ホンダ社長「円高続くと正社員削減も」 国内生産、縮小検討

ホンダ社長「円高続くと正社員削減も」　国内生産、縮小検討

　ホンダの福井威夫社長は19日、日本経済新聞社の記者らの取材に応じ「現在の円高水準が続くと来期（2010年3月期）には正社員の削減もありうる」と述べ、為替相場が1ドル＝90円前後で推移し続けると一段のリストラに踏み込む意向を示した。海外にさらに生産をシフトすることも検討する。来期の赤字転落を防ぐため「聖域を設けずリストラに取り組む」という。

　ホンダは世界的な自動車販売減と急速な円高の進行で業績が悪化。2008年度下期（08年10―09年3月）の連結営業損益が1900 億円の赤字に転落する見通し。業績悪化に歯止めをかけるため新工場や研究所の稼働時期を延期するなど事業戦略の大幅見直しに着手している。

　福井社長は同日の取材で「1ドル＝80円台は異常な水準で、100円台に戻ると思う」と述べた上で、仮に来期以降も現在の円高水準が定着すると、11月末時点で約4500人いる期間従業員が「限りなくゼロに近づく」との考えを示した。雇用確保で最重要視していた既存正社員についても「削減がありうる」と語った。 (19日 23:42)

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Toyota faces first slide into red

By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo

Published: December 18 2008 03:12 | Last updated: December 18 2008 03:12

Toyota Motor began 2008 expecting to become the first car company to sell 10m vehicles in a single year. Twelve months and a global industry slump later, it is facing a much gloomier “first”.

Analysts predict the Japanese automaker will lose money in the final two quarters of its financial year to March, falling into the red for the first time since it began publishing its financial results 68 years ago.

That would be a stunning reversal for a company whose position as the auto industry’s most profitable operator has seemed unassailable. Last year Toyota earned Y2,270bn at the operating level, the largest-ever profit for a Japanese manufacturer.

It would also serve as a reminder, as US carmakers seek a massive government bailout to stave off bankruptcy, that even tightly managed Japanese producers have not escaped the downturn. Although there have been suggestions that Toyota could scoop up factories from General Motors or Chrysler, analysts said its weaker financial position makes that outcome less likely.

Toyota abandoned its 10m-vehicle sales target in August and is widely expected to reduce its 2009 projection, now at 9.7m vehicles, by around 1m units on December 22.

The closest Toyota has ever come to losing money was in the early 1970s, in the wake of the first oil shock. But even in the bleakest part of that period, from December 1973 to May 1974, it managed to generate Y6.9bn more in revenues than it spent making cars.

Toyota has been cutting costs aggressively. It has trimmed managers’ year-end bonuses, eliminated thousands of contract jobs and suspended production at some North American plants.

Investment is also being curtailed. Toyota said on Monday it would suspend construction work on its latest US plant in Mississippi until the market turns around. The plant was to have begun producing Prius petrol-electric hybrids beginning in 2010.

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米自動車大手に総額174億ドルのつなぎ融資　ブッシュ大統領

　【ワシントン＝大隅隆】ブッシュ米大統領は19日記者会見し、ゼネラル・モーターズ（ＧＭ）とクライスラーに総額174億ドル（約1兆5400億円）のつなぎ融資を実施すると発表した。金融安定化法に基づく公的資金を活用する。これに伴い、自動車大手は3月末までに抜本的な再建計画を策定する。金融危機に端を発した米自動車大手の経営危機は、政府による企業救済の形でひとまず決着する。

　ブッシュ大統領は「今の状況では、破産法の適用は機能しない。無秩序な破綻は経済全般に大きな影響を与えかねない」と語った。金融危機で販売が急減した自動車大手は政府に総額340億ドルの緊急融資を要請したが、米議会での支援協議が決裂。ブッシュ大統領が破綻回避へつなぎ資金を融資するかが焦点になっていた。

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リオ・ティント、サウジのアルミ合弁事業から撤退

　【ドバイ＝松尾博文】英豪資源大手リオ・ティントはサウジアラビア国営鉱物資源会社（通称マーデン）と進めていたサウジでのアルミニウム精錬事業から撤退する。金融危機と資源価格の急落により総額100億ドル（8900億円）の事業資金調達が難しくなった。プロジェクトは大幅見直しが不可避となり、湾岸産油国でも金融危機による大型事業への影響が本格化してきた。

