A judgment rush!

タイトル：判決ラッシュ！

A very busy day at the courthouses. I didn't have the main part in either of the trials as I was working on other concerns...

The largest one of them all...

they did win... but they will have the disease forever... (pic from Jiji)

裁判所ではかなり忙しい１日だった。他の懸案事項に携わっていたからどの裁判も主の担当者ではなかったけど…
その中でも最大だったのが…
写真：勝った…でも病気はずっと持ち続けないと行けない…（写真は時事）

（以下、共同の記事：和訳は略
　１つ目はＣ型肝炎訴訟で国と製薬会社に損害賠償を命じた判決
　２つ目はライブドア会計士の有罪判決
　３つ目はライブドアが元執行役員らを提訴するという発表
　４つ目は向井亜紀らの代理出産についての最高裁決定
　についての記事）

◆Gov't again ordered to pay damages over hepatitis C virus infection
TOKYO, March 23 KYODO
The Tokyo District Court joined two other district courts Friday in ordering the government to pay damages to people infected with the hepatitis C virus after being treated with tainted blood products.
Presiding Judge Atsuo Nagano, acting on a 1,353 million yen damages suit, ordered the state of Japan and three drugmakers to pay a total of 259 million yen to 13 out of the 21 plaintiffs.
Last year, the Osaka and Fukuoka district courts ruled similarly, saying the government failed to implement necessary regulations against infections.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne, infectious viral disease. The hepatitis C virus can cause liver inflammation that is often asymptomatic, but ensuing chronic hepatitis can result later in cirrhosis and liver cancer. An estimated 2 million people have been infected with the hepatitis C virus.
The defendants in the suit were the state, Mitsubishi Pharma Corp., its subsidiary Benesis Corp. and Nihon Pharmaceutical Co. Mitsubishi Pharma is the successor to the now-defunct major blood product maker, Green Cross Corp.
The three-judge panel at the Tokyo court found that the plaintiffs were given hepatitis C virus-tainted blood products -- fibrinogen, christmassin or PPSB-Nichiyaku -- from 1980 to 1988 to stop bleeding when they underwent surgical operations or gave birth to babies.
Fifteen of the 21 plaintiffs were given fibrinogen, four christmassin and the remaining two PPSB-Nichiyaku. Three of them developed cancer, of whom two have died.
Of the remaining 18, 13 people have been suffering from chronic liver inflammation while the other five have yet to develop any diseases.
During the court battle, the plaintiffs argued that the government failed to take any regulatory measures after approving the production of the tainted blood products which they said were useless and dangerous.
The defendants contended that the blood products were useful and that the 20-year statute of limitations has run out for the plaintiffs to demand damages.
A total of about 160 people have filed damages suits against the state and drugmakers at Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sendai district courts seeking a combined 9.8 billion yen.
In June last year, the Osaka District Court ordered the state and drugmakers to pay a total of 256 million yen in damages to nine out of 13 plaintiffs.
Two months later, the Fukuoka District Court ordered the defendants to pay a combined 168 million yen in damages to 11 of 18 plaintiffs.
==Kyodo

And the lst two trials of the Livedoor cases. One of the accountants was sentenced to prison without suspension! A surprise!
And Livedoor Co. was ordered to pay a fine of 280,000,000 yen!

◆Accountants found guilty over Livedoor case
TOKYO, March 23 KYODO
The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced a certified accountant to 10 months in prison for being involved in accounting fraud by Livedoor Co. while giving another a suspended term.
The accountant, Taishin Hisano, who has been charged with approving Livedoor's financial statements despite knowing of its illicit profit-padding, had pleaded not guilty. The court also sentenced his supervisor, Motoshi Kobayashi, to one year in prison, suspended for four years.
==Kyodo

◆Livedoor eyes damages suit against Horie, other ex-execs
TOKYO, March 23 KYODO
Livedoor Co. emphasized its willingness Friday to seek damages from its convicted founder Takafumi Horie and other former top executives as a court has made a series of judgments condemning accounting fraud by the once high-flying Internet and financial services company.
Livedoor's current management will finalize whether to sue the former leadership after reading a final report to be compiled by an outside investigation panel by the end of next month, President Kozo Hiramatsu said at a news conference.
==Kyodo

And in the evening, came a decision by the Supreme Court!

◆Top court repeals order for registry of surrogate-born twins
TOKYO, March 23 KYODO
The Supreme Court on Friday repealed a lower court ruling ordering a Tokyo ward office to accept on its registry twins born to a Japanese couple through an American surrogate mother.
The decision by the top court's No. 2 petty bench finalizes Shinagawa Ward's rejection to register the births of the boys, now aged 3, to TV personality Aki Mukai and former professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada.
==Kyodo

Too bad...

Miyauchi-san, who was regarded as the top contributor to the prosecutors' materializing of the Livedoor's case, was hard-hit with a sentence without suspension.

The conclusion was predictable, as the same presiding judge had nailed Horiemon last Friday.

