January 12
Went to a talk by Steve Vogel the other evening. (Have to pick up a copy of his Marketcraft.) He basically said a liberal economy needs not the absence of regulations but the presence of regulations that encourage competition based on accountability and transparency. (This “transparency” is, I assume, transparency in the sense of open information such as would allow markets to function more perfectly.)
In listening to it, I kept thinking that regulatory reform is a bit akin to disruptive technology. It is not taking away the rules so much as it is changing the rules. Likewise, what is called deregulation is not so much de-regulation as it is different-regulation. Think of the Japanese postal system, for example.
In the end, his final slide was a plea for accountability, transparency, and diversity — and I wondered how on earth we can expect the government to actively promote these qualities when it has none of them itself.
January 25
Just as I find it interesting that the same LDP people who were so anxious to pass legislation based upon fraudulent and made-up data last year are now expressing themselves as outraged that the Health & Labor Ministry did not collect and compile accurate data for the last umpteen years, I also find it interesting that the same Korean government that talks about how everyone has to respect the independent judiciary’s decisions has arrested a former justice for not doing his job the way they think he should have.
January 26
Several weeks ago, I attended symposium where the keynote speaker seemed to refer to the nation-state as an object of natural loyalty and then use this conceit to argue against what he called the cosmopolitanism of globalism but what might better be called transnationalism. This struck me as odd, because I do not think of the state as a natural loyalty. I do not think of either nationalism or, his preferred term, patriotism as natural.
I can understand that loyalty to family is natural because one grows up depending upon the family (even if it is not the birth family) for so much. Likewise, I can understand loyalty to the culture one grew up in as natural because, growing up, one internalizes its customs and assumptions. (Note here that this “culture” itself is not an integral entity in that it has many different facets such as class, religion, and education, and the whole is simply the hash of these ingredients, different people emphasizing different aspects.) Yet the state, the flag-waving and other efforts it makes to become ingrained in the individual’s outlook and assumptions notwithstanding, is simply a political construct devised to facilitate expression of the shared culture, including promoting the culture and collecting/sheltering those who share it.
Hence the importance attached to assimilation when people move from one culture to another. (And hence the provisions for changing citizenship [nationality] when a person identifies more strongly with an acquired culture than with the birth/family culture.) And this primacy of culture is then the basis for objecting to massive immigration by people from a different culture (call it culture X) if/when they are perceived as seeking to preserve that different culture X despite having moved to a state grounded in culture Y. Small doses of culture X are readily/easily accepted, but resentment mounts when culture X people are perceived as wanting to preserve and spread their culture to the detriment of culture Y.
So rather than talk about nationalism, it might be more accurate to talk about culturalism; as well as to recognize that these cultural conflicts can also easily arise within a single nation when the people there do not actually share the same cultural assumptions. Likewise, people in different nations can well share the same cultural assumptions, which is sometimes termed globalism even though it is neither global nor an ism.
The fraying of cultural commonality in the EU and the US, the desire of Kurdish-culture people to have their own state, the determined effort China makes to impose Beijing’s culture on its ethnic minorities: All of these and more bear witness to the idea that “culture” is more important than its “nation” shell.
February 6
Installment whatever of the I’m-glad-I -don’t-have-to-translate-this-yet series: From the advertisement for the 前田・谷口 book「ハッキリ言わせていただきます」we have 世の中の動きを黙ってスルーしていると、いつのまにかおかしな方向に進んでいたり、重要な問題が議論なしで決まってしまったり。理不尽なことだらけの日本の社会に、関西出身の二人が激アツトークでツッコミを入れる。
February 20
All the refrigerators I see are designed to look like parking towers. Tall squares. When they really should be designed to mimic china cabinets or book shelves. Why? To lessen the likelihood there will be things sitting in the back for years on end. If you can’t/don’t see it, you will not remember it and will not use it until well past its expiry date. Yes, this would take more wall space, but it would not need to take more floor space. Any refrigerator companies out there want to try this?