　マーデンがウェブ上で「リオ・ティントは世界的な金融危機によりアルミ生産事業に参加できなくなった」との声明を発表した。

　サウジ北部で産出するボーキサイトを東岸まで鉱山鉄道で運び、マーデンとリオ・ティントによる合弁会社が精錬する計画で、2012年の稼働を目指していた。鉱石の採掘から地金生産まで同一国内で実施する世界最大級の事業で、産業多角化を急ぐサウジの中核プロジェクトに位置付けられていた。 (00:04)

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Hindsight enriched by common sense

By John Authers

Published: December 19 2008 16:58 | Last updated: December 19 2008 16:58

Hindsight Capital LLC had a great 2008. It has always been successful because it uses the strategy that year in and year out is better than any other: hindsight.

But this year, Hindsight Capital operated with a few restrictions. It had to stay diversified so it could not just choose a risky stock that would rise 1,000 per cent. There were also strict limitations on its ability to use market timing. It had to stick with its positions at the start of the year from beginning to end, with one opportunity to shift, at mid-year.

Hindsight’s managers were allowed to sell short (borrow a security and sell it to profit from a price decline) but they were not allowed to invest in any more complicated hedge fund strategies.

Finally, even though the fund made its decisions using hindsight, it had to show that those investment decisions made sense at the time. As the Madoff affair has shown, if an investor cannot explain clearly how they will make money, they are best avoided.

Here, operating within these restrictions, is how Hindsight did it.

First of all, it was based in the UK. Why? Sterling was blatantly overvalued as the year began. UK-based investors thus benefited from “money illusion” as any investment outside the UK was artificially inflated once the pound fell.

Their next big decision was to see that a recession was unavoidable. With a downturn imminent, it is wise to buy bonds and sell shares. This is usually a defensive move to limit losses. This year, it would have made very big money. Using Bloomberg’s index for US bonds with a term of 10 years or more, Hindsight made a return of 61.6 per cent in sterling terms (US investors would have made 24 per cent).

Had they sold short the S&P 500 and invested the proceeds in long US bonds, they would have made 100 per cent. The same exercise using Britain’s FTSE 100 stock index and long-dated gilts would have made 64 per cent.

Secondly, Hindsight’s managers could see that a bubble had developed in Brazil, Russia, India and China, the “Bric” countries. They are all large emerging markets but beyond that these four countries have little in common except the catchy acronym. Entering the year, there were many Bric funds, and the Bric index had outperformed the rest of the emerging markets strongly. A US recession would be bad news for them.

So Hindsight sold the MSCI Bric index and balanced it by investing in the MSCI World index of developed markets equities. This strategy would make money for them as long as the developed world did better than the Brics – and indeed it made 38.3 per cent. At one point the profit was as high as 72 per cent.

Another bet was in foreign exchange. With sterling so overvalued, betting on the dollar to gain against the pound seemed safe. This yielded 28 per cent by the end of the year – although sterling disobeyed gravity until July, and all profits came in the second half of the year.

Further, the yen was clearly undervalued thanks to the carry trade – the widespread practice of borrowing in yen, at its low interest rates, and parking the proceeds in a currency with higher interest rates, such as the Australian dollar. This trade was bound to collapse at some point, and that moment finally came in the latter half of this year. A bet on the yen to rise against the Aussie made Hindsight 58 per cent (having reached 75 per cent at one point).

Finally, the year began with a raft of speculation that oil prices would rise much further. With interest rates likely to fall to deal with a recession, investors might well look for the relative safety of hard assets, which benefit from inflation. So Hindsight bought oil futures.

By mid-year, however, the trade was wildly overdone. Oil stood at exactly $140 on June 30, having risen 46 per cent in the first six months. This was a blatant bubble. So Hindsight took profits, and reversed the bet, now selling oil short.

That trade made it 72 per cent over the ensuing six months as the oil bubble burst in spectacular fashion.

For those who prefer not to sell short, Hindsight’s strategy for UK investors would have been to raise holdings in long Treasury bonds, and scale back on domestic equities. Even with a significant weighting in equities, this should have made for a profitable year.

