* * * * * * * * * T E R R I E 'S T A K E * * * * * * *<br>A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd.<br><div class="gmail_quote">(<a href="http://www.terrie.com" target="_blank">http://www.terrie.com</a>)<br>
<br>General Edition Sunday, July 17, 2011, Issue No. 622<br>
<br>+++ INDEX<br><br>- What's New -- Where to find safe food<br>- News -- One STD you do not want to catch<br>- Candidate Roundup/Vacancies<br>- Upcoming Events <br>- Corrections/Feedback -- Tracking milk sources<br>
- News Credits<br>
<br>SUBSCRIBE to, UNSUBSCRIBE from Terrie's Take at:<br><a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie" target="_blank">http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie</a><br><br>BACK ISSUES<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take</a>, or,<br>
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<br>------------ PBXL is BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS --------------<br><br><br>+++ WHAT'S NEW<br><br>On July 4th we wrote a piece joining the dots on radiation <br>concentrations in places around Tokyo where there should <br>
not be any. It seemed to us that radioactive nuclides, like<br>non-radioactive heavy metals, appear to be able to be <br>concentrated under certain circumstances and therefore even<br>though the atmosphere registers as clean, perhaps we should<br>
still be worried about our food supply.<br><br>That article generated a lot of response, especially from <br>readers with children, wondering what they could do to <br>limit possible exposure to contamination. Normally we don't<br>
stick to a subject like this -- we like to move our focus <br>around a bit. However, barely ten days after our Take, it <br>emerged in the Japanese press that in fact cattle from <br>Fukushima which tested clean on the outside were found to <br>
have 2,300 becquerels per kilo (2,300 bq/kg) of Cesium-137,<br>about five times the legal limit, when slaughtered. What's <br>worse, over one ton of the meat found its way into the food<br>supply, being sold all over the country.<br>
<br>Since then a number of other disturbing "finds" have arisen<br>in the press, indicating that not only were there some very<br>ill-informed decisions made by authorities as to what to do<br>with animal products (meat, milk, fish) in the period <br>
immediately after the explosions at the Fukushima plant, <br>but that there still seems to be some sleight-of-hand going <br>on for government food health statistics.<br><br>The latest thing to catch our attention, which we <br>
appreciate receiving from the well-informed folks at <br><a href="http://www.safecast.org" target="_blank">www.safecast.org</a>, is the news that contaminated milk from <br>Fukushima has been mixed with product at factories located <br>
as far north as Tohoku. So if you thought you were buying <br>
from a safe producing area, the milk authorities have had <br>different ideas. <br><br>[Continued below...]<br><br>----------------- Would You Write to Eat Out? -------------<br><br>Metropolis' <a href="http://www.metrodining.jp" target="_blank">www.metrodining.jp</a> website is gaining followers<br>
at a prodigious pace, and we need more expertly written <br>food reviews. <br><br>If you can write, and if you eat out a lot anyway, just<br>how many reviews of places you have already been to would<br>you be willing to write, in return for a meal out for two<br>
as payment? <br><br>We're interested to know the answer to that question and <br>invite readers to contact us and share their opinions.<br>Better still, if you would like to be a guinea pig in a<br>new barter payment program we are considering for <br>
Metrodining.jp, then let us know that too.<br><br>Contact us at <a href="mailto:terrie@metropolis.co.jp" target="_blank">terrie@metropolis.co.jp</a> to kick things off.<br>------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
[...Article continues]<br><br>This milk mixing revelation, so far unsubstantiated, comes <br>from a Prof. Takeda in his blog, <br>(<a href="http://takedanet.com/2011/07/post_088c.html" target="_blank">http://takedanet.com/2011/07/post_088c.html</a>), but it <br>
appears to be backed up by a Sankei newspaper article <br>revealing that the authorities stopped monitoring Cesium <br>levels at individual milk producers in April, and instead <br>started monitoring cooling stations where the output comes <br>
from many farmers, including those from safe areas. <br>Naturally the numbers were evened out and those farms with <br>"hot" output were no longer obvious as they got diluted <br>with less-contaminated product. Thus it was that on April <br>
26 the ban on the sale of milk from Fukushima was lifted. <br><br>If you want to see which brands have been engaging in this <br>dubious practice, go here (sorry, many of the links from <br>here on are in Japanese only: <br>
