Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

The truth about cheap highway tolls:

Last weekend we visited my wife’s family in Iwate prefecture 530 km (320 miles) north of Tokyo and paid only 1,700 yen ($17) one-way in tolls, much cheaper than the 10,000 yen that it would have cost on a weekday. The shinkansen (bullet train) would have set the four of us back almost 35,000 yen.

To beat the traffic we got up at the crack of dawn, loaded up the SUV with three days worth of clothes, diapers, and enough toys to occupy the kids, and hit the road at 6:30.

Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. We immediately ran into heavy traffic on the Tohoku Expressway and crawled along around 40 km per hour through much of the first 100 km before things eased up a bit.

Just when we thought the worst was over, we hit a 25-km backup that looked like a parking lot. All we could do was grin and bear the bumper-to-bumper traffic as my 11-month-old son threw a fit in the back seat while my 5-year-old boy said: “Dad, we should have taken the shinkansen.”

I never wanted to get to my in-laws’ faster than at that moment.

We eventually made it in about 9-1/2 hours – more than three hours longer than it would have taken had there been no traffic jams.

“Next time, let’s not go on a 1,000-yen weekend,” my wife said.

And yet the public does this every year with the full knowledge that the roads will be clogged. But because they think they are getting a deal, they don't stop to think about the diminishing returns of cheap highway tolls: more people on the roads, longer traffic jams, and more time wasted sitting in traffic. It's interesting how people love a bargain but place so little value on their own time. It may be cheap to drive from Tokyo to Aomori for ¥1,000, but paying the extra money for shinkansen tickets to travel a lot quicker and more comfortably surely outweighs a 9-1/2 hour drive. This is something that even the author's child understands.

The eco-point program is now officially underway with the government accepting applications:

Under the Eco-point system, those who buy designated energy-saving appliances between May 15 and March 31 will be eligible for the points, with one Eco-point worth roughly ¥1.

Points given vary between 6,000 and 9,000 for air conditioners, depending on cooling power, 3,000 and 10,000 for refrigerators depending on capacity and 7,000 and 36,000 for televisions for terrestrial broadcasting depending on the size of screen.

Starting Wednesday, purchasers of these appliances may register Eco-points by mailing applications along with documents such as receipts and copies of product warranties to the Eco-point secretariat. These points may be exchanged for merchandise coupons, electronic money and other items of choice.

For instance, 13,500 Eco-points may be exchanged for ¥12,000 stored in a Suica electronic money card issued by East Japan Railway Co., while 5,000 points are exchangeable for ¥5,000 worth of department store coupons.

So, how can I help the environment by purchasing newer appliances? This is how the points are awarded for refrigerators and TVs:

• Refrigerators
  • 501L or more: 10,000
  • 401L to 500L: 9,000
  • 251Lto 400L: 6,000
  • 250 or less: 3,000
• Digital terrestrial TVs (LCD and plasma)
  • 46-inch or larger: 36,000
  • 40 to 42 inch: 23,000
  • 37-inch: 17,000
  • 26 to 32-inch: 12,000
  • 26-inch or smaller: 7,000

The list of refrigerators eligible for the eco-points program is here [PDF]. TVs are here [PDF].

Note: The links to the lists of eligible appliances seem to have died. They were working a few days ago, but somebody seems to have removed them from this page on the eco-point website.

I currently own a 28-inch Sony TV that is rated at 125W and a 401L Hitachi refrigerator rated at 140W, or 260kWhr/year. Both are 6 years old and in good working order. I want to maximize my points, so that means buying a larger TV and fridge.

Let's go for a Sony 52-inch KDL-52X5050. According to Sony, it consumes 315W, more than double the consumption of my current TV. How about a 46-inch Sharp LC-46AE6? 150 watts. A 40-inch Sharp LC-40AE6? 120W, so I'm better off in terms of consumption, plus I end up with a larger screen although I'm going to have to pay over 100,000 yen for it.

The same goes for refrigerators. The one I have has consumes 260kWhr/year. Let's look at the Hitachi R-SF50YM, which has a capacity of 501L. It consumes approximately 400 kWh/year. How about Panasonic's 470L NR-F473TM? It consumes roughly 390kWh/year. A quick look at the offerings from Panasonic and Hitachi shows that I need to buy a significantly smaller refrigerator if I'm to reduce my energy consumption.

