Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009
'Amakudari' rules in state institutions
Kyodo News
Almost half of the 98 independent administrative institutions that hire retired bureaucrats are run by them, documents showed Saturday.
Chiefs at 40 of the bodies came from ministries and agencies that supervised their respective independent institutions, the documents show.
The findings back Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's goal of banning retired bureaucrats from parachuting into independent administrative agencies as new executives, a corruption-prone practice known as "amakudari," which literally means "descent from heaven."
The documents showed that the average annual income of 29 of the chiefs, who were at their posts through the fiscal year that ended in March, came to ¥18.58 million. The highest earner was the chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization, who was making ¥22.31 million.
Of the 98 institutions, 11 are supervised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with seven of them — including JETRO — headed by former METI bureaucrats.
Of the seven, six were led by former bureaucrats who got the jobs after working as executives or advisers at major private companies.
New exchange chief
Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. will promote Senior Managing Director Shozo Ota, a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat, to the post of president to succeed Jiro Saito, the former ministry bureaucrat who has been nominated to become next head of Japan Post Holdings Co., exchange officials have said.
Ota will be the fourth former Finance Ministry bureaucrat in succession to preside over the exchange since its predecessor was set up in 1989.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
China only trails U.S. in billionaires
China only trails U.S. in billionaires
October 24, 2009 2:12 p.m. EDT
Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, announces this year's "Rich List" on October 13.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Number of billionaires in China grows to 130, according to report
* Actual number of billionaires may be up to 260, according to man who compiles list
* Wealthy in China hard to track because they want to avoid government scrutiny
* Most who made list made fortunes due to real estate, similar ventures
Beijing, China (CNN) -- China ranks second only to the United States in the number of billionaires, according to an annual report of the 1,000 richest people in the country.
The Hurun Rich List counted 130 billionaires in China this year, up from 101 a year ago and none in 2003.
An additional 825,000 people had personal wealth of more than $1.5 million, said Rupert Hoogewerf, an accountant who has compiled the list since 1998.
"You can double the real number of billionaires in China to 260," said Hoogewerf in a statement. "There are still a large number of billionaires off the radar screens."
Often, wealthy people in China try to avoid the scrutiny of tax authorities by keeping their finances private.
The man who topped the list last year, for example, is under arrest for alleged financial irregularities.
The most prominent dropout from the list is injured Houston Rockets basketball player Yao Ming, whose fortune was valued at $100 million last year.
The list indicates that China's wealthy have been buffered from the global financial meltdown, which has tycoons in other countries reeling.
A separate list, released in June by Capgemeni SA and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, found that China's economy grew by 9 percent last year, even as the United States and Europe slipped into recession.
That list found that the combined riches of China's millionaires surpassed that of the United Kingdom's.
Most business owners who made the Hurun list -- both as billionaires and millionaires -- made their fortune in real estate and related industries as China has undergone dizzying urbanization.
The construction ministry estimates that the country's urban population will increase by 300 million people by 2025.
Few of those making the list relied on exports to Western economies.
But the richest man in China this year, Wang Chuanfu, jumped 102 places to the top after billionaire U.S. investor Warren Buffett agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in his company.
Buffett's announcement sent shares in Wang's company, BYD, surging 387 percent this year.
The company initially made its name with rechargeable cell phone batteries, but this year launched mass production of a plug-in hybrid electric car.
Other highlights from the list:
• Less than 1 percent on the list inherited their wealth, compared with 25 percent in the United Kingdom and 35 percent in the United States.
• The typical rich list member is a 50-year-old self-made man who started out 16 years ago and has made his money from property development.
• 102 women were among China's 1,000 richest. Chinese women make up more than half the world's richest self-made women.
• The top three hobbies of wealthy Chinese are travel, swimming and golf. The United States, Australia and France are their preferred destinations.
Though the list mentions China as second to the United States in the number of billionaires, it did not specify how many the latter produced.
A Forbes magazine tally of the world's richest people, released in March, counted 359 billionaires in America.
