Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admits to reporters late on March 13 that he gave gift certificates to ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, but he insists he did not break any law. (Doni Tani)

In 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter, a robotic probe of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), went out of radio contact upon entering the Martian atmosphere.

Investigations revealed later that the spacecraft had entered the orbit at an altitude that was as much as 100 kilometers below the intended level.

The discrepancy was totally unforeseen. How did that happen?

Put simply, two different measurement systems—imperial and metric—were used in the designing of the Mars Climate Orbiter by two different NASA teams. The teams were unaware of the mismatch, resulting in the spacecraft receiving erroneous commands based on incorrect calculations.

One yard is about 0.91 meter. A deviation of about 9 centimeters on Earth grew to a whopping 100 kilometers by the time the probe reached Mars.

Speaking of deviation, I think Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has just provided an outstanding example.

He was found to have presented 15 rookie Diet legislators from his party with gift certificates valued at 100,000 yen ($670) each.

Ishiba has defended his action as being “within the law.” But I cannot even think of a single Japanese citizen who has been given 100,000 yen just as a present.

One thing is quite certain: Ishiba is definitely not going to endear himself to people who are struggling with the high cost of living.

I am also bewildered that Ishiba’s action just doesn’t match the public persona he has been projecting.

“I always thought of him as the least likely person to do that sort of thing,” an opposition party lawmaker said of Ishiba. I am sure many people feel the same way.

As someone who has been let down over and over, I am disappointed that my trust was betrayed again.

At a recent Liberal Democratic Party convention, it was none other than Ishiba himself who declared, “The LDP alone best understands the anger, sorrow, joy and pain of the Japanese people.”

Aren’t politicians supposed to be people who believe in their cause and strive to keep their word?

How wide is the deviation now between the LDP’s politics and the sentiments of the Japanese people? Nine centimeters? One hundred kilometers?

I demand that the discrepancy be corrected. But sadly, it somehow feels useless.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 15

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.