1 = 0.999999999…

1 = 0.999999999…

An oriental girl at last won the Olympic Games’ Gold Medal in figure skating competition, as a report from Turin or Torino told. She happens to be Japanese, which however does not necessarily mean she is No.1 or the best among skating girls in Japan.

Figure is really an interesting term. By mastering geometry, ancient Greeks laid the foundation for future European civilization which has been realized and boosted by Christianity. It is taught as collaboration of Hellenism and Hebraism in Japan just like in other civilized regions.

Japan had, in old days, no tradition of stone architecture comparable to Europe, for there have been plenty of woods and a wealthy of other products of nature. Geometry had not a great chance to develop in Japan. But, it has not hindered the development of scientific talent and the love for science among the race.

In terms of the very basic thing, some educated Japanese are for example still arguing how to explain the following equation in earnest.

1 = 0.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999…

According to modern mathematics, there is no such a number as is less than “one” but larger than any other number that is also less than “one.”

However, there is a number that is equal to, or less than, “one” and larger than any other number that is less than “one.” This number is “one” itself.

(Correctly. 1 is a number that is larger than any other number that is less than 1.)

The number in the infinite expression in the right side of the equation means the number which is larger than any other number that is less than one.

Therefore, the above equation is correct.

There is no secret or mystery in the infinite series of the number 9. The equation itself is an indicative one, which emphasizes neither the format nor the arithmetic operation implied therein but the meaning assumed for the expression with infinitesimals.

To my surprise, there are some Japanese still arguing how to explain the above equation. But, mostly the discussions are not accompanied by religious atmosphere even though philosophical sometimes.

Olympic Games must be a religious event originally to show human, clean bouts to Greek Gods. Then figure skating must have a religious meaning, too. But, it looks very fleshly nowadays.

When human beings understand the nature of numbers one-step deeper, God might be rejoiced. And, when skating girls perform well one more rotation in air on a certain figure, God might be also rejoiced.

But, God would be surely more satisfied to see peace in Baghdad and other cities of conflict nowadays.

Mathematics is said to be Queen of Science. And the number theory is said to be Queen of Mathematics, but geometry is not.

The number theory has its origin in ancient Mesopotamia. Someday, their descendants, including modern Iraqis and Jews, might win a gold medal again in human history.


(Note:
1/3 = 0.33333333....
2/3 = 0.66666666...
1 = 1/3 + 2/3 = 0.99999999....)


“IT WILL NOT BE LIKE THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR ANCESTORS”

3D Images on Holy Shroud in Turin

3D Images on Holy Shroud in Turin

In this world there are many things you cannot buy, one of which is the Holy Shroud in Turin.

It presents a negative image of “Jesus Christ,” like on a negative film, lying in a cave-like tomb in which his body was put after the death upon the cross. However, its authenticity is yet to be decided, though various scientific examinations were conducted in the past.

Now the Winter Olympic Games are being held in Turin, Italy. I am not so much interested in it. But, the place of the Games seems to be very suggestive. Accordingly, I am obliged to report some on Turin.

In 2002, a Japanese professor succeeded in creating three-dimensional images of the man whose image is imprinted on the shroud (http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~takemura/seigaifu/english.htm).

The old professor, Dr. Shinichi Takemura, wrote about his work on the site:
“There have been a number of opinions and discussions regarding the production process for the Shroud. Apart from these views, as a scientist, the author could not stop taking interest and concern regarding the 3-D information buried in the Shroud.

Without arbitrarily selecting or modifying the information in the Shroud, the author treated them faithfully and finally succeeded to build a 3-D data of the Face of the Man. In consequence, the Head of the Man can be rendered from various angles.

Now that all the necessary programs for generating the 3-D images are completed, it will be easy to reproduce a 3-D image of the Man if the more precise photographs or the more reliable Z-data are given.

Finally, the author would like to express his gratitude to Father Gaetano Compri, Chairman of the Holy Shroud Research Association of Japan, for his guidance and suggestions.”

Father Gaetano Compri is said to have once learnt in Turin.

How Jesus Christ looks is not important to mankind. The Bible says that when men began to take women to wife through selection based on appearance, the world got worse. And, it is still getting worse due to some special competition in the present world. But, if people begin to choose their religion based on appearance of a founder of a religion, the world would become the worst place for mankind.

A 15-year-old Japanese girl, the winner of Figure Skating Grand Prix final in December 2005, is said to have the highest probability to win the Gold Medal in figure skating in Turin. But, she is a few months younger to be qualified for the Olympic Games, which made upset all the innocent Japanese sports lovers. Anyhow, she is forbidden making an entry for competition in Turin.

As I am not so interested in this winter Olympic Games for some reason, I thought the Lord God acknowledged this way my feeling.

If the Shroud is truly holy, how can you hold such games of pagan origin where the sacred relics are kept and guarded? The place is wrong in either way.

Besides, I have recently felt the anger of the God, maybe due to various deplorable incidents in Japan and the world.

Anyway, you can check the 3D image of the world’s most incredible figure at your site, which might be the same as the figure the first man or angel who entered the cave after Jesus’ burial might have discovered.

“COME BACK TO YOUR RIGHT SENSES AND STOP YOUR SINFUL WAY”

An Apocalypse Oddly Leading to 2001

An Apocalypse Oddly Leading to 2001

Ryotaro Shiba, who died in 1996, was not awarded the Nobel prize for literature, but he is still the most popular writer among the Japanese from ex-prime ministers to students.

It is said he adopted the pen name in order to show his respect to Si-ma Qian (called Shiba-Sen in Japanese), the best historian in China who lived and died in the 1st century BC and whose history book can be virtually comparable to the Bible from a view point of literature.

The pen name “Ryotaro Shiba” means that he humbly admits that he is very inferior to great Sima Qian, but has his own vision in literature and history.

