|
|
|
Font size:
|
|
|
| |
 |
January 2010
COVER STORY:
For many the word "pirates" may conjure up a fictional world of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island or the recent blockbuster series Pirates of the Caribbean. But piracy is a present-day reality, with frequent incidents resulting in loss, damage and injury. Japan is acting together with others in the international community to resolve this dangerous situation. The Japan Journal reports.
|
|
Highlights
|
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Forum for East Asia-Latin
America Cooperation- In January, Japan is set to host the Fourth Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), the aim of which is to strengthen relations between East Asia and Latin America across a wide range of fields. "As FEALAC has passed its tenth anniversary, the time has come for it to evolve from a forum for dialogue into a practical forum aimed at achieving specific results," says Satoh Satoru, Director-General of the Latin America and Caribbean Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Satoh anticipates that the upcoming meeting will provide a platform on which to build on cooperative relationships.
URBAN REGENERATION Part III Changing Marunouchi- In Japan, capital city functions are concentrated in Toyko. The center of government is Kasumigaseki, and the center of commerce is Ginza, but the economic center is Marunouchi, an area that covers Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho. This Marunouchi area has maintained its status as the backbone of the Japanese economy since the Meiji period (1868–1912), but the Marunouchi area is also looking towards the future, and a vigorous urban renewal is underway. Mitsubishi Estate is the largest landowner in this area, and is leading the push for this urban development. In this article, Nagashima Toshio, director and executive vice president of Mitsubishi Estate, talks about the reconstruction of the Marunouchi area.
TASHINAMI A Taste for Luxury- In this article, the third in a four-part series examining those objects of pleasure and appreciation known as shikohin in Japan, Handa Masayuki comments on the refined use of tobacco in Edo-period Japan.
TECHNOLOGY Mesabi Nugget
Makes History- Developed by Kobe Steel, ITmk3 is a flexible, environment-friendly new method for producing high-grade iron. In the November 2009 issue of The Japan Journal, we explained how the technology works and why it is coming to be adopted around the world. In this issue, we introduce the world's first commercial-scale ITmk3 plant, Mesabi Nugget, which is scheduled to start operations in December, 2009.
BIODIVERSITY Connecting with
the Countryside- Japan is searching for new ways to conserve and manage the satoyama environments that have been abandoned by modern urban society. Winifred Bird introduces the Ministry of the Environment's Satoyama Initiative, and homes in on the activities of one remarkably successful NPO, Satoyama Net Ayabe.
|
|
|
|
Copyright C 2010 by