November 2012 - The Japan Journal

Transcription

平成二十四年十一月一日発行毎月一回一日発行定価九五〇円本体九〇五円
CONTENTS
Growing the Business
of Agriculture
AIZAWA TADASHI
November 2012
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3
4
6
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Japanorama
Street Level P
roceed to Checkout
Science iPS Cells Creator Wins Nobel Prize
Recovery B
ack in Kamaboko Business
Recovery A Place of Remembrance
Vigorous efforts around the country—and overseas—to strengthen links between the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and commerce and manufacturing industries are yielding
new products and services, and revitalizing
local areas. The Japan Journal reports.
0 Cover Story G
1
rowing
the Business of
Agriculture
On the cover: A worker plants seedlings in
Granpa’s dome-shaped plant factory in Hadano,
Kanagawa Prefecture.
20 Understanding Shibusawa XV S
hibusawa Keizo and
16 Experts C
ulturing Shellfish in El Salvador
18 Politics T
he Limits of Independence
Ethnology
22 Economy R
edesigning the Japanese
Economy and Overcoming
the Earthquake Disaster
A treasure trove of information about Japan
www.japanjournal.jp
27 Economics U
nfamiliar Icons
28 Science I ntelligent Roads Ahead
The Japan Journal, Ltd.
President: Chiba Hitoshi
Editor: Alex Hendy
Editor in chief: Sawaji Osamu
Editors: Nakanishi Junko, Kiura Eriko
Design/Administration: Imai Mei
Accounting: Kato Ikuko
Advisor: Kasuya Kazuki
Corporate Advisor: Watanabe Akira
Editorial Advisors:
Arakawa Yasuhiko (University of Tokyo)
Dohi Takeyoshi (Tokyo Denki University)
Kaya Yoichi (Research Institute of Innovative
Technology for the Earth)
Ohno Izumi (National Graduate Institute for
Policy Studies)
Tadokoro Masayuki (Keio University)
Yakushiji Taizo (National Graduate Institute
for Policy Studies)
Yamazaki Masakazu (Playwright)
1 Recovery R
3
ebuilding Heritage
3
anazawa: In the City of the Maedas
4 Travel K
reserving the Fabric of Time
36 Culture P
iding the Korean Wave
39 Trends R
4
he Raw Facts of Sushi
0 Points of Tradition T
Printing: SHOEI PRINTING CO. LTD.
Printed with highly biodegradable fragrance-free soy ink.
All Japanese names in this journal are written in the Japanese order, family name first.
Italics are used for Japanese words on their first appearance only.
Dollar figures in the issue are calculated using a conversion rate of
one dollar = 80 yen.
The Japan Journal, Ltd.
2-4-6 (7F) Kanda-Awajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0063, Japan
Tel: +81 (0)3-5298-2111
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E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.japanjournal.jp
Copyright © 2012 by The Japan Journal, Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher.
The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012
1
JAPANORAMA
Sendai Dialogue
T
he World Bank and the Government of Japan, together
with global policymakers, called for greater efforts to integrate disaster risk management into national development
planning and international development assistance, at the end
of the Sendai Dialogue conference on October 9–10. (Sendai
is the largest city in the Tohoku region, which bore the brunt
of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.)
Economic losses caused by natural hazards have more
than tripled over the last three decades and amount to 3.5 trillion dollars. The Sendai Dialogue, which was hosted by the
Government of Japan and the World Bank Group during the
2012 World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Annual Meetings, convened governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society with the goal of sharing knowledge
that will advance the integration of risk management into development planning.
“I hope that lessons derived from Japan’s longestablished disaster management culture, as well as the
Great East Japan Earthquake and its reconstruction process,
will be globally shared,” said Japan’s Finance Minister
Jojima Koriki. “I expect the Sendai Dialogue to help form a
consensus on the need to mainstream disaster risk management in all aspects of development processes.”
Following is the joint statement by Minister of Finance
Jojima Koriki and World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim.
1. We thank the distinguished guests for attending the Sendai
Dialogue, on mainstreaming disaster risk management
(DRM) in national development strategies and international
cooperation, a special event co-hosted by us in the program
of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. This Dialogue will
further strengthen the global commitment for managing disaster risks for resilient growth and development.
2. We extend our solidarity to those affected by the Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and salute a great and resilient people as they continue on their road to recovery.
3. The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami will remain a
tragic reminder that no country or community is totally safe
from adverse natural events. Disasters have a major human
and economic impact, which is likely to increase as a result
of urbanization, climate change and other factors. Once a
disaster occurs, the achievements of long-term development
efforts may disappear in an instant.
4. We highlight the dividends of investing in resilient social,
physical and economic infrastructure, which saves lives;
reduces demand for humanitarian action; and minimizes
reconstruction costs. We endorse the need for a comprehensive approach to DRM, based on an improved understanding of risks that informs policy planning and investment programs. We also reaffirm the need for action at
every level of society, from national government to local
businesses, civil society and communities.
5. We are undertaking a joint study to learn lessons from the
Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. In Japan, the culture of prevention that people learn from experiences of past
disasters has been nurtured, and various measures for disaster
risk management have been implemented. While the earthquake had minimal impact due to this culture in Japan, the
tsunami unleashed extreme devastation to life and property,
showing the residual risk of even the best prepared country
from exceptional disasters. We aim to broadcast Japan’s experience in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and
recovery through the study which distils lessons from Japan
for other at-risk countries and communities.
6. We urge national government and development partners to
embrace the recommendations of the Sendai Report, and to
accelerate efforts to integrate disaster risk management in
all development policy and investment programs. We call for
a stronger emphasis in international development assistance
in support of national efforts to pro-actively manage growing disaster risks.
7. We emphasize the importance of increasing technical assistance and financial support to vulnerable developing countries for building resilience to disasters in vulnerable countries, including the usage of Japanese know-how and
expertise, and extending knowledge and partnerships to
support DRM policies and programs, including through
open knowledge platforms and the cultivation of a global
community of practice.
8. Finally, we will carry forward the messages of the Sendai
Dialogue to the Development Committee in Tokyo and beyond to sensitize international stakeholders, governments
and peoples on the urgency and rationale of mainstreaming
disaster risk management in support of poverty reduction,
sustainable development and growth.
Source: www.mof.go.jp, World Bank
Further Reading
Highlighting JAPAN
I
n addition to publishing this magazine, the writers, translators and editors of the Japan Journal help to produce a number of other publications, including an online magazine for the Government’s Cabinet Office,
Highlighting Japan.
Highlighting JAPAN is a full color monthly magazine introducing all
aspects of life in Japan, with more than half of each issue devoted to a
specific theme. The main focus of the November issue is Japanese design,
with stories on topics ranging from kimonos and teahouses to some of the
innovative ideas being implemented to improve the quality of life in disaster-related scenarios. Highlighting JAPAN may be read in both e-book and PDF formats, with the e-book version also featuring two short videos each month—in the November issue on the subjects of noh and faceted pearls. Go to: www.govonline.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/.
Include this magazine in your reading about Japan!
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STREET LEVEL
Proceed to Checkout
The Japanese remain lovers of printed matter, but bookstores nationwide are folding fast. Kaori Shoji reports.
KAORI SHOJI
T
he bookstore in Japan, as elsewhere in the world, is becoming an endangered species. As
of this year, 317 towns and
communities have become bookstoreless, including even academic towns like
Tsukuba Mirai City in Ibaraki Prefecture,
home to the prestigious Tsukuba
University. Says publishing industry analyst Miyoshi Tadafumi, “These past ten
years, we in the print book business have
been fighting a losing battle against an
enemy with many heads: one, Amazon,
which these days is where everyone goes
for browsing; two, the terrible state of the
publishing industry, which has been on
the wane for the past twenty years; lastly,
the emergence of the e-book. All combined, it leads to the sad fact that far
fewer people are dipping into the pages
of a book and lingering over the shelves
at their local bookstore.”
On the other hand, according to
novelist Shiina Makoto, whose book
review magazine Hon no zasshi is said
to have spawned an entire generation of
book enthusiasts during the 1990s, Japan
would always be a nation of “print junkies.” Shiina himself suffers from serious
withdrawal symptoms if deprived of his
daily fix of printed matter (anything
from the back of a cereal box to an encyclopedic volume about bugs). And
though the publishing and printing industries remain under severe strain, the
Japanese continue to peruse the printed
page, from among five national newspapers, over 100 regional newspapers,
magazines, journals and manga. Add to
that an astounding 76,000-plus new
book titles coming out on the shelves
every year. If this isn’t print addiction,
what is? “It’s not that people don’t like
to read,” says Miyoshi. “But it’s getting
hard to translate the love of reading to
lucrative business. Bookstores per se are
just not making money anymore.”
This is true of even the biggest and
most prestigious of the nation’s bookstore franchises, though these have
woken up to reality and armed themselves for combat some years back.
Maruzen—a giant bookstore franchise
To enter, or not to enter. That is the question.
whose history goes back over 150 years
—is now a multi-conglomerate corporation with tie-ups in every segment of the
publishing industry, including Amazon
and DNP (Japan’s largest printing company). Says Miyoshi, “Maruzen is a
great example of an old, brand-name
bookstore that has adjusted to twentyfirst-century business standards.”
Needless to say, not every bookstore is a Maruzen. Says Iizuka
Takashi, whose family-owned bookstore has had to close down in Tokyo’s
fashionable Aoyama district, “My little
bookstore had been in the family for
four generations. But we can hardly
pay taxes on the place anymore, and
though there are plenty of browsers, the
number of people who actually buy
books has gone down by 60%. It was
time to close.” Iizuka’s shop used to be
a neighborhood icon, and attracted a
chic clientele working in the nearby
boutiques. But Iizuka says the people
who used to peruse the books and designer fashion magazines on display at
his shop no longer have the means to
buy them. “Everyone’s pooling their
resources to pay for smartphone bills.
Who has the money these days to buy a
hardcover book?”
Cozy local bookstores may be in
trouble, but even corporation-run, midscale bookstores are closing down, says
Miyoshi. “The ubiquitous bookstore that
carries the same old stock that everyone
else carries… these are the ones that
may be suffering the most. The urban,
mid-scale bookstore has no individuality
and no panache. The ordinary book
lover will detect that it’s not interesting
enough to go through the doors.”
The key to bookstore survival then,
is probably in the selling of its own
personality. The aforementioned Iizuka
says that the neighborhood bookstore of
the future should be about community,
camaraderie and conversation. “More
like a salon for book-lovers to gather
and talk about the latest titles and trendy
authors and such. A sanctuary for printed matter!” And despite his pessimism,
Miyoshi says that in spite of everything
the bookstore will never completely die.
“Because no digital product could ever
replace the feeling of a book in your
hands, and the smell of fresh print.” No
arguments there.
Kaori Shoji is a freelance journalist.
3
SCIENCE
iPS Cells Creator
Wins Nobel Prize
On October 8, 2012, the Nobel Assembly awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine to Dr. Yamanaka Shinya, the director of the
Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University. We look
at the background to Dr. Yamanaka’s award of this prestigious prize,
including the important role played by the Japan Science and Technology
Agency’s funding program for team-oriented research, CREST.
I
ceiving letters from around the world
recommending that Dr. Yamanaka’s
team be named Nobel laureates.
Needless to say, this was against
the backdrop of Dr. Yamanaka’s
unique concept and a range of governmental support.
The Japan Science and Technology
Agency (JST) has supported research led
by Dr. Yamanaka since 1995, when he
worked for the Nara Institute of Science
and Technology as an associate professor. The support is part of CREST, a
funding program for team-oriented
research with the aim of achieving the
strategic goals set forth by the government. It is one of the JST’s projects that
promote task-solving basic research in a
top-down manner for realizing governmental policy objects for the purpose of
discovering technological seeds that can
help industry and society. The JST’s support of Dr. Yamanaka has continued uninterrupted up to the present.
In the magazine celebrating the
twelfth anniversary of CREST,
Professor Kishimoto Tadamitsu, CREST
research supervisor (honorary professor
at the time of accepting the project
and now a former president of Osaka
University) recalls when he accepted the
research project for CREST:
COURTESY OF JST
KYOTO UNIVERSITY
n awarding Dr.
Yamanaka
Shinya the
Nobel Prize in
Physiology or
Medicine, the Nobel
A s s em b l y re c o g nized the achievement of the generation of induced
pluripotent stem
(iPS) cells that can
be grown into all
types of cells of different creatures.
They arise from the
iPS cell generated by Dr. Yamanaka
ability to generate
stem cells bearing
The research he led on iPS cells
high proliferative potential and pluripoAt that time, since he was an astent differentiation, like embryonic immediately drew attention following
sociate professor at the Nara Institute
stem (ES) cells, when four types of the successful generation of cells
of Science and Technology, Dr.
genes are combined and introduced into using mouse cells in 2006 and then
Yamanaka performed his research on
fibroblasts derived from the skin of using human cells in 2007. It is said
to t y p i c a l l y t a k e
mice or humans.
Dr. Yamanaka, 50, was born and over ten years for
raised in Osaka. As a high school stu- researchers to win
dent, he became an avid rugby player the Nobel Prize in
after first trying the sport in gym class. P h y s i o l o g y o r
He joined the rugby club and his enthu- Medicine after resiasm was so strong that even on the day search results are
before his important entrance examina- published, so it is easy
tion for the Kobe University School of to see how unusually
Medicine he did not miss practice. At a fast this Nobel Prize
press conference after receiving notice of was received.
There are some
the award, Dr. Yamanaka brought laughter from journalists by telling how he factors behind the
had not belonged to the university’s quick recognition.
According to reports
medical school, but to its rugby club.
Dr. Yamanaka initially wanted to be by NHK, immediatea surgeon but he realized his surgical ly after a research
skills were not strong. After conducting paper on iPS cells
research overseas, he decided to go into was published, memFrom left: Dr. Nakamura Michiharu (president of JST),
regenerative medicine and gave up on a bers of the Nobel
Dr. Yamanaka Shinya and Dr. Matsumoto Hiroshi (president
of Kyoto University) at Kyoto University on October 8
Assembly began recareer in surgery.
4
iPS Cell Project
Research on iPS cells for clinical applications
(Research results continuously supported by CREST)
Safer establishment
iPS cell
Verification of
Differentiation
a small scale together with two graduate students. He proposed that mature
cells would be restored to their original state when the genes specific to
ES cells were put in mature cells.
Some people said his research project
was not suited to the intractable immune diseases/infections field that I
am in charge of. Nobody was working on such a theme though everyone
found it interesting for mature cells to
be restored to their original state. But
his idea was unique, he was such an
energetic man and he took a sound
approach to research, and produced
accomplishments such as his paper
being accepted by Cell, the wellknown life science journal. So I accepted his project using my judgment
as a research supervisor, thinking we
might as well take on at least one interesting project. The Institute for
Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto
University then invited him as a professor, acknowledging the selection
of the project for CREST. His research picked up speed as more
human resources became available
while more graduates came in. That’s
how iPS cells were developed.
As mentioned, understanding and
support have backed Dr. Yamanaka’s
research. For this reason, at the press
conference he
spoke of his gratitude by saying it
was Japan that had
won the prize, and
that he felt a great
responsibility and
need to apply the
results in the field
of healthcare as
soon as possible.
Dr. Nakamura
Michiharu, president of the JST,
h u r riedly paid a
visit to Kyoto
On October 12, following his receipt of the Nobel Prize,
University to give
Dr. Yamanaka made a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Noda
congratulations to
Yoshihiko. The prime minister said, “We would like to give
Dr. Yamanaka on
support earnestly in the direction where the study can be
securely put into practical use.”
the day of the announcement of the
prize while visiting Kyoto to take part in Dr. Yamanaka in the future.
the annual meeting of the Science and
Note: In celebration of Dr.
Technology in Society (STS) forum.
In Dr. Nakamura’s comments on Yamanaka’s award of the Nobel Prize,
Dr. Yamanaka’s great success, he wrote: the January 2013 issue of the Japan
“I hope the honor of winning the Nobel Journal will review the researcher’s
Prize will further inspire task-solving scholarly achievements. In addition, the
basic research in other fields as well. issue will feature special articles about
We at the JST will continue to support science and technology policies in
development of research on iPS cells Japan and the nation’s international
in Japan and would also like to lend contributions in the field.
support to challenging research so that
more achievements can follow those by SANO Kentaro is a freelance writer.
5
CABINET PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
differentiation capacity
Body cell derived from
iPS Cell Project by JST — Greeting
induction
humans (patients)
By introducing four factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc) into
Cardiac muscle cells Nerve cells Hepatic cells Pancreatic cell
mouse fibroblast cells with retroviral vectors, we successfully generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that were similar to
Verification of safety
mouse ES cells. By using these same four factors, we also sucEffective evaluation systems:
- Clarification of pathology
ceeded in establishing iPS cells similar to human ES cells from fi- Drug exploration
Cell transplantation therapies
- Toxicity studies
broblasts derived from adult human skin.
Human ES cells need careful treatment due to the ethical problem concerning the destruction of an embryo, which is a germ of life, and a further problem of the risk of rejection response after transplantation since human embryos are used. Human iPS cells are expected to serve as resources for cell
transplantation therapies free from such problems. These cells are also expected to provide applications in different fields
such as safety evaluation of drugs. There are also numerous patients who suffer from intractable diseases of genetic origin
or from unknown causes. We have established iPS cells derived from patients that are specific to diseases by applying iPS
cell technology, and have differentiated them into previously unavailable tissues to help clarify the pathology with in vitro
systems. We have also begun a research project for drug discovery using disease-specific iPS cells. If new therapies and
drugs are developed, they will likely benefit patients with incurable diseases.
