The lay judge system will take effect in May next year. It is a controversial topic in Japan. I'm not quite sure if this system will function properly.

First of all, it is really scary for ordinary people to decide if a suspect is guilty and decide on the sentence. Not many people want to take even partial responsibility for somebody's life. Second, we never know if the criminal who was sentenced because of the lay judges' decision might take revenge on them when released from prison. Finally, I don't know if a person as a lay judge would be able to keep information they hear in court confidential.

I think many problems will come up as this system is implemented. I am not sure if it will take hold.

In the April 19 "Readers' Voice" Sumiko Kanetsuna wrote about how the employment situation in Japan could be improved. I don't quite agree with her solutions, which sound to me a bit too simple considering the economic situation in Japan and worldwide.

These days food and the lack of it have become a talking point. Food prices have gone up all over the world and are still rising. Japan is no exception.

The reason for this involves several factors like climate change, oil shortages, etc.

The self-sufficiency rate of Japan for food is said to be less than 40 percent. It seems that farming has become obsolete in this country, as young people all look for white-collar jobs in cities rather than producing food.

I would suggest that the government takes steps to promote farming all over the country. If farming were made attractive to young people, the unemployment situation could be considerably improved and at the same time the self-sufficiency rate of the country would be improved. This idea is much easier to talk about than to implement. I think education from early elementary school upward about farming and its importance for a country would be necessary to make farming a more desirable career path than it is to people right now.

I agree with the editor's note on page 19 of the April 26 issue that for the identity of this nation, Japan needs its own written constitution.

But while reading the Japanese Constitution, I was surprised at the peace-loving impression. It sounds more like a holy book than the constitution of a civilized country thriving with high technology, which has the world's second-largest military budget.

Have you ever been to Asuke (Village), now part of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture?

A post office on wheels, as presented on page 8 of the April 26 issue, may sound wonderful and eye-catching, but it means that Japan Post does not live up to our expectations — do you know how many ATMs have been dismantled across Japan? They do not abide by the new law, in a nutshell. The older we are, the closer a post office should be located to us: A post office can do wonders in our daily life.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 3, 2008
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