TO STUDY HEALTH IMPAT OF POLYFLUOROAKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) CHEMICALS IN JAPAN

TO STUDY HEALTH IMPAT OF POLYFLUOROAKYL  SUBSTANCES (PFAS) CHEMICALS IN JAPAN

@Jackie San

TOKYO

Japan will launch a study on the health impact of potentially harmful chemicals known as PFAS, a government source said Monday, after their detection across the country fueled concern among local residents.

PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, used in various products such as frying pan coatings and water-repellent clothing, have been detected in high concentrations at places near Self-Defense Forces and U.S military bases as well as industrial areas.

With some researchers warning of adverse effects on the human body including an increased risk of cancer, the study, planned for three years from around June, will be conducted by three institutions.

In the study, Hokkaido University will use data on concentration levels of 39 kinds of PFAS contained in the blood of around 700 people from the fetal stage to late teens to examine the substances' impact on their fat metabolism and development, the source said.

Hyogo Medical University will conduct experiments on mice to probe whether the substances suppress the immune system and reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations, while the National Institute of Health Sciences will seek to elucidate the mechanism of their toxicity at the molecular level, it said.

PFAS is a general term for a group of over 10,000 artificial chemicals that include PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid.

Japan banned in principle the manufacturing and import of PFOS substances, commonly used in foam extinguishers, in 2018 for all applications, as well as those categorized as PFOA in 2021. Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, or PFHxS, was added to the list in 2023.

The government-led study comes as 12 local assemblies across eight prefectures urged the Diet to take action to address the contamination after high concentration levels of PFAS were detected in recent years in various parts of the country.

Levels exceeding the government standard were reported near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, as well as in a drainage channel in an industrial park in Fukushima Prefecture and areas surrounding a chemical factory in Shizuoka Prefecture.

PFAS are described as persistent organic pollutants, or forever chemicals, because they are nearly indestructible. As they do not degrade over time unlike most other chemicals, they can accumulate in the environment and the human body.

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Dejima A Man-Made Island Nagasaki, Japan

 

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JAPAN SOCIETY ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES TO DROP 'DISORDER' FROM NAME - JAPAN

JAPAN SOCIETY ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES TO DROP 'DISORDER' FROM NAME - JAPAN

@Jackie San

TOKYO

The Japanese Society of Gender Identity Disorder, a body promoting transgender studies, has decided to drop "disorder" from its name based on the latest understanding of people with gender identities differing from those assigned at birth.

The change, announced Sunday at its general meeting, is in line with the World Health Organization's recent advice to use the term "gender incongruence" instead of "gender disorder." The society's new English name is yet to be formally decided.

Speaking to reporters in Okinawa Prefecture after the meeting, Mikiya Nakatsuka, president of the society and a professor at Okayama University's graduate school, expressed hope that the name change would help increase public awareness of transgender people.

"Without a societal change, the hardships faced by transgender people will persist," Nakatsuka said.

The WHO stopped using "gender identity disorder" from its 2022 international diagnostic manual and treated the issue under its sexual health chapter rather than as a mental disorder.

The society has used gender identity disorder in its name since its establishment in 1999 as a research group, but it proposed a name change to its members amid the international shift, which also included the American Psychiatric Association replacing the term with "gender dysphoria" in 2013.

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DEJIMA NAGAKI WHAT INTERESTING TO DO ?

 

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EDIBLE BUG BUSINESSES AT CROSSROADS IN JAPAN

EDIBLE BUG BUSINESSES AT CROSSROADS IN JAPAN 

@Jackie San

TOKUSHIMAHuman consumption of crickets, which are rich in nutrients and expected to help solve humanity's food crisis, has reached a crossroads in Japan.

A recent wave of firms joining the edible bug market may prove to be a short-lived fad as further growth is being impeded by soaring prices of ingredients and continuing resistance among consumers to making insects part of their diet.

Businesses in the industry have taken a hit especially on social media where their products are sometimes singled out for abuse, and misinformation and false claims spread.

In Tokushima Prefecture, crickets were used in school lunches for the first time in Japan in November 2022, making national headlines while drawing curious interest from students.

The meal was provided by Gryllus Inc, a venture company in Tokushima city, Tokushima Prefecture, which used crickets in croquettes in a pulverized powdered form.