RECOVERY
Back in Kamaboko
Business
Under the leadership of young managing director Oikawa Zenya, kamaboko fish cake specialist Oizen
Shoten has bounced back from the devastation of March 11 last year. Rob Gilhooly reports.
Oikawa Zenya, managing director of Oizen Shoten, stands at the entrance to the
company’s factory in Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, on September 11, 2012, eighteen months to the day since the tsunami of 2011 destroyed their former premises.
H
aving been reunited three
days after the March 11,
2011 disasters in Japan’s
northeast, Zenya Oikawa
and his father, Zenyu, stood on a rise
overlooking Minamisanriku’s
Shizugawa district and cast their eyes
over the destruction below.
Their home and business, visible in
the distance some 100 meters from the
waterfront, had been flattened by 20-meter
waves, and the elder Oikawa was reasoning that the company might never be able
to recover from such a pounding.
“We had debts and owned little
more than the shirts on our backs,” says
Zenya (32), managing director of Oizen
Shoten, which specializes in surumi
products, most famously kamaboko fish
cakes. “It hurt even more because just
prior to the disasters we had started to
implement new projects to grow the
business. My father asked me what I
6
disasters had caused huge subsidence of
the coastal land and there was no way of
knowing when or if we would be able to
build on higher ground. We needed a
change of mindset, a fresh start.”
Variously called fish sausage and
fish jelly, but more closely resembling
the Jewish dish gefilte fish, kamaboko
and its variants have been part of
Japanese food culture for almost 1,000
years. It is a featured item on dining
tables at New Year, especially the
kohaku kamaboko, a white loaf with a
pink outer layer that is seen as a symbol
of good fortune.
Oizen—a name that combines the
first character of the family name and a
forename patronymic going back hundreds of years—was one of two companies in Minamisanriku that specialized
in producing the gelatinous, fish-based
fare. Traditionally Oizen used locally
caught white fish that was pureed into a
surumi paste and steamed into firm
loaves and snacks.
A seaside location for processing
facilities was long seen as vital, but advanced freezing techniques together
with the company’s recent discovery of
competitive ingredients from the United
wanted to do, and I told him straight: To
carry on making kamaboko as our family has done for six generations, whatever
the price.”
Six months later and the open-forbusiness flags were fluttering in the
early September breeze,
though this time the
winds were not blowing
straight off the Pacific.
Oizen had moved its
main operations inland to
neighboring Tome City,
leaving behind the site
that the company had
stood on for 131 years.
“I was born and
raised by the sea, and now
I was making kamaboko
in the middle of rice paddies,” says Zenya of the
relocation. “We wanted to
A member of staff at Oizen Shoten loads freshly baked
sasa-kamaboko onto a tray at the company’s factory.
stay in Shizugawa, but the
States and Indonesia,
had reduced the
significance of
Minamisanriku’s picturesque waterfront.
To bridge the gap
between the opening
of the new factory,
Oizen joined forces
with three other local
fisheries companies
and opened a temKamaboko fishcake ready for packaging at
porary processing
Oizen Shoten’s factory. At the top is kohaku
facility opposite
kamaboko, a white loaf with a pink outer
layer that is regarded as a symbol of good
Minamisanriku’s new
Novelty kamaboko products by Oizen Shoten
fortune and is a popular New Year’s treat.
port. And while the
company continues to
utilize that facility during the busiest though the bank needed some convinc- caped the tsunami, which took the lives
months—in particular New Year—the ing before it would finance Oizen’s of over 1,000 residents, among them
some of Zenya’s relatives and friends.
250 square-meter Tome site is now the ambitious plan.
The company’s decision to reopen
“We did think of liquidation—of
company’s headquarters.
“We still have an emotional attach- letting the company go and starting at the earliest opportunity has paid diviment to Minamisanriku, and it’s in no- afresh with a new name,” says Oikawa, dends. In 2011, the company amassed
body’s interest to turn our backs on the who graduated in fisheries-related re- revenues of 130 million yen—not far
client base we have established there,” search from Shizuoka University before off its pre-disaster takings of 160 milsays Zenya, adding that online sales joining Oizen five years ago following a lion yen, but earned over a period of
have broadened the reach of the small three-year stint at a kamaboko maker in just six months.
“It’s an astonishing outcome, and
operation. “All of those clients have Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
“But we received many messages of all thanks to local residents and visitors
been supportive of our move and the
only concerns they have have been support and that made us realize the and volunteers who have come to the
whether we can recreate the same prod- value of what we had built up over the area to lend their support,” says Oikawa.
years and the importance of flying the “We understand that this has perhaps inucts so far from the sea.”
A major stumbling block on that Oizen flag as a symbol of hope. What’s flated our real value. That might only
road to recovery was the company’s lack more, we wanted to show those cheering become apparent in two or three years.”
By that time he is hopeful that even
of any machinery or utensils, which had us on that like many others we don’t
all been lost on March 11. Swallowing want to depend on hand-outs: We want- more signs of recovery will be apparent
their pride, father and son knocked on the ed to show that we were fighting to in Minamisanriku, which has changed little over the past year. Yet, while senior
doors of their competitors, begging for stand on our own two feet.”
members of the community offer invaluany unwanted apparatus.
able experience, for real change to be
“It was very difficult, but the re- “An Astonishing Outcome”
made, Oikawa believes municipal govsponse was incredible,” he says. “It
brought tears to my eyes and really In addition to its secondary processing ernments in the tsunami-wrecked region
made me think you can never repay that facility in Minamisanriku, the company should look to people of his generation.
“Because of the tsunami we have no
kind of debt. If anything it stiffened our has been able to maintain visibility in
resolve to get the business restarted the town by opening a store in the Sun choice but to press the restart button and
promptly and show our gratitude by Sun Shopping Village, a collection of while we must respect regional culture
twenty-nine temporary stores that and history, to remain competitive we
making the best products possible.”
Despite such a show of solidarity, opened in the Shizugawa district in need a fresh perspective and new ideas
that look toward the future,” he says.
the Oikawas still had other issues to early March.
It has also been able to retain the “And for that the younger generation
overcome. The tsunami had inflicted
some 200 million yen in damages on the services of many of its twenty-one- needs to makes its voice heard, and that
company. Now they needed to borrow a strong pre-disaster staff members, some voice needs to be listened to.”
further 60 million yen to secure their of whom make a fifty-minute commute
new premises in Tome—which would e a c h d a y f r o m M i n a m i s a n r i k u .
Rob Gilhooly is a photographer and writer
be added to previous loans outstanding Following the magnitude 9 quake, the who has been based in Japan for fifteen years.
company immediately evacuated its He has contributed to publications worldwide
from before the disasters.
Rather than rely on donations or waterfront premises, meaning all staff including Time Asia, the New York Times, the
handouts, they pushed for more loans, and members of the Oikawa family es- Guardian and the Australian.
7
RECOVERY
A Place of Remembrance
ALL PHOTOS BY ROB GILHOOLY
The Crisis Management Center in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, continues to draw thousands of
pilgrims from around the country. They come to pay their respects to the heroes who died or went missing
here when the tsunami of March 11, 2011, crashed through the town. But not everyone wants the
building to stay standing or serve this remembrance purpose. Rob Gilhooly reports.
Eighteen months to the day since Minamisanriku was struck by a massive
tsunami, the fate of the town’s Crisis Management Center has yet to be
decided (September 11, 2012).
T
here is something almost hallowed about the ground on
which Miura Hiromi is standing. In front of her are the
skeletal remains of a three-story building, its contorted iron frame surrounded
by little else than nature’s unimpeded
march toward reclaiming what was once
a thriving seaside community.
On the steps of what was the entrance,
a makeshift altar has been erected, decorated with flowers, Buddhist statues,
smoldering incense sticks and thousands
of colorful paper cranes. A constant stream
of eye-dabbing visitors stands before it,
bowing their heads in solemn prayer.
It was here at what was
Minamisanriku’s Crisis Management
Center that on March 11, 2011 Hiromi
saw her husband for the last time. Miura
Takeshi was one of forty-two municipal
officials who perished trying to save
residents and themselves from the tsunami that was rolling in from the Pacific
just a stone’s throw away.
8
In surviving video footage, which
shows ten officials—including mayor
Sato Jin—clinging for dear life to the
building’s roof-top antennas, Hiromi
says that the last voice that can be heard
before the waves engulf the building is
that of her husband, who is one of 237
who remain missing in the town.
“After the disasters I came here to
try and find some of his belongings,” she
says, a trembling hand wiping tears from
her eyes. “Since then I have dropped by
each day and bring him some sake or
beer. The next day it’s gone so he must
be somewhere. I can’t help myself from
calling out his name. Every day I weep
and wait for his reply.”
She knows the place where an answer is most likely to come. Hiromi’s
home, which she shares with her parents-in-law and son, is a thirty-minute
drive away. Yet, despite the distance
and having other places to pray nearer to
home, she still finds herself being drawn
to the disaster prevention headquarters,
just as she had been while Takeshi was
alive. Then she would drop by and bring
him and his colleagues snacks when taking a break from her work as a sales rep
for a local construction firm.
“This is the only place where I can
speak to him,” says Hiromi, 52, adding
that the couple had been classmates
since elementary school and colleagues
at the local government offices until
they married. “It’s the only place where
I feel my words will reach him.”
Hiromi is not the only person who
cherishes the site. Since the disasters,
thousands of visitors have made a pilgrimage there to pay their respects,
some traveling from as far away as
Kyushu and Hokkaido.
“I heard on TV about what the people
here did and it left a lasting impression,”
says Kataoka Tsuyoshi, 39, who was visiting from Tokyo. “I decided I had to
visit to pay my respects and see the place
that has become a symbol of bravery.”
Oba Norio, a resident of Osaki,
about 50 kilometers west of
Minamisanriku, agrees. “Whether it
serves any physical purpose or not is irrelevant now,” says Oba, 83. “Some
things speak loader than words, and as a
visual symbol this is as powerful as the
Hiroshima dome. And for that reason
alone it should remain.”
To Preserve or Dismantle
There are a number of relics from the
disasters whose fate has yet to be decided—the Okawa Elementary School in
Ishinomaki, where eighty-four pupils
and staff died, and the Kyotoku-maru
No. 18 fishing vessel in Kesennuma,
which was washed 800 meters inland,
being two examples.
Yet, none has caused as much heated debate as Minamisanriku’s Crisis
Management Center about whether or
not it should remain as a monument or
be taken down out of respect for those
Miura Hiromi bows her head in front of the Crisis
Management Center on September 11, 2012.
Hiromi’s husband, Takeshi, was one of forty-two
municipal officials who lost their lives at the Center
to the tsunami of March 11, 2011.
Visitors pay their respects to
the officials who died at the
Crisis Management Center in
Minamisanriku, Miyagi
Prefecture, September 11, 2012.
who would rather forget the horrors of
March 11, 2011.
Following the disasters, the structure gained international attention due to
the widely reported heroics of twentyfive-year-old center employee Endo
Miki. Her warnings to local residents
from the second floor of the building
over a community loudspeaker system
were aired on news programs worldwide. Like Miura Takeshi, Endo also
was swept away, though unlike her colleague her body was recovered.
At first Endo’s family were against
maintaining the building, and messages
left under the makeshift altar urged others to help ensure the structure be demolished as soon as possible. Today,
however, those messages have gone, and
the Endos, while largely shunning media
attention, have reportedly had a change
of heart.
“It seems that over time they, like
some other survivors of victims, have seen
the merit of protecting the building,” says
Hatakeyama Hisayuki, who works for a
local community radio station. “After all,
once it’s gone, it can’t be returned.”
Yet, there are a growing number
who see that as a blessing. Local fisherman Chiba Masao, 65, who lost his
daughter Mitsuko at the Center, says that
just the sight of the building brings back
memories of the disasters. “Only those
who lost loved ones can understand,”
says Chiba, whose daughter, then 35,
was a local government employee.
“The building has to come down—to
see it is unbearable.”
Similar sentiments among some surviving relatives persuaded the local authorities late last year that indeed the
building should be dismantled, though
exactly when remained unclear. Then, a
petition signed by more than 2,000 vol-
unteers serving as what some have called
“disaster guides” was submitted to town
hall and the decision was deferred.
In late September, 2012, however,
the municipal congress voted 7 to 6 in
favor of adopting petitions submitted by
surviving relatives and leading community figures who had lobbied to get rid
of the building once and for all.
The votes were cast following discussions at the town assembly centering
on such dichotomous themes as why it
is necessary to leave the building standing as a monument and the importance
of preserving the structure in order to
convey the horror of mega-tsunami to
future generations.
When the decision was announced,
surviving relatives expressed their relief.
Chiba was reported as saying that without
the dismantling of the building it would
be “impossible for the community to
move forward.”
Mayor Sato, who is now under investigation for criminal negligence in light of
the pressure his presence at the Center on
March 11 may have exerted on staff not
to abandon the building and for the illadvised location of the facility itself,
made a volte-face on earlier vows to preserve the structure, saying he would move
toward razing it as soon as possible.
But there are those who still believe
authorities would be ill-advised to pull
the center down, especially with the
growing support for its preservation on
a national level. “The symbolic importance of the building aside, I think it
would be a short-sighted move (to pull it
down) when the long-term revitalization
efforts are taken into consideration,” says one resident from
neighboring Tome, who asked
not to be named. “I feel for the
people who lost family and
friends in the disasters, but thousands of
people come here to see the building,
which is surely of some importance in
the greater scheme of things.”
Shimatsu Mikiko, 69, who had
come on a bus tour of the area from
Takahata in Yamagata Prefecture, says
she believes that whether the building is
demolished or not, survivors would continue to experience great pain from the
memories of the disasters.
“I cannot begin to comprehend these
people’s feelings, but I can’t help thinking that if it’s knocked down there is a
danger that with time those who perished
will be forgotten,” she says. “We humans
have a tendency to forget without something to prick our memories.”
Miura Hiromi, meanwhile, has
gained strength from the visitors who
drop by in their dozens. She rejects accusations by some that so-called disaster
tourists are simply voyeuristic, preferring to believe that they all come in a
sincere show of solidarity and respect.
“There is no other place for them or
anyone to offer prayer, and in that sense
I would prefer the building is left, or another one commemorating those who
died be built in its place,” she says. “I
can also see the viewpoint of those who
want it torn down. But as long as it is
here and my husband remains missing, I
will continue to come here and call out
his name.”
Rob Gilhooly is a photographer and writer
who has been based in Japan for fifteen years.
He has contributed to publications worldwide
including Time Asia, the New York Times, the
Guardian and the Australian.
9
COVER STORY
A worker plants seedlings in Granpa’s
dome-shaped plant factory in
Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture. The
seedlings rotate once each day and
gradually move outwards. After
about 30 days they reach the outside
and are ready for harvest.
Growing the
Business of
AIZAWA TADASHI
Agriculture
10
Vigorous efforts around the country to strengthen links among the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries industries, commerce industry and manufacturing industry are yielding new products and
services, and revitalizing local areas. The Japan Journal reports.
T
AIZAWA TADASHI
he first sight which greets
visitors entering the snowwhite, dome-shaped structure is a mass of brightly
verdant foliage. It is leaf lettuce growing atop a circular cistern about twenty
meters in diameter.
“If you just had a place to do it,
you could set up a dome-shaped plant
factory in central Tokyo and have a
restaurant offering customers all the
vegetables they could eat,” says Abe
Takaaki, president of Granpa Co.
“Using Japanese technology, you could
also reinvigorate agriculture.”
Granpa began hydroponic cultivation of vegetables in 2006 using highperformance vinyl greenhouses located in the city of Hadano, Kanagawa
Prefecture, about an hour and a half by
train from central Tokyo. The highperformance vinyl houses enabled
Granpa to produce high-quality vegetables consistently, but it was very difficult to make the business profitable. The
major reasons were the high startup
costs and the inability of the company to
be profitable enough to cover operating
expenses. Conventional rectangular
high-performance vinyl greenhouses
have to be large enough to accommodate
the expected size of the vegetables at
shipment time. But the vegetables are
small when newly planted, giving rise to
a lot of wasted space. At least once before harvesting, staff also had to laboriously transplant the vegetables one by
one into pots spaced wide enough apart
to allow them room to grow.
Wondering if there wasn’t a good
way to improve productivity, Abe hit on
the idea of a dome-shaped plant factory.
He got the idea from Tokyo Dome in the
center of Tokyo. The roof of the domeshaped baseball stadium is supported by
air pressure.
“The stadium is round, and my
guess was that the designers almost certainly sought for an efficient way to use
energy or accommodate a big crowd,”
says Abe. “Then it occurred to me that
the shape might be good for a greenhouse too.”
The major features of the dome-
shaped plant factory developed by
Granpa are efficient use of space and
automation. First, seedlings are planted
in pots in the innermost area of the circular tank. The pots holding the seedlings make one round each day automatically on circular rails. The system is
designed so that, with each round, the
pots move outward and gradually away
from the center. The space accorded
each plant is increased as it moves toward the perimeter, eliminating the need
for transplanting. After about thirty
days, the plants reach the outer edge,
where they can be harvested. About 450
plants of about 100 grams each can be
harvested daily from a single domeshaped plant factory.
The membrane of the dome is fluororesin and is supported by air pressure.
The temperature and pH of the water in
the tank and the concentration of fertilizer are all controlled by computer.
Heating and cooling are accomplished
through the use of groundwater. Wasps
and a type of mayfly which eat insects
harmful to the vegetables are released
inside the greenhouse, so
pesticides are unnecessary. In
the case of conventional highperformance vinyl greenhouses, the steel frame causes
shade over about 17% of the
internal area. In dome-shaped
plant factories, however,
shade covers only about 2%
of the area. Since incoming
sunlight is reflected back into
the structure, the inside is
flooded with even more light
than the volume of light captured. As a result, productivity is twice that of conventional greenhouses, and energy
Granpa Co. President Abe
Takaaki with leaf lettuce grown
in one of the company’s highperformance vinyl greenhouses.
