My opinion of this week(658)
Municipal council members should work as volunteer
Municipalities all over Japan have been asked by Ministries of Internal
Affairs to abandon or to cut benefits level of pension plan for municipal
council members for financial difficulties at each municipalities. Japan
Municipal Council Chairman Association and Association of Municipal Council
Members Association reported to Ministry of Internal Affairs to continue
the pension plan for council members by increasing burden share of municipal
offices. It means that municipalities all over Japan decided to increase the
burden of tax to their citizens. Do they really get agreement on such
important matter from their citizens?
Although there are no explanation on the level of such pension plan for
municipal council members, such pension plan has been strictly criticized
by citizens for its privileged nature. Participants for the pension plan
can get rather high pension by comparatively short periods of time payment
of charges not like National Pension Plan. Another privilege is that
participants can receive the pension in addition to National Pension Plan
and/or Welfare Pension Plan for private firms or organization.
Because of such privileged nature, there existed a lot of argument to
abolish the plan itself and Ministry of Internal Affairs has worked against
municipalities to abolish the plan or to reduce benefit level significantly
so that municipal offices can get understanding of their citizens.
The suggestion of Chairman Association of Municipal Council to double
the burden of municipal offices to continue the pension plan is really
astonishing and accusable in nature. Today all sort of administrative
reforms and reforms of municipal councils are being discussed all over
the countries to improve serious finanancial difficulties at national
level and local level. There are a lot of arguments to cut number of
council members and to cut remuneration of council members to some extent
to improve financial difficulties at each municipal offices.
There even exists an argument to make municipal councils members volunteers
without any remuneration from the present high paid occupational council
members. Takashi Kawamura, Mayor of Nagoya City, for example, has advocated
this idea for many years since he was a diet member at the House of
Representative. He was elected to Mayor of Nagoya City in April this year
and started to submit a municipal plan to make council members to work as
volunteers in the long run. There is no room for council members to agree
with such drastic ideas at the moment and his suggestion has been rejected
by city council so far.
Such idea of volunteers city councils are not unique at all at any other
advanced democratic countries in the world. We can find many of such
instance in US and England.
In Japan, since the birth of Hatoyama Cabinet in September, decentralization
has been one big theme to change political scheme of this country. In order
to realize the decentralization, admistrative reform both at national and
local level is must to solve financial difficulties. What is a need of
municipal councils in such total scheme? Are so many council members as
occupational level really necessary as they are today? Isn't it alright
for council members to work as volunteers as in other foreign countries?
The big argument has just started now. I am anxious to see what will happen
at Nogoya City in next few years on this critical theme.
2009/12/5
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(659):
Question on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
The award presentation cermony for U.S. President Barak Obama who got Nobel
Peace Prize 2019 was conducted in Oslo on December 10th. According to the
latest pewspaper poll, however, 66% of people said that Obama does not deserve
the award. Only 26% answered he deserved the prize. CNN TV report futher
released their research saying only 19% of people believed that he did some
"award-worthy job" so far.
President Obama himself and White House officials seem to be aware of such
severe public opinion and they did not mention much about the award itself so
far since the award has been announced. Mass media reported that the President
Obama went out to Oslo calmly just like a secret trip on 10th of December.
His award speech at Oslo was also filled with such calm atomosphere. When it
comes to the abolishion of nuclear weopons, Obama just declared that U.S. and
the world should realize to do so in coming years. There are no results yet at
all. In addtion, the United States is now in the midst of wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq and President Barak Obama is the top leader of the military force of
the United States. He has just announced a reinforcement of 30 thousands
soldiers to Afgan to improve the difficult situation there. He devoted the
time to explain what's going on concering military operations at Afghanistan.
He is the man who is directly involved with the war at Afghanistan regardless
any reasons. He said use of force in Afganistan is not only essential but also
justified for moral point of views. He continued to insist that the war was not
the one started by U.S. but it was started in accordance with international
agreement made at United Nations. The logic will be accepted by his country
and Western bloc but I don't know whether or not such logic are now being
accepted by Islamic world. That is especially true with the enemies that
Western countries fight with.
