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September 22, 2006
Looking for the Real Thing
During the month of July, the Japanese government conducted some public opinion research related to intellectual property issues. Out of a total sampling of 3,000 adults 20 or over, 1,801 responded to the survey. Some results were as follows:
Whether it's because these goods can be bought cheaply, or that they're being sold on the open market -- whatever the reason -- the Japanese public seems to have a willingness to allow the sale of fake products.
- Approximately 76% of respondents identified the purchase of imitation or pirated goods as "bad," though about half that number admitted to having done it anyway.
- When asked if they knew that this practice is in violation of copyright protections, 75.9% indicated that they did and a whopping 20.5% said that they had no idea it was illegal.
- Regarding the purchase of these kinds of articles, 45.5% said they thought it was OK to do so or that there was no way they could see of avoiding it.
- Overall, 47.4% of the respondents replied that purchasing pirated or "knock-off" fakes is wrong no matter what the reason.
- By age category, the younger respondents showed the strongest tendency toward having a willingness to purchase fake or pirated goods.
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Yoshihide Matsumura, discoverer of the "Super-K" counterfeit note and president of Matsumura Technology Co., Ltd. in Tōkyō. |
Mr. Matsumura got his start inthe area of counterfeiting investigations in 1987, just before the Seoul Olympics. He had gotten a request from a certain trading company that wanted him to develop and sell them a counterfeit bill detection device. Matsumura took that challenge and quickly came up with a device and, in a short time, sold more than 2,000 of them. The machine, in fact, quickly became a hot item. About two years later, though, a rumor began to circulate that Matsumura's machine didn't work properly. Consequently, sales of his device plummeted.
In order to develop a more effective product, Matsumura decided that he needed to get hold of some well-made counterfeits. For the next six months, Matsumura traveled to various "danger spots" in East Asia looking for bogus bills. Eventually, he was able to get his hands on four well-made counterfeit U.S. bills. He brought them back to Japan and he and his whole staff spent the next two weeks putting the notes through intense scrutiny. They finally identified a few slight differences. These differences, in fact, turned out to be a kind of code the counterfeiters themselves added to the notes so as to tell their fake bills from the real thing. Matsumura himself coined the name by which these bills would be known: "Super-K." These caught the U.S. government off guard, but as a result of this find, the U.S. Treasury Department changed the currency design they had been using for 70 years. By improving his machine in this way, Matsumura is now able to produce between 500 and 1,000 devices per month. About 70% of these are exported at the request of investigative agencies or central banks in 70 countries.
Matsumura says the thing that drives him on in this work is the confidence and sense of justice he has as a Christian. "Letting counterfeiters get away with their crimes is unforgiveable," he says. "I can't tolerate anything short of righteous behavior." This spirit is what motivates his work.
During the interview, I asked him this question: "As a Christian, you naturally believe that the Bible is the authentic Word of God. Why is it that you believe that?" Here's what he said:
When something is the real thing, it has the "taste" of authenticity about it. As you "digest" God's Word day by day, you get an increasingly delicious flavor from it. A fake may initially be flavorful, but quickly becomes tiresome. In life, the most important thing is to always be seeking the real thing, whether that be objects or ideas. Never fall for a counterfeit, even in the toughest of times. If your intention is to pursue authenticity, you may not become wealthy, but you'll never go hungry.It was a truly fascinating interview. We'll be airing Matsumura's story in two parts, the first segment airs this weekend (third weekend of October in the U.S.) and the second will run the last weekend of October (last weekend of November in the U.S.). You'll definitely want to see these programs.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. (John 6:27 NIV)In closing, I'd like to mention that I've been in the U.S. for a series of evangelistic meetings since Tuesday of this week. Please pray with me that the Lord would greatly bless these gatherings in the Los Angeles area. The first will be tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the South Bay Community Church, and the second at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Los Angeles Union Church. I'll be back on the 27th. Rich blessings upon you in Y'shua's precious name!
Kenichi Nakagawa
Posted by HarvestTV at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)