Tokai Rika's Hirano Charged With Price Fixing

Tokai Rika Nagoya Headquarters

A US federal grand jury has charged a Japanese executive with conspiring to fix prices on auto parts.

According to an indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Detroit, Hitoshi Hirano fixed prices of heater control panels sold to Toyota Motor Corp. between 2003 and 2010. The panels were used for vehicles made in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The indictment also alleges that Hirano tried to destroy documents containing criminal evidence.

At the time, Hitoshi Hirano was an executive managing director at Tokai Rika, an auto parts supplier based in Nagoya, Japan. Tokai Rika pleaded guilty to price-fixing in 2012 and paid a $17.7 million fine.

Hirano is one of 34 people charged in the U.S. government’s ongoing investigation into price-fixing in the auto parts industry.

Hirano had no comment when reached by the AP.

AP

Air Asia To Establish Hub Nagoya Komaki Airport

AirAsia Japan  will likely to establish its main operational hub in Nagoya it has emerged.  The operations are expected to be in the Nagoya City Airport in Komaki rather than Nagoya Centrair International Airport, although the airport is yet to be decided by the airline and Aichi and Nagoya officials.  The AirAsia  subsidiary is also considering setting up a base at Osaka Kansai though this has yet to be officially confirmed.

The original AirAsia Japan, a 49/51 joint venture between the Malaysian LCC and ANA - All Nippon Airways collapsed in June 2013 when the Japanese carrier acquired AirAsia's shareholding and proceeded to establish its own wholly-owned venture, Vanilla Air.

Zengoku

Circus Of Protest Performs In Nagoya

A circus troupe led by Keiichi Nishida, founder of a street performance and circus training institution in Midori, Gunma Prefecture, has embarked on a tour to call for a nuclear-free Japan.

Nishida’s school had to be shut down temporarily to avoid the radioactive fallout emitted by the core meltdowns that wrecked the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011, even though it was 170 km away.

So the 70-year-old performer decided to hook up a cart to his bicycle and take his five-member troupe across Japan to raise awareness of the dangers of nuclear power.

Painted bright red and green, the troupe’s cart made a stop in Nagoya’s bustling Osu shopping district yesterday, attracting a crowd.

Dubbing themselves the Circus on a Bicycle Cart, the group initially set out from Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture on March 9, zigzagged south to Chiba and Tokyo, and is now heading west toward their final destination: Okinawa.

They travel between cities by car, but once within a city, they putter around in their bicycle-towed cart, displaying a banner that says “Genpatsu hantai” (No to nuclear power).”

Nishida is a circus industry veteran and sometimes invites foreign troupes to come to Japan.

In 2001, he established the Souri International Circus School inside a former elementary school in Gunma that had been abandoned due to radiation from Fukushima.

Decontamination work took six months, forcing the school to shut down and reducing its enrollment from 20 students to seven.

“Nuclear power is the worst public hazard. We don’t need it. Isn’t there anything else we can do other than circus performances?” Nishida began asking himself.

He decided to take action and travel the country to spread his message.

His graduates offer to help whenever Nishida stops in their hometowns.

“We don’t have any solution for the nuclear problem, but I feel it’s important to continue fighting for a nuclear-free country,” said Kenta, 28, a former student of Nishida’s from Nagano who has been traveling with the troupe since they left Nikko.

There’s no fixed route or arrival time, and everybody pitches in with earnings from their acts to fund the journey.

“We will do whatever we can, for as long as we are able to do so. Even if we have to crawl our way there with our cart,” Nishida said with a laugh.

UPI

Nagoya Inspires With Share House

When it comes to sustainable city-building, high density is where it’s at. Urban innovators are always on the lookout for ways to fight sprawl.

In Japan, a country long resigned to dense living, young urbanites are glomming onto the “share house”—an architectural trend that involves strangers living communally, sharing most of their home’s spaces and basic amenities. It’s not a new concept. Much like the denizens of old-fashioned boarding houses, occupants of a share house typically rent a small bedroom for themselves and share access to larger spaces like the kitchen, dining room, and sitting room. Unlike traditional boarding houses, though, which are often stigmatized as dingy hovels, Japan’s shared dwellings are becoming models of architectural efficiency.

