Another quake

Another quake in a very similar location. At 7.3M it's a lot smaller, but things still shook a lot here.  A tsunami warning has been issued. May it turn out to be minor and that there are enough blankets on hand to keep people warm.  It's a very cold night, but thankfully no rain or snow.

Electricity and politics - summer 2012 (p4)

Much more than last year,  this year is being characterised by systematically organised protests. 

Last week and the week before I went to the protests at Kokkai Gijidou Mae - outside the Prime Minister's official residence. I was there more to see what was happening rather than to protest. I can't say I'm unequivocally in the anti nuclear camp, though obviously the current situation in Fukushima is completely  unacceptable.

Anti nuclear power protests have a long history in Japan, particularly with the legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Government efforts to subdue the protests has an equally long history.  (see this article by Daniel Aldrich for an insight into the way the government has operated to get nuclear established.)  In some ways the protests are about much more than nuclear, they seem to be about democratic fundamentals.  Having said that though, I am not sure how widespread the sentiments are; I have heard few reports of protests in other areas.  It will be interesting to see the next election.

Our destination was the corner diagonally opposite.
But crossing the road was banned. It was 4pm, the  protests were
at 6 pm.  I was there with 2 friends who were visiting, and two
of their Japanese friends.  To reach our destination we had to walk
the four sides of the Diet building - more than 1km I guess.

The same people being turned away.  We were on the same side
of the road as the PM house, about 70 m. from where we were.

Plenty of police - who were all very polite, but the numbers
are intimidating.

We were at the corner diagonally opposite the police when we were told to go back.

 

Protestors were told strictly by organizers that any speeches must only relate
to the anti nuclear agenda.  A key strategy of successful protesting
 - keeping a clear target.

This guy holding a post that I can't explain and neither could the people
near me whom I asked. He was bending the rules by shuffling back and forth in
the pedestrian corridor.  The police tolerated him for a while, but then asked him to
step inside the protesters area. It took the summoning of an obviously older and
more senior police officer to persuade him.
I have yet to see anyone actively defy the police.

Inside Kokkai gijidou mae station - not enough room to get out.

Protestors "we don't need nuclear power"

 

The Diet building in the background with police and baricades between it
and the people.... symbolic really when you consider that there has been
negligible attention been paid by politicians.

Protests of 27th - the road by the PM's residence (on the other side)
is blocked to traffic.

Graffiti on a post box - "Fuck Nuclear Power".  Intersetingly written on
what looks like a beginners English name tage.

The Post box

I met up with a friend and fellow blogger
Rurousha to go on the 27th July 2012 protests. We met in
Hibiya Park, which is often a site for protests, though the size is too small
to have large rallies.

A marshalling point for participants?  Just near the Ministry of Industry  (METI) building,
between Hibiya Park and the Diet, a group of protestsers had set up shop.

Protests outside METI.

Police keep protestors on a very light leash. Protesters can't move
out of the "protesters area". One side of the foot path is shut off
to enable people to walk along the footpath, but since there is almost
no pedestrian traffic, it serves a double bonus purpose as
preventing protesters from congregating in a more condensed area.

For Rurousha's account with an African perspective, see
http://rurousha.blogspot.jp/2012/07/nuclear-protesters-you-have-to-learn.html

Fukushima veges back in the local shops

For the first time in months I've seen Fukushima veges in a supermarket near us.In Akihabara there has been a dedicated Fukushima shop with Fukushima veges, but most regular shops err on the side of caution when it comes to perceptions of consumer safety and opt not to stock food stuff sourced from Fukushima.  (The food service industry is a totally different situation; no requirements on labelling the origin of foods mean  particularly at the cheap end of the spectrum, there is strong incentive just to source what is cheapest.)

It's been very tough on farmers in the area. One of Hiro's uncles is involved in fruit and vegetables in Ibaraki. At New Year when they came to Akita they were talking about the irony of "Ganbarou Tohoku" when so many former customers wouldn't touch food from Ibaraki, let alone Fukushima (though some parts of Ibaraki are closer to the plant than some parts of Fukushima.)    The graph below shows the lack of accuracy in categorizing food by political boundaries -  prefectures isn't an accurate way to avoid food from areas that have high levels of cesium.

MEXT via the Japan Times
Cesium readings Sept 2011.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111001a1.html

Though the colouring used looks  dubious if you refer to this website

http://allegedlyapparent.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/comparison-japan-mext-fallout-map-cs-137-in-unep-colors-higher-resolution/, but on the other hand the difference in the scale of the map  distorts the picture as well.  

Yesterday we biked to Ibaraki and talked to the same uncle.  He said things are much better there now. He was showing us the piles of documents that certified products as cesium free, and he was saying things have recovered for them now - people are buying Ibaraki products again.  I didn't get a chance to ask him about how the testing is conducted, where and by whom, but it was obviously a great relief to him that they were testing cesium free. (They were testing cesium free from the outset, but it took some time for customers to return.)

