＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. 14.4 billion yen of taxpayers’ money was invested in the “Imperial Succession Ceremony
In late December 2018, 14.4 billion yen was appropriated as expenses related to the “Succession to the Throne Ceremony” in the draft budget for FY 2019. This is 30% more expensive than the cost when His Majesty the Emperor（「今上（きんじょう）天皇」） ascended to the throne in 1989.
Is it really necessary to invest such a large amount of taxpayer money in the “Succession to the Throne Ceremony”? I highly doubt it.
2. the current Emperor was supposed to be “frugal”
If anything, I feel that the current Emperor has the conviction to faithfully observe the traditional events of the Imperial Family, but I have heard that his basic policy is to be “frugal” so as not to be extravagant.
I was impressed by the way he tried to fulfill his duties as the “Heisei Emperor” by carefully considering how he, as the Emperor, should be as the “symbol of the people of Japan” in his “Memorial Journey to those who died in the Pacific War” and “Journey of Encouragement to the disaster areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake” until last year.
3. the present Emperor has clearly expressed his beliefs and intentions
As for abdicating before birth, I think that if he is too old to do everything exactly right, he should just put the Crown Prince in his place or simplify the process.
However, I think that his own belief that “as long as he is the emperor, he must do things properly himself” did not allow him to do so.
I believe this is the result of the education the Emperor received as a boy from his American tutor, Mrs. Elizabeth Vining (1902-1999), as well as the training he received from Mr. Shinzo Koizumi (1888-1966).
Mrs. Vining was a devout Quaker. Quakerism is a religion of “simplicity, honesty, equality,” and pacifism. Her last words before leaving Japan were “Think for yourself! “.
I used to think that the idea of having an American woman, Mrs. Vining, as the Crown Prince’s tutor was an instruction or order by GHQ (General Headquarters, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers), but now I found out that it was “the earnest wish from the Showa Emperor to have an American tutor for the Crown Prince.
It is my speculation, but I think that Emperor Showa’s intention was a parental desire, as he thought, “I have declared myself to be a human being and am no longer a living god, and future emperors will have exchanges with the United States and other countries, so I want my son to learn a Western way of thinking and become fluent in English.”
Shinzo Koizumi is an economist and a regular advisor to the Crown Prince’s education, who served as the educator for the current Emperor when he was still Crown Prince. He left behind some notable quotes, which I will introduce below.
“In life, you will learn more from meeting many outstanding people than from reading ten thousand books.” “Instead of reading a hundred books, meet a hundred people.” “Practice makes the impossible possible.”
When the Crown Prince turned 18, he reportedly told Shinzo Koizumi, “I don’t know much about the world, so I would like to marry a woman who knows it well and is considerate.”
As a result, he ended up marrying Michiko Shoda. The word that the current Emperor likes, which he learned from Shinzo Koizumi, is “Chujo（「忠恕」）.” “Chujo” means “being true to one’s conscience and having deep consideration for others.”
4. The Daijosai（「大嘗祭」） is a private event for the Imperial Family, and using tax money for it is constitutionally problematic
The current Emperor and the Crown Prince have no control over the cost and procedure of the “Imperial Succession Ceremony.” However, if we follow the current Emperor’s thinking (although I don’t know much about the Crown Prince’s thinking), I think that “given the current financial situation of Japan, it would be best to keep it as frugal as possible.”
Recently, Prince Akishino stated regarding the Daijosai, “The Daijosai is necessary, but since it is a private event of the Imperial Family, it should be covered by the Imperial Household Agency’s budget. I hear it will cost nine times as much as last time, but it should be a ceremony that is within our means. I suggested this to the previous and current Grand Master of the Imperial Household Agency, but they would not listen.”
Even though such reasonable opinions have been expressed from within the Imperial Family, I completely disagree with the current Grand Master of the Imperial Household Agency’s comment that “The previous Daijosai was held with the support of the majority of the people, so I believe that we should follow this tradition in the same way this time as well.”
In 1999, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi swallowed the Democratic Party’s “Financial Revitalization Plan” whole and decided on emergency measures totaling 24 trillion yen, and the fiscal deficit expanded at an alarming rate. The Prime Minister continued to hand out money with a carefree attitude, while mocking himself as “the world’s biggest debtor.”
Japan’s debt (national bonds, borrowings, and short-term government securities) has now reached the 1,000 trillion yen mark. However, since 96% of Japanese national bonds are purchased by Japanese people, Finance Minister Aso has made the analogy that “in effect, it is the same as borrowing and lending within a household. It’s different from Greece.”
So, while there may not be any immediate danger of Japan falling into the same state of bankruptcy as Greece, I do not think it is fair to say that Japan’s finances are in a healthy state.