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Different Leaders, Common Themes – U.S. and Japan

November 24, 2008 8:47 AM

By NORIKO NAMIKI, ABC News Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso may have more in common with outgoing U.S. President Bush than with President-elect Obama – at least for now.

First of all, they are both in the same generation – Bush is 62 years old and Aso is five years older, which could make 47-year-old Obama look like their nephew, if not a son. Both Bush and Aso come from political and wealthy backgrounds. Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, made it to the White House, while Aso’s grandfather Shigeru Yoshida served as Japan’s post-war prime minister. Both men joined family businesses before venturing into the political arena. Bush worked in his family’s oil business and Aso was involved in the cement and mining business of Aso Corp.

The recent “accidents” by Aso have created another addition to the Bush-Aso similarity list – gaffes, namely the mispronunciation of words. Bush’s pronunciation of the word “nuclear” often has been pointed out during his terms although he has not seemed to change the way he reads the word. Within his first two months in office, Aso, an avid reader of Japanese comics or anime, has failed to correctly pronounce more than a few Japanese words during his speeches – all written in kanji, modified Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing system.

When asked by reporters about his unique readings of the words, Aso responded, “Those were just reading errors, just mistakes.” Some critics made swift suggestions to Aso – to study kanji rather than read comic books.

During his meeting with a group of college students this month, Aso complained that he had not had enough time to read his favorite weekly comic books.

The Japanese Ministry of Education lists 1,945 characters as “joyo kanji,” the characters used on a daily basis. Japanese high school graduates are supposed to be able to read and write all of them.

But the widespread use of computers in classrooms and at home may be compromising students’ ability to write and read kanji characters as the built-in software does the work for them.

Perhaps their comic book loving prime minister is suffering from the same?

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November 24, 2008 in Noriko Namiki | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Japan Markets Make History

October 08, 2008 10:30 AM

By Noriko Namiki, ABC News Tokyo

Maybe the Prime Minister put it best.  Talking about today's stock market turmoil, Taro Aso said, "This isn't normal."

There was a lot of history in the numbers today. The third biggest single day drop on record for the Nikkei average -- its biggest since the global market crash of October 1987 -- a fall of 9.4%. Toyota's worst single day since that same dark day 21 years ago --- the automaker fell 12%, largely because investors are afraid that a slowing global economy means people all over the world will be buying fewer cars -- especially in Toyota's biggest market, the united states. Honda's day wasn't quite as bad -- it fell a mere 10-percent. 

The automakers were also hurt by movements in the currency market -- where the yen strengthened to below 100 to the dollar for the first time since April. A stronger yen makes life more difficult for exporters -- because when products are sold for dollars, they're worth less profit for the company when the yen gains in value. 

That was another theme for the day -- worries for exporters. Many of Japan's global corporate names are built on their sales around the world -- not only the automakers, but also companies such as Sony, Panasonic, and Canon. 

"This crisis will put a halt on investment and consumption. This makes economic recovery extremely difficult," said Fujio Mitarai, the chairman of Japan's major economic group, Keidanren who is also Chairman & CEO of Canon. "Governments and central banks of the world should keep working together closely to calm down unrest among financial sector," Mitarai said.

Japan's lower house of parliament just passed a 1.8 trillion yen ($17.8 billion) economic stimulus package late today. This was originally intended to offset rising energy costs. Prime Minister Aso hinted that Japan may consider an additional package as the weakening global demand for consumer items such as cars and electronics, already susceptible to the rising yen, could cause a "drastic decline" in exports.

Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said to reporters that the Japanese government is willing to work with its U.S. counterpart as the U.S. tries to plow through its banking crisis and get the country's economy and financial system back in order.

After the market closed, Japan did not take part in the global rate cut engineered by the U-S, the U-K and the European Union. But officials at the Bank of Japan issued a statement saying they "support" the action, although they have less room to move -- because interest rates are already low at half a percent.  But that support may turn into some enthusiasm once Japanese stock traders start their day on Thursday.

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October 8, 2008 in Noriko Namiki | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Japan's Growing Health Crisis

July 09, 2008 12:37 PM

Matsu Yamazaki, leaves her home in Tokyo everyday to walk through busy streets to work at her family's grocery shop. 

There would be nothing unusual about this except that Matsu is 103-years old. On today’s World View we take a look at Japan’s health system, which is struggling to cope with the world’s fastest ageing population.

The government is predicting that by 2055 senior citizens will make up half the population. As caring for them already accounts for half the Japanese health budget, Japan is taking extreme efforts to find solutions that are financially sustainable in the long term.

To find out more watch today’s World View on ABC News Now.

July 9, 2008 in Noriko Namiki | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)