamental changes.
For example, they will shorten the "Five Year Plan for Deregulation" to three years instead of five as originally planned and reimburse the profit realized by the stronger yen.
This is probably going to take a long time, but we would strongly request that they definitely be carried out.
Another thing to do is to take more active roles in forums such as the International Monetary Conference.
If the Murayama government insists that Japan has implemented any and every measure that Japan can handle, it can certainly demand that the U.S., which along with Germany is allowing a weak dollar, defend its currency.
For the time being, the government should stress the necessity of political cooperation and come to an agreement to resolutely fight against speculators at the G7 meeting at the end of the month.
The police raided and searched facilities related to Aum Shinrikyo across the country at the same time.
The investigation involved over one hundred locations in twenty-five prefectures.
It can be called the biggest investigation Japan has ever known.
The charges include conspiracy to commit murder, violation of the Toxic and Poisonous Substance Control Law, confinement against one's will, and so forth.
One of the purposes of the investigation is probably to find out the real and entire picture of what is suspected of the sect, but the major aim must be the prevention of unexpected incidents since the organization may be hiding a large cache of hazardous materials and weapons.
Mr. Hiromu Nonaka, chairman of the National Public Security Commission hinted this by saying, "We want to do our best to uncover the complete facts surrounding the incidents and to prevent any future events in order to eliminate fear among the Japanese people."
Many have been shocked and scared by the news of the investigation of the sect's facilities, which has been going on since the end of last month.
There are production plants equipped with many tall stacks, where raw materials for deadly gases such as sarin have been discovered one after another.
Materials and equipment with which firearms may be manufactured have been discovered one after another as well.
The sect denies the allegations.
They contend that it is impossible to produce poisonous gases or manufacture weapons with the materials and equipment found at their facilities and that they have never manufactured such items.
However, anybody would imagine and fear an unforeseen disaster as such a volume of objects incongruent with a religious organization has been found with so many "possibilities" and "suspicions" mounting.
Moreover, it is not an ordinary level of fear.
Every day at subway stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, you hear the announcement: "If you see a suspicious object, do not touch it and report it immediately."
Trash cans have been removed and coin operated lockers are made unavailable for use.
Several JR trains were cancelled because of a report of suspicious substance when it was only sake leaking out of a broken bottle.
When there was a rumor about Aum that something would happen on the 15th, some shopping complexes at train stations decided to close on that day while some department stores arranged extra security.