Irresistable!!

Gyo-za!!
End of February and the beginnning of a rough week. Need these for a start, right!?
Gyoza filled with garlic that makes your brain twist and shout. Sometimes these dumplins are irresistable... There's just one problem tomorrow... I think for many of my colleagues my breath will be irresistable...
(^v^);

hey now, hey now...

Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House (1986)
Don't Dream It's Over (Neil Finn)
There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof
In the paper today tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the T.V. page

Now I'm walking again to the beat of a drum
And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and relief

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
Don't ever let them win

Lyrics Copyright © 1986 Roundhead Music (BMI).

Just tired... Slept for hours today... Thought about the near future...
What will I be doing a month from now? Hope it's peaceful more than ever...

A NEW LIGHT in Space Development

Liftoff!
The launch was successful!! Many were wondering if the Japanese H-2A rocket will make it after its sixth rocket failed in late 2003.
The seventh one this time had a mission to put the Multifunctional Transport Sattelite (MT-SAT), which inludes a critical function of weather observation. It is supposed to replace the Himawari (=meaning Sunflower) No. 5, the long dead weather observation satellite which ceased functioning after a rocket failed to put the new one in orbit years ago.
The H-2A was launched at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture of Kyushu.
http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html
Hope kids who saw the news bear up new interests in space one again. Not just from Star Wars movies, kids need dreams which seem achievable. Something which will keep life going, more dreamful than aiming to become a public official or a salary man. I'm not saying these jobs suck and it doesn't matter if they change their goals, but at least the younger should start a life full of dreams and space is a great place to start!!

Here I am again!

Osaka!
Doin' business in Osaka today. But left the city before dusk.

End of the world is almost there... hope NOT!

Shake Map when M7.3 earthquake hits North Tokyo Bay
If a big earthquake (though not as gigantic as the M7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923) hits central Tokyo, we will suffer up to 112 trillion yen in economic damage.
The Japanese government announced the findings of their year long research today after checking what kind of hell we might face when a could-occur-tomorrow quake hits our capital. 13,000 are assumed to die instantly caused by many reasons, houses crashing and burning as one of the main causes. The economic damages will be much higher than Japan's yearly budget and 6 times that of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in '95.
We all must remember that these are just imagenary numbers... But with a very high percentage the numbers may even be too small. We can only laugh at it or ignore it ONLY IF... we take countermeasures to control the damage!!
I never wanted to buy real estates in Tokyo (of course who knows when I get married...), but on second thought, where in Japan is it safe? A great earthquake is predicted in the Shizuoka area (Just west of the Kanto Area), other gigantic ones are told to shake the areas from Tokai (Nagoya of Aichi and its vicinity is the third largest area in Japan) and Kansai (the second largest area with Osaka at its center), along with the greater Shikoku Area.
To seek a safer land in Japan. That may be harder than hitting the jackpot at Las Vegas.
So praying may be all we can do... but let's not give up!! Quake-resistant buildings and fireproof constructions are keys to a safer city. Small investments will lead to great returns: a sense of security lures more foreign capital and a stronger confidence our life itself. I wish we can all start from today!

IT DID SNOW!

What happened?
Skeptical if SNOW could cover the concrete world. IT DID ALL RIGHT!?

SNOW?

Snow in Shijuku! (Feb. 25 0:30am)
Will it last??

The Empire Strikes Back...

CX
Nippon Broadcasting, the radio comapny of Fuji Sankei group which Horiemon of Livedoor Co. longs to control, announced yesterday it would issue new share options just for Fuji Television.
This group's "empire strikes back" move could be a decisive one to counter the rebel's attack. Livedoor took the matter to court filing a lawsuit to suspend the group's new strategy. I don't know if this move is the only one Horiemon's got, but he's on the edge of going bankrupt and many of us would like to see if he has any other aces to serve on the field. A blitz by M&A Consulting ("MURAKAMI Fund", MAC Japan Active Shareholder Fund,L.P. http://www.maconsulting.co.jp/ said to hold a large bulk of Nippon Broadcasting shares) selling his big share to Horiemon and giving full control of the company before anything, might be the only way for a major come-from-behind victory.
Each time a conglomerate is attacked by a rising force, just use the hidden ball trick and issue share options to kill the enemy! Is that justice!?

