Kurashi - News From Japan

Surprised? I wouldn't be posting anything about Tokyo Motor Show , unless this Reuters story with the title Clean, Quirky Cars to Dominate Tokyo Motor Show had caught my attention. Eco-friendly cars? Green products? "Biodegradable fibres and plastics"? The theme for this year's show is 'Driving Tomorrow!' from Tokyo. With oil prices soaring, it seems Japanese car makers are once again at the front line to give consumers what they didn't yet know they wanted. JAMA , the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, explains what happened after the oil crisis of 1973: Between 1975 and 1985, the competition between small passenger cars and popularly-priced mini vehicles was the driving force behind new product development and market expansion. Small passenger car sales took the lead in the aftermath of the oil crisis, because new models were developed that complied with the government's strict exhaust emissions regulations and were also very competitively ...

Sustainable development is a popular environmental catchphrase, but it’s not always clear what sustainability looks like beyond demonstration projects such as recycling centers or the occasional “green” building. Now North Americans are starting to look at Sweden for both models and methods of sustainability, according to this article in The Environmental Magazine . Japanese tours have been arranged annually as well, and here is what one Japanese participants wrote: One of the most impressive examples was ”Green Zone” in Umeå, a sustainable architectural platform for providing services to car drivers with a full cooperation by major global enterprises. While having intensive activities by day, fun time” awaits you in the evening. Outdoors-loving Swedes appreciate that mother nature is always a stone’s throw away. Even in today’s rushed world, they mind a balanced existence and a pleasant lifestyle. With wonderful local food and songs, the group and Esam consultants had a memorable nigh...

Sweden has qualified for the football World Cup in Germany next year. The one player I'd like to highlight is Henke Larsson. He is the only player in the Swedish national team who played in the great World Cup of 1994, when Sweden came third. He scored one of the "Golden Goals" against Romania, 5-4, and his 3-0 goal against Bulgaria in the bronze match is classic. Henke has actually scored in four World Cups! In the Korea/Japan World Cup in 2002, he scored both in the matches against Nigeria and Senegal. Loking forward to seeing him again... Dagens Nyheter has a great photo of Henke's goal against Iceland. In 2002, Henke had dreadlocks and looked like this ! But actually, the hero of the last qualifying game, against Iceland, was Zlatan Ibrahimovic . I have to tell you one thing! He went to my junior high school in Malmö, Rosengårdsskolan, so of course I'm happy. Wow, Sweden will play against South Korea on November 12, I'm hoping I can see that game somehow....

Japanese experts in Indonesia In September, the head of the World Health Organisation, Dr Lee Jong-Wook, warned that more would have to be done to prevent the spread of bird flu. He said it is only a matter of time before the virus mutates, enabling it to spread between humans. According to WHO, the Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed another human case of H5N1 avian influenza. The patient, a 21-year-old man from Lampung, Sumatra, developed symptoms on 20 September and was hospitalized on 24 September. He remains hospitalized in a stable condition. Initial investigation has revealed that the man had direct exposure to diseased and dying chickens in his household shortly before the onset of illness. The man is the fifth laboratory-confirmed case of H5N1 infection in Indonesia. Three out of the five cases were fatal. Japanese experts have concluded an investigation in Indonesia led by Dr Kiyosu Taniguchi, who heads the Intelligence and Policy Planning Office of Japan’s Infectio...

Hanok Village in Seoul Hanok houses are traditional Korean homes, made from wood, paper and other natural materials. They are often introduced on Korean websites and in guidebooks in glowing terms, describing their beauty, silence and harmony as quintessentially Korean. So I was really interested in an article today that describes a 62-year-old Englishman and his Korean wife, who are leading a struggle to save Seoul's last district of traditional homes: David Kilburn and his wife Jade, owners of a traditional "hanok" in the district of Kahoi-dong, say government policies and land speculators have converged to threaten the district that has the feel of Seoul of 100 years ago. Kilburn, a tea merchant and former journalist, says he isn't by nature a social activist but was pushed into it as his neighbor rebuilt and expanded his hanok, causing damage to Kilburn's home and encroaching on his property. "The more we investigated the situation to save our own home, ...

"Climate Policy 2005 and Beyond: Japanese-German Impulses" will be held on 1 November 2005 in Tokyo as part of the events taking place during the Germany year in Japan 2005/2006. This conference, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is co-organised by the Wuppertal Insititute for Climate, Environment and Energy (WI) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). The conference will be held at United Nations University (between Shibuya and Omotesando). Read more here . IGES , established by an initiative of the Japanese Government in 1998, is a research institute that conducts pragmatic and innovative strategic policy research to support sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region-a region experiencing rapid population growth and expanding economic activity. The mission of IGES is to promote the transformation of 20th Century society, characterised by mass production and mass consum...

Kagoshima shochu After work tonight, I had some nice shochu at a wonderful izakaya in Waseda, Tokyo. I reccomend the Kagoshima shochu... Feeling very goood! Read more about the shochu boom in Japan right now on the Kagoshima city website and on Sake World website !