Awful Season

Today I sensed the pollen of cedder because my nose get sneezed. It means the season of pollen allergy starts again from today for me.

When I was in the US, I hadn’t had so much this kind of heavy allergy. But in Japan, Japanese pollen of cedder are too annoying for me. I cannot breathe at night while sleeping. Daytime I have running nose all day and headache by a small fever. It is now the worst season starting.

How can I avoid this unpleasant season? Some of my friends said they have cured their hay fever by some food or tea, I have tried these but none of them were worked. Also my wife is much worse than me. She can hardly open her eyes sometimes. Compared to my wife, I am still better, however, this season is terrible period for me.

According to the Master Okawa’s spiritual book, if you have a pollen allergy, that means you don’t get along with nature. That is why you have some conflict with them. Love nature, get along with them.

I personally love nature, mountain, forest, ocean.

But it doesn’t work for me. Maybe I am a tech guy than country boy.

Anyway, monkeys never have a hay fever, we never see them running nose by pollens. We, modern people have to think about fairy, spirit of tree, flowers that they are living. I will try it and some day if I could understand their feeling well, my nose is not running by pollens, I hope so.

We, human are so egoistic, we don’t care about them, we built our house, golf course and leisure land for our fun.

We have to be kind to the nature that are still living.

That is reminded by this crucial season for me.

Conflict Must Resolve Soon

The Korean Defense Ministry claimed on the 23rd that the patrol aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force approached the Korean Navy’s ships.
South Korean army headquarters Seo Uk Operations Headquarters held an emergency press conference at the Defense Ministry Government Building on this day and said “We must doubt about Japan’s true intentions”.
The defense ministry said the Japanese patrol aircraft made a threatening flight that approached by the low flight to the Korean Navy multi-purpose destroyer Tae Yyeonghuang (4,500 tons), which was carrying out missions at about 2:03 pm on the remote island (Iodo) explaining that it was distance of about 540 meters and an altitude of about 60 to 70 meters.

This kind of thing was happened just less than a month ago. I don’t know anything about this kind of things because I am not a specialist on this matter. So I don’t know what to say. However, I just want to say that nowadays technology has been so advanced, why can’t we prove this is true or not immediately. That is my concern.

If it is not the fact, please convince them with technology evidence or ask other countries to reconcile the relationship.

Romantic Fraud

Here is some today’s news. “Fukuoka and Saitama prefectural police said on Wednesday that four men of the Nigerian and Cameroon residing in the Kanto area arrested by the conduct that they pretended as a US military official who cheated money from a woman by behaving loving them. It seems that it is a technique called “international romance fraud” that cheats cash by causing illusion as if there is a relationship, and both prefectural police search for multiple related places to find them.”

In Japan, these kinds of crime have been increasing. For example, we have had the crime that Chinese theft group went to suburb to steal money from the unlocked house. Sometime they murdered house members.

Japan is still one of the very safe countries in the world. I think crime rate is still not so high in the development countries and an arrest rate by police is very high.

But now we have many foreign people coming into Japan, as well as other countries we have such problems now.

Population of Japan has been decreasing gradually so we need those foreigners to maintain population. We don’t need “walls” like some President claims because we are surrounded by the seas. However, we need some policy and security in order to open our country for foreigners.

We need to adjust for the future that we accept more people coming in.

As becoming an international country we have to change some Japanese system but also we have to keep Japanese traditional culture, too. Otherwise we lose wonderful nationality as Japanese.

Adapt to the Future

Sumo is a national sports of Japan. To be a Yokozuna, which is the highest rank of its hierarchy is one of the honors in the sumo world.

Recently, we hadn’t had a Japanese Yokozuna for many years, even it is a national sports of Japan. But Kisenosato, who is a Japanese became a Yokozuna first time since 1997 in 2017 while four Mongolians have become a Yokozuna between 1997 to 2007.

However, Yokozuna Kisenosato has decided to retire after suffering his third straight defeat on Jan. 15 at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, his stablemaster, Tagonoura, said Jan. 16 because Kisenosato still set a record for eight straight defeats in the ring from the last year.

Once you become a Yokozuna, you don’t lose your position, that means if you lose so much you don’t go down to the lower rank instead you have to leave from a position of Yokozuna.

