Why can’t we do likewise?

“HELLO, THIS IS OBUCHI”

The subject of economic crisis would always come up, no matter what I talked with the Japanese about.

“See,” says Yuriko Nakagawa who accompanies me to a briefing at the Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “how many vacant taxi cabs there are. Catching a taxi was quite a problem before the crisis. But now, on the one hand, many firms have stopped paying taxi allowances to their employees. On the other hand, many of those who lost their jobs have gone to work as taxi drivers.”

However, Japan has already passed the nadir of the economic crisis that hit it a year ago. The economy is slowly rising, and many associate these positive changes with the activities of Premier Keizo Obuchi. More vivid proof of the Obuchi government’s strength is the formation of a new Cabinet based on a coalition of three parliamentary parties: Liberal Democratic, Liberal, and Komeito. This coalition has 357 out of 500 seats in the lower house and 143 out of 200 in the upper one.

The foreign media have dubbed Obuchi a provincial school principal. Perhaps this is because he does not try either to impress journalists with a set of witty sound bites or stun his interlocutor with paradoxical ideas. But it is this that seems to attract the Japanese to him: his sound judgment, confidence and reasoned persistence in solving problems.

Both officials and ordinary passersby on the streets of Tokyo said approximately the same thing: “The overheated Japanese financial market burst like an abscess. The pus came out, and the market is regaining strength.” Japan is riding out its crisis. Having experienced disappointment over the collapse of such popular Japanese myths as Japan will always get richer, land prices will always rise, and all goods Japan makes can always be sold, the Japanese have become thriftier spenders. This refers to all: the state, corporations, and individuals. Premier Obuchi’s new motto can be translated as Japan must find the golden mean between the aspiration for enrichment and morality and is supported by most people. Characteristically, everyone I spoke to told me that the premier can personally ring any Japanese from a governmental official to the coach of a school baseball team that won the Japanese championship and simply start the conversation by saying, “Hello, this is Obuchi.” And perhaps the best praise the premier received came from young Tokyo residents who thus answered to my question of whether they were interested in politics with a clear no.

INDEPENDENT TELEVISION, JAPANESE STYLE

Everybody knows in this country that modern television rests on three whales: publicity, political hype, and sex. However, the Japanese NHK Television Company, which receives not a penny from the state but concludes direct contracts with viewers (i.e., it is independent television in the true sense of the word), thrives without resting on any of these whales. 36 million Japanese households (97% of televised households) have concluded a contract with NHK and pay $10 a month to watch its programs (a monthly newspaper subscription rate is about $30).

“And if viewers stop signing contracts?” I asked Mami Yanagida, an employee in the NHK international section, who showed me around the company premises. She was very surprised and said that NHK is doing its utmost to produce high quality programs, and no such scenario has ever been considered.

“But perhaps it would be better to receive funds from the state?” I continued.

“No,” Ms. Yanagida explained to me patiently, “we do not obtain money from the state, but the government in turn has no influence over the content of our programs. This in fact guarantees our channel’s objectivity. A state-run NHK company was set up in 1923. After World War II it was transformed into an independent radio company, later to become an independent television company. The separation from the state was caused by the fact that the government used NHK to propagate its views, including incitement for war.”

NHK broadcasts on five channels in Japan (two via satellite) and on two channels for foreign viewers, mostly represented by the Japanese who live abroad.

One round the clock channel deals with news and culture, the second is educational, with programs intended for different ages — from preschoolers to adults — and great attention being paid to learning foreign languages, the third one mainly broadcasts news, including those from 12 countries relayed by other television companies. Foreign news and sports go unedited (incidentally, no ads are carried).

There are special rooms at NHK studios, separated from others by a glass partition wall, where any person can come in and watch the making of a program. It used to be free of charge. Now, in connection with modernization of the channel equipment software and transition to super-accurate signal broadcasting, one must pay about $2 for an excursion.

“Who determines the allowed limits of explicit sex in programs?”

“Managers of all the Japanese television companies come together and jointly discuss to what extent explicit erotic scenes can be shown. After they reach a consensus, each company sets its own internal rules, never exceeding what was agreed upon by the managers. NHK in fact shows no sex, but on other channels’ films with sex scenes are only shown late at night.”

I must add only that historical serials and educational programs have the highest ratings on the channel. Still, NHK employees are proud that whenever some important events take place (e.g., the recent accident at a nuclear fuel plant), 70% of Japanese television viewers watch the news on their company’s channels.

I came to the conclusion that the extent of trust in independent television depends on the extent to which this television serves society and society controls television. At least, communicating with the Japanese, I never heard the popular Ukrainian phrase: “They showed it on TV yesterday. As usual, they lied.”

(See page ECONOMY/FINANCE)