Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Illegal fishing – Koreans violate Japanese territorial waters

ATV reports on the growing problem of South Korean vessels that are illegally fishing in Japanese territorial waters:

South Korean fishermen have depleted their own coastal waters, so now many are sneaking into Japanese waters to catch more crabs and eel. Some are caught and have to pay fines, but the rewards are so great that they just go back and continue their illegal activities.

Japanese coast guard vessels can easily spot buoys that fishermen usually use to mark the location of traps, so the Korean fishermen use their GPS systems instead. There are also fishermen who sometimes cut or abandon their nets in order to quickly flee from authorities. This creates a risk that they may be lost and become “ghost fishing nets,” which do considerable environmental damage.

The area shown in the news report is off the coast of Shimane Prefecture, a poor area of Japan with little industry other than fishing. The illegal activities of South Korean fishermen and South Korea’s refusal to abide by a 1999 agreement to allow Japanese fishermen into the waters around the Korean-occupied Liancourt Rocks have made the local government very frustrated. Under these circumstances, Shimane has been quite vocal regarding the territorial dispute with Korea.

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Polar bear likes eco cars

Some crows and their creepy polar bear friend want you to buy a Subaru Impressa because it qualifies for an eco car tax cut:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Shonan Beach is filthy – stop littering!

NTV’s “Real Time News” aired a special report yesterday about Shonan Beach’s huge litter problem. Here’s an excerpt (subtitled in English):

A lot of the garbage, especially the glass bottles, comes from people who were drinking alcohol on the beach. Perhaps it would make sense to pass some strict rules about the consumption of alcohol on most areas of the beach, or at least make a very serious effort to enforce existing anti-litter laws?

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Japanese Anti-Litter PSA

A great anti-littering commercial from TV Saitama:

[hat tip to Watashi to Tokyo]

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• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Turning off the lights across Japan

Cities across Japan and Asia turned off lights for two hours on Saturday night as part of a “Candle Night” campaign to bring awareness to energy waste and other environmental issues:

The movement was started in 2003 by Shinichi Tsuj, a professor at Meiji Gakuin University who wanted to bring attention to all the energy waste going on in the world:

Tsuji had an epiphany about 10 years ago when he came back to Japan after living in the United States and Canada. He said he was dismayed by “aesthetically ugly” rows of vending machines–a sight peculiar to Japan–that were chewing up huge amounts of electricity. Since then, he has never bought a drink from a vending machine and carries a bottle of water wherever he goes.

His concerns about energy wastage helped inspire the Candle Night initiative.

“Being able to consume as much electricity as we want has been considered a sign of wealth, and we’ve smiled at satellite photos of Japan’s city lights shining brightly,” Tsuji says. “But considering the Earth’s current state, consuming so much electricity is about the most destructive thing we can do.”

Tsuji says many Japanese have become wealthy at the expense of spending time with their families and friends, or even by themselves. “Turning off the lights, which you take for granted will always be there, may seem like a small action but it has wider significance,” he said at an office of a nongovernmental organization named Namakemono Kurabu (The Sloth Club) in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, that advocates energy-saving. The windows are usually left wide open in summer. Staff go about their work under a few lightbulbs.

This year, the Candle Night campaign will be extended through July 7 to raise public awareness of the environment up to the day the Group of Eight summit meeting begins in Toyakocho, Hokkaido.

“I believe it’s in human nature to look after our environment. We can’t afford to destroy Mother Earth or its ecosystem,” Tsuji says. “I hope Candle Night to will be an opportunity to remind people of that.”

Beetle Given Government Protection

Yomiuri reports on an expensive beetle that needs protection:

The Environment Ministry has banned catching and trading a newly discovered species of stag beetle, effective Wednesday, to protect the insect from indiscriminate hunting, officials said.

The ministry made the decision after the revelation that the takaneruri kuwagata beetle, whose scientific name is Platycerus sue Imura, had been traded online. A pair of the insects was put up for auction on the Internet in January and traded for about 110,000 yen [about 1,100 USD], according to the ministry.

The one-centimeter-long insect, which was discovered by Yuki Imura, was revealed as a new species in November.

Ministry officials said the species is likely to go extinct unless steps are taken to protect the distinctly colored beetle–males have a turquoise metallic luster, while females are bronze-colored.

The insect is put under protection for three years starting from Wednesday under a law for the conservation of endangered species of wild fauna and flora, they added.