OECD report says that Japanese internet speed is the fastest in the world by 61Mbps.  Actually I’m using optical internet, which conveys 100Mbps at home, but it’s not expensive at all.

Also, through this internet line, multi channel TV program is broadcasted. So we have many options for internet life after fast internet environment is completed.

I once lived in New Zealand and Hawaii, especially in New Zealand the internet speed was really slow and often the connection went off with unknown reasons. That was a really stressful thing because my business is always with internet.

Although the internet speed is fast, the PC’s CPU is not good enough yet.  Fast speed is not realized by the CPU’s slow speed, this is the common problem we still have.

But I remember we struggled with 56K modem with telephone line only 7 or 8 years ago in Japan.  It seems to be a real old memory but not so old in reality.

Time flies.  I often think we forget many things so soon, it’s maybe because the new things are coming up with such light speed.  When we try to catch up the new things, it’s natural we forget the old ones.

Today’s news again reported about 3D TV set, which was about the electric products show in Las Vegas.

3D visual entertainments are still very popular in some large theme parks like Disneyland or Universal Studios.

So more or less people may know what the 3D  TV is like.  Actually I also still remember the experience of 3D visual entertainment at those theme parks, that was really fantastic joy with new excitement.

But I don’t know if I really need this at my home.  Wearing 3D glasses, we can enjoy this technique but for me, this is not necessary item. I’m really enjoying present good TV set.

Some years ago, I doubted if I needed flat screen TV at my home.  Maybe I can still do without it, but the product stepped into my house naturally with the stream of the times.  When I went to a TV shop to replace the old with the next one, all the TV sets were flat screen digital products there.

I now say I don’t need 3d TVs for me.  But some years later, the 3D TV may be sitting in my living room without any notice.

Today I read an interesting news about Japan and China. American economist, Robert Fogel, seemed to have reported his foresight about Chinese income level in 2040.

He says that the Chinese will be far richer than the Japanese then. He also  foresee that the USA would be still the richest country in the world even China become the super power of the world.

As a Japanese reader, it’s acceptable news. Not a surprising analysis.  I don’t think the Japanese are rich. We are always struggling hard to survive our life and many are called “working poor”, who can’t even earn the living cost with all they are working all the day and night.

I don’t know about the impression of Japan on the statistics, but our actual life is far from rich life.  Japanese currecy is a little stronger than the past because of the US dollar’s black time.  But inside Japan is not settled at all.

Probably New Zealand or Australia is far better than Japan in the sense of QOL.  If my impression is correct, the USA is almost the same as Japanese situation, I think. Small percentage of people are really rich, but others are always struggling for a simple life.

If China is belived to be growing richer than Japan, it’s not surprising at all.  China has great potentiality and labour power. It’s natural for China to be like that.  I’m fine.

If Japan becomes poor country, it’s better for us to stay clam. If we can change our life styles from demanding life to mind life, the concept of rich or poor will be losing it’s values for human life.

Japanese economic prosperity is over and it’s time for China, India or more new powers.  Japanese need to learn the new way of thinking about our life.

CHINA is expanding in all kind of business. Like Japan used to be a super power economy in the world, China will become the real power of the world in this century.

At the motor show in China, Japanese car makers are exhibiting more cars than they did in Japanese motor show in Tokyo.

It simply means that market importance is already transfered to China from Japanese domestic sales. Japanese car makers has been expecting the leading demand of the world on the USA, but Motor show in China tells us consuming power will also be transfering from America to China.

Car industry will have to expect China, India, Russia, or Brasil for future demand unless the new energy car is invented. So all the major car makers in Europe, America, and Japan will have to live in a competitive market located in far distance from their own countries.

Chinese car market will not stop expanding. I could not imagine this when we were enjoying the boom in 1980′s in Japan. That era seems to be a far past time for us.

SUSAN BOYLE was just a person of the time when she sang “I dreamt a dream” on the stage of  TV show of UK.  In Japan too, Susan’s voice were aired on TV.  Many were moved by her talent.

Susan’s first album is to be released in Japan on 25th, tomorrow.

I personally think she got talent to sing, if her first CD was not a good sales, it’s her destiny to keep singing somewhere.   There should be people who are born to sing, dance, write, or do anything for the gifted talent.  Susan is just a singer with given talent.  It’s maybe her given life from heaven.

