2009年3月31日 星期二

buy or not buy, quit or not quit

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Japanese opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa said on Tuesday he would decide whether to quit over a funding scandal based on the outlook for his party winning a general election this year.

Pressure on Ozawa to quit ahead of the general election, which must be held by October, is expected to grow after backing for his Democratic Party has slipped in opinion polls and an opposition candidate was trounced in a local race.[ID:nT111221]

About two-thirds of voters in surveys have said Ozawa should resign. "I must sincerely accept the (results of) the opinion polls and respond, but the final basis on which I will make my judgment is whether or not we can win the election," he told a news conference.

The Democrats had looked set to oust the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party until Ozawa's closest aide was arrested and charged with illegal fundraising this month, clouding chances for a breakthrough in the political deadlock that has been stymying policies as Japan's recession deepens. [ID:nT109240]





『プライベートブランド』に関するアンケート

96.2%がPB商品の購入経験あり・・・認知率は「トップバリュ」85.3%が断トツ
購入理由は「安さ」・「品質」・「大手スーパーの信頼感」


「できるだけ安く購入したいけど、品質も重視したい」という消費者の気持ちが明らかに。
そのような中でPBは、「安さ」で選ばれており、
併せて「品質」や「信頼感」も魅力に感じられている事が伺える結果となりました。

調査は2008年11月26日~12月11日にかけて実施し、
DIMSDRIVEモニター11,236人から回答を得ています。

● 約7割が「1円でも安く買いたい」・・・しかし「安さ」よりも「品質」重視
● PB認知率は「トップバリュ」85.3%、「セブンプレミアム」53.2%
● プライベート・ブランドの商品購入経験は96.2% 最も頻繁に購入しているのは30代
● よく購入しているPBは「トップバリュ」が断トツ
● PBの魅力は「安さ」+「品質」・「信頼感」
● 購入未経験者は、PBに対して強い意識を持たず






■■約7割が「1円でも安く買いたい」・・・しかし「安さ」よりも「品質」重視■■

■スーパー・コンビニでの買い物の仕方
スーパー・コンビニでの買い物の仕方16項目について、それぞれどの位当てはまるかを選んでもらった。
『当てはまる(とても+やや)』の割合が最も高かったのは【できるだけ、自分の価値観にあっているものを選ぶ】73.3%であった。
【1円でも安く買いたい】は67.1%と2番目に多く、7割近くに上る。

価格重視?品質重視?
“安さ”と“品質”のどちらを重視する人が多いかについては、
【品質が多少劣っても価格が安い方が良い】27.9%、
【価格が多少高くても、品質が良い方が良い】35.9%で、“品質重視派”の方が多かった。

7割近くの人が【1円でも安く買いたい】と思ってはいるが、【安さ】と【品質】については、【品質】を重視する人の方が多いという結果になった。

あなたがふだん、スーパーマーケットやコンビニエンスストアでお買い物をする頻度はどのぐらいですか。 (単一回答)
全体ベース N=11236
あなたの「スーパーマーケット・コンビニエンスストアでのお買い物」について、それぞれどの位あてはまりますか。(単一回答)
スーパー・コンビニで買い物をする人 N=11182


■■PB認知率は「トップバリュ」85.3%、「セブンプレミアム」53.2%■■

■知っているPB
全員に“知っているPB”を尋ねたところ、「トップバリュ」が85.3%と最も認知率が高く、2番目の「セブンプレミアム」53.2%を32.1ポイント上回った。
以下、「セービング/おいしくたべたい!/フーデックス」46.9%、「Vマーク」22.3%、「生活良好」21.8%と続いた。
あなたがご存じのプライベート・ブランドをお選びください。(複数回答)
スーパー・コンビニで買い物をする人 N=11182



■■プライベート・ブランドの商品購入経験は96.2% 最も頻繁に購入しているのは30代■■

■PBの購入経験・頻度
認知PB商品の購入率・購入頻度については、「頻繁に購入している」18.7%、「ときどき購入している」63.5%、「1・2回購入した事がある程度」14.0%、「購入した事は無い」3.8%であった。
購入経験がある人は96.2%とかなり高い。

<年代別>
購入率はすべての年代で90%を超え、最も高いのは30代で97.0%だった。
「頻繁に購入している」の割合は30代23.4%、20代21.4%、10代18.1%の順に高く、特に30代・20代では2割を超える。
40代以降は年代が上がるほど頻繁に購入する人は少なくなっている。

<ブランド・銘柄重視度別>
前問の買い物の仕方について“ブランド・銘柄を重視する”の度合別にみると、【とても当てはまる】を除いて、ブランド・銘柄を『気にしない』人ほど、PBを「頻繁に購入している」割合が高い。
しかし、【とても当てはまる(とても重視している)】人では逆に頻繁購入者が多く、28.2%と3割近くが回答している。

<品質が多少劣っても、価格が安い方が良いの度合別>
また、買い物の仕方について“品質が多少劣っても、価格が安い方が良い”と考える度合別にみると、 【当てはまる(品質が劣っても安価の方が良い)】人ほど、PBを「頻繁に購入している」割合が高い。

あなたは「プライベート・ブランド」(PB)を購入していますか。(単一回答)
知っているPBブランドがある人 N=10499


◆年代別
◆買い物の仕方について「ブランド・銘柄を重視する」度合別
◆買い物の仕方について「品質が多少劣っても、価格が安い方が良い」度合別


■■よく購入しているPBは「トップバリュ」が断トツ■■

■よく購入しているプライベート・ブランド

PBを購入経験者に“よく購入しているPB”を尋ねたところ、「トップバリュ」が56.8%と断トツに多かった。
次いで「セブンプレミアム」28.5%と続いた。

■よく購入するもの
良く購入するものについては、「菓子」44.9%、「飲料」30.0%、「インスタント食品」28.9%、「パン」25.4%、「調味料」24.1%と続いた。
食品が多く購入されているようである。
食品以外で最も多かったのは「トイレットペーパーなど」19.1%であった。

あなたがよく購入しているプライベート・ブランドをお選びください。(複数回答)
PB購入経験者 N=10100
プライベート・ブランド商品でよく購入する物をお選びください。(複数回答)
PB購入経験者 N=10100


■■PBの魅力は「安さ」+「品質」・「信頼感」■■

■PBを購入する理由
PBを購入する理由は、「価格が安いから」82.7%が圧倒的で、「メーカーのブランドに劣らない品質だから」36.3%、「スーパーが責任を持って販売していそうだから」25.8%、「大手スーパーの商品だから」15.0%、「商品が信頼できるから」14.1%と続き、
「おいしいから」13.6%よりも多く回答されている。

PBは“安さ”が圧倒的な魅力であるが、“品質”や“大手スーパーが販売する信頼感”も踏まえて購入されているという事が伺える結果となった。

■PBの満足度
購入したPB商品の満足度は、「とても満足している」13.2%、「まあ満足している」68.2%と、『満足』している人は81.4%と8割以上であった。
「あまり満足していない」は1.8%、「全く満足していない」人は0.3%と少なく、不満を持った人は少ないことが分かった。