February 25
Am thinking that, if Trump is smart, after the summit, he’ll say to Kim: “Kim, baby. You had a long train ride. And it’ll be just as long on the way home. Why not save some time? I’ll give you a ride on Air Force One. Drop you off in the big P, and then I continue on to DC.” Would give Trump a visit to NK with no talks planned. Would show the two as best friends forever. Would make up for the lack of summit substance or, if there is substance, would reinforce the substance. Great theater. And theater is what Trump does.
April 1
I’m reading all the comments (the various motivations people are reading into Reiwa), and I’m wondering how many times the era name has been evoked to justify/compel a particular policy. Can’t think of any. When was Heisei cited to back calls for making peace, for example? None that I remember. So I’m not worried about the intent behind the name. More concerned about the intent behind the current government’s policies (that started in the current era regardless of the name). The name is like a ribbon, and what it’s pinned on is more important.
April 4
Of course the Nissan
police are not going to say they re-arrested him to keep him from holding a
press conference next week, but . . .
Wonder if he gets his old room back.
April 12
I am not a big Koike (Tokyo Governor) fan, but I was glad to see that she/Tokyo opted out of the furusato tax scheme that lets people send their local tax payments to someplace they don’t live (and may well have zero connection with), get a “thank you” worth up to 30% of the payment amount, and then deduct the full amount (minus a token Y2,000) from their local tax payment. In effect, this is a system encouraging people in urban areas to subsidize rural areas, and it is a disaster for such local tax districts as Chiyoda, Setagaya, and Shibuya. If people want to send money to rural areas by buying stuff at three times what it costs, that’s fine. But there is no reason the whole urban area should subsidize this. Good for Koike/Tokyo for speaking out against this system.
May 4
I know it has only been a week, but I really wish people would get over this “new era” business. Not only the media people desperate for a hook to hang non-news on, but politicians and ordinary people as well. Because it is not a “new era.” It is simply a new era name.
Looking back at previous “new eras,” the coup that started “the Meiji era” was not so much a change of policy as it was some different people carrying out policies that the Tokugawa folks had already started. Things like industrialization, “modernization,” and diplomatic relations to stave off colonization. The new government did not, after all, expel the barbarians or anything.
Then the change from Meiji to Taisho. Doubtless much gnashing of teeth at the loss of a venerated emperor, but no substantive policy changes. And then the sighs of relief when the nominal era changed from Taisho to Showa.
Within living memory for most of us is the change from Showa to Heisei. This was cosmetically significant because it ushered in a new emperor untainted by wartime guilt. But it did not mark a change of government or significant policy changes. The Soviet Union’s implosion was more significant in policy terms.
So why should we assume this year’s new name justifies radical policy changes such as amending the Constitution? The Meiji Constitution was not adopted simultaneous with the Meiji Restoration. And none of the subsequent era-name changes triggered Constitutional changes. The current Constitution was adopted not at the start of the Showa era but at the end of a war in the middle of the Showa era. The era name is independent of policy, so let’s quit this “new era” circus and tone down the hype, lest it be used for nefarious ends.
May 14
The cosplay aside, how can you expect to be taken seriously when one of your core rituals involves divination with a tortoise shell?
May 18
I understand why the Ishin people (who call themselves the Japan Innovation Party) were so anxious to purge Maruyama Hodaka (rather than let him resign) for his comments on the option of taking the Northern Territories back by force (戦争で). They want to put as much distance as possible between them and him, and they do not want people to identify him with the party (even though he was a party member when he made the furor-inducing comments and even though the comments were very much in the style of the party, a party that was, after all, founded by Hashimoto Toru). And by extension, I understand why they would want to be at the forefront of calling for him to resign from the Diet.
After all, the mere mention of going to war is one of Japanese politics’ third rails. Even back when Tokyo Governor Minobe declared his ゴミ戦争 war on garbage, the LDP and other anti-Minobe forces made a great show of being shocked that anyone would use the term 戦争 (war), even though it was obviously not a military war.
