09/10 VOX POPULI: Steve Jobs will continue to inspire young people

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/10/09

A pithy poem by Michio Mado, titled "Chigai Kurabe" (Comparing the difference), goes: "Haka (graves) are for the dead/ Baka (foolishness) is for the living."

"Baka" is a versatile word. Calling someone "baka" is an insult, but the word can also be used to express one's warm affection for the person. I believe Mado used it in the latter sense in his poem, as a tribute to humanity.

06/10 VOX POPULI: Mankind stands better chance by going back to basics

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/10/06

In Japan, the anniversaries of the death of famous literary figures often have names associated with their works. In the case of Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927), it is called Kappa-ki. For Shiki Masaoka (1867-1902), it is known as Hechima-ki. (Kappa is an imaginary creature that lives in rivers and hechima is loofah, a plant used to make sponge.)

Remon-ki, the death anniversary of Motojiro Kajii (1901-1932), is named after "Remon" (Lemon), the title of his novel. Oct. 5 is another Lemon-ki, the anniversary of the death of Chieko Takamura (1886-1938).

30/09 VOX POPULI: September offers words of loss and hope

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.


2011/10/01

"Smokestacks were the only things that defined Tokyo's cityscape in the immediate aftermath of World War II," noted Donald Keene, 89, who has "come home" to Japan for good. "A miracle will happen in the Tohoku region, too."

Six months after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, Japan has a new prime minister and a new ozeki sumo wrestler. Also in September, two typhoons made landfall and three former aides of a politician were convicted. Below are some words that left an impression on me during the month.

Ozeki Kotoshogiku, 27, the first Japanese to be promoted to sumo's second-highest rank in four years, vowed to seek excellence by remaining completely focused in his endeavors. His ozeki debut will be in the Kyushu tournament, and he hails from there. "The only kind of sumo I do is to plunge ahead," he said. "I hope my style will enliven the tournament and bring excitement to my local fans."

Upper House legislator Tetsuro Fukuyama, who held a key post in the administration of former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, recalled the March disaster: "I remember a feeling as if an ice pillar stood in the muscles of my back. I realized how totally inadequate our response (to the disaster) would be if the megaquake triggered a spate of temblors and caused further damage."

Nozomi Ono, an elementary school third-grader in Watari, Miyagi Prefecture, read a letter from her mother, Yumiko, who died in the tsunami. Yumiko had written the letter as part of a campaign by a school backpack maker that asked people to recall their thoughts and feelings when their children started school. The letter said: "Your mum is looking forward to all of us reading this letter together some day. This happy thought makes your mum keep doing her best."

Autumn is the harvest season, but Hidekazu Konno, a 43-year-old pear grower in the city of Fukushima, is worried about radiation contamination of the soil. "Our soil has been worked with great care since my grandpa's generation," he noted sadly.

Masayuki Shirado, a 53-year-old fisherman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, bemoans the suspension of operations. "We read the color of the sea and the weather to determine where to fish. Young people won't learn anything unless they go out to sea."

Wangari Muta Maathai, a Kenyan environmental activist who received a Nobel Peace Prize for her tree-planting activities, died aged 71. The editor in chief of a major Kenyan newspaper said that she was a bigger presence than the president of Kenya and people wanted her to keep up her good work in many fields but time ran out. What a waste!

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 30

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

29/09 VOX POPULI: If time travel is possible, I want to return to the morning of March 11

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/29

"And you cannot move at all in Time, you cannot get away from the present moment."

"My dear sir, that is just where you are wrong."

The above lines are from "The Time Machine," a short story by H.G. Wells (1866-1946). The novel, released in 1895, is regarded as a masterpiece that dealt with time travel not with mysticism but as a science.

Ten years later, real science showed that no substances can travel faster than light and it is impossible to go back in time. It is the theory of relativity established by young Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Thus, the time machine was confined to the realms of imagination.

But an international team of scientists recently came up with a finding that could overturn this long-accepted theory. They reported that subatomic particles called neutrinos travel faster than light. When they repeatedly shot them from an accelerator in Switzerland and measured the time it took them to reach detectors in Italy, they found that the particles had arrived 60 nanoseconds quicker than light would have done. In terms of speed, it is 0.0025 percent faster than the speed of light.

It is potentially a major discovery that could shake the foundation of modern physics developed by Einstein and proved in every area of science. That is why many people are skeptical of the finding, saying there must have been an error of measurement. The research team also plans to reconfirm the finding with a different set of scientists.

"If possible, would you go to the future or the past?" "If I can start over again, I want to be such-and-such an age again." "I want to deliver a message to myself as I was 10 years ago."