■不満だった商品は?
今までに満足できなかった・不満があった商品については(自由回答)、「菓子」、「カップめん」、「調味料」、「パン」、「トイレットペーパー」、「洗剤」などが多く挙げられた。
それらの不満点については、「味が良くない」、「量が少ない」という回答が特に多く、「製造元」などに対する不安も挙げられている。
プライベート・ブランド商品を購入するのはなぜですか。(複数回答)
PB購入経験者 N=10100
あなたが購入したプライベート・ブランド商品に対する全体的な満足度はどのぐらいですか。(単一回答)
PB購入経験者 N=10100
満足できなかった・不満があった商品はありましたか。また、それはどんな商品でしたか。(自由回答)
PB購入経験者 N=10100
多かった商品
カップめん、、ヨーグルト、トイレットペーパー、パン、
レトルト食品(カレーなど)、調味料(マヨネーズなど)、菓子  ・・・など

多かった不満点
味がよくない 、量が少ない、持ち手が切れやすい(パッケージの)、バリエーションが少ない(衣類)
中国産である、製造元・国がはっきりしない    ・・・など


■■購入未経験者は、PBに対して強い意識を持たず■■

■PBを購入しない理由

知っているPBブランドはあるが、購入した経験が無い人にその理由を尋ねたところ、「特に理由はない」が47.9%と約半数を占めた。
また、理由として最も多かった「それほど価格が安くないから」でも11.3%と回答が少なく、購入しない事については具体的な理由が無い・少ない人が多い。

■今後の購入意向
今後の購入意向については、「購入してもよい」が50.9%と半数を占め、「購入したい」という積極的購入意向者は5.0%と少ない。
一方、「購入したくない」という人も6.8%と少ない。
また、「わからない」と回答した人が37.3%と4割近くに上る。

前問では47.9%が“とくに理由はない”と回答している事も含め、
PB商品に対してあまり意識されていない事が伺える。

プライベート・ブランド商品を購入した事が無いのはなぜですか。(複数回答)
知っているPBブランドがあるが、購入経験が無い人 N=399
今後の、プライベート・ブランド商品の購入意向はどのぐらいですか。(単一回答)
知っているPBブランドがあるが、購入経験が無い人 N=399



●お問合せ先●

調査結果の引用について、クロス集計データ・生データ購入など、 お気軽にお問合せください。

インターワイヤード株式会社  DIMSDRIVE事務局(ディムスドライブ事務局)
TEL:03-5463-8256
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調査結果に関するお問い合わせ先

2009年3月28日 星期六

pyramid stupa restored

Pyramid restored to as it looked 1,300 years ago

2009/3/28


photoPyramid restored to as it looked 1,300 years ago (MASAAKI ARAI/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)

A mound of earth that 1,300 years ago looked like the pyramid pictured was restored to its original shape and unveiled Friday after a five-year restoration project in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. The earthen pyramid called Doto is a kind of Buddhist stupa, where relics of Buddha are supposedly stored.

The original structure is believed to have been built on the orders of the priest Gyoki (668-749) and is designated as a historic site. It is thought to stand on the site of the Onodera temple, which was built by Gyoki in 727. The new structure measures 53.1 meters on each side and stands 8.6 meters. It is adorned with 50,000 reddish-brown tiles.

A similar pyramid stupa, called Zuto, stands in Nara, but its base measurements are 20 meters shorter. The Sakai pyramid is the largest earthwork stupa in Japan, according to a local cultural assets official. It had been reduced to a mere ``heap of earth" before the city conducted a survey from fiscal 1998 to 2003 and started restoration work in fiscal 2004.(IHT/Asahi: March 28,2009)

2009年3月25日 星期三

Falling Exports in Japan Hit Small Companies Hardest


By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: March 25, 2009
SAITAMA, Japan — Most people who own an iPhone, a Prius or a Nintendo Wii have never heard of Porite, but this small company outside Tokyo makes a crucial part of their toys’ vital organs.
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Enlarge This Image
Ayumi Nakanishi for The New York Times
Koki Kikuchi, left, and Masanori Kikuchi have little to keep them busy at a factory in Saitama, Japan.
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Ayumi Nakanishi for The New York Times
Masanori Kikuchi, left, with workers in a plant that makes and exports tiny parts for electronics. Demand has fallen sharply.
Enlarge This Image
Ayumi Nakanishi for The New York Times
Orders have all but dried up for Porite, a small company based outside of Tokyo, despite the ubiquity of the tiny copper bearings it produces.

The New York Times

Despite the ubiquity of the tiny copper bearings Porite churns out by the millions each day, orders all but dried up in September. Now shipments are down about 40 percent from last year, as consumers in the United States and elsewhere rein in spending on sophisticated electronics.
With little to do, the company’s 400 employees spend their days sweeping and cleaning, and about a dozen contract workers have been let go.
The finance ministry announced Wednesday that exports from Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, fell by a record 49 percent in February compared with a year earlier. It was the fifth consecutive month that exports have fallen. Shipments to the United States fell 58 percent. Japan’s trade surplus was down 91 percent, to 82.4 billion yen, or about $840 million.
Although the Japanese brands known worldwide have received more attention in the news, the bulk of the problems affecting Japan’s exporters are not at Toyota or Sony, both of which predict deep losses this year, but at small and midsize companies like Porite.
In a shift often overlooked even inside Japan, these virtual unknowns now account for about 75 percent of Japan’s manufacturing output and employ almost 90 percent of the sector’s workers.
In part because of the export slump, the nation’s economy was 12.1 percent smaller in the last three months of 2008 than in the period a year earlier, putting Japan on course for its deepest, longest decline since World War II.
“Japan has taken a disproportionate hit in the economic downturn,” says Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at the consulting firm Mizuho Research Institute. “Japan’s exports are concentrated in the very sectors that have been hit the most in the economic crisis, like cars and electronics.”
Porite is an example of an increasingly important group of Japanese exporters that have found a niche in making the advanced inputs — like tiny bearings and micron-thin films and wafers — that make other companies’ products tick.
Streamlined and focused, they bear little resemblance to the conglomerates that have long dominated Japanese industry.
“Because these companies aren’t household names, their emergence has been easy to overlook,” says Ulrike Schaede, a professor at the University of California, San Diego.
In fact, division of labor is developing on a large scale in Asia. Take the laptop, for example: Japan exports advanced materials and machinery tools to Taiwan and South Korea, which make microchips and other intermediate products to export to China, which puts together laptops to ship to the United States.
Similarly, almost 75 percent of the parts that make up semiconductors are made in Japan, though the semiconductors themselves may be manufactured elsewhere, according to estimates by Japan’s trade ministry.
But that has made Japan’s export industries especially vulnerable to the global downturn. On top of a fall in direct exports to the United States, Japan is exporting less to other Asian manufacturing centers like China, Taiwan and South Korea, as companies there scale back production.
Moreover, exports have been growing in importance for Japan. Overseas shipments have surged in recent years, fueled by a huge appetite for Japanese cars and gadgets among consumers in the United States and elsewhere, while the domestic economy has stagnated.
Last year, exports made up 15.9 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product, up from 9.8 percent a decade ago.
Even small companies like Porite rode the wave of globalization, opening factories in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand — and, in 2002, Jefferson City, Mo. Now, more than 70 percent of Porite’s sales come from outside Japan.
Economists predict Japanese manufacturing will remain sluggish for some time. Sentiment in Japan’s small and midsize industries is at its worst in almost 20 years. Trouble at many of Japan’s regional banks, the lifeline for many smaller companies, has raised concerns of an impending credit crisis.
Over all, industrial production fell 10.2 percent in January from a month earlier, the biggest fall on record, and is expected to have declined sharply in February.
“Companies are cutting back production at an incredible pace to reduce inventories, and that’s being reflected in the export figures,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, a Tokyo-based economist for the bank BNP Paribas. “We may see exports come back a little once inventories are brought down,” he said, “but a full recovery is further down the road.”
Still, small manufacturers that do survive the current downturn will bounce back more quickly than many larger exporters, said Ms. Schaede of the University of California, because they are such dominant players in their fields. “They are extremely focused, and they will be in a very strong position once we see economic recovery,” she said.
But many fear a “hollowing out” of Japanese technological expertise by then as companies fail.
“The small- and medium-sized enterprise sector is an immense resource. It’s Japan’s beating industrial heart,” said Damian Thong, Tokyo-based analyst for the brokerage firm Macquarie Securities. “When you start getting more moving overseas, or go out of business, the concern is that you can’t get it back. Once that happens, Japan’s industrial base breaks down.”
Tatsunosuke Kikuchi, father of Porite’s president, Masanori Kikuchi, founded Porite in 1952. His first break came when he landed orders from Hitachi to make bearings for Japan’s first domestically produced electric fan. Since then, it has been a race to develop the smallest, sturdiest bearings for ever-smaller gadgets.
Porite takes copper powder and molds parts to exact specifications, allowing electronics and auto companies to develop smaller, more complex motors. The company estimates it holds about a 70 percent global share in bearings for consumer electronics like the iPhone, as well as a 20 percent share in bearings used in auto motors.
“Every time we get an order for smaller, more complex specifications, I think it’s impossible at first,” Masanori Kikuchi said. “Now, we’re talking two-thousandths of a millimeter. And we’re going to go even smaller.”
Japan is desperate to save companies like Porite. The government has put aside 20 trillion yen, about $200 billion, to back bank loans to small and midsize companies to bolster lending and avert a credit crisis. It has also introduced measures to subsidize smaller companies to keep idled workers on their payrolls.
“Small and medium companies have been the most vulnerable in the bad economy,” says Fumio Sato, a trade ministry official in charge of an emergency help line for struggling small and midsize companies. He says calls to the line have surged since January.
“In Japan, even the fate of small companies reflects the world economy,” he said.

