2023/09/28 13:05

FROM EDITOR

Political earthquake in Osaka

FROM EDITOR

 

 

Political earthquake in Osaka


HONG KONG — Toru Hashimoto's huge victory in the Osaka mayoral election was undoubtedly a political earthquake. The question now is how sweeping and powerful will be the tsunami that follows. My worry is that Tokyo, and particularly the political and bureaucratic establishment, does not comprehend the tectonic forces working underground.

 

The election was the start, not the end, of the action. Hashimoto challenged, and defeated the combined forces of Japan's political establishment. He has now issued another challenge: He wants to be the prime mover and maker of a new political and economic center of power based in Osaka. This could prove, depending on how the old pols and bureaucrats react, either the opportunity to create a twin engine with Tokyo in reforming and reviving Japan, or spark a dangerous squabble between the two biggest regions of Japan that could weaken Tokyo's ascendancy and the whole country.

Hashimoto, a boyish-looking 42-year-old lawyer, father of seven children and self-confessed son of a gangster, has demonstrated that he is a talented, telegenic populist politician with an ability to say something exciting to each generation. His flashes of abrasive and autocratic temperament also suggest someone tempted to take matters into his own hands if he cannot get his own way. Equally dangerously, Japan's political establishment is lost in a daze in a maze without a clue how to find its way out, let alone to deal with Hashimoto's challenge.

Victory proved Hashimoto's strength. The local chapters of the governing Democratic Party of Japan and opposition Liberal Democratic Party joined forces in backing incumbent Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu. The Japanese Communist Party did not field a candidate, but fiercely attacked Hashimoto. Hashimoto, the man of action, swept fuddy-duddy Hiramatsu aside and won almost 60 percent of the vote in an election that attracted the highest turnout for decades.

Before resigning last month as governor of Osaka Prefecture embracing Osaka and 32 surrounding cities, four months before his term expired, to run for mayor, Hashimoto shrewdly nominated his ally Ichiro Matsui, aged 47, to succeed him, and Matsui beat six other candidates to take over the governor's job. Hashimoto's avowed next step is to consolidate the Osaka urban area into a political unity. In the immediate triumph of victory he set himself and Tokyo a deadline of four years to establish the Osaka metropolis.

A lot of what Hashimoto urges makes sense. The idea that Osaka city of the mayoral election is an island of 2.6 million people is a nonsense of artificial boundaries established too long ago. Osaka is the heart of a continuous urban area that embraces not only the eight plus million people of Osaka prefecture, but almost 20 million people in neighboring Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures.

The major campuses of Osaka University are technically in Suita and Toyonaka cities, but they are all part of the same urban sprawl, as close to the center of Osaka as Shinjuku is to Kasumigaseki or Shepherds Bush to the city of London. Technically, Osaka is Japan's third biggest city, after Tokyo, which has 8 million people in the 23 wards of the metropolis and 13 million in Tokyo prefecture, and Yokohama with 3.6 million, though Yokohama and Tokyo are also part of a continuous megalopolis of 30 plus million people.

There is a swirl of daily movement into Osaka — where the city's daytime population is almost 4 million — from Kyoto and Hyogo, which are only 35 and 30 minutes away by train or 17 minutes by Shinkansen. Local lore has it that a cultured person goes to school in Kyoto, works in Osaka and lives in Kobe, the main city of Hyogo.

Hashimoto faces three hurdles before he can see his dream accomplished. The least difficult is to get resolutions in favor of an Osaka metropolis passed in the Osaka prefectural assembly, already controlled by his Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka Renewal Group), and by Osaka and Sakai cities. He would also have to win a majority in a referendum of affected people, a constitutional requirement, and would then have to get the central government to revise the Local Government Law.

The last is the most difficult given the attitude of Tokyo politicians that creation of an Osaka metropolis is something for the back burner with the gas turned off. Tokyo-based commentators have glibly said that Hashimoto has shunted himself down a cul-de-sac by becoming a mere mayor. This is a mistake. Hashimoto is a determined guy, who has already threatened to call Osaka city elections, where his group holds only 33 of the 86 seats, to bend the council to his will.