All of this was without using the full power of hindsight, with which the fund’s managers might have invested in Tunisia’s stock market (by the far world’s most successful), or in Volkswagen, which doubled after many hedge funds that had bet on the stock to go down saw the bet blow up in their faces.

Are there broader lessons from this? With hindsight, many of us kick ourselves over mistakes of market timing. But perfect timing, without the benefit of hindsight, is impossible.

What Hindsight Capital does tell us is that strategies based on common sense, consistently held, tend to work out in the end. You just need a clear sense of the big picture (which 12 months ago required a grasp that the credit crisis was not over and that a recession was coming), and patience to wait for reality to catch up with unrealistic prices.

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Yale fund loses 25% in four months

By Deborah Brewster in New York

Published: December 17 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 17 2008 02:00

The Yale University endowment, long regarded as a suc-cessful model for fund management, lost at least 25 per cent in value in the four months to the end of October and is unlikely to show any return next year.

The loss, revealed in a letter yesterday to Yale faculty and staff, follows the news the Harvard endowment had lost at least 22 per cent since the end of June and would lose up to 30 per cent in the year to next June.

Rick Levin, president of Yale, said it would not cut its financial aid programmes despite the loss. However, it would tighten hiring, reduce pay rises, defer new construction and cut non-wage costs by 5 per cent.

"We do not intend to overreact to the decline in the value of our endowment, since markets remain volatile . . . Despite the downturn in the economy, it is important to keep in perspective that the university is much stronger than it was a decade ago," he said.

The endowment, managed by David Swensen, had declined in value by less than market indices, he said.

The value of its publicly traded securities had fallen by 13.4 per cent to the end of October and by more since then. However, when illiquid assets such as real estate and private equity were taken into account, the total drop in value was greater.

Mr Levin said: "Our best estimate of the endowment's value today is $17bn, a decline of 25 per cent since June 30 2008, and this is the value we are using for purposes of budget planning. We are also assuming that the endowment will remain flat during the 2009-10 academic year and resume growth after June 30 2010, at the rate that we have historically used in our budget modelling."

The endowment money covers 44 per cent of the university's annual expenses of $2.7bn.

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Harvard endowment loses $8bn in four months

By Rebecca Knight in Boston

Published: December 4 2008 02:41 | Last updated: December 4 2008 02:41

Harvard, the world’s wealthiest university, said that its endowment lost 22 per cent, or $8bn, in the first four months of the fiscal year, underscoring how higher education has been hard hit by the global financial crisis.

The decline brings the school’s endowment from $36.9bn on June 30 to $28.7bn (€22.5bn, £19.3bn) by the end of October.

Drew Faust, Harvard’ president, and Edward Forst, the school’s executive vice-president, described the impact of the loss in a letter sent to the university’s deans late on Tuesday evening.

“To put a loss of that size in historical context, over the last at least 40 years, Harvard’s worst single-year endowment return was a negative 12.2 per cent in 1974, and at that time our endowment stood at less than $1bn and funded a much less significant proportion of university operations,” read the letter, which is on the college’s website.

“Since that time, there have been only three years of negative performance, with returns ranging from minus 0.5 per cent to minus 3 per cent.”

The university is preparing for a 30 per cent reduction in its endowment by the end of the year, the letter warned. A report issued last month by Moody’s Investors Service said that most university endowments had declined between 15 and 30 per cent between August and November.

Allan Bufferd, who managed MIT’s endowment for almost 20 years and is now at Family Endowment Partners, the Boston-based investment firm, said he was not surprised by the magnitude of the loss. “I don’t think it’s low, but I don’t think it’s high,” he said. “I suspect other [endowments will post losses] that hover around this number.”

Many colleges have adopted economy measures such as halting faculty raises, freezing all new hires and delaying capital investments to compensate for their shrinking endowments.

The letter did not detail further cuts but said the school was “reconsidering the scale and pace of planned capital projects”, including development plans in neighbouring Allston.

Like many institutions, Harvard relies on revenue generated by its endowment to cover operating costs. In Harvard’s case, income distributed from the endowment now funds 35 per cent of the its overall operating budget, and some of its schools rely on endowment income to cover more than 50 per cent of their expenses.

The letter was itself unusual. Many college presidents have recently issued statements on the impact of the global financial crisis on their budgets, but this is the first statement explicitly to address investment performance. The university usually sends out its annual report on the state of investments toward the beginning of the academic year.

