Indy Racer Danica Patrick Concerened About Racing in Japan

Not the car or outfit Danica Patrick will have at the race.

Indy Car racer Danica Patrick who may indeed be more famous for being a hot-looking woman who is a race car driver than a race car driver made some comments on Thursday September 15, 2011 that made people in Japan a tad angry.

She expressed some concerns about actually being in Japan for the Indy Japan taking place at the Twin Ring Motegi course about 93 miles from the Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture) Dai-ichi (Big One) nuclear reactor that was damaged following the March 11, 2011 Magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.The tsunami actually caused power to go off at the plant which then led to a near nuclear meltdown on the northeast coast of Japan. In the ensuing near meltdown, radiation leaked into the air, water and ground - so her concerns are not unwarranted and not completely naive.

Patrick says she was concerned about the radiation levels in the food and water and the possibilities of aftershocks.

Everybody poo-pooed her, saying she was causing trouble at the host nation that has done an admirable job of recovery in the face of these disasters.

But, just to prove that her concerns weren't unfounded, Patrick, whose garb in the photo above shows she knows something about there being a god, must have caused the gods to prove her point.

A strong 6.2 Magnitude earthquake struck the area jolting the Motegi course shaking buildings later that day, though the course itself was not damaged. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 6.2 magnitude quake struck near the coast of Ibaraki-ken (Ibaraki Prefecture), about 140 miles (220 kilometers) east of Tokyo, at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers) late on Thursday at 5PM.

And, in case you were wondering, a TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) spokesman says the Dai-ichi plant did not sustain any damage. TEPCO is a privately-owned company that owns and operates that nuclear facility amongst others in  Japan. Oh... and Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of a tsunami.


"Having concerns about coming here is completely understandable," says Patrick on Friday September 16, 2011. "Now that I'm here, I've eaten the food, I go out running in the morning so I'm doing the things I normally do here and it seems like everything is fine."

The original Motegi oval 1-1/2 mile course was damaged on March 11, so this year the Indy race will instead be held at a newly repaved 14-turn road course. 

Now Patrick actually loves Japan... she did, in fact, post her only IndyCar series victory in Japan back in 2008, so she's not some dumbass racist.

In fact, she said she's not the only race driver who had reservations about making the trip.

"I know a lot of people are concerned, a lot of us looked at each other and said, 'Are you going to eat here? Did you eat sushi?' We've all asked those questions but it seems fine."

Patrick did not want to talk about other drivers, in particular Tony Kanaan, who had criticized her for speaking out about traveling to Japan.

"I didn't really see that," she notes. "I kind of heard something about it but don't know what was said."

These guy hear everything ever said about them, but it's good that she is taking the higher ground on this. After all, everyone is entitled to their own opinions - flawed and all.

The race on Sunday September 18 is the last IndyCar series event in Japan. Mobilityland Corp., a wholly owned unit of Honda Motor Co., announced this past February (before the disasters!) that due to the economic downturn, the 2011 race will be its last IndyCar race at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.

After the earthquake, IndyCar series officials did consider canceling this event but decided to go ahead after Honda officials moved the race to Motegi's road course while assuring IndyCar that travel to Japan was indeed safe despite Patrick wondering aloud if it really was.

And yet, despite all of the hubbub about her comments, Patrick will miss racing in Japan.

"I will always have so many great memories of Motegi," Patrick reveals. "The people, the track--although we are on the road course this time--the food, the culture. You can tell the fans are really looking forward to this and are glad we are here."

Files by Andrew Joseph
In the photo above, I believe Danica Patrick is on my second favourite car - a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. You can tell it's that by the black bumpers under the main headlights... on the car... the car's headlights. My first favourite is a station wagon version - a 1957 Chevy Nomad. Inca Silver, if possible. One day, I'll get one... and drape Danica Patrick over me it. In the meantime, I'm picking up my SAAB 900S tomorrow.

Japan Takes It Up The Ass

... wants you to take it like a man.

In what can only be seen as a desperate act by a desperate company, TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) is planning to raise it rates between 10- and 15% for three years starting April 2012.

Not content with nearly causing a nuclear meltdown and irradiating half of Japan following the March 11, 2011 earthquake that spawned a massive tsunami that slammed into the Fukushima-ken (Fukushima prefecture) Dai-ichi TEPCO-owned nuclear power plant causing radioactive materials to be strewn into the air, ground and water, TEPCO feels it hasn't done enough to the people of Japan.

Along with the triple whammy mentioned above, three of the six reactors had to be shut down and much of the eastern seaboard of Japan--including Tokyo--were affected by power shortages. Even now, as of September 14, there are still some areas of the country without power, employment and a home thanks to the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster.

And yet, despite the hardships the people of Japan have faced and are facing - some of it due to the failure of TEPCO to adequately protect itself from disaster or to have a proper back-up plan in place, it has decided that in the interest of self-preservation, to add to the hardships of the people of Japan in the future to.

Well done, TEPCO. You have shown your humanitarian side admirably.

Uhhh... that's sarcasm, by the way. I only state that because you (TEPCO) are probably too ignorant to figure that out.

Nasty bastards! You don't kick a person when they are down!

Yes... we understand that you need to make a few yen to try and save your faltering business... but if you can't take the heat in the nuclear kitchen, get yourself out of the hellfire business!

