今年４月１日から、わが勤務先も独立行政法人になり、私たちは国家公務員でなくなりました。とはいえ、依然として国立であるし、私たちの給料も税金で賄われています。
　何か根本的に変わったのか、変わっていないのか。しかし、給料明細を見ると、雇用保険というものが天引されている。やっぱり、変わったのですね、私たちは。失業保険に入らねばならない存在となったのですね。

　日本の景気は一向によくならないし(今年９月時点、実はこの文章を読んでいただける頃には景気回復していると希望的に観測しているのですが…)、財政赤字も膨らむ一方だし。
民間もがんばっているのだから、我々もがんばらなければ。
　しかし、待てよ、どうがんばればよいのか。そもそも国の税金で運営される学校の存在意義は何か。あるいは大学の自治を高らかに叫んだ羽仁五郎のような思想はどこに行ってしまったのか。
　さらにそもそも、国の存在意義は何か。今の小泉政権（当時）でどん底の景気が持ち直してきたのは、小泉さんが何もしなかったからだ、つまり、自力回復し始めたからだ、との論調をしばしば見うける。福祉切り捨て、外交のていたらく。一体、国は何をやってるんだ。やっぱり、国の存在意義は何か、という政治哲学的問題が浮かびますよ。
　失業率も何とかしてくださいよ。今年度、私は進路指導担当でした。学生に推薦状を書いてやり、励まして入社試験に臨ませて、一週間後不採用の通知。入社試験受験第１号が落とされ、第２号も…、と続けば、クラス全体に異様な緊張が漂い始める。そんなときに学生の母親から電話があって、「うちの子、最近、変なんですよ。なんかすぐ怒るし、ピリピリして…」。
　京大もそうですね。さすがに他の大学に比べて、京大生はよく勉強していると思います。
勉強内容ではなく、キャンパスを行き交う学生や図書館で勉強している雰囲気です。
しかし、やっぱりピリピリ感がありますね。ヨン様やチェジュ(冬ソナの時の！)が歩いている、というような雰囲気はありませんね。「京都大学癒しのキャンパス移転計画」というのはいかがでしょうか。そんな悠長な、といった声が聞こえてきそうですが、そのほうが先生方の潜在能力は開花し、世の中に役立つと思います！癒しですよ、癒し!
　みんな、疲れているかピリピリしているかですね、今は。御堂筋を歩いてみてください、ゆったりした気分で歩けませんよ、あそこも。だいたい、激しいリストラを一方でやっておいて、残った人に倍働かせていては、みんな疲れますよ。

　それに比べると、オランダあたりにはじまるヨーロッパのワークシェアリングには徹底したものがあります。昨年ミュンヘンに滞在する機会がありましたが、むこうのワークシェアリングはかなりすさまじく、男女を問わず、職種を問わず、週３日くらいしかその職場に来ていない、という人が何と多いことか。

　ミュンヘン大学の事務の人もそうでした。いろんな事務書類を作ってもらおうとモタモタしていると(私もモタモタしていましたが、むこうの人もモタモタしていました)、すぐ時間が来てしまい、水曜の12時になると、あとは「来週もう一度来てください」、などということになる。むこうは大概担当者が決まっているので、その人が休むと事が全く進まない、ということがよく起こりました。