The new face of Japanese communal living is Share House LT Josai, a high-profile project in the city of Nagoya. Built in 2013, LT Josai looks like an Ikea showroom designed by M.C. Escher. As its architects explain, “a special technique… becomes necessary for complete strangers to naturally share spaces with one another.”

Designed on a multi-level grid, the house features 13 12.4-square-metre private bedrooms, and a variety of shared areas, each tailored to suit a specific type of housemate interaction. The atrium and dining room are meant for large gatherings, the “rug space” lounge is for two or three people to hang out in, and small living room nooks are best for alone time.

Japan has traditionally been a collectivist society, while Europe and North America have built a pretty individualistic one. And for all its modernity and diversity, many modern cities are still a pretty straitlaced individualistic towns, where “communal living” is often understood as “rutting with hippies.

Zengoku News

Unagi Don

Unagi (eel) is one of the most popular and also luxurious fish in Japan.  Good unagi is expensive and considered as delicacy.  Yet, instead of eating just a slice or two on a tiny piece of sushi rice, we tend to eat almost half a fillet on a bed of rice in Donburi (big rice bowl!)  While people in Japan can make most seafood at home, we almost always buy cooked unagi at stores or restaurants.  It is very rare to see fresh eels at regular stores.  It requires special skills to fillet, debone, skewer, and grill to perfection.

It is necessary the to find good unagi that is cooked as you like.  Or you can simply purchase a filet and cook it in a fry pan.

Yield: 2

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients

• 1 fillet of unagi (vacuum-sealed)
• 1 tbsp sake
• Steamed Rice
Sauce
• 1/2 cup (120ml) soy sauce
• 1/3 cup (80ml) mirin
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp sake
• Sansyo (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat fry pan on medium heat with a tablespoon of sesame oil.  Cut unagi fillet into 4 pieces, brush with sesame oil and soy sauce  and place them on the fry pan.  Cook until done (approx 1 minute each side)
2. In a small sauce pan, mix all the ingredients of the sauce and bring it to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Place steamed rice in an individual bowl, sprinkle about a tbsp of sauce over the rice, and top with cooked unagi on top. Pour some sauce on top of the fish. Sprinkle on Sansyo Japanese pepper on top (optional.) Serve immediately.

Nagoya University Has New Data On Neuro Research

A new study on Nervous System Research is now available at Nagoya University. According to news reporting originating from Nagoya, Japan, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "We investigated whether vagal tone, as assessed by heart rate variability (HRV), moderates the neural correlates of immune and physiological responses to acute stress. Participants with low and high baseline HRV underwent a reversal learning task as an acute stressor."

A quote from the research from Nagoya University, "Natural killer cells, norepinephrine, and adrenocorticotropic hormone in peripheral blood changed with acute stress in the high HRV group only. Activity in the prefrontal cortex and striatum correlated with the immune and physiological indices in the high HRV group."

The research concluded: "High vagal tone may reflect more flexible top-down brain regulation of immune and physiological activity."

For more information on this research see: Vagal nerve activity as a moderator of brain-immune relationships. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 2013;260(1-2):28-36. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Neuroimmunology 

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting H. Ohira, Dept. of Psychology, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. Additional authors for this research include M. Matsunaga, T. Osumi, S. Fukuyama, J. Shinoda, J. Yamada and Y. Gidron.

Nagoya Lumber Adjusts Outlook

Nagoya Lumber Co Ltd:Full-year consolidated outlook for revenue of 5,923 mln yen raised from 5,500 mln yen, for the fiscal year just ended.Full-year operating profit outlook of 51 mln yen lowered from 60 mln yen.Full-year ordinary profit outlook of 38 mln yen lowered from 50 mln yen.

Full-year net profit outlook of 24 mln yen lowered from 30 mln yen.Full-year earnings per share outlook of 66.63 yen lowered from 82.37 yen.Revenue outlook raised due to increase in housing works and profit outlook lowered due to increase in purchase price. 

Nagoya: A City Of Progress And Opportunity

By Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura

Before I was elected mayor in 2009 of the most populated city, in the fastest growing region in Japan, I knew Nagoya as my home. My father moved here with a couple hundred yen in his pocket for a job as a carpenter and thought he would probably stay a few years and eventually move somewhere else. Well he stayed for more than a few years. Dad married my mother and eventually became owner of that company and turned it into a family business.