Osaka and Kansai generally have a different, more commercial view of life and its necessities. Tokyo people greet each other with a general "How are you?"; but the typical Osaka greeting is "moukari makka?" or "How much money have you made today?" In the current exigent economic times, the answer is not as much as people would like. Osaka, home to Panasonic, Sharp and the birthplace of the Sumitomo group, is suffering 7 percent unemployment, nearly 30 percent higher than Japan generally.

Hashimoto believes that red tape and too many sluggish bureaucracies obstruct revival of Osaka's economic spirits. But Hashimoto himself is sometimes right in principle, but tends to rush in and get practical things wrong. His abrasive impatience saw him clash with neighboring Hyogo over his desire to close Osaka's Itami airport, most of whose land is in Hyogo. Anyone who has to use expensive, distant Kansai airport with its slow immigration and suspicious customs officials would wish instead that Itami became a second expanding Haneda.

The correct response is to accept that the existing local government administrative boundaries need to change to reflect demographic and social changes, the need to involve local people in decisions affecting them and to boost economic and political reform of Japan.

Encourage Hashimoto to provide practical details of how an Osaka metropolis would work, but also investigate whether a Kansai — and for that matter a Tokyo — megalopolis would work better, not only in terms of efficiency but also government for the people. Set a two year time limit for redrawing the administrative map of Osaka, Kansai and Japan as a whole to create a 21st-century Japan that can be an example of democracy for the world.

It would be a mistake for the established politicians and bureaucrats to sit on their hands and hope that Hashimoto will go away or to obfuscate with talk of general administrative reforms. He has powerful friends, mostly independent-minded politicians who have won office by appealing directly to a public disgruntled with grubby politics as usual. Populist politics would be a dangerous game that Hashimoto might be tempted to play if frustrated. It could unleash a tsunami of popular discontent on Japan's political process.

Kevin Rafferty is author of "Inside Japan's Powerhouses," an account of Japan Inc. and internationalization.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/rss/eo20111207a3.html

support the exchange students to come Japan safely.

FROM EDITOR

 

We would like to support the exchange students  to come Japan safely.


 

 

       

Aim For An Educational Nation

 
We would like to support the exchange students  to come Japan safely.
 
The press conference to support overseas students had healed by Japanese Language Schools which encourage the post-disaster rehabilitation on 9 May.The editor of the magazine 'Immigrants', Mr.Iwahara who taught me this conference was one of the manager of the organization.By the influence of the earthquake on March,it has been decreasing the number of the exchange students.Comparing last year,
it is estimated that there is 30 to 50% reduction of the number of  candidate for admission refusing or delayed during the first semester,and 70% that during the second semester.Considering that most abroad students learn Japanese at Japanese language schools,it is also expected the drop of population of exchange pupils in universities and colleges.
Of course,the main reason of the reduction is detaining by their families who are anxious about the nuclear accident,or changing the exchange students plans due to concerning the possibility of deterioration.
 
It is anticipated the slump of the 175000 students now,which means it is not able to avoid the affect of the plan to accommodate of 300000 foreign students,which is one of the strategy of the new growth in Japan.Japanese Language Schools  encouraging the post-disaster rehabilitation are forced to treat this problem immediately and requesting the Diplomacy and government to accompany.The aim is follow that.
 
1.Collect the letters written by  foreign students to encourage the refugees
 
2.Recruit the student volunteers to go the disaster stricken area
 
3.Provide information about the disaster and the unclear power plant in foreign languages
 
4.Require to the related organizations to construct easy coming and studying from overseas.
 
 
However,It has been occurred already that extension of deadline of next term's Japanese residence certification.It is recognized that the plan, 'accommodation of 300000 exchange pupils', is one of the No.1 priority.
 
The most essential thing is that making Japan more safe and welcoming students who came from foreign countries more than ever.
They might be the people who really would like to study in Japan in spite of unstable Japan.
 
 
The effect or influence from exchange students can be quite powerful.When they are accepted by Japanese society,they might spread information about Japan as fabulous country, which is the best way to PR of Japan.
 