In the reasons of judgment for Horiemon, Miyauchi-san was approved as the leading figure in executing the crime under Horiemon's final authorization.
Today's judgment was written under the same story.

He appealed right away along with Kumagai-san, another ex-Livedoor exec, who was given a suspended sentence.

Along with Horiemon, they'll be guests to the higher court!

残念だね…

宮内さん。検察当局がライブドア事件を立件できた最大の功労者と見られてたのに。実刑判決でガツンとやられたね。
結論は予想できたものだ。同じ裁判長が金曜にホリエモンを断罪していたし。
ホリエモンの判決理由で、宮内さんはホリエモンの最終的な決済のもと、犯罪を実行していた中心人物と認定されていたからだ。
今日の判決は同じ筋書きのもと書かれたものだった。
宮内さんは別の元取締役で執行猶予が付いた熊谷さんとともにすぐに控訴した。
ホリエモンとともに高裁にご招待されることになりそうだ！

(article from Kyodo) （共同の記事：和訳は略）
◆Livedoor's No. 2 man given prison term over accounting fraud
TOKYO, March 22 KYODO
Ryoji Miyauchi, former Livedoor Co. chief finance officer, was given a 20-month prison term Thursday as the Tokyo District Court judged the man once regarded as the closest aide to Livedoor's convicted founder Takafumi Horie was also involved in accounting fraud by the Internet and financial services firm.
The court also found three other former executives of the Livedoor group guilty and gave them suspended prison terms. Miyauchi, 39, appealed the ruling immediately.
Handing down the ruling, presiding judge Toshiyuki Kosaka said Miyauchi bore ''primary responsibility'' for a series of malpractices by Livedoor that breached the Securities and Exchange Law.
His responsibility matches that of Horie, the ruling said. ''It seems Mr. Miyauchi committed crime to live up to Mr. Horie's expectations.''
Although Miyauchi admitted to the charges, which also included stock market manipulation, and expressed remorse, a prison term without suspension was inevitable because of the significance of the role he played and the serious consequences of the incident, the ruling said.
Miyauchi, who had been released on bail of 50 million yen, was taken into custody immediately after the ruling but later released on bail of 80 million yen after his lawyers made a second bail application with the court. He paid the balance of 30 million yen.
Prosecutors had demanded two and a half years in prison for the former accountant.
The ruling came after Horie, who had denied all of the charges against him, was sentenced by the court on Friday to two and a half years in prison. He is appealing the ruling to the Tokyo High Court.
In a dramatic showdown, Miyauchi had made accusations against his former boss in the courtroom. He gave evidence in favor of the prosecutors, helping them to build their case against Horie.
The ruling said the executives conspired to pad the group's pretax balance by reporting about 5.3 billion yen ($45.08 million) in profit for the year through September 2004 when it should have stated a 300 million yen loss.
It said Livedoor set up dummy investment partnerships and inappropriately posted profits of 3.7 billion yen from sales of its own stock, and also booked 1.6 billion yen in profits from false business transactions by two companies it had planned to buy.
The three other former executives are former Representative Director Fumito Kumagai, 29, former Livedoor Finance Co. President Osanari Nakamura, 39, and former Livedoor Marketing Co. President Fumito Okamoto, 39.
The court sentenced Kumagai to one year in prison and Nakamura and Okamoto to one and a half years, respectively, all suspended for three years.
Kumagai immediately appealed the ruling.
Nakamura, Okamoto and Miyauchi were also convicted of spreading false information on the acquisition of a publisher in 2004 to raise the stock price of Livedoor Marketing, the group's advertising subsidiary.
Nakamura and Okamoto had admitted to all the charges against them while Kumagai had admitted to part of the charges. The prosecutors had demanded an 18-month prison term for each.
==Kyodo

Sentence without suspension!

タイトル：実刑判決！

And the day has arrived!

Just about the time I arrived at the courthouse in the morning, the latest ever "first snow of the season" was observed in central Tokyo.
The snow had nothing to do with the outcome, but judgment time arrived after a couple of hours, and it was not much of a surprise that Horiemon was sentenced to prison without suspension.

Covering the judgment LIVE from the courthouse... Speaking in front of the television camera live is such a stressful task, and after today, I'm really starting to dream of a life without such worries...

he was still "lively" at this point! (photo from Jiji)


そしてその日が来た１
朝、裁判所に着いた頃に、都心では観測史上最も遅い「初雪」が観測された。
結果に雪は全く関係なかったが、数時間後に判決の時が来て、ホリエモンが実刑に処せられたのはそれほど驚くことではなかった。
裁判所から判決を生中継して…。生でテレビでしゃべるのは本当にストレスがたまる仕事で、今日をもって、マジにそんな心配をしなくても良い人生を夢見るようになってきた…。
写真：この時点ではまだ「生き生き」としていたのに！（写真は時事）
（以下、共同の記事：和訳は略）

Article from Kyodo...