The lettuce requires no washing
before serving.
11
COVER STORY
consumption is cut by about 40%. The
resulting produce is sold to convenience
stores and supermarkets.
“Traditional agriculture is heavily
influenced by the natural environment,”
says Abe. “Consumers are also increasingly concerned about food safety. Our
plant factory can help address these issues. They can also be used by somebody having no experience in agriculture. They make farming like operating
a company.”
Granpa’s plant factories are the first
in the world to use such a system. It’s
therefore no surprise that inquiries and
observers have been pouring in from
elsewhere in Japan and the rest of the
world too. Having patented its plant factory, Granpa is now moving to export
them overseas. Two are scheduled to be
built in China before the end of the year.
Inquiries have also come in from Middle
Eastern countries like Qatar and Oman.
To help in the recovery of Iwate
Prefecture city in Rikuzentakata, which
suffered damage in the Great East Japan
Earthquake, Granpa built eight of its
plant factories there with government
support. Ongoing research aims to further cut operating cost and improve productivity through the use of ground
water and solar heat.
“The world might have to face food
shortages owing to rising population
and global warming,” says Abe. “I hope
to make farming into an attractive industry so a lot more young people will
try it. If that were to happen, there’d be
even further technological innovations.
In that sense, Japan can play a big role
in global agriculture.”
Applying Manufacturing
Technology and Commercial
Know-how to Farming
In recent years, the national and local
governments in Japan have teamed up
with business firms in the agriculture,
forestry and fisheries industries to build
links among the agriculture, commerce
and manufacturing industries. The idea
is promote agriculture and invigorate regional economies by applying manufacturing technology and commercial
know-how to farming.
Agriculture is an important industry
in Japan’s local regions. Promoting
12
agriculture would therefore help revitalize the countryside. However, Japanese
agriculture faces a variety of problems.
One of these is the advancing age of
farmers. Data from the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
shows that elderly farmers (sixty-five
and older) accounted for about 34% of
the farming population in 2011.
Moreover, the farming population itself
fell from 3.9 million in 2000 to about
2.6 million in 2010. Imports of lowpriced agricultural products from abroad
have accelerated the decline in the number of farms. The area of unused farmland increased about three-fold between
1985 and 2005 to about 380 hectares.
Total agricultural output stood at 11.7
trillion yen in 1984 but had fallen to 8.2
trillion yen by 2007.
In order to address this situation, efforts are underway to build links among
agriculture, commerce and manufacturing and thereby encourage new entrepreneurs to move into agriculture,
develop new processed goods in the
agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and raise productivity. One measure aims to popularize plant factories
like those of Granpa. Plant factories
have the advantage of being able to
produce agricultural products of uniform shape and quality in a stable and
highly productive fashion throughout
the year even in non-farm areas.
However, costs tend to be high. The
Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry is therefore providing financial
support to build plant factory research
facilities and equipment in order to promote technical development and experimentation regarding plant factories.
Plant factories are presently operating at about 120 locations in Japan, and
new technologies are being developed.
For example, the Aizufujikako
Company, in the Fukushima Prefecture
city of Aizu Wakamatsu, engages in
semiconductor assembly as its main
business. In 2010, however, the company began marketing leaf lettuce after
turning semiconductor assembly clean
rooms into 100% artificial-light plant
factories which require no natural sunlight. The leaf lettuce requires no pesticide or rinsing before serving. The
company has been able to produce leaf
lettuce in large volumes with no more
than 100 mg of potassium per 100
grams, a 25% reduction compared to
conventional lettuce. This is good news
for patients with kidney disease, who
must limit their daily intake of potassium within 1,500 to 2,000 mg.
Efforts are also underway to build a
legal framework supporting links among
agriculture, commerce and manufacturing. In 2008, a new law was created
known as the “Act concerning the
Promotion of Business Activity through
Links between Small Entrepreneurs and
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery
Operators” (known as the Agriculture,
Commerce and Manufacturing Linkage
Act). The purpose of the law is to establish symbiotic links between small entrepreneurs and businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries
and promote business activity which effectively leverages the managerial resources of these industries, thereby enhancing small enterprise management
and improving management in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Under this
law, the government certifies business
plans submitted by small operators and
agriculture, forestry and fishery operators endeavoring to link the agriculture,
commerce and manufacturing industries.
The government then provides support
in the form of subsidies, loans and tax
breaks to businesses implementing the
approved plans.
Thus far, about 500 business ventures of various types have been certified by the government under the Act.
An information technology company in
Tottori Prefecture linked up with a livestock farmer in Kagoshima Prefecture to
develop a system which can alert farmers by email whenever it detects cows
coming into estrus or showing behavioral signs of approaching calving time. In
the past, farmers had to sleep in the barn
when cows were about to calve, but the
new system enables them to check the
condition of the cows with their cell
phones or computers, which lightens the
burden on the farmers and contributes to
enhancing productivity and economies
of scale in the livestock industry.
In order to show people at home
and abroad how agriculture, commerce
and production can be linked, the government holds various events in different locations. Over the first two days of
equipment supporting the production
of the tastiest
Japanese agricultural products. (See
http://agri-frontier.
com/english/ for
more details.)
Michi no Eki
tions can be divided broadly into private
groups, local governments, and a combination of these (the “third sector”). They
are found in a variety of locations, such
as along ordinary roads, at train stations
or by highways. In order to highlight the
unique character of the locality, the respective road side stations try to sell
local specialty products from the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries
or processed goods made from such
local materials.
One road side station that has
achieved considerable success is Michi
no Eki Tomiura Biwa Kurabu (hereafter
“Biwa Club”), located in the town of
Tomiura in the Chiba Prefecture city of
Minami Boso. The city is about ninety
minutes by car from the center of Tokyo
at the very tip of the Boso Peninsula. It
enjoys a mild climate throughout the
year and is well known as a place where
visitors can swim, gather flowers, drive
and otherwise enjoy the rich natural environment. Registered as the first road
side station in 1993, Biwa Club was incorporated with capital provided by the
town of Tomiura, whose mayor became
president. (In 2006, the town of Tomiura
was amalgamated with six local governments and is now part of the city of
Minami Boso.)
“A lot of people come here to swim
in the summer,” says Suzuki Kenji of
Chiba Minami Boso Company, which
manages Biwa Club. “But other than
that, there aren’t many tourist attractions, and the town’s had to deal with
other major problems as people have
got older, the population has fallen and
SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI
SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI
Various efforts are
being made to promote agriculture
and link it with
commerce and manufacturing in order
to invigorate local
economies. One of
these is Michi no
Eki, or “Road Side
Station.” Road side
stations are roadside
facilities which
serve as rest stops
for travelers, as
information announcement venues
for travelers and
local residents, and
as links which tie
together different
towns in the surrounding region to
The road side station Biwa Club in Tomiura, Minami Boso,
stimulate vitality.
Chiba Prefecture. The rest stop is a hub for industry,
culture and information.
Local governments
wishing to set up a
December, for example, the Ministry of road side station must first apply for
Economy, Trade and Industry and the registration with the Ministry of Land,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Fisheries jointly sponsored an event If the proposed road side
at Tokyo Big Sight called “Farming station serves the above
Frontier 2012” under the banner of three purposes, it is for“linking producers and consumers, mally registered. It then
Japan and the world.” Visitors could receives support from the
view and experience the cutting edge of national and local governJapanese agricultural technology. There ment. Some 103 road side
were cooking demonstrations with star stations were initially
European chefs preparing dishes using registered in 1993, and so
Japanese food materials, as well as ex- far 996 have been estabhibitions of agricultural technologies lished nationwide. The
being used to support recovery from the great majority have not
Great East Japan Earthquake. Visitors only restrooms and parkcould also sample sandwiches made ing lots but also shops,
with lettuce and tomatoes grown in the restaurants, cafés and
plant factory on show and bread made other facilities.
with Japanese bread-making technoloThe organizations
Biwa Club staff hold products made from locally
grown loquats.
gy. Also on display was agricultural managing road side staThe Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012
13
In Ethiopia, villagers learn how to make honey as part of the JICA-sponsored
OVOP project.
the agriculture and fishing industries
have declined. So using the local resources we had, we set up a road side
station to serve as a hub for industry,
culture and information.”
The “biwa” in Biwa Club is taken
from the biwa fruit, or loquat
(Eriobotrya japonica), a local specialty
of Minami Boso. “The aim of Chiba
Minami Boso (called “Tomiura
Company” at its opening) is to develop
products using the loquat. The fruit is
easily bruised, and although fine in taste
and quality, about a third of the crop
formerly had to be discarded because it
couldn’t be shipped to market. Chiba
Minami Boso therefore sought to develop a variety of products using the loquats that would otherwise go to waste.
The result was about thirty different
products, including curry with loquat
purée, loquat jam, and loquat juice. Two
products especially popular among tourists are loquat gelatin and loquat soft
cream. About 80,000 jars of loquat soft
cream are now sold each year.
Shortly after Biwa Club started
business, “Hana Club” opened at a location about ten minutes away by car. In
addition to flowers such as carnations,
lilies and poppies, Hana Club grows
fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes,
strawberries and melons which tourists,
for a fee, can pick themselves.
Chiba Minami Boso attracts tour14
Biwa Club has many visitors from
overseas as well. Efforts are also
underway to share Biwa Club’s knowhow with developing countries. One
such effort is assistance for road side
stations in Vietnam. With support from
the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the
Binh An Road Side Station was established by a private company along a
national highway in Quang Nam
Province in central Vietnam. When the
facility was established, an advisor
from Biwa Club shared know-how
regarding management of road side
stations. Meanwhile, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) in 2011 began providing assistance to further stimulate the business
of the Binh An Road Side Station, and
representatives of Biwa Road Side
Stand provide further assistance to their
Vietnamese counterparts.
“But it’s not enough just to sell
conventional agricultural products at
road side stations,” cautions Suzuki.
“You have to sell something out of the
ordinary, like pesticide-free or organically grown vegetables raised by local
farmers, for example. That creates a
brand image for both the road side
station and the products themselves. It’s
the same in Japan, and we want to show
the operators of road side stations in
Vietnam how they can enhance the
added value of products through links
among different regions.”
ists in other ways. It also designs and
markets tours around Minami Boso
for sightseeing companies so tourists
can visit other local restaurants
and nurseries.
“In our product development and
marketing, we take care to avoid overlap
between the products sold in local
shops,” says Suzuki. “We’re also careful
to share our know-how and profit with
the local community.”
Biwa Club also serves as a cultural center for the community. The
Biwa Club gallery displays works by
local artists,
and a variety
of events are
held in the
multipurpose
hall, including
puppet shows
and concerts.
Initially,
about 200,000
people visited
Biwa Club each
year, but now
the facility
welcomes about
600,000 visitors
each year, even
though the
p o p ulation of
Ethiopian government representatives join business group
Tomiura is only
members for an exchange of views on their products at the
about 5,700.
OVOP project’s Annual Review Meeting.
COURTESY OF JICA
COURTESY OF JICA
COVER STORY
The Japan
International
In addition to road side stations, yet an- C o o p e r a t i o n
other example of the way Japanese-style Agency (JICA) is
linkages among agriculture, commerce working to apply
and manufacturing are spreading t h e O V O P a p throughout developing countries is the proach in helping
“One Village One Product” (OVOP) to stimulate regionmovement. The approach got its start in a l e c o n o m i c a d Kyushu’s Oita Prefecture in the 1960s, vancement in deand by 1979, had grown into a major ef- veloping countries.
fort in all cities, towns and villages in JICA is providing
Oita Prefecture to promote the region. support for such
There are three concepts underlying programs in Asian
OVOP. The first is “Think globally, act countries, including
Pots of mango jam (center), made by a group taking part in
locally.” This means building a national China, Thailand,
the Ethiopian OVOP project, on sale in a local supermarket
and global appeal by highlighting local M a l a y s i a , L a o s
culture and ambience. The second con- and Kyrgyzstan,
cept is self-reliance creativity and imagi- i n the Latin American country of cooperatives by government agencies,
native creativity. Local residents them- Columbia, and in African countries district governments, companies, research institutes and other partners.
selves decide what their OVOP products such as Malawi and Kenya.
“It’s a considerable benefit for
One African nation where JICA is
will be, and through repeated brainstorming, make it as appealing as possi- supporting the OVOP approach is members to form groups/cooperatives
ble. The third idea is “human resource Ethiopia. The “One Village One Product a n d e n g a g e i n b u s i n e s s , ” s a y s
development.” The goal of the OVOP Promotion” project was launched Nakayama. “But group/cooperative
movement is to nurture local leaders who from 2010 in the Southern Nations, members have little experience in busiare ready for any challenge and able to Nationalities, and People’s Region ness, so local NGOs provide a five-day
business management seminar teaching
help the community become highly cre- (SNNPR) in the south of the country.
“ T h e them how to draft a business plan or
SNNPR region calculate costs.”
One distinct feature of the Ethiopian
is a very verd a n t a r e a , ” OVOP program is matching groups/cosays Nakayama operatives with potential buyers. The coK a n a k o o f operative engaged in making paper from
JICA’s Private banana stems was provided with paperS e c t o r making technology by an entrepreneur in
D e v e l o p m e n t the capital of Addis Ababa, and in some
Group. “A va- shops, cooperative members are selling
riety of agri- tourists products like photograph stands
cultural prod- made from this paper. In other successes
u c t s c a n b e gradually being achieved, mango jam is
h a r v e s t e d i n now sold in supermarkets and datta is
different areas, being supplied to hotel restaurants.
“Encouraged by the groups/cooperso it’s possible
to make prod- atives that have succeeded, other local
ucts unique to people have started to put more land
Among the fourteen groups/cooperatives involved in the
under cultivation and formed their own
each area.”
Ethiopian OVOP project is this bamboo furniture-making group.
The project groups/cooperatives,” Nakayama says.
is supporting “We have plans to support the activities
ative. Based on these ideals, the goal of fourteen rural farmer groups/cooperatives of an additional thirty-five groups/coopthe OVOP movement is for each city, (of about ten to twenty people) in five eratives. Besides lifting community
town and village to harness its own local woredas (districts) within the region. A pride and energizing the region, the
resources, develop local specialty prod- variety of products are made by the re- activities of these groups/cooperatives
ucts and thereby revitalize its communi- spective groups/cooperatives, including are sure to encourage people in many
ties. Thanks to the OVOP movement, furniture from bamboo, paper from ba- other areas to act on their own to further
Oita Prefecture produce now sold nation- nana stems, mango jam, honey and datta boost the vitality of the region.”
wide includes mandarin oranges, kabosu, (chili pepper paste). Technical and marketing support is provided to the groups/ SAWAJI Osamu, The Japan Journal
shiitake mushrooms and barley shochu.
COURTESY OF JICA
15
COURTESY OF JICA
One Village, One Product
EXPERTS
Culturing Shellfish
in El Salvador
Dispatched to El Salvador by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) in 2005, Kani Kiyotaka has played a leading role in
developing and promoting shellfish aquaculture in the Central
American Republic. Sawaji Osamu reports.
B
Salvador as an expert to work in the development of technology for shellfish
seed production and aquaculture.
The Jiquilisco Bay area is rich in
shellfish, including oysters and a type of
ark clam. Local fishermen collect these
shellfish for food. For example, they use
hammers and chisels to harvest a type of
oyster clinging to rocks five to seven
meters under water. Living among the
roots of the mangroves are curils, a type
of ark shell clam. When the tide is low,
these can be harvested by hand one by
one from among the tangled roots. Also
making a habitat in the tidal mud flats
that spread out before the mangrove forest are casco de burro (donkey’s hoof)
ark shell clams. They are harvested at
low tide by collectors who wander over
the flats and dig them out by hand.
“The people in El Salvador general-
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KANI KIYOTAKA
lanketed with mangroves
and abounding in nature,
Jiquilisco Bay is located in
Usulutan Department in
eastern El Salvador. A habitat for turtles,
migrating wildfowl and other important
flora and fauna, it was registered in 2005
under the Ramsar Convention, which is
aimed at protecting wetlands.
“I first visited Jiquilisco Bay in
2005,” says Kani Kiyotaka. “The dark
green mangrove forests were just beautiful and seemed to be floating on the surface of the water. At low tide, fiddler
and bubbler crabs would scuttle busily
along picking up bits of food, as all sorts
of birds congregated there, including a
species of heron. I thought it just
brimmed with nature.”
The Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) dispatched Kani to El
A canoe passes in front of mangroves in Jiquilisco Bay
16
ly eat these shellfish raw,” explains
Kani. “You might say that shellfish is a
universal food, popular both inside and
outside the home. People enjoy it when
they go to the seashore on weekends, or
in restaurants or seaside shops.”
Nevertheless, the fishermen who
harvest these shellfish live a hard life.
Particularly eastern El Salvador, which
includes Usulutan Department, lags behind the rest of the country in economic
development. Small-scale fishermen account for about a tenth of the population
in the region, and most are poor. During
the civil war (1980–1992) and the period
of turmoil which followed, people who
had lost their jobs moved to the coast
from the urban areas and began harvesting shellfish. The result has been a decline in shellfish and a reduction in the
scale of harvesting. People must also
now travel farther from home to find a
place to search for shellfish.
To remedy this situation, JICA in
2005 launched the Project for Shellfish
Aquaculture Development and began
providing assistance to support development of technology for shellfish
seed production and aquaculture,
which had never been conducted in El
Salvador. Between 2005 and 2007,
Kani was engaged in development of
Pacific oyster seed and aquaculture
technology as a short-term expert, and
between 2008 and 2010, carried out
operational management of the entire
project as chief advisor, also working
to develop curil seed production and
aquaculture technology.
