I studied the train route map of the Yamatoji Line, looking for Nara Station and then the station after it.
And there it was: The names of the next six stations that, when read aloud in succession, sound like a 31-syllable tanka verse of the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable formula.
The names are Koriyama, Yamatokoizumi, Horyuji, Oji, Sango, Kawachikatakami.
This is a delightful example of what may be called “rhythm that is hiding in day-to-day life.”
And here is another rhythm that is “hidden” rather than “hiding” and is somewhat disgusting: Odyssey, Alto, Atenza, Roadster, Fit, Lexus, Corolla, Crown.
These are some of the names of the 38 car models whose performance test results, conducted during their production processes, were falsified.
Five automakers have been found to have used fake data or doctored score sheets, and the transport ministry on June 4 searched the offices of Toyota Motor Corp.
Expressing how he felt, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda reportedly uttered at a news conference, “Et tu, Brute? (You too, Brutus?)”
But that is definitely not what one would expect any corporate chairman to say about his own company’s wrongdoing. Rather, that is what the company’s customers would be likely to utter and Toyoda had no right to hijack that.
It has always been said that while Japanese manufacturers were somewhat lacking in creativity, their polite way of manufacturing products was legendary. And such a reputation was surely one of the reasons why Japanese cars were loved around the world.
But that was then. What has gone wrong since?
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) currently has 14 member companies. But starting with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which was found to have fudged its fuel economy test data in 2016, 70 percent of the JAMA members so far have been cheating.
When Daihatsu Motor Co. was in the news for its scandal last year, The Asahi Shimbun’s “senryu” cynical poetry section ran this piece: “Automobile tests should come after ‘people tests.’”
In senryu’s 5-7-5 syllable format, the author called for an overhaul of Daihatsu’s corporate climate.
Today, it feels very much like what the entire automotive industry needs.
—The Asahi Shimbun, June 5
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
VOX POPULI: Automakers need ethical overhaul after dishonest testing surfaces
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05.06.2024
I studied the train route map of the Yamatoji Line, looking for Nara Station and then the station after it.
And there it was: The names of the next six stations that, when read aloud in succession, sound like a 31-syllable tanka verse of the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable formula.
The names are Koriyama, Yamatokoizumi, Horyuji, Oji, Sango, Kawachikatakami.
This is a delightful example of what may be called “rhythm that is hiding in day-to-day life.”
And here is another rhythm that is “hidden” rather than “hiding” and is somewhat disgusting: Odyssey, Alto, Atenza, Roadster, Fit, Lexus, Corolla, Crown.
These are some of........
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