Japan's big retailers moving to increase hazard endurance amid abnormal weather

September 30, 2018


Japan's big retailers moving to increase hazard endurance amid abnormal weather

Employees at the shopping mall were busy receiving hundreds of customers late in September for a special three-day sale after a hiatus of three months.
The facility was forced to suspend its business due to the flood of a nearby river following torrential rain early in July. The heavy rain, triggered by the approach of a rain front, played havoc in widely scattered areas in southwestern and western Japan.
The shopping center, located on a site of 118,460 square meters in Ogori City, Fukuoka Prefecture,  consists of the main building, which houses more than 70 shops, directly run and tenant, and the parking just in front of the building with a capacity of 1,600 cars. But both of them were extensively inundated with river water which climbed over the banks.
The facility, opened in 2013, had a retention basin beneath the building, as the area is within a flood danger zone on the newest hazard map made by the local authorities. But the basin was overwhelmed, and as a result, water got into many parts of the shop area. Dozens of vehicles parked were flooded. But the mishap caused no human damage.
The early July heavy rain also forced some other shopping facilities in the affected areas to close its business, but damage to them proved to be lighter than at the Ogori facility.

The series of occurrences at distribution facilities came at a time when Japan's major commercial businesses, particularly those in the distribution sector, have been asked to cooperate in overcoming natural disasters, because their business is directly linked to people's daily life.
The distribution sector is hoped to play greater roles than ever for hazard endurance, because Japan sees unprecedented, abnormal weather patterns to occur almost every year.
The Ogori facility, operated by Ion Kyushu Co.,  conducted evacuation training for cases of fire and earthquake earlier years, but it plans to carry out an evacuation drill annually for cases of a flood, too, from now on. It also expects to improve the water level gauge system for the on-site, underground retention basin.
Other big distribution facilities involved are also expected to improve their ability for hazard endurance.
The Ion Ogori shopping center launched what it dubs
the "ReStart Campaign" to mark its comeback to business, introducing new lines of items, expanding the eat-in food court and building a small corridor which accommodates handicraft shops run by citizens.
A long line was built toward a lottery amid the shop area.
 "We offer many kinds of gifts for customers with receipts of 3,000 yen or more," said an employee. "This is a token of our thanks to the customers for their support to our reopening."

Annual TV program gives time for Japanese to think about charity for the socially weak

August 28, 2018

Annual TV program gives time for Japanese to think about charity for the socially weak

An annual charity program produced by Nippon Television Network Corp., or Nittere, with the key phrase "Love Saves the Earth," has become something like a national event in which many Japanese think about how charity should be for the socially weak. This year's 24-Hour Television, the program called so, was aired around the clock from August 25 to 26 on the Nittere network, drawing an average audience rating of 15.2 percent.
The instantaneous rating came to as high as 34.7 percent just before the closing event.
Similar charity programs have been launched by some other TV networks. But, despite the strong public attention, the Nittere program draws various views from interested people.
Some viewers warn of what they see as a tendency of using socially weak people for commercial purposes in excessively moving scenes.
Organizers say events in the program are aimed at encouraging the socially weak, but they sometimes make viewers feel as if they have to be moved all the time while watching people like handicapped persons, critics say.
The special feature Nittere program, the 41st of its kind, focuses mainly on events for enhancing public awareness about challenges facing disabled and handicapped people as well as those who need welfare.
Programs aired this year included footage of a girl with an artificial leg trying to scale a 3,000-meter mountain with a special support team and a boy drummer with glass eyes who played a session with a top stage musician.
The 24-Hour Television for 2018 linked a total of seven event sites nationwide. At a special stage built in front of the north gate to Japan Railways' Hakata Station in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, many kids were seen playing with colorful twisted balloons.
With balloon walls put up around to make a balloon art square, students attending a local vocational college were on hand to take care of children and their parents.
Next to the balloon square was a booth set up by a major domestic detergent maker, one of the six corporate supporters to the program this year, to promote its recycle-reuse campaign to collect used clothes from consumers and send them to poor countries.
During the two-day program, donations were accepted at the event sites nationwide for use to programs in three areas, welfare, environmental protection and relief for disaster-affected people.