The President Obama answered to criticism that he had been awarded for Nobel
Peace Prize without any fruits yet. He said: "My job on the world stage has
just begun, and my attainment compared with jobs realized by past giants is
almost none yet. I admit the fact that there are lot more men and women who
deserve to receive the award in this world.
Needless ot listen to hear Obamas speech, there are lots of people not only
in U.S. but also in all world who have some big doubt on the fact that the
award was given to Obama. Many Islamic countries especially criticize severely
about it. A number of people in the world have some very basic question. Why
was the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Obama at this time? What is the criteria
to award the prize?
Let's put this topic aside at a moment. A group now working on the problem of
global warming in America expressed their serious expectation that their
President Barak Obama will play an important role of leadership at COP15 at
Copenhagen which is going on at the moment. Obama is going to attend the
conference at the final stage of the meeting where all participating countries
should agree with the reduction level of CO2 gas. There is a serious
disagreement on emmision gas reduction between developed countries and
developing countries. The executives of this group expressed their expectation
that Obama as the President of the United States will take an initiative to
to lead the conference so that it will end up with a great succusess to attain
the overall purpose to save our globe. The executive commented that Obama will
really considered to deserve Nobel Peach Prize if he succeed to the conference
that way.
The same thing can be said with Prime Minister Hatoyama. While he is now in
big troubles with various dometic political matters, his initiative leadership
in the last stage of COP15 conference in next week is strongly requested by
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of Uited Nation. Prime Minister Hatoyama made
a very constructive speech on 25% reduction of emmision gas by2020 at UN
General Assembly Meeting in September.
If Hatoyama showed a big leadership in the conference to lead to substantial
agreement by whole countries, he will be the person who will be nominated to
Nobel Peace Prize in next year.
2009/12/12
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(660):
The globe is going to die
Eleven days have passed since the start of COP15, UN climate summit to
stop global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emission by year 2020.
The last stage of the summit will start soon by the participation of
100 top leaders of developed and developing countries including U.S. President
Barak Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Russian President Demitry Medvedev,
Japanese Premier Yukio Hatoyama and so forth. But no virtual agreement has
been attained yet to reduce CO2 gas by 2020. It was reported that the Denmark
the host country of summit had given up to show any concrete agreement to
reduce CO2 gas participated by all countries in this COP15 meeting.
Upon the arrival at Copenhagen, Premier Yukio Hatoyama was asked by Ban
Ki-moon, Secretary General of UN to retain Japan's commitment to reduce
emission by 25% by 2020 announced at UN General Assembly Meeting in September.
Ban Ki-moon expected Japan to take initiative to break deadlocked summit.
Premier Hatoyama did not agree with Ban Ki-moon's request and stated that
Japan would commit that challenging target only when all other developed
and developing countries would join to commit to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions agreed in COP15.
Fundamental differences over the amount by which countries should reduce
their emissions remain undecided. While EU and Japan showed their target
rather concretely, US , the largest greenhouse gas emission country, showed
only very conservative number which is criticized by the group of developing
countries.
The biggest trouble maker seems to be china.While China is the second
largest gas emission country next to US, they have not shown any virtual
numbers to cut emission. China worked with the group of developing
countries and insisted that developed countries should be responsible for
reducing emissions for the warming of glove had been brought up by economic
growth of developed countries. In addition, China and the group of developing
countries request that significant financial aids are necessary for developing
countries to participate to reduce greenhouse gas emission target.
EU,US, and Japan agreed to provide some significant financial aids to
poor and developing countries to join total emission reduction plan. But
they refused to set a certain emission target even for developing countries.
I really don't understand the stance of China first of all. As a second larges
CO2 gas emission county and as a fast developing countries, China is responsible
to set a clear cut emission target by 2020. All developing countries under the
financial and technical assistance from developed countries should participate
in the total emission plan although they are limited in number.
