Keisuke Amagasa, Namiko Ono and other consumer activists visited the Australian Embassy in Tokyo on February 21, 2008 to deliver Japanese consumers’ request regarding genetically modified (GM) foods. They asked the Australian government, on a national level, to firmly maintain a strict GM-free policy. Australia has such a valuable ecosystem, which is unparalleled in the world, so GM crops are a real threat to the country’s unique biodiversity. They expressed the request that GM crops should be eliminated, and not accepted. They also strongly requested that Australia makes sure not to let GM canola to be cultivated now or in the future. Read the letter of request to Minister for…
Thank you South Australia!
Consumers Union of Japan took the initiative to the No! GMO Campaign that started in 1996 as a Japanese group of citizens that were alarmed by the many problems associated with genetically manipulated (GM) food. We were very encouraged and pleased recently as we received the news that South Australia decided to keep its GM moratorium. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to South Australia for taking this step. We would like to further ask that the strict GM-free policy is permanently maintained, for the sake of both consumers’ health and the environment. GM crops should be eliminated, and not accepted. We strongly request that South Australia makes sure…
Order Rokkasho Protest Postcards!
To order a set of four postcards, please send 400Yen as a donation to Consumers Union of Japan, along with your name and address (We will not use your address or information for any other purpose). – The front of each card has space for you to write your message. – The cards are pre-addressed: 1) “Prime Minister” (Postal code: 100-8914, Tokyo, Japan) 2) “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry” (Postal code: 100-8901, Tokyo, Japan) 3) “Governor of Aomori Prefecture” (Postal code: 030-8570, Aomori Prefecture, Japan) 4) “Mayor of Rokkasho Village” (Postal code: 039-3212, Aomori Prefecture, Japan) Please write a message to each of these people. – Please place a…
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Postcard Protest
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Postcard Protest (Photo: Greenpeace Japan) To protect our bountiful nature, food, and life, let us send a message to oppose the full-scale operation of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant. In November 2008, the Spent-Nuclear-Fuel Reprocessing Plant in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, is suposed to start full-scale operations. This reprocessing plant collects spent-nuclear-fuel from nuclear power plants all across Japan. Plutonium and uranium will be extracted from the spent-fuel at this facility. From here, every day, a large quantity of radiation is released into the ocean and the atmosphere. The radiation released into the ocean accumulates in the fish and seaweed. Radiation emitted into the air spreads to…
Stop Genetically Engineered Food Crops
Stop GMO The Australian (pdf) Consumers Union of Japan joined over 120 NGOs, individuals and companies that signed an advertisement published on February 7, 2008 in The Australian. Stop Genetically Engineered food crops: Australia’s next cane toad In recent years, a handful of multinational chemical companies have engineered new kinds of crops that could never occur in nature. These GE crops pose unacceptable risks to human health, the environment and the economy. Against the interests of other states, the Victorian and New South Wales Governments recently announced they will allow their bans on GE food crops to expire end February 2008. The decision from South Australia is also pending. As…