Also,We should appreciate them to study Japanese for a long time ,which might be useful only in Japan.If all Japanese had kept in mind like that, the population of sightseer from abroad could have been over ten million already.
 
In addition, foreigners are anticipated activity in medical department which is suffering from labor shortage. It is expected that there are more than millions people who want to study and work in Japan, with the system of accepting foreigners.
 
It is the fastest and the most effective way to stimulate Japan that the procedures of foreigner's accommodation should be more simple to increase them in Japan vastly,because they will contribute to society when they get high education and grow accustomed Japan.

(translated by Aya Kato )

Working Together to Support Japan and Global Community

FROM EDITOR

 

 

Working Together

to Support Japan and Global Community

by FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and WHO

Director General Margaret Chan

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working closely in support of the

Japanese government's on-going efforts to address food safety issues stemming from the

events of 11 March 2011.

FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and WHO

Director General Margaret Chan jointly issued the following statement:

Joint FAO-IAEA-WHO Statement on Food Safety Issues following the Fukushima Daiichi

Nuclear Emergency:

FAO, IAEA and WHO are committed to mobilizing their knowledge and expertise in support

of the Japanese government's ongoing efforts address food safety issues stemming from

the events of 11 March.

Additional information on the food safety dimension of events in Japan is contained in

a set of questions and answers developed jointly by FAO, IAEA and WHO.

Since the events of 11 March, thousands of lives have been lost, and many homes and

buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami. Japan's

transportation infrastructure has also suffered, and cropland and aquaculture

installations have been degraded or wiped out.

In this situation, damage to the reactors of a nuclear power plant, the resulting risk

of direct human exposure to radiation, and efforts to bring the involved installations

under control have also received priority attention.

Food safety issues are an additional dimension of the emergency. Some food products

sampled at sites both within the Fukushima Prefecture and in adjacent areas have been

contaminated by radioactive materials.

Japan has regulations in place relating to provisional regulatory limits of

radioactivity in food. Food monitoring is being implemented, measurements of

radionuclide concentrations in food are taking place, and the results are being

communicated publicly. Japanese authorities are also giving advice to consumers and

producers regarding safety measures.

 

quoted from

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/2011/amsp2011n008.html

The Global Community Chips in to Help Japan

FROM EDITOR


The Global Community Chips in to Help Japan

By Caitlin Dickson Mar 15, 2011

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan over the weekend have elicited a swift and substantial response from the global community. Numerous governments, businesses, and individuals have stepped up to help find survivors of the disaster and put Japan back together again. We've compiled an overview of just how much aid Japan is receiving from various governments and organizations who have come forward so far.

The United States
The U.S. has already sent the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, complete with several navy ships, as well as 45 different aircrafts from the Air Force and Special Forces. According to Reuters, $100,000 has already been provided by the U.S. embassy in Tokyo and USAID has about 150 search and rescue workers and 12 dogs searching for survivors among the damage.

The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom initially shipped out "fifty-nine search and rescue experts, four medics and two sniffer dogs on a private charter plane with 11 tons of equipment on board" to Japan the BBC reported on Sunday. Today an additonal 12 volunteers from the International Rescue Corps joined the effort.

China and Taiwan
China's Red Cross Society has pledged $152,000 worth of aid to Japan. According to Taiwan's Taipei Times, the government pledged $300,000 on Friday to aid Japan's recovery from its recent earthquake and tsunami and, on Saturday, upped the amount to over $3 million. Additonally, the paper reports, Taiwan's China Airlines sent "5,100kg of relief supplies, including blankets, sleeping bags, jackets and food rations at Haneda Airport on the same flight that was carrying a 28-member search and rescue team from Taiwan."