TEPCO says it will try (really try, it promises) to cut charges of about 10% from a 4th year if it is able to eliminate an extra fee on fossil fuel power generation by resuming the reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata-ken (Niigata prefecture). That's right, we can save you Japanese suckers, we mean poor energy-starved Japanese suckers some money if we can start working another nuclear plant, because we (TEPCO) have shown we are more than probably capable of running a nuclear power plant business and industry into the proverbial ground.

Apparently - just so you all know - TEPCO has been talking to a government committee that has been looking at TEPCO's assets and costs, to try and figure a way that this privately-owned company doesn't go belly-up like some poor sucker forced to clean nuclear waste out of a failing reactor and then dying a hero for a country that has no idea who he was.

Raising its rates seems like a great plan - if you are TEPCO and already a company that does not know how to really service its customers--unless, of course, one considers good service to be some sort of corn-holing activity whereby the average Japanese power consumer is forced to drop their trousers, bend over and take a high hard spent nuclear rod up the butt.

Now some people pay good money for that type of intercourse, and TEPCO is hoping you will, too.

But, man... there isn't even the offer of a reach-around.

And why does TEPCO need your money, dear Japanese consumer? It's because it spent all of its money trying to get the power plants up and running so that there are no more electrical black-outs! Good for them.

Of course... then there's also that little matter of reparation payments that it has been asked forced to provide to people and businesses who have suffered through that little old irradiation incident that lasted a few weeks.

"Yes," screams TEPCO, "let them eat radioactive toilet cake! Everybody knows radioactive toilet cake tastes much better with Heinz!"

With that bad taste in one's mouth, TEPCO is robbing from Peter to pay Paul. Taking money from the poor Japanese energy consumer to pay off those nasty payments to these stupid people who were too slow and indigent to get out of the way of the nuclear radiation when it was spewed up on them.

For shame, TEPCO. For shame. You suck.

And Japan's government - should you allow them to anally probe the Japanese consumer to pay off their debt, shame on you too!

I'm betting TEPCO still managed to get their utility bills out to their happy customers on time.

This diatribe is by Andrew Joseph who enjoys spewing venom from atop his irradiated ivory soapbox paid for with the blood of innocent bloggers.

Japan: Then & Now

Hi there... Matthew has helped me out yet again, as I am busy working on a blog that is taking me a long time to research and even longer to put together for you.

So... yesterday I took the time to create a blog to show the progress (or as it turns out, lack of progress) of Miss Universe Japan at the 2011 Miss Universe pageant. No photos, except of the winner, Miss Angola, but despite that, Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife had it' best (as of this writing) 24-hour period of blog reader activity.

There were over 4,300 hits! That's about half of my previous best month ever - which just so happened to have been August of 2011. As such, it's September 13, and this blog site has surpassed the previous high by about 1100 hits... with 17 days remaining.

As mentioned in THIS blog, I thought at first it was readers going to the site read up on the pageant... but instead, much to my chagrin, it was readers looking up the past 21 years of Miss Universe Japan. At first I was disappointed that not many people came to read up about the 2011 contest - but then, there are far better sites set up to provide the reader with better coverage on the pageant.

I appreciate the fact that so many of you have come to this blog site to look at the photos of the past 21 years of Miss Universe Japan, or to visit the site showing the National Costumes of the past 10 Japanese representatives!

Thank-you.

As a treat, please check out this BBC News site that shows Japan in Before and After shots - or rather it shows Japan just after the 9.0 Magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011 and what it looks like as of September 11, 2011. In some places it still looks like a disaster zone, but through it all, you can still see how life in the afflicted areas is beginning to resemble a sense of normalcy. It's inspiring, and I hope you think so to.

Click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14846458

Click on the photo at the bottom. When it appears, view the photo, and then click on the button at the top right of the photo that says Now, and watch the transformation.

Cheers! And thanks again, Matthew!

Andrew Joseph

Death Notices Means Yen For Money

Either some people are greedy or some people are prudent. 

Relatives of 3,250 missing Japanese people thought to have been killed during the March 11, 2011 9.0 Magnitude earthquake and killer tsunami have made official claims to local Japanese authorities, says Japan's f Justice Ministry.

While the National Police Agency has stated in a press release on September 6, 2011 that there are some 4,223 people listed missing in Iwate-ken (Iwate Prefecture), Miyagi-ken (Miyagi Prefecture) and Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture), death notices filed to local authorities say that the 3,250 people listed are part of the officially recognized 3,281 missing people from those prefectures.  

By filing these death notices, relatives are now able to withdraw money from bank accounts of the missing to receive insurance benefits - a welcome relief for some struggling to survive after much of the north east coast's economic infrastructure was devastated during the twin disasters and Fukushima-ken's near meltdown at the Dai-ichi (Big One) nuclear power plant.

In some cases, the death registration process has not yet been completed or applications have been withdrawn, according to the officials. The Justice Ministry instructed local governments in June to simplify the process for accepting death notices for people who went missing in the disasters.

The NPA data showed a total of 15,769 people were killed in 12 prefectures, including 9,444 in Miyagi, 4,656 in Iwate and 1,603 in Fukushima. The number of missing totaled 4,227 in six prefectures, including 2,283 in Miyagi, 1,698 in Iwate, 242 in Fukushima, two in Chiba and one each in Aomori and Ibaraki.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Orphaned Kids Get Coping Centers

After the twin disasters of an 9.0 Magnitude earthquake an subsequent massive tsunami struck the north eastern coast of Japan back on March 11, 2011 , the country's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has announced it will open mental health care facilities for those children who lost their parents in Iwate-ken (Iwate Prefecture), Miyagi-ken (Miyagi Prefecture) and Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture).