We can enjoy such harmless and lighthearted banter because time travel is a dream. I don't know if I want the idea to remain a dream or to travel faster than light to see how stupid I look from the future.

There were nights when I thought about the beginning and the end of the universe and questioned my own existence. If I could go back, I want to be that age again. If I could go back to sometime this year, without hesitation, I would fly back to the morning of March 11 carrying a microphone.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

27/09 VOX POPULI: U.S. veto could spark a wave of violence

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/27

Such things are not of any real significance, but Eisaku Sato (1901-1975) was the first Japanese prime minister born in the 20th century, while Shinzo Abe was the first prime minister born after World War II. Our new leader, Yoshihiko Noda, is the first prime minister born after Japan became a member of the United Nations in 1956.

Joining the United Nations was a cherished dream for postwar Japan, because it signaled the country's return to the international community. The dream took a while to be realized, because the Soviet Union used its veto power repeatedly to prevent Japan from becoming a U.N. member.

After Japan finally became a member, then-Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu (1887-1957) addressed the General Assembly. The thunderous applause with which he was welcomed is still talked about to this day.

I was reminded of this history by Palestine's bid for full U.N. membership. In his address before the General Assembly, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said it was time for a "Palestinian spring." The rapturous applause this drew was enough to eclipse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rebuttal speech.

The United States is in a bind. Every U.N. membership application is sent to the Security Council, and the pro-Israel United States has vowed to use its veto power to block the Palestinian bid. French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned that a U.S. veto would "spark a new wave of violence in the Middle East." I should imagine that many world leaders agree with Sarkozy.

The United States has a track record of repeatedly vetoing resolutions unfavorable to Israel. The power of veto is a prerogative of the five permanent members of the Security Council, of which the United States is one. But using it this time will cause all sorts of repercussions. Tense negotiations will continue in the Security Council.

Prime Minister Noda has returned from his U.N. visit. Was he able to assert himself on the international stage? The only impression I got was that he was pressured by an increasingly testy United States to produce results on the Futenma relocation issue.

Predictably, Japan seems to be paying dearly for its annual comings and goings of prime ministers.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 25

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

25/09 VOX POPULI: As the days get cooler, we should rest tired minds

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/25

Old cherry trees that line a street in my neighborhood had their routine "health checkup" on Sept. 23. Apart from losing leaves and some small branches, they all survived Typhoon No. 15. According to the tree doctor, roadside trees won't come down in a storm so long as their roots are protected and their branches are properly trimmed.

The severe midweek typhoon brought autumn in its train. Summer's residual heat is finally gone, and the mackerel sky reminds me of a fine watercolor. A haiku by Mori Tajima goes: "Sunset glow/ Surfers ride red waves." Vestigial images of summer are beginning to fade in the cool of early morning and late evening.

This year, however, we apparently need to watch out for "aki-bate" (autumn lethargy) because of the beatings our bodies have taken during the brutal summer. It certainly wasn't easy living with minimal air conditioning. Our gastrointestinal organs are suffering the consequences of an overload of icy drinks and cold foods. There was also the stress of living in fear of another big earthquake, which must have affected our minds and bodies in ways we do not understand.

Now is the time to cool the overheated body and heal the tired mind. The weather is neither hot nor cold. We are done with the nervous energy of spring, and we are off the sort of hope-disappointment cycle we experience when the seasons change.

In my opinion, the next few weeks are the best time of the year to get our "emotional temperatures" stable.

"Aki no Kehai" (Signs of autumn), a hit number by the folk group Off Course, has these lines: "The winds die down at dusk/ The broken-up clouds become one again."

Kazumasa Oda, who wrote the lyrics, depicted the end of a romantic relationship against the backdrop of his native Yokohama. The mild sense of loss is typical to autumn. The song continues: "Like a broad river/ Time flows/ There is no going back."

During this year's "higan" Buddhist holiday, many people in the Tohoku region must have prayed before photos of loved ones who perished in the March 11 quake and tsunami. Some family graves remain untended.

I should imagine that those people's sense of loss will only intensify with time.

The quake occurred in spring. Summer came and went, and now it's autumn. I have resolved to live each day in deep appreciation of the glorious clear skies.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 24

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

23/09 VOX POPULI: We must be ever-vigilant in the face of natural disasters

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/23

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In the middle of Tokyo's Ginza district, one of the zelkova trees that line the street fell and blocked the sidewalk. The tree was about 10 meters tall and measured 40 centimeters across in diameter at the base of the trunk. Apparently, one arm of the V-shaped trunk broke. The roaring of an electric saw to remove the fallen tree resounded. The usually upscale Tokyo shopping district looked different amid a raging storm.

