"ye shall find a colt tied" - On Euro Crisis

 Tokyo Bay...

On the Euro Crisis

Japan is more involved in the euro crisis than China.

Japan is facing its own fiscal woes but it also has considerable resources to draw on, with foreign exchange reserves currently worth over $1,200bn, second only to China.... 

Japan currently holds just over 20 per cent of the €10bn in bonds issued by the EFSF, and Mr Noda, who was finance minister until becoming premier last month, signalled that Tokyo would continue to back the expanded fund 

.http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Japan-urges-action-euro-xft-1117049030.html 

The German President recently assured Japan of hope for recovery of the euro system.

Even as far away as Japan, German President Christian Wulff could not escape talk of the eurozone's debt crisis, where he assured his hosts that Berlin was doing its part to ensure Europe would overcome its difficulties. 

"Having now all glimpsed into the abyss, we must become more ready to draw the consequences," Wulff said Monday in Tokyo, during the second day of his state visit to Japan. 

He pledged that Europe would "find the strength to see this crisis as an opportunity."Wulff added the sovereign debt crisis was not limited to Europe but was a "worldwide trend." Japan's debt is currently some 200 percent of gross domestic product. 

Defending the euro 

In a bid to assuage Japanese investor fears, Wulff said the joint euro currency was not in crisis and defended the euro itself as a "success story." 

But Europe's banks, he said, are in danger "because there's been gambling and speculation - to an extent that stretches beyond the imagination."http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15483159,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf

But, Japan faces its own crisis of the too strong yen.

The Bank of Japan expanded stimulus as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis caused an appreciation in the yen that may endanger a recovery from the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. 

Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his policy board expanded their credit and asset-purchase programs to a total of 55 trillion yen ($724 billion) from 50 trillion yen in an 8 to 1 vote, the central bank said in a statement in Tokyo today. It also kept the overnight lending rate between zero and 0.1 percent.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-27/bank-of-japan-expands-stimulus-as-europe-debt-crisis-pushes-yen-to-record.html

Specifically, the Japanese electronics industry is facing a heavy challenge.

At the retail end of the supply chain, European markets are getting tougher for Japanese OEMs to crack, because the strong yen is making Japanese cellphones, video game consoles, PCs, and industrial electronics more expensive than Japan's competitors. Korean firms, happy that the won has not risen as sharply against the euro, are able to discount their products against Japanese ones, without cutting into their profits. That's a symptom of the sharp appreciation of the Japanese currency, compared to the Korean currency's flatter chart. 

Over the long term, that's a problem Japanese firms will have to resolve internally. Most Asian OEMs have to compete against each other, but Japanese ones now also have to pit their supply sides against their demand sides in a particularly venomous way. The department of a Japanese OEM looking for high-quality assembly contractors at a lower cost must love doing business in Portugal or Greece right now, where high-skill labor costs 10 percent less than it did a year ago. The department selling flat-screen TVs must hate those same places because the TVs cost 10 percent less, too, in addition to tepid demand. 

Japan is still Asia's electronics leader for design and innovation. But two disasters in a year is a lot for anyone to navigate.
http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1098&doc_id=234273

And, the US is also within a scope of influences from Japan and the EU.

The US’ president Barack Obama chose to blame Japanese earth quake and Euro zone‘s debt crisis as the reasons for the slow growth of the United States’ economy. The US has recorded higher jobless claims and unemployment rate in May comparing with the previous month April. The unemployment rate has increased to 9.1 percent in May from 9.0 percent of April. 

While delivering weekly radio address, Mr Obama told his countrymen that earthquake and consequent Tsunami in Japan and fiscal problems of the Euro zone countries pose problems for the US to record fast recovery. He said they could not escape such problems that happened beyond the estimations of the analysts. 

http://financialpolitics.net/2011/06/04/obama-blames-japan-and-e-u-for-us-slow-recovery/

So, they discuss the matter in real. 

No. The real problem is that when you have a $75 trillion portfolio, there's nothing special about it -- it mirrors the market. And since only 5 U.S. banks hold 96 percent of the derivatives held by all US banks, that means the same sort of instruments at the other top four -- JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, Goldman Sachs and HSBC USA -- are likewise at risk.
That number, again according to the OCC, is $58.16 trillion -- $55.1 trillion in cross currency swaps, and $3.06 trillion in net credit default swaps. 

Again, the exact portion of Eurozone exposure to that amount isn't known. But by comparison, consider that 2010's global GDP was $74.54 trillion, and there are other, similar portfolios at other banks around the world--all in danger.The total face value of all the derivatives in the world? $601 trillion. 

We slogged through a rehearsal of this in 2008 when Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and AIG collapsed and threatened to take the global financial system with them. But the sheer magnitude of today's problems is immensely bigger, and the danger is therefore immensely greater. 

