U.S. JETS Want To Help Japan

Or... perhaps I should call it: Less Filler - More Thriller!

Here's a story that appeared in the July 27, 2011 edition of The Japan Times (I saw it on-line), followed by my comments: 

JETs fresh from the U.S. eager to help nation recover from March 11

Young Americans who will teach English at schools here on an international exchange and teaching program said Tuesday they want to help Japan recover from the March catastrophe. According to the U.S. Embassy and an organizer of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, around 700 are coming from the U.S. this summer. About 400 of them arrived Sunday. In total, some 1,600 JETs from 27 nations will come to Japan this summer. 

Wow... I am sure glad that the U.S. JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme teachers are interested in helping Japan out after the fallout from the twin disasters on March 11, 2011 - namely the  9.0 Magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami. I was initially worried they might not want to be involved at all!

Okay... that was sarcasm. It's a great story. I hope they do as they say they will do.

But... what about the rest of the people soon to be arriving in Japan? There are 26 other countries involved in the JET Programme! Are they not interested in doing something to help Japan out? 

Apparently not. It's only the U.S. At least that's what the story implies. Or is it inferring? Whatever.

As a former newspaper journalist with the Brampton Times, Aurora Banner, Newmarket Era and Toronto Star here in Canada - as well as being a three-year veteran of the JET Programme - I'm slightly offended by this innocuous little story.

It's cool that JET USA wrote that little press release to make their Programme look good. But did no one else think to do that?

Let's suppose that some did - could they not get a mention?

Let's suppose no one else mentioned it at all - the Japan Times is a communications giant. Could they not have made a few calls to various JET airbases - or whatever their headquarters are called and asked if they too are sending over people to Japan who are interested in helping out the country? 

Just think... if you had called up any other country's JET Programme and got a positive answer - that they too are interested in helping out Japan... well, then I guess you have a non-story.

But imagine if one of those countries said, "No, we're not interested in helping Japan" the media could have had a field day!

Sorry... that was lazy journalism by the Japan Times. But what's worse is that it's also not that compelling a story.

How about just stating that new JETS are coming in from 27 countries (list them), telling us how many are coming, and how many in total JET people will that make for 2011... or how many people have on the programme in total since inception? 

Geez... if you want to make a big deal about it... tell us the story of the JET Programme. Who's brainchild? When did it start? How was the initial reaction to having a gaijin (foreigner) stand up and team-teach with a Japanese teacher of English in the classroom? 

Tell a story. 

Don't use JET propaganda as newspaper filler. The JET Programme and all in it are proud of what we did and continue to do. 

We are not filler... and despite what the Japan Times filler piece says, I'm pretty sure we (the newcomers) are all eager to do something to help out the country.

Hell... I do that pretty much everyday in this blog.

Somewhere looking for a filler piece,

Andrew Joseph  

Follow-up To Crane Accident

Hi all...
Here's a follow-up to a story that happened in Japan back in April of 2011.

You can read the whole story HERE. ON April 18, 2011, six children were run over and killed by a crane. At the time, we were all wondering what the heck was wrong with the driver--was it medication, alcohol, mental illness?

Well, turns out the poor driver has a history of epilepsy, and had a seizure while driving the crane... which is why he was slumped over and had no control.

Regardless of his medical condition, the driver has been charged with negligent homicide in the deaths of the children.

From files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Time To Mooo-ve Again

Cattle conundrum: "Wagyu" beef cattle are seen in Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 21. The village of Iitate, where the worst radiation levels have been detected since the nuclear crisis at the nearby Fukushima No. 1 power plant, is a major growing region for highly prized cattle in the prefecture. BLOOMBERG PHOTO

Here's an interesting story I found - a Bloomberg article written very well by Takada Aya (surname first) on May 3, 2011.

"Wagyu" - pronounced "Wah-giyou" is a type of cattle that produces the very flavourful and expensive Kobe-style beef - a fatty, heavily marbled meat.