Although earthquakes that strike without warning are scary, so are slow-moving typhoons. Typhoon No. 15, which took its time meandering near Okinawa, slowly gathered momentum and rushed through the Japanese archipelago with the speed typical of an autumn typhoon.

It hit the Tokyo area during the evening rush hour. As public transportation services were disrupted, trains stations and streets were flooded with stranded workers trying to get home.

There were also reports that landslide dams created on the Kii Peninsula by Typhoon No. 12 might have partly broken.

Typhoon No. 15 ignited explosives set by its "predecessor," so to speak. Heavy rain and strong winds also relentlessly pounded areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Sept. 21 also marked the anniversary of the day the Isewan Typhoon spawned in 1959. It was that year's Typhoon No. 15. I grew up in the Tokai region. I remember how disappointed I felt because the typhoon hit on my birthday. At the same time, I understood that typhoons that hit after mid-September may cause great damage to autumn harvests. It is still too early to let our guard down.

With tsunami from the ocean and heavy rain from the sky, this is a year of water-related disasters. We repeatedly heard elderly people across Japan say they had never experienced anything like them before. We must not underestimate nature, which has continued to be active since the birth of our planet.

But humans learned a bunch of lessons with tears of sorrow.

When adverse conditions overlap, natural disasters may turn into catastrophes. But when even one of them is eliminated, damage can be drastically reduced, according to Atsushi Kurashima, an expert on weather. In order to avoid raging disasters, we should carefully examine the claw marks left by past disasters from coast to coast and eliminate adverse conditions so that we are prepared before the next natural disaster strikes.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 22

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

23/09 VOX POPULI: Fear rays, not chunks of metal falling from the heavens

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/24

The 23-year-old pro golfer Chie Arimura wowed the gallery in July with an albatross and a hole-in-one in the same round. In golf parlance, an albatross is a score of three under par on one hole.

Over the last decade, there have been five albatrosses and 150 hole-in-ones in women's professional golf.

Statistically, the probability of a professional golfer nailing both an albatross and a hole-in-one in the same round (18 holes) is said to be about one in 10 million rounds. Arimura, who beat these astronomical odds, said it was "almost scary."

I was reminded of her stellar feat by NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), which could be falling out of the sky any moment now. The odds of its debris hitting someone are reportedly one in 3,200―far higher than the "almost scary" miracle worked by Arimura on the golf course.

The UARS was launched 20 years ago. It will burn up upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, but NASA says 26 metal fragments, totaling 532 kilograms, could fall over an area 800 kilometers square somewhere between the latitudes of 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south.

That "somewhere" covers most of the world's populated countries. Narrowing down the area at risk will be difficult even immediately before the debris shower begins.

But there is no point in worrying and constantly looking up at the sky. The chance of you or I being unfortunate enough to get hit is said to be one in 21 trillion.

Among the UARS's achievements was confirming chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the depletion of the ozone layer. Harmful ultraviolet rays, which are known to cause skin cancer, are falling on us through ozone holes over Antarctica and elsewhere. These are what we should watch out for when we gaze up at the sky during this autumn equinox weekend.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 23

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

22/09 VOX POPULI: Groundless rumors still a cause for concern

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/22

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Yoshitaka Takahashi (1913-1995), a scholar of German literature, wrote that fireworks are best viewed when they are far away.

On the evening of the river festival at Ryogoku in Tokyo, he was invited to the home of Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971), a writer to whom he looked up as his mentor. For some reason, the shoji sliding screens were shut. As if to wait for short intervals in their conversations over sake, he heard fireworks exploding in the night sky.

Although he couldn't see them, Takahashi was struck by an aesthetic sense. He also wrote about fireworks exploding too far away to hear the distant booms.

"Fireworks that flare up and spread in a distant night sky beyond the fields in the suburbs are also tasteful." When we fill in gaps in information in our minds, our imagination often surpasses reality.

But too much imagination is also a problem. At a fireworks display in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, I heard that Fukushima-made fireworks alone had been excluded. Complaints that the fireworks would "scatter radioactivity" put a damper on the event, which was held to support reconstruction due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Radiation levels at the fireworks factory were low enough. Also, the pyrotechnics had been kept indoors.

Sensitivity and vague anxiety differ from person to person. But there is no other way to describe what happened than to simply blame damages caused by groundless rumors. Many citizens must have been disappointed that the organizers caved in to the objections of a small number of people.

Be that as it may, the organizers probably would have been criticized anyway if they had gone ahead with their original plan and not excluded the Fukushima fireworks.

Either way, it would have created bitter feelings.

Under such circumstances, local governments may become reluctant to organize events to support Fukushima.