Just one more set of numbing statistics to give you some perspective: The total 2007 revenues of AIG, of Bear, Stearns, and of Lehman Brothers totaled $215 billion. By comparison the 2010 GDP of Greecealone was $318.1 billion. If you add in Italy -- expected to be next -- the total is about $2 trillion. Defaults like that don't take place in a vacuum.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-reinbach/euro-crisis-serious-busin_b_1031877.html

http://www.soyouwanna.com/forex-market-history-23885.html



(to be continued...)

*** *** *** ***

The 2008 Financial Crisis of the US did not however make super-rich Americans poor.

The 2011 euro crisis in Europe is not going to make  super-rich Europeans poor.

But, in an economic transaction, if you do not lose, you win.

In other word, for super-rich people to continue to be super rich, such a financial crisis occurs.

So, reasonably, the final solution is to make super-rich people poor.  But, it is impossible in a democratic country.  Democracy is not designed to make the super-rich poor.  However, democracy gives power to others than super-rich people.  In other world, what is at stake in the EU is its democracy rather than a financial system.




Mar 11:2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

"he was praying in a certain place" - Yen, Dollar, Euro

Tokyo Station

Yen, Dollar and Euro

[Updated on Dec. 6, 2011]

Buying money with money is the most sinful thing in the world of Christianity.

But, it might not be so in the world of Judaism.

And, if Americans are so happy buying money with money, what are they? Christians or Judaists? What is worse, many Muslims want to go to the US and take part of the American Dream.

Indeed, the era of the Great Three Religions must be approaching its end, after all.


Yen vs. Dollar

(Blue line: Yen/Dollar; Orange line: Yen/Euro)
http://business.nifty.com/cs/catalog/business_news/img/catalog_nbp-20110328-5716_1.htm

(Note that 1 yen should be basically compared with 1 cent, so that 100 yen should be 100 cents or $1, hopefully.)

The ever stronger yen is one of the biggest concerns in the Japanese society.

"We are waging a war of nerves" with the currency market, Azumi said at a regular news conference. 

"We will closely monitor developments (in the currency market) and make appropriate decisions at appropriate times." 

Japan has been under domestic pressure to act as the strong currency erodes exporters' repatriated profits and makes domestically-produced goods less competitive, undermining a recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami. 

Monday's intervention was Japan's fourth in just over a year, helping the dollar rise by roughly four yen to as high as 79.55 yen before easing back. On Tuesday the greenback was in the lower 78 yen range. 

Traders estimate the latest intervention involved dumping a single-day record  

The move came days before this week's meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialised and emerging economies in France and may raise questions from Japan's global trade partners.
http://news.yahoo.com/japan-war-nerves-against-yen-speculators-021456261.html

It is estimated that the Japanese Government spent 10 trillion yen ($130 billion) to buy the US dollars while it spent 4 to 5 trillion yen this August.

However, four years ago, one dollar is just 120 yen though less than 80 yen today.  The 2008 US financial crisis triggered the yen's upward or the dollar's downward trend to date.

From a wider scope, the yen got stronger by 40% from 2006 to 2011.


Euro vs. Dollar

On the other hand, euro got weaker by 17% from 2006 to 2011.

The relationships between the US dollar, euro, the Japanese yen, and the Chinese yuan are a little complicated.

But, if you cannot trust euro and yuan, you have only two options: the dollar or the yen.  And, everybody has dollars while only substantial businesses handle yen mainly in their business with Asian emerging markets.  So, rarity value is attached to the yen.  According to one scenario, they buy euro with the dollar, and then they buy the yen with euro; and after some transactions and taking some time, they convert the yen to the dollar with added value, since the circulating amount of yen is smaller than that of the dollar.


Forecast

There has been a trend of Europe going down against the US since early 2000s.

It can be understood even from a religious point of view.  The US includes so many Judaists at its core of national functions.  It also allows Muslims to enjoy a wider scope of economic activities than in Europe.  So, the US dollar is potentially favored more than euro in the world.  But, Japan is different with a more religious or non-religious potential appealing to China, India, and other Asian countries that are not so strongly subject to the Three Traditional Religions.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/34443-analysts-forecast-euro-to-fall-yen-to-gain-versus-dollar

Note:
According to a forecast by a Japanese economic, the rate of the yen per dollar can be settled between 80 yen per dollar to 40 yen per dollar in the very long run.

The main factor is the huge foreign assets Japan has.  Japan's balance of current account has been in black, since Japan has many powerful exporting companies.  In addition, Japan is the largest holder of foreign assets in the world.  So, surplus in the balance is increasing, though the 3/11 Disaster has caused temporary stagnation.  But, this biased balance should receive some counteraction.  As the US has been suffering huge deficits in the current-account balance, the rate of the yen versus the dollar would be always in favor of the yen.  The yen is under pressure to be appreciated high against the US dollar.