　こんなことがありました。私はドイチェバンクに口座を開きましたが、帰国して落ち着いてから、それを解約しようとしました。メールでやり取りして、解約手続きを取りましたが、一向に解約されないので、再度メールすると、その優秀(そう)な担当の銀行員は2週間ほど休みをとっている、との事、またか、それにしてもしょっちゅう長期の休みをとるものだ。
　彼に替わって別の人がその事務を代行してくれたのですが、メールに指示されたそのままに書類を送ったはずなのに、2週間ほどして銀行本部から、書類が揃っていない、との手紙が届く。頭に来て再度、電話で担当者に確認。むこうは「確認します」、との返事。　
　こんな事を何度も！繰り返して、やっとメールで、「さあ、あなたは1週間以内に、確実に残高を受け取れますよ!」と書いてきた。「さあ！」はないだろ。
　私はミュンヘンのシテイバンクにも口座を開いていましたが、この解約の時もまた、大変でした。解約に半年近くもかかったのです。同じように解約手続きの書類を滞りなく郵送したつもりですが、何の音沙汰もなし、電話してみると、そんな手紙は受け取っていない、と言う。しかたなしに、再度書類を送る。又、なしのつぶて。電話で問いただすと、やっぱり受け取っていないと言う。そしてその書類をファックスで送ればすぐに手続きできる、と言う。そうか、とファックスする。それでもまたなしのつぶて。電話で確認すると、ファックスでは解約できないと、別の担当者が言う。なんて事か!
　そうこうするうちに月日がたち、インターネットで私の口座を確認してみればコンスタントに9.2ユーロが引き落とされているではないか!　口座管理料らしい。解約に手間取っている内に引き落とされていたのだ。今度はEMSという郵便で書類を送ってみた。これは、高いが便利です。インターネット上でその便の行方を逐一追って行けるからです。どこの空港につき、どこの郵便局につき、宛先の誰が受け取ったかまで、すぐ調べられる。進んでいるのですね。
　そして電話してみた。「書類は届いているか、確認してくれ」、と言うと、やはり｢わからぬ｣と言う。やはりそうきたか。こちらは、いつお宅の誰が受け取ったかわかっているのだぞ。やり取りする内、むこうは何人も入れ替わり立ちかわり(これは私の言葉のつたなさにもよる)、｢明日きちんと手続きをする｣と言う。明日だな!　数日後やっと解約手続きがなされている事を確認。
　さらに、コンスタントに取られていた9.2ユーロも返還されていた。郵送した手紙にいきさつを書き、「だから勝手に9.2ユーロを私の口座から取るな」、と書いておいたからだ。　
言ってみるもんですね。

　いくら国際化時代といえ、このようなトラブルにどう対処したらいいのか、「知らぬ」といわれてしまえば、大変です。むこうに行って裁判するわけにも行きませんから。
　しかし、ヨーロッパでは一番しっかりしているというドイツで、このていたらく。日本では考えられません。やはり、日本人は誠実で優秀でがんばりやさんなのですよ、ほんとに。だめなのはリーダーとしての素養だけか?　
　諸先生の前で愚痴ばかり述べました。笑ってやってください。　

＊　＊　＊

” Plans for a healing campus at Kyoto University "

News from the Kyoto University architectural association (2004)

From April 1st this year, my place of employment also became an independent administrative institution, so we are no longer national public employees. Be that as it may, we remain a public institution and our salaries are still supplied from taxes.

So has something changed fundamentally or has it not? Looking at my paycheck slip I saw that unemployment insurance was being deducted. So things have changed after all. We became beings who need to take out an unemployment insurance.


The Japanese economy doesn't get better at all (though as of September this year, when this article can be read, I'm wishfully thinking that the economy is recovering...), and the financial deficit is just growing bigger and bigger. As the private sector is hanging on, so must we.

But wait a minute, in what way should we do that? What is the meaning of existence of schools being financed by national taxes, after all? Where did the ideology of Goro Hani, shouting loudly for the self-government of universities, disappear to?


Furthermore, what is the meaning of existence of the state? During the current Koizumi administration (at the time of writing), the wretched state of the economy improved because Koizumi did nothing about it, in other words, because the economy started recovering by itself. I often come across comments suggesting just that. Welfare cuts and miserable diplomacy. What on earth is the state doing? So sure enough the polit-philosophical question arises as to what the state's meaning of existence is.

Do something about the unemployment rate! During this school year I was in charge of guidance counseling. I write letters of recommendation for the students, encourage them before they take the job examinations, and then, a week later, the rejection letters come. The first wave of applicants is rejected, then the second one....., when it continues like this, an odd tension starts to build up in the entire class. At a time like this I get phone calls from the students' mothers saying, "my son is strange these days, he gets angry easily and is on edge.....".