Other Countries and International Organizations
According to another Reuters report, 91 countries have offered assistance to Japan, though only 15 of these offers have been accepted based on what Japan really needs. These offers include $50,000 from Afghanistan, 32 Lithuanian search and rescue workers, $1 million and 2,500 woollen blankets from Mongolia, Russian assistance at nuclear plants from the state's nuclear corporation, and 15,000 tons of rice along with $6.58 million worth of "warm clothes, gloves, rubber boots, instant food and other goods" from Thailand, among many others. Additional international organizations such as the "Turkish Red Crescent, Switzerland Humanitarian Aid Response Team, Canadian Medical Assistance Team, Save the Children and Plan Internation," as well as Doctors Without Borders and the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are all providing money or rescue teams to Japan.

Businesses
International governments aren't the only ones contributing to Japan's relief efforts. Several Wall Street investment banks have already made large donations to charities organizing rescue programs. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and American Express have all announced large contributions. Substantial donations range from American Express's pledged $100,000 to Goldman Sach's $6.1 million. In addition to promising $1 million dollars, Jefferies is offering its employees "the opportunity to donate their salaries for one day to earthquake relief efforts."

 (quoted from   http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/03/japan-donations/35832/)
 

lakeland college open college

FROM EDITOR

 

 

LAKELAND COLLEGE JAPAN, an accredited American college recognized by the Japanese Education Ministry, is pleased to offer non-degree courses in our new adult continuing education program, Lakeland Open College. We are located near several train and subway stations in the Shinjuku area.

The courses, designed for both Japanese and non-Japanese students, are intended for individuals in the Tokyo Community to expand their knowledge and skills. With a few exceptions, all classes are taught in English. We are excited about our new program and we hope our Open College students will enjoy the classes and benefit from them.

• The Spring term 2011 will begin on January 26 and end on April 2.
• There will be an information session of January 19.

http://www.lcjoc.com/index.html

New Technology for Generating Hydrogen from Water

FROM EDITOR

 

New Technology for Generating Hydrogen from Water

at the Lowest Cost in the World

 



There are several different methods for generating hydrogen. The most ideal method is said to be generating hydrogen from water.

However, as many researchers have discovered, in practice it is difficult to generate hydrogen from water.
In order to generate hydrogen from water, we must break the bonds between hydrogen molecules and oxygen molecules.
Since these bonds are very strong, a large amount of energy, and therefore a high cost, is required to generate hydrogen.
If it were possible to do this efficiently at low cost, hydrogen could become one of our energy resources in the future.

SEE the movie below
http://www.hydrogen-energy.jp/index-en.html

Energy Born in the Orient

FROM EDITOR
Energy Born in the Orient

Toshiharu Fukai President Sosei World Co., Ltd.

創生水 Sosei-Sui water: If we can change water,
we can change everything...


times03.JPG

(article from the Time Magazine issued 30th JULY 2010)
Tominaga: Mr. Fukai, please outline the significance of your
business and your vision for the future.

Fukai: I have three key points to mention.

1. Our Sosei-Sui water, when mixed with oil, enables a detergent-free
daily lifestyle and farming that does not use agricultural chemicals,
thus giving rise to an environmentally friendly industrial revolution
among general households as well as business sectors such as
beauty salons and restaurants. Not only does our Sosei-Sui water
contribute to minimization of production costs, fuel costs and
waste-treatment costs, but effective use of water also leads to
the reduction of CO2 emissions in all respects.

2. I’m committed to bringing about innovation in areas such as
fuel cells and electric vehicles by inventing a new process of
hydrogen-gas generation that will revolutionize the conventional
concept of power generation.

3. Usually, we can achieve a temperature of only around 1,400℃ by
burning fossil fuels. But I’m determined to cause a great
revolution in the world of boilers. To realize it, I’ll develop a new
combustion concept, a method that is free of CO and CO2
emissions: a process by which a Sosei-Sui-based emulsion is
burned at high temperatures of over 2,000℃.

The machine to produce my proprietary Sosei-Sui is entirely
based on principles of the natural world, such as that of the waterfall
and of the tornado. The result is water with the same kind of quality
that dates back to centuries ago. “Intrinsically, water does not mix
with oil. Water is H2O. It freezes at 0℃. If water accumulates and
ages, it will become stagnant” — all such established knowledge is
wrong! The water I make never freezes at 0℃. It only freezes at
-3℃ or below. And our water mixes with oil, thanks to emulsification.
Our clean water never becomes stagnant, even left alone for as long
as 13 years. Our water also differs from common water in terms of
specific gravity. Vaporization rates differ between our water and
ordinary water, even when heat of the same caloric value is applied.
Our Sosei-Sui generator unit is attached just behind the water
service meter. This means that Sosei-Sui is available as much as
you need no matter where the faucet is: toilet, bath, or kitchen.