October 24, 2009 2:12 p.m. EDT
Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, announces this year's "Rich List" on October 13.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Number of billionaires in China grows to 130, according to report
* Actual number of billionaires may be up to 260, according to man who compiles list
* Wealthy in China hard to track because they want to avoid government scrutiny
* Most who made list made fortunes due to real estate, similar ventures
Beijing, China (CNN) -- China ranks second only to the United States in the number of billionaires, according to an annual report of the 1,000 richest people in the country.
The Hurun Rich List counted 130 billionaires in China this year, up from 101 a year ago and none in 2003.
An additional 825,000 people had personal wealth of more than $1.5 million, said Rupert Hoogewerf, an accountant who has compiled the list since 1998.
"You can double the real number of billionaires in China to 260," said Hoogewerf in a statement. "There are still a large number of billionaires off the radar screens."
Often, wealthy people in China try to avoid the scrutiny of tax authorities by keeping their finances private.
The man who topped the list last year, for example, is under arrest for alleged financial irregularities.
The most prominent dropout from the list is injured Houston Rockets basketball player Yao Ming, whose fortune was valued at $100 million last year.
The list indicates that China's wealthy have been buffered from the global financial meltdown, which has tycoons in other countries reeling.
A separate list, released in June by Capgemeni SA and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, found that China's economy grew by 9 percent last year, even as the United States and Europe slipped into recession.
That list found that the combined riches of China's millionaires surpassed that of the United Kingdom's.
Most business owners who made the Hurun list -- both as billionaires and millionaires -- made their fortune in real estate and related industries as China has undergone dizzying urbanization.
The construction ministry estimates that the country's urban population will increase by 300 million people by 2025.
Few of those making the list relied on exports to Western economies.
But the richest man in China this year, Wang Chuanfu, jumped 102 places to the top after billionaire U.S. investor Warren Buffett agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in his company.
Buffett's announcement sent shares in Wang's company, BYD, surging 387 percent this year.
The company initially made its name with rechargeable cell phone batteries, but this year launched mass production of a plug-in hybrid electric car.
Other highlights from the list:
• Less than 1 percent on the list inherited their wealth, compared with 25 percent in the United Kingdom and 35 percent in the United States.
• The typical rich list member is a 50-year-old self-made man who started out 16 years ago and has made his money from property development.
• 102 women were among China's 1,000 richest. Chinese women make up more than half the world's richest self-made women.
• The top three hobbies of wealthy Chinese are travel, swimming and golf. The United States, Australia and France are their preferred destinations.
Though the list mentions China as second to the United States in the number of billionaires, it did not specify how many the latter produced.
A Forbes magazine tally of the world's richest people, released in March, counted 359 billionaires in America.
Japan PM says will not rush U.S. base decision
Japan PM says will not rush U.S. base decision
Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:49pm EDT
Chances growing Japan may sign off on U.S. base-media
7:23am EDT By Yoko Nishikawa
HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister sidestepped questions on Saturday about reports he was about to agree to keep a U.S. military base on Okinawa island, a move that would settle a dispute with Washington but upset locals.
Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Saturday it was increasingly likely he would agree to the plan, and Sankei newspaper has said he would tell U.S. President Barack Obama, when he visits next month, that the matter would be settled by year-end.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama denied the Obama visit was a deadline for solving the spat which is highly sensitive both for relations with Washington and for internal political reasons.
"As I said before, it is not something we need to rush because President Obama will come to visit," Hatoyama told reporters in the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin, where he was attending an Asian summit.
A broad plan to reorganize U.S. forces in Japan was agreed in 2006 with Japan's long-dominant conservative party after a 1996 deal failed to gain support of local people.
Many residents on the island of Okinawa, home to about half the 47,000 U.S. military forces in Japan, complain about crime, noise and pollution associated with the bases and say they have borne an unfair share of the burden for the security alliance.
Central to the reorganization deal is a plan to move the functions of the Marines' Futenma air base from a crowded urban area of Okinawa to a more remote part of the island, and shift 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Hatoyama, who took office in September, said during the election campaign he wanted the base moved off the island, which lies 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from the mainland -- something U.S. officials said would undermine broader security agreements.
Foreign Minister Katsyua Okada said on Friday it was unrealistic to shift the functions of Futenma off Okinawa.
