Kurashi - News From Japan

My paintings are currently on exhibit at Olive Cafe in Yono, Saitama, until May 31, 2007. Produced by Yamazaki-san. Thanks everyone who made it possible! :) Address: 埼玉県さいたま市中央区上峰４－１３－１４ Station: Yono Honmachi (Saikyo Line)

Mainichi reports that biogasoline -- gasoline mixed with bio-ethanol made from plants -- was put on sale at 50 gas stations in and around Tokyo on Friday on an experimental basis. The Environment Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry are pressing forward with the introduction of bioethanol saying that it helps prevent global warming because corn and sugar cane from which it is made absorb carbon dioxide. According to NHK, the mixture is 5% ethanol and 95% gasoline, so I hesitate to call it "biogasoline", but ok, it is a small step in the right direction. Mainichi says it is is composed of regular gasoline and ETBE , a mixture of bioethanol and liquefied petroleum gas. The fuel will be sold at the same price as regular gasoline. The extra cost of producing biogasoline -- about 10 yen per liter -- is footed equally by the national government and the oil industry. Yomiuri explains that there is disagreement between the petroleum industry and Japan'...

This week we have published Consumer Union of Japan 's newsletter called Japan Resources, which is available on the new English website as a pdf file. You can read my report from the conference in Seoul about Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and articles about CUJ's battle against US beef imports, GMO foods and other articles. CUJ was founded in 1969 by Mr. Takeuchi Naokazu. Japan Resources No. 139 CONTENTS - EDC Conference in Seoul, South Korea - Demand: To exclude farm products from Japan-Australia FTA negotiations - Statement of opposition to the violations against the Japan-U.S. Beef Agreement - We request that imports of American beef should be prohibited and demand strict country-of-origin labeling rules - Breaking News: CUJ finds benzene in popular soft drinks - Appeal Against Patents on Life - Report: Attempt to Legitimate GM Contamination Blocked - To the participants of the WG Meeting on Low-level Presence of rDNA Plant Material

We often hear that Japan has a low self-sufficiency rate when it comes to food. It is said that Japan is "only 40% self-sufficient" but that refers to calories in general. For rice, Japan is next to 100% self-sufficient, and for vegetables the rate is 79% (2005). That is actually quite high! However, the rate for beef is 43% and Pork is 50%. In other words, if you eat a lot of meat, you are depending on imports, which means you are also depending on a lot of oil for transportation to get your hamburgers to Tokyo. As oil prices are rising, and we reach what is called Peak Oil (when pumping oil from the ground is no longer profitable), food habits will have to change. And of course, if you care about global warming, you may also want to reduce consumption of foods from very distant places. In 2006, Japan imported fresh and processed vegetables worth about 228 billion yen from China, such as leeks, garlic, satoimo taro roots and shiitake mushrooms, according to Japan External ...

Only two of Japan's 1,800 or so municipalities have enacted special ordinances to deal with global warming, according to Kazuhiko Ikeshita, the official in charge of environmental matters in Kashiwa City , Chiba. Kashiwa, with a population of 383,000 east of Tokyo, has created legislation to specifically address the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The only other city to do that is Kyoto . Kazuhiko Ikeshita notes that three prefectures (out of 43) have made similar efforts: In Kashiwa's case, work on the new ordinance started two years ago, after the Kyoto Protocol came into effect on February 2005. Kashiwa immediately began considering a new regulation to support efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. We regarded our move as a rather belated response to the treaty, which was ratified by Japan in June 2002. We were then surprised to find the only municipal ordinance on this issue in force at the time was the one enacted by the city of Kyoto in December 2004. H...

This weekend the Earth Day events will take place in Yoyogi, Tokyo. A map of all the booths and participating organizations is available as a huge pdf file on the official website. Looks terrific. Official website: Earth Day 2007 and Greenz.jp also has daily updates and lots of good articles (in Japanese - any volunteer translators out there?) Update: Here are a couple of videos I took with my mobile phone. Sorry about the terrible quality but you "get the picture".

In what I think might be a major policy change in Japan, the chairman of Japan's largest business organization has called for a nationwide campaign against global warming. According to NHK, at a meeting of the Japan Business Federation and its affiliated organizations on Wednesday, Fujio Mitarai admitted that Japan will likely fail to meet the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions set under the Kyoto Protocol unless more serious efforts are made: He stressed the need to take urgent measures to curb emissions, particularly from households and public service sectors, two major sources of carbon dioxide. Representatives from businesses and consumer organizations participating in the meeting exchanged views on the need to reduce greenhouse gases. They agreed that companies should continue to pursue energy saving measures, while households should be urged to use more eco-friendly electric appliances and reduce their use of family cars. The Japan Business Federation plans to step u...