Having the determination to support the stricken areas and taking the time to eliminate anxieties will become more important than ever in the days ahead.

An impressive tanka by Yumiko Nakano of Kyoto ran in the Asahi Kadan column of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun. " Wondering whether to buy peaches/ I confirm a handwritten sign that reads 'Fukushima'/ I buy them without hesitation."

Some people buy produce after seeing handwritten signs showing where the items originated. Clearly, these buyers appreciate the enthusiasm of the sellers.

I wish to listen carefully to the sounds of distant fireworks aimed at strengthening ties until the day we can buy produce from stricken areas around Fukushima without hesitation.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 21

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

21/09 VOX POPULI: Children who don't know kanji know about radioactivity

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/21

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I saw a preview of the 1970 Italian film "I Girasoli" (Sunflower), which is due to be shown again. It is a well-known tragedy about a young wife going to the Soviet Union to look for a husband who did not return from World War II. As a sad melody plays in the title background, the camera slowly pans left to show a field of sunflowers swaying in the wind.

I hear that the scene, showing golden yellow flowers reaching to the horizon, was shot in Ukraine. The sunflower was brought to Europe from the United States some 500 years ago. It was used as a source of sunflower oil and its cultivation spread. The former Soviet Union became the world's leading producer of sunflowers. In the movie, the scene is used to symbolize a foreign land.

The sunflower was planted in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident, along with rape blossoms, because radioactivity in the soil did not easily transfer to the sunflower oil. Unfortunately, its decontaminating effect remains uncertain. An experiment conducted by the farm ministry in Fukushima Prefecture concluded that the flowers were next to useless for nuclear decontamination. Since sunflower roots reach deep into the ground, scientists believe it is difficult for the plant to absorb radioactive substances near the surface.

A fast method of decontamination is the removal of topsoil. According to the ministry, scraping off 4 centimeters of surface soil removed 75 percent of radioactive cesium. According to a trial calculation by Yuichi Moriguchi, a professor of environmental systems engineering at the University of Tokyo, the maximum area that might need decontamination comes to one seventh of Fukushima Prefecture's total land. When I think about the mind-boggling amount of labor and cost that the process will require, the sinfulness of nuclear accidents is driven home to me once again.

Many people took part in the rally and march called "Sayonara Genpatsu" (Good-bye to nuclear power) held in Meiji Park in Tokyo on Sept. 19, which was organized by the Nobel Prize winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe and others. As writer Keiko Ochiai said to the rally from the podium, we cannot overlook the reality that young children, who can only read hiragana, are saying the frightening words: "Radioactivity, don't come."

Many senior citizens spent Respect-for-the-Aged Day, a national holiday, on Sept. 19 demanding a move away from nuclear power generation. Perhaps they were worried about the world their grandchildren will inherit. When people seriously want to protect their loved ones, they take to the streets. The sight of demonstrators wearing yellow clothes and holding yellow placards overlapped in my mind with that image of the sunflower fields.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 20

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

VOX POPULI: From beer to snack food, moderation is key

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/09/17

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Potato chips were the first snack food I got hooked on as a kid. Back then, those crispy treats had yet to be mass-produced by big-name companies, and I remember the name of a local company stamped on the transparent bags they came in.

The chips saw me through my high school days of cramming for university entrance exams, and then came to be paired with beer in my adult life, until I became alarmed enough by my growing weight to give them up. Unwanted blubber is the inevitable outcome of indulging oneself in the pleasure of stuffing oneself with fried munchies.

An unusual tax came into effect this month in Hungary. Called the "potato chips tax," this is apparently an attempt at improving the health of the people as well as the nation's fiscal health by taxing high-calorie products loaded with salt and sugar. The prices of snack foods and soft drinks have gone up significantly.

Where obesity is concerned, the United States, where potato chips originated, immediately comes to my mind. The abundance of cheap but nutritionally unbalanced foods is blamed for obesity among more than 30 percent of the poor in the country. To prevent their ranks from swelling, some states are considering imposing taxes on soft drinks.

Hideo Makuuchi discusses a woman "addicted" to potato chips in his book,"Potechi wo Ijo ni Taberu Hitotachi" (People who eat abnormally large amounts of potato chips) from Wave Publishers Co. The woman says she wants to "practically swallow (potato chips) down," not so much because she enjoys the taste, but more for instant pleasure. She is filled with guilt afterward.

Makuuchi blasts food makers for ruining people's normal sense of taste by deliberately overseasoning everything, from snack foods to "onigiri" rice balls sold at convenience stores, so that people become conditioned to crave such foods.

