Comparing Countries: Sweden And Japan (And More)

Comparing countries is never easy. Yet, some data speaks for itself. The Equality Trust is a UK research group that has carefully looked at different countries, comparing income equality: For example, in Japan and Sweden the income gap is fairly small: the richest 20% are less than 4 times as rich as the poorest 20%; but in Britain the richest 20% are over 7 times as rich as the poorest 20%, and in the USA they are over 8 times as rich.

Here are some graphs comparing countries on different issues:

Obesity
Trust and Community Life
Violence
Rich and Poor Countries

The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, a book published by Penguin in March 2009.

For example, Sweden gets its greater equality through redistribution, through taxes and benefits, and public services provided by a big state. In contrast, Japan has a greater equality of "market incomes", before redistribution. Differences in Japanese earnings are smaller even before taxes and benefits. While Sweden has a large state and well developed public services, in Japan government social expenditure makes up an unusually small part (compared to other OECD countries) of its Gross National Income. The same contrast exists among US states - even between neighbouring states like Vermont and New Hampshire. Vermont takes the big government route and New Hampshire the small. But despite the contrast in how greater equality is achieved, Sweden, Japan, Vermont and New Hampshire all enjoy good health, lower rates of most social problems - i.e. all the benefits of greater equality.

Considering environmental issues, I have a lot of opinions and it is not a simple matter to compare the ecological footprint of 9 million Swedes to 120 million Japanese. Both Sweden and Japan are heavily depending on imported fossile fuels and nuclear power for energy. Sweden could rely more on wind power, while solar is clearly a better option for Japan.

Last year, Jiji Press talked about "Love of Nature as Part of National Identity" and asked for views from ISEP in Tokyo:

"Sweden shows us a glimpse of one step ahead into the future," Tetsunari Iida, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, a Tokyo-based independent organization, says. "Despite differences in politics, culture and society, there are many things that Japan and the whole world can learn from Sweden."

Jiji Press: Sweden Offers Glimpse of Sustainable Future

Eco-Points For Consumers in Japan

Japan has introduced an Eco-Point system that gives you discounts:

6,000-9,000 points if you buy a new air conditioner, depending on cooling power

3,000-10,000 points if you buy a new refrigerator depending on capacity

7,000-36,000 points if you buy a new television depending on the size of screen

If you want to reduce CO2 emissions, and replace an old airconditioner, this could be a good time to do some research.

Details here (in Japanese only)

Application forms are available at retail stores and post offices. You can also get more points if you recycle your old stuff: for example, your old fridge may be worth 5,000 points. A brochure of goods exchangeable with Eco-Points can be found at the website (http://eco-points.jp). Copies of the brochures are also put at electric appliance retail stores and post offices. The deadline for exchanging Eco-Points for goods is set at the end of March 2012.

So, how much is one Eco-Point worth? This is where things get tricky. For example, 13,500 eco-points may be exchanged for 12,000 yen stored in your Suica electronic money card. Strange! Why not make one point worth one yen? Well, 5,000 points are exchangeable for 5,000 yen worth of department store coupons. Clearly, the government wants you to go and do more shopping, using your Eco-Points.

Kyodo/Breitbart:'Eco-points' ready for registration, exchanges of goods

In May, Asahi was unhappy with this program, reminding everyone that we, the tax payers are the ones that are paying for it:

While the program may be beneficial for consumers, the 295 billion yen necessary for this system is, in the end, a burden of 2,500 yen for each individual citizen. In addition, more government money will be necessary for administrative procedures to exchange the items for points and print huge numbers of catalogs.

June Blog Updates

Kyoto Foodie: Firefly Theme Namagashi

This wagashi from a historic shinise store in Kyoto, Kameyama Yoshinaga, is reminiscent of fireflies on verdant green foliage of early summer...

Live while you can. Japanese love something fragile and rare and that is in season for a short period. The cherry blossom is the very best example, but fireflies are similar. Fireflies in Kyoto can still be been seen along some of the rivers and streams in the quieter and greener parts of the city, but they quickly fade and disappear after a few short weeks.

Greenz.jp: Life is sustainable when you are having fun - a day at the Awanowa Market in Kamogawa

I briefly spoke to one of the event’s organizers, Yoshiki Hayashi of the NPO “Uzu”, a healthy, lean, tanned man who seemed to personify to me the image of the traditional Japanese farmer seen in the earliest photographs of Japan from the 19th century, despite the modern artistic cut of his hand made indigo blue work clothes. He described the loose collective gathered here as “Rainbow Village”, fulfilling a role to bridge the gap between sustainable Japanese traditions and the future sustainable Japanese society he envisions. He had much to say on living sustainably, pointing out that in order to invoke change in society, changing one’s own life and getting back in tune with the earth through farming was far more effective than any more revolutionary methods could be.