Donations by viewers this year amounted to 267 million yen as of the end of the program, according to organizers.
The viewer audience rate climbed toward the end of the program, as a 33-year-old comedian, selected as this year's charity runner, cut the goal tape at the Tokyo site after covering a distance of 161.5 kilometers in a triathlon race.
Japanese people have become even more aware of the importance of binding together to strengthen their mutual ties since the devastating earthquake and killer tsunami waves of March 2011, which claimed some 20,000 lives mainly in the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan.
The roles for the media to help boost the spirits of mutual help broadly in Japan's society may become more important than ever in the years ahead.

Japan threatened with continued, ominous weather phenomenons in hot summer

July 29, 2018

Japan threatened with continued, ominous weather phenomenons in hot summer

Japan's Meteorological Agency has been busy issuing unprecedentedly strong warnings and alerts this summer in light of a host of unusual weather occurrences.
The agency has introduced new, even stronger warning patterns for an impending climate-related danger. The agency sometimes uses such wordings as "The impending danger is an inexperienced one, or what we have not seen in the past 50 years or so." This is part of efforts to remind people more of the seriousness of floods, landslides and other climate disasters in recent years, but their efforts stopped short of minimizing the damage of heavy rainfalls in widely scattered areas of western and southwestern Japan early in July.
The mishap claimed more than 200 lives, including the elderly and kids who were slow or unable in evacuating to shelters and other safer places.
The latest torrential rain was a "a new type of disaster to which "our past experience cannot be used," said people well informed with the series of recent climate change around Japan. More recent and to be more irregular, this season's 12th typhoon came to hit the Japanese Archipelago from the east.
The typhoon was born in the western Pacific far south of Japan July 25 and quickly moved northward toward Japan, and then, it began turning anticlockwise to the west around the edge of a cold vortex, which had emerged south of Japan following the meandering of the westerlies.
In the medium-latitude Asian climate zone around Japan, the weather usually comes from the west on the prevailing western winds. "What a strange rain storm! The typhoon this time has come from the east," said people in concerned areas.
There was no fatal damage following the storm, but it played havoc with areas so far believed to be more resilient to disasters, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to bays opening to the east or the eastern sides of mountains.
The typhoon came amid weeks of unusually hot weather in many areas of Japan. The temperature rises from time to time to around 40 degrees centigrade at not a few places across Japan. This has left dozens of people dead because of the heatstroke.
A Meteorological Agency official recently declared that the abnormally hot weather is "a kind of disaster."
Japan's political leaders stress on various occasions that Japan must make greater efforts to make itself more proof to natural disasters, but it is uncertain whether its effort will be a success, in view of various new challenges facing the country.

Rare, brackish water fish ushers in hot summer in southwestern Japan

June 26, 2018

Rare, brackish water fish ushers in hot summer in southwestern Japan

River fishermen living near the mouth of Chikugo River flowing into Ariake Sea, a deep inner bay in southwestern Japan, have busy days catching a rare, brackish water fish from late May to June.
Etsu, the fish so called in Japanese, lives in certain areas in Ariake Sea, their only habitat in Japan.
Dishes of fresh etsu are served at 20 or so Japanese-style restaurants in the lower reaches of Chikugo River. This is because the freshness of the fish declines quickly after catch.
The catch of the fish, a kind of grenadier anchovy, is allowed from May 1 to July 20, while the season for etsu dishes runs from June to early July.
Some restaurants with etsu dishes served are run by etsu fishermen, and these restaurants attract many people loving the local rare cuisine in the season.
"My boss goes for fishing everyday during the season, sometimes alone, sometimes with fellow fishermen," said a young waitress working at a riverside etsu restaurant in Johjima, in the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture.
"He catches 50 or so fishes, when the tide is good," she said, while looking down at a few etsu drift net boats moored on the river behind the restaurant.
Etsu fishes swim upstream from the sea for spawning early summer, up as far as about 10 kilometers from the river mouth.
Roes spawned there stream down the river, and baby fishes grow up while living deep in the sea. Then, grown fishes go up the river for spawning, and to complete the life cycle, most of them die after that.
Etsu is classified as an endangered species on the Environment Ministry's red data book.
The fish has a leaf-like flat, slender body, which is about 30 centimeters long. The female fish has a swollen belly with roes.
The fish is cooked in various ways -- deep fried, simmered in sweetened soy sauce, boiled and seasoned, and sliced fresh sashimi.
Slicing the etsu fish for sashimi needs a special cooking technique; because it has many small bones contained, the body must be finely sliced with the bones cut. This leaves a crispy taste, the reason why the etsu sashimi is so loved by fans.
The stock of the etsu fish was once threatened with over fishing and changes in the environment due in part to the construction of dams upstream in Chikugo River.
Because catches of the etsu continued to decline from around the 1980s, groups of local fishermen have tried to improve the environment for its habitat, but the situation is yet to be fully improved.
Local people involved hold a service every year for the rare brackish water fish on May 1, when the ban on its catch is lifted. Further efforts to preserve the environment for coexistence of the fish and the community are expected to continue so that the unique food culture may be maintained over years.