I don't understand their assertion that developed countries are fully
responsible for all global warming today. Yes, no one deny that fact. But
developing countries, especially such big economic power such as China, India,
Brazil and so forth are also responsible for today's global warming without
any doubt. Economic growth of those countries has been attained by learning
growth model of developed countries. Do they just get fruits of such growth
model without paying any cost? What a selfish idea it is!
hbelieve that EU and Japan are doing well in COP15. All world may be
disappointed with the conduct of US as far as this gas emission issues
are concerned. Their emission reduction target is too conservative in the
light of the fact that they emit 21% of total CO2 of the globe today.
The world is largely disappointed with the stance of China ,the second
largest missioner in the globe. I think this country is too selfish
as a matter of fact.
The world is anxious to watch the outcome of top leaders' meeting of
COP15. It is very possible that the summit will end without any fruits.
The globe is making another step for the death possibly in hundred and
two hundred years.
2009/12/19
Tadashi Hayase
My opinion of this week(661):
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama should step down
Following the indictment of his two former secretaries, Prime Minister Yukio
held a press conference on Thursday to explain about his political fund
scandal on Thursday. While refusing to quit over the scandal, the prime
minister said he is ready to pay the gift taxes, amounting 600 million yen
including arrears.
The press conference exceeded almost 70 minutes. I only watch some part
of TV live show for I felt that question by reporters and answer by prime
minister was quite useless and are not meaningful at all. Most reporters
just repeated to ask if prime minister intended to resign from his position
because of his serious scandal caused by his two secretaries. Prime minister
Yukio Hatoyama, on the other hand just repeated the answer over and over
again. He admitted all facts indicted by the prosecutor and apologized for
what happened. But prime minister said he would stay in his position for
he believed that it is his responsibility to conduct his leadership as prime
minister to tackle a lot of important political issues piled up after the
change of power happened hundred days ago.
This political fund scandal happened soon after Yukio Hatoyama was elected
to Representative of Democratic Party of Japan succeeding Ichiro Ozawa before
general election in August. The case was not deemed to be so serious for
all money reported to be contributed by disguised name came from Yukio
Hatoyama in person. The process is surely against the Political Funds
Control Law , but there is no wrongfulness in itself.
The change of power happened on August 30th and Hatoyama cabinet started
in September. The cabinet kept a kind of high popular rate for the first two
months regardless the existence of this scandal. Opposition fronts attacked
prime minister almost everyday during temporary diet session but popular
rate of the cabinet was not quite so bad. The scandal was not deemed to be so
serious and I personally thought the same way.
But there occurred some big change happened when both prime minister Yukio
Hatoyama and his younger brother Kunio Hatoyama received 15 million yen
every months from their mother in the past 9 years or so. They have received
such big money without paying any gift tax. The gift was the source of fund
for such big contribution as political fund.
Since the disclosure of this fact, I completely changed my idea about this
political fund scandal. I lost my confidence against the conduct of prime
minister Yukio Hatoyama and general public as well. The popular rate against
Hatoyama cabinet dropped seriously even to less than 50% in recent media
research. There exists several reasons for it but this political fund issues
are obviously a major one, I think.
Prime minister Yukio Hatoyama repeatedly explained he did not know the fact
that such big money had been paid by his mother for such a long time in past
years. But I am sure that he obviously tell a lie. Never happen! All people
who are rich or not know about the basic rule of gift tax. When it comes to
my experience, I faced several occasions to pay gift tax to receive some
only small amount of money from my parents in low compared with such big
money of Hatoyama family.
Provided that he did not really know the fact, I don't think he is free from
such an explanation. He is the top leader of the government. He is the top
leader of the country whose primary responsibility is to control the country
by using all sort of taxes collected from people, business firms and so forth.
Some people and business are fined or punished if they fail to pay taxes
properly.
I think prime minister Yukio Hatoyama should step down now from his position.
There is no excuses and justification admitted from my point of views as stated above.
2009/12/26
Tadashi HAYASE
English Home Page
Japanese Home Page