The project continued through 2010
and logged many accomplishments. For
example, it succeeded in developing
seed technology for curils, as well as
aquaculture technology using the seed,
making it possible to raise mature clams.
This has made production possible in a
planned fashion throughout the year. It
is now possible to produce casco de
burro seed as well, thus establishing a
method to use them in aquaculture. The
project also developed seed production
and aquaculture techniques for Pacific
oysters and succeeded in developing a
complete aquaculture technology for
seed production using the oysters raised
in this way. Farming of Pacific oysters
was difficult within Jiquilisco Bay
owing to sessile organisms such as bar-
launched this last June with the fishing cooperatives in Japan,” says
the aim of popularizing the Kani. “So we’re hoping the fishermen
aquaculture technology among can strengthen their organization by
as many fishermen as possible. working jointly in aquaculture work.”
In accordance with the state Plan for
Th e P ro j e c t fo r S h e l l fi sh
Aquaculture Development Family Farming established by the
made it possible to develop Salvadoran government in 2011, the
technology to produce a cer- Center of Fisheries and Aquaculture
tain number of Pacific oyster Development (CENDEPESCA) has put
and curil seed systematically, a Plan for Family Aquaculture into efand this technology is being fect. The plan calls for the promotion of
transferred to the project activities in the shellfish aquaculture
counterparts. As a result, about sector. The Production Improvement
500,000 Pacific oysters and and Extension of Shellfish Aquaculture
500,000 curils have been Project is thus truly in line with El
raised annually since the end Salvadoran government strategy. Curils
of the project. But the Pacific and casco de burros live in other areas
oyster and curil seed produc- of Central America, and thus the hatchtion volume is too small for ery production technology for these speaquaculture to gain popularity, cies is drawing a lot of attention from
and production still falls short neighboring countries.
“So far I’ve worked together with
of demand. For this reason
the Production Improvement ten young technical counterparts in the
and Extension of Shellfish project,” says Kani. It’s rewarding to see
Aquaculture Project aims to that, even after they leave the project,
Casco de burro shellfish on sale in the market
develop production technology they’re active in some other division of
for Pacific oysters, curils and CENDEPESCA or are involved in a
nacles and other external enemies but casco de burros. Moreover, the targeted fisheries-related school. It would really
succeeded in Fonseca Bay in the neigh- seed production volume of Pacific oysboring department of La Union.
“Shellfish seed production means ters and curils is 5
raising young shellfish,” explains Kani. million, or ten times
“Raising strong young begins from the the present volume.
health of the mother, and a lot of care is Another goal will
also required in the spawning stage, in be establishing seed
the diet of the newly hatched young, and production technoloin environmental hygiene. However, the gy for casco de buraquaculture water pumped up from the ros, which was not
sea is not necessarily always uniform achieved through the
and can’t always be completely con- previous project.
Under the
trolled. So it’s really important to monitor it daily in order to quickly deal with project, technical
any changes. And since air temperatures guidance is given in
are high, the volume of dissolved oxy- shellfish aquaculture
gen in the shellfish-rearing water is low. to marine farming
This makes for vigorous propagation of groups which have
bacteria, which rapidly contaminates the a p p l i e d . T h i s i n water. We really have to be careful not cludes, for example,
Kani Kiyotaka with local fishermen and their haul of
just with the shellfish-rearing water but advice on how to secultured oysters
also in preventing stagnant water from lect the most biologically viable aquaculdeveloping inside the pipes and filters.”
ture site, provision of the materials and be great if shellfish aquaculture prospers
Spreading Aquaculture Technology
seed necessary to start aquaculture, and as a result of our project so people not
regular guidance regarding aquaculture just in El Salvador but also in neighborThe Project for Shellfish Aquaculture work. Efforts are also being made to ing regions can have delicious shellfish
to enjoy.”
Development ended in 2010, but a promote sales of the farmed shellfish.
“There are no organized activities
Production Improvement and Extension
of Shellfish Aquaculture Project was among most fishing groups like those of SAWAJI Osamu, The Japan Journal
17
POLITICS
The Limits of
Independence
Against the background of “overheated nationalism” in South Korea
and China, Kamiya Matake reflects on the role played by Japan’s
intelligentsia from the late 1960s onward in checking the rise of any
similar nationalistic tendencies in Japan.
F
or the past two months in this
column I have taken up the
issue of Japan’s recent relationship with South Korea
and China concerning Takeshima and
the Senkaku Islands. I pointed out that
behind these issues is overheated nationalism in South Korea and China. It is
natural for increased national power to
generate heightened nationalism in any
country. However, when it reaches the
stage of hyper-nationalism or when it
fans animosities against a specific nation, it may well threaten international
peace and stability. A recent sequence
of events surrounding Takeshima and
the Senkaku Islands has intensified anxiety among the Japanese that nationalism
in Korea and China is heading toward
an anti-Japanese hyper-nationalism.
Overseas readers observing this situation may be deeply concerned that this
development may provoke a future backlash of overheated nationalism among
the Japanese. However, this is unlikely
to happen. Many times over the past
forty years or more, overseas commentators have voiced the opinion that there is
a risk of nationalism overheating in
Japan. In particular, South Korea and
China have claimed that Japan’s “drift to
the right” is responsible for the nation’s
slightly stronger stance than in the past
on issues concerning its territory or history. If such a view were valid, Japanese
politics and society would be immensely
jingoistic today, but in fact this is absolutely not the case. This month I would
like to explain why that is.
The Rise of Autonomous Diplomacy
Admittedly, in postwar Japan nationalism was consistently moderate and selfcontained. However, there was a period
18
from the late 1960s to the early 1970s
when nationalism could well have become overheated. Behind the overheated
nationalism in China and South Korea
that we have seen in recent years is an
increasing confidence in the power of
their own countries resulting from economic development. Japan was in the
same situation from the late 1960s to the
early 1970s. The experience of losing
the war and being occupied by a foreign
power for the first time in its history deflated the confidence of the Japanese.
However, as a result of high economic
growth from the late 1950s Japan made
a comeback so rapid that it was termed a
miracle, achieving the second largest
GNP in the free world in 1968.
Until then, postwar Japan’s foreign
policy had been based on a relationship
of collaboration with the United States
that bordered on dependency. Initially,
this was considered unavoidable by
Japan, which was still reeling from the
blow of defeat in the war. However, as
the confidence of the Japanese rebounded as a result of economic growth, there
were suddenly heightened calls for
Japan to stop being subservient to the
United States and pursue an “autonomous diplomacy.” Also, the viewpoint
emerged that, having recovered its economic power, the expansion of Japan’s
role in international politics by regaining
its autonomy in diplomatic relations
would mean a responsibility to the international community.
This clearly showed that the nationalistic self-assertiveness of the Japanese
had re-established itself. Japan was now
an “economic superpower” and the confidence of the Japanese was restored.
However, having been overly influenced by the United States, they had not
been able to establish their “rightful po-
sition” in the international community,
and this fueled discontent among the
Japanese. This discontent could easily
have led to the kind of anti-American
overheated nationalism that asserted
that only by Japan freeing itself as much
as possible from the influence of the
United States could it establish its own
identity and autonomy.
The Realists
One of the reasons that this did not
occur was that the Japanese reflected on
their hyper-nationalism before and during World War II. However, another important reason must not be overlooked:
the role of the intelligentsia.
In postwar Japanese academic and
educational circles, the left wing that
felt a sense of affinity with socialism
and communism during the Cold War
was actually in a strong position. In the
field of diplomatic policy, they took a
utopianistic attitude that denies the role
of military power in international politics, asserting that Japan should adopt a
policy of “unarmed neutrality” and
revoke the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
In contrast to this was a group of scholars of international politics who took the
stance that the role of military power
could not be underestimated even in a
postwar world, and continued to put
forward proposals for the form that
Japan’s diplomatic and security policies
should take while attaching importance
to the Japan-U.S. alliance. These scholars were called “realists.”
Represented by the late Kosaka
Masataka, the late Nagai Yonosuke, and
my late father Kamiya Fuji, the realists
had a major influence on Japan’s foreign
policy since the 1960s, but their influence was particularly explicit from the
late 1960s to the early 1970s. That is
because most of them served as advisors
for Prime Minister Sato Eisaku (in office
1964–1972). Having seen the trend toward the revival of nationalism in Japan,
they continued to appeal to the public
for self-restraint to prevent the country
from falling into a situation of overconfidence and taking nationalism too far.
They encouraged the Japanese people’s
desire for independence itself as natural.
However, at the same time, they warned
that if nationalism became too egocen-
tric and harmed collaboration with the
United States and international cooperation, it would be considerably detrimental to Japan.
The logic of this was as follows.
Firstly, when Japan’s realists considered
the issue of Japan’s independence, they
had a strong awareness that the advance
of interdependence was in the process of
transforming international politics. Since
Japan was dependent for its livelihood
on trade yet possessed no large military
capability, they believed that its prosper-
into complacency because their country
had become an “economic superpower.”
This was because there was a hardheaded recognition that Japan could
not become a true superpower like the
United States or the Soviet Union, since
not only military but also economic selfsufficiency was impossible. This recognition brought about the awareness
among them that in Japan, “there is a
need to make a dispassionate evaluation
of its own strength and distinguish between what it is and is not able to do,
Japan has come to be guided by an essentially
liberal view of international politics and of the
national interest. Behind this was the commentary
of Japan’s intellectuals. Now is the time that we
should recall their dispassionate attitude and learn
some lessons from it.
ity and survival was doubtful if it did
not maintain interdependence with other
countries under a free-trade system.
This generated among them a wider
view of the national interest that took
into consideration not only interests of
their own country but also interests of
other countries. It also brought forth the
awareness that “Forward-looking independence in the (future) world cannot
be anything other than independence in
interdependence” (Kamiya Fuji).
The realists believed that it was natural that Japan should assert its national
interest. However, at the same time, they
asserted the need to recognize the limits
of the nation’s independence in interdependence, and that based on this, Japan
should recognize its own national interest from an international perspective,
and endeavor to align this with the interests of other countries.
At the time, with Japan having rapidly increased its power, primarily in the
economic sphere, the world now expected it to increase its contribution to the
international community also. The realists in Japan considered that there was a
need for Japanese diplomacy to respond
to such expectations. They believed that
it was dangerous for the Japanese to fall
then assert itself and discharge its responsibilities in an appropriate manner”
(Kosaka). They believed that the role
Japan was able to play was that of making a positive contribution to the formation and management of international
interdependence. This was because as
countries in the world became increasingly interdependent, Japan needed this
more than any other country.
Based on the above view, the realists continued to sound a warning that
Japan should reduce its dependence on
the United States as much as possible,
but that it should ensure that the desire
to free itself from its dependency did
not descend into simple nationalism.
They thought that because the United
States had been such an overwhelmingly important presence for postwar Japan
until then, it was inevitable that the
nationalism of the Japanese would be
directed against the United States.
However, they asserted that Japan
should face up to the reality that it
needed to cooperate with the United
States in respect of both military security and economics. They urged the
Japanese to espouse a nationalism
whose aim was to increase their independence within limits, without reject-
ing cooperation with the United States.
Since Japan can only live by embracing internationalism, Japanese nationalism must be a “highly enlightened
nationalism” (Nagai) that is internationalistic and in harmony with such a
way of living. Japan’s nationalism must
coexist with international cooperation
and collaboration with the United
States. That was the message from
the realists to the Japanese public. The
realists’ assertion that Japan’s nationalism must not degenerate into, “an outdated nationalism that is selfish in the
narrow sense but not oriented to the
national interest in the wider sense, that
is a backward-looking merely antiAmerican trend rather than a forwardlooking independence and autonomy,
and that is an escapist-type independence that tries to turn its back on the
international obligations of the powerful
country that it is” (Kamiya Fuji), was
widely shared by Japan’s journalists.
This is immediately apparent from
media coverage at the time.
Despite the revival and heightening
of nationalism from the late 1960s
onward, actual Japanese foreign policy
avoided becoming excessively nationalistic. Also, following the end of the Cold
War, “Japan has come to be guided by
an essentially liberal view of international politics” (Thomas Berger) and of
the national interest.
Behind this was the commentary of
Japan’s intellectuals, as introduced in
this article. Now is the time that we
should recall their dispassionate attitude
and learn some lessons from it.
It is however worrying to see the
virtual absence of such dispassionate
commentary in the recent arguments
surrounding Takeshima and the Senkaku
Islands in China and South Korea.
While this may be unavoidable in China,
where freedom of speech does not exist,
it is disappointing that this kind of commentary and media coverage is lacking
in South Korea.
Note: The views expressed here are the
author’s own and do not represent those
of the National Defense Academy of
Japan or of Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
KAMIYA Matake is a professor at the National
Defense Academy.
19
UNDERSTANDING SHIBUSAWA (XV)
Shibusawa Keizo and
Ethnology
T
COURTESY OF THE SHIBUSAWA MEMORIAL MUSEUM
he Attic Museum, the predecessor of today’s Institute for
the Study of Japanese Folk
Culture (ISJFC) at Kanagawa
University, literally began in the attic of
a storehouse located in the backyard of
the Shibusawa residence.
In 1921, when he was a college
student, Keizo created the Attic
Museum Society, which mainly focused
on the research and study of folk toys.
Four years later, it was officially named
the Attic Museum, and moved towards
the full-scale collection and study of
folk articles.
Their research, with its emphasis on
folk articles and fishing history, played
a pioneering role in the study of folk
materials, and produced many brilliant
researchers. The Attic Museum was
later renamed the Institute for the Study
of Japanese Folk Culture and inherited
by Kanagawa University. The materials
collected became the nucleus of the
National Museum of Ethnology.
Many years before, however, Keizo
had taken the fossils and specimens
that he and his elementary and junior
high school friends had collected, and
Morning glory flowers pressed by Keizo’s
mother, Atsuko
20
displayed them in his attic.
When he was eleven years
old, he himself took the
lead in forming the
Wanpaku Club (Naughty
Club). Their attempts to
conduct observations and
research lay the groundwork for later research.
The Attic Museum
underwent two turning
points that broadened the
scope of its activities.
Thus dividing the Attic
Museum’s history into
three periods according to
the state of its collections,
let us take a look at the research undertaken in each
period as well as the contributions made and influences on the study of ethnology in Japan.
The First Period (1921–
1927): Folk Toy Research
and the Beginnings of
the Attic
In last month’s installment of this column, Inoue Jun began his profile of Shibusawa Keizo, grandson and
successor to the “father of Japanese capitalism,” Shibusawa Eiichi. This month Inoue moves beyond the
remarkable activities of Keizo’s youth to look at the role he played in the study of folklore in Japan.
An exhibition in the Attic (from the Shibusawa
family album, Hakuyoshui)
During this
period, the
basic policies of the Attic Museum lecting animals of the zodiac and all
Society were established, sorts of folk toys that had been handed
and there was a shift from down from generation to generation in
the previous natural his- various parts of Japan, but they used
tory collection of fossils, the original characteristics of the variminerals and botanical ous items to create a regional distribuspecimens to a focus on tion map that indicated where each toy
the research and study of was produced and why it was made,
folk toys. Along with and they also categorized manufacturKeizo, collectors included ing technology and other basic data.
his friends, relatives and This shows that their activities were not
the people who worked a hobby or reminiscence, but were acafor the Shibusawa family. demic in nature. Later on, the toy reThey started off by col- searchers, folklore scholars and geogra-
important
information, and
created a
catalog.
This illustrates
their att e m p t
around
this time
to turn the
toys from
just a collection
into reference materials.
This not
The Attic Museum, built in 1930 (from Hakuyoshui)
only provided a
direction
phy scholars whom Keizo and his for the later study of the Attic’s folk articollaborators had sought advice from in cles, but also illustrates Keizo’s methodthe past joined the list of collectors. ology, the idea of “supporting research
The scope of the collection also ex- by organizing materials.” This was his
panded to include folk dolls and con- consistent approach and can be found in
temporary play equipment from all the later Shibusawa Eiichi denki shiryo
over Japan, as well as folk toys from ( S h i b u s a w a E i i c h i B i o g r a p h i c a l
Materials). The joho shigenka project
other countries.
As Keizo and his collaborators con- (literally“information resourcification”
tinued with their activities, they began af- project) currently underway at the
fixing cards (labels) on which they wrote Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation
A photo titled “The emergence of folk toy research in the Attic” (from
Hakuyoshui). Keizo is pictured here (second from left) with Frederick Starr, an
American anthropologist (center), and early Museum members.
also draws on this methodology.
INOUE Jun is the director of the Shibusawa
Memorial Museum.
Fukusuke and folk toys
“Folk toys” include the dolls and
toys that were mainly used as
playthings by children throughout
Japan, made of materials that
were easily accessible locally, such
as clay, paper, bamboo and wood.
The customs and traditions of a
particular area, lucky charms and
animals are depicted using simple,
unsophisticated colors and shapes.
Some of these items continue to
be made today, and others are reproduced as local souvenirs.
A fukusuke doll dressed in
kamishimo, the ceremonial clothes
of a samurai
However, very few original folk
toys are left. Some were intended
to guard children’s growth and
health against evil, and others
were rooted in faith or religion.
The fukusuke doll is one of
these lucky charms. It depicts a
head with big ears and a samurai
topknot kneeling on a cushion in
ceremonial samurai dress. The
Kano Fukusuke doll was very popular in the Edo period (1603–
1867), and merchants enshrined
these dolls in their houses when a
wish came true. The doll’s popularity became so widespread that
everyone wanted one. It became
so popular that in addition to dolls,
the image was depicted on
Japanese woodblock prints, and
was used as a mascot in some
places throughout Japan. Even
today, the fukusuke is still popular,
and you will find him sitting in
storefronts everywhere.
