My opinion of this week(376)

Our first sightseeing trip abroad

From June 20th to 27th, my wife and I went out abroad to make 
sightseeing. As a business people, I had gone various places 
abroad to do business and had some chances to make sightseeing at
places I visited. However, this was our first sightseeing trip 
abroad participating in group tour prepared by a travel agency.   

At the beginning of June, we talked about the sightseeing in Hokkaido.
We looked into several brochures provided by travel agencies. My wife
happened to find one brochure among several brochures on Hokaido. The 
title of the brochure says "Visit to Lake District and Garden of Peter
Rabbit in England ". 

We have never been  abroad for sightseeing  for my wife hates to
take airplane. But at this time, she insisted to go to this tour by
all means. I had no objection at all.  

I visited London and other cities before for business. But this was my
first experience to visit several good sightseeing spots in Britain.

After making somewhat careful preparation, we started making trip on
Sunday, June 20th. Narita was very crowded with many sightseeing
travelers regardless the fact that it is not summer vacation season
yet. Those travelers seem to be experienced travelers for sightseeing 
avoiding very busy summer vacation time. 

This was our first experience to make trip in a tour group. There must
be some advantages and disadvantages to make a trip in a tour group.
We have got various experience about them during the trip. I don't
write about them at this time in detail, but we generally satisfied 
with the total plan and services provided by this tour, although there
were some troubles and happenings which were not expected beforehand. 
 
On the way back to Narita, we were asked to answer to some 
questionnaires. One of the question was on the time schedule.
I checked the answer among several answer selection: "The schedule
is too tight and should go more slowly" 

But We know that that is not possible. How can you cover so many
area and cities just in a week ?  We virtually have no complain 
about it.

We were really impressed with many beautiful sites of England and
Scotland. We were especially impressed with broad and green fields
of this country wherever we go. The highlight was, of course, the
most beautiful sight of  Lake District.

I hope you will read some of my reports on this trip to be put
on my homepage one by one from now on. I would appreciate if you
could provide some comments on them.

It was a wonderful trip as a matter of fact. But I would like to 
add one thing. I was observing so many beautiful sites, histories,
life and cultures of people of this great country during the trip
together with people who were with us during the trip. We became 
friends each other with some of them during the trip. I was surprised
to hear that 25% of total foreign visitors to Lake District is 
Japanese. 

I was interested in seeing how they reacted about what they saw
and heard in this trip. I would write more about it in the future.

2004/7/3
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(377)

Reunion for political show 

Hitomi Soga has finally attained the reunion of her families at Jakarta,
Indonesia. Many TV stations were reporting the scene of their reunion for
long hours last evening. I was watching it with great interest in many
ways. I thought myself that reunion itself was good for Soga families
regardless the fact that there still exists a lot of problems for them to
live together in Japan. All people of Japan must have had the same thought
on this issue.
  
But while I was watching those TV reports, I began to have some doubts
about this issue. They are not about the behavior of Soga families but 
about the response and stance of Japanese Government and  Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs as well as of those of other counterpart i.e. authorities
of North Korea. I also have some doubts about basic stance of mass media
as how they report this issue to general public in Japan.

The first question is why the Government select this time to realize the
reunion of Soga families. There were some assumption that Prime Minister
Koizumi selected this time so that he could  provide a good news for
the coming election of House of Councils to be held on this Sunday. The
ruling parties are said in unfavorable position at the moment. Koizumi
denied it saying "the decision concerning reunion has nothing to do with
such suspicion." 

But it seems to be very obvious that the Government is trying to use this
event for some political purpose, regardless it concerned with the 
election at this time or not.

Since the reunion was announced, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been
worked very quickly and efficiently getting very good corporation
from North Korea. Japanese Government decided to send a chartered plane
to North Korea to take  Soga's families to Jakarta. They prepared a sweet
room which cost 180,000 yen per day for the family. I am surprised with 
that news. But I thought that Soga family deserved that treatment 
because of their long and difficult suffer they got due to 
misadministration of our Government in the past . We all Japanese are 
totally responsible for that misadministration.  

