EARTH CONSCIOUS

[--October.1998--]

Ariteru Machida (Deputy Manager, Japan Tourist Association)	Oct. 30(Fri)
Nikko is one of the prime autumn destinations for everyone wanting to see the fall colors. But this year's strange weather patterns have apparently affected the flowering of plants in and around Nikko. The most commonly known flowering shrub in Nikko, the palm azalea (yashi-otsutsuji), flowered this year at the end of March, when normally it would wait until the TOP of April to bloom. An unusually warm September has also apparently delayed the onset of the first frosts, making the fall colors come on later too. Forecasters are predicting that a sharp fall in the temperature will soon bring an abrupt end to the fall season. We asked Ariteru Machida from the Japan Tourist Association for some advice for those of us visiting Nikko this year.
"Many people visit Nikko by car these days. We'd like to ask all the motorists please not to feed the monkeys in the Nikko area. Also, if you drop bags from the convenience store or supermarket, there is a possibility that they may attack you--so please be careful. When humans try to feed wild animals, they risk the wild animals breaking down the barriers between these two separate worlds. So, please take precautions to make sure you don't become the victim of any wild animals."

/A><Tsutomu Ochiai (lighting designer)	Oct. 29(Thu)
October 21 is Lamp Day in Japan. Currently there is an exhibition entitled "Lamps in Lifestyles" being shown at an interior design spot in Shinjuku, the Living Design Center--which is very popular with young people. The exhibition includes displays of various designs of lights, featuring special energy-conserving electric light bulbs that last six times longer and consume only a quarter of the energy of regular bulbs. Taking place at this trendy location, the exhibition tackles the issue of saving energy, an issue from which young people can tend to shy away. We talked to Tsutomu Ochiai, who, besides planning the event, also works as an interior lighting designer.
"Many young couples and people living on their own don't have much space to work with at home, I think. But even if they want to make the place look nice with lots of lights around, because they have lots of stuff crammed into such a small space, there just isn't the room for all those lights. So I think the idea has to be to keep the main lighting as compact as possible and then use small, hand-made lights for the rest. And your basic lighting set-up has to conserve energy, since you're using it every day. So I think small fluorescent lamps are perfect for this function. Many young interior designers, artisans and architects are using these kinds of compact fluorescent lamps to experiment making new types of living spaces for the 21st century."

Hirofumi Yamashita (representative of the Japan Marshland Network)	Oct. 28(Wed)
In the October edition of Time for Kids, the sister publication of Time magazine, a Japanese person was selected as one of "the world's heroes." These heroes are people from all over the world honored for their contribution to the cause of environmental protection. The person selected from Japan was Hirofumi Yamashita, the chief representative of the Japan Marshland Network. He has been protesting against the reclamation of Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture, which has involved the draining of the local marshlands. Here is his message.
"For me it's a great honor to have my efforts over the last 30 years on a variety of environmental issues--particularly trying to save the tidal mud flats--recognized in this way. It's also particularly appropriate because I consider myself the "children's general" in these matters: adults are pretty useless. Quite recently I've been going around a lot of places, realizing that it's only the younger generation that is looking to the future who you can ask to help. "When I first started campaigning to save the tidelands about 30 years ago, there wasn't much interest in such things either within Japan or around the world. I think what has been most important is that I've consistently focused on this issue all this time. We're almost in the 21st century now, but I think that we're approaching an age where we will have to balance the rights of humans with the needs of the environment. Tidelands have an intimate connection with how man lives in those areas where they are prevalent. If we lose that environment, it will the end for us too. I consider it my international duty to continue to appeal to everybody--particularly the children--to save the tidelands, and stress just how important their survival is to us all."