21
ECONOMY
Redesigning the Japanese Economy and
Overcoming the Earthquake Disaster
A report released by the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) on September 18 outlines six issues to
be addressed if Japan is to abandon nuclear energy by the 2030s.
A
s energy policy shapes up to
become a major point of
contention in the next general elections, the government has changed course in favor of
abandoning nuclear energy. The Energy
and Environment Council on September
14 worked out an “Innovative Strategy
for Energy and the Environment” (see
Reference Figure), the central pillars of
which are to abandon reliance on nuclear
power plants within the 2030s, promote
energy conservation and rapidly expand
use of renewable energy. The plan outlines six issues to be addressed if these
pillars are to be realized.
1. Disposal of spent fuel key to
nuclear-free future
Once total abandonment of nuclear power
is the goal, it is only a matter of time until
the nuclear fuel cycle policy must end.
Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at the
Rokkasho plant in Aomori Prefecture
becomes unnecessary, and Aomori
Prefecture would no doubt ask the government and the power company to transport
the spent fuel now being held there back
whence it came. It is critical that urgent
steps therefore be taken to build temporary
storage facilities to hold the spent fuel on
a temporary basis pending final disposal.
A “Recycle Fuel Storage Center” capable
of holding 3,000 tons will begin operating
in the city of Mutsu from the autumn of
2013, but whether it will actually be able
to operate is an open question. There are
about 17,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel in
Japan presently, and if the spent fuel sent
overseas for reprocessing is also taken into
consideration, the total would amount to
just under 25,000 tons accumulated thus
far. Considering the total energy generated
as of the 2030s, when all nuclear plants
are to be shut down (approximated as the
total nuclear power plant output in
FY2010 x 20 years ÷ 2), it is likely that
another 10,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel
will be produced (for a total of just under
30,000 tons). Efforts should be made to
address this situation by building tempo22
Key Points
(1) Disposal of spent fuel key to nuclear-free future: If all nuclear power stations are taken off line, it will
no longer be possible to pass on spent fuel by shipping it to the reprocessing facility at Rokkasho in
Aomori Prefecture. The premise in doing so is that such fuel will be reused, and that reason will no longer
exist. Facilities need to be built at nuclear power stations for temporary storage of spent fuel generated,
and since deciding on a permanent disposal site is the premise for such temporary storage, that decision
must be made. The government and the electric power industry should begin the process now.
(2) Use existing facilities to deal with surplus plutonium: Continued holding of plutonium by Japan
can only raise fears of possible diversion to nuclear weapons. Consideration should be given on an
exceptional basis to finishing the plutonium fuel nuclear facility at Omamachi in Aomori Prefecture now
under construction until the fuel is used up, but on the understanding that either the operator will pay
premiums for insurance against severe accidents or the plant will be placed under state management.
Consideration might be given to using the existing reprocessing facilities to process contaminated water
resulting from the Fukushima accident.
(3) The government and private sector should maintain nuclear technology for reactor decommissioning and decontamination purposes: It will be necessary over the long term to retain researchers
and engineers to work in the decommissioning of existing nuclear plants and in cleaning up the
Fukushima Daiichi accident. The government and private sector should consider a policy of jointly
establishing a nuclear energy central control organization and, while building cooperative ties with the
United States, maintain nuclear energy technology.
(4) Secure stable supplies of fossil fuels through Trans-Pacific Partnership: Instead of buying the
fossil fuels needed to replace nuclear energy on the expensive spot market, secure supplies of U.S. shale
gas and similar fuels under long-term agreements. The U.S. is disposed to provide such gas to countries
with which it has free trade agreements, and thus Japan should express its readiness to join the
Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) without delay.
(5) Promote greater energy conservation and strengthen power grid, as through frequency
standardization: The government has set a total electric power output (i.e., consumption) conservation
target of 10% (versus 2010 levels), but this target should be raised to 20%. Wider and more extensive
use of smart grids would make it possible not merely to boost consciousness on the demand side but
would enable users to control consumption as supply-demand and price conditions vary. Effort should
also be made to improve the transmission grid as by standardizing the frequencies between east and
west Japan to make power sharing possible nationwide.
(6) Consider economic conditions in timing of final nuclear shutdown: Taking all nuclear plants
offline by 2030 will greatly increase dependency on renewable forms of energy, particularly solar power
generation, which is two to three times more expensive in terms of generation costs than such forms as
wind or geothermal. The result will be higher energy costs. Even if the total nuclear shutdown policy
itself remains unaltered, allowing some scope in its timing would make it easier to cope with changes in
resource prices or uncertainties about global warming. A flexible approach that allows for possible
continued reliance on nuclear energy to 2050 should therefore be considered.
rary storage facilities within the precincts
of nuclear power plants nationwide to hold
the spent fuel.
Meanwhile, it will also be necessary
by 2030 to select a final disposal site for
the spent fuel, which becomes “nuclear
waste.” (If not reprocessed, the spent fuel
itself is highly radioactive nuclear waste.)
Lack of progress on this decision would
very likely hamper construction of temporary storage facilities. Moreover, the
highly radioactive nuclear waste already
sent to Britain and France will be returned
to Japan. [Note: Radioactive waste remaining from spent fuel after recovery of
usable uranium and plutonium is generally described as “nuclear waste” in Japan.]
Whether one wishes to promote or to
abandon nuclear energy, the present generation is not entitled to shift the adverse
consequences arising from its use of nuclear energy onto future generations. And
if one advocates a change of policy back
to promotion of nuclear energy, securing
of a final disposal site will be indispensable. Incidentally, the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) in early
August decided not to approve construction of any new nuclear power plants until
the NRC itself had decided on a new policy regarding the temporary storage and
final disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
According to the existing framework
for deciding on a final disposal site, local
governments make proposals to host the
sites, but one alternative might be adopting the Swiss approach, under which a
number of candidate sites within Japan
would be chosen from the viewpoint of
scientific safety, after which the need to
build the site could be explained to local
citizens. In Finland, where a final disposal facility is under construction after
the site was selected, nearly twenty years
were required to choose the location, so
the government and industry should act
Fig. 1: A Nuclear Power Plant Cannot Operate When Its Storage Pool Is Full
(Usable period in the case of the spent nuclear fuel returned from the processing facility in Aomori)
Electric power
company
Hokkaido
Tohoku
Tokyo
Chubu
Hokuriku
Kansai
Chugoku
Shikoku
Kyushu
J-Power
Nuclear power station/
Number of plants
Tomari/ 3
Onagawa/ 3
Higashidori/ 1
Fukushima Daiichi/ 2
Fukushima Daini/ 4
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa/ 7
Hamaoka/ 3
Shiga/ 2
Mihama/ 3
Takahama/ 4
Oi/ 4
Shimane/ 2
Ikata/ 3
Genkai/ 4
Sendai/ 2
Tsuruga/ 2
Tokai Daini/ 1
FY storage
capacity to
be reached
2025
2017
2027
2012
2012
2014
2016
2026
2015
2015
2016
2014
2016
2012
2022
2016
2013
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Source: Japan Atomic Energy Commission
as soon as possible.
2. Use existing facilities to deal
with surplus plutonium
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister
Edano Yukio on September 15 made it
clear to Aomori Prefecture that the government would maintain support for
construction of the Omamachi plant and
reprocessing facility, but some reason
for the construction and the facility
should be given which is consistent with
the no-nuclear policy.
The reason that Edano expressed approval for building the Omamachi nuclear
plant and continuing reprocessing was
that any sudden abandonment of the nuclear fuel cycle facility and the nuclear
plant would adversely affect employment
and have major economic consequences
in Aomori Prefecture. [Note 2: According
to the Asahi shimbun, the prefecture received 240 billion yen in power plant site
subsidies over FY1981–FY2011 and
businesses within the prefecture received
510 billion yen in orders related to the
nuclear fuel cycle facility over FY1985–
FY2010.] Consideration should be given
to the need to ease the economic damage
as through construction of new renewable
energy or thermal power plants in the
prefecture. In addition, the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear accident produced some
200,000 tons of highly contaminated
water, and a huge facility will be necessary to process this. The Rokkasho reprocessing plant is a commercial plant which
also has facilities capable of turning the
highly radioactive waste (nuclear waste)
generated from the reprocessing into vit-
rified radioactive waste. Consideration
could be given to turning the Rokkasho
plant into a facility to process highly radioactive water.
Japan now has some forty-five tons
of plutonium within and outside the
country. Failure to deal with it will raise
concerns over its possible diversion for
use in nuclear weapons. Thus consideration should be given either to burn this
plutonium in the UK or France or to
complete, on an exceptional basis, the
plutonium fuel reactor now being built in
Aomori Prefecture’s Omamachi by
J-Power to use the fuel. In that case, the
facility would have to remain in operation for forty years and would therefore
have to be given exceptional treatment
with respect to the nuclear-free target
year of 2030. This exception would be
strictly for the purpose of dealing with
the surplus plutonium. Incidentally, the
Omamachi plant is capable of burning
just under four times the amount of plutonium compared to conventional light
water reactors, and the local government
has already given its agreement to the
burning of plutonium. It could help to
ease the economic impact on Aomori
Prefecture if the reprocessing plant and
the Omamachi plant were redesignated as
facilities specifically intended to process
contaminated water and, by burning plutonium, to prevent nuclear proliferation.
If the Omamachi plant is completed
and started up, however, the premiums
for insurance against severe accidents
should be calculated, with the premiums
being paid by J-Power. If that is not feasible, the plants could be placed under
state management, with J-Power being
commissioned to operate the facilities
while the state assumed full liability for
any severe accidents.
An effective method of carrying out
the processing of radioactive water and
the burning of surplus plutonium at the
reprocessing facility would be through a
“nuclear energy central control organization,” as mentioned below.
3. The government and private sector should maintain nuclear technology for reactor decommissioning
and decontamination purposes
Even if the decision has been made to
completely abandon nuclear energy by
2030, it will still be necessary to secure
researchers and engineers over the long
term in connection with the decommissioning of existing reactors and the
cleanup of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
It would not be feasible, however, to rely
on power companies in this regard. Once
abandoning nuclear power has been designated as a national policy, energy companies will no longer have an incentive to
maintain or hire researchers or engineers
for their nuclear power divisions, which
will no longer be sources of revenue for
them. Under the jurisdiction of the Nuclear
Regulation Authority (NRA), which was
launched on September 19, 2012, a “nuclear energy central control organization”
should be set up through which the government and private sector can cooperate
in the decommissioning of reactors and
the handling of accidents so the work of
winding down nuclear facilities can be
effected in a coordinated fashion. The
23
ECONOMY
policy of abandoning nuclear energy,
one reason being
2,000
500
the fear that Japan
1,600
400
would no longer
Undergraduate
1,200
300
possess nuclear
Master's (right axis)
PhD (right axis)
plant construction
800
200
technology. There
400
100
are about a hundred nuclear power
0
0
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010 (FY)
plants in the United
Source: School Basic Survey, Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and
States, and since the
Technology
Three Mile Island
accident in 1979,
Fig. 3: Number of Workers in the Nuclear Industry
no new construction
(People)
of nuclear plants
60,000
has been approved,
50,000
while many plants
40,000
are aging. Japanese
Mining and Manufacturing Industry, etc.
30,000
Operators of Electric Utilities
construction techNuclear Industry Workers
20,000
nology is needed to
help maintain the
10,000
U.S. plants. Thus
0
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010 (FY)
i f Japan and the
Source: Industrial survey on Nuclear Power Generation 2010, Japan Atomic
United States coopIndustrial Forum, Inc.
erate in technology
development, both
present Japan Atomic Energy Agency countries would be able to maintain
(JAEA) should then be reorganized and technology relating to nuclear plant
folded into the central control organiza- construction. The Japan Atomic Energy
tion. It should, as it were, play the key role Commission (JAEC) could be reorgain the strategy of withdrawing from nucle- nized into an expert organization providar energy and ensure that researchers and ing advice on matters such as basic policy
engineers at power companies and the to the central control organization.
The knowledge and know-how regovernment are not lost. One proposal is
that it should assume jurisdiction over lating to plant decommissioning and deprivate sector power plants, reprocessing contamination or safety enhancement
plants and other nuclear fuel cycle facili- which the nuclear power central control
ties, with the income from sale of electric- organization could obtain would be exity being allocated to research and devel- tremely valuable whether used in mainopment in reactor decommissioning and taining nuclear energy or in abandoning
accident cleanup work. The Nuclear it. It could conceivably become part of
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) of the the export industry. For this reason too,
UK operates under this kind of structure, securing a core group of research and
development personnel will be critical.
so it could serve as a model.
Japan should consider joining hands
with the United States to establish and 4. Secure stable supplies of fossil
maintain an international body for re- fuels through Trans-Pacific
search and development. In Europe, for Partnership
example, the European Atomic Energy Given the loss of confidence in nuclear
Community (EURATOM) maintains four energy, it may be impossible to restart
research facilities in Italy, Germany, any nuclear plants at all. Creating an enBelgium and Holland, and Japan might vironment in which stable operation of
join with the United States and perhaps nuclear plants through 2030 is possible
South Korea in considering ways to will be difficult until a stable government
jointly maintain nuclear energy technolo- is in power. It may impossible to bring
gy. The media has reported that the any nuclear power plants back online
Americans are concerned about Japan’s even in 2013 as well. For the time being,
Fig. 2: Number of Students Studying Nuclear
Science and Engineering
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
24
relying on thermal power will be the only
option. Thus rather than buying natural
gas and oil in the high-priced spot market, Japan should quickly establish a system to secure such fuels as shale gas from
the United States under long-term agreements. Japan is paying about 18 dollars
for liquefied natural gas on the spot market but could procure U.S. shale gas for
twenty to thirty percent less, according to
energy industry sources.
Having entered into a free trade
agreement with the United States, South
Korea has been granted license to receive
exports and is scheduled to begin imports
from 2017. Japan is pursuing negotiations
at the government and private level in
hopes of beginning imports from 2016,
but there is some doubt as to whether the
United States will approve exports to
Japan very soon since Japan has not expressed its intention to join in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Strategic
Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP).
In principle, the United States is granting
export approval to those countries which
have entered into the TPP. Thus Japan
should express its intention soon to join
TPP negotiations in order to open the
way to import U.S. shale gas and shale
oil as early as possible.
5. Promote greater energy conservation and strengthen power grid, as
through frequency standardization
The government’s Innovative Strategy
for Energy and the Environment aims by
2030 to achieve energy savings of 10%
in terms of total electric power output
(i.e., total consumption) compared to
levels prevailing prior to the Fukushima
Daiichi accident. However, we believe
this target could probably be raised to
20%. According to the Federation of
Electric Power Companies of Japan,
electric power consumption this summer
was down 10% from the summer of
2010, which was particularly hot.
System peak load was also about 11%
lower, as it turns out. Although electricity conservation efforts were made at the
corporate and household levels, the fact
that this was achieved in the short term
on the demand side alone shows that
even greater conservation could be
achieved if innovative power consumption technologies such as smart grids are
also used in the future.
can to one
extent or another share
700
Europe (US$/1000m )
power with
)
Japan
(US$/1000m
600
United States (US$/1000m )
each o t h e r ,
500
and the same
400
is true for
the power
300
companies
200
i n Tohoku,
100
Tokyo (eastern
0
Japan except
2
1
0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Ja
Hokkaido).
Source: IMF
But because
eastern and
In the Higashida district of Kitakyushu western Japan use different frequencies,
City for example, smart grid verification only 1 million kW can be shared between
tests have been carried out with support them. And although the frequencies used
from METI by the city, together with by Hokkaido Electric and Tohoku Electric
c o m p a n i e s s u c h a s N i p p o n S t e e l are the same, the submarine power grid
Corporation, IBM Japan, Fuji Electric capacity is only 600,000 kW. The governand Yaskawa Electric. It was found that ment is thinking of spending a total of
power consumption could be reduced by 5.2 trillion yen by 2030 to strengthen the
10% by varying electricity rates for 230 power grid as a means of stabilizing the
households and fifty businesses by about electric power system with a view to profive-fold in accordance with power sup- moting wider use of renewable sources of
energy, which are inconsistent. It should
ply and demand conditions.
Displays installed in homes made it therefore standardize frequencies to make
possible to notify households of electricity it possible to share power throughout the
rates a day before based on weather fore- nation. There are fears that a future
casts and other data. By increasing “visi- Nankai Trough mega-quake could affect
bility,” the system encourages households
to conserve diligently. If smart grids are
exploited, there would be even further
room to conserve energy, as by adjusting
electricity usage in accordance with electricity rates or supply and demand. Such
technical innovations and their wider use
could hold substantial promise for power
conservation by homes and offices.
One point must be born in mind,
namely the need to standardize the various devices used in connection with
Sample of a monitor that enables home
smart grids. For the system to gain wide users to visualize their electricity usage
popularity, it is critical that the smart meters and home terminals be usable in connection with any power company. Rather
than having the major power companies
supply and install meters and home terminals, it would accelerate the popularity
and technical advancement of the devices
if consumers could themselves freely
choose and buy them, or use their PCs
like telephone or internet services.
It will also be necessary to improve
the power grid. Each of the power com- The power-saving management facility
panies in Kyushu, Shikoku, Chugoku, in Higashida district, Kitakyushu,
Kansai, Chubu, Hokuriku (western Japan) Fukuoka Prefecture
a wide region, with power plants incurring damage. A single unified nationwide power grid is therefore necessary
to protect against such natural disasters.
Since frequency standardization will
cost a total of 10 trillion yen, there are
many in the government and the electric
power industry who believe it is unrealistic. However, joint efforts by the government and the private sector to digitalize broadcasting, combined with
repurchasing of TV sets by users over a
ten-year period, made it possible to
achieve full digitalization even though
many believed it would be impossible.
