tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post4441188660684307538..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: TIMETakes on Renewable Energy in Japan, Shows How Mainstream Media Fails UsJun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-17288109150925243252008-12-29T10:52:00.000+09:002008-12-29T10:52:00.000+09:00Ken, I'm not disputing Martin's point at all. In f...Ken, I'm not disputing Martin's point at all. In fact, if I weren't a METI alumnus...Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-13491691491666267812008-12-29T03:11:00.000+09:002008-12-29T03:11:00.000+09:00Thanks Jun. I never actually noticed the ハンドルネーム p...Thanks Jun. I never actually noticed the ハンドルネーム part of the profile, probably since I never actually read the profile options. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, Martin has a good point in that even defining what constitutes as "fuel" is somewhat open to debate, though there can be no doubt that Japan is heavily reliant on imports in this sector. Perhaps Tamogami might have been able to frame his arguments into a push for domestic renewable energy sources? ;)Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09644123719190635308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-85707877797408063122008-12-27T22:55:00.000+09:002008-12-27T22:55:00.000+09:00You said it, not me, Martin. And a belated happy h...You said it, not me, Martin. And a belated happy holidays to you too.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-87653642031519906622008-12-27T22:35:00.000+09:002008-12-27T22:35:00.000+09:00That of course would mean that they are pretending...That of course would mean that they are pretending that the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori prefecture is up and running, which it is not. Wishful thinking from METI, and the tax payer is still not getting anything even close to energy self-sufficiency. <BR/><BR/>There must be a better source than METI, but hey, it is the holiday season.Martin J Fridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14537556834410284837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-65635947019356905852008-12-26T19:04:00.000+09:002008-12-26T19:04:00.000+09:00O Amphibious Altered One:You’re forcing me to fact...O Amphibious Altered One:<BR/><BR/>You’re forcing me to fact-check, and the <A HREF="http://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/topics/hakusho/2008energyhtml/2-1-1.htm" REL="nofollow">more authoritative voice of METI</A> says:<BR/><BR/>石油ショック後導入された天然ガスや原子力の燃料となるウランは、ほぼ全量が海外から輸入されているため、2005年 のエネルギー自給率は水力等わずか4%です。 なお、原子力の燃料となるウランは、エネルギー密度が高く備蓄が容易であること、使用済燃料を再処理することで資源燃料として再利用できること等から、資源依存度が低い「準国産エネルギー」と位置付けられています。石油ショック後、原子力の導入が促進された結 果、「準国産エネルギー」を含むエネルギー自給率は2005年には約18%となっています。<BR/><BR/>For the Japilliterate, it means that domestic sources met 4% of Japan’s overall energy requirements in 2005, but 18% if you count nuclear power as “quasi-domestic energy”, since “uranium is energy-intensive and easy to stock, spent fuel can be reutilized as a fuel source by reprocessing, and so on <I>(the omnipresent 等)</I>”.<BR/><BR/>I report, you decide.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-2526788926471457732008-12-26T18:07:00.000+09:002008-12-26T18:07:00.000+09:00Well, isn't 100% of the uranium imported? It sound...Well, isn't 100% of the uranium imported? It sounds to me like Japan is likely importing more than 90% of total fuel. No?Roy Bermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02404504492160833658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-77690227995529031092008-12-24T20:44:00.000+09:002008-12-24T20:44:00.000+09:00Martin: You are one of the people with whom I can ...Martin: You are one of the people with whom I can agree or disagree, but always cordially.<BR/><BR/>I don't know where she got that 90% figure, actually. I know it can't be fossil fuel supply, of which we domestically produce only a few percent, if that. My guess is that she's using numbers that refer to nuclear energy as non-imports at the primary energy level.<BR/><BR/>I trust you on the wind power total, which shows how difficult it is to find good locations in Japan.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, your comment made me take another look at my post, which revealed that I'd made an elementary error in making what I thought was a damning case against Masters. Unfortunately, my correction (in an addendum) did little if anything to enhance the value of her report.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-83537983670802804422008-12-24T18:59:00.000+09:002008-12-24T18:59:00.000+09:00Thanks for finding this gem. I never read Time and...Thanks for finding this gem. I never read Time and always wondered who needs this kind of journalism. Or the lack of it.<BR/><BR/>Japan "imports 90% of its fuel" is also making no sense at all. Hmm, conveniently forgot to mention uranium, then? As far as I know, noone counts how much "fuel" a country imports. Does the writer mean to say oil??<BR/><BR/>21,000 KW of electricity? Not much. To compare, Japan's wind power industry installed about 185 megawatts (MW) of capacity in the year ended in March, 2008.Martin J Fridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14537556834410284837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-31165338094553169382008-12-24T13:31:00.000+09:002008-12-24T13:31:00.000+09:00If you want to blog under your real name or any ot...If you want to blog under your real name or any other online identity regardless of your email status, you can just edit your Blogspot user identity.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-73992139694537727332008-12-24T13:16:00.000+09:002008-12-24T13:16:00.000+09:00Jun, yeah, when I'm logged into Gmail my username ...Jun, yeah, when I'm logged into Gmail my username always comes out like that.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09644123719190635308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-69467408368780243332008-12-24T10:46:00.000+09:002008-12-24T10:46:00.000+09:00You’re right, Janne, this is a case of faulty scie...You’re right, Janne, this is a case of faulty science and more broadly the lack of basic numeracy within the mainstream media that you’ve pointed out in a previous comment.<BR/><BR/>As for “the gas tax [being] an example of Japan's commitment to environmental concerns”, <I>www.japanecnonomynews.com</I> (nice handle there), it exposes not only a total lack of historical perspective, but ignorance of the overall Japanese tax system for energy sources. (Hint: It’s not climate-friendly, and also has a serious flaw where SOx-NOx emissions are concerned.)<BR/><BR/>I got a very funny comment in my email about Coco Masters which I am not at liberty to repeat here. At least, though, she’s not deliberately manipulating the facts to make a political point, which is more than can be said for Toko Sekiguchi, whose misdeed for <I>TIME</I> I chronicled back in the day. With regard to the environment, I thought Bryan Walsh used to do a credible job for <I>TIME</I>, and wasn’t that bad on Japan either, during the brief period he worked here.<BR/><BR/>Bonus question: What Spanish word rhymes with Coco and Toko? <I>Just askin’.</I>Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-83791406610916616752008-12-24T03:27:00.000+09:002008-12-24T03:27:00.000+09:00Typical of this writer and publication. This autho...Typical of this writer and publication. This author once claimed that the gas tax was an example of Japan's commitment to environmental concerns. Never heard the name Tanaka?Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09644123719190635308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-16181268301822110012008-12-23T23:46:00.000+09:002008-12-23T23:46:00.000+09:00"And that’s par course for the course where mainst..."And that’s par course for the course where mainstream reporting on Japan is concerned."<BR/><BR/>I'd rather say that's par for the course where mainstream reporting on science is concerned. This article is all about the science; that the town happens to be in Japan is incidental to both the article and its many and obvious faults.<BR/><BR/>I mostly gave up on mainstream media reporting my field accurately long ago; perhaps it's time you did the same for yours?Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.com