July 2011

Water Supply Tank at Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo courtesy of Kitakyushu City Several Japanese major cities and prefectures are trying to export their water / sewage technology. Currently, Tokyo Metropolitan Waterworks Bureau maintains 25,969km (16,230 mile) of water pipes that provides daily, an average of 4.3 million m3 (946 million gallon) of potable water to more than 12.6 million people. One of TMWB’s superior points is its detection and control of water leakage technology. This makes it possible to supply more water at less cost and minimum environmental effect. The leakage rate of TMWB water supply is only 3.0% in 2009, while other foreign major cities’ average is around 10%.… Read More »Japanese major cities try to export their water / sewage technology

July 27th, 2011 In April 2011, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education issued its “Educational Curriculum for Pre-school Kids”, aiming to facilitate young kids’ physical and intellectual abilities. Nowadays, Japanese young kids are said to be lacking a basic lifestyle, self-discipline, and conformity. “First Grade Problems”, where some first grade pupils cannot follow their teachers and so the class becomes uncontrollable for the teachers, is one of the biggest issues for Japan’s primary schools. Because of these circumstances, nurseries and kindergartens are expected to raise the quality of their educational product so that kids are easily accepted at the primary schools. With this goal in mind, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board… Read More »Tokyo Metropolitan Government Teaches How to Raise a Pre-school Kid

Throughout human history, rivers have been an essential component in the successful development of a society’s trade, commerce, wealth and knowledge. We depend on rivers for transportation, to provide food and problematically to absorb and carry away our waste products. Virtually all water pollutants are hazardous to humans as well as lesser species. Some contaminants are carcinogenic. Urban river health in the United States and Japan as well as other industrialized nations has declined steadily throughout the first seventy years of the twentieth century due to the dumping of large amounts of raw sewage and industrial pollutants into rivers. Before the 1970’s there was virtually no data on water quality… Read More »Japan and the United States promoting urban river health

July 12th, 2011 Miyagi, as many people know, was badly damaged by the March 11th disaster and Tsunami. Fortunately it has been recovering with warm support from all over the world. The priority is recovering the lives of residents and land of Miyagi prefecture. Tourism, however, has suffered and so it is a high priority for Miyagi to attract visitors. One way is to sell Miyagi’s biggest historical asset- Date Masamune. So travelling around Japan, there is a group of make belief warlords, wearing heavy armor and having swords, and formed around Date Masamune who founded the Sendai clan and conquered a great part of the Tohoku region. What’s more,… Read More »Date Masamune who was one of the most famous generals in Edo period helps Miyagi come back from Natural Disasters!!

For animation aficionado, it is very popular to trek to the places where episodes of famous animations were created. Young, old, Japanese and foreigners, visit these holy grounds and immerse themselves in their favorite episodes. “Anime-One” of Biglobe conducted internet research of the “the most popular destination for ‘Anime’ pilgrimage” on July 7, 2011. (www.rbbtoday.com/article/2011/07/01.78526.htm/) According to its research, the most popular destination is Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, where Episodes of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are supposed to take place. (Second: Shirakawa, Gifu of “When you hear the sound of cicadas.” Third: Toyosato Elementary School, Shiga, of Keion: The Girls Band) Nagaru Kitagawa, the creator of Haruhi Suzumiya, has… Read More »What is the most popular destination for the “Anime” pilgrimage?