I was born in Nagoya and graduated from Asahigaoka High School. I went to Hitotsubashi University and took over the family business. Other interests followed, but I continued to call Nagoya home, not just for the career opportunities, but because the city constantly takes steps forward to becoming one of the world's greatest cities.

Nagoya has always been a transportation hub, and our international airport co-owned with Aichi Prefecture is the world's eighth busiest. It is one of the signature accomplishments of our amazingly dynamic region, which also boasts the largest light rail system in Japan. Several of the nation's best public schools, including the best high school in the country (according to a study by Tokyo University Faculty of education), are in the Nagoya Public School District. Nagoya also has the nation's largest urban forest. Nagoya is currently moving to become the largest park system in Japan with a large portion of the city dedicated to urban greenery for relaxation during the work day.

There's also a generosity of spirit that leveraged more than 1 billion yen in public funding to rally hundreds of donors to each give to build the largest contiguous urban cultural district in the nation. The walkable 20 square blocks of the Nagoya Arts and Government District now feature five museums and performance venues designed by winners of the highest honor in architecture, the IM Pei Prize. In addition to the function and beauty of these buildings, the entire neighborhood reminds our citizenry and the world that promoting culture is essential to the urban fabric and is adjoined by Meijo Park and Nagoya Castle.

We believe that technology, arts and culture will unite global citizens. Nagoya is cultivating the skills essential for problem solving by helping visitors understand and appreciate history and international cultures, as well as innovation and creativity. That's why I am so excited to welcome hundreds of elected and appointed officials, corporate executives, scholars, entrepreneurs and journalists from dozens of countries to our city each year. With the New Cities Foundation, Nagoya is eagerly embracing our future opportunities to innovate. Chief among them is our newly formed Global Cultural Districts Network, headquartered in the Nagoya International Center to continue the conversation among established cultural districts around the world.

GCDN creates a lasting organization to foster the growth of these districts, sharing best practices throughout the world, which we are uniquely situated to lead as a destination city for top creative professionals. With a British conductor, Martyn Brabbins, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra keeps astounding audiences and encouraging young people to appreciate Classical Music and Opera.

We also must see that our international residents from around the world are here to help our Japanese residents create a community of citizens who join together in good and hard times. As mayor I demanded that all our city emergency information and planning be in the languages represented by our residents from around the world. I approached the ward and city council members with this, “Imagine living abroad and paying taxes and yet have no emergency information in the language you understand. How would you feel?” I have encouraged this same attitude in all Nagoya undertakes. No matter our nations of origin, we are Nagoyans and we stand together.

We know we still have challenges to overcome in order to be considered among the top international cities in the world. That's why we are eager to extend legendary Chukyo hospitality to the multinational innovators from all over the world as visitors and residents. Through the process, we hope to redefine Nagoya’s global reputation as being more than automobiles and as “The Detroit of Asia” and help half the world's population now living in urban areas for the first time in history learn from our innovations and opportunities.

Ryota Onogi Trial Set

Onogi's Crashed Rental Car

Ryota Onogi who was arrested on February 23 after going on a driving rampage near Nagoya Station, will be tried for 13 counts of attempted murder. The trial is set to begin May 19 in Aichi Superior Court. Details of the incident on February 23 were released by the prosecutors office yesterday after the jury selection finished and the trial date was set by judge Nobu Kitazawa.

Ryota Onogi, a 30-year-old resident of Nagoya, Japan was arrested on Sunday, February 23 after he admitted to intentionally driving his car onto a sidewalk and hitting 13 pedestrians near the Nagoya Station, this according to the police reports. He was apprehended a little after 2:15 that afternoon.

“I tried to kill people with the car,” Onogi was quoted as admitting to the investigators after he was taken into police custody. He had apparently steered the car he was driving car onto the sidewalk, bowling over unsuspecting pedestrians and running the car for around 35 meters before finally crashing the vehicle into a tree. The police apprehended Onogi right on the spot after his car had crashed. Onogi hit around 13 pedestrians, seriously injuring a 22-year-old man who sustained a broken hip, according to information from released police reports. The other 12 victims had sustained only minor injuries. According to the police, it was fortunate that the car was not going too fast, only around 35 to 40 kph when Onogi drove onto the sidewalk and plowed into the crowd.

