Actress Saya Takagi, 45, is famous for leading an eco-friendly lifestyle as a naturalist on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture. But her activities have come under a barrage of criticism recently and police now patrol around her house following threatening online messages.

Takagi got interested in ecology in 2000 after she moved to Hawaii with her ex-husband. When she returned to Japan, she introduced the idea of an eco-house and self-sufficient lifestyle to Japan. However, she lives in an apartment in Tokyo during the week because she has regular TV programs from Monday to Friday. She returns to Boso only on weekends. Some people call her eco-life a “fake life in the countryside.”

A local says, “I like her because she works in the fields, without make-up. She contributes to the town by introducing it wherever she goes.” But another local says, “I don’t see her in town so often. What I see in her fields are women in their 30s. I don’t know what they do and where they are from. I feel a bit scared.”

When Takagi called for volunteers on her blog to build an eco-cafe, more than 4,000 critical comments were posted. Some of them said, “Why do you need volunteers for non-profit cafe?” “It’s almost an ad calling for slave labor,” and “You should at least pay them some money.” One comment threatened that her house would be torched. Following this message, police started patrolling her neighborhood.

Takagi talks to Shukan Post.

I think something is wrong in this society. Why do I have to be threatened just because I asked for volunteers? I can’t understand why they call the project ‘slave labor’ and ‘unremunerative work’ in a negative way. If I wanted to profit from the cafe, I would open it in central Tokyo. It’s just a project to learn how to build a house from professionals.”

You don’t live in Boso at all.

Because I currently have regular TV programs on weekdays, I can go back to Boso only on weekends. But I always join in the project as often as I can.

Commuting between Tokyo and Chiba contributes to CO2 emissions, does it not?

Well, some people might think like that. But just criticizing someone is not productive for environmental protection. I know those who expect a perfect eco life think what I’m doing seems imperfect and egoistic. But since I was spending a lot of resources during the bubble economy, this current lifestyle is much more eco for me.

What do you think of local criticism?

Some locals are very kind to me. But others might think an outsider is coming in and grandstanding, which annoys them. As we say, “politics emerges once three people gather.” That’s a common thing in a society.”

Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

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  presto345 at 05:39 PM JST - 12th July

  She's got to earn a dollar, true, but if she wants to be taken seriously by the people in her community then she should really make that her full-time job not just doing it as a hobby.

  What you are saying is that it is better to do nothing than even a little. Apply that thinking across the board, if we cannot commit ourselves 100%, we just do nothing, and nothing will ever change. We leave the problems for the next generation or the one after that.

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  Betting at 10:24 PM JST - 12th July

  No, I'm not saying that Presto. But far too often we see people who supposedly support a cause but only for the attention they can get from it. For a person in her position (I really doubt she is short of a buck), why does she need to have a non-profit cafe where the employees will not get paid?

  "But since I was spending a lot of resources during the bubble economy, this current lifestyle is much more eco for me". It seems pretty self-serving to me.

  Much like Toyota giving Paul MacCartney a nice eco-car but sending it to him by plane.

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  Wolfpack at 11:50 PM JST - 12th July

  I can understand why some of the locals in Boso might be suspicious of Takagi-san as she is a "celebrity" from Tokyo who is a bit different and apparently, doesn't work closely with the community. I would probably feel the same way. But it is a free country so she can do what she wants even if she lives a somewhat schizophrenic lifestyle.

  I found two of her comments to be particularly interesting:

  1) "But just criticizing someone is not productive for environmental protection."

  I can see the point that she is trying to do something. But her travel back and forth between Tokyo and Boso probably wipes out any good she is doing by introducing a ecologically friendly lifestyle out in the country side. She should probably just try to live that way in Tokyo and save the environmental cost of going back and forth to the country side. Also, if she can be critical of others lifestyle, then others can be critical of hers. Like so many in the environmental debate, she wants to be free of criticism.

  2) As we say, “politics emerges once three people gather.” That’s a common thing in a society.”

  So true. She should get used to the criticism of the people in her adopted town.