Makers blame consumers for eating more than they should, but Makuuchi asserts, "That's because the products are made to make people overeat."

By instinct, we humans crave salt, sugar and fat, and they give us pleasure and satisfaction. Children are said to be becoming prime candidates for obesity and diabetes from overeating "too tasty" foods that are reinforced with those substances.

We can enjoy each crispy chip only if we are healthy. Adults and children alike should try to eat in moderation so we won't be slapped with a new tax we don't want.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 16

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

29/07 VOX POPULI: Radioactive beef fears too serious to dismiss as groundless rumors

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.

2011/07/29PrintShare Article
What does sukiyaki beef costing 3,000 yen ($38) a slice taste like? Cartoonist Sadao Shoji once wrote about it in a popular column that runs in the weekly Shukan Asahi magazine. At the risk of annoying readers, he slurped a slice covered in sukiyaki sauce and raw egg. "It is more chewy than tender… and glides easily down the throat," he wrote. It was Matsusaka beef priced at 20 million yen a head.

Japanese beef, or "wagyu," is synonymous with high-class meat. When the beef is named after its place of origin, it sounds all the more classy. Place names must have much to do with the texture and price of beef. Meanwhile, imported beef with the name of the country of origin is more common in homes and in the "gyudon" restaurants that serve bowls of rice topped with beef. In the world of beef, domestic meat is more expensive than imports.

But I hear consumers are turning their backs on domestic beef. This is because beef from some 3,000 cattle that ate rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium released by the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was shipped to all prefectures except Okinawa Prefecture. In these circumstances, people are going to have a tendency to stay away from "anonymous" domestic beef.

According to reports, the beef in question will either be bought up by an industry association or put in frozen storage. The bill will be passed to Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima plant. Tracing the contaminated beef is difficult and the anxiety of consumers shows no signs of abating. As moves to impose a voluntary ban on shipments spread and prices fell, livestock farmers had a really tough time. Some brands of beef have been damaged.

The damage caused by radiation is hard to pin down. The Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission says "levels that produce harmful effects are 100 millisieverts or more in a lifetime total." But, apparently, this does not necessarily mean that less than that amount is safe. To begin with, we have no means to know the amount of daily radiation exposure.

Even though the government says eating contaminated beef "has no immediate effect" on health, parents cannot stand to think that it may affect their children's future, even by a small amount. Instead of accepting the government's explanation, parents, seized by undefined anxieties, are tending to choose imported beef over domestic beef and are shifting from beef to pork. The collateral damage is too serious to call these worries groundless rumors.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

03/07 VOX POPULI: Sweltering days ahead mean reviving heat-beating tricks

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/07/03

Summer's brutal heat can get unbearable even for cats, laments the feline protagonist of the novel "Wagahai wa Neko de Aru" (I Am A Cat) by Natsume Soseki (1867-1916).

The cat longs to strip off his fur and pare his flesh to the bones to get relief from the oppressive heat. He fantasizes about getting his fur washed and blow-dried. He wishes he could fan himself, and complains his paws aren't designed to hold a fan. There is something humorous about his litany of grievances, but you also feel sorry for him.

Summers must have been as unbearably rough on cats in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) as this summer is about to become for us humans. Record high temperatures for the season have already been registered around the country. It looks like the god of summer has been dropping his calling card everywhere, warning us of another scorcher.

The "tsuyu" rainy season ended in southern Kyushu in record haste, and the nation is now bracing for sweltering days without being able to guzzle electricity.

The government on July 1 issued an energy consumption restriction order, the "denryoku shiyo seigen-rei," to businesses and major power consumers serviced by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. The order is for a 15 percent cut in power usage. Perhaps because "seigen-rei" sounds similar to "kaigen-rei" (martial law) and "toka kansei" (blackout), I have toughened my resolve to meet the summer head on.

Private households are also asked to aim for a 15-percent drop in energy use. This is easy to achieve by not using power-guzzling air conditioners. However, there is a limit to anyone's ability to endure high temps with stoic patience. It is not healthy, either. The best way is to try to save energy in small ways wherever possible. Even little savings do add up.

The monk Kenko Hoshi, author of "Tsurezuregusa" (Essays in Idleness), held that houses should be designed with the heat of summer in mind. His reasoning was that there are ways to ward off winter chills, but nothing can be done about the relentless summer heat. I couldn't agree more.

Our forebears came up with all sorts of tricks to survive Japan's oppressively humid summers. Those tricks became forgotten after we started relying on ubiquitous air conditioners, but I understand they are now back in vogue.