◆Livedoor founder Horie given 2 1/2-year prison term
TOKYO, March 16 KYODO
Takafumi Horie, Livedoor Co. group founder and one of Japan's most high profile entrepreneurs, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison without suspension Friday for involvement in accounting fraud and other securities law breaches.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Horie, 34, once seen as an iconic leader of a more freewheeling style of capitalism in Japan, played ''a primary role'' in the crimes.
Presiding Judge Toshiyuki Kosaka said in handing down the ruling, ''(Horie) bears grave responsibility for deceiving investors, though the value of the accounting fraud was not great, but he has never indicated remorse'' for what he has done.
The ruling came somewhat as a surprise as it is rare for a court in Japan to give a prison term without any suspension to a defendant charged only with Securities and Exchange Law violations.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office demanded in December a four-year prison term.
Horie immediately appealed the ruling by the district court, according to his lawyer. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying he had been framed by prosecutors.
Horie, who had been released on bail of 300 million yen, was held in custody right after the ruling but was released on bail of 500 million yen after his lawyers applied for a second bail with the court. Horie paid the balance of 200 million yen immediately in cash, as he had already paid the 300 million yen at the time of the first bail.
''It's regrettable that our claim was not accepted. I will do my best in my appeal trial,'' the former Livedoor president said in a statement released Friday night.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asked for a comment on the high-profile case by reporters, only said at his official residence, ''I'd like to refrain from stating my opinion about any court ruling.''
As for his Liberal Democratic Party's support for Horie when he was running for a Diet seat in 2005, the premier said the party could never imagine at the time that the young entrepreneur would later be involved in a criminal case.
The district court ruled that Horie conspired with other Livedoor group executives and padded the group's pretax balance by reporting some 5 billion yen in profit for the year through September 2004 when it should have stated a 300 million yen loss.
Livedoor set up dummy investment partnerships and inappropriately posted own-stock sales profits of 3.7 billion yen, and also booked 1.6 billion yen in profits from false business transactions by two companies it had planned to buy, the ruling said.
Kosaka said in the reason for the ruling, that the testimony of Ryoji Miyauchi, Livedoor's former chief financial officer and Horie's right-hand man, who said Horie was aware of any wrongdoing and that conspiracy existed among Horie and four other executives, was ''credible'' as it coincided with the testimony of Fumito Kumagai, former managing director of Livedoor, and material evidence such as e-mail messages.
The court decided that Horie had played primary roles in setting up the investment partnerships which were ''established for the purpose of evading the law'' and such posting of profit ''is impermissible.''
The court also ruled that Horie instructed the booking of fictitious profits and approved other crimes through reporting by Miyauchi and other executives as Horie ''controlled the Livedoor group and had an overwhelming power over it.''
But it ran short of concluding that Horie played a leading role in every incident as prosecutors claimed, except for the booking of fictitious profits on earnings reports.
The court battle, which began last September, drew both domestic and overseas attention.
Horie's defense team has argued the investment partnerships were acting independently and the former executives handled the profits appropriately, while accusing prosecutors of ''cooking up a story,'' saying there was no involvement by Horie.
In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Horie also said the case was devised by ''case-greedy'' prosecutors and people whose companies were acquired by the Livedoor group.
At the court Friday, Horie repeatedly blinked when the ruling was handed down. He had a look of discontent as he went through the summary of the ruling.
Kosaka gave an admonition to Horie after handing down the ruling, citing a letter the court had received from a mother who has a handicapped child.
Kosaka said that in the letter the mother said her child was encouraged by the life of Horie, a self-made millionaire, and told Horie, ''I gave you a guilty verdict but do not mean to deny all of the way of your living. I want you to make the best of your ability and make a fresh start after expiating your crime.''
The four other former Livedoor executives are also standing trial on charges of violating the law but Horie is the only one to flatly deny the charges.
Miyauchi admitted to the charges against him, staging a dramatic showdown by testifying against his former boss in court.
The court will hand down its rulings on Miyauchi and others next Thursday and Livedoor as a company next Friday.
Horie, who founded Livedoor as Livin' on the Edge Inc. in 1996, has become a household name in Japan with his bold challenges and remarks to Japan's business old guard.
He drew both applause and flak for his aggressive business tactics such as a hostile takeover bid in 2005 for one of Japan's largest media groups.
Until his arrest in January last year, Horie was touted by some as a new type of business leader who could change Japan's clubby corporate culture.
Livedoor, which once controlled about 50 group companies, has been in reconstruction efforts under the new management.
Livedoor released a statement after the ruling, saying it ''takes the ruling seriously and we, under new leadership, will continuously make efforts to press for compliance and strengthen our inner management system.''
Current and former Livedoor shareholders have been filing damages suits against the company, claiming they suffered losses as its stock price plunged after prosecutors raided its office in January last year.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange delisted Livedoor last April from its Mothers market for start-up companies.
The number of Livedoor shareholders once peaked at 220,000.
==Kyodo

49!