When we see idols on TV,  we soon understand they are made by strategic show business.  Idols don’t need talent, what they need is acting as people want them to. Their CDs are sold well but that’s not singers’ art work, but idol’s gift to fans. Entertainment business of Japan is not always for talent, but for business people in need of money.

When I saw Susan, I soon thought she might be used to make money for Simon or somebodyin the music industry against her talent.  Her talent is flying far above the business people’s strategy. On singing, her voice reaches our mind.  That talent needs no calculator for earnings.

I want her to sing, just keep on singing.  Even if she can’t make money ( maybe she will this time), her only heaven life is lying in the songs she sings.

Her 1st album will be released in Japan soon.  In USA or UK, it seems to be a NO.1 selling CD on the chart.  I don’t know how it would be in Japan, but one thing I don’t need for this CD is overdecorated promotion as if she was a new idol in Japan.

I Dreamed A Dream

Susan Boyle

This year is 400th anniversary of Japan-Mexico friendship. It means Japan and Mexico have been in friendship since 1609.  It’s such a long time !

I still remember that Japanese football team won the bronzemedal in Mexico Olympic and a weight-lifting player of Japan, Yoshinobu Miyake got a gold medal then.

Just recently, I met with an Mexican, surprisingly,he speaks fluent Japanese. I asked him where and how he learnt it.  He answered he studied by himself and textbook was animation and manga of Japan. I met a lot of Mexicans in LA or wherever in the USA, he was the first Japanese speaking Mexican in my life.

I was really glad to know it. I thought Japan was a far away land for Mexicans and nobody in Mexico could tell the location of Japan on the world map.  But he knew Japan and Japanese culture.  It was a nice surprise.

 Some years ago, a Beatles fan in Mexico gave me an email as I had a Beatles web site as a fan,  She found my site and asked about Japan, not about the Beatles.  She said John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, is Japanese, she wanted to know why John liked Yoko that much. She added, she understand why Geroge Harrison loves Mexican woman, Olivia, because she knows Mexican girl’s good points well.  So she often asked me about Yoko, or Japanese.

To be honest, Yoko Ono can’t be a typical Japanese woman, that’s why she could be wife of John.  Anyway, that was also a nice surprise to know how foreigners got interested in Japan. 

Mexico has been my favourite country for me since I knew Mexico. Now Japanese festival seems being held in Mixico city for each other’s friendship. I hope this relation will last long, or forever.

Congratulations, Mexico and Japan !

Takeshi Kitano is one of the top movie directors in Japan. He seems to have come back to his school,Meiji University, yesterday and made a long speech about his recent workds and his history.

Takeshi Kitano dropped out Meiji University before graduation. But he got honored graduate degree about 10 years ago from Meiji University, it’s because he made remarkable footprints in Japanese art works and media history, together with the career, he contributed to Meiji University’s fame.  So Takeshi Kitano became a GRADUATE of the university since then, and this time he got back to his University as one of the graduates.

As always, he joked away any kind of topics and all the questions from the audience. The speech led people to endless laughter although the speed and sharpness were not good as his younger time.

In the speech, he confessed that he is making YAKUZA ( Japanese mafia ) movie as the next work.  His works often emphasize violence, but inside the aggressive power shown on the surface, there always is a tenderness.  That is his style.  He seems to be back in his original world after roaming in the various tentative creations.

We want to expect it, but he is also old now 62 or 63 ?).  When I first saw his movie, I was drawn into his world without a rest. His movies always showed us something new when observing human mind.  Violence, Madness, and tenderness are his tripod to support the visual works and basic story.

He is originally a genius comedian. In his talks as a comedian, we also are moved by his sharp observation to human mind.  He can expose any hidden mind of people and immediately decorate it with comedy essence. Explosive laughter is born by the extreme paradox of hidden secret and exposed reality. His story is always a magic of laughter.

He talked over any taboos. But he was allowed.  Probably if a politicians or a critic says the same thing, people behind the TVs will get angry about the rude comments. But when Takeshi Kitano cuts in the taboos, we rather expected it.  It’s really like a story of Naked King.  He could be the kid shouting at King ” He is naked !”

In a sense, Japanese mental culture has been restructured by Takeshi Kitano too.  He was one of the vans of modern Japanese culture builders.

So, we expect his next work again.