There are two interesting incidents the eminent writer Ryotaro Shiba once reported:
* * *

In early 70’s, a Japanese husband and wife was traveling in Afghanistan during their wandering journey over the Eurasian Continent.

In a village, when the couple was standing with their baby girl in their arms, here coming was a man riding on a horse and scurrying like a caballero in the Middle Ages. The country caballero on a horse quickly took up the baby from their arms, holding her up in the air, running several times around the couple so astonished, and dashing to a certain direction to disappear from their eyesight.

The husband and wife got terribly shocked, understanding that their baby was stolen, and kept just standing there in void of the village.

When a certain time elapsed, here coming back was the man riding on a horse and scurrying like a caballero in the Middle Ages. The country caballero gave back the baby to her parents still standing at the spot.

Later, the Japanese wandering man and wife moved to New York, and their daughter grew up in the city.

In early 1990’s when the eminent Japanese writer visited New York, he met the very wandering husband, and thus the above odd memory was recorded.

At that time, the eminent writer also met two Japanese in New York: a professional painter and an editor of a publication company.

One day the painter and the editor went to Williamsburg, a neighborhood in northern Brooklyn, to paint the street. While the two were making a sketch, an old lady, who apparently looked to be Jewish, came to them, unfriendly saying, “What are you doing here?” Their exchange of words unhappily did not end with only this barbed question. She tried persistently to show her hostility and contempt to the two Japanese cultural figures who happened to be making an innocent sketch of her residence area.

(It was almost a year before 1993 when the first World Trade Center bombing attack was conducted by a terrorist group.)
* * *

In a village of Afghanistan in early 1970’s, there was an extraordinarily uplifted man, on a horse running around a village, who shocked a Japanese man and wife with their baby in their arms.

On a corner of New York before the first terrorist attacks, there was an extraordinarily alerted, old Jewish lady who unpleasantly embarrassed a Japanese artist and an intellectual.

As New York was severely attacked in 2001 by terrorists who were instructed by their leaders hiding in Afghanistan and supporting anti-Israeli terrorism, the above two incidents might be interesting to some readers.

But the eminent Japanese writer did not formulate a story linking two incidents as a kind of apocalypses, to my chagrin.

“WHO WOULD RATHER PUT A CANDLE UNDER THE BED”

Samurai’s Yasukuni

Samurai’s Yasukuni

New York Times in its online version has spotlighted Mr. Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the Yomiuri Group, the most influential media group in Japan.

He also controlled the most popular baseball team in Japan, Yomiuri Giants, which led him once to direct confrontation with Livedoor Corp, a Japanese Enron of its poor IT business version.

In 2004, the president of Livedoor, Mr. Takafumi Horie, had tried to buy one of professional baseball teams in vain, mainly due to opposition of Mr. Watanabe.

After the 9/11 election Mr. Horie had run for but lost, he reportedly asked the director-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to help him acquire another baseball team. Mr. Watanabe was again rigidly opposed to it. As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is also the head of LDP, the relationship between Mr. Koizumi and Mr. Watanabe got uptight.

What’s more, Mr. Watanabe has been expressing his dissent over Mr. Koizumi’s going and worshipping at the Yasukuni Shrine where souls of many soldiers who died in past wars are enshrined.

The issue is that Yasukuni, meaning putting the nation in pease, also deifies Japanese supreme leaders in WWII.

Believe or not, the Spirit told me the other day that Japanese Prime Minister at heart would not like to recommend some others to visit Yasukuni. Nobody has ever suspected such possibility. So, only the Spirit told me so.

On his last visit, Mr. Koizumi walked on the main path of Yasukuni and prayed before the altar, slipping the 500-yen coin into an offertory box. It is a style for ordinary people when visiting Yasukuni. In his previous visits, the prime minister followed an authentic course.

There must be a reason that Mr. Koizumi cannot stop his visit to the shrine, if he so wishes.

Mr. Watanabe is said to keep hamsters as his pet or animal companion. In a TV interview, he said that he had read a magazine article telling that a certain Diet (national parliament) member keeps hamsters, and then he called her to come and help him buy and keep them.

Someday, Mr. Koizumi may ask Mr. Watanabe to help make a pet of a hamster.

* * *

Nonetheless, samurai won’t buy and keep hamsters. Until the end of WWII, Japan had been actually governed by samurai and their direct offspring.

Even after late 19th century when the last samurai regime and shogun were abolished, samurai of other clans than the shogun family controlled the government of the Empire of Great Japan.

Most of high-ranking officials in Imperial Japan during and before WWII were from ex-samurai families, but most of soldiers and citizens were not.

The Yasukuni Shrine is rather new, compared with other shrines mostly functioning for 1500 years or so along with venerable myths. Yasukuni was established by the Meiji government with full of ex-samurai to appease the spirits of soldiers who died in wars, including one that had put an end to the shogun regime.

So, until 1945, Japan had been in effect under control of spirit of samurai for almost 750 years, which makes its tradition deeply rooted in part of Japan and the Japanese.

* * *

On August 15, 2005, Japan’s Minister of Environment Yuriko Koike visited the Yasukuni Shrine (as a private person), which helped her win her own 9/11 election. Her brilliant election campaign boosted LDP in the election, decisively contributing to victory of the prime minister.

On August 15, 1945, Emperor Showa declared unconditional surrender to the allied, putting an end to WWII and the Empire of Great Japan eventually.

For some, Yasukuni may be the most reasonable place to commemorate on August 15 the extinct Empire above any political and international disputes, for the deceased have nothing to do with worldly sins any more.

“IF YOU HAVE EARS, THEN LISTEN TO WHAT SPIRIT SAYS”

The Third Man

The Third Man

The Japanese public broadcast station NHK televised these days old movies through its satellite channel.

Last night, they telecast “In the Heat of the Night” featuring Sidney Poitier as a young and tough African American police detective, which is a work of 1967, a year precedent to the tragedy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The other day, “The Third Man.”