2009年3月19日 星期四

一碗の茶から平和を-裏千家前家元

一碗の茶から平和を-裏千家前家元がシンガポール大学で講演

(2009年03月18日)

一碗の茶から平和を-裏千家前家元がシンガポール大学で講演

写真を拡大

シンガポール国立大学(NUS)で講演を行なう、茶道裏千家の前(第15代)家元・鵬雲斎千玄室大宗匠

 茶道裏千家の前(第15代)家元・鵬雲斎千玄室大宗匠(ほううんさい せんげんしつ だいそうしょう)が3月13日、シンガポール国立大学(NUS)で「茶の心 - 一碗(いちわん)からピースフルネスを」と題する講演を行った。講演会は、今年末に正式オープン予定の「ジャパン・クリエイティブ・センター」のプレイベ ントで、在シンガポール日本国大使館、NUS語学教育研究センター日本語プログラム、茶道裏千家淡交会シンガポール協会が共催する。

 講演は英語の通訳を逐一交えて行なわれ、戦国の乱世の中で千利休が確立し現在まで受け継がれてきた茶道の精神と、茶道を生み出した日本の風土や文化的な 背景などをわかりやすく説明したほか、茶道の持つさまざまな作法の意味を茶室での実演も交えて解説。自分の心を律するけいこを重ねる意義を大リーグのイチ ロー選手のトレーニングに例えるなど、時折流ちょうな英語とユーモアも交えた親しみやすい語り口で終始聴衆を魅了した。

 会場となったNUSキャンパス内にある140人収容の講義室のステージには、畳と床の間をしつらえた茶室も設置。開場前から整理券を手にした学生や在星邦人を中心に定員を上回る聴衆が詰めかけ、日本の伝統文化への関心の高さをうかがわせた。

 千大宗匠は戦後間もない1950(昭和25)年より、茶道の基本である「道・学・実」を実践するために、世界62カ国を延べ300回以上にわたり歴訪。茶道文化の浸透と発展に尽力し、2005年からは国連親善大使として世界平和の実現に向けた活動を推進している。

 千大宗匠は「平和の大切さを提唱して千利休が500年前に確立した茶道の精神は、争いの絶えない現在の世界を平和に導くことにも通じる。一杯のお茶をす すめ合い、互いに手を取り合う優しい心が平和へとつながる。堅苦しいと敬遠せずに、まずは気楽にお茶をいただくことから始めてほしい」と語りかけ、外国人 留学生のための茶道研修コース「みどり会」の奨学金制度なども紹介して講演を締めくくった。


許烺光( Francis L. K. Hsu, 1975)『家元:日本的真髓』 (IEMOTO: The Heart of Japan) 于嘉雲譯,台北:南天,1990
いえもと いへ― 0 【家元】

武道や芸道で、その流派の正統としての権威をもち、その技芸を守り継承する家。また、その身分や、その人。室町時代におこり 江戸時代に発達した。宗家。
「―制度」

「有幾個理由把家元當作日本最重要與最典型的次級團體。 …….第三,這是關鍵,家元無論大小都不只是一個組織。它代表了一種生活方式,是個日本男女在其中看自己以及看周遭世界如何組織起來的一個結構,是解決問題之鑰,而且是如何對付內憂外患的藍圖 …..我們認為家元型的人類關係是 ……尤其是第二次世界大戰後成功的基礎。因此,本分析的題目叫作『家元:日本的真髓』。 ……. (p. xviii)

…..其精神表現在老與少,前期生(前輩)與後期生,上司與部屬間那全包性及近乎打不破的發號司令 -服從,施助- 倚賴的關係上非常明顯。…..」( 『家元:日本的真髓』,p.136

應用 日本公司是由許多自主管理的小團體(如品管圈)所組織成的結構,參考渡辺 孝雄( Takao Watanabe)『和英対照 日本的経営の変貌』(Demystifying Japanese Management) 東京:学生社,1987 出版,pp.50-1

品質嚴謹

「品質嚴謹」說法之一例,參見 許烺光(Francis L. K. Hsu, 1975 )『家元:日本的真髓』(IEMOTO: The Heart of Japan) 于嘉雲譯,台北:南天,1990p.vi

【嚴謹】 教育部國語辭典之解釋

嚴肅謹慎。宋˙歐陽修˙尚書工部郎中歐陽公墓誌銘:君諱載,字則之,性方直嚴謹。

嚴密周延。西遊記˙第十回:博奕之道,貴乎嚴謹。

嚴格。京本通俗小說˙志誠張主管:使不得。第一,家中母親嚴謹;第二,道不得瓜田不納履,李下不整冠。要來張勝家中,斷然使不得!

整齊。兒女英雄傳˙第二十四回:姑娘看了這地方,真個收拾得乾淨嚴謹,心下甚喜。


2009年3月17日 星期二

Walking, talking female robot to hit Japan catwalk

▀ 日本展出機器妞 能說會笑不幹活
日本週一首次展出了一部能走會說的機器人﹐“她”擁有一個會微笑的女孩面容﹐體重也減輕到了43公斤。

Walking, talking female robot to hit Japan catwalk

A AP – A 'cybernetic human' HRP-4C, designed to look like an average Japanese woman, appears during its demonstration …

TSUKUBA, Japan – A new walking, talking robot from Japan has a female face that can smile and has trimmed down to 43 kilograms (95 pounds) to make a debut at a fashion show. But it still hasn't cleared safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.

Developers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a government-backed organization, said their "cybernetic human," shown Monday, wasn't ready to help with daily chores or work side by side with people — as many hope robots will be able to do in the future.

