What ashamed nation, our Japan has been....

At Tokyo district court yesterday, Japanese powerful politician, Ichiro Ozawa, democratic party was judged "Not Guilty" as his own black political money. However the judge claimed he is clearly "gray", but the judgment is the benefit of the doubt.

After the judgement now,he is preparing to be prime minister or making new party....and his side senators dance in delight!! Mr.Noda, present prime minister wears a deeply‐troubled look...... but both of them belong same party!!

Only their own position and profit, they insist....We have proverb "a frog in the well" (frog only knows inside small world of well, therefore he believe he is powerful King!)Japanese political situation today is exactly this case!! Even in neighboring country, the military tension has become so high...but this small island's leaders are thinking own position in own party!!Even dangerous "Nuclear Power Plant problems", most of politician uses for his next election.....And it happened so many crimes,bribery, accident...by public officials all over Japan. They are also thinking only own benefit.The other hand, in the same court same time, famous Japanese actor was sued by his girl friend as "promise of marry". He is 69 years old and she is 55!! This kind of talk level is just only girls talk of teenagers!! I worry about this childish matter become big TV news.....WE ALL JAPANESE HAS MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO THINK SERIOUSLY FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN......

A Carrier of "Dreams" to children in disaster area.

Mr. Nobuhiro Umehara, C.E.O. of BBA Academy, baseball equipment producer in Nara prefecture, West Japan, has began "G-LOVE Project".  In Japan, baseball is very popular sport especially for children same as football in Europe.  Most of them dreams to become professional baseball player. But in this Tsunami disaster, a lot of children also have lost their gloves and bats, etc.  Mr.Umehara got a mail from a teacher of disaster area.  "Many children in our area have lost family, house, school....everything.  However we don't want them to loose their dreams.....". "Dreams"....of course it means to play baseball towards better player.
Mr.Umehara was moved his heart by this mail, and started the project to gather used baseball gloves, and to ask volunteer high-school boys to repair and maintenance those gloves.  A lot of gloves and high-school baseball player gathered in West Japan. Finally, Mr.Umehara brought over 100 gloves with message from volunteer high-school boys, directly from Nara to Tohoku district as 800km by his own car.

(photo from MSN Sankei News)

I was so impressed with this story.  Of course as our simply thinking, maybe it's so easy for Mr.Umehara to donate new gloves from his company.  But the important meaning is to ask donating used gloves, and to ask to maintenance them to boys having same "dreams".  It's obviously the linking of heart-warming dreams between boys in disaster district and in West Japan.
I cross my fingers such linking of heart-warming will make many "dreams" in the future...

Please pray for the victim girl dedicated to help others.

Ms.Miki Endo, just only 25 years old, was local government officer of Minami-Sanriku-cho, Miyagi prefecture.  Just after the earthquake, she knew the extremely big Tsunami will come soon. Therefore she had been announcing official advice to evacuate from the city hall building. The entirely changed building is you can see right side of the photo.

(photo from The Mainichi Shinbun)

According to TV interview with some of citizen, she had been shouting "Please escape!, escape to higher area..." again and again.  And suddenly the announcement had stopped, they say.
She was announcing from 3rd floor of the building.  Probably, she was watching the unbelievable terrible Tsunami coming to her town and of course to herself.  But she was keeping to announce for the sake of helping citizen.  I was shocked and deeply impressed with her self-sacrificeed dedication as a local government officer.  No, no...not only as her work.... even I don't know her personality at all, I think the dedication was depended on her sense of justice and mercifully heart.
25 years old... is the same as my elder daughter. I am impressed that so young girl did, and would like to deeply pray for her.

Let us Endure and Share...

