PLEASE HELP SAVE MINAMIYAMA MOUNTAIN

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Comment by SAVE MINAMIYAMA MOUNTAIN on November 19, 2009 at 5:22pm

Last month Friends of the Earth Japan created a website specifically designed to help save Minamiyama Mountain from developers and the Tokyo Government and requested Earthwalker Paul Coleman to write an introduction to the issue. Here it is....
At a time when the whole world is awakening to the fact that our planetary Eco-systems are in danger and that nature nurtures and nourishes our lives, Tokyo appears blind, out of step, still living in an age of development for development sake.. The destruction of Minamiyama Mountain displays this clearly.

Minamiyama, the closest natural green space, to the centre of Tokyo, the world's most populated region, is an 87 hectare oasis of greenery in a world of concrete, a link to the cities past and a location with a viable future as a natural treasure that offers the residents of Tokyo enormous benefits. Here one can relax and release the stress of the city and observe a slower pace of life, more conducive to physical and mental health. Insurance companies understand this and are now advocating rest and relaxation forests, so people can better withstand the pressures of day to day life. They do this because they understand the economic value on the spiritual well being of the workforce: Stress can lead to poor health, days off work, medical bills, even suicides, which the companies must pay for. So, economically places like Minamiyama, kept intact are vital to society.

But that is just the economics and the well being of society, what of the impact on the planet by the senseless development of Minamiyama? Is there anyone in Japan who has not heard of climate change and global warming? Is there anyone who has not heard how trees, woods and forests combat global warming? Is there anyone who has not heard that trees help clean the air, purify the water, stabilize the earth? Apparently the governments of Inagi and Tokyo have not heard these things? otherwise why would they seek to destroy such a valuable place? And what about the local species that are threatened or endangered, the Northern Goshawk for example, and what of such playful characters as the raccoons, who will surely suffer from the destruction of their home?

And what of the mountains link to the past, it's cultural heritage? Generation after generation of people have utilized Minamiyama and its forests and fields to grow fruit and vegetables, even mushrooms, coppicing the trees to ensure continued forest growth, a ready supply of wood and an abundant source of water. It is the labour of these farmers that has ensured that Minamiyama has not been destroyed by developers. Now, thanks to changes in the local tax system, this ancient way of life so close to the heart of Tokyo. a city that appears to have been created by Walt Disney government high on psychedelic mushrooms' is threatened. A simple change in the tax status of the farmers, land owners has saddled them with such great debt that they are being forced to unite with the developers to destroy their cultural and natural heritage. But this is not the only cultural impact. On the slopes of the mountain can be found a unique memorial of 4000 stone Buddha's and gravestones moved from the temples of downtown Tokyo during WW2. These objects were carried by hand drawn carts by worshipers, who chanted 'Grateful Grateful' as they worked up the mountain accumulating virtue for their good deed. Eventually the site became known as the 'Grateful Mountain'. Apparently these stones will be removed and crushed when the mountain is leveled!

Are the Mayor of Inagi and the Governor of Tokyo blind to these things or are they just careless of the past, and are failing to recognize Japan's ancient culture of respect for the ancestors. Governor Ishihara is a renowned nationalist, yet it seems he is willing to tread on a vital aspect of the Japanese culture for the sake of developing a few hectares of land: The question must be asked, “Why. What does he gain by doing this?” What does this willful destruction say of the condition of a nation that can so easily allow it's Governor's and bureaucrats to denigrate it's ancestors? Surely a

Or is it just a case of shortsightedness - the ability to see only what one knows? Development! Development at all costs, with no concern or harmony with the environment or mankind relationship with it. This is the way of old. An unsustainable past that has led us to the brink of calamity. Sane minds around the planet are calling for change to this old paradigm of development with no concern for nature or humanities intricate connection with it.

Saving Minamiyama from development will be a break from the cycle of destruction and surely it will take concerted effort and action to achieve this, but it has to be done and everyone involved needs to be focused, strong, determined and with the knowledge that this is not only the right thing to do, but the only thing to do. Our survival, our well being depends on saving even the tiniest of mountains, for if we cannot do even that then how can we expect to save the biggest?

Lets Save Minamiyama.

Comment by Vahit CALISIR on November 19, 2009 at 3:24am

Thank you for inviting me this exciting group. I will be very happy to contribute this group.

