storm from the east

Galileo Galilei

I like this. これ好き。

The song is called 明日へ (asu he, meaning 'to tomorrow') by Galileo Galilei.

bomi ボーミ: iYo-Yo

I can't really put my finger on why I like this, but I do.

Tax luxuries, not necessities in Japan. And those stupid bags.

The current Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda (correct at the time of writing), aims to increase consumption tax, which of course has politicians and others positively foaming at the mouth. 'How can the average man or woman in the street afford to smoke, drink and buy Louis Vuitton bags if tax is raised across the board?' they implore. And they're right. I'm also against a tax raise across the board, but I'm all for a tax raise on certain things. It's idiotic to double the tax on potatoes, carrots and children's clothes. People need to eat and kids need to wear clothes - I'm not talking about dressing little Taro in Gucci and Prada, I'm talking about normal clothes that growing kids get through faster than Japan gets through prime ministers.

'Can I go home yet?'

I'm the first to admit that I'm not really up to date with the political and economic system back in my native UK, but I believe that VAT - our equivalent of consumption tax - is not charged on basic foodstuffs and clothes for children. There is, however, a crapload of tax added on to things people could probably do without, like super-long, melt in the lung cigarettes.

So here's my first proposal to Prime Minister Noda (I hear he's an avid reader of this site): scrap tax on basic foodstuffs like fresh fruit and vegetables and treble it on things like chocolate, cakes and doughnuts. People could then eat well and you might see some tubbies shedding a few pounds.

Here's my second proposal: if you really want to encourage people to have more babies in Japan, scrap tax on baby products, children's clothing and books for kids. Completely. You can then quadruple the tax on cigarettes, booze, luxury items and those odd little man-bags you see gents of a certain age carting around. That way you would not only be helping out struggling parents, but also contributing to reducing the high incidence of cancer in the country.

If you think raising tax on cigarettes to 20% will mean tobacco companies will close and loads of people will lose their jobs, it won't. Cigarettes are ridiculously cheap in Japan - well below half the price of cigarettes in the UK - and the companies supplying the UK are still going strong.

Instead of punishing everybody by simply raising tax everywhere, do it responsibly and logically. It would be a very refreshing change.

You're welcome.

Toyota Dream Car Art Contest

There are only a few days left for entries for the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

The world contest will be judged in March and winners will get to come to Japan, so get your entries in by January 31.

Full details (in English) can be found here on the Toyota Global Dream Car Art Contest website.

Samurai, assassination, an iconic logo and the man behind Mitsubishi

When deciding to do a series on great minimalist logos from Japan - of which there are many - I couldn't leave out Yataro Iwasaki's iconic design for Mitsubishi which still looks good over 140 years after it was designed.

The thing is, there aren't many logo designers that have a samurai background, were great industrialists, were involved in political intrigue and were part of pivotal moments in their nation's history, so I thought I'd say a little bit more about the man behind Mitsubishi.

Born into a farming family in what is now Kochi prefecture (his grandfather sold the family's samurai status to pay off debts), Iwasaki moved to Edo - now Tokyo - when he was nineteen, determined to pursue an education. While there, he studied under the reformist Toyo Yoshida who influenced him with ideas about opening and developing what was at the time a closed nation.