Economist.com Cities Guide: Tokyo Briefing - July 2005

News this month

Asbestos danger

Japan seems to be finally taking the dangers of asbestos seriously. Although the World Health Organisation declared in 1980 that asbestos was a carcinogen, its use in construction was not banned in Japan until 2004, and a ban on all asbestos—introduced in July—will not come into effect until 2008. Since a health warning was issued in the mid-1970s, the amount of asbestos in Japan rose from 3.8m tonnes to 10m tonnes, and 374 workers have died from exposure, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The real number of deaths is believed to be far higher, as the figures do not include sub-contractors.

The country lags decades behind other industrialised nations when it comes to containing the harmfulness of asbestos. All six regional Japan Railway (JR) companies created after privatisation in 1987 still use carriages insulated with asbestos. JR East has announced that it will decommission 90 of its 250 asbestos-containing carriages by 2006.

Money-back guarantee

Good news for fraud victims. On July 21st, the Ministry of Justice submitted plans to the Legislative Council for a bill to allow the victims of fraud or loan sharks to reclaim their money.
If the council, an advisory body to the ministry, approves the plan, the bill could be before parliament by the autumn. The policy currently allows for victims to file civil suits against their extorters, but a fear of reprisals from the yakuza (organised crime) gangs who largely control the business has deterred all but a few from doing so.

In February, the Tokyo District Court convicted Susumu Kajiyama, the “king of loan sharks”, for running a network of yakuza money-lenders who charged up to 380 times the legal rate of interest. Mr Kajiyama, who earned seven years in prison and a fine of ¥30m for laundering money, was a boss of the Goryo-kai group, an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s most powerful mob. Credit Suisse seized ¥5.1 billion ($46m) from one of his accounts, but there was not yet a provision for it to be redistributed to victims under Japanese law.

Japan to stay in Iraq?

Thomas Schieffer, the US ambassador in Tokyo, has said that Japanese military involvement in Iraq may have to extend into 2006. He told journalists on July 20th that countries committed to the multinational force in Iraq had to make tough decisions to help establish democracy in the troubled nation. This includes Japan prolonging its deployment of troops beyond the December 14th withdrawal date set by the cabinet. The deployment constitutes the Japanese Self-Defence Force's most active mission since the pacifist constitution was imposed after the second world war.

Tokyo and Washington have been quietly negotiating how to interpret UN Security Council Resolution 1546, which states that foreign troops will withdraw once a democratically elected Iraqi government is in place. This had been scheduled for the end of 2005.

Anthem arguments

A group of 25 Tokyo teachers who refused to stand and sing Japan’s national anthem at school graduation ceremonies is suing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government over docked pay and other punishments they received. They were officially rebuked under a law introduced in 2003, which insists that teachers set an example to students by rising to their feet and delivering a hearty version of the song. Besides suffering pay-cuts, the teachers were branded “delinquent” and obliged to undergo “training programmes” aimed at instilling a more patriotic attitude.

This is the latest gambit in a continuing battle between Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo's fiercely right-wing governor, and a growing body of aggrieved teachers who reject the nationalism of the anthem. Mr Ishihara allies himself with politicians who believe that the future of Japan’s education system, particularly in the capital, lies in its ability to motivate students by reinvigorating the nationalistic spirit of Japan's 1980s boom.

All shook up

Tokyo’s earthquake-response procedures were found wanting on July 23rd, when the city suffered its biggest quake in 13 years. The quake, which measured six on the Richter scale, injured 37 people and left hundreds stuck in lifts and thousands stranded on trains. An unlucky 210 people were trapped on the observation deck at the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building for more than an hour. A quake of this magnitude ordinarily should trigger an emergency plan, but this was delayed because of computer problems. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's ageing computers could not cope with the sudden influx of seismic reports, so it took over 30 minutes to send data on the magnitude of the shock to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Tokyo last suffered a big earthquake in 1923. Many experts say the next “Big One” is long overdue.

Eel problems

Steamy summer temperatures and a terrible year for eel breeding have sent Tokyo eel prices soaring. With the national eel breeders association declaring 2005 the “worst ever” year, restaurants across the capital have been forced to raise the charge for traditional grilled eel by as much as 30%. Eel fry cannot be bred artificially and this year’s dreadful crop has baffled the experts. Some blame 2004's near-record number of typhoons and earthquakes. Eel is now being sold at about ¥1,600 per kilogram, around ¥200 more than last year.

This comes just as appetites for the protein-rich delicacy are at their most keen: Doyo no Ushi no Hi (which falls on July 28th this year) is a special mid-summer day devoted to eel-eating. The Japanese believe that eel helps the body combat heat-induced lethargy, prompting many older Japanese to join 500-metre queues to lunch at the city’s more famous eel houses. Expect demand to be particularly strong in central Tokyo, which is hotter than anywhere else in Japan.

Catch if you can

August 2005

China, Crossroads of Culture

July 2nd-September 4th 2005

This show about the birth of classical Chinese culture first appeared in a slightly different form at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art last year. Now at Tokyo's new Mori Art Museum (from where you also get splendid city views), it features works dating from between the first and eighth centuries AD. Chinese civilisation matured at the end of this period to produce the golden age of the Tang dynasty.

The most interesting aspect of this exhibition is that it shows the Tang aesthetic was not created by the Chinese alone, but included art influences from Mongolia, Siberia, India, Persia, Central Asia, Byzantium and even Rome.

Mori Art Museum, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 53F, Roppongi 6-10-1, Minato-Ku. Tel: +81 (03) 5777-8600. Hibiya subway line to Roppongi. Open: daily, l0am-l0pm (Tues until 5pm). See also the museum's website.

More from the Tokyo cultural calendar