the Spirit of Anti-Gravity

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T00:11:00.002+09:00

Happy New Year 2008
Originally uploaded by skasuga

No G8 Action Network Opening Ceremony of the International People's Solidarity Days

2008-07-05T01:55:00.001+09:00

No G8 Action Network Opening Ceremony of the International People's Solidarity Days
Originally uploaded by skasuga

Many people from many countries are now gathering for the campaign against G8 2008 (at Toyako lake, Hokkaido).

Yesterday, we had "No G8 Action Network Opening Ceremony of the International People's Solidarity Days" and Demonstration at Sapporo city, Hokkaido.

In the Ceremony, Susan George and many other activists delivered speaches about problems of G8 and the neo liberal economy pushed by the leaders of G8 governments.
After thier speaches, participants had demonstration.

Happy New Year (謹賀新年) 2008

2008-01-01T03:46:00.001+09:00

Happy New Year (謹賀新年) 2008
Originally uploaded by skasuga

Previous article of this blog is "Happy New Year 2007"!!
In this year, I wanna try to write blog articles more frequently.

A Happy New Year

2007-01-01T00:13:00.000+09:00

Originally uploaded by skasuga.

A Photo of Plachimada, India

2006-08-14T07:09:00.000+09:00

openDemocracy's staff blog is using my picture took at Plachimada, India.
The entry is about struggle between Indian people and soft drink giants.

I'm happy if my picture can do something for this kind of media (it's very independent and alternative).
And I hope you people reading this to see my other photos took in Plachimada, especially people (mainly people known as Adivasi or tribal people)'s vigil and their leader Ms. Mylama speaking in front of their supporters.

NHK documentary "the Water Crisis"

2005-08-21T00:40:00.000+09:00

NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai / Japan Broadcasting Corporation) carried a documentary named "the Water Crisis: the water, for whose?".

In this programs, some important issues like below are discussed.
1. In many part of the earth such as Philippine and Bolivia, the privatization of water by MNCs are threatening poor people's life and health.
2. Also in developed countries like California, people is now claiming the performance of water companies privatized by MNCs.
3. In some part of the world like Wales, there are alternative models of water supply using non-profit agency.

Unlike BBC, NHK have not been positive to address this kind of "Globalization" issues.
Sometime, only on the satellite broadcasting programs, critical viewpoints against globalization by someone such as Vandana Shiva or Noam Chomsky ware on the air.
I don't know the reason, but I guess that this kind of issues will not be welcomed because of complicacy and hopelessness (and I also guess that the audience of satellite broadcasting programs are assumed as relatively high literate people).

But today "the water crisis" was a ground wave casting program.
It means that almost all people living in Japan can watch this program if they want to watch.

We have one experience that a documentary addressing globalization issues was on the air by NHK soon after first World Social Forum (Jun. 2001).
And many of Japanese NGOs got many new members, and we wondered how influential broadcasting programs are!!

In addition to it, the program today was very timely!!
Japan will have a general election at 11th Sep. (I have no idea why our government chose "the day")
And Prime minister Koizumi is defining this as a referendum to judge his plan to privatize the postal service.

The Privatization of the postal service is very complicated issues especially in Japan.
Japanese postal service agency is also providing banking and assurance service, so then the agency is simultaneously secret but the world biggest bank.
Some critique call it "the second national treasury" and Japanese disarranged expenditure for public works like building environmentally destructive dam or very local high-way (a politician say those high-way are used by less cars than bears).
Apparently the postal system is one of the most important source of pork barrels

In the other hand, opposition parties accuse that Koizumi can NOT show how to stop the corruption.
I also agree that The Privatization will not be necessary nor sufficient condition.
And large part of Japanese including me think that this Privatization is just one of consequences of American political pressure to open Japanese market to Global hyena companies.

A secret paper made by Koizumi's advertising agency was leaked out (And a representative of oppositon party release the file on his website as a PDF file).
　http://www.tetsu-chan.com/05-0622yuusei_rijikai2.pdf (*this is a PDF file in Japanese)

This chart on the paper was very interesting because they discussed that...