<br><a href="http://www.teppeinomori.com/201105/20110521001.htm" target="_blank">http://www.teppeinomori.com/201105/20110521001.htm</a>)<br><br>OK, so we have the authorities trying to keep the dairy <br>business in Fukushima going through what we think is a <br>
quite unethical practice. We suppose that in a twisted <br>logic sort of way, their rationale of diluting dirty <br>product with clean makes sense, since it keeps radiation <br>numbers below the limits. But would you drink it if you <br>
knew this? <br><br>Our take on what to buy, what to avoid:<br><br>1. Leaf and Root Vegetables<br>The advice we've had so far is to generally avoid any <br>vegetables from Fukushima and possibly northern parts of <br>
Ibaraki. If you can't do this, and often vegetables are not<br>
labeled as to their source anyway, then you'll be wanting <br>to eat veges that grow deeper in the ground (Cesium tends <br>to stick to the top 5cm surface layer) or better still, eat<br>hydroponically grown veges for a while. There is a <br>
plentiful supply of hydroponic Romaine lettuce, sprouts, <br>rucola, sunny lettuce, and other veges.<br><br>2. Rice<br>More concerning in a couple of months time will be new <br>harvest rice. It seems that rice planting was given the go <br>
ahead in Fukushima after what appears to have been faulty <br>soil testing procedures. The government cut-off for soil <br>samples is 5,000 bq/kg of Cesium-134/137, and the Fukushima<br>government was getting 4,000bq/kg in their samples. <br>
However, they were taking samples 5-15cm deep, while Cesium<br>sticks to the surface. Apparently a rice farmer took a <br>sample from the top 5cm of his land rather than below that <br>depth and had it independently tested. He found it was <br>
contaminated to the tune of 35,000 bq/kg!!! Documented <br>here.<br><br><a href="http://ameblo.jp/noukanomuko/entry-10926646707.html" target="_blank">http://ameblo.jp/noukanomuko/entry-10926646707.html</a>.<br><br>Incompetence? Purposeful manipulation of the tests? Hard to<br>
say, but our advice about rice is clear. We would stock <br>pile with last year's crop, before the new Fukushima <br>product makes its way into the food system. Rice keeps <br>forever in the fridge anyway, so we advise buying some <br>
month's supply and let the media do the sleuthing of <br>whether or not the new season's product is safe or not.<br><br>3. Mushrooms<br>We would stay away from mushrooms that come from Fukushima <br>and any neighboring prefectures to the West and North -- <br>
since this is where the wind patterns blew some of the <br>Cesium-137 from the explosions. Mushrooms with gills, such <br>as shiitake, are apparently very efficient at absorbing <br>nuclides due to their not having roots and stems. Wild <br>
mushrooms near Chernobyl are still showing up with <br>contamination 25 years after the event.<br><br>4. Fruits<br>The best thing about summer is peaches, and fall the apples<br>-- two kings of Japanese fruit growing industry. Our guess <br>
is that only a small quantity of these fruits are grown in <br>Fukushima and surrounds, and considering the volume you'd <br>be eating they pose a low risk. However, berries of all <br>types grown outdoors in and around Fukushima-ken should <br>
probably be avoided -- these are another source of <br>contamination from Chernobyl experience.<br><br>5. Proteins<br>Probably the biggest concern is about milk. As mentioned, <br>it has come out that the milk authorities have been mixing <br>
Fukushima-sourced product with clean milk from other areas,<br>presumably so as to dilute it. We ONLY buy milk that <br>expressly says it comes from Hokkaido right there on the <br>packet. Our rationale is that it would constitute false <br>
advertising if they were to mix it with product from <br>somewhere else. <br><br>Fukushima is a major producer of eggs and pork, which we <br>would avoid for the time being, unless they're labeled as <br>being from somewhere else, or are imported product. What to<br>
do with beef is less clear, despite the scandal over mixing<br>contaminated product, because public awareness will <br>probably keep supplier shenanigans to a minimum from now on.<br>However, thanks to the fact that Japan imports so much of <br>
its food anyway, as one consumer said on TV recently, "If <br>it's Aussie beef, I'll eat it." Yup, you have plenty of <br>alternatives. Try Costco if you want foreign food.<br><br>No one seems to know what to do about fish. Personally, <br>
we'd stay away from fish that obviously comes from the <br>area, Sanma (Pacific Saury), etc. Instead, it's not that <br>hard to stick to imported salmon, colder water fish such <br>as Hokke (Mackerel) which comes from the Sea of Okhotsk, <br>