Both the movies were highly appreciated when they were first released in Japan decades ago. Here my concern is on The Third Man.

Even in this day of computer graphics, the camera work and image structure of The Third Man never lose its color.

It is an American version of the original English story.

After the World War II, the English wanted romance in war-torn Vienna, but Americans wanted something different for a story in remote Vienna where their boys were stationed while leaving their girlfriends home. And, uncannily the Cold War was approaching.

Therefore, the last scene of The Third Man, meaning an unidentified and unreported principal, had been rewritten or remade for different versions of the film.

To satisfy American girls, US boys should have a broken heart in Europe. This pattern was also applied to “Roman Holiday” featuring Audrey Hepburn, in my opinion.

So, in the last scene on a winter cemetery path, Anne, a Czechoslovak, passed as if a stranger by Holly, an American paperback writer, who had been invited to Vienna to eventually and haplessly kill his old friend Harry, a kind of the independent mafia who had somehow fallen in love with Anne.

Vienna is a place where Adolf Hitler had spent five years as a poor young soul or nothing. Later he wrote that he got a sickening feeling when he recalled Vienna, a Babylon city of many races.

After the completion of War on or Operation in Iraq, will they be able to create a movie presenting a romance or a doom in Baghdad between an American man and an Arab woman or vice versa?

As the scale of a crime the third-man type of men would be engaged in is nowadays mega-multiplied, extraordinary efforts will be needed for peace after wars in Middle East even on screen.

Anyway, it will be a big hit in Japan again.

“SO THAT HE WILL BE ASHAMED"

Rich Devils, Poor Believers, and Crying Angels

Rich Devils, Poor Believers, and Crying Angels

Recently former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told in a TV program that he had not been aware of what Livedoor Company had been doing (therefore he didn’t give warning) but he would continue to support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s reform policy.

In another TV appearance a few years ago, Mr. Miyazawa mentioned Mr. Bill Clinton’s book “My Life.” The former U.S. President, looked back at, reciprocally mentioned in the book his meeting and negotiation, in 1993, at a sushi bar in a Tokyo hotel with then Prime Minister Miyazawa who started his career as a bureaucrat in Finance Ministry of Imperial Japan in 1941.

Mr. Clinton’s memoir is a testimony of the highest-ranking public servant of the United States on how the United States succeeded in launching its economy into a higher orbit by leveraging its IT capability.

Therefore regardless of your likes and dislikes, it could give some insight by explicitly or implicitly mentioning or skipping something.

Mr. Clinton wrote that “At the end of the month, as the stock market closed above 10,000 for the first time ever, up from 3,200 when I took office…” It was 1999 that the U.S. economy seemed to get into the orbit under Mr. Clinton’s leadership.

He then attended at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, in the last year of his term of presidency. There he defined the term globalization.

“The multinational corporation and their political supporters had largely been content to create a global economy that served their needs, believing that the growth resulting from trade would create wealth and jobs everywhere,” he wrote clearly.

But he continued: “.., half of the world still lived on less than $2 a day, a billion people lived on less than a dollar a day, and more than a billion people went to bed hungry every night.”

A demon can look very knowledgeable and understanding as well as attractive. I am afraid that you might think so, if you are a poor believer in a forlorn country somewhere on the earth, being notified by a friend or a teacher that U.S. President knows how you live but supports large US companies that never hire you. Then, jihad may be a step closer to you.

I don’t trust the World Economic Forum.

(Especially, it is said that even the Clinton Administration supported, in various ways, Enron to which Livedoor has been compared often these days by Japanese media.)

If you succeed in reaching extraordinary stardom in any society and establish your own company to issue “one billion stocks” and have your admirers buy those securities at a dollar or 10 per share, you can make a fortune without substantial industrial activities. It is what Livedoor has done, making many customs believe that its president is a Japanese Bill Gates.

But, most alarming is a fact that old experts on economy and politics still cannot comprehend what the magic term “IT” implies, while dubious business men are lobbying and appealing with their name card presenting a glossy IT-related company name.

My advice is that you should not trust any super-wealthy IT expert that cannot design by himself a whole computer including hardware, software, and communications.

Proud experts will never respond to orders from the mafia or any terrorist-related groups.

“LORD, HOW CAN YOU STAND THESE TREACHEROUS EVIL MEN”

To London, Being Guided by Allah

To London, Being Guided by Allah

The English movie based on a fact that an Afghan boy at last got to London in 2002 was really appealing.

I didn’t see the start of the story but observed that the boy with an elderly companion moved from Pakistan to Teheran, the Kurdish area, Istanbul, Trieste, Paris, the Straits of Dover, and finally London.

The most heartbroken part is when the boy, his elderly companion, an Arab husband and wife with their baby, and others were put into a cargo container. It is because the mafia who employed them in Istanbul one day decided to discard them. So they were put into a container to be sent to a factory in Italy. They were expected to be found at the destination as illegal immigrants who happened to be suffocated in the container.

But, the Afghan boy and the Arab baby survived. The boy ran away from the factory to the street of Trieste, and eventually arrived at London.

The boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years old then, should be now getting near to his 18 years when British authority will expel him out of Britain.

The adventure was taken after U.S. assaults on Afghanistan but before their invasion on Iraq, which took my attention to the story.

If a boy could move that way from Afghanistan to London, anybody supported by an organized crime or an established terrorist network should be easily able to move from Afghanistan to London and eventually any part of the world without mentioning New York and Washington DC.

Then, what now actually protects New York and Washington DC?

During Japan’s 9/11 election in 2005, a Japanese couple were killed in Afghanistan on their way from Quetta to Kabul via Qandahar.

