http://mapbrowse.gsi.go.jp/airphoto/photos/fullimage/CKT971X/C6/P0007.jpg.
Forests and pasture around the Airport have been too much developed, with regret.
Divine Comedy 2007 (III)
1. The Unknown Power Struggle for Decades
Japan has entered a national election mode. On July 29, 2007, half of its Upper House members (namely, 121 among 242 seats) will be newly elected.
A person of the largest influence in the Upper House is Mr. Mikio Aoki who has been a long and serious rival to Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, the representative of the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party.
On a superficial level, the rivalry seems to be between Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe (the Liberal Democratic Party) and Mr. Ozawa; but as Mr. Aoki is a key figure who allowed a faction Mr. Abe belongs to to have taken the prime minister-ship contiguously twice (Mr. Mori and Mr. Koizumi) and who is a successor of leaders of another (once-largest) faction in which Mr. Ozawa once vied for power but lost, Mr. Aoki may be regarded as a true gray eminence or the power behind the throne in this decade in Japan, which however no foreign media seems to be interested in.
So, the July 29's election will be the final battle between the two old rivals, Mr. Aoki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikio_Aoki) and Mr. Ozawa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichiro_Ozawa), to put an end to their mysterious power struggles that have lasted, since Mr. Ozawa left the Liberal Democratic Party in 1993, over the death of four Prime Ministers from the now Mr. Aoki's faction in 1993, 2000 and 2006 .
2. From a TV Studio to the Diet
Japanese parties in every election try to choose several candidates from socially well-known people. Being well-known means mostly making TV appearance often in any style. As with other democratic nations, there have been unique lawmakers of the Diet in Japan who were an actress, a professional sportsman, a comedian, a TV personality, a TV announcer, etc., though majority are ex-bureaucrats or sons or daughters of ex-lawmakers.
As former Prime Minister Mr. Jyunichiro Koizumi is a kind of genius in appealing to voters through a TV camera and has made the ability a decisive source of his power, this trend of political commercialism is still gaining momentum, breaking an old-fashioned scheme of election based on traditional human, administrative, and business relationships.
In addition, for July 29's election, a female TV newscaster is going to run as a candidate from LDP. I am wishing her success just like every non-nonsense candidate. (She may become another female Defense Minister someday, as it is not so inconvenient, since Japan has renounced war in its Constitution.)
3. Media, Entertainment, and Advertisement
In this context, the U.S. is more advanced, partly because the economic size of the U.S. is 2.5 times Japan's and the U.S. is a multi-cultural society.
In the U.S. in 2006, according to http://www.plunkettresearch.com/Industries/EntertainmentMedia/EntertainmentMediaTrends/tabid/228/Default.aspx:
"- Total spending (including advertising) on media of all types in the U.S.: $900 billion
- Advertising spending alone in the U.S.: $296 billion
- The number of FM radio stations in the U.S.: 9,042
- The number of movie tickets sold each year in the U.S.: 1.4 billion
- The number of broadband Internet connections in the U.S.: about 50 million lines
- Advertising on the Internet in the U.S.: $16 billion
- Book sales in the U.S.: $25 billion"
According to certain statistics, the size of the advertising market in Japan is about 7.8 trillion yen ($65 billion).
The total size of the media contents market in Japan is about 12.8 trillion yen ($100 billion).
A million audiences seem to be required in advertisement using mass-media for justification of its operation; and ten million audiences seem to become a cool norm with further deployment of the Internet and intelligent cellular phones.
But, nowadays, a specific approach to a specific customer base seems to be required. In other words, ideally, ten million different or tailored commercials are desirable for appealing to ten million consumers.
However, candidates for election seem to be still performing their appealing simply by handshaking and eye-watching to as many voters as possible.
4. Ms. Paris Hilton in "Larry King Live"
"About 3.2 million people tuned in to "Larry King Live" Wednesday to watch King query Hilton on her three-week jail term for violating probation on a pled-down DUI charge and how it's changed her. That's about three times King's usual audience, and allowed CNN to score a rare victory over Fox News for the night." (http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-parishiltonlarrykingratings,0,6325420.story)
Consumers want a genuine heroine or hero doing something at the risk of her or his life that represents the Age, society, or civilization.
Media, advertisers, and politicians are all making a mistake. Their contents, goods, or personalities all look poorer and more miserable than Ms. Paris Hilton in terms of ability of reminding audiences, even remotely, of what they want, namely a genuine heroine or hero (if unethical to a certain degree in her case).
Now, it is time for the U.S. to have a genuine heroine who can really have Marilyn Monroe fall into oblivion.
5. Die-Hard
In Japan, voters hate to have Mr. Koizumi fall into oblivion; even there is expectation, though unrealistic politically so far, that he will come back to office of Prime Minister if Mr. Abe fatally fail in the coming election.
In the U.S., will the family name "Clinton" fall into oblivion in 2008?
So far, nobody seems to think that Ms. Hilton's case and Japan's summer election will affect the fate of Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008 which may have a significant influence on people such as Mr. Al Gore and Mr. Michael Moore.
But, as I once studied, the death of Princess Diana in Paris led to the 9/11 terror attacks. You cannot neglect any symbolic incidents.
And, eventually, you may see how much this Age is getting closer to God's anger, which may make you a bit little more like a genuine Christian as your ancestors so claimed to be.
(I never thought Marilyn Monroe was a heroine. But, I could see that the late Mrs. JFK was a beauty. Harriet (Elizabeth) Beecher Stowe is of course the most respected American woman by Japanese for her work 'Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).' Just for your encouragement.)
"...I will rescue all the lambs and bring exiles home..."