A conservative estimate puts the total to over 1,500 children trying to cope with the death of one or both parents.

The facilities will include psychiatrists to provide more care for these children, fueled by a Y7.2-billion (~Cdn/US $92.5 million) infusion as noted by the first extra budget following the disaster.

According to Health sources, for children aged 17 and under, there were a total of 234 orphans as of August 31, 2011:

• 93 in Iwate;
• 120 in Miyagi;
• 21 in Fukushima

Government numbers also put the number of children who lost one parent at 1,295:

• 445 in Iwate;
• 711 in Miyagi;
• 139 in Fukushima.

The Ministry fears that without proper care, the mental well-being of these children could worsen over time.

The problem, however, despite how much money the government throws at the problem, is that there are only about 300 children's psychiatrists in the whole country,and there are many child counseling centers already lacking enough mental health care providers.

To help alleviate this shortfall, these new care centers are looking to create a system to bring in local school counselors, experts at child counseling offices, pediatricians and volunteers to exchange information.

A care team will be formed in each municipality to continue providing mental health care while monitoring the overall emotional state of the children who have moved in with relatives or are now trying to cope with a life with a single parent.

These care centers are being set up to have study sessions and will provide on-the-job training for caregivers like counselors and volunteers in an effort to provide a better quality service.

Click HERE to read a pretty crappy story about what Japan is also doing for its disaster orphans and one girl's particularly horrible tale of survival. It was originally a CNN World story, which was where I found the photo up above.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Farmer Gets The Salt Out

No salt required! Japanese farm grows tomatoes with algae.

A few weeks ago, I wondered aloud in this blog just how Japanese farmers were going to cope with the problem of their farmland being salted after the March 11, 2011 tsunami poured water from the Sea of Japan onto it. That blog is HERE.

It is a major problem, and one of which there does not seem to be a lot of mainstream media coverage on.

According to AP (American Press), who made some rough estimates back in April 2011, based on 2010's harvest yield in the tsunami-hit towns, at the most 8% of Japan's 4-million acres rice farm land has been affected by the tsunami, which is about 4% pf Japan's total rice population.  

Of course, that only talks about rice farmers. It also fails to take into account the problems of radiation in the Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture) area where the Dai-ichi nuclear facility nearly experienced a nuclear meltdown, but still spewed a lot of radioactive debris into the atmosphere (and thus into the soil).


While scientists are still mulling over solutions for teh radioactive land, there are solutions to the salted earth concern.

Solutions include digging up the soil and replacing it with clean soil... a massive and expensive proposition to say the least, and one that Japan is in the process of undertaking; other options the farmers are using is to wash the salt out of the soil—but even scientists say this could be a year-long proposition.

But one Japanese farm in Iwanuma-shi (City of Iwanuma) in Miyagi-ken (Miyagi Prefecture) has hit upon a radical new way of desalinating his farmland—bacteria.

Cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) is typically found in seawater and sludge on the seafloor. But what is of great importance is that when the algae photosynthesizes, it consumes the salt in the water.

Sixty-two-year-old Japanese farmer Iizuka Etsuo (surname first), mixed the algae in with the  soil of his 1,000-square-meter farm that was damaged by the tsunami back in June 2011 and planted 400 tomato plants. As of August 20, 2011, he harvested some 4000 tomatoes.

According to Nishtsuji Kazuma (surname first), the 29-year-old president of My Farm, a Kyoto, Japan-based company that developed the algae method of desalination: "The new method uses sludge left on the farmland. We hope to use it on rice fields as well."

Farmer Iizuka extolls, "I'm happy the tomatoes grew better than expected. I want to make it a local brand."

While not enough to retire on, it does show that the algae process works, and Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife salutes the new method and the Japanese farmers  - all of them - making a go of things after all of the trouble of March 11, 2011.

Files by Andrew Joseph

The Prime Minister And The Diet - A Primer

The National Diet of Japan is not sushi... it's this building.

If you are an idiot gaijin like me, then you may be wondering just WTF is up Japan and its never-ceasing penchant for elections.



The last five Japanese prime minsters each failed to last in office longer than a year - and newly-elected Noda Yoshihiko (surname first) of the Democratic Party of Japan is not expected to do much better unless he can figure out a way to unify is splintered political party and find a way to get the opposition to band together and help solve all of the country's problems, and discover a way to cure cancer.



No, he doesn't have cancer, rather that's about how successful it looks like Noda-san is going to be as Japan's top-elected official.



I thought I'd present a primer for you to try my best and explain how Japan's top political scene is determined. I'm not going to go too technical on you, as I would rather you actually understand what the system is all about.



Let me first start with the position of Prime Minister and then talk about the Diet - the entity that essentially has the Prime Minister's balls in their ever-clenched hands.



PRIME MINISTER

Since 1885, Japan has elected a Prime Minister - and with the upcoming appointment of Noda Yoshihiko in a few days time (that date isn't set yet), it will mean the country has had 62 Prime Ministers in 126 years. That's an average of 2 years in office per Prime Minister. Hell, I spent longer living in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan.