Read on:


Iitate 'wagyu' farmers blast evacuation order
By AYA TAKADA
Bloomberg
Takeshi Yamada frowns as he surveys his herd of 28 "wagyu" beef cattle, prized for their marbled meat and fetching as much as ¥1 million per head.
"The government told us to evacuate, but we don't want to leave our cattle behind," said the 62-year-old farmer in Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture. "If we're forced to go, we are worried we won't be able to come back and farm again."
Iitate became a haven for refugees after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl by crippling the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station 40 km away. Now the government is telling residents of Iitate and three other villages to leave by the end of May because contamination in soil and water has reached dangerous levels.
The latest evacuation order underscores how the ripple effects of what Prime Minister Naoto Kan called Japan's biggest crisis since World War II continue to play out seven weeks after the record quake. Fukushima's farming industry, worth ¥252 billion a year, is at stake.
"There's no sound from tractors plowing the fields," Yamada said. "It's very quiet, like a silent spring."
April is normally the busiest time of year for Yamada, a time when he plants rice, tobacco and vegetables on a 4.7-hectare plot that helped him earn ¥15 million last year. These days he just feeds his cattle, which may be tainted by radiation, rendering the meat unfit for sale.
Iitate beef has earned the top grade of A-5 for wagyu in Tokyo's wholesale meat market in Shinagawa, and cows have sold for as much as ¥1 million, said Hiroyuki Murayama, a local official in charge of promoting the village's produce.
Japan exported 677 metric tons of beef, including wagyu, in the year to March 31, 2010, government data show. Vietnam was the top buyer, with 433 tons, followed by Hong Kong with 119 tons and the U.S. with 81 tons.
Fukushima is the country's 10th biggest producer of cattle, including wagyu, a breed genetically disposed to intense marbling that makes the meat tender and juicy.
Iitate Mayor Norio Kanno spent 15 years promoting the area's wagyu and organic vegetables. He was rewarded in September when his town was invited to join the Most Beautiful Villages in Japan Union, a group that seeks to preserve rural scenery and traditions.
"What we achieved over a long period of time is being destroyed by the nuclear accident," Shinichi Aizawa, director at the Iitate government office, said in an interview. "Unlike Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, which are beginning to rebuild from damage caused by the quake and tsunami, we are still sinking, with no end in sight."
The population in Iitate has declined to 5,000 from the prequake level of 6,100, as residents, mostly couples with small children, left the village. Of 1,800 households, 1,200 are farming families, Aizawa said.


There it is...
Andrew Joseph

No Data Released on Third Search For Victims

In what has become increasingly frustrating, Japan appears to have censored its information regarding results from its third and latest search for victims of the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake.

See THIS blog for my initial entry on that search back on April 28, 2011. In that blog, the actual third search was to be a two-day event and was to have started on April 25, 2011. By the end of that first day, 38 bodies had been found.

In the week since that time absolutely zero information has been forthcoming as to the results of the second day. In fact, most news streams lack the body count provided in this blog.

Is Japan censoring the information? It would appear to be a resounding yes. See ANOTHER blog provided on April 25, 2011 for a few details on that censorship - a censorship of information that is also not widespread in the international media.


Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife wishes it could provide further details - but there is no new news as of this writing - nine days later! If anyone has any further data - that they can back-up - please share it with us.

As for censorship... there is nothing wrong with censorship when it is potentially spiteful... but there is nothing wrong with wanting to share the anguish... to wanting to know how Japan is coping... to know just how much damage was done to the people and country.

I sincerely hope the further information is forthcoming... and soon. I'll keep on top of things and see what I can dig up from my sources.

Somewhere - but I can't tell you where,
Andrew Joseph

Six Kids Killed In Crane Truck Accident

On April 18, 2011, six elementaryschool students were killed after being struck by a crane truck in Kanuma-shi(City of Kanuma), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), local police said. 

The truck's driver, 26-year-old Masato Shibata, was arrested at the scene.

