Setsuden, Not Teiden: The Cry From Japan, Advice Please!

Heavy rains today in Japan, especially in Tokyo, where the Toei Subway lines were shut down during the afternoon due to "blackout" (停電 teiden). That's just 4 lines out of some 15, as the rest of the Metro and the JR lines and everyone else were ok. We know it is coming, a long, hot summer, and there is a lot of discussion now about how to deal with electricity shortages.

"Reduce electricity" (節電 setsuden) then of course is not just a slogan, it is an urgent cry for help and consideration. If, and this is a huge issue right now, IF we can all pull together and all reduce electricity consumption, then we may be able to avoid the blackouts. Doesn't that seem like a thing that Japanese people - and everyone living here, foreigners included, companies and public entities and towns and cities - should be able to accomplish?

"Save energy" (省エネルギー shou enerugii).

We need every good piece of advice there is.

Quoting The Asahi, Japan Probe notes:

The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, has estimated that 2.5 to 3.1 gigawatts of electricity can be saved if households within the Tokyo region follow through with the following measures:

“Even if individual families can reduce only modest amounts of electricity, the aggregate savings will become substantial,” it said.

Specifically, 640 megawatts can be slashed if households set air conditioners one degree higher. Unplugging appliances can save 380 megawatts, while 220 to 440 megawatts can be cut by keeping air conditioner filters clean. Not overloading fridges can lead to savings of 370 megawatts, while 150 to 360 megawatts can be saved by turning off lights frequently. In addition, if washing, cleaning and cooking are done in the morning or at night, power consumption can fall by 430 megawatts in the afternoon.

(Kilowatts, megawatts and gigawatts are units that are explained here and putting it simply, 380 megawatts is 380,000 kilowatts and so on)

In the comment section, Japan Probe readers are particularly critical of the Pachinko parlours, that seem to be ignoring the current crisis. Pachinko is an electricity intensive leasure/gambling activity, that is mostly run by people who do not seem to care a whole lot about Japan and its current crisis. Blogger Roy Berman at Mutant Frog noted that Pachinko is a huge headache for Tokyo Metropolitan Government:

I have been collecting links related to the energy situation and several other aspects of the ongoing crisis and recovery efforts and will probably be blogging quite a bit on such topics, but for now I want to just post translations of a series of brief comments on energy conservation in Kanto from Tokyo Vice-mayor Inose Naoki (who I believe will remain in his job allegedly doing most of the real work serving under Ishihara following his unfortunate reelection) that he tweeted a week ago.

#1: The pachinko industry said in a protest message to Governor Ishihara that “the maximum power usage of their 4000 game parlors in the Tepco region” is no more than 840,000 kilowatts” and this is where I learned precise numbers... Since Toei and Metro [Tokyo’s subway systems] together are a maximum of 360,000 kilowatts, this is pretty big.

#2: Pachinko parlor electricity consumption is 40% air conditioning, 30% pachinko machines, 20% lighting. To reduce the gap in power supply during summer peak demand time, [we] must reevaluate [our] lifestyles. To speak half-jokingly and half-seriously, the pachinko industry must themselves come forward with plans such as operating only at night, or running without their coolers on during the day.

So, why not close down the entire Pachinko gambling industry during peak hours, since they contribute zilch to tax revenue anyway, and we could all continue to live and work in peace, more or less. With a little less lights on, but possibly even keeping a minimum of air conditioning on, in summer? Politically, what IS the right decision, now? Sucking teeth, just won't do. Advice please!

Just for the subways, Toei and Metro together use a maximum of 360,000 kilowatts during rush hour, according to Tokyo Vice-mayor Inose Naoki. Again, Pachinko is as much as 840,000 kilowatts. Advice...?

Prime Minister Kan has ordered the Hamaoka nuclear plant to close down, but why not ask the bloody Pachinko parlours too? In fact, there were angry demonstrations in Shinjuku 2 weeks ago, with people shouting and trying to get the electric gamblers to come to their senses... I'd love to see that in the news. Advice!

Setsuden, thus, is the buzz word all over the Internet right now. There is a "reduce electricity consumption" page at METI, the government ministry, thanking you for turning off your electrical toilet and other appliances. There is even main stream media pitching in, as well as industry pages and blogs.

And here is Vangelis, Twilight (thanks Tom).



Hi ga Kureru
Sore wa Toki no Mahou
Asu Onaji Toki
Mata Chigau Mahou
Sore wa Iro ga Kaori ni
Kaori ga Iro ni Kawaru Toki
Soshite Kage wa Kagirinai
Ao ni Tokeru

The day falls into the twilight.
It is a magic of time.
The same time tomorrow,
there'll be another magic.
It is when colours turn to flavours,
and flavours turn to colours.
And it is when
shadows melt into deep blue.

Magical.

Eco News from Japan and Asia!

100 Years Of Aviation In Japan: Leaving On A Jet Plane

I feel strongly for everyone who left Japan in a hurry in March. It is a remarkable, extraordinary time. I chose to stay, others left. Hope to see you all back here soon again. Meanwhile, here is John Denver, Leaving on a jetplane:



I'm also reminded of a commercial that was popular when JAL was in better financial shape. With fuel costs going through the roof, commercial airlines are facing impossible odds.