• The Prime Minister (Naikaku sōri daijin) is appointed by the Emperor of Japan (thank goodness, because the carousel of PMs gives the Emperor plenty to do!), but only after that person is named by the Diet from a person within the enclave. So... it is still a popularity contest;

• But proving that popularity is fleeting, the PM can only remain in office as long as he or she (yeah, right! In Japan!?? A Woman!?) has the confidence of the House of Representatives;

• The PM is the head of the Cabinet (the cabinet contains ministers who look after all sorts of neat things like Agriculture or finance et al).

 To be elected, he must be named by the Diet... but first each of the two houses of the Diet must choose an appropriate candidate, which is done via a run-off ballot system. Should the two houses opt for two different individuals, then they have to appoint a joint committee who must decide on a single candidate within 10 days. 




Should a decision be unable to be reached after 10 days, the House of Representatives gets to make that decision on behalf of the Diet. I'll tell you more about the Diet down below.



A PM resigns if the House of Representatives has a no-confidence motion or defeats a vote of no-confidence... though he need not resign if the House of Representatives dissolves within 10 days.



Whatever. Actually, it's all pretty cool. If you aren't doing a good enough job as PM - out you go! And we'll find the next sacrificial lamb and led him to slaughter. It's sure better than having than Canada where we have to put up with one jackass after another for a four-year term at a time!



The Diet

The Diet seems like the real meat and potatoes of Japan's political structure - and it is. It was first convened as the Imperial in 1889, was amended to its current form in 1947 as part of Japan's post-war constitution. The National Diet Building is located in Nagatacho, Chiyado area of Tokyo.



As mentioned, there are two houses within the diet: The House of Representatives (also known as the Lower House), and the House of Councillors (The Upper House).



The Diet is responsible for passing laws and electing the poor bastard who will be Prime Minister for a short while.



In an election, the voting populace casts two votes: one for a party candidate; and the other for a party list.



Now here's where it gets confusing... okay, it was pretty confusing before - and I have a Political Science degree!



House of Representatives: 480 members; 300 are elected via single-seat constituencies, and 180 via 11 separate electoral blocs under the party list system of proportional representation. (yawn)



House of Councillors: 242 members with 146 elected from 47 prefectural (provincial/state) constituencies and 96 by open list of proportional representation from a single national list. (oh god...  I have no idea what that means).

Elected Diet members earn Y1.3-million /month = Y15.6-million year (~CDN $199,400). That's pretty good, but it sucks when you have such a short shelf life.



Anyhow... there's lots of interesting stuff (yawn) about the Diet, but I'm having a tough time staying on this diet... you think it's a great idea, but then you realize just how boring it is, and so you stray.



Look... just in case any of you read about the fact that Japan seems to get a new Prime Minister every year... there's a method to the madness.



And, boring though the whole thing might be to you - or exciting for those that don't have a hobby - Japanese politics is rife with land mines.



For example... the new PM Noda... this guy inherits a country wracked with having to rebuild itself after the earthquake and tsunami hit the northeast coast of Japan; plus it has a weak yen relative to the Canadian dollar (Canada's buck is stronger than the US!); it also has to look after all of the people displaced after near nuclear meltdown earlier this year - and while TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) is footing a lot of the bill, they have to be careful not to bankrupt the company, or else more crap is going to hit the proverbial folding fan. Tourism is down. Food exports have taken a beating. Power shortages (though that will be ending within a week); damaged reputations.  



In short... PM Noda is screwed - unless he has some gnarly superpowers. He's been set-up to fail.



Hell... even the last PM Kan Naoto (surname first)... like seriously... a 9.0 magnitude earthquake? A massive tsunami witnessed by the world, a several-week-long near meltdown at a nuclear power plant? What the hell was he going to do? He was screwed. That doesn't mean he did great things and was still screwed... or that he did evil things since he was screwed... he just did what he could. Which sucks when you're on a Diet or in a Diet. Perhaps they needed to get rid of him for simply being a jinx?



Appearances are everything. That's the whole point of a Diet.



Somewhere giving up politics,

Andrew Joseph

More Hot Beef Found in Fukushima

These cows are safe - and can be killed for your eating pleasure.

The ban on beef from Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture) will remain in effect for the foreseeable future as three more cows in the area were found on sunday, August 21, 2011 to be contaminated with radioactive Cesium over the government's provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram.



This brings the hot cow count to 12 as an additional nine cows from a farm in the village of Namie were found to be tainted. Namie is approximately 10 kilometers due west of the Dai-ichi nuclear facility that spewed radioactive materials into the air following a near-melt down of several reactors following the March 11, 2011 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that damaged it. 



According to Japan's Health Ministry, one of these nine cows from the Namie farm was actually shipped from a farm this past April from an area outside the 30 kilometer ring outside the nuclear plant. 



A representative of the farm notes that that one cow had not been fed any rice straw—implying that since it wasn't eating grain from the area, it must have absorbed the radiation from the air.



It was also recently learned that 1,256 cows were fed rice straw grown in Fukushima-ken that was contaminated with Cesium. Immediately following the earthquake, tsunami and near-meltdowns, a food shortage for the cattle was felt, and the hay was given to the cows. 



Apparently the rice straw contained 690,000 becquerels of radiation—well over the limit of 500, and it was shipped to 45 of Japan's 47 prefectures. As such, all beef over the allowable limit must be destroyed.



Despite the high levels of cesium in the feed, and the large number of cattle that ate it, very few cows have exceeded the Cesium restriction. 