According to eyewitnesses, Shibata's crane truck crossed the centerline, ran over a single barrier pole and then ran into a group of 20 to30 children on their way to Kitaoshihara Sho Gakko (KitaoshiharaElementary School), killing five boys and a girl.

The accident occurred 170 metres (558 feet) from the school. One of the eyewitnesses was the school's principal, Kurasawa Toshio (surname first), who said: "The truck ran into the row of children at the speed it would normally run on roads."

Witnesses say Shibata was hunched over the steering wheel as if he washugging it when his vehicle hit the children and then traveled severalmetres (10 feet) more before smashing into a house before stopping at anearby vacant lot.

Shibata later admitted he wasdozing off when his truck rammed into them, though the police are trying to confirm his confession and are searching his home andworkplace given that the accident occurred only 10 minutesafter he started out from his workplace.


Police have learned that Shibata was driving the truck at about 40 kilometersper hour and did not slow down before the accident, the sources said.


The children were walking along a designated pedestrian walkway onNational Highway Route 293 when the they were struck at around 7:45AM.The two lane-road is nine metres (29.5 feet) wide and does not aseparating guard rail between it and the walking lane.

The six children were identified as Mika Sekiguchi, 9, Keita Shimozuma,9, Taiga Ihara, 9, Kyoya Hoshino, 10, Takuma Omori, 11, and ManatoKumano, 11.

The Kanuma Board Of Education is providing counseling to treat the children who witnessed the accident.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph
By the way... a blog on my life will not appear as the next blog entry - instead a special one will appear on the tsunami aftermath. It will be short - but hopefully one you will find very interesting. I'll be back to two a day (plus) after this short disruption of my schedule.   

Cartoon In Poor Taste Upsets Japan

Perhaps the headline is a bit misleading... a cartoon didn't upset Japan - it upset a lot of people who aren't Japanese, too.

On April 21, 2011, The International Herald Tribune published the cartoon (seen at the left or above depending on your web browser).

(Blog Note: It's wrong on so many levels. Not only is it offensive to Japan, but also to ugly little old apple vendors. I don't know if you noticed... but Snow White is asking the Evil Queen who is dressed up as an ugly old woman a question that implies that it's NOT the apple that has her worried, but that perhaps the ugliness of the woman was caused by nuclear radiation IF she was from Japan. If it was meant that Snow White was asking about the apple - then the cartoon was written wrong - and should have asked 'Is this apple from Japan?' It's still a poor social commentary, however.)

The New York Times, which owns the International Herald Tribune said on April 25 in it's Editor's Note section that the cartoon "was offensive to the Japanese and others" and that "its selection was a lapse in judgment, which we regret."

The Japanese Consulate General in New York lodged a protest Thursday with the New York Times for publishing the cartoon, saying it may stir up unfounded anxieties over the safety of food from Japan.

Bravo.

Somewhere on an soapbox,
Andrew Joseph
PS: You realize that the Japanese Consulate General missed the poor joke... it really isn't about the apple - it's about radiation disfiguring a person! That's the way it was written!

Japan - News Briefs Week of April 23

• Japan is considering banning access to the area evacuated around Fukushima-ken's Dai-ichi nuclear facility damaged during the March 11, 2011 9.0 Magnitude earthquake and 10-metre (30-foot) tsunami. At the time of the disaster, about 80,000 people lived within a 20-kilometre (12.5 mile) radius around the plant - though despite warnings, a few people have not left the area. However, a few people have been returning to check on their homes, in defiance of police.   Now, Japanese officials say they want to seal off the area to prevent entry, according to Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano. Plans as to how to seal the area have not been released. Prime Minister Kan Naoto (surname first) will discuss the proposed closure when he travels to the region to meet with local officials on Thursday, April 21;

• Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the owner and operator of the Dai-ichi nuclear facility has begun distributing applications for compensation to people forced out of the area. The company is offering about US $12,000 per person in initial compensation;

• Too dangerous for humans? A robot will be used within the Dai-ichi nuclear facility. Visit HERE for more;