Can you reduce your energy consumption by upgrading to newer appliances? Yes, but only if you pay attention. But when was the last time you thought about power consumption when shopping for an appliance? Sadly, the way the eco-point scheme is structured, consumers are "rewarded" for purchasing larger and more expensive appliances, which also consume more electricity. If you fall into the trap of maximizing your eco-points, you will likely increase your overall electricity consumption instead of reduce it. As I said before, like the 12,000 yen kickback, it's a ploy to boost consumption in the short term under the guise of "being green."

Regarding my comments previously made about people giving up their cars in favor of bicycles and car-sharing, here's a clip on Orix's car-sharing business:

The video notes a shift in thinking from purchasing and owning a car to borrowing and using one. The housewife in the video figures it costs her at least ¥60,000 a month to operate a car, but with car-sharing, her costs drop to around ¥10,000 a month. That's a significant savings. While Orix already has 5,000 members and the business is just getting started, it's a step in the right direction toward reducing CO2 emissions and the number of cars on the road.

Via Japan Probe

This is disturbing:

The farm ministry uncovered 879 cases of mislabeled food products last year but only disclosed 110 of them in order to protect the companies responsible, according to documents obtained from the ministry Saturday.

The 879 cases involve companies that were issued warnings or guidance by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry or its regional offices during the year, the documents show. The documents were obtained through an information disclosure request.

A ministry official said it decided not to announce all of the cases because it might deliver "a big social blow" to firms that got caught up in mislabeling through simple negligence or temporary law-infringement cases. It therefore decided only to announce cases it considered "malicious" or requiring orders to take corrective measures.

No, no, no, no,no! This is beyond messed up. How is the public supposed to make informed decisions about the food it eats if the ministry withholds information? For a nation that prides itself on the quality, freshness, and awesomeness of its cuisine, it's poorly served by the Ministry of Agriculture. The fact that the ministry withholds information to prevent "a big social blow" says that it's more interested in protecting profits than protecting the public. It's even more tragic when you consider that the ministry is behind the Food Action Nippon campaign that is supposed to inform the public about food issues and promote domestically produced food.

Right on cue, the Asahi reminds us why it's important that the public is informed about its food with a story about a the chairman of a company arrested on suspicion of labeling Chinese eel as being a product of Kagoshima.

Sadly, modern industrial food and agriculture is about making money. Where money is involved, corners are bound to get cut in the name of making a profit. I'm told that Japan is in the midst of a gardening boom, and it's not hard to see why.

Article on falsely labeled eel

ウナギ偽装容疑、会長ら逮捕　中国産を「鹿児島産」

2009年6月10日15時37分

中国産のウナギを「鹿児島産」と偽って卸したとされる産地偽装事件で、警視庁は１０日、東京都中央区の食品会社「浜伸」会長の中村驥（はやま）容疑者（６７）ら３人を不正競争防止法違反（虚偽表示）容疑で逮捕した。同庁によると、中村容疑者は調べに「自分１人でやった」と供述しているという。

生活経済課と築地署などによると、中村容疑者らは昨年５月、中国で養殖されたウナギのかば焼き３千パック（約５００キロ）を「鹿児島産」と偽り、築地市場の卸売業者に１７１万円で販売した疑いがある。

同課は、中村容疑者らが０７年９月～０８年８月、産地偽装したウナギ約５０トンを築地市場の水産卸を通じて都内のスーパーなどに販売したとみている。売り上げは約２億１千万円、利益は約８千万円にのぼるという。

捜査関係者によると、中村容疑者はこれまでの任意の調べに「国産ウナギの流通が低迷しており、産地を偽装することで市場が活性化しているように見せたかった」と説明していたという。

この事件をめぐっては、東京都が昨年７月、ＪＡＳ法に基づき立ち入り調査しようとしたが、浜伸側が拒否したため、警視庁に通報。同庁が昨年９月、不正競争防止法違反容疑で浜伸の関係先２６カ所を家宅捜索していた。ウナギのＤＮＡ型鑑定や、押収した帳簿類からウナギは中国産と判明した。

Here we have the sequel to the 12,000 yen give-away:

The government will give up to 39,000 yen in "eco points" to buyers of eco-friendly home appliances under a new environmental program.

If you think you can use those points to purchase more stuff, just like you would if you were shopping at a major electronics retailer, you'd be mistaken.