Osamu Shoujima (Central Committee, Japanese Sake Brewers Association)	Oct. 27(Tue)
The Japanese sake brewing industry has been recycling the standard 1.8-liter sake bottles (the so-called 'isshoubin') it produces for quite a long time now. In addition, the whole process of making sake has hardly ever had a detrimental effect on the environment. But there has traditionally been one problem: how to dispose of the large volumes of sake lees produced? Recently, the industry has started recycling these lees in various ways. We asked Osamu Shoujima, the director of the Japanese Sake Brewers Association's Central Committee how this was being done.
"Sake lees* are a by-product of the sake brewing process. In olden times these were used to make sweet sake (amazake) or pickle vegetables. Recently, however, people's lifestyle habits have changed and the amounts of narazuke* or kasuzuke being produced have dropped considerably. Also, production methods have improved, further reducing the quantities of lees produced. Finally, research has shown that sake lees could be good for us if made into health and beauty products. So, with all these developments, currently only small amounts of sake lees are actually ever thrown away." * called sakekasu in Japanese a dish called kasuzuke * pickles seasoned with sake lees

Yoshio Tomioka (Japan Horse Racing Association)	Oct. 26(Mon)
The premier part of the Japanese horse racing season kicked off the other day with the race for the Autumn Grand Prize (shunkashou). One of the inevitable things associated with horse racing is the paper waste created, particularly when everyone throws away their now-worthless betting slips. How to dispose of all this paper waste? We discussed this question with Yoshio Tomioka, who is on the Environmental Protection Committee set up by the Japan Horse Racing Association (JRA) last year.
"Take, for example, JR train tickets. These have a special ferrite or iron oxide backing. If you remove this, the tickets become like ordinary used paper and you can recycle them. But in the case of betting slips, because the amount of information contained on them is so much larger, plus to prevent counterfeiting, we have to use a special kind of ferrite for the backs of them. As a result it becomes impossible to separate the magnetic and paper parts of the slips completely--so it is not possible with current technology to recycle betting slips into usable paper. "However, it is possible to process them into something other than paper, and this is what we have been considering doing. We've also been looking into whether there might be a better method than the magnetic strips for encoding all the various information needed. "Horses and humans have been co-existing for as long as we can remember. We use them in agriculture. Horse droppings become manure, and so on. This has all been a part of the natural cycle, without any particular thought given to environmental conservation. Humans have been using and living alongside horses for so long, and the idea of recycling has naturally been a part of this relationship. "But in the case of all the trash deposited at race tracks and in the stands, we just don't know what's in it and just how much of that people have brought along with them. However, we are now tackling this issue seriously. From next year, the whole of the JRA is stepping up its activities to deal with all the paper trash created, and right now we're making the necessary preparations to be able to do this."

Dieter Marks (Chairman, Deutsche Romantische Strasse [German Romantic Road] Association)	Oct. 23(Fri)
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the twinning of the Deutsche Romantische Strasse and Japanische Romantische Strasse (German and Japanese Romantic Roads). To celebrate this event, Dieter Marks, Chairman of the Deutsche Romantische Strasse Association, has come to Japan. The Deutsche Romantische Strasse extends 350 km through the southern part of Germany, connecting the towns of Wurzburg and Fussen. Recently it has become a magnet for Japanese tourists seeking a relaxing holiday. We asked him how traveling along the route can help you understand better the German attitude towards nature.
"In Germany, nature conservation and environmental protection are taken very seriously. We've become fairly advanced in these areas, even if I do say so myself. As well as being a cultural legacy and of great historical importance, the Romantische Strasse is also full of beautiful scenery. We've put in a lot of effort to ensure that this beauty is protected, and we intend to carry on doing this. "Let me give you an example to illustrate what I mean. Many Japanese will have heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, which is situated near the town of Schwangau on the route. There was a plan to build a large hotel in the area. But, about a week ago, the construction plans were thrown out due to the opposition of the townspeople. The important thing here is that it wasn't just the politicians making the decision here--the voice of the local people was heard and proved critical. I think it's a good example of how Germans have taken environmental protection to heart. "This is the third time I've come to visit the Japanische Romantische Strasse. I was very moved this time round with the beauty of the natural scenery here. I hope everyone in Japan will make the necessary effort to protect this beauty so that many people will continue to come and visit."

