My opinion of this week(526):
Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Thursday two top officials of the Japan Green Resources Agency (J-Green) who allegedly rigged bids for forest road survey consulting contracts ordered by the government-affiliated agency in fiscal 2005 and 2006. It is just one other example of scandals caused by such public corporation. Toshikatsu Matuoka, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, have been provided a lot of contribution from this corporation in the past. The issue of politics and money are still in the darkness in many ways as far as I see it.
An intensive discussion on the transparency of political fund have been made at diet during this week. The opposition parties continued to question Minister Matuoka about huge amount of light and fuel expenses written in his political fund report. He has never explained them in detail for the current rules do not require it. Opposition fronts insisted that it is one important responsibility as a politician to explain such details to some extent in transparent manner. It seems that there is no question about such necessity.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has supported Minister Matuoka saying he is making enough explanation alright on this issue. The tactics of ruling front to avoid attack against Minister Matuoka from opposition front is to bring up the case of purchase of high value real-estate by Ichirou Ozawa, President of Democratic Party of Japan. Prime Minister Abe let one of his man ask about it at the diet session and pointed out such purchase of high value real estate by political fund may possibly end up with unfair ownership by one man.
Prime Minister Abe's and ruling fronts' tactics on this issue is very obvious.
They try to make up Matuoka's unfair practice by hitting their strong enemy Ichirou Ozawa by bringing up a kind of different accounting procedures.
The editorial of Asahi Newspaper on Wednesday criticized this stance of Prime
Minister Abe. The editorial mentioned that Ichirou Ozawa explained the details
of the purchase of this real estate. It is quite fair by itself. On the other
hand, Minister Matuoka has never disclosed any details of high amount of the
expense item. Why can he not do it ?
Before they argue whether it is good or wrong from accounting rule point of view, politicians must disclose details of account to some extent if required. It is common sense for any people including general public. It is quite natural for
us to prepare receipts for any payment when it comes to some public matters.
When it comes to politicians who spend our tax and many of such public contribution, transparency of their accounting procedures is absolutely necessary.
I just can't believe the stance of Prime Minister Abe who continue to support Minister Matuoka on this very important issue.
2007/5/26
Tadashi HAYASE
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007
What is High School Baseball Association?
My opinion of this week(524):
High School Baseball Association advised all member high schools to stop their baseball club members getting scholarship for their special talent as ball players. The purpose of such notice is to ban member club teams to collect many excellent ball players from all over Japan to make team stronger.
Member high schools were asked to report number of scholarships given to baseball club members. There were so many high schools which introduce such scholarships not only for baseball players but also for many other sports and even some cultural activities. So many high schools which introduce such system cannot stop scholarship only for baseball club members. If scholarships were stopped, those members of baseball team could not continue to attend to school itself.
A number of complains and requests to ease the associations action were raised by so many schools all over Japan.
Even Bunmei Ibuki, Minister of Education and Science, called Haruo Wakimura, President of High School Baseball Association, to his office and asked him to ease such step to ban scholarship for baseball club members. Regardless the existence of the request by the minister, President Wakimura have already announced to ease their action to ban scholarship for baseball member students. There are so many number of
students who are getting such scholarship to continue to play baseball in their school teams.
The association announced to say that numbers of scholarship reported was beyond their expectation. They were obliged to take step to ease their first action to ban such scholarship system basically.
I was quite surprised to see the association's reaction to the reports made by member schools. It is quite common for all those famous high school baseball club teams to introduce such scholarship system to collect good players from all over Japan. Such scholarship system exists not only for baseball clubs but also for many other sports and cultural activities as a matter of fact. What's wrong with it? Why does the association try to stop it? There raised so many criticism from various
places in mass media for what the association tried to do.
The association have conducted so many unreasonable actions to show off their power in high school baseball world. If there were some scandals happened in or around baseball teams of high schools, the ball teams were often ordered to stop participating baseball tournament to go to Koushien Ball Park. Some baseball teams had been taken away the ticket to Koushien which they got already because of some scandals happened at the high school with or without direct connection with baseball team.
The association have been very tyrannical in many ways. They believe in pure spirit of amateurism and think high school baseball is the one which materializes it in every sense of the word.
I have had some doubt about their actions and their existence itself in many years. The happening at this time is a typical evidence of such unreasonable behavior of the association.
Bunmei Ibuki, Minister of Education and Science, should have suggested some action to reform the organization itself against the president of the association.
2007/5/12
Tadashi HAYASE
High School Baseball Association advised all member high schools to stop their baseball club members getting scholarship for their special talent as ball players. The purpose of such notice is to ban member club teams to collect many excellent ball players from all over Japan to make team stronger.
Member high schools were asked to report number of scholarships given to baseball club members. There were so many high schools which introduce such scholarships not only for baseball players but also for many other sports and even some cultural activities. So many high schools which introduce such system cannot stop scholarship only for baseball club members. If scholarships were stopped, those members of baseball team could not continue to attend to school itself.
A number of complains and requests to ease the associations action were raised by so many schools all over Japan.
Even Bunmei Ibuki, Minister of Education and Science, called Haruo Wakimura, President of High School Baseball Association, to his office and asked him to ease such step to ban scholarship for baseball club members. Regardless the existence of the request by the minister, President Wakimura have already announced to ease their action to ban scholarship for baseball member students. There are so many number of
students who are getting such scholarship to continue to play baseball in their school teams.
The association announced to say that numbers of scholarship reported was beyond their expectation. They were obliged to take step to ease their first action to ban such scholarship system basically.
I was quite surprised to see the association's reaction to the reports made by member schools. It is quite common for all those famous high school baseball club teams to introduce such scholarship system to collect good players from all over Japan. Such scholarship system exists not only for baseball clubs but also for many other sports and cultural activities as a matter of fact. What's wrong with it? Why does the association try to stop it? There raised so many criticism from various
places in mass media for what the association tried to do.
The association have conducted so many unreasonable actions to show off their power in high school baseball world. If there were some scandals happened in or around baseball teams of high schools, the ball teams were often ordered to stop participating baseball tournament to go to Koushien Ball Park. Some baseball teams had been taken away the ticket to Koushien which they got already because of some scandals happened at the high school with or without direct connection with baseball team.
The association have been very tyrannical in many ways. They believe in pure spirit of amateurism and think high school baseball is the one which materializes it in every sense of the word.
I have had some doubt about their actions and their existence itself in many years. The happening at this time is a typical evidence of such unreasonable behavior of the association.
Bunmei Ibuki, Minister of Education and Science, should have suggested some action to reform the organization itself against the president of the association.
2007/5/12
Tadashi HAYASE
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)