P.S. Maybe a sense of justice is unnecessary in the new business world...

Storm in Early Spring...

Haru Ichiban in Shibuya (from Nikkei Net)
Strong winds blew today thoughout the country and the Japan Meterological Agency announced "Haru Ichiban" (literally "the First one of Spring", meaning the first strong and warm south wind after spring has come on the calendar) blew in areas like Kanto and Kinki.
The temperature today reached 19.4 degrees Celsius which is the warmth of late April.
The wind blows because of the low pressure crossing the Japan Sea taking in warm air from the south. It's also a sign of the beginning of the hay fever season which many Japanese suffer from.
Luckily I still haven't experienced the agony of coughing and crying from it, but many say living in Tokyo, with so many dusts blowing around, makes the inhabitants hay fever potential carriers.
I see many colleagues wearing masks not just for the flu. I hope I won't be one of them...

Dutch to Australians...

Aussies in action!
The biggest news for me today was the Australian government's announcement of its deployment of extra soldiers to Iraq. They've pledged their 450 soldiers will replace the Dutch protecting the Japanese Self Defense Forces in Samawah of southern Iraq. I've seen a team of Australian soldiers when I was covering the news about the JSDF in Kuwait last year. Very friendly!
It's hard for me to figure out the Australian government's intentions for this decision, but close ties between us and our Pacific partner must be a major factor. As an optimist, I think Samawah is fairly peaceful than other areas of Iraq and if commitment to Iraq's reconstruction was a necessity to Japan (there of course is debate among the politicians and polls on this issue), I'm confident going to the area the JSDF was deployed is a smart choice. So on, the assessment of our ability in international contributions and of the safety of the area was not off the mark. This may be true for the Aussies too. Though there probably will be more conflicts till their deployment (see ABC's HP of Australia http://www.abc.net.au/news/)
I hope our long friendship will lead to great teamwork in a confused rebuilding nation.

P.S. I've never been to the southern hemisphere. Australia is one of the countries I wish to go in the near future!!

Kobe to McGrady! 

Real Athletism!!

Wow!! Really entertaining!!
I didn't have a good day on Monday... Not because I was up all night. Actually I wasn't sleepy at all. Just a lot of things I should forget...
The NBA Allstar Game blew the fuss away. The game turned east and west. Fun to watch. Lots of dunks and banging the boards. Nice way to end a day. Good Night... Work's waiting at morn!!

not what I expected...

It was a while since I ever saw a race that ended in the first second.
February Stakes (Grade I) at Tokyo Race Course. Feb. 20th, 2005.
The second favorite Admire Don, last year's most valuable dirt horse, had a disastrous start and it was practically over for me as I had a 10000 yen bet on this horse with a quinella along with the most favorite horse. (which I rarely do. I'd rather buy unfavorite horses to enjoy) The most favorite Meisho Bowler had a jumping start finishing first securing his first Grade One win.
Admire Don finished fifth. Fifth! After a terrible start! Who knows what happened if he had an usual start!! A fast way to waste money, wasn't it?