While these latest 12 cows have not yet been destroyed, a total of 220 cows were destroyed between March 15 and April 19 in Yokohama, with the contaminated meat currently stored in a safe distribution warehouse in Tokyo.



Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Japanese Children & Radiation

A report was released on Thursday, August 18, 2011in Japan noting that some 45 per cent of the children up to the age of 15 tested living in the area around the Fukushima-ken Dai-ichi (Big One) nuclear facility had some traces of radioactive elements in their thyroid glands.



The tests were actually done five months ago--about two weeks after the March 11 9.0 Magnitude earthquake spawned a massive tsunami that helped cripple the Dai-ichi nuclear facility that spewed radioactive materials into the air.



While the trace amounts of radioactive elements in the thyroids is not considered alarming for the long-term prospects of these children affected, an official notes that that: "The government's official position is that none of the children showed
radiation levels that would be problematic."



Following the radioactive exposure, 1,149 children were tested. Radioactive iodine is an element that can easily gather in the thyroid glands of children, which if left untreated, or with constant exposure, can lead to an increased risk of cancer later in life.



Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

A Word From The Blogger

Hello all... just an idle comment about the viewing habits of people on this blog. It's nothing specific, but more of a generalization.



While the women's World Cup of Soccer triumph of Japan over the USA remains the most viewed story on this site, taking in positions #1, #2, #6, #7, and #8, the third slot is now occupied by my compilation of Japan's Miss Universe contestants between 1990 and 2011. That's a bit of a surprise, as it did not generate a lot of buzz until this week, when it suddenly shot up. Cool, and thanks!



In #4, is Japan's loss in women's softball to the USA. Strangely enough, despite it being the World Cup of Softball held in the US (revenge for the USA!), there was not a lot of coverage in the media... which kind of explains why people sought out one of the few spots on the Internet for their news, here at Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife!



Dropping down on its knees to #5, is the piece on schoolgirl prostitution, which by its very topic, I expected it to do well.



At #9 is one of the first blogs I did over two years ago in July of 2009, and since it's not overly special, I'm just going to guess it's people who are Steppenwolf fans that come across it by mistake. I guess there was a method to my madness in using rock and roll titles for the blogs about my life in Japan! Anyhow... it's about my third day in Japan, and is actually my fourth ever blog. Even the blog seems like a lifetime ago.



And, rounding out my top 10 of blog hits, comes at #10, the shocking underwater footage of one of the areas devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Unfortunately, that video footage was removed a little while ago from the world wide web. If you would like to take a look at a newspaper on-line that shows still photography from that site, I have replaced it within my blog.



Man... it's tough to keep up with what links are still active and what are not. Should you ever find a dead link on this blog... let me know.



I have noticed that while checking out my blog under Internet Explorer, I was getting spam links attached to each blog entry. That problem has been taken care of since I upgraded the web crawler to a newer version. I have not had a problem with any of the other web crawlers like Mozilla, Safari or Google Chrome.



Anyhow, I can't believe I'm still doing this after two years. This year I've already hit my goal of posting at least one story for each day of the year, as this one is #368.



The goal for 2012, is to ensure I post every single day at least once.



Thanks for reading - more on the way!



Cheers

Andrew Joseph  

Japan's Buzz

I hope Mike Rogers will forgive for the horrible pun in the title about a serious topic, but he went all sensationalized himself.



There's something rotten in the state of Japan's on-going crisis. I'm calling it on-going because things are still not back to normal after the devastating earthquake on March 11, 2011 spawned a massive tsunami (tidal wave, if you will, is not a correct term. Tsunami is the correct term for the massive movement of water caused by an earthquake) that caused so much human (and other) loss of life.



A couple of days ago, Mike wrote about a topic that I was wondering about, but could not find a lot of information on. With all of the death of human, wildlife and fruits, vegetables and insects... there would still be some things rotting. Bodies, if they haven't all been found. Animal life, human life, contents of stores and fridges, etcetera. It doesn't take long for a fly to lay its eggs, and even less time for the maggots to appear and then turn into flies.



Keep in mind that Mike is talking about Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture)... other prefectures surely have the same thing going on, too.



Have a read of Mike's very interesting article on what the buzz is in Japan: MARKETING JAPAN.



Andrew Joseph

I waited a few days before posting this so as to not steal any of Mike's thunder. He's a fabulous writer and you should all read his stuff after reading mine. In that order.

Is The Farmland Salted?

Here's something that has me going hmmm.



Okay... the Japanese government is offering some money to the farmers who have lost their livelihood this year owing to the Dai-Ichi (Big One) nuclear facility radiation leaks. That's nice.



Are they doing the same to the farmers who lost their livelihood owing to the tsunami wiping out their farmland? I'm unsure. I'll have to find out.



But... for those farmers that had their land wiped out by the tsunami back on March 11, 2011... this isn't just a one-year thing. Yes, the water flooded the land making crop growing impossible.



But, what about growing crops on this same land next year or the year after that?



The land may indeed be reasonably dry after the tsunami waters receded. I don't doubt that. And the farmers may have lost a season to plant their crops. I don't doubt that.



But my big question deals with the fact that when the 9.0 Magnitude earthquake struck and spawned the massive tsunami that wiped out towns and villages along the coast and interior or the northeast sector of Japan, the tsunami brought with it SALT water from the ocean.



The land has now been salted.



