The White Peril 白禍

Wow. Honor-saving suicide is common here, but rarely is it the way taken out by someone so high up in the government hierarchy:

Toshikatsu Matsuoka, the farm minister who stubbornly refused calls for his resignation over money scandals, died Monday after hanging himself at his Tokyo residence, government officials said.

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He is the first incumbent Cabinet member to have committed suicide since the current Constitution took effect, and the seventh Diet member since the end of World War II.

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Opposition lawmakers in the Diet as well as the media had demanded Matsu-oka explain shady expenditures by his fund-management group for utilities and other costs for his office. He refused.

He was also criticized for political donations that allegedly came from organizations connected to a bid-rigging scandal.

The Asahi article doesn't elaborate on the utilities thing, but my understanding--I haven't been following the story all that closely, but it's been in the news a lot--is that he double-charged for utilities, getting reimbursements for charges that were already covered by the Diet. There's already been a raid on a semi-governmental agency in relation to the bid-rigging charge.

Added later: I meant to link to the Nikkei story, which I didn't quote except in the post title but which was where I first saw the news. Somehow I forgot. Of course, since this morning, there's been time for all the relevant parties in the Abe administration to get their (stunned) comments in. Reuters sums up pretty well in English. Interestingly, the Yomiuri is reporting on the Reuters report, among others. Headline: "Suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka 'will be serious blow to Abe administration,' say major foreign news services." It's not that they needed the AP to tell them that, of course; what's presumably of interest is that the foreign press has latched onto the political significance of the event faster than the Japanese media. Since this is a local story, we've been mostly hearing about what kind of hook Matsuoka was hanging on and what tie his aide was wearing when he discovered the body. Well, okay, it's not that bad, but you get the idea.

Minister of the Environment Wakabayashi is set to become acting Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries on 30 May. The Asahi has posted a roundup (in the original Japanese) of Matsuoka's more choice soundbites in response to charges of malfeasance.

BTW, if you're wondering about that quotation from Abe, I think what he originally said that was translated as "I am overwhelmed with shame" was "慙愧に堪えない," and it's not entirely clear what he was referring to. Shame that a minister under his leadership was driven to suicide? Shame that he didn't manage the scandals better before they ended up here? Everyone is going to be watching how he maneuvers in the next few days.

You will doubtless be shocked to hear that, in the wake of the fatal roller coaster accident a few weeks ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is finding safety lapses all over the place:

Seven roller coasters examined in emergency inspections following a fatal accident at an amusement park in Osaka Prefecture had problems such as worn wheels and cracked axles, it has emerged.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday announced the results of its emergency inspection of roller coasters around the nation. A total of 306 roller coasters were to be subject to the inspections, and problems were found with seven of the 256 roller coasters whose inspections have already finished.

Ministry officials said that failing to deal with the problems could lead to an accident.

The inspection also found that operators of 119 roller coasters, nearly 40 percent of the total number, had not carried out annual flaw inspections as required by Japanese Industrial Standards. A total of 72 of the 306 roller coasters, or about 24 percent of the total number, had never once [!!!!--SRK] been inspected for flaws, the ministry investigation found.

Nice. Of course, we should all be used to this by now. Every time something like this happens--the JR West derailment springs readily to mind--it's discovered afterward that there's a record of laxity. Often there's no cover-up involved per se, just a failure to focus attention on addresing problems or attending to things that aren't going to be immediately visible to people on the outside.

The bill for the restructuring of United States military forces stationed in Japan was passed yesterday. There are still complaints about its incentives for municipalities that will be taking installations. The federal government (of Japan, I mean, of course) will be providing subsidies:

However, for some in the opposition parties and the regional governments affected, opposition remained deep-rooted, and there remained a lack of transparency about the progression of the development plan: "The autonomous judgment of region[al governments] will be distorted."

The Yomiuri has an English report. It's hard to dispute that offering subsidies tends to motivate local governments to play along as they must to get them, even if it's something they (or their citizens) might not otherwise like. But this is hardly a special case in that regard, and at least military installations serve a more obvious purpose than cultural halls and multi-lane highways to depopulated hamlets. Bases, nuclear facilities, and waste treatment plants all have to go somewhere.

