Article: Green power blooms as Japan unveils hydrangea solar cell (19 August 2014)

Link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/green-power-blooms-as/1320204.html

This article brings in a new take on green energy with aesthetic values in Japan as it introduces the hydrangea solar cell; the dye –sensitized cells can be doubled as decorations when they are molded into various designs like flowers and animated characters.

Here, Japan is being portrayed to be enhancing its “green” image to the world, this time not only are the Japanese seeking new environmentally-friendly energy resources but they are also trying to incorporate aesthetics appeal to reach out to the public. For instance the citizens are not satisfied with nuclear plants and wind power generation as they still bring in other problems such as radiation and undesirable noises despite being noted as environmentally friendly. Utilizing aesthetic designs like flowers, the industry directly taps on the Japanese innate ‘love for nature’ (Kalland and Asquith, 1997) and market the solar cells as “enjoyable” energy resources. Hence other than Eco-friendliness, “green” encompasses aesthetic aspects too in the case of Japan.

From the article, granted it is noteworthy for Japan to redefine “green” through hydrangea solar cells and appeal to the community, it is imperative to recognize that they still serve little purposes in alleviating the dilemma that Japan is currently facing. The Japanese government is actively pursuing alternative energy to replace nuclear energy due to the rising protests of nuclear usage since the last nuclear plant leaks in Fukushima. While the 20 centimeter wide hydrangea solar cell box can be a great addition to the household decorations, it provides low practical use in terms of overall energy contribution as each box only provides enough energy to charge a smartphone twice. In addition, the article also admitted that the energy hydrangea solar cells can offer is just “small beer” compared to the wind power farms in Japan.

While presented with “enjoyable energy”, the highlight of hydrangea solar cells can also be problematic as it shifts the focus away from the necessitation to break off from nuclear energy reliance. With every new introduction of energy resources, Japan will have more alternatives to depend on. However Japan is in need of substitutes capable of fueling the country instead of fulfilling aesthetic appeals. Given the limited pool of substitutes as of now, the government and research industries will be required to seek even more effective alternatives should Japan choose to be thoroughly free from nuclear reliance in the near future.

References

Asquith, Pamela and Arne Kalland. 1997. ‘Japanese Perceptions of Nature: Ideals and Illusions’. In Japanese Images of Nature: Cultural Perspectives, ed. Arne Kalland and Pamela Asquith. Surrey, Curzon Press: 1-35.

Article: A year after winning Olympics, Tokyo faces hurdles in move from bid to build

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/winning-olympics-tokyo-faces-hurdles-move-bid-build-114104032–oly.html

This article is about challenges faced in building the new National Stadium in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. In addition to ballooning costs and difficulty fulfilling a vision of hosting the Games within 25 km of Tokyo’s vicinity, the article devotes a section to environmental concerns surrounding this sporting event. Despite promoting sustainability and the use of eco-friendly technology throughout Tokyo, environmentalists fear that hosting the Games will be at the expense of rare green areas in the crowded city. It highlights the risks faced by a seaside park which is proposed as the site for some of the Olympic water sports. This move threatens the park which features pine forests and a bird sanctuary as it will require cutting down most of the trees and dumping fresh water (trucked from far inland) into the sea, which then may damage the wetlands ecosystem.

The political ecology is defined by the pressure to deliver the promises made by the Japanese government when they put in their bid for the event. As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, nature in Tokyo consists of highly controlled areas of parks and gardens. Here, Japan’s image of being ‘green’ is strongly reflected as something superficial in the face of economic gains from hosting the international sporting event. This supports Kirby’s view that nature is appropriated for social interactions, and Totman’s idea that nature is ‘a matter of recreation and luxury’. Indeed, were these small pieces of greenery to disappear, it implies that this city, a representative of Japan, is unable protect its ‘green’ environment in the face of international pressures, appearing less as a ‘green’ nation to the world. This was heatedly conveyed through the words of an activist who questioned “how does destroying nature equal hospitality?” to one of the mantras of the Tokyo’s bid.

However, these issues have the support of environmental activists and an international audience to leverage for greater ‘green’ considerations when planning and building for the Tokyo Olympics. This wider media responses and support signal hope for a city at the cross-roads between staying ‘green’ and going ‘brown’.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-24/japan-gives-buyers-40-off-to-drive-toyota-fuel-cell-car.html

This article highlights Japan’s continuing efforts to promote zero-emission cars, in this case by supplying a thus-far unsurpassed (if true) amount of subsidy per vehicle to the owners of Toyota Motor’s first hydrogen-powered car, a vehicle that does not release carbon-based pollutant exhaust from its fuel source.

