Ohmae to open business channel

[brelief@xxxxxxx]

"One unusual feature is the channel will involve the audience via the
Internet. Viewers can pose questions through using e-mail
(http:/www.bbt757.co.jp/), which Ohmae and other guests will try to answer
during the programs."


ASAHI EVENING NEWS 
BUSINESS 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1998 

Ohmae to open business channel

By Masa Suga 

Kenichi Ohmae, the internationally known business consultant who ran for the
post of Tokyo governor in 1995, is next month starting a 24-hour satellite
television channel specializing in business, he said on Thursday.

Business Breakthrough, tuned on channel 757 on Skyperfec TV, will from Oct.
1 broadcast a variety of programs which Ohmae hopes will benefit business
people.

"This channel is a 'narrowcasting' program, targeting those who are
interested in businesses," said Ohmae. "This channel will be a platform that
freely exchanges goods, money and ideas and will help find business partners."

Worried about the present economic deadlock facing Japan, Ohmae hopes his
channel will keep the business community in touch with the latest financial
and economic news.

Ohmae, who lost the Tokyo governorship election to Yukio Aoshima, has been a
business consultant for 26 years, was a contributing editor to the Wall
Street Journal and has taught at U.S. business schools.

His TV channel will offer a variety of programs, including case studies of
failed venture businesses, programs introducing hit products and new
companies, interviews with successful business people, answers to viewers'
questions, and classes for entrepreneurs and those interested in business
psychology.

Ohmae, who will be involved in the programs himself, hopes to attract 10,000
customers to the channel in the first year.

One unusual feature is the channel will involve the audience via the
Internet. Viewers can pose questions through using e-mail
(http:/www.bbt757.co.jp/), which Ohmae and other guests will try to answer
during the programs.

In the opening program Ohmae will talk about Japan's future with Alvin
Toffler, a futurologist, and discuss the success of Konosuke Matsushita,
founder of Matsushita Electric in another program.

Ohmae's long-term goal is to expand the business in the United States and other
countries. "If we succeed in Japan we want to make the English and Spanish
versions of the channel," said Ohmae.

Alvin Toffler and Jim Manzi, former chairman of Lotus Development, are
interested in opening such a channel in the United States.

Business Breakthrough is negotiating with a graduate school to offer study
courses on the channel. Ohmae said if an agreement is struck, the channel
can offer a course worth 50 credits, half of the credits necessary to
complete a masters degree in business. "It will reduce the cost of obtaining
an MBA almost by half," he said.

Channel subscription will cost viewers 17,000 yen a month.

 - - - - - - 
What follows is an article by Ohmae "Mrs.  Suu Kyi is becoming a burden for
a developing Myanmar" translated from japanese mag "sapio."   

Please feel free to question Ohmae about his view of SLORC/SPDC
<http:/www.bbt757.co.jp/>  He has a lot to answer for!

