Tales from the Cryptic

I’ll Take It!

2008-04-01T23:11:00.001+09:00

Hey, who’s not laughing, as long as you can take it to the bank…

Why I Don’t Do Facebook

2008-03-09T18:02:00.000+09:00

I would be, like, totally devastated. I don’t want to disappoint mom and dad either, but who wants to go through this?

But he said his dad is persistent.
"I ignored him, but he keeps trying and trying to friend me," Yeamans said.

Yuck.

Where the Wild Things Are

2008-02-18T14:37:00.001+09:00

Only a screen test. Still…

Shades of Casablanca!

2008-02-16T14:46:00.000+09:00

And what kind of a name is Gons anyway?

Hey Ya!

2008-02-13T23:43:00.000+09:00

for people… um… people… um… for… folks.

Beer Commercials

2008-01-20T00:44:00.000+09:00

Here.

…But It’s a Boys Band So Shisaku Doesn’t Care

2008-01-19T18:05:00.000+09:00

Hanryu dramas may have fallen on hard times as even the business satellite channels* have been reducing South Korean content of late. However, the music plays on, as Korean pop group TVQX once again tops the Japanese Oricon charts.

Whoever they are. I am definitely growing old.

* Where my favorite program is the NHK BS News, if you know what I’m sayin’.

A 2007 Retrospective: It Was Not a Good Year for Boston Sports Fans

2007-12-31T17:02:00.000+09:00

In fact, it was a bad year for Boston sports fans, and there are three good reasons for that: the Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Celtics. And don’t even talk to me about the Bruins.

The Red Sox? So you won the division championship － with the Yankees spotting you a huge handicap from get-go, it wasn’t a real season anyway. You did win the World Series, I have to give you that. But the Colorado Rockies? Who did you pay to get that draw? It’s like being the last man in the world; you’re supposed to score. And score. And score.
.
The Patriots? Huge disappointment. 16-0? Big deal. Where’re the Super Bowl rings? No, not those, they're not even so yesterday. Those ones, you dopes, the ones for the 2007 season. Whaddya mean ya gotta go through the playoffs? If you’re so good, Mssrs. Smartypants, why don’t the other playoff teams just forfeit and go home now? Do they know something you don’t know, or what?

As for the Celtics, forget it. You spoil a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go 80-2 for the season by losing at home against Detroit, so you decide to go to L.A. on New Year’s Eve and take it out on Kobe~~, all by his lonely little self~~ and four guys in short shorts. Yeah, right. Celtics, you’re mean. You’re bullies, that’s what you are. If you were real men, you know what you would’ve done? You would have told the pilot to turn south, made him touchdown in San Antonio, and challenged the Spurs to a best of seven, right there, on the tarmac. Schedules, schmedules, that’s what real men in a real sports movie would have done, get it? It was a charter flight, it was your call to make, and you flubbed it. Now that would have been a nice way to end the year. You still have the chance to redeem yourself, but I’m warning you guys, if you don’t run the table all throughout the playoffs, I’m going to call you out for what you are: sissies.

Oh, and L.A., good luck in the football playoffs. Arena Football playoffs, you know. Hey, I may be demanding, RS, but I’m not mean.

Bethlehem Battle of the Churches over Clean Up Chores

2007-12-28T12:26:00.000+09:00

This CNN article reports on a brooms-and-stones scuffle that erupted between priests at the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem when priests and cleaners of one sect tried to clean some turf that belonged to another sect.

The story reminds me of what they used to do in Edo and later downtown Tokyo. Every day each household in the nagaya, the one-story longhouses of the commmon people, would sweep the stretch of the alley concourse in front of its dwelling and splash a little water around to keep down the dust. The proper etiquette if you were doing the sweeping before your neighbor was to go slightly, but only so slightly, beyond your particular patch of street (the median line with regard to your front-door neighbor, the perpendicular line between the two neighbors to the left and right). In fact, I think that this is the way it still works.

Having written this, I’m still not sure what the lesson is here for the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches, or even that there is one. So I’m letting the Cryptic take this one.

Have a nice day.

The Landlord: the Criterion Edition

2007-12-28T11:21:00.000+09:00

This is taken from the Criterion Edition of the Landlord, which my global friends had kindly pointed us to in the comments here. It’s free association improve comedy at its best, by Will Ferrell, with Adam McKay, and Pearl. Thanks again, global friends.

Why I Had to Give Up My Day Job

2007-12-24T00:11:00.001+09:00

Explained here.

Ocean's 13 Inspires Schoolboy Crime Spree

2007-12-17T20:44:00.000+09:00

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a better argument against blockbuster sequels than that.

Some Celtics Fans Are Nuts

2007-12-06T13:53:00.000+09:00

I mean, win 80 games in the regular season and sweep the playoffs? C’mon, get real.

Me, I’m not going to get serious until they’ve at least reached 40-2.

*let’s see, that’s 25 more to go. Hmm…*

Henry Diltz, Photographer

2007-11-17T18:54:00.000+09:00

Here it is.

Quote of the Day from Paul Pierce

2007-11-11T18:29:00.000+09:00

"We got to see how we respond when we go through those losing streaks for two or three games. Anything can happen."

- Paul Pierce, after the Celtics beat the Nets in New Jersey to go 5-0

That, from the captain of a team that failed to put a three-game winning streak together all season not so long ago.

That's five down and seventy-seven to go. But please save something for the playoffs.

Only 78 More Games to Go for the First Perfect Regular Season in NBA History

2007-11-10T13:39:00.000+09:00

You don't believe me? Look.

Ronettes: Be My Baby

2007-11-07T19:34:00.000+09:00

A great piece of rock and roll history. Do they remind you, too, of Destiny's Child, and many, many other contemporary black female pop singers? And Britney Spears?

Some things do change though; you will never again see the segregated audience that nobody seems to have questioned at the time (1965), at least in the mass media.

Celtics Win Season Opener 103-83? Big Deal

2007-11-03T17:05:00.001+09:00

Take it easy guys; after all, it was a home game. And there are 81 more to play, and that's just to get to the playoffs. So don't get too excited. Okay?

Gollum Wants Precious

2007-10-27T01:18:00.000+09:00

Ah, hope springs eternal…

Another Thing I Miss about New York (City Councilman James Oddo)

2007-10-24T18:13:00.000+09:00

Okay, he represents Staten Island. Still…

Go Celtics!

2007-10-11T21:21:00.000+09:00

I speak on behalf of everybody in Japan (I have affidavits from all permanent residents except members of the Imperial Family) in wishing the mighty Celtics a clean sweep in the 2007-2008 NBA playoff finals.

We also know that the Lakers suck, okay?

The Locomotion

2007-10-06T09:39:00.000+09:00

In order of appearance; Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad, and Kylie Minogue. And the working mother who wrote it. This is the original recording.

Oh, why not? Here.

Strong-Jawed Dino Likened to Arnold Schwarzenegger

2007-10-04T22:42:00.000+09:00

… brought to you by Live Science:

Scott Sampson, another Utah Museum paleontologist who was involved in the study, called the animal the "Arnold Schwarzenegger of duckbilled dinosaurs."

"It was a like a dinosaur on steroids," Sampson added. "The bones were thick, not just in the skull, but in the limbs as well."

I don't think that the governor is going to like it when he hears about this.

Navy to Mask Coronados Swastika-Shaped Barracks

2007-09-28T21:44:00.000+09:00

According to this L.A. Times report, the U.S. Navy is going to spend $600,000 so that a barracks will not look like a swastika on Google Earth.

These people definitely have not eaten out at Butch's Roadhouse Restaurant. Or collected Pokemon cards.

They need a life.

12 September Was a Good Day for Stephen Colbert, New York.

2007-09-26T17:35:00.000+09:00

If you don't believe me, watch this.

Bill Bailey Comes Home in a Moonwalk

2007-09-24T18:56:00.000+09:00

A small step for an entertainer, one giant leap for entertainment.

ADD. Le Roi est mort.

Bunnies?

2007-09-22T19:53:00.000+09:00

Why not? It's Japan-themed.

Pathetically Googling Esteban Batista

2007-09-20T11:17:00.000+09:00

Who?

GO, Celtics!

Basketball Thought of the Week

2007-09-15T18:55:00.000+09:00

Could it be that Greg Oden really is 40 years old?

The Meaning of Seikyoku

2007-09-10T14:59:00.000+09:00

If any of you want to work on your Japanese, Asahi gives this and this as good examples of politicians insisting that the other side stop the seikyoku (政局) stuff. Also note that Sankei divides its political coverage into four subcategories: 政局 (Political Game, as I have translated), 首相(Prime Minister), 政策(Policy), and 選挙 (Election).

I don't think that they used to use this word nearly as often as they do now. How long has it been a key element of our political lexicon? Does anyone have any idea?

From Asahi; Sept. 10
■野党「なぜ政局にからめるのか」
　一方、野党の民主党は首相発言に反発、テロ特措法延長に反対する構えを変えていない。輿石東参院議員会長は１０日朝の参院議員総会で「一国の総理が政局にかかわる発言をされた。我々民主党に挑戦する宣戦布告だ。総理の暴挙を許すわけにはいかないということで、きっちり戦っていく」と語った。
　鳩山由紀夫幹事長は１０日朝、都内で記者団に「国際貢献とは何かを議論したいのに、なぜ政局にからめるのか」と批判。「安倍政権に対し、退陣を求めるような国会にしていく。テロ特の反対の姿勢にも影響はない」と語った。

From Asahi; Sept 09
　周辺は「国際社会全体が日本の活動を必要としており、小沢民主党代表のように外交を政局にすべきでない。首脳会談を通じ、その理解が広がればいい」と語る

War of the Week: The Soccer War

2007-09-09T18:41:00.000+09:00

not...

*sigh*

The Cryptic lives!

2007-09-09T18:29:00.000+09:00

Here. In case you were wondering…

War of the Week: The Toledo War

2007-08-26T20:37:00.000+09:00

Both militias were mobilized and sent to positions on opposite sides of the Maumee River near Toledo, but there was little interaction between the two sides besides mutual taunting.
-Wikipedia-

Like so many of the gridiron battles that continue to rage today, a game isn't decide on one play, but a series of plays. Poor officiating may have taken Michigan officially out of the campaign for the Toledo Strip, but in retrospect, it's obvious who won the War.
-The Michigan Government-

?
-Ohio Government-

Be My Baby

2007-08-24T12:56:00.000+09:00

From the Golden Age of lip-synch, The Ronettes.