They were male and female school teachers, though not married, from a city of western Japan. The electorate including the city was a big focus in the 9/11 election. And, the tragedy happened in the middle of election battle between a leader of the anti prime minister group and a young man supported by the ruling party and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The election resulted in overwhelming victory for the ruling party; however, the young man lost the election to the ex-police bureaucrat.

What this young man has lost is not only the election but also his assets and position in Livedoor Corp.

This January, Tokyo district public prosecutors launched investigation into Livedoor, thus hitting not only the Tokyo Stock Exchange but also the world money market. Livedoor had about seven billion dollar aggregate market price of its stock. But, after an arrest of the president, namely the young man Mr. Takafumi Horie, and his resignation from the corporate board, the value has fallen to 700 million dollar level.

This big, dire social incident has coincided with investigation of faulty designs of condominium apartments as well as unpopular Government’s import approval of American beef without necessary inspection on the exporting side concerning mad cow disease.

According to UNDP (United Nations Development Program), 200 million dollar aids have been provided for Afghanistan in this decade. Japan, in 2002, donated 20 million dollars for clearance of land mines in Afghanistan.

Yet, Livedoor’s lost total stock value of six billion dollars, if substantial, should have been poured into Afghanistan so as to prevent such a tragedy as the boy’s.

Then, more people will resist being dominated by an organized crime and an established terrorist network, which would eventually protect cities far and remote from Afghanistan

“WILL BE RAISED FROM DEATH TO LIFE”

Be Kind

Be Kind

I checked how many hits a search engine will return to the input key “a kind person (s).”

In a Japanese search engine, with a corresponding Japanese expression, the number of hits was more than 900,000.

As it is a Japanese domain of the Internet, the “person” here seems to be almost referred to Japanese.

But, for confirmation, in the same procedure, with the specific input key “kind Japanese” in a Japanese expression, the number is 11,700.

In the same procedure, with the input key “kind Americans” in a Japanese expression, the number is 197.

As for English search engine applied to American domains, you can simply confirm results by following the similar procedure.

If a Japanese says “a kind person” in Japan using the Japanese language, it almost always means “a kind Japanese.” Otherwise, they would say “a kind foreigner” or something like that.

For comparison, in the same Japanese procedure, with the input key “a kind foreigner(s),” the number is 266 in Japan as of January 28, 2006.

So, I may assume there are a million kind Japanese and a few hundred kind foreigners in Japan, so far reported.

It is believed that there are about 120 million Japanese and two million foreigners (including more than 0.6 million residents from South and North Korea) in Japan.

So, roughly speaking, one out of 100 Japanese is kind, while one out of 1000 foreigners is kind, according to this analysis being incomplete and somewhat biased but based on the modern technology

It really supports our impression that outer world is ten times more dangerous than the domestic society.

Nonetheless, truth is often different from an Internet-based survey. It may be actually hard to find a cold guy in some areas in Japan, and you may find only accommodating foreigners in a certain group of people in Japan.

Jesus told to be kind to foreigners. And a Japanese proverb says, “Show your kindness at least once a day.”

And, with the specific input key “an unkind person (s)” in a Japanese expression, the hit number is 771.

Therefore, according to an extrapolation method, the ratio of kind Japanese to unkind Japanese is 1000 to 1.

“WE EAGELY WAIT FOR OUR SAVIORS”

Last Successor of Last Emperor in China

Last Successor of Last Emperor in China

I watched a very interesting TV documentary last night. Maybe, Lunar New Year is getting near for Chinese, though Japan seldom celebrates it nowadays.

As depicted in a movie titled “Last Emperor,” Ching (Qing) Dynasty ended 1912 as the last classic empire in China.

The last emperor of Qing died in 1967 in People’s Republic of China. He had no children.

But, he had one brother who married a daughter of a Japanese noble clan and had two daughters, one of whom is still alive in Japan with her children and grandchildren.

Put simply, the family line of Emperor of Qing has become part of Japanese population of today.

However, it often happens that people fled from war-torn regions in China and Korea to Japan since ancient ages. Some precious works of art and literature also fled ancient China and Korea to Japan where those works have been well cherished and preserved while originals were lost in those countries.

Qing was not established by Han people, majority of Chinese, but by Manchu who might be rather related to Mongolians. But, today, Mancuh seem to be completely absorbed by the majority of Chinese.

As the last Emperor of Qing had no children, his younger brother might have been expected to succeed him; nonetheless, the younger brother, too, had no boys. The dynasty was destined to finish.

The TV documentary showed the brother of Last Emperor in his last days in Beijing with his Japanese wife. He died in 1994.

He was good at calligraphy. His last work was also introduced. Apart from difference in style among Manchu, Chinese, and Japanese, its meaning is clear. The possible true Last Emperor praised two things, each in China and Japan, during his last days in this world.

First, the Great Wall of China, which was built to fend off invasion on China by Mongolians as well as Manchu but overcome by founders of Qing Dynasty.

And, Mt. Fuji in Japan where he once had been trained in a military academy of Empire of Japan.

If Americans had one great wall running from the East Coast to the West Coast, they should be more proud. And, if they could observe the world’s most elegant volcano from New York City or Washington D.C. just like from Tokyo, they should feel more honored.

However, it is also a fact that neither Japan nor China can enjoy the both all together.

“LIVING IN REVERENCE FOR GOD”

Tokyo Prosecutors Hit the World Money Market

Tokyo Prosecutors Hit the World Money Market

Before they started the compulsory investigation into Livedoor Group, they said, they had thought that it might give some influence on Tokyo Stock Exchange Market. It actually hit the world money market.

Livedoor group is a kind of money-game companies under disguise of IT enterprise.

Tokyo district persecutors assailed offices of Livedoor Group in the night of January 16, including its computer center where their e-mail servers were located.

But why on January 16? Yes, there must be reasons. On the next day, an important witness was invited to Japanese Congress (Diet) on the issue of false aseismatic structure designed into condominium buildings and hotels. And there is a strong doubt on involvement of some famous members of ruling parties in hiding truth of the crime, which should give impact on Mr. Koizumi’s Cabinet.

