Kurashi - News From Japan

Roger Dahl is seriously funny. More cartoons here . Hmm... I can't find anything about him on the Internet. Who is "Roger Dahl"?? He creates the Zero Gravity strip for The Japan Times. More importantly, how does he manage to maintain such a low-profile? Not even a Wikipedia link . He deserves better. Cheers! Gwen Muranaka is another great cartoonist for The Japan Times that makes me chuckle! She also doubles as editor-in-chief for The Rafu Shimpo , a newspaper based in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles since 1903 . Impressive. Japanese in the United States have a long history.

Water is an issue that interests me a lot these days. I was buying bottled water (18 liter plastic bottles) but recently decided to switch to tapwater. It doesn't taste as good as the bottled stuff, but here in Japan, tapwater is safe to drink. And I don't want to contribute to more energy waste and pollution by having the plastic bottles delivered by truck to my doorstep. Next week ADB is holding an international water conference in Beppu City, Japan . A team of eminent experts, led by 2006 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate Professor Asit Biswas and supported by a panel of resource persons, have prepared a report about the water issues in Asian countries: ADB: Asian Water Development Outlook 2007 The report is trying to put on a brave face, calling it a "cautiously optimistic" look atAsia’s water future. With existing knowledge, experience, and technology, the region’s water problems are solvable. But in solving these issues, the report highlights that: * Worldwide...

Marubeni, a Japanese trading company has sold 10,000 tons worth of greenhouse gas emission rights to another company. This is Japan's first major case of carbon-credit trading. NHK World explains that carbon trading allows companies that surpass their emission-cut target to sell that excess cut. They are using an Internet-based system providing information about companies' emission rights: Marubeni Corporation used the Web site to sell 10,000 tons worth of carbon dioxide emission rights to a domestic power company. Marubeni acquired the emission rights by funding a South Korean chemical plant's reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-credit trading is becoming an increasingly popular method for achieving emission-cut targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

Consumers Union of Japan and other groups here are concerned about the clear-cutting of old growth forest in Tasmania, Australia. This fall, a group of activists went there and met with Green Party representatives Bob Brown and Christina Milne. Yasuaki Yamaura has written a report about his impressions from the trip. He notes that most Japanese consumers have no way of knowing where their tissue paper and office paper comes from. Australian Wilderness Society in Tasmania is a NGO with a great website, do have a look. Do read his report, What is happening to Tasmanian Forests? My five cents? The road from this: To this: is paved with the best intentions. More about Tasmania's amazing biodiversity here . Update: On November 22, Australia's Federal Court dismissed the appeal against Gunn's $1.7 billion pulp mill in Tasmania. Activists vow to keep on fighting , as the Wilderness Society issued a call for law reform in response to the dismissal of its...

McDonalds - Makudo to Japanese customers - has falsified labels at at least four outlets in Tokyo, it was revealed yesterday. Kyodo reports that the fast food chain is investigating because out-of-date food may have been sold: In response to an inquiry by McDonald's, staff employed by the franchisee admitted instructing subordinates to replace labels showing the actual production dates and hours with false ones, according to the company. What is really interesting is that once again, a whistle-blower inside the company has come forward with details. I wrote about Japan's new rules for protecting whistle-blowers here . Japan's new Whistleblower Protection Act came into force 1 April 2006. Asahi: Four McDonald's outlets in Tokyo suspected of selling falsely labeled salads Update: The scandal is widening, with McDonald's Chairman Eiko Harada saying that mislabeling actually has been common practice for up to six years at some outlets, not two years as was first ...

Dr. Joseph Mercola's website and newsletter are the largest of its kind in the United States. Impressive. Recently, they noted that Japanese Consumers Will Not Accept GM Food : Japanese consumers are opposed to genetically modified (GM) food and agriculture, and are actively building alliances to keep their country GM-free. As far back as 1997, nearly 500,000 Japanese signed a petition opposing GM food and demanding proper labeling. By 2002, the petition grew to over 2 million signatures. The majority of the Japanese public also wants GM foods to be labeled as such. According to a 2002 survey by the Ministry of Public Management and Home Affairs: * 84 percent of respondents said that labeling is needed if a product is derived from GM crops -- even if the amount is very small * 76 percent said that labeling is needed if a product is derived from GM crops, whether or not it contains any GM material (such as edible oil and soy sauce) Much of the country’s concern about GM crops stems...

Tsukasa Abe is a food writer who made waves a few years ago with his book about the chemical additives and preservatives used in so much we buy from shops and convenience stores. The Japan Times notes that in the 1980s, he was a top salesman for a food-additive trading firm: One day, during a rare meal at home, he was horrified to see his daughter eating his own company's additive-soaked meatballs. The experience changed his life. Quitting his job the next day, he began lecturing and writing against the evils he had been blindly perpetrating. His book "Shokuhin no Uragawa ("The Far Side of Foodstuffs") has sold 600,000 copies. Companies must list additives on packaging, but Abe warns there may still be extra ingredients in a product that aren't declared. He cited as an example barbecue sauce in which soy sauce is part of the ingredients. If the soy sauce contains additives, they don't have to be on the label. While people may be tempted to fault the manufact...