One line in the passage summarizes the aspect of ‘green’ Japan is associated with here perfectly. Thanh Ha Pham notes that “fuel cells are one of the few frontiers where Japan can lead the market”, echoing the rest of the passages’ focus on Japan’s role as a country on the frontier of new technologies that promote the production of ‘green energy’.

The economic aspect looms large over this story, as might be expected. The article notes that the Japanese government had already unveiled plans to generate “1 trillion yen in revenue by 2030”, plans in which the spread of the cars is an important first step. Also, the subsidy is also slated to by far surpass any given so far, with China and California being quoted as examples. But as Moon (1997, in Kalland and Asquith) has noted, green needs to make money as well to catch on, and as Kirby (2011) observed the government often plays a role in affecting popular views on nature – if the subsidies help to sweeten the transition, it is at worst a necessary evil.

One might question if the ‘green’ car is truly so. As much as Waley (2008) and Aldritch (2011) have to say about water and dams, they also make the wider point that attempts to affect nature, whether to control or live with it, have wide-ranging side effects that are hard to track.

Similarly, one wonders if the processes required to create cost-efficient car parts and to make the money used for subsidies are themselves ‘green’ in the same sense, or indeed any sense of the word at all. However, the fact that they may not be may yet be another necessary evil. Un-green processes are still firmly entrenched in the world’s production infrastructure. Even supposedly green technologies like solar panels are implicated by the toxic by-products of their construction.

The zero-emission vehicle is not free of this problem, but it reduces it in the long term. Well regulated it is a step in the right direction, and the more steps taken that-a-ways, the better.

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Bibliography:

Aldrich, D. (2008). Site fights. 1st ed. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp.95-118.

Asquith, P. and Kalland, A. (1997). Japanese images of nature. 1st ed. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, pp.221-235.

Kirby, P. (2011). Troubled natures. 1st ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, pp.69-84.

Waley, P. and Aberg, E. (2011). Finding space for flowing water in Japan’s densely populated landscapes. Environment and Planning A: international journal of urban and regional research, 43(10), pp.2321–2336.

Article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/02/15/environment/culture-and-nature-vie-over-ancient-hinoki/#.VAxAxWSSy1J

As the title suggests, my article focuses on the debate over the relationship between culture and nature and how to achieve a balance between the two. Japan’s hinoki forests are depleting at a rapid rate as timber is in demand for the maintenance and construction of traditional temples and shrines. The Forestry Agency has decided to integrate restoration plans to their already existing conservation policies to harmonize the forest into its more natural state. This is indeed an improvement from plantation forests that reflects only a superficial attempt at forestry protection.

This dispute between environmental, cultural and economic concerns requires a compromise that cannot be easily obtained. In relation to what Kirby have said, the Japanese love of nature is a superficial ideal that ignores any ecological behaviors that causes environmental degradation. (72) Indeed, after reading this article, it is hard to picture Japan as a “green” nation when its natural hinoki forests are on the verge of depletion. Besides that, the article also examines who controls and determines the access to these resources. How does the Forestry Agency decide how much trees should be logged and auctioned off to timber companies without excessively harming the environment?

Furthermore, this also begs the question of whether culture is more important than nature. At first glance, nature and culture cannot seem to coexist, given that culture is an anthropological concept. However, as stated by Kalland and Asquith, nature is an integral part of Shinto, where the kami is believed to reside in nature entities and also in Buddhism, where humans should strive to live in harmony with nature. (2) Thus, it is ironic that the Japanese seeks to destroy nature by using the hinoki trees to reconstruct their shrines and temples when their cultures demand them to treasure it. Perhaps what Japan desires is not so much a preservation of culture as to gain economic benefits from the promotion of their cultures.

Nature as a commodity has been a perpetual problem in Japan and it is interesting to see whether nature can subsist with the increased emphasis on culture. This artice shows that there is substantial effort by the government to present a “green” Japan through the conservation and restoration of depleted natural resources, though the success of these strategies have yet to be determined.

References:

Asquith, Pamela, and Arne Kalland. Japanese Images of Nature: Cultural Perspectives. Surrey: Curzon Press, 1997. Print.

Kirby, Peter Wynn. Troubled Natures: Waste, Environment, Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2011. Print.

As the title suggests, the article focuses on how the popular muraokoshi undo movement, as suggested by Moon, has propelled popular support for Furusato policies employed by the local governments. I have chosen this article as it clearly articulates the various motivations of the multitude of actors involved in this movement. These include the local government, various interest groups, villagers, as well as urbanites.