"Technologically, it hasn't reached that level," said Hirohisa Hirukawa, one of the robot's developers. "Even as a fashion model, people in the industry told us she was short and had a rather ordinary figure."

For now, the 158 centimeter (62.2 inch) tall black-haired robot code-named HRP-4C — whose predecessor had weighed 58 kilograms (128 pounds) — will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds.

Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform simulations of human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.

HRP-4C was designed to look like an average Japanese woman, although its silver-and-black body recalls a space suit. It will appear in a Tokyo fashion show — without any clothes — in a special section just for the robot next week.

The robotic framework for the HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about 20 million yen ($200,000) each, and its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said.

Japan boasts one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth. Automaker Honda Motor Co. has developed Asimo, which can walk and talk, although it doesn't pretend to look human.

Other robots, like the ones from Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science and Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, have more human-like faces and have been tested as receptionists.

But demands are growing for socially useful robots, such as ones that can care for the elderly and sick, said Yoshihiro Kaga, a government official in the trade and industry ministry.

"We want this market to grow as an industry," he said.

The robot shown Monday has 30 motors in its body that allows it to walk and move its arms as well as eight motors on its face to create expressions like anger and surprise.

In a demonstration for reporters, the robot waddled out, blinking, a bit like an animation figure come to life, and said, "Hello, everyone," in a tiny feminine voice while its mouth moved.

The demonstration didn't all go smoothly. The robot often looked surprised, opening its mouth and eyes in a stunned expression, when the demonstrator asked it to smile or look angry.

Its walk was also not quite ready for the Paris Collection, partly because its knees are permanently bent. It has sensors in its feet but lacks the sensitive balance of a real human.

The big challenge in creating HRP-4C was making the parts small enough so it looks female, especially its thinner legs, said Shuuji Kajita, who leads the institute's humanoid research group.

"But this is just the first step," he said.





底下是2005年的

Photo in the News: Ultra-Lifelike Robot Debuts in Japan

Picture: Lifelike robot in Japan

June 10, 2005—Quick, which one is the robot?

Repliee Q1 (at left in both pictures) appeared yesterday at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, where she gestured, blinked, spoke, and even appeared to breathe. Shown with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University, the android is partially covered in skinlike silicone. Q1 is powered by a nearby air compressor, and has 31 points of articulation in its upper body.

Internal sensors allow the android to react "naturally." It can block an attempted slap, for example. But it's the little, "unconscious" movements that give the robot its eerie verisimilitude: the slight flutter of the eyelids, the subtle rising and falling of the chest, the constant, nearly imperceptible shifting so familiar to humans.

Surrounded by machines that draw portraits, swat fast-moving balls, and snake through debris, Q1 is only one of the showstoppers at the expo's Prototype Robot Exposition, which aims to showcase Japan's growing role in the robotics industry.

But given Q1's reported glitch-related "spasms" at the expo, it may be a while before androids are escorting tour groups or looking after children—which may be just as well. "When a robot looks too much like the real thing, it's creepy," Hiroshi told the Associated Press.

2009年3月16日 星期一

NTV chief resigns over false news story

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

日本電視台(NTV),最近因為報導一則新聞被發現有誤,電視台的社長16日宣布引咎辭職,並向社會大眾致歉。

日本電視台64歲的社長久保伸太郎16日指該台引用不實證人的說詞,說歧阜縣政府私設小金庫供縣府幹部揮霍。他說:「這是錯誤報導,我在監督指導方面負有重大責任。希望(通過辭職)讓全體員工認識到這一事件的重大。」

日本電視台去年11月23日在「真相報導值班記者」節目中,找來岐阜縣一名前建設公司幹部亮相並聲稱「曾參與建立小金庫」。報導一出社會注目。但縣政府成 立調查小組追查後,並未發現有犯罪的證據。日本電視台2月27日與上述證人面談,他承認作了偽證,電視台遂向岐阜縣道歉,並於2月1日向觀眾說明報導錯 誤。

NTV chief resigns over false news story

Compiled from Staff report, Kyodo

The president of Nippon Television Network Corp. resigned Monday to take responsibility for a news report that falsely accused the Gifu Prefectural Government of concealing a slush fund.

News photo
Shintaro Kubo KYODO PHOTO

The report "was erroneous and it was due to my lack of supervision," NTV President Shintaro Kubo, 64, told a news conference. "I would like to make every (NTV) employee aware of the seriousness of the incident."

Chairman Noritada Hosokawa, 68, will now also serve as president, the company said.

NTV also announced it removed Hisao Adachi as head of the news bureau and suspended him for three days.

The network's board members approved the personnel changes later in the day.

On Nov. 23, the popular NTV news program "Shinso Hodo Bankisha" aired a report in which a 58-year-old former construction company worker alleged that he helped the Gifu government create a slush fund by falsely claiming to have done construction work for the prefecture.

The man was arrested March 9 for allegedly obstructing the operation of government when his testimony turned out to be false.

"I would like to apologize sincerely to Gifu Prefectural Government employees and viewers," Kubo said, explaining that he "simply believed" what the man said.

"There were problems not only in confirming the facts but also in our reporting methods in general."

NTV will conduct an internal investigation before deciding whether to cancel the program, he said, adding that the company will release the results of the investigation.

Although the man in the news story reportedly told police he had lied to get gratuity money from the television company, none was paid nor was the story made up for the news program, according to Kubo.

At its first news conference Monday, NTV did not allow any cameras, either still or video, and permitted only one journalist from each media outlet.

A second news conference was called after reporters and NTV employees argued over these restrictions.

The prefecture spent two months probing the story's allegation, questioning an estimated 380 government workers and checking the records of construction work it had ordered.

In the end, the government concluded there was no basis for the allegation.

The Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization, an association of broadcasters, has decided to look into the case.





2009年3月15日 星期日

Japan’s Political Dynasties Come Under Fire but Prove Resilient

Japan’s Political Dynasties Come Under Fire but Prove Resilient

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Katsuhito Yokokume, center, is struggling to win over voters in Yokosuka, a stronghold of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose son is on the ballot.


Published: March 14, 2009

YOKOSUKA, Japan — By almost any measure, Katsuhito Yokokume should have at least a fighting chance in the coming parliamentary elections, which could decide Japan’s future.

Skip to next paragraph
Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Shinjiro Koizumi, shown on a poster in a Yokosuka salon, is among Japan’s many political dynasty “botchan,” or “brats.”

A truck driver’s son who graduated from the nation’s top university, Mr. Yokokume, an energetic 27-year-old lawyer, is a candidate for the main opposition Democratic Party, which has ridden rising popular discontent with the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party. Yet, on a recent chilly morning of greeting voters with deep bows and handshakes at a train station, he got the same apologetic but blunt rejection he gets every day.

“I’m sorry, but this is Koizumi country,” one commuter explained.

He was referring to Junichiro Koizumi, the popular former prime minister whose family has represented this naval port an hour southwest of Tokyo for three generations. In announcing his retirement last autumn, Mr. Koizumi anointed his son, Shinjiro, as successor — making the son’s election as a fourth-generation lawmaker all but a foregone conclusion here.

Such family dynasties are common across Japan, the product of more than a half-century of Liberal Democratic Party control that allowed lawmakers to build powerful local political machines and then hand them down to children and grandchildren.

Now, as the party faces its biggest challenge since its founding in 1955, such de facto hereditary control of parliamentary seats is coming under unprecedented criticism here. But it is also showing stubborn resilience.

