世界には親心しかない in KOBE

It is often said that there are many chiropractic clinics in Kobe. Although I haven't conducted any formal statistics, my impression after moving here from another city is that there are numerous massage, chiropractic, and osteopathic clinics.  One reason for the abundance of these clinics could be the city's many hills, which put a strain on people's legs and lower backs in daily life. Another reason might be the large number of factories and warehouses. There are always job postings for short-term or one-day jobs. Having worked at some of these places, I can attest that the physical labor is very demanding and could easily lead to back pain if done continuously. There are various types of chiropractic and massage services available, including Indian and Thai traditional massages, which have become quite popular. I am not sure if these foreign styles have been introduced recently by international residents, but given Kobe's long history of foreign inhabitants, it is no...

The election felt like a crushing defeat for the Liberal Democratic Party. I expected the market to drop significantly at the start of the week, but instead, it rose. Perhaps the overall market had anticipated worse outcomes. When indicators are released, stock prices move not based on whether the indicators are good or bad, but on whether they are better or worse than expected. Investors predict the future and trade based on those predictions, so just before indicators are announced, expectations are already priced in. If the results are better than expected, prices go up; if worse, they go down. During the party leadership election, the market likely expected Ms. Takaichi to become the leader. When the results were worse than expected, the market dropped significantly. Here, "worse" means worse for stock prices, not that there is anything wrong with Mr. Ishiba. The reason stock prices rose after the general election is likely because investors had anticipated even worse out...

After moving to Kobe, the NISA system was revamped. As the media began to cover this, many people started investing. Numerous analysts emphasized the importance of risk reduction through diversification, leading many individual investors to diversify globally. The most popular investment is mutual funds linked to the MSCI All Country Index. These funds are favored because they allow global diversification and are offered by several management companies with very low trust fees. Some point out that the current yen depreciation is significantly influenced by NISA. Japanese investors are using NISA to buy large amounts of foreign stocks, increasing the demand for foreign currency and causing the yen to weaken. If this is true, a reversal is expected eventually. When profits are realized and converted back to yen, the demand for yen will increase, putting upward pressure on the yen. Since many are long-term investors, this might not happen for decades. Recently, high-dividend foreign stock...

Kobe is located in a very narrow plain. The sea is close, and so are the mountains. There are many rivers flowing from the mountains to the sea, making the area rich in nature. Because everything is concentrated in a small area, it is convenient in many ways. I live in a residential area in front of the station, but within cycling distance, there are large factories and warehouses where many people work. There are also supermarkets nearby, and all the facilities necessary for daily life, such as hospitals, are close by. The city is very convenient because it is compact. There is a farm called "Rokkosan Farm" on Mount Rokko, and it only takes about 20 minutes by car from where I live. It is surprising that there is even a thermal power plant.

 I started a part-time job. In addition to my main job, I work at a warehouse at night. I thought that only people who couldn't work elsewhere would work in a warehouse at night, but that's not the case. Some people are office workers who finish their jobs at 5 PM and then come to work part-time at the warehouse. There are many such people. Due to the rising cost of living, they have to work part-time in addition to their main job. One woman is raising children and comes to work part-time after her husband returns from work. Hearing these stories, I feel that Japan has become quite poor, but on second thought, it's just that the way of working has changed. A generation ago, unpaid overtime was the norm. Working about 16 hours a day was normal. Thanks to that, Japan achieved high economic growth. With stricter laws protecting workers, companies can no longer make employees work long hours. Workers can no longer work long hours at one company, but instead, they have started p...

It seems like it was quite a while ago when monetary easing began with the goal of escaping deflation. Whether it was due to the effects of monetary easing or not, we are currently experiencing inflation. The Bank of Japan still seems unsatisfied and reportedly will not raise interest rates anytime soon. Nevertheless, inflation is severe for ordinary people. When shopping at the supermarket, it feels like prices have increased by about 1.5 to 2 times. I don't know the actual inflation rate, but looking at my household budget, it doesn't seem to be a low figure of just a few percent. AEON, a supermarket listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, used to be popular for its low prices. There were a few cheaper supermarkets, but they were not as favored due to lower quality or poor customer service. However, recently, they have become very popular. Supermarkets like Gyomu Super, operated by Kobe Bussan, are more popular than ever, with long lines at the registers on weekends....

I feel like I see ships almost every day. When I first started living in Kobe, seeing a ship made me happy as if I had seen something rare. But recently, it has become commonplace. It is not unusual to see a ship parked right there if you drive along the coast. When going to Rokko Island or Port Island, you often see them from the bridge. If you go to the mountains, you can see the sea in the distance and the ships. I realized that seeing ships no longer excites me. This image was created by ChatGPT

Even for those visiting Kobe for the first time, it’s rare to get lost in the city. This is because you can determine directions without relying on map apps like Google Maps. To the north of Kobe lies Mount Rokko. Therefore, the direction where you can see Mount Rokko is north. The Kobe plain is narrow, and you can see Mount Rokko from most places. Kobe has mountains to the north and the sea to the south, with many areas gently sloping. Since going uphill means heading north and downhill means heading south, you can generally figure out directions even if you can’t see Mount Rokko. Because of this, people born and raised in Kobe often get lost when they go to other cities. This is because they lose their sense of direction.