My opinion of this week(476):
HTML
I wrote about The 8th Ranzan PC Workshop held at NWEC last week. One of
main theme of the workshop was to learn about the recent best seller book
titled "Evolution of Web society". All participants including myself did
not quite understand the contents of lecture made by Akira Watanabe
regardless his through and kind explanation. However, he made a very
interesting comment at the start of his presentation.
Akira Watanabe said that he would not pick up such a difficult topic like
this if the participants were some body else other than members of MPC
(Murayama PC club) . He continued to say that computer literacy of members
of MPC is so high that they can understand what he tried to explain about the
contents of the book.
I agreed with him. As I already wrote last week, I thought at first that
people would not understand any of such abstract explanation about Web society
from any macro point of view. But I thought that people would understand the
contents if they were explained under more of micro term as how they are
involved with PC and internet in their daily life.
Their PC literacy is surely high in the sense that many of them are already
starting to make homepage or to write articles at BOG of their own. In
addition, many of them are now much interested in using JAVA applet to so
that they can enjoy to start rain, snow, thunder, etc. in their pictures
taken by digital cameras by themselves.
The reason why they can do these rather high level works although they do
not understand the contents of JAVA language itself. They can enjoy using JAVA
applet because they can handle HTML itself to some extent.
According to my belief, HTML is to be learned in one way or the other to make
homepage itself or to utilize any other Web tools such as mail, BBS, BLOG and
so on. Based on this thought , there were many opportunities to learn about
fundamentals about HTML in the past Ranzan seminars and several regular PC
club sessions in the past four years.
I believe that HTML is a kind of must to understand the contents and whole
structure of Web society especially as to how many of related sites are
linked together as Web networks.
I am now teaching PC at an elementary school and at a junior high school as
a volunteer. I spent a lot of time teaching HTML especially at a junior high
school last year. The teacher who is responsible for computer class was quite
interested in my HTML lessons made in last year and asked me strongly to
concentrate to teach more on HTML rather than many other topics about PC and
internet in the classes starting May this year.
I was very glad to hear his thought on how his PC class are to be taught in
this year. Two of us agreed that HTML is one of the key word to improve
computer literacy of students in the total contemporary PC education at school.
2006/6/3
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(477):
Insider stock trading
President Murakami of Murakami Fund Corporation was arrested early this week
by Tokyo Prosecutor Office for illegal insider stock trading. President
Murakami bought a large volume of stock of Nippon Broadcasting Corporation
in relation to Live plan to get management right of the company.
Both Murakami Fund and Live worked together to buy stocks of the
company and Murakami Fund earned a huge profit later on by selling those
stocks. The Tokyo Prosecutor Office decided that those transaction is
an insider stock trading which is prohibited by Stock Exchange Law in Japan.
President Murakami had held a press conference before he was arrested by
the Prosecutor Office. He admitted the charge against him and apologized
his mistakes for what he had done. This was welcomed by critics and mass
media for his graceful attitude. But many other media did not accepted
it so frankly. Murakami might have wanted to appeal the fact that he had
no intention at all to violate the law and he happened to commit the case
by a kind accident.
He mentioned in the press conference. "I am a pro among pros in the
stock dealing business. And I am shameful for making such a basic
mistake as illegal insider stock trading. Today I decided to retire
from this business for making such a silly mistake like this."
This had been accepted as a kind of good and humble attitude in a way
for all people who watched TV. I got the same impression my self at
first.
But I began to have some serious doubt about it. As a matter,
of fact, any business men, especially of such business executives like
him, should know what is an insider trading. That is exactly very
basic kind of rule or code which is to be observed by business
executives in any fields.
I personally don't know much about stock trading business. But when it
comes to insider trading, I knew the rule and followed it very
strictly or was forced to follow the rule while I was in business.
Before the retirement, I was an executive members of a firm and had
some small number of stocks of the firm.
Those stocks holding was controlled very strictly in many ways by
a stock company. All executive and stock holders of the firm were asked
to present the list of family members including wives, children, even
brothers and sisters. We had to present the report about the fact
no illegal sort of stock trading had been made by those listed people
during the term.
President Murakami definitely should know all about those rather
strict control by law not only as a stock trader but also as a top
executive of his own company. It seems there is no excuse about it
from that point of view.
I don't understand why he admitted the charge by the prosecutor
so easily. Some TV commentator said that they were not quite sure about
whether or not the@all of those trading by Murakami fund were so called
insider trading which is specified in the law.
I personally agreed with such view. Are those stock trading made by
Murakami Fund insider trading? Are Livedoor and Murakami Fund insiders
as law specified? May be, or not may be. We will wait and see how
the court will judge the case.