Kisenosato has become a Yokozuna only a couple of years ago, actually he had been in the Yokozuna position only a few tournaments.

It is very hard if you are in this competitive world such as this kind of sports world.

Kisenosato have had serious injury after he became a Yokozuna. When I was in high school I was playing a baseball, it was always I had something that I was bothered by injuries and pains in some parts such as a hand, shoulder, and legs.

You cannot avoid from these issues. Every player has such problems. So if you overcome them, you can continue to play as a good player.

Once you reached some high position but if you can solve these difficulties or setbacks, you lose it very soon. To attain higher rank is not always good unless you prepare fully for all these matters that bother you.

We Need Peace!

It was news announced yesterday “Four northern islands “No change in position” Mr. Suga said. Since WWII, four northern islands have been territory to Russia.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed signing a World War II peace treaty with Japan by the end of the year “without preconditions”.

This is an nice opportunity to make a good relationship with Russia for facing the military expansion by China. If we can make it also, with having the same agreement with India, we can surround China, the crisis rate of Japan becomes much less than now. So I hope we can make such a nice agreement in this case.

However, it is still not proceeding at all due to the treat on the northern islands matter. Of course these islands had belong to Japan so it is better if they return to Japan. But to make an agreement with Russia is much better than instead of having four islands because if China and Russia made good relationships then it China expanded its territory, we will lose a whole land.

Mr. Suga, who is the Cabinet Secretary of incumbent party, LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) has still said care about these islands. That’s not a big issue to make the agreement. We should not focus on that issue. Rather without solving that matter, we have to make an agreement as smoothly as we can.

The worst scenario is that China and Russia have alliance agreement.
Before it is happening, Japan and Russia should make good relationship, also I wish USA and Russia have good relationship too. Then we will avoid the WWIII.

Learning Truths

Today I saw the news of the Bezos’ divorce. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, announced Wednesday their plan to divorce.

Divorce is nowadays very common but this news has some impact in the world.

Through this case, I checked the divorce rate in Japan. My guess first is that the rate of Japanese one is close to the USA’s one. Probably it is close to fifty percent, maybe forty eight percent. That is my guess.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the following is the answer: “The divorce rate in Japan is considerably less than in United States but is growing. About one in three Japanese marriages end in divorce, four times the rate in the 1950s and double the rate in the 1970s. The divorce rate has slowed, partly because fewer couples are getting married to begin with.

253,353 couples were divorced—which works out to one divorce every two minutes and four seconds—and 708,000 were married in 2010. A population survey report by the ministry shows the number of divorce cases in 2009 was about 3.5 times than 50 years ago.”

Three years ago, the divorce rate was 35.6%. Highest prefecture was Kochi prefecture, 44.4%, the second highest was Hokkaido, which is further north part of Japan, 44.0%. Tokyo was 27.7% unexpectedly it was lowest in Japan.

I thought Tokyo is one of the most frustrated places in the world so the rate was highest.

As well as USA, in Japan single mother is one of problems of society. Their income is so low that mother has very hard time to raise her children.

I hope that through learning teachings of Buddhism everyone learns how to control his mind then become a person who can handle a crisis of divorce. I myself hope can do it.

What is right?

As you may probably already hear about the news of Mr. Carlos Ghosn, who is the CEO of Renault, he has been accused of the charge of tax evasion. In Japanese Laws, if you are arrested, you can be held for up to 23 days, with a possibility of extension without being formally charged with a crime. The police are allowed to begin their initial questioning before you see a lawyer.

It is the very strict law that it doesn’t matter if you are innocent or not, once you are arrested, you will be hold in a jail for up to 23 days. What a country it is!

I heard some miserable story that some foreigner who was a businessman worked for a bank was arrested in the train claimed by the misconduct against a woman. He was not worry about that because he was not doing such a thing. He thought he would be released soon. But he didn’t. He asked his company lawyer to be released as soon as possible, but he didn’t release unless he admit his charge. So he did it and he had returned his country and never come back.

In our society, we are told that when a train is packed by passengers and if you are standing next to woman, you had better to raise your hands up and hold the handrail, once you were claimed as a person who did sexual misconduct, you cannot escape from detaining and have to spend more than many days and cannot avoid charge.