タイトル：４９！

Fourty-nine is a bad luck number in Japan, as 4 stands for death and 9 for pain...
Today, Horiemon's hearings concluded... and this was the reason I couldn't go home last night...
So what does 49 have to do with this news?

it was announced the sentence will be given out on March 16th!

Yes! It's 49 days till the judgement.
Bad luck for us, as we have less than 50 days to get ready for another "media war day"!
And for who would it be the tough luck day? Horiemon, or the prosecutors!?
Let's see... I still have some time to get ready... just only a little bit though...

四九は日本では不運な数字だ。４が死で９が苦を意味するからだ…。
きょう、ホリエモンの審理が終わった…そしてそれが昨夜家に帰れなかった理由だ…。
ということで、４９がこのニュースと何の関係があるのかって？

写真：判決は３月１６日に言い渡されると宣告された！

そう！判決まで４９日なんだ。
俺たちにとっては不運だね。再び来る「メディア戦争日」に備えるために、もう５０日間も無いんだよ！
そしてそれは誰にとって厳しい日になるんだろう？ホリエモン、それとも検事たち！？
どうなるかな…。準備をするのにまだ少し時間がある…ほんのちょっとだけだが…。

Last weekday at work!

タイトル：仕事をする最後の平日！

Together with Horiemon at the courthouse!

everybody here waiting for his arrival in front of the District Court...

The prosecutors asked for 4 years in prison today at his trial, a moderate demand which could lead to a judgement of guilty with several years of suspended imprisonment.
Horiemon is pleading not guilty and the prosecutors are surely looking for imprisonment without a stay of execution, but hmm... it could well be a sentence with a suspended term for Horiemon with this subtle request from the prosecutors...

裁判所でホリエモンと一緒に！
写真：地裁前のここにいるみんなが彼の到着を待っている…
検察官たちはきょう、彼の裁判で懲役４年を求刑した。この程度の求刑なら数年の執行猶予付きの有罪判決につながるかも知れない。
ホリエモンは無罪を主張しているし、検察官らは当然、実刑判決を取りたいと思ってるはずなんだが、うーむ…検察官らによるこの微妙な求刑でホリエモンは執行猶予付きの判決になるかもね…

A bit relieved...

タイトル：少し安心…

As Horiemon's last day of his questioning was over.

L'examen de preuve a été fini, aujourd'hui!
After all the examination of evidence was finisheed today, the prosecutors and the defense counsel will take turns to deliver their speech of how they see the story on December and January.

25 days of hearings finished...
I'm not hesitant to say,
I'm just filled with deep emotion... relief...

Horiemon's chauffeur‐driven hired car coming to the court for the 25th time!
three more to go!?

ホリエモンの被告人質問最終日が終わったんで。
きょうすべての証拠調べが終わった！（仏語）
すべての証拠調べがきょう終わった後には、検察官と弁護人が順番にこの事件をどう見るのか話を順番に、１２月、１月に行う。

２５回の公判が終わった…
躊躇することなく言えるよ。
とにかく感慨深いなぁって…ホッとしたし…
写真：ホリエモンのハイヤーが裁判所に来るのは２５回目！
あと３回か！？

P.S. A busy day, by the way... not just because I had to talk about Horiemon on the screen, but because Shintaro Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo, made a big move today towards settling the Tokyo Air Pollution Lawsuit.

追伸　すごい忙しい日でしたよ…画面の前でホリエモンのことを話さなければならなかったからだけじゃなくて、石原慎太郎東京都知事が東京大気汚染訴訟の解決に向けて大きな動きを見せたため。

Headache...

タイトル：頭痛…

I had a real headache today...
I had to cover the trial of four ex-Livedoor execs, concluding their hearing today at the distict court. They will be given their sentences on March 22nd of 2007! I bet Horiemon is going to be given his sentence on the same day!

At night I had a major headache and had to give up working at 11PM.
Ah, early enough, right!?
Tomorrow's a holiday, the Labor Thanksgiving Day, but I need to do some work.
Maybe a good night's sleep will alleviate this pain.

along with these!

今日はマジで頭痛が…。
４人の元ライブドア幹部の裁判を取材しなければならなかった。きょう地裁で結審した。２００７年の３月２２日に判決が言い渡されることになった！きっとホリエモンも同じ日になるんだろうな！
夜になってきつい頭痛に襲われて、夜１１時に仕事を切り上げなければならなかった。
あー、十分早いよね！？
明日は祝日だ。勤労感謝の日だ。でも少し仕事をしないと。
ゆっくり寝たら痛みも和らぐかな。
写真：これと一緒にね！

Childish and immature

タイトル：子供っぽくて大人げない

The fourth day of Horiemon's questioning.
A childish fight broke out again between the prosecutors and Horiemon again...
So childish that the presiding judge had to close the questioning a little early in the morning, to stop the sassy talk by Horiemon and the immature attack by the prosecutors...

