Ao Serviço da Pátria em Iwami-Ginzan, no Sul, perto de Shimane

E lá fui até Izumi, para visitar a histórica mina de prata de Iwani-Ginzan e suas vilas de apoio, magnificamente restauradas graças à visão e dedicação do Sr. Toshiro Nakamura, que preside à empresa Nakamura Brace Co., que ainda se dedica ao trabalho da prata e mantém as condições para a exploração turística sustentada da mina e zonas adjacentes. Na ocasião, celebravam-se os 35 anos da abertura do Museu.

Alguns dos muitos túneis de acesso à mina:

Os caminhos de transporte da prata até à costa:

O simpático museu adjacente à mina. O principal museu fica na estrada principal de acesso.

Dali, foi colocar o fato e seguir para a cerimónia e concerto festivo.

O MC, Sr. Yoshifumi Nakano, Director do Museu.

O Sr. Toshiro Nakamura, o grande responsável pela preservação do património da região.

Um Turista Acidental...

O conjunto musical "Marionette", especializado em guitarra portuguesa e bandolim.

A tradicional foto das entidades presentes...

A que se seguiu o jantar. Com o tão tradicional peixe de olho esbugalhado a olhar para nós...

Este WE, Ao Serviço da Pátria em Iwami-Ginzan, Algures no Sul...

A convite da direcção do Museu das Minas de Prata de Izumi, património mundial e as tais que Camões refere nos Lusíadas (X-131) e onde os portugueses obtinham a prata para o negócio do Oriente nos  séculos XVI e XVII, lá irei sábado botar faladura e jantar gelatina de soja e nabo cozido... 

Talvez dê ainda para ver o famoso santuário de Izumo-Taisha, ali perto.

Isto Não Amaina... Até a Kitty se Queixa...

Test Drive do Novo Carro Eléctrico da Nissan - LEAF

A convite da NISSAN, fui experimentar o nosso carro 100% eléctrico, o LEAF, que em breve será lançado no mercado mundial. Sensacional poder de aceleração, travões fortes e, no global, nada o distingue de um normal carro a gasolina. O reabastecimento das baterias pode ser feito em casa, ligado à corrente (cerca de 8h), ou numa estação especial (30m).

A solução verde está a chegar. Para saber mais, clique aqui.

Quem Apareceu Primeiro? O Clássico ou a Visita ?

Um Mal Nunca vem Só...

China overtakes Japan in 2nd quarter as world's No. 2 economy

JAPAN TIMES, Monday 16th August, 12:17 PM JST

TOKYO —

Japan lost its place to China as the world’s No. 2 economy in the second quarter as receding global growth sapped momentum and stunted a shaky recovery. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of just 0.4%, the government said Monday, far below expectations of 2.3% growth in a Kyodo news agency survey.

  

The figures underscore China’s emergence as an economic power that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed. It is already the biggest exporter, auto buyer and steel producer, and its worldwide influence is growing.

  

China has surpassed Japan in quarterly GDP figures before but its passing of Japan in the second quarter is likely to mark the period in which the lead became insurmountable.

  

China’s economy will almost certainly be bigger than Japan’s at the end of 2010 because of the big difference in each country’s growth rates. China is growing at about 10 percent a year while Japan’s economy is forecast to grow 3 percent this year.

  

Japan’s nominal GDP, which isn’t adjusted for price and seasonal variations, was worth $1.286 trillion in the April-to-June quarter compared with $1.335 trillion for China. The figures are converted into dollars based on an average exchange rate for the quarter.

  

Japan has held the No. 2 spot after the U.S. since 1968, when it overtook West Germany. From the ashes of World War II, the country rose to become a global manufacturing and financial powerhouse. But its so-called “economic miracle” turned into a massive real estate bubble in the 1980s before imploding in 1991.

  

What followed next was a decade of stagnant growth and economic malaise from which the country never really recovered. Prime Minister Naoto Kan now faces a long list of daunting problems: a rapidly aging and shrinking population, persistently weak domestic demand, deflation, a strong yen and slowing growth in key export markets.

  

In contrast, China’s growth has been spectacular, its voracious appetite fueling demand for resources, machinery and products from the developing world as well as rich economies like Japan and Australia. China is Japan’s top trading partner and has been key in Japan’s recovery from the global recession.

  

But China’s rise has produced glaring contradictions. The wealth gap between an elite who profited most from three decades of reform and its poor majority is so extreme that China has dozens of billionaires while average income for the rest of its 1.3 billion people is among the world’s lowest.

  

Japan’s people still are among the world’s richest, with a per capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China’s $3,600. So are Americans at $42,240, their economy still by far the biggest.

  

“We should be concerned about per capita GDP,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. China overtaking Japan “is just symbolic,” he said. “It’s nothing more than that.”

  

On a quarterly basis, Japan’s GDP—or the total value of the nation’s goods and services—grew 0.1% from the January-March period, the Cabinet Office said.

  

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of GDP, was flat from the previous quarter, the figures showed. Capital spending by companies rose 0.5%, while public investment fell 3.4%.

  

“We are now seeing a pause of growth, especially on the domestic side,” said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan.

  

The outlook for this third is uncertain. Private consumption appears to be solid so far, helped in part by unusually hot weather, Adachi said. But a cooling global economy is dampening exports and production.

  

A stronger yen, which hit a 15-year high against the dollar last week, also poses a major risk for the country’s export-driven economy. Yen appreciation reduces the value of repatriated profits for companies like Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp and makes their products more expensive abroad.

  

The currency worries led Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda to say last week that he is closely monitoring foreign exchange rates. Bank of Japan Gov Masaaki Shirakawa released a similar statement to try to calm markets.