Can You Imagine What Would Happen to US Entertainers…

2007-08-08T01:03:00.000+09:00

…if the UK demanded reciprocity? For this?

To wit:

Pop star Lily Allen has had her US work visa cancelled after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport.

She was held at the airport for five hours in connection with an arrest for an alleged assault in London in June.

…

The arrest arose from an incident outside a London nightclub in March and resulted in a caution for common assault.

Have a Nice Weekend

2007-07-13T19:44:00.001+09:00

Soooh, what are you doing this weekend, girl?

Japan Sets Up Football World Cup Final with US

2007-07-13T14:41:00.000+09:00

In the "other football World Cup Final" (if you don't count rugby football), Japan kicks serious Swedish ass 48-0 at the 3rd IFAF World Championships semifinals, while the US beats up Germany, 33-7. Japan seeks a third straight title tomorrow in the battle of the smashmouth brawlers at the Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and also avenge the Tragedy in Coney Island.

I'm keeping my Saturday afternoon schedule open for a possible BBQ invite, but feel free to go without me.

Trivia alert: Jeff Ballard, the top-string QB on the US team, was ranked as high as 17th and low as 47th in NFL mock drafts, and went to the Hula Bowl. He may not be the next Peyton Manning, but he didn't earn his chops in your typical mixed flag football league either.

Speaking of mixed leagues, Birgit Felden (Germany!) won the 1984 Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest with 9 1/2 hot dogs consumed. Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas placed second in 2005 with 37 to Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi's 49. Ms. Thomas seems to have topped out, but still managed to finish a respectable fifth this year with 39. You've come a long way, baby, but not quite long enough.

Why Do We Watch Porn?

2007-07-11T19:38:00.001+09:00

Why do we watch porn?
…
Okay, why do I watch porn? I mean, I like food; in fact, I can go for much longer periods of time without sex than I can go without food, but do I go trolling the Internet for images of couples dining out at Paul Bocuse the way I (hypothetically, mind you) do research on physically intimate human behavior? Neither do you, right?

If someone can explain this, please post here.

Headline Says USOC Apologizes for 'Congo' Joke

2007-07-08T09:44:00.000+09:00

In a joke that made Brazilians cringe and forced the U.S. Olympic Committee to apologize, a USOC worker scrawled "Welcome to the Congo!" on a board in the organization's Rio de Janeiro media center for the Pan American Games.

The article makes you wonder if anybody apologized to the Africans.

Why Do I Think I've Heard This Story Before?

2007-06-09T18:09:00.000+09:00

Courtesy of Dr. Tonegawa, the Nobel Prize winner. If I remember correctly.

Green Blood? Who, me?

2007-06-09T01:00:00.000+09:00

This is too cool.

Dana Rorbacher? Haven't I Heard That Name Before?

2007-05-19T18:58:00.000+09:00

I'm surprised Shisaku hasn't mentioned it on his blog. Maybe he saw the clip and had an aneurysm.

The Red Sox Continue to Roll

2007-05-18T16:20:00.000+09:00

Here's seventy-year old pitcher Julian Tavares (no, honest), giving it everything he's got. Of course everyone in Japan knows the real story here was Okajima notching a save with another scoreless outing.

America: Ma'am, I Abhor Injustice too.

2007-04-30T17:26:00.000+09:00

It's so un-American.

On the other hand, as Mr. Harlan K. Ullman of "shock and awe" fame said, "[i]t doesn't deserve the dignity of a response." And we now know why Dick Morris turned against the Clintons; the president got it for free, and Mr. Morris had to pay for it.

What North Korea Weawy, Weawy Wants

2007-02-03T02:19:00.000+09:00

Silly boys. Don't they know the North Koreans want this?

Apologia Pro Ianagisaua Et Ciuma

2007-02-01T15:24:00.000+09:00

Mssrs. Hakuo Yanagisawa and Fumio Kyuma wish to convey their regrets if they have been misunderstood and their sorrow for those whose misunderstandings may have hurt their feelings. However, they believe that their views have been seriously distorted and spun beyond all recognition by the mass media. They believe that the time has come to have their side of the case presented in an unbiased medium by a disinterested third party, and have come to me to seek help. As a fellow member of the human race, I feel obliged to comply.

Dear womenfolk in the 15-50 age group in the year 2030:

I understand that you have been somewhat disconcerted at a certain phrase that the Health and Labor Minister employed to describe you. Rest assured, Mr. Yanagisawa meant no disrespect to you. In fact, his intent was totally the opposite.

You see, Mr. Yanagisawa is a guy, and guys love machines. We can't keep our hands off 'em. In fact, we even want to be machines! Thus, when he called you child-bearing machines, he was bestowing on you the highest form of love and honor that he could think of.

I am confident that this will clear up any misunderstandings regarding Mr. Yanagisawa's intent.

Best regards
Blog Machine

Dear Mr. Bush:

I understand that a couple of statements that our Defense Minister made regarding the relocation of US bases in Okinawa and the war in Iraq have you upset. Please think carefully before you lodge an official protest. We are like 10 years behind schedule on the Futenma base. Now, along comes Mr. Kyuma, who says, youse guys stay out of it, leave it to us! Can't you see, he's telling you that he's going to be responsible for actually doing something about it? That is a sea change in the Japanese attitude, and we owe it all to Mr. Kyuma.

Not satisfied? Okay, how about this? Mr. Kyuma said he was against the war on Iraq. Always was. But very recently, he's saying he's reconsidered, and supports it now. Mr. President, is there one other person on this entire planet who was against the war then, but supports it now? Name one.

I thought so. And you didn't even have to waterboard Mr. Kyuma to make him say it!

So, when Mr. Kyuma leaves office, which might be sooner than he likes, could you please fly him over there, to the White House, and give him a medal? Just to show that you understand?

I thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

Your humble servant
Blog of War

Mike Huckabee Launches Presidential Bid

2007-01-29T01:24:00.000+09:00

Wasn't Huckabee a dance?

Oh...

Dialogue in Crime Novels; Daisuke Matsuzaka

2006-12-08T21:01:00.000+09:00

I said, dialogue in crime novels.

Are you still with me? Good.

I'm probably not very strong on visual cognition, because the lavish, loving, detailed descriptions of landscapes, houses, rooms, or whatever visual fetishes some authors indulge in quickly lose me, and I am thinking, come on, get on with it… And I don't do much better with a plot either, where three threads is usually one too many for me to handle. Instead, I am a sucker for dialogue, and that's why I still mourn G.V. Higgins' passing away, though he did seem to fall into self-parody in some of his later work. (Dialogue does not travel well, which I think is why his books were hard to find in Japan, even before his death.)

Of course nobody does self-parody better (or worse) than Robert B. Parker in his later Spenser novels. There, the dialogue went from intriguing to scintillating to… Really, to ask us to suspend belief and pretend that people talk like that is pretty thick in the first place; but that people who've been around each other since the Nixon administration will is simply mind bending. To his credit, Mr. Parker has realized this, and invents new protagonists from time to time, and seems come back refreshed by this. Still, I can remember a time when I could truthfully say I'd read every one of his novels in print. Not any more.

Dialogue doesn't really have to be natural to be believable. I doubt the people in Botswana, even private detectives, talk like the people who inhabit the world of the fabulous, traditionally built Precious Ramostwe. But we do believe in it, because we know there's an alternate universe out there somewhere, where people really do talk and act like that, and we are privileged to visit them every other year or so. Alexander McCall Smith writes other novels, and I'm sure they're delightful too. But I refuse to read them in the fear that such an act will break the magic of this other world beyond my event horizon.

But my all-time favorite dialogue writer is Elmore Leonard. The murderers, the conmen, and the really bad guys, as well as the good guys ("good" is extremely situational in LeonardWorld), talk the talk like trisomes, a cut or two above the rest of whatever mediocre or worse specimens of humanity Mr. Leonard chooses to make them.

On a totally unrelated matter, the Red Sox seem to be having trouble signing Daisuke Matsuzaka. No wonder; he'll be 27 when he starts next season, right? That means he'll be 28 when he can go into the 2008 season as a free agent, right? So why does Mr. Matsuzaka have to leave 50 million dollars on the table for the Seibu Lions to take home, when he can grab that for himself a year later? It's not as if he'll have to pitch for free next year if he sticks around. There's that nagging matter of injury, but Lloyds will insure him against it; besides, he has an extraordinarily flexible body that allows him to use a fluid, almost languid delivery that looks injury-resistant.

Do you think the Seibu Lions will offer a rebate? Do you think the Red Sox bid Mr. Matsuzaka up, just to keep him out of the Yankees' clutches?

When We Tell You We're Taking the Fat Out of Government, We Mean It.

2006-12-05T12:50:00.000+09:00

BBC again leaves its less serious-minded, US-centric competitors in the dust as it tackles yet another weighty policy issue in Japan. Cudos to Auntie for striking a blow against US cultural imperialism and infotainment.

Warning: The images displayed on this Japanese government blog may be harmful to your mental health and/or aesthetic well-being.

Female Politicians in the News? Sign of the Times, If You Ask Me.

2006-12-04T19:57:00.000+09:00

Diet couple splits up, screams the headline.

Money quote: They were never legally registered as a married couple, but acted as such.

What were they thinking of, pretending they were "legally" registered, when they were living in sin? Isn't that against the law, for heaven's sakes?

Kidding. The people at Asahi Shinbun were merely noting the fact that a respectable couple, a political one at that, had gone through all the rigmarole of marriage, including well-publicized but ultimately successful efforts to conceive children, had decided, no, they wouldn't file the papers. Punk'd, they were, the MSM, and not sure how to handle this piece of information.

The takeaway from this story? The most obvious is that it was Ms. Seiko Noda, who was often mentioned as top candidate for first female prime minister of Japan before the LDP kicked her out and sicced Ms. Assassin Yukari Sato on her (unsuccessfully) in last year's Lower House elections, who was the focus of media attention in the split, and not Mr. Yosuke Tsuruho. It's clear who wielded power in this power household. Second, and I think this is one that has so much social resonance, is that an unconventional arrangement – one we used to call naien kankei (not quite common-law relationship) and look down on, as something you expected from the rickshaw pullers and stable hands - has come and gone, and we seem to be accepting it all with aplomb.