Luckily(?), the court adjourned at 2:15PM, much earlier than expected, and more luckily, we only have one more day to go with his questioning!

Horiemon's car entering the court like always!

ホリエモンの被告人質問の４日目。
また検事たちとホリエモンの間で子供の喧嘩が勃発…
あまりにも子供っぽくて、ホリエモンの生意気トークと検事たちの大人げない攻撃を止めるために、裁判長が午前中の被告人質問を早めに切り上げないといけなかった…。
幸いにも（？）、裁判は予想より早い午後２時１５分に閉廷した。さらに幸いなことに、被告人質問もあと１日だけだ！
写真：ホリエモンの車がいつものように裁判所に入る！

Last day of another crazily busy week!

タイトル：狂ったように忙しい週の最終日！

At the third day of Horiemon's questioning, the ex-CEO of Livedoor jumped down the prosecutor's throat like a dog barking harshly and automatically at an intruder.
It was so trivial as Horiemon and the prosecutors were not arguing on the same wavelengths...
I surely hope I wasn't wasting my time!
Well at least the prosecutors' intentions were evident: hey! Horiemon's not cooperating at all! he's so rude and childish! do you really care to give him award this guy an acquittal!?
I think the judges got the idea...

Horiemon's car always arrives at the same time!

ホリエモンの被告人質問の第３日目で、ライブドアの元ＣＥＯは検察官にかみついた。まるで侵入者に激しく、ほぼ自動的に吠える犬のように。
ホリエモンと検事たちは全く波長が合わないところで議論していて、アホらしかった…。
時間を無駄にしてなかったろうな！
まぁ少なくとも検事たちの意図ははっきりしていた：ね！ホリエモンは全く協力的じゃないよ！とっても無礼で子供っぽいよね！こんなヤツを無罪放免にしちゃう気、本当にあります！？
裁判官たちには伝わったかも…
写真：ホリエモンの車はいつも同じ時間に到着するね！

(today's term)
trivial ささいな、つまらない
　全くアホらしいという。
　取るに取らないって感じのことを言うのに使う。
　いやー、本当にホリエモンの裁判は
　ひどいときはひどい。内容がないときは、
　まさしくtrivial!って感じ。
　時々、なんでこんな裁判聞いてるんだろう？
　って疑問に思う時がある…。
　でも、あともう数回しか無いし、頑張ろう！

The second stage's over!

タイトル：第２ステージ終了！

The testimonies by the Livedoor persons concerned were completely finished today at Horiemon's 20th day of hearings.
I talked over the radio about the 20 days of hearings, and it was time to reward myself...

with... yes, it's yakiniku and Kimchi Jigae as always to satisfy myself!

Drinking with a younger colleague, I asked myself, am I supposed to think seriously of my organization's future!? It might be too late, but I surely want to give it a try!

きょうのホリエモンの２０日目の公判でライブドア関係者の証人尋問はすべて終わった。
２０日分の公判についてラジオで話したんで、自分にご褒美を与える時が来た…
これを…そう、いつものように焼肉とキムチチゲで自分を満足させるのだ！
後輩と飲んで、自分に言い聞かせていたんだが、自分の組織の将来についてマジメに考えないといけないのかな！？遅すぎるかも知れないけど、やってみないといけないなって思うけどね！

P.S.
post about the second stage being practically over...
http://hide3diary.blogspot.com/2006/10/end-of-second-stage.html

追伸
第２ステージが事実上終わったという書き込みはここに…
http://hide3diary.blogspot.com/2006/10/end-of-second-stage.html

End of a unique legend...

タイトル：異色な伝説が終わった…

A day going by so instantly again attending Horiemon's 19th day of hearings.
Running through a busy week nearing the end of the month...

Oh, how fast, time passes by, as we only have two months and a bit to go.
And I still have tons of work left all due by Monday morning...
ah, I have to use another precious weekend for work...

ホリエモンの１９日目の公判に出てまた一瞬で一日が過ぎ去った。
月末近くになってきた忙しい１週間を走り過ぎて…
あー、なんて早く時間は過ぎていくんだろう。あと２か月ちょっとしかないよ。
そして月曜の朝までにたくさん仕事が残ってしまっている…。
はー、また貴重な週末を仕事のために使わないと…


it was a lingering SHINJO day...
what a player he was... and what an entertainer he was...

Professional sports is entertainment.
Without the crowd, they won't earn any salary for a living.
The popular, the better.
To win popularity, you must be the man of ability... not just of physical skills, but of entertainment skills!

I remember SHINJO showing his abilities when he was a core member of the "Kame-Shin era" of a young and energetic Tigers team when I was in college.
14 years later... SHINJO ends his career building up his own definition of a baseball legend!