Such inherited seats have fallen under increasing attack by voters and many political scientists. They say the practice has helped create an inbred version of politics that has contributed to the leadership paralysis gripping this nation, slowing its response to the current financial crisis and Japan’s longer economic decline. Political analysts have also thrust into public view the fact that powerful political and business families exert more control here than this proudly middle-class society likes to admit.

This has fed a fear of rising social inequalities, and the feeling that unseen barriers are preventing new talent, new ideas —literally, new blood — from entering politics, and from helping Japan find a way out of its morass.

“It takes a blood test to get elected these days,” said Sota Kato, a senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, a private research organization. “It is a symptom of how Japanese society has lost its postwar dynamism and become more rigid and less democratic.”

While second-generation lawmakers are common elsewhere — they make up some 5 percent of the United States Congress, Mr. Kato and others said — they are unusually numerous here. Some 40 percent of Liberal Democratic lawmakers are descendants of lawmakers. Of the past seven prime ministers here, all but one were the sons or grandsons of former lawmakers.

The issue was thrust into public view recently by the back-to-back resignations of two prime ministers, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda, the grandson and son, respectively, of former prime ministers. The fact that both men stepped down so quickly in the face of falling approval ratings was widely criticized here as a weakness of character seen in “botchan” or “brat” politicians.

Despite such public disgust, it is unclear whether this will influence the coming elections, which must be called by early September and which polls show the Liberal Democrats could lose. The opposition Democrats, for one, also have their share of second-generation or higher lawmakers: 20 percent.

Also, as Yokosuka shows, old practices die hard. Often, the families’ founding members are still revered in their districts for bringing public works projects that helped raise living standards.

“Sure, we’re tired of all these brats,” said Keiko Nomura, 53, who owns a shoe shop in Yokosuka. “But Japan still has money, and Japanese basically hate change.”

Mr. Koizumi’s decision to hand his seat to his son was greeted with disappointment in urban areas, where the criticism of hereditary seats is highest, and where the former prime minister was widely popular for his vows to change the Liberal Democratic Party’s entrenched ways.

The younger Mr. Koizumi has kept a low profile since his anointment, and both Koizumis declined to be interviewed.

Despite the fact that Shinjiro Koizumi has yet to announce a political platform, his father’s supporters say they are enthusiastic to vote for him. They say he inherited his father’s telegenic charisma. Perhaps more significantly, he will also inherit his father’s roughly 5,000-member support group, which financed and organized his election campaigns.

“Kids are usually stupid by the third generation, but this one’s different,” said Kazuhiko Ozawa, a former chairman of Yokosuka’s Chamber of Commerce who helped lead the elder Mr. Koizumi’s support group.

By contrast, Mr. Yokokume, his opponent, runs his quixotic campaign out of a grimy one-room apartment, which he shares with two election staff members sent by the Democratic Party. He said his budget was $20,000 to $30,000, a full two digits less than what the Koizumi campaign is likely to muster.

Mr. Yokokume said he was hoping to benefit from some kind of negative reaction to hereditary politics. Still, he is reluctant to criticize his opponent directly for fear of offending Japanese sensibilities that frown on self-promoters. Instead, he limits himself to giving his personal narrative of being a self-made success, noting that he was a law major at the prestigious University of Tokyo who passed Japan’s highly competitive bar exam.

“I leave it to voters to make the comparison” with the younger Mr. Koizumi, who graduated from the less well known Kanto Gakuin University, he said. Mr. Koizumi also has a master’s degree in politics from Columbia University.

But Mr. Yokokume admits that it is hard to battle an opponent who seems invincible, and whom Mr. Yokokume said he had never even seen. What keeps him going, he said, is a hope of parlaying even a defeat into an eventual career in politics, and a touch of indignation at hereditary politics.

“Why can’t a regular person be a politician?” he asked. “Politics shouldn’t be a family business.”

2009年3月13日 星期五

21年産平年収量は530kg

21年産平年収量は530kg -前年と同じ、農水省


 農林水産省は3月12日、21年産米の全国平年収量を530kg(10aあたり)と決めた。
 都道府県別の平年収量では、20年産より増加したのが北海道、千葉、神奈川、石川の4道県。減少したのが埼玉、静岡、鳥取、佐賀の4県となった。11日に開催された水稲の作柄に関する委員会では、変動のあった道県について以下のような生産事情が報告された。
(表)平成21年産水稲10a当たり平年収量:pdfファイル

【北海道】
 20年産では網走で冷害(作況70)となるなど、毎年7月に低温の時期があり冷害の危険性は常にある。このため北海道の稲作では温暖化の影響は明確でな いと報告された。平年収量が1kg増の535kgとなったのは、成苗植えなどで安定的な高収量生産する技術を普及させていることに加え、食味が良く収量水 準の高い「ななつぼし」の作付けが増えていることが要因と分析した。21年産では「きらら397」を抜いて作付け割合でトップ(37%)となる見込みだと いう。
【千葉県】
 都市近郊地帯で多様な消費者ニーズに応えるため「コシヒカリ」が減少し収量水準の高い「ふさこがね」が増加している。作付け割合は18年産の2.4%が 21年産では12.5%となる見込み。2kg増の533kgとなったのは、こうした品種構成の変化とともに適正な施肥管理の結果、登熟(千もみあたりの収 量)が上昇傾向にあることも要因だという。
【神奈川県】
 2kg増の488kgとなったのは、主力品種「キヌヒカリ」のほかに食味が良く収量水準の高い「さとじまん」が増加傾向にあることが要因。
【石川県】
 2kg増の519kgとなったのは、良質で収量水準の高い「ゆめみずほ」の作付けが推進されて増加傾向にあることが要因。
【埼玉県】
 消費者・実需者のニーズが高い「コシヒカリ」、「彩のかがやき」、「キヌヒカリ」へ品種の集約が進めれているが、一方で収量水準の高い「朝の光」の作付 け割合が16年産の12.4%から21年産では4.3%にまで減る見込み。2kg減の493kgとなったのはこうした品種構成の変化とともに、近年全もみ 数が減少していることが要因だという。農水省は品質・食味を重視する栽培が普及しているためではないかと分析している。
【静岡県】
 2kg減の521kgとなったのは、消費者ニーズの高い「コシヒカリ」の作付けが増え、一方、収量水準の高い「あいちのかおり」や「キヌヒカリ」が減少 傾向にあることが要因、近年は全もみ数が減少傾向で、これは品質を重視し全もみ数を適正に管理する栽培指導が普及しているためと分析している。
【鳥取県】
 「コシヒカリ」と「ひとめぼれ」の品種構成と比率に大きな変化はない。16年の連続台風で大倒伏したことをきっかけに、17年産から追肥を控えた栽培が 普及。それがひとめぼれにも広がって、県全体の収量水準が低下。こうした施肥の手控えが3kg減の514kgとなった要因だとしている。
【佐賀県】
 品質低下の被害が深刻な「ヒノヒカリ」の作付けは減少し、良食味の「夢しずく」が増えているが全体の収量水準に大きな影響はないという。減農薬・減化学 肥料栽培の取り組みやタンパク含有量6.8%以下を目標とした窒素抑制など、良質・良食味生産が行われている。ただし、20年産では7月に高温・多照とな り、幼穂形成期に肥料切れでもみ数が確保できず、登熟期には日照不足と、気温較差が小さかったことから登熟(千もみあたり収量)が伸び悩み、反収が低下し た。20年産に続き1kg減の527kgとなったのは、こうした温暖化によるマイナス影響によると分析した。