Hirokazu Kusabana (Social Environment Dept., Kirin Beer)	Oct. 22(Thu)
You generally think of beer as the drink of summer, but recently it's become a drink for all seasons. Kirin Beer believes in maintaining the environment as a critical part of making beer. We talked to Hirokazu Kusabana of their Social Environment Dept. about the reasons for this attitude, and what sort of actions they undertake to implement this policy.
"Because its key ingredients are barley, hops and water, you could say that beer is really a gift of the earth. So, because we need good ingredients to make good beer, we believe that it's important to protect the earth and its environment. "We're taking a variety of steps to make this earth-friendly policy a reality. One is our new lightweight bottle, which is 21% lighter that ordinary beer bottles. This means that the energy used in creating the bottle is also 21% less, so these new lightweight bottles help save energy. When loaded onto trucks for distribution, the entire load becomes about 10% lighter, which means we can load about 10% more beer per truck than before. We also save about 10% on our fuel bills, plus the amount of carbon dioxide produced is also reduced. This all has a positive effect on global warming. Lastly, the change has a human benefit too. Because the bottle is lighter, it's easier to handle. The shape is a lot slimmer, so people with smaller hands, like women, can hold the bottle more easily. So it's easier to pour Kirin Beer these days--meaning you'll be able to drink it all the quicker!"

Kyouko Koizumi (singer)	Oct. 21(Wed)
Kyouko Koizumi talks earnestly and with passion about environmental issues. She told us how the apartment block where she lives is very strict about garbage disposal, making everyone separate their trash properly. She does all sorts of little detailed things, like washing plastic trays before throwing them away, or returning PET bottles to the convenience store. Here is her message.
"I'm very interested in environmental issues. Whenever I hear about a certain issue, I end up talking very passionately about it. But I wonder why, with all that coverage every single day on the television, in the newspapers and magazines, why is nobody taking much notice? The problem really is that we all have to realize individually what's going on. If you maintain something properly, then it can still be used even as it ages. But nobody seems to be thinking that we need to do that kind of maintenance to the earth. We seem to be particularly bad at realizing that here in Japan. We should be looking to other countries and learning. Then, I think it would be good if we could all decide to do something more--something significant--ourselves."

Lena Lindahl (Sweden Environment News)	Oct. 20(Tue)
Lena Lindahl was born in Sweden, where environmental protection is taken very seriously. Having lived in Japan now for 10 years, she publishes a monthly fax newsletter that aims to introduce environmental topics being discussed in Sweden to Japanese people. We talked to Lena about her trip home this summer on holiday.
"All that's left of nature in Tokyo now are the animals and the people. I think the environmental awareness of Japanese people has stemmed less from a spirit of loving nature than from a concern for personal health. "The whole process of separating and disposing of toxic rubbish, such as mercury, and the information made available to consumers on this, is not very advanced here in Japan. For example, while I was home in Sweden this summer, my father received a letter from the Stockholm Environmental Administration Office with some stickers enclosed. The letter asked us to put a sticker on the gauge on the house's oil heater, because this meter contains mercury. The sticker warned us of this and reminded us to dispose of it as toxic waste by taking it along to the appropriate place. "You know, we all need air and water to live. That's one fact of human life that will never change. And if the air or the water gets destroyed, we're finished. That's one thing we must never forget."

Takashi Makino (designer of children's environments)	Oct. 19(Mon)
Living in Tsukechi Gorge in Gifu Prefecture, Takashi Makino is lucky enough to be surrounded by nature. There he has built a toy factory, called "The Rainbow Forest," where he, together with his father Tatsuo and his brother Yutaka, make original wooden toys. He told us how once he went to a toy fair and was fascinated to see how children--despite being so used to video games--could be so transfixed by the sight of wooden toys. It got him thinking about the different ways you could play with them. We asked him about his toy-making activities.
"One of the things we're trying to do is to create toys that are made of wood but which you can play with in your mind. What I mean by that is that you can enjoy them by just looking, without necessarily picking them up to play with them. Of course anyone can play with them--ordinary kids, handicapped children, even older people. But we design our toys so that even without playing with them you can enjoy and appreciate them. Wood is much easier to use to create this effect, plus it has a warmth and smell about it that means you don't even have to touch--you can just look and enjoy the fragrance, feel the warmth exuded by the grain. I think all our wood products manage to evoke these sorts of feelings in people, so that's why we continue to use wood. "You see, if you have these sorts of toys around the house, they sort of give you this warm and fuzzy feeling inside--don't you think? You look at them and can't help grinning. Just one or two toys lying around the place and, even without touching them, you're happy and smiling. And if the parents have this warm, fuzzy smile on their faces, of course the children are going to feel the same way. And toys that can do that create a good environment, I think."

