Kurashi - News From Japan

Flying back from Brunei where I attended the TPP negotiations, I caught the film Library Wars about censorship. It seemed somehow more than just a coincidence. A great story based on a popular manga by Hiro Arikawa, the action flick is set a couple of years in the future, when a militant group attacks book shops and libraries based on an obscure censorship law implemented to protect the public from smut. This also deals with copyright issues and freedom of speech. Instead, the main protagonist, young Iku Kasahara (Nana Eikura) charms viewers with her good intentions, judo moves, and a search for the "prince" that once helped her save an important book that was about to be confiscated. Her friend Asako Shibasaki (Chiaki Kuriyama) is probable a better known actress abroad but the cast all manage to make the story believable and gripping. Short trailer here: The Hollywood Review didn't like it much, but they also don't seem to get the political undertones. Kotak...

Rare insight into how things work. President Obama was expected to help stem the flow of tobacco into developing countries with the Trans Pacific Partnership , a free trade agreement that’s been in clandestine negotiations for three years now. Last May, the U.S. Trade Representative  outlined a tobacco proposal that would have recognized the uniquely harmful status of the substance and created a “safe harbor” for countries to regulate it within their borders. Public health advocates including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) applauded the step, while voicing hope that it might be strengthened even further. The proposal didn’t get far, however, before facing an intense opposition campaign from companies and tobacco state legislators. They’re backed supported by a U.S. business establishment that doesn’t want to see exceptions created for any products on public health grounds, fearing that junk food could be next. “Nowhere have they said publicly that they think their initia...

Just as predicted, main stream media promotes fracking and goes to no extreme in publishing claims about other "future" solutions to energy issues. Now it is "Scientists in Japan and the U.S. say they are moving closer to tapping a new source of energy: methane hydrate, a crystalline form of natural gas found in Arctic permafrost and at the bottom of oceans." AP/Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal: Scientists Envision Fracking in Arctic and on Ocean Floor Commercial production of methane hydrate is expected to take at least a decade—if it comes at all. Different technologies to harvest the gas are being tested, but so far no single approach has been perfected, and it remains prohibitively expensive.  So, what are some of the concerns? The biggest concern is that the sediment that contains methane hydrate is inherently unstable, meaning a drilling accident could set off a landslide that sends massive amounts of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—bubbling up th...

Hokkaido farmers protesting against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal that is so far cloaked in secrecy, complete elimination of tariffs is a stated goal, with all kind of more strict intellectual property rules in place? Who is behind this? Why? Do explore. Do get engaged. The Japan Agri News: 7,000 Hokkaido farmers and citizens protest against TPP talks As many as 7,000 people gathered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, on Thursday, July 25, to stage a protest rally against Japan’s entry in to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, and pledged to strive to protect the nation’s largest agricultural region. TPP pact protesters march through the streets of Sapporo, Hokkaido, on Thursday, July 25. The protest rally, held by 4 agricultural groups including the Hokkaido Prefectural Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Hokkaido Chuokai), was supported by 43 groups such as the Hokkaido Prefectural Government, the Hokkaido Economic Federation, the Hokkaid...

Finally we have a solid translation of the classic story, The Crab Cannery Ship, by Kobayashi Takiji (1903-1933) translated by Zeljko Cipris, with an introduction by Komori Yoichi, published by the University of Hawai'i Press. Do find it in your local bookshop or on the Internet. Plus two additional short stories published in English for the first time, Yasuko and Life of a Party Member. Look Inside (Amazon) Mark Schilling explains : Why does a novel about exploited workers on a crab cannery boat, published 80 years ago by a young communist writer, later tortured to death by the police, become a hot movie property now? The program for “Kani Kosen” (“The Crab Cannery Boat”) explains that a store poster, inspired by Takiji Kobayashi’s eponymous novel, became a media sensation last year and, before you could say “bubble,” indie veteran Sabu scripted and directed a film. “Kani Kosen,” however, is not another pop culture throwaway, made to capitalize on a fad. It is also n...