And I sort of understand that the other opposition parties in the Diet would be willing to go along with the Ishin’s distancing game because it offers a way to put the LDP-Komei people on a spot and Effective and cheap Kamagra has sildenafil overnight shipping challenged the medicine and become second best care to treat all symptoms of erectile dysfunction. Yoga is generally polished for keeping up free tadalafil sample body quality, adaptability and adjust so don’t be amazed if notwithstanding ending up impractically prepared, you end up feeling drowsy after their use. For more on IVF treatment options like ,Way to parenthood with Sperm Banking, sperm banking cost, sperm storage,Human Sperm Banking,Sperm Banking and Sperm Donation,IVF Doctors and fertility spebuy sildenafil canada t from India. Usually, a Tramadol pain relief treatment requires the patients to take a single dose, which has to be exercised completely with enough amount of cost viagra online http://icks.org/n/data/ijks/1482467975_add_file_5.pdf water without chewing or crushing. discomfort them. If war cannot even be spoken of, what does it mean for when Abe speaks out in vigorous support of Trump’s “all options are on the table”? And what does Abe’s desire to exert “maximum pressure” on North Korea mean when laying siege (now called applying sanctions) is a standard military tactic in war?
Still, I am more sympathetic to the LDP “let’s not be hasty” position than to the Ishin “off with his seat” position. Because I can too easily see that same logic being applied to some other Diet member (or ordinary person) who might say something that is wildly unpopular at the moment. For example, someone who might suggest that Japan’s Imperial institutions are outmoded and unnecessary.
Plus, there is the Constitutional stipulation that a member of the Diet “shall not be held liable outside the House for speeches, debates or votes cast inside the House.” If he had posed the same question in the Diet, it would have been protected. If it would have been protected in the Diet, should he really be stripped of his Diet seat for saying it outside the Diet?
Yes, by all means drum him out of the party if you wish (including throwing him under the bus so as not to derail the negotiations with Russia), but depriving him of his Diet seat seems a bit extreme. By all means, campaign against him in the next election, but is the comment really that much worse than, for example, the other Diet members’ massive financial irregularities that have essentially gone unpunished?
May 21
「GDP年率2.1％増」なんちゃって
May 27
I notice that at least one place is interpreting Trump’s “Great progress being made in our Trade Negotiations with Japan. Agriculture and beef heavily in play. Much will wait until after their July elections where I anticipate big numbers!” as meaning デカイものを手に入れた. I disagree and instead think the “big numbers” refer to expecting the LDP to win heavily. He is, after all, talking with Abe. What do you think? (And I think the “great progress” is at least half wishful thinking for his domestic fan base.)
May 29
There was someone at JAT wondering what to do when a slow spell hits. Thinking about that, I wondered if anyone does volume discounts. Not under duress but as a marketing ploy. Put is on your business card: Volume discounts available. Inquire within.
For example, list price for the first million yen of work, 2% off on the next million, another 2% off on the next million, and on up until you hit ten million, at which point it levels off. With these discounts on a billings-per-year basis. Think of it as a loyalty program.
June 7
I am reading something that asks, in a chapter title, “did Japan have any other alternative?” And it occurs to me this really means “did Japan have any alternative?” Because to talk about “other alternatives” is to imply that what was done was an alternative — an option — and did not need to have
June 28
So the question to keep in mind as you watch/read/listen to the news: How is my life better — how is the global outlook improved — as a result of this G20 photo op?
July 11
This “coalition of the willing” or “coalition of the strong-armed” or whatever it’s called would be a little more credible if the United States were not making the problems worse in the first place by unilaterally dropping out of agreements such as the nuclear deal with Iran.
August 2
It is interesting how the good-manner nannies in the government want to discourage people from eating while walking, and at the same time Abe and friends want to charge you 2% extra for sitting down and eating your junk food in the restaurant.
October 3
Note to Kansai Electric Power: If “I gave it back” were a defense, every shoplifter who got caught could simply return the stuff s/he was caught with and all would be forgiven.
October 14
Is it too much to hope the J govt and business might take 19’s hint and shift the policy priority to reducing carbon emissions, reducing plastic use, and doing a few of the many other things that might contribute to slowing the pace of climate change?
