My opinion of this week(606)：
If I were born again
It is the season of year-end parties. MPF (Murayama PC Friends) Club held a
year-end party on Wednesday at one of a Karaoke chain store in our town.
We enjoyed singing a lot of songs but felt tired singing at last.
Before the party was wrapped up, Hiroko Nakamura, a party organizer on that
day presented a new play participated by all attendants. She distributed cards
at random to all ten attendants. Various kinds of different questions were
written in the cards and each men and women must answer to that question
written in each card. Those questions are something like this, for an
example: "Would you intend to marry again with the same partner if you were
born again in this world?."
The card I drew from Nakamura san asked me a following question: "If you were
born again in this world, what would you want to be?". Yes, it was a very
interesting and good question to think over as far as I am concerned. I have
never thought that way as to my life I have spent and experienced so far.
I don't have much complaints as to my life in the past but it may be that
I just trying to say that way to myself although I have some regrets or
dissatisfaction about what I did in the past at each phases of my life.
When I had to say something in turn, I answered to the question in front of
the group as follows: " I wish I could be born again to myself , although
I had no basic complaints about what I had experienced so far in my life in
this world.
If I were born again in the same environments and circumstances , I would
choose somewhat different ways at each phase of my new life environments.
All kinds of different alternatives were provided again at each stage of my
life such as infant age, child age, teen age, college days, graduate school
days, employments in business, marriage, so and so forth. All sorts of new
different life would be possible although that would be better or worse
than the life I enjoyed so far.
I remember the life game which my son, my daughter and myself played like
crazy when they were child. It was the game to select one among several
alternatives at each phase of our life. After you reached to the goal
you ware asked to evaluate the whole process of your life in the game.
What kind of new life game I could enjoy, if I were born again?
2008/12/6
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(607):
Is employment adjustment easy going?
A number of news of mass media which are concerned with employment
adjustment measures taken by enterprises to meet serious business
recession are being reported every days recently. Many mass media
blamed enterprises for various kind of restructuring measures
insisting such employment adjustment is rather easy going.
Not only mass media, but also political parties and bureaucrats
started asking business firms to avoid firing short term temporal
employees. Such cases increased very much recently since the
happening of world wide financial crisis in September. They also
mentioned many of the illegal withdrawal of employment offers to
college students graduating next April and stop taking that actions.
There is no doubt about the actions to stop such illegal withdrawal
of employment offers against college students.
But I have some doubt about the tendencies of excessive reactions
by political parties, government authorities and mass media insisting
to stop business enterprises taking such employment adjustment measures
for short term irregular employees and even regular employees in some
cases.
Both ruling and opposition parties are now very eager to demand
business firms to avoid any of such restructuring actions, because
a general election will come up soon in early next year. Ministry
of Welfare and Labor which has seriously lost confidence by many
scandals and miss treatment on pension and medical insurance plans
is now acting like a white hat man as far as this employment
adjustment issues are concerned. Ministry of International Trade and
Industry called the meeting of the presidents of top business firms
of electronics industry and requested to avoid firing of short term
employees at this year end season. A number of mass media said in
their editorial that it is the basic responsibility of business firms
to keep employment and to avoid any easy employment adjustment measures
as much as possible.
From my point of views there are no business executives who intend
to take any of such easy going employment adjustment measures as
those blamers call it. Business executives take such restructuring
measure because it is definitely necessary.
A lot of Japaness business firms have survived today from such very
difficult economic conditions of bubbles days by taking many hard
actions.
Japanese companies used to follow life time employment system as their
basic business model. There were only fewer number of temporally part-time
employees and most employees worked at one company for life time. Life
time employment was said to be a very good business model.
The situation changed drastically when the bubble economy had been
broken up. A number of Japanese firms have survived by taking some
serious restructuring measures including firing not only temporary
workers but also regular employees as well. Governments led to take even
some measures for business firms to increase temporary workers rather than
regular employees preparing for business recession which may happen again
any time in a future.
Many economists, politicians, bureaucrats, and business people beloved
that Japanese life time employment system was over and was replaced by
US business model. I had some doubt about it and thought that life
time employment system might have come back again in one way or the
other some days.
Regardless the overall change of the mood for US model business, it
seems that there still exist strong believers of Japanese life time
employment model among Japanese business executives. Compared with US
business executives, Japanese business executives are still much more
careful about firing their workers especially as to regular employees.
I don't agree with any of such criticism of mass media saying to stop
some easy going adjustment of employment at each business.
Many are obliged to take such measures for there is no other ways to
save their business. I put more confidence on business people rather
than on politicians and critics as far as this employment adjustment
measures are concerned. Business executives take that action because
it is very necessary. Unless they take that action, the whole business
would be bankrupt.
It does not make sense to blame business to take employment adjustment
measures as we see today. Now is the time to re-evaluate overall
advantages of life time employment system in Japan compared with
efficient oriented, shareholders oriented business model in US. Business
are expected to exist not only for shareholders but for customers and
employees in even traditional model worldwide.
The matters should be discussed more widely and long term basis rather than
such short term issues.
2008/12/13
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(608)
Submitting resolution to dissolve the House of Representative is very valid
Bills on employment measures drafted by the opposition camp were approved by a
key House of Councilors committee Thursday. The four bills, proposed jointly
by the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto
(People's New Party), include measures for curbing cancellations of job offers and
emergency steps to prevent dispatched workers from being laid off. But the
bill will be rejected at the general assembly meeting of the House of
Representative to be held on December 22.
