In the battle against my growing westline, I sometimes walk from my home to the office. The shortest route takes 2 1/2 hours at brisk clip*3. If I hit a business district during lunch hour, my pace slows because of the lunchtime crowd jamming the sidewalks. Human waves can be pretty formidable*4.
What would it be like if a violent earthquake hit Tokyo around noon on a weekday and completely paralyzed public transportation? The Central Disaster Management Council's latest report projects a frightning scenario of how people trying to get home will likely behave. According to the report. 12.5 million workers, students and shoppers will head home on foot, with about 2 million of these people stuck for more than three hours in conditions similar to being in a fully packed, rush hours train.
By that, the council means a situation where more than six people must stand in only 1 square meter. That's harrowing enogh, and my breath quickens at the thought of my progress being slowed to snail's pace*5. And I'd be worried sick*6 about the safety of my loved ones as I picked my way around obstacles blocking my path.
I imagine some families have already chosen designated rendezvous*7 points and made arrangements on how to stay in touch with*8 one another. I should think rendezvous point of choice for many people is their home or somewhere near home-not, for instance, beside the statue of Hachiko in front of Shibuya station or some such popular spot. In any case, everyone will be shoving and jostling as they trek*9 on, gnawed*10 by the anxiety that comes from not knowing whether they still have a home to back to and if their families are safe.
Thinking about these things, I realise it's easiest if you are a complete loner and have no possessions when a deadly natural disaster strikes. Take the 17th-century haiku poet Matsuo Basho. A haiku he wrote goes: "One lightweight gourd/ My sole possession in this worldly life." Back in Basho's day, dried, hollowed-out gourds were used to store rice. The poem is testimony to Basho's extremely spartan*11 but carefree life of poverty. Had there been a big earthquake, I imagine he would have set out*12on a journy.
But it's not easy for us present-day Japanese to abandon*13 all our worldly possessions and human ties. The least we can do is to figure out a way to stay in touch with our loved ones in an emergency and makes necessary arrangements so we won't have to join the millions trekking home. We need to determine how best to confirm the safety of family members, and map out the optimum*14 route home. We could surely save ourselves and others by having the patience to wait half a day before heading home. (Herald Asahi, April 28)

Asami, a third year high school student, must have been deeply moved when she saw a text from her father on her cellphone, The teenager later recalled her experience in a collection of poems called "Hyakunin isshu." " A mail from my fathe/ Says I shouldn't worry about my (college) entrance test fees/ I struggle not to cry." She submitted*1 this poem to "Comtemporary Hyakunin Isshu by Students," a contest sponsored by Tokyo University, and won a prize. I introduced her piece in this column back in January.

The cost of education weighs*2 heavily on households with shrinking*3 budgets. There are kids like Asami fretting*4 about their parents' finances, and parents like Asami's father lovingly reassumming*5 them not to worry. But there must also be families forced to face the painful reality of having no money to apare*6for further education.

This summer, the Tokyo metropolitan government will reportedly start offering interest-free loans to junior and senior high school students from low-income households to enable them to attend/ juku cram school students is 1500,000 yen, which is about 60 percent of the average juku school tuition per year. For students in the final year of high school, the limit is 200,000 yen. Tese students will also be able to borrow money to pay for their entrance exam fees. The Tokyo government is said to be considering exempting*7 students who pass their entrance exams from repaying their loan for exam fees. This is the first student assistance program of its kind in the nation, and close to nearly 3,000 junior and senior high school teens are expected to apply..

Some people may criticise the government for effectively allowing public schools to dump*8 extracurricular education on juku operator. I fully agree that raising the academic performance of syudents at public school is the responsibility of government. But it is also a fact that many schools and colleges test their applicants*9 on more than just what they are supposed to have learned in the class room. That is whay 70 to 80 percent of junior high scjoo students in Tokyo attend cram schools to improve their grades and hone their entrance exam "skills."

