My opinion of this week(266):

Lack of basic management ability 

>Total Japanese banking business is in big confusion now due to Mizuho
>group's ATM malfunctioning. All banks are involved with this trouble
>because their transactions are related each others in many ways. It
>possible that this troubles will extended to banking business worldwide.
>takubo

March crisis has been told many times as to Japanese banks. The theme
was, of course, mainly on a huge bad debt and their financial difficulties.
Not many people have ever expected that such crisis and confusion like 
this happened. It was very basic issues of computer system of ATM.

I watched some TV news show at the beginning of this year. They made several
questionnaires to foreign visitors on Japanese new year days. How did they
spend their new years days in Japan? What do they think about them? 

Some mentioned they had impressed with quietness of the holidays. Some
mentioned they enjoyed eating good new year cooking. But some complained
the fact that they could not use ATMs of Japanese banks during first
three days of new year. That's right. Many Japanese people always have some 
inconvinienence not only on new year days but also on every Sundays throughout
a year.

ATMs are to be opened for 24 hours any times, any days according to my
opinion. That is why they are there. And they can be used anywhere in
the country. All Japanese banks should provide such basic services in
this internet day. But they are not providing such services right now.

They lack the sense to provide even such very basic service to their
customers. Such very basic mistakes by Mizuho bank groups have happened
under such circumstance. I was  also surprised to hear that there were
some disputes between three system groups of old banks concerning 
the integration of total system. 

The top management people appeared at press conference and explained
what they could do about the troubles. I gave a wry myself when I heard
how top management people handled troubles at this time. The president
of the group said:"We will work hard to solve the troubles all through 
weekend rely on human hands."  

That tells the fact that how they poorly handle office works. It is said
their personnel cost is too high compared with that of any industries.
They basically lack the ability to cut more operating expenses in many
ways. The bank tax by Tokyo Metropolitan Government which is taxed on
gross profit rather than on operating profit is quite reasonable in this
sense, although that was  judged illegal in the district court of Tokyo
recently.   

Why is it necessary to help such banks by putting public fund? Fortunately
or unfortunately, there will be many argument about the need of Post
Offices, especially on perfect ATM network of Post Offices of Japan. They
can be used throughout the country and have now networks with many securities
firms and foreign banks.

2002/4/13
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(267)

Do right, clean, beautiful

I watched Houdou 2002 of Fuji TV news show  Sunday morning of last week.
There were two guests speaker in that program. One was Professor Noe of
Nagoya University who won Nobel Prize of Chemical in this year. The other
was Mr.Niwa, President of C Itoh. No explanation may be necessary about
Mr. Noe. President Niwa is a great executive who have attained a miracle
recovery of C Ito Comapany in very short period of time since he became
the president of the firm. The firm was in a serious condition before.

An ankerman of the show asked President Niwa how he could attain such  
big success in such a short period of time. Mr. Niwa answered and said:
"I have not done anything special and difficult at all. All what I asked
all employees to do is that they should perform every jobs in right, 
clean and beautifull manner. I was impressed with the scean that President
Niwa talked the same thing to new employees who just joined the firm 
in April. I just wonder how those young employees could understand what
President Niwa meant to say.

Why are many of Japanese business firms and the country itself in very
bad conditions right now? According to President Niwa, that is because
many of Japanese firms and the country as a whole have not done things
rightly, cleanly, and beautifully in the past years.  

The ankerman asked another question to President Niwa and quote: "What
do you think about so many scandals are happening in business and 
politics these days? " 

President Niwa answered. "That is a good phenomenon itself. That is a
process that Japanese society and Japanese business are becoming more 
and more transparent destroying their closedness." I quite agreed with
what he mentioned.

He was quite right. What are happening these days in Japanese society
are good tendencies. Whether or not they are so called structual reforms
often referred by Prime Minister Koizumi, it is a evidence of structural
reform itself which should be attained in Japanese society.

2002/4/20
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(268):

Evaluation of current status of reform

An act of new postal business which Prime Minister Koizumi earnestly 
wishes to realize has been presented by the Government for diet 
deliberation without prior approval from Liberal Democratic Party and
other two coalition parties. Cabinet Secretary Fukuda asked New Komei Party
and Conservative Party to cooperate to materialize the bill saying the
process at this time is just an exceptional case which will not happen
again. Many lawmakers of LDP, especially of those who are related with
postal business and even of opposition parties are against the bill. 

Some private firms which are supposed to participate in new postal business
expressed the concern about restrictions which would be imposed for new 
comers. The bill will also hardly be materialized in this respect.

Prime Minister expressed his strong determination to pass the bill through
the diet. He said :" The bill must be materialized as a law. If not, there 
is only two alternatives. The LDP will break up Koizumi Cabinet or Koizumi
Cabinet will break up the LDP."

Regardless his aggressive comment, the bill will not pass the congress as
far as the present political situation is concerned.

The another bill to abolish Japan National Oil Corporation is also facing a
lot of difficulty to pass through the diet due to opposition both from 
ruling and opposition parties again. Then Koizumi Cabinet will come to 
standstill here also. It is possible that dissolution of House of 
Representative  will be made sooner or later.

Prime Minister Koizume has repeatedly expressed an affirmative attitude
to materialize those bills. But the contents of bill themselves include
a lot of compromise with group of lawmakers and various interest groups who
are against those bills. 

What's wrong with Koizumi's recognition is that he underestimate the necessity
to reform the LDP and bureaucratic organizations themselves. Many critics
pointed out the fact that he could never attain any reform without leaving from the LDP. 

When the dissolution of the diet happens, there will be a great confusion.
It is necessary for all political parties to wrap up what is the present status
of structural reforms and what they should do now regardless whether or not
another Koizumi Cabinet will follow after general election.

There is no criterion of judgment how people will choose  candidates and 
political parties for appropriate selection. It is absolutely necessary for
all political parties to reexamine their policies and to show about what they
are going to do structural reform about this country.

2002/4/27
Tadashi HAYASE