First of all, we all Japanese are deeply grateful for much sympathies, compensations, and lots of relief  supplies.... from abroad at once.
This time, even in earthquake country Japan, it is the damage of an earthquake and the tsunami of the scale beyond the assumption. Therefore it has been happened various confusion in all over Japan as well as a disaster area.  However I think it's so important that calm, and a thoughtful actions are expected because of such unbelievable disaster. But the reality is in a very heart pained situation.
At the disaster areas especially in Miyagi-pref., Iwate-pref., Fukushima-pref., nearly 1 million survivors try hard to live with the hope, even they had lost families, friends, houses...everything. At the present moment, they need food, water,fuel for heating and transportation.
But according to TV news, it happened "Buying Up"  especially in Tokyo area.  Of course Tokyo was also attacked by the earthquake. However it was not so big level with scarcely damages.  But from various wrong rumours and anxiety, many people buy up food and fuel since the earthquake day. So most of grocery sores and gas station, food and gas has gone in Tokyo. As far as we heard, at least Tokyo is no problem in the present moment, even they have to endure "planned informed blackout" periodically and confusion of transportation system.
But at the disaster area, at once they need food and heating, medicine for living today. Minutes and minutes, injured and old people has been gone, I heard.

And regarding the stock market and the foreign exchange market, historical rate recorded today. Probably, some investors around the world are targeting own profit.

Furthermore concerning "various wrong rumours", For media people, please broadcast true information. And for ordinary people, please estimate what is truth. Especially concerned "Nuclear Power Plant Accident", some TV announcers gives anxious too much, or mistaken information like unit of radiation..."mili" or "micro" Sievert and "per hour" or "totally".  Even from abroad, I have been got many mails and some of those told "TV called it Chernobyl 2...." etc.  Of course even now, the radiation situation is unpredictable.  But the structure of the plant is very different from Chernobyl case, all the professionals told.  And also quantity of radiation is still within safe level.  (I had taken much quantity by a times CT scan, when I was in bypass operation of myocardial infarction)

The sufferers in Japan will definitely revive someday like Hanshin Earthquake case, I believe. Therefore until then, please give them your heartwarming....... thank you.

The Manner of International Exchange

“Hikari-Renaissance” which a sagacious director of Osaka City Government (he has been away from the project long ago) and I started in 2002, has become thoroughly big event in Osaka recently.  And until 2008, I have mainly been producing “The World Linking Tree from Drøbak, NORWAY –symbol of peace, love and friendship-” which is one of sublime 4 Norwegian Christmas Trees as the traditional gift from Norway to abroad authorized by Norwegian Government. 

However suddenly I was completely away from the project from this year, because of a certain reason by following man. Even that, it was filled with deep emotion for me the event is so popular among citizens of Osaka, and many tourists to enjoy it, as I mentioned in this blog last year.

But now at the end, I have to disclose silly matters which is very ashamed for us Osaka citizen, and very discourteous for Norwegian people.  Since we found it last year, I and some friends of Drøbak, Frogn, Norwegian local commune have been pretended not to see it, because of avoiding influences upon honest concerned people. But in this winter “again” we began to be afraid of causing the problem by one e-mail from a officer of Osaka City government in charge of Hikari Renaissance 2010 to Mayor of Frogn commune.

Directly to say. An officer of Osaka City government had the friendship exchange program with nothing notice to partner city.  He had small “Osaka-Frogn Exchange Tree” which mentioned “memorial of exchange since 2002”, but Frogn side had not informed at all.  And what is worse, the tree was decorated as cheaper toys and ribbons, which was very far from traditional Norwegian tradition, especially for Drøbak, Frogn as sending Christmas Tree to Berlin and Osaka(ever) as sublime meaning “symbol of Peace, Love and Friendship” under the official authorization by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As well as you know well as Novel Peace Prize, “PEACE” is very special word for/from “Norway”.  It’s so discourteous for Norwegian side and so ashamed for Osaka citizen.  I would like to say “very sorry” to all the Norwegian nations as one of Osaka citizen.

And also this year, he has planed to have same project. Only difference of this year, he suddenly sent a mail to Mayor of Frogn in middle of November. However the content is just one way proposal,

"………we will plant trees in the park which locates just south to the City Hall and decorate them with illumination during the HIKARI renaissance period. ……… I can send some pictures to you after the events end. Please look forward to seeing them…" 

We thought it’s not proposal of exchange, but only a kind of command to acknowledge his own event, and so were afraid of happening last year’s nightmare. As far as my confirmation, it was only his arbitrary activity, therefore almost concerned people of Osaka City government and Osaka Hikari Renaissance Executive Committee don’t know such an ashamed matter. Therefore it is not true his mails “We”, but “I” only.