(http://www.adpweb.com/eco/eco521.html)
*** *** *** ***


The father of Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Noda was a member of the Self-Defense Forces.

However, PM Mr. Noda got a big chance to be promoted in the society, since he entered a political school, called Matsushita Seikei Jyuku, established by the founder of  Panasonic the late Mr. Konosuke Matusshita.

Now, Prime Minister Mr. Noda is going to send troops of the Japanese  Self-Defense Forces to South Sudan.  It is however questionable, if it is purely for a peace mission.

PM Mr. Noda is trying hard to increase a tax rate, join the PTT economic treaty, change a pension scheme, and send troops to South Sudan.  They are all what some American elite will welcome.  Of course it is better for Japan to have a prime minister so friendly to the U.S. rather than one who dislikes America.  However, the friendship with the US must be based on understanding of Japan more than American's understanding of Japan.  PM Mr. Noda should learn Japan more.  And, one of his predecessors Mr. Yukio Hatoyama failed as he could not understand Okinawa well, while Okinawa has so many US military bases.  Indeed, the Okinawa issue concerning US military bases  might be other big risky factor for the Noda Administration.




Luk 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

"the Jews took up stones" - Patrician of the Romans

(Who ever could paint this kind of sky and clouds?...Around Tokyo; click to enlarge.)

Patrician of the Romans

Newton focused on  the year 800 when he calculated the year of the Second Advent, finally obtaining 2060 (= 800 + 1260).

But as I have repeatedly discussed, the year 750 must be taken for this calculation.  One of the reasons is "Pepin the Short," the first King of the Franks (752–68).

Anointed a first time in 752 in Soissons by the archbishop of Mainz, Pepin added to his power after Pope Stephen II traveled all the way to Paris to anoint him a second time in a lavish ceremony at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, bestowing upon him the additional title of patricius Romanorum (Patrician of the Romans) and is the first recorded crowning of a civil ruler by a Pope... 

Pepin's first major act as king was to go to war against the Lombard king Aistulf, who had expanded into the ducatus Romanus. Victorious, he forced the Lombard king to return property seized from the Church. He confirmed the Papacy in possession of Ravenna and the Pentapolis, the so-called Donation of Pepin, whereby the Papal States were established and the temporal reign of the Papacy began.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_the_Short

So, it was around 750 that the Vatican started to leave legacies they had inherited from the era of the Early Christians to be powerful authority presiding over kings in Europe while maintaining its own territory.

Now, let's review how Newton calculated the year of the Second Advent.

How did Newton arrive at the date 2060?
This did not involve the use of anything as complicated as calculus, which he invented, but rather simple arithmetic that could be performed by a child. Beginning in the 1670s and continuing to the end of his life in 1727, Newton considered several commencement dates for the formal institution of the apostate, imperial Church. Earlier commencement dates include 607 and 609 A.D. As Newton grew older, he pushed the time of the end further and further into the future. In Yahuda MS 7 Newton twice gives 800 A.D. for the beginning of "the Pope's supremacy". The year 800 is a significant one in history, as it is the year Charlemagne was crowned emperor of Rome in the west by Pope Leo III at St. Peter's in Rome. Since Newton believed that the 1260 years corresponded to the duration of the corruption of the Church, he added 1260 to 800 A.D. and arrived at the date 2060 for the "fall of Babylon" or cessation of the apostate Church. It seems that Newton believed the fall could perhaps begin somewhat before the end of the 1260-year period and continue for a short time afterward. Whatever the precise chronology, Newton believed that sometime shortly after the fall of the corrupt (Trinitarian, Catholic) Church, Christ would return and set up a 1000-year Kingdom of God on earth. On page 144 of his Observations (1733), Newton cited Daniel 7:26-27 as evidence of this:
Newton espoused a premillenarian eschatology and thus held that Christ would return to earth to establish the Millennium. 

But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 

Newton espoused a premillenarian eschatology and thus held that Christ would return to earth to establish the Millennium.

http://www.isaac-newton.org/update.html

Yet, from a global point of view, it is not 800 but 750 that should be the starting year of Newton's calculation.

Although the city (Pella in Palestine where early Christians fled) was still inhabited as late as the tenth Century CE, it was the deadly earthquake of CE 747 that ended its long history as a city of major influence in the region. 

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_21.html 

 720 - The second oldest exisiting imperial chronicle and myth of Japan called Nihon Shoki (Record of Japan) was compiled following an imperial order. This book has become one of major documentary resources for shintoism. 

752 - The world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha, called "Daibutsu" in Japanese, was built in Heijyo-kyo (Nara City), following an imperial order.  