Kindayu Kogure (Chairman, Japan Hot Springs Association)	Oct. 16(Fri)
Now that we're half way through October, we're right in the TOP of the fall excursion season. Many people will probably be planning to take a small break this weekend. And the main focus of these autumn get-aways? Of course--onsen, or hot springs. But as well as being an integral part of Japanese culture, they are also a gift of nature. When we go to an onsen, we are in effect drawing on the power of nature to heal our bodies and soothe our souls. Today we received a message from Kindayu Kogure, chairman of the Japan Hot Springs Association.
"Onsen are a present to mankind from Mother Earth. But they're not an infinite resource--they are limited. If we just use them endlessly without any regard for them, they will surely dry up and we won't be able to use them anymore. I would like everyone to be aware of this important fact so that we can learn to treat onsen carefully. "Just as oil is a precious resource worldwide, so onsen, too, are a product of the earth, which means they can be exhausted--like all other natural resources. So we have to treat them with great care. This is not just for our benefit--it's for the benefit of the next generation and the generations that will come after them. "People are talking around the world about environmental conservation, and they are advocating various solutions. But I think we need to think about developing the earth in such a way that the generations coming after us can also easily institute sustainable development policies. The same argument applies to onsen. I'd like people to understand that onsen are a treasure for mankind. They are of immense use and benefit to us all, and this is why they are so valuable. Here at the Japan Hot Springs Association, we're working hard to help people understand these facts better."

Kenjirou Tanaka (Head, Survey Dept., Kagoshima Prefectural Environmental Technology Association)	Oct. 15(Thu)
Recently, the Kagoshima Prefectural Environmental Technology Association published the "Kagoshima Nature Memorial Databook." It's the first time anyone has published a basic reference material on the wonderful--but sometimes threatened--wildlife and nature you can see within Kagoshima Prefecture. One of the aims of the book is to prevent environmental destruction. The writers are hoping that all those within the bureaucracy and in the private sector responsible for development policies will have a look at the book and, as a result, seek a better balance, allowing nature to better co-exist alongside the various prefectural development projects. We talked with Kenjirou Tanaka, who edited the book.
"We have a lot of valuable species of wildlife living in Kagoshima Prefecture--such as the cranes at Izumi and the small, flaxen-haired rabbit. We wanted to use the book to introduce to everybody all the natural sights and species that have been designated as needing special care--not just at national or prefectural level, but also by lower levels of government. If everyone knows where these valuable species' habitats are located, then it becomes possible to plan development around them better. And we hope that this databook will become the basic reference guide planners need to be able to do just that. "We've also sent copies to educational committees so that it can be used for children's better environmental education. On the development side, we've sent copies to those people in the civil engineering and forestry management sections of public organizations. The issue at the heart of all these efforts is whether we should continue allowing our resources and energy to be frittered away--as they often are now: whether we are going to continue to live lifestyles that involve throwing away enormous amounts of waste. The time has come for us to take these issues seriously for once."

Naomi Kon (member of the "Clean Can Working" volunteer group)	Oct. 14(Wed)
Over the summer there have been a variety of public cleaning campaigns conducted in the parks and streets of many regions of Japan. Today we talked with Naomi Kon, who participated in a volunteer activity group called "Clean Can Working," sponsored by Takara Shuzo, which collected rubbish on the Kugenuma coast around Enoshima. She told us she had taken part in this project three times this year. Had she been interested in volunteer work for a long time?
"This summer I took part in the "Clean Can Working" volunteer project sponsored by Takara Shuzo. We were picking up litter around the Kugenuma coast at Enoshima. I've taken part three times now this year. The first time, to tell the truth, I wasn't that interested in volunteer work, and I felt I was only taking part because there were other people from my company there. But, when we started picking up rubbish, I was surprised how much we all got into it. There were loads of cans and plastic bags everywhere--plus the cinders left behind by spent fireworks. I thought it was such apity that there were obviously so many people who wouldn't take this sort of rubbish home with them. "Now that I've done this kind of volunteer work, it really shocks me to see someone casually litter the place. And now I've also started checking to see whether the can I've finished drinking is a steel or aluminum one--plus I make sure that I separate all my trash correctly."

