Kurashi - News From Japan

The Japan Sumo Association approved the promotion of Bulgarian wrestler Kotooshu to ozeki on Wednesday, making him the first European to reach the sport's second-highest rank. Kotooshu's promotion was finalized at a meeting of JSA executives and officials who worked on the rankings for the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in January. The 22-year-old is the first ozeki since Asashoryu was promoted in July 2002 and the fifth foreign-born ozeki, according to Kyodo. I wish him well, and can't help to look forward to the New Year basho.

This site, called the Fossile of the Day Award is a joint project by many NGOs trying to raise awareness about what different countries are doing during negotiations regarding climate change. You can see a short intro video, then click to enter the main page. And you can find out what different countries, like the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia or Japan, have been up to behind the scenes... Great idea! Enter here . Climate change previous

NHK has had extensive coverage today about the UN Kyoto Protocol meeting in Canada, explaining that delegates from 189 countries and regions are attending the meeting in session until December 9. It is the first conference of its kind since the Kyoto Protocol took effect in February this year. Delegates will discuss ways to implement the Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialized countries to cut carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2012. Also, Asahi Shimbun writes in an editorial that the signs coming from the Japanese government have not been very encouraging: There are wide disagreements within the government over the future of the Kyoto Protocol. While the Environment Ministry is arguing for the establishment of similar targets to prune greenhouse emissions for the second term, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is lukewarm at best about the idea of new binding targets. The government should swiftly build a consensus among policy-makers in line ...

Starting today, Canada will host the first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Montréal in conjunction with the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention. Official documents and daily updates here . Official UN Webcast (with videos) page here . Blog with updates through the lenses of activists traveling thousands of miles to witness this historic conference here . BBC is covering this important meeting while Japanese media seems to have missed the opportunity to raise awareness about global warming, as Japan's CO2 emissions continue to increase. Climate change previous

The news that stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk lied to science magazine Nature and other international media, has caused a massive uproar in South Korea. But? Not in the way you would expect. Now the president has stepped into the debate to try to calm the public. Read more here . "...supporters for Hwang quickly launched organized salvos at producers of the MBC program and the broadcasting network. Some even threatened to kill family members of the producers, posting their photos on the Internet. They argued the program was 'against national interests.' A group of protesters also staged a candlelight demonstration in front of MBC headquarters in Yoido, Seoul, Saturday. Among some 50 of them was disabled pop singer Kang Won-rae. The protesters said they will launch a signature-collection campaign against MBC. Fearing further public rancor, 11 out of 12 advertisers for the MBC program have decided to withdraw their advertisements." I think MBC did the right thing to ...

BBC reports that Chinese newspapers have grown more explicit in their criticism of the official response to the toxic leak which has hit the north-eastern city of Harbin. Commentators in Beijing and further afield condemn the 'lies' told before the authorities revealed what had really happened, although a paper in Harbin itself tries to play down the crisis. A Beijing paper also worries about the country's environmental record. Read more here . There is also concern in Russian towns in the Far East according to Reuters . Chronology: 13 Nov Explosion at petrochemical plant, Jilin city 21 Nov Water to Harbin city cut off; local government cites mains maintenance 22 Nov State media say water could have been contaminated after the blast 23 Nov Authorities admit very high levels of benzene have been found in the water 23 Nov Authorities say 100 tonnes of benzene emptied into the Songhua river "...the Jilin corporation denied the pollution of river water three days ago. It s...

This is the season when kaki , or persimmon, are ripe and ready on the trees in Japan, looking so lovely against the bright blue sky... (Photo from Mikan Moblog )