To avoid inviting too much social attention to this Diet hearing, those near Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might have made an allusion to persecutors on their wish that something big should happen on the day.

However, truth should be more interesting than fantasy.

Livedoor group is headed by a young business man who often publicly states that his dream is to make Livedoor number one in the world in terms of aggregate market value of listed stock.

President of Livedoor Mr. Takahumi Horie once said that his company would surpass Mr. Bill Gates’ Microsoft soon or later.

Although Livedoor’s total stock value was about more that 6 billion dollars before this crash which took 40 percent of the amount off his company so far, when you hear such a statement being delivered in a serious tone, you had better wonder what this young man knows and understands about Microsoft.

Tokyo district prosecutors also seem to wonder what this superstar in IT and money industry might know and understand about Japanese Securities Act.

“THE LORD CHANGED HIS MIND”

Japan Never Joins EU

Japan Never Joins EU

Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi planned to visit Israel, Palestine, and Turkey late last year.

However, due to recent, serious illness of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mr. Koizumi has decided not to visit Israel and Palestine.

So, it looks a little strange that a Japanese prime minister, with various heavy duties domestically and globally, is now flying over half of the world to visit only one country Turkey where no serious issues look at stake between two countries.

God might be interfering with this visit by Japanese prime minister to Israel. But why?

Otherwise, God might be interfering with reception of Japanese prime minister by the nation of Israel. Then again why?

Does Mr. Koizumi have to visit Afghanistan, Kingdom of Bhutan, and Republic of Maldives, for United Nations Security Council issues?

Otherwise, should prime minister of Japan visit Iraq?

I cannot remember what specific interference God made when late Chairman Arafat passed away.

Anyway, one thing clear is that there is no interference by God with Mr. Koizumi’s visit to Turkey.

And, does the Allah wish Turkey to join EU?

Japan never joins EU.

“SO THAT BIRDS COME AND MAKE THEIR NESTS”

Two Candles from Japan to Michael Faraday in 1860

Two Candles from Japan to Michael Faraday in 1860

I was thinking about Four Basic Forces or Interactions: Gravity, Electromagnetism, The weak nuclear force, and The strong nuclear force. Of course, the so-called “Dark Force” working far in the universe might be the fifth.

Anyway I went to a public library nearby and get the loan of a translation version of a transcript of Michael Faraday’s lecture to confirm something.

Gravity is scientifically attributed to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. The weak nuclear force was established by Enrico Fermi. The strong nuclear force was first reasonably explained by Hideki Yukawa, a Japanese physicist.

There are only these four forces in this universe so far scientifically identified. No forces any more. However, human beings usually live in the world governed by gravity and electromagnetism. Any chemical reaction is a result of electromagnetism at the level of atoms and molecules.

As for electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell is unanimously chosen as a founder of the modern electromagnetism. Nonetheless, as with the case of gravity, we can include Michael Faraday, a 19th century British scientist.

Then for four forces, we can count three British, one German, one Italian, and one Japanese as greatest contributors to each field. No Americans are included, but two of them finished their lives in the United States.

Now, focus is on Michael Faraday. He is still respected by many Japanese concerned with science. His theory is still taught in Japanese schools.

He died in 1867, a year before Japan started modernization through Meiji Restoration. However, even before the beginning of the Meiji era, the samurai regime or the Shogunate Government of Edo had opened the nation to the West, which was related to Michael Faraday.

In the Christmas Holiday of 1860, Michael Faraday taught children “the chemical history of a candle” as part of his free education service started in 1825. In this lecture, he mentioned: “I have here also a substance brought from Japan since we have forced an entrance into that out-of-the-way place—a sort of wax which a kind friend has sent me, and which forms a new material for the manufacture of candles.” (http://www.bartleby.com/30/7.html)

And, further, “A LADY who honors me by her presence at these lectures has conferred a still farther obligation by sending me these two candles, which are from japan, and, I presume, are made of that substance to which I referred in a former lecture.” (http://www.bartleby.com/30/12.html)

It is astonishing. And, as Michael Faraday was truly a great man, it is the pleasure to know that Japan contributed some to his great efforts to educate British children in late 19th century.

Jesus Christ once told to keep preparedness always just like young ladies who have enough candles or lamps while waiting for their bridegrooms. Then, you will not be shut out from a wedding hall when coming back after having left for spares.

When people light candles for peace or any ceremony, does any one recall that famous, great, and blessed British scientist in the 19th century and his lectures to children of the then world super power?

(How he explained value of nitrogen in air is truly excellent !)

“THIS IS THE HOUR TO RECEIVE THE HONOR FROM THE LORD”

Miracle under the Ground; Wonder in the Sky

Miracle under the Ground; Wonder in the Sky

Believe or not, God told me: “I will show miracle under the ground and wonder in the sky.”

And the year end had passed and a new year opened.

In West Virginia, 13 miners were trapped about 80 meters under the ground. Finally and luckily, one man was saved alive. (Yes, one to twelve among 13.)

I found it to be a miracle. How devastating it should have been, without no one being rescued alive.

In Japan, heavy snow has been continuing. In a snow zone usually covered by one-meter thick of snow, they have now a four-meter snow layer.

Japan is located at the east southeast end of Siberia. In winter, cold air is directly blown from frozen Siberia to the Japanese archipelago over the Sea of Japan. Thus much snow in northern half of Japan allowed it to host the Winter Olympic Games twice, at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

But this unusual heavy snow is causing some casualties in Japan now. This climate is caused by strong high pressure air high on the Indian Ocean to central Asia, which guides cold air on Syberia continually flowing to Japan.

It must be an effect of global warming. But it is also wonder in the era of greenhouse effect, Japan must suffer unusual heavy snow.

