JIN-250 -- Seniors' Choice

J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:

T H E J @ P A N I N C N E W S L E T T E R

Commentary on the Week's Business, Technology and Cultural News

Issue No. 250
Thursday, November 6, 2003
TOKYO

Subscribe for FREE:
http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=jin

CONTENTS

>> Viewpoint: Seniors' Choice

================** IRIS BAKER REPLIES FROM LONDON **==================
32-year-old Nick Baker now sits in a Japanese prison. He is charged
with smuggling drugs into Japan -- a charge he vehemently denies.
Now his mother is speaking out, collecting signatures and demanding
a fair trial.

[**THIS JUST IN: Baker's mother, Iris, responds to J@pan Inc.
Read her letter here:
http://www.japaninc.com/feedback/letter/index.html?id=0083]

Get the entire feature story in the red-hot November issue of J@pan
Inc magazine. Read it here now:
http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=1227
======================================================================

============================ IT PROGRAM ==============================
Temple University Japan presents "The Temple IT Program". Certification
in two key IT areas: Computer Programming and Software Systems
Development. Study to get a great job in IT, retrain to improve your
career in IT, assess and raise IT staff technical skills. Courses
based on leading-edge course content from iCarnegie (Carnegie Mellon
University). More info: http://www.tuj.ac.jp/itp/newsad.html
======================================================================

=================== PAN PACIFIC LEISURE PACKAGE ======================
At Pan Pacific Yokohama, you can have prepared a relaxing experience
for only 20,000 yen per night, incl. American breakfast.
For details, please check http://yokohama.panpacific.com/
=====================================================================

>> Viewpoint: Seniors' Choice

Sunday's general election will be decided by voters over 50 years old
who tend to prefer quick-fix strategies to more painful long-term reform
programs. Pension reform and consumption tax head the list of priorities
for the elderly electorate -- the generation most likely to cast their
votes in what is expected to be a low turnout.

A frantic weekend of roadside stumping and live TV showdowns thrust the
economic debate to the forefront. Pollsters and pundits agree that a
victory for Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party seems probable,
though the Democratic Party of Japan, bolstered by its recent merger with
the Liberal Party, is expected to make a large dent in the LDP's 109-seat
majority. But with just six days to go, both main parties are lacking
solid details on how their plans to solve the non-performing loan crisis,
curb unemployment and reverse deflation in the world’s second biggest
economy can be made to work.

Even Koizumi, who has made his political mark by promising sweeping
fiscal reform and an end to Japan's long slump, admitted from the back
of a campaign bus on Saturday that nothing too positive is on the immediate
horizon. "The economy will not experience a full-fledged recovery for at
least three years, although some bright signs have emerged belatedly,"
he said.

The Prime Minister's comments come as investors around the world have driven
Tokyo stocks sharply higher in recent weeks in expectation that Japan's
economy will recover soon -- but amid increasingly noisy criticism of
Koizumi's inability to put his reforms into practice.

Some economists share Koizumi's caution. Jeffrey Young, an economist at
Nikko Citigroup, notes: "At this stage it is difficult to expect a radical
shift in policy that would prompt a marked upgrading of long-term economic
growth prospects. Neither major party has placed a strong emphasis on
deregulation and the need for new business formation."

But the financial debate on the campaign trail -- specifically the debate
over the future of Japan’s postal service -- has provided a series of
unpleasant reminders of how much money is wasted by the country's state
corporations and of successive governments' failure to address the problem.

Japan Post, the recipient of many years' worth of bubble-era savings, is
the world's biggest bank and one of the world's biggest life insurers.
About 90 percent of the savings and insurance premiums are channelled
into state entities such as road-building corporations that are insolvent
or very nearly so. Election rhetoric has revealed that that channelling --
known as Japan’s "second budget" -- into politically motivated construction
projects and loss-making urban development schemes has cost nearly 36
trillion yen.

Both parties have produced Western-style manifestos, though neither
document offers much in the way of clear initiatives. There are also
plenty of areas where the two parties apparently agree. Insiders
at the Ministry of Finance, for example, have been told that government
intervention to weaken the yen against the dollar is likely to continue
regardless of Sunday's results.