This even applies to Kyoto University. As might be expected, the students at Kyoto University study very hard compared to other universities, I think. I don't mean so much the contents of their studies, but the atmosphere of the students coming and going on campus and of the ones studying in the library. But sure enough there is tension in the air. Not at all like Mr. Yon and Cheju (from the series "Winter Sonata") walking serenely. So how about a "conversion plan for a healing campus at Kyoto University" ? I can just hear some people say, "what a complacent attitude!", but that way the teachers' potential will blossom and they will serve society, I think. Healing, I say, healing!

Everybody is either tired or on edge at the moment. Just try walking on Midosuji Avenue (in Osaka), you can't walk in a relaxed way there either. On the one hand there are severe personnel cuts and on the other hand the employees left have to work the double amount, so everyone gets tired.


Compared to this, starting in countries such as Holland, Europe has found a well thought-out way in work-sharing. When I had the opportunity to stay in Munich last year, the work-sharing there was quite remarkable, regardless of gender or job type. I was astonished to see how many people came to their place of work only about three days a week.


The same was true for the office workers at Munich University. When I was dawdling over getting some documents drawn up (I was dawdling, but the office worker in charge was dawdling, too), time would soon run out, and at noon on Wednesday it would happen that I was told to come back again the next week. Over there, in general, a certain person is in charge, so if that person is off duty, it often happens that things don't move on.

The following thing took place: I had opened an account at the Deutsche Bank, and I wanted to close it after returning to Japan and settling back in. I was taking the necessary steps to close the account by e-mail, but as the matter didn't proceed at all, I had to mail several times until I was told that the (seemingly) excellent bank clerk in charge was on vacation for about two weeks. They constantly take long vacations.

In the end another clerk took over the matter. I sent the documents he had instructed me to in an e-mail, but two weeks later I got a letter from the bank headquarter saying that they hadn't gotten all the necessary documents. I got mad and, once again, asked the clerk in charge to check. The answer was, "we will confirm the matter."

I had to repeat this kind of request several times until, finally, there came an e-mail saying, "well then, you can definitely receive the remaining amount of your account within a week!" What do they mean, "well then"?!

I also had an account at Munich's City Bank, but when the time came to close it, it was again a difficult undertaking. It took almost half a year. Again, I'm certain I sent the necessary documents without delay by mail, but as I didn't hear anything from them, I called and was told that they hadn't received such a letter. I had no choice but to resend the documents. Again, no reply. When I questioned them over the phone, sure enough they said they hadn't received anything. They added that if I would sent them by fax, they could immediately process them. So I faxed them. But again, no reply. When I inquired by phone, I was told by yet another clerk that closing a bank account by fax was not possible. What on earth.....?!

In the meantime days and months passed and when I checked my account on the internet, I was surprised to see that €9.20 were constantly withdrawn, apparently an administration fee. It was being deducted while I was busy with the procedures to close the account. The next time I sent the relevant documents by EMS. It's expensive but very convenient, because the route of the package can be traced in detail on the internet. You can always see at which airport the package is, at which post office it arrives, and who exactly receives it at its final destination. It's an advanced system.

When I called and said, "check if the documents arrived", they still answered, "we don't know". Just what I had expected. But hey! I know exactly who accepted them when over there.
During the exchange of words, the bank clerks changed one after another (this was also because of my awkward language). "Tomorrow we will promptly deal with it", they said. Tomorrow! Several days later I was finally able to confirm that they had closed my account.

Furthermore, the €9.20 that they had constantly charged to my account were returned. This is because in one of my letters I had explained about the particular circumstances and written, "so don't just charge me €9.20 as you please!" Apparantly it never hurts to ask.


There's much talk about globalisation, but when such trouble arises, how do we deal with it, and when we are told, "we don't know", it's a big problem. We can't very well go over there and sue them.

But even in Germany, the most reliable of the European countries, this kind of state exists. It' s simply unimaginable in Japan. Japanese people are honest, excellent, and hard workers for sure. The only problem is they don't have the qualities to be leaders.

In front of the other teachers I did nothing but grumble. Feel free to laugh!

translated by Barbara Inui

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