China overtakes Japan in 2nd quarter as world's No. 2 economy › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

'Missing' Centenarians Number 242

The Yomiuri Shimbun - (Aug. 16, 2010)

People aged 100 or older who were unaccounted for as of Saturday numbered at least 242 throughout the country, a nationwide tally by The Yomiuri Shimbun has revealed. The count was based on information obtained by the newspaper's networks nationwide through local municipal governments based on resident registry data. The 242 unaccounted-for centenarians were reported in Tokyo, Hokkaido and 18 other prefectures, spanning a total of 52 cities, wards and towns.

The local entities concerned so far have finished checking the registry data of 78 people of the 242 listed, specifically whether the residents were registered as living with their families or alone. A majority of the 78 people--42--were described in the registries as "living with" kin such as spouses and children, while the 36 others were registered as living alone, the Yomiuri tally showed. Many families of the 42 centenarians listed as still living with their kin were quoted as saying in response to questions by municipal government officials that the centenarians had left home and the families subsequently had no idea of their whereabouts.

Information on the whereabouts of the remaining 164 of the 242 unaccounted-for centenarians either are being investigated by local governments or withheld by them. With the authorities of many local governments still continuing confirmation of the centenarians' whereabouts, indications are that the number of "missing" elderly people will increase further. The nationwide Yomiuri survey was conducted to tally the counts of centenarians who do not live in the locations registered as their "current" residences and whose whereabouts and means of contact are unknown by relatives.

Those aged 100 or older whose resident registrations have been redacted at the discretion of local authorities due to lack of evidence of residency were included in the tally on this occasion, but those whose deaths have been confirmed were excluded. Topping the list by prefecture of unaccounted-for centenarians was Hyogo with 108, followed by Osaka with 66, Kyoto with 20 and Tokyo with eight. By municipality, Kobe had the largest figure at 102, followed by Osaka with 45 and Kyoto 18. No "missing" centenarians have been confirmed in 27 prefectures, including those in the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.

Among the unaccounted were a woman in Kobe who, if alive, would be 125, a woman in Osaka who, if alive, would be 119, and a man and woman who, if alive, would be 115 and 119, respectively, in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. The nation's oldest confirmed living person is a 113-year-old woman in Saga Prefecture, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. The latest survey brought to light the existence of 20 or more unaccounted-for people who, if confirmed alive, would be the same age or older.

35 foreign elderly 'missing'

In addition to the 242 Japanese listed on the survey, it was found that 35 non-Japanese centenarians with foreign resident registrations were similarly unaccounted for in Tokyo and five other prefectures. By prefecture, such foreigners numbered the most in Osaka Prefecture at 22, followed by Tokyo and Hyogo Prefecture with four each. One of these foreigners, a man in Kiyose, Tokyo, who, if alive, would be 104 years old, was found to have been missing four years ago, when an official of the city government visited his home to hand him a congratulatory gift on the occasion of his 100th birthday, but his foreign resident registration had been left unchanged, the municipal government said.

Onde Raio estão os Centenários Japoneses ???

One after another, cases of missing centenarians have been cropping up across the country. In the case in Tokyo's Adachi Ward that triggered the search for Japan's centenarians, mummified remains believed to be of the 111-year-old listed as the oldest man in Tokyo were found.

In many of the cases subsequently revealed, family members say they don't know where their aging relatives are or whether they are still alive. We find the situation appalling. According to official records, the number of centenarians stands at about 40,000. They are presented with commemorative gifts from the prime minister in the fiscal year they become 100. In reality, however, many municipalities did not deliver these gifts to all the eligible people in person.

Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma said he plans to begin a face-to-face survey of pension beneficiaries aged 110 or older. This group is thought to number fewer than 100 people. Pensions are paid from the taxes and premiums we pay. Unless death notifications are filed, payments usually do not stop. Even when the beneficiary is no longer present, families who manage an old person's account could intentionally not file death notices so they can keep spending the pension. Such cases cannot be ruled out.

The official survey should gradually broaden its net to younger age groups and the administration should promptly investigate cases of suspected illegal receipt of pension benefits, and study ways to deal with them. The survey may face difficulties if families refuse to cooperate. Concerns about infringing on people's privacy could become an issue. However, it is necessary to clarify the whereabouts of elderly people because of the need to provide support in natural disasters. The ministry should seize this opportunity to properly look into the situation.

The authorities should be able to single out anomalous cases based on health insurance records for elderly people who have not seen doctors for many years, while also checking information gathered from local welfare commissioners and other people who regularly work in local communities. The National Police Agency keeps records of some 17,000 corpses whose identities are unknown. If the survey is cross-referenced with this information, some of the dead may be identified. But doing surveys will not provide a solution to the deeper problems thrown up by the current situation.

The families who are supposed to be closest to these elderly people don't know where they are and, in many cases, have not even taken the trouble to ask the police to search for them. The situation shows the existence of lonely people who have no family to turn to and whose ties with those around them have been severed. The child abuse case in Osaka, where two small children were abandoned and died, has also demonstrated the weakness of family and community ties. But, even if the administration calls for the building of community networks, human relationships such as these cannot be built instantly.

The Tokiwadaira housing complex in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, is known for its efforts to eliminate solitary deaths. Takumi Nakazawa, 76, who heads the complex's neighborhood association, is encouraging individuals to ask themselves how they can do their bit to connect with older people. For example, he says it is important to greet neighbors, share what we have with them and make friends. Even if others do not reciprocate, it is important to repeat gestures of friendliness, he says.

We should consider how shocking it would be if someone close to us died a solitary death or died from abuse. What if we found out that an elderly person near us had gone missing? We should take this opportunity to think what we can do to avoid such a situation.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 5

Partida da "Sagres" de Nagasaki, Rumo à Coreia do Sul (8AGO'10)

Castelo de Kumamoto