“In challenging times like these, it’s always better to communicate more than less,” said Daniel Jick, chief executive officer, of HighVista Strategies, the Boston-based investment company, which works with endowments and foundations. “It’s good business practice to communicate with your constituents. And to the extent that you’re asking people to cut costs, and cut people, and make those hard decisions, it helps them understand the root of the issue.”

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Russia to halt weapons ‘if US drops shield’

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow

Published: December 19 2008 14:03 | Last updated: December 19 2008 14:03

Russia said on Friday it would halt the development of some strategic weapons if the US abandoned a controversial project to deploy an anti-missile shield in Europe.

The remarks appeared to be a conciliatory overture to the incoming US administration, but also reflect the challenge posed to Russia’s ambitious military expansion by the world financial crisis.

Nikolai Solovtsov, the colonel general of Russia’s strategic missile forces, said, Russia would “respond adequately,” if the US gave up the interceptor plan, Interfax reported.

“We simply will not need a number of expensive (strategic missile) programmes, he said

The US and Poland agreed to station elements of the shield on Polish soil in August after Russia went to war with Georgia and relations between Washington and Moscow sank to a new low.

The US says the shield was designed to shoot down ballistic missiles it fears could be launched by “rogue” states such as Iran.

But Russia sees it is a threat to its own nuclear deterrent and has threatened to respond by building new missiles targeting Europe.

Colonel Solovtsov said, “We do not want to frighten anyone by planning to develop strategic weapons. We are simply acting in response to today’s realities.”

He said Russia, in addition to developing a new generation of weaponry, was working to extend the lifetime of the RS-20, an intercontinental ballistic missile, dubbed “Satan” by Nato.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said on Thursday that Russia was ready to build a “pragmatic” relationship with the new US administration.

Russia hopes the US “will be ready to consider any issues and strive to find mutually acceptable solutions,” he said after a meeting with US Senator Richard Lugar in Moscow.

However, John Rood, the US under secretary for arms control and international security, said Russia had become less flexible in dealing with the US on the shield issue, after meetings in Moscow this week.

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Hedge funds gain access to $200bn Fed aid

By Krishna Guha in Washington

Published: December 20 2008 05:01 | Last updated: December 20 2008 05:01

Hedge funds will be allowed to borrow from the Federal Reserve for the first time under a landmark $200bn programme intended to support consumer credit.

The Fed said on Friday it would offer low-cost three-year funding to any US company investing in securitised consumer loans under the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). This includes hedge funds, which have never been able to borrow from the US central bank before, although the Fed may not permit hedge funds to use offshore vehicles to conduct the transactions.

The asset-backed securities to be funded under the programme are pools of credit card receivables, automobile loans and student loans.

The idea is to increase the supply of these loans and reduce borrowing rates by ensuring that the companies that make the loans can sell them on to investors who have guaranteed access to low-cost funding from the Fed.

The TALF is a key plank of the unorthodox strategy set out by the Fed last week as it cut interest rates virtually to zero. Washington insiders expect the programme will be dramatically expanded next year with further capital support from Treasury once the Obama administration takes office.

A senior official in the outgoing Bush administration told the Financial Times it could also be broadened to include new commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities.

The Fed thinks risk premiums or “spreads” for consumer loans are much higher than would be justified by likely default rates, even assuming a nasty recession.

It attributes this to a lack of buying interest in the secondary market where the loans are sold on to investors. By making loans to these investors on attractive terms it aims to increase market liquidity.

Making the scheme open to all US companies is a radical departure for the Fed, which normally supports financial market liquidity indirectly by ensuring banks have adequate liquidity to make loans to other investors.

However, the liquidity the Fed is providing to banks is not flowing through to financial markets, because banks are balance-sheet constrained and risk-averse. So it is channelling funds directly to investors.

The scheme is not designed specifically for hedge funds and a wide range of financial institutions are likely to participate.

Nonetheless, Fed officials hope that hedge funds will be among those investors that take advantage of the low-cost finance to drive down spreads.

The loans will be secured only against the securities and not the borrower. However, the Fed will lend slightly less than the value of the securities pledged as collateral. The Treasury has committed $20bn to cover potential losses.