But the line that hit home most of all was that “life is sustainable when you are having fun”. In Japanese, it was “tanoshii koto ga jizoku kanou”, or literally “fun things are sustainable”. Certainly not everything fun is sustainable, but it is far more difficult to sustain an activity if it isn’t.

OurWorld 2.0: Plenty of fish in the sea

A compelling award-winning documentary movie of the same name illustrates that this environmental catastrophe can be avoided, if we try. A global movement is underway to ensure sustainably managed fisheries, and you are invited to be part of it.

In The Pines (Otakimura): The depths of Shizen-ko: a kayak tour of Otaki's little known lake

For a first timer, like my wife, stepping into the kayak can be a bit nerve-racking, but there is nothing to be afraid of, the kayaks are quite stable. With small pushes from N-san Aki and I were out on the lake in no time, with N-san and K-san right behind us. It's difficult to put into words the feeling of first gliding out onto the lake. One's center of gravity is low, down close to the water's surface, and so the world feels as if it is opening vertically above and below you. Instead of the apodictic feeling of terra firma beneath your feet, the sensation is one of disembodiment-your body and mind are free to drift where they will within the floating world. Of course the action of paddling brings you back into your body, but there's little need for strenuous effort; Shizen-ko is placid and so you are able to move smoothly through its waters with little effort, like strokes of a calligraphy brush.

Pandabonium: Shakedown Cruise

Then it was back to the boat for more sailing. We checked in at office and told them we would be back around 15:00. This would allow them to get the sendai ready when we came back, or come looking for us if we didn't. Actually, one of the great things about the club is that they have a log book for boaters to leave a plan on where they will be going and when they expect to return. Sort of like the flight plans I used to phone into the FAA as a pilot. The club house has an excellent view of the lake, and Hakuta-san has binoculars with which he scans the lake. If he sees someone coming in, he goes down to the ramp, or if he sees someone in trouble, he'll come out on a PWC (jet ski) or another power boat to render assistance... Do I look happy?

K&S: Hawaii eats and other stuff

How green is your house? Ours got greener last year. Not only do we have solar panels (which I found out we've had since 1979!), but mom just installed some photovoltaic (sp?) cells.

She had been wanting to install some but was waiting for the price to go down and for someone to start installing them on homes (apparently when they first came out they were only installing them for businesses) She said her electric bill is super low now (US$30 a month). (Way to go Mom! I wish our apartment building in Japan would do something similar.)

PureLandMountain: One big secret

Late the next afternoon I went out on the deck, merely leaned over the railing to look at the spot and there the snake was again, like a puddle of clay. As soon as my head showed, the snake became alert, and made to move away; though I was downwind, it had sensed me; it must be a pit viper, sensing my heat even while dozing in the sun, and that brought it to alertness. That meant it must be a mamushi, Japan’s only poisonous snake. I looked it up on the net, and there it was. Up to 60cm in length... I probably won't see it again for another 15 years.

Beekeeping Allowed In Ginza, Tokyo - Why Banned In New York?

You may have heard of the successfull Ginza Honeybee Project, that started in 2006 and is now selling honey used in pound cakes and other sweets sold at patisseries and confectionaries in Ginza. Matsuya has some 30 employees who tend to the urban patch up on the roof garden as an after-work volunteer activity, according to The Japan Times:

It is great to see people becoming more aware of environmental issues. Each person takes action and hopefully that will spread to other people," said Shinpei Kono, who heads the project team.

The Matsuya department store in Ginza is supporting the Ginza honey bee project by giving the bees access to Matsuya's rooftop garden. They call this Ginza Green, and it is part of the company's efforts to take action on environmental issues. "Ginpachi" is a very Japanese way to abbreviate Ginza and the hachi of hachimitsu that becomes pachi, from the Japanese 蜂蜜 as bee and honey have the same kanji, but can sound different due to linguistic rules (changing ha to pa), thus you get Ginpachi...　（Some clever people made a website called www.8mitsu.com where the 8 is a pun on hachi, which can also mean "eight")

Farm Aid in Ginza is an event to bring locally produced vegetables and foods to the center of Tokyo this summer. The beekeepers from Ginza will take part in the Enjoy Eco events (do visit July 18).

I still don't understand why beekeeping would be illegal in New York, and if there are no good reasons, let's hope City Council member David Yassky's bill to abolish the ban will pass.