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/having-eyes-see-ye-not.html

"(Islamic) Golden Age" (750–1258)
Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished in the "Islamic Golden Age", with its capital at the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad. 

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/have-ye-your-heart-yet-hardened.html

The Battle of Talas (or Battle of Artlakh in 751 AD between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty, resulting in transfer of paper production technology from China to Europe.    

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/greater-than-all.html

So, the Second Advent of Christ Jesus already started around 2010 (= 1260 + 750).

The 3/11 Great Tsunami, Northeast Japan, March 11, 2011, http://geocities.yahoo.co.jp/gl/mgfchurch/view/20110402

The Great Haiti Earthquake on January 12, 2010, http://www.securetoday.net/tag/haiti-earthquake/


In summary,
0 to 750: Early Christianity Failed

750 to 1500: The Vatican Failed

1500 to 1750: European Protestant Failed

1750 to 2000: American Christianity Failed

2010: Start of the Second Coming of the Son of God

(to be continued...)


*** *** *** ***

They say now seven billion people live on the earth.

It means that seven billion deaths will be inevitable on the earth.  Then what meaning does the end of the world have on each individual?  In this context, Christ Jesus said, "In God I live; In me God lives."  In other word, history is projected in life of each individual.  The end of the world is projected in life of each individual.  And, as money and power are useless against the end of times, it is highly recommended that each man to follow God, the God, and Christ Jesus.




Joh 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
Joh 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Joh 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
Joh 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
Joh 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Joh 10:39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,


   

"greater than all" - 2010 but not 2060

Sagami Bay, near Tokyo or Mt. Fuji...there

2010 but not 2060

With Hiroshima and Nagasaki, WWII ended. With Chernobyl, the Cold War ended. Then, is what going to be ended with Fukushima Daiichi?


https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/e/end_is_near.asp

Second Coming of Christ Already Started in 2010

Newton calculated that the Second Coming of Lord Jesus should be later than 2060.

Newton thought that the Advent would occur 1260 years after the time when the Vatican revived the Roman Empire. He judged that the time was 800, so that he obtained the year 2060. 

800 + 1260 = 2060 

But, is the time really 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome? It is controversial. 

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/have-ye-your-heart-yet-hardened.html

In my calculation the Second Coming of Christ Jesus should be around 2010, since 750 must be used in lieu of 800: 750 + 1260 = 2010.

Anyway, it looks like that something bad will happen when the end of times is approaching. For some, WWI was the sign. For others, WWII was the sign. And, for the rest, 2001 and 2008 must be. But, for believers it must be 2010 rather than Newton's 2060.

So, the year 750 must be the starting point for Newton's calculation of adding 1260 to obtain the year of the Second Advent. Accordingly, we can get 2010 as 750 + 1260 = 2010...

Although the city (Pella in Palestine where early Christians fled) was still inhabited as late as the tenth Century CE, it was the deadly earthquake of CE 747 that ended its long history as a city of major influence in the region. 

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_21.html 

 720 - The second oldest exisiting imperial chronicle and myth of Japan called Nihon Shoki (Record of Japan) was compiled following an imperial order. This book has become one of major documentary resources for shintoism. 

752 - The world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha, called "Daibutsu" in Japanese, was built in Heijyo-kyo (Nara City), following an imperial order.  

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/having-eyes-see-ye-not.html

"(Islamic) Golden Age" (750–1258)
Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished in the "Islamic Golden Age", with its capital at the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad. 

http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/08/have-ye-your-heart-yet-hardened.html

As for the base number 1260, how Newton discovered it might be a little interesting:

"So then the time times & half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years & an half, recconing twelve months to a yeare & 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year. And the days of short lived Beasts being put for the years of lived [sic for “long lived”] kingdoms, the period of 1260 days, if dated from the complete conquest of the three kings A.C. 800, will end A.C. 2060. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fancifull men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, & by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. Christ comes as a thief in the night, & it is not for us to know the times & seasons wch God hath put into his own breast."

Clearly Newton's mathematical prediction of the end of the world is one derived from his interpretation of not only scripture, but also one based upon his theological viewpoint regarding specific chronological dates and events as he saw them.
Newton may not have been referring to the post 2060 event as a destructive act resulting in the annihilation of the globe and its inhabitants, but rather one in which he believed the world, as he saw it, was to be replaced with a new one based upon a transition to an era of divinely inspired peace. In Christian and Islamic theology this concept is often referred to as The Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of The Kingdom of God on Earth. In a separate manuscript,[19] Isaac Newton paraphrases Revelation 21 and 22 and relates the post 2060 events by writing... 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton%27s_occult_studies#2060 

But as I pointed, not 800 but 750 should be adopted for the holy calculation of 1260 + N.