• Japanese government is looking to raise sales tax by three per cent to help for rebuild after the earthquake and tsunami caused some $230 billion in damage. With the full rebuild expected to take five years, the government is looking for its consumers to help out financially. The expected tax hike will be the first for the country since 1997, though Japan was previously considering a raise in sales tax prior to the disasters as a means to lift itself out of crippling economic debt. "It was clear even before this disaster and the need to secure funds for reconstruction that to ensure a sustainable fiscal situation, some sort of reform of spending and revenues was necessary," states Internal Affairs Minister Katayama Yoshiro (surname first). "The debate over the fiscal situation is not something that began with this disaster."

• Songs for Japan, a CD featuring 39 songs has hit the record stores. (What's a record?) Proceeds from the album's sale will benefit the disaster relief efforts of the Japanese Red Cross Society, record labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music said in a news release. The CD's song list features: Imagine - John Lennon; Walk On - U2; Shelter From The Storm - Bob Dylan; Around The World - Red Hot Chili Peppers; Born This Way - Lady Gaga, Irreplaceable - Beyonce; Talking To The Moon - Bruno Mars;  Firework - Katy Perry; Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna; Like I Love You - Justin Timberlake; Miles Away - Madonna; When Love Takes Over - David Guetta; Love The Way You Lie - Eminem; Human Touch - Bruce Springsteen; Awake - Josh Groban; Better Life - Keith Urban; One Tribe - Black Eyed Peas; Sober - Pink; It's Ok - Cee Lo Green;  I Run To You - Lady Antebellum; What Do You Got? - Bon Jovi; My Hero - Foo Fighters; Man On The Moon - R.E.M.; Save Me - Nicki Minaj; By Your Side - Sade; Hold On - Michael Buble; Pray - Justin Bieber; Make You Feel My Love - Adele; If I Could Be Where You Are - Enya;  Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Elton John; Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer; Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) - Queen; Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon; Fragile - Sting; Better In Time - Leona Lewis; One In A Million - Ne-Yo; Whenever - Shakira; and Sunrise - Norah Jones.  

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Giving The Dog A Bone

I'm bone-tired today, but I'm still thinking about Japan for us...

I don't know if any of you saw the small piece done up by Reuters, that appeared in the Reuters Life! section, on Friday November 19, 2010 and again in 24HR, a weekday newspaper available in Toronto on Monday, November 22, 2010, but I thought you'd get a kick out of it, so I'm passing it along.

This is how it appears in Reuters:

Japan's newest police dog -- all 3 kg (6.6 lb) of her.
In what is a first for Japan and perhaps the world, a long-haired Chihuahua named "Momo" -- "Peach" -- passed exams to become a police dog in the western Japanese prefecture of Nara.
The brown-and-white, perky Momo was one of 32 successful candidates out of 70 dogs, passing a search and rescue test by finding a person in five minutes after merely sniffing their cap.
"Any breed of dog can be entered to become a police dog in the search and rescue division," said a Nara police spokesman.
But he admitted that news a Chihuahua had been entered may still come as a surprise to many.
"It's quite unusual," he said.
Television footage showed the 7-year-old Momo bounding across grass or sitting proudly, long hair blowing in the breeze.
Momo will be used for rescue operations in case of disasters such as earthquakes, in the hope that she may be able to squeeze her tiny frame into places too narrow for more usual rescue dogs, which tend to be German Shepherds.
The public response to the news of Momo's selection took police by surprise, the spokesman said, adding: "The phone's been ringing all afternoon."
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Paul Casciato

Pretty cool, huh? I never saw a chihuahua while in Japan, but I would be naive to assume they weren't there. But a chihuahua as a police dog? I know space is at a premium in many Japanese cities (especially Tokyo), but I never would have thought about utilizing a toy dog in the police force. 

I just have this mental image of chihuahua's shivering in the 30C cold because they are always cold... or sitting in some celebutante's (my made-up word - I think - celebrity and debutante) handbag or purse!