Trying to grow crops on land that has been salted is nigh impossible. It's why back in ye olden days when invading armies decimated an enemy, they salted the earth so that they would 1) not have any crops to eat; 2) would not have any crops to sell.



It was an effective means of killing a village.



The same thing has occurred all over the northeast part of Japan. Yes, people are dead, the economy is in ruin, and might soon cause the downfall of the federal government... but what the hell happens to the blighted earth?



Is Japan going to dump in tons upon tons of clean dirt onto the crop-growing land? That's one solution, I suppose. If so, where is it coming from? If not, what is the solution?



I just don't know... and I haven't seen any data on what the country is doing about it.



Just food for thought, people. If anyone knows - and maybe this is information readily available and I've just missed it - but I, and the other loyal readers would appreciate you passing along a line to us here at Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife.



Andrew "That Curious Guy" Joseph 

Japan On Road To Recovery

So... nearly five months after the March 11, 2011 earthquake-spawned tsunami devastated much of the north east of Japan, things are finally started to look less like a disaster area and more like a community where people still live.

Here's a link to a site with some photos. PHOTOS.

The site is a little (completely)  vague on where exactly things are, but the point is just to show you that progress is being made.

Andrew Joseph

Robots Provide Comfort In Fukushima

With news that robot sales have risen 41 per cent in North America for the first half of 2011 comes news that Japan is using robots to help comfort people.

With many elderly (and young) people greatly affected by the triple disasters of earthquake, tsunami and near-nuclear meltdown beginning on March 11, 2011, folks have been seeking comfort wherever they can find it. 

For some elderly survivors, this comfort comes from a pair of robotic seals called Paro.

Situated 27 kilometres south of the Dai Ichi (Big One) nuclear facility in Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture) upon a hill hit by the tsunami, the Suisyoen retirement home is doing what it can to lend support.

Thanks to fears of nuclear radiation in the air spewed by the damaged nuclear facility, Suisyoen was evacuated for two months.

About a week after the people returned, Daiwa House's robotic division offered a pair of the Paro robots for a two-year period.

Each seal-shaped robot is coated with an anti-bacterial fur, and have been dubbed Love and Peace (obviously translated from Japanese!). The robot harp seals can blink their eyes and respond to touch and sound. And... the cute little bugger apparently develops a personality over time depending on how people interact with it... I mean him or her.

The robots are treated by the patrons as pets. Research has shown that pets offer amazing affects for those suffering from shock or depression.

While it is true that many retirement facilities in Japan and around the world utilize real animals to provide therapy for its residents, Suisyoen's facility general manager Katoono Taku (surname first) notes that using these therapeutic robots helps lower many of the barriers normally associated with live animals.

Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife assumes that to mean, no allergies, fears, cleaning, feeding, and of course, no pooping.      

AIST is the company that originally created Paro - but tried to do so using thej more familiar pets: dogs and cats. However, it was quickly determined that that while cute, people quickly began comparing the robotic cats and dogs with the real animals. 

By using a baby seal pup, it' is still cute and adorable and is familiar enough... but it is also unfamiliar enough to people who don't know what a real seal is supposed to behave like... so people just enjoy the robot for what it is... cute and fluffy. 

While real seals are nocturnal, the Paro seals wake in the morning and get sleepy in the evening. The Paro robots possess five senses which it uses to determine touch, light, sound, temperature and posture.

So... how does the robot act? Apparently Paro wakes up dazed (just like a real person... I'm unsure if a baby harp seal wakes up dazed, however), it enjoys cuddling, but will complain if it's not getting enough attention or food. 

The part of me that expects this to go horribly wrong assumes that eventually the baby harp seal wants to eat the raw flesh of Canadian harp seal clubbers, but no... Paro just needs a jolt of battery power. 

The seal - like any pet, will eventually learn whatever name you give it, as well as simple audio cues like greetings and praise. And, if that is to cool to creep you out, perhaps this will: Paro doesn't like you touching him/her in a certain way, and will wriggle away from you. It will nuzzle your hand, snuggle up when it is content and happy, and will bark like a seal if he's unhappy. 

It blinks his large eyes for attention, and meeps or mews when being ignored. Basically... this is a cool robot!

Should you wish to purchase a Paro Robot Seal Healing Pet...  I saw a price tag of US/Cdn $5,000.

For the folks at the Suisyoen, no price is to high.

Files by Andrew Joseph

Hybrid Cars To Provide Extra Electricity To Japan's Towns

Here's a cool story!

Prius hybrid gas-electric cars are being donated by Toyota to Japan's northeastern Tohoku region to help ease the power shortages.

After a powerful 9.0 Magnitude earthquake spawned a massive tsunami that caused a near meltdown at the Dai-ichi (Big One) nuclear power plant facility in Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture), the northeastern part of Japan has been afflicted by electrical power shortages. 

The power grid will be specially fitted with 40 of the hybrid vehicles to store and generate electricity.

Also, in a show of support for the region, the auto-making giant announced it will create a manufacturing training school in the area, indicating that it has no intention of halting future production of vehicles there. The first class for 10 to 30 students will begin in April 2013.

While many observers have suggested Tokyo and other major manufacturers might consider moving their production away from Japan to avoid future disruptions from natural disasters, let Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife offer his two yen's worth.

There is no way any major Japanese manufacture will leave Japan completely to manufacture products! The Japanese are a very proud people... proud of who they are, what they manufacture and where they are from.