After the receiving the mail, Mayor of Frogn replied again and again not to accept his proposal. But the reply from him is mentioned “you  misunderstand..” The opening day of Osaka Hikari Renaissance is 11^th December, I heard. The day would come soon.. For those reason, I decided to disclose it. I, and also most of concerned people don’t understand why and what he is thinking so at all. However I heard it is probably revenge attacks against me because he was scolded by Mayor of Osaka connecting with my proposal letter to Mayor about Mayor’s misunderstanding at the lighting ceremony in 2008.

Would you please compare photo of his one way exchange tree with our original “The World Linking Tree as symbol of Peace, Love and Friendship”?

Even it’s a small and uninteresting things for unrelated people, however we all the people all over the world have to respect each other, and have to do anything with polite manners, especially “inter-nation”, I think strongly. If not, “Peace, Love and Friendship” will not come forever on our blue planet.

Therefore, for spreading over the concept “Peace, Love and Friendship”, we are now trying to bring “The World Linking Tree” to new suitable site……

Silver wedding Memorial in Norway

Even it's bit old matter, in the beginning of May, I took my wife to Norway for the memorial travel of our 25th anniversary of wedding.  I have visited Norway over 50 times because of my life work, "The World Linking Tree from Norway" since 1994. However for my wife, this time is quite the first time to visit Norway.  Therefore I took her to Bergen, Fjord area, and Oslo, Drøbak where is my second home town.
 In this time, I was so surprised that the most of water fall of Fjord area is still freeze.
Even famous waterfall at Kjostfossen was completely freeze. Please compare with another photo, this is same place in September 2004 when I visited with my daughter for the TV filming of NRK, Norwegian national TV station. I heard this winter to spring is historical freeze in Norway. Maybe this is also one of effects of global warming.

Talking of TV filming, in this time also I was filmed by same director.  In this time, he would like to make the documentary story of "a Japanese guy trying to bring "symbol of Peace" to Hiroshima and Nagasaki".  In the beginning of filming, I thought it would only within one hour interview.  But after starting, it took almost whole day from the morning until 20 o’clock. And more at the forest in Drøbak, he prepared rail equipment!! as following photo.

I’m so grateful for his full-scale filming, and cross my fingers the program will be on air, and anyone approves of my symbol of peace will appear.

However, I have to excuse my wife… because she was completely in the accommodation on my filming day.”Sorry!”. 
Last 1st of December, it was our 26th wedding memorial day. I'm so grateful for my kind wife, and my patience????

Japanese English

  Now I'm working about making name of a project and concept.  The Client needs "cool" and "intellectual" naming, I heard.  Always I work thin kind of work, I keep in my mind to use correct English, for the sake of English, American and people using English ordinarily don't feel strange.
 In Japan, there are flood of strange English words, not only pronunciation but also naming as text. Because most of Japanese very loves "English name" as good feeling especially sound.(not only English, but also French, Italian.... without distinguishing...)  Therefore we, working in marketing and communication are often requested "compound word in English" and have produced strange Japanese English Words. The funny Masterpiece is, "Terminal Hotel" situated at big railway station, "mansion"(means apartment house even has only 3 rooms), "Wiener Coffee" (of course without sausage... means Vienna coffee), "bite"(means part timer...came from German's "Arbeit"....but "Arbeit" means "Work".),"consent"(means socket/outlet...I don't know why "consent" has become such meaning)......
 Of course for myself, every time I worry about writing and speaking using my poor English. (sorry, this blog is so poor too.... precisely for this reason, I decided to write English Blog for my own study) Especially always I worry about "preposition", to, for, on, at, in, into........ However even such a poor English, I would like not to make strange "Japanese English" at all times.  
 In this time also, I proposed some compound words using correct English.  But finally, the general producer of this project adopted his own idea, using bit strange English". It seems important for him not correct as English, but "sound" and feeling.
 I thought like that, the "flood" has flown all over Japan today.
 I hope Japanese next generation to correct such ashamed habit in the future.