So the question is not the cost or any special treatment that Soga 
family will get from our Government. I have had a great suspicion about
basic stance of Government on this issue. 

There still exits a lot of pending issues between Japan and North
Korea including other cases of abduction remain unsolved. What kind
of answer have Japanese Government got so far from North Korea on
that issue?

People must have been surprised with the scene at Pyonan Airport
just before Soga families were about to leave for Jakarta. Two 
daughters put nice looking accessories dressed very elegantly. The
husband also dressed a very nice suit. He was smoking a famous 
American brand cigarette. He offered one to a man who sat beside him
as if he had to do it. And all put the red badges on their chest. 
All those were arranged by North Korea. This is the first time that
such scene  at the airport has been opened and released for Japanese 
TV for free use. It is obvious that North Korea utilized this reunion
from their political point of view.

Although their purpose and intention are different each others,
those arrangement made by two governments shared the common political
purpose. The reunion is one good political show sponsored by two 
sides.
 
I would like to repeat to say that Soga family is not to be blamed
at all for any of their special favor they got. But I think all
Japanese mass media should report more of the facts and unfair
political purpose and intention of this process rendered by two
governments.

2004/7/10
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week:(378)

The real problem about Japanse professional baseball

I liked baseball very much and was a fan of Nankai Hawks when I was
living in Sakai, Osaka. Since I moved to Murayama, Tokyo, I became
a fan of Seibu Lions. I enjoyed very much their games at ball parks or
by TV. I eagerly watched many of games in penant race, and became
crazy about games in Japan series, especially when the opponent of
the series was Yomiuri Giants. In many occasions, I was disspointed 
with the result. I was enteirely  satisfied when my fovorite teams 
became champion after severe battle with Yomiuri Giants. 

But in the past ten years, I stopped watching any of Japanse professional
baseball games including games of Seibu Lions. I lived in Takamatu,
Kagawa in the last 10 years of my business career. I could not watch
many of Lions games even through TV. That is one reason for it. 
Another reason is that many of my favorite player like Kiyohara, Kudo
of Lions  and other playere of Pasific League are now playing in Giants. 
Many strong teams of both leagues lost their power because they lost
some main players by free agent system. Many star players moved to 
Giants by this system.

There is a draft sytem to avoid monopoly that such team like Giants 
get all star players every year. That's fine. But free agent system
which started later paralysed the validity of draft system.

So I was not quite surprised with the news that Japanese professional
baseball teams will be integrated into one league consisting by ten
teams. In addition to mereger of Kintetu Baffolows and Orix Blue Waves
two other teams in Passific league will be mergered. This will happen
sooner or later. as far as I have been observing recent trend of 
Japanese professional baseball world. 

Players Association expressed their disagreement with such move. But 
I don't have any sympathy for them at all. Players themselves are 
responsible for it. I also felt it very foolish when the management
of Kintetu Baffollow immediately turned down the offer to buy the 
team  by Livedoor,an american net venture business firm without 
making any study on it.
 
How baseball business does differ from any other business in the market?
This is just a service business to sell the products or service like
others. The products which is baseball in this case will keep atracting
consumers through some severe competition in the open market place. 

Contrary to such free competitio principle, many star players join to 
Giants after playing franchised teams both in Central and Passific 
leagues. Giants can collect many of those players by money and many 
star players tend to make such selection. Then there exists  monopoly
in many respect. The market principle is that monopoly situation never 
creat vitalization of total market.

A couple of days ago, I was watching the game between All Japan and Cuba
by TV. All Japan is supposed to be very strong because that is composed 
of two players selected from 12 professional team in two leagues. What I
had concerned with the word often reffered by a reporter. He often used 
the word,  "the dream team of Nagashima Japan." Yes, that may be so. 
But manager Nagashima was not in the bench on that day because he is
still in rest at his home. The team had been managed by Nakahata, 
a head coach of the team. And no body knows when Nagashima will come back.

