Weekly Topics/Archive
December 2013
|
As described in Diary.No.565−2013.10.19 on my Web, I participated in the
event Cycling Shimanami 2013, but it was pity that I was not able to accomplish
my purpose.
I sent my bike from my home in Kusatsu to a hotel in Imabari City, Ehime
Prefecture using
Y company's express courier service to participate in the event.
But I found that the rear derailleur which is one of an important part
of bike was damaged and
fell off due to fault in transit.
It proved fatal and so I was forced not to participate in the event.
Break of rear derailleur |
|
Since I wanted desperately to participate in it, I took the bike to be
repaired and tried to get
a rental bike with staffs of Y company's local service center.
But I was unable to realize both of them.
It was very regrettable that I couldn't participate in the event I have
well-prepared for since three
months ago.
So I decided to start negotiations with Y company to demand actual expenses
involved
in participation in the event as compensation from it.
A precondition for negotiation is to have bought a voluntary transport
insurance of up to one
hundred thousand yen.
About a week after returning to Kusatsu with a sore heart, a manager from the nearest
Y company's sales office visited me to apologize and sound out about the
repair shop of my
choice.
At that time, I put him on notice that I will present a wriiten demand
for reasonable compensation.
This is the first negotiation.
In the second round of negotiation, I presented the document and discussed about general
prospect for compensation.
Y company's stance is only to restore my bike to original state by repair.
However I expressed my dissatisfaction with him and asked him to reply
after reviewing it in his
office.
And then I had the third round of negotiation after about a week.
I demanded the compensation as shown in the document based on carrying
a voluntary insurance.
He replied me that it can compensate only the cost for repairs accoding
to insurance clause.
He also said to me that it is as described in the invoice.
I insisted strongly that I couldn't participate in the event that I'd been
looking forward to, even
though I spent such a large amount of money as participation fee, transportation
and hotel
expenses, and asked him to give a sincere response to me from Y company.
When I watched an invoice which was saved in a file, the insurance clause
was certainly
described in small print.
Content of an insurance contract was also as Y company explained.
I assumed that the amount of my damage would be compensated as contracted.
That was wrong.
But when I think deeply, I'm the one, who is Y company's user, that bought
an insurance.
I found that the cost for repairs of the bike is paid from proceeds of
an insurance.
I carried in spite of Y company's fault and therefore it is not accompanied
by pain at all.
It might be wrong that a business model itself like this goes unmentioned
in the world.
I had a suspicion about whether the goverment may leave such a thing undone
or not.
And I had the fourth round of negotiation.
Y company got soft a little bit and replied that it can compensate only
participation fees and
this isn't going any further according to its bylaw.
He has done nothing but make a inward-looking reply that ignored a customer
as ever.
Therefore, I had a hot discussion based on above view I noticed, but he
couldn't argue against
what I said.
I had belonged to the sales department during my carrier and had been
surpplying a large
quantity of electronic parts to customers.
When a malfunction occured in the customer's product due to failure of
their parts, I took the brunt
of the negotiation on damage compensation with major customer a few times
from a standpoint opposite to the current situation.
Off course, I prepared myself for damage compensation considering future
business.
My mission was to minimize it in one way or another.
For this reason, I think I'm fully aware of the key points of negotiation.
In the last stage of the negotiation, usual practice I used to find common
ground was to go halves
on the damage.
This time, to find a breakthrough in the deadlocked negotiations, I offered
to do that and ask him
to review it.
And today I had the fifth round of negotiation.
If I could get a reasonable reply, I wanted to conclude the negotiation
within this year.
The reply from Y company was improved more than last time.
He said that it's going to compensate two day's hotel expenses in addition
to participation fees.
The amount was less than half of actual expenses but nearly equal to half
of them.
What I wanted was actually Y company's sincerity to a customer.
It must not ignore customers.
Even in the most recent case of food ingredients fraud by major department
stores and hotels,
they ignored and bluffed the customers.
It exposed company's executives and officers to personal liability and
will endanger
a company's existence.
This time, I was able to accomplish my original aim in persistent negotiations
and to sign
a composition deed.
After all, it's really important that people insist clearly what they believe
to be right.