shrimp, and other varieties that are unlikely to be <br>locally sourced.<br><br>6. Bread and Processed Soy Products<br>Most of Japan's cereals are imported, particularly flour <br>(wheat), so we think these products are safe. Soy on the <br>
other hand may wind up being a "mixed bag" (like milk?). <br>Right now about 2/3 of Japan's soybeans come from abroad, <br>primarily the USA and South America, but of the remaining <br>1/3, 25% comes from Tohoku. We don't know how much comes <br>
from Fukushima to the south, but our guess from agriculture<br>production figures, is that it's not much.<br><br>7. Local Organic and Traceable Sources<br>If you are particularly concerned about source of produce, <br>
then consider shopping online. If you use Radish Boya <br>(<a href="http://www.radishbo-ya.co.jp" target="_blank">http://www.radishbo-ya.co.jp</a>), an organic food supplier <br>which is extremely popular and well priced, they state <br>
where the food comes from. Lots of Ibaraki-ken sourced <br>product, though, so we're not sure how good this is. Other <br>prefectures where they appear to have contract farms <br>producing in large volume are in Chiba and Gunma -- both of<br>
which had less exposure to the fall-out from the <br>explosions. Radish Boya also tests its food for radiation <br>and generally to date they have been reliable with food <br>safety awareness -- their brand would be destroyed <br>
overnight if they weren't.<br> <br>8. Kyushu sourcing<br>If you are really concerned, then you could consider <br>sourcing from Kyushu and other further locations. Here are <br>some links to such sites. Again all in Japanese.<br>
<br><a href="http://www.green-grace.co.jp/" target="_blank">http://www.green-grace.co.jp/</a><br><a href="http://vegetaberus.com/?tid=1&mode=f7" target="_blank">http://vegetaberus.com/?tid=1&mode=f7</a><br><a href="http://www.k-vf.com/" target="_blank">http://www.k-vf.com/</a><br>
<br>Lastly, we wish to keep things in perspective. At the <br>levels Cesium is being detected in our food in and around <br>Tokyo (versus right next to the Fukushima plant), the <br>situation appears to still be safe for adults. As an <br>
indication, the US government says that if 100,000 people <br>were continuously exposed to a layer of soil with an <br>initial average concentration of 1 pCi/g (by our <br>calculations, about 37bq/kg) of Cesium-137, then 6 <br>
individuals would be predicted to die of cancer that could <br>be related to the exposure. This compares to about 20,000 <br>people who would die from other types of cancer (US <br>average). The Japanese limit for food is 300 bq/kg, and in <br>
eating such food, you would be excreting most Cesium-137 <br>nuclides within 30 days.<br><br><br>...The information janitors/<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br><br>--------- BIOS - Bilingual IT Systems and Support ---------<br>
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employment, contracting, and dispatch -- including<br>management of the employee.<br><br>Also, if you're thinking of Cloud office solutions, take a<br>look at Microsoft's new Business Productivity Online<br>Standard Suite. Terrie mentions Exchange Online in TT602,<br>
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Web: <a href="http://www.biosjp.com" target="_blank">www.biosjp.com</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>+++ NEWS<br><br>- Rebuilding in Tohoku very slow<br>- One STD you do not want to catch<br>
- Fall off in tourists is slowing<br>
- Reuters poll forecasts economic recovery<br>- Youtube releasing foreign language subtitling feature<br><br><br><br>-> Rebuilding in Tohoku very slow<br><br>We speculated in a previous Terrie's Take that there would <br>
be little in the Tohoku rebuilding efforts for foreign <br>building materials suppliers, and this has turned out to be<br>the case for Japanese suppliers as well. Four months after <br>the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Q1 contract value <br>
of public works projects actually dropped 5% over the same <br>period in the previous year. Furthermore, there is <br>apparently a glut of building materials that were <br>stockpiled in anticipation of a building boom. Government <br>
plans for reconstruction have been delayed by the massive <br>clean-up first required, and also the lack of local <br>coordination available to get projects started. ***Ed: <br>Understandable, in that many of the government personnel <br>
needed may not be alive any longer, but one has to wonder <br>why the Central government can't get a proper plan in place<br>quicker than this...?** (Source: TT commentary from <br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com" target="_blank">e.nikkei.com</a>, Jul 12, 2011)<br>
<br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110712D12HH478.htm" target="_blank">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110712D12HH478.htm</a><br><br>-> One STD you do not want to catch<br><br>Researchers in Japan and Sweden have apparently discovered <br>