It is so, since around 750 (i) the last remnant of the early Christians in Pella disappeared though they had fled there from Jerusalem during the war against Romans , (ii) the Japanese imperial court consolidated its religious authority by building the world largest bronze statute of the Buddha and compiled the imperial history book, and (iii) the Islamic Golden Age began.

Furthermore, around 750 is important in the relationship between China and the Islamic world.

The Battle of Talas (or Battle of Artlakh in 751 AD was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty (together with variously involved Central Asian peoples and nations, associated with the geographical territory involved, in this consideration) for control of the Syr Darya. On July 751, The Abbasids started a massive attack against the Chinese on the banks of the Talas river; The Arab army (200,000 Muslim troops according to Chinese estimates though these numbers are almost certainly exaggerated) met the combined army of 10,000 Tang Chinese and 20,000 Karluks mercenary (Arab records put the Chinese forces at 100,000 also an exaggeration). Out of 10,000 Tang troops, only 2000 managed to return from Talas to their territory in Central Asia.... 

The Battle of Talas was key event in the history of paper - the technological transmission of the paper-making process. After the battle of Talas, knowledgeable Chinese prisoners of war were ordered to produce paper in Samarkand, or so the story goes.^[15] In fact, high quality paper had been known – and made – in Central Asia for centuries; a letter on paper survives from the fourth century to a merchant in Samarkand. But the Islamic conquest of Central Asia in the late seventh and early eighth centuries opened up this knowledge for the first time to what became the Muslim world, and so by the year 794 AD, paper manufacturing could be found in Baghdad, modern-day Iraq. The technology of paper making was thus transmitted to and revolutionised the Islamic world, and later the European West. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas

Through paper, the years around 750 have significance even in the European history.

It is also important that 750 is half of 1500.  Around 1500, Columbus discovered the New World America while Judaists were driven out of Spain to settle in Galilee and other cities in the east of the Mediterranean.  The Vatican also started to be challenged by Luther and so on.  In the context of the history of successors of the Western Roman Empire, the year 1500 was very important.  And, 750 is just a half of 1500.

And around 1750, the British Empire started to emerge with its English East India Company establishing hegemony all over India and with some practical inventions such as steam locomotives.  Indeed, it was the start point of an era leading to WWI and WWII.

In summary,
0 to 750: Early Christianity Failed


750 to 1500: The Vatican Failed


1500 to 1750: European Protestant Failed


1750 to 2000: American Christianity Failed


2010: Start of the Second Coming of the Son of God


(to be continued...)

*** *** *** ***

There once lived one notable author in Japan who was born in 1896 when the 1896 Meiji-Sanriku earthquake and tsunami occurred and died in 1933 when the 1933 Showa-Sanriku earthquake and tsunami occurred.
Till the M9.0 great earthquake and tsunami occurred this March, the said two earthquakes/tsunamis were the most devastating ones in the Sanriku region, north east part of Honshu Island of Japan.

The author Kenji Miyazawa is still the most loved author in Japan, since he wrote some humane fantasies and left impressive phrases in the history of the Japanese literature.

Kenji Miyazawa: "A man is happy when he is doing a truly good thing."



(Access to this blog is today mostly from the U.S., Russia, India, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, the UK, etc.)


Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

"I give unto them eternal life" - Samurai World

Kamakura, near Tokyo

(Click to enlarge.)

Samurai World 

The first samurai regime in Japan was established in 1192 and the last samurai regime ended in 1867.

Though there are some arguments about the starting year of the samurai era, roughly speaking the samurai governed Japan for almost 700 years.

However, they did not challenge authority the Emperor had in Kyoto.  Emperors of Japan secured their status as the supreme religious, traditional, and public existence in Japan to date for 2000 years through the samurai era.  Put simply, the imperial court of Japan in the samurai era was like the Vatican of today.  High ranking samurais had their titles in the imperial court, though they never attended imperial meetings in the imperial court in Kyoto.

The first samurai regime was established in Kamakura, some 50 kilometers south west of Tokyo, facing Sagami Bay and Mt. Fuji over the bay in 1192.  It was not the imperial court but the samurai regimes that collected tax and kept troops during the samurai era.  So, the head of the samurai regime, called Shogun, had every power to govern Japan except rights to perform the imperial shinto rituals and endow subjects with imperial titles.

Samurais are essentially politicians, bureaucrats, scholars, engineers, and experts in various fields except farming, manufacturing and private commerce as well as religion, namely Buddhism. So, to be a samurai, you have to read and write and also master some military art.  Most of samurais learnt Confucianism and Buddhism as their intellectual basement.  Some samurai scholars in the 18th and the 19th century even studied advanced mathematics.  Yet, samurais were expected to fight and die at any time so ordered, requested, or compelled.  But, you can have reasonably a rich life if you become a samurai, since every samurai had in theory his lord who provided his subjects with enough rice which each samurai could sell for money.  A samurai lord had his own territory, though he was also subject to Shogun based in a samurai capital, such as Kamaukra and Edo (Tokyo).

