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

Summer of 2011 radiation (3)

There isn’t a lot of faith in the food chain security. Given the repeated history of food substitution scandals, it’s not surprising.[i] While I was in Akita, Hiro’s parents’ neighbour was saying that contaminated rice would be mixed with non contaminated rice and sold as safe.   She had no evidence that it was actually happening, just based on previous experience of food safety cover ups it was a foregone conclusion. My guess is her sentiments are typical.  But she also didn’t feel empowered to take any kind of action against it. It’s not surprising since contaminated soil was being shipped in on railway trucks… Assuming this is true, and it seems to be, the stupidity of the powers that be in staggering…. Why settle for one area with contamination when you can spread it across the country….  In the supermarkets, though vegetables are mostly clearly identified by origin, meat is now simply labelled as “kokusan”   - domestic.  The decision isn’t coming from the government level.  People can’t have faith in food chain if information is obviously being withheld. People have the right to make their own decisions.   It seems like a great pity for farmers from southern prefectures whose meat is being lumped in with the rest of Japan.  The lack of information pushes many people to buy imported – despite the fact that US beef will almost certainly have been fed  Hormone Growth Promotants… but that’s not on people’s radar.

Concern about radiation is quite rational but there is a lot of inconsistency in people’s concern about perceived risks.  Peter Sandman has written extensively on the way that people perceive risk. His arguments hold true for Fukushima.[ii] On the one hand you get people fastidious about avoiding food from contaminated areas notably Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Tochigi,  Gunma, Ibaragi. Some people go as far as excluding Saitama and all of Tohoku.   But at the same time people are still buying pre-cooked food from the supermarket and eating out where there are usually no labels for identifying where food comes from.  People engage willingly in many kinds of risky habits – but as Peter Sandman would say – the fact that it’s voluntary makes a big difference.  People smoke, eat tuna that hasn’t been tested for heavy metal residue,  ride without bicycle helmets,  talk on mobile phones, (do both at the same time), rush to get on the doors closing on trains, go rock fishing without life jackets, opt out of polio and other vaccinations,  go skiing, allow themselves to become obese, don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet, drive cars, drink bicycle-ride ad infinitum.    Obviously none of this changes the danger of radiation, but the point is people don’t act with the same attitude to risk, even with radiation.

Hiro & I are actually taking a pretty relaxed attitude to radiation and we haven’t changed our consumption habits at all. (something that will get approving nods of agreement from some and incredulous shaking of heads from others)  Since I’ve lived in Japan I’ve had a preference for rice from Akita (Hiro's home prefecture which is one of the major rice producing areas), vegies from Tohoku – where possible (because Tohoku is by and large poor and needs the support),  Japanese pork, Australian or Japanese beef (almost always Australian because of the price, never US beef which has hormone growth promotants in it).  None of this has changed.  It’s something I can justify with no sense that I am playing Russian roulette.  The rationalisation is essentially twofold: I don’t see the risk as being particularly dangerous, and I want to support the local economies.

---

[i] http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071029a7.html

[ii] http://www.psandman.com/articles/risk.htm