[Note] express courier service ; 宅配便，fall off ; 脱落する，離れ落ちる
rear derailleur ; (自転車の)後部の変速機，in transit ; 運送中(に)の
prove fatal ; 致命傷になる，be forced to do 〜；〜するのを余儀なくされる
want desperately to do ; 何とか〜したい, (desperately ; 是が非でも，必死に)
take the bike to be repaired ; 自転車を修理に出す，well-prepare ; 周到に準備する
demand 〜as compensation from −；−に〜の損害賠償を請求する
precondition for 〜; 〜の前提条件，buy an insurance ; 保険に入る
voluntary transport insurance ;任意の運送保険，sound out ; (人に) 〜について打診する
〜 of one's choice ; 自分の好みの 〜, wriiten demand ;要求書
put someone on notice that ; [that以下のことを](人に)通告する，prospect ;展望，見通し
restore to original state ; 原状回復する，carry an insurance ; 保険に入っている
associated with 〜 ; 〜と関係がある， insurance clause ; 保険約款
invoice ; 送り状，participation fee ; 参加費用，give a response to 〜; 〜に返答(回答)する
in small print ; 細かい文字で，I assume that ; てっきり[that 以下]であると思う
proceeds of an insurance; 保険(給付)金，be accompanied by pain ; 痛みを伴う
goes unmentioned; まかり通る, suspicion ; 疑念
have a suspicion about ; 〜について疑念を抱く, leave a thing undone; そのまま放置する
this isn't going any further ; それ以上は無理です，bylaw ; 規約, inward-looking ; 内向きの
do nothing but 〜; ただ〜するだけである， have a hot discussion ; 論戦をする
argue against 〜 ; 〜に反論する，malfunction ; 不具合
take the brunt of 〜; 〜の矢面に立つ，prepare oneself for 〜; 〜を準備(覚悟)する
in one way or another ; なんとかして，be fully aware of 〜 ; 〜を承知している
usual practice ; 常とう手段，いつものやり方, find common ground ;落とし所を見いだす
go halves on 〜 ;〜を折半する，find a breakthrough in 〜 ; 〜を打開する
deadlocked ; 行き詰った，埒が明かない，conclude the negotiation ; 交渉を妥結する
sincerity ; 誠意，case of food ingredients fraud ;食材偽装事件， fraud ; 詐欺
bluff ; (人を)だます，expose ; 〜をさらす/暴露する，personal liability ; 個人的責任
endanger ; 〜を危うくする/危険にさらす，accomplish a aim ; 目的を果たす
persistent ; 粘り強い, composition deed ; 示談証書
Japanese Diary / No.576−2013.12.16 / 「賠償交渉妥結」
“Rikyu-ni-tazuneyo” is the title of the movie which was newly released
on December 7th.
Translating it literally into English, it's “Ask Rikyu about.”
My wife had gotten two special tickets for this movie.
Since our schedules didn't meet, I couldn't join her to go to the cinema.
So I decided to go to the cinema in the Kansai area and did that today.
The theater closest to Kusatsu that the movie is showing at is T-JOY Kyoto
which is located
near Kyoto Station Hachijo-guchi.
It was in the huge shopping center AEON MALL which is diagonal from the
New Miyako Hotel.
Now that's a surprise.
Recently, the movie theater has been rebuilt into a cinema complex.
This one also has twelve screens and you can choose and watch a movie from their choices
at the time.
Well, as for the main issue, the contents of the movie are surmmarized
in the
following pamphlet.
| Please click the picture to see a full-size version
|
This is a spectacle film about Sen no Rikyu, a master of tea ceremony,
who lived in the Sengoku
era and dipicts a romance in his young days, his passion and attachment to beauty cultivated
through it.
As for main casts, Ichikawa Ebizo plays a starring role as Sen no Rikyu
and is beautifully playing
the lives from his 10s to 70s.
And Nakatani Miki plays a role as Rikyu's wife Soon, Omori Nao as Toyotomi Hideyoshi and
Iseya Yusuke as Oda Nobunaga.
Please click the picture to see a full-size version
Sen no Rikyu
(Ichikawa Ebizo) |
|
Soon
(Nakatani Miki) |
|
Oda Nobunaga
(Iseya Yusuke) |
|
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(Omori Nao) |
|
| A filmic scene (from the movie pamphlet) |
In this movie, Soon continues to respect and love Rikyu.
When she asked him, “Are you happy that I've been your wife ?”, he answered
her,“You are only right
wife for me.”
However, in his heart he has continued to love one woman he had once loved.
It seems like they didn't have an intersection of affection at bottom.
