I thought I was prepared for massive earthquakes. I've realized that I was wrong.

When the massive earthquake hit Kobe and Osaka 16 years ago, I lived in Osaka, but I was in Sydney on vacation when it happened. Fortunately, my house wasn't damaged. However, since my company and projects were seriously damaged, I struggled with the aftermath at work when I got back to Osaka. I learned a lot from the disaster.

It's been two weeks since the massive earthquake hit a large part of Japan. I think that now is when the gravity of the situation unfolds. Both the victims and people who are trying to help them are stretched thin and flare up easily, although it's been said that the Japanese people in the northern area are more tolerant. All the Japanese people understand that they are required to do anything they can do, but it's difficult to keep doing that. To make matters worse, the situations of shelters and hospitals in the disaster-stricken area are very serious. I attribute it to four main reasons: the very wide disaster-stricken area, no main roads and docks due to the huge Tunami washing everything away, the crippled Fukushima plant, and a sever shortage of gas. The situation is much worse than one was in Kobe two weeks after the massive earthquake hit Kobe 16 years ago.

Anyway, since then, I've been back and forth between Japan and other countries every few years. Every time I move back to Tokyo, I prepare myself for massive earthquakes. As for my current house, in my bedroom, there are only beds and low side beds for safety in case of earthquakes (There is a closet installed originally. Can you imagine it? Please see the attached picture). Tall furniture like bookshelves and cupboards--which are considered to be the most dangerous things when earthquakes occur --are not put in areas that would block the passage to the front door if they fall down, because the front door is the only way to go outside. Stoppers have been installed on cupboards etc to prevent the doors from opening (please see the attached picture). An emergency bag is prepared so that I can bring out necessary things and flee from my house immediately. Some bottles of water are stored. I've learned what to do when massive earthquakes occur.

Because of this, before the devastating earthquake hit Japan, I thought that I was well prepared for massive earthquakes. However, I was wrong. I found myself more upset than I had expected during the earthquake, although the common countermeasures against earthquake minimized the damage. Right after the first huge quake, I was able to manage to do what I was supposed to do. On the other hand, I noticed that I lost my head and I wasn't able to think properly.

The ringtone of earthquake alert texts always frightens me

About three years ago, the Earthquake Early Warning System was introduced in Japan. When the Japan Meteorological Agency detects that a stronger earthquake than a certain level is going to hit Japan, the agency will issue an Earthquake Early Warning/ 緊急地震速報. On TV, whenever the warning is issued, "At XXX areas, please be careful of a strong earthquake. Please don't rush and behave calmly. Please ensure your safety. A strong earthquake is coming in a few seconds " is announced. If you have cellphones and you are in an area where a strong earthquake is hitting, you will receive an alert text.

Since the devastating earthquake hit Japan, the warning has been issued very frequently. Whenever I receive them in public places, I'm frightened more because everybody receives the alert texts with the same ringtone at the same time. When the massive earthquake hit Japan, a Diet debate in Tokyo was being broadcast live on NHK (the public broadcasting service). When an Earthquake Early Warning was issued, the NHK announcer in Tokyo was calm. However, after a minute, people at the studio in Tokyo started feeling a huge quake and seemed to have a hard time broadcasting.

Please see the video in the link below. 

http://nicoviewer.net/sm13889097

A modern town near Tokyo Disneyland was transformed into a muddy town

It takes 15 minutes by train from Tokyo Station to Tokyo Disneyland (TDL). Before the place was hit by the massive earthquake, upon exiting Maihama Station in front of TDL, you would enter an exciting dream world. Sadly, if you go there now, a pile of mud will welcome you. Right after the earthquake, many cars were trapped by mud in the parking lots of TDL.

Next to Tokyo Disneyland, there is a newly developed area. A lot of modern apartment buildings were built and many people, especially the younger generation, moved there. In the past decade, this area has become very popular. However, the modern town was transformed into a muddy town by the earthquake. Mysterious statues have also appeared there. These areas were reclaimed from the sea. The devastating earthquake caused soil liquefaction. Right after the quake, water and sand burst out of the paved streets. In the wake of the soil liquefaction, some huge water pipes emerged from under the ground, and many houses have tipped over. Residents there have been suffering from water outages.