Installation of this generator unit completely eliminates the need for
kitchen and washing detergents, shampoos and conditioners, and
restroom and car cleaners. Many women who have used Sosei-Sui
are amazed that they could remove makeup entirely without
cleansing cream.

For laundromats, we named our Sosei-Sui-based washing
machine the “Washing Forum,” and clothes are completely cleaned

elimination of detergents shortens washing time to only 15 minutes,
compared with the 40 minutes usually required. Electricity bills and
water consumption can be halved, meaning increased profits. Even
higher profitability is ensured because there is no need to use
detergents. It is said to take three years from the point of initial
investment for a laundromat to go into the black. But Sosei-Suiinstalled
laundromats are in the black from the very first month of
operation. So are beauty salons, since they wash customers’ hair
with water only, not needing shampoos or conditioners. I’ve heard
that a professional beautician feeling the texture of the customer’s
hair was surprised by the outstanding cleansing effect of Sosei-Sui.
What’s more, the hands of those working in such beauty salons no
longer suffer from rough skin, since contamination by surface-active
agents and environmental hormones has been eliminated.

In the past, I made a presentation at the Foreign Correspondents’
Club of Japan about the dioxins generated as a result of chemical
reactions between surface-active agents and substances like
permanent-wave lotions and hair dyes. Acknowledging that my
presentation had been endorsed by Environment Canada as well as
by major analytical institutions in Germany and Japan, both the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of the
Environment of Japan conceded that all of my points were valid.


Tominaga: Could you explain the characteristics of Sosei-Sui water?

Fukai: First, it has interfacial activity allowing water and oil to mix
together; second, it has excellent cleansing power; and third, it is a
deoxidizing water. People often talk about oxidation and reduction.
In short, oxidation translates into becoming foul or going bad,
whereas reduction means revival. Determination of water quality,
whether it is foul or reduced, is expressed in millivolt (mV) value. If it
is measured as 250mV or higher, the water is defined as being
oxidized, and at a value of less than 250mV it is defined as being in
the reduced state. The same applies to human blood. A newborn’s
blood is — 150mV. As we age, our blood becomes oxidized; in
other words, ageing means blood oxidization. Oxidized blood
oxidizes your skin, which leads to ageing.
For example, the spring waters of Lourdes in France and
Nordenau in Germany are famed as good-quality waters. I visited
these countries and brought water samples back to Japan to
determine their active hydrogen content and dissolved oxygen.
While the samples were found to have an active hydrogen content
superior to that of similar waters available in Japan, it was only one
tenth that of our Sosei-Sui. With common water, the amount of
dissolved oxygen it contains is limited. As such, it becomes
saturated quickly, even when oxygen is forcibly injected into the
water. Temperatures also concern saturation. Suppose the value
8mg-O/L at 25℃ indicates a saturated state. In our case,
the value is 11mg-O/L,which is a super-saturated state.
Water that is deoxidized emulsifies, plus it
contains large amounts of dissolved oxygen, active hydrogen, and free carbon
dioxide . . . Very few waters attain these five requirements. Possessing these five
conditions, our Sosei-Sui is beginning to produce unbelievable results in the fields of
emulsion fuel and hydrogen gas.

Tominaga: Is Sosei-Sui-based emulsion
studied at universities and other institutes?