Areas hit by last year's floods in Japan alarmed by early start of rainy season

May 29, 2018

Areas hit by last year's floods in Japan alarmed by early start of rainy season

Hydrangea, the moisture-loving plant, is beginning to color in various parts of Japan as Japanese are bracing for the upcoming sweaty, hot days in summer.
The "tsuyu" rainy season usually starts early June and runs until around the middle of July in most parts of Japan, but the Meteorological Agency declared that this year's tsuyu season began in Kyushu and other southwestern Japan regions on May 28. This was 23 days earlier than last year or 8 days sooner than the average year.
The start of the rainy season allows farmers to prepare rice paddies for this year's crop by bringing in water from irrigation canals. But those in mountainous areas damaged by floods in northern Kyushu early July last year are concerned about the outlook of weather this summer.
People affected by the floods are returning to their areas, but some people are still living an uncomfortable life at temporary housing.
Rehabilitation work at farming areas near flooded rivers and valleys in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, is getting into full swing, but damage near smaller rivers largely remains to be attended.
A rice farmer, in his 70s, saw his rice paddies in a hilly area mostly washed away in a mudslide last year, but he expects to prepare unaffected paddies soon for this year's crop.
The tsuyu season begins when the rain front emerges over the Japanese Archipelago between the cold air mass from Siberia and the hot air mass south from the western Pacific. The tsuyu rain front is getting activated earlier than usual this year because the high pressure system south of Japan is strong amid the high temperature observed in regions from the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, weathermen say.
This year's summer in Japan is expected to be hot and long. Hot weather contributes to a good rice crop, but too high a temperature may lead to a drought, while a long spell of rain and floods are threats to rice farming.
Rice growers hit by last year's floods are hoping that rehabilitation work will be finished as soon as possible at the damaged areas, before the start of the full rainy season this year. Farmers, while working on rice planning, may be finding themselves consoled with hydrangea flowers seen here and there around rice field footpaths.

Wheat ripening, summer just around the corner in Japan

April 28, 2018

Wheat ripening, summer just around the corner in Japan

Green wheat fields spread in many parts of Japan, telling people that summer is just around the corner.  Rice is Japan's staple food, but wheat has also been favored over years mainly as an ingredient of noodles.
Domestically grown wheat draws attention for use to other new purposes, notably bread making, as many Japanese people have come to favor bread meals.
Japanese people's food life has been westernized in recent decades. As a result, domestic rice consumption has been on the decline. In turn, wheat consumption has been growing year on year, with breads favored rather than cooked rice.
Domestic wheat had been little used by Japanese bread makers, however, because of its poor protein content, higher prices and limited lots. But the problem has been cleared in recent years, with new species of wheat domestically developed  for bread making.
Japan's wheat self-sufficiency rate is 13 to 14 percent, against domestic wheat demand estimated at 6.3 million tons.
Imported wheat is entirely bought by the government and then, the government sells the imports to domestic flour makers at regularly set prices. Meanwhile, domestically grown wheat is distributed basically through commercial vendors, freed from the country's food management system.
A government-set target calls for increasing domestic wheat production to 1.8 million tons from about 770,000 tons at present by 2020, while supporting efforts to develop more new species and encouraging consumption of domestic products. The move comes at a time when Japanese people are becoming more aware of the importance of  food security.
Bakers using domestic wheat are still limited, but the number is gradually increasing. As a reason for this change, some bakers mention that there is no fear of post-harvest chemicals used for domestically made wheat and flour. 
Two crops can be grown in Kyushu and other regions of southwestern Japan, wheat late spring and rice from summer to autumn.
In the northern part of Kyushu, wheat turns brown to be harvested toward May and weeks later, work starts to bring in water there to make rice paddies.
The beginning of summer, "rikka" in Japanese, on the agricultural calendar falls on around May 6. The day of rikka represents the middle point of the vernal equinox and the summer solstice.
Japanese farmers have prayed for a rich harvest of the five grains--rice, wheat, millet, barnyard and bean--since the old times.
Rice is the most important of the grains, but wheat also has played an important role as a key buffer crop when a poor rice harvest is to be endured. Wheat should be more important than ever to support Japanese people's food life from now on.