Mr. Ghosn had spent already 15 days then arrested again. So he is going to a jail again. His charge is also questionable if his retirement fee that already written on paper is illegal or not.

We have to be wise not be agitated.

Need Evolution

There are so many special events in the new year of Japan. Among them, “Hakone Ekiden” is the one of them. That is competition between universities by the relay marathon both ways from Tokyo to Hakone. The two-day, round-trip race is limited to teams of university students. It is held each year on the second and third of January.

This year, the big topic was that Aoyama-Gakuin University could win five consecutive rows. The head coach of that school has now so popular that he has been in TV shows as a commentator over ninety times last year.

His team was one of the candidates winning this year, too. But he was paying attention to the other team that was Tokai University. He was commended that if some little failure was occurred they would lose.

On the way to Hakone from Tokyo starting point where is in front of Yomiuri newspapers Headquarters that is an original sponsor of this race, other school won. It was Toyo University, which was third last year.

Aoyama-Gakuin was unexpectedly sixth place in the first day 5 minutes 29 seconds behind from the top while Tokai University was second 1 minute and 14 second behind from Toyo University.

The second day, on the returning way to Tokyo, Aoyama-Gakuin made a big charge. The time of returning way itself Aoyama-Gakuin made a record time ever since 1920, so that it became first place, however, both ways, two days total, Tokai University became a champion in 2019 first time ever followed by Aoyama-Gakuin University.

The comment by a head coach of Aoyama-Gakuin was impressed, “If we evolve, we will degenerate”.

That is true.

Japanese Economy

Because of US government shutdown, Dow Jones stock average has declined biggest ever in Christmas Eve. That made a big impact on Nikkei 225 stocks. It became blow 20,000 and the lowest first time in one year and eight months. It is often said that if the US sneeze, Japan gets cold. It is very related but the damage of Japan is much bigger than the one of US.

Japanese economists predicted that Japanese economy won’t recover while the US will return because the US has healthy condition that both suppliers and buyers are existing but Japanese stocks are supported by the government fund.

The Abe administration is planning to rise a consumption tax from 8 percent to 10 percent in the fall next year, but it was postponed in the past due to the weak economy. If this situation is continued, it would postpone again. I hope the raising consumption tax is canceled and hopefully it is going to be decreasing or nothing.

Japan is still a middle of the deflation for more than twenty five years. If it goes to be postponed.

Now the Japanese economy looks better in terms of numbers, however, it feels still not good in real life. So if The consumption tax was raised, the Japanese economy would have so much damages then plunge so deeply and never recover again.

Rather we have to create the new other ways to increase taxes like to beef up the infrastructure to progress the business, to reform the regulation to limit the business opportunities and speed up the process in the government.

To raise a tax never increase the income rather decrease economy then declines the amount of total revenues.

Diplomatically, I think that the Abe administration is doing well, but I think that there is still more to be done economically.

Mr. Habu, who has been a champion in the Shogi (Japanese Chess like) field for so long since he got the title twenty seven years ago. But yesterday he lost. That means he had no title this year.

Shogi’s world is very competitive from young age. Mr. Habu has started a Shogi at his age seven years old. Since then he has developed his skill then he has become a professional player in the junior high school. It was only two persons before like him to become a professional. Then he won the first title at his age seventeen. Since then he had been clinching a “King of Shogi”. Now he is forty years old it might be questionable if he can return as a person used be.

Other field like a mathematician, its peak is early. To use brain, same as sports, age is matter.

Conversely, a religious field appreciates experiences. Young doesn’t have a value unless you have so much virtue in the religious field.

Enlightenment is accumulated by daily practices and disciplines require a time and experiences.

Life is getting longer and longer especially in Japan, which is one of longest life countries in the world. An average of life length of woman is now over eighty seven years old. Soon or later it will reach to ninety.

How can we have a wonderful life in that condition? I cannot think of anything after retirement but it is coming soon. Probably we need a second life plan for the longer life age to make the life useful and enjoyable.

As I wrote, religious life is very good because age doesn’t matter, you cannot become a Shogi champion after you retired, but you can become a religious mater still you get old.

Life is short, but longer, so let us explore the truths and enjoy a life.