I never intended to beat up greaness of Nashima in his past record. But
I just wonder what is this all about? Incidentally, All Japan lost the
game 5-6 against Cuba national team.

2004/7/17
Tadashi HAYASE

My opinion of this week(379):

Nothing is hard to a willing mind

Since we have such hot days lately , and now is in a mood of summer
vacation, I am not providing one English proverb at English ML in a day
recently that I have continued so far. I will continue providing proverbs
until at least up to one hundred.

There are thousands of such proverbs, and it is not difficult work  at
all to select a proverb itself. Showing Japanese version for the English
proverb is not any difficult work at all as well. But it is a kind of 
difficult to show a certain illustration although it is rather simple
by itself. But by doing this, you can compare some difference in 
meaning and nuance between two proverbs, although they have basically
same meaning. 
 
At the beginning of this week, I put one proverb, Japanese version
of which is "Sukikoso monono jyouzunare". That literally means:"You
will be versed in it, if you like it." English version of the proverb
is : "Nothing is hard to a willing mind." Compared with Japanese and
English proverbs, I think English expression is more concrete and
clear by using the word a willing mind. It is not just the matter of
like or dislike but it is a matter of a will which is concerned. 

There is another expression of the same kind. That is in Japanese:
"Seishinittou nanigotoka narazaran." This literally means:"You
can accomplish anything, if you have can-do spirit." Yes, that's right.
English version for this is :"Where there is a will, there is a way."
Again it seems that English proverb is more concrete to explain 
the same principle. You have to find a way first to accomplish your
objectives. You can accomplish your target after following some 
concrete ways and steps with strong mind, of course. Strong can-do
sprit is fine, but some concrete ways to the goal  must be found
first.

Well, I am just talking about how interesting and informative to
learn proverbs both in English and Japanese. Nothing more.  May be,
it is one other meaning learning foreign language including English.

2004/7/24
Tadashi HAYASE

Those who make no reflection

The Ordinary Diet Session is starting soon after the  last House of Council
Election. Regardless the fact that opposition parties demanded a longer 
session, the session has been set for only eight days by ruling parties.
They insisted that eight day's session is good enough to organize House
of Council which is originally the purpose of the session at this time. 

However, the intention of ruling front is very obvious, They wanted to
make the session as short as possible so that they can avoid many of 
troublesome issues such as unlawful process of 200 million yen contribution
by Japan Dentist Association, reassessment of Pension Law passed at last
diet session, dispatching multi-national military forces to Iraq and
so forth. When it comes to the Pension Law,almost 70% of people think
the law should be discarded and reconsidered again from the beginning. 
The ruling parties try to neglect this move.

The fact that Liberal Democratic Party could not gain more seats than
those of Democratic Party is very obvious evidence of nonconfidence against
Koizumi administration. But Prime Minister Koizume acts very allogant
without expressing any reflection on the defeat of the election. He said
he surely got confidence of people by gaining majority vote by two ruling
parties i.e.Liberal Democratic Party and Komei Party. Both Abe, Party 
Secretary and Aoki, Secretary of House of Council Diet Member Association
did not resign from their position neglecting their first public promise to
resign if they could not win in the election.

Koizume will soon make a new cabinet. Koizumi will surprise us again by
appointing some peculiar  members of the cabinet. However, at this time,
he said he would select candidates from those who support his plan to
privatize postal services that is starting from now. People are surprised
to hear that this will be the basic condition to be selected as a cabinet
member.

His political stance is very allegiant and haughty as we see it. It seems
that he does not care so much about popular vote any more as he was in the
past.  He can remain in the position for another two years regardless any 
popular vote at the present.

We see many exciting and interesting news about Presidential election in
US through TV and newspapers. I wish we could see many more active political
game as such also in Japan

2004/7/31
Tadashi HAYASE