Since the credit crisis erupted, hedge funds have complained that they cannot get the leverage they need to arbitrage away excessive spreads and meet high hurdle rates of return.

“Demand is there for leverage but not supply,” said Sylvan Chackman, head of global equity financing at Merrill Lynch.

In effect, the Fed will now take on the role of prime broker – the lead bank that lends to a hedge fund – for specific assets.

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Mideast-Europe cable links hit

By Paul Taylor

Published: December 20 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 20 2008 02:00

Internet and telephone communications between the Middle East and Europe were severely disrupted yesterday after at least three submarine cables running under the Mediterranean between southern Italy and Egypt were damaged.

While the cause and full extent of the damage remained unclear, the cables carry more than 75 per cent of traffic between the Middle East, Europe and America and could potentially disrupt communications worldwide.

Telecoms industry experts warned that the potential impact could be significant and noted that a similar incident in January took almost two weeks to fix.

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City turmoil spreads to prime properties

By Norma Cohen

Published: December 20 2008 02:34 | Last updated: December 20 2008 02:34

The travails of London’s financial sector are spilling over into some of the swankiest neighbourhoods, with both rents and house prices falling sharply in the last three months of the year, according to specialist upmarket property companies.

Prime central London rents plummeted by almost 10 per cent over the past three months, the latest Knight Frank index reveals.

The previous largest quarterly decline on record in central London prime property was a drop of just above 2 per cent in the three months to September 2003, said Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s head of residential research.

Chelsea saw the biggest drop in rents – a decline of 15.4 per cent. “This is banker territory,” Mr Bailey said. “The mid-to-upper tier here has been weakened because of the ongoing turmoil and job losses in the City.”

Similarly, prices for the finest homes in central London are also falling rapidly, according to Savills. Prices slumped by 8.7 per cent on average in the past three months and are now 20 per cent down from their peak in September 2007.

“The areas most susceptible to City job loss fears took the sharpest dip,” said Yolande Barnes, head of residential research at Savills. These include Notting Hill, Kensington and Holland Park, where homes fell 11.2 per cent on average in the fourth quarter.

Homes in traditional “super-prime” areas such as Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Belgravia and Chelsea have seen prices decline by just under 10 per cent on average in the past three months.

“Whereas US and European banks were happy to spend £3,000 per week accommodating senior executives in 2007, they are now asking why £1,500 wouldn’t suffice,” Mr Bailey said.

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国民年金、保険料月額250円上げ　09年度１万4660円に

　厚生労働省は20日、自営業者らが加入する国民年金の保険料について2009年度は月額250円引き上げ、１万4660円とすることを決めた。04年の年金改革で国民年金保険料は毎年４月に月額280円程度を引き上げ、17年度以降に１万6900円で固定する仕組みを導入している。来年度の厚生年金、国民年金の給付額は据え置く見通しだ。(21:48)

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定額給付金の基準日は２月１日　総務省、配布方法を通知

　総務省は20日、追加経済対策の目玉である定額給付金について、地方自治体に配布方法の詳細を通知した。年齢や住所の基準日は2009年２月１日と設定したほか、短期滞在などを除く外国人にも支給することにした。また、政府の「生活防衛のための緊急対策」を踏まえ、自治体が独自で取り組む離職者対策に特別交付税から財政支援することも各自治体に伝えた。

　定額給付金は１万2000円だが、65歳以上と18歳以下の人は8000円上乗せし２万円を配る。この年齢の基準について65歳以上の人は生年月日が1944年２月２日以前に生まれた人、18歳以下の人は90年２月２日以降に生まれた人とすることにした。

　給付の対象者は来年２月１日時点で住民基本台帳に記録されている人と、外国人登録原票に登録されている人。永住者や特別永住者だけでなく、日本人の配偶者や就労目的で在留する外国人、留学生なども対象にする。ただ、観光客などの短期滞在者や、在留期間を過ぎて不法に残る外国人は含まない。(19:51)

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トヨタなど自動車大手３社、米国在庫が拡大

　需要急減でトヨタ自動車、ホンダ、日産自動車の大手3社の米国での在庫が適正水準のほぼ倍に積み上がっている。3社の11月の米在庫日数はビッグスリー（米自動車大手3社）同様、100日を超え2000年以降で過去最大となった。在庫拡大は販売費増などにつながる。円高も響きトヨタは09年3月期通期で初の連結営業赤字に陥る見通し。下期（08年10月―09年3月）では3社そろって営業赤字に陥る公算が大きい。