For a major manufacturer to leave a country reeling after the devastating natural disasters et al would be financial disaster. True there would be fewer jobs to go around, but there would be such a backlash.

The Japanese really do dislike a lot of things not made in Japan that could or should be made in Japan.

Hyundai... it was snidely pointed out to me that it was a Korean car... and more quietly that Japanese people do not like Koreans. Again... this is NOT a blanket statement... and it's not the ramblings of a single man, but rather the feelings of more Japanese people than you would believe.

Again... I don't believe that the Japanese are racist... at least not any more than the average Canadian or American.... it exists... let's not be ignorant and deny it... but along with some racism, I fervently believe that the Japanese would simply rather buy Japanese because of a sense of pride at their own country. It's all about perceptions.

It's like Ego and Self-Confidence. My self-confidence might seem like Ego to you. 
 
Files by Andrew Joseph

Re-Cap of Japan Woman's Soccer Triumph

Just so you know... the next Women's World Cup takes place in Canada in 2015!

But Japan as the defending champion? That's more of a Cinderella story than Cinderella itself!

Japan won the 2011 event held in Germany by outscoring the valiant team from the USA 3-1 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw.

It was a stunning day of soccer. While Japan was well-deserving of being in the Finals, no one really gave them much of a chance against the powerhouse American squad.

But, in a show of defiance reminiscent of the Asian country's resolve in the face of the March 11, 2011 twin disasters of a 9.0 Magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami - not to mention the nuclear plant near-disaster in Fukushima-ken (Fukushima Prefecture), Japan twice clawed back from deficits to tie the Americans to get to the penalty kicks.

Heck - even your humble author didn't expect it and had a headline ready proclaiming Japan's loss - which sat out on the world wide web for two minutes before I realized my mistake! I had the content correct, but the headline wrong!


Tough to call Japan an unexpected surprise as they had previously knocked off the favoured  Germany team and then the Swedish viking squad on their way to the Finals before defeating the USA to become the first Asian team to win the World Cup.  

Japan never made past the quarterfinals of the World Cup prior tothis tournament, while the USA has two titles and three third-placefinishes in the five World Cups played.

This was the third gold-medal match to go to extra time: the USA won in 1999 on penalties and Germany won in 2003 with anextra-time goal.

Japan had not beaten the Americans in their first 25 meetings,including a pair of 2-0 losses in warm-up games a month before theWorld Cup. But the Nadeshiko played inspired throughout the tournament,hoping their success could provide an emotional lift to their nation,still reeling from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
For the 2011 finals, the first half was scoreless, with USA taking 12 shots to Japan's 5 - although that only had one single shot on goal. Though Japan held a slight advantage in possession it was actually mostly USA pressure and some hard luck that kept the score even.

In the second half, the US renewed its speedy attacks on Japan, with Alex Morgan scoring her second goal of the tournament in the 69th minute.Megan Rapinoe passed the ball half the length of the field. Morgan who had come on to replace injured Lauren Cheney at halftime, beatthree defenders to get to the ball,  to catch up to it. She shook off Japan's Saki Kumagai, touched the ball with her right foot, did a juke stutter-step and launched a left-foot strike from 17 yards out that Japan's goalie Ayumi Kaihori had no chance on.

At this time it should have been all over.

But in the 80th minute, the US couldn't clear  a cross properly in the six-yard area, as the ball landed near Japan's Aya Miyama who tapped the ball past a stunned Hope Solo in net for the USA.

Japan then pressured the USA for a few minutes with chance after chance before the USA regauined its composure and began taking the game to Japan.

In first 15 minute period of extra time, the USA's Abby Wambach scored in the 104th minute on a header from Morgan who after a blocked cross attempt, sent it to Wambacj who was standing in front of the goal at t he six-yard line. She was easily a head taller than the Japanese defenders and easily nodded home the ball.

But back came Japan, with top tournament goal scorer Homare Sawa notching her fifth goal of the tourney in the 122nd minute, with about six minutes left (this includes all added on time). Sawa scored from a corner kick.

But when it came to these penaltykicks, the Americans came undone as Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath all failed to convert, with Japanese goalie Kaihori stopping two of the shots. 

USA's Boxx shot first, with her shot hitting goalie Kaihori's right leg for the save. Japan's Miyama made hers shooting off foot with her right - which may have thrown US goalie Solo.

Second shot from Lloyd sailed over the net. Japan's second shot was saved.

Third shot from the US's Heath was saved with a great leap and two-hands to the side by Japan's Kaihori. Solo made a save on Japan's third shot. 

Forth shot from Wambach was easily buried showing why she is one of the world's best female players.
With five shots for the penalty kick round, Japan needed to score here to win the title. Saki Kumagai did just that putting the ball high in the top right corner.

Every shot Japan took after first was to the right of Solo.
 
'Not one of the players gave up,'' stated Japanese coach Norio Sasaki, who prior to its quarterfinal game against Germany successfully inspired his players by showing them pictures ofthe twin disasters back home in Japan. ''The penalty kicks are always a 50-50 per centchance.''

When Japan was presented with the trophy, the players jumped up and down excitedly before gathering around a sign proclaiming: Champions. World Champions

Nippon Omedeto! Congratulations Japan!

A Video Story on Post-Tsunami Japan

Here's a video with English subtitles that speaks of the hope, strength and perseverance of the Japanese people after the tsunami hit the northeast coast of Japan on March 11, 2011.