We may gripe and complain about the heat in the coming days, but I believe we should be able to get some relief if we go back to the ways of our forebears.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 2

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

02/07 VOX POPULI: Prefectural, municipal borders do not exist where radiation concerned

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/07/02

Takehiro Adachi of Hyogo Prefecture is a name I see frequently in the Haidan haiku section of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun. One of his works goes: "The straight-line distance from the nuclear power plant/ Leaves me cold."

The Fukushima disaster in March was not what inspired Adachi to write this. It was penned four years ago and became the No. 1 pick of Tota Kaneko, a member of Haidan's panel of judges.
"The poem could not be more succinct," Kaneko commented.

Adachi brought out a map and placed one leg of a pair of compasses on Fukui Prefecture's "Genpatsu Ginza," or the area where many nuclear reactors are located, and traced a circle around it. Then, he found that his home was within a radius of 50 to 60 kilometers from the area. Getting there by car or train requires long detours around mountains and rivers, but as the crow flies, the distance is short. The discovery left Adachi cold.

Ever since the March disaster, I imagine many people around the country have been feeling the same chill upon finding out the straight-line distance between their homes and nuclear power plants.

Economy minister Banri Kaieda recently visited Saga Prefecture to request the restart of two nuclear reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant that were shut down before March 11 for regular inspections. Having heard his explanation, both the prefectural government and Genkai town are reportedly considering giving the green light. But I wonder how the story sounded to people who are worried sick about the proximity of their communities to the plant. Where radiation is concerned, prefectural and municipal borders do not exist.

"The Japanese government will take responsibility for the plant's safety," Kaieda promised. Obviously, it still hasn't occurred to the government that its credibility has been shot down by the Fukushima accident. But Saga Governor Yasushi Furukawa said, "We were able to confirm the safety." I must say he is too trusting of the central government.

The word "osumitsuki" (guarantee) is said to originate from documents that are written in black ink (sumi) and issued by a feudal lord to his loyal subjects to guarantee lands. Today, however, the government's guarantee is unreliable--written with watery pale ink.

Everybody is unsure what to believe now. Any haste by the government will only invite further popular distrust.

In May, the Kadan poetry section of The Asahi Shimbun ran this piece by Toko Mihara of the city of Fukushima: "How round the hazy moon/ Viewed from within a concentric circle around the nuclear plant."

In our country with 18 nuclear power plants, there are 18 invisible concentric circles.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 1


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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

02/07 VOX POPULI: Prefectural, municipal borders do not exist where radiation concerned

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/07/02

Takehiro Adachi of Hyogo Prefecture is a name I see frequently in the Haidan haiku section of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun. One of his works goes: "The straight-line distance from the nuclear power plant/ Leaves me cold."

The Fukushima disaster in March was not what inspired Adachi to write this. It was penned four years ago and became the No. 1 pick of Tota Kaneko, a member of Haidan's panel of judges.
"The poem could not be more succinct," Kaneko commented.

Adachi brought out a map and placed one leg of a pair of compasses on Fukui Prefecture's "Genpatsu Ginza," or the area where many nuclear reactors are located, and traced a circle around it. Then, he found that his home was within a radius of 50 to 60 kilometers from the area. Getting there by car or train requires long detours around mountains and rivers, but as the crow flies, the distance is short. The discovery left Adachi cold.

Ever since the March disaster, I imagine many people around the country have been feeling the same chill upon finding out the straight-line distance between their homes and nuclear power plants.

Economy minister Banri Kaieda recently visited Saga Prefecture to request the restart of two nuclear reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant that were shut down before March 11 for regular inspections. Having heard his explanation, both the prefectural government and Genkai town are reportedly considering giving the green light. But I wonder how the story sounded to people who are worried sick about the proximity of their communities to the plant. Where radiation is concerned, prefectural and municipal borders do not exist.

"The Japanese government will take responsibility for the plant's safety," Kaieda promised. Obviously, it still hasn't occurred to the government that its credibility has been shot down by the Fukushima accident. But Saga Governor Yasushi Furukawa said, "We were able to confirm the safety." I must say he is too trusting of the central government.

The word "osumitsuki" (guarantee) is said to originate from documents that are written in black ink (sumi) and issued by a feudal lord to his loyal subjects to guarantee lands. Today, however, the government's guarantee is unreliable--written with watery pale ink.

Everybody is unsure what to believe now. Any haste by the government will only invite further popular distrust.

In May, the Kadan poetry section of The Asahi Shimbun ran this piece by Toko Mihara of the city of Fukushima: "How round the hazy moon/ Viewed from within a concentric circle around the nuclear plant."