The testing will continue for years, as much for gathering data generally to interpret nuclear accident as it is for protecting consumers.  Norway is still having problem with animals over the maximum allowable level of 

http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/chernobyl-still-affects-norway/   Incidentally, I read recently that the Scandanavian cesium limits are 5 times higher than Japan.

People have to make their own decisions about what to eat and what not to, but I was glad to see the tomato and cucumber and bought a packet of each.

A sign in Ikebukuro advertising the fukushima
market in Akihabara.

Cucumber from Fukushima - the precture name is written on
the second line down in small letters.

  

Cucumbers and tomato from Fukushima.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/en/  Testing results

Electricity & politics Summer 2012 - (3)

Last year to counter the sudden loss of energy generation capacity drastic measures were taken to reduce electricity consumption, The neon of Tokyo was dimmed; the trains operated on reduced schedules; excess aircon was turned off & temperatures raised;  universities shut early for the summer (in some cases without paying the teachers...). Even though in some ways the effort last year was token, efforts to be sparing with electricity were much more conspicuous, and the situation in Fukushima in someway seemed closer to people. For a flashback to last year 

http://ponkanchan.blogspot.jp/2011/03/glowing-in-dark.html

This year public displays of solidarity with energy saving seem less apparent and  I am sceptical about the extent it remains in people's consciousness, though that may change with electricity hikes at the beginning of September. Today Seibu in Ikebukuro, which has two sets of doors to enter to cut the loss of cool air, had both sets wide open - cold air going straight to the street... I closed them ;).  A couple of weeks ago I walked into a classroom where there the power to adjust the thermostat has not yet been appropriated by the administration.  It was set to a frigid 19 degrees - the lowest it would go....   For homework they always do a piece of writing - I asked them to write about electricity savings.  Their answers were intriguing.  Out of 70 students, not one student suggested ceasing to use aircon  period, though some thought they could reduce the use.  Most answers were in the "causing me no inconvenience" category.

Answers included go to public place during the day time that have aircon so you don't have to pay for aircon at home..., turn the temperature of the aircon up (standard govt. line), turning off the TV, unplugging appliances not being used, a few talked of green curtains, a lot talked of developing alternative energy sources - that part was encouraging since that is their academic field.

When you look at today's electricty consumption in the TEPCO distribution area compared with last year's for the same day it's not very encouraging.  Admittedly it was about 5-6 degrees hotter today than this day last year. I am not sure what is accounting for the difference in electricity usage - as far as I know this year heavy industry is not being put on rotation for energy usage.  I haven't seen any analysis to account for the difference.

One crucial aspect to changing electricity consumption is changing people's thinking, for the generation brought up in aircon, this will be no easy task.

Daily usage & predicted usage - http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/forecast/html/index-e.html

Electricity & Politics summer 2012 (2)

On Monday 16, Marine Day, a public holiday - unless you work in  some higher education institutions or the retail sector - anti nuclear protesters organised a major rally in Yoyogi Park.  I got there for the tail end of it. I had classes until 2.30 and had planned to go after that, but I'd left my hat at home and would burn to a crisp faster than you can say nuclear reactor...so delayed getting there until almost 4.The pictures are from the footbridges - it was very windy & I was doing my utmost not to have the ipad blow off...

Saikadou hantai - we oppose the restart, Genpatsu iranai - We don't need nuclear power.

 
The anti nuclear protesters march out of Yoyogi down Omotesando
with the park & stadium in the background

Marching down Omotesando. Protesters are kept to the far left
to disturb traffic as minimally as possible.

It was hot day, not for the faint hearted.

There are often breaks in the marchers - the reason for it is that
police hold marchers back at the traffic lights which is good for
traffic flow but not so good for unity of the march.
There is no civil disobedience in the marching - everything is
very orderly, in total compliance with the law & the wishes of the
police - even when the requests seem intentionally obtuse.

Just as well Tokyo has no real crime...

The very last of  the protesters march down Omotesando

The police giving orders.

Police keep protesters on a very tight leash

Lazy lazy journalism. Two journalists talking to two police on the
footbridge betwen the stadium and the station. The police had out
their notebooks and the journalists copied it down verbatim.
According to one of my professors at Sophia, it is customary
for police to feed news stories to the media, particularly ones
with salacious or gory details. A win win situation - police get their
version of events out, the journos don't have to do any work...
win win unless you factor in the public and democratic principles.
I had dinner with a friend  the other day who occasionally mixes
with serious bigwigs in Japan, and he summed it up well: "at the top
they're all drinking buddies."
..

Energy & politics summer 2012 (1)

Things seems to be changing in Japan.  Though I can't really say in what direction.