Though even a son of a farmer had a chance to be a samurai, usually to be a samurai one had to be born in a samurai clan.  But what is the origin of samurais?

They could be traced back to some emperors.  Or some sons of some emperors left the imperial court to be members of the noble class.  And, some of them developed military power to govern and protect their territory.  Accordingly, higher ranking samurais had imperial titles to prove that they were also members of the noble class under the emperor.  In this context samurais formed one social class above farmers, craftsmen, and merchants as the governing class, though farmers accounted for 90% of the Japanese population in the samurai era.

And these samurais governed Japan till 1868.  But, eve after 1868 to 1945, descendants of samurais occupied upper positions of the Imperial Government and the Imperial Military which were however Westernized and modernized.

Yet, with the end of WWII, those samurai spirit had gone.

It was as if two atomic (nuclear) bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki blew it off.

Now, I just wonder what the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident blew off.

The First Samurai Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo (1147 - 1199)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_no_Yoritomo

The Last Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837 - 1913)
http://www.rekishikan.museum.ibk.ed.jp/06_jiten/tokugawa/top.htm

(To make sure, samurai is usually called "bushi" in a little more formal form.  And, traditionally there were no such a social class in China and Korea  as can be comparable to the Japanese samurai/bushi class.  This is one of the reasons why Japanese have never been afraid of Koreans and Chinese.

And, of course, the Japanese global success since the late 19th century is ascribed to this tradition of the samurai/bushi culture and spirit, good or bad, which China, Korea, and any other Asian nations do not have...)

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Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

" that preach ye upon the housetops" - Yen vs. Dollar

 Around Tokyo Imperial Palace Plaza Park

Yen vs. Dollar

One of the most discussed issues in Japan is the strong yen  against the US dollar.

It was 100 yen vs 1 dollar around 2008, but now it is 77 yen vs $1.

A Japanese product that sold at $7,700 in the US market in 2008 is now priced at $10,000, if any, in the U.S., in theory.

But, the American dollar is getting stronger against euro and other currencies of emerging economies, such as South Korea, India, Brazil, and South Africa.  It gets weaker only to the Japanese yen.  But why?

http://www.gotjapan.com/traveling/exchange_rates.php

One factor is the 2008 Lehman Shock.  Japanese banks and other financial institutions suffered relatively minor damage, but American and Europeans banks were hit so hard.  The present Greek crisis is one of the direct aftermath of the 2008 Wall Street debacle.

Even in half-year results of this fiscal year, the three major banking groups of Japan, Mitsui Sumitomo, Mistubishi UFJ, and Mizuho groups, recorded $17 billion profits in total.  The Japanese financial sector is in a comparatively sound state to a surprise of world citizens.

But, in the U.S., though $1 trillion infusion by FRB into Wall Street has well supported American banks, the number of those fired from Wall Street since 2008 is expected to reach 32,000 soon.  Besides, various regulations newly introduced after 2008 have come to suppress profitability of Wall Street businesses.  The climate in the US financial sector is not bright.

This is one of major reasons why the yen is appreciated high against the US dollar.

Another factor is the difference between US Treasury yields and Japanese Government Bond yields.

Beyond interest rate expectations, it will be important to watch relative moves between US Treasury yields and Japanese Government Bond yields. The correlation between yield spreads and the USDJPY itself remains quite strong, and it may be especially important to watch Treasury yields as they approach significant support. The 10-year yield currently sits at 3.15 percent—matching 6-month lows set in March. There is little in the way of further support beyond 3.15 until 2.75 percent, and a 40 basis point drop in yields would likely lead to important USD weakness versus the Japanese Yen.http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-Dollar-Japanese-Yen-fxcm-3490155007.html?x=0

(to be continued...)

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It looked so foolish and crazy that Americans faced the subprime mortgage crisis.  Till September 2008, the unemployment rate in America was around 4.5%; after it almost 10% and still 9%.

But, it is also so foolish and crazy that Japan has faced the unbelievable Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.  Even residents in some part of Tokyo, with dosage measurement tools in their hands, are checking a radioactivity level around school and public parks where their children spend much time.

However, it looks so foolish and crazy that Europeans have faced the Greek Crisis in this year, asking financial aid of China governed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Apparently, mankind has gone out of an allowable range of the God in terms of freedom and economic activities.  So, it is very likely that the history of mankind might enter another Middle Ages the first of which started with the fall of the Western Roman  Empire.




Mat 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Fear them not therefore" - Japanese Cars and Fukushima No.1 View

Tokyo Subway...

 Japanese Cars and Fukushima No.1 View

Japanese Cars Respected in America

Japanese automakers occupied top positions in the US market in terms of reliability.