Wow. Just, wow. Perhaps we've found an explanation for Japan's extraordinarily low murder rate:

Forensic doctors ridicule certain facets of this country's medical practices, saying, "The living are offered advanced care, but the dead receive Edo-period treatment," meaning that while sick people receive excellent medical treatment, those who die of unnatural causes are cursorily examined only by sight or touch--a practice not much different from that used during the Edo period (1603-1867).

With a shortage of forensic doctors, equipment and funds, the autopsy rate for unnatural deaths is lower than 10 percent--a figure that continues to fall.

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When someone dies of unnatural causes, doctors working for the police, on a commission basis, are asked to examine the body at the site. But these doctors are private practitioners who lack forensic expertise.

Since they determine the cause of death purely by sight or touch, they cannot determine whether a person died from poisoning or drugs, or whether the person suffered internal bleeding or broken bones.

In a field where even experienced forensic doctors make false diagnoses in 40 percent of cases, police officers--laymen in this area--and private practitioners are entrusted with the job.

A senior police officer experienced in the matter said most people who die unnatural deaths are cremated, and are presumed to have died from causes such as heart failure or stroke after an initial examination, which rules out the possibility that they died at the hands of a criminal.

Of course, it's not just crimes that it's helpful to uncover; it's helpful to know about unnatural causes such as accidental poisonings or reactions to medication, too. One contributor to the worsening situation is that medical school students are staying away from forensic medicine.

Some medical facilities even lack autopsy tables and basic medical equipment.

Administrative rigmarole is also seen as a hurdle to increasing the autopsy rate.

When an initial examination determines that a death may be crime-related, the public prosecutors office is put in charge of the judicial autopsy under the Criminal Procedure Code.

In the case of an unnatural death unrelated to crime, autopsies fall under the supervision of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Under the law for conserving cadavers for autopsy, prefectural governments should determine whether an autopsy should be conducted from the standpoint of public hygiene, but bereaved families are usually allowed to have the final say.

I doubt the official murder rate would, like, double if practices were brought more into line with those of other countries. Even so, being offed by a family member (it used to be for life insurance money) is the stock Japanese sort of killing, and the likelihood that it will be discovered is seriously decreased if families get deciding power over whether even an initial autopsy is performed.

This story was published over a week ago--been busy--but given how much complaining I do about useless bureaucracy, it's only fair to note that the government also addresses real issues in Japan's changing society and economy. You know, sometimes:

Workplace accidents involving temporary workers are increasing rapidly in line with an increasing number of day labor jobs whose workers have little experience, a survey by the Tokyo Labor Bureau has found.

The bureau's survey found that the number of workplace accidents in 2006 was nearly 50 percent higher than the previous year's figure.

In line with revisions to the law concerning temporary workers, the bureau began conducting surveys on workplace accidents among temporary workers in 2005. It collected data from job placement firms headquartered in Tokyo.

A total of 99 people died in workplace accidents under the Tokyo Labor Bureau's jurisdiction in 2006, while 10,078 people were injured. Two of the workers who died and 401 of the people who were injured were temporary workers. The number of injuries to temporary workers was 49.6 percent higher than the figure for the previous year.

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Many of the injuries involved workers getting caught in machines or falling down from high places. 142 people suffered serious injuries that forced them to take a month or more off work. Other accidents involved people injuring their backs when lifting heavy objects and getting their hands caught in presses, indicating a lack of experience and safety instruction.

"Compared to regular company workers, there's a tendency to neglect safety instruction for temporary workers, and so we want to warn companies," a Tokyo Labor Bureau representative said.

The surveys have only been conducted since 2005, and there's no indication in the article of whether the bureau has just gotten better at getting reports in the interim. The 49.6% increase may be exaggerated. (The original Japanese story has a pie graph with a further breakdown.)

Nevertheless, the conclusion that shifting work patterns are causing more injuries as inexperienced, untrained people work with equipment they can't handle rings true.

Some of the reactions to last week's hostage standoff have been predictable. As in, "We have to make sure no one can ever do this with a gun again!" It's not going to be news to anyone what I think of that argument, yeah? Others have been equally predictable but more troubling:

The hostage standoff in Aichi Prefecture, in which a member of the prefectural police force's Special Assault Team was fatally shot, has left a number of urgent tasks for police to address.