写真：ＳＨＩＮＪＯを惜しむ日…
すごい選手だったなぁ…そしてすごいエンターテイナーだったなぁ…
プロスポーツはエンターテインメントだ。
観客無しに、生活のための年俸を稼ぐことはできない。
人気があればあるほど良い。
人気者になるためには、能力が無いと行けない…身体能力だけでなく、エンターテインメントの能力もね！
ＳＨＩＮＪＯが若くエネルギッシュなタイガースの「亀新時代」の中核メンバーだったときにその能力を見せていたことを思い出す。
１４年後…ＳＨＩＮＪＯは野球伝説の独自の解釈を作り上げて引退した！

Getting all wet in the rain...

タイトル：雨の中ずぶ濡れになって…

In the daytime... it was Horiemon day again... 3 days of trial this week for this man and it was his 17th today.

The rain was lulled in the morn, but it brutally resumed to rain hard in the evening.
And the prosecutors arrested the ex-governor of Fukushima Pref.

in the heavy rain I was helping out my colleague reporting in front of the prosecutors' office together with the others in the same business

日中は…またホリエモンの日だった…今週は３日もあるが、きょうが１７回目の公判だった。
朝に雨は小康状態だったが、夕方には急に強雨に戻った。
そして検察官たちは福島県前知事を逮捕した。
写真：強い雨の中、検察庁の前でリポートする同僚を手伝った。同業他社も一緒だった。

(article from Kyodo below)
（以下に共同の記事・和訳は略）

◆ Ex-Fukushima Gov. Sato arrested over payoff scandal
TOKYO, Oct. 23 KYODO
Tokyo public prosecutors arrested former Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato on Monday for his suspected involvement in a payoff scandal over a dam construction project the prefectural government had ordered, the prosecutors said.
Sato, 67, is charged with bribe-taking benefits from Mizutani Kensetu Co., a subcontractor in the project, as the company paid in excess of 970 million yen to purchase land from a menswear maker run by the governor's brother, Yuji, 63, from August to September 2002.
The deal between Mizutani Kensetsu, based in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, and the brother's company, was made apparently as a reward to the governor's side for allegedly helping a joint venture to win the dam project in a public tender.
The joint venture of Maeda Corp., a Tokyo-based major contractor currently called Nissan Rinkai Construction Co., and a local constructor won the project at some 20.6 billion yen in bidding in August 2000.
The brother, who has been indicted over a bid rigging in a separate public works project was served a fresh arrest warrant Monday for alleged conspiracy with the former governor in the payoff scandal.
The former governor is a major shareholder of the menswear maker, Santo Suit, and had been a director of the company until May 2002.
The suspected briber is former Mizutani Kensetsu Chairman Isao Mizutani, 61, but a three-year statute of limitations has already expired on the briber's side. Mizutani has been inducted on a corporate tax evasion charge.
Maeda extended 400 million yen of loans to Santo Suit in 2001. Santo Suit paid back the debts through the profit of the land deal in question.
While Maeda officials told investigators it lent the money to Yuji as a reward for his support for winning the bidding, Yuji has denied his involvement and elder Sato's in the alleged payoff scandal, investigative sources said.
Sato resigned last month after his younger brother was arrested.
Yuji Sato was already indicted for prearranging contractor bids to help a joint venture led by Tokyu Construction Co. win the contract for a public sewage project the Fukushima prefectural government had ordered, urging other participants to offer higher prices in the bidding in August 2004.
After serving as a House of Councillors member, the elder Sato won the gubernatorial seat in 1988 and was in his fifth straight four-year term when he stepped down.
==Kyodo

End of the second stage!?

タイトル：セカンド・ステージが終了！？

Attending Horiemon's 16th day of hearings.
The last of the four former executives of Livedoor appearing to testify today. If the first stage of this trial is Horiemon's first day of hearings, we were in the second stage from the second day of hearings with the testimonies made by the former exectutives, but today, the second stage was also practically over... practically... And it's probobly not a coincidence that the prosecuters will give out their concluding speech against the four tomorrow, as their time is up to ask for a forgiving sentence before the judge. (Well, they will be given one last chance right before the conclusion of the hearings for them next month.)
Meanwhile, Horiemon's trial will continue on, and we will step up to the next critical stage when the questioning of Horiemon himself begins on November 7th. Before this month is over, we still have four more days of hearings, but it won't be too exciting... I think...

ホリエモンの１６日目の公判に出た。
今日は４人の元幹部の最後の１人が登場した。この裁判のファーストステージがホリエモンの初公判だとすれば、２日目からは元幹部たちの証言が始まり、セカンドステージに入っていた。でもきょう、そのセカンドステージも事実上終わった…事実上ね…。そして図ったかのようにあした、検察側が４人に対して論告を行う。彼らが裁判官の前で寛大な刑をお願いする時間は尽きた。（まぁ、来月の結審の前に最後の機会を与えられるけどね。）
その間に、ホリエモンの公判は続き、ホリエモン自身の質疑が始まる１１月７日から次の重要なステージに上がる。今月が終わる前に、まだ４日も公判がある。あまり盛り上がりはしないけどね…たぶん…。


and another late "just before midnight" supper... waiting for a burger to take out!
they're not taking their time just because I have a bad luck number, are they!?