We are a nation of conventions and customs, a deeply conservative people, scuttling back to our holes like crabs at the first hint of danger. Yet we will shed centuries-old traditions in an historical instant like some outgrown carapaces and amble along, as if nothing had happened at all. I used to claim that this was a profoundly Japanese trait, this mix of deep conservatism and radical metamorphoses. But I've lived long enough to realize that this is merely humanity itself in action, up to and including what many people think of as the yet another uniquely Japanese trait, the exceptionalism that manifests itself in such claims.

I expect a flurry of shukanshi attention to this matter, and then the world will move on.

Speaking of assassins, the boom finally came down on Mss. Yukari Sato and Satsuki Katayama, who were grounded for a year on the Japanese Archipelago for skipping a floor vote in the Lower House.

The punishment strikes The Cryptic as being somewhat odd, since the Aerodynamic Duo were not accused of modeling string bikinis in Saipan while their less well-downed colleagues (or more, if you think quantity trumps quality) toiled away in the corridors of Kokkai Gijidou. Still, the notion that overseas travel is a luxury, and not a necessary part of public service, for Diet members and thus can be revoked as punishment, appeals to this former bureaucrat. (I'll tell you why if you ask politely.)

There are so many ways you can go with this (It's kinda harsh, ain't it?), but let's just hope that this leads to a closer scrutiny of all those off-season overseas political junkets.

Ask Me Why It's Called Dance Mania Fantastic

2006-12-03T15:10:00.000+09:00

I learned that a feature film I starred in has won an award at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. I played Dad. A sexy dad.

Sasie Sealy, are you reading this?

Marginalia Americana 09.2.0: Well, I Think It's Funny

2006-11-19T20:04:00.000+09:00

"I had a million-dollar book deal, and that million-dollar book deal was with Judith Regan, and she didn't like the story that she got," Denise Brown told CNN's "Larry King Live" in 2004.

"She wanted to have the tabloid. She wanted to have the cocaine, the drugs, the dancing, all that stuff," Denise Brown said. "And I said, you know what? Nobody can pay me enough money to write a story like that about my sister."

Two million, maybe?

Marginalia Americana 09: The Bushes Take Cover; and O.J.-Just What the Media Ordered For Christmas

2006-11-19T17:50:00.000+09:00

From the People at Newsweek…

The covers from last week's Newsweek: the left one from the US edition and the right one from the international versions:

If I had to make a choice, I'd say the US version was more disrespectful. And we'd never have known if we hadn't had the Internet.

As did Fred Goldman, the long-suffering Simpson agonist. "Even for him, it's about as low as you could possibly go," he told NEWSWEEK. "This is a guy who is a complete narcissist and a sociopath." Goldman vowed to go after any money Simpson makes from the project.

Go Freddy, go!

She said she gave the cash to a third party, "and I was told the money would go to his children. That much I could live with."

Funny. I heard that too. And I know she made doubly sure, because she wouldn't want to be slapped with a co-conspiracy charge for fraud, criminal or civil, no? Besides, his kids approved, didn't they?

Bill O'Reilly slammed his Fox bosses, said he wouldn't watch the show or look at the book and threatened to boycott any product that was advertised during the interview.

And he swore that all the money he receives from Fox from now o shall go to his children. At least that's what I was told. And I can live with that.

Marginalia Americana 08: West Side Story Reminds Me That I've Grown Old

2006-11-19T11:56:00.000+09:00

I caught West Side Story on cable the other day. No it wasn't the tears that came so easily to my eyes that made me feel so old. That's the great songs, the brilliant choreography, working their magic.

No, it was the gentility, the quaintness of it all, that made me feel my best days were long past. For one, it's the grudging deference that the boys show to Officer Krepke. (No backup!) There would be no way that the crowds would even listen to him today. And the double-deaths of Tony and Maria would merely be a prelude to a growing spiral of rapes, drive-bys, and shootouts.

The breakdown of authority is not limited to the American ghetto, nor America alone, and it certainly has had its share of salutary effects. Yet it has also undermined the sense of security and stability that　 social order that an established authority affords. It is then no wonder that what some call the Fourth Great Awakening has taken hold of much of Christian America.

この間、「ウェストサイド物語」をケーブルテレビで見ました。容易に涙が湧いてきましたが、年をとったなあと思ったのは、別にその勢ではありません。あれは、すばらしい音楽、すばらしい振り付けの魔力です。

いや、年をとったと感じさせられたのは、このミュージカルに感じた品のよさというか、古ぶりというか。ひとつには、クラプキ巡査部長にいやいやとはいえ示す青年達の敬意です。今なら、誰も耳を貸そうとすらしないでしょう。また、トニーとマリアの死も、強姦と射撃のエスカレートする報復合戦の始まりに過ぎないはずです。

権威の崩壊は、アメリカの貧民街に限られたことではないし、アメリカ一国の問題でもありません。また、それはそれで、十分な恩恵ももたらしています。しかし、確立された権威が提供してくれた社会的秩序に根差した安全と安定の意識を突き崩していくものでもあります。とすれば、キリスト教アメリカに第四次の「大覚醒運動」と一部の人々に言われるものが起こっているのも、納得のいくことです。

Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Death; But Is Kerry Any Better Off?

2006-11-05T19:21:00.000+09:00

That's a surprise, isn't it? Some people have expressed doubts as to its timing, falling so close to the US midterm elections. I have no way of knowing if that is true or not, but, if the Republican Party had its druthers, I suspect they would rather not have this unpleasant reminder of what got the Bush administration into Iraq in the first place loom large in the public mind. In any case, I suspect this will have little effect on the turnout or the choices of US voters. An irrelevant death: that will be the ultimate irony for Saddam. Likewise, John Kerry's verbal and visual gaffe (he actually paused to look down and check his cue card before he made that unfortunate omission) has had little effect on voter perceptions.

Saddam and Kerry: two has-beens. Politics is cruel.

Dear Reader: Could You Help This Poor Man?

2006-11-04T19:06:00.000+09:00

I received the following email the other day. I think this is a serious request. After all, his claim to be a solicitor is borne out by his Hong Kong email address and the telltale, missing period after "Mr".

Unfortunately, indigent that I am, I am unable to oblige Mr. Douglas. Therefore, I beseech you, dear reader (or readers, as I like to think in my more optimistic moments), to come to his assistance in my stead. And who knows, it could prove to be as beneficial as that occasion you came to the aid of the relatives of that unfortunate Nigerian general who came to an untoward end.

Since this gentleman is a solicitor, the legal profession, particularly that in Hong Kong, bears, I believe, a particular responsibility to look into the plight of Mr. Larry Douglas and the estate of the deceased.

From: larry02douglas@yahoo.com.hk
Subject: Greetings
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:28:51 -0800 (PST)

Greetings,

Before I start, I must firstly, apologize for this unsolicited proposal to you.I am aware that this is certainly an unconventional approach to starting a relationship, but as time goes on you will realize the need for my action.

My name is Mr Larry Douglas, Solicitor to Gerald Welsh, who died with his wife in an air crash on the 31st October 1999 in an Egyptian airline flight990. Before the death of Gerald Welsh, he maintained a fixed deposit account with a Financial services Company here in Europe(details of which I will disclose to you later).

Based on this discovery, I now seek your permission to have you stand in as a next of kin to the deceased, as all documentations will be carefully worked out by me for the release of these funds all amounting to the tune of(US15,340,000.00) to any nominated account of your choice. Contact me immediately through email.

Regards,
Mr Larry Douglas

Why Now, Just before the Mid-Term Elections with the Reverend's Gay Sex Allegations? Actually, That Shouldn't Be My Question

2006-11-03T16:16:00.000+09:00

As James Dobson has duly complained, it is only one man's accusations. But "temporarily stepping aside" to "seek spiritual advice and guidance"? Not exactly alcohol rehab, but considering Rev. Haggard's previous standing, it sounds a lot like "I'm It!" to me.

But before I even start to pontificate about the rampant hypocrisy and moral cowardice in the American leadership, I should wonder why there are no openly gay public figures beyond the entertainment world. Now I'm a loner, and I know I'm emotionally obtuse. Still, in all the years of my school and professional life, I have come across only one or two Japanese in public life whom I even suspected of being gay. On the other hand, we have always had a few openly gay entertainers, and they have had no problems starring on prime-time broadcast TV.

So what's going on here? I am genuinely stumped.

Marginalia Americana 6: Our Fates Lie in the Hands of These People Too

2006-11-02T12:13:00.000+09:00

Wyoming elects one House member and two Senators. (Go figure.). Barbara Cubin, the Republican incumbent in this overwhelmingly Republican state is fighting for dear life to hold on to her seat against the no-name Democratic candidate, Gary Trauner. (Okay, he does have a name.). No, this has nothing to do with the Bush administration, and everything to do with her in-your-face threat to bitchslap the wheelchair-bound Libertarian (yes Libertarian) candidate, an MS patient. In a last-ditch stab at negative campaigning:

"The guy's from New York. It's not a good fit. He's too liberal. He's just not familiar with Wyoming's issues," said Cubin spokesman Joe Milczewski.
"For example, in New York City, you don't have a wolf problem. We have a big wolf problem in Wyoming." (New York Daily News, 01 Nov. 06)

I suppose the takeaway here is that the wolf problem in Wyoming is a federal issue. Incidentally, Mr. Trauner has lived in Wyoming for 16 years.

John Kerry has done it again. I take his word for it that he meant President Bush, not high school dropouts who join the Army and ship out to Iraq. But his demonstration of a total lack of a funny bone and his initial rage at the rest of the world for misunderstanding him were vintage Kerry.

He is the latest in a long, bipartisan line of public figures going back from Al Gore (inventing the Internet) to Howard Dean (the Scream) to Edmund Muskie (the New Hampshire meltdown) to Richard Nixon (uh…) who never fail to elicit the media's enmity. Then there are the people who seem to get a free pass (Condoleezza Rice, in contrast to Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, comes to mind). Likeability is an important factor in determining which way the media will spin a story that can break in either direction.

Marginalia Americana 5: The Entire Monday Colbert Report on the Comedy Central Website?

2006-11-01T01:32:00.000+09:00

So I guess my question is: Do we really need cable?

