Beyond the slangs of "Dewa no kami" and "Owari no kami"

Greetings! It's issue 38 of the "Japan Climate Curation" newsletter??!?

Have you ever heard Japanese slangs 出羽守 (Dewa no kami) and 尾張守 (Owari no kami)? Originally, "Dewa no kami" was considered as the guardian of Dewa Province, and "Owari no kami" was considered as the guardian of Owari Province. But they have become slang words. According to Wikipedia....

"A dewa-no-kami in slang is a person who talks about things by citing the examples of others, in particular, those who criticize Japan by comparing it to foreign countries . Also, those who cite "Europe and the U.S. and recently emerging other asian countries, while looking down Japan as "already finished" are called "Owari-no-kami" .

The sound of "Dewa" means "in (other countries) ", and the sound of "Owari" means "finished (doomed)".

The reason I mentioned these slangs is my mixed and frustrated feeling after reading the article I curated below 【1】&【2】. These are excellent articles that paint a very good picture of the current situation in Japan. On the other hand, because these articles are written in English, they are not often read in Japan, and even when translated into Japanese, they are often disregarded as "Dewa-no-kami" or "Owari-no-kami". Once again, I feel the importance of communicating the challenge happening in Japan and also the positive and innovative solutions in English. It is a small humble step, but I would like to continue working on in the future??.

[????????Japan Climate News Headlines]

【1】 Japan was the future but it's stuck in the past ?[1/21 BBC News]?

This recent viral article was written by a BBC Tokyo correspondent as a departing message after 10 years of his stay in Japan. Eloquently written with painful and bitter reality and his warm heart. Some of the points have already been made, but I felt it was worth reading.?

*For those who felt frustrated with this rather pessimistic depiction of the current Japan, you may read counter argument by other Japan expert, Gearoid Reidy, opinion columnist at Bloomberg on his Twitter thread.

【2】Communicate Better But the West Must Also Listen - [1/24 Bloomberg Opinion by Gearoid Reidy *summary with summari]?

• It exemplifies a broader communication gap between Japan and western observers, even at a time when the country’s geopolitical importance is rising. Exacerbated by the pandemic, the country seems increasingly distant.?
• It’s not just finance. Despite the weak yen and Tokyo’s charms, many international newsrooms have reduced their presence over the years. Most that abandoned the country in the early ’90s, after the bursting of the bubble, never came back. The New York Times’s recent decision to snub Tokyo and relocate its Hong Kong digital news operations to Seoul typified this trend.?
• All of this contributes to what might be described as a growing global ignorance of the world’s third-largest economy — even when it would be beneficial.?
• Despite today’s technology, the language barrier seems to be growing. One survey of English proficiency ranked Japan 80th of 112 countries, below Bangladesh and Nepal. Even before the pandemic, the number of Japanese studying abroad was dropping, sliding 30% by 2018 from a 2004 peak.?
• Technologies like DeepL Translator do an incredible job of translating texts between languages. But they can’t yet interpret culture and nuance, especially when we’re talking about the subtle nods of central bankers, or the uncertainty of the early days of Covid. They can’t point you in the direction of things you should read.?
• But everyone would be served by closer understanding of a country at the forefront of demographic changes others will soon encounter.

【3】Japan to remove limit on overseas investment by startup funds - Portfolio cap seen hindering ability to attract foreign investors [1/23 Nikkei Asia *summary with summari]

• Japan intends to scrap a key restriction on overseas investments by domestic venture funds dedicated to backing startups, a move intended to attract more foreign investors into the sector.
• Domestic startup funds currently must limit investment in foreign companies to less than 50% of their portfolio holdings. Ending this restriction would allow more flexibility in choosing investment targets, encouraging overseas money to flow into such Japanese funds.
• Government data shows there are 600 "unicorns" -- startups valued at $1 billion or more -- in the U.S., more than 100 in China and Europe, but only six in Japan.

【4】Japan's IHI and GE team up in ammonia-burning turbines - Technology promises to be free of CO2 emissions [1/18 Nikkei Asia *summary with summari]

• IHI is working with General Electric to develop power plant gas turbines that burn ammonia, applying the Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer's ammonia expertise to hardware from the American turbine giant to make the carbon-free fuel more affordable to use.
• The global market for ammonia fuel and equipment will grow to roughly 1 trillion yen ($7.78 billion) in 2030, according to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. It is expected to expand further to about 8 trillion yen in 2050.

【5】Thailand’s motor industry becomes a Japan-China battleground - ‘Detroit of south-east Asia’ courts investment from both of Asia’s giants [1/18 Financial Times *

• The structural changes in the car industry — and in the global economy generally — are posing tough questions about Japan’s relationship with Thailand. In particular, the rise of China and its increasingly ambitious electric vehicle makers have presented Japan with its first serious rival in a country that calls itself the Detroit of south-east Asia.
• EVs still make up less than 1 per cent of Thailand’s new car sales, but in that small segment, Chinese brands dominate. In 2020, the country announced a plan to have EVs make up 30 per cent of auto production by 2030.

【6】Honda, GS Yuasa to launch EV battery joint venture - Automaker taps Japanese battery maker as it moves to end gasoline car sales [1/24 Nikkei Asia *summary with summari]

• Honda Motor on 1/23 said it will establish a joint venture with GS Yuasa to develop electric vehicle batteries, building on their existing partnership in hybrid cells to tap the growing EV market.?

【7】Soaring Energy Costs Squeeze Operations at Japan Ski Resorts - [1/24 Bloomberg Green *summary with summari]

• Higher energy prices are forcing some businesses to curb operations. For Japan, imported coal, oil and liquefied natural gas still account for the majority of energy needs and rising costs are being exacerbated by a weaker currency.?

【8】Tilting wind turbines, Carbon batteries [1/19 J-Stories]

• The rechargeable and storage batteries available today rely heavily on materials that could one day run out. Their cathodes are made of rare metals such as lithium or cobalt, while their anodes contain carbon sourced from oil; Plus, there are great hopes for wind as a source of renewable energy. But much of Japan is mountainous and forested, with relatively little land suitable for wind turbines. For that reason, attention has turned to the ocean.

【9】Telecommunications firm Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East shows its edible cricket farm to media organizations. [1/23 Nippon TV News 24 Japan]

【10】Pacific islands urge Japan to delay release of Fukushima waste over contamination fears [1/19 Reuters]?

• Pacific island nations are urging Japan to delay the release of water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant over fears fisheries will be contaminated, the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) said on 1/18.

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??That's all for this year! Thank you for reading(or skimming) ??. I hope you will have a wonderful week ahead!

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ichi (Hiroyasu Ichikawa)