The Abe administration under current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe serves as the largest proponent of the movement. Given that local elections are drawing near, the administration is thus driven towards success, which would put them in favorable light. As quoted in the article, their success indicator is to ‘invigorate rural economies before local elections’ in 2015. Granted, it appears that power serves as a motivating factor, but national interest is too a powerful influencing force. Propelled by fears that ‘900 population centers may disappear within a generation’, the Abe administration is thus morally obligated to prevent such a phenomenon. Based on reports, the Furusato movement was focused on ‘increasing the non-resident population’ instead of popular belief – that economic motivation was the key factor involved.

Yet while that is the official statement made public, it is undeniable that economic factors are key to the success of the Furusato movement. The article shows how varying interest groups have lobbied in favor of Furusato, since the movement would help boost Japan’s regional economic influence. As a result, the government has since ‘pledged 4 trillion to boost railway and road construction projects’. Such projects serve to increase ease of travel to rural ‘furusatos’, which in turn increases economic revenue for the villagers.

Undeniably, increased economic revenue (Moon) is of most importance to the villagers. Due to constant outmigration as well as an aging population, rural villages have begun to find it hard to use farming as their source of livelihood. Surviving on farming is thus not lucrative – other sources of income are thus necessary. This also points back to the commodification of nature for Man’s use, as mentioned in Moon’s piece.

And lastly, the article suggests that contributions to the Furusato movement are largely motivated by moral obligation. (Moon, Robertson) For instance, Hisako Yoshida, a tax accountant, only started contributing to the movement from normative pressures. Given that her clients are all participants in the system, she sought a connection with them by participating in it as well. Besides, considering the trend of feeling displaced and lacking a place of belonging, urbanites are thus more willing to donate and contribute. This is further supported by policies employed by the government, which allows them tax deductions, and ‘ease of donation through simplification of payment procedures’. Doing so allows them to feel a sense of belonging to a ‘furusato’ of their own, be it their hometown, or an ‘adoptive’ village they have chosen.

While the Furusato movement has gained much ground within the 6 years of its implementation, I am of the opinion that it is not all good and may actually be rather unsustainable. For instance, the article mentioned that the movement achieved a ‘record 65 billion’ in donations – which sounds like a massive amount. Yet upon closer inspection, one realizes that this amount is as such, only because of the two major natural disasters that happened then (earthquake and tsunami). This is a worrying sign as the losses borne as a result of the disasters might be larger than that of donations. Thus, there might be a net loss as opposed to a net gain. Besides, there is the question of transparency – how much of the funds are being actually used for revitalisation? Also, how sustainable are these sources of donation?

Besides, annual donations do not improve the situation of population decline. Evident from research I have done, it appears that the ‘in-migration’ is largely made up of nature tourists (kalland and asquith) who visit during their holidays, or retirees who seek oneness with nature in their old age. As such, these trends imply that these rural population centers are still susceptible to disappearing, as nature tourists are unlikely to focus on maintaining these rural centers.

Also, as Moon and Robertson suggest, by fuelling these movements and facilitating construction of rail and transport services, environmental degradation is a necessary evil that they have to face.

also – in comparison to the articles on dams, I found it highly ironic that the government could make deliberate decisions that opt to wipe out numerous villages for dam construction while selectively choosing to preserve certain villages. Here, I wonder – so what exactly is the criteria by which they decide by?

Bibliography

Kalland, A. and Asquith, P.J. (1997) Japanese Perceptions of Nature: ideals and illusions. Japanese Images of Nature,  UK: Curzon

O. Moon, “Marketing Nature in Rural Japan,” in Japanes Images of Nature, P. J. Asquith and A. Kalland, Richmond: Curzon, 1997

Robertson, Jennifer. 1988. ‘Furusato Japan: The Culture and Politics of Nostalgia’. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 1(4): 494-518.

Article: Japanese architects make it big on world stage, not with monuments but with a natural sensibility (10 August 2014)

Link: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/10/japan-architects-make-it-big-on-world-stage-not-with-monuments-but-with-natural/

This article highlights the rise of a “new generation” of Japanese architects who are achieving success and recognition that is attributed to their specific style of design that has been called “uniquely Japanese”. Here, Japan is represented and presented as having a special connection with and sensitivity to nature that is reflected in its style of architecture. This Japanese architecture is characterised by a blending with nature, and a focus on natural shapes and building materials (e.g. wood).