Admire Don's mistake at February Stakes 2005 

Yeah, Brazil overwhelmed in the World Cup

The Brazilians beat the Germans in 2002...but next year?
But it wasn't about soccer! Tonight I talked about what's wrong with this country with an elder colleague at work.
The conversation started as we were talking about Livedoor's Horiemon (Mr. Horie's nickname). I claimed that Horiemon's adventures on buying out Fuji TV was something that younger generations support as his moves looks as if he is attacking the old systems of this country.
Protected interests and controlled business should be on fire once in a while to make business better. But older generations feel Horiemon is just under the influence of the magical powers of money. Riding cars worth millions and living in a luxurious penthouse is surely of envy to many of us. His moves look childish as he shows his emotions so easily at interviews and press conferences. Even more, the way he secured the money for his ambitions were not welcome. From "Gaishi" or foreign capital like Lehman Brothers are seen as the last resort in collecting money. If he busts only the Gaishi win. That's not welcome to many elders.
After debates about Horiemon were over, we were into talks about what will we learn from this. Or what the Japanese will learn? Horiemon seems to represent the new ideas supported by the younger generation. His company is an IT enterprise, battling old modes. After the bubble collapsed Japan has fought breaking old rules. Lifetime employment and the seniority system broken up with restructuring and releasing old employees. More individualism and promotions by ability. Many ideas of which were imported from the western world. Living in the States, these ideas were common and there were no surprises that the Japanese take notice of them.
But I don't entirely support all the companies worshipping them as a priority. Everybody says these western or rather "post modern" ways of managing companies are mandatory for global competition. It was a pleasant way to show what globalization means. I have objections.
I think Japanese are not ethnically fit to these styles. Japan is practically a single-race nation which we prefer not to change. We work much better with teamwork rather than one-man actions. Well, there might be arguments to this if we're talking about small companies, especially the "venture capital" ones. No time for teamwork for companies like Horiemon's. But I think a teamwork-full company is much fierceful than one with a lot of individual talents looking different ways (i.e. looking for a better company to work for).
The Americans would rather be scared by a bunch of Toyota cars sent across the ocean, rather than a limited edition IT hardware that would be useless after a half a year. Japan hasn't changed as a nation, why try to change its style? We should at least inspect and verify whether the Japanese formula was wrong before we blindly adopt the western values!
World Cup 2002's final game was a battle between Germany and Brazil. The individual talents of Brazil erupted in the game to beat the organized team work formation of Germany. But how will the game turn out with Brazil organizing its team to kill the individuals or Germany letting the personal talents move on with their own ways of playing. Let them play their type of soccer and who knows which will win in Germany next year!?

sleepy...

snow is pleasant...sometimes...
It was supposed to snow in Tokyo after midnight, but the forecasts never seem to hit the mark this winter.
What's hard about snow forecasts in Tokyo?
Unless the temperature of the lower layer of the atmosphere is obviously freezing above Tokyo, it's quite difficult to distinguish between snow and rain. Just when the low pressure crosses the south coast of Kanto, the temperature at the surface must be cold enough for it to snow. The low pressure can't be too close to the coast, nor too far away.
The temperature at the surface is always at the borderline of liquids solidifying this time of year. It's snowing in Shinjuku, which is in the western side of Central Tokyo, when the same clouds brings rain in Otemachi, which is in the eastern side. When the Japan Meteorological Agency give out forecasts of "Tokyo" it is referring to the weather in Otemachi and not Shinjuku nor Nerima (at the northern end of Central Tokyo). In the summer the temperature may differ for more than 5 degrees. And in the winters, deep snow may fall in Nerima, but just hails in Otemachi. It snowed in Fuchu today as horse races were delayed for an hour. Luckily no bad influences to traffic as many college entrance exams were held.
I took the overnight shift yesterday and after a long night of work I went home under the raining sky hoping for a better day tomorrow. Wish I'll get a nice sleep... Zzz..

Japanese media's vulnerability

Media on fire...
Not about NHK or Asahi Shimbun this time, but Mr. Horie's Livedoor Co. and Fuji Television's feud has been the center of gossip this week.
This fight surely rings the bell how vulnerable the Japanese media is to such attacks by investors. The media has long been protected by a false sense of security, as buyouts seem to be challenging without expertise in the media. Now war has been declared and the media are paying attention carefully whether this may affect investors of their own and even perhaps the foreign buyers longing to control one of the lucrative companies.
I personally think Mr. Horie's aim was quite foreseeing, but just a little bit rough. The media is starting to criticize the young entrepreneur who they called a revolutionist a while ago for his challenges to buyout the Kintetsu Buffaloes, a then financially hampered pro baseball team. Now Mr. Horie's labeled a moneyed vulture.
It'll probably be entertaining to see the battle for a while (because I'm not in charge of the business news) though chances of Mr. Horie winning is becoming smaller each day... At least stabbing each other to death won't be wise!!

Fall of a Major?