Thus, youngstars from well-off*10 families have an edge over their less advantaged peers*11 in education and employment, while kids from poorer families are handlicapped at the very start of their adulthood. This is a sobering*12 reality. I would like to see how far Tokyo's new student assistance program will be able to level the playing field.

According to the Japan Student Services Organisation, the cost of living for an avarage university student was 720,000 yen in fiscal 2006. This was 210,000 yen less than in the peak year of fascal 2000. I can visualise*13 students scrimping*14 on entertainment expenses and food bills because of reduced financial support from their parents. It costs money just to apply for a school or college, and then more money is needed to pay tuition. I wonder if Asami, who struggled not to cry, has found some part-time work by now. (Herald Asahi, April 19-20)

　The boss deducts*2 a portion of a working person's wages and says, "Just because you'er young, you mustn't spend all your money on to entertainment, Let me save some on your behalf*3." It may sound like a touching gesture, but if the boss uses the money for his own pleasure, it amounts to *4 nothing more than taking a cut of the person's wages.
Premiums*5 for the new health care program for the elderly, nicknamed "longevity health care program" by the government, were deducted from the pention benefits of 8.32 million people aged 75 or older for the first time Tuesday. The system took off with much ado*6, yet it is already in a chaotic*7 state with errors in the collection of premiums and undelivered health insurence cards. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda acknowledged that a proper explanation was lacking. "I regret that we did not do it better," he said. But it is too late.
The system is aimed at preventing medical expenses from swelling by imposing*8 a low burden on a broad base, requiring elderly people, who are prone to illness, to foot*9 part of the costs in regional programs. Still, the way the system draws a line in elderly people's lives to mark their entrance to their twilight years is cold and insensitive*10. It is a far cry from*11 the idea of enjoying one's golden years after 75 and makes us wonder if it's worth living to a ripe old age.
Many low-income earners in urban areas will suffer a sudden increase in their burden. Measures to alleviate*12 the burden will eventually be lifted. Already, some local governments, including Tokyo, have shouldered part of the premiums with public funds. The idea to link expenditure and burdens regionally is getting shaky.
Unfortunately, the boss, who bears the Hinomaru flag, has a bad habit of squandering*13 public fund. Such government offices as the Social Insurence Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have spent their revenues freely. What nerve, therefore, to deduct premiums from pension benefits when the government cannot even settle the confusion over millions of unidentified pension accounts while allowing free spending of taxpayers' money. Anger is spreading across the nation where price hikes*14 are all the rage.
On the day the premiums were deducted, campaigning for a Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No2 constituency kicked off. The Liberal Democratic Party candidate is former land ministry official. The Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) candidate is former Finance Ministry bureaucrat, who once belonged to the National Tax Agency. While both are former bureaucrats, the election is a battle between candidates who in the past represented offices that "spend" or "collect" taxs. Be it roads or medicine, the election provides an ideal opportunity to discuss useful ways to spend public funds. (Herald Asahi, April 17)

*1 Keep ... check = to curb spending (阻止、抑止する）
*2 deduc
*3 on one's half
*4 account to = to be the same as sth (帰するところ－になる、ーに等しい）
*5 premium = insurence charge
*6 ado = a state of fuss; trouble （騒動）
*7 chaotic
*8 impose = to force sb/sth to accept （課する）
*9 foot = to bear the expense. e.g.-foot the bill （経費などを負担する）
*10 insensitive
*11 a far cry from = to be very different from sth （－どころではない、－から遠く離れている）
*12 alleviate = to make suffering, the problem less painful or difficult; to reduce （（苦痛など）を軽減する。緩和する。）
*13 squander = to waste money, time, opportunities, etc. （（時、金など）を浪費する。機会を逃す）
*14 hike = to increase a price, tax, etc. （（価格を）引き上げる）

