This essay condemns Osaka’s North Yard fiasco, where 30 trillion yen in public funds were squandered by inept leaders Hiramatsu, Shimozuma, and Onitake, aided by a shallow mass media.

This article scrutinizes the controversial urban development plan for Kita-Yard in Osaka. The author condemns the actions of then-mayor Hirayama, Kansai Economic Federation chairman Shimozuma, and a JFA official, Oni-take. The author argues that their short-sighted and self-serving ideas—such as a “zero-sale” proposal for a prime piece of land, a half-baked “eco-stadium” plan, and the misuse of a public platform for private views—would result in the loss of 300 billion yen in taxpayer money. The author asserts that this fiasco is a testament to the commercialism of the media and the incompetence of Japan’s leaders, and warns that it represents a broader decay of Japanese society.

Kita-Yard, Hirayama, Shimozuma, and Onitake

Through Hirayama, the nature of this country’s media becomes transparent. It’s a tragedy that they’ve chosen to learn from a commercialized version of television—one that’s built on a spirit of juvenile, event-loving excitement—rather than to learn from America, a nation that respects and is strengthened by the intellect of each individual. It is also an insult to their country. In Europe and the US, it is a given that sports broadcasts are hosted by retired experts in the field. But in Japan, it’s common to see random celebrities or people from other sports hosting.

Anyone who has worked in Osaka for 40 years, like I have, can see the brilliance of the Kita-Yard project. Even reading about it on Wikipedia would reveal the amount of expertise and cooperation from various parties, including the national government and the cities of Osaka and Suita, that went into making it one of the most brilliant urban plans of the postwar era. As I’ve written before, the land for this project has cost taxpayers 30 trillion yen, and if sold properly, could have brought in a huge profit to help alleviate the public burden. Yet, Hirayama’s proposal to get zero sales revenue, and to even ask the national government to bear almost 100 billion yen in construction costs, is a travesty. For the Democratic Party, which is championing “business classification,” to allow this is nothing short of a travesty.

Osaka, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, will lose a piece of land that would have provided a massive, permanent tax revenue stream. I truly believe that this man’s mind is completely empty. The arrogance of naming the project an “eco-stadium” to gain sympathy is also a sign of a former TV announcer. The media, which fawns over such a man, who is trying to cause hundreds of billions of yen in tax losses, also criticizes Ichiro Ozawa for buying a 200-tsubo lot in Setagaya for 400 million yen. I don’t understand how they can have such a mentality. They criticize a 400 million yen land purchase while paying their own casters, who do nothing but make fleeting comments, hundreds of millions of yen in annual salaries. Some people from Osaka living in the countryside have called Hirayama a fool, and now I don’t think that’s an overstatement.

Shimozuma

Then there’s Shimozuma. A man who, while the media relentlessly criticizes Ichiro Ozawa for his “corrupt official” face, I believe has a much more corrupt-looking face. The fact that I’ve decided to share my thoughts in the form of a blog is a consequence of my life as an anonymous person versus his as a celebrity and chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation. I had an employee hand-deliver a letter to him at the federation, but as I expected, there was no reply. That’s when I realized that asking the media for space to express my opinion would have the same result. I don’t believe for a second that he is intellectually superior to me. I only believe that God, who gives us trials from the very beginning of our lives, has made me walk a completely different path from that of an insider who walks the elite path to a final prestigious position. The reason for this will be revealed when I retire and begin to write. This whole ordeal teaches us that just because someone is famous or a celebrity, it doesn’t mean they’re speaking the truth. Two years ago, he was the one who suddenly suggested that the second phase of the project should be a park. Simply put, who does this man think he is? He doesn’t even represent the Kansai financial community. When I learned about the situation on TV at the end of June, I called the Doyukai, a business association, as a last resort. I was relieved to hear them say, “No, we are against it.” I felt that Osaka wasn’t dead, that it hadn’t given up, and that it was still okay. Later, an employee told me that a majority of the presidents and chairmen of major companies in Kansai had posted comments on the internet expressing their opposition to this foolish idea.

Onitake

As for this man, whose head is probably made of nothing but muscle, there is no need to waste any more words on him. I’d just describe him as a representative of soccer, a sport that requires immense physical stamina, who is trying to rape the citizens of Osaka. He probably has no idea how unforgivable this is. That’s why I can only describe his head as being made of muscle.