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LIR RESPATI BUMIDAYA

Government (Board of Education) to Release Flawed, Inaccurate "Radiation Information" booklet

Despite the continuing radiation problems being experienced in Japan from Fukushima where they core of the nuclear problems occurred after the 3/11/2011 Earthquake and Tsunami (to as far as the city of Yokohama hundreds of kilometers away from the plant) the government is still going ahead with a book of pro-nuclear propaganda to Japanese students.

According to the Daily Yomiuri (10/15/2011) in their article "Students to receive radiation info booklets" they report that there was a pro-nuclear booklet created last year, but it has been updated since the crisis in Fukushima. However "the latest materials focus on basic radiation knowledge, and only mention the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the foreword." Fortunately, the information stating the safety of nuclear power plants even in cases of Tsunami disasters has been taken out. However there is still misleading mis-information in the booklet and it certainly does not offer an un-biased view.  The Yomiuri article goes on to explain:

The materials geared for primary school students say there is no definite evidence people who were exposed to radiation of up to 100 millisieverts at one time developed cancer or other diseases solely because of the exposure. But it warns the amount of the exposure should be kept to a minimum.
The new materials for primary school students are 18 pages long, while those for middle and high school students are 22 pages each. The government plans to print 80,000 copies of the materials, including the instruction manual for teachers, and distribute a copy to all public and private schools as early as later this month.

Full details of the booklet are released (in Japanese) on the METI website.

• The blog: Fukushima update has a good discussion of the problematic points of the booklet's claims and their responses as well as links to official information. 
• Education in Japan blog has updates on the latest radiation reports and updates on the Fukushima area situation and issues for students, teachers, schools and communities affected.
• NHK World English report on the Radiation Information Booklet

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Building on Strength- Making use of a strong sense of community to rebuild Japan

We have seen how in the face of utter devastation, the Japanese people in the area did not lose their strong spirit. It is not only in the directly affected area, people around the country have a commitment to change. Now is the time for new government policies to be made for more sustainable energy as a significant part of Japan’s power. Policy must also be made to encourage a change in the national workforce and government representation, seeking more balance in gender equality and flexible working structures to encourage work-life balance and more secure environments for raising children. By building on the strength of the bonds of Japanese community, making tough choices changing to sustainable energy now and encouraging more women to leadership roles- the future of Japan can be a much stronger one economically and socially.

In many ways, the tragedy of the earthquake, tsunami and radiation in Tohoku can be looked at as a pivotal point for Japan to reestablish itself as a world economic leader and role model to the world in efficiency, productivity, environmental issues and social responsibility.

World leaders who visited the disaster zone have commented that the Japanese people have a “spirit” which remains unbroken despite this horrible tragedy. There is certainly a sense of pride and enthusiasm to rebuild the country and there is evidence of the national commitment to recover.

Anyone who visited an electrical appliance store in Japan after the government announced a plan asking all companies and households to voluntarily cut energy use by 15%, would be surprised to see how the populace took the government plea to heart; appliance sections were completely sold out of fans. So many in Japan changed voluntarily, no matter how far away they were from the disaster they lived, they were switching to fans and were limiting use (or stopping completely) of their air-conditioners.

The sense of a nationally shared community, responsibility and common purpose seems strong among Japanese people, especially when it comes to recovering from disaster. With this kind of public support to help the country as a whole, given the right leadership that has a clear vision of what will benefit Japan in the future, change should happen a lot more quickly and easily.

The next step is to develop a strategy for redevelopment that the public can understand, support and start adapting to.

Workforce remodeling for future efficiency and competitiveness
As the Japanese birthrate has been declining and the number of pensioners in Japan increasing each year, there is a greater need to remodel the traditional workforce to maintain a strong economy through a large number of working age tax-paying residents, maintain international competitiveness and improve overall workplace efficiency.

More women in Japan are choosing to go on to university and enter the workforce each year, however there is still a “M” curve when looking at the lifespan of women in full time employment as many still drop out during their 30’s to have children or take care of their families. Declining revenue in the pension has also been a concern for the growing numbers of the working population reaching retirement age. Some countries, like France, have tackled this problem by extending the retirement age. However to cater to the needs of many different lifestyle obligations working people have, the option of offering flexible employment opportunities seems a more viable one for the Japanese model.

Although critics argue that this calls for less life-long contracts- which have been the backbone of the Japanese labor industry success, flexibility has many positive benefits including the ability to reduce unemployment and increase public spending.  In theory, adding more flexible time contracts to a business makes it easier to hire and fire employees which should maintain a higher level of efficiency. The most attractive feature of the flexible contracts is that they allow for working parents.