In 1940, Horyuji Temple's Kondo (Golden Hall) reportedly became the first building in Japan to have flurescent lighting installed*2 on a large scale. That year, the hall's murals were being copied by a team of top Japanese artistists commissioned*3 by the government, and they demanded good lighting for the job. Fluorescent tube lights were just beginning to catch on *4 in the United States at the time, and their white glow brought "noontime outdoor light" into murky*5 interior of the seventh-century structure.
Fluorescent lights found their way into Japanese socieety during the postwar era of booming growth. Today, they account for*6 65 percent of lighting fixtures*7 in Japan. This is quite the reverse*8 rope, where nearly 70 percent of illumination is provided by incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent light bulbs cost more then incandescent bulbs, but consume only one-fifth the power and last six times longer.
Akira Amari, minister of economy, trade and industry, recently said he would seek to replace incandescent lighting with fluorescent in Japanese homes by 2012. The switch won't be obligatory, the minister stressed, but he also noted he would ask makers to lower the prices of fluorescent bulbs, develop new products and persuade retailers to sooporate. There is a similar trend toward less reliance on incandescent lighting in Europe and United States.
But illumination designer Motoko Ishii had this to say: "Only incandescent lighting can castcertain kinds of glows and shadows. Gracious living means having the luxury of choosing the right kind of illumination for specific areas (of one's home). The bulb-type fluorescent lights available today in Japan are superb*9 quality, but I would still like to have the option of using incandescent bulbs because there are some eco-friendly ones on the market."
Inexpensive*10 and efficient fluorescent lighting is ideal for offices and public facilities, and it was actually means for work-related uses in the first place. Incandescent illumination, on the other hand, provides a warm glow and its intesity can be easily adjusted to give the right atomosphere to one's living space. "It brings out a special shade of red in a glass of red wine and gives the glass a special sparkles*11 (that fluorescent lighting can't give)," said Ishii.
As I'm not exactly a model citizen when it comes to saving energy, I should watch what I say. Still, it saddens me to think I may have to give up incandescent lighting for the sake of environment. Lighting accounts for less than 20 percent of electricity consumed by an avarage home. There are other things society could "unplug*12" first - those ubiquitous*13 vending machines and overly lit shops and offices where overtime work drags*14 on, for example. (Herald Asahi, April 21)

At the Opening Ceremony of 2006 Turin Winter Olympics on Feb. 10 that year, Luciano Pavarotti delivered the arina, "Nessun Dorma" (None Shall Sleep), from Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot." "I shall win! I shall win!" sang Pavarotti, and this coloumn marveled that his voice, reverating*2 under the cold night sky, was still as incredibly powerful as at the height*3 of his career, or, as the writer said at the time, "at least from how it sounded on television."
Thirteen days later, Japanese figure skater Shizuka Arakawa skated to the same aria to win her gold medal. But it has come to light*4 that Pavarotti's performance that night was lip-synced*5. This revelation*6 must have deprived some fans of sleep for a while.
Leone Magiera, Pabarotti's long-time colleague and conductor, revealed in his recently released book that both the signing and the orchestra had been pre-recorded for the opening ceremony. I checked the performance's video tape. Pavarotti is gripping a white handkerchief in his left hand, and his signature eyebrows are working expressively, as his mouth forms a large "O."
"The king of the High C's" was diagnosed*8 with pancreatic cancer four month later, and died in September 2007 at the age of 71. Apparently, he was already in pain by the time of Turin Olympics. Because of his condition on the opening night, according to Magiera, it was decided that the taped versions of the singing and the orchestra - recorded separately a few days before - would be used.
This become Pavaratti's final big performance. While it ended aimed thouderous*9 applause and cheering, he blew kisses*10 with his right hand. I wounder if this was a gesture of relief at completing this important mission in his native country "without incident," or gratitude, apology and farewell to Muse*11.
For this opera superstar who could mesmerize*12 hundreds of thousands of people in single outdoor concert, perhaps lip-syncing was a shamful thing to do. However, I don't think this changes the fact that he "won" all the same. I wouldn't defend*13 his action openly, but he did mesmerize hundreds of millions of peopel around the world that night. "And that," I mouth*14 the words to myself, "takes superlative artistic talent." (Herald Asahi, April 12-13)