a former favorite...
Hockey was a major sport for me living in Long Island, NY.
The four year reign of the New York Islanders ended when beaten by the legendary Wayne Gretzky equipped Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. That was the last year livin' in Long Island, but the team was an always finals contender then and there were lots of hockey frenzied kids around. We even used to play with hockey sticks in the streets and in our basements with tennis balls and roller skates when no ice were around. In the winters, players were flying around with ice skates in the rinks. Checking bodies with sticks, shoving opponents to the walls were "style", as roughness was indispensable with the sport.
My love to the sport ended when I moved to California where no team was in sight till the SJ Sharks appeared years later. NHL announced the suspension of this season which might even lead to doubts whether this sport will keep its status as one of the "major" sports in the U.S. It's ironic that the news of Jose Canseco's book about steroids and baseball were highlighted at the same time, as Major League Baseball once lost its trust after a strike by the players and revived when the home-run races by Jose's former teammate Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa lured the fans back to the ballparks. Will hockey find such saviors? Only God knows...
In Japan, hockey is a little "major" in northern parts of Japan, especially Hokkaido. But the Japanese league has been suffering for so long, and news about teaming up with Russian and Korean teams to make an international league was reported some time ago. But I think not many people here in Tokyo, including me knows who won the league... The popular pop star and actor Takuya Kimura played a lead role in a television drama series aired exactly a year ago. But still nobody cares... I think hockey is an exciting and dramatic sport, but along with basketball which recently started a new professional league, it just can't find the roots to new fans. Soccer's surprising success with J-League is something to take lessons from, but the key is the sense of unity of the public to the sport. Nationwide esprit de corps when the national team qualified to the France World Cup finals which was followed by the co-hosting of the cup finals with Korea brought success. Japanese basketball had its first NBA player, Yuta Tabuse this season and hockey someday can follow. Be looking forward these sports find its way to a nationwide frenzy along with a hopeful revival of NHL!

First step in protecting mother earth!

COP3 at Kyoto. December 1997
On 2 o'clock JST of the 16th, the Kyoto protocol entered into force at last, after 7 years and 2 months from its adoption at COP3 in 1997. Russia's ratification led to the finalization, and as the chair of COP3, Japan must play a leading role in observing its success.
The targets aren't easy to achieve... very challenging to cut 14% of CO2 gas emissions till 2012. The target became harsher because the emission percentage grew 8% after 1990.
Not everyone, but many hate to sacrifice the luxury now for a better future. Honestly... ME TOO.
There must be ways which wouldn't feel like sacrificing, and only with such ways will the emission amounts be cut drastically. New ideas will save mother earth and I think we all should pay rewards to any revolutionary solutions. Depending of others? NO, it's not "I'll try my best" anymore!! Hope to see dramatic ideas!!

Earthquake!!

Quake at 4:46 JST
A relatively strong and long tremor shook the Kanto Area. Things fell off from shelves in my appartment but not enough to get any one injured in Tokyo.
According to JMA, at 4:46 AM JST an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 with the epicenter at southern Ibaraki of Kanto at a depth of 45km hit the area. Japanese tremor scale of 5 minus was observed in Tsukuba and Tsuchiura city and the strongest for Tokyo was a scale of 4. No major injuries reported so far. Back to sleep!

Literature!!

Books to read...
There ain't time to read books these days, but interesting titles are out on bookstores.
From the wired news... My teenage year super hero is on the attack...

Canseco Book Generating Juicy Sales by RONALD BLUM of Associated Press
NEW YORK - Jose Canseco's autobiography accusing several top players of steroid use and charging that baseball long ignored performance-enhancing drugs appeared to be a hit on its first day in bookstores.
Amazon.com listed "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big" as third on its best seller list Monday.
The book had an initial printing of 150,000 copies and Regan Books does not disclose sales figures, spokeswoman Jennifer Suitor said.
"I don't think it's a good thing, obviously, because it's bringing a bad light to the game," New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter said Monday. "This is a time, obviously, baseball is in a negative light and Jose is not helping out. In terms of his accusations, the only people that know are him and whoever he is accusing. The unfortunate thing is, if it's not true, you're looking at guys having to defend themselves over something they haven't done."
Mark McGwire, one of the former teammates Canseco accused of using steroids, issued a written denial.

Jose Canseco was one the heroes of the Oakland A's golden age when I was a high school kid.
With all-time slugger Mark McGwire and legendary collector of stolen bases Rickey Henderson, along with pitchers Dennis Eckersley and Dave Stewart, they kicked ass in the World Series of 1989. A shocking series not just because the A's swept it in four, nor not because the opponents were the neighboring San Francisco Giants, but a tremendous earthquake (I mentioned before in this diary) hit the SF bay area on the day game three was about to be played, postponing the series for 12 days.
We all have some knowledge of baseball players using some kind of drugs, but for the kids' dreams we really don't want to hear about nightmares. We all question ourselves WHY? when players fail tests in the Olympic games. We all want to win, but is that really winning using those drugs? For them, losing in the game is scarier than losing to temptations. But that's just a loser in life... Not the sports hero we all want to be. So if what Jose has confessed is true, there's a lot of losers out there. For the kids' sake let all this be just a bad dream.