I'm getting more upset at my chocolate labrador Buster as I write this. Still... despite me having written negative things about dogs in Japan, I would have loved to have had one... but, of course, it wouldn't have been fair to the critter when it was time for me to leave.

Actually... I never thought about getting a dog while there - or a cat (though I did have one for a bit), and just stuck with goldfish - figuring it was easier to get rid of the evidence should they, you know, accidentally die while I was around.

I know the Japanese have been famous for taking existing technology and making it smaller, but this chihuahua police dog takes the cake - no, wait... my dog Buster just snatched it from its maw.

Somewhere in the peach pits,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is brought to you by AC/DC: GIVING THE DOG A BONE
The photo was scanned from 24HR

Start Me Up

Have I ever explained how I got here? 

It was because of a woman.

Big surprise, eh?

Stephanie Lovie was a woman I was really infatuated with back in journalism school at Humber College.
Attractive and smart, she told me she wanted to go on something called the Japan Exchange & Teaching Programme, to go and live and teach in Japan.

I had never heard of it - but I figured if I tried to get into the program too, it would be an excellent way for us to be together as boyfriend and girlfriend.

I was screwed in the head, folks. She liked me. But that was as far as it ever went. I got a peck or two on the lips every now and then, but that was it for all of my (by today's standards) quite useless efforts.

Anyhow, Stephanie also mentioned (while she was driving me around in her Hyundi Pny - the "o" had fallen off) that she wanted to try and get into the Toronto Star summer internship program, a highly respected stepping stone into one of North America's better newspapers.

What the heck I thought. It would be great if we actually got in together - and then we could be reporters together. A childish fantasy to be sure.

Still, for her, I applied to the JET Programme, and applied to the Toronto Star Internship program. I got called in for interviews for both. 

It was February of 1990, and I had just had an interview with the Toronto Star (I told them I also had an upcoming interview with JET). At JET (I told them I had just had an interview with the Toronto Star), they interviewed  me and asked why I wanted to go to Japan. Pretty standard stuff, eh? Well, I didn't really prepare for the interview - much like everything I do in rife. I said the first thing that came to mind - which rightly or wrongly, was how I felt.


Truthfully, I wanted to do it so I could finally lose my virginity and sleep with Stephanie. But telling them that sounded stupid, so I told them what I felt at that instant.

I told them that I wanted to go to Japan to talk to people. i wanted to find out about who they really are. I wanted to ask an old-timer about the war (WWII) - to get their side of things.

When I was told that was probably a very difficult thing to find out as the Japanese are kind of tight-lipped about their personal history, I said I don't mind. It's not something I'm just going to ask a stranger. I'll ask one of my friends.

They seemed to like the fact that I would respect the Japanese enough to want to become friends with them... that and the fact that I was/am a silver-tongued devil who can pretty much charm the pants offa anyone (in a non-sexual way, of course). The sexual way would come later.

Anyhow... they obvious bought my sincerity, because that's what it was. It wasn't the cut and dried answer everybody gives about how they are looking forward to learning the language and culture et al. I wanted to talk to people. 

And the JET Programme... they wanted people to talk to the Japanese. That's what the exchange was like - at least back in the early 1990s.

Further, I was also up for a summer internship job with the Toronto Star newspaper - considered one of the best newspapers in North America. Ernest Hemmingway used to write for it - and Superman's original newspaper job as Clark Kent was based on the Toronto Star. JET knew I was a journalist and after meeting me they knew I was more than a writer - that I could communicate. 

I guess they put one plus one together and came up with me. 

Somewhere, just call me Papa,

Andrew Joseph

Today's title is by The Rolling Stones - LIPS
PS: Along with the JET Programme, I also got onto the Toronto Star internship program (both were impressed that each had thought highly of me to get the interview at least), and actually had to quit the Star early so I could begin the trip to Japan. I never saw Stephanie again - but did feel bad about getting into both programs. But only for a minute.
PPS: I did get to meet my good buddy Doug McIntosh while I worked at The Star. A splendid time was had by all!