　3社平均は103日と前年同月比6割強増え、10月をさらに上回った。トヨタが9割増の92日、ホンダが7割増の106日、日産自が4割増の110日。ＪＰモルガン証券によると、ホンダは1990年以降の最高値だった湾岸戦争後の93年3月の89日を今年10月、11月と連続して超えた。日産自の100 日超えは98年以来という。(11:35)

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パナソニック、三洋買収を発表　戦略分野に1000億円投資

　パナソニック（旧松下電器産業）と三洋電機は19日、パナソニックが三洋を買収することで最終合意したと発表した。来年2月にも三洋の全株式を対象に1 株131円でＴＯＢ（株式公開買い付け）を実施、3月末の子会社化を目指す。パナソニックの大坪文雄社長は同日の記者会見で「（充電池など）戦略分野で 1000億円規模の投資を実施する」と表明、世界景気減速下でも成長戦略を加速する。

　パナソニックは同日、三洋株の過半取得を目指しＴＯＢ実施を決議した。既に米ゴールドマン・サックスグループや大和証券ＳＭＢＣグループ、三井住友銀行の大株主3社は保有する三洋優先株の売却で合意しており、ＴＯＢは成立する見通し。三洋も同日、ＴＯＢへの賛同を決めた。

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日本郵船と新日石、太陽光発電搭載の自動車運搬船が完成

　日本郵船と新日本石油は19日、船舶を動かす電力の一部を太陽光発電で賄う自動車運搬船を完成し、神戸市で発電装置の通電式を開催した。太陽光発電を船舶の動力源に使うのは世界初という。トヨタ自動車の完成車の輸送などに使いながら、発電装置の耐久性などを検証していく。

　完成した船舶「アウリガ・リーダー」は最大6200台の自動車を運搬する。甲板に40キロワットの太陽光発電を搭載し、エンジンの制御や船倉の換気装置などの動力源として使う。同船舶で使う電力の平均0.8％分を賄う計画だ。

　通電式には日本郵船の草刈隆郎会長と新日石の渡文明会長、最大荷主であるトヨタの張富士夫会長が出席。草刈会長は「実験の第1船で効率性とコストの両面で課題は残るが、実用化を目指す」と述べた。

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「マイコプラズマ肺炎に注意」　手洗い・うがいで予防を

　インフルエンザが流行する一方で、高熱や激しいせきが長く続く「マイコプラズマ肺炎」にかかる人も増えている。市販薬は効かず、治療が遅れると重症化する恐れもあることから、専門家は注意を呼び掛けている。

　国立感染症研究所（東京）によると、定点観測している全国約450医療機関から報告された患者数は、11月10日から今月7日までに857人で、昨年の同じ時期より96人増。患者数が多い都道府県は青森、宮城、福島、愛媛、沖縄などだった。

　病原体は「肺炎マイコプラズマ」と呼ばれる細菌の一種。気管支で増殖し、炎症を引き起こす。感染すると高熱が出て、乾いた激しいせきが長く続くのが特徴だ。同研究所の荒川宜親・細菌第2部長は「晩秋から春にかけて流行する傾向があり、これから感染者は増える」と指摘する。

　せきのしぶきでうつるため、学校や会社などで集団感染するケースが多い。治療が遅れると、体力が弱い幼児や高齢者は死亡する恐れもあるという。〔共同〕(17:35)

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タイ産米からカビ毒　食用、農水省が検査で見逃す

　農林水産省は19日、国内の加工食品メーカーに販売したタイ産食用米から強毒性のカビ毒「アフラトキシンＢ１」が検出されたと発表した。農水省が輸入の際の検査で見逃して国内の加工食品会社に販売。この会社が製造過程で発見し、同省に連絡した。アフラトキシンは食品衛生法で微量でも検出されてはいけないと定められており、食用米から検出されたのは初めて。

　事故米の不正転売問題ではアフラトキシンに汚染された工業用のコメが市場に流通したが、今回汚染が確認されたコメを使った製品は会社側が出荷を止めたため、市場に流通していないという。