Unfortunately, aftershocks have become more frequent since yesterday.

Cars trapped by mud at TDL.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/science/news/20110316-OYT1T00783.htm

Soil liquefaction at the popular town.

http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/hoihoi123/diary/201103200000

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0318/TKY201103180170.html

Soil liquefaction started right after the massive earthquake hit the town.

How stupid we are. The current crisis has made us realize many things.

It's been 65 years since Japan lost the Second World War. However, there are still lawsuits against the Japanese government over compensation for exposure to radiation caused by the atomic bombs in 1945. Although our government has approved people who can meet conditions required by law as victims and compensated them, the conditions have been controversial because it's very difficult to identify victims who suffer from secondary or internal exposure to radiation.

When I was a child, my mother would always say to me, "Don't let yourself be exposed to the rain. The rain could be harmful ". At the time, nuclear tests were frequently carried out by some countries like the Soviet Union and America. Japanese people understood that nuclear tests were carried out so far away from Japan that the radiation levels in the rain were low and the rain was not likely to be detrimental to their health. Still, they were worried about secondary exposure to radiation through the rain since it was very well-known in Japan that a lot of people had been exposed to radiation in the black rain that fell right after the atomic bombs were dropped. As a matter of fact, when China carried out nuclear tests, radiation levels in Tokyo were higher than usual. Recently, I learned that radiation levels in Tokyo right after the nuclear tests in China were higher than the levels in Tokyo after radiation started leaking from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Anyway, I think that these experiences have been almost forgotten in the past two decades. On top of that, although Japan depends greatly on nuclear power, I suppose that many of us underestimated the risk of it.

Actually, the current crisis has made us realize many things. We've finally realized what it means to live in an eco-friendly way. We've realized how much we used to waste. We've realized how comforting simple phrases like "hello" and "Are you OK?" can be. We've realized how many people support us. Thank you very much!

I hope that Japan's crisis will help make the Chinese people aware of something important.

It's been a week since the nightmare. As time goes by, more details have been revealed. We have to face harsh reality. It has been said that there are still isolated places which some people have temporarily evacuated to but haven't yet been discovered. To make matters worse, some survivors at shelters died due to terrible conditions: lack of water, food, and the cold weather. Because the massive earthquake hit such a wide area of Japan (about 500 kilometers long), we've been having a very hard time transporting necessary goods to the disaster-stricken areas. On top of that, since refineries at many places, even near Tokyo, have been also damaged, we have been suffering from a serious shortage of gas.

As for the crippled nuclear power plant at Fukushima, I have no choice but to pray that the situation won't be worse, watching carefully to see whether or not our government discloses everything about the situation. So far, I don't plan on leaving Tokyo Chiba, but I try to get information from as many sources including those overseas.We are really sorry for making people scared worldwide.

I've heard that radiation leaks from the plant have caused panics in China. It's been reported that salt has disappeared from many supermarkets in China since a lot of people believe that salt will be effective when they are exposed to radiation.I really understand how much they are worried. However, I want to say something to the Chinese people.If you really care about your health, I strongly advise you to pay more attention to your environment. When I lived in Guangzhou, China a few years ago, to be honest, I felt that my heath was likely to be damaged due to air pollution and sick houses. I don't intend to rationalize our nuclear crisis. Needless to say, Tokyo Electric Power and our government deserve to be criticized. After the plant is under control, they will have an obligation to examine whether or not there were problems with risk management and to announce it.

On top of that, I hope that our crisis will inspire Chinese people to pay attention to contaminated areas in Xinjiang/新疆, China, although nobody knows exactly what is going on there. It has been said that the Chinese government carried out nuclear testing many times there and a large number of local people died due to exposure to radiation. It has been projected that since the Chinese government didn't announce anything about the situation of the contaminated areas, a lot of people there still suffer from cancers and congenital disorders.I've watched a documentary created by Channel 4 in the UK about that areas. The situation was serious.