But wait,there's something wrong with this picture. Can you tell?

ADD, Nov. 1 (1:20 PM):
Here's a TIME piece. The squeeze on MyTube and the Comedy Central full monte are clearly related. Though coexistence is still possible, the latter makes it more likely that Jon Stewart and Company want a monopoly.

Marginalia Japonica-Americana: Monkeys, Corruption

2006-10-27T17:29:00.000+09:00

"Macaques' monkey business causing concern": Know what? I think we should donate them to the US of A. The state of Virginia for one needs more of them. Hey, we gave those guys cherry blossoms…

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, "City workers with political clout claim to be injured at a rate that far exceeds any occupation tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor".

Meanwhile, in Japan, a small but persistent story has been running about a Nara municipal employee who pulled down a full salary for five years while showing up for a grand total of eight days during those years. He claimed illness, while tootling around the neighborhood in a pricey import auto. Today, on Oct. 27, he was finally dismissed. More than a couple of dozen other city employees, including the mayor, will be receiving lesser punishment for the oversight. One of the articles briefly mentioned in passing that he was an official of the Buraku Kaihou Doumei. The Socialist-affiliated Bukaidou, as it is commonly called, is one of the two pressure groups (Zenkairen is linked to the Communist Party) that claim to represent the interests of the former burakumin, the Japanese social analogue to the untouchable caste. One implication of this incident is that there remain sufficient grounds for these individuals to extort special treatment from fearful local governments. The other is that the media still fears to wade too deeply into these waters. Perhaps I should stop right here as well.

This talk of Chicago reminds me of a conversation I had with a Chicago Tribune correspondent, back in the early 90s when they still had a Tokyo bureau. We were talking about the widespread dango, i.e. collusion among contractors for public works in Japan. Under prodding, he admitted, yes, he saw a lot of corruption every day in Chicago, but the difference was that the aldermen, the contractors, they went to jail. Unlike Japan, was the implication. Well, the governor of Fukushima Prefecture has been arrested on charges of accepting bribes for steering public works contracts in return for money. Am I supposed to be proud of any of this or what?

Depends on What the Meaning of the Phrase “Stay the Course" Is

2006-10-25T17:59:00.000+09:00

After a short-lived attempt to redefine "stay the course", Tony Snow has abandoned the phrase altogether. It is never a good sign in politics when you are forced to parse words and phrases. (Remember Clinton and the infamous "is".)

At least the phrase had a better run than "mission accomplished". And the Republicans are showing a measure of life, even as everyone, including the Bush administration, seems to be accepting the fact that Jim Baker will once again come to the rescue after the mid-term elections to help them, change course. Imagine the disarray (yet again) among the Democrats and the despair over their long-term prospects if they fail to at least recapture the House.

Did the secular belligerence of neo-conservatives and the apocalyptic yearnings of pre-millenarians converge with the post-millenarian convictions of George Bush to create the evanescent certitude that carried the Bush administration to this juncture?

But do I know that Bush is a post-millenarian? Do I even know what a post-millenarian is?

I'd like to tell you that the thought came to me in a blinding flash of light, which would put me somewhere between The Prophet and the crazy lady on the New York subway. But I was drinking heavily last night, which I think puts me much closer to the crazy lady's end of the spectrum. Or even off the scale altogether.

Anyway, what do you think?

Instant Analysis: Why the LDP Won the By-elections (or why the dpj lost).

2006-10-22T22:51:00.000+09:00

It may only be the exit polls. But the LDP has come from behind in Osaka to sweep the two by-elections. This makes the prime minister look good in his first test. Komeito, the liberal wing of the LDP, will look to cash in., so pacifists rejoice.

Mr. Abe has Kim Jong-il to thank for in the same way that George W. Bush had Osama, but Mr. Abe had created his own luck by painstakingly laying down the groundwork for his electrifying trip to Beijing. Admittedly, the near-invisible Ichiro Ozawa has been more helpful than Al Gore and John Kerry put together by taking ineffectual potshots at Mr. Abe's foreign policy brief and doing little else.

But don't write off the DPJ yet. The US (housing bubble pop) and China (fixed assets investment crackdown) could still drag down the Japanese economy before next year's Upper House general election.

Marginalia Americana 4

2006-10-20T14:16:00.000+09:00

Kazakhstan finally gets it right by inviting Borat to visit the country.

Borat is the latest creation of Sascha Baron Cohen, a British (Jewish) comedian whose latest creation Borat draws laughs at the expense of Kazakhstan's dignity, portraying it as an anti-semite, anti-feminist, all-around backwater state. The Kazakh government, understandably furious, had complained and threatened legal action against Cohen. Aided partly by the unsolicited, if not unanticipated, publicity this generated, he stars in the mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (hence the Americana), soon to be released in US theaters from coast to coast.

The Kazakh government has finally come to its senses and decided to be a good sport. Somebody really understands public relations there, unusual for governments anywhere.

The Student’s Guide to Freakonomics paraphrases John Kenneth Galbraith: "[A]ccording to ... Galbraith, conventional wisdom must be simple, convenient, comfortable and comforting, though not necessarily true." This would also be a good definition for "truthiness".

From the News: Amusing Myself

2006-10-20T13:59:00.000+09:00

Chris Rock's Mom Claims Discrimination
"Cracker Barrel has in the past faced numerous lawsuits and a federal inquiry over complaints of refusing to serve black customers, discriminating against minority workers and firing gay employees. The company has taken steps to rebuild its folksy image and reach out to minorities."

Cracker Barrel… Hmm, maybe they should start there.

Afghan kidnappers 'want convert'
"The kidnappers will free Mr Torsello, a Muslim convert, if Abdul Rahman returns from Italy where he was granted asylum earlier this year, the aid agency says. … Mr Rahman had escaped a possible death sentence for becoming a Christian."

So they kidnap a Muslim, an ex-Catholic no less, so they can whack the ex-Muslim, Christian convert in accordance with their fundamentalist interpretation of shari'a, just because he's an Italian? That in of itself sounds… blasphemous?

Chuck Berry getting his licks at 80
"Early next year, he'll release a CD of new material, his first commercial release in more than 20 years."

Wait, so Chuck Berry produced most of his greatest hits in his thirties?

Human species 'may split in two'
"The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures."

So medium-height guys with little pot bellies and hemorrhoids are going to go extinct? Bummer. But:

"But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.
"Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.
"Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people."

I can't be sure about all of those physical features, mind you, but am I the only one who is reminded of The Rock and Angelina Jolie? Hey, I might be on to something!

Online Poetry Attracts Attention

2006-10-17T13:55:00.000+09:00

Somebody linked to my blog, and very quickly at that; in fact, almost 12 hours before the post itself. Imagine my chagrin, then, when I found out that that somebody was the Angelina Jolie page for a website that collects all blog postings on a celebrities list, then links to them. It appears that my Pulitzer Prize entry caught the attention of the bot that does this for them.

This is, of course, the first time this has happened to this blog, and no other sites seem to be emulating the celebrity website. But it makes me wonder: If I wrote at the bottom of each post all the names on the list of celebrities at that website, wouldn't my blog attract a lot of eyeballs, and maybe some of them just might turn out to be interested in, say, the North Korean nuclear test?

So, as a test, I'm going to write down the following names, and see what happens: Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, Anna Kournikova, and Jessica Alba. In case you're wondering why they are all women, it's because the list doesn't have any men on it. Honest. Sophia Johannsen and Drew Barrymore are also not on the list, in case you wanted to know. Pamela Anderson is, but, hey, you gotta draw the line somewhere, and besides, this is a test. (Would that there was a way to write invisible text… hmmm.)

Marginalia Americana 3.1: An Ode to The Rock and Angelina Jolie

2006-10-16T12:44:00.000+09:00

One endearing feature of the original, New-Agey Star Trek is the racial diversity of its cast. That was surely a part of the creator's vision for a high-minded galactic civilization that had long since risen above Earth's racial, indeed interspecies, prejudices (hence Mr. Spock). Subsequent sci-fi films and TV serials have for the most part followed this assumption, if only because it is presumably hard to conceive that racial barriers will persist into future centuries, indeed millennia.

But if they are right, and color of skin, the shape of your epicanthic folds become as unimportant (or important) as the dimple in your chin, the color of your eyes, then is it not strange to assume that the defining racial features will remain unchanged and distinct, and mongoloids will be mongoloids, blacks will be blacks, and blondes are still a gentleman's best friends? Why so few… mongrels?

Better, then, is it not, to imagine
In the image of the Rock and Angelina Jolie
Our great-grandsons and great-granddaughters to the nth degree,
Tanned and ripped from the day of birth,
Full of sexual energy, filled with mirth
Yet never full of oneself; people we all hope to befriend,
If not to sleep with in the end?

Imagine.

Marginalia Americana 3

2006-10-16T07:52:00.000+09:00

During the Vietnam War, many non-Americans served in the US military. They were US residents who chose it as the quickest way to earn US citizenship. How many of them are doing the same in Iraq? Iraq is far less dangerous, yet we do not hear about them this time. You would think a military that is being forced to lower its enlistment standards would go out of its way to recruit able-bodied, eager foreigners. Or has the war not gone on long enough to let media attention turn to such trivial matters?

How many Japanese, for that matter? Several Japanese went to Vietnam, and some had their 15 minutes' fame as they recounted their experiences.

Huckleberry Finn was, is, and always will be The Great American Novel. Why does President Bush (this one) remind me of Tom Sawyer?

Speaking of novels, Elmore Leonard never fails to please. He gives you exactly what you are expecting each and every time. Yet he is free of the clichés and tics that even good crime writers often acquire. In Leonard's hands, even minor cardboard-cutout characters come to life.

Marginalia Americana 2

2006-10-09T10:38:00.000+09:00

First it's the Clintons with Bill's (what else?) Clinton Global Initiative and the Hillary fundraiser, now it's Al Gore and his Current TV. That Rupert Murdoch has been working the Democratic side of the spectrum recently may not come as surprise to people who have observed him over the years. Fox TV, both news and non-, show that Mr. Murdoch never shies away from anything, anywhere, or anybody that's good for business. He must be hoping that the less temperamental Mr. Gore will not mess things up like Mr. Clinton did on, of all places, Fox News.