In his book "Itsumademo Debu to Omounayo" (Don't think I am fat forever), published by Shinchosha Publishing Co., critic Toshio Okada, who lost 50 kilograms in a year, flatly*2 states that the fatter you are, the more you lose. The message is: If you don't want to be judged unfairly by the way you look, you must make an effort*3 to slim down. Instead of feeling bad about how other see you, take advantage of *4 it and change yourself.
This also appears to be the philosophy behind a new physical checkup item for metabolic syndrome, which took off this month. There are many body parts that I would rather not be measured. One of them is the waist-line. For people aged 40 and older, abdominal*5 measurement has become a requirement. No matter how red I turn when someone puts a tape measure tightly around my waist, there is no way I can clear the 85-centimeter mark, a standard sign of metabolic syndrome for men.
Blood pressure over a certain level is another sign that someone may be developing metabolic syndrome and should seek professional guidance. While acknowledgeing the danger of diseases triggered*6 by visceral*7 fat, many people must be feeling down*8 at the addition of another unwelcome item to physical checkups.
The new system relies on the idea that in order to reduce our swelling medical expenses, we must reduce our swelling waistlines. It seems we can be measured with our clothes on or even measure ourselved. With such lax*9 methods, I cannot help but*10 wonder if abdominal circumference is really the determining factor for metabolic syndrome to begin with. Some people see the new system as a way to increase government-certified "half-sick" people and bolster the medical business.
To my delight, Minoru Kamata, a doctor who objects to "abdominal circumference absolutism," says "chubbiness*11" that borders on obesity is good. For a person who stands at 170 centimeters, 75 kilograms is considered "chubby," according to Kamata.
But the term metabo has such a pathetic*12 ring that it makes me think of a fat person losing his or her way in a forest of obesity. To express it, I want to put the kanji for lost, fat and bewildered, which together makes a phonetic equivalent of "metabo." On thop of that*13, we have to expose our waistline under government policy and embarrass ourselves. Whether we take advantage of the chance to slim down or not, the body has no choice but to control itself. As a first step, I think I'll st6art by trying to shed*14 a few kilograms to aim at being just chubby bit by bit. (Herald Asahi, April 15)

Some of this year's rookie comany employees must have taken some deep braced themselves*2 for their second week at work on Monday, I wonder if they are beginning to get used to*3 their new environment, or still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Even their seniors*4 at work, who may come across as wise and experienced, have had to deal with their rookiie year. A profession brings a certain dignity to everyone involved.
The job market favors jobseekers now, and this year's newcomers are said to have "glided" smoothly to gainful employment. Perhaps because of this, they are nicknamed the "curling type" after the wintry sport played on ice where competitiors use a broom to guide along a polished flat-bottomed rock. According to the Japan Productivity Centre for Socio-Economin Development, these new recruits may feel discouraged and show down or even lose their motivation to keep going if people around them stop working their brooms, so to speak.
It has been quite some time since a "type" came to be assigned to each year's graduate workforce. For instance, when I was a freshman a quarter-century ago, my contemporaries*7 were dubbed the "mahjongg tile type." This meant that we were all uniform in size and shape and therefore easy to align*8, but people couldn't tell what 'hand' we were deeling them."
We made our elders lament our lack of individuality back then, but we are now nearing that rung on the corporate ladder that puts us on the management level. And I, for one, sometimes catch myself muttering about the "younger generation," just like my seniors used to do about my generation. It's rather sobering to realize that somewhere along the road, I myself have become a runner in the "relay of complaints" that must have been perpetuated*9 since the drawn of human history.
"We should be in awe of*10 the younger generation," warned an ancient Chinese sage*11. What he meant was that since young people are filled with potential, nobody knows what heights of greatness they may achieve, so we ought to hold them in awe and respect.
There's a joke about an old Japanese man who always gushes*12about the good old days and finds fault with everything in today's society. He blurts out one day, "When I was younger, Mount Fuji wasn't anything like what it is today." The joke should be a lesson for people who belittle*14 the younger generation. Taking this as a warning, I am cheering for this year's "curling-stpe" rookies. (Herald Asahi, April 9)