JAL, established in 1951, has seen a lot of such odds over the years. 100 years of aviation, but flying was never meant to be this cheap.

浪漫飛行　Roman Hikou is possibly one of Japan's most expensive TV commercials back then in the bubble era. Here is Kome Kome Club, a CM for leasure trips back in April 1990 to Okinawa:



Long before there were jets in the sky, the airplanes where smaller, and more simple, but still got you from A to B. In the 1930s, you could buy a ticket and fly from Tokyo all over with commerical services, using Lockheed P-38 and other modern aircrafts. (Much later, the company became more known here for its bribery scandal involving the Prime Minister Tanaka, after the U.S. government had bailed out the company in 1971).

The Japanese government was a strong backer of commercial aviation, though the early companies struggled to maintain their operations through the 1920s. To promote civil aviation in the country, on October 30, 1928, the Japanese government helped set up a national flag carrier known as Japan Air Transport Corporation (JAT).

From 1931, for example, the government freely used JAT's civilian aircraft, mostly the Dutch Fokker Super Universal. The Greater Japan Airways also used domestically built versions of the Douglas DC-3.

In 1938, JAT carried nearly 70,000 passengers, representing 2.6 percent of the world's passenger traffic.

Source: The Origins of Commercial Aviation in Japan

Some of the passanger planes made in Japan in the 1930s were built by Nakajima in Gunma prefecture and Mitsubishi in Aichi prefecture.





Paintings by Shigeo Koike, an amazing artist, famous among airplane model builders around the world for his package art work for the Hasegawa company!

The Nakajima plane (bottom image) is a Japan-built DC-2. Nakajima had huge factories in western Tokyo, including Ogikubo, Musashino and Tama, as well as in Ota in Gunma. They built the best engines in Japan around this time, some 7,000 for civilian aircrafts.


The engines, based on the Bristol Jupiter, were called Kotobuki, and there were several later models with many improvements. Actually, workers at Nakajima had it rather good, with "a welfare program" that was admired by others, according to the un-official history, found here.

At least as long as it lasted. Anyway, to tie in with the music theme, and the title of this post, did you know that Imperial Japan actually attempted to build jet planes? Neither did I. Read more about the small Kyushu Shinden jet here and more technical details about the Nakajima Kikka here.

Eco News from Japan and Asia!

100 Years Of Aviation In Japan: Part 1

The first flights in an aircraft in Japan were made in Yoyogi, Tokyo and Tokorozawa, Saitama. Lieutenant General Baron Yoshitoshi Tokugawa studied aeronautical engineering in France, and showed what could be done with state-of-the-art aircrafts of the day in Tokorozawa, April 1911. In Tokorozawa, they are very proud of their history, as you will notice at the Koukuu Kouen Station on the Seibu line: they even have a cafe noting the 1911 event.

Do visit Tokorozawa, there is a lovely park with a museum that has some details of this amazing feat. The Aviation Museum is rather new, but in fact, this is the location of the Imperial Army Flight School that helped shape history in the 20th century. If you are looking for a day trip from Tokyo, the park in itself is worth a visit, and there are restaurants too. Easy access from Shinjuku or Ikebukuro, using the Seibu line.

On display both outdoors and inside the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum are a wide range of aircrafts, from every stage of development, up till recent jets. Do try the flight simulators! But what really fascinates me are the older flying machines. I had no idea that Japan had so many airplane manufacturers, and such a wide range of engines and types.

Tokorozawa Koukou Kouen (Japanese website)
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum (Wikipedia)

If you just want to go and watch modern commercial airplanes take off and land, then do take the brief Monorail trip to Haneda Airport. Before Narita, this was Japan's main gateway to the skies. Since 1931, it has carried all kinds of dignitaries to the city, like The Beatles in 1966, and the BOAC, SAS and Airoflot planes of that era.


For Tokyo, the real deal used to be Tachikawa Airfield. Before Haneda, this was Tokyo's and Japan's early international aerodrome, as they were sometimes called back in the 1920s and 1930s. It played an immense role during WW2. But, as with other Tokyo airfields, it failed to protect the capital and the country from the WW2 air raids.

This is also the huge airfield that the Americans used for both the Korean and the Vietnam War. It was returned to Japan in the 1970s, and when I went there, I could hear helicopters, possibly on missions to aid earthquake survivors in Tohoku. There is a large Disaster Hospital, and still along the train tracks, you can spot many factories related to the old aircraft companies, like Showa, IHI and Tachikawa. The largest company here used to be Nakajima, but they were broken up after WW2 (into Fuji and Subaru). They still have warehouses and I was told there are a large number of vintage airplanes here, but not on public display.

In fact, there is very little in Tachikawa for the airplane aficionado. A large part of the old Tachikawa Airfield is now the huge park called Showa Memorial Park, from 1983. Its focus is - flowers. It has got to be the biggest park in Tokyo! It has dog runs, bicycle rentals, orienteering set-ups, ponds, and bird sanctuaries. You could easily spend an entire day there, forgetting you are still technically in Tokyo.

Showa Memorial Park (Tachikawa)

With the cherry trees in bloom, I'm glad I went, but I was also surprised how little remains of its aviation legacy. For that, the trip to Tokorozawa is much more rewarding.

Eco News from Japan and Asia!

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