The car was rented near the scene 15 minutes before Onogi went on the rampage. Onogi was unemployed and was angered over the fact his parents threw him out of their home that morning. Onogi’s father is a policeman on the Aichi police force and is due to retire later this year. The Aichi Prefectural Police did not hold the elder Onogi with any responsibility for his son’s actions. Ryota Onogi refused to appear at the proceedings yesterday in court leading prosecutors to comment to the judge that Onogi still remains uncooperative.

During the course of the investigation all Onogi would comment, “I wanted to kill people because of my parents.” When bailiffs went to bring Onogi into the courtroom Onogi refused to enter, so the judge allowed the proceedings to continue via video link to a cell Onogi was being held in. The trial is expected to run about a week as Onogi has already admitted to the charges and refuses to speak to his court appointed counsel. Onogi’s parents have visited him at the Aichi Detention Center but he refuses to speak to them detention have commented.

Zengoku News

Local Teams Beat Saturday

Gamba Osaka beat the Grampus 2-1

The Carp slayed the Dragons 13-5

It was a sad day for Nagoya sports all way round Saturday as the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins will advance no further in their quest for the NBL championship.

Japan Beats Sri Lanka In Nagoya

Favourites Japan thrashed Sri Lanka at 132-10 in an Asian5Nations rugby test match which also served as an IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier, at the Nagoya Municipal Mizuho Park Rugby Ground in Nagoya, Japan yesterday.

Sri Lanka, who suffered their heaviest defeat at international level, trailed 0-68 at halftime while scoring during the dying moments of the game through a converted try and a penalty.

The win saw Japan record their third highest score and third biggest winning margin in test match rugby as they blew the visitors aside with 20 tries, 16 of which were converted by Ayumu Goromaru, a new Japan record for the number of extras kicked in an international.

Hooker Takeshi Kizu touched down three times in the opening 25 minutes, while captain and flanker Michael Leitch also finished the game with three tries.

Japan did not allow Sri Lanka an opportunity to score until they passed the three digits. To their credit Sri Lanka never gave up and a huge roar erupted around the ground when Riza Mubarak banged over a penalty from 41 metres out.

Kotaro Matsushima stretched Japan’s lead with his third try in his second test, before the Sri Lankan fans in the crowd reached fever pitch when Fazil Marija made the most of a rare Japan defensive lapse to go over.

For Sri Lanka, the game was a good learning curve and captain Namal Rajapaksa said he was proud of the effort his side had put in.

“Anyone would be disappointed with the scoreboard,” he said. “But we didn’t give up and we scored a try that showed we didn’t give up. It was a good experience for our youngsters.”

Japan and Sri Lanka have met at ten occasions only to win all encounters comfortably. They have scored beyond 100 points at four games with the best winning margin, 129-6, coming in October 2002 in Colombo.

Japan recorded a comfortable 99-10 win against Philippines in their opening game last week while Sri Lanka lost both their games against Korea and Hong Kong before suffering their third defeat in three weekends.

Sri Lankas only hope for a win will be against the Philippines in their final game in Colombo next Saturday at the Racecourse ground in Colombo. Japan has two games left. They will scrum against Korea next week and against Hong Kong in two weeks as they aim to finish as the top Rugby team in Asia.

Meanwhile Hong Kong raised its hopes of becoming the second team to qualify for the IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup by overcoming their first major hurdle yesterday at Incheon. They beat potential contenders Korea by 39-6 after leading the halftime by 20-6. Hong Kong will enjoy a week’s off next weekend before facing the acid test against Japan in two weeks.

Hong Kong top the A5N Top 5 table with 18 points after their third straight bonus point win. Japan are in second on 12 points but with a game in hand on Hong Kong, while South Korea are in third with six points. Sri Lanka is in fourth followed by the Philippines in fifth.

Sri Lanka Times

Carp Over Dragons 3-2

Ryuhei Matsuyama had a one-out clutch tiebreaking RBI single and Eishin Soyogi added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning as the Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp beat Chunichi Dragons 3-2 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Jumpei Shinoda (3-2) yielded one run and five hits in seven innings for the win in front of a crowd of 23,203 at Mazda Stadium. The left-hander struck out two and walked two. The Carp went 11 games above .500 to match a season high.

