2002  September

*Political New Wave in Nagano [020902-05]

Mr. Tanaka becomes again the prefectural governor of Nagano Prefecture. It is natural from the sense of usual citizens. He is honest to usual people of Nagano Prefecture, although not so to the members of Nagano Prefectural assembly. They insist that the discussion in parliament is not enough. However, is their discussion with usual citizens enough? They misunderstand their support by limited people who are leaded by profits as the support by whole people. It is said that many Japanese politician represent limited people who can get their profit by politic. Nevertheless, many assemblymen have not understood this fact, although they always use their political power for limited people. They have not cheated electors, but their own conscience. For them, the political world has been only a dream in narrow field of parliament.

Nagano became famous as the site of winter Olympic in 1998. In spite of the success of this event, the prefectural governor remained enormous financial deficit. Some Japanese prefectural governors such as former Nagano and present Oita wanted to hold big events for themselves-advisement, but these events is nothing but for limited people who relates to public enterprises. Mr. Tanaka, who was reelected again, is the new prefectural governor who atone old system that tend to spend the tax of prefectural people for useless public enterprises.

Primary, Mr. Tanaka became famous of the ‘The Declare of No More Dam’. The construction of dams is a symbol of useless public enterprises, and he caused the confliction against prefectural parliament that depends on the profits from their constructing. I do not know well how hard he was in parliament, but its most members dined the governor and approved the nonconfidence motion against Mr. Tanaka. They said the attitude of governor is very arbitrary and ignored their parliament. He accepted it once and the election was hold again. The result is the overwhelming victory of Tanaka’s side.

For a long time, Japanese usual people had been an impotent sovereign like mediocre monarch. It is common in developed democratic courtiers, but you will find it has been extreme in Japan, if you consider the fact that L.D.P. have ruled this country more than 50 years. It may be true that Japanese electors have not had enough option to vote. However, the lack of opposite power against L.D.P. should be attributed to the neglect of Japanese people. Thanks to lazy people, politicians could utilized Japanese politic for themselves so easily that they had an illusion their behavior are harmony with people’s will.

Mr. Tanaka destroyed this illusion. If the member of Nagano prefectural parliament did not have the illusion, they would not approve the nonconfidence motion against him, although they did not have reliable rival candidate.
 

*Turning Point caused by New Technology [020911-15]

The method of battle decides the style of the age. In western world, gunpowder changed the world. In 1453, the army of Turkey with big cannon clashed the Eastern Roman Empire. Also in Japan, the Battle of Nagashino that is the first battle to use guns effectively changed the style of society. After that, the method of battle became collective and the possibility of individual activity decreased. Also the Battle of Tabaruzaka, in which the farmers with the most advanced arms defeated brave warriors (samurais), decided the age of modern epoch. Both made human societies collective and represented the arrival of new age.

September 11 in last year may also represent the change of the age. For more than 500 years, our history has advanced to the direction of collective society. Nations and multinational enterprises are symbols of this collective age. When twin tower buildings were collapsed, the age of counter attach against collective societies had begun.

Already I pointed before, Bush administration dare to promote the collective economic system depending on mass production and consumption by securing the oil fields in developing countries. However, U.S. gave our societies the clue of diverse social system by introducing Internet. It will be impossible to disturb extending the Terror Network in the world. Until now, battles have been hold among collective nations, but it will be hold among diverse networks.

Nevertheless, U.S. administration and other administration of countries dare to oppose the counter backs of dispersive societies by the cooperation of nations. It will cause the estrangement between nation and people.

New technologies give the possibility to change the world. However, it is unfortunate that the result appears firstly in the field of the method of battle. Even though it used to bring our society the confliction between new and old age at first, it is too unfortunate for modern people, because we have too strong technologies to kill others and it will cause the chain of retaliation.
 

*The Idea of Entropy [020922-25]

‘The Scientific Society of Entropy’ should be called ‘The Scientific Association for Circulating Type Societies’. I felt again how the idea of entropy is far from its origin. I think that it is very unfortunate for this idea that it came not from information science but from thermodynamics. Thermodynamics associate with the problem of environment so easily, but covers the essence of this idea. It should lies on the probabilities of individual behaviors from the standpoint of macro.