That last scene in which Soon revealed emotions full of sadness and chagrin soon after rikyu
committed seppuku tells it.
His view of the world on beauty that he persisted beyond the border of life and death never
made him compromise with even the power at the time.
Since Rikyu didn't bow to a dictator Hideyoshi of the day even in that
incident in Daitoku-ji temple,
he faced the wrath of Hideyoshi and was sentenced to death.
I felt the following main characer's lines tell all of the movie.
Rikyu ; It's only beautiful things for me to bow to.
Soon ; You always had another loved one in your mind, didn't you?
Hideyoshi ; I would like to go that guy over on.
Nobunaga ; You must be a extraordinary bad guy. You'd pirated during your
youth?
According to the most recent news, a North Korian dictator, Kim Jong-un,
who is First Secretary
of the Worker's Party of Korea, executed Jang Sung-taek who is No.2 leader
and his aunt,
soon after bringing him to military justice by reason of plotting the subversion.
It has also been reported that he was executed by machine gun and flame
gun.
On the other hand, most recently in the country, Special Secrecy Law which
impose
a sever punishment on leakage of confidential information was prematurely promulgated without
being fully discussed in the Diet.
The public hearing held only once tells tales of it.
The definitions of secrets aren't clear and it's said they are absolutely determined by Cabinet
Office officials.
We have to watch carefully in order that the people's right to know may
not be limited and
thought control may not be performed by the law.
Of course, I believe this law is necessary but it must be rightly operated
incorporating a wide range
of opinions from the general public.
In all ages, a dictatorship is really fearful and brutal.
Why don't they learn from the lessons of history?
We must not repeat sad history.
Just like opening lines of Heike Monogatari (The tale of the Heike), pride
goes before a fall.
When I saw this movie, it reminded me of such things.
I enjoyed a wonderful movie for the first time in a long time.
[Note] Rikyu-ni-tazuneyo；利休にたずねよ, be newly released ; 封切られた
translatet〜literally ; 〜を直訳する，Kyoto Station Hachijo-guchi ; 京都駅八条口
be diagonal from 〜; (場所などが)〜の斜め向かいにある
Now that's a surprise. ;こりや，驚きました，cinema complex ; 複合映画館
choose 〜 from − choices ; −の選択肢から〜を選ぶ，main issue ; 本論
dipict ; (絵，映像などで)を描写する，表現する，a master of tea ceremony ;茶人
attachment to 〜；〜への執着（心），play a starring role ; 主役を演じる
one's 10s ; 10代，filmic scene ; 映画のひとこま，at bottom ; 心の底では
Soon ; 宗恩(千利休の妻）、 affection ; 愛情, chagrin ; 悔しさ
reveal emotions ; 感情をあらわにする，commit seppuku ; 切腹する
view of the world ; 世界観，persist ; (困難であるにもかかわらず)貫き通す
compromise with someone ; (人)と妥協する，the power at the time ; 時の権力者
dictator ; 独裁者，face the wrath of someone ; 人の怒りを買う、 bow to ; に額ずく，従う
be sentenced to death ; 死罪（死刑）に処せられる，characer's lines; 登場人物のセリフ
loved one ;愛する人，go someone over on ; 人に一泡吹かせる
extraordinary ; 途方もない，たぐいまれな，pirate ; 海賊行為をする, Kim Jong-un ;金正恩
Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea ; 朝鮮労働党第一書記, execute ; 処刑する
Jang Sung-taek ; 張成沢, bring someone to justice ; 人を裁判にかける
plot the subversion ; 国家転覆を企てる, machine gun ; 機関銃，flame gun ; 火炎放射器
Special Secrecy Law ; 特定秘密保護法, prematurely; 拙速に，promulgate ; 公布する
impose a sever punishment on 〜 ; 〜に厳罰を科す，public hearing ; 公聴会
Cabinet Office official ; 内閣府の関係者(高官)、 in order that ~ may ---; 〜が---するために
people's right to know ; 国民の知る権利，general public ; 一般社会（市民）
incorporate a wide range of opinions ; 幅広い意見を取り入れる，dictatorship ; 独裁体制
brutal ; 残忍な，opening lines ; 冒頭のせりふ（行）
pride goes before a fall; 驕れる者も久しからず（諺）
Japanese Diary / No.575−2013.12.13 / 「利休にたずねよ」
 TOPペ−ジへ戻る
|
|