President Murakami might have decided to admit the charge in order to
win suspension of execution of sentence. That may be an kind of
plea-bargaining with the prosecutors office.
I have some concerns about this kind of plea-bargaining provided that
that exists in the current Japanese judiciary world.
2006/6/10
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(478):
Governor of Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui made a public apology for having caused
a stir over the issue during a regular news conference at the end of the
central bank's two-day Policy Board meeting. Opposition parties demanded
that he step down for having remained an investor in the Murakami Fund
whose head was arrested by Tokyo prosecutor's office last week for insider
trading.
When I heard the news, I really didn't think that the issue is so serious .
"What's wrong with Toshiko Fukui bought some stocks as an individual
investor? Why is this so serious?" Honestly, thought that way at first.
But I began to understand the seriousness of the issue while I saw the
response of the Government against the troubles and explanation by Governor
Fukui himself concerning the argument.
Fukui said he never thought Murakami had been party to insider trading
over the fund's purchases of Nippon Broadcasting Corp. shares. He continued
to say that he never intended to earn some profit from his investment. His
intention to buy stocks of Murakami Fund was to cheer him up for what he is
trying to do in Japanese money market. I was surprised to hear this word and
I did not accept this word at all while many mass media reported his word
as they are. The seriousness of the issue is on the contrary.
Any personal investment for earning money contains rather smaller concerns.
But how can such a public governor send any of such supportive message to a
specific business executive or specific enterprise such as Murkami Fund?
If it is done by a president of a private firm or private bank, there will
be no problems.
But Fukui is Governor of Bank of Japan who is asked to stand on a neutral
and impartial ground at any times. He is now in the position to know all
sort of internal and external information of the management of any
corporations including Murakami Fund.
Toshihiko Fukui is in a kind of insider for any sort of business in
stock market and money market in this respect. Not only Governor Fukui
but also all of directors of Policy Board of Bank of Japan are never
allowed to make any personal investment in the stock market once they
are in that position from this point of view. I am surprised to hear that
there is no such internal code which prohibits any of such investment in
stock market in the Bank of Japan at the present.
It is fine for opposition parties to demand the resignation of Governor
Fukui from the position. But the reason why Fukui should resign is not
quite concrete. Opposition parties and mass media appealed his resignation
from only moral and political point of view.
More concrete and legal reasoning are now requested. The internal code of
Bank of Japan is to be amended immediately so that any personal
investments by members of Policy Board are prohibited as far as they
are in the position of the Central Bank of Japan.
2006/6/27
Tadashi HAYASE
My opinion of this week(479):
World Cup
Japan could not win in the preliminary group game which is going on in
Germany. I am also very sorry for it personally. I wish Japan could win
over Brazil by the score of more than 2-0 but know the chance was very
very limited at any rate. I woke up early in yesterday morning as usual
but did not watch TV.
I checked the result of the game from time to time at Yahoo news while
working on PC. I knew Japan went ahead Brazil by 1-0 at the first half
by Yahoo news. If Japan led over Brazil by 2-0 at the first half, I
might have started watching TV immediately by my PC which installs TV.
But I did not do so for I was quite busy for another business yesterday
morning.
At 6:30, I went out to the park near to my home to participate radio
gymnastics which is held every morning for free participation. I heard
people talking about the result of the soccer game. Some one said:"Well,
Japanese team has done their best alright. But as a matter of fact, they
are far behind the world standard. "
I came back from the gymnastics and knew that Japan was defeated by Brazil
by 4-1 by NHK TV news at 7:00. I was very sorry for it but did not share
emotion of those excess reaction expressed by many of supporters who
were in the stadium and were in various parts of domestic cities in Japan.
I don't like to see their over heated emotions and did not really
understand why they are involved so deeply with a sport event.
Yes, World Cup is a big world wide sport event which is held every four
years. So what? There are many more very important events and happenings in
the world which are more closely related with the life of people in the
world including all sort of political, economical and cultural events
and happenings.
I wonder what kind of reaction those supporters will show their interests
for many of those very important happenings and events world wide. May
be none. Probably soccer is their only source of interest as far as
they are concerned. I always feel some sense of discomfort for what they
do and say about the soccer.
I also dislike the stance of mass media about how they report behavior
of those supporters inside and outside of the country while any of such
sport events are going on.
Due to such excessive recent reports about World Cup by mass media, many
of very important news have not been paid much attention. Just for an
example, the news of Taepodong missile of North Korea have gone somewhere.
Well, I know that I should not talk that way. The issue of missile is
entirely different from that of sport event. The issue is not which is
more important or less important.
Nevertheless, I dare to say this in this way. I don't know how I can
express my feeling in any other way.
2006/6/24
Tadashi HAYASE
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