Jun Hirose drew a one-out walk off Dragons starter Toshiya Okada (1-5) and Tetsuya Kokubo singled to put runners at the corners, setting the stage for pinch hitter Matsuyama.

Reliever Daisuke Sobue took the mound, but Matsuyama singled to right for the lead and Naoki Nakahigashi drew a walk in a pinch-hit at-bat to load the bases before Soyogi hit a sac fly off Akifumi Takahashi, the third pitcher, to make it 3-1.

The Dragons pulled within one on pinch hitter Michihiro Ogasawara’s RBI single off closer Kam Mickolio in the ninth, but the big right-hander closed for his 11th save. Carp second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi made a fine stabbing play to stop a sharply hit grounder by pinch hitter Anderson Hernandez with runners at first and second to end it.

The Dragons scored first on Ryosuke Hirata’s grounder in the fourth before Hiroshima tied it in the bottom half when Hirose hit an RBI single to center.

Kyodo

Rural Flight Examined In Toyota Shi

Since the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, merged with six towns and villages 10 years ago, the population has grown by 3.4 percent to more than 421,000 people.

However, the data also reveal that while the population in what was formerly Toyota has grown 4.6 percent, the number of people living in the other six towns and villages has declined by 6.1 percent.

The gap between the number of people living in the city and in the country — a key concern before the merger — has only widened.

To stem the decline, officials and residents in Toyota have combined efforts to establish the Empty Houses Information Bank, which introduces vacant houses in rural areas to people in the cities and publishing magazines containing related information.

Four and a half years ago, Satomi Watanabe, 37, moved from Midori Ward in Nagoya to what was formerly the town of Asahi, northeast of Toyota.

She has always been interested in agriculture and paid close attention to food safety, especially with regard to organic vegetables.

Eventually, she quit her position as an elementary school teacher and studied organic farming in Canada before moving to her current residence. She now works full time as a farmer with her husband, Terumi, 36, who quit his auto industry job.

Satomi is earning only a quarter of her previous income as a teacher, which makes her apprehensive about the future.

“Income from farming products is not enough and we have to spend our savings to survive. I hope we can increase the quantity of our crops and start making a profit in five years,” she explained.

However, she remains optimistic. “I have a feeling that coming here has allowed me to live life the way I want to,” she added.

She is drawn to the strong bonds between the residents in the rural area, and the nature surrounding them.

Satomi used the information bank to find her house when she was wanted to move.

Those who have registered with the bank can send a request to purchase or rent a place through the bank.

Currently, there are 200 people registered, but only seven houses are available.

According to an official at city hall, the number of vacant houses is never enough, because a large number of people are interested in relocating to the countryside.

It is not uncommon for residents to leave houses empty in rural areas, but many of them are reluctant to rent them out because the family altar is still in the house, or they have not completed al the necessary paperwork to inherit the house after their parents passed away.

The bank system was established in 2010, but the number of households that used it and moved in totaled just 40.

The city of Toyota has also constructed low-rent public housing units administered by the city and published information for those who want to move in, but the actual situation is that their efforts have not helped stem depopulation in the countryside.

“We know that it’s not enough to just increase the number of people (living in rural areas),” said Yukio Ando, 61, a local businessman.

Ando welcomes new potential residents. At the same time, he is also working on revitalizing Asahi.

Residents in the area hold regular meetings to discuss settlement issues, persuading owners to rent out their empty houses and screening those who are interested in moving in.

The interviews are usually conducted by five people including mayors of the wards, checking to make sure that the interested persons are willing to participate in activities essential to the community, including cutting grass and cleaning local shrines.

An applicant needs to be approved by at least three screeners to move into a property registered at the bank.

“The person has to integrate with the community and contribute ideas to help the city grow. Otherwise, accepting relocation would not be good for each other,” said Ando.

“It is important for the residents to do what they can, for example by working on empty houses and visiting the elderly,” said Isao Taniguchi, associate professor of the Human Relations Faculty at Sugiyama Jogakuen University. “It leads to their vitality and pride in their community,” he said, pointing at the importance of activities that promote social interaction.

Chunichi

Mitsubishi Heavy Industry In Joint Venture With Siemens

Nagoya's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) said May 7 that it will establish a joint venture with Siemens AG of Germany to expand the product line in the steel and metal production machinery business and to accelerate globalization.

