Ogata-san

Was it just me who was relieved to hear that Ms. Ogata declined the offer of Foreign Minister? I mean, it would be great if she took the position, but I honestly didn't want her to waste her time and energy with the politicians she'd have to deal with, by taking this position. She's too good for that. She is one of the very few Japanese I know of who is able to perform on a global stage. In 1991, she was elected as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and was re-elected to this position until 1999. She visited practically every country which had fallen into the abyss because of war, politics, and/or starvation. At age 74, she is still active, as was apparent at the Afghanistan Reconstruction session.
Undaunted and unabashed, Ogata-san is also very dependable. Of course her family background has something to do with this. Her father was the ambassador to Finland, her grandfather was Japan's Foreign Minister, her husband was a Vice President of the Bank of Japan. She herself went to Georgetown, and completed a Doctorate in Politics at UC Berkley.
Ogata-san has been an inspiration to generations of young Japanese. She has fought strenuously for the things she believes are right. Certainly, I believe that it's very important to have a vision and attitude of truth: unlike many Japanese politicians argue over very stupid matters....
Yes, it would be great for Ogata-san to take the Foreign Minister position, restructure the ministry bureaucrats, and develop the better a better diplomatic core. But personally, I want Ogata-san to keep working for the 22 million refugees worldwide who need her help more...

Marriage

I found a rather interesting article recently that more and more junior/high schools in the USA have started a new curricula called "marriage." Its purpose is to prevent immature marriage and divorce. Some of the subjects covered include: "solutions to husband-wife quarrels", "Life management", etc. The courses simulate a wedding and help students create a budget plan for their honeymoon.
I wonder if such courses will really be useful to reduce divorce rates. There are a lot of things you can learn from books and classrooms, but marriage is one of those things you can't really understand until you actually encounter the event. Also, given the fact that the USA is a cultural melting pot, I wonder if such courses doing impinge on the rights of other regions and religions?
For example, in Mongolia, wives are sometimes shared among brothers. While one goes to the mountains to look after the herd, the other looks after the wife. Maybe this custom started because the birthrate of women was way lower than men. Or...
Herodotus wrote that, in ancient Egypt, women went to work, and men stayed home to weave. Daughters, not the sons, were responsible for taking care of aged parents. The main reason for this turnabout was that women inherited family property at that time. Interestingly, about 670 years ago in Japan, women also inherited the family house and assets.