Stupid Check system to Japanese Science programs

In May, The Japanese government, now occupied by the Democratic Party of Japan, decided to check efficiency and effectiveness of the national scientific programs.

"Perform an operation on abortive programs!"

Their assessment is partly valuable.
The assessment committee checked several scientific and technological programs, and found some illegal (or semi-illegal) usages.

However, can the committee members understand the scientific importance of those national programs?

I think No.
For example, two similar institutions were focused by the assessment committee:
One is NASVA, http://www.nasva.go.jp/ (National Agency for Automotive Safety & Victims' Aid), and another is NTSL, http://www.ntsel.go.jp/e/index.html (Independent Administrative Institution National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory) .
These two have catapult for accelerating automobiles. The former institution's catapult is for maximum speed of 55km/h, and the later is for 50km/h. Although the speed difference is only 10%, the energy difference is almost 20%.

It is not promised that the later catapult can give a car the maximum speed of 55km/h.
However, the assessment committee members shout a person of NASVA explaining their technological programs and presumed as the person did not tell the truth for avoiding reconstruction (destruction) of funding to NASVA.

Why did not the committee understand such a simple physics?
The answer is simple. Most of the member was not scientist: 13 members come from university and only 2 of them have scientific knowledge. I believe that they CANNOT understand the importance of leading edge of science and technology. Do you believe that they can effectively decide which scientific program is not necessary to be continued?

As you may know, this great show related to scientific funding is controlled by Ministry of Finance Japan.
The MOFJ created a scenario, and the committee possibly follow their scenario and decide the abortive scientific program. This will be a reason why many scientists were not included to the assessment committee.

The important thing is a TRUE decision about the national direction of science and technology.
Money game is next.

Kyoto cherry blossom (evening version)

(Continued from the previous post)

At the evening in Kyoto,

A old woman, possibly a mistress of tradisional dance, walks along a dark street.

Even at such evening, we can enjoy the lighted-up cherry blossom.

The famous river in Kyoto, named Kamo River.

Getting warm, day by day.

Cherry blossom in Kyoto

I'm sorry for a long silence like a hibernation.
I would like to restart this English blog.
Do you know why? because the spring has come!



The beautiful season in Kyoto, Japan.

We love the cherry blossoms so called "Sakura" in Japanese.
The above river named "Takase-river" is a canal parallel to the Kamo river,
a famous beautifule river in Kyoto.

The following is a famous shrine named "Yasaka" in Kyoto.

Also decorated by "Sakura".

We pray our future happiness, health and wealth. Then...

Cheers!! It's a party below flowers. HANAMI in Japanese!

(and too much drinking...)

GUNDAM 1:1

I visited the Odaiba area, Tokyo to see the real-scaled GUNDAM. GUNDAM is a super robot in Japanese animation movies.

Doooooooom!

When I was a child, I was an enthusiast and hoped to see the real GUNDAM. Thirty years later, the dream comes true!

"Oh, It moves!" (but only the head can in this time).

View from the legs.

"A boy, don't forget your win is totally due to the ability of mobile suits!"

An officer said in the movies.

Now the wall picture of my PC is GUNDAM.

You can download the large piture from here.

So many people come to see the super robot!

Unfortunately, the event has been finished and the GUNDAM 1:1 was under dissolution. But I believe we can meet him in near future...!

Or you can enjoy another famous Japanese animation hero, the "Iron Man #28".
http://portal.nifty.com/cs/mitekite/detail/090727104545/1.htm

Diving people : cases in Russia and Japan

Unfortunately, I have no experience of diving to the deep sea, although I'm a marine researcher. Of course, human cannot dive to the seafloor at the depth of several thousands meters. The submersibles (submarine) can give us a chance for deepsea tour. In Japan, the famous submersible "Shinkai 6500" can be available and I will have a chace to join the dive in future.

Recently, not only scientific researchres but various people can go to the deep sea with submersibles. I introduce two different cases.

i) Russian case
●Vladimir Putin to the seafloor of Lake Baikal (Technobahn)
　 http://www.technobahn.com/news/200908041710

Unbelievable! He dived to the depth with the Russian submersible "Mir". Although the submersible accident is rare, the safety is not promised. He and Russia impressed the world with the toughness and strength.

In addition, the methane hydrate is discovered recently at the seafloor of Lake Baikal. Their demonstration will be related to such energy resource usage and economic activity around the Lake Baikal.

----
ii) Japanese case
I hope the Japanese Prime Minister or former prime minsters should go to the deep sea such as Putin. However, we choose another people for the mission...a Japanese idol !

●Shokotan Blog


● Shokotan's dream comes true ... to the deep sea with Shinkai 6500
　http://www.narinari.com/Nd/20090812078.html

Shoko Nakagawa, "Shokotan", got a chace to go to deep sea. Her trial is for TV program relating a scientific variety show.

"A scientific variety show" ? What's that?
Recently, science becomes an entertainment?
But it is more funny than the Russian news, isn't it?
Most Japanese people will have an interest in deep sea at the on air!

What kind of science do you want to know?

Question. You drive a car and go to trip. It's a time for lunch. You are hungry and want to eat a local and special food. Fortunatelly, two restaurants come along the road side.


Left side: with Japanese traditional noodle
Right side: with Chinese noodle, US beef steak, Indian curry, European omelet etc...

You are driving and do not have enough time for comparison. If you immediately decide today's lunch spot, which restaurant do you want to choose?

----
I will choose the left one: Japanese noodle restaurant. It is not because I'm Japanese. The right-side restaurant will be nice, but I wonder the cooks may serve the conventional food as we can eat everywhere, and they may have no local specialized food. On the other hand, the left-side restaurant concentrates to a kind of dishes and may contrive the menu for traveler with using the local dishes.

----
Let’s move to the scientific issue. I feel that scientists should also emphasize one nice outcome when they present their own research result to public (non experts to the scientific field). I know that a research yield many outcomes for society. However, if they present many aspects of their research outcomes, people may not judge the importance of their research such as the above restaurant case.

Not only for lunch, but also for scientific interest, many people love to get the special experiment. Also, they do not have enough time for hearing the detail. As a result, they want to know one of the great aspects of the scientific issue.

How do you feel? Which restaurant do you want to enter?

When You Wish upon a Star

Japanese people write their wishes on colorful sheets and hang them to banboo. The custom originally comes from a Chinese old tale.



The students in our laboratory also made the bamboo and ornaments. Now, some students study for examination to the graduated school. Therefore, most of hopes relates to its success.
Others are related to refinement of traffic jams around our university, growth of a company where a student will work from the next year, and so on.

By the way, do you know a similar decorated bamboo in space? Dr. Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronauts, stays at the International Space Station (ISS) now. He also put a bamboo (actually paper craft of bamboo) and wrote his hope on a sheet. His hope is the completion of the Japanese space laboratory module, named "Kibo".
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/koichiwakata_blog/19429940.html

"Kibo" is a Japanese word meaning "hope". I feel the ISS is like a bamboo, and the "Kibo" module is like a sheet for wish. After the completion, many people will carry out their experiments in the module with their HOPE.

Other astronauts from US and Russia etc. pray the happiness and health of their families. Both of Japanese astronauts and students do not. Why? I think that our laboratory and the ISS are places of work, and Japanese students and the astronauts pray about their work. If they go to a temple or shrine, theywill pray for their families. Japanese people normally divide their style in and out of office.

Anyway, the bamboo in the ISS is so funny.
It should be called as "When You Wish in stars"!

(See also my Japanese blog: http://goto33.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2009-07-10)