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  LFRAgain at 02:37 AM JST - 13th July

  "What I see in her fields are women in their 30s. I don’t know what they do and where they are from. I feel a bit scared.” Nice to see irrational paranoia isn't reserved for just the wayward gaijin discovered unexpected in rural Japan. They don't seem to like "them city folk" either.

  More than anything, this is sad commentary on the virtual inability to grasp the concept of volunteerism in Japan. Rather than something you do just because beneficial in some way to someone besides yourself, volunteering is apparently viewed as something for which one must be paid. That's not volunteering. That's a job. Again, I find myself shaking my head at how far Japanese society has fallen from community-based, community-oriented traditions into this "I am an island unto myself" selfishness that seems to be the bread and butter of modern societies.

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  presto345 at 12:13 PM JST - 13th July

  I think we owe it to Takagi to give her the benefit of the doubt. She may not be achieving what YOU think she ought to be achieving. She is trying to do something and the attention she gets while doing so, be it positive or negative, may set people thinking about what they can do themselves.

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  Severinka at 04:01 PM JST - 13th July

  Interesting comments... I wonder how people can think that to support your theory one needs to go back in time, kind of follow utopian lifestyle of a hermit? The world never stops evolving, and all of us can innovate on the conditions of the modern world, new scientific achievements, trying to modify the reality with the realistic means. It's a matter of individual choice. I don't see how volunteerism is new to Japan. As far as shinto goes, all holidays are impossible without massive participation from the local community. The other thing is, not too many would care to do something that is not tinted by the patina of tradition:))

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  spudman at 10:17 AM JST - 14th July

  betting you think the plane wasn't flying to london in the first place? must be tough for people to live in your perfect world. rather than dissing her for not being perfect all the time how about just giving a thumbs up for the two days a week she does the right thing. thats a lot more than most of us do.

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  tkoind2 at 12:06 PM JST - 14th July

  Doing something not-for-profit in Japan doesn't seem to set well with some people here. We run a group that does events for new artists. We spend a lot of our personal money putting it together and usually end up well into the red. When we do make money we pay it out to the performers. Yet people always say we should also pay staff and performers. Despite the fact that we are very clear about it being not-for-profit and volunteer based.

  The bottom line is that if people want to pitch in on the Eco-Cafe they will. I would see it as a learning opportunity and as a chance to meet and spend time with like minded environmentally friendly people. But those who don't want to join, well... don't. And if you need payment to join, simple... don't join.

  Some things are not profit driven. Some things are done for the benefit of others and should be a volunteer driven exercise. Why some people can't wrap their money blinded minds around this is beyond me. Again it is simple. If you believe in the cause, volunteer. If you don't or want to be paid, just don't join. No reason to give her a hard time.

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  Zer00 at 02:15 PM JST - 14th July

  45? Really? Wow!

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  frontandcentre at 03:53 PM JST - 14th July

  Slave labour? How daft! Slaves, by definition, are coerced... What an ignorant bunch of critics this woman has.

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  taiko666 at 07:11 PM JST - 14th July

  bamboohat:

  I reckon on issues like these people fall into 3 broad categories: 1) Those who like to do something positive 2) Those who don't give a monkey's / can't be bothered (=most of us) 3) Those in group 2 who also feel the need to diss people in group 1

  I can't see the attraction of being in group 3...

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  Blue_Tiger at 06:42 AM JST - 15th July

  I think its fnny that this woman gets caled on the carpet for not being as "eco-friendly" as she says she is, and people rise up to defend her anyway. If she really wants to be eco-friendly 24/7, lose the Tokyo Apartment, or find an "eco-friendly" one....

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  Zen_Builder at 06:45 AM JST - 15th July

  Didn't the same thing happen to Al Gore and many others. ;)

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  WilliB at 10:14 AM JST - 15th July

  Al Gore has a lot bigger carbon footprint and hot gas emission than this woman. She seems pretty honest and down to earth.

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  Apsara at 08:25 AM JST - 19th July

  People who don't do anything to make the world a better place criticising someone who is at least trying- that's just messed up. And as for the slave labour thing- that's just ridiculous. She's not making a profit out of it and the workers are volunteers- how on earth is that slave labour? If they didn't want to do it they wouldn't.

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