The Mark Foley text messaging scandal confirms several things:
1) A US congressman was drinking on the job. Either that, or alcoholic rehab is the hideout of choice for public figures when you have absolutely nothing to say, including "no comment", to an expectant media.
2) Emails are no longer the only way the Internet can come back to bite you. Watch out, IM users.
3) You can be an openly gay Republican congressman, as long as you stay in the closet. Hey, that's nothing to laugh at. Name one gay/lesbian Diet member if you disagree.

"Guns don't kill people; people kill people." So why not let everyone have nuclear weapons? Mustard gas? Anthrax? Botox?

You know what I'm talking about, and no Marginalia Americana would be complete without it. But I just can't bring myself to write about it. So that's it for today.

Marginalia Japonica: The Media

2006-10-07T15:32:00.000+09:00

(Cogressional Foley: at last)

Fully a week into the Foley scandal, the biggest hit on the Republicans as the November midterm elections approaches, began appearing in the Japanese media. So their correspondents do read the newspaper after all. Maybe they even tune into CNN from time to time.

フォーリー・スキャンダルは、11月の中間選挙が近づく中で共和党最大の打撃となっておりますが、表面化してから一週間、ようやく日本のメディアに登場してきました。こうしてみると、特派員達も、新聞を読んでいるのですね。たまには、CNNを見ることもあるのかもしれません。

(Live from London?>

When I recently saw in an evening edition of a Japanese daily a summary of a news story from that same day’s Financial Times, I marveled at the speed with which its London bureau could work (it was attributed to its London bureau), given the huge difference in time zones. But only for an instant. I immediately realized that whoever did the article either took in the original off the FT website (where it could be posted before it went to print) or read the Japanese hard-copy version, which is available before the same-day edition goes to the newsstands in London.

Leaving aside the questionable practice of letting the FT do all the legwork, couldn’t all this have been much easier to do from a desk in Japan, at a reasonable hour in the morning, instead of the darkest hours before dawn in London? And much cheaper? Come to think of it, the morning hardcopy…

最近日刊紙の夕刊で、同日付のファイナンシャルタイムスに載った記事の要約（ロンドン支局発）を見かけました。ロンドン支局が、大きな時差があるにも関わらずこんなに速く仕事ができることに感心しました。だが、それもほんの一瞬でした。というのも、記事を書いた人が、FTのウェブサイトに（実物の発刊前にも）掲載される記事を拾ったか、ロンドンより前に（時差の関係で）日本で同日付が配達されたものを呼んだのに違いないのに気がついたからです。

FTに汚れ仕事を全部任せることの是非は別にして、夜明けも遠いロンドンで苦労するくらいなら、日本で、朝、ゆっくりと取り掛かった方がよかったのでは。その方がずっと安上がりだろうし。考えてみれば、朝刊の実物が．．．

(Is the kisha club enough to serve the public interest on the prime minister's overseas visits?)

Is the Japanese custom of the domestic reporters’ club covering the prime minister’s visit being part of the itinerary a good idea? Is that why the Japanese news emanating from those summits always seem to come with the Japanese government’s trademark spin on it? Maybe it’s time to put reporters that can hound foreign delegations and kibitz around with the rest of the press on the beat. That, or put interpreters to good use. Come to think of it, say, two K per day plus all expenses paid … hmmm …

総理官邸詰の記者団が総理外遊に同行という習慣は、今のままでいいのだろうか。だから、サミット発のニュースがいつも政府発のポイントで書かれているようにるのだろうか。ひょっとすると、外国の代表団に食い下がったりよそのプレスと付き合ったりできるような記者を参加させてもいいのではないか。それとも、通訳を上手く使うとか。待てよ、一日2千ドルプラス経費なら．．．　なるほど．．．

Who Should “Get a Cut” from an Organ Transplant? A Japanese Issue in More Ways than One

2006-10-02T12:42:00.000+09:00

I am channel-surfing over a bowl of ramen, when I come across a BBC report on the exploding growth of the Chinese organ transplant industry using organs “donated” by executed criminals. A sting operation of sorts, the investigation team has gone in with a hidden video camera to negotiate a liver transplant. In the huge, gleaming hospital (last year, it doubled its capacity to accommodate all the foreign patients, including 600 liver transplants anually, at £50,000 a pop or more), the head of customer relations claims the condemned criminals donate their organs to society as compensation for the wrongs they have inflicted. (This and more I am taking in, in a combination of voiceover and subtitles.) I bet, I think, even as I am imagining ethically (to me) acceptable and more equitable ways of handling organ transplants in general and waxing metaphysical about the individual’s posthumous rights to his/her body and what society should have to say about its ultimate disposal.

My lunchtime reverie is interrupted, however, when an agent from the sales force arrives and delivers a more detailed pitch. He explains among other things that supply goes up when national party conventions and other such major events draw near. The reason for this is that the authorities want stability going into these affairs, so they crackdown on crime, thus resulting in more executions. (Justice in China is sometimes swift and brutal, it seems.) But no, this is not what has disturbed my rapture. Rather, I am no longer relying on the voiceover and subtitles; the agent is speaking perfect native Japanese.

It appears there are other ways than this near-fraud for us Japanese to get involved in the shadier parts of the organ transplant industry.

******

(For the record, the people taped sitting and milling around in the capacious hospital waiting room (lobby?) looked largely Middle East in face and garb. But I could be wrong. Has anyone reading this seen the program?)

Marginalia Americana

2006-09-30T09:11:00.000+09:00

(What the Bush Administration Did for Americans)

In a recent online conversation among a few friends, one of us wondered if the Bush administration had come up with any successes from a policy (not political) point of view. The Bush tax cuts did not seem so useful to us, since none of us were particularly well off. Prescription drug coverage by Medicare didn’t cut it either; we were too young for that. In fact, this question was difficult to answer to the point of being rhetorical. One of us came up with homeland security, specifically airport security, but the one who posed the question told us that taking measures that any administration would have done in light of the situation did not deserve mention as policy.

But there has been no attack on the homeland, and the economy has held up. So, perhaps the Bush administration should be credited for:
1) taking its eyes off Afghanistan and going into Iraq so that militant Islam would concentrate its resources on the Middle East and its vicinity; and
2) appointing two powerless Treasury Secretaries so that Greenspan would not be distracted.

Unfair? Perhaps. But politicians are like shamans; they take credit for the rain, and get blamed for droughts. There's still too much stacked against the Democrats to give them even odds or better to take the House in November, but, Republicans, watch out in 2008. Iraq looks dangerously unstable and the US economy is showing signs of cooling.

(Anderson Cooper Uses Cable TV as an Education Tool)

CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°scored something of a coup when Cooper copped a 20-minute interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and aired substantial portions of it on the show on the Sept. 22. Unfortunately, he seemed to be stuck on the question of whether Ahmadinejad believed the Holocaust did not happen, and failed to crack Ahmadinejad's armor of evasions and counterquestions. He had to be reminded in a different segment by Wolf Blitzer that Ahmadinejad never talked about the Holocaust in his UN speech. He also seemed obsessed with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's bizzare, if harmless, UN speech calling President Bush the Devil and badgered Ahmadinejad on his opinion about it.

Cooper did more reporting on Ahmadinejad the following day, and did do a better job, though the teleprompter, absent during the interview, must be given some of the credit. A good learning experience in all. Unfortunately, Cooper himself was doing a lot of the learning.

( Louisville Paper Gets Disc With 232 Photos of Nude National Guard Women)

Sorry, no pictures in that article. This reminds me of the US controversy over gays in the military, though. As a heterosexual male, I think I would be far more distracted from my combat duties by spending day after day with physically fit, sweaty women in close quarters than by the fear that the gay guy in the shower stall next to me might make a pass. But maybe that's just me. You wonder what's the JSDA policy, if any, is on that one.

Back to the news itself; these things happen, because war is hell.

("The Daily Show" Host Jumps on the I-Report Bandwagon. (September 28))

Or so CNN claims. Actually, John Stewart is making fun of the idea of having amateurs send in video reports that CNN could subsequently air. Amid the laughter, John Stewart subtly reminds us that people are going to put themselves in danger to gain footage. You can bet The Daily Show (as well as the rest of media) will be all over CNN the first time somebody suffers serious physical damage. In the meantime, what do we call this phenomenon of an award-winning news channel reporting on an award-winning news program reporting on the news channel?

You know a show is hot when you snag Pervez Musharraf before Larry King does.

Trivia from the LDP Presidential Debate: Did We Have Our Own Arsenio Moment?

2006-09-17T18:20:00.000+09:00

(Sidebar to this GlobalTalk entry.)

The three LDP presidential candidates, Shinzo Abe, Teiichi Tanigaki, and Taro Aso showed up together for what has become the obligatory show-and-tell for Japanese political leaders on Koichiro Tawara’s Sunday Project. (Imagine C-Span run by Geraldo.) The show began with Mr. Tawara holding a panel that described each candidate in one word. The candidates were each given a smaller panel and felt pen and asked to write his own one word that would better describe himself. They dutifully complied, then, at Mr. Tawara’s bidding displayed them for the TV camera. This exercise was repeated for another question, and then the session proceeded to the regular grilling by Mr. Tawara, mostly of Mr. Abe on the history issue.

This particular quiz format is a staple of Japanese TV variety programs in general, as well as dedicated quiz programs, which, like similar US TV broadcasts, often features grade B celebrities.

Prime Minister Koizumi stretched the limits of politics as theater. Is the next generation heralding the political entertainment era?

自問党総裁候補の安倍晋三、谷垣禎一及び麻生太郎が今や日本の政治的リーダー達にとって必須となっている田原総一郎の「サンデープロジェクト」（あの突撃リポーターのヘラルド・リベラがくそ真面目な政治専門ケーブルチャンネルのC-Spanを仕切る番組を想像してください）に登場しました。番組の初めに、田原氏は、候補者をそれぞれ一言で説明するパネルを手にして見せた上で、各候補者が手に持ったもう少し小ぶりのパネルにフェルトペンで自分自身が自分を一言で言い表すと思う一言を書くよう求められました。いずれも田原氏の求めに従い、田原氏の合図でいっせいに視聴者にそれを見せました。もう一問同じように書き込みと展示を繰り返してからいつもの通り田原氏による尋問に入りましたが、これは、大部分歴史問題がらみで安倍氏に向けられました。

このクイズ形式は、日本のバラエティ番組の定番であり、クイズ専門番組でも広く使われています。後者はとりわけ、米国のそれと同様、しばしば二流タレントを中心に運用されています。

小泉首相は、劇場政治を極限まで推し進めました。その次の世代は、エンタテインメントとしての政治の時代を切り開こうとしているのでしょうか。

I Hear You, Paul - “So a Fifty-Five-Year-Old Walks into a Bookstore…” Redux

2006-09-15T09:44:00.000+09:00

This is my response to Paul J. Scalise"’s comment on a previous thread. Since I’m not confident that there are enough readers of this blog to sustain a dialogue on any particular thread, I am posting this independently. Besides, this should be barely long enough to qualify as my self-imposed quota of one thread a day.

