Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [60]
Japanese who live around reactor sites and ports where US nuclear-powered vessels call are extremely sensitive about possible contamination. Others are very fussy about smells, which is why Japan’s incinerators (three-quarters of trash is burned) are some of the most sophisticated and odourless on the planet. Dioxins from incineration were a major air contaminant through the late 1990s.
More and more people are using traditional furoshiki wrapping cloths or canvas bags for shopping, but for every supermarket trying to help the environment there are thousands of other retailers handing out plastic bags like they’re going out of style. Not to mention the 5.5 million vending machines nationwide pumping out plastic bottles and cans.
For every laudable Japanese attitude towards the environment, there’s another discouraging practice. When I visited Chichibu-jinja in Saitama-ken outside Tokyo, its priest proudly told me that the shrine was established over a thousand years ago near the base of sacred Mt Bukōzan. He spoke about the importance of nature to Japan’s indigenous Shintō religion. I expressed interest in visiting Bukōzan, and the priest was pleased to show me the way.
But when I got there, I was shocked. The entire upper third of the sacred peak looked like a moonscape. It had been strip-mined for limestone by half a dozen concrete factories on its flanks. Peeking through the window of one factory office, I spotted something that symbolised for me Japan’s often contradictory attitude towards nature – a small Shintō shrine.
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On the plus side, all of this geothermal activity is responsible for Japan’s fabulous abundance of onsen (hot springs).
Japan has the dubious distinction of being one of the most seismically active regions of the world. More than 1000 earthquakes a year rock the country, most of which are too small to notice. Seismic activity is concentrated in the Kantō region, home to Tokyo. But earthquakes can strike any part of the archipelago, as the citizens of Kōbe discovered in the disastrous earthquake of January 1995, which killed more than 5000 people.
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Some Japanese households recycle their bathwater in their laundry machines. Hang-drying clothes in the sun is still favoured over dryers.
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WILDLIFE
The latitudinal spread of the islands of Japan makes for a wide diversity of flora and fauna. The Nansei and Ogasawara archipelagos in the far south are subtropical, and flora and fauna in this region are related to those found on the Malay peninsula. Mainland Japan (Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku), on the other hand, shows more similarities with Korea and China, while subarctic northern and central Hokkaidō have their own distinct features.
Animals
Japan’s land bridge to the Asian continent allowed the migration of animals from Korea and China. There are species that are unique to Japan, such as the Japanese giant salamander and the Japanese macaque. In addition, Nansei-shotō, which has been separated from the mainland for longer than the rest of Japan, has a few examples of fauna (eg the Iriomote cat) that are classified by experts as ‘living fossils’.
Japan’s largest carnivorous mammals are its bears. Two species are found in Japan – the higuma (brown bear) of Hokkaidō, and the tsukinowaguma (Asiatic brown bear) of Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū.
According to a 2006 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), there are 132 endangered species in Japan. Endangered species include the Iriomote cat, the Tsushima cat, Blakiston’s fish owl and the Japanese river otter.
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Japan: The Cycle of Life is a gorgeously illustrated book about how nature and the seasons traditionally have been incorporated into all aspects of life. It is co-authored by CW Nicol, a conservationist and columnist who owns a forest in Nagano-ken.
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Twenty-five billion