Kurashi - News From Japan

Time sure flies! I already have spuds in the soil (danchaku variety) and some peas in the greenhouse. Harvesting purple cabbage and lettuce, and spinach - need to protect them from birds, clever creatures they are. Next weekend is the big Japan Organic Agriculture Association (JOAA) assembly in Tokyo , a great opportunity to talk to experts in the field here. I'll be participating in the workshop about teikei (CSA) and show a few photos from my humble garten. Big reason I got so hot under my collar about growing my own vegetables was - visiting and learning from JOAA farmers. Food safety, anyone? Good to know we are not exposed to anything harmful, unless you eat a lot of wild boar meat. Strontium 90 may be a concern, however. Water also safe. Analysis of Japanese Radionuclide Monitoring Data of Food Before and After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Stefan Merz † , Katsumi Shozugawa * ‡ , and Georg Steinhauser * § ⊥ † Atominstitut, Vienna University of Technology , S...

I could probably do better, but here are a few links that caught my eye recently. Mother Jones writer Tom Philpott provides a lot of convincing arguments and links that These Ubiquitous Chemicals May Be Making Us Stupid Kids exposed to the highest levels of two common phthalates in the womb had an IQ score, on average, more than six points lower than children exposed at the lowest levels. Do avoid. But do read. The Asahi gives us a hint that should be made more generally available; clearly, this is not advice "to Japanese men" but to all of us. Is this really the level to what newspaper editing has been reduced to? Anyway, important study. Scientists to Japanese men: Eat your veggies, reduce stomach cancer risk January 05, 2015 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Japanese men can reduce their risk of developing lower stomach cancer simply by eating a lot of vegetables, researchers at the National Cancer Center and other institutions found. ...

February 9 is the date of the vote for a new mayor for Tokyo, and it has been called a "nuclear referendum" but I smell rat. The candidates may be for or against nuclear power. But the reality is that for Tokyo citizens, there is very little possibility of nuclear power plants to provide energy for the city's bright lights. Consumers, who vote, should know that only a handful of nuclear power plants that may provide energy to the metropolis are even candidates for restarts. A reminder: Currently, none of Japan's 48 nuclear power plants are online. Japan has completely gone off the nuclear "heroin" drug. But 16 are applying for restarts as of February 1, 2014 (pdf) . Of those, only two would be in any position to provide Tokyo with electricity. Those are reactors 6 and 7 in Kashiwasaki Kariwa in far away Niigata prefecture. Both were severely shaken by the earthquake back in 2007, so we know they are not yet confirmed to be safe as such. No other...

As we got a lot of snow on Monday (a public holiday) I was impressed that most trains kept running. Seibu Ikebukuru Line struggled to get me into Tokyo, and we were 25 minutes delayed, but got the job done. Well done, and much appreciated. While some lines were temporarily suspended, the Yamanote Line managed to keep running all day long. The Yamanote Line is very special for people in central Tokyo. It runs both ways, clockwise and anticlockwise, and a full circle takes just about one hour. This year, it celebrates its 50th anniversary as the first trains started to run the full loop back in 1963, just before the Tokyo Olympics. Sankei notes that the first tracks were laid down back in 1909 between Akabane and Shinagawa, and Ikebukuro and Tabata. Now, in 2013, a campaign to celebrate the anniversary will involve a "Lucky" train wrapped in special green colours. Others trace the history back to 1885 (electrification started in 1909). Current trains are from 2002, built b...

In mid June, a rare flower blooms in Niigata, and people who like to pay attention to such things, come and visit, from far away. The Oze Preservation Foundation website: http://www.oze-fnd.or.jp/ When I recently visited Yuzawa, I was told that Oze is the place to see the white mizubashou, and I just adore that simple, terrific flower. It grows wild only in the certain environment here in north eastern Japan. The Oze-area extends over 4 prefectures: Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma, Niigata I was told that many people know the lovely enka tune of Oze, so do tell me, which is the version you like.