I really hope that Japan will be able to deal with the nuclear problem well. In the past few days, the number of aftershocks has significantly reduced. However, it's expected that aftershocks will continue in the next six months.

I'm fine so far

As you know, a devastating earthquake hit Japan. When it occurred, I was at home in Chiba. I felt a huge quake. I even thought I was going to die for a second. Fortunately, I wasn't injured at all.

In my house, a lot of things fell down, and some of them broke.
I hope that I'll be able to see my husband soon. Now, almost all the train services are suspended. So, he doesn't have any way to come back home from downtown Tokyo. According to his text, he is looking for a safe place to stay.

Since the first massive quake, my house has been shaking intermittently. I feel as though I am on a boat.

Knockoffs

I lived in Guangzhou, China from 2006 to 2008. Every time I came back from China to Japan, I would be subject to suspicion when passing through customs at the airport in Japan. I'm sure you can guess why. A few days ago, it was reported that the number of counterfeit products which had been confiscated at customs in 2010 was the second highest level, and the ones from China had reached 90% of the total.

To be honest, when I moved into Guangzhou, China, I was overwhelmed by pervasive and rampant knockoffs. If you don't keep up with trends, you won't even recognize some products as knockoffs in Guangzhou. Actually, it happened to me once. While I was hanging out downtown, I happened to find a cheap but lovely casual bag. I couldn't help but buy it. After a while, I found out that there was a small familiar logo inside the bag. Upon browsing the internet, I found that genuine ones had gone on sale about six months before. On top of that, regarding knockoffs, there were both substantiated and unsubstantiated stories swirling around Guangzhou. I heard that a well-known Japanese cosmetic company had found out that there had been a few counterfeit products even at directly-managed shops in reputable department stores in China, and the reputable stores had been intentionally selling them to make a better profit.  When I first rented a flat in Guangzhou, the landlord, who was from a moneyed class, strongly advised me that I should buy expensive, imported goods.

In Guangzhou, the rampant knockoffs would make me wonder what I was supposed to believe every time I shopped. I had nothing but prices to rely on. Actually, the quality of goods was directly proportional to the price. As for chemical products like detergents and food, I had no choice but to buy expensive ones for safety. Because of these circumstances, living cost there was much higher than I had expected.

There are things in common between "gossip girl" and Japanese politicians!?

I've been watching American TV shows a lot to improve my listening skill in the past three years. Despite such long-term practice, I haven't improved much. If I took it seriously, I would feel like giving up. Yet, as long as I have fun with the shows, I intend to keep watching them, believing that I will someday be able to listen to English without focusing my full attention on it.

Anyway, in the past few weeks, I've been watching "Gossip girl". As you may know, the show is set in a high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.Most of the main characters are students from wealthy families. They lead extravagant lives surrounded by luxurious things. On the other hand, they are subject to restraints which ordinary people are free of. They often have hidden agendas and play all sorts of power games. Meanwhile, they sometimes suffer from remorse. Although I know that the show is a fiction, I feel that similar things are likely to happen in our lives.

By the way, it was announced the day before yesterday that Mr. Maehara had just stepped down from the position of foreign minster. Although I don't intend to elaborate it, the battle between the ruling party and the opposition party over the stuff which forced him to step down somehow makes me think of the show "Gossip Girl". The battle is ridiculous and futile. Many politicians seem to be being overcritical in order to hinder others. I guess that there is a tangle of ulterior motives since it has been said that Mr. Maehara is very likely to become Prime Minster in the near future.

Although I know that political power games are inevitable anywhere, I really want politicians to compete against one another in policy. Actually, a lot of people have said so in the past five years because they have really realized that Japan is in a critical situation. Despite that, there is no sign of productive bipartisan discussions on major policies.

Chewing gum helps me memorize English words!?

Professional baseball players often chew gum while playing. In the past, a lot of Japanese people would consider it to be rude. In contrast, these days, people are encouraged to chew gum even in circumstances where people weren't previously allowed to do it.