Comment by Paul Coleman on October 9, 2009 at 6:30am

Hi Atta ur Rehman Qureashi:
Thanks for your comment and for joining Save Minamiyama Group.
As you can see by the postings, explaining all of the actions done to stop the mountain being destroyed we have taken many actions, including taking on the Governor of Tokyo and the IOC - the Olympics are not coming to Tokyo and this can help save the mountain - however, we need to put even more pressure on and if you any suggestion as to how this can be done then please let us know.
Your support is valued.
Go well

Comment by Atta ur Rehman Qureashi on September 29, 2009 at 1:42pm

Take Action and Save it

Comment by SAVE MINAMIYAMA MOUNTAIN on September 29, 2009 at 5:52am

September 29th 2009: Asia-Pacific Edition Of The Seoul Times -
Tokyo Olympic Bid and Hatoyama Risks Loosing His Credibility
Special Contribution To The Seoul Times
By Paul Coleman

Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama

With the eyes of the world about to be focused on Copenhagen for next weeks IOC announcement of the winner of the 2016 Olympic Games, Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, is set to step into a political minefield. Hatoyama today announced his decision to go to Copenhagen to help Tokyo, one of the four cities contending the bid, in a move that many see as show of support for Tokyo's Governor, Shintaro Ishihara, an avowed and unapologetic extremist who also happens to be the Chairman of the cities bid for the games.

After years of being in the shadows of the LDP, the ruling party for most of Japan's democratic life, the Prime Minister, a member of the NDP, has now been pressured by the very conservatives he sought so hard to replace, into standing behind arguably the most radical and offensive LDP Politician of recent years. A Google search with keywords, Tokyo Governor Ishihara Racist recently revealed articles from around the globe detailing his outrageous statements that have commonly been seen as racist, sexist, xenophobic and potentially destabilizing to a region still at odds with it's past. Certainly the Governor is no friend to the Chinese, having infamously denied the Nanjing Massacre, where hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens were massacred by the Japanese Military, “They say we made a holocaust there, but that is not true. It is a lie made up by the Chinese."

Now, if this was the only such attack on the sensibilities the Governor may be excused, for being uninformed, however his hostile attacks on everything from foreigners to Olympic Committee Members have been well recorded and he show no signs of stopping. At a recent IOC briefing press conference held in Tokyo, Ishihara dismissed the concerns of foreigner (myself) 'Doesn't matter, just a foreigner' who had written to him regarding the contradictions of Tokyo's 2016 Olympic Bid, which the Governor claims will be 'The Greenest Ever'. The Japanese journalist who raised the issue was also attacked 'What nationality are you anyway?' Shouted the visibly irate Governor, before moving onto less sensitive issues. But it seems foreigners do matter and as the winds shift against the Tokyo bid, the Governor may well live to regret his words.

The contradiction noted by the journalist has turned into a major issue that not only threatens to derail the Tokyo bid, but also puts the governor's job in jeopardy. Recognizing the growing trend for nations to host a 'Green Olympics' he has loudly proclaimed that Tokyo will host 'The Greenest Olympics Ever'. Not so, claim leading Japanese and International environmentalists, who point out that the jewel of the 2016 Games, a Sea Forest being planted on an an 88 hectare island of garbage that's been dumped into the Tokyo Bay, is actually a cover up for the destruction of the much loved and well forested 87 hectare Minamiyama Mountain that sits on the other side of town. During the press conference the journalist, Hajime Yakota, a leading investigative journalist covering the story for several national magazines, raised the contradiction of promoting a Green Games while destroying the forests of Minamiyama, to which the Governor bizarrely claimed that it was necessary to destroy the forests because Minamiyama “Is a Devil's Mountain that eats children.' To support this statement Ishihara referred to the death of two children who died in a landslide.

Mr. Yakota investigated statement for truth and discovered that the children had drowned in a pond over twenty years ago. As a response to the Governor's Press conference a video was made and distributed to leading organizations and media around the planet and overwhelmingly the response was shock (from the global community who found the governor to be racist) and embarrassment and offense from Japanese citizens who were dismayed that the Governor could so casually use the death of two children in his argument to shore up Tokyo's bid for the games.

Distribution of this video has led to a very solid movement to preserve Minamiyama and a consensus that the best way to do that is to take away the political support of the Governor who is pumping 4.7 Billion Yen of the cities tax money into the development of the mountain, which is in Inagi City, a part of the Governor's domain, by stopping the 2016 Olympics coming to Tokyo.

Once this plan was decided my wife and I were invited to deliver messages from the Save Minamiyama Movement and a copy of the Governors' Press Conference to the next IOC meeting at the IOC Head Quarters in Lausanne Switzerland in June of this year. While the Governor and the Tokyo Bid committee were making their presentations to host the 'Greenest Games Ever' the package was delivered and an avenue of communication was established with the IOC.

For the Governor the heat is again on, with articles gathered from around the globe, being sent to the delegates of the IOC that tell the story of a man who many see as having two very different faces.