 
> "Mrs.  Suu Kyi is becoming a burden for a developing Myanmar"
> Kenichi Ohmae.  SAPIO, November 12, 1997
> 
> First, what I perceived through conversations with government officials,
> businessmen and civilians in Rangoon was that perhaps the presence of a
lady named Aung San Suu Kyi is becoming a burden to Myanmar.
>Myanmar's military regime is doing surprisingly well
> 
> To be certain, there is no doubt that the current military regime, which
> ousted the elected Aung San Suu Kyi, is illegitimate.  However, the
> phenomenon of similarly illegal governments taking over with the support
of military power is one which many Asian, African and Latin American
countries have experienced.  Of 189 countries in the world, about half of
those are
> nations with illegal military governments, and Myanmar is not unique.
> 
> Further, if one actually travels to Myanmar, one will see that the
current regime is managing the government relatively well.  For example, a
CEO of
a Korean corporation says, "Compared to ten years ago this is like heaven. 
A lot of profit has been made, and the demands of laborers have increased."
> Since ten years ago, he has owned textile and electrical manufacturing
> factories, employing more than 20,000 people.
> 
> Also, among the people with whom I traveled, there was one person who
> visited a year ago, and another who visited three years ago.  Both of
them expressed astonishment and admiration at the numerous improvements made
in such a short period of time.  The number of commodities in the markets
have doubled, infrastructure of road networks refined.  One rarely encounters
> soldiers in the streets.  People lead very normal, peaceful lives.  There
is no indication that this is a nation managed by a military regime.
> 
> Depending on how one looks at the current regime, the response to the
> Myanmar problem changes 180 degrees.   Businessmen unanimously support
the regime and oppose Mrs. Suu Kyi.  In other words, despite their mounting
> demands, they are essentially content with the current situation because
> they are successfully conducting business under the regime.  If Mrs. Suu
Kyi assumes political authority, people fear that there will be only talk
about democratization without much accomplishment.  Further, they fear that
there will be instability, worse than the conditions under the rule of former
> Filipino president Corazon Aquino.
> 
> On the other hand, people who are not businessmen overwhelmingly support
> Mrs. Suu Kyi.  If there were elections, it seems that the current
government would be rejected by a three-to-one vote and Mrs. Suu Kyi would
win by a
> landslide.  This is why the US has established her as the Jeanne d'Arc of
> Myanmar and is using her to spread their propaganda and pressure the
regime.
> However, why the US feels the need to do this and to achieve what end is
> beyond my comprehesion.
> 
> Mrs. Suu Kyi will become a person of the past in a year or two?
> 
> The current regime is denounced as being undemocratic, but neither is
China which does not hold elections.  Then why the US is trying to isolate
Myanmar through sanctions despite its steady economic progress, engenders
suspicion.
> Due to US action the lives of the people have been inconvenienced.  In
> addition, investors from Japan and ASEAN, fearful of American reprisal,
> resort to establishing "dummy" companies, or invest through Singapore and
> use various indirect measures.
> 
> However, Myanmar is full of attractions for foreign investors.  The
> population is known for its fervently Buddhist ethics; people are very
> friendly and aside from the northern mountain regions the nation enjoys a
> high level of public safety.  Besides Japan and Singapore, Myanmar is one
of the safest places to walk alone at night.  The local guide claims that
> murder cases have been unheard of in recent years.
> 
> Villages are extremely clean.  There are no slums.  This is due to the
lack of difference in wealth.  In Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines the gap
in income is significant and there is an influx of starving people from the
> villages to the cities, but they remain poor and miserable after their
> migration.  Myanmar is a rare case; it does not suffer from either
> overcrowded cities or destitution.  Everyone in this country is a
> land-owning farmer and is self-sufficient.  There are no wealthy farmers
and no peasants.  Very simply, everyone is poor.
> 
> Seeing the lives of the people of Myanmar, I remembered Japan in previous
> years.  I was raised in the countryside in Kyushu, where children always
> walked around barefoot, the lights were not electric, and the bathrooms
had no running water.  The current Myanmar mirrors these memories of farming
> villages in Japan.  Japan at the time was poor in comparison to the US
but this was not detrimental to Japan.  Except for the immediate post-war
> period, there was no lack of food because the villages were
self-sufficient.
> Today's Myanmar is similar and although the per capita GNP is relatively
low at $300 to $400 per annum, the negative effects of this is not very
visible.
> 
> 
> Even China, a similar economy where the per capita GNP is under $500, has
> entered a type of "money-worshipping" capitalism where no one can be
> trusted.  As in Vietnam, where they have decided to industrialize,
people's material demands increases, and everyone seeks to become rich quickly. 
The streets in Vietnam are overcrowded with swarms of bicycles and mopeds. 
In contrast, the people of Myanmar are in no hurry to get to any
destination. They are conscientious and lead relaxed, yet frugal lives.
This is the
> reality of Myanmar.
> 
> Seeing this, one cannot help but think that in a year or two, Mrs. Suu
Kyi will be a person of the past.  Although the government is a military
> authority, it has relaxed regulations and implemented liberalization
> measures aiming for a market economy.  This year, after finally realizing
> the admission into ASEAN, as in the fable of the "Northwind and the Sun,"
> Myanmar has started to shed its coat.  In regard to infrastructure,
> significant improvements have been made.  For example, until last year it
> took hours to get to the historic ruins in Pagan.  This year the roads
are all paved, and it takes two hours to get there.  Despite the general
> aversion of the military authority, such visible progress allows people
to accept the accomplishments and to say that time will leave Suu Kyi
behind.
> 
> The largest consumer of drugs is the US
> 
> Another issue criticized by the US is drugs.  Northern Myanmar's
production of narcotics has become an industry.  The government has not tried to
> control this; in fact, the US has charged that they take bribes to
condone such activity.  The Chief of the Economic Development Agency, David
Arbel
> (?), exclaimed with anger that "there is no harsher misunderstanding."
> According to Arbel, the government of Myanmar is battling narcotics.  In
> this effort, 600 public servants have died, and 3000 civilians have been
> victimized.  However, the US continues to attack the Myanmar government,
> ignoring the fact that the US itself is the largest consumer of
narcotics.
> Arbel says that from his perspective, the US claims are incomprehensible.
> 
> What is the reality?  I asked a businessman, who revealed that the
> government has been tackling the problem of drugs, but it is also
involved
> in deals.  If the government plunges into a full-scale crackdown on the
> narcotics network, then there would be significantly more casualties than
> the previous 600 or 3000 casualties.  These groups involved with the
> narcotics trade are armed as well.  Therefore, after having weakened them
to a certain extent, it is giving them some time to switch to another crop
or to abolish the industry altogether.  It might be said that these measures
do not suffice.
> 
> Another businessman had a different perspective.  Myanmar's highlands
> leading to the Himalayans have no roads.  In such valley areas, if people
> produced something for profit, they must travel to a town hundreds of
> kilometers away.  However, there is no need for that with drugs; a
purchaser will come to the village .  The circumstances would be different if
> transportation was improved, but aside from drugs, no other produce would
> attract buyers.  To end this business without an alternative would be to
> leave the villagers to starve.
> 
> Therefore, it is more important for the infrastructure to be improved,
and for the villagers to be able to support themselves through means such as
> tourism.  However, no tourist would visit areas where there is a constant
> fear of clashes between the government troops and drug lords.  These are
> only some of the obstacles to major problems troubling the government.
> 
> In the end, what we experienced during our trip was that the US is
utterly one-sided.  George Soros, a speculator, is the main critic of Myanmar. 
When I interviewed him earlier for this magazine, I asked if he had ever been
to Myanmar.  He said that he had not.  I feel it is wrong to criticize this
> country without having been there.  One trip to Myanmar and everyone
would love the country.  This trip made me doubt the validity of the American
> policy which imposed  economic sanctions on such a country solely on the
> basis that it is a military regime and undemocratic.
> 
> With regard to foreign relations and ODA, these factors must be taken
into account before any new developments unfold.  Japan cannot become a true
> friend of Asia if it acts to please the US which imposes democracy on
> others.  In the next issue, I will report on Myanmar's industries,
commodity prices and labor power.
> 
> 
----------
http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm