Kurashi - News From Japan

Very interesting set of data from Yale: Their 2010 ranking of countries shows that European countries and Japan score high on a number of policy issues. Iceland tops the list, while the US ranks 61st. According to the New York Times : "Some countries that score extraordinarily well in one area may not perform well over all because of unusually lackluster performances in another. The United States scores well in forestry and the provision of safe drinking water, but its ranking is low because of poor scores in areas like heat-trapping emissions and urban air pollutants like sulfur dioxide." Japan scores well on environmental health and better than the US on a number of issues mentioned by New York Times, like water (including water quality) and forestry, but 45th on issues like air pollution, and just 76th on biodiversity & habitat. Japan also scores very high on pesticide regulation which may come as a surprise to some, but confirms what I have learnt regarding food safet...

90% chance of snow tonight Monday in Tokyo, according to the Meteorological Agency . Do take care if you are out and about. The trains could get in trouble and it may become impossible to go home if you live in the suburbs. An evening spent under the Kotatsu sounds like a better alternative. For all kids, an evening of fun is predicted, with high possibility of snowball fights ;) More bicycle comics over at Yehuda Moon & the Kickstand Cyclery

東京発　Tokyo hatsu ｗith Takao Horiuchi. Nice karaoke number from 1995. This was the theme song for the detective series, Inspector Hagure, that I'm sorry to say I never had a chance to watch. The song is about leaving Tokyo for the north. 東京発北国へ Tokyo hatsu kita kuni he "Departing from Tokyo, for the northern parts of the country" 時の針が昔に戻る Toki no hari ga mukashi ni modoru "The needles of the clock return to the olden days" And there are lots of nostalgic memories and sadness and joy. Takao Horiuchi has a website too, in case you wanted to know more about the singer and your chances to experience him live during 2010 ... Born in Osaka, I wonder why he didn't make it Osaka hatsu?

Consumers in Japan are strongly opposed to genetically modified foods, but the previous governments here have been reluctant to cause trade friction with the United States over the issue. The problem is, the corporate world is running the show, with St Louis-based Monsanto Co. in particular calling the shots in Washington . The USDA, the FDA, and the USTR have key people in charge who have been more than friendly with the biotech giant in the past, notes the Organic Consumers Organization. OCA: USDA Watch Now Monsanto is making a huge push to introduce research and development in wheat, a crop that Japan imports from North America (and Australia) through a complex state import scheme. The main association representing the flour millers here have told the Americans that there is no reason for them to believe that Japan will accept GM wheat. Quote: The No! GMO Campaign has compared the results of this questionnaire in December, 2009 to our previous one in March, 2004. At that time, we se...

Sometimes small victories can mean a lot. I got an email this morning with the curious title, " Joy As Pelargonium Patent Revoked " - it may sound like a joke or a scam. It is not. It is the result of a long and tedious legal battle for the rights of South Africans to their traditional knowledge and heritage. Dr. Willmar Schwabe, a German doctor, applied for and was given a patent on a method to extract a substance found in the pelargonium. It is sold as a (popular) cough syrup by his company, Schwabe. This may all have been fine and dandy if he had made more effort to share the benefits with the South Africans. It turns out that they have used the plant for a long time as a lung medicine, as part of the traditional healing practices in the region. What the Germans did is called "biopiracy" and is as old as colonialization itself, but the new patent rules under the World Trade Organization (called TRIPs) are making things even more difficult: Nomtunzi Api, a represe...

Takae is a small village in Yanbaru Forest (pdf), a mountainous region in the northern part of Okinawa adjacent to Henoko. Greenpeace Japan notes that Yanbaru is known for distinct and irreplaceable biodiversity. Over 192 plant and animal (most are endangered and near extinction ) species are unique to this area, such as the bird species Okinawa Rail and Okinawa Woodpecker; Itajii (Evergreen Oak); and the Jambar long armed scarab beetle (the largest beetle species in Japan). The sea life includes Taimai (Hawksbill turtles), dugongs, corals and tropical fish. The United States wants to build seven helipads in this natural forest. Yanbaru Forest. (Photo: Japan Focus: "Okinawa's Turbulent 400 Years" by Gavan McCormack ) Satoko Norimatsu's Peace Philosophy Centre blog reports on the Sit-in Campaign Against US Helipads in Takae, Okinawa , quoting from Brian and Co's Blog: Takae Helipad Campaign in Okinawa : There are many campaigns against military bases in Japan. ...

Members of grassroots peace groups and other concerned individuals have gathered to form the “US for OKINAWA peace action network". Closely affiliated with the Peace Boat NGO and also including members from the Peace Not War Japan collective, the network’s primary aim is to voice the opposition of foreigners living in Japan to the presence and plans for expansion of U.S. military bases in Okinawa (and beyond): New Network Formed to Protect Okinawa, Japan from Foreign Military Bases US for OKINAWA is a new peace action network based in Tokyo that was recently formed by U.S., Japanese, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, Welsh, Mexican and other citizens living in Japan who are concerned about Okinawa. A deliberate double entendre, US may be read both as "us" (you, me, everyone), as well as U.S. (reflecting the proactive stance of Americans in Japan who support a base-free Okinawa). US for OKINAWA was organized out of shared concern regarding the danger that the U.S. Fute...