A brief search of the internet reveals just how powerful these articles may be in swaying the opinions of those making the choosing in Copenhagen just who will win the 2016 Olympic Games. A brief look and it's easy to see that Governor Ishihara has ruffled many feathers; including those of a number of leading Canadians, among them professors at prestigious McGill University, who published an open appeal to Canada's delegates not to support Tokyo's bid, quoting some of the Governor's less than politically correct comments... a few of which can be seen below.

On the French Language: “French is a language that doesn't allow for basic counting and arithmetic, so doesn't that disqualify it from being an international language?"

On the Chinese: "There's some savage and criminal DNA dating from way back in Chinese people's blood," and although a quick look at the statistics reveals the following is nonsensical, he said, "Illegal immigrants and Third Nation people [a derogatory term for Koreans and Chinese] keep on committing serious crimes."

On the disabled, which seriously questions the sincerity of his appeal to the Para Olympians: "Do those people have personalities? From what I can see, people like that are discarded in Western societies. I get the sense this problem leads to euthanasia."

Into the middle of all this comes Prime Minister Hatoyama, who promises to do away with the age old conservative ways of the LDP, the Governor's political party, yet who now seems destined, win or loose to be dragged into the mire of an Olympic Bid surrounded in controversy. If Tokyo looses the Governor will surely put the blame squarely on the man he invited, possibly denying those who want Ishihara removed from office for his dangerous, inflamatory views, a golden opportunity to set things right.

On the other hand, if Tokyo wins, the Governor and his extreme nationalist supporters will be empowered and this cannot lead to anything but a troubled path for the Prime Minister and the party who have only just been elected to office. A positive result for Tokyo could also lead to nationalists ultimately gaining control of the nation, a possibility that alarms many people.

Stuck between a rock and hard place the Prime Minister should do the honourable thing and leave the Governor to face the music by himself. For if he doesn't, a lot of people, especially those wanting to save Minamiyama, will feel let down by the man and the party they so recently chose to change Japan. With every tree that falls on the slopes of Minamiyama another nail may well be set into the coffin of the new government and it's leader.

Paul Coleman
Ambassador to the 'Culture of Peace' UN designated Peace Messenger Initiative
Co-Founder of Celebration Earth
President of The Wonderful World Tree Planting Festival
Ambassador to the Earth Champions

Comment by SAVE MINAMIYAMA MOUNTAIN on September 25, 2009 at 12:51pm

作者 作成された日付 A number of scholars and concerned Canadians have signed a letter urging Canada's IOC delegates to reject Ishihara's bid for the 2016 Olympics. As has been widely publicized, Tokyo is under consideration as a possible site for the 2016 Olympic games. We are writing to Canada's IOC delegates and the Canadian Paralympic Committee as concerned citizens and residents of Canada to explain why the bid to hold the games in Tokyo should be rejected.

An article entitled "Hang on! Ishihara Olympics" by Toshihiko Nagao compelled us to appeal to you. The article appeared in the June, 2008 issue of the Japanese magazine Sekai (pp. 154-164). Sekai, launched shortly after the end of World War II, has been a major venue for liberal viewpoints and discussion for nearly sixty-five years in Japan. Several points in Mr. Nagao's article profoundly disturbed us, and we would like briefly to enumerate our concerns.

1. Tokyo Governor Shintarô Ishihara wishes to host the Olympics in Tokyo for reasons that are self-serving and utterly at odds with the purported mission of the Olympics. He has made the following statements, for example.

"Neighbouring countries can say what they like; it's irritating [for us] when they pitch fits, but we can still celebrate, can't we? We’ll show them; we can shoot off fireworks because it's the Olympics." (March 3, 2006 at a press conference)

"Japan is feeling down. Neighbouring countries are always picking on us. I want to hold the Olympics here to say to them you can't mess with Japan." (January 31, 2006 on a television talk show)

Nothing in such statements is in keeping with the stated mission of the Olympics to foster mutual understanding among nations and international cooperation. On the contrary, such statements only convey Ishihara's hostility towards Japan's Asian neighbours, which leads us to our second area of concern.

2. Since assuming the office of governor, Ishihara has repeatedly used derogatory language to disparage and attack different cultures and people of different races or ethnicities, and some of his statements have led to court cases. To give some examples:

He has declared, "French is a language that doesn't allow for basic counting and arithmetic, so doesn't that disqualify it from being an international language?" (October 20, 2004 in the Mainichi Newspaper)

He has also said, "There's some savage and criminal DNA dating from way back in Chinese people's blood," and although a quick look at the statistics reveals the following is nonsensical, he said, "Illegal immigrants and Third Nation people [a derogatory term for Koreans and Chinese] keep on committing serious crimes." (April 9, 2000 in a speech made before a parade of Japan's Self Defense Forces).

