Voices
in
Japan

quote of the day

Tokyo 2016 is making the environment an absolute priority as we bid to unite Green with 2016. This is a concrete commitment that we will offer the world.

12 Comments

Ichiro Kono, chairman and CEO of Tokyo 2016, saying the city will create a green legacy for the Olympic Movement, Japan and the international community if its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games is successful. (GamesBids.com)

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

12 Comments
Login to comment

I think he meant to say "this is a concrete country" ba-dum-bum

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Tokyo is indeed a concrete jungle - it has far less greenery than any other major city in the world. The policy seems to be, "there`s some space - lets build something on it!" As for the mythological idea that Japanese people in general love nature - sorry, but what I see is very different. Trash discarded on beaches and in forest areas, endless cutting down of trees to make way for buildings in metropolitan areas, and even in those city streets which have trees, they are cut away to ridiclous-looking stupms at least once a year. Nature/environment lovers? Nah - I dont see it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Don't talk about the Japanese as if they were all the same. This isn't some dystopia in which everyone's identical. Many Japanese love the environment, while many could care less. Shintoists in particular believe in harmony with nature. Same as the rest of the world, there will always people who fight to protect the environment and those who fight to exploit it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ROT: hahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everyone's a Shintoist, ROT, in Japan as well as a Buddhist. The trees that are in Japan (and Japan has one of the highest ratios of forested areas to cities among developed nations) are because the government, about 2 centuries ago, ordered it so, not because we Japanese people like it that way.

More or less on topic, sorry, Kono, too late. Tokyo's all concreted over.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everyone's a Shintoist, ROT, in Japan as well as a Buddhist.

I know japanese christians, atheists, shintoists who don't participate in anything buddhist except for funerals, etc. Also I was referring to practicing Shintoists not nominal ones. Anyway my point is that not all Japanese (regardless of religion) hate the environment as some have stated.

<strong>Moderator: Back on topic please.</strong>

0 ( +0 / -0 )

borschet

one of the highest ratios of forested areas to cities

might be at least in part to the high percentage of mountainous areas.

It will be good to see some proposals for making Tokyo Green. Tokyo needs alternate fuel vehicles, better and cheaper home solar systems, etc. As a major industrialized city – it will be quite a challenge for Tokyo to achieve results as soon as 2016.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

do the japanese understand that painting concrete green doesn't count ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

US cities are concrete jungles as well but much like Japan we have undisturbed countryside that is green and lush. One of my clients back home was an architecture firm that specialiozed in sustainable building. Being green doesn't mean no cities, it means providing green space, passive solar power, taking care of run-off from parking lots, roof top gardens etc. If this is technology Tokyo wants to embrace that's great. People on this site are so quick to jump on the Japanese I wonder what in their lives sucks so much that they can see no positive

0 ( +0 / -0 )

[/cynic flag ON]

Perhaps what Kono really means is that Japan, Inc. will use the Olympics as a means of finding as many opportunities as possible to push so-called "green" businesses, a way for the masses -- now worldwide -- to spend more money on Japanese goods. What a perfect advertising opportunity for Japanese firms with an int'l event like the Olympics! (Sure, sure, it could be argued that every Olympics has become like this, but IMO Japanese politicians and business leaders are quite a lot more up front about it, in a nonchalant,-why-should-there-be-any-other-way sort of way, then other nations.) When business and moneymaking hold such high priority in society such that nearly everything in life is looked at and treated first & foremost on how it can best make money, it's no wonder it should be any other way here.

The whole thing about companies, especially big global companies, being "green" is a ruse for the most part, too, just another marketing ploy to latch onto to sell more widgets. This is generally true in Japan as well as anywhere else. It's a symptom of the globalized corporate state we live in now. And it's not an issue of "jumping on the Japanese" here, either. This is simply the way it is. Kono's (or the English editor's) use of the word "concrete" here is a bit telling as well, even if this word is way overused in J-E translations. In Japan, it's been proved time and time again that making money & the ability to do so trumps all, including taking care of the environment so it's preserved & conserved for future generations as naturally as possible (and I don't mean making theme parks out of it, fer chrissakes)..

Generally in Japan, I think, viewing the earth as a resource to be used for human needs & desires -- the Olympics being just another avenue -- rather than being nurtured for the long term for all creatures seems like the LDP's SOP, yet another manifestation of today's so-called "conservative" ethos. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if every CEO and LDP member were forced to pay homage to the god of concrete as part of their initiation into the cushy ranks of political & business life (and oh how these are intertwined!). Surely there's a god for this too in Japan...

But OK, if the business leaders and politicians driving the Olympics bid here are sincere about focusing on the environment (a rather vague term here, no?), then that's great, and everyone, all of us, should be eager to participate, especially in learning new ways each of us can do small things to make life, urban areas like Tokyo, countries like Japan, and the world more more livable and "green". I'd be interested to see what forms his/their concern will take, though, and whether it's just words, or again just business leaders calling the shots, and whether it helps spur on genuine citizen involvement in changing our lives to fit the current energy and environmental crises we face. Tearing down some buildings and putting in parks or planting community gardens, for instance, would help convince me of their sincerity. The Olympics is a perfect forum with which to do this, too.

I remember all the hype about how "green" Expo 2005 in Nagoya was to be, and then was somewhat disappointed when I went to see it not as "green", or environment-conscious, as it could have been. Unless you consider robots and newfangled techie gadgets part of the "green revolution", that is. Let's hope Kono and his committee is truly sincere on what's being planned for the 2016 Tokyo Olympics bid. We all stand to gain if his/their concern is real.

[/cynic flag OFF]

0 ( +0 / -0 )

As I was walking through Tokyo's sauna subway tunnels today I had to laugh as I can just imagine all the spectators and visitors here for the 2016 Olympics and sweating and complaining because Tokyo's lack of air-conditioning and ventilation in its subways.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

GO TOKYO 2016, Ichiri kono and Japan, should get moving, to win the IOC members votes, in 2009.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites