Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks at the World Economic Forum Japan Meeting 2009 in Shinjuku, Tokyo. (World Economic Forum / Kaori Nishida)

Nothing better than starting the month off with politics!

Embattled Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday morning he will resign over his broken campaign promise to move the U.S. Marine base off the island of Okinawa.

According to national surveys, Hatoyama’s approval rating among Japanese has plunged below 20 percent in recent weeks. Hatoyama leaves office barely nine months after he led his party to victory in last year’s historic election. He is the fourth Japanese prime minister to step down in the last for years.

“Since last year’s elections, I tried to change politics in which the people of Japan would be the main actors,” said Hatoyama at a press conference and admitted that he did not succeed.

“That’s mainly because of my failings,” he added. (Associated Press)

Hatoyama cited two reasons for his resignation: the Futenma base issue and a political funding scandal in which two of his aides were convicted of falsifying political contribution reports. Hatoyama said that Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the DPJ party who was involved in the scandal, will also resign.

In recent months many protests were held in Japan as people demanded that Futenma base be moved off the island of Okinawa. Residents of Okinawa say that the base, home to about 47,000 U.S. troops and their families, is the reason for frequent crime, noise, pollution and accidents on this southern Japanese island.

Beginning in July, individual Chinese tourists will soon be able to enter Japan easier under new rules that ease the criteria for approval of tourist visas.

Under the new law, non-tour group visitors from China will need to meet the minimum annual income of 60,000 yuan ($8788) or own a “gold” credit card. Current rules require an annual income of 250.000 yuan (36,617 EUR).

The Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that this change will expand the pool of eligible Chinese tourist visa applicants to about 16 million which is 10 times the current amount.

Last year, 1.01 million mainland Chinese visitors entered Japan, either in groups or individually.

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Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201005180351.html

ACROS Fukuoka (opened 1995) in the city of Fukuoka is covered by 35,000 plants from 76 species. The rooftops and terraces collect rainfall and offer living spaces for insects and birds. The complex, located in the heart of the city, has large-scale cultural facilities, shops, galleries, a museum, music hall and open spaces for recreation.

As global currents seem to suggest, in the turbulent times we are entering, green technology won’t be just one of the most profitable markets but an urgency if we as human race want to remain alive in this increasingly harmful environment which we have been corroding with toxins of all kinds, colors, shapes and flavors for the past hundred years.

Japan, one of the leading initiators of green technologies and where living in a healthy environment presents a significant part of lifestyle, has been investing for long years into innovations that aim to reduce consumption of natural resources and promote preservation of the environment.

According to a global survey by CERNA (Centre of Industrial Economics) in February 2009, Japan owns 40,8% of all world patents in green technologies in years 1998 – 2003. The United States came in second with 12.8% of patents.

Table: Top 10 countries with most patented inventions in green technologies

Source: http://colli239.fts.educ.msu.edu/2003/12/31/japan-owns-40-of-worlds-patents-in-green-technology-2009/

Last time we had fun with some unusual Japanese inventions, today let’s talk about something more serious.

The more we see what’s happening in the world and the worse the global economic and social situation becomes, the more we’re convinced that our praised capitalistic system without morals and ethics–which only makes the rich even richer and pushes the poor into an even bigger hole–is but detrimental for human society.

It’s quite possible that just like we think today about the brutal Medieval feudal system from 500 years ago which seemed to those poor peasants like a normal way of life, that’s how 500 years from now they will think about our cruel capitalistic system which seems just normal to us but has in the 20th century help us cause more damage to nature and ourselves than in all human history combined.

But things are changing. Increasingly more newly established companies around the globe are becoming aware of the urgency of changing the direction and it all seems like future textbooks for economics will teach differently than they do today. Since we’re a blog about Japan, let’s focus on one of those companies which I came across in an article for Reuters.

Kamakura Investment Management was established in November 2008 and is headquartered in ancient Kamakura, a popular seaside tourist destination about 50 km from Tokyo. According to the owners, unlike short-term profit oriented companies, their investment strategy works on a principle that offers “long-term harmony with the society”. They plan on investing into about 100 small and medium-sized domestic companies that focus on the environment.

Yasuyuki Kamata, the company president in the interview for Reuters says that they don’t want to think about investments that will conclude in our generation but instead they focus on the next generation.

The firm’s high-tech equipped dealing room with tatami floor overlooks a traditional Japanese garden.

Kamata continues by saying that investors will feel good if they know that money goes to companies that provide good contributions to the society.

Time will tell if they are on the right path. One thing is certain; we are entering an era of some radical economic and social changes where it won’t be easy to crawl out of the abyss into which we fell with our own greed.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B71GY20091208

The famous Amida Buddha Daibutsu statue attracts visitors in Kamakura, Japan, 2008.

Recently, the U.N. Human Development Program issued a report for 2009 that among other many other things, looks at income inequality in countries and regions around the world.

Based on the Gini score in the report, Daily Onigiri ranked among world’s most advanced economies 6 countries with the smallest and 6 countries with the widest gap between rich and poor. Gini score indicates level of income inequality and works like this: 0 means absolute equality and 100 means absolute inequality.

Among countries with the most equality, Japan ranks 2nd right after Denmark, while Hong Kong has the biggest inequality.

Countries with the smallest gap between rich and poor

1. Denmark (Gini score: 24.7)
2. Japan (Gini score: 24.9)
3. Sweden (Gini score: 25.0)
4. Norway (Gini score: 25.8)
5. Czech Republic (Gini score: 25.8)
6. Finland (Gini score: 26.9)

Countries with the biggest gap between rich and poor

1. Hong Kong SAR, China (Gini score: 43.4)
2. Singapore (Gini score: 42.5)
3. United States of America (Gini score: 40.8)
4. Israel (Gini score: 39.2)
5. Portugal (Gini score: 38.5)
6. New Zealand (Gini score: 36.2)

The United Nations Human Development Report 2009 can be downloaded in full as a PDF file on this page.