On Friday I went to the anti nuclear protests outside the prime ministers official residence - more to see what is happening rather than to be an active participant.   I have mixed feelings about nuclear issue.  On the one hand it has given Japan some stability particularly in the post oil shock era of energy uncertainty, but on the other hand the industry has been built on collusion and corruption.  It's partly paternalistic - that they that be know best,  but there has also been  very cynical manipulation and disregard for the population.  World over a lot of people believed in nuclear as a safe clean energy - presumably mostly in good faith.  However, a report commissioned by the Diet and released recently has stated plainly that the disaster was man-made - both the government and the regulators knew that TEPCO was stalling on making safety improvments that had been demanded.

Japan survived for several months with no nuclear reactors operating - even though they had been supplying 30% of national energy. The week before last, the Oi plant in Fukui was brought back online, to meet the "serious shortfall" of industry, despite a reaosnable amount of opposition.   Opposition has been fuelled by claims that there is a fault line under the reactor.  The rationale for the restart doesn't seem to make complete sense.
If the summer energy consumption is so much higher, it seems a no brainer to reduce the summer consumption.  And to be fair there are efforts being made, particularly at the government level.  The remedies being offered however tend to be increase the temperature of the aircon - the campaigns are not to turn off the aircon.  There are still restaurants and coffee shops that feel cold not cool, at uni I've walked into classrooms with the aircon on, the door open and no-one in the room...   In our building there were people adding a second aircon, which of course is their right, but I wonder how deeply the idea of electricity saving is seeping in to the public habits. Awareness of the need for electricity savings is there, but I'm sceptical about the degree of personal commitment to energy savings - particularly when someone else is paying the bill...
The argument is always being put that without nuclear there can't be viable industry, but I'm yet to be convinced.  Industry seems to have been able to operate without the nuclear facilities.Japan has been built on a presumption of cheap electricity - poorly insulated houses, flippant electricity usage like toilet seat warmers (not such big energy consumers when the seat is left down, but it often doesn't seem to be the case), shops that have been set to 20 degrees, shops with out aircurtains.  Is it the availability of energy that has enabled the demand, or increased demand that has necessitated increased supply.  It has to be both.  There used to be promotional posters to switch over to all electric houses based on nuclear power being cheap.  I'll keep trying to dig some up.  

Committment to setsuden: installing a second aircon...

The graph below is quite interesting and perhaps turns on its head the idea that Japanese industry cannot survive without nuclear. 

Japanese Energy Consumption
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/japan/electric-power-consumption-kwh-wb-data.html

Increased demand corrolates with increased supply - though establishing cause and effect is more difficult. 

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf79.html  scroll down for a list here of nuclear plants.

@AFP and post earthquake sensationalism of suicides

TOKYO —

The number of people who took their own lives in Japan drastically increased in the aftermath of last year’s huge tsunami and the nuclear disaster it triggered, the government says.  A more than 20% rise in the amount of suicides in one month was likely attributable at least in part to the widespread anxiety Japanese society felt in the aftermath of the catastrophe, an official said.

In May last year 3,375 people killed themselves, more than 20% up on the same month a year earlier... (AFP)  http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/suicides-in-japan-spiked-after-march-11-disaster

AFP (Agence France-Presse) has continued to propagate the myth that suicides in Japan have risen drastically as a result of the earthquake, syndicating stories that are at best gross distortions.  It might make for dramatic headlines, but it is minimizing the resilience of the people in the most affected areas,  it's demoralizing for the people who are working hard to reduce Japan's suicide rate, and trivializes the complex reasons behind suicide in Japan.

There was  a spike in suicides in May following the earthquake but data released by the Cabinet Office last week shows that was an aberration for the year and overall there was a 3.3% decrease in suicide numbers nationwide.  This decrease also listed Miyagi and Iwate as among the top 5 prefectures to have had a decrease in numbers, Fukushima, and every other prefecture in Tohoku also registered a decrease. 

The actual figures are here.

  

  Heisei 23 (red line) = 2011

  Heisei 22 (green line) = 2010

  Heisei 21( blue line) = 2009

  Heisei 20 (pale blue-green line) = 2008

Or in table form

For more detail and a prefectural breakdown see
http://www8.cao.go.jp/jisatsutaisaku/toukei/pdf/siryou/gaikyou.pdf

Radical globalization

This is quite radical. I haven't heard of a Japanese company sending people to Asian countries in such numbers. It's very positive. No time for analysis at the moment.

Aeon to post 1,000 new graduates to stores in China, Southeast Asia

BUSINESS FEB. 03, 2012 - 07:03AM JST ( 0 )

TOKYO —

Retailer Aeon plans to post 1,000 newly hired graduates to stores in China and Southeast Asia as part of its expansion into those markets.

Aeon executives told a news conference in Tokyo this week that the company plans to hire 3,000 staff in Japan and abroad for fiscal 2012.

Aeon already has more than 100 supermarkets in China, Malaysia and Thailand, while Ministop Co, the company’s convenience store chain, operates in South Korea. Aeon said it plans to open stores in Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia.

The retailer said that it wants to give its young Japanese employees the experience of working overseas at the start of their careers.

Japan Today