Not all women want to give up their careers or work less, so more opportunity for women who want to have a career and hold leadership positions should also be supported. In the US, companies that have a higher percentage of females in upper positions of management and leadership are also more profitable. According to Hiroshima’s UNITAR director, a higher percentage in the number of women represented in higher government positions has shown less corruption and more spending on health care and education. Japan needs a government that supports society more than ever now, having a woman’s point of view represented in government leadership is essential. The recent insensitive comments and obvious disregard for struggling communities trying to recover- made by visiting government officials- shows the need for women to be put in these leadership roles. Women leaders are more in touch with community issues and better at showing compassion and understanding social problems. This is the time for women to be utilized in leadership roles in the rebuilding of Japan.

Sustainable Energy for Japan’s future

The biggest issue of the year is power and how can Japan move forward with an energy plan that is clean, safe, efficient and made in Japan. Luckily promoting solar through higher rates paid from electric companies has been set in motion since Prime Minister Hatoyama for residential solar, Prime Minister Kan’s government and Softbank CEO Son recently helped changed policy to allow private companies to also sell their power to the utilities.

Since the Fukushima disaster, the public is against further development or use nuclear power- this has brought urgency to the choices the present government must take. It is time to move forward with choices that allow Japan to be self-sufficient- by looking at power that is readily available all over the nation that can be harvested from technology we already possess, the clear choices are wind and sun. If Japan is to tap more sustainable power, however, a more flexible national grid system that allows for the fluctuation of power from the wind and sun will have to be created if these energies are to be tapped on a large scale. There are successful models to look at in other countries. Denmark has found a way to deal with the fluctuations of wind and solar power as a part of their national grid by creating a computerized fluctuation monitor that adjusts the demand on fossil fuel generators to maintain steady, reliable power despite sourcing from over 30% of wind and solar power. California is hoping that their flexible power grid created on the Danish model will allow them to have 33% of power from renewable energy by 2020. Although alternative energy sources increased by 15% in 2010, the sustainable energy target was missed and solar, wind and geothermal power currently makes up only about 1% of power production in Japan.

An argument against solar in Japan is the lack of space to put up panels, but there are some ideas for dealing with this problem. For one, making use of available space is an option- if all rooftops were covered in panels covering a big percentage of commercial and residential electricity demand and supplying nearby buildings with excess energy, targets would be easily met and reliance on expensive, imported fossil fuels would be less of a concern. As a part of the government’s “Sunrise plan” targets to put solar on top of all eligible rooftops in Japan by 2030- a law requiring all new buildings to be built at least with solar power, solar water heaters, eco-cute water heater systems or other government approved energy saving devices which significantly reduce a household’s electrical usage. Many countries have met energy targets by insisting on this new building code regulation.

In terms of adding solar power to the grid and allowing companies to sell solar power to utilities, there has been a clear voice calling for a break of the electrical monopoly in Japan. Softbank’s CEO Masayoshi Son has established a new pro-sustainable energy organization, the ‘Japan Renewable Energy Foundation’. He has been creating agreements with local governments to get solar farms (Mega-Solar in Japan) up and running within the next few years. Son wants to use 20% of Japan’s unused farmlands to host solar farms which would generate the same output of energy during peak hours that TEPCO (Tokyo Electric utility) can provides for Tokyo- or an impressive one-third of all Japan’s electricity needs.

Another plentiful resource around Japan is wind, yet the wind power being utilized in Japan is only at .5%. This means there is huge potential for expansion in Japan as many areas along the coast have a consistent and rather constant supply of wind day and night.

Luckily, newly set purchase rates, called FIT: feed in tariff, for commercial production of geothermal, wind and solar power is providing opportunity for new companies to get into the sustainable power industry. However, industry experts claim that if the government sets the rates too low, the industry will not grow or be profitable- they are hoping for a 20 yen per kilowhat FIT deal guaranteed for the next 20 years. It is an exciting prospect to imagine areas that cannot be used for anything else, like the uninhabitable, evacuated areas around Fukushima, to become sustainable energy power stations by covering the area in Mega-solar and wind farms.

Conclusion

Overall, Japan has been on the right track in the last few years in terms of increasing the number of women leaders and making aims for a sustainable energy future. However, in light of the huge challenges we face, only baby steps have been made up to now. The current Japanese government and influential business leaders need to make bold decisions now to make significant changes in redevelopment and recovery of this Japanese nation. The Japanese people have demonstrated that they are ready for big changes to be made to their government, industries and lifestyles. Leaders need to tap into this enthusiasm and inspire the public to back bold changes in government, industry and energy policy.