The police will have to reconsider what protective gear is needed for officers, how to respond to cases where suspects are armed, and when police should storm locations where perpetrators are holed up.

The case also has raised a number of questions. Why did this situation lead to the death of one officer and the serious injury of another? Why were the police unable to secure the release of the hostage? And why did Sgt. Akifumi Kimoto, the first police officer who was shot, approach the scene alone where Hisato Obayashi was holed up, armed with a handgun?

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Witnesses said Kimoto, standing on the street in front of the house, began negotiating with Obayashi before walking alone up a path leading to the house.

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A senior official at the prefectural police headquarters said, "Negotiating with a suspect is not the duty of a police officer in charge of a local patrol." But he added, "It was a tense situation with other people having already been shot, and there was a hostage, so I presume there was some reason he had to get closer to the gunman."

The biggest question is why a police officer was left lying on the ground for about five hours before being rescued, the whole time being broadcast on live television.

Everybody watching the scene unfold must have wondered why police did not immediately rescue him. The Yomiuri Shimbun's center for readers received many phone calls asking this very question.

(What they've been saying on the news is that Ohbayashi threatened to shoot anyone who came within range.) I'm not sure that there's much of a mystery here. The plain and simple fact is that a hostage-taker armed with a gun who's willing to shoot at police officers from where he's holed up is something not even Tokyo and Osaka police officers have to deal with frequently, let alone in random places outside Nagoya. The first officer who was shot probably hadn't registered that he was dealing with much more than a domestic dispute taken to extremes, though we may learn more as the investigation continues. The inquiry into whether special assault teams should be equipped and trained better sounds like a good idea.

Should we laugh or cry?

Despite being one of the world's major financial centers, with large scale securities, foreign exchange and bond markets, the number of subsidiary and branch offices of foreign financial institutions in the city has fallen by almost one-third over the past decade.

The Urban Renaissance Headquarters, chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the Financial Services Agency will work together to develop a district where overseas businessmen can go about their day-to-day lives speaking English by providing condominiums, day care centers and medical facilities for foreign residents near Tokyo Station.

The plan also envisages spacious new offices specifically designed for foreign financial institutions, to be offered in high rise buildings.

According to the sources, the FSA will discuss its proposal with foreign executives to better understand their needs, with a view to starting to draw up plans some time this year.

Ah, yes--a JAL Pak Tokyo Village for foreigners! (And it's to be modeled on the City of London. No chance of that turning out kitschy.)

It's already an easy task to find housing, medical care, and other services provided in English. Much of it is expensive, but that's hardly a worry for people here on expat packages. Spacious offices can be difficult to come by, even for big-guns foreign financial institutions, but providing them in yet another gaijin ghetto (there's one in the Azabu-Hiroo-Roppongi-Aoyama area that seems to do its job perfectly well already) is not going to draw them back to Tokyo. Money flows where there's a dynamic economy with ascendant opportunities for investment.

Between the move and the Golden Week holiday, I haven't had much energy to post. One of the things I missed while it was current was the Nikkei's series of editorials last week about mergers and acquisitions. The first installment (of three) lays out the justification for all the column inches:

M&A is increasing--why now? It's a fact that in March, listed companies are posting record profits for the fourth consecutive month; however, the reality is that operations efficiency is still low compared with that of enterprises in Europe and America.

According to Nomura Securities, the return on equity, which indicates the ratio of net profit to capital from shareholders, for 2006 is projected to have been a little more than 9%. That's a little more than half of the 16% figure for United States enterprises. In a study by the Mizuho Research Institute, the return on assets, which expresses the ratio of net profit to gross capital (including debt and liabilities) was found to be 4.7% for the U.S. and 3.1% for Japan for 2005.

It goes on to talk about worker productivity and other indicators. None of the information is really new, at least in its general import. What's interesting is the gingerly tone. Remember, the Nikkei is the premiere business and economics newspaper in Japan. Its editorial page leans pretty reliably toward being pro-markets. But even the Nikkei's editors seem to feel the need to reassure their readership that it doesn't need to regard M&A as some kind of scary monster.