Japan remembers Meiji Restoration on 150th anniversary

March 29, 2018

Japan remembers Meiji Restoration on 150th anniversary

The statue of a main architect of the Meiji Revolution which paved the way for Japan's modernization drive in the 19th century stands on a hill right above the scenic Katsurahama beach facing the Pacific.
Sakamoto Ryoma is just one of many revolution heroes hailing from Tosa, currently Kochi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, but he is much more popular than other figures, not only from Tosa but also from other regions, who contributed to the revolution in the stormy years of the 1860s. One of the reasons for this is his free, realistic way of thinking, a character which was quite unique at that time.
Kochi Prefecture is excited about bolstering itself this year, as Japan marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Revolution, or the Meiji Restoration, in 2018. Prefecture organizations and many private-sector entities are busy promoting various campaign events in honor of local heroes who worked for the revolution.
Ryoma (he is usually called with his given name) stands in the center of a main campaign picture on the official guide book produced by the prefecture.
The Meiji Restoration put an end to the 260 years of rule by the Tokugawa shogunate government, but Ryoma could not see Japan's rebirth to be a modern state under a new political and social system which he had dreamed of. He was killed by a group of unknown assassins, exactly on his 32nd birthday, Nov. 15, 1867, when he was at a hideout in Kyoto, then Japan's capital. This was only two months before the first bloody battle occurred between the new Meiji government and the Tokugawa regime at the beginning of 1868.
Japanese people's tendency of feeling sympathy with the underdog is believed to be behind the fact that Ryoma has been popular among Japanese over years.
Revolution leaders who survived the war with the Tokugawa regime worked to start a new state by inaugurating various industries and building a strong army under the restored Emperor system. The newly launched Japan won wars with China and then with Russia, to be equally ranked with the western powers like Britain early in the 20th century. But this contributed to giving too much power to Japan's military, causing Japan to be a militarist state under the name of the Emperor, called His Majesty the Great Marshal.
Recent researches about the Meiji Restoration call for taking a fresh look at the process before and after the revolution year of 1868. Some of them say that the past studies excessively glorified the revolution heroes, including the so-called Meiji patriots who played major roles for building the new state system. Others say that Japan's excessive emphasis on strengthening its army became a remote cause for Japan's tragic defeat in World War II.
Ryoma showed flexible ideas while negotiating between the interested parties on both sides, at a time when fears grew among Japanese leaders that Japan would be invaded by Western powers, just like China. His mediation helped the two rivaling warlord clans of Satsuma and Choshu to reach a secret alliance to topple the Tokugawa shogunate government. This was two years before the Meiji Restoration.
Ryoma believed that the two clans should join forces to end the old regime, by a peaceful means, not by force. He also believed that Japan should reinforce itself as an ocean state after its rebirth. This is why he tried hard to build Japan's naval fleet by gathering ambitious young samurai from across Japan.
Ryoma's statue, 13.5 meters high, was  originally built in 1928. The statue is clad with the samurai costume, but he is in Western style boots with a handgun in his  breast pocket.
The manly statue looks as if he is dwelling on new designs for Japan's future with his eyes kept far ahead to the Pacific ocean. What should Ryoma say about Japan's recent inclination to have a stronger defense capability by reinterpreting its pacifist constitution?