In the past decade, it has been said that people should try to increase the amount of time they spend chewing things as much as possible. Under these circumstances, chewing gum is viewed as a good way to make it happen. On top of that, you are strongly advised to make efforts to chew as many times as possible while eating. As you may know, it prevents overeating and helps to enhance digestion and absorption. Other than that, it has been recently highlighted that chewing things is effective in activating brain functions. In fact, a survey has shown that students in the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious university in Japan, tend to have a habit of chewing more. Many surveys have shown that people can memorize things better while they are chewing things like gum than people who don't. The effect is more obvious on elderly people than young ones. 

According to the news, various scientific evidence for the relevance between chewing things and brain activation have been discovered. Some elderly patients who were on feeding tubes demonstrate how important chewing things is for human beings. When they were on feeding tubes, they weren't able to walk. Some of them were even unable to talk. However, after removing the tubes and letting them eat normal food, they regained the ability to walk and talk. All of them could get many functions back to normal.

In nature, being unable to chew things means death for animals. So, there is no wonder that chewing things is essential for us.

Why do you think Facebook has become very popular?

I've noticed that Japanese Facebook users have been increasing recently. I suppose that the remarkable role Facebook played in the civil disobedience in the Middle East and the popularity of the American movie "The Social Network" have been helping Facebook become more popular in Japan. On top of that, I've heard that Facebook has been very serious about expanding in the Japanese market in the past year in order to increase Japanese subscribers. It has been said that the immense popularity of Japanese social network service "Mixi" has been forcing Facebook to struggle to win the hearts and minds of Japanese people.

Speaking of social network services, more than five years ago, some friends of mine living outside Japan invited me to join "Hi5" and "Tagged". After that, they urged me to use Facebook, as well. Since then, I've been on Facebook for five years. On the other hand, I haven't logged into both Hi5 and Tagged for a few years because I have no active friends there.

I'm wondering if Facebook is more popular than the other two. If so, why do you think Facebook has become very popular in the past few years? What is the biggest difference between Facebook and the other two ?

Japanese mothers accompanying their smart, grown-up children.

Last week, I stopped by a four-star hotel in downtown Tokyo. When I arrived there in the morning, I noticed that there was something unusual in the lobby. Usually, the lobby is bustling with men and women in suits in the morning. In contrast, on that day, middle-aged women in casual clothes were standing in groups there. On top of that, other middle-aged women occupied the large part of a cafe in the lobby. It turned out that these women were mothers whose children were sitting the entrance examination for the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious university in Japan.

The hotel is located near the University of Tokyo. I've heard that the hotel has been popular among students who plan on taking the entrance examination for this prestigious university but live far from it. Given that the hotel is more expensive than average, I feel like the popularity has proven the fact that children from affluent families are more likely to enroll in prestigious universities than others.

Anyway, what I want to say here is that I was really surprised by how many mothers accompanied their grown-up children to Tokyo. When I was a student many years ago, students usually went by themselves to take entrance examinations wherever they were. Even if their mothers insisted on accompanying them, they, especially boys, would spurn the offer. Some of them would even feel annoyed. I'm not saying that mothers accompanying their grown-up children is wrong. However, I can't help but wonder whether or not they have realized that society requires young people to become more independent. It has been said that young people need to learn to make decisions by themselves and take responsibility for the decisions. Graduates from the University of Tokyo are the most likely to be given various opportunities, and they are greatly expected to play important roles in various fields. I hope that these mothers will let their children go after they pass the examination. Otherwise, Japan won't have a future.

Japanese nurses being willing to save lives worldwide have been waiting to be rescued in Christchurch.