1. High literate conservatives are (of course) negative to their structural reformation
2. A part of Japanese are already suffering bad consequences of Koizumi's reformation. So then they are also negative.
3. High literate liberal like executives, University Professors, media and urban white colors are basically possitive to reform, HOWEVER, now they are very skeptical because of many fails Koizumi took on his programs like reformation of Public Roads Corporation and so on.

So they proposed that Koizumi must focus his campaign on Housewives, children and old.
Why?
It is incredible but this paper say that "Their IQ and EQ (Economic Quotient) are low, and they are not understanding what real problems are. So they support Koizumi because of his friendly character".
W can't esteem whether Koizumi and his retainers are discriminating housewife women, but I think, we can say they have no self-confidence for their program to reform the Postal Agency.
(If they have a kind of pride for their program, they will try to persuade third category people; I mean, High literate liberal)

So I want to claim that Koizumi Government want to make up "the Privatization" as the almighty St. Nicholas or something.
And we need to eliminate this phantasm -- the phantasm of the globalization--.

Maybe this is accident because NHK have no way to expect the date of election, however, I'm delighted this documentary must be a great weapon to eliminate the phantasm.

Gion Festival @ Kyoto

2005-07-17T22:32:00.000+09:00

Originally uploaded by KASUGA, Sho.

The Gion Festival (祇園祭) is known as one of the big three festivals in Japan.

You can read some articles about this festival on Kyoto Shinbun News Site in English.
http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/english/

and you can see some photos I took on Flickr
http://flickr.com/photos/skasuga/sets/601484/

Happy New Year!!

2005-01-01T01:01:00.000+09:00

2nd day of the Kyoto Social Forum

2004-12-12T21:34:00.000+09:00

Originally uploaded by skasuga.

Although it was rainy day, participants come up to about 300 ~ 350.

First Social Forum In Japan (It's very small social forum... So What!!)

2004-12-11T23:39:00.000+09:00

Today and Tomorrow, 1st Kyoto Social Forum (KSF) is held in the Kyoto University.

http://kyoto.socialforum.jp/ (Only in Japanese)

The original social forum is World Social Forum(WSF) held in Porte Alegre, Brazil made by international network driven by poeple' power dated back to anti-WTO demonstration in Seattle 1999.
About 100 thousand people of the world (mainly NGO activists, Trade Unions and Ethnic/Sexual or other kind Minorities) is joining and discussing about all of social issues (mainly related two big issues,the Economical Globalization and the War).
Participants can share their issues among them, bring those issues to their own countries or regions, and connect them to future activities.
So then Social Forum is now spinning out to many places of the world (like the European Social Forum, the Asian Social Forum and Social Forums in each cities).

And now, I'm happy to report that the dissemination of this political movement reaches our far-east isolated islands.
(I confess that I could do nothing for this event even though I have some responsibility for this event as a office member of a NGO, ATTAC Kyoto)
I guess that the KSF is one of the smallest Social Forum.
The KSF has only less than 200 people participating, only two days schedule and only less than 20 workshops.
This is, however, very small but very significant step for Japanese Social Movements for the alter-globalization.
Because of Japanese culture which has historically very strong and socialistic government, Japanese people did not positively recognize Social Movements.
In Japan "Public" is exclusively meaning government activities.
In effects of the economic globalization, Japanese governmental powers to keep social welfare is also decreasing, but Japanese people is even now very skeptical to efficiencies of social movements.
So I hope to make this KSF a chance to connect Japanese people to the open and world-wide public discussion.

Using this occasion, we had first Attac Japan National Meeting (Attac Metropolitan Area, Kansai, Kyoto, Hokkaido and HIroshima was attending).

Osaka Monorail

2004-12-03T20:55:00.000+09:00

Osaka Monorail
Originally uploaded by skasuga.

The Longest Monorail Line of the World

New Korean Town in Shinjuku, Tokyo

2004-12-01T23:07:00.000+09:00

New Korean Town in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by skasuga.

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2004-10-09T11:39:00.000+09:00

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