But Hatoyama said that was merely Okada's view. "I am the one to make a final decision," he said.
Asked whether moving the base off Okinawa was still an option, Hatoyama said: "Saying it is difficult is not the same as saying it is out of the picture."
"The agreement between the United States and Japan is important. But what we advocated during the election is also important," he added. "And we should respect the feeling of people in Okinawa the most."
FIRST BIG TEST
The long-planned reorganization of the U.S. military presence in Japan is the first big test of ties between Washington and a new Japanese government that wants more equal relations with its closest security ally.
How Hatoyama copes with the dispute could also affect voter support for his month-old government, now riding high at about 70 percent in most polls, especially if he looks indecisive.
"When we make a final decision, we need to convince people of Okinawa and the Japanese public of our decision and need to gain their understanding," Hatoyama said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week made a blunt call for the planned realignment to be implemented and for Tokyo to decide on the issue before Obama's visit.
The diplomatic dispute highlights questions about the overall future of U.S.-Japan alliance, which turns 50 next year, as both face the challenge of China's rising clout.
Hatoyama stressed relations with Washington remained key.
"I have mentioned (the U.S.-Japan alliance) because it is important to send a message that both the United States and East Asia are important," he said.
"It is true that I am trying not to be one-sided."
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Linda Sieg; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:49pm EDT
Chances growing Japan may sign off on U.S. base-media
7:23am EDT By Yoko Nishikawa
HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister sidestepped questions on Saturday about reports he was about to agree to keep a U.S. military base on Okinawa island, a move that would settle a dispute with Washington but upset locals.
Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Saturday it was increasingly likely he would agree to the plan, and Sankei newspaper has said he would tell U.S. President Barack Obama, when he visits next month, that the matter would be settled by year-end.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama denied the Obama visit was a deadline for solving the spat which is highly sensitive both for relations with Washington and for internal political reasons.
"As I said before, it is not something we need to rush because President Obama will come to visit," Hatoyama told reporters in the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin, where he was attending an Asian summit.
A broad plan to reorganize U.S. forces in Japan was agreed in 2006 with Japan's long-dominant conservative party after a 1996 deal failed to gain support of local people.
Many residents on the island of Okinawa, home to about half the 47,000 U.S. military forces in Japan, complain about crime, noise and pollution associated with the bases and say they have borne an unfair share of the burden for the security alliance.
Central to the reorganization deal is a plan to move the functions of the Marines' Futenma air base from a crowded urban area of Okinawa to a more remote part of the island, and shift 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Hatoyama, who took office in September, said during the election campaign he wanted the base moved off the island, which lies 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from the mainland -- something U.S. officials said would undermine broader security agreements.
Foreign Minister Katsyua Okada said on Friday it was unrealistic to shift the functions of Futenma off Okinawa.
But Hatoyama said that was merely Okada's view. "I am the one to make a final decision," he said.
Asked whether moving the base off Okinawa was still an option, Hatoyama said: "Saying it is difficult is not the same as saying it is out of the picture."
"The agreement between the United States and Japan is important. But what we advocated during the election is also important," he added. "And we should respect the feeling of people in Okinawa the most."
FIRST BIG TEST
The long-planned reorganization of the U.S. military presence in Japan is the first big test of ties between Washington and a new Japanese government that wants more equal relations with its closest security ally.
How Hatoyama copes with the dispute could also affect voter support for his month-old government, now riding high at about 70 percent in most polls, especially if he looks indecisive.
"When we make a final decision, we need to convince people of Okinawa and the Japanese public of our decision and need to gain their understanding," Hatoyama said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week made a blunt call for the planned realignment to be implemented and for Tokyo to decide on the issue before Obama's visit.
The diplomatic dispute highlights questions about the overall future of U.S.-Japan alliance, which turns 50 next year, as both face the challenge of China's rising clout.
Hatoyama stressed relations with Washington remained key.
"I have mentioned (the U.S.-Japan alliance) because it is important to send a message that both the United States and East Asia are important," he said.
"It is true that I am trying not to be one-sided."
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Linda Sieg; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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