The tragedy in New Zealand reminds me of a disaster I saw firsthand 16 years ago. The catastrophic earthquake which hit large cities around Kobe, Japan easily transformed peaceful towns into hell. When I first stepped into the ruined areas, piles of rubbles and the wreckage of buildings really made me realize the destructive power of nature. At the same time, a cruel mix of peace and tragedy here and there astonished me. A familiar place had changed to the point where I wasn't able to recognize it. In contrast, the next area across a street looked ordinary and there seemed to be nothing to change. The street determined many people's destinies. On top of that, ten or twenty minutes driving from a disaster area was long enough to find another world. In fact, when some friends of mine who were forced to be evacuated their towns could manage to reach downtown Osaka (Usually, it takes only 15 minutes from their towns to Osaka by train), they doubted what they were seeing there. They were stunned to see that Osaka looked normal and everything there was going on as if nothing had happened.

When the catastrophic earthquake hit Christchurch, there were a lot of Japanese people there. It's assumed that over 40 Japanese students were in a building where an English school was located. Unfortunately, the building completely collapsed and 28 of the students are still missing. Because of this, the quake has been widely reported in Japan and the information has been frequently updated. According to the news, the school is popular among Japanese nurses since it offers a special English program for nurses. So, the missing includes several experienced Japanese nurses. The farther of a 41-year-old missing Japanese nurse said that he believed she was trying to save as many lives as she could at the disaster site because this was exactly what she wanted to do. He added that given the circumstances reported, he knew that he had to prepare himself for accepting the harsh fact on her. It's reported; "she belongs to MEDECINS DU MONDE JAPON (Doctors of the World Japan) and has been to Asian countries to help people as a volunteer nurse during her holidays. She can speak French and Mandarin. She has been attending the aforementioned English school since January to study medical English". Other missing nurses have similar stories, as well.

I hope that as many people as possible will be rescued.

Ambassador pandas have just arrived in Tokyo by Panda Jet

Have you heard of the Japanese phrase 客寄せパンダ/kyakuyose-panda?　客寄せmeans to lure customers and パンダmeans pandas. The phrase means to use people or things to draw attention. Can you guess why pandas are used in this phrase? Actually, it was created around 1980. Then, it became very popular over the next two decades.

In 1972, Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations were normalized. Responding to that, China presented two giant pandas to Japan as a symbol of friendship. Ueno Zoo in Tokyo was a new home for them. A huge number of people swarmed the zoo to take one look of the cute pandas named ランラン/ran-ran and カンカン/kan-kan. Very long lines were formed at the zoo every day.  It didn't disappear for a long time. These circumstances created that phrase.

The popular, adorable pandas greatly helped Japanese people develop an affinity for China. After the pandas died, three other pandas were presented to Japan, and also came to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. However, since the three pandas were given around when Japan's Official Development Assistance to China started and around when the amount of the ODA yen-loan to China sharply increased, the coined phrase "パンダ外交/panda-diplomacy" appears whenever these presented pandas are being discussed in the news. Incidentally, now, it's impossible to give and be given pandas due to the Washington Convention. In April, 2008, the last panda which belonged to Japan died in Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

Currently, there are eight pandas at a zoo in Wakayama next to Osaka. The zoo has been doing Chinese-Japanese joint research on giant pandas and their breeding since 1994. Although six of the pandas were born there, all eight belong to China. Other than them, four pandas were born there and already went back to China.

Anyway, a few hours ago, two pandas arrived at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. From Shanghai, they took an ANA panda jet, which was introduced in 2007 on routes between China and Japan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ANA's service between the two countries. Ueno Zoo has high expectations for the pandas since it has been suffering from a decrease in visitors. On the other hand, the pandas have become controversial since it has been widely reported in the past week that the annual rental fee for them is about 950,000USD (78,000,000JPY). Ueno Zoo is run by Tokyo prefecture, so the rental fee will be paid from tax money.

I'm wondering what role the new pandas will play. Hi pandas, thank you very much for being patient during the long journey anyway.

Valentine's Day is highly commercialized in Japan. Chocolate, investment and.....