It's a powerful piece.

The description by the person posting it reads:
A documentary film about Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, one of thehardest hit areas of the March 11, 2011 tsunami. This documentary dealswith the city, the people and relief efforts completed by individualsliving in Tokyo to send relief supplies to a center for disabled peoplein Ishinomaki.

VIDEO.

Cheers
Andrew Joseph
PS: There's another posting you should check out one hour after this one. 

Tsunami Video Hitting Japan

Okay... here's a particularly poignant video of the tsunami hitting Minami-Sanriku, a small town on the coast of Miyagi-ken (Miyagi Prefecture) Japan back in March 11, 2011.

It's very difficult to watch, especially when you see a van and a truck enter a tunnel going toward the wave, and you know those people are dead. And then the others running for their life... and seeing the water and debris sweeping some of them away. And that man helping a person in a wheelchair... he got swept away at the end. 

Made me friggin' cry.

VIDEO

Oh, and ignore the comments under the video. Some people are just ignorant when it comes to human suffering and feel the need to make everything into a political commentary.

Cheers
Andrew Joseph

Invasion of the Blog!

Now here's an interesting tale of cover-ups and misbegotten woe - from my friend Mike in Tokyo: It's his BLOG.

Cheers
Andrew Joseph

Listen To The Music

It's August 24, 1991 - a Saturday here in sunny Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan.

I've been in a bad mood for a long time now, with only a few days in Thailand to alleviate it (thank you ladies!). I also picked up the runs there, and it's been 12 days and I'm still feeling dehydrated, tired and poopy.

As such, I get up bright and early (for me) at 9AM and go over to Maniwa-san's pharmacy to get myself some medicine. Maniwa-san is about 60-years-old, reminds me of Yoda actually, but without the sage wisdom. Instead, he's a leecherous old man with a wicked sense of humour and I like him and he me.

He's part of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association. It always seems strange to me that a small city of 50,000 would have such an association... I mean, how many internationals are there here? Apparently quite a few, thanks to an elite industrial sector that often has people come from sister companies to work in Japan. As well, there's also the Asian Rural Institute where farmers learn Japanese farming techniques. There are also a few New Zealanders and Aussies who come and work the always bustling bar scene. Apparently nothing attracts a crowd like a gaijin (foreigner).

In my 13 months here, I've not come across any hate crimes or crap like that. Sure people call us gaijin (which doesn't really mean foreigner, but rather 'outsider'), which is a bit insulting... but the Japanese don't really mean it that way.

Heck... they call us gaijin-san.... Mister Foreigner. Sure, other Japanese folks correct them from time to time, but even by 1991-standards, foreigners are a bit of a sensation... an anomaly here in small towns and cities throughout Japan... less so in the major metropolises like Osaka, Kobe or Tokyo.

For many people in Ohtawara, the only foreigners they have ever seen are in the movies and on television, so when they see one up close and personal walking by or riding  by, they stop, point, stare and say: "Hora! Gaijin-da (Look! A Foreigner!)"

Whatever. Some foreigners here get up in arms about this. It bothers them that they are being singled out for being different.

To them I say: Get over it. It's why you are here. To internationalize. Teaching English may be our job title (for some), but it is secondary to just getting people to realize you are no different from them. We love, we hate, we laugh, we cry. We work, we play, we drink, we sleep. There are always going to be differences, but when people have never seen a foreigner before—it's okay for there to be some staring or excitement.

I know that when I would enter a school for the first time—especially a primary school (Grades 1-6), I would be elevated to Rock n' Roll superstar status!  I'd be posing for photos, shaking hands, being touched and signing autographs. It's completely overwhelming, but just think... I was the first foreigner these kids had ever seen in person. You really want to make a good impression so as not to screw things up for any others who come after. You don't want to sour anyone's opinion.

By the way... there are people—gaijin who fled the scene when Japan was hit hard by the triple threat of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation. I'm not going to judge them—that's for others to do. However, a new term was coined: flyjin. There was also one coined for those who stayed: fryjin... owing to the fact that they would be cooked should Japan suffer a nuclear holocaust.

For a fun-filled rant, I would direct you to my buddy Mike in Tokyo to read his blog:
HERE.

Myself... how did I handle being a gaijin in Japan? How could I stand people calling me names or staring at me? Well, while not so much of a problem or concern for me in 2011, growing up in Toronto, the city had more than its fair share of racists. I'm brown-skinned. I'm of Indian descent (the sub-content). That made me thick-skinned. At least in Japan, I never detected any malice in the words of people. I wish I could have said the same about Canada.

All I could do about racism in my own country was smile and try to ignore it, and not let it bother me. It was the same in Japan. If you think that people are calling you an outsider, why let it bother you. Technically speaking, you are one.

I am an outsider in Canada, too. But I am Canadian. And I will fight for that right.

Japan? I am an outsider. But I'm there to educate them in more than English.

In India... I've never been there, but I would imagine everyone would know that I am not a real Indian... that I am an outsider.

Where do I fit in? Globally. To those who hate being called a gaijin:  Suck it up. There are worse things to go through. Try to educate people as to why you feel the term is offensive. They are Japanese... not baka (stupid).

Huh... I guess I got a little bit off track there. Let's end this now, and get back to August 24th, 1991 tomorrow.

Somewhere,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog is by The Doobie Brothers: GOTTAGETAMESSAGE