Paul:

Your comment in turn reminded me of people I met in the US while I was working there between 2001-2004. These were now middle-aged men, who'd become involved in Japan as academics or missionaries, got swept up in the 1980s rush to the Japanese market and became businessmen, bankers and consultants, and never looked back. Many who stayed in the academia also found the way to fame and fortune in their chosen calling.

Some of these people remain in the Japan business, but many have gone on to transfer their business skills to a broader market. There is life after Japan.

Likewise the subsequent generation of academics and analysts spawned in the Japan boom (often aided by the influx of education and research money from Japan). With fewer opportunities to directly transfer their Japanese language and cultural skill to the business sector, they have chosen to broaden their repertoire and re-brand themselves as East Asia experts or otherwise.

Some of this scenario is being replayed in China, but I have a hunch that much of the plot is unfolding very differently, and will continue to do so for two reasons. First, there is a huge Chinese diaspora that diminishes the comparative advantage of the non-ethnic-Chinese adept.

Second, the huge flow of Japan money that flowed into US universities and think tanks is not, to my knowledge, being matched by similar largess from China, public or private. And a smaller bubble means that there will be less of a pop when it bursts.

******

Incidentally, I think that the level of interest in the Middle East (and therefore Middle East languages) is much lower here in Japan. And one rapidly growing genre published in Japan of which you will find very few examples of English translations is our search for national identity.

It may not surprise you to learn that the traditionalist (in the modernist sense, as I explain in my commentary on Mr. Abe) wing of nationalism do exceptionally well on the best-selling book charts. There are notable exceptions from the leftish pacifist school that used to dominate the first quarter century of social commentary in post war Japan, and there is plenty of centrist thinking backed by careful scholarship that informs the mainstream. But the traditionalist ascendancy prevails on the shelves of the bookstores, so much so that the first time I began to look at Japanese language bookshelves in a long time, I thought I’d chanced on a store whose owner had strong rightist leanings. I soon found out that this bookstore, like most others, was just following market trends.

これは、Paul J. Scalise"氏がa別のスレッド previous threadで行なったコメントに対する回答です。このブログに一つのスレッドをずっと続けるだけの数の読者がまだいらっしゃらないと思うので、これを新たな書き込みとして建てることにしました。それに、なんとか、自分に課した「一日一書き込み」に街灯Sル位の長さもあると思いましたので。

ポール：
　君の書き込みから、今度は私の方が、思い出したよ。2001―2004年にかけて米国に滞在していたときに会った人達のことを。彼等は、今は中年に達した男性達で、初めは研究者や宣教師として日本と関わったのだが、80年代の日本市場ラッシュに巻き込まれてビジネスマン、バンカー、コンサルタントになって、そのまま戻らなかった人達だ。学界に残った人達の多くもまた、日本ブームによって名利を得た。

こうした人達は、日本ビジネスに残っている方も多いが、多くは、その知見をもっと広い市場で生かすようになっている。日本ブームが去っても、やることはあるものだ。

日本ブームが生み出した次の世代の研究者、アナリスト達（これは、教育・研究に流れ込んだ多額のジャパンマネーにも助けられた）もまた、対応していることは同様だ。日本語、日本文化の知見を直接ビジネスに移す機会が減っている彼等は、自分達の商品リストを拡大して、東アジア専門家等とブランドの更新を行なっている。

こうしたシナリオのある部分は、今、中国で再現されている。しかし、筋書きの相当部分は、大いに違っているのではないかと想像している。それには、二つの理由がある。第一に、巨大な華僑の存在が、漢人でない中国専門家の比較優位を減少させる。

第二に、米国の大学、シンクタンクに流れ込んだ巨大なジャパンマネーに匹敵するような現象は、中国の官民を問わず、私は、寡聞にして知らない。バブルが小さければ、はじけるときの音も小さいことだろう。

******

ところで、君が言う、中東に対する関心（従って中東の諸言語）に対するは、ここ日本では、ずっと低い。そして、急速に伸びているジャンルで、英語に翻訳されることが少ないだろうと思われるのが、国民としてのアイデンティティを探る、というものだ。

私が（安倍晋三に関する解説で説明したような意味で近代的な）伝統主義者達の著作が売れ行き好調なのは、君も知っての通りだ。戦後日本の最初の四半世紀において社会評論を支配した左気味の平和主義をベースにした強力な例外はあり、また、確かな学問的考証を土台にした中道的な考え方がたっぷりと国民の主流にしっかりと浸透しているのも、事実だ。しかし、本屋の書棚では、伝統主義者達の台頭が目立っており、長い間お目にかかっていなかった日本語書籍の書棚を覗いたときは、右翼の書店主がいるところに迷い込んだのかと思ったくらいだ。まもなく、私は、そのコノ本屋も、その競争相手のほとんどがそうしているように、市場トレンドを追っかけているだけなのだとういうことを理解した。

So a Fifty-Five-Year-Old Walks into a Bookstore, No, a Library… Oh Hell

2006-09-14T13:43:00.000+09:00

English 50, Chinese 6, Korean 3, French 3, German 2, Spanish 1 1/2, Italian 1, Russian 2/3, Portuguese 2/3…

To make a short story even shorter, these were the numbers of shelves dedicated to instruction books in the respective languages in a bookstore near the Shinbashi JR station I went into in order to kill some time yesterday (Sept.13). Three more shelves were dedicated to "others". Shinbashi has gone slightly upscale in recent years, but it's mostly offices (but no significant corporate headquarters), as well as plenty of good, inexpensive restaurants and bars and other businesses that cater to the people working there. And there are no schools to speak of in sight. The late afternoon/early evening clientele in the bookstore also reflected this demographic.

The reason for the overwhelming popularity of English is pretty obvious. The only surprise to me is the enduring popularity of German. I might also have been surprised at the strong showing of Italian if I hadn't been aware of the tourism angle. In fact, I suspect the entire genre reflected much more than pure self-improvement.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. And the strong interest in Chinese and Korean is encouraging. Likewise with the powerhouses among the "others", Thai and Indonesian, weighing in with half a shelf each. Twenty years ago, how many of us Japanese would have even cared about learning an Asian language?

Somewhat disappointing, if not surprising, is that Arabic only merited about 4 inches, or 1/8 of a shelf. Not exactly favored as a tourist destination by the average office lady, Arabic　as the common language of the Middle East deserves serious consideration as a third language after English, given the importance of the Arab oil economy and the lack of competition.

There were three other shelves carrying Japanese instruction books, all for English language speakers. I didn't see a single gaijin customer while I was in there, but I wasn't going to go around asking questions just for the sake of this blog.

******

Actually, I have even more time on my hands, so I dropped by the Hibiya Library to see if they'd acquired any more Elmore Leonard novels in the last five years. (Yes. One.) If you're not accustomed to frequenting libraries during the weekday, you'll be surprised at the large number of middle-, late-middle-aged men getting into self-improvement.

Kidding. These are guys with nowhere to go, nothing to do, at least when it’s raining all day and the missus can no longer stand the sight of you sitting around in the house, watching TV. Or so I guessed. I certainly wasn't going to try to satisfy my there-but-for-the-grace-of-the-gods-go-I curiosity and risk being punched out, just for the sake of a few more extra lines on this blog.

Actually, I don't think they would have had the energy to take a swipe at me. But these are clean-shaven, obviously literate guys, with years and years of experience. Surely they could hold down a part-time desk job if someone reached out to them.

You think there's going to be a labor shortage? Well, there’s gold mine there for the kind of business that can give these guys a sense of self-worth, in addition to the extra cash. Give them time-off to do NGO, NPO volunteer work at corporate expense, whatever. And if they don’t want that extra money to take that trip to Shanghai, they could go straight to the NGO/NPOs, meet nice, mature women in the process, who knows?

Politicians ought to take notice of this growing constituency too, potential grassroots volunteers who will also bring their own votes with them. It can’t be all just public pensions and healthcare. We need a sense of community, and the nation state is too distant for the important things in our lives. If Prime Minister Abe doesn't think of something for this neck of the woods in civil society between the safety net and the nation state, somebody will.

英５０、中国６、ハングル３、仏３、独２、西１ 1/2、伊１、露2/3、葡2/3…

うんとかいつまんで言えば、これは、昨日（9月13日）、空いた時間をつぶすために覗いた新橋駅近くの本屋にあった語学学習書でそれぞれの言語が占めていた棚の数だ。「その他」が後三つほどを占めていた。最近の新橋は多少水準が上がっているが、それでも、主としてオフィスであり（ただし大手事業の本社はなさそうである）、そこに働く人々のための安くて上手いレストラン、バーその他の商売が居を構えているところに変わりはない。また、これという学校は、見当たらない。午後遅くから夕刻にかけての本屋の客層もこうした人口構成を反映していた。

英語が圧倒的な人気を誇っている理由は、自明だろう。私が唯一びっくりしたのは、依然としてドイツ語の人気があることだ。もし観光のことを考えなければ、イタリア語が高い位置を占めているのにも驚いていたかもしれない。実は、全体を通じて、自己研鑽以外の動機も相当あるのだろうと想像する。

もちろん、それが悪いと言うことではさらさらない。そして、中国語、ハングルの人気が高いことは、うれしいことだ。同様に勇気付けられるのが「その他」の中でタイ、インドネシアがそれぞれ棚半分づつを占めていることだ。20年前だったら、私達の間で何人がアジアの言語を学ぶことを背託していただろうか。

アラビア語が幅10センチ、せいぜい棚の1/8程度しか占めていないのは、寂しい。普通のOLにとってバケーションの地ではないかもしれないが、中東の大部分の共通言語であることを考えると、英語に次ぐ第二外国語として検討してはいかがか。なにしろ、アラブの石油経済は日本にとって大事だし、他に語学学習の競争相手もいないのだから。