The new venture will be established in January 2015 in Britain, integrating Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery Inc. (MH)--an MHI consolidated group company with equity participation by Hitachi Ltd. and IHI Corp.--and Siemens MT Business, Siemens group companies undertaking metals production in countries including Germany, Austria and the United States.

Equity ownership shares in the new venture will be 51 percent for MH and 49 percent for Siemens. The CEO for the venture is currently being selected.

Mitsubishi Heavy said the agreement was achieved on the back of the meshing of the two partners' respective aims: MHI and the Japan side looking to strengthen their business through enhancement of product offerings and the development of a global network of business bases, and Siemens eager to improve its steel and metal production machinery business structure as it undertakes a review of its business portfolio.

Under the current plan, the new joint venture will operate six regional bases in Japan (Tokyo/ Hiroshima), Austria (Linz), Germany (Erlangen), the United States (Pittsburgh), China (Shanghai) and India (Mumbai), enabling worldwide coverage.

Business units for each product line will be based respectively in Tokyo/Hiroshima, Linz or Erlangen, and other existing business bases of MH and Siemens will operate under Tokyo/Hiroshima or Linz based on product line responsibility.

The U.K. headquarters will manage the regional bases, including respective business units, and will hold a cross division function in charge of sales/marketing, customer management, procurement, manufacturing, R&D planning, etc., to support each business location. The new joint venture will operate with a collective staff of approximately 9,000 employees.

Through the collaboration with Siemens, MH will add upstream blast furnaces and electric furnaces to its product portfolio, significantly enhancing its ability to supply products for all metals production processes through expanding the product line.

MH and Siemens also complement each other substantially with respect to geographic areas, a factor that will now enable acceleration of worldwide business expansion including Asia, Europe, Russia, the Americas and Africa.

Zengoku

Japan to Host Sri Lanka in Nagoya in Rugby Tournament

Hong Kong will face their biggest test of the competition so far with a match Saturday against last year’s second placed team South Korea at the Hong Kong Football Club, Sports Road.

Meanwhile, Japan host Sri Lanka also Saturday in Nagoya.

Failing a major upset, Japan—who have not lost a match in the Asia 5-Nations tournament since its inception in 2008—are the favourites to clinch the Asia 5-Nations for a seventh time to take them into Group-B of the 2015 World Cup.

The major battle of the Asia 5-Nations competition is expected to be for the second place position between Hong Kong and South Korea. Accordingly, the Match at Sports Road is likely to decide the team that will take the runner-up position in the Asia 5-Nations and move into the World Cup Repechage against Uruguay.

Zengoku

Nagoya Protocol Ratified by EU

Yesterday, the European Union Council of Ministers adopted a decision approving the ratification of a protocol meant to facilitate access to genetic resources and to provide the fair sharing of commercial benefits with provider countries. The target date for ratification is July 2014, according to the EU.

The Council adopted two texts related to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. One was a decision approving its ratification, and the other was a regulation (referred to as the “EU access and benefit-sharing regulation”), which modify the EU legislation in order to be in line with the requirements of the Protocol.

The Nagoya Protocol of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted on 29 October 2010. Its purpose is to set minimal requirements on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) for the use of genetic resources (GR) and associated traditional knowledge (TK), including those belonging to indigenous people. It sets several principles such as prior and informed consent of the country of origin of the resource, or of the indigenous peoples through mutually agreed terms.

The protocol will enter into force three months after the 50^th ratification. At press time, the text had been ratified by 29 states and the EU ratification will count as a new one. The ongoing process of ratification by the EU and likely its member states is closely followed as it would lead to the number of 50 ratifications needed.

If the EU and its members ratified the Nagoya Protocol in time, it could lead to an entry into force of the Protocol by the next planned biennial high-level meeting of the CBD. That meeting, the Conference of the Parties serving as the first Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP/MOP), is scheduled for October 2014 in Seoul, South Korea.

Otherwise, the next opportunity to hold the first meeting of parties would be the next CBD Conference of Parties in 2016.

As an additional impetus, parties to the CBD agreed in the Aichi targets, which are part of the CBD parties’ strategic plan for biodiversity for 2011-2020, that the Nagoya Protocol should enter into force before the end of 2015.