　同省によると、アフラトキシンが検出されたのは今年6月にタイから輸入した食品加工用うるち米。10月22日に農水省から約24トンを購入した国内の加工食品会社が製品化する前に検査したところ、このうち1トン分のコメ袋から約180グラムのカビを発見。同省が外部機関に検査を依頼した結果、12月3日にアフラトキシン0.04PPMが検出されたという。(07:00)

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カツオ不漁に高齢化、負債返済できず漁協解散…三重

　三重県尾鷲市古江町の古江漁協は２０日、約３億６０００万円に上る県信用漁協連合会からの負債が返済できないとして、自己破産の手続きを開始し、来年１月末までに漁協を解散することを決めた。

　主流となっているカツオの一本釣り漁などで不漁が続いたほか、高齢化で、組合員への貸付金を回収できないケースが増加。借入金の返済や職員の退職金などが経営を圧迫していた。

　同漁協は１９４９年設立で、正組合員は５３人。組合員１人当たり平均３０万円の出資金は返還されないという。

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元露鵬＆白露山、日本で年越しへ

　大麻問題で９月に日本相撲協会を解雇された元幕内露鵬、元十両白露山兄弟の力士としての地位保全を求める仮処分の審尋手続きが１８日、東京地裁で行われた。同兄弟は姿を見せず、代理人の塩谷弁護士が「もんもんとしながら土俵への復帰を信じてトレーニングしている。ロシアには帰国せず、日本で年を越す」と近況を説明。来年１月１４日以降に、裁判所からの決定が出る予定。同弁護士は「協会側の出方によっては和解も検討する。地位が保全されれば、２人は相撲部屋でのけいこも希望している」と話したが、協会幹部は「司法の裁定が下るまで争うことになる」と話している。

　［2008年12月19日9時18分　紙面から］

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時津風親方、今後のサポートを約束

　時津風親方（元幕内時津海）は１８日、執行猶予付きの判決に感謝し、弟子の３被告の第２の人生へのサポートを約束した。「彼らは（判決を）厳重に受け止め、社会に出ても頑張ってもらいたい」とメッセージを送った。「私にはその責任がある」と３人と直接会って、今後についての相談に乗る考えだ。会見の最後には涙を浮かべながら、全国の相撲ファンに心配をかけたことを謝罪した。

　［2008年12月19日9時17分　紙面から］

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時津風部屋判決　稽古という名のリンチだった（12月20日付・読売社説）

　相撲界に染みついた暴力体質を一掃しなければならない。

　大相撲の時津風部屋で序ノ口力士が暴行を受け死亡した事件で、名古屋地裁は傷害致死罪に問われた兄弟子３人に執行猶予付きの有罪判決を言い渡した。

　判決を受け、日本相撲協会は３人を解雇した。

　部屋を逃げ出そうとした力士を柱に縛り付け、顔を殴るなどした。ぶつかり稽古(げいこ)で土俵にたたきつけ、金属バットや棒で殴打した。判決は、死亡した力士に対し、元時津風親方と兄弟子が執拗(しつよう)に暴行を加えたことを認定した。

　「稽古の範囲を明らかに逸脱した」などと判決が指弾したように、一連の暴行は制裁としてのリンチにほかならないといえよう。

　判決は、兄弟子による暴行が元親方の指示によるものだったと明確に認めた。「弟子が親方の指示に逆らうことは極めて困難」とも指摘した。

　タテ社会の相撲界で、弟子の置かれた立場などを考慮し、３人に執行猶予を付けたといえる。

　既に相撲協会を解雇された元親方の公判はまだ始まっていない。だが、元親方の責任の重大さを認めた今回の判決が、公判に大きく影響することは間違いない。

　「体罰が常態化していた面がある」――。判決は相撲界の実態にもこう言及した。実際、時津風部屋以外の二つの部屋でも今春、暴行が発覚した。

　相撲界には、「かわいがり」と称して若手力士をしごく慣習がある。強い力士を育てるには、厳しい稽古が必要だろう。だが、鍛えるための稽古と、痛めつけるための暴行の区別があいまいだったことは否定できまい。