Consumer Reports lists 10 most and 10 least reliable cars
October 25, 2011 | 2:00 pm

Consumer Reports is out with its annual reliability rankings. Here is the list of the 10 best 2011 model year autos for predicted reliability followed by the 10 least reliable vehicles.
1. Lexus CT 200h
2. Honda CR-Z
3. Infiniti QX56
4. Scion xD
5. Toyota Highlander (4-cyl.)
6. Lexus ES
7. Nissan Titan
8. Honda Fit
9. Toyota Prius
10. Toyota RAV4 (4-cyl.)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/10/consumer-reports-list-of-most-and-least-reliable-cars.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=71041

This is one of the results of  "Japan's lost decade" many American and European economists and journalists laughed at so foolishly.

So, my advise to American citizens and Asian businessmen is listen to Japanese but not to American and European economists and journalists.  It is so, since even American Nobel Prize laureates in economics failed in discussing Japanese economy.  As they cannot read and write Japanese, they simply read translated minor articles and papers about Japanese economy.  They do not know anything about Japan while discussing Japanese economy.  What is worse, they simply believe faked data and false statistics the Chinese Government has presented for so long. So, friends, do not trust and respect cohorts of Wall Street criminals, namely American and European economists and journalists.



Aerial View around Fukushima Daiichi Plant


It might be a big surprise for you to see that so many houses and commercial buildings are around the Fukuhsima Daiichi (No.1) Nuclear Power Plant of TEPCO.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%E7%A6%8F%E5%B3%B6%E7%9C%8C%E5%9C%B0%E5%9B%B3&hl=ja&num=100&ie=UTF8&gl=jp&hq=&hnear=%E7%A6%8F%E5%B3%B6%E7%9C%8C&t=k&z=9

People were living around the nuclear power plant so peacefully, enjoying the nature and rich culture.

If only the Tokyo Electric Power Company had been prepared for a 15-meter high tsunami, they should have been all allowed to live as they were.

The grave point is that just several days before March 11 when the M9.0 earthquake and the 15-meter tsunami occurred a governmental committee discussed or handled an academic report that a 10 to 15-meter high tsunami was generated in every 1000 years in the North Pacific Ocean off North East Honsyu Island where Fukushima Daiichi is situated.  And the last time such a great tsunami occurred was in 869.  So, it had already passed 1000 years plus 140 years.  A 15-meter high tsunami could occur at any time off the Fukushima Daiichi (No.1) nuclear plant.

So, the last chance was lost by the Japanese Government and TEPCO due to their arrogance, foolishness, and errors.

But how can damage caused by such a tsunami be prevented?  Just high walls.  Other nuclear power plants on the North Pacific Ocean, like Fukushima Daiichi, were all safe against the great tsunami on March 11, 2011, since they have tall walls enough to prevent damage by the tsunami. The Fukushima Daini (No.2) Nuclear Power Plant and the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant were saved with their elevated positions or high-raised walls.  If they had been hit the same way as the Fukushima Daiichi (No.1) Plant, there would have been no help for Japan.

So, it is not a matter of nuclear technology but of 10 to 15 meter high walls that surround a nuclear power plant facing the ocean.  


*** *** *** ***

In Africa, one woman is expected to have five children.

So, it is no wonder that the world population has reached  seven billion.  But, the issue is of course the gap between the poor and the rich.  And, without poor people, being rich is impossible in any country or on the earth.

In this context, it is East Asia that has greatly reduced this gap.  Decades ago, the gap between Japan and other East Asian countries was very wide.  But, as Japan has helped Taiwan, China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and son, they are now enjoying good economy.

Europe did not make Africa and the Middle East succeed, though India is getting better.  The U.S. did not make Mexico and Latin America succeed though Brazil is getting better.

From a historical and religious point of view, it is the victory of Japan and the Japanese Buddhism but not Europeans and European Americans and their Christianity.

You had better read EEE Reporter than Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, since the issue is of history and religion.



Mat 10:26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

"a camel to go through the eye of a needle" - Turkish Airlines Saved Japanese in 1985

 Tokyo Subway...

Turkish Airlines Saved Japanese in 1985

On March 17, in 1985, the Iran-Iraq War entered a new phase of exchanging missiles.

President Saddam Hussein of Iraq declared that any airplanes that flied over Iran 40 hours after the moment would be shot down.  So, foreigners started to leave Iraq and Iran.  But, finally 250 Japanese were left in Tehran.  No Japanese airlines would send a plane to Tehran to rescue the Japanese because of a risk of being involved in the warfare.

But, here came one plane to the Tehran airport solely to rescue the Japanese.  All the 250 Japanese on board the jet plane could leave Iran in safety, since it was Turkey's Government that dispatched the heroic airplane for the sole purpose to save Japanese in Tehran.