From the New York Times:

In attendance were New York City beekeepers, aspiring New York City beekeepers, beekeepers not from New York City, friends of beekeepers, friends of bees, people who like to dress as bees, people who like to dress their children as bees, bee-dressed children, one cross-dressing beekeeper, a couple of guys who spend much of their time dressed in armor, fans of honey, fans of local food and a team of French videographers.

Soy Sauce: Introducing The Real Stuff

I wrote about soy sauce over on Treehugger, noting that organic, traditionally brewed soy sauce is now available not only in Japan, but also exported to other countries. Kikkoman, Ohsawa and Kenyu Trading are among the companies making an effort to introduce the real stuff overseas.

I'm not sure this kind of post makes much sense to readers over at Treehugger. Is it relevant? What do you think? When I talk about "traditional brewing" I mean keeping the soybeans and the koji in cedar casks for up to four years. That takes patience.

Kōji, or kōji-kin (麹菌) the microoorganism, is also used here to make sake and miso. Not easy to explain to people who are used to considering food more as entertainment...

When I see the large variety of soy sauces in my local supermarket, I'm both bewildered and delighted. Being able to read kanji characters is a must: if I want a soy sauce that contains a 100% naturally fermented product, I select the Honjōzō hōshiki variety, while the Shinshiki hōshiki contains only 30-50% naturally fermented product. Oh well. Then there are the Tokkyū (Special quality, not pasteurized) and Tokusen (Premium quality, usually implies limited quantity) grades, and several others for the locally produced, more rare stuff that is seldom available in supermarkets. Regional differences are also common, for example in Osaka, where people like a less dark soy sauce with their sashimi. It contains more wheat than soy, hence the lighter colour.

Dr. Eiji Ichishima of Tohoku University called the kōji fungus a "national fungus" ("kokkin") in the journal of the Brewing Society of Japan, due to its importance not only for sake brewing but also for making miso, soy sauce and a range of other traditional Japanese foods. His proposal was approved at the society's annual meeting in 2006. Such a precious microorganism has been used very carefully here to create delicious foods for millenia.

Read more over at The Tokyo Foundation

Sweden: Reduce Meat Consumption, Make Important Environmental Choices

EurActiv.com, 22 June 2009 - Guidelines for climate-friendly food choices developed by the Swedish authorities recommend citizens to reduce their meat and rice consumption as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The first of their kind, the guidelines are now being sent out for reactions and inspiration from other EU countries.

"Meat – beef, lamb, pork and chicken – is the food group that has the greatest impact on the environment," state the guidelines, jointly drafted by the Swedish National Food Administration and the country's Environmental Protection Agency.

The authorities note that Swedes' meat consumption has grown by an average ten kilos per person over the past ten years and now totals 65 kilos.

According to the World Bank, demand for food is expected to increase by 50% by 2050, and demand for meat by 85%, mainly as emerging economies like China and India become richer and adopt Western-style eating habits, rich in meat and dairy products.

The document, entitled 'Environmentally-smart Food Choices', recommend eating meat less often and in smaller quantities. "Try to exchange one or two meat dishes a week against vegetarian meals or decrease the quantity of meat," the document reads, explaining that such behaviour will lower people's climate-change footprint.

The document further lists various facts on the environmental impact of different foods. For example, one kilo of beef contributes up to 15-25 kilos of greenhouse gases - which is ten times more than the carbon footprint of the equivalent amount of chicken.

"Eating less meat, and making careful choices about what you eat, is therefore the smartest environmental choice you can make," the authorities state.

In addition to information on climate and the environment, the guidelines list the health aspects related to different foodstuffs, their recommended daily intake and the consequences of over-consumption. "With a few exceptions, healthy food choices can also go hand in hand with choices that are good for the environment," the guidelines read.

Foods covered include meat, fish, seafood, fruits, berries, starches, fats and even water. Recommendations range from eating seasonal, locally-produced fruits, vegetables and berries, avoiding bottled water, soda and palm oil and limiting rice consumption as its cultivation produces methane.

The Swedish authorities are the first in Europe to develop such recommendations. They will be sent out to other EU countries to guage reactions before being released.

"Provided there are no serious objections," the process should be completed within three months, the authorities noted, hoping that the guidelines will inspire authorities in other countries to follow Sweden's example.

"Consumers make important environmental choices when they are food-shopping, so they need a sound basis on which to make their decisions. Food production accounts for roughly a quarter of Swedish consumers' climate-impacting emissions, and also contributes to other harmful environmental effects, for example through the use of pesticides," said Inger Andersson, director-general of the National Food Administration.

Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Actually, Japan's Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour has issued a report suggesting that meat consumption should be reduced. Over at Consumers Union of Japan, Toshiki Mashimo has used this model for his paper about Japan's food self-sufficiency. The government makes recommendations "as the ideal for Japanese people to maintain their health, avoiding lifestyle-related sickness." Specifically, the ingestion of grains, potatoes and vegetables would increase, while consumption of meat, milk products, sugar and fat would drastically decrease.

CUJ: To what level could Japan’s food self-sufficiency recover?

Taue: Rice Planting By Hand And By Machine

I did taue (rice planting) for the first time on Saturday. I went up to Kumagaya by Arakawa River in north/central Saitama to get mud between my toes and sun on my cheeks. I managed to do about five lines (how is that for a terrific blog post title!) and they were not too crooked either as far as I could tell (and noone made any silly comments).



That area is not organic but they use as little pesticides as possible. We saw frogs and ladybugs, and there were birds and ducks.

The fields were created in the 1960s with modern irrigation. Before that, there were no factories on the horizon, and rice paddies as far as the eye could see.

The farmer, Negishi-san and his wife took good care of our small group of 3 who had assembled from Consumers Union of Japan and the local Seikatsu Club. As a gift, he got my food ranking book, signed by yours truly.



Neighbours selling their fields, new farmers arriving who don't follow (or understand) the rules (and the odd Swede in a silly hat doing his very best) and all the other difficulties that farmers no doubt share all over the world... Negishi-san makes terrific miso with his own soybeans and koji, and is a strong member of the Daichi Mamoru movement that wants to contribute to Japan's food culture by growing local crops for local consumption. He also grows barley for a beer brewery, but they had bad luck this year with the crop. Meeting him made me feel even more concerned about food security in Japan, but I was also encouraged that good people like him are not giving up in spite of all the difficulties.



These are the trays with tiny rice plants, that we had to tear off and put into the mud. The machine does it automatically, using pincers.



At the end of the day, I felt really refreshed and didn't even need a nap on the long train journey home... Here is more from Peko Peko, a Kyoto Foodie blogger I like:

Properly, taue is very serious business in Japan... growing rice was a matter of survival in Japan. Life and death. Even today, to leave a bowl of rice with even a few grains uneaten is very, very bad form.

Never-the-less, we city slickers (employees, friends and family of Kitagawa Honke) went up to rural Kyoto on a chartered bus and experienced rice planting. And of course, no gathering in Japan would be complete without accompanying food and drink. So after planting in the rain and hosing the mud off of ourselves, we barbecued in the greenhouse. So despite the downpour, we were able to party unabated.

We just planted a very small corner of the paddy and some city kids got to experience what surely the vast majority of Japanese that ever lived made their living by - the cultivation of rice.

"Tsunami" Of Criticism Against Japan For Its CO2 Goals?

Remember Taro Aso, our manga hero, busy trying to make a decision about Japan's CO2 emissions?

Well, first James Kanter at the NYT was very unhappy about Japan's CO2 emission cuts. I do look forward to his reports from now on - how will he describe the US effort, or China's? Mr. Kanter doesn't seem to remember that last year, Mr Aso's predecessor Yasuo Fukuda set a longer term target of cutting emissions by 60-80% by 2050. Seems to me that noone really wants to take the lead, and blaming Japan was an easy way to escape real responsibility.

Green Inc. Tsunami of Criticism for Japan’s CO2 Goals

Then, on June 12, Mr. Kantor wrote again, having talked to more experts, noting that perhaps, Japan’s goal are Not So Shabby After All?

The key distinction, both Mr. Purvis and Mr. Levi said, is that the Japanese had pledged to reach their goal by making cuts in domestic emissions — that is, by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions within their own borders.

That contrasts with legislation under consideration in the United States, called the Waxman-Markey bill, as well as an agreement between countries in the European Union — both of which propose to meet their targets in large part by buying credits, or offsets, from carbon-cutting projects overseas.

Factor out the reliance on offsets in the original Waxman-Markey bill, Mr. Levi suggested, and the United States would be making cuts of only 8 to 11 percent from 2005 levels – substantially weaker than the Japanese target.

The European Union is also trying to reach a 14% reduction through domestic efforts which is basically the same as the 15% pledged by Japan. So why did everyone decide to redicule Japan so much? Perhaps if Prime Minister Taro Aso (and his advisors) had made more effort, they could have set a new standard (by separating domestic and international reduction efforts more clearly) instead of making Japan look like a bloody fool.

More about the "outcry" that followed Japan's announcement, on Copenhagen Questions, a blog about the negotiations leading up to the conference in Copenhagen.

OurWorld 2.0

I added a link to OurWorld 2.0, a blog I like, about current topics from Brendan at the United Nations University here in Tokyo.