One of the big news stories this weekend is the fatal accident at an amusement park in Osaka. A car on a roller coaster derailed and listed. One woman collided with a rail and was killed, and a few dozen people were rushed to the hospital. (Well, some of the English stories say "seats," but it was apparently one of those rides on which you stand and have your torso held in by an overhead harness-type thing.) Not surprisingly, it's suspected that lax enforcement of safety standards is the culprit:

In February, the amusement park took the roller coaster apart for inspection. However, it said it did not inspect the integrity of the axle shaft because there was no garage available at the time. The park subsequently postponed the inspection until May 15.

The police suspect improper safety management may have led to the accident, and are investigating the amusement park on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

And at a different amusement park, there was another accident--this one a sort of fender-bender with nothing more serious than nausea resulting, luckily, though it still gives one cause for worry:

Four people were taken to hospital after a roller coaster car carrying a parent and child rear-ended another car carrying a parent and child at about 2:50 p.m. Saturday at Wonderland amusement park in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture. The four complained of feeling nauseous after the collision.

Local police questioned employees of the amusement park on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injuries.

Two accidents in one weekend don't constitute an epidemic of safety violations, but they do indicate a problem that's very real with infrastructure, industry, and public accommodations here: No one really knows where the accidents waiting to happen are, because government oversight of safety is erratic. There are some cases in which the evidence is heartening. Transportation authorities have been riding JAL hard over safety violations, for example, and they haven't needed an airliner crash to motivate them to do so. The Aneha scandal literally hit the Japanese where they live, but it was brought to light before an real, live catastrophic earthquake revealed that all those fraudulently certified buildings weren't actually safe. But in other sectors--nuclear power, toxic waste disposal, and pharmaceuticals are big ones--one wonders whether things are actually humming along generally well or it's only a matter of time before luck runs out.

Having returned from his visit to the United States, Prime Minister Abe is pressing forward with what he hopes will be his legacy: constitutional revision. Because it's the sort of issue that interests foreign readers, the English-side sites of the major Japanese dailies are covering things pretty thoroughly. The Asahi has the major players mapped out:

Abe has yet to secure support from the opposition camp, notably Minshuto, on this issue. For this reason, there is uncertainty about whether Abe will be able to amend the Constitution under his current Cabinet.

Akihiro Ota, chairman of New Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, sounded a warning Thursday to LDP lawmakers who want to start deliberations on constitutional amendments immediately after the national referendum bill passes the Diet.

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The same day, Naoto Kan, acting head of Minshuto, lashed out at Abe's pro-amendment stance at a symposium in Tokyo.

Noting that Abe became prime minister through the postwar democratic political system, Kan said it is "extremely contradictory" for him to now seek to "break away from the postwar regime."

Kan's original Japanese words are in the original Japanese article: 「首相は戦後レジーム（体制）の脱却というが、民主主義（の下で）の総理大臣がレジームを変えるのは、極めて論理矛盾だ。」 There's the upcoming election, so the DPJ needs to come out swinging against the LDP; but I'm still not entirely sure what Kan is swinging at. Abe knows that he has to adhere scrupulously to proper procedure in connection with an undertaking as delicate and controversial as constitutional revision, and the proposed revisions themselves hardly represent a turn away from democracy. The revision of Article 9 will, it is hoped, give Japan a standing army and specify that citizens are responsible for defending their country. Everything else that I'm aware of is a set of blandishments about the essence of Japaneseness and the addition of "environmental rights." (Given Japan's generally unprepossessing built environments and current treatment of nature, it's a good thing that's not already in the constitution, or we'd have a violation-of-rights crisis of nationwide proportions. See this article about a recent federal study that found that Japan's shorelines are festooned with about 148,000 cubic meters of washed-up junk, much of it originating inland and disgorged into the sea from Japan's rivers.) Oh, and I think there's a vaguely-phrased right-to-privacy provision. The Yomiuri has a little more detail on the major points of debate.

Those who remember the '80s may be amused to read that former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone has griped that the proposed new preamble lacks euphony, as documents written by committee are wont to do.