Here is Japan Resources, the online magazine from Consumers Union of Japan. We started this service back in the 1980s as a photo-copied effort to spread information about current issues in Japan, in English. We hope you help spread it to friends and colleagues. Do quote our articles and use them – we enjoy your feedback and appreciate the concern earlier this spring when the CUJ website was down, as we changed server to a more consumer-friendly company! – Editors Please download Japan Resources JR 162 (pdf file) January-July 2015 CUJ Resolutions “Function Claims” Not the Same as Actual Benefits for Consumers GMO Free Zone Meetings Fair Finance Japan Symposium &…
CUJ Resolutions at the 42nd Annual Meeting in June, 2015
1) We oppose the security bills aimed at changing Japan’s constitution, and urge the government to protect the people’s right to live in peace and safety 70 years after the end of WW2, the Japanese government is introducing a number of controversial bills to change the post-war constitution, allowing for a more active military role for Japan. For 70 years, we have lived as peaceful consumers and workers. Our way of peacefully earning a living is now being destroyed as the Abe Cabinet tries to abolish Article 9 of the constitution, and allow for collective self-defense, which ultimately means Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) will be turned into a regular military…
“Function Claims” Not The Same As Actual Benefits For Consumers
Consumers are facing a new range of “function claims” on foods as the government has introduced a novel scheme that allows companies to market foods without any independent review or approval process. The rules for the Food with Functional Claims (FCC) legislation have not yet been published in English. We are already seeing products advertised to the general public in Japan. Consumers Union of Japan and other organisations are very critical of this new approach to food labelling. Since 1991, hundreds of products have been using the Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) scheme which at least have some degree of regulatory control – but the industry has claimed that…
GMO Free Zone Meetings
The No! GMO Campaign and Consumers Union of Japan, together with other groups and NGOs, held the 10th GMO Free Zone meeting in Aso, Kumamoto on March 7, 2015. Over 500 consumers, farmers, scientists and others participated in the successful event. We also went to Berlin, Germany for the large European GMO Free Zone conference, with 450 activists from all over the world. European Conference on GMO Free Regions 2015 The grass root resistance against genetically modified organisms and GM food is growing even as the largest biotech company, Monsanto, is trying to take over its rival, Syngenta, to create an even stronger hold on GMO seeds and the agrochemicals…
Fair Finance Japan: Help Your Bank Become More Ethical!
Some banks and pension funds have rules about what kind of companies they invest in. For example, ethical investment means the funds do not support companies involved in weapons manufacturing or environmental destruction. Human rights and labour rights are other issues that many people should urge their banks to support. Since starting in 2009, a Dutch initiative has grown into an international campaign, Fair Finance Guide. Now, Japan also joins this great project, started by A Seed Japan, JACSES and PARC. They have carefully investigated five of Japan’s largest banks. Their new website (http://fairfinance.jp)* will help you compare their score on a range of issues. For example, Mizuho Bank scores…