IP Watch

Gifu Gero Onsen In Top Three In Japan

Fire is not the main concern of Gifu’s Gero as there people are preoccupied with water. Gero is now one of the top three onsen or hot spring destinations in Japan, the other two being Kusatsu in Gunma and Arima in Hyogo. Known as “beauty enhancing hot baths,” the onsen’s alkaline-based waters will make your skin smooth, said Ms. Tomiyama. 

The onsen is also good for those suffering from rheumatism, motor function impairments, nerve pain, and neuroparalysis, among other ailments. Our first taste of these heated waters was the Gero onsen foot spa. Many establishments -- like restaurants and buildings -- have a shallow outdoor pool that’s free to the public. 

When your feet get weary from all the walking and exploring, you can take off your shoes and dip them in the pools of hot water. We tried a real onsen at the hotel Gero Suimeikan. Also known for its Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats, the hotel has three types of onsen: an open-air bath, a cypress wood bathhouse, and an onsen with a panoramic view. 

The onsen are not for the shy as one has to get naked to enter -- no bathing suits or underwear allowed. One can cover oneself with a towel when going from changing rooms to the bathing area, but the cloth cannot follow you into the waters. 

As unnerving as this may be for most non-Japanese, being naked in an onsen is natural for the Japanese. Influenced by their disposition, one can just let the waters calm and relax you until you completely unaware of everything else and are one with the soothing warmth. 

Business World

Nagoya NPO Releases Guide For Hikikomori

The social phenomenon of hikikomori, where people are compelled to remain confined in their own homes, is not new anymore. What is new, however, is the looming issue of what happens when a hikikomori’s parents become elderly or die.

Recently a scattering of cases has begun involving people who have filed for government support after their parents have died. And with estimates of the hikikomori population hovering around one million in Japan, experts are suggesting this is just the tip of the impending iceberg.

One group called Nadeshiko No Kai out of Nagoya is looking to take the bull by the horns and is nearly ready to issue a manual – the first of its kind – for hikikomori to aid them in becoming independent once their parents are no longer able to help.

The booklet is titled [Riku No Hitori Dake Shima] Hatsu [Shintairiku] Gyo (Departing: Island of Only Oneland – Arriving: New World) and is 18 pages of everything from basic living tips such as cooking and cleaning as well as how to get the right government support like health care if needed. There are also tips and anecdotes written by real hikikomori and their parents.

Nadeshiko No Kai says they made the book as easy a read as possible using large print and illustrations. The head of the group, Masanori Ohwaki isn’t expecting everyone to read it, but hopes that those who might need it someday hang on to it.

The organization has around 90 registered hikikomori from three prefectures each, which they gather data and learn about. According to the studies on this group the average age of a hikikomori is 33 and their parents are 64. However, the average time for a hikikomori to get acclimatized to the outside world is about 12 years.

Those numbers alone show how little time left there is for parents to do something before it’s too late. This is a problem one 68-year-old father of a hikikomori in her twenties worries about saying, “It’s a serious problem, but we usually skirt the issue with each other. I hope this guide will help get something started.”

Experts say there is still a decade or so before the first large scale wave of hikikomori start losing their parents while they themselves enter their fifties and sixties. Nadeshiko No Kai and many like them feel that measures need to be taken as soon as possible to minimize the burden on Japan as a whole.

Nikkei

Menicon Making Cattle Feed From Used Coffee Grounds

A small number of cows in Japan are now noshing on feed made with used Starbucks coffee grounds. The unexpected maker of the product: Menicon, a local contact lens company in Nagoya.

For nearly 20 years, Starbucks  has been giving away used coffee grounds to customers for free to use in compost for their gardens. But finding uses for them in industry would be more effective for a company that buys 400 million pounds of coffee globally each year.

“We often work with stakeholders, including researchers, municipalities, and our own supply chain, to find viable solutions that work for a business our size,” said Starbucks spokeswoman Alisha Damodaran in an e-mail. While Starbucks can send grounds from its stores to municipal composting in some markets, such as Seattle, not every city offers this service. The company says it is not selling the used grounds at the moment, donating them instead to researchers.