Once I heard that there is possibility to jump the stone and one side of bath become hotter that another side. This possibility was expressed from the point of possibilities. However, it is not correct. We cannot regard the possibility as the case that the each position of particles decided by roulette, because the behavior to go one side tend to cause to the movement to another side by the reaction in collision. The diffusion in thermodynamics is different from the problem of simple possibility, even though the position of each particle can be supposed from the point of possibilities.

The idea of entropy should be regarded as pure idea of possibility and released from physicists. They always criticize the application of this idea to societies. Their critic is correct, as long as this idea is used without measurable situation. However, they should recognize that the idea in thermodynamics is only a example of entropy.

This idea should belong to the idea of information. From human point of view, it is the idea of specification, and from the standpoint of macro, it is the idea of possibility to recur to the start point. The latter can be regard as the variation of the former. If there is something wrong, there is vague meaning in this idea that cannot be measured.
 

Hallow! Iwata desu. How are you doing?

Excuse me that I could not send you mail. I had been so busy for two month. I have not forgot the tragedy of September 11. Today, I will consider the problem of democracy after the day referring the affair caused by North Korea to have kidnapped some Japanese people.

Now, in Japan, TV programs are occupied by the topic of Japanese kidnapping by North Korea about twenty years ago. In those days, the agents of North Korea kidnapped Japanese people for international maneuverings. It is said that North Korea tried them to brainwash or force to cooperate for its international strategy, but the detail is not clear even now. Japanese governments had demanded North Korea to make clear the information of people who are confirmed to be kidnapped, and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi visited North Korea. Many Japanese people waited the answer from this nation, but it was very chocking for them, because it is reported that 8 people were already died in North Korea. Japanese administration and public opinion strongly demand the North Korea to report the detail and allow to return other people who alive in this country.

The negotiation between North Korea and Japan has just begun. Japanese administration must consider the assistance of North Korea and Missile problem as well as the problem of kidnapping. Japanese government will not allow advancing the negotiation without solving this problem, but other problems are also very important from the point of international diplomacy.

On the other hand, Japanese TV programs including usual programs reported this topic everyday last week. They reported the families of kidnapped people and stirred up human emotion. They put the blame not only on North Korea, but also the Japanese Foreign Affairs that had not dealt with this problem sincerely, because there is no diplomatic relationship between North Korea and Japan. Actually, this problem had been reported for more than 10 years.

I feel some sympathy with the victims, but also feel the danger of democracy in this problem. It is because there were many Korean victims that Japanese people will not refer, behind this problem.

During the World War 2, many Korean people were taken to Japan unwillingly for forced labor, and it is said many girl are kidnapped for pleasure of Japanese soldiers. Also, during Korean War, many Korean families were separated between North and South. Even if Japanese government did not directly give the order to kidnap Korean people, the more pick up the problem of kidnapping by North Korea, the more arises the responsibility of Japan during the World War 2. However, Japanese medias will not pick up this antinomy yet. Here is the snare of democracy.

Usually, the victims nearer us tend to attract our notion. The farer they are, the less we notice. It is very hard for New Yorker to consider the victims of September 11 and the covered victims in Afghan equally. However, please consider if Afghan people have cellar phone and send movie mail to us one after another! They are same victims of the war, and both can have the emotion of revenge against others.

Democracy is the political system that national people have sovereignty. It has been said that this system has less danger to cause war, because these usual people tend to be the victims of the war. However, considering U.S., this view is not adapted, because U.S. military power is too strong and U.S. usual people can stay beyond fires of actual battle.

Now U.S. administration dares to begin the war against Iraqi, in spite of critics of other countries. I think that American people have judgments to consider international problems, but it is not enough to notice the covered victims behind TV screen. On the other hand, some people in U.S. administration seem utilize the people’s emotional reaction against September 11.

I stopped watching the TV, whenever the families of kidnapped people appear in the screen. Also I gave up watching CNN after September 11. Both reported one-sided truth of the matter, even if they reported the truth. As crafty vassals can mislead mediocre monarch, emotional one-sided report can put the judgment of people on wrong course. The unique defense against this mistake is that national people will not give their government the blank check to wage war.