Like Christmas, Valentine's Day is highly commercialized in Japan. As you may know, on the day, women are expected to give men chocolate. Although I'm sure that confectionery and retailing industries took advantage of the day and popularized the costum, I don't know exactly when it became that common. Originally, in Japan, Valentine's Day was especially for a woman who liked a man but hadn't yet told him her feeling. Since it was believed that a man was supposed to first tell a woman that he liked her until probably three decades ago, Valentine's Day gave those women an opportunity of expressing themselves by giving chocolate. As the times have changed, women have become more aggressive in a positive way. On top of that, these days, a younger man often expects a woman to first tell him that she likes him, so I think that Valentine's Day has become less meaningful. Anyway, chocolate which a woman gives a man whom she really likes is called 本命チョコ/honmei-choko (本命 means the favorite and チョコmeans chocolate).

At office and school, women usually pass chocolate to their male friends and colleagues. If these men are those to whom they want to show their gratitude, they will be willing to buy chocolate for the men. On the other hand, if women feel under peer pressure to follow the custom and are reluctant to give chocolate to their colleagues, not only women but also men will find the custom bothering. Actually, women often have a hard time deciding to whom they are going to give chocolate while worrying about the total cost, and men are inevitably exposed to competition since many of them care about how many chocolate boxes they can get. On top of that, some women have ulterior motives. They view the chocolate as a lucrative investment. In Japan, if a man is given a box of chocolate by a woman, he will be expected to give a gift back to her on the 14th of March. It's assumed that the gift is supposed to be worth twice as much as the chocolate given. Because of this awkward custom, some women intentionally give chocolate to men who are likely to give luxury gifts back to them. Anyway, chocolate which women give to men out of courtesy are called 義理チョコ/giri-choco（義理 means obligation etc. ).

I assume that ”giri-choco” (chocolate for male colleagues and friends) largely contributes to its sales. However, as you can see, the chocolate often makes women feel like they are wasting money. So, I think that "giri-choco" has become less popular. At least, many women try to cut the budget for it. Under these circumstances, a new custom was created and has become very common in the past few years among school girls and young women. They exchange chocolate. This chocolate is called 友チョコ/tomo-choco (友means friends). Basically, women love chocolate more than men, so it probably helped the custom gain popularity.

I'm tired of customs created by industries and people making me feel like I need to follow the customs.

The website below: A confectionery company "明治製菓/Meiji Seika" built a bar of giant chocolate in front of itsfactory a week before Valentin's Day.

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0208/OSK201102080057.html

The Facebook headquarters reminds me of the old days

The civil disobedience in Egypt finally forced President Mubarak to step down. The revolt opened the door to democracy.Since Facebook played a remarkable role in making it happen, more Japanese people, especially those who are unfamiliar with Facebook, started paying attention to it, wondering what it was like. Under these circumstances, a TV news program allocated some time to introduce it, the popular social network service in the world. In the program, a popular Japanese reporter went to the headquarters of Facebook in California, gave a tour of the office, and interviewed the creator of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. According to the program, this was the the first time that a Japanese TV program was allowed to film inside the office. Given that Facebook has been struggling to gain Japanese subscribers due to the immense popularity of the Japanese social network service "Mixi," I suppose that Facebook views the present time as a good opportunity to promote itself.

Anyway, it was reported in the program that Facebook had decided against office partitions in the hopes that workers would feel free to discuss ideas openly. The placement of office desks like the one in the attached picture and other reports about the office reminded me of when I just started working for a traditional company many years ago right after graduation. At the time, office partitions weren't common in Japan and office desks were arranged that way in many Japanese companies, although they now use partitions. So, I was working in a sort of open office space. On top of that, I was encouraged to feel free to have discussion with co-workers, even at cafes, etc. The open office space and small talk with coworkers often helped me come up with new ideas, although when I wanted to focus my full attention on doing something, I felt like the openness caused me to be distracted. I was a little surprised to see things in common between Facebook and a traditional Japanese company.