The Sate of West Virginia runs a Japanese site on the Internet. The state supported by Senator John D. 'Jay' Rockefeller IV, with many powerful friends in Japan since he studied Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo in early 1960’s, has succeeded in inviting some Japanese companies and is still driving the policy.

The tragedy in a mine in West Virginia must touch the heart of some Japanese concerned with the state.

I, though a stranger I am there, wish more miracles, too.

“JESUS SENDS OUT THE SEVENTY-TWO”

Do You Like Phoenix? Do you Like Metropolis? Do you Like the Music?

Do You Like Phoenix? Do you Like Metropolis? Do you Like the Music?

A new year has come like a phoenix reborn.

Last December, University of Chiba, Japan, discovered that they kept original celluloid pictures of the Disney’s movie “Sleeping Beauty.” The movie was released in Japan 45 years ago. The 250 celluloid pictures with various sizes were at that time transferred to a researcher of the university by the movie company.

With combination of “Phoenix” and “Disney,” many Japanese would come to think of Osamu Tezuka, a Japanese cartoonist and animator as prominent as Charles Monroe Schulz in the U.S..

Osamu Tezuka, as a young man, had learnt various things from Disney’s pictures before, during, and after WWII. Now Japanese animation is highly appreciated over the world. Most of current animation artists in Japan, including Hayao Miyazaki, were highly influenced or trained by Osamu Tezuka. Dr. Osamu Tezuka is still a kind of king in this field.

Till his death in 1989, Osamu Tezuka created almost uncountable works, one of which is “Phoenix” (called “Hi-no-Tori” in Japanese). This full-length-novel-like cartoon is regarded as one of his lifework, though Osamu Tezuka created many other full-length comic strips (called “manga”) on the Buddh, the Bible, etc.

In the summer of 2001, an animation movie titled “Metropolis” was released in Japan. At its climax, the World-Trade-Center-like huge tower building was blown off and collapsed due to an intentional atomic power explosion.

The animation “Metropolis” was released in the U.S. in early 2002.

The movie was based on Osamu Tezuka’s original manga of the same title drawn decades ago which itself had borrowed the title from the Fritz Lang film released in 1927.

Strictly speaking, the movie cannot be regarded as Osamu Tezuka’s work, but is a work of a director, a producer, etc. who each respects Osamu Tezuka.

The heroine of the movie “Metropolis” is a robot, created to imitate a girl. The robot called “Tima” was, by accident, taught human words by a Japanese boy named “Ken-ichi.” However, “Tima” finally tried to destroy the human world using her super capability based on hatred to mankind who abused robots.

The boy “Ken-ichi” tried to stop her trying to rouse love in her mind. But, the high-rise site of the battle between love and hatred was blown off by nucleus explosion triggered by a troubled son of a powerful man who had planned to construct and abuse “Tima” to put the world under his foot. And then, the World-Trade-Center-like huge building collapsed on the screen of a movie theater in the summer of 2001 in Japan.

Nobody then thought that the September 11 attacks would soon happen in New York, another metropolis in question. But, God gave such a predictor.

However, it was not a mega-hit animation in both Japan and the U.S.. Especially, the use of music in the animation was criticized by many. In addition, American audience was dissatisfied with the Japanese scenario and faces on the movie, though they enjoyed its advanced production technology.

Nonetheless, the work is telling that a robot that can hate human beings must be also able to love human beings, though the reverse seems true, too.

The “Metropolis” is not a full-length-novel-like work like the “Phoenix,” but at its climax, the boy had to desperately generate love in a robot’s artificial mind; and finally, even for a moment just before falling down from high to the ground, the robot seemed to generate love inside, though it seemed too late. What was left was “Tima’s” voice on a tape in debris: “I am who?”

Anyway, the value of the work depends on that moment.

Accordingly, some Japanese audience don’t like a still picture displayed at ending in the movie where Ken-ichi and rebuilt Tima looked like together running a robot shop in a corner of the reconstructed metropolis.

Astonishingly, in the U.S. version of this animation movie, they took away this last controversial scene. The robot “Tima” should be lost forever. The miracle of love cannot be proven forever. But, it was after September 11, 2001 attacks that they so judged.

If American audience cannot fully appreciate the “Metropolis,” I don’t think they can understand “Phoenix” and many other valuable works of art created by Japanese. It tells their fatal disadvantage.

Now, coming back to late Osamu Tezuka, his reputation is still high. If there is a Nobel Prize for cartoonists and animators, all the Japanese would recommend him.

But, once in his life, he was faced with a fatal crisis. His production company, famous for TV animation “Astro Boy” (Tetsuwan Atom) in 1960’s, went bankrupt. In the middle of 1970’s, the society changed. His old-time upper-middle-class oriented works seemed out of date. No one seemed to buy his works.

But, his savior appeared. Osamu Tezuka was helped financially and socially by a businessman in Osaka, a metropolis near his home town.

The businessman himself has been highly involved in international humanitarian work and the United Nations. Even an award titled his name was given to Mrs. Thatcher of the U.K. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the U.S. in late 1990’s, respectively.

So, friend, man cannot be reborn like the bird of wonder in his career without help from others or the God, just like the case of the robot.

(But, if you are loved by a robot, what is that to you? Go and find your "Sleeping Beauty!")

“I, MORTAL THOUGH I AM, WILL REST ASSURED IN HOPE”

Happy Ending & Destiny

Happy Ending & Destiny

Chinese are said to be pessimistic at their core due to long history of upheaval and conflicts. Therefore, Indians, Iranians, Iraqis, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans might be all pessimistic apart from their outward gestures. Anyway, countries north of the Alps are younger.

But, Japanese are optimistic, though not tropical way, as nowadays half of Japan is covered by snow generated high on the Sea of Japan from cold air blown from Siberia. “When having finished well, everything is well” is a proverb Japanese like to hear.

