Friday, December 28, 2007

炒飯(Fried Rice)

I like both eating and cooking 炒飯. This is originally a Chinese dish, but it is very popular dish for many Japanese and they really love it. Today, I will show you my easy recipe of 炒飯, not my recipe of solving the problems of dynamic optimization. (However, I think that cooking is very similar to solving the problems of linear programming.)

Also, I firmly believe that I can cook 炒飯 better than many other Chinese students do. Let's get started!

(1) Dice carrot, onion and sausage first.
(2) and then cut cabbage (if you don't like cabbage, please skip it!)
(3) Of course, prepare steamed rice.
(4) Beat two or three eggs (Some Chinese professionals put a spoon of water into eggs because it makes 炒飯 look well. Try it!)
like this...
(5) Bring your Chinese pan. This is a key point to cook 炒飯 well.
(6) Heat your Chinese pan (and, of course, your heart, too) before you start and then put beated eggs and rice. Then, salt and pepper it. However, I'm sorry that I don't know how much to salt and pepper it. I always measure them by eye.
(7) Put some ingredients just after frying rice with eggs.
(8) Throw Cabbage
(8) Fry it well until it begins to smell good. I forgot. Put green onion finally. It smells very well.
That's all. I usually keep some of 炒飯 in the fridge.
Shall we start!!

After the End of the Exam

I feel lonely sometimes...

Fried Udon

(1) Prepare Udon noodles(Japanese popular noodles)
(2) and then prepare cabbage
(3) and sliced sausage and onion, too
(4) Fry the sliced onion first (Don't forget to put salad oil into the pan before you cook!)
(5) Sausage, onion, salt and pepper, too
(6) Finally put udon noodles into the pan(Don't forget to put three spoons of soy sause together!)
(7) Go ahead!

To Study or Not To Study?

To study or not to study,...that is the question. (By the window)

Frozen Outside

Looking out of the window, there's the world of snow.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Congratulations on His Majesty the Emperor

Today is the birthday of our emperor in Japan, His Majesty the Emperor. This is a shabby blog, but with all due respect I would like to be allowed to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor. I hope that His Majesty will be happily spending the everyday life with us.

His Majesty referred to some problems surrounding us, for example, environmental protection, widening income gap and the pension system in Japan at the press conference on his birthday. Each of them is closely related to our social life and is all that we should solve first. Hearing His Majesty, he is really worrying our present and future life. So, I am moved by his words.

In Japan, there has been some discussions related to the presence of the Emperor system of Japan. I do not want to talk about it here, but it is a fact that many Japanese people (of course, including me) respect His Majesty. That's why the Emperor system has continued to exist up to now. (Please note that we are not forced to respect him.)

I do not feel happy about such discussions because His Majesty sincerely tries to live with us. I would like to be permitted to understand his words and action.

Taro Okamoto

The Road to the White House

I am wondering who is the next President in the United States. Certainly, I am not related to the election campaign in the next year 2008 because I am a Japanese. However, I am wondering if something important related to Japan and the Pacific area will change, depending on who is the next President. The President in the United States, as you know, has a great impact on the politics in other countries, especially, in the countries of the East Asia including Japan, South Korea and China.

By the way, Japan also has the election of the House of Representatives in the next year. So, the Prime Minister is reported to be likely to be changed again. Anyway, I cannot miss the politics of Japan, either.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Snow Comes

When I got up in the morning, snow came here. It was the first time for me to see snow falling in Wisconsin.

I went out.

The street I saw yesterday has changed into a snow scene.
It looks really cold, but then I didn't feel so cold.
Much snow accumulated on the street.
Anyway, I walked around.
Then I recalled that the Christmas day was coming.
Nobody was there.
On the bridge, it was a strong wind.

My footprints on the white snow.

That's the path I've followed.

Taro On Cooking

I'll show you my everyday cooking. My cooking is always easy because I have no time to cook. However, I do not like eating out because it is usually a little expensive. So I try to cook at home.

I like pork. So, I'll show you my favorite (and very easy) pork cooking. Sorry if you don't like pork, but I think you like it if you really like to eat.

Before that, I have to introduce my important partner in cooking, rice cooker. Typical Japanese really need it! Of course, I need it.

First, pickle some pieces of pork with sliced green onion(don't forget to put sliced green onion) in vinegar and soy sauce(Japanese also need it), and put it in the fridge for a night like this:

The next morning, simmer it.

After about 4 hours, it turns a dark red. It is finished.

After it gets cold, put it in the fridge again.
That's all. Very easy! It goes well with rice and sliced cabbage!! I love it.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Taro On Conscription

Today I am really unhappy with the approval of the governer of Miyazaki, the southern part of Japan for conscription as a way of educating young people. I respect him, but I do not respect it.

He was a famous comedian in the TV programs in Japan, and had a dream to join the government in his home country, Miyazaki. After he learned about local administration at university, he at last made his dream come true and now presides at the government of Miyazaki.

