Two days before TEDxKyoto I attended an informal gathering at Robert Yellin's gallery, to listen to his father, Jerry, talk about his experiences both in war and peace. Jerry, now in his late eighties, was a P51-Mustang fighter pilot in World War II, so this was a rare opportunity to connect with someone from that era, and frankly his story affected me far more than anything I … [Read more...]
Support the TA Project! – Fundraising for the Children of Fukushima!
At the end of last month, Sara Ai Coe contributed a guest article to this site introducing the TA Project. This is a group of young professionals in Osaka attempting to help the children of Fukushima by giving them a chance to play freely in a safe environment. Now they have started their own, very modest fundraising campaign. For a mere $1,500 they plan to invite children from … [Read more...]
Perks!
Did I mention that there are perks for contributing to the Fresh Currents campaign fund? There are perks for contributing to the Fresh Currents campaign fund. For a $10 donation - you get your name on the Fresh Currents website, our undying gratitude & an enormous feeling of wellbeing. For $25 - all of the above & your name listed in the book + a free digital issue … [Read more...]
Green Action’s Aileen Mioko Smith Confronts METI Minister Yukio Edano on the Fault Issue at Ohi Nuclear Power Plant
Here's the latest update from the anti-nuclear front with Green Action Japan: 1. Government Committee to Deliberate Earthquake Fault (F-6) at Ohi Nuclear Power Plant 2. Green Action Executive Director Meets METI Minister Yukio Edano On Friday, 29 June, NISA announced that the earthquake fault under the Ohi Plant will be on the agenda of NISA's Earthquake・Tsunami Expert … [Read more...]
Ohi Nuclear Power Plant ~ Why We Should Be Worried…
Estimated number of people living within 30 kilometers of Fukui’s 14 reactors: 1,249,981 (Fukui Shimbun, Oct. 21, 2011) Distance from the Ohi reactors to central Kyoto city: 60 kilometers The following message is from Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action Japan. Click on the pictures to view a larger image. The red lines on this JPEG photo depict the shattered … [Read more...]
The TA Project ~ Helping the Children of Fukushima Play Their Way to a Brighter Future
Guest contributor, Sara Ai Coe, writes, These days having a lot of things on my hands, visual reminders have been a life saver (thank you daily organizer iphone apps). I think even with the best intentions, it’s easy to forget about things when there’s no constant reminder integrated into our daily lives. When the earthquake shook Tohoku, watching the news stories everyday, … [Read more...]
News Roundup: PM Noda Defies Massive Public Opposition to OK Restart of Ohi Reactors / Expert Warns of Active Faults Under Ohi Nuclear Plant
11,000 protestors gathered outside Prime Minister Noda's official residence last night to oppose the restart of the Ohi nuclear reactors in Fukui prefecture. However, none of this was broadcast on Japanese TV. [Source: Fukushima Voice] And today in direct defiance of massive domestic opposition, Prime Minister Noda gave the go-ahead for the reactors to be … [Read more...]
A Call for International Protest & Action: “Don’t restart the Ohi reactors”
Today I am posting an urgent message to the world from a coalition of six groups opposed to the restart of nuclear reactors in Japan. Thank you to Stephen Gill for bringing this to my attention: [UPDATE: Local actions in Tokyo and Osaka are also posted below*] Dear Friends, The Japanese Prime Minister Noda has announced his decision to order the restart two nuclear … [Read more...]
Charity “Books4Books” Book Fair @ The Gael Irish Pub on Sunday, June 24th
Kevin Ramsden has organized another "B4B" book exchange event to raise funds for children in the refugee camps at Mae Sot on the Thai/Burma border. Kevin says, This event is being held to raise money to help furnish camp schools with books and other essential educational items, as well as anything that will make the lives of the inhabitants more livable. We would like you to … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN SALE – FINAL REPORT & THANKS!
Though we didn't quite get the crowds we had hoped for last weekend, we still managed to make a fair bit of money to help IDRO Japan continue its good work in northern Japan. Our combined takings for two days was 156,561 yen but we had a lot of stuff left over, some of which we took to a used clothing store and some to Bookoff. After Bookoff's contribution our current total … [Read more...]
TODAY’S SALE FOR IDRO JAPAN – FINAL FINAL UPDATE!
Important news: WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY MORE DONATED GOODS We received a lot of goods yesterday and it has become obvious we are not going to be able to sell it all by the end of today. This is our final sale, so unfortunately any goods brought to us today will be respectfully (and apologetically) declined. Today we are open from 10 ~ 3. Today all clothes, shoes, … [Read more...]
IDRO JAPAN GOLDEN WEEK CHARITY SALE – FINAL UPDATE!
Some people are still under the impression that our sale this weekend is in the same location as last year. Let me make this clear... IT'S NOT THE SAME PLACE!! Here again are the directions in case you didn't catch them in earlier postings: … [Read more...]
Ten Days in Tohoku
As regular readers will remember, in early March I spent ten days up in Miyagi prefecture volunteering with IDRO JAPAN. As the charity sale for IDRO approaches, I think it's time I finally sat down and wrote about the work I took part in up there, and put down some thoughts about my experiences. So here goes... The Importance of Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone First off, … [Read more...]
Thank You!
Thank you to all the good Kyoto people who have helped us promote our charity sale for Tohoku! Hover your cursor over each picture to see who they are... IDRO Japan's Golden Week Charity Sale for Tohoku will be held on the 5th & 6th of May near Demachiyanagi Station - check the links below for more information: Facebook event page: … [Read more...]