In a Swedish film for children, a traveling entertainer met a boy having escaped from an orphans’ home.

After an adventure, the middle-aged street performer, or busker, brought the boy to a rich farm family, hoping that the family would adopt him. But the boy chose to travel with the busker.

So, the busker decided to trace a path to a home of a woman he had once lived together with. And, reconciliation and reunion were made well, so that they got together again and the boy was adopted by the couple. Truly happy ending! Indeed, it is said that children are a link between husband and wife.

It may, however, look too simple. Germans would make it more reasonable. British could make it more dramatic. Americans love to make it more dynamic and funnier. And, Japanese love to see more caring and sensitive emotion.

As for me, when I encounter straightforwardness and strength beyond expectation, I cannot help but admire them, which frankly speaking seldom happened.

In 2005, we have not observed here and there enough straightforwardness and strength, a kind that is potentially promising.

However, I believe that we came through the path to this crossover point, with training, enjoyment, and appreciation, while being led by Destiny.

“Nothing You Do for the Lord’s Service is Ever Useless”

A Teaching on Bonds at a Mountain Side

A Teaching on Bonds at a Mountain Side

Following is a personal memo only for those humbly and professionally concerned:

The amount of outstanding US government bond is 7.33 trillion dollars (879 trillion yen) as of the end of FY 2004 (which is also expected to reach 11.114 trillion dollars in FY 2010).

The amount of outstanding Japanese government bond planned for FY 2006 is 1.38 trillion dollars (165 trillion yen).

Japan has US government bonds worth of 0.7 trillion dollars as of February 2005.

Q: How can we solve a catastrophe many expect to happen in future?

A: Once thousands people gathered at a mountain side to listen to Jesus Christ. At lunch time, Jesus’ disciples asked him how to do with the people. Money they had was not enough to buy the crowd enough food. But Jesus ordered the disciples to have the people sit down and give them whatever fish or bread the disciples had.

As you know, a miracle happened. The crowd of people all ate enough and got satisfied.

The answer is that the people had come there with their own food. But, they hid their own food lest others stole it. However, as Jesus’ disciples started to give their own fish and bread, everyone began to take out their lunch box from a coat pocket, a bag, or a cart.

It is a miracle in that people with much food gave some of it to others who happened to have little or none. Otherwise, not all should be satisfied.

So, by applying Jesus’ teaching to government bonds of Japan and the U.S., we could happily solve the deficit problems once and for all.

I like to call this “a teaching on bonds at a mountain side,” if the Lord wishes.

Anyhow, poor people need money when the end of the year is really near.

“VICTORY IS COMPLETE”

Dr. Hawking and “i”

Dr. Hawking and “i”

Year 2005 was the Year of Physics. It is mainly related to Albert Einstein.

Anyhow, as the New Year’s Day is coming, we might refer to theories of the birth of the universe.

The most famous scientist in this field is Stephen William Hawking of the U.K.

According to his theory, our universe was born following the uncertainty principle. The principle tells there is a special condition on the product of energy and time. Even if the product should take a specific value, larger energy in a shorter period of time is allowed:

For a very small particle,
E x T = (6.6261 x 10^-34) / (2 x pi),
where E and T are a change of energy and time, respectively.

Following this principle, our universe was born in a very short period of time, getting over an energy barrier that had suppressed the birth of a universe.

The moment of the birth was too unusual to handle it reasonably and scientifically in its mathematical expression. So, Dr. Hawking introduced an idea of “imaginary time” into the mathematical expression, thus making smooth the flow of time back to the birth of the universe and beyond and, at the same time, that quantum leap possible.

(with "i" = (-1)^(1/2), i second, 2i seconds, and so on, instead of 1 second, 2 seconds,..; however, this method is common in quantum physics.)

As the meaning of quantum theory as well as Einstein’s theory is still controversial, his solution based on both the theories looks still so.

I believe mankind is yet to understand the truth of the birth of our universe.

But, this theory gives mankind a great courage. Even for a very short period of time, we are allowed to exercise great ability, though it might not create another universe.

As for “imaginary time,” apart from its use as mathematical agency, if God is real, everything should be real to the limit we are allowed to understand about our universe, including its birth and its state before the birth.

Beyond the limit, we are no longer human beings in any way.

“STOP YOUR DOUBTING AND BELIEVE”

Next Year is 2666 for Emperor

Next Year is 2666 for Emperor

In 91 B.C., the first official history book of China, the Shiji (called Shi-ki in Japanese), was established. The author is Sima Qian (called Shiba Sen in Japanese). It was the age of Earlier Han Dynasty.

And, remarkably, Chinese people have been traditionally called “Han people” up to this day in a little formal manner in Japan. The Chinese letter “Han” is pronounced as “Kan” by Japanese. And “Chinese character” is called “Kan-ji” in Japanese, likewise.

Japanese written language consists of Kan-ji and Kanas. Kanas were created by Japanese about 1000 years ago based on simplified Kan-ji to simply express sounds of spoken language. Kan-ji is ideogram, but Kanas are akin to alphabetic characters.

Therefore, if you do not know a meaning of Kan-ji a sound of which is expressed in English, you cannot fully recognize the meaning of the corresponding Chinese expression. In this sense, non-Chinese are meaning-blind to Chinese names. But, the only exception is Japanese (and some Koreans), since Japanese can understand meaning of most of Chinese Kan-ji characters which are nowadays a little different from the Japanese Kan-ji system.

In the seventh century, the Yamato regime (ancient Central Government of Japan) started to compile an official history which was completed in the eighth century. The history book was called Nihon-Shoki. The book was written in the Chinese language of that age. A similar example is found in that the Bible was first written in Greek in the early days of Christianity. Anyway then Chinese dynasty knew that Japan was not an uncivilized country without an official history book.

