By Tomiyama Yoko, Consumers Union of Japan/Co-chair of No Nukes Festa 2009 On October 3, 2009 a big manifestation with 7000 people from all over Japan met in Meiji Park, Tokyo for the No Nukes Festa 2009. The theme of the event was to highlight the links between nuclear weapons and energy production using nuclear power. Speakers included local activists against controversial nuclear power plants aroud Japan, such as the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, the Hamaoka nuclear plants, the Kashiwasaki-Kariwa nuclear plants, and the campaign against high-level radioactive waste in Gifu prefecture.Victims from the accident at JCO in Ibaraki talked about the risks and participants heard an emotional appeal from peace…
Strong Concerns About New Consumer Agency, Consumer Committee
Consumer Agency and Consumer Committee: Launch amid Strong Concerns about Structure, Members and more By Yamaura Yasuaki Secretary General of of Consumers Union of Japan Japan’s LDP-led government scrambled to launch the Consumer Agency and the Consumer Committee on September 1, 2009. It was clear that the launch was rushed to happen while Taro Aso was still prime minister, but the LDP-selected Sumita Hiroko, who was expected to be chairman, refused to participate after criticism. Then Hayashi Fumiko from car company Nissan Co. refused to take the helm in order to participate in the election instead. Hiwasa Nobuko from food maker Snow Brand Milk Products Co. who has previously served…
Protect Biodiversity in Nagoya
Protect biodiversity from living modified organisms at MOP5 in Nagoya! Read updates here: Nagoya 2010 Japan Citizens’ Network for Planet Diversity (JCNPD) is a nationwide network for citizens who are working on protecting our food crop diversity from living modified organisms. We started this network in order to act on the United Nations’ major meeting to be held in Nagoya, October 2010, for the Protocol on Biosafety (also called Cartagena Protocol) which regulates the international trade of organisms modified by modern biotechnology (living modified organisms). We want the meeting in Nagoya to define rules to protect consumers and the environment. The rules will be a crucial element of the global…
Cloning: The Real Problem In Japan
By Yasuaki Yamaura In April 2008, Japan’s Food Safety Commission (FSC) was asked by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour to make an assessment of the safety of food from cloned animals. Somatic cell cloning has recently emerged as an issue also in Japan, and on February 29, 2009, a special assessment group on cloned animals set up in the FSC’s Expert Committee announced that such food was safe. On March 24, 2009, the Food Safety Commission once more discussed this topic. However, it became clear that there were a number of unresolved issues and serious problems related to this technology. CUJ raised several questions at this meeting. We…
Japan Resources No 147
cuj-jr-147-full-graphics (pdf) Japan Resources No 147 (full graphics) cuj-jr-147-low-graphics (pdf) Japan Resources No 147 (low graphics) Rainy season has just begun and we got some torrential downpours, but today is sunny and humid in Tokyo. We are pleased to publish two more presentations from last year’s World Foodless Day, with a focus on food prices and how to improve Japan’s low food self-sufficiency rate. Due to the many graphs and tables, we are publishing both a low-graphics version and a full graphic version this time. Please download the pdf file of your choice. – Editors