But earlier this year, Gryllus closed its lab for the development of food using crickets as the price of the ingredients used to feed crickets skyrocketed. It said cost-cutting would not cover the shortfall.

Additionally, the company said some people continue to feel a strong revulsion to the idea of eating the chirping bugs. "Complaints have poured in by phone, and it is making the situation really tough for us," a spokesperson for the company said.

In December 2020, Pasco Shikishima Corp, a major Japanese bread manufacturer based in Nagoya, launched its "Korogi Cafe" (Cricket Cafe) series, with crickets in a powdered form blended into bread or cake products, such as financiers, the popular flavored French cake.

The product, which was sold exclusively online, was conceived to ostensibly prepare for future food insecurity. It was well-received and sold out within two days of its launch, also garnering widespread media coverage.

But a debate about human bug consumption -- the practice known as entomophagy -- started on X in February 2023, sparking a firestorm at the company.

While some people calmly expressed opinions and made fact-based points, others commented that they were disconcerted to learn that Pasco products contained crickets, with one person saying for example, "It makes me not even want to buy their products anymore."

Another wrongly suggested that other products of the company might contain cricket powder and that it was not protecting consumers who might be allergic to the ingredient with appropriate labels.

Both claims were groundless, with the company later explaining that Cricket Cafe products were manufactured in a dedicated facility and that there was no possibility of cricket powder being mixed with other products or plans for future use in any other products.

Furthermore, Pasco said allergen warnings were clearly written on the packaging, asking consumers not to use the product if allergic to crustaceans such as crabs or shrimps, which have ingredients similar to crickets. It also clearly listed on the package cricket powder as one of the main ingredients.

There were also posts calling for boycotts of Pasco based on conspiracy theories and wild rumors, such as one person who questioned whether eating crickets might cause miscarriages in pregnant women. The Cricket Cafe series has since been discontinued.

In a 2013 report, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization recommended insect diets as a new source of protein. This is because with the expected continued growth of the world's population there are concerns that food will be in short supply.

The JMA Research Institute Inc., a Tokyo-based think tank, estimates that the global market for entomophagy will grow from about 7 billion yen ($47 million) in fiscal 2019 to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2025.

While many companies entered the market anticipating growth, success was not a forgone conclusion.

In January, Indetail, a startup involved in information technology that had also entered the cricket food business in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, was ordered by the Sapporo District Court to begin bankruptcy proceedings.

According to the Sapporo branch of credit research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd., sales of the company's cricket products failed to take off, causing a deterioration in financing for the operator. Total liabilities exceeded 200 million yen, including from its group companies.

In Japan, insects have long been traditionally eaten as a delicacy in some regions, such as a southern part of Nagano Prefecture.

However, there appears to have been a backlash against cricket-eating as the practice is unfamiliar to most people, who lack a sense of urgency about an impending food crisis. Experts suggest that overcoming the "ick factor" in cricket consumption will take more ingenuity on the part of the businesses.

"It's true that insects have high nutritional value. There is less resistance to utilizing insects in herbal medicine and supplements," said Tomohisa Ishikawa, director of research at Japan Research Institute Ltd., a private think tank in Tokyo.

But he added, "It would be better to develop technology for their utilization and apply it to food products so that it is ultimately more acceptable to consumers."

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DEJIMA NAGASAKI THINGS TO DO

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FOREIGN STUDENTS SET TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR JAPAN GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS

FOREIGN STUDENTS SET TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR JAPAN GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS

@Jackie San

TOKYOThe Japanese government plans to expand the scope of foreign university students eligible for its scholarships from April to provide more academic opportunities to children of the country's growing number of foreign workers, according to officials.

The education ministry is set to include in the target students who are residing in the country with their parents under a "dependent" visa on condition they have completed education through elementary, junior high and high school level in Japan and intend to work and stay in the country after graduating from university, they said.

The scholarships, provided by the Japan Student Services Organization, are currently only available to Japanese citizens and foreign nationals with visas as special permanent residents, permanent residents or long-term residents who intend to stay in Japan permanently.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology expects that around 500 to 1,000 students would be newly eligible for the scholarships, which come in the form of a grant or loan, they said.

Lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had been calling on the government to expand academic support for foreign children as the country looks to secure foreign labor amid the declining population.

Civic groups, including the nongovernmental organization Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, have also called for an expansion, noting that children of foreign workers tend to face financial difficulties.