I think that he is a diligent governer and proposes new policies actively to the assembly. Now, many Japanese have paid attention to how his action will change the local administration in Japan. I also enjoy watching his action in his local administration. I see him as a new leader in a local administration in Japan.

However, I saw the article in a newspaper that reported that he agreed about conscription. It's sad! Let me explain my reason:

There may be many kinds of opinion about this matter. I do not like conscription. The reason is clear: it spoils the time of the young people. My reason for disagreement is always related to economics, and today it is also economically rational. I always think that any policymaker should judge by a rational thought, not morality. The favor of the governer of Miyazaki for conscription is rather a little too moral than rational.

The reason that the governer of Miyazaki favored conscription is that conscription is one of the best opportunities to give lax young people a good education and discipline in a modern affluent society in Japan. As you know, in many modern developed countries like Japan there have been many young people who are not working but leading an idle life all day long by working a part-time job, which has become serious as a social problem to solve. Especially in Japan, due to the past long-lasting recession, many young people still can't find good jobs. Although the Japanese economy has recovered recently, it is still not easy for many young people to find good opportunities to work for, and it seems that the impact of the past recession on the employment of young people is still left over.

One of the reasons for the existence of unemployed young people that many people have is laziness of the young people. Young people are generally grown up to be adults in a good environment, and so many of them don't have any experience of hardship in their life, which always makes people strong and patient, as some pundits say in Japan.

Certainly, there seems to be some truth in what they say, but I do not think that many young people (of course, including me!) are so lazy that they can enjoy an idle life, because it could be thought that the recent working conditions in the Japanese business society have gone worse than those around 10 years ago. It is thought to be because of the structural change of the industry in Japan. For the examples of bad working conditions in Japan, working overtime and unpaid working, especially in small (and medium-sized) businesses in Japan, are traditionally common. These problems are still unchanged at present even though these were once criticized as a serious problem of dumping in international trade between the US and Japan by the US government about 20 years ago.

I wrote about this topic in Japanese here, so I do not repeat it. However, it is natural that many young people avoid working in paying no wage. In my thought, we cannot deny that bad working condition keeps young people from working as they hope. There also seems to be something true.

If policymakers think of conscription as a way to make young people strong and patient under any hardship in their life, it is wrong! If policymakers think so, I would like them to consider another way to educate them:


In my opinion, government should give lax young people a opportunity to work for for a short period. Conscription also becomes a good opportunity for them to work in some way, but it brings no value in the economy, that is, it doesn't go a long way to many other people in the society. It only does well at the front of national crisis, but Japan now faces no crisis although North Korea points nuclear missile at Japan (North Korea is not a menace to Japan!!).

What does conscription give for us? - Nothing!

For example, it would be a good idea that government makes lax young people collect garbage and clean the street in the town. In Japan, these governmental projects have been done already, especially for elder people who have no jobs. If you went to the city in Osaka, you could see a lot of elder people collecting garbage in the street.

It became a little long essay, but finally I conclude by saying that conscription is not a way to educate young people. Consider a way to make young people go a long way for our society!!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

How To Use MATLAB For Economics

Recently I've wanted to use Matlab for studying economics. What and how should I begin to run it?

MATLAB入門

MATLABをはじめようと考えている。現代の経済分析には不可欠な知的作業である。引用はこちらから。

Thursday, November 22, 2007

貿易黒字は良いこと?

08/29/2010 一部修正

最近(11月21日から22日)の記事。貿易黒字、雇用情勢の悪化、そして、株価の低落。さて、これらの事象はお互いに関連しているか?関連しているとすると、どのように関連しているのか?とりあえず、新聞記事を読んでから、考えてみよう。

(1) 財務省が21日発表した10月の貿易統計速報(通関ベース)によると、輸出額から輸入額を差し引いた貿易黒字は前年同月比66.1%増の1兆0186億円で、3カ月連続プラスとなった。中東やロシア向けの自動車輸出が好調に推移し、黒字拡大に寄与した。 輸出額は13.9%増の7兆5155億円。輸入額も原油価格の高騰で8.6%増の6兆4969億円となり、輸出入額ともに過去最高を更新した。 地域別の黒字額をみると、対アジアは携帯電話部品の輸出が伸び、59.5%増の7473億円と10月としては過去最高。対欧州は英国、フランス向け自動車輸出がけん引し51.4%増の4759億円となった。一方、対米は低所得者向け高金利型(サブプライム)住宅ローン問題の影響で自動車や建設機械の輸出が伸び悩み、8.5%減の7173億円と2カ月連続で前年を下回った。(時事通信)