In our country with 18 nuclear power plants, there are 18 invisible concentric circles.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 1


* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

01/07 VOX POPULI: Amid sadness, everyone thinking about the future

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/07/01

Time goes by amid grief. With "sokkokuki" that marked the 100th day from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the month of June over, we have entered the second half of the year. Here are some words to remember from June that makes us want to get a glimpse of tomorrow beyond the rain.

Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, where Kesencha tea is grown, is said to be Japan's northernmost production center of tea. With the earthquake and tsunami, it was doubtful whether the tea could be harvested but thanks to the help of local high school students, the first picking was done. Ryuji Konno, 96, a tea farmer whose home was washed away, had given up tea picking this year. "I am happy that we could pick tea," Konno said. "I am determined to return and continue tea growing as long as I can work."

Some 80,000 elementary and junior high school students in Sendai started to make ornaments for the "Sendai Tanabata Matsuri," an annual festival observed in the summer. Yuki Yamauchi, 14, can no longer live at home because of the disaster. "I want to make a beautiful streamer so that we can move forward," Yamauchi said. "I want people to know that Sendai is alive and kicking." The festival is a major event that highlights the summer in the Tohoku region.

Toshiyuki Moriuchi, a ninth-dan shogi player, defeated meijin Yoshiharu Habu in the meijin title match. Having won a match that will go down in shogi history, Moriuchi, 40, said: "There is no one I owe more than Habu for helping me go higher. Because of Habu, I am where I am today." I find the comment refreshing. The two are worthy opponents of the same age.

"I looked at the photo again/ Everyone is laughing/ They look happy as they laugh/ They must have had beloved families/ They must have had many dreams." Tomoka Kamida, 13, a second-year junior high school student in Okinawa, read a poem she composed at a ceremony to remember the war dead on Okinawa Memorial Day." I will not forgive war that took them away," the poem goes.

On June 11, demonstrations were held across the nation calling for the abolition of nuclear power generation. Chiho Ishii, 33, of Hiroshima took part in a demonstration with her 3-year-old son. "I did so because when I look back some day, I don't want to regret that I didn't do anything." Everyone is starting to think seriously about the future.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 30

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

30/06 VOX POPULI: How many Afghans will perish in the coming 'peace'?

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/06/30

The brightness of rape blossom fields symbolizes hope and future. A girl with a beaming smile is picking flowers in a bright yellow field against a background of rugged mountains in Afghanistan. The scene is from a photograph taken by Kazuya Ito, who was killed by an armed group in Afghanistan three years ago while providing agricultural training to local farmers. He was 31.

Ito apparently saw hope in the clear eyes of children in the war-torn country. He left many photos of local children. The expressions I saw in some of them overlapped with a heartrending story that appeared on the international news page of The Asahi Shimbun on June 28.

According to the report, an 8-year-old girl carrying a package that contained a bomb died as it exploded. The girl was asked by someone to deliver the package to a police facility. The package had a built-in remote control device and as she approached the facility, the bomb went off and killed her. I feel so sorry for her and find the act abominable and inhumane.

"These long wars will come to a responsible end," U.S. President Barack Obama stated when he announced plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan last week. However, from now on, how many Afghans will be left behind by such "peace" and perish? For people living there, it is hard to actually feel the restoration of peace and order.

Iranian film director Mohsen Makhamalbaf, who shot a movie set in Afghanistan, said: If only U.S. forces had dropped books instead of bombs. The literacy rate of Afghan men is 50 percent. That of women is only 18 percent. Ignorance and poverty provide a breeding ground of violence and terrorism.

Ito's parents set up a "rape blossom fund" to carry out the wishes of their son who died without fulfilling his ambitions. With the donations they collected, last month, they presented a local school with a dormitory to accommodate orphans and children who live far away. It may be a long way but I want to believe that someday, peaceful everyday life will return to the devastated land.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 29

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

29/06 VOX POPULI: Human activities hasten global extinction of species

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/06/29

Adjectives to describe reptiles include slippery, creepy and cold. Be it snakes or lizards, reptiles are shiny and appear cold. But surprisingly, dinosaurs that once ruled the planet had body temperatures comparable to humans, according to an article that appeared in a Tokyo edition of The Asahi Shimbun.

A team of American and German researchers published findings that Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus, both herbivores, had body temperatures of 36 to 38 degrees. However, since it had been estimated that their temperature was around 40 degrees, the adjustment was downward. In recent years, researchers have pushed the theory that dinosaurs are the origin of birds, but as an amateur, I find the combination of dinosaurs and human body temperature interesting.

Brachiosaurus is estimated to have measured 23 meters long and weighed 40 tons. To maintain its huge body, large quantities of food were needed. According to researchers, it is possible that the gigantic animal minimized energy consumption by curbing its body temperature to that of humans. But such "efforts" are believed to have come to naught when an asteroid struck Earth 65 million years ago.