Comments heard at the "The Tokyo I Love" photo exhibition	Oct. 13(Tue)
This exhibition contains photos taken by 50 prominent residents of Tokyo of their favorite spots within the city. One of the most noticeable things about the exhibition was the proliferation of greenery in many of the places chosen: the tennis player Rika Hiraki chose Namiki Road in Omotesando; the writer Yoko Aki snapped the Imperial Palace; and Chairman Inaba of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry took a picture of Meguro National Park for Nature Study. We tend to think of Tokyo as a drab, gray city, so we asked several people attending the exhibition whether they thought Tokyo really has so little greenery.
--"I was born here in Tokyo, and looking at the place afresh I think it has a lot of greenery--it's a great place to live." --"I'm happy that there's still a lot of greenery here." --"I think there's more greenery here than in many other cities--like Osaka for example. Tokyo is steeped in history, and I think we have a lot of greenery as a result of this." --"I was brought up in Ikegami, and over there nature's still wild--it hasn't changed at all since long ago." --"You know, I've even spotted some butterflies flitting around the Chidorigafuchi area. You wouldn't expect to see them in such an old part of town--but it was great to see them." --"When I go strolling around Tokyo and see the trees and plants changing with the seasons, I realize not so much whether the greenery is scarce or plentiful so much as I realize that it's there. I think we if we all individually take the time to look at the greenery around us here in Tokyo, we'll all be able to get a lot closer to nature."

Akiko Yoshida (physician)	Oct. 12(Mon)
Until two years ago, Akiko Yoshida was a private physician practicing Oriental pediatrics in the Minoh district of Osaka. At that time, however, she closed her practice after 36 years in business. She felt that every day she was seeing too many patients who were presenting with mysterious and complex conditions whose causes could not seem to be explained by common-sense diagnosis. So, from that time, she has had a mission as an individual to inform as many people as possible about the dangers posed by environmental problems. Her activities include lectures and contributions to various magazines.
"What I want to say most of all is that I think mankind is standing on the verge of its own destruction. I know it sounds exaggerated, but it's honestly how I feel. How much do you know about environmental hormones? How plentiful are they? People often reply that they can't be more than a drop in a huge pool, and it's true that they are present in only very small amounts--but that's enough for them to have a malicious effect. You can't see them, but a variety of them have now polluted a large part of the earth. And this is having a pronounced effect on all the creatures that live on the earth--including humans. These environmental hormones disturb the workings of the endocrine system, and they're slowly draining the life-force from us. They're even stopping women from being able to have children. "So what should we be doing about it? The question should really be: what should all those young mothers having children be doing so that their children and grandchildren are not fundamentally affected by the same problem? What we should be doing is trying not to take in these harmful, polluting substances. The first thing is to avoid eating them--so change your diet. People often think I'm crazy for saying that, but you'll be fine if you eat whole rice and vegetables. The reason is that if you eat foods with lots of fiber in them, your body can more easily excrete the polluting substances. Raw vegetables are no good. These are the facts and I want everybody to get a firm grasp of them."