Organic Cotton? Isetan, Uniqlo, You Can Do Better

Wal-Mart is the biggest buyer of organic cotton, and Swedish H&M and Spanish Zara also rank pretty high. Where are the Japanese retailers? Nowhere to be found, at least not on Treehugger's ranking list. C&A is No 2 and Nike is No 3. What is going on?

Nike says its goal is to blend a minimum of 5 percent organic cotton into all of its cotton-containing apparel materials by 2010, while steadily expanding its offering of 100 percent certified-organic cotton products.

In 2008, the big-box retailer purchased 12 million pounds of cotton from farmers who were transitioning from conventional to organic farming to help boost the supply of certified-organic cotton available on the market. No matter what the company's intentions, be they financial, altruistic, or a little of both, any move Wal-Mart makes is significant by virtue of its massive supply chain and sheer ubiquity—factors that would play no small role in pushing us past the tipping point.

Isetan has some organic cotton items for father's day, but they obviously need to do more to promote pesticide-free, non-GMO cotton. Their annual report from 2005 (pdf) made some promises, I'm hoping they are committed. As for Uniqlo, they seem to be trying; a pity they had no vision to make it into the global top 10.

Treehugger: Top 10 Buyers of Organic Cotton (You Won't Believe Who's No. 1!)

Reducing CO2 Emissions The Japanese Way

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced what he called "extremely ambitious" greenhouse gas emission cuts of 15%. Did you hear about the manga campaign in Nikkei to get him to make even deeper cuts, such as 25%?

Aso stressed that Japan's mid-term target of 15% has been calculated solely on domestic energy-saving efforts, unlike those set by the US and Europe, which include emission rights purchased from other countries. The 14-15% reduction compared to 2005 levels translates to about 7-8% reductions to 1990 levels... The EU reductions compared to 2005 levels are about 13% and the US about 14%, according to Naoto Katase, NHK World: he was even told that "Japan's proposal is unlikely to be welcomed at this point."

Mr Aso, you could have done worse, and a lot better.

Treehugger: Japan: "Extremely Ambitious" 15% Emissions Cut

Recalls And Mislabelling? Japan's New Consumer Agency Will Have Its Work Cut Out For It

Last year, Japan was rocked by a number of food scandals, not particularly serious, but they managed to grab the attention of the media and sales of all frozen food in Japan fell by as much as 40 percent in 2008. It also had the positive effect that large companies with factories in China, producing frozen foods for supermarkets all over Japan, changed their inspection practices and improved their labelling. Ajinomoto, for example, started listing the country-of-origin of all the ingredients in their frozen foods.

Now, it turns out that there were some 879 cases of mislabeled food products last year but MAFF only disclosed 110 of them "in order to protect the companies responsible" according to Kyodo.

A ministry official said it decided not to announce all of the cases because it might deliver "a big social blow" to firms that got caught up in mislabeling through simple negligence or temporary law-infringement cases. It therefore decided only to announce cases it considered "malicious" or requiring orders to take corrective measures.

The remarks highlight the ministry's admitted stance of placing more importance on corporate interests rather than those of consumers.

Kyodo/ The Japan Times: Ministry hid 90% of food-mislabeling cases

These cases involve a lot of marine products that are often mislabelled in other countries as well, but why was MAFF trying to hide it? Don't they know that consumers like being treated with respect, and that providing all the data is the best way to avoid breeding mistrust? Consumers are actually intelligent enough to handle correct information...?

Recalls of items like kerosene heaters are also in the news. This shows that Japan will need a much better consumer safety policy, with proper disclosure. Regular readers of Kurashi know that I like Japan's whistle-blower protection rules.

Japan: Whistleblower Protection Act 2004

There will be plenty of work cut out for the new Consumer Agency.

Asahi: Faulty goods causing accidents, even after recalls

Under the revised Consumer Products Safety Law that took effect in May 2007, manufacturers or importers are required to report serious accidents to the ministry. According to the ministry, the largest number of cases, 84, involved oil water heaters and bath boilers. In many cases, fires started after kerosene had leaked, due to aging rubber parts that had hardened. The second-highest number of cases, 77, involved electric cooking stoves. Switches were inadvertently turned on, burning flammable items on or near the stoves. There were 24 accidents involving microwave ovens, 15 cases with electric heaters and 12 with air conditioners. Eleven serious accidents were caused by gas bath boilers and 10 others by washing machines or washer-dryers.

According to the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), an independent administrative entity that collects accident and recall information, there have been about 1,100 recall cases involving home-use products since 1989.

The biggest killer of them all, of course, is the automobile, with over 10,000 deaths each year here in Japan.