写真：そしてまた遅い「午前０時前の」晩ご飯…テイクアウトのハンバーガーを待って！
不運な番号を持ってるから時間がかかってる訳じゃないよね！？

A bad start...

タイトル：悪いスタート…

Another stressful day, starting to get sick again of doing this job for various reasons.
Oh, don't ask me why.

Covering Horiemon's 15th day of hearings from the morning. I always skip lunch when I have to attend an all-day trial, because I can easily fall into sleep at the bench.
It's the best time of year outside, but ironically it's the worst at the grand bench as the air conditioning is cut off from October, and with so many people seated inside, the heat just stays around.
And at night we had to cover Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami's (better known with "of Murakami Fund") first consultation of the pre-trial procedures at the Tokyo District Court.

またストレスがたまる日で、たくさんの理由でこの仕事をやるのがイヤになり始める。
あー、どうしてかは聞かないで。
朝からホリエモンの１５日目の公判を取材した。一日中裁判を傍聴しないと行けない時はいつも昼食を抜く。だって傍聴席であっさり寝ちゃうからね。
外は一年で最も良い時期なんだけど、皮肉にも大法廷では最悪だ。１０月からエアコンは切られ、たくさんの人が中にいるんで、暖気がこもってしまうんだ。
夜になって、村上世彰氏（「村上ファンドの」とした方が知られてるね）の公判前手続きの第１回協議が東京地裁で開かれたのを取材しなければならなかった。

I only had a sandwich at around 4PM...
Without supper, I needed something to eat...

and the yellow light enticed me to come in...

午後４時頃にサンドウィッチを食ったぐらいだ…
夜飯も食ってなかったんで、何か食べなきゃと…
写真：この黄色い電気が入るように誘惑してきた…

Coming to nothing... but...

タイトル：無駄に終わった…でも…

Giving up attending the Livedoor hearings, I shifted to the Supreme Court ruling about the House of Councillors election in 2004. The lawsuit was about whether a 5.13-fold disparity in the weight of one vote was unconstitutional.
The reporters were ready to hear the words calling it unconstitutional (or at least announcing it was "practically unconstitutional".
We were all fooled and the ruling was that even if the least populated electoral district, Tottori Pref. district has 5 times more value than Tokyo's, the disparity can be overlooked, therefore is constitutional...
I was supposed to talk at the news studio today if an "unconstitutional ruling" was pronounced, but all the preperation came to naught..
Well that's what reporting's about!!

ライブドア裁判に出席するのを諦めて、２００４年の参院選についての最高裁判決にシフトした。訴訟は１票の格差が５．１３倍になっていることが違憲かどうかが問われた。
記者たちは違憲だ（もしくは裁定でも「事実上違憲だ」という宣言）という言い渡しを聞く準備ができていたんだが。
みんな騙されて、言い渡しは結局、最も人口が少ない選挙区の鳥取選挙区が東京の５倍の価値があっても看過できる、つまり合憲だと…。
「違憲判決」が言い渡されたら、スタジオで話すことになっていたが、準備はすべて無駄に終わった…
まぁそれが報道の仕事ってもんよ！！

And after major business is fulfilled...

we have a treat! yakiniku, yakiniku!
this is what reporting's about!!

そして大きな仕事が終わった後は…
写真：ご馳走だ！焼肉、焼肉！
これが報道の仕事ってもんよ！！

(today's term)
unconstitutional　違憲
最高裁で大法廷が開かれて、憲法判断をするときは
(The Supreme Court's ruling of constitutional
issues)大事になることは十分わかった。
でも、最高裁が「違憲の判断」をするのに対して、
かなり慎重なこともわかった。
日本の三権分立の中で、最高裁は国会と内閣に比べて
地味なところなのに、せっかくの判断も、その権力を
十分に行使していないように感じるのは俺だけだろうか。
きょうはちょっと（？）な判決だっただけに、そう思った。

Unexpectedly...

タイトル：予想外…

Very relieved... Horiemon's 11th day of hearings unexpectedly only lasted 35 minutes today! The prosecutor's questioning of the witness went smoothly yesterday and as a result, they didn't need all day (which was booked for them) to continue on. Maybe the counsel for the accused ain't happy about this because if things are going smoothly, it's just as planned for the prosecutors... But we reporters were celebrating!! Well, the trial continues on tomorrow, so it's just a brief celebration...
And it was a busy day anyways... much to report on and much to get ready for...

the world's moving... a Korean UN SecGen?

とても安心した…ホリエモンの１１回目の公判はきょうは予想外にもたったの３５分で終わったんだ！昨日、検事の証人尋問がスムーズに行ったのが結果的に一日中必要なかった（期日は彼らのために入ってたんだが）ということだ。これは被告側の弁護人にとってはあんまり嬉しいことじゃないかも知れない。スムーズに行くってことは検事たちの計画通りに物事が進んでいるってことだから…。でも俺たち記者はお祭り騒ぎだい！！まぁ、裁判は明日も続くから、短いお祭りだけど…。
そしてどっちにしろ忙しい日だった…取材することもたくさん、準備することもたくさん…
写真：世界は動いている…韓国人の国連総長？

If I can become the representative of such a global organization, I surely will propose that we should have three-day weekends! The advanced nations are working too much!! We might be able to fill in the global disparity with this proposal!!