Kazuko Murata (Visiting Researcher, National Environment Research Center, Environment Agency)	Oct. 9(Fri)
Kazuko Murata holds the opinion that environmental issues are something that anybody can get concerned about. A newscaster in a previous career, she became involved herself with environmental issues about 10 years ago. She told us about how different it was back then.
"When I started taking some action on the environmental front about ten years ago, the general attitude was that since it didn't really matter what you did, it made little sense to concentrate on environmental issues alone. Also, people would say that you could never make it into good business. But I approached it from the viewpoint of a newscaster--in other words, I was a communicator, and I wanted to use those skills to do something about environmental problems. I thought I would start by doing the thing I most wanted to do, so I began doing environmental journalism. You see, the thing about the environmental field is that it is one that enables you to make use of your own specialties. "Actually, what really led me to pursue my new career in the environmental arena was the experience of being quite ill. It was only then that I first realized that it didn't matter how much money you had, or how clever or skillful you were--if you lost your health it was all for nothing. So I looked into the problem of how best to live healthily, and found that in an environment that poor, it wasn't surprising I had become sick. So my feeling was that we were approaching an age when we would all realize for sure that we had to put the environment uppermost in our thoughts. After all, we cannot escape the fact that we humans are just one of the many species on earth--so the environment has to assume paramount importance. So that's when I started thinking that if I devoted my whole life to this kind of work, it was not likely to be a career change I would ever regret. "What I now understand is that environmental problems really arise from the damage done by us in the things we do in our everyday lives--particularly if we're lacking in the way we feel about things and in the sensitivity and kindness we display to the environment around us. So, to solve these kinds of environmental problems, it's really up to us as humans to act, taking responsibility for what we do ourselves. I really feel that the whole issue is tied up with the concern we genuinely have for future generations--all those people whom we haven't yet seen."

Katsutsugu Kajiyama (Bandai Co., Ltd.)		Oct. 8(Thu)
At toy maker Bandai, all employees are trying to make the most efficient use of paper. We talked to Katsutsugu Kajiyama from the General Affairs Department about what they're doing over there.
"Across Bandai we have many paper recycling systems set up by the various departments for all waste paper. We pre-sort it according to color prior to recycling. We also save any incorrect photocopies and re-use them for internal memos, faxes and circulars. This has helped to gradually reduce the amount of overall waste produced. When we first began doing this, we put a notice in front of each copier saying 'Please don't throw away any mis-copies: re-use them!' But recently it seems the habit has become engrained, and the notices have disappeared."

Letters from listeners		Oct. 7(Wed)
This morning we read out a couple of letters from listeners.
(1) Morio Yogo, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo (having retired from his company, he's taken up amateur painting, the subject matter being mainly old-style Italian towns): there were a couple of points in his letter of particular interest. -"One thing I always do is, after loosening any fat or grease from dishes or frying pans with detergent, I don't wash it away with water. Instead I use paper towels to soak up the fat and then I throw these out with the burnable trash. That way it stops the rivers and the sea from getting polluted." -"My other point concerns the ventilation function on air conditioning units. Instead of setting the unit to full cool-air conditioning mode, I just set it to blow air. In the summer this reduces the electrical power consumption enormously--by 98% in fact (I checked). Plus it keeps you just as cool, particularly if you open the window--because that helps the air flow in from outside better. On summer nights I recommend setting units to ventilate the room this way too--it doesn't get cold and you get a really good night's sleep." (2) Masami Komazawa, Itabashi Ward, Tokyo (freelance journalist): -"The other day I was doing some research for an article on some of the things that can be done with the PET bottles that are thrown away. I tried on this artificial fleece-like garment woven out of fibers made from recycled PET bottles. The colors were really fresh and vivid, and it was very light. It was made so well, you would have had no idea it was a recycled product unless you had been told so. "To date, as a journalist, I've always tended to stress what should or should not be done about the environment--our obligations and duties, and so on. But, having tried something new myself, I feel much happier about telling people how good the garment felt, how light it was. Communicating this positive experience is, I feel, much better for encouraging interest and action regarding environmental issues. Now I want to do more of this kind of story, so I can recommend something with confidence to people and work to help the environment."

Yuko Hamaya (DJ and celebrity)		Oct. 6(Tue)
Having spent much of her childhood in Los Angeles and Australia, Yuko Hamaya has a very international outlook. She told us how there was one point where Japan noticeably differed from many other countries, and where it could certainly improve: the surfeit of packaging provided routinely to consumers. In most Western countries, such waste is frowned upon. She told us how she goes to a co-operative store for most of her shopping, because the way they collect and recycle all boxes, milk cartons and suchlike appeals to her. She told us about a recent trip to Europe.
"I've actually just come back from a trip to the UK and Germany. One thing that really surprised me while I was in Germany was how clean all the streets were--no litter whatsoever. Everybody there was very conscious of the importance of not dropping litter. No matter how much you might buy in a shop, they would only give you a bag if you specifically asked for one. Everybody would bring their own bags or baskets, or put their purchases in a rucksack. All the children learnt this from a young age. "The thing is that now that our environment has become so damaged, it makes you think twice about having children. You wonder if they will ever be happy in a world like this. I think that because it's a good environment that helps us all to enjoy a good lifestyle, we should all try to take good care of the earth so we can leave our children a world they will also enjoy living in."