The investment expenses incurred by the
power companies in connection with frequency standardization could be financed
by passing them on through electricity
rates, for example. (The total cost of the
nuclear fuel cycle was 19 trillion yen,
but it has gone ahead because the cost is
added to electricity rates.)
Fig.4: Liquefied Natural Gas Prices in the United States,
Europe and Japan
700
2
2
600
2
500
400
300
200
100
COURTESY OF JCER
0
6. Consider economic conditions in
timing of final nuclear shutdown
The pillar of the government’s energy
policy is expanding use of renewables in
place of nuclear energy, but it is unclear
how high the cost of measures to promote them will rise. The feed-in tariff
(FIT) scheme was launched from July,
but some observers fear that the costs
will grow rapidly. The costs through
FY2030 should therefore be estimated.
In doing so, however, it should be borne
in mind that these costs should be considered together with the impact of savings on fossil fuels made possible by the
use of renewables. Moreover, the effectiveness of the FIT scheme as a means
to promote wider use of renewables
should be reviewed every five years.
Figures 6-1 and 6-2 present estimates of the “net expense” for abandoning nuclear energy. This net expense is
calculated by subtracting (i) the amount
of savings arising from replacing fossil
fuel with renewables from (ii) the cost
of investment in renewables and the
increased fossil fuel cost arising from
the greater use of thermal generation in
place of nuclear. Figure 6-1 anticipates
complete abandonment of nuclear
energy by 2030 in accordance with the
government’s Innovative Strategy for
Energy and the Environment. As of
2030, renewable energy is projected to
25
ECONOMY
Fig. 5: Regional Alliances
among Electric Power
Companies
We will dispense with a detailed explanation
here but will note
that under a scenario of going
nuclear-free by
2030 (Figure 6-1),
a rapid growth in
reliance on renewables will mean
greater investment
supply 30% of Japan’s electric power. in renewables (with the investment cost
Figure 6-2 assumes that the target year being recouped through the FIT scheme
for abandoning nuclear energy will be and borne by consumers). Since this will
2050 and is taken from our report of exceed the amount of savings arising
July 25, 2012, “Retaining Nuclear Plants from reduced use of fossil fuels, it will be
in the 2040s before the net expense finalafter 2030: Four Conditions.”
[ http://www.jcer.or.jp/eng/research/ ly turns negative. If renewables are to acpdf/pe(jcer20120725)e.pdf]
count for 30% of the energy mix through
2030, Japan will be much more
Fig. 6-1: Pure Cost of Power Generation with dependent on solar power genSaving Power (Zero Nuclear Power in 2030) eration, the cost of which is two
(trillion yen)
to three times higher than that
10
of wind or geothermal generation. Generation costs will
5
therefore be expensive. Under
the scenario presented in Figure
0
6-2, nuclear generation will be
New Energy and Saving Power
Stabilization Measure for
reduced at a slower pace, so it
Electric Power System
-5
Altenative Fuel Cost for Thermal Power
Generation (Altenative fuel by Natural
would be possible to adopt reGas from FY2021)
Total
newables more slowly as well
-10
2012
20
30
40
50 (FY)
(20% by 2030 and 30% by
2050). In both cases, consistenFig. 6-2: Pure Cost of Power Generation with cy with global warming policy
Saving Power (Zero Nuclear Power in 2050) is not taken into consideration,
(trillion yen)
but in fact abandoning nuclear
10
energy and promoting renewables will be closely tied up
5
with targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Future de0
tailed consideration of how to
New Energy and Saving Power
Stabilization Measure for
reconcile these three issues will
Electric Power System
-5
Altenative Fuel Cost for Thermal Power
Generation (Altenative fuel by Natural
be necessary.
Gas from FY2021)
Total
According to the forty-year
-10
2012
20
30
40
50 (FY)
rule announced by the government, any nuclear power plant
Fig. 7: Zero Nuclear Power Plants in 2040
reaching forty years in service
without New and Additional Plants
will be decommissioned, any
(10,000 kW)
plants to be restarted will re60
6,000
Power generation capacity
quire safety approval from the
50
5,000
Number of nuclear power plants
Nuclear Regulatory Authority
40
4,000
(NRA), and no new construc3,000
30
tion of nuclear plants will be
approved. Under this rule, the
2,000
20
number of nuclear power sta1,000
10
tions will still not fall to zero by
0
0
2050, as indicated in Figure 7.
2012
2015
2020
2030
2040
2050 (FY)
26
Since it will be impossible to reduce
the number of nuclear power plants to zero
by 2030 under the forty-year rule alone,
measures such as compensating electric
power companies may become necessary.
Considering the uncertainties surrounding
factors such as the cost of abandoning
nuclear power, it may be wise to keep
2050 on the table as an alternative target
year for complete abandonment of nuclear power. Even if the eventual goal of
becoming completely nuclear free itself
remains unchanged, retaining some flexibility in regard to the timing would likely
make it easier to mollify the impact on
the public livelihood and business activities caused by changes in resource prices
or uncertainties regarding the problem of
global warming.
If relinquishing dependence on
nuclear energy by 2030 is to be
achieved, these six conditions will
unavoidably have to be addressed in
detail. Abandoning nuclear power will
definitely reduce the risk of nuclear
disasters. However, it is also certain that
costs must be paid regardless of the
means used to substitute other energy
sources for nuclear. These proposals
have not addressed what the impact will
be on the structure of Japanese industry,
so in upcoming reports, we will analyze
the impact which abandoning nuclear
energy will have on Japanese industry,
whether favorable or unfavorable.
Proposals: Iwata Kazumasa (JCER
President) and Kobayashi Tatsuo
(Senior Economist). Estimates regarding
renewable energy are based on JCER’s
38 th Medium Term Forecast for the
Japanese Economy ( www.jcer.or.jp/
eng/pdf/m38.pdf).
Note of Appreciation
As the Japan Center for Economic Research
does not specialize in amassing knowledge
regarding the nuclear power industry or
nuclear energy, we have, in the course of
completing our reports, obtained advice
from many experts in the government and
the electric power industry. Owing to the
nature of the issues, it has not been
possible to credit these sources, so we take
this opportunity to express our deepest
appreciation for their assistance.
For further inquiries, please contact
the JCER Economic Research
Department: +81-3-6256-7740
ECONOMICS
Unfamiliar Icons
Odaki Kazuhiko accounts for the crisis facing Japanese electronics makers.
T
he electronics companies
Japan is so well known for are
in deep trouble. Leading global
giants like Sony, Sharp, NEC
and Panasonic are so mired in red ink
their very survival is threatened. These
firms once made semiconductors, televisions, audio equipment, TVs, videos, PCs
and every conceivable type of household
electronic product and sold them worldwide. Their logos could be seen on street
corners throughout the globe as proud
evidence of Japan’s excellence in developing electronic products.
The impasse these companies face
hasn’t arisen just because their traditional core operations are no longer profitable. Japanese companies allowed their
American, Korean, Chinese and
European rivals to get huge leads in cell
phones, network services, new model
TVs and other products and services
with growth potential. Rather than a
passing phase of temporary losses, the
crisis affecting the business of these
firms appears to augur the decay of
Japan’s electronics industry itself.
Observers have already offered several explanations for this precipitous decline of Japan’s electronics giants. The
first was the strong yen. After trading at
around 120 yen prior to the sub-prime
shock, the dollar has fallen below 80
yen. The strong yen has indeed burdened
Japanese electronics companies. But
Sony, Sharp and other electronics companies carry out a large share of their
production overseas, so the strong yen
should impact their operations less than
those of Japan’s automakers.
The business strategy of Japanese
electronics firms has also come under
much criticism. Critics say Japanese
companies have been too slow in adopting open platforms, for example. Instead
of making their own products independently, they could improve earnings by
opening up their platforms to other companies. In other words, they should
adopt the approach of companies like
Microsoft, Intel or Google. These critics
have been silenced by the huge success
of Apple’s iPod and iPhone, however.
Apple doesn’t maintain an open platform, nor has it developed elemental
technology for sale through other companies. Rather, Apple secures customers
by selling first-class products in familiar
white boxes that customers can buy at
the Apple store, take home and open
themselves. This is akin to the business
model companies like Sony and
Panasonic themselves used long ago.
and high-end products and between their
own products and those of their rivals
based on the inherent allure of the products rather than just the product feature
table. Sony, Panasonic and NEC have
each developed dozens of product types
in their television, cell phone and notebook computer lines and make model
changes every six months. Each time
more asterisks are added to the product
fe a t u re c h a rt , so t h e p ro d ucts of
Japanese electronics makers are now
awash with buttons. Even Windows PCs
and Android smart phones now have so
many unique features that the screens of
Engineers go on creating more functions than
even they can count, with the rising number of
product types developed only serving to reduce
sales numbers for each type of gadget.
Regarding creativity in product development, if one asks engineers at
Japan’s electronics companies why they
can no longer build alluring new products, one invariably receives the same
unexpected answer. The reason, they
say, is the “asterisk scoreboard,” or
table of product features. This “asterisk
scoreboard” is a table at the back of
product catalogues listing the features
of each product their company makes.
In their effort to increase sales, Japanese
companies sell many types of products,
from popular to high-performance,
high-end ones. A look at the table of
features shows that expensive, high-end
products have more asterisks than lowend popular products because they have
more features. Companies know that
consumers compare the feature tables in
their own catalogues with those of their
rivals, so they have to give their products as many features as possible in
order to have more asterisks. When
Japanese electronics product developers
refer to a product feature table as the
“asterisk scoreboard” table, they also
think of it as the scoreboard comparing
their product scores with those of their
rivals. In short, including more functions means winning.
The greatest tragedy for Japanese
electronics companies is their failure to
differentiate between their own popular
new models are virtually covered with
unfamiliar icons. Even high-end users
don’t in fact use most of these functions,
yet engineers go on creating more functions than even they can count, with the
rising number of product types developed only serving to reduce sales numbers for each type of gadget. Steve Jobs
likened this phenomenon to a school of
dead fish washed up on a shoreline.
I myself bought a TV, a notebook
PC and a digital camera recently and
confess that I paid a lot of attention to
the product feature table. Sure enough, I
went for gadgets with more features. I
don’t even use most of them. So maybe
some are right in saying that Japanese
consumers distort the business of
Japanese electronics companies, compelling their engineers to waste their efforts. So long as competition focuses on
the product table rather than the products
themselves, what can they do but stuff
more features into the products of six
months before. If Japanese companies
can’t eliminate most of these dubious
features and develop innovative new
products that are easy to use as Steve
Jobs suggested, perhaps the fault lies
with the Japanese consumer.
ODAKI Kazuhiko is a professor at Nihon
University and senior fellow at the Research
Institute for Economy, Trade and Industry.
27
SCIENCE
Intelligent Roads
Ahead
An historic turning point is about to take place in automobiles and road networks. By connecting to different
kinds of networks, cars will no longer simply be a means of transport but will have the potential to trigger a
major transformation in existing information systems. The key to this is ITS. Matsubara Toshio reports on
this cutting-edge system, which is attracting increasing attention around the world.
I
TS (Intelligent Transport System)
is a system that connects people
with cars and roads, and resolves a
range of issues, such as accidents,
traffic jams and environmental measures. There is a multitude of related
technology and it is said to hold the
promise of spawning new industries
and markets.
To date, research and development
on ITS technology in Japan have been
performed individually, specifically as
seen in car navigation systems, VICS
(a car navigation system function that
provides information on traffic congestion on highways and major arterial
roads), ETC
(Electronic Toll
Collection system) and ASV
(Advanced
S a f e t y
Vehicles). At
the same time,
practical ITS
applications
have forged
ahead in numerous fields,
such as in road
traffic management systems
that cover such
tasks as controlling traffic
lights and disaster prevention on roads;
public transportation systems that
control areas
including giving priority to
public vehicles
on roads; and information provision
systems geared for cars that utilize mobile phones.
The three pillars that support the
promotion of ITS are safety, the environment and convenience. The aim of
developing a system for safe driving—
one that incorporates communication
between vehicles as well as between
vehicles and roads—is to achieve overall traffic efficiency, thereby reducing
gas emissions, and in turn, build a network environment that can utilize necessary information in real time anywhere
and at all times.
ITS development not only involves
automobiles and road infrastructure, but
also affects a combination of businesses
in various types of sectors such as in
mass transit, telecommunications, energy and disaster prevention. By integrating peripheral technologies and systems
through a proactive use of ITS and databases, we are about to achieve greater
heights today as ITS broadens its coverage area from services in the transportation arena to social systems.
Social Contribution of ITS in
Disaster Situations
The Great East Japan Earthquake that
took place on March 11, 2011, is an example of how ITS has been broadly recognized in Japan. While it was difficult
to identify accessible roads following
damage from the earthquake, it was pos-
Example of an ETC lane at the Chugoku Suita
Interchange in Osaka Prefecture. The no-stop Electric Toll
Collection system eases and speeds passage through
highway tollgates.
28
hosts—Asia-Pacific, Europe
and the United States—every
year. The conference is a
gathering of ITS experts,
scholars, those related to governments and related companies from around the world.
Conferences, research announcements, lectures, technological exhibitions,
demonstrations and a tour of
ITS facilities are among the
events that are held in an integrated manner at the gatherings. Participating companies
vary greatly and are not only
from the auto, electrical machinery/electronic and information industries, but also
from industries including
communications, transportation, medical care, housing,
solutions and consulting.
This international conference will mark its 20th milestone when it holds the ITS
World Congress Tokyo 2013
on October 14–18, 2013. This
is the third of its kind in Japan,
A VICS information board on the Tokyo Metropolitan
following the gatherings held
Expressway
in Yokohama in 1995 and in
Nagoya in 2004. The conferApplying ITS Worldwide
roads and vehicles as well as between ence has already attracted attention
vehicles. As such, standardization is be- since it will be hosted in Tokyo, the
While the development and practical ap- coming an issue in developing the sys- capital of Japan, where ITS development
plication of ITS overseas are similar to tem on a global basis.
and application are cutting-edge even on
On the environment and energy a global basis.
those seen in Japan, they are also being
implemented by considering the traffic fronts, themes including CO2 reduction,
“The World Congress in Tokyo is
conditions of each country. The United efficient use of energy and conversion specifically focusing its energy on three
States has focused on adopting ITS for of energy sources are seen as significant areas of interest. First, damage response;
traffic that uses wireless communica- challenges. Around 20% of CO2 emis- second, work being implemented toward
tions, while Europe is aiming to develop sions, which is the major cause of global realizing zero traffic accidents; and
a traffic system that covers all of warming, is attributed to transportation. third, presenting the way megacity trafEurope. The growth level of driving so- Since approximately 90% of this total fic runs, which would be a model for
cieties in the Asia-Pacific region varies, stems from car emissions, creating effi- emerging countries in Asia.”
and traffic problems are becoming more cient traffic conditions using ITS is a
So says Watanabe Hiroyuki, chairsevere in many countries. With rising critical theme.
man of ITS Japan and head of the Japan
expectations that ITS can resolve this
Organizing Committee, as he began his
issue, it is being adopted along with in- Role of the ITS World Congress
press conference after the gathering of
frastructure work in these countries.
the Japan Organizing Committee (held
A move toward standardizing ITS is The ITS World Congress is a venue to on October 3) ahead of the Tokyo conpicking up steam, and there has been confirm work being implemented to- ference. Watanabe’s passion for ITS
work toward internationally standardiz- ward the spread of ITS in countries may be stronger than anyone’s, as he
ing a radio-wave system. Specifically, around the world and aims to accelerate was in charge of projects including the
three areas, namely Japan, the United the adoption of ITS from a global per- development of the first-generation
States, and Europe, are now at a stage of spective. Since the first gathering in Prius and fuel cells at Toyota Motor
adopting systems—for practical use— Paris in 1994, the conference has been Corporation and is now a senior technithat enable communication between rotating among the three regional cal executive of the company.
sible to determine which roads
were available using probe information sent out from cars
on the road. ITS Japan sent
out this information on the
Internet and contributed to enabling swift evacuation following the disaster and providing recovery support.
Probe information refers
to information sent from cars
regarding location and traffic. It is possible to identify
traffic jams, accidents and
other events from information such as car locations and
their speed. For example, it
is possible to pinpoint
weather conditions or rainfall
by obtaining information on
whether windshield wipers
are on or off or the speed at
which they are moving. It is
also possible to gather information on icy roads through
subtle changes in the car’s
speed and the change in the
wheel slip rate. This type of
information is important and
is critical in the development
of ITS going forward.
29
SCIENCE
The theme of the Tokyo conference is
“Open ITS to the Next.” While resolving traffic problems—which has been
the challenge to date—is to be the main
crux of the conference, Watanabe continued by saying that the theme will be
broadened and additionally include
those related to new areas, such as efficient collaboration with the energy
management field in light of the spread
of electric cars; personal services that
incorporate mobility by utilizing mobile
functions, among others; and response
to events including natural disasters
through social traffic systems.
Says Watanabe, “There is much
technology that will be the highlight at
the World Congress in Tokyo, but I
would like to stress two things. First,
probe information. Even on community
or regional roads where infrastructure
has not been set up, a lot of people
would be able to enjoy the benefits of
ITS by utilizing probe information.
“How would it look if probe information, which is currently being gathered individually by automakers, is
consolidated? We would combine all
the information gathered at national,
prefectural and private levels and create
a cloud-based network platform by
adding probe information gathered by
each company to the respective country’s VICS (traffic information), which
are sensors set up at fixed locations.