In China, when a dynasty was vanished, the succeeding dynasty established an official history about the precedent dynasty. Therefore the whole Chinese history consists of a number of independent official history books, each representing a single dynasty.

But, Japan has the only one official history book, Nihon-shoki, since the dynasty of Japan has never changed, which had been called the Yamato regime until Emperor moved to Tokyo from Kyoto in late 19th century.

When Emperor moved to Tokyo, the Shogun Government system ended. The Shogun is the head of warriors or samurais, but the title, Shogun, was officially endowed the samurai leader with by Emperor. Nonetheless, under the Shogun Government, Emperor had no power for collecting taxes and controlling military forces. In most cases, a Shogun decided allowance for an emperor. But, no Shoguns in Japanese history dared to abolish an emperor or take himself the position of Emperor.

It is because Emperor is holly existence, playing an indispensable role of Japanese traditional religion, Shinto.

Therefore, the first and last official history book of the Yamato Regime, namely classical Empire of Japan, includes myths.

According to Nihon-shoki, the first emperor in Japan was inaugurated 660 B.C. which became the starting point of years of Emperor.

When a world-leading fighter plane was officially adopted in 2600 in the year of Emperor, it was named Zero, since lower digits of the year were zeroes. It was indeed 1940 A.D.

So, the next year 2006 AD is 2666 in the year of Emperor of Japan.

(However there is another year system officially and widely used in Japan linked with the present emperor. According to it, the next year is "Heisei 18.")

Though Japan is the only country in the world now that has a person officially called Emperor in English, it is extremely rare that the year of Emperor is used in Japan except in Shinto religious practices.

When the end of the year gets near, you might like to refer to history; if so, I have served this way for you.

“THE MOON WILL BE AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN”

A Christmas Story about a Letter from Canada

A Christmas Story about a Letter from Canada

It is a letter to editorial this morning on the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper that I think to be very appropriate for this season.

A Japanese female college student learning in Canada wrote a letter to her friend in Japan. But, before sticking a stamp on it, she lost the letter somewhere, probably, in a campus.

She said, perhaps by international phone, to the friend that the letter should be most likely lying under a bench or somewhere with dust on. But she also added, maybe without or with expectation, that somebody might pick it up, stick a stamp on it, and drop it into a mailbox.

It actually so happened. The letter was marvelously picked up, carefully checked about its destination address, stuck an appropriate stamp on, dropped timely into a mailbox nearby or distant, and swiftly delivered to her friend in Japan.

And, most importantly, her friend who received the letter which had once been lost but discovered and dropped into a mailbox by an unknown person ventured to write a letter to editorial of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper in Japan with spirit of thankfulness.

Of course, every reader knows that the very kind, unknown person in Canada should have little chance to read the words of gratitude on this Japanese newspaper.

This sort of kindness seems to be nowadays getting hard to find in urban areas in Japan. In the U.S., people might still be haunted by the anthrax incident.

Nonetheless, this story is very appropriate for the Christmas season. Something that was once lost has been found, making people very remote happier and thankful.

“DO NOT CONSIDER ANYTHING UNCLEAN THAT GOD HAS DECLARED CLEAN”

At Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo after the 9/11 Hectic Election

At Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo after the 9/11 Hectic Election

The most important incident this year in Japan was the September 11 election, maybe as with the election this month in Iraq for Iraqis.

In October, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan invited three ladies who were all newly elected for Japanese parliament called Diet. Each of them spoke English in the press conference as was highly expected.

Even criminals and terrorists speak English in England and America, but even the wisest doesn’t speak English in Japan. This has been truth in Japan, a country located far from Europe, America, and their colonies.

But, nowadays and especially in the trend of overwhelming internationalization as well as for security reasons after September 11 terror, Japanese like to and are virtually forced to speak English as much as possible if appropriate to deal with the world and the U.S.

The three new Diet members spoke English fairly well: one of them with her academic and diplomatic background, other based on her strong career in a key ministry of the Japanese Government, and the rest supported by her higher education in America.

Japanese media was also fascinatingly listening to them. According to a media report, Ms. Inoguchi spoke well as an aggressive professor but contents were a kind of fantasy and mere idealism, Ms. Katayama spoke well as a seasoned bureaucrat and contents were very substantial, and Ms. Sato was remarkably fluent with colloquial speech but contents were not impressive.

Yes, Kuniko was an ambitious international-relations professor with a flavor of high society, Satsuki was a well educated and trained bureaucrat, and Yukari was a highly ambitious career woman in the private sector, each with rich international experiences no ordinary Japanese voters might enjoy.

However, apparently, they are Japanese, born, raised, fostered, and given personal foundation in the Japanese society.

Successful Asians or Asians going to be wealthy speak English more fluently than Japanese. But, in most cases, those successful Asians are born rich in a former colony, which allows them to learn in environment where English is norm and standard.

With population of 120 million people most of whom had few occasions to speak with Europeans or Americans in their lifetime, it was a luxury for Japanese people to speak English well while all necessary Western documents were translated and available in Japan during its modernization and procedures to become the World’s most successful country as a racially homogeneous nation with its own independent language.

So, those three Japanese female Diet members spoke English reflecting this context, though nowadays many young Japanese are traveling to the world more casually speaking English. However, it seems still rare for Japanese to have a strong presence globally by manipulating substantial English.

Many Japanese ladies are today working all over the world. But if those working outside Japan are superior to those working in Japan, the fate of Japan might be dim. (Tragedies of Africa and South Asia might be desparately rooted in this context.)

But, Japan seems to be still able to keep its most valuable girls within its territory like America does, no matter what English they speak in Tokyo or New York.

(In addition, one female Diet member now serving as Minister of Environment can speak Arabic. Through 9/11 election, she have really had go on to political stardom; but it is another story.)

“GOD’S WEAKNESS IS STRONGER THAN MAN’S STRENGTH”