Kazuhide Uekusa

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Kazuhide Uekusa
Born December 18, 1960
Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Economist, economic analyst, professor, commentator
Spouse woman who is 7 years younger

Kazuhide Uekusa (植草一秀 Uekusa Kazuhide?) was born December 18, 1960 in Edogawa, Tokyo. He is a Japanese economist, economic analyst, a former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute Co., Ltd.. He is generally called Prof. Uekusa (植草教授 Uekusa kyōju?).

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[edit] Career

He was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo. According to TV interviews with his ex-classmates, he was mostly a straight A student, so they call him a child prodigy.

After graduating Matsue Fourth Municipal Junior High School, he went on to Ryogoku Metropolitan High School. Although this school is coeducational, he was in a boys' class. According to his classmates here, he never talked about girls nor love affairs. They were very impressed that he used to read books while attending school.

In 1979, he entered the prestigious University of Tokyo and majored economics. Uekusa joined Nomura Research Institute in April, 1983 after graduating from University of Tokyo in March, 1983. He obtained positions as a researcher of Fiscal and Momentary Policy Institute at the Ministry of Finance in July, 1985, an assistant professor at the Economic Research Institute at Kyoto University in June, 1991, an honorary fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in October, 1993, a senior economist at Nomura Research Institute in April, 2002, and became a professor at the graduate school in Waseda University from April, 2003, until he was dimissed in April 2004. Afterwards, he established the Three-Nations Research Institute, and became a chairman of the company on April 1, 2005. In April 2006, he made a career comeback in an academic position as a visiting professor at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business graduate school in Nagoya. He lectures on "national economic strategy".[1]

Additionally, he has appeared various times on Japanese television programs as a commentator.

[edit] Criminal events

Uekusa going to Tokyo District Court on March 23, 2005. And then, most of Japanese media gathered there and took a picture of him with a camera.
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Uekusa going to Tokyo District Court on March 23, 2005. And then, most of Japanese media gathered there and took a picture of him with a camera.

Today, he is mostly known as "Mirrorman" for being arrested on April 8, 2004 because he tried to peep under a high school girl's skirt using his hand mirror on the escalator of the Japan Railway Shinagawa Station. He was dismissed from being a professor on May 7, 2004 because of the arrest, despite denying the charges. He held a news conference in Kasumigaseki on August 30, 2004, where he said "I was told I'd be able to go home quickly if I admitted my guilt, and so I admitted it. Clearly, this is a police frameup. I swear by heaven and earth I'm innocent".

His trial was opened at the Tokyo District Court on March 23, 2005 and the Chief Justice sentenced him to "Paying the fine of 500,000 yen (approx. £2300 or $5,000) and confiscating his hand mirror". He insisted that it was an "unfair judgement" and showed intentions of appealing. The ruling was established however as he did not make the appeal by the deadline on April 6, 2005.

Additionally, there is a standing criminal record that required he pay the fine of 50,000 yen (approx £230 or $500) for lewd exposure and advances on a woman while on the JR Tōkaidō Main Line from Yokohama Station to Kawasaki Station at about 9:20 p.m. on January 30, 1998. He allegedly caressed the foot of a woman standing opposite him, and then proposed he masturbated for her in his trousers. The woman went to the train conductor and reported the incident. Uekusa was then escorted off the train by the Kanagawa Prefecture police.

A large number of pornographic videos, DVDs and images about voyeurism were discovered in Uekusa's house and his white BMW E36 of AC Schnitzer specifications in a domiciliary visit by the police. For these reasons during a trial, the Chief Justice stated that the "Defendant's sexual tastes are obvious". [2][3][4][5]

While still asserting that the charges upon his character are false, Uekusa is also trying to rebuild his reputation. One such attempt is characterised by his return to lecturing on economics.

In spite of the fact he declares himself not guilty of the previous offense (hand mirror case), he was arrested again at the Keikyu Kamata Station ([1]) for molesting a high school girl in a Keihin Kyuko train ([2]) which goes in a direction completely opposite his home on September 13, 2006, around 22:10. [6][7][8]

He claims to be innocent. He says he was drunk when he was arrested, so he does not remember what happened that night. However, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business announced that they dismissed him from being a visiting professor on September 27, 2006.

He was prosecuted for chikan on October 4, 2006.[9]

[edit] Popular nicknames

A parody of classic TV superhero "Mirrorman". Uekusa having a mirror.
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A parody of classic TV superhero "Mirrorman". Uekusa having a mirror.

Among a few of the titles Uekusa has earned: "Mirrorman" (ミラーマン?), "Tekagamist" (テカガミスト? JP pron: tekagamisuto), "Eronomist" (エロノミスト? "Erotic" + "Economist"), "Touchman" (タッチマン?)[10]. All such names can be found appearing in weekly magazines and the Internet. Succinctly, "Tekagamist" means a person who peeps using a hand mirror. "Mirrorman", named after the classic Japanese TV superhero Mirrorman is most popular version of this title, however.

Although Uekusa himself is a Keynesian, his hand mirror is called "invisible hand mirror of God" after Adam Smith's "invisible hand of God".

[edit] Books

  • Political economy of an interest rate, exchange, the stock prices (金利・為替・株価の政治経済学 Kinri kawase kabuka no seiji keizaigaku?). Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 1992, ISBN 4-00-004173-8
  • Japanese general settlement of account (日本の総決算 Nihon no sōkessan?). Kodansha, Tokyo 1999, ISBN 4-06-206330-1
  • A modern Japanese economical policy theory (現代日本経済政策論 Gendai Nihon keizai seisakuron?). Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 2001, ISBN 4-00-026268-8

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