a new type of gonorrhea (VD) that is resistant to <br>front-line antibiotics such as Cipro. The new strain is <br>called H041 and it has shown up in Japan first. H041 <br>appears to be untreatable, after tests with ceftriaxone -- <br>
the drug usually used for modern gonorrhea -- administered <br>at 8x the normal dosage failed to have any effect. So far <br>there have only been a few cases in Japan of H041, but <br>fears are that it may spread quickly. (Source: TT <br>
commentary from <a href="http://npr.org" target="_blank">npr.org</a>, Jul 21, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://n.pr/oKyXHu" target="_blank">http://n.pr/oKyXHu</a><br><br>-> Fall off in tourists is slowing<br><br>The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has <br>
announced that the June drop off of tourists to Japan took <br>a smaller fall of 36%, compared to the March-May period <br>when the numbers were down 50%-60% (depending on the <br>month). The JNTO says that the situation will continue to <br>
be dire until the Fukushima power plant is made safe. The <br>organization also noted that despite numbers being well <br>down, a quick recovery is possible, as evidenced by worse <br>numbers (than this year) back in 2009 after the Lehman <br>
Shock, then the subsequent resurgence in 2010. ***Ed: <br>Here's hoping that 2012 will be a strong year for <br>Japan-bound tourism.** (Source: TT commentary from <br><a href="http://mainichi.jp" target="_blank">mainichi.jp</a>, Jul 15, 2011)<br>
<br><a href="http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110715p2g00m0dm015000c.html" target="_blank">http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110715p2g00m0dm015000c.html</a><br><br>-> Reuters poll forecasts economic recovery<br>
<br>A Reuters poll of 30 leading economists in Japan has found <br>
that the experts are predicting an economic recovery for <br>the nation in the second half of this year. The outlook is <br>for growth of 0.2% in this fiscal year through to March <br>2012, and 2.7% for FY 2012 ending March 2013. The fact that<br>
the nation is emerging from the disaster so quickly, with <br>May factory output volumes jumping significantly is <br>apparently taking finance people by surprise. Nonetheless, <br>the economists have commented that things could be even <br>
better is political infighting was toned down. (Source: TT <br>commentary from <a href="http://reuters.com" target="_blank">reuters.com</a>, Jul 14, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://reut.rs/p1pCNe" target="_blank">http://reut.rs/p1pCNe</a><br>
<br>-> Youtube releasing foreign language subtitling feature<br>
<br>YouTube has announced an automated foreign language service<br>for more than 50 languages, including Japanese. Apparently <br>the software analyzes speech in the videos and displays <br>captions in that language below. Once the captions are <br>
created, users can search for video content based on the <br>words thus subtitled. ***Ed: Of course the holy grail will <br>be if they create automated translations of the captions, <br>so that foreigners can watch Japanese talk shows... ;-).** <br>
(Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://e.nikkei.co.jp" target="_blank">e.nikkei.co.jp</a>, Jul 15, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110715D15JFN02.htm" target="_blank">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110715D15JFN02.htm</a><br>
<br><br>NOTE: Broken links<br>Many online news sources remove their articles after just a<br>few days of posting them, thus breaking our links -- we<br>apologize for the inconvenience.<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
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-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br><br>+++ CANDIDATE ROUND UP/VACANCIES<br><br>=> BiOS, a Division of the LINC Media group, is actively<br>
marketing the following positions for customers setting up<br>or expanding in Japan, as well as other employers of<br>bilinguals.<br><br>** HIGHLIGHTED POSITION<br><br>BiOS is urgently looking for a Helpdesk Engineer with <br>
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this position is suitable for someone with solid experience<br>as a helpdesk or desktop engineer supporting day-to-day <br>office environment. In addition, since this role requires <br>extensive communications with IT engineers and end-users <br>
in English, daily conversational-level communication skill <br>in English and native-level communication skill in Japanese<br>are required.<br><br>Remuneration is JPY3.5m – JPY4.5m depending on your <br>experience and skill level.<br>
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<br>Every 2 weeks BiOS sends out a regular communication to its<br>
