Japan finmin calls for transparent Greek rescue plan (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi urged Europe on Tuesday to come up with a transparent scheme to resolve the Greek debt crisis, to help stabilize the world economy and keep the euro from weakening too much against the yen.

Azumi, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, said he had told European Central Bank member Christian Noyer in a meeting on Monday that Europe must swiftly implement measures agreed in July to beef up Europe's bailout fund.

Governments in Europe are passing measures to expand the 440 billion euro ($590 billion) European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout fund by allowing it to make precautionary loans, help recapitalize banks and buy government debt in the secondary market.

"I told Noyer that a sense of uncertainty cannot be dispelled unless (euro zone countries) show a process whereby they will immediately implement rescue measures agreed on July 21 through approval in parliaments of 17 member nations," Azumi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

"To stabilize the world economy and halt the yen's excessive rises against the euro, I want (Europe) to make the Greek rescue scheme easy to understand and make its process more transparent for market players."

Azumi also said Tokyo share prices are undervalued when looking at Japanese listed firms' actual strength, and renewed a pledge to tackle the yen's rises, saying they are becoming a destabilizing factor for Japanese exporters.

The yen hovered at a 10-year peak of 101 against the euro on Tuesday and held firm against the dollar as fears of a Greek debt default prompted a massive flight to safety that offset worries about yen-weakening intervention by Japan.

The Nikkei average dropped over 2 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in six months below 8,360 as trading companies fell on weaker commodity prices and the financial sector was pressured by fears that Europe's debt crisis is spreading.

Despite ever deeper cost-cutting measures, Greece admitted on Monday that it will miss its fiscal deficit target this year, sparking fresh doubts over a planned second international bailout.

Azumi also said budget requests from Japanese ministries and government offices are expected to top 98 trillion yen ($1.278 trillion), a record amount, for the fiscal year from next April, due in part to calls for funding to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Editing by Michael Watson and Chris Gallagher)

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Japan finmin calls for transparent Greek rescue plan

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi urged Europe on Tuesday to come up with a transparent scheme to resolve the Greek debt crisis, to help stabilize the world economy and keep the euro from weakening too much against the yen.

Azumi, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, said he had told European Central Bank member Christian Noyer in a meeting on Monday that Europe must swiftly implement measures agreed in July to beef up Europe's bailout fund.

Governments in Europe are passing measures to expand the 440 billion euro ($590 billion) European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout fund by allowing it to make precautionary loans, help recapitalize banks and buy government debt in the secondary market.

"I told Noyer that a sense of uncertainty cannot be dispelled unless (euro zone countries) show a process whereby they will immediately implement rescue measures agreed on July 21 through approval in parliaments of 17 member nations," Azumi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

"To stabilize the world economy and halt the yen's excessive rises against the euro, I want (Europe) to make the Greek rescue scheme easy to understand and make its process more transparent for market players."

Azumi also said Tokyo share prices are undervalued when looking at Japanese listed firms' actual strength, and renewed a pledge to tackle the yen's rises, saying they are becoming a destabilizing factor for Japanese exporters.

The yen hovered at a 10-year peak of 101 against the euro on Tuesday and held firm against the dollar as fears of a Greek debt default prompted a massive flight to safety that offset worries about yen-weakening intervention by Japan.

The Nikkei average dropped over 2 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in six months below 8,360 as trading companies fell on weaker commodity prices and the financial sector was pressured by fears that Europe's debt crisis is spreading.

Despite ever deeper cost-cutting measures, Greece admitted on Monday that it will miss its fiscal deficit target this year, sparking fresh doubts over a planned second international bailout.

Azumi also said budget requests from Japanese ministries and government offices are expected to top 98 trillion yen ($1.278 trillion), a record amount, for the fiscal year from next April, due in part to calls for funding to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Editing by Michael Watson and Chris Gallagher)

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Yoko Ono's transparent maze reflects on life's obstacles

 

Mazes appear to have attracted people since ancient times. Henry II, king of England in the 12th century, is said to have harbored his lover in a gigantic maze. A novel featuring the poisoning death of the king's lover has recently drawn attention in Japan.

A maze set up at the site of Yokohama Triennale 2011, an international exhibition of modern art under way in Yokohama, is popular with visitors. The maze, produced by Yoko Ono, is unique in that it is made of transparent walls. At the center of the maze is a telephone, which occasionally rings. If a visitor lifts the receiver, they can hear Yoko Ono speak.

The transparent maze is a metaphor for real society. Where people should go is visible in the eyes of everybody, but nobody can go ahead because they are blocked by transparent walls. In other words, nobody knows how to reach their destination. A world without nuclear weapons has been earnestly sought, but why can't it be realized? Many political forces largely share the goals of restoring quake- and tsunami-hit areas and the livelihoods of disaster victims and reforming social security systems, but progress in efforts to achieve these goals cannot be easily made.

Since ancient times, mathematicians have tried to develop a method of figuring out mazes, but it is not easy to find the shortest way to go through a maze. However, if one marks off the way they passed and avoids repeating the same mistake, they can reach their goal after walking for a distance less than twice the total extension of the maze. The key is not to repeat a mistake.

The theme of Yokohama Triennale 2011 is "How Much of the World Can We Know?" In other words, it aims to focus on matters that cannot be clarified with science or reason, and thereby rediscover values we've almost forgotten and reconsider relations between people and nature. It goes without saying that the organizer of the event takes into account what the world is like following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The extremely hot summer continues. Isn't it interesting to think about implications by Yoko Ono in the transparent maze? ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun)

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