(2009.3.13)

2009年3月10日 星期二

日本超商便當客製化、在地化

客製化、在地化 日本超商 用便當搶生意

作者:張漢宜  出處:天下雜誌 417期 2009/03

迎戰壞景氣,日本超商拚命創新搶生意。在北京,7-Eleven變身自助餐廳;在日本,第二大超商Lawson用「心」開拓主婦和銀髮客源。蕭條中,它們照樣做出好成績。

景氣不佳,便利商店感受最直接,以日本最大的連鎖便利商店7-Eleven為例,平均單店每日業績一度高達六十八萬日圓,居同業之冠,但這個數字去年卻已掉到六十萬日圓。 7-Eleven佔母公司Seven & I Holdings集團營收高達四成,堪稱集團金雞母,面臨蕭條變局,該集團的變中求勝,也就落在7-Eleven的肩上。 因應變局,7-Eleven決定採取在地化策略,決策方式隨之顛覆。7-Eleven以往由總部決定產品與銷售策略,再通令全國各分店執行的做法,改為讓各地方的分店自己發揮,根據在地的資源與特色,開發在地的特色商品。

7-Eleven 授權分店創新 奈良便當的成功,便是其一。 奈良縣境內總共有五十五家7-Eleven,接到開發在地商品的指令之後,這五十五家店店長開會討論,決定從便當下手。原本7-Eleven只販售 統一口味的御便當,奈良的7-Eleven跟奈良女子大學食品營養系合作,以奈良的在地食材,推出只在奈良販售的奈良特色便當。

這新款便當只在奈良的7-Eleven限定販售,定價五百八十日圓(約合新台幣兩百元)。這個價格,比起一般四百九十八日圓的燒肉御便當,雖然稍微 貴了八十二日圓,但因為在地特色與健康取向的加值,銷售業績出乎意外的好。不但討好了奈良當地人,更成了到奈良旅遊的人必嘗的奈良特色便當,使得奈良7- Eleven便當銷售量在推出一週內,業績就大幅成長三六%。

成功在地化的另一個例子是北京,在那裡,7-Eleven成了自助餐廳。為了搶攻上班族午餐市場,北京七十二家7-Eleven推出「快餐島」,做 法是直接在店內設置類似自助餐的料理台,顧客不必受限於菜色固定的御便當,而可以現場替自己的便當點菜。結果每到午餐時段,北京的7-Eleven總是人 聲鼎沸,大排長龍。不過,這樣的新做法,必須將每家店面的店員從原來的二到三名增加為八名才應付得過來,這只有在工資便宜的中國大陸才行得通。

Lawson 搶攻主婦與銀髮族

反觀日本第二大的便利超商Lawson,則是朝分眾化的方向發展。

Lawson社長新浪剛史是出了名的點子王,他二○○二年上任之後,發揮創意,讓Lawson針對消費趨勢與顧客需求打造不同的特色,爭取到許多以往不曾上門的消費者。

新浪剛史的最新策略,是鎖定平常比較不以便利超商為主要購物地點的家庭主婦與銀髮族。

在家庭主婦方面,Lawson打造第二品牌「Lawson store 100」,它的創新定位是「生鮮與熟食的百元商店」。百元商店在不景氣時代,在日本異軍突起,成為民眾便宜購買日常用品的最佳選擇。Lawson突發奇 想,「Lawson store 100」主打為三餐精打細算的家庭主婦,無論是買生鮮食材回家烹煮,或是買熟食可立即讓家人享用,都可獲得滿足,而且,每樣產品都是一百日圓(約合新台幣 三十五元)。

另外,在退休的銀髮族方面,Lawson則推出「Lawson Plus」店面。日本團塊世代大量退休之後,這群老年人大多是與老伴一起住,或是獨居,對於住家附近便利商店的需求漸漸大於路途較遠的大型超市。因 此,Lawson鎖定這個族群,體貼他們的需求,把店內商品標示的字體加大,並增加老人需要的產品例如老花眼鏡等,甚至還有送便當到府的服務。

此外,Lawson也鎖定年輕女性市場,在辦公區與住宅區推出「Natural Lawson」。這個系列的店面,整個都以追求「健康」、「美麗」為主軸,不只裝潢是女性喜愛的粉色系,便當也都採取健康烹調、口味清淡,並仔細計算適合 女性的熱量值,另外還有化妝品、清潔用品等,成為女性的日常補給站。

除了針對不同的族群開設區隔清楚的分眾商店,推出各具特色的店面,Lawson也打環保節能牌,凡是郊區的獨棟Lawson店面,屋頂都使用太陽能板,省下大筆電費,也減碳做環保。

全家 進軍海外換新裝

當各家便利商店展店速度同步放慢、單店每日平均業績也開始慢慢下降,全家就已嗅到,日本國內市場終將飽和,因此,積極搶進海外市場,成為它的重要戰略。全家在日本國內與海外店舖數比例約五十三比四十七,幾乎己各佔一半。


然而,進軍海外市場並不容易,全家二○○四年就在美國踢到鐵板。全家在美國的店,消費者普遍印象不佳,店內骯髒陰暗,服務態度也差,上門的顧客多是西班牙裔的中低階層。

全家社長上田準二決定來個改頭換面。全家二○○五年將美國門市名稱改為「Famima!!」,目標顧客是二十到三十多歲、年收入八萬美元以上的族 群,並重新選擇開店地點,店面明亮乾淨、並嚴格訓練店員的服務態度。結果,美國全家單店每日平均營收,轉型一年來達到五十八萬日圓,甚至比日本全家的四十 七萬日圓還高。

便利商店在很多地方都被認為已經飽和,但超商先驅的日本,硬是有辦法不斷找出新的成長引擎。



2009年3月9日 星期一

current-account surpluses may be ending

Japan's economy

Rebalancing act

Mar 5th 2009
From The Economist print edition

A long era of current-account surpluses may be ending


JAPANESE households used to be among the world’s biggest savers and, as a result, the country ran a massive trade surplus. But no longer. They now save less of their income than American households, and Japan’s trade balance moved into deficit last year (see top chart). A long-overdue—and painful—economic rebalancing is under way.

The slump in global demand and a strengthening yen have crushed Japan’s exports. In the six months to January, it had an annualised trade deficit of ¥4 trillion ($39 billion), compared with a surplus of almost ¥11 trillion a year earlier. Japan’s foreign-investment income is also shrinking, thanks to lower dividends and interest rates. As a result, its total current-account surplus plunged to only ¥125 billion in December, 92% less than a year ago. Figures due on March 9th may even show a deficit in January. Most economists still expect a surplus for the year as a whole, but a much reduced one of perhaps 1% of GDP, down from a peak of 4.8% in 2007.

Japan has had a current-account surplus in every year since 1981, because of a surfeit of domestic saving over investment. However, the saving rate of households has fallen from 18% of income in 1980 to an estimated 1% last year (see bottom chart). It may have edged up slightly over the past few months, but it is almost certainly lower than in America, where the saving rate jumped to 5% in January as falling wealth and tighter credit caused consumers to pull back.

The fall in saving is exactly what the “life-cycle hypothesis” would predict. People like to smooth consumption over their lifetimes, so during their working years they spend less than they earn and accumulate wealth, which they then draw down once they retire. The more retired folk there are relative to the number of workers, the lower the saving rate will be. The ratio of Japanese aged over 65 to those of working age rose from 14% in 1980 to an estimated 34% in 2008. It is forecast to increase to 49% by 2020.