There seems to be just one day when cherry blossoms attain their "perfect 10" glory. One day too soon, and they have yet to quite reach their peak; one day too late, and they are already a bit past the peak. Many cherry trees around Japan hit that peak during the first weekend of April.
In this season, when the whole nation has been dyed pale pink, an exhibition to memorialize*1 the person dubbed "the cherry man" is being held at Hakushika Keinen Shuzo Hakubutsukan, or the Sake Museum, in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
The man was Shintaro Sasabe(1887-1978), on whom the protagonist*2 of the novel "Sakuramori" (Cherry tree keeper) by Tsutomu Mizukami(1919-2004) was modeled.
Sasabe poured*3 his private funds into creating an experimental forest, where he grew hundreds of thousands of cherry trees that would be transplanted*4 all over Japan.
As the son of wealthy Osaka landowner, Sasabe earned a law degree from prestigious University of Tokyo, but had no desire to pursue an elitist career in society's fast lane.
Refufing to belong to any establishedorganisation, Sasabe lived out professional gardener whose understanding of cherry trees was without peer*5. He valued practical experience above all*6. According to one episode, Sasabe challenged a famous botanist, daring*7 him to "judge the quality of soil by just grasping a handful of it in the dark."
This "cherry man" lamented the fickleness of people who adore and fuss so much over cherry trees while they are in bloom but forget them once the blossoms are gone, even wanting to cut the trees down when they become a nuisance*8 to maintain. Pitying the trees, Sasabe once noted, "All plants are forever passive. They have no words of recrimination*9 to hurl*10 back (at uncaring humans)."
The peak of the trees' bloom would be already over in warmer regions, with some trees having Started to shed their pink petals profusely*11. A poem entitled "Sakura" (Flowering cherry) by Yukiko Kasama goes: "Cherry trees shed their petals so redily/ Because their roots must spread out very far/ To distant times that defy*12 my imagination."
Those petals, showering down on us as if from high up in the sky, may be a form of non-verbal*13 communication from the silent trees. I want to keep my soul open to savor*14 this precious moment accorded each spring, imprinting the images of those beautiful blooming cherry man" will have no reason to scold me. (Herald Asahi, April 8)

Every year, the city of Sendai holds a poetry contest for elementary school children in the Tohoku region and elsewhere. The contest is named Bansui Wakaba (young leaves) Award in honor of*1 a native son, poet Doi Bansui(1871-1952) known for writing the lyrics*2 to the song "Kojo no Tsuki" (Moon over a desolate*3 castle). A poem titled works that recieved an honorable mention*4 at the 48th contest, held last fall.
"Mother is soft all over/ Her cheeks are supple*5/ Her calves are plumplish*6/ Her thights are tubby*7/ Her arms are soft like rice cake/ Her belly is so bouncy that if a dwarf*8 used if for a trampoline/ He would fly far away/ Mother is very very soft/ When I touch her/ She is warm ans makes me feel good/ She offers to serve as my bed."
Reading the poem, I can picture kind, smiling face of the child's mother, who must be rather plump. Takumi Nashiyama, who wrote the poem, was murdered Tuesday at his home in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. He was 9. His mother, 30, who admitted to strangling*9 him with an electric cord, was arrested.
Her "soft like rice cake" arms must have hugged*10 the boy many times. But that morning, those arms turned into weapons. Apparently, the boy, who died in his pajamas, had no time to question, "Why, mam?" I am speechless when I think about the gap between what she did and the close physical affection*11 the boy described in the poem.
According to a witness, the mother and son were seen going home together from school, chating*12 happily after the academic year's closing ceremony last month. Wnat went through the mother's mind when she strungled her son? In the end*13, couldn't she recall her son's "memories of physical contact" that he wrote about with so much affection? I feel tightness in my chest thinking about what went wrong.
Takumi is not the only child to have been exposed*14 to such a harsh reality. It is so unimaginably removed from the soft touch of parents. If the last image children have before their young lives are taken away is that of the murderous look of those they love more than anyone else, nothing can be sadder. Mother, father, please do not kill your child. Offering my prayers, I find myself once again going over the poem writien in hiragana. (Herald Asahi, April 4)