When the chief pilot announced, "Our guest Japanese citizens, welcome to Turkey," all the Japanese feeling so secured almost cried for joy, since exchange of missiles between Iran and Iraq started just three hours after their departure from the Tehran Airport.

In 2006, when the then Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Junichiro Koizumi visited Turkey, he met with the chief pilot.  However, it was the then Japanese Ambassador to Iran and some Japanese businessman in Turkey that approached the Turkish Ambassador to Iran and the then Prime Minister of Turkey.

It is well known in Japan that Turks are very pro-Japanese.


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Mar 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

"them that trust in riches" - Kami-Kaze and Genghis Khan

Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace...

"Kami-Kaze" and Genghis Khan

Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, became emperor in China, then called the Yuan Dynasty.

Emperor Kublai tried to invade Japan twice in vain in 1274 and 1281.

In 1274, the Yuan Dynasty dispatched 900 military ships with 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers on board, including soldiers from Korea which was then occupied by Yuan.  But the Japanese samurai regime mobilized 100,000 samurais and other warriors to coastal areas of Kyusyu Island, the main battle field, to defeat the Yuan troops who then tried to flee to Korea but their ships were destroyed by a great tempest.

In 1281, Emperor Kublai sent 4,400 military ships with 140,000 soldiers on board, including the Han Chinese from southern Chinese regions.  The Japanese samurai regime with its capital in Kamakura, 50km from Tokyo, decided to mobilize 250,000 samurais and other warriors and send them to Kyusyu, facing the Korean Peninsula, where they built 20-km long  earthwork along the coast line. The Yuan troops failed in battles on the ground this time, too.  And what is worse, their fleets were hit by a big typhoon for five days from August 15.  Most of 4,400 ships were destroyed and wrecked.  The rest of them fled back to the Chinese Continent and the Korean Peninsula over the East China Sea.  This typhoon was later called "Kami-Kaze" meaning the God Wind.


In October 2011, one of the ships Emperor Kublai used for failed invasion of Japan was discovered on the sea bed around some island annexed to Kyusyu Island.   The ship looks like being 20-meters long, though the keel and the ship's side are major parts discovered.

As the typhoon was so strong, not so many remnants of Yuan ships, weapons, and other equipment have been discovered around the old battle coast lines of Kyusyu in these 700 years.  Such sudden and complete disappearance (mainly of people) is called Kami-Kakushi (God Hiding) in Japanese.

http://f48.aaa.livedoor.jp/~adsawada/siryou/genko/genko.htm

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/atcmdk/54045603.html

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Mar 10:24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

"for he had great possessions" - Future Factors

Tokyo Governmental District...

Future Factors

What is the powerful resource for the future that lies mostly in Japan and Central America?

Oil Shales

http://peakoil.com/production/canada-helps-create-an-oil-sands-world/

Shale Gas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shale_gas


Gold

http://www.financial-j.net/blog/2010/09/001386.html


Uranium

http://21432839.at.webry.info/201106/article_21.html


Corns

http://begin.hsfutures.com/study/brand/post_51.html

Wheat Importers & Exporters

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7348807.stm


Methane Hydrate

Methane clathrate, also called methane hydrate, hydromethane, methane ice, "fire ice" and natural gas hydrate, is a solid clathrate compound (more specifically, a clathrate hydrate) in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming a solid similar toice.^[1] Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the Solar System where temperatures are low and water ice is common, significant deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of Earth.^[2] The worldwide amounts of methane bound in gas hydrates is conservatively estimated to total twice the amount of carbon to be found in all known fossil fuels on Earth... 

The sedimentary methane hydrate reservoir probably contains 2–10 times the currently known reserves of conventional natural gas. This represents a potentially important future source of hydrocarbon fuel. However, in the majority of sites deposits are likely to be too dispersed for economic extraction... 

A research and development project in Japan is aiming for commercial-scale extraction by 2016. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate#Commercial_use

Yes, it is methane hydrate!

So, more specifically,

The amount of methane hydrate existent around the Japanese Archipelago is estimated to cover 100-year consumption of natural gas in Japan. However, there is a concern that taking methane hydrate from the sea bed in a large scale might cause a big earthquake and big tsunamis.



*** *** *** ***

We may be very lucky to have witnessed the fall of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Mr. Mubarak and Gadaffi.

But, many people died in Iraq and Afghanistan, around Egypt, and within Libya.  Indeed, it is estimated that 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war.

In Japan, the number of (accidental or natural-cause) death of workers engaged in restoration of the Fukushima Daiichi plant is so far three since the occurrence of the M9.0 Great Earthquake/Tsunamis  on March 11, 2011.  No radioactive deaths have been reported.

So, a civil war is worse than a nuclear power plant accident.



Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mar 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!