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<br>Interested individuals may e-mail resumes to:<br>
<a href="mailto:tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com" target="_blank">tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
<br>+++ UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS<br>
<br>--------------- Start a Company in Japan ------------------<br><br>Apologies: <br><br>The Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar scheduled for July 16th<br>has been postponed until September 10th due to low numbers <br>
registering. Those people interested in learning how to <br>
start a company, can apply for the September event by <br>visiting the website here: <br><br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a>.<br>
-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>------------------- ICA Event - July 21 -------------------<br><br>Speaker: Kazuaki Hiraga, Senior Software Engineer, Basis <br>Technology<br>Title: 'Lucene/Solr Open-source Enterprise Search Engines'<br><br>
Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" target="_blank">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>
(RSVP Required)<br><br>Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011<br>Time: 6:30 Doors open, Buffet Dinner included and cash bar<br>Cost: 4,000 yen (members), 6,000 yen (non-members).<br>Open to all. <br>Venue: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan<br>
<br><a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map" target="_blank">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
<br>
+++ CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK<br><br>In this section we run comments and corrections submitted<br>by readers. We encourage you to spot our mistakes and<br>amplify our points, by email, to <a href="mailto:editors@terrie.com" target="_blank">editors@terrie.com</a>.<br>
<br>*** More on tracking food sources...<br><br>=> Reader contribution:<br><br>I just wanted to add a comment about the safety of the food<br>here in Tokyo. I share your concern, particularly about <br>foods such as dairy products. Yoghurt is also an important <br>
part of my diet, so I have taken to making my own. It does <br>take some extra effort to find milk from areas that are <br>distant from the obviously radiation-affected areas. And I <br>guess there is still an issue of how far away is far enough<br>
and whether the factory uses milk only from the region <br>where the factory is located.<br><br>As an aside, I am not sure if this is well known (it was <br>new to me), but the location of the factory where the milk <br>
was produced/processed is "coded" onto the imprint of the <br>
expiry date at the top of the milk carton. You will see a <br>two (or three) character code, such as "KT" (one of the <br>characters may be a kana character) at the end of the <br>imprint. This is a code specified by the company indicating<br>
where the product was processed. For example, Meiji Milk <br>with the KT code is processed in their Tohoku Factory in <br>Miyagi Prefecture. I have not seen any information on this <br>in English. Someone has put together a Wiki in Japanese for<br>
these codes organized by various food products and by <br>manufacturer.<br><br><a href="http://www45.atwiki.jp/seizousho/pages/47.html" target="_blank">http://www45.atwiki.jp/seizousho/pages/47.html</a><br><br>Back to yoghurt, the culture for yoghurt is available in a <br>
number of supermarkets, often in the same area that yoghurt<br>is found, but it may be in another section. The type I see <br>most often is for "Caspian Sea" yoghurt from Fujicco. The <br>process to make it is simple, just add the culture to milk<br>
in a container that you sterilized with boiling water and <br>let it stand at room temperature for the recommended time. <br>Then refrigerate and consume within the recommended time. <br>With the heat we are getting these days, turning the milk <br>
into yoghurt should take no time at all! ;-)<br><br>Just wanted to add one thing. In some cases, I have seen <br>the production plant location printed directly on the <br>product label area, above the company address. In such a <br>
case there has been no code on the imprint at the top. I <br>guess this is when the product only comes out of that one <br>plant, so they can print up the cartons with the location <br>directly on the label.<br><br>***********************************************************<br>
END<br><br>SUBSCRIBERS: 8,893 members as of July 17, 2011<br>(We purge our list regularly.)<br><br>+++ ABOUT US<br><br>STAFF<br>Written by: Terrie Lloyd (<a href="mailto:terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com" target="_blank">terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com</a>)<br>
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