俺がそんな世界的な組織の代表になれるんだったら、きっと週末３日制を提案するよ！先進国は働き過ぎだ！！この提案でグローバルな格差は埋められると想うよ！！

What am I devoting my life for!?

タイトル：何に人生を捧げているんだろう！？

A sad day to see all the news shows reporting on Deep Impact's "historical" defeat.

For me, it was another Livedoor Day, attending Horiemon's 10th day of hearings. Three Horiemon hearings in a row this week, but a major assignment for me this week is to get ready for the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday.

ディープインパクトの「歴史的な」敗北を伝えるニュース番組を全部見てる悲しい日だった。
自分にとっては、またライブドアの日に過ぎなかった。ホリエモンの１０回目の公判に出て。今週は３回連続ホリエモンの公判があるが、今週一番大切な仕事は水曜日の最高裁判決の準備をすることだ。

Something private... my dad is staying overnight in Tokyo, but it was impossible for me to slip out from the press club to meet him even for a brief moment. With my job now... I can't even spare my time for something I believe is a priority... somthing I treasure the most... family...
What am I trying to prove!? What am I trying to protect!?
I'm beginning to have second thoughts about my life planning. I have to realize I might be missing irreplaceable moments in life I should appreciate more, while I completely know I'm not in any position to change the world or something.
I don't have inordinate ambitions... I just want to live a satisfying life... a life I can protect and spend my time together with who I really care about.

プライベートなことだが…自分の親父が東京に泊まりがけで来ている。でも記者クラブを抜け出してほんのちょっとでも会いに行くことさえ不可能だった。この仕事をやってると…最も大切なことと信じているものにさえ時間を割くことができない…最も大切な宝物の…家族…
何を証明しようとしているんだろう！？何を守ろうとしようとしてるんだろう！？
人生設計について考え直そうと思い始めている。もっと味わうべき人生の何にも代え難い時間を失ってるのではないだろうか。世界を変えるのかどうか知れないが、そんな立場にいる訳でもないことは間違いなく分かってるのに。
大それた野心はないし…満足できる人生を送りたいだけだ…本当に大切に想う人たちを守って一緒に時間を過ごすことができる人生を。

Deadly...

タイトル：殺人的…

After the last Horiemon-Miyauchi battle at the courtyard, I was so tired at night I couldn't resist the attack by the sandman and fell into a doze on the couch...
I took off about an hour or so early than the other days this week back home.
It's going to be another really busy week next week and I have to work through the weekend to get ready for it...
Deadly...

法廷という庭でのホリエモン・宮内対決のあと、夜はかなり疲れが出て、睡魔の攻撃に耐えきれず、ソファの上でうたた寝をしてしまった…。
他の日より１時間ばかり早く家路に向かった。
来週またかなり忙しい週になりそうで、準備のために週末も働かないといけない…
殺人的だ…

The only pleasure this week maybe hearing...

that the Tigers' winning streak is continuing on!
they won 9 in a row tonight!!
now they're only 2 games behind the leader!!

今週の唯一の楽しみはこれを聞くことか…
タイガースの連勝記録が続いてる！
今夜９連勝を達成！！
首位からたったの２ゲーム差だ！！

Midway through...

タイトル：中間地点まで来た…

This week I have to attend 10AM-5PM trials everyday (luckily, Monday's ended before 4PM because the witness gave up testifying due to tiredness). Four are Livedoor related and I fight with drowsiness, taking notes for the judgment day to come...
Oh, how tired I am to keep up doing this...

in the evening I went to cover a gathering near Jimbocho...
been a while since I've been around this intersection!

今週は毎日午前１０時－午後５時の裁判にでないといけない（幸いに、月曜日のは証人が疲れて証言を切り上げたから午後４時前に終わったけど）。４つがライブドア関連で判決のためにメモを取って睡魔と戦う…
この作業をずっとしてるとどれぐらい疲れが出ることか…
写真：夕方に神保町近くの集会の取材に出た…
この交差点の近くに来るのも久しぶりだな！

yes again!!
to input 17 pages of trial memos. I finished at 4:15AM...
phew... just one last day to go with Mr. Miyauchi's testimony due this Friday!!
then I'll be liberated from this bullshit...
only till Horiemon's testimony begins on November...

写真：まただよ！！
１７ページ分の裁判メモを入力するのに。午前４時１５分に終わった…
ふー…宮内さんの証言はこの金曜日がとうとう最後の日になる！！
そしたらこのくだらないことから解放される…
１１月にホリエモンのが始まるまでだけど…