Fixed matches in Sumo tournaments show us that it's the time to change

Have you ever heard of Sumo? It's a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan's national sport. In Japan, Sumo has been drawing considerable public attention in the past few years.Unfortunately, this is because scandals relating to Sumo wrestlers and the Japan Sumo Association have been discovered one after another (All the wrestlers belong to the association). About a week ago, irrefutable evidence about fixed matches was found while detectives were investigating another scandal. Some text messages restored by the police have shown that some Sumo wrestlers were negotiating with their opponents about how to and who would loose their matches. Although a lot of people had been wondering for many years if there were fixed matches, the unquestionable evidence shocked them.

I'm familiar with Sumo because when I was little, my father would tune in to Sumo matches whenever they were held. He taught me a lot of things about Sumo while watching the matches. However, I still don't know about some of the traditions and systems relating to Sumo. I've assumed that they had already faded outside of sumo society and so it's hard to understand them. I've also felt that the traditions are necessary for Sumo but they are in ares which ordinary people  cannot deal with. What I'm trying to say here is that there have been gray zones in the Sumo Association.

The suspicion of fixed games and matches always lingers around sport matches. A Sumo tournament is held every two months. Every tournament lasts 15 days and there are more than 100 matches each day. Given these circumstances, fixed matches in Sumo tournaments aren't surprising to me. Actually, what surprises me most is the Japan Sumo Association and the people involved in it. They still seem to cling tenaciously to traditional management ways although many scandals have proven that they can't control risks these ways. Last year, the association finally added a university professor and an expert as board members, but all other board members are retired Sumo wrestlers (Only strong Sumo wrestlers who meet certain conditions are allowed to work for the association after retirement). 

Many Sumo wrestlers leave their homes when they complete compulsory education, in other words, when they graduate from junior high schools (I think that the number of Sumo wrestlers who are high school or university graduates has been increasing). After that, they spend most of their time in Sumo stables. Since they are required to devote a lot of effort to becoming strong Sumo wrestlers, it's not easy for them to learn things other than Sumo. Despite that, almost all the board members are retired Sumo wrestlers. How can I expect them to manage such a big association in times where unpredictable things can suddenly happen? Haven't they realized that risk management by professionals is necessary?

Actually, not changing as the times demand isn't peculiar to the Sumo Association. Now is the time to change for a lot of Japanese people, companies and government. Otherwise, Japan won't be able to survive.

Are Japanese people incredibly patient ?

In the past few weeks, the revolt against the Mubarak administration in Egypt has been drawing considerable worldwide attention. A few days ago, my Japanese friend living in China complained, saying that more websites had been blocked. She guessed that the civil disobedience made the Chinese government more nervous. Given that the movement have reverberated around the Middle East, it's clear that the Chinese government is afraid that a chain reaction will be set off in China. The fact that Facebook page etc.have fomented the revolt seems to make the government tighten controls on access to websites.

Actually, these things remind me of statements made by some well-known Chinese people. Although they don't know one another, they all say: "the Japanese economy has been sluggish in the past two decades, but Japanese people have never revolted nor held a massive demonstration against the Japanese government during that period. It's unbelievable but amazing. Japanese people are incredibly patient. If a recession lasted such a long time in China, there would be a revolution". They also insist that you should try to understand how difficult unifying China is before you criticize Chinese government's policies.

As you may know, China and Japan have developed a relationship of great mutual economic dependence. So, in Japan, no country is more frequently reported in the news than China. A lot of issues between the two countries are always discussed.

Do Japanese people believe that people are naturally good?

The careless behavior of Japanese people often surprises those who aren't familiar with Japan. Typical behavior is at self-service cafes. Many people first leave their personal belongings on the table in order to reserve their seats, and then they leave to go buy things. Some people even leave their cellphones or laptops. Although they are not able to keep watch over their personal belongings left on the table while standing in line, they don't care. They seem to assume that their things will not be stolen. I don't think it is safe to do that in Japan anymore, but there are still many people who don't mind doing it. Actually, Japanese people often behave based on a traditional idea that people can't do wrong since they are naturally good. Many people assume that this idea comes from 性善説/seizensetsu which was developed and advocated by 孟子/moushi in the ancient times of China, although the proper meaning of 性善説 is different.