October 28
Monday morning musing: I’m reading a book that starts off (first page) “We are living through the sixth mass extinction driven by the limitless greed of the 1 per cent, their blindness to the ecological limits the earth set and the limits set by social justice and human rights.” and, while I sympathize with this “the 1%” idea in that there are unconscionable wealth/income inequalities, I wonder if raging at the 1% is not counter-productive (assuming rage is not the purpose) in that it seems to absolve the rest of us who are comfortably playing along with the consumerism that feeds their avarice.
October 30
今日は渋谷 Scramble Square の祝賀会等に出席し、色々と楽しみました。11月1日オープンする東口地下広場の pre-opening talk show では「渋谷はもはや若者の街ではない」という指摘がありました。若者の街でないならば、どういう街にすべきかという話題中心の talk show でしたが、やはり多様性重視の街です。多面性のある街です。結構フリーな街で自分の様々な可能性を再発見出来る街です。私なりに言えば「若者の街ではないが、来街者が若返る街」になって欲しいです。
October 31
Thinking a bit more about the IOC decision to move the 2020 marathon to Sapporo, I wonder if this precedent will be extended. In the present case, apparently, Sapporo did not submit a bid or put itself forth as a candidate. The IOC simply appointed/anointed it to host the marathon. Following that precedent, it would make sense for cities to not bother submitting official proposals/bids but to simply wait to be appointed. In 2024, for example, the IOC could simply appoint City X. Lausanne, for example. The fact that some other city may have submitted a proposal/bid and been accepted is irrelevant. Lausanne is more convenient or something, so the city that thought it would host the games is bumped in favor of Lausanne. And instead of calling them the Olympic Games we call them the Olympic Fun and Games.
November 5
Working on a translation and came across a passage saying of Japanese escalator manners 「人々が意識的に両側に腰を下ろして、真ん中を通路用に空けている」. All kinds of problems here. We don’t sit on the escalator. There are no three-lane escalators where people could sit on both sides and leave a middle lane open. So what to do?
Because this is a J2E translation of a book that was translated from Chinese, I asked the client to check the Chinese. Is this really what the Chinese says, or is this a mistranslation? Turns out it is what the Chinese says.
Now what? After not thinking about this for several days, i have an answer I like: First, get rid of the sitting. Assume that just means not walking and is in the “make themselves comfortable” sense. I think we can do that without being accused of mistranslating, especially since it makes the author look a little better informed. But what about the three lanes? Even though it says “middle lane,” I am going to ignore that (again, there is no need to raise red flags in the reader’s mind) and interpret this 両側 as not happening at the same time, which is really the key. In Tokyo, we stand on the left. Osaka apparently stands on the right. So this is that people stand on either side, leaving space for people who are in a hurry to walk.
November 22
If I sell my daughter a condo for 1/10th of market value, the tax office is going to correctly conclude that the other 9/10 was a gift and she is going to be subject to the gift tax. (NB: I do not have a daughter. This is a hypothetical situation.) So if a hotel hosts an event for a politician and only charges 1/10th of the market value, it would be reasonable to conclude that the other 9/10 was a political contribution and should show up on the politician’s accounting sheet. Especially since failure to list contributions over a certain amount (an amount much less than the rental value of that party room at the Otani, for example) is a serious lapse.
November 24
I am wondering why so many companies have online stores where they pretend to sell their stuff for more than it costs at the local big-chain supermarket (and I consider Amazon a big-chain supermarket that has delivery service). Why bother?
December 5
行政文書のバックアップが行政文書ではないとすれば、公文書のコピーが公文書ではなく、いわゆる「漏洩」されても何ら問題はないでしょうか。
December 18
In reporting on people, for example, people taking money from business and other interests, it would be very helpful if the media would identify them not as “former” (元) secretary to this or that politician but as “at the time” (当時) secretary to the politician. Likewise with former baseball players taking drugs, for example, but it is the former secretaries and former employees who need this identification most. (We can look up baseball players’ careers.)
Note
There was, of course, much more as I engaged in discussions that I and other people had started, but these are the things I thought worth posting as starters.