Now at this serious recession or remaining financial crisis time, some say US dollar will fall drastically in the 2 or 3 years and America will experience crazy hyper inflation then. If it really happens, not only world economy but also world order will have to be reset, no matter if it’s better or worse.

On the contrary, now Japan is struggling in serious deflation of economy. Many of the countries are worried about inflation, but in Japan, things are going different direction.

Japanese people are now afraid of reduction of income, which make them refrain from new purchase activity.  In order to sell more things, makes or supply side will be involved in price down competition.  If the deflationary policy effects well, upturn of economy might be expected.

But the basic problem of Japan is that demand is not enough.  So the price down policy is not working for a long time. To make next demand, suppliers must let the price down more and more. 

People could be happy at the time of price down, on the other hand, makers of products are faced with sales down by the price down. It means most of the Japanese companies will be in red balance or sales down.  Next, comapanies must cut the salary of workers down to run in black.  Finally, the workers or the consumers will be faced with serious income down.

Then, consumers will again refrain from buying things, which lead the deflation into never ending games of shrinking economy.  

This is called Deflation Spiral.

Japan is apparently in this deflation spiral, which means economy of Japan is on the sliding-down slope without stopping unless someone stops this bad circulation.

Recent economy news of Japan, we often hear the word, Deflation Spiral. If this situation continues, Japan will have to reset before American dollar’s problem really happens.

In Japan, there are many interenationally working companies, but they also work for domestic sales. If Japan keeps losing consuming power at this speed, companies of Japan will have to leave Japan to other countries with more demand, maybe like China or India. It means Japan loses the innovation power and technology arising from inside because the companies going overseas start working with local labours, and the human power will be grown there, not in Japan.

I’m not sure how it would be on this problem, but more or less, Japan must change the industrial structure because demand is certainly going down with the decreasing population.  There is no increase of demand where the population is less.

Japanese big time might be over in the sense of economy, I personally think that Japan should choose the future more on the mental satifaction, not on the business expansion.

Actually, people of Japan are enjoying new pop cultures like anime, movies and music, also they are happy to enjoy new stlyle meals with enconomy price. Some enjoy working for own agricultural produce, and some don’t choose the high education to be more skillful from younger age. 

Japanese people now need their own ways.  I know it’s hard for them though.

HONDA seems to have been selected again as good mileage car of the USA by EPA in America. Certainly still we think that Honda’s fuel efficiency is ranked on the top and when we choose a car, this cost performance is very important in decision.

Honda will sure to keep this company policy in the future without which, Honda will lose their market soon as cheaper cars from China or Korea will beat Honda or Japanese makers on the price competition.  Japanese cars fate is up to new technologies.

But before thinking of it, all the car makers are on the stage of creating new energy instead of oil. Sooner or later, oil will be exhausted. Then it means if oil is the only fuel, people will have to fight for oil. It means there will be many oil wars in the future.  No more wars !

Car industry is the human’s top grade influential business. If fuel for cars are limitted only in oil, our future is not always bright.  If we could see our cars running on the street without oil in the near future, we may be able to build a cooperative worldwide socieity with the sustainable energy.   

It’s a good news that Honda keeps the top company in mileage car selection. At the same time, we must expect Honda to create new energy cars without oil soon.

HIDEKI MATSI is not yet decided if he would stay in NY Yankees.  Today, Japanese news said that Matsui’s memorial stamp would be published soon. 

This is because he got the MVP all through the Major league baseball’s world series.

I also agree that he is a hero of recent Japan, actually when he was a member of Yomiuri Giants or Tokyo Giants, I got excited to see his home runs. Whenever he appears in the batter’s box, we expected his home run.

That was a very rare excitement I had when seeing baseball games. I’ve never experienced such excitement except SADAHARU OH.

Bu why does he become memorial stamp ?  Even Sadaharu Oh or Shigeo Nagashima was not treated such.  In addition, why does Japanese postal company need to publish it for American prize ?  Is American MVP such great thing for us Japanese baseball fans ?  I don’t understand well.

At least, this project seems to mean the postal company’s sales promotion. Japanese postalcompany used to be a goverment owned one, but it’s already privatized and they need money in hand.  I suppose so.

But if memorial stamps would be published like this pace in the future, maybe the value of the stamps will be reduced.  Memorial stamp is important when we all think it’s precious, but when it’s for promotional purpose of postal company, we will soon notice it and the value will be less and less.