There are only 3 days left in the Paris 2024 Olympics where exciting games are unfolding. I am still concerned about the number of medals each country has won. The latest gold medal count by country (as of 7 a.m. on August 9 in Japan time) is as follows. First place is the United States (30), second is China (29), third is Australia (18), fourth is France (14) and fifth is Japan (13). Japanese athletes have been doing well. And after the competition ends, most athletes express their gratitude to the people around them who have supported them so far, and mention that they want to participate in the Los Angels 2028 Olympics 4 years later. It seems like athletes are fascinated by the idea of aiming to reach the top of the world, even if they are forced to sacrifice themselves extraordinarily. And when the national anthem honoring the athlete who has won the gold medal is performed and the national flag is put up, spectator side also stirs up patriotism to a greater extent, even if “the most important thing is to take part in the Olympics”.
And after the Paris 2024 Olympics ends, the next is the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the world’s best disability sports, that will be held from August 28 to September 8. Appearance of challenging to the extreme by the athletes who get over various difficulties is impressive and superhuman. I would like to send a big cheer to this tournament, too.

■■What I have recently thought and focused on:
■The presidential election in the United States:
The Democratic Party announced that nomination voting of presidential candidate was closed on August 5 in local time and Ms. Harris got 99 % support of voting delegates. It was now officially decided that she would be a presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the presidential election in November. And she nominated Mr. Walz, the governor of Minnesota in the Middle West, as a vice president candidate fighting together the following day. It is a choice that she expects him to play a role of complement the weakness of herself and the Democratic Party. And this was the time when the heated battle for November 5 (voting day) that is less than 100 days away broke out. I had expected that “the United States sometimes swings from side to side, but a sense of balance in democracy is demonstrated at the end”, and I am very pleased that it has materialized in this way. At present, Ms. Harris’s camp looks like a good start, but we don’t know what will happen until the last minute of the election. If former President Trump loses the presidential election, the loss is immeasurable, for instance, increased risk of being convicted on pending various charges. Therefore, it is his desperate battle.

■I visited Taipei, Taiwan:
I visited Taipei, Taiwan for two nights and three days from August 3 to 5. I actually visited for the first time in 7 years in the impact of immigration restrictions due to the pandemic. The purpose of this visit was to attend a gathering of 40th anniversary of establishment of Uniglory (the main route is the Middle East and Asia route) that is a subsidiary of Evergreen, shipowner in Taiwan, and trading began in the previous job era. 1984 when contracting the general agency business in Japan from the said company was in the middle of the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, and major cargo owners did not use the non-conference operator at that time, and I had quite a struggle as the cargo did not come together. But after the persons concerned in Japan and Taiwan worked hard, it took about two years to get on track, and internationalization and diversification of business line of the company I used to work for gained momentum. Evergreen group is one of global companies with a focus on container transportation and shipping company ranked 5 th in the world and air transportation, EVA Airways, ranked 8 th in the world. I had a lot of opportunities to meet with the founder, the late president Chang Yung-fa, and receiving guidance each time is my cherished memory even now. This time, I met with start-time companions after a long time, and received a baptism of “cheers! cheers!” every day and every night. And exhibition contents of Evergreen Museum in the city of Taipei that I visited this time is very substantial and it is a must-see museum for maritime professionals.
By the way, the real GDP growth rate (preliminary figures) in Taiwan from April to June 2024 was an increase of 5.09 % compared to the same period last year and five consecutive quarters of increase. But in Taiwan, “5 lacks” issue, namely, shortage of water, electric power, land, specialized personnel and labor is getting serious. Recently, it is also known as “6 lacks” adding shortage of waste disposal site to this. Among these, the most serious is a shortage of water. Depending on circumstances, it may affect the supply of leading-edge semiconductors where nearly 80 % of the world’s production is concentrated. Therefore, TSMC that accounts for about 60 % of the global market share of semiconductor contract production has planned to build a factory in Japan (Kumamoto), the United States and Germany one after another since 2020.
On the other hand, countries that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan decreased by 10 countries in the past 8 years and are 12 countries now. The future situation in Taiwan may change greatly depending on the outcome of the presidential election in the United States held on November 5 this year in local time, and it is necessary for Japan to monitor closely from a security perspective.

■There is not enough rice in Japan called as “the land of abundant rice”:
The trade price of rice is at its highest price in nearly 30 years since “the rice riots of Heisei” when there was a shortage due to a poor harvest caused by a cold summer from 1993 to 1994. A major brand, koshihikari produced in Niigata Prefecture, is decided by the trade price in Tokyo district between wholesalers. At present, 60 kg is about 28,050 yen and the price has doubled compared to the last year. In the background, a bad harvest and quality deterioration due to extreme heat last year and increased consumption due to increase of inbound (foreign visitors to Japan) are cited.  It is said that increased consumption due to increase of inbound (about three million every month) is about 30,000 tons according to an estimation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Therefore, the root cause seems to lie in rice policy in Japan, in other words, “an acreage reduction policy”. An acreage reduction policy started in 1970. It is a policy providing subsidies to farmers and reducing the supply of rice and maintaining rice prices. Rice production in Japan was 12.53 million tons in 1970, but at present, 40 % of paddy fields are reduced in acreage and rice production is less than 7 million tons. About one out of nine of total population in the world is facing hunger. Should Japan change its agricultural policy holding back rice production artificially and increase price competitiveness by improvement of productivity and increase production and expand exports, learning from Netherlands?

■The next to “the midsummer day of the ox” is a season of saury:
“Doyo” of “the midsummer day of the ox” means about 18 days just before the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn and the beginning of winter that are seasonal changes. And “the day of the ox” is the day that corresponds to the ox, when we count a day by 12 zodiac signs. The day of the ox comes in 12-day cycles. The beginning of autumn is August 7 this year. Therefore, the day of the ox is July 24 and August 5. On that day, advertisement of eels on supermarket flyers stands out on a large scale, and it is a day of passion for eels.
By the way, it is still really hot during the day, but after the beginning of autumn, the mornings and evenings have indeed started to feel like autumn. And what I associate with autumn is “saury” supposed to be a cheap fish for the masses. A poor fishing of the “saury” is expected this year following last year. The reasons are decline in resources, rise in seawater temperature, and increased catch by China and Taiwan. Incidentally, the catch in Japan last year was 24,000 tons deceased by 80 % compared to 5 years ago, and the price has doubled during this time. When I was young, a thick saury grilled over charcoal and covered with fat was on the dining table every day in the autumn. The recent saury is as thin as a “sword” as it is said to be “an autumn sword fish” and I feel a little bit lonely.