Unclear on the Concept

In the civil suit pitting individuals infected with Hepatitis C against the manufacturer of the blood products that infected them and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Supreme Court of Osaka admonished both sides to find a mutually acceptable solution to their dispute.

You robe-clad morons! The reason why the two sides are fighting out the issue in the courts -- desperately, painfully, through months and years five years of delay, subterfuge and evasion -- is precisely because they could not find a mutually acceptable private solution!

Why do you think they went to you for, to admire the decor in your chambers?

"We do not find for the plaintiffs. We do not find for the defendants. We find a way out for ourselves. You annoy us. Be gone!"

They cannot even run a proper show trial.

How dare these judges admonish (kankoku) the victims to try harder.

Hypocrites, it is they who have shirked all responsibility. Rather than coming down with a decision, they put all hope of justice being served upon the conscience and stamina of Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Masuzoe Yōichi.

Masuzoe seems to be a decent enough guy, willing to listen to both the victims and Naoto Kan--the last Health, Labour and Welfare minister forced to confront the combined forces of these horrible blood poisoners and their handlers in the Ministry.

Maybe Masuzoe will get some measure of compensation for the victims. His inappropriate nervous grinning and obsequious bowing today at the meeting with the representatives of the victims does not inspire confidence, however.

The clock is ticking--for both him (How long will he be Minister?) and those infected.

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For some particulars on the cases, see the following article from the international Herald Tribune.