People understand that this idea will expose themselves to danger outside Japan. However, Japanese tourists still aren't vigilant enough in other counties. Their careless behavior always invites someone to pick their pockets. They are still the first target for thieves. When it comes to business, I think that Japanese companies still tend to lack the awareness of risk and aren't good at risk management, although I don't know whether or not this traditional idea has caused it. Some people are surprised by contracts made by American companies since they cover much more detailed things than they expected. The detailed things sometimes include things they can't think of. When I lived in China, some Japanese took some time to get accustomed to checking whether or not small electrical appliances sold, even at well-known department stores, worked properly before purchasing them.

Awkward working culture in Japan

I often hear Westerners saying that they don't understand why Japanese businessmen often brag about their long working hours. They say that in the West, such workers are perceived to be inefficient. Because of this, if Westerners are forced to work long hours, they will likely complain and will never brag about it. What is most surprising to Westerners seems to be that immediately before a client presentation, some Japanese businessmen tend to mention that they had only a few hours of sleep the previous night. Their intention is to impress their clients by the great efforts they had put in right up to the last minute. However, contrary to their expectations, this will make Westerners wonder if they will be able to deliver presentations properly since Westerners assume that a lack of sleep would impair their judgement and ability to concentrate.

I think that mentioning a lack of sleep or things like this to clients is ridiculous even to Japanese people these days, although it didn't give negative impressions to clients in the past. Several years ago, I heard a story. An older manager and a few workers from a company went to Tokyo from Osaka to deliver a presentation to their client. Before the presentation, in order to break the ice, the manager told the client that the workers had been re-checking the presentation even on the way to Tokyo by bullet train (it takes two and half hours between the two cities). The client's reaction astonished and disappointed the manager. The client criticized him, saying that he was so incompetent at managing his workers that they were forced to check the presentation even on a bullet train. I totally agree with the client.

Culturally, people who are willing to work late still tend to be appreciated in Japanese companies. In the past, some workers would stay until very late at work even when they didn't need to and overtime wasn't paid. As the times have changed, working efficiently has become of greater value. However, I've found that even efficient workers are often required to work long hours. In Japan, at work, you are often required to work cooperatively with your colleagues. Actually, teamwork is considered a Japanese advantage. However, the idea requires you to cover what your colleagues haven't yet done in your team. If you can work much more efficiently than your team members, you will end up being forced to help them and might find this unreasonable. I think that this is largely because you often feel that you aren't evaluated properly and don't get a salary worthy of your performance.

Does the Japanese society try to inspire us to remember the 1980s?

I sometimes feel like Japanese society tries to inspire us to remember the 1980s when a lot of Japanese people were charmed by the so-called bubble economy. I feel like popular songs and things in the 1980s appear more frequently than before.

During the bubble economy, a lot of project plans were made without being examined carefully (After the bubble burst, I was forced to struggle with projects that my colleagues made during that period. I didn't understand why they made such impractical plans and realized that the bubble economy made people delusional and greedy). Real estate values in cities were dramatically escalating. The huge surge encouraged and enabled people and companies to invest by borrowing money from banks since they mostly lent you money based on the value of your real estate, which caused a speculative boom. On the other hand, some innocent, ordinary people owning properties in Tokyo were inevitably put in a difficult situation. They had a hard time paying taxes on their own houses in Tokyo. Anyway, the fabricated economic boom helped people fulfill their material desires. Many people in their 20s and early 30s at the time were willing to enjoy their youth got and accustomed to spending money on whatever they wanted. 

Now, the people who reaped benefits from the bubble economy are in their 40s and 50s. They are still expected to play an important role in boosting consumer spending. Because the prolonged recession has discouraged young people from purchasing extra things since they were born, it's natural that shops try to appeal to middle-aged people who can't help but buy impressive things.  Having said that, however, they've realized that they have to pinch pennies, so I guess that shops and other businesses try to create an atmosphere to encourage them to purchase by playing 1980's hit songs and so on.

The era that you came from seems to determine how you act, a lot more than I expected.