Statements of this sort by Ishihara are too numerous to present here. In this context, we would simply like for you to consider what it would mean for a governor who expresses such derogatory opinions and racist beliefs to receive permission to host the Olympics.

3. Ishihara's derogatory remarks have not been restricted to ethnic minorities, immigrants, and foreigners. He has also made unacceptable comments about the disabled. We cannot forget, for example, the shocking statements he made after visiting a facility for people with severe needs and impairments:
"Do those people have personalities? From what I can see, people like that are discarded in Western societies. I get the sense this problem leads to euthanasia." (September 18, 1999)

He certainly has no business hosting the Paralympics.

Our concerns are not based exclusively on Ishihara's comments about the disabled, however. As governor, he has repeatedly withdrawn funding from public programs that provided even minimal assistance to vulnerable populations and to those with special needs. In 2006, at a time when he was under increased scrutiny for his use of state funds for extravagant dining expenses, Ishihara eliminated funding for a program that provided modest subsidies for guide dogs for the visually impaired. The total budget for this program for the entire Tokyo metropolitan area was merely 640,000 yen a year, less than 7,000 Canadian dollars. He also withdrew funding for programs for Braille transcribers, speech therapy, and water therapy programs for the disabled, which together totaled roughly 10,000 Canadian dollars. In August of 2000, Ishihara reportedly spent as much on one meal with Diet member Tetsuzo Fuyushiba to fund the entire speech therapy program he eliminated. (These figures appear in the June issue of Sekai cited above.)

4. This very governor who wants to host the Olympics has repeatedly cut public funding for gyms and athletic programs for Tokyo residents. When Ishihara took office in 1999, the budget for public gyms and sports centers in Tokyo was roughly 52,920,071 Canadian dollars. By 2005, it had dropped by more 50%, to 17,992,824 Canadian dollars. Furthermore, the number of public gyms for the city of Tokyo, which has a population of roughly twelve million, fell from six to four. Tokyo now ranks as one of the worst local governments in Japan in terms of public funding for athletic centres and programs. The Chair of the New Japan Sports Federation in Tokyo is thus opposing Ishihara's policies on the grounds that they contradict the Olympic Charter. (These figures also come from the June issue of Sekai mentioned above.)

Finally, we should add that the Olympic Bidding Committee, chaired by Ishihara, has engaged in questionable practices in gathering signatures, making it easy to determine the identity of those who do not sign and thereby pressuring many to sign the petition to host the games. We could go on with our list of grievances and concerns over both Ishihara's suitability as host and over the Tokyo Olympic Bidding Committee's coercive practices, but we trust that what this presentation will prove sufficient for you to reject Tokyo's bid to host the Olympics. At the very least, we trust that Canada's representatives on the IOC will reject the bid.

In Japan, there has been considerable support for citizens' movements opposing Ishihara’s campaign to host the Olympics in Tokyo. One group, called "We Don't Need the Olympics Network," has issued an appeal in French, which we enclose with their permission. We hope that you will consider their appeal together with ours.

Sincerely,

Sumi Hasegawa, Faculty Lecturer in Japanese Language, McGill University

Adrienne Carey Hurley, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, McGill University

Cosigned by:

Dahlia Chan Tang

Hoising Chan Tang

Thu Waye Chan Tang

Grace Fong, Professor of East Asian Studies, McGill University

Yuriko Furuhata, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, McGill University

Tayu Hayward

Thomas LaMarre, William Dawson Professor of East Asian Studies, McGill University

Livia Monnet, Professor of Comparative Literature, l'Université de Montréal

Steven Jordan, Professor and Chair, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

Yu-Ling Pan

Hyun Ok Park, Professor of Sociology, York University

Catherine Russell, Professor of Film Studies, Concordia University

Setsu Shigematsu, Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of California, Riverside

Eric Shragge, Professor and Principal, The School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University

Miwako Uesaka, Faculty Lecturer in Japanese Language, McGill University

Griet Vankeerberghen, Professor of Chinese History and Chair, Department of East Asian Studies, McGill University

Comment by Celebration Earth Network on September 25, 2009 at 5:56am

WE AT CELEBRATION EARTH SUPPORT THE EFFORT TO SAVE MINAMIYAMA!

Comment by Cliff Spenger on September 24, 2009 at 4:06pm

Yes, more and more attention on this MINAMIYAMA MOUNTAINf,TOKYO'S GOVERNOR and TOKYO'S OLYMPIC BID is GREAT!!.I wonder what he will say next?

Comment by Atta ur Rehman Qureashi on September 24, 2009 at 2:57pm

yes WE CAN SAVE MINAMIYAMA

Comment by motoki on September 23, 2009 at 11:05am

LETS' SAVE MINAMIYAMA!!!!!

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