This will be standardized and real-time
information from each region will be
broadcast regularly on the Internet. ITS
Japan has been preparing for practical
application of this technology since
three years ago, and actual operations
will begin in two to three cities starting
in fiscal year 2013.”
A number of possibilities exist in
this network platform. For example, it
will be useful to improve infrastructure since probe information can identify dangerous intersections where
drivers tend to slam on the brakes.
The powerful role of probe information during times of disaster has already been proven after the Great East
Japan Earthquake.
Watanabe continues, “Another
thing is that now, together with energy
30
PHOTO: MATSUBARA TOSHIO
ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013:
Main Points
ITS Japan Chairman Watanabe Hiroyuki, head of the Japan Organizing
Committee for ITS World Congress Tokyo 2013, speaks at the press conference
on October 3.
conversion in cars, the dynamics of cars,
that is, the kinetic aspect of driving systems, is about to transform. A simple
example is the autodrive/autopilot feature; the ultimate era for driving is not
that far off. ITS will make a major contribution to this.
“Before all this, there is a need to
standardize milliwave radars. Currently,
there are two methods: one that controls
safe distances between cars and one that
controls the difference in speed of a car
relative to the one in front of it to zero.
However, experiments have shown that
it is hard to resolve traffic jams with an
existing mix of control technologies.
Currently, there is a movement to unify
milliwave radar technology with the aim
to adopt a system in 2015. Cost cuts will
be implemented simultaneously.
“Coordinated driving with surrounding cars will be possible by adding standardized car-to-car communication using milliwave radars. This will
prevent accidents, of course, and it will
also lead to preventing traffic congestion. Driver fatigue will be greatly reduced, fuel consumption will improve
and we will realize further carbon footprint reduction.”
There are many challenges surrounding traffic conditions today, in-
cluding growing problems related to the
global environment, increasing international competition in the telecommunications field, the rise of developing
countries, and changing automotive
technology as a result of an increase in
electric cars. The role of ITS in resolving these issues is critical.
Over sixty countries and 8,000 participants from around the world are expected to attend the World Congress in
Tokyo. Tokyo Big Sight, which is to be
the venue for the gathering, will be set
up with over 700 exhibition spaces, and
a total of 250 conference sessions are
scheduled. A number of demonstrations,
including auto-driving, will be held. A
portion of the conference and exhibits
will be open to the public for free.
Watanabe concluded by conveying
these thoughts about the conference.
“Three major exhibitions will
successively take place in the fall of
next year: CEATEC, a comprehensive
IT/electronics exhibit, the ITS World
Congress and the Tokyo Motor Show.
By effectively coordinating the three
exhibits, we would like to realize a
productive show that connects to the
other exhibits.”
MATSUBARA Toshio is a freelance writer.
RECOVERY
Rebuilding Heritage
For the New York-based World Monuments Fund and its founding sponsor American Express, restoring the
old buildings in Sawara, Chiba Prefecture that were damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake last year is
about more than merely repairing the structures. Justin McCurry reports.
S
o much footage is available
of the destruction left behind
by the tsunami that hit a long
stretch of Japan’s northeast
coast last year that it’s easy to forget the
powerful earthquake that preceded it.
Many buildings emerged from the
magnitude-9 quake relatively unscathed,
only to be swallowed up by the tsunami.
But that wasn’t the case in Sawara,
Chiba Prefecture, where video images
captured by a visiting university student
reveal the full force of the earthquake as
it shook this historical town—now officially part of Katori city after a series of
mergers—to its foundations.
The video, which forms part of an
exhibition on Sawara’s struggle to recover from the disaster, shows residents
looking on in horror as buildings dating
back to the late 1700s shake, then crumble, sending plumes of dust cascading
along the Ono-gawa river.
The quake damaged more than a
third of Sawara’s 300 historical build-
ings, a number of them beyond repair.
In minutes, the less sturdy machiya
townhouses were turned into rubble;
those that remained upright were disfigured by collapsed roofs and contorted
walls and pillars.
More than eighteenth months on, a
few sheets of blue tarpaulin serve as reminders that this town of 47,000 still has
some way to go before all of its classical
architecture is restored to its former state.
But while the world’s eyes were on
the Tohoku region to the north,
Sawara—located far enough from the
coast to be spared tsunami damage—
quietly began rebuilding with the help of
the World Monuments Fund [WMF], a
New York-based organization formed
in 1965 to help protect heritage sites
and threatened cityscapes.
In October 2011, the WMF added
Sawara to its World Monuments Watch,
with funds from its founding sponsor
American Express. Launched in 1996,
the list currently helps sixty-seven at-
Fukushin (left), a textiles shop built in 1893, and Koboriya soba noodles restaurant
(right), completed just a year earlier, stand close to collapse following the Great
East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011.
risk sites in more than forty countries.
The following month, the fund and
the Foundation for Cultural Heritage
and Art Research launched Save Our
Culture, an international effort to help
cultural heritage sites affected by the
earthquake and tsunami.
With the help of the Ono-gawa
River and Sawara Cityscape Preservation
Association and the Chiba prefectural
board of education, plans were made to
restore seven of the town’s most treasured machiya, built between 1798 and
1900. The buildings had vied for attention with more than 700 national heritage
sites, as well as traditional buildings and
historical cityscapes, damaged in the disaster of March 11 last year, according
to the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
In May this year Sawara received a
200,000-dollar grant from the fund as
part of a 1 million-dollar donation from
American Express for six threatened
sites around the world.
“Japan has always been so generous
towards efforts to protect heritage
worldwide, but this was the first time I
had lobbied for international help for
Japan in the wake of a disaster,” says
Henry Ng, executive vice president of
the World Monuments Fund, during a
recent visit to Sawara.
Six of the seven machiya are recognized as cultural properties by the prefectural government, and one has no
recognition. While local funding and insurance money paid for the some of the
renovation work, none of the buildings
was eligible for state help, Ng explains.
In addition, local authorities were
wary of diverting large sums of money
to architectural treasures while tens of
thousands of people in the region languished in shelters or temporary housing. And individual owners were not in
a financial position to fund all the renovation work themselves.
“After the disaster, there was a
natural inclination to help,” Ng says.
31
RECOVERY
“National
government
money is
already
available
for big
m o n u ments, but
there is a
lot of other,
more vernacular architecture
that needs
help. We
decided to
help rebuild
structures
here that
otherwise
would not
have received
A float passes in front of the restored Fukushin and
Koboriya stores during the Sawara grand float festival
in October (left); a view of the festival from inside
Fukushin (right)
any assistance.”
The Grand Float Festival
Ng’s visit was timed to coincide with
the grand float festival, recognized as an
intangible cultural asset by the national
government and the highlight of the cultural calendar in Sawara, whose vast
collection of historical buildings and
old-word charm have earned it the nickname “Little Edo.”
As we talked on the second floor of
Fukushin, a repaired textiles shop built in
1893, wooden floats slowly made their
way past the open sliding-screen windows, each topped with a giant doll based
on a celebrated figure from the Edo period (1603–1867), when Sawara was at its
commercial and cultural zenith.
One of two festivals held annually
in Sawara—the other is in the summer—
the autumn event dates back 300 years.
More than two-dozen floats make the
rounds of the town accompanied by musicians and dancers, while groups of
young men refuel with swigs of sake as
they pull the towering wooden structures
through the streets.
Before March last year, Sawara’s
historic townscape attracted more than
500,000 visitors a year, but tourism is
now down to 60 percent of its predisaster level. Judging by the crowds
that lined the streets during the recent
festival, the restoration project is helping bring visitors back.
32
Notable Structures
Kase Junichiro, the owner of
Shojo, which sells food cooked
in soy sauce and has been restored after suffering damage in
the quake, says support from outside agencies such as the WMF has been
a huge source of strength.
“There was so much debris lying
around after the earthquake that some of
us thought we’d never be able to do
business again,” Kase says. “Some of us
lost almost everything, but then the donations started coming in and that gave
us the strength to go on.”
Shojo, which was built in 1832, suffered damage to its roof, beams and
walls, and was in need of urgent repair
to prevent further deterioration.
As the months passed, the tarpaulin
covers and scaffolding were removed
from Shojo and other buildings to reveal
stunning renovations by teams of local
carpenters, builders and plasterers. “As
you can see, all of the completed buildings look just as they did before the
earthquake,” Kase says.
Other Sawara structures earmarked
for help by the WMF include Kyu
Abuso, a former sake brewery that is
now a private home that managed to
stay upright, despite dating back to
1798. The Koboriya restaurant, meanwhile, was on the verge of collapse
when renovation work started; its proprietors are now back making and serv-
ing their trademark noodles.
Hiratsuka Kiiko, whose family
owns Fukushin, recalled the day her
premises began to shake violently. “I
was on my own and was just about to go
out anyway when it started,” says
Hiratsuka, who lives alone above the
shop. “Some neighbors came over and
helped me get out just before the roof
came down.”
By the time the quake had subsided,
the shop’s roof had collapsed and its
supporting pillars had been bent at odd
angles. Every item on the shelves had
been hurled to the floor.
The front of the shop had been repaired by March this year, but the kura
storehouse behind is still in a state of
disrepair. Items once kept inside—antique furniture, kimono, traditional girls’
day dolls and other family heirlooms—
have been removed in preparation for
restoration work the Hiratsuka family
hopes will be finished by next March.
“The whole town is thrilled that
we have come this far in the rebuilding
project,” says Kiiko’s daughter,
Hiratsuka Tomoko, who heads the local
association of female business owners.
“It’s not just about the structures
themselves, but also restoring and main- with the structures,” he says. “You can’t
taining their characteristics and the tradi- have that traditional culture without the
tional way of life, and that will take time. buildings. You don’t just want architecWe’ll make sure we continue to use do- ture for the sake of having some edifice
on display.”
nations sensibly to make that happen.”
In Kesennuma’s case, the sheer scale
Murata Genya, manager of the public affairs and communications division of the devastation has delayed a decision
at American Express
Inter nat i o n a l ’s o ffi c e i n
Tokyo, says the firm’s relationship with the WMF had
been instrumental in bringing
much-needed funding to
Sawara. “Chiba Prefecture
was not as badly damaged by
the disaster as Tohoku, but
we learned about the Sawara
machiya through the WMF
and decided it was important
to help,” he says.
“The nationally recognized properties were taken
care of by the central government, but not those recognized b y t h e p refect u r e .
That’s why we got involved.
Otherwise, the individual
owners would have had to pay
for everything themselves.
“It’s important for me
to come and see Sawara
for myself. If we say we’ll
support a place and then
just hand over the money,
A happy Nakamura Hisao outside his
restored 120-year-old Nakamuraya
there’s no engagement with
Kanbutsu dry goods store.
the community.”
Ng, who made his first
trip to Sawara at the end of
last year, said he was impressed by how on whether to invest WMF
much progress had been made. “I’m cash. “The city itself hasn’t
amazed to see how much they’ve done, decided how or where to reand happy about they way they’ve done build, so we hope it’ll make a decision in
it,” he says. “When people saw one per- the next six months,” Ng says. “We need
son begin to rebuild, everyone was in- to know what’s going to happen to those
buildings before we commit ourselves.”
spired to do the same.”
In the past, the fund has helped renoNotable Ways of Life
vate machiya in Kyoto—traditional
townhouses which, like those in Sawara,
For Ng, whose organization is consider- encapsulate a lifestyle that has been eroding similar assistance for five historical ed in bigger cities such as Tokyo and
structures in tsunami-hit Kesennuma in Osaka. While Japan has the technical exMiyagi Prefecture, machiya are indivisi- pertise to repair and rebuild old strucble from the lifestyles of the people who tures, it is looking to outside agencies for
inhabit them—the tatami room as famil- advice on how to raise money to retain
ial cynosure, traditional arts and crafts, the cultural fabric of traditional commuand intangible cultural treasures such as nities threatened by modernization.
the tea ceremony.
“Places like Sawara look to us to
“It’s about rebuilding heritage along learn how to leverage money and about
strategies for preserving buildings as
part of a cityscape or townscape,” Ng
says. “People generally don’t live in old
temples and palaces, they live in neighborhoods like these—that’s what is important to them. They don’t want to lose
contact with the past.”
It will be another year or so before
all seven buildings receiving help from
the fund are fully restored and their
owners can begin to put the turmoil of
the past eighteen months behind them.
Nakamura Hisao has already
reached that happy juncture. The
owner of Nakamuraya Kanbutsu is
beaming as he shows a group of visitors around his 120-year-old shop,
where noodles, beans, and hijiki and
kombu seaweed, and other dry goods
are back on the shelves.
“We’re really happy that it has returned to the way it was,” he says. “There
is no way we could have achieved this
on our own. This place is our life.”
Justin McCurry is a Tokyo-based journalist who
reports for the Guardian and Observer newspapers in the United Kingdom and for the online
newspaper GlobalPost.
33
TRAVEL
Kanazawa: In the City of
the Maedas
Not for nothing is Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations.
Tom Midwinter is our guide.
S
haped like a massive hook
reaching symbolically into
the fertile fishing grounds of
the Sea of Japan, the Noto
Peninsula is the most prominent geographical feature on the long northeastern
seaboard of Japan’s largest island of
Honshu. That peninsula is notable for its
ruggedly attractive coastline. It is also notable for having at its southwestern base
the city of Kanazawa, one of the country’s
most remarkable cultural centers.
As visitors to this city in Ishikawa
Prefecture cannot but be aware,
Kanazawa of old was no threadbare
spot. Wealth in Japan used to be assessed in terms of
rice, and the Kaga
feudal domain, of
which Kanazawa
was capital, possessed more of the
stuff than anywhere
else. Rice wealth
was measured in
terms of koku—
around 180 liters
and theoretically
sufficient to feed a
person for a year.
Kaga possessed 1
million koku—
hyakumangoku.
And Kanazawa is so inordinately proud
of this fact that it is rather fond of
flaunting its former wealth: the name
hyakumangoku is constantly encountered around the city today.
Hyakumangoku-dori is one of
Kanazawa’s main thoroughfares, and
this skirts around the city’s most celebrated feature—Kenrokuen, which only
the rarest first-time visitor doesn’t put
high on their itinerary. Covering some
10 hectares, Kenrokuen is a rambling
delight of a place that basks in its status
of being listed as one of Japan’s Three
Finest Gardens. Velvety carpets of moss
mold themselves around undulating,
gently sculpted landscapes; tea pavilions
perch over ponds of olive-green waters,
where even an island 10 meters across
sports a name; ancient gnarled pines are
helped across ponds on elaborate systems of stilts; black butterflies the size
of a hand flap lazily through the air;
short stone bridges force visitors to
make a detour so as to savor the simple
Superbly restored, Kanazawa Castle was
the seat of the ruling Maeda lords.
The bipedal stone lantern known
as Kotoji is the most famous spot
in the garden of Kenrokuen.
34
A kimono-clad woman walks through the
geisha district of Nishi Chaya.
pleasure of crossing.
For photographers of all stripes, the
de rigueur spot is the bipedal stone lantern known as Kotoji—so famous it
serves almost as a symbol of the whole
city. Nearby, small herons stride confidently around, clearly used to handling
big crowds. And Kenrokuen is indeed a
thoroughly popular spot—so much so
that at times it can require some effort to
screen out the explanations of the surrounding scene being megaphoned by a
uniformed tour group leader to her dutifully attendant gaggle of tourists.
The one name inseparable from the
development of Kanazawa is that of the
Maedas, whose thirteenth lord did much
to expand Kenrokuen in the mid-nineteenth century. His clan’s association
with the city began in 1583, when the
first Maeda lord, Toshiie, entered
Kanazawa Castle. It was the vast territorial holdings of the Maedas that made
Kaga Japan’s wealthiest province. And
it was thanks to the Maedas’ patronage
that Kanazawa produced its refined culture. Recognizing the pivotal importance
of these lords, the city commemorates
the entry of Toshiie to Kanazawa Castle
with the Hyakumangoku Festival—the
biggest event on Kanazawa’s calendar.
Toshiie quickly set to
work transforming his castle into a formidable fortress, and though subsequent Maeda generations
felt similarly motivated,
fate had different plans.
The donjon burnt down in
1602, and it was never rebuilt. Without this central
feature, Kanazawa Castle
never came to be regarded
as one of Japan’s truly
great castles. Five subs e quent conflagrations
through the centuries inflicted varying amounts of
damage, but thanks to
modern reconstruction
efforts visitors can gain an
excellent impression of the
castle’s former grandeur.
The restoration work was
carried out using basically the same materials as those employed in the original
construction. That includes the wonderfully aromatic cypress, which lends its
fragrance to the air as you inspect the
slots in the restored turret that were designed for feeding massive stones onto
the heads of any attackers unwisely
wishing to clamber the walls.
In contrast to the samurai atmosphere, beyond the city’s Saigawa river
is the rather different world of the geisha
district known as Nishi Chaya. This
“tea district,” as chaya translates into
English, is an area where geisha carry
out their age-old entertaining arts of refined music and dance, and the district
consists of an attractive single line of
buildings in honey-colored wood with
wooden shutters and the agreeable tinkling of furin wind chimes.
Nishi Chaya is one of Kanazawa’s
three geisha districts, but the one that
attracts the greatest interest among
tourists lies on the other side of town,
beyond the city’s other main river, the
Asanogawa. Much more extensive than
Nishi Chaya, Higashi Chaya is rather
more effective at conveying a sense of
what Kanazawa would have looked like
in a less frenetic age, with its grillefronted two-story houses and streetlights
like the gas lamps of old. Beloved of
tour groups, Higashi Chaya is the place
where women visitors get into the traditional mood by coming dressed in kimonos for the all-important photo in front
of a teahouse.