However, extending beyond the choice of materials and design styles, the article puts forth the idea that being one with nature is embedded in the Japanese psyche, or DNA. This sentiment is echoed specifically by two of the architects – architect Sou Fujimoto declares that the “understanding of the connection between nature and the man-made is Japanese.” Kengo Kumo also states that this is something that is part of the “[Japanese] genetic makeup”. The image thus being presented is that familiar myth of Japan and Japanese people having an intrinsic and built-in love of nature (Kalland and Asquith, 1997).

Even the fact that this style of Japanese architecture is a relatively new phenomenon (rather than something that has been ever-present) is conveniently explained away by saying that their predecessors, who did not exhibit such “natural sensibilities” in their designs, were actually emulating their Western counterparts. In such a manner, the idea of Japanese architecture being “natural” is also achieved by comparing and contrasting Japanese and Western architecture – the latter described in negative terms such as “monster skyscrapers”, made by “merely… stacking blocks on top of each other”.

However, as Kalland and Asquith (1997), Kirby (2011), and other scholars have refuted, this idea of an intrinsic and unique ‘Japanese love for nature’ is in fact a myth, which the article itself alludes to. Kuma himself admires an American architect (Frank Lloyd Wright) who is known for his designs that “[cherish] nature and people”. Another featured architect, Shigeru Ban, clearly rejects the idea that his designs are Japanese or traditional, pointing out that these so-called Japanese influences can also be seen in American architects – yet he is still included in this list of architects with a “Japanese natural sensibility”, and the overall message conveyed in the article is that there is a style of architecture, sensitive to nature, that is uniquely Japanese, furthering the myth of a nature-loving Japan, even in the sphere of architecture.

Article: When industry works in step with nature from The Japan Times by C.W. Nicol
Link: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/05/31/environment/industry-works-step-nature/#.U_mGKfk70TJ 

Reviewer: Anita Sin

This article portrays the success story of a Japanese company – Sanden Corp – in its effort to become more sustainable and eco-friendly.  In the late 1980s, Sanden Corp bought over a large tract of land near the foot of Mount Akagi and wanted to build a golf course there but the locals protested against it. In the end, Sanden Corp built and opened Akagi Industrial Plant in year 2002 on half of the land while the other half was set aside as Sanden Forest whereby the physical environment was preserved and improved upon. For example, ’40 species of trees totaling some 30,000 specimens’ were planted in Sanden Forest and an environmental center which ‘attracts some 15,000 visitors a year’ is also built (The Japan Times, 2014). Schools and environmental groups were also allowed into the forest for academic purposes and from local history research, this plot of land ‘revealed sites dating back to the Neolithic Jomon Period… and the succeeding iron-age Yayoi Period’ which made the preservation of the forest even more notable (ibid).

This success story represented Japanese companies as being ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’ as Sanden Corp won various prizes in Japan and around the world due to its ‘green’ efforts. Japan itself was also being portrayed as being relatively ‘greener’ when compared to other countries as it was mentioned that people came from China and India to take a look at this case study. Such representations in this article might be what Kalland and Asquith (1997: 25) sees as a way Japan “partake in a ‘global ideology of nature’ and define their own ‘cultural identity’”. It is also a way Japan uses nature ‘in its orientalist discourse…both at home and abroad’ (ibid, p. 25).

Such a green representation can also come across as problematic as we know that not all Japanese companies are as such and that Japan is laden with environmental problems. For example, Japan chose coal as a long-term electricity source in its new energy plan even though they could have used the Fukushima nuclear accident to make the switch to renewable energy supplies (Bloomberg, 2014).

On the other hand, as much as this representation can be problematic to a large extent, this representation can be seen in a much positive light as it contradicts Kellert’s (1991) critique in Kalland and Asquith’s (1997: 7) paper that the Japanese ‘expressed little ethical or ecological orientation to conserve nature and wildlife’. In addition, such articles provide good role models for other Japanese companies and are positive articles that we can draw hope from in Japan’s attempt at becoming more sustainable.

Biblography 

Bloomberg (2014) ‘Post-Fukushima Japan Chooses Coal Over Renewable Energy’ Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-13/post-fukushima-japan-chooses-coal-over-renewable-energy.html (accessed 20 August 2014)

The Japan Times (2013) ‘When industry works in step with nature’ Available at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/05/31/environment/industry-works-step-nature/#.U_ojkPmSx5y (accessed 20 August 2014)

Kalland, A. and Asquith, P.J. (1997) Japanese Perceptions of Nature: ideals and illusions. Japanese Images of Nature,  UK: Curzon

Kellert, S.R. (1991) in Kalland, A. and Asquith, P.J. (1997) Japanese Perceptions of Nature: ideals and illusions. Japanese Images of Nature,  UK: Curzon