The decline in the household saving rate and the current-account surplus would seem to be connected. But Japan’s saving rate has been falling for years, so why did the external surplus still loom large until last year? The current-account balance is the gap between domestic investment and total saving—including that by companies and the government as well as households. Since 1990 Japanese firms have swung from being big borrowers to big savers as they have sought to repay debts. A large reduction in the government’s budget deficit, from 8% of GDP in 2003 to 2% in 2007, also offset lower household saving. Meanwhile, since 1990, investment has fallen from 32% to 23% of GDP. As a result, the surplus of saving over investment remained large until recently.

As the population continues to age, household saving will decline further and may even go negative as the retired live off their large stash of financial assets. If investment rates do not change, Japan will move into current-account deficit.

Japan’s excess saving has long been viewed as bad for its own economic health as well as for the rest of the world, so its disappearance might seem good news. It would be if the shrinking surplus had been caused by a surge in domestic spending, rather than a collapse in exports.

Despite some pick-up in consumption in recent years, Japan’s growth has still been far too dependent on exports. Net exports accounted for over one-third of GDP growth in the five years to 2007. Adding in exporters’ investment might push up that figure to half. Japan’s failure to wean itself off exports sooner means that it now faces a more painful adjustment. The impact on the rest of the world, meanwhile, will not be nearly as beneficial as the headline figures suggest.

Edward Seidensticker

「凡是對東京歷史有興趣的人,非看美籍日本文學專家Edward Seidensticker寫的《東京.下町.山手》和《東京起來》兩本書不可。但是,書中一句話,叫我這個老東京非常吃驚。老日本通寫道:東京新宿以西 是文化沙漠,既看不到傳統日本文化又找不到西方高級文化,除了酒和色以外,就是一無所有。….. Seidensticker的兩本書在一九八三年以及九二年問世。後來,新宿以西建設了西方高級文化之府幾所:例如,新國立劇場、TOKYO OPERA CITY、府中森藝術劇場等。然而,即使在二十年以前,恐怕大部分東京人不肯同意美國日本通的說法,因為自從二十世紀初,東京的文化前衛始終在新宿以西。 ……」

如果你是<Simon University> 的Seidensticker的忠實讀者,而且記性很好,或許知道此「美國人日本通」是日本文學的名翻譯家,尤其以川端康成作品和<源氏物語>(The Tale of Genji )馳名。我們舉過大江先生的諾貝爾獎演講中對於川端康成標題的歧義之處理。

最近google scholar很方便,你想列舉他的作品,彈指間就完成了(希望再幾年也收入「萬國學者作品總匯」,完成全球化大業)。 我這回拜此工具之賜才知道他近年還有一本回憶錄 Tokyo Central: A Memoir (Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, 2002 ) 和論「翻譯技巧」之文收入J Biguenet, R Schulte 主編的The Craft of Translation (Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1989); 論文Chiefly on translating the genji (The Journal of Japanese Studies)。
前google scholar前兩頁標題大要。

日本:
Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake - E Seidensticker , Charles E. Tuttle, 1991 《東京起來》【hc:《東京新興起:1923年大地震之後再興記》】

Low City, High City: Tokyo From Edo to the Earthquake, 1867-1923 《東京.下町.山手》- E Seidensticke Middlesex, New York: Knopf, 1983 /UK: Penguin, 1985

Japan EG Seidensticker Time-Life, 1968 這本不是台灣翻譯的『早期日本』

Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture -DH Shively, C Blacker - Princeton University Press, 1971

This Country Japan, EG Seidensticker Kodansha, 1984
Showa: The Japan of Hirohito -C Gluck, SR Graubard Norton, 1992
----
日本古典文學:Key Words

源氏物語    The tale of Genji
平安時代    Heian Period
日本文化    The culture of Japan
光源氏    Genji The Shining Prince
紫式部    Lady Murasaki Shikibu
源氏物語の概略   Summary of the tale of Genji
http://mcel.pacificu.edu/as/students/genji/homepage.html

The Tale of Genji (Everyman's Library, No.108) Murasaki Shikibu (著), Edward G. Seidensticker (譯))

Genji Days - E Seidensticker New York: Kodansha International, 1983 (翻譯 <源氏物語>日紀感言整理。)

【舉 個例,第97頁10月7日周六 整天早上和前午都在翻譯Hotaru…..Yes, the treatment of Genji is distinctly ambiguous, ironical, one might wish to say; and there is an interesting foretaste of Niou. …(foretaste noun [S] 1. 【事】 先嚐,試食;預嚐到的滋味;預示,前兆,徵象)】

The Gossamer Years: A Diary by a Noblewoman of Heian Japan, EG Seidensticker -Tuttle, 1964

2009年3月8日 星期日

Japanese welfare rolls hit record high

Report: Japanese welfare rolls hit record high
International Herald Tribune - France
AP TOKYO: The number of Japanese households on welfare hit a record high in January amid mounting job losses and an ever-deepening recession, ...


TOKYO: The number of Japanese households on welfare hit a record high in January amid mounting job losses and an ever-deepening recession, a major national daily said Sunday.

Almost 1.17 million households received welfare benefits during the month, with new applications for government assistance jumping 30 percent from December, according to calculations by the Asahi newspaper.

Strangled by the collapse in global export demand, Japan is now mired in what officials are calling the worst recession since World War II. Its economy — the world's second largest — shrank at an annual pace of 12.7 percent in the October-December quarter, more than triple the slide in the U.S. during the same period.

Sunday's data showed that welfare applications climbed particularly sharply in regions where auto and electronics factories are concentrated. In central Japan's Aichi prefecture, home to Toyota Motor Corp. and its many suppliers, applications surged 72 percent in January from the previous month, the Asahi said.

Japanese manufacturers have been extremely quick to adjust to the deteriorating conditions. Companies in recent years have hired more short-term dispatch workers and fewer permanent employees, making it considerably easier to slim down when needed.

Major exporters including Toyota and Sony Corp. — both of which are forecasting annual losses — have reduced shifts, suspended factory lines and announced thousands of job cuts over the past few months.

A recent government report estimated that nearly 158,000 "non-regular" employees in Japan's manufacturing sector will have lost their jobs between October and March.

2009年3月7日 星期六

甲斐

戰國武將中最善於養人用人的,首推武田信玄。武田信玄所管轄的國家稱為「甲斐」(Kai)。日本自古就有法律規定,領地名稱應以兩個字表示,而甲斐的語源 據說是來自「山峽」(Yama-Kai)一詞。由此可看出這是個山多、可耕地少的地方。當時一個地方的財富完全來自一級產業,可耕地少,就意味著生產力低 落,所以甲斐並不是富饒的國家。

甲斐 【かい】

    新語辞典
    • (1)旧国名の一。山梨県全域にあたる。甲州。
    • (2)山梨県北西部の市。2004 年(平成 16)9 月,中巨摩(なかこま)郡竜王町・敷島町,北巨摩郡双葉町の 3 町が合併して成立。