Under the plan, buyers of environment-friendly appliances can earn "eco-points," and redeem the points for goods or gift certificates. For example, those who buy a 46-inch digital television set can receive 39,000-yen worth of eco-points, the highest figure available, according to a release by the government.

Buyers, however, have to wait until after June, after the supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2009 passes through the Diet, to find out how to apply for the points, and are likely to be able to redeem the points in July at the earliest. Since consumers were withholding from buying products as they waited for the program to come into effect, the government decided to start the point-earning period earlier than initially set.

Are you kidding me? I'm supposed to happily fork over hundreds of thousands of yen to purchase electronics in exchange for gift certificates? Plus, I have to wait to find out how to apply for the points and for what I can redeem them? They literally have not thought this plan through.

Like the 12,000 yen give-away, eco points aren't going to boost consumption, especially when Japan's manufacturers are posting record losses, people are losing their jobs, and the government publicly mulls raising the consumption tax.

As Japan's economy began to meltdown last year, the Japan Times ran a couple of articles detailing how people were coping. One article was about a surge in the sales of bicycles while another noted how more and more people were turning to car-sharing as an alternative to owning a car.

Cycling back in fashion:

While automakers are suffering from slumping sales amid the global economic downturn and accelerating efforts to develop green cars to spur new demand, the traditional green vehicle — the bicycle — is becoming more popular.

"Usually, bicycles sell well in the high season of summer and business is slow when it gets colder, but this year we have remained very busy," said Daisuke Nishikoori, manager of the Y's Road bicycle chain's outlet in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district.

Consumers' growing awareness of health issues and the surge in gasoline prices to record levels in 2008 have increased bicycles' appeal, while a wider variety of lineups and fashionable outfits for cycling have attracted more people, he said.

At Nishikoori's store, imported sports bicycles, some of which cost more than ¥100,000, are selling well, as more retired men take to cycling as a hobby, he said. More customers are also becoming interested in commuting by bicycle, he added.

A Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute poll of 100 designated retailers nationwide showed sales of sports bikes had double-digit or sometimes triple-digit percentage growth rates every month through last November compared with year-earlier levels.

Car-sharing:

Car-sharing is shifting into a higher gear as people try to save on vehicle maintenance costs and reduce their carbon footprint.

Some people who have joined car-sharing plans have sold their cars.

"I used to only use my car on weekends, and increasingly thought that was a waste," a 35-year-old Tokyo woman said. "After discovering that the condominium complex where I moved has a car-sharing service, I decided to get rid of my car."

There's nothing remarkable about these practical responses to the economic downturn, unless you happen to be a car manufacturer:

To get around the city, Yutaka Makino hops on his skateboard or takes the trains. Does he dream of the day when he owns his own car? Not a chance.

Like many Japanese of his generation, the 28-year-old musician and part-time maintenance worker says owning a car is more trouble than it's worth, especially in a congested city where monthly parking runs as much as ¥30,000 ($330), and gas costs about ¥100 a liter (about $3.50 a gallon).

That kind of thinking — which has been dubbed by automakers as "kuruma banare," or "demotorization" — represents a U-turn from the thinking of earlier generations of Japanese who viewed cars as status symbols. The trend is worrying auto executives who fear the nation's love affair with automobiles is coming to an end.

Suddenly, "that kind of thinking" is threatening to business, and the Yutaka Makinos of the world are putting the economy in peril:

Unlike other industrialized nations, there is a lack of other powerful sectors to drive the economy, such as financials and services. Consumer spending makes up about 60 percent of GDP.

The damage caused by a declining auto industry would be devastating because so many jobs would be affected — not only at plants but as parts makers, distributors and other companies, including those that make electronics, batteries and other products for the industry.

Already, automakers here have shed thousands of jobs at plants that have been producing cars for overseas markets with a bigger thirst for autos. Toyota is projecting its first operating loss in 70 years.

This same kind of reporting that equates the lack of consumption with the collapse of the economy also appeared in a recent New York Times article:

The economic malaise that plagued Japan from the 1990s until the early 2000s brought stunted wages and depressed stock prices, turning free-spending consumers into misers and making them dead weight on Japan’s economy.

Today, years after the recovery, even well-off Japanese households use old bath water to do laundry, a popular way to save on utility bills. Sales of whiskey, the favorite drink among moneyed Tokyoites in the booming ’80s, have fallen to a fifth of their peak. And the nation is losing interest in cars; sales have fallen by half since 1990.