それ以外に日本語学習本（ただし、英語が理解できることが必要）が棚三つ分あった。私がいる間、外人客がまったくいなかったが、かといってこのブログのためにだけ質問をして廻ることはできなかった。

******

実は、それ以上に時間が余ったので、ここ5年の間にエルモア・レナードの小説の新本が入架していないかを見るために日比谷図書館に入った。（一冊あった。）もし月―金の間に図書館に行く習慣がなければ、びっくりするだろう、中年から初老に差しかかろうとする男性の知的向上心の強いことには。

冗談です。彼等は、とりわけ一日中雨が降っていて奥さんもこれ以上家の中でテレビの前でごろごろしていてほしくない、ということになったときに、いるところもすることもなくなっている男達なのだ。というのは想像、ほんのちょっと具合が違っていれば私もあの運命と思いながら、コノ書き込みの行数を少し増やすだけのために好奇心で質問して一発拳骨をかまされたくないから。

本当のところ、彼等には手を出すような元気は残っていないのだろう。さりとて、彼等は、概して身なりもこざっぱりとした、当然読み書きもでき、長年の経験も身に付けている。もしだれかが手を差し伸べてくれば、オフィスでのパートの仕事ぐらい、当然できるはずだ。

労働力不足になるんだって？もしあの男達に、いくばくかのお金に加えて、自尊心を満足させることができるようにするビジネスモデルを考案することができれば、そこには宝の山が待ち受けている。たとえば、会社の経費でNGO、NPOでボランティアをするための休暇を与えるというのはどうか。そして、上海の旅行のためのお小遣いなんか必要ないという方々には、直接NGOやNPOに行ってもらえばいいじゃないか。そこで、素敵な、年相応の女性に会えるかもしれない…

政治かもこの増えゆく選挙民集団に気を配っておくべきではないか。草の根ボランティア、しかもそれぞれおまけに自分の一票を持ってくるという。公的年金と老人健康保険だけでは駄だめだ。私たちには共同体意識が必要だ、そして国民国家は、暮らしの中の大事なことについては、あまりにも身近でない。もし、市民社会の中で、セーフティ・ネットと国民国家との間の間に当たるコノ部分について何か安倍総理が工夫しなければ、他の政治家がそれをするだろう。

Is the BBC Slipping? Or Just Business as Usual?

2006-09-11T09:36:00.000+09:00

A couple of articles on the BBC website have got my goat. Nothing personal, I don't know these people, but I do know the BBC. And I didn't like what I saw.

Japan succession debate to go on

It's a fairly long piece, and shows Chris Hogg understands the underlying political dynamics between the devoted traditionalists who are a core element of LDP support and the lukewarm but increasingly prevalent supporters of a female Empress. Yet he misses the point that Mr. Abe will, if anything, abandon Mr. Koizumi’s plans. Mr. Abe is a traditionalist, and he has no intention of “tak[ing] on the forces of conservatism” in the first place. In fact, I suspect he will be quite willing to accept an Empress, but under traditionalist terms. This omission and misunderstanding occurs because Mr. Hogg misses completely the other, more crucial divide between the supporters of patrilineal and matrilineal succession, respectively. That's surprising, given BBC's reputation. But then, BBC standards may be slipping. See the next article:

The Japanese Jesus trail

For those of you who can't be bothered to read the whole story, the lead paragraph goes like this:

"A Japanese legend claims that Jesus escaped Jerusalem and made his way to Aomori in Japan where he became a rice farmer. Christians say the story is nonsense. However, a monument there known as the Grave of Christ attracts curious visitors from all over the world."

And the article ends on this note:

"Yet many Christians have discovered that the Japanese view of religion can be rather baffling - as the grave of Christ the rice farmer reveals."

What is disappointing is that Duncan Bartlett has taken a fascinating phenomenon, tied it into the treatment of Christian motifs that devoted Christians would find as blasphemous as, say, the White Man's crass commercialization of Christmas, and wraps it up in shallow bemusement. If he’d bothered to consult serious scholars, he could have put it in the context of the Shinto tradition, where everything and everybody is a potential object of worship as kami, or god, from the head of a sardine to the most heinous of traitors. Or explained it in the context of the Kishhu Ryuritan, the long-standing tradition of local legends featuring religious and political personages of note from the centers of civilization exiled to the hinterlands, and their variations. (One legend says Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a 12th Century noble samurai hero fled Japan to become Ghengis Khan.) Instead, it becomes yet another run-of-the-mill feature in the longstanding media tradition of securing bylines with “gee, aren’t those people funny” stories.

Speaking of "gee, aren't these people funny" stories, do you think BBC would do one on Christianity in the US? It seems to me you can do and say anything short of advocating incest and murder and remain respectable by calling it Christianity. Just in case they fail to figure out a good closer, I'll write it for them:

"Many Christians have discovered that the American view of Christianity can be rather baffling - as the [say, that snake handling cult, to mention one of the more benign offshoots] reveals."

Wading in Deep Waters

2006-09-08T17:46:00.000+09:00

Let’s try a thought experiment.

Assume there is a small, though not insignificant, minority of people living in your country. They look, walk, and talk, just like you do. After all, they were born there. The only difference is, after two, three, four generations in Japan, they continue to pledge allegiance to other sovereign states. The relationship with one of these states and yours is especially problematic, to put it mildly. They persistently refuse to take up citizenship in their place of birth and permanent residence, yet many of them demand the right to vote in local elections, and some demand the right to equal treatment in the right to hold public sector jobs. How would you feel? And if that is a difficult question to answer honestly, try imagining how your average fellow citizen would feel?

I do realize that Japan is a difficult society for foreigners. I will accept the claim that some, and possibly much, of the social discrimination that was prevalent when I was a child remains. And yes, I will accept that for a long time it was painful and humiliating to subject oneself to the powerful pressure (now discontinued) from naturalization authorities to officially adopt “Japanese” names. And yes, I am aware that there are many people here who hide behind the Internet cloak of anonymity to spill toxic waste all over Japanese Cyberspace. And no, I will not accept claims that the enormous popularity of their homeland movie stars and TV programs in Japan is proof that discrimination is a dead issue here.

But I wish I could say to the people who did not think my thought experiment worth doing and never got this far in this post: At least here in Japan, there a lot of people actually taking up your cause and siding with you on behalf of your argument. Could someone do the same, back home, whatever that means, in your sovereign state of choice? I for one do not see how a dialogue is possible with people who refuse to ask such questions of themselves.

And yes, I am aware that the fact that so many do not seek Japanese citizenship could be an indictment of Japanese society in itself. So let’s talk. And what did you say your name was?

一つ、思考実験をやってみましょう。

あなたの国に、小さいが決して無視できないマイノリティが住んでいるとしましょう。彼等は、あなたとまったく同じように見え、歩き、話すのです。タダ一つの違いといえば、日本に住んで二代、三代、四台と経っても、日本以外の主権国家に忠誠を尽くすのです。しかも、その中のある国については、あなたの国との関係は、決していいとは言えないのです。彼等は、生まれ、永住権をもつ地において何があろうとも帰化しようとしません。それなのに、その仲の多くの人々が地方選挙に置いて選挙権を要求し、なかには、公務員となることについて同等の権利を要求する人達もいるのです。さあ、あなたんら、どう思いますか。もし、正直に答えるのが難しいとしたら、あなたの国の、普通の市民だったら、なんと感じるでしょうか。

確かに、日本が外国人にとって困難がある社会であることは、認めます。私が子供だったころあった社会的差別のなかのあるもの、ひょっとすると多くのものが、今なお残っていることも認めましょう。そして、確かに、帰化手続き当局がかつて行なっていた、日本人名を採るようにとの指導が長く行なわれていたことが、苦痛かつ屈辱に満ちていたことも認めましょう。そして、日本のインターネット社会で、匿名を奇禍として多くの人が忌まわしい言葉を撒き散らしていることも認めましょう。そして、韓流の俳優やテレビドラマがとてつもない人気をここに博していることが必ずしも差別が問題でなくなったしまっていることを意味しないことも認めましょう。

しかし、私の思考実験を無味意味と判断してここまで呼んでくれなかった人達に言いたいのです、少なくとも日本では、あなた方の主張を取り上げて一緒に戦っている人達がいるのです。あなた方が母国として選んでおられる主権国家、それが一体どういう意味を持つものかわかりませんが、そこで同じことができますか。私自身は、ここにいうような疑問を自分自身に対して投げ駆ることができないような人達とは、どうして対話が可能になるのか、まったく検討もつきません。

ええ、そして、多くの人達が日本国籍を選び取ろうとしないことが日本社会に対する告発かもしれないことも、わかっています。だから、話し合おうではありませんか。ところで、あなたのお名前は、なんでしたっけ。

IHT Interviews Suspected Spammer, SS Ends Up with New (Temporary) Blog

2006-09-08T14:07:00.000+09:00

The following Q&A is part of an email exchange with IHT's Patrick Smith, which grew out of another email exchange inititated by a mutual friend (acquaintance?). I have lightly edited the answers, written on the night of the birth of the new future heir to the Three Sacred Implements, for grammatical accuracy and parallel construction "intern" for "Lewinsky"). I thought this as good as any for giving my views on matters concerning the Imperial Household as they relate to the event. I’ve also translated my own comments into Japanese, and in doing so have added some words that will enable them to be read as stand alone comments. I'd be happy to give this issue further thought on this blog.

I would like to think my comments were reflected in Mr. Smith's analysis. Unfortunately, the online link ends mid-sentence, at "realit", which is not even a word (sidebar: 206-2007, Winter Semester: "Realit vs.Fakelit: Artifice in Creative Writing" Fall, 2 Credits). I guess I'll have to buy the hard copy to se if I got my name into print.

******

"Speaking broadly, as a matter of bedrock knowledge, I should be sure I understand just where the imperial family stands for most Japanese—still very important? Less than before? Less solemn, meaning this is more a celebrity magazine sort of event than it might have been before? I have Japanese friend who say they've avoided this whole matter rather the way one might avoid the latest Walt Disney movie."