Fukai: Dr. S. Tsuruno, a professor emeritus at the National Defense Academy of
J a p a n , is a specialist in combustion engineering. He conducted a combustion
test on our Sosei-Sui-based emulsion. His evaluation was as follows:

“Sosei-Sui in its emulsified form is
separated into hydrogen and oxygen as its
temperature rises due to the heat of the fuel
oil burned, then the separated hydrogen
burns again. Usually, the energy required to




times%2001.JPG



separate hydrogen and oxygen is equivalent to that required to
bond hydrogen and oxygen. But the Sosei-Sui emulsion is different:
40% of the hydrogen in the water is consumed as the energy to
generate heat and the remaining 60% is used as the energy to
separate the hydrogen and oxygen. Therefore, it follows that 30%
to 40% in fuel saving is possible if you can always maintain 40% of
hydrogen in the water.”

Hydrogen gas is slow to spread due to several drawbacks such
as steam reformation. The use of petroleum-derived materials naturally
involves CO2 emissions, which are harmful to the environment. Also,
the petroleum-derived material and water both need to be vaporized,
which requires a significant amount of energy. A number of technologies
to generate hydrogen using catalysts like active aluminum and active
magnesium are already patented. The problem is, when such catalysts
are put into water, a small amount of hydrogen is produced but the
reaction stops soon, due to the forming of an oxide film.

However, I became the first in the world to discover a process
whereby a solid object like aluminum is able to react with water to
generate hydrogen gas. For example, from an empty beer can the
amount of obtainable hydrogen gas is 1.7 to 2.2 liters per gram of
aluminum, and 3.3 liters per gram of magnesium.
It seems that God allows me to enjoy climbing the stairs step by
step, so that I may come awake as I carry out various trials and errors.
I’m convinced that in the years ahead, water will emerge in a new
form of far greater importance and interest than petroleum. The
world should invest increasingly more into technologies that do not
pollute water at all, rather than into those aiming to purify contaminated
water. In this context, the underlying approach in the Water Pollution
Prevention Act — to “purify polluted water” — is wrong.

In my opinion,regulations regarding water pollution are too generous.
If the government tightens regulations against the quality of water
discharged, it will encourage the invention of good technologies,
which in turn will give rise to new and promising industries.
The administration is only willing to subsidize those companies that
engage in removing contaminants. Consciousness reform is
necessary for both the administration and related industries.

Tominaga: Thank you very much for your time. I wish you continued
success in the Sosei-Sui project.

Mr. Toshiharu Fukai, President of Sousei World Co., Ltd., will
speak to the general assembly of the Academy of International
Management, Cultures and Transdisciplinary Studies
(AIMCATS), held at Seattle University Oct 22 through 24, 2010.
The Academy is headed by Dr. Motofusa Murayama, Visiting
Professor at Seattle University.

For further information, please contact: fukaisouken@soseiworld.co.jp

times%2002.JPG

In Japan, over 300,000 dogs and cats are killed at public health centers

FROM EDITOR

dog-rights.JPG

In Japan, over 300,000 dogs and cats are killed at public health centers, every year. I worry about it, and feel very distressed about this big problem.

About two years ago , I decided to start rescuing dogs, and became a member of the volunteer organization. I always adopt sheltered dogs temporarily, until the volunteer group finds a "new family" for them.

And, as I get deeper into this, I realize how difficult the situation is.
It becomes a vicious circle.

So, I think "What should I do???" , "How can I help???".

"How can I save the dogs???"

"How can I keep the dogs smiling???"

And then, in January of this year, I decided to established a company "Dog-Rights Co., Ltd" with really like-minded friends.

From the beginning, we decided to publish a free magazine named "Dog-Rights", and from January, we delivered this to many dog shops, animal hospitals, grooming salons, and dog cafes in TOKYO.
It contains lots of helpful information about dogs, information on dog's health from vets, real life situations of homeless and sheltered dogs...and so forth.

In this way, we want to let people know the "Real situations of dogs", "Real big problems of dogs".
This really addresses the feelings we have of "what should I do" and "what can I do" that are in the hearts of so many individuals ! !

For now, we are going to publish the free magazine every other month, and propose many ways to give dogs happy lives.

And we are going to donate part of the profits from sales to many dog shelters in JAPAN to save the dogs !

FROM JAPAN, we are going to transmit our thoughts, expressions and actions all over the world ! !

DOG RIGHTS OFFICIAL SITE