The Takigasaki family in the Tokyo suburb of Nakano goes further to save a yen or two. Although the family has a comfortable nest egg, Hiroko Takigasaki carefully rations her vegetables. When she goes through too many in a given week, she reverts to her cost-saving standby: cabbage stew.

“You can make almost anything with some cabbage, and perhaps some potato,” says Mrs. Takigasaki, 49, who works part time at a home for people with disabilities.

Her husband has a well-paying job with the electronics giant Fujitsu, but “I don’t know when the ax will drop,” she says. “Really, we need to save much, much more.”

Japan eventually pulled itself out of the Lost Decade of the 1990s, thanks in part to a boom in exports to the United States and China. But even as the economy expanded, shell-shocked consumers refused to spend. Between 2001 and 2007, per-capita consumer spending rose only 0.2 percent.

Now, as exports dry up amid a worldwide collapse in demand, Japan’s economy is in free-fall because it cannot rely on domestic consumption to pick up the slack.

The same story in the Star Tribune carries it a bit further with the headline: As Japan shows, thrifty isn't always a good thing.

What kind of bizarro world do we live in? It's the fault of consumers that the economy is in free fall? If you spend, you're good; if you save, you're bad. Apparently, the public is supposed to go on a spending spree like there's no tomorrow.

While the Takigasakis are doing their best to ruin Japan, the New York Times also fingered the following people as further examples of Japan's doom:

Young Japanese women even seem to be losing their once- insatiable thirst for foreign fashion. Louis Vuitton, for example, reported a 10 percent drop in its sales in Japan in 2008.

“I’m not interested in big spending,” says Risa Masaki, 20, a college student in Tokyo and a neighbor of the Takigasakis. “I just want a humble life.”

The sky is falling! How will Japan's young'uns live without designer bags?

Japan’s aging population is not helping consumption. Businesses had hoped that baby boomers — the generation that reaped the benefits of Japan’s postwar breakneck economic growth — would splurge their lifetime savings upon retirement, which began en masse in 2007. But that has not happened at the scale that companies had hoped.

Curse those tight-fisted old people. It's as if they've experienced a depression before. They should really be out there splurging.

Hiromi Kobayashi, 38, a Tokyo homemaker, has taken to sewing children’s ballet clothes at home to supplement income from her husband’s job at a movie distribution company. The family has not gone on vacation in two years and still watches a cathode-ray tube TV. Mrs. Kobayashi has her eye on a flat-panel TV but is holding off.

“I’m going to find a bargain, then wait until it gets even cheaper,” she says.

A pox on you, Hiromi, for not getting with the program and throwing out your perfectly good TV.

All of these examples of bad consumption, however, are examples of discretionary spending. If Japan's economic salvation lies in designer handbags, spending-sprees by the elderly, and flat-screen TVs, there's not much hope for the nation. The NYT chooses to focus on the lack of consumption while downplaying the role of companies, who have effectively sown the seeds of their own destruction by unraveling job security and cutting costs by switching to cheap labor. Their policies have produced families like the Takigasakis and individuals like Yutaka Makino.

The Takigasakis don't appear to be hurting for money, but fears about job security have forced them to be careful about their spending. On the other hand, Yutaka Makino, in the Japan Times story, doesn't have much money to begin with. He's a part-time worker, probably on a contract that may not be renewed when it expires, and lives in an apartment full of wooden crates. His low income guarantees that he will not be buying big ticket items like a new car.

It should come as no surprise that people would change their behavior in a crisis. The switches to bicycles, car-sharing, and general lack of discretionary spending isn't necessarily the result of people ditching cars to protect the environment. Being thrifty is called living within your means, which is what people do in order to get through difficult times.

Circumstances have compelled people to change their consumption patterns and how they live. Unfortunately, leaders around the world are hooked on consumption and perpetual economic growth like crack junkies. Even though the financial banking system has imploded, they are furiously trying to kick start the system that resulted in the collapse in the first place. It never occurs to them that the public has already reacted to the crisis by reorganizing the activities of daily life. Instead, governments are trying to drag everyone back into sustaining the unsustainable. Ratcheting up consumerism isn't a solution. Given Japan's depressed consumption patterns for the past decade or more and its rapidly aging society, I don't think it could boost consumption if it wanted to.