但是身為管理者的武田信玄責任感相當強,他希望能進一步擴大事業,讓住在這個國家的人民生活更加富足。

於是,他開始積極展開對其他國家的侵略,套句現在的話,就是嘗試擴張市場版圖。

對此,越後(新潟縣)的上杉謙信等人相當生氣,大罵武田信玄是侵略者。所以後來才爆發了有名的川中島合戰。

經營山峽之國的武田信玄認為,「嚴酷的環境中,最具有潛力的現成資源,就是人才。」因此他對人才的「創造、培養、善用」,其實都是基於迫切,並且實際的需要。

不過武田信玄因為自己孩提時曾吃過苦,所以培育部下時不只注重一個人的機能,也帶著深厚的感情。

他曾經說過,「要培養一個人,必須先了解這個人的個性如何、具有什麼潛力。」

簡單來說,意思就是「培育人才必須先從識人開始」。

關於信玄「了解人才性格的方法」,流傳著這麼一段小故事。

信玄經常聚集孩子或年輕人,講述戰爭的故事。他希望年輕人從故事中傾聞學習,將來有一天真正上戰場時能派上用場。

說穿了,其實就類似實戰前的理論授課。

信玄曾說過:「當我在講述戰場上的故事時,假設有四個年輕人在聽,他們每個人傾聽的方式都不一樣。第一個人只是張著嘴,盯著在說話的我。第二個人跟我完全 沒有視線接觸,略低著頭,豎耳傾聽。第三個人不但看著我的臉,還會偶爾點點頭,微微笑。第四個人在我還說到一半的時候,就起身離席了。」

信玄對這些不同的傾聽方式,個別分析如下:

1. 張開嘴巴、盯著我的臉看的人,這種人完全不了解我說話的內容,注意力散漫,這樣的人往往不能獨立成事。

2. 低頭安靜傾聽的人,象徵著他們正努力集中精神了解說話內容,無暇和說話者做視線接觸。現在在武田家擔任輔佐工作的幾位重要人物,年輕時聽人說話多半都是這種姿態。

3. 看著說話者的臉,時而點頭、時而微笑,其實就是在回應對方「我很了解你的意思」或「你說得一點都沒錯」。不過,這種反應往往表示他們將精力放在誇示自己的社交能力,而不是去了解說話的內容。因此,他們並無法真正掌握談話的本質。

4. 話聽到一半就離席的人,可能是過於膽小、好猜疑的人,或者他們自己也有類似的狀況,剛好被一語命中,所以才跼促不安,待不下去。

敏銳的識人之能,一點也不輸給佛洛依德。

不過,信玄又說:「但這並不表示好猜疑的人或注意力散漫的人就一無可取、不值一用。每一種人都有缺點,相對的也會有優點。只要善用他的優點朝正確的方向努力,一定可以找到善用此人的方法。妄下斷言判斷一個人『無用』,才是最不可取的想法。」。

或許就是因為信玄這種「每個人都一定有其長處」的態度,才讓部下對他忠誠無比。每個人都認為,「為了這位將軍,就算在川中島戰死也毫不足惜。」。

絕對不用一百分的人

至於該如何活用這些傾聽時呈現四種不同反應的年輕人,信玄有這樣的闡述:

1. 聽人說話時心不在焉的人,繼續這樣下去不會有好的部下願意跟隨,也不會有人對他表示意見。因為部下會認為,即使自己竭盡忠義,他也不會有回應,就算說出自 己的意見,對方也不會認真感受傾聽。所以,這種人身邊就需要敢犯上直言的人。如此一來,他才會注意到自己的缺點,自發性的改過,終能成為出色的武士。

2. 第二種低頭專注傾聽的人,不須多費工夫就會成為了不起的武士。讓第一種不認真聽人說話的人注意到有這樣的人的存在,也是相當重要的。

3. 第三種,不斷回應表示「我了解你的意思,你說得一點都沒錯」,這種人將來適合從事與外交相關的工作。賦予他謀略的任務,一定會順利成功。不過這種人的缺點 在於,雖擅長處理小範圍的事情,卻缺乏綜觀大局的判斷力,所以只要稍有成功就容易志得意滿。結果很可能過度張揚權威性,遭人憎恨,這點一定特別注意。

4. 第四種中途離席的人,可能因為容易猜疑,或心裡藏有不可告人的祕密,所以培養這種人才時,必須設法讓本人坦白說出自己的缺點,卸下心中的包袱。此後,這個人將可揮別以往自己在意的缺點,改頭換面,重新奮發。對於這種人應該以溫暖的包容,代替責備。

深信「每個人都一定有其長處」的信玄,在招募新人時,總是會命令主事者,「不要雇用一百分的完美人才,人要多少有些缺點才好。」。

他也曾肯定的說:「一名武士如果受到百人裡九十九人的稱讚,那絕不是什麼好事。這個不是太過輕佻,就是格局過小,再不然就是城府太深。」

武田信玄小時後不受父親喜愛,父親比較疼愛他的弟弟,計畫將來要讓信玄的弟弟繼承自己的地位。

信玄小時候經常裝瘋賣傻,雖然年紀小,卻也深知這是保護自己的唯一處世方法。

正因為如此,當他回顧幼年時期,總會感嘆,「為什麼我那時候這麼卑鄙呢。當時自己為了討父親歡心,故意做些違反自己意思的事,那種心態真是醜陋啊。」回憶起來,他就覺得百般苦悶。

有了這些反省和自我厭惡的經驗,武田信玄識人的眼光更加銳利。

因為自己曾有過這些不愉快的經驗,他更加認為,「不想讓現在的年輕人有同樣經驗,也要必避免教導年輕人變得世故。」

為了這樣的目標,「一個人不管有多少缺點,一定會有至少一個優點,讓他本人和周圍的人知道這些優點是相當重要的,而這正是身為指導者的工作。」

信玄在培育人才方面主張:

.絕不因為一個人有缺點,就斷定他一無是處。

.覺不因為一個小過失,就覺得這個人沒希望。

這的確相當難得。

日本首先採用彈性上班時間制度的,也是武田信玄。信玄常說:

「一個人早上上班時,如果家裡還有什麼糾紛沒解決就出城,想必一整天都無法專心工作。一邊煩心其他的事情,工作一定不能專心。這個人要是操 作機器,還可能因此受傷,這樣太危險了。既然如此,不如先解決那些煩惱。如果因為這樣而導致上班遲到,那就從中午再開始工作,或從晚上開始也可以。不要把 問題帶進城裡的工作場所,要優先解決個人的煩惱。」

換作現在的領導者,就算有這種念頭往往也很難實現。當公司裡忙得昏天暗地不可開交的時候,如果有員工要求:「我家裡有些問題,我想要先解決掉,請讓我中午再上班吧。」

有的上司可能會破口大罵:「公司這麼忙的時候,你還敢做這些奢侈的要求?工作和家庭到底哪一個重要!」

如果要用狀況不同、時代不同來解釋,當然沒有爭辯的必要,但戰國時代其實也沒有各位想像的悠閒。特別是武田信玄,如前所述,他所經營的國家地少山多,我想艱困的程度和現在的企業環境並沒有兩樣。

正因為身處於這種狀況,信玄才說,「人就是城、人就是石牆、人就是護城河。」

他認為,「在這個貧瘠的國家裡,我們手中的資源,最具可能性的就是人了。」

岩間大藏左衛門的故事,就是信玄活用膽小鬼的一個例子。根據信玄的比喻,岩間就是屬於「因為太過膽小,戰爭故事聽到一半就起身離席」的人。

岩間不喜歡打仗,他說,「上戰場很可能會死掉,我不想去。」

周圍的人聽了很生氣,大罵他,「你這個膽小鬼!」

大家逼他騎馬,他就故意從馬上摔下來,在地面上揮動著腳哀叫,簡直像個任性吵鬧的小孩。這種事三番兩次的發生,家中重臣對信玄說:「岩間這個人派不上用場,他會帶給其他人麻煩的。請將他開除吧。」

但信玄搖搖頭。