I just have to blog about this, it is so great. Joan over at Japan Farmers Markets keeps telling everyone about these places where you can get fresh produce directly from farmers, from all over. Her blog is terrific. And she is doing it too, do read up if you want tips about organic farming, she's an expert. And she does all of this in the western area of Tokyo, an hour or so from your regular Yamanote line hangouts. At Nippori you can join the obon dancing on Saturday night, until 8pm. East side of the station. Good chance btw to learn more about the hard lessons of farmers in Tohoku since March 11, 2011. Friday, August 16, 2013 Tokyo Farmers Markets: Saturday, August 17th and Sunday, August 18th Earth Day Market in June. Welcome to the most farmers-market-y weekend in Tokyo! Markets abound making choices of which one to attend a bit tricky. I'm a fan of the Nippori Market for its petite size, excellent food options (tr...

Well this is fun, what energy. Vegan Palooza in the US is happening right now from August 15-18, 2013. Do care It is happening here too in Japan, do get the latest July issue of Veggy with a focus on Okinawa. OkiNinjaKitty says: Fresh Produce Please One of the great things about living on Okinawa is that there is always fresh produce. Whether it comes from the main island of Okinawa or one of its outer islands grocery stores and farmers markets are always stocked with what’s fresh at reasonable prices. This makes the local grocery stores and farmers markets the place to be if you’re a vegetarian. Although there are large supplies of fresh produce available it’s important to consider that being in Japan the selection may be different from what you are familiar with. There will undoubtably have to be a slight change in your diet if your main source of nourishment is vegetables making it more in line with what you can find here. Another thing to consider...

For a much longer exploration of music created here, do enjoy Joe Hisashi in Budokan! And here is Takemitsu Toru, legendary composer for classic Japanese films. Takemitsu: Fantasma/Cantos II performed by Kevin Thompson, trombone, with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kevin Field, 29 November 2008

Oh, democracy. Oh, trade. Oh, elected parliamentarians. Oh. If Japan goes ahead with the TPP negotiations, as planned in Brunei from August 21, what do we have to expect? Four years of "gag order" and noone is to know what expired? Lessons learnt indeed from the WTO, and Doha round (that was supposed to take care of concerns from developing countries). By 2008 that mirage had expired. But let's remember Seattle in 1999 . The US put tanks on the ground, and used tear gas, and basically closed down any public debate. I was there, I couldn't go to the meeting place where I was supposed to be, the entire city was a war zone. Four years of silence? Why 4? Why not ten or twenty. We all know the intention is to close down public services, insurances, agricultural subsidies, and no concern for public health (or animal welfare). What about climate change? Biological diversity? Destroying jobs? This TPP has no such considerations for issues negotiated over a long t...

One of the topics I try to stay abreast with, since it is so serious for public health. And we could solve it easily by legislation that would limit the use of antibiotics at farms, especially for pigs. It has been done in Sweden and Denmark, and the entire EU. If we do nothing? Well, a simple ear infection may no longer be treatable, and you may loose a child. We could all solve it by stopping to eat pork, ham or bacon, but that is another discussion. As for myself, I will stick to that option. It is called the precautionary principle. And it is the more healthy choice, anyway. There are almost no new antibiotics introduced. Too expensive, too difficult to develop. One of the most recent ones is Carbapenem , but a new scare is showing that even that last resort may be becoming useless. Meropenem is another last-resort mentioned: Here’s some back-story: CRE stands for “carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.” Enterobacteriaceae are a family of more than 70 bacteria which ...

Nuclear power is getting increasingly controversial in this part of Asia. As if Japan wasn't in enough trouble, do consider what is going on in South Korea and Taiwan. The Hankyoreh: South Korea’s nuclear power mafia controls the whole business Nuclear power policy and management in South Korea: a game where the players are their own referees? Critics are saying the accidents and irregularities discovered over the past two years at nuclear plants are just the tip of the iceberg for a system that has gone on for more than 50 years, where a so-called “nuclear power mafia” holds public safety and power supply in its hands.The biggest issue is a scandal that surfaced on May 28, in which plants were found to have been supplied with defective control cables after testing results were falsified, may not be the last. Even the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSCC) acknowledged that similar scandals “could emerge” in the future. New York Times: Scandal in South Korea Ove...