CUJ and other groups held a joint seminar about food additives at Shufuren in Tokyo on February 28, 2012. Invited speaker Nakamura Mikio made a detailed presentation about the problems, with a focus on recent developments. Japan has recently been forced to permit some 70 new food additives that are used in the US and Europe, or face the usual trade related wrath of food exporting countries. That means 423 food additives are now allowed in Japan as of December 27, 2011. Some 350 food additives have been used for a long time, with very few ones approved since the late 1960s. Nakamura Mikio revealed that over 3 million tons…
Safety Standard Or Double Standard?
Consumers Union of Japan held a seminar about radioactivity and food safety at Meiji University in Tokyo on January 29, 2012. By Emilie De Montessus (CUJ Intern from Lyon University) Furitsu Katsumi, Hyogo College of Medicine, spoke about the lessons learnt from Chernobyl. Since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, in Belarus, as well as in the outskirts of the area, measures for food safety has been taken, and there is a lot of experience with the aim to protect consumers. What are the conclusions of these experiences? Dr. Furitsu called the current approach to safety standards a double standard and expressed her concern about the ICRP radiation protection standards. Learning…
Lecture Series: Consumers’ Perspective on the TPP Problem
Consumers Union of Japan and other organizations have jointly started a lecture series to discuss the problems with free trade agreements from the consumers’ perspective. During the APEC meeting in the fall of 2011, the Noda Administration expressed that Japan will participate in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Mass media made it appear as if only farm groups are opposed to trade liberalization, belittling the difficulties while emphasizing the potential economic benefits. It seems that there are many people who do not understand what kind of influence the TPP will have over citizens’ daily lives, also among ordinary consumers. Consequently, we started this lecture series with the theme “Food…
Consumers Protest Against the Radiation Limits for Food
Consumers protest against the radiation limits for food: We strongly protest against the old provisional limit for radioactive contamination of food, while asking the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to reexamine the new limits Protest Letter To: Komiyama Yoko Minister of Health December 27, 2011 First of all, we protest against the provisional limit which was set by MHLW as high as 500 Bq per kg, and which have been applied for an extended period of time. Regarding the new limits for Caesium in food proposed by MHLW on December 21, 2011 there will be 4 categories: “General foodstuffs” (100 Bq/kg), “Food items for babies” (50 Bq/kg, a…
11,500 Participants In Yokohama Want Japan To Change Its Thinking About Nuclear Power
Change is needed for Japan to stop relying on nuclear power The large Yokohama conference on January 14-15 for a nuclear power free world was a very well organized two day event with hundreds of lectures by speakers from Japan and abroad. I was impressed by the number of different groups and NPOs that came together to share information and experiences, 10 month after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Held at the Pacifico Yokohama by the harbour, the event was an opportunity to think about energy issues. German MEP Rebecca Harms noted that Japan is now running its huge cities…