I think a substantial majority is supportive in the same way American Jews are supportive of Judaism. That is to say, the Imperial Household has different meanings for different people, including their supporters. The celebrity magazine factor has been there since 1958, when we celebrated the wedding of the current Emperor and Empress. It is the celebrity magazines that have changed. (Think: Kennedy/gang moll vs. Clinton/intern.) The Imperial Household figures certainly less prominently in Japanese these days than in 1958; there are more distractions. (Think: CBS/NBC/ABC vs. cable, satellite, and Internet.)

As for Disney movies, no, I don't watch Disney movies anymore, either. But I'm not trying to make a statement out of it. I don't trust people who avoid Disney movies any more than people who pretend to enjoy Raymond Carver. In any case, Disney movies are hugely popular, more popular, say, than the run-on-the-mill indie hit.

「大多数の日本人は、皇室を支持していると思いますが、それは、ちょうどユダヤ系アメリカ人がユダヤ教を支持しているのと同じような具合なのでしょう。つまり、皇室は、人によって色々と違った意味を持っているわけで、それは、支持者達も同じことです。おっしゃるような有名人扱いは、1958年の今上陛下と美智子様のご婚儀の時からずっとあります。有名人を扱っている週刊誌の方が変わったのです。（昔、ケネディ大統領とマフィアの愛人との関係を米国のメディアが見てみぬふりをしたことと、クリントン大統領とインターンとの関係を格好の話題にしたこととを比べていただければ、言わんとするところがわかっていただけると思います。）また、1958年当時と比べて皇室が日本人の関心の中で占める割合は、確かに落ちていますが、これは、他に関心を引くことが多くなっているからです。（また米国の例を挙げれば、CBS、NBC及びABCがテレビ放送を独占していた当時と、有線も衛星放送も、それにインターネットが加わっている今日との違いのようなものです。）

ディズニー映画が低俗だと思って見に行かないように、皇室記事をあえて読まないという方の意見については、確かに私も見ません。しかし、そのことに何か価値判断を込めているつもりもありません。ディズニー映画を避けるというような人の話は、レイモンド・カーヴァ―の小説を好むふりをする人達と同様、信用できません。いずれにしても、ディズニー映画は、たとえばインディーズ系のヒット映画に比べてはるかに多くの人が見ているのですよ。

"Is there a sense of relief in this: At last a piece of joyful news from the imperial household--after 60-odd years of Showa, then the matter of Masako, etc. --finally something to rejoice? Also, there is something forward-looking built into a birth, something untarnished by the past. Is this a factor--a psychological tendency here?"

There have been a lot of things to rejoice over in the Imperial Household, the marriages, the births; all in the Heisei Era, if I remember correctly. But, beyond the obvious joy, there is an obvious sense of relief over this; after all, a lot of people think we’ve been able to avoid a divisive and, for those whose lives could be indelibly altered, distressing debate over the succession till the mid-century. I disagree, of course, as you know from the occasion. Something untarnished by the past? You said it, not me. I have a hard time thinking in terms of symbolism.

私の記憶によれば、平成の御世においても、相次ぐ御婚儀、宮様御誕生と、皇室の中で喜ばしいことは結構あったのです。しかし、確かに、当然の喜びの一方で、国民がほっとしていることも明らかです。というのも、これで、国論を分断し、結論次第でその運命が大きく改変されるかもしれない方々にとってつらい論議を、今世紀半ばまで避けることができると多くの人が思っているからです。私が、そうではなく、早々にも取り組む必要があると考えていることは、別の機会にご覧になったとおりです。誕生が、思わしくない過去が尾を引いていない出来事であることが何らかの心理学的効果を及ぼしているのではないかというお話については、私の方は、なんとも申し上げるつもりはありません。私は、そういう、象徴主義的なものの考え方をするのが苦手です。

"Do you think that, post-Showa, the imperial household is receding in importance. We had Meiji, Taisho, Showa--all rather high-profile. Post-Taisho, has a century of prominence ended and the imperial family is, speaking figuratively, again receding to Kyoto?"

The Taisho Emperor was not high-profile at all. But of course the Imperial Household is receding in importance. So you're making a good point here. If you look at the last 1,000 years, the highly politicized Meiji and Showa Emperors are much more of an exception. It is interesting, personally, that you mention Kyoto. I had always felt the Emperor should return annually, perhaps to take up residence during January-June. I don’t think Kyoto deserves it as much anymore. A roving Imperial Household would also be fine with me. Again, I am thinking literally; not, like you, metaphorically.

大正天皇も、決して目立った後存在ではありませんでした。とは言え、皇室の存在感が段々小さくなってきているのも事実ですから、ご指摘の点は、当たっていると思います。過去千年を振り返れば、政治性の強かった明治、昭和両陛下は、むしろはっきりとした例外なのです。個人的には、京都のことをおっしゃっているのが興味深い。私自身、前々から、天皇陛下が毎年、たとえば1月から6月の間、京都にお戻りになるべきだと思っております。もっとも、京都自身変わってしまって、ふさわしさも落ちてきてはおりますが。国内を皇居が移動していくというのも、いいのではないかと思っております。これは、何かのたとえ話として申し上げているのではなく、額面どおりに受け取っていただいて結構です。

"What about Japanese women? What is the significance of this for them? Not long ago, the nation seemed to favor a change on the succession law to allow female succession. Now it seems to be sighing a sigh of relief. Am I right about this?"

Japanese women? The nation? The short answer is, I don’t know Ms. Japanese Women, or Mr./Ms. The Nation. I don’t think it’s life-changing moment for most of them, if that’s your question. Who are these two people? If you happen to meet either one of these people, let me know. I’ll introduce you to the Snark, as well as my friend the Leprechaun. Having said that, of course most people here are relieved that a difficult question has been resolved. But I told you that already.

日本の女性にとってこれがどういう意味を持っているか、ですか。一言で言えば、わかりません。「日本の女性」とか、「日本人」といった特定の人にあったことがありません。もしご質問が、日本の女性の大部分にとって生き方を変えてしまうようなできごとであったかと言うことであれば、そうではないというのが、私の答えです。まあ、もしそういう特定の人にお会いになったら、教えてください。そのときは、私も、幻のスナ―クや妖精レプレコンにご紹介しますよ。ということではありますが、穂と温度の人が、厄介な問題が解決されたと思ってほっとしていることは、当然です。これは、前に申し上げたとおりです。

"I note that just today the government announced that it would shelve the succession law. What is your thought on this?"

If they did, I think it's the right decision, if it really is a decision. (Pretty obvious, isn't it?) But we’ll have to face up to it sooner rather than later. It's not fair to the people concerned. You cannot walk up to a guy selling insurance and tell him the new law says you're the fifth in line for the Emperorship. Only happens in Disney movies.

もし本当に政府が皇室典範の改正を棚上げしたのだとすれば、それは正しい判断です。（当然ですね。）ただし、きちんと結論を出すまでそれほど長く待てないのも事実です。ほっとおくことは、その影響を受ける方々にとって不公平です。例えば、保険会社の営業部門にいる人のところへ行って、新皇室典範によってあなたが皇位継承第五番目になられました、と告げるわけにはいかないでしょう。そんなことがあるのは、ディズニー映画の中ぐらいです。

"Is this some sort of setback for Japanese women in this respect? (My editors far away ask this question.)"

Your editors should be fired. Of course not, it's totally irrelevant. Japanese women have changed, and will continue to change. But the goings-on in the Imperial Household have had little to do with this.

これが日本の女性にとって何かのマイナスになるのかというような質問をする編集者は、首にするべきです。もちろんそれは関係ありません。日本の女性はこれまで変わってきたし、これからも変わっていくでしょう。しかし、それと皇室内部の動静とは、まったく別の話です。

"Can you relate the position of women in Japanese society to this situation? Are the doings of the imperial family any kind of model for behavior in the sociological sense--do Japanese women draw lessons from this?"

No, I don’t think so, and how should I know. I do expect a slight up-tick in the birthrate next year, but it takes two to tango.

皇室の女性方のことから一般の日本人女性が何かを学び取るというようなことはないでしょう、本当は、私には知る由もないのですが。来年に入って若干出生率が上がるということはあると予想しています。しかし、これには両性の合意が必要です。

"My own thought is that this is a measure of the growing distance between the imperial family and ordinary Japanese--the family being rather in a world of its own. Do you agree?"

Yes, the Imperial Household is in a world of its own. But the borders, if anything, have become more permeable. Think of Princess of Kiko as a working woman (it is a full-time job, in the family business, if you will) who has another child, late in her reproductive life. I don't think it is that atypical for a woman marrying in to a family business here. Ask around. An American, in a similar situation, would, of course, shack up with a younger woman and get a divorce.

確かに皇室は別世界です。しかし、その境目は、どちらかと言えば、透過しやすくなっています。紀子様のことを働く女性と考えてください。（実際、それは、いわば家業におけるフル・タイムの仕事です。）その女性が、かなり高齢になってからまた一人子供を作った、と考えてください。これは、家業があるところに嫁ぐ女性としてそれほど珍しいこととは思えません。周りの方々に聞いてみていただいてはどうか。米国の場合、同じような状況だったら、男の方が年下の女性といい仲になって離婚してしまう、ということになるのでしょうか。

"Where are we with Japanese women in the economy and politics? Is the trend not the other way--they are becoming more engaged in work (again) and more evident politically?"

More, yes, but still less so than elsewhere. It is a mystery to me. I do not have a clue.

女性の政治や職場への進出は、確かに進んでいますが、それでもよその国に比較すれば、まだ遅れています。これは、私にとって謎です。

"What is your sense of how Masako is doing? What about the couple to whom this child is born?"

I don’t know them well enough to make a good guess.

雅子様、秋篠宮ご夫妻がどのようなお気持ちだろうかというのは、想像できるほどよく存じ上げておりません。

"Is there an aspect of this I have not noted that you think bears mentioning?"

I'm sure they are. But I can't think of any right now, except a few things I can only speculate about. And you're the one being paid to ask questions. Would you pay a fee for question I thought up and you used? I thought so.

Good night, and good luck.

他に何かと言われても、すぐに思いつくこと言えば、想像でしかものを言えないことばかりです。それに、質問するのは、そちらの仕事でしょう。もし、何か質問を思いついて、それをあなたが使ったら、使用料を払っていただけますか。でしょう。

以上で失礼します。貴稿がうまくいくことを願っております。