Toru Takahashi, a steering member of the group, said he welcomes the government's plan to expand the scholarships but that requiring students to complete 12 years of education in Japan is likely to be too harsh a condition as it means children will need to be living in Japan before first grade to become eligible.

"We will closely pay attention to whether the government will move to ease the rules," Takahashi said.

The number of foreign workers in Japan as of the end of last October topped 2 million for the first time, hitting a record 2,048,675 foreign workers, up 12.4 percent from the previous year, according to labor ministry data.

In line with the increase in foreign workers, those who have entered Japan under a "dependent" visa came to 244,890 as of the end of June 2023, up 7.5 percent from the previous year, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan data showed.

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ONE DAY CITY TOUR AND THINGS TO DO NAGASAKI JAPAN (REVIEW)

 

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RULLING LAWMAKER SAYS KISHIDA SET TO DISSOLVE LOWER HOUSE IN FALL - JAPAN

RULLING LAWMAKER SAYS KISHIDA SET TO DISSOLVE LOWER HOUSE IN FALL - JAPAN

@Jackie San

TOKYO

A senior lawmaker of the Komeito party, the junior coalition partner of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to dissolve the House of Representatives in the fall.

Keiichi Ishii, secretary general of Komeito, said in a TV program aired on Sunday that Kishida is likely to call a snap election providing he is reelected as the LDP president in September.

Ishii's remarks come with speculation lingering that Kishida will dissolve the lower house in April as three by-elections to fill vacant seats in the chamber are slated to take place late that month, although the premier has denied the possibility.

Kishida's LDP has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations that some of its factions, including the one he formerly led, neglected to report portions of their incomes from fundraising parties and created slush funds for years.

The current four-year terms for lower house members expire in October 2025 unless Kishida dissolves the chamber. Under Japan's Constitution, the prime minister has the authority to decide whether to dissolve the lower house.

Ishii said there is a "non-zero" chance that Kishida will dissolve the lower house by the end of the ongoing parliamentary session through June 23, adding, "The key is whether approval ratings for the Cabinet will rise" by tackling the slush funds scandal.

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#VIRAL DISCOVER NAGASAKI CITY ONE DAY SIGHTSEEING ALONE

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INDONESIA DEPORTS JAPANESE MAN ACCUSED OF ROLE IN $90 MILLION INVESTMENT FRAUD

INDONESIA DEPORTS JAPANESE MAN ACCUSED OF ROLE IN $90 MILLION INVESTMENT FRAUD

@Jackie San

BATAM, Indonesia

A Japanese man accused of helping to run a $90 million investment scam is being deported to Japan after four years on the run, Indonesian authorities said Tuesday.

Yusuke Yamazaki, 43, was arrested off Bulan island in Kepulauan Riau province on Jan 31, while attempting to cross into Malaysia in a small wooden boat, said Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, who heads the provincial office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. He's expected to be deported by the end of the day.

The boat also carried four undocumented Indonesian migrant workers and two crew, Mataram said. The others were detained by police for further investigation while Yamazaki was handed over to the Immigration Office in Batam on Feb 2.

Yamazaki initially gave a false name and detained on suspicion of visa violations, Mataram said, but police later identified him as an international fugitive.

He was an executive at Nishiyama Farm, an Okayama-based company that ran farm tours across Japan and collapsed amid allegations of fraud in February 2019. Five people connected to Nishiyama Farm were arrested in October 2021 for suspected fraud worth around 13.3 billion yen ($90 million) and later convicted, but Yamazaki left Japan for Hong Kong in February 2020, according to Japanese media reports.

Aichi Prefectural Police listed Yamazaki as a fugitive on an Interpol Blue Notice in 2022. Mataram said Yamazaki is believed to have arrived in Indonesia by way of Turkey in April the following year.

“Further legal process will be carried out by Japanese government upon his transfer to Japan,” said Batam’s Immigration Office Chief, Samuel Toba, at a news conference.

He added that Japanese police had dispatched investigators to Indonesia to assist in the deportation of Yamazaki, who will be flown Tokyo on an overnight Japan Airlines flight.

In a lawsuit filed by 41 investors in Tokyo and four other prefectures seeking compensation from Yamazaki and others, the Nagoya District Court ordered the defendants to pay around 320 million yen (about $2.2 million) in February 2022.

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