　時津風部屋事件を受け、相撲協会は各部屋の稽古場から竹刀や棒を撤去した。暴行の道具をなくすことも必要だが、より重要なのは親方らの意識を変えることだ。

　相撲界にとって今年は、大揺れの年だった。ロシア人力士の大麻問題では、当時の北の湖理事長が辞任に追い込まれた。

　武蔵川新理事長の下で改革に乗り出し、協会理事のメンバーに戦後初めて外部の学識者らが入った。協会は相撲界の外から見た意見を取り入れ、悪(あ)しき旧弊を改善していかねばならない。

　１１月の九州場所では、客席に空席が目立った。相撲界が置かれた深刻な状況を物語っている。人気の低落を食い止めるには、不祥事をなくし、ファンに熱戦を見せることが、まずは大切だ。

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大相撲：ロンドン公演取りやめ　円高・不況で

　来年１０月の開催予定だった大相撲ロンドン公演が、大幅な円高や経済不況の影響で取りやめとなった。２２日の日本相撲協会の理事会で報告される。

　ロンドン公演の開催は、協会が昨年１月に発表。９１年以来１８年ぶりの予定だった。公演は主催者の英国側が招待する形で、力士ら協会員の旅費や滞在費などの経費を負担する。関係者によると、発表当時の為替レートから大幅なポンド安になったうえ、英国国内の不況も重なり現地スポンサーが集まらず、予想される数億円の経費を集められない見通しという。数日前に主催者側から「実施困難」との連絡があった。

　ただ海外公演は、１回の興行で約９００万円の契約料が入る巡業と違い、協会への実入りはほとんどない。このため協会関係者は「不況が大相撲の海外普及の妨げになるのは残念だが、その分増えてきた国内巡業に力を入れたい」と話している。

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相撲界、海外巡業に危機感　 ロンドン公演中止の波紋

　世界的な金融危機のあおりを受け、来年１０月に予定されていた大相撲のロンドン公演が中止となることが２０日に判明した。長引く大不況に現地スポンサーや運営サイドが悲鳴を上げた格好だ。

　これは３年連続で実現している海外巡業の開催にも影響してくる。相手国の招待を受けて実現する海外公演と違い、巡業は地元興行主が主催する。

　日本相撲協会は昨夏、東南アジアのタイから２０１０年に首都バンコクで巡業開催の打診を非公式ながら受けている。関係者によれば、主催者側の中心はトヨタ自動車の現地法人。この関係者は「減産や社員の解雇が続く自動車業界の現状を考えれば、相撲の巡業どころではないはず」と話す。相撲協会巡業部のある親方は「タイ巡業は無理だろう」と顔をしかめた。

　スポーツに与える景気悪化のマイナス面は角界にも及んできた。巡業部の尾車親方（元大関琴風）は「海外はもちろん国内巡業もこれまで通りとはいかない。現在の不況は相撲界にも大きく影響してくるだろう」と危機感を募らせている。

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相撲協会大きな痛手　ロンドン公演中止
2008.12.20 18:15

　急激な円高の影響で来年１０月のロンドン公演が中止になることは、日本相撲協会にとって大誤算である。来年１０月の巡業収入に狂いが生じかねないほか、欧州勢の躍進によって当地で高まる相撲熱に拍車をかける狙いも外れてしまった。

　例年１０月は国内巡業が行われ、今年も１２日から２６日にかけて１３日間の日程が組まれた。巡業は平日８５０万円、土日祝日９００万円で勧進元に売られるため、今年の収入は１億円を超える。来年はロンドン公演最優先だったため、ぽっかりと開いてしまう日程に国内巡業を組み込んで収入を確保できるかは不透明だ。

　また、ロンドン公演は平成３年以来で、巡業を含めた欧州での興行も７年のウィーン、パリ公演以来になるはずだった。欧州出身の関取がいなかった当時とは違い、現在はブルガリア出身の大関琴欧洲やエストニア出身の関脇把瑠都ら上位力士も珍しくない。

　欧州初の関取であるグルジア出身の黒海が「相撲はヨーロッパでもテレビで見られるようになって身近になった」と話すように、相撲人気も当時とは比較にならないほど高い。協会関係者も「ロンドン公演が相撲普及の起爆剤になれば」と話していた矢先の中止だった。

　九州場所時点で４２人いる幕内力士の３割以上を外国出身者が占める中、海外興行は協会の目玉イベントとなった。為替相場は流動的で、今後の海外興行にどのような影響を及ぼすかは分からないが、協会にとっても頭が痛い“ロンドンショック”となった。