March 2008

Safety Drive

Safety First

Despite its susceptibility to earthquakes and other natural disasters, Japan is still frequently called “the safest country in the world.” The country is nevertheless starting to see safety and security falter due to problems such as counterfeit products filtering into the everyday lives of the Japanese people. The Fukuda Administration has prioritized the resolution of such problems, placing ordinary citizens to the fore in the effort to create a safer, more secure society for the future. The Japan Journal reports.

Toward a New Consumer Culture

The life of the consumer is plagued by a variety of issues that arise as globalization makes advances and as society diversifies and grows more complex. In Japan, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda himself is providing the leadership for resolving these issues and building a safe consumer society. Shigeru Hotta, deputy director-general of the Quality-of-Life Policy Bureau in the Cabinet Office, reports.

FM YY: The Vital Role of Community Radio

In a multicultural environment, it is crucial to provide multilingual information to create communities in which foreign citizens can live safely and securely and ensure that they are not left vulnerable in the event of a disaster. Having continued to operate with precisely this aim in mind, community radio station FM YY now has its sights set on Asia. The Japan Journal reports.

Strategies for Disaster Reduction

Professor Yoshiaki Kawata, executive director of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI), is an expert on storm surges and tsunamis as well as urban disasters. The Japan Journal talked with Professor Kawata about potential urban disasters of the future.

Community Design: The People’s Vision

Urban development in Japan is reaching a mature phase in terms of the building of hard infrastructure such as housing, public facilities and roads. Now community development is the order of the day, and in this field citizens themselves are taking the lead. The Japan Journal investigates.

Uniting Nations at the Summit

Masakazu Yamazaki, a playwright, critic and chair of the Central Council for Education, argues that the priority for the G8 Summit this year must be the formation of a united front of influential nations to combat global warming.

"Intensive Usage" of Resources Yields Dividends

Environmental technologies worthy of the popular "future-oriented" epithet have steadily taken hold in Japan. Ryu Arakawa spotlights two remarkable examples.

Land of Make Belief

Japan has "regained its confidence to lead the world in terms of monodzukuri," writes Yasuhiro Goto, who examines the strengths of—and challenges facing—Japan's unique, "handed down" manufacturing skills.

In Tandem with East Asia

The Japan Journal interviews Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Chairman Yasuo Hayashi.

On the Waterfront

The 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit was held in December in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture. Satoru Kurosawa outlines Japan’s role as a leading donor and opinion leader in the area of water and sanitation and explains how, on the basis of agreements reached at the Summit, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) intends to provide aid and contribute to solutions to the world’s many water-related problems.

Homes to Last

Many Japanese homebuyers wouldn’t consider anything except a brand new property, but the government hopes to create a market for secondhand homes, reports Tony McNicol.