complicated

Politicians began to prepare for the general election on September 11. There are several political parties here, but each of them doesn't have its own policies. I mean the members in a party have so different opinions and views on the policies Japan is required to handle as to make it difficult for us to choose a political party that we should support.

China, that looks sly to Japan.

Did you read the article in BBC, which reported the Japanese protest against China's move to get oil gas buried in the exclusive economic zone of Japan, though the place where it began to dig it is within the EEZ of China. We have the rule that an exclusive economic zone should be within 370 km from the mainland of a country. But China stated it is not from the mainland but from the continental shelf to justify siphon the gas there. Moreover, after the Japanese protest, China told Japan to work together. Japan refused its offer because it is buried under the Japanese EEZ, and permitted a Japanese company to get the gas; then, China began to say that Japan was so agressive.

Japan has been avoiding exploring such area because it didn't want any trouble with China. Then, China began to do that. In this kind of case, many of Japanese think China should not do that if it doesn't want any trouble with Japan. But I know this kind of thinking looks a little bit abstinent to some of you. Do you think the Chinese move can be OK?

Good!!

Here has been noisy because two days ago the Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro dissolved the Diet after the bill of privatizing public postal services, one of his campaign promises, was voted down in the House of Councilors, due to some of the Liberal Democrats rebelling against the President of the Government party.

This seemed to be good to Japan because they will be likely to have an opportunity to exclude those representatives from the Diet, who were protecting the vested rights that they and their supporters had had, and tried to stop the reformations needed to update the Japanese governmental systems. One of the biggest troubles that Japan has had should be that Japan hasn't adjusted itself to the present era that began in 1989 after the end of the Cold War era. The governmental systems has been working in the same way as in the Cold War era, when Japanese economy worked well in the US-oriented world.

Anyway, it was good. What matters most is how many younger persons will vote in the general election on September, 11.

Hiroshima's Mayor's Speech

The Mayor of Hiroshima City made a good speech this morning, saying no countries without nuclear weapons seem to have any right to speak in the international meetings, IAEA, Six countries talk, and the Security Council. I agree with him.