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Short short with English summary　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

雇用契約
早咲きの桜は色が濃い。日比谷公園に一本ある早咲き桜は、ほどほどのピンクである。私はほぼ毎年、お彼岸に様子を見にいく。今年はすでに盛りを過ぎていた。その翌日、東京では桜開花宣言が発表された。大手町から日比谷公園に向かう道は、左側には巨大な超高層オフイスビルがひしめき合い、右側は広々とした芝生に低い松が点々とする皇居前広場で、極端に対照的な風景が続く。祝日のオフイス街は閑散、静まり返っていた。ここで週５日、９時・５時を過ごす何十万人という人達がいることを考えた。 世の中には月給取りの人達が圧倒的に多い。収入が保証され、その代わりに時間的・空間的に束縛される雇用契約を結んだ人たちだ。
AIに取って代わられ、仕事を奪われそうな未来・極く近い将来が大きな話題となっている。私には、現在すでに、AI以前の単なるコンピュータ化で合理化されそうな場合が大部分であるように見える。現場の人々も、このことにはとっくに気付いている筈だ。
雇用契約に業務内容を明記することは非現実的だろう。収入を確保すること。日常の生活時間を売り渡すこと。そこでは、売り渡される時間・生活の内容・質は約束されないということだ。 しかし、一方、人生の限られた活動時間は、充実したものでありたい。売り渡した時間もその例外としてはならない。肉体的にも精神的にも楽しみ、満足する。個人的にも社会的にも認められ、無視されない存在でいられる。 その要素、環境、具体例・実証例を知りたいものだ。さもなければ、幸せとはお金のこと、金欲充足に突き進む社会が理想社会となる。

Employment contract
In Japan, some cherry trees blossom in the early spring. They are more pinkish than the most common sort cherry blossoms i.e. “SimeiYoshino”. Hibiya Park is in the centre of Tokyo, very close to the Emperor’s palace and the Tokyo metropolitan polis’ head quarter. In Hibiya Park, there is a single early blossoming cherry tree with moderately white-pink blossoms. I usually visit this tree on Equinoctial day. In Tokyo Equinoctial day is around one week before the cherry blossom season. The cherry blossoms had already passed its high season this year. The Central Meteorological Observatory officially declared the opening of the cherry blossom season of Tokyo just after the day of my visit to Hibiya Park. I walk to Hibiya from Tokyo Central station. The route follows just the border between the huge business centre of Japan and the vast Emperor’s Park. On my left side, there are many modern skyscrapers, huge, tall and tightly built. On my right side, a wide lawn stretches 1km by 500m. Equinoctial day is a national holiday, both in spring and autumn. The office quarters were quiet. I thought about those hundreds thousands people who would be in those skyscrapers from Monday to Friday, from 9 o’clock to 17 o’clock. The majority of us are employment contracted and monthly payed. The contract promises steady income for them meanwhile restrains them to be in a defined time and space.
AI, artificial intelligence, is a big topic. AI would take over our jobs in future, very close future. For me it seems the common computer technics could already manage most of the daily office jobs without applying the advanced AI technology. The people who spend every day in the modern offices have been aware of that for long time.
To describe and define the contents of jobs and expected results in the employment contract are not realistic or feasible. To make an employment contract means to sell a part of your lifetime to secure monthly income. The contract does not promise or guarantee the quality of your life you have sold. However, our lifetime must be substantial. We want to live happy and satisfied. A sold part of lifetime cannot be an exception.
I exist individually and socially. I hope to enjoy and satisfy my life both physically and spiritually. I wish to keep my identity and to be respected. I would like to know the concrete references, examples of the way of life that which we ought to aim. Otherwise, our world goes to the unlucky type of the ideal society where money means all. Our world goes this way today.
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