How Green is Japan?

It has always bothered me when people [my parents] came to visit me here in Japan, and were in awe with how clean the country is. That kind of irritated me and prompted me to bring them to the dirtiest places I could think of, or point out all the dirty or seedy things that we would pass and that they would probably not have noticed if not for my meddling.

Well, that was dumb to ruin their fantasy, but the point is that people talk about Japan being "green", and I didn't really see it. Then the other day I came across an article on the Japan Times that talked about 10 different topics: Cool Biz, Shorter Showers, Green Homes, Eco Bags, Reduce Waste, Unplug Cords From Electric Sockets, Public Transportation, Eating Locally Produced Food, Using Politics, and Investing in Green. Here's what I've seen and how or if I'm using these to be greener.

Cool Biz
I remember being elated the first time I heard about this back in 2005. Cool Biz is a government initiative that encourages businesses to keep the air conditioners at 28 C in the summer. I assumed that having the AC at 28 would allow me to shed my jacket (or I thought my suit, but it would have been my tie at the most), but this was not to be. In fact, the only places where I could tell Cool Biz was being observed (and the English conversation school I worked at did not observe it) were: Yodobashi Camera last weekend and government offices. Last weekend it felt like Yodobashi didn't even have their AC on, and government offices are always hot. I've heard some of the bigger corporations follow it, but it's too bad that more businesses don't follow Cool Biz because I think that this could be even more effective (Cool Biz helped save over 1 million tons of CO2 in 2006) and it would let the guys get out of wearing their ties.

Shorter Showers
This isn't a topic that I usually talk about with other people, and I fortunately cannot hear my neighbors when they take one so I can only speak for myself. I definitely take shorter showers in the summer. I even turn the water off sometimes when I am washing my hair and or shaving.

Green Homes
The homes, businesses, and schools I have been in in Japan are definitely not green. From the gas heaters, to the lack of insulation, to drafty windows, housing is probably where the most savings could occur. As for myself, my apartment is drafty and poorly insulated just like the other places I have lived, but I'm cheap so I tend to not use the heater or AC much if at all.

Another problem I see here is that the homes that sell are new. older buildings are simply torn down. I don't know if that is poor craftsmanship or a lack of interest in anything used, but this is a problem.

Eco Bags
These are great. The Japanese have a terrible habit of using plastic bags for ever little thing and wrapping everything seemingly needlessly. Take McDonald's: the food goes in a paper bag, the drink goes in another paper bag, and the two of them go into one bigger plastic bag. This mindset seems to be changing thanks to stores promoting and offering discounts for using eco bags. This is one that I think people are catching onto.

Reduce Waste
I don't see many examples of people going out of their ways to reduce waste, but that could also just be me. The big way I see people reducing waste is by using eco bags. I've been trying to use Tupperware more and to use saran wrap as little as possible. I've also been trying to use towels more than tissue.

Unplug Cords From Electric Sockets
I used to work at a software company in Tokyo and we would turn off the surge protectors. I also saw two of my friends in Tokyo doing this at their houses. I have since started doing this after coming to Sendai.

Public Transportation
This is Japan and public transportation is awesome. I don't have a car, so public transportation is all I have.

Eating Locally Produced Food
I think that most Japanese people will choose food grown in Japan over anything else, so I don't think this is much of a problem. As for me, I just try to avoid food from China.

Using Politics
Hmm, do people vote in Japan? I know that I can't, but I also know that people don't look for the candidate who is an environmentalist to vote for.

Investing in Green
I can't say that I know of anyone who invests money in Japan let alone invests in green companies. The closest thing I have seen is buying green products. When I moved last year I had to buy a whole apartment-full of new appliances and I opted for the energy-saving models. Who wouldn't? If nothing else they save money.

Others
I am on a water-saving kick and one way I do this is by using the bath water to do the first cycle of laundry. My washing machine is next to my tub, and it's a new model so it has a socket for a tube that sucks water out of the tub to be used for the first cycle. My next target is saving more water when I do the dishes.

Check out 7:10 to Tokyo's take on green in Japan.