(2) 内閣府は21日、27日に公表する11月の月例経済報告で雇用情勢の判断を下方修正する方針を固めた。8、9月の完全失業率が2カ月連続で悪化したことを受けたもので、下方修正は平成16年9月以来、3年2カ月ぶり。ただ、企業の設備投資が堅調で全体の基調判断は維持する。 雇用情勢では、3カ月連続の「厳しさが残るものの着実に改善」との表現を「このところ改善の動きが弱まっている」に弱める見通し。9月の完全失業率が前月比0・2ポイント悪化し、半年ぶりに4・0%となった。原材料価格の高騰などで中小企業の業績が低迷していることが背景にあり、個別判断を見直すことにした。 一方、企業の生産が一時の低迷から脱したことで、設備投資は堅調に推移しており、設備投資については判断を上方修正する方向で調整する。個人消費は、足元の消費者マインドは弱含んではいるものの、家計支出そのものは一定水準を維持していることから判断は維持する。ただ、失業率の上昇は消費に波及する懸念も強く、先行き不透明感が増している。 (産経新聞)

(3) 21日の東京市場では、米景気の先行きに対する不透明感が広がり、為替、株価、長期金利とも大荒れの展開になった。円相場は2年5か月ぶりに1ドル=108円台を付けた。 株式市場では日経平均株価(225種)の終値が1年4か月ぶりに1万5000円を割り込み、長期金利は2年2か月ぶりの低水準を記録した。 東京外国為替市場の円相場は一時、1ドル=108円80銭と2005年6月以来の水準まで上昇した。午後5時、前日(午後5時)比、1円29銭円高・ドル安の1ドル=109円11~14銭で大方の取引を終えた。 米連邦準備制度理事会(FRB)が20日、米成長率予測を下方修正し、米国の追加利下げ観測が広がったことから、円買い・ドル売りが加速した。 (読売新聞)


日本の昨今の貿易黒字の詳しい解説についてはココ(ただし、英語)。経済の構造は

(1) (所得)+(輸入)=(消費)+(投資)+(輸出)

が均等するように成り立っていて(政府部門は捨象)、左辺は経済の供給(つまり、国内及び海外で生産された商品・サービスの量)、右辺は経済の需要(国内で生産された商品・サービスの購買量)を表している。つまり、

(2) (供給)=(需要)

がマクロ経済的に成立していると考えても良い。ここで、

(所得)-(消費)=(貯蓄)

でもあるから、最初の式に代入すると、

(3) (貯蓄)-(投資)=(輸出)-(輸入)

が恒等的に成立する。これをISバランスとか、アブソープションとか言ったりするが、なぜか、これらの用語は近年の教科書にはあまり散見されない。

さて、この最後の恒等式が、今の日本経済を説明してくれる。

*恒等式と方程式の違いだが、例を挙げるとわかりやすい。方程式は、3X+1=4。恒等式は、3X+1=3(X+1/3) つまり、方程式のなかのXにどのような数字を入れても等式は成り立たないのに対して(X=1のとき、等式が成立)、恒等式は常に等式が成立する。恒等式の「恒等」とは「常に等しい」という意味である。

さて、貿易黒字のとき、すなわち、外貨による収入(輸出)が外貨による支出(輸入)よりも多いとき、

(輸出)-(輸入)>0

が成立し、このとき同時に

(貯蓄)-(投資)> 0

が成立している。さて、この上記の式は何を意味しているのか?

(4) (貯蓄)-(投資)=(供給)-(需要)

と読み替えることで、

(供給)-(需要)>0

が得られる。貯蓄は財を購入するための原資であり、この原資から、財を購入し、それで物を作るという投資を行う。上記の式がプラスとは、物を購入し、財を生産する投資需要が、貯蓄という資金供給に見合っていない、つまり、カネが余っている状態を言っているのである。*以上の不等式は貸付資金市場の不均衡を表している。ここで、

(貯蓄)-(投資)> 0

は、国内の需要が供給に比べて低いこと、カネが余っている経済の「不況」、「不景気」をあらわしているとも読める。こう読むと、同時にもう一方では

(輸出)-(輸入)>0

となり、「不況」を意味するとも読める。もちろん、別の読み方も出来て、海外の日本製品に対する需要が顕著に高く、結果外貨が日本に流れ、輸出企業は外貨を邦貨にして日本国内で決済するので、円が買われ、「円高」になる。円高は貿易黒字を縮小させよう。

以上より、昨今の貿易黒字は、雇用が伸び悩み、株価が下がっていることから、日本国内の景気が下降気味で、結果(貯蓄)-(投資)がプラス、つまり貿易黒字が起こっているとも読める。

ただ、気をつけたいのは、上記(3)式は因果関係を表すものでない。だから、ほかのデータ・指標を用いて日本経済に何が起こっているのかを実証的に検証しなくてはならない。

結論としては、貿易黒字は日本の製品が外国でよく売れているというプラスの見方以外にも、日本の製品が国内であまり買われないというマイナスの見方もできるということである。貿易黒字が日本の経済・景気に良いかどうかは、その変動が過去日本経済にどのように影響したかを統計的に把握する必要がまずある。

Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.(From Wiki)

Sunday, November 18, 2007