Business Week

Grampus to face Gamba Osaka Saturday

Akira Nishino will take centre stage as his Nagoya Grampus side entertain Gamba Osaka, whom he guided to domestic and continental glory during an unforgettable 10-year reign.

The Saitama derby is the highlight of a J.League weekend, however; which will be a last audition for a place in Japan's FIFA World Cup squad.

Alberto Zaccheroni will name his squad for Brazil on Monday, two days after the only J.League squad comprised exclusively of Asian players strive to maintain their title charge in Round 13 which sees as their closest challengers face decidedly tougher tests.

It has been a mixed week for Urawa Reds ahead of their crunch clash at city rivals Omiya Ardija on Saturday.

The 2007 Asian champions returned to the J.League summit for the first time in four years, but stayed there just a few days due to a goalless draw at lowly Ventforet Kofu.

That stalemate gave Shusaku Nishikawa his third straight clean sheet, and defender Tomoaki Makino and forward Genki Haraguchi are eager to squeeze into Japan's World Cup squad alongside their goalkeeper.

"It's up to coach Zaccheroni," said Haraguchi. "All I can do is go and play my heart out in the derby."

Soccer Way

New Aichi Exchange Scholarship

The Aichi prefectural government is offering scholarships to foreign students from 22 Asian countries to study at graduate schools in the prefecture on condition that they work for local companies after graduation.

The scholarship covers tuition plus monthly living expenses of 150,000 yen for six months to learn Japanese and prepare for admission and for a further two years to complete a graduate course.

One of the first ten recipients, Pham Hoang Viet, a 25-year-old Vietnamese student who started studying at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in April, said, "I can concentrate on my research without worrying about financial problems. I want to work for a company where I can prove myself."

The ten students, who arrived in October, also include those from China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Also eligible are students from Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Eligible research areas are not specifically limited so long as they "support manufacturing industries of Aichi Prefecture," according to an official. Humanities are also included.

A total of 724 companies headquartered in Aichi had operations abroad as of the end of 2012, with many of them appreciating the value of people versed in the languages and business practices of other countries, the official said.

Aichi previously offered 100,000 yen per month to students from 10 Asian countries.

For the new program, Aichi attached the employment condition, increased the financial benefit and more than doubled the number of eligible countries to 22.

"If (the students) can become a bridge to strengthen relationships between companies in the prefecture and different countries, it will contribute to the local economy," said Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura.

Kyodo

Nagoya Recycling Drive A Success

The city of Nagoya started collecting small household appliances for recycling in February and announced May 7 that it had received more than 31,000 kg of machinery in just three months — five times more than anticipated.

The number for February alone was 15 times higher than what had been collected in a similar effort in Osaka, even though the types of appliances are mostly the same.

“This has been a success because we placed collection boxes in places that are easy to access, like the supermarket,” said an official from the resource promotion department of the Nagoya Municipal Government.

Rare and precious metals are extracted from used cellphones, digital cameras, game players and other appliances to be recycled.

Nagoya has placed yellow recycle boxes at 51 locations, including City Hall.

The city has specified 61 items that can be accepted, and all must be nor larger than 15 cm by 40 cm by 25 cm.

A review of the items received from Feb. 3 to Feb. 24 revealed that cellphones and personal handy phones were most common at 13 percent, followed by DVD players and other video-related devices at 11.4 percent.

The amount collected in Nagoya in February weighed in at about 15,000 kg, compared to around 1,000 kg in Osaka.

Nagoya was one of the first cities to promote recycling city-wide. It installed its first recycling box in 2009 at a supermarket in Chikusa Ward to experiment with the idea.

The city predicted the amount it would get in February based on the result of that trial. After the resource promotion department put up posters in subway stations to launch the campaign this year, however, the results far exceeded their expectations.

“Maybe it’s because people were rushing to replace old appliances before the consumption tax was raised in April,” the Nagoya official said.

The large difference between the Osaka and Nagoya campaigns can be attributed to the fact that Osaka did not place recycling boxes in supermarkets and appliances stores, while Nagoya actively sought the cooperation of private companies, the official said.

A law to promote the recycling of small electronic and home appliances took effect in April 2013.

Each municipality can choose when and what types of items to collect. The appliances collected are then sold to organizations specified by the government.

Nagoya expects to receive ¥7 million from selling the appliances and gadgets it collected in February.

Zengoku News Service