European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 poor Little Rich country by Janice Fuhrman United press International Apan is one of inc world s richest countries but Lilc in the Small Island nation thai Rose from the ashes of would War ii to become an economic powerhouse hardly reflects that status. Japan is a Paradox of wealth Wilhour affluence. Japanese Ira colors can snap up a Van Gogh painting for $36 6 million buy a beachfront Hawaii hotel Lor $320 million or 25 percent of a Singla  Treasury Bond Issue but japanese people endure cramped dark houses the highest consumer prices in the world Long working hours and Lew recreational opportunities. Ordinary japanese people Don t snare the wealth Oltha japanese Economy. Thay just create  said Robert Hancock who is studying special interest groups in Japan. Japan tags behind the United Stales and Europe in sewage systems paved reads Public Parka and libraries. The japanese have paid Little attention to improvements in their living environment in Iho postwar period giving lop priority to of Luence in economic we said Eiko Kawana an economist at the government economic planning Agency a sharply appreciated yen boosts the country s wealth on paper. Land values and household incomes Are High personal savings pools Are vast and per capita Gross National product will surpass that of the Umed slates this year according to a report by the Tokai Bank one of the country s largest. Out the japanese have Only limited buying Power at Homo where a cup of cot fee costs the equivalent of $3, annual membership in a crowded health club starts at Over 11,000, and a modern but modest Tokyo apartment can easily rent Lor $3,000 a month. A japanese machinery worker labors 2 hours-26 minutes to buy Zzz pounds of beef Whise his american counterpart can buy the same amount by working Only 16 minutes according to the International labor organization. Most notorious of All aspects of japanese life is its so called Rabbit Hutch housing. Many of Japan s 120 million people live in Small houses with Little Light because of the density of buildings in Urban areas and Sutler year around harsh weather without air conditioning or Central heating. The average Price Tor a House in Tokyo is �823,000 and the average condominium costs $370,000, says the private real estate research group Fud Osan Meizai Ken Kyushu. Yat the average Tokyo Houe measures 953 Square feet on a 1,646-Square-foot lot. In the United Stales the average House is nearly twice As Large. Speculation in land and a powerful farm lobby that zealously protects one Foft a the country s habitable land have caused land prices to skyrocket making even Small Homes unallowable for Many. The politically protected farming sector hangs Onlo land in densely populated Urban areas reaping profits Only because of government crop subsidies. But this drives land prices even higher and sharply limits land available for housing As Long As we have farming in the neighbourhood of big cities no matter How much Money to have we re not going to have a Good Quality of Lite said author Kenichi Omae. Even guests in Japan Tare Beller than their hosts. On average foreign residents live in houses twice As Large As japanese Homes according to a recent Survey by the National land Agency. Yoshie Takahashi a government worker who earns the equivalent of $1,300 a month lives in a one room apartment the size of a Small dormitory room at a . College. She pays �425 a month rent and has no air conditioning or heat no laundry fac Lilles and a 70 minute round trip commute to work each day1. She considers Meisoll Lucky Hal her commute is so Short and her apartment is now. Takahashi s Small place is so packed with furniture and appliances a color television microwave oven tape deck electric Rice cooker and electric frying pan she Otten Mosst give away gifts she receives because she has no room Tor them. When she worked at the japanese embassy in Washington she lived in an apartment three limes larger her response is automatic when asked what she misses most about living in the United slates  Ichiro Fukuda is Lucky. In addition to his Rabbit Hutch a tiny 3-room condominium in Tokyo Hal Cost him $2t5,000 five years ago the 63-year-Osd Retiree of the National Delessa Agency owns a Small House in a Seaside resort 90 minutes to the South. Fukuda said tie could Only allot what he Calls his Kennel because he bought the land in 1960, borrowing heavily from relatives and the government. His wife designed the 1,000-Square-fool House that sits on a 2,000-Square-fool plot and in was Buill by relatives in the construction business. According to tax assessments his property s value has increased tent Oid in the last 15 years. Carefree learning by Elaine Kurtenbach associated press every school Day principal Mitsuko Kitajima stands at the Gate in rain cold or wind welcoming Kinder garners and their mothers to school the children s respectful bows and Matching Bright Blue Caps and Coats Are signs of japanese discipline. But once inside it s All Tun Lor the kids of Oyama kindergarten in Tokyo. To makes me happiest to sea them smiling to see the Light in their eyes said Kitajima. Who in her 35 years of teaching kindergarten has won awards for her research and safety record. Japanese children gone ally indulged and treated gently by Itier parents enjoy their last truly Carefree years n kindergarten Belore plunging into the strict regime of formal education Kitajima said. Except for the most elite private schools often Alfi stated Wilh inc Best universities and linked in Many minds with the Besl  in life japanese educators seem to agree that Carefree learning is what kindergarten should be about. The Competition commonly associated with Japan s educational system comes later. The 101 children who spend four hours a Day Al Oyama scorn Happy and Busy at their chores and play. The 4 and 5-year-Olds wipe the wooden patios with rags. They clean their classrooms and the cages of their Pel rabbits and Guinea pigs play hide and seek build cardboard houses and make As much noise As they want. The school s four teachers with 20 to 30 students apiece seem unperturbed by the chaos the 4-year-Olds, who get the most direction quietly follow the teacher through drawing exercises and a Well organized game. The 5-year-olos. Busy Wilh pets and projects demand Little attention. Each Day. The kids decide for themselves if they d like to be outdoors or inside and in they want to draw pictures or play games said Kitajima. We Lei them do what they want although we sometimes have to persuade a child to try something new if he seems to spend All his time doing one thing.". Almost half of All japanese children Start kindergarten at the age of 3. And 92 percent of All and year Odds attend kindergarten according to education ministry figures children living in nearby High Rise apartments have saturday. February 13, 1988 Lew chances to play in inc Sunshine or to meet friends outside of school. It s heaven Tor the  Kitajima said. Tha school surrounded by an Iron Fence and shrubbery has a playground and five Large carpeted rooms. The child Ion seem oblivious to the Chin outside As they scamper in and Oul of the classrooms. Like All Public kindergartens Oyala has a simple curriculum. The children never sit at desks and study said Kitajima. We Leach them hew to hold a pen and Brush and hey learn simple counting but there Are no  More than Hall of Japan s 15.156 kindergartens arc private schools most of which follow the same curriculum. But children in the most prestigious private schools lace such tasks As learning the Abacus writing end Homework. Competition to get into top private kindergartens is intense. A place in one of the Best schools gives children a head Start in the Competition for gobs Wilh top companies. Tokyo s most zip ens a Viridet Gatun. Connected with Aoyama Akuin University charged $9,923 per child in 1986. The average Cost of private kindergarten is $2,164, and the government provides subsidies to parents who need them the stars and stripes opens 17