The Japanese Way - "Mottainai" spirit

Below is my comment on the article of “The Japanese Way”, TIME dated on April 28, 2008.

Is it true that Japan still have a mentality of “Mottainai” as your article praised us? Yes, actually many world-class Japanese manufacturing companies keep it as their corporate ethic for survival to satisfy egoistic Japanese consumers who want the most advanced and energy-efficient gadgets in the world by providing them with incessant innovative approaches and less resource. However, with American consumerism deep in people’s minds and behaviors, I must admit that many Japanese consumers have been spoiled by such excellent companies for a long time and as a result of it, they forget about “Mottainai” spirit.

In order to seriously win the fight against climate change, Japanese consumers must regain their own sense of humility and try hard to prevail “Mottainai” spirit not only to wasteful Americans but also to the people all over the world.

U.S.pilots and Aviation Safety

Below is my comment on the article of “International Departures”, TIME dated on April 21, 2008.

Mobilization of U.S.airline pilots from domestic carriers to overseas is one of the unexpected results from globalization. It is also similar to the Japanese star baseball players leaving Japan for the Major leagues in the U.S. seeking for much higher pay. In a global economy, money speaks everywhere and with good reason.

The trouble is that if the outflow of experienced pilots from the U.S. should be a major trend, many American passengers may have some uneasiness about the safety of domestic flights. To get rid of their anxieties, U.S. airlines as well as the aviation authorities should try hard to recover the social and mental status of domestic pilots by raising their salaries and reducing their stress and fatigue caused by overwork. Otherwise, U.S.carriers would become the least safe vehicles in the world.

A Furious Hunger

Below is my comment on the article of "A Furious Hunger", TIME dated on March 31, 2008.

After reading your article of “A Furious Hunger”, I felt that something extraordinary bad is happening and there seems little way out to solve it. Because the major causes of rocketing food prices are awfully interrelated with each other such as the climate change, population explosion, the sharp rise of oil prices, the boom of biofuels straining food supplies and so on. In addition, there seems to be a desperately growing gap between the fury by the hungry poor in some countries and the total indifference to them by the rich filled with abundant food at home. Unless the rich have the common feeling of “clear and present danger” on food with the poor and take some bold actions to fill the gap, they should know that the food shortage would soon retaliate against them. I am not the exception, living in the country of repletion, Japan.