Whats Hot in the Environment – Japan – August 2007
August is almost over, and it has been a swelteringly hot month. Japan doesn’t have a particularly good environmental image, largely as a result of their neolithic opinions on whaling, however the environment is an area of consideration for a surprising number of Japanese people – especially amongst a younger demographic of Japanese society.
Japanese search engine and portal site goo (an off shoot of Japanese telecom giant NTT) provides monthly summary of popular search results for a wide range of topics. Featured here are the results they provide for environment related searches during August 2007 in Japan.
- Global Warming – Global warming is up from number 2 last month, mainly as a result of Japan having one of the hottest August’s in recent times. With temperatures pushing 40 degrees celsius Japan saw more than 10 heat related deaths – including 2 in Japanese prisons.
- Kyoto Protocol – Related to the top topic of global warming, the Kyoto Protocal remains an important tool in the worlds fight against environmental damage. America’s failure to ratify the protocol didn’t earn them any brownie points in Japan and we can expect Japanese delegates to lobby hard at the upcoming Apec Summit in Sydney in this area. Up from number 7 last month.
- Extinction – Steady at number 3. The reported lack of sighting of the Chinese river dolphin kept extinction near the top again in August in Japan.
- Garbage Problem – Up from number 6, problems with garbage disposal remain a tough nut to crack in Japan. Social ettiquette requires gifts be properly wrapped so even boxes of cookies in Japan come individually wrapped. And August’s heat wave meant that sales of PET bottle drinks boomed – further adding to Japan’s rubbish disposal problems. There are some signs that Japanese companies are waking up to the necessity of cutting down on packaging, but without government intervention don’t expect anything to happen in this area too quickly.
- Recycling Labels – Products in Japan are labeled as either plastic or paper, but there has been discussion about adding extra label definitions to aid in recycling. The summer heat has dropped this topic down to number 5 from number 4 last week.
- Acid Rain – More commonly associated with Eastern Europe, acid rain and its effects on the East Asian region is a topic that has started to gain more attention in the region. Up to number 6 from number 8 in July.
- El Nino – El Nino, with the severe heat and water shortages that it in known to bring to parts of Japan dropped 2 to number 7.
- Community Business – New in at number 8 is community business. Since the 1970’s the trend has been away from the larger corporate style of business (especially in the countryside of Japan) and towards smaller family run businesses. The idea of community business includes companies offering support services to the elderly, as well as eduction to children. In recent years, companies that offer environmentally friendly alternatives have become more common.
- Deforestation – If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there does it make a sound? An almost impossible question to ponder if you live in one of Japan’s megalopoli such as Tokyo, but in more rural areas of Japan there are some magnificent forested areas. This topic makes it at number 9 this month.
- Ozone Layer Destruction – Another topic related to the problem of global warming, ozone layer destruction pops back in at number 10 this month as a result of the abnormally high temperatures experienced in Japan this month.
For a summary of March’s result you can check out whatjapanthinks.com post: Extinction, global warming, and desertification top Japanese environmental searches.
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