Kazuo Ozaki (soccer commentator)	Oct. 5(Mon)
Today we talked with Kazuo Ozaki, who, having delighted fans for so many years as an exciting and attacking striker, has now become a soccer commentator. We talked to him about the time he spent playing soccer in Germany.
"During the seven years I was living in Germany learning how to play professional soccer, I felt that the Germans had a much more deeply held notion of public hygiene compared with Japan. For example, most juices would be fresh and 100% natural--without any additives at all. Their thinking was that they did not want to consume anything that would be harmful to their bodies. You could see a similar pattern of thinking in many aspects of German life--education, work, politics, food, anything lifestyle-related. Environmental issues were treated this way too. During the time I was there--from 1983 to 1990--Germany introduced separate collection and recycling systems for cans and bottles. And they built many collection sites to make it easy for people to dispose of their rubbish in this manner. Their attitude was that it was important to tackle these environmental issues so society would be better for all to live in--I now think so too."

Sakae Shishikura (PR Dept., Estee Lauder Japan)	Oct. 2(Fri)
I'm sure there must be many of you who will be trying this autumn to treat any lingering marks or freckles caused my too much sun during the summer. But were you aware that many of us are suffering the effects of skin aging even without getting any sunburn? This problem is said to be environmental in origin. The American cosmetics company, Estee Lauder, has been researching the harmful effects of a polluted environment on skin, and has launched a special cream for skins affected in this way called "Devea." We asked Sakae Shishikura from the PR Department of Estee Lauder Japan what sort of harm was being done to skin by environmental problems.
"Before, when the air was clean, we never used to see these sorts of skin problems, but nowadays the atmospheric chemical pollution is such that our skin is being harmed in ways that never used to occur before. "A phenomenon called 'oxidation' occurs on the surface of the skin--much the same as what happens if you leave iron in the open air and it rusts. In the case of skin, this oxidation process harms it. Also, in the presence of exhaust gases, oxygen--which is normally friendly to skin--helps create substances that attack the skin, and this is why our skin gets damaged or wrinkled more easily. Environmental problems may seem a little remote at times, but in fact they're having a serious effect right on the surface of our skin."

Yoshiya Tadaki (Honorary Professor of Agriculture, Nagoya University)	Oct. 1(Thu)
Yoshiya Tadaki is one of Japan's foremost authorities on trees, and devotes himself wholeheartedly to research on forests. Today forests are disappearing around the world at a frightening pace. He told us about what the real issues are.
"We hear about how it's the forests that create oxygen. But I think we should rid ourselves of this notion. In net terms, the forests are not actually creating oxygen. "To begin with, air contains approximately 21% oxygen--a huge volume of the gas. The oxygen is not going to get used up, so you can all relax and breathe freely. What actually happens during the process we call photosynthesis is that the forests absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. But the forests also breath in the same way as you or I, by taking in oxygen. They also decompose over time--their leaves fall and the wood rots. These processes also absorb oxygen. In other words, if we consider a large stable forest system, the amounts of carbon dioxide they're expelling are roughly the same as the amounts of oxygen they breathe in and use up during decomposition processes. The sums cancel out. "The real problem is the carbon dioxide itself, even though it's only one-thousandth of the volume of oxygen in total. It's hoped that the forests will help us by absorbing excess carbon dioxide, but as I've just explained, this is a zero-sum situation--so they cannot. But, in terms of atmospheric concentration, oxygen is 21% of the air, while carbon dioxide is just 0.04% in volume terms. Their volumes are very different, but if there is a big variation in the concentration of the less common gas, the damage will be proportionately worse. So the carbon dioxide problem is about 1000 times as serious as the oxygen problem, and it's certainly the one we should be focusing on."

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