Five years ago on Tuesday, The Tokyo Shimbun reported on the discovery of a major oil field in Tokyo Bay. According to "Sekai no Eipuriru Furu Joku-shu"(April Fools' Jokes from around the world, by Takuya Suzuki and published by Chuokoron-Shinsha Inc.), it was "a masterpiece" among the jokes the newspaper carried each April 1. If the story were true, Japan would likely have lots of cheap domestic gasoline on the market.
The temporary higher tax on gasoline expired at midnight Monday, and the tax on gasoline from refineries dropped by 25 yen a liter as of Tuseday. The respite*2 won't last long, however, as the government might restore the tax come May. This bizarre*3 story could easily pass as an April Fools' joke.
But if we really want to make up a good joke on the issue, we need to get even more outlandish*4 and say; "The fill low government coffers*5, the administration has decided to impose a tax of 25 yen a dish on fried food sold in restaurants. The policy is also expected to be effective in fighting obesity*6. "Politics has turned a joke into reality.
During the Edo Period (1603-1867), people filled their home lighting lamps with rapeseed oil, and both the government and the people were wary*7 of chaos*8. Some sources say that the legendary*9 Tokugawa Shogunate magistrate, Ooka Tadasuke (1677-1751), also known as Ooka Echizen, worked to stablize the oil prices and punished wholesalers who rigged*10 oil prices.
When daily necessity prices fluctuate*11 wildly, instability can quickly descend on society. This spring, prices of all kinds of goods and services are rising, and doubtless the gas price cuts are as much appreciated as rain in after a drought. But if the "rain" only lasts for a month, it will confuse customers, gas stations and local governments alike. We shouldn't be too happy.
Back in the Edo Period, hair oil salesmen would chat up*12 their female customers-hence the old saying about loafing*13 on the job: one is just "selling oil." The "lost 25 yen" is" a bill incurred*14 by politicians," as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda put it, because they have been selling in Nagatacho. Unless we strike oil out in Tokyo Bay, someone in this country is going to have to foot the bill*15. (Herald Asahi, Apr. 2)

*1 reprive = temporary relief: a cancellation or postponement (一時的救済,　猶予）
*2 respite = a short break (一時的中断）
*3 bizarre = very strange or unusual (異常な）
*4 outlandlish = extremely unusual or strange (風変わりな）
*5 coffers = the money that a government , an organisation, etc. has available to spend (財源）
*6 obesity = a fat person; overweight ([病的な」肥満）
*7 wary (of) = on one's guard; be careful (用心深い、　慎重な）
*8 chaos = a state of confusion and disorder (混乱、無秩序）
*9 legendary = very famous and mentioned in storyies from ancient times (伝説上の、有名な）
*10 rig = to cause an artificial rise and fall in prices （｛価格などを｝不正に操作する）
*11 fluctuate = to rise and fall irregularly in number or amount 変動する、上下する）
*12 chat
*13 loaf = to spend time not doing anything （無為に過ごす）
*14 incur = to become subject to sth unpleasant because of one's own actions (こうむる、招く）
*15 foot the bill = to be responsible for paying the cost of sth （支払う、責任を引き受ける）