While no one can possibly take in all the exhibitions in Tokyo, some of you may be interested in a showing of Yoshihiro Kubo's oil paintings today through Tuesday at Ginza Art Plaza, phone (03) 3289-2345 for directions. If you don't know, Dr. Kubo opened what was perhaps the first dental clinic in Japan where people could make an appointment, wait for only a few minutes in a pleasant reception room, and have their dental care administered in a private area that was both relaxing for the patient and convenient for the doctor. Take the opposite of each of these and you will have the standard dental clinic of those days.

Instrumental in the change was Dr. Daryl Beach who was stationed at the U.S. Navy dental clinic in Yokosuka. Dentistry in Japan had not yet caught up with the progress that had been made elsewhere during the war years and Dr. Beach chose to spend much of his time with dental students, providing information that often was not yet generally available here. Along the way, working with Japanese technicians, he developed such innovations as the reclining dental chair with built-in instruments. He recognized Dr. Kubo as his most promising student and designed an office for him with the patient's comfort in mind. He still spends much of his time in Japan but now works on broader projects. One demonstrated that it is possible for people without schooling quickly to grasp computer operations through natural logic and association, a study that will do much to bring technology and knowledge to those who are being left behind. Under study is a concept of cities without streets. Most promising is a medical information system ranging from local, beginning with the individual patient, to all-inclusive global medical knowledge expressed in digital form, our only international language. Linkage between the local and the global will be through a developing "glocal" system, accessible directly in any language without mouse or keyboard.

Dr. Beach, who often speaks at various meetings and conferences, is sometimes asked to wear formal attire. He explains that he travels a lot and carries only a bag that will fit under an airplane seat. No lecture has ever been canceled because of a dress code. Although he has acquired a great deal of money from his work, most of it has gone into his projects. I have always admired him tremendously for holding firmly to his own beliefs while enjoying remarkable success in a country that generally prescribes proper behavioral forms. Dr. Beach's contact address is [email protected].

Dr. Kubo's office remains one of the best designed in Japan, although it now has a number of distinctive paintings that capture memories of his travels throughout the world. There is another change. His son Koichi, who spent several years studying in the United States, is now in practice with him. One of the things he brought back was a high speed drill that eliminates much of the discomfort of root canal work. Call (03) 3356-2910 for information.

Now I would like to tell you about "my" garden. Actually, it is part of the Ministry of Finance's conference center and I see it from my office window. One day a large group of gardeners arrived. For a week, they trimmed trees, brought in rolls of sod to make a green lawn in the middle of winter, dusted stones, and when it was certain the last golden leaf had fallen from the gingko trees, the leaf crew arrived to blow them all away. Who is coming, I wondered. Could it be the Emperor? I remembered when the former Emperor traveled to his summer place in Zushi, Kanagawa. Then most of the country roads were rough and unpaved. However, all of the ones feeding into the main road that he was driven on were paved -- but only as far as he could see.

Next came the security people. Then I remembered the G-7 conference and wondered if the world's financial leaders would appreciate what had been created for their garden photo session. Perhaps those of you who saw the picture in The Japan Times marveled at the greenness of the grass. But perhaps it was done for the Japanese, not for the foreigners. They might not have noticed it either, unless it hadn't been done. And now I wonder, will they roll up the sod again and take it to Okinawa for the summit?