Aso Cabinet and his ruling parties said on the other hand that they would
submit the whole package of the second supplementary budget and the budget for
fiscal year of 2001, including some laws on employment measures in the ordinal
diet session starting January 5th, 2001. But under the current political
situation in the diet, it is very doubtful whether or not many of those
important draft of laws would be passed at the diet by the fiscal year end,
March 2001.
Prime Minister Aso is facing now various difficulties in both ruling fronts
and in his home ground Liberal Democratic Party. There exists some different
of opinions on some basic issues between LDP and Komeitou Party. Prime
Minister Aso are now openly criticized by several party members and his
leadership in ruling fronts is seriously in question. Popular votes announced
by several major Japanese news papers on Monday last week showed the supporting
rate for Aso Cabinet went down to 20% level compared with the same kind of
research made earlier. It must be a big shock against Aso administration to
see the result of the most recent research of popular vote made by Jiji Tushin
on December 19. The supporting rate went down further to 16.7% in Jijitushin
research.
Under this political situation, Democratic Party of Japan and other oppositions
parties has demanded Prime Minister Aso to dissolve the House of Representative
as soon as possible. It seems that Prime Minister Aso is not in position to
to do so, because his power to dissolve the diet is virtually controlled
now by ruling fronts at the moment. This is because if there were an election
right now, LDP would loose majority votes at the House of Representative and
would loose the administrative power.
So LDP is now trying to avoid the election as long as possible. DPJ, on the
other hand has requested Prime Minster Aso to dissolve the diet as soon as
possible to avoid further political vacuum. Ichrou Ozawa, Representative of
DPJ insisted that the only way to avoid further chaos in the political world
is to dissolve the diet and create new power of administration as soon as
possible. His assertion seems now to have been getting major support from
people of this country.
Even under this political situation, Prime Minister never seems to accept
any of such request to dissolve the diet. It is very possible he would stay
in the power until September next year when the term of lawmakers of the
House of Representative expires. Japanese political situation would get
worse if this happened.
According to the news I read this morning, Ichirou Ozawa of DPJ decided to
submit the resolution to dissolve the diet immediately to the House of
Representative sooner or later. There are some affirmative opinions on it
inside of DPJ and some negative opinions in inside of DPJ and other
opposition fronts such as Communist Party, Social Democratic Party and
People's new Party of Japan.
They said that was a kind of tricky move by itself. Why? I don't think it
tricky at all. There existed such resolution in the past in long diet
history, although any of such resolution were never approved by the diet in
the past.
Only the Prime Minister can dissolve the diet and it is very unfortunate fact
for Japanese politics at the moment. Regardless such very low supporting rate
for the cabinet, Prime Minister Aso would stay in the position until the term
of House of Representative members expires on September next year. It is
very serious situation for Japanese politics if that happened. The diet
as a legislative body should make their best to avoid such situation.
Although there exists, some strong oppositions on such resolution even among
opposition fronts, I believe the submission of the resolution by DPJ is
necessary course of action which will be understood and supported by people
under the present chaos of politics in this country.
2008/12/20
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(609):
Yoshimi Watanabe's rebellion is greatly to be appreciated
Regardless very low supporting rate and a number of criticisms raised even
inside of ruling parties, Prime Minister Tarou Aso tries to stay in the power
and he said he would never dissolve the House of Representative until his
cabinet can pass the fiscal year 2009 budget by the end of March. It is very
possible that he would stay in the position until fall 2009, when the term for
the House of Representative expires. It is very obvious for Aso Cabinet to
pass through such course action under the current political situation.
The urgent bill of employment to meet the current serious unemployment issues
submitted by three opposition parties was turned down at the House of
Representative on Tuesday. DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) submitted the
bill to dissolve the House of Representative immediately for general election
to vitalize the political deadlock at the moment. I believe that is a very
necessary course of action to solve the deadlock. But the resolution submitted
by DPJ was turned down by majority vote of ruling parties all though three
other opposition parties excluding DPJ voted for it at the end.
There was a big surprise though in the voting process at the House on
Wednesday. Yoshimi Watanabe, a former state minister in charge of
administrative reform and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, voted for
an opposition-sponsored resolution to dissolve the Diet for a general election
in apparent defiance of the ruling party. "A general election is a ritual of regeneration"
in politics, Watanabe said after the diet session. "I have been saying this, so I would
have submitted the bill by myself before the opposition did, if only one person was
allowed to do that."
Later in the day, LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda reprimanded Watanabe.
Such a reprimand issued by a secretary general is the second-least serious
punishment after a "recommendation to comply with party rules" and does not
deprive a receiver of his or her post or party membership. It is obvious that
LDP executives tried to avoid some more serious influence and concerns
expected from Watanabe's rebellion.
Although it is only one vote of the majority, the influence of that action seems
to be very great. The submission of such resolution made only by DPJ was
justified by itself in relation with this. The influence against some anti-Aso
LDP party members who have various complaints and discontents concerning
Aso's leadership and policies also seems to be very big indeed. Some more
lawmakers of ruling fronts may vote against a key bill such as cash benefit
included in the secondary budget plan to activate economy. The plan is very
notorious among popular research and even among some members of LDP. But they
cannot withdraw the plan for it is a strong assertion of Koumeitou Party.
Yoshimi Watanabe' rebellion at this time is very meaningful in this respect
from various points of views. His action at this time, will get a great
appreciation in Japanese history of politics in the year to come.
It is my sincere hope that there will be a greater move for early general
election in Japanese politics from now on.
2008/12/27
Tadashi HAYASE
English Home Page
Japanese Home Page