The impact generated a huge dust cloud, blocking sunlight and causing many species to go extinct from the cold and a shortage of food. Since it is said that the larger the animals, the weaker they were, the event was fatal to dinosaurs.

Nowadays, about 100 species are said to become extinct every day. Humans are likened to "modern asteroids" that bring harm. Yet, the word "biodiversity" that we frequently saw and heard last year is hardly heard these days. Come to think of it, it has never appeared in this column, either, this year.

While reflecting on my negligence, I worry about our planet where creatures prosper. Warning bells that Earth has entered a period of mass extinction of species caused by human activities are growing louder. The death of the environment leads to the death of civilization. We must not forget our own crisis that is slowly closing in.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 28


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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

28/06 VOX POPULI: Columbo hangs up his rumpled trench coat

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/06/28

In one episode of the popular U.S. television crime fiction series "Columbo," the murderer gets away scot-free.

She is a former movie star who kills her husband in order to make a screen comeback. But she has an incurable brain disease and does not remember committing the crime. Her close friend, a film director, knows she has only a few months to live. He falsely confesses to the crime to protect her. Lieutenant Columbo chides him for his misplaced gallantry, but heeds his plea to let her live her remaining months in peace.

Peter Falk, who played the bumbling but brilliant Columbo, died on June 23 at age 83. His passing prompted a flood of memories. Some episodes were touching, like the one mentioned above, while others mesmerized me with Columbo's expert demolitions of criminals' most carefully crafted alibis.

Falk reportedly suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his final years. But fans will always remember him as the iconic police detective he played.

He was a civil servant pushing 30 when he landed the TV contract that would define his career and started playing Columbo, which seemed a natural fit for him, after he was 40. He needed no makeup to portray the disheveled character, with his signature stubble and unkempt mop of hair. In his autobiography, Falk said his beat-up vintage car, rumpled trench coat and the face he was born with were all he needed to play the role.

Just as nobody in Japan could ever imagine anyone but the late Kiyoshi Atsumi (1928-1996) in the title role of the Tora-san movie series, only Falk could be Columbo, and the Japanese-dubbed version had to have actor Asao Koike (1931-1985) doing Columbo's voice.

The series guest-starred big Hollywood stars playing rich, successful individuals turning to murder under unavoidable--and sometimes tragic--circumstances.

Aside from the spellbinding pitting of wits between Columbo and the criminals, I also secretly enjoyed the glimpses I got of how America's upper classes lived. I believe Columbo made for a perfect "guide" because of Falk's endearing personality.

On one occasion, Falk reportedly described Columbo as an "ass-backwards Sherlock Holmes." The success of the Columbo series spawned a whole array of what one might call "ass-backwards Columbo" detective dramas around the world.

In my mind's eye, I can almost see Falk disappearing into a sea of fog now, rowing a boat and perhaps whistling contentedly.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 26

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

26/06 VOX POPULI: Government sugarcoats dangerous reality of nuclear power plants

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
2011/06/26

The year 1986 was a veritable annus horribilis for science and technology. The U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in January. Then came the Chernobyl meltdown in April.

Back then, the probability of a Space Shuttle failure was believed to be 1-in-100,000. That meant just one failure in 300 years of daily launches.

This "safety myth" was debunked by the Rogers Commission, a presidential commission tasked with investigating the Challenger disaster. Richard Feynman (1918-1988), a Nobel laureate physicist and one of the best-known members of the commission, likened the risk inherent in shuttle launches to Russian roulette--a dangerous gamble in which the player closes his eyes to "inconvenient truth."

In Japan, the probability of a nuclear accident was said to be "1-in-5 billion, comparable to being hit by a meteor." I'd say this was more lie than myth.

An accident did occur at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. But even though the situation has yet to be brought under control, economy minister Banri Kaieda has declared other plants safe and called for them to resume operations.

Does anyone really believe him?

The economy ministry is a party involved in the accident. Kaieda may be likened to a bankrupt person offering security for someone taking out a loan.

Now that conventional safety measures have proved useless, how could anyone talk so casually about safety?

In Saga Prefecture, a meeting was slated for June 25 to explain to citizens about the resumption of operations at the Genkai nuclear power plant. But as I understand it, only a few citizens, selected by the central government, were allowed to attend. This format tells us a lot about how the government goes about its business. It certainly doesn't get my vote.

Feynman battled cancer while he investigated the Challenger disaster. In his report, titled "Personal Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle." he concluded, "For successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
He was a scientist with conscience, and I will always remember his words.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 25

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.