About another book (the picture above) ... My collegue (female!) was reading this book about women wanting to date a "doggish" guy. Being the ideal dog type man seems to be what women need to live in peace. To tell the truth I can be that kinda man! I'd rather cure than to be cured. Well I think I get cured by curing... I'd listen if you want to talk, but I won't make you bored if you don't want to be in silence. Bravery and savagery, I thought were the requirements. Maybe not any more! We're always a fighter in public anyways. So, curing I shall do. Hurray, Doggies of the World!!

Happy Valentine's... happy...

Heart shape Cookie!
Oh yes. I got what I wanted. Yummy chocolates and cookies... I even had chocolate cake! Yes... not privately... you guessed right... at my workplace with many others... So, was there love in the ingredients? Probably not.
But as I always say... better than nothing! And I'm very happy, yes HAPPY I wasn't ignored from the world. That's what I fear the most!!
Time goes by... I wish I can get one filled with love next year... I think I said this in Christmas... oh, yeah, last year's Valentine's Day too!! ha ha ha...

End of a three day weekend...

Another day in Paradise...
It was sunny but chilly in Tokyo. A flock of crows were resting in a vacant piece of land in North Shinjuku, which is not so rare as the Tokyo Metropolitan Gov't has destroyed a lot of building in these couple of years for redevelopment projects. This megalopolis is filled with desolate areas without people and places packed with lonely people.
I've never felt "really" happy in this city, and I think a bunch of people would think I should, living in a high-life cyber city of the latest trends and modes of this age. WHY not think of living in a foreign country like you've done in your childhood? NO, that ain't the answer. Just appreciating a small joy and sharing it with my closest friends and colleagues is one of the steps to take. And I think there's much more of those coming along!!
The search for a better living is a never ending story...

Ski Ski Ski

Snow Par OGNA Hotaka in Gunma
Eleven years have passed since I had a pair of skis on my legs.
A close senior colleague took me and another energetic young staff to a ski park in Gunma in northern Kanto. I was optimistic about my skills on skiing and I wasn't off the mark so much. I didn't tumble down on hills nor did I get a cramp. Yeah, I can't walk perfectly right now, but getting muscle pains and straining a tendon is not unusual when I participate in sports, so what! I'm just a little better than a novice skier, but now I know I can have fun skiing! Another happy discovery!
I wish I can go again soon... Hopefully this year!!

Another day to think about life...

Tokyo Metropolitan Building
Beautiful night in Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's mail building had colorful lights on, so I stopped by to take a picture while walking home after buying a new private mobile phone in Shinjuku.
One of my best friends had given me an e-mail about having a baby. Many of my friends are having a smooth life becoming fathers. Some even have two and more children. WOW!
My dad already had three when he was at my age.
Too late to live a life like that, so I'll just walk much slower. I'm a believer in great talents maturing later in life. One day I will have children, but that's when the time has come for me. There's nothing to hurry in life. It may be heard as an excuse that I'm still unmarried, but patience is my motto. I know there's many more cheerful and exciting events waiting for me in the future. Why hurry??

There's always snow when I dream...

Sapporo Snow Festival
I've never been to Sapporo, but the snow festival there lured PM Koizumi this evening. I still think this guy is lucky...
It snowed briefly tonight in Tokyo too at around 11 0'clock. Just a sprinkle... but enough to make you recall your unaccomplished DREAMS... Hey! Are you happy now? Yeah, I think so...
Wanna wish good luck to all who saw the precious snow today!
Start of another three day weekend! I should be happy... but why not... The answer is simple, right? Gotta graduate being alone! Dear God, please give me a chance!!

NIPPON!!

Oguro with the winning goal in the final minutes
What a game! I was trying to work, but the game was too exciting to take my eyes off! After the game was tied with one goal each, the last minute goal by Oguro was unbelievable and the neighborhood was filled with joy of seeing another miracle. Tonight's game vs DPRK will be on the history books!
Let's pray no Taepodong or Nodong missiles fly right into our stomachs!!