As in many other city districts,
Higashi Chaya is a place to sample the
fine local cuisine, which is known as
Kaga ryori, considered by many the finest of Japan’s regional cuisines. The
classic Kaga ryori dish is jibuni, which
is best in late autumn or winter and consists of a hearty stew of duck meat and
seasonal vegetables. It is thus the perfect
fare for the inordinately heavy winters
that descend along the Sea of Japan side
of the country.
The excellence of Kaga ryori hinges
on utilizing a wide variety of ingredients
at their seasonal best. And with the
proximity to the sea and mountains,
Kanazawa is admirably well supplied.
The place in Kanazawa where fine restaurants do their shopping is Omicho
Market. Even for those not planning a
meal, the market is an exciting place to
visit. In addition to deep-green varieties
of seaweed and colorful assortments of
fruit and vegetables, it is possible to
view everything from trays of sweetsmelling fish, giant oysters, rows of
crabs and baskets of squid to all manner
of shellfish, octopuses dolefully surveying the world from within a suspended
water-filled plastic bag and a tuna head
the size of a beer barrel.
Here, the mood is bright, breezy
and cheerful. And the warm character
of the people in this fascinating, oftenoverlooked, Japanese town comes
across as the ebulliently good-natured
stallholders do their best to get customers to part with their cash—in the
friendliest fashion possible.
Tom Midwinter is a freelance writer and editor
living in Tokyo.
35
CULTURE
Preserving the Fabric
of Time
ALL PHOTOS BY JULIAN RYALL
Since its beginnings as the seat of Japan’s imperial court in 794, Kyoto has been practically synonymous
with refinement and craftsmanship. Twelve hundred years on, the city’s people are determined to keep it
that way. Julian Ryall visits the Nishijin Textile Center and the Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto,
Japan’s first and only school for learning traditional crafts.
sign. Slowly, painstakingly, the image
of a woman in a colorful kimono is taking shape before her.
Fujiwara, a
sprightly 75-year-old,
is one of 500 residents of Kyoto who
are recognized as
craftspeople skilled
in the art of creating
the traditional textiles
for which the Nishijin
district of the ancient
capital is famed. But
she makes light of
her abilities.
“This is the job
that my family has
been doing for many
generations and
something that I have
done since I was very
young,” she says,
threading another line
of silk into the design. “The feeling
that you get from a
piece that has been
made by hand in the
Fujiwara Hiroko at work on her loom in the Nishijin
old-fashioned way is
Textile Center. Fujiwara is one of 500 residents of
completely different
Kyoto recognized as craftspeople skilled in the art of
to that from one that
creating traditional Nishijin textiles.
has been made by a
machine.”
Nishijin textiles remain one of the
ith a lightning-fast flick
of her wrist, Fujiwara symbols of Kyoto and have evolved
Hiroko threads another over 1,000 years. The roots of the infilament of silk through dustry can be traced back to the late
the matrix of colored yarn on her fifth century, when a branch of the
wooden loom, catching it without a powerful Hata clan, the descendants of
blink as it emerges on the other side immigrants from mainland Asia, settled
and adding another fine line to the de- in the area.
W
36
The newcomers brought modern
farming methods, as well as knowledge
of silkworms and the manufacture of
silk fabrics. The industry began to grow
in the city and the surrounding countryside and the growing economic power
of the Hata clan was one of the reasons
behind Emperor Kanmu’s decision to
move his capital to Kyoto twelve centuries ago. The weavers supplied materials of the highest quality to the imperial court—a tradition that continues to
this day.
The majority of Kyoto, including
the weavers’ district, was destroyed by
fire during the ten-year Onin Civil
War of the late fifteenth century, and
the artisans were evacuated to other
nearby towns until the conflict subsided. On their return, one group settled
in the Shinmachi-Imadegawa area and
quickly built up a reputation for producing top quality nerinuki, a lustrous
fabric with raw silk as warp and
scoured silk as weft.
A second group chose the Omiya
district as the center of their operations
and revived the production of twill weave
cloth and grew into Nishijin textiles.
The importance of Kyoto declined
with the civil and political disturbances of the Imperial Restoration in 1868
and the transfer of the capital to
Tokyo. Aided by the Kyoto Prefectural
government, however, the Nishijin
district soon introduced modern,
Western-style methods.
In 1872, for example, representatives of the industry were sent to Europe
to study new techniques and returned
with new technology from France and
Austria, such as the jacquard loom and
the flying shuttle.
Bobbins of shimmering silk
yarn on display at the Nishijin
Textile Center
Nishijin Textile Center
“One of our main products
today are obi belts, while we
also make kimono, neckties,
brocade with silver and gold
thread and fabrics for interior
decoration,” says Ikariyama
Toshimitsu, general manager
of the Nishijin Textile
Center. “Our skilled artisans
can make something tiny and
delicate all the way up to a
stage curtain for a theater.”
Most of the companies
involved in the industry
are small, family businesses that specialize in one of
the fifteen distinct processes, from design work through
dyeing and weaving.
As many as 500 firms play a role in
the process, making items worth 50 bil-
lion yen a year. And while that is an impressive figure, it is a far cry from the
heyday of the industry, around twentyfive years ago, when it was earning 300
billion yen annually and
was one of the biggest industries in Japan.
Ikariyama, however,
believes the industry has
an important part to play
in the future as well as
being a tradition of which
all of Japan can be proud.
“Most of the skills
that we have here today in
Kyoto originally arrived
from Egypt, India and
China along the Silk
Road,” he explains. “All
the elements from each of
those places were brought
together here, making the
materials that we produce
here the best in the world.”
Nishijin artisans have
created the kimono used
by the Imperial Family
for weddings and other
important occasions, while it also provides fabrics that are traditionally put
to use in Kyoto’s three major festivals,
the Aoi Festival in May, the worldfamous Gion Festival in July and the
Jidai Matsuri, or the Festival of the
Ages, in October.
At present, Nishijin artists are working on a silk folding screen depicting the
god of thunder to go with an earlier work
showing the god of wind. The first piece
took nearly three years to complete and,
when the pair is finished, Ikariyama believes they will become national treasures that will last for centuries.
Fabrics and textiles have many
more potential applications than simply
clothing or decorations, Ikariyama adds,
pointing out that advanced new materials used in conjunction with ceramics
can be used in areas as diverse as space
exploration, medicine and architecture.
The tip of the nose cone of the then
state-of-the-art Concorde, for example,
was manufactured from textiles, he says,
while surgical knives and fibers used in
the construction of skyscrapers are all
evolved from traditional textiles.
Ikariyama Toshimitsu, general manager of the
Nishijin Textile Center, explains the intricacies of a
fine handwoven kimono.
37
CULTURE
Traditional Arts Super College
ALL PHOTOS BY JULIAN RYALL
The Nishijin Textile Center attracts visitors from all over the world, promoting
the items that members of the industrial
association produce but also educating
people in the history of the art.
Visitors are able to watch weavers at
work, and even try their hand at the skill
themselves. They can also see silkworms
creating the cocoons from which the
thread is then gathered, and then watch a
kimono fashion show.
The artisans of Nishijin are justifiably proud of their heritage and skills,
although there is concern that much of
the knowledge required to safeguard the
production of many traditional Japanese
crafts—from pottery through the use of
bamboo and lacquerware—are being
lost as younger people choose other career paths.
It was in large part for this reason
that Shintani Hidekazu set out in the
early 1990s to create a unique educational establishment, in the neighboring city of Nantan, that would nurture
a new generation of people with the
skills required to protect these elements
of Japan’s cultural heritage.
“The skills that we teach here were
A model on the catwalk at the Nishijin
Textile Center dazzles the audience.
38
Sculptures carved by students at the Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto.
Wood carving is one of nine courses offered at the College, along with bamboo
craft, Buddha engraving, ceramics, lacquer craft, metalwork, stone carving, washi
paper craft and wood craft.
usually developed through apprenticeships, when young people needed to
have patience, to clean the master’s
rooms while they studied to absorb his
knowledge,” Shintani says.
“Those apprenticeships are being
lost today, along with the skills
the masters have.
“That is why I wanted to set
up this college.”
Traditional Arts Super
College of Kyoto opened in 1995
and remains the only specialist
training college dedicated to developing professionals in craftwork and manufacturing.
Students on courses ranging
from two to four years are able to
choose nine areas in which they
wish to specialize: bamboo craft,
Buddha engraving, ceramics, lacquer craft, metalwork, stone carving, washi paper craft wood carving and wood craft.
Each of the disciplines is
taught by masters of these traditional crafts and many of the best
examples of the students’ work
are displayed at the Gallery of
Kyoto Traditional Arts and Crafts.
Each of the different studios
has groups of young people working on
projects, from delicately using a blow
torch on the rim of a metal cup to weaving lengths of bamboo together. Others
are producing their own traditional
washi paper or expertly forming a vase
out of a fistful of dark gray clay. With
infinite care, others are copying designs
in red paint onto tea mugs, while another
class perfects the repeated washing and
gentle scouring required to produce perfect black lacquer.
“We are very different to most
other art schools in Japan, which usually only teach the theory of art,” says
Shintani. “Here, we want to teach the
practical skills that these young people will then be able to apply in their
careers and, hopefully, pass on to future generations of skilled craftsmen
and women.
“This traditional part of Japanese
life has changed so much that I estimate
that within twenty years, the graduates of this school will be the only people able to perform this sort of work,”
he says.
Julian Ryall is the Japan correspondent for the
Daily Telegraph and freelances for publications
around the world.
TRENDS
Riding the Korean Wave
Japan’s love for Korean TV dramas has remained strong over the last decade, to the extent that Korean
producers now even cast their shows with the Japanese audience in mind. Gavin Blair reports.
T
he last decade has seen an
explosion in the popularity of
Korean popular culture in
Japan, beginning with TV
dramas and continuing more recently
with K-Pop artists topping the Japanese
music charts. Although friction between
the two countries over a disputed group
of islets has had some effect, the Korean
Wave, or hanryu, as it is known in
Japan, shows little sign of abating yet.
The current boom was kicked off
in Japan in 2003 with the broadcast of
“Winter Sonata” (“Fuyu no sonata”), a
twenty-episode romantic drama made by
Korea’s KBS2 network, on public
broadcaster NHK’s satellite channel.
The drama had been acquired by NHK
Enterprises (NEP), the commercial subsidiary of NHK, and following its growing success, was then shown on the
broadcaster’s main terrestrial channel,
becoming a huge ratings hit.
“It was kind of sensational for
Japan’s public broadcaster to show a
Korean drama, when the Japanese commercial networks hadn’t done so yet,” explains Sakamoto Hideaki, a general manager of the international division at NEP.
The male lead of “Winter Sonata,”
Bae Yong-joon, became a massive star
in Japan, mostly among middle-aged
women, by whom he was nicknamed
“Yong-sama.” The series went on to
spawn a sequel and a spin-off film
which drew 5 million to theaters in
Japan, as well as an anime adaptation
broadcast on satellite TV in 2009, using
the voices of the original cast. The ensuing interest in everything Korean also
boosted Japanese tourism to the island
where the drama was shot.
“Korean dramas are like old
Japanese dramas, full of stories of love,
family problems and people getting seriously ill; they’re very nostalgic for older
Japanese,” says Sakamoto, explaining the
popularity of Korean content in Japan.
The Korean TV industry was understandably delighted at the sudden popularity of its stars in the world’s secondbiggest entertainment market and
eventually began making dramas with
Japan in mind.
“When dramas are cast in Korea
now, the popularity of the actors in
Japan is taken into account,” explains
Oya Chihiro, a manager at the global
business department of KBS. “A lot of
thought goes into what will make them a
hit now.”
At the TIFFCOM content market
that is held alongside Tokyo International
Film Festival in late October, Korean
companies made up the biggest group of
overseas companies. According to a
number of Korean exhibitors there, Japan
now accounts for a massive 70 percent of
their total overseas sales.
Some of the factors that help
Korean dramas succeed in Japan are
“similar looks, shared cultural traits and
realism in storytelling,” according to
Alex Oe, a senior sales manager for international content at CJ E&M, a dramafocused subsidiary of major Korean film
company CJ Entertainment.
CJ E&M, which was exhibiting at
TIFFCOM, has sold dramas to leading
Japanese network Tokyo Broadcasting
System, as well as broadcast and DVD
rights to NEP.
“Even if the ratings are not so great
in Korea, some of these dramas will
succeed in Japan,” adds Oe.
Japanese and Korean companies are
now also collaborating at the production
stage. KBS-N, a cable company from
the same group that created “Winter
Sonata,” recently co-produced a children’s variety program “Hello Baby,”
which features K-Pop stars looking after
kids, with Pony Canyon, the international arm of Japan’s Fuji TV.
Following the success of TV dramas
and movies, it has been the turn of
Korean pop groups such as female ensemble KARA, to take center stage in
Japan with their polished productions
and catchy dance tunes. Interestingly
though, the first K-Pop tune to go global, “Gangnam Style” by Psy, which became an Internet sensation, has yet to
make a splash in Japan.
Promotional materials for “Cool Guy
Hot Ramen,” a television drama produced by CJ E&M of Korea on sale in
October at TIFFCOM (Tokyo
International Film Fair Content Market)
The recent flare-up over a group of
islands between Korea and Japan, known
as Dokdo and Takeshima respectively,
has seen the pulling from Japanese TV of
one Korean drama, featuring an actor
who took part in a swimming relay to the
islands. However, despite protests by
small groups of nationalist extremists in
Japan against the broadcast of Korean
dramas, the enthusiasm of most Japanese
fans is undiminished.
“Politics is politics and culture is
culture. Even if some Korean dramas
can’t be broadcast now, everyone thinks
it will be OK in the future, once the
elections are over,” suggests KBS’ Oya,
referring to impending elections in the
two countries, the run-up to which has
seen some politicians from both sides
using the islands’ dispute to engage in
populist, nationalist posturing.
Gavin Blair is a freelance journalist living in
Tokyo who writes for publications in the United
Kingdom, United States and Asia.
39
POINTS OF TRADITION
The Raw Facts of Sushi
David Capel offers a primer on one of the world’s favorite foods.
F
DAVID CAPEL
rom our comfortable twenty- into a mixture of rice and salt and leaving in the world, the fermentation was abanfirst century perspective, we it to ferment for several months or several doned and fresh raw fish was served on
can afford to feel somehow years, after which the rice was discarded freshly cooked vinegared rice in a form
that bears some resemblance to the sushi
rather grateful that in ancient and only the fish consumed.
The making of sushi the good old- we know today.
times people didn’t have access to reThere is of course remarkable varifrigerators. If this convenient means of fashioned way is still practiced in Japan,
preserving food had been available then, notably in the area around Japan’s larg- ety in that sushi, both in Japan and overhuman resourcefulness wouldn’t have est freshwater lake, Biwa-ko, in whose seas. The form familiar to most peoset about devising such ingenious depths lurk the Crucian carp that go to ple—a bite-sized piece of vinegared rice
means as curing, drying, pickling and make funa-zushi. After slow fermenta- topped by a slice of usually raw seajellying to make food keep. And of tion for two to three years, the dish is food—is referred to as nigirizushi and
is only one of a
course, a world
n u m ber of basic
without such delicasushi types eaten
cies as hams, cheesin Japan. Oshizushi
es, pâté, smoked
is a favorite of
fish, salami, kimchi,
the region around
duck confit and jams
Osaka and consists
doesn’t bear thinkof sushi rice and
ing about. Decidedly
toppings pressed
less obvious,
into an oblong
though, as an item
box-shaped mold.
that owes its origins
Makizushi is sushi
to food preservation
rolled into a cylinis delectable sushi.
drical shape and
Time was when
often containing a
someone writing
variety of ingrediabout sushi for a
ents. Chirashizushi
non-Japanese readhas regional variaing audience actually
tions, but it usually
had to explain what
involves a bowl of
the thing was. But
Made around the lake Biwa-ko by fermenting fish with rice for a couple of
sushi rice with
that was back in a
years, the dish of funa-zushi is how sushi was made in ancient times.
seafood and garfar-off age when
nishes either on top
food was a much
less international business and Japanese ready to eat. However, the vast majority of the rice or mixed in with it. Inarizushi
restaurants around the world were about of people who do not hail from the re- comprises a pouch of fried tofu filled
as common as hen’s teeth. Now, the no- gion—plus a hefty number of the locals with sushi rice.
With the internationalization of
tion of eating quantities of raw fish is no themselves—would believe that at that
longer anathema, sushi is warmly em- point, the dish is actually ready for the sushi, various modifications of the
braced as decent low-fat health fare and bin. The refrigerator containing the fish food have developed to appeal to nonthe Western world can even get its head from which the customer typically has Japanese palates. Notably in the United
to select their own funa-zushi smells as States, such exotica as cream cheese,
around the notion of conveyor belt sushi.
However, if sushi had undergone no if someone has died. And as for the avocado, mango, smoked salmon and
development from its primordial form, actual taste, well, it’s enough to make a mayonnaise find their place in the sushi
format. The sushi purist would of course
it’s hard to imagine it being the stuff of grown man weep.
Thankfully, funa-zushi was not the look askance at such creations. To them,
ritzy restaurants and sometimes even ritzier prices. Sushi traces its origins to end point in the development of sushi. there is simply nothing to compare with
China, and it probably made its way to The fermentation time was reduced, vin- the melt-in-the-mouth succulence of
Japan a couple of millennia ago along egar was introduced to improve the taste classic sushi in a traditional restaurant
with the wet rice cultivation that trans- and the rice also came to be eaten. In featuring perfectly selected seafood at
formed not only agricultural practices but early nineteenth-century Edo (former its seasonal finest.
also the country’s whole way of life. The Tokyo), it was realized that fermenting
ancient practice consisted of packing fish fish did not make for the greatest flavor David Capel is a journalist living in Tokyo.
40

November 2012 - The Japan Journal

Transcription

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