The LDP, backing its promise of 2 percent nominal GDP growth in fiscal
2006, lays out its plans to halve the still-crippling bad debt problem
by the end of next year and administer a general reform of the pension
system. The DPJ outlines plans to “reconsider the use of taxpayer money
and switch to policies that will revitalize the economy and generate
new jobs."

Leaders from both parties have used numerous TV appearances to fill in the
gaps left by their vague manifestos. The sensitive issue of the consumption
tax provided the most recent opportunity. The suggestion of an increase
in the tax from 5 percent to 7 percent evokes horror among those who
believe that continued domestic consumption is the mainstay of Japan's
recovery. Others believe the tax is the only way to raise the funds
needed to solve the massive budget deficit problem.

On Sunday morning Koizumi declared on national TV that there would be no
rise in the tax under his leadership. At nearly the same time,
DPJ leader Naoto Kan indicated that it would be increased soon after
he was elected. At least voters have a choice.

-- The Editors

**FOR MORE:

"Holy Strollers: Tourism for the Silver Set" from
J@pan Inc magazine, September 2003:
http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=1184

============================= EVENT ==================================
GARTNER'S SYMPOSIUM/ITXPO 2003
Date: Nov. 19-21, 2003
Location: Le Meridien Grand Pacific (Odaiba, Tokyo)

Business today is all about reducing time, increasing speed, and
improving profits. Technology is the enabler.
Keeping up - and looking ahead - is your challenge and our strength.
Join over 2500 senior IT decision makers to hear Gartner's leading
global and Japanese analyst address technology issues that will
have the biggest impact on your enterprise over the next year.

View complete Symposium information at:
http://www.gartner.co.jp/symposium/eng/
======================================================================

============================= EVENT ==================================
ICA November 20 Event

PRESENTER: Stefan Hanna, Director of Services, Nippon Ericsson
TOPIC: Development and implementation of new business
services for mobile telephones

RSVP required, complete event details at http://www.icajapan.jp/
Date: Thursday, Nov 20
Time: 6:30 Doors open, sit down dinner included
Cost: 3,000 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)
Foreign Correspondents' Club:
http://www.fccj.or.jp/static/aboutus/map.php
======================================================================

============================ CONFERENCE ==============================
Join Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and other speakers from the very
highest levels of both government and business.

SEVENTH ROUNDTABLE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN
Industry and government in partnership towards a revitalised Japan
November 18th 2003, Tokyo

A special 10% discount is applicable for J@pan Inc readers.
Simply quote "E3D" to receive your discount. Register online at:
http://www2.economistconferences.com/doc/ap/jpgrt03/r.htm
======================================================================

=============== J@PAN INC. COST CUTTING SEMINAR ======================
November's keynote speaker is Mr. Dhananjaya "Jay" Dvivedi,
the CIO of Shinsei Bank. Jay has played a key part in helping
to turn around Shinsei and make it one of the most profitable
in Japan. As an insider, he will cover the challenges, solutions,
and some vignettes about cost-cutting and transforming a
Japanese company into an international one.

Date/time: November 21, 2003 (Friday), 14:00-16:00
Venue: Ran Room, Imperial Hotel
Charge: Free (sponsored by Ibaraki Pref. Govt.)
For more details: see http://japaninc.net/ibaraki, or contact
yukiko.hosoya@japaninc.com.
======================================================================

======================================================================
SUBSCRIBERS: 9,911 as of November 6, 2003

STAFF
Written and edited by Roland Kelts and
Leo Lewis (editors@japaninc.com)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER JAPAN-SPECIFIC NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.japaninc.com/subscribe_news.html

UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here:
http://www.japaninc.com/unsubscribe_news.html

ADVERTISING INFORMATION
To advertise in this newsletter, contact:
ads@japaninc.com

GET THE MAGAZINE
Subscribe at:
http://www.japaninc.net/mag/subs.html

FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
We welcome your viewpoint:
editors@japaninc.com
(NB Please do not reply to this newsletter -- it's outgoing only,
so we won't get it!)

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:
webmaster@japaninc.com

(C) Copyright 2003 Japan Inc Communications KK. All Rights Reserved.