Japanese universities dominate the entire Asian set, but only one Japanese university makes it into the top five--that is, University of Tokyo.
QS rankings are now independent of the THES rankings. This Asian rankings list makes for an interesting preview of the world rankings for 2011, which will come out later this year, in direct competition with THES's for our attention. One question that comes to mind is this: If University of Tokyo is number four in Asia, will it even make the top twenty of QS's world rankings?
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2011
Top Five Universities in Asia
Ranking University
1 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
2 University of Hong Kong
3 National University of Singapore (NUS)
4 The University of Tokyo
5 The Chinese University of Hong Kong
21 July 2011
Japan tops supercomputer rankings (June 2011)
A supercomputer in Japan hasn't been number 1 since late 2004. Japan had even dropped out of the top 10 list for much of those 7 years. However, a supercomputer that Fujitsu built for Riken (a group of government-funded research institutions) recently put Japan back at the very top. US dominance of petaflop-level computing continues. However, China shows growing strength at supercomputers. This is now an era of PETAFLOP computing, with all top ten computers attaining that level of calculating power.
http://www.top500.org/lists/2011/06/press-release
excerpt (entire article at link above)
Japan Reclaims Top Ranking on Latest TOP500 List of World’s Supercomputers
Thu, 2011-06-16 19:24
HAMBURG, Germany. A Japanese supercomputer capable of performing more than 8 quadrillion calculations per second (petaflop/s) is the new number one system in the world, putting Japan back in the top spot for the first time since the Earth Simulator was dethroned in November 2004, according to the latest edition of the TOP500 List of the world’s top supercomputers. The system, called the K Computer, is at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe.
....
For the first time, all of the top 10 systems achieved petaflop/s performance-- and those are also the only petaflop/s systems on the list. The U.S. is tops in petaflop/s with five systems performing at that level; Japan and China have two each, and France has one.
Bumped to second place after capturing No. 1 on the previous list is the Tianhe-1A supercomputer the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China, with a performance at 2.6 petaflop/s. Also moving down a notch was Jaguar, a Cray supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at No. 3 with 1.75 petaflop/s.
http://www.top500.org/lists/2011/06/press-release
excerpt (entire article at link above)
Japan Reclaims Top Ranking on Latest TOP500 List of World’s Supercomputers
Thu, 2011-06-16 19:24
HAMBURG, Germany. A Japanese supercomputer capable of performing more than 8 quadrillion calculations per second (petaflop/s) is the new number one system in the world, putting Japan back in the top spot for the first time since the Earth Simulator was dethroned in November 2004, according to the latest edition of the TOP500 List of the world’s top supercomputers. The system, called the K Computer, is at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe.
....
For the first time, all of the top 10 systems achieved petaflop/s performance-- and those are also the only petaflop/s systems on the list. The U.S. is tops in petaflop/s with five systems performing at that level; Japan and China have two each, and France has one.
Bumped to second place after capturing No. 1 on the previous list is the Tianhe-1A supercomputer the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China, with a performance at 2.6 petaflop/s. Also moving down a notch was Jaguar, a Cray supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at No. 3 with 1.75 petaflop/s.
07 July 2011
Directories, listings, rankings etc. for HE worldwide and HE in Japan
| Directories, listings, rankings etc. for HE worldwide and HE in Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 June 2011
TEFL FORUM: Teaching English /r/ and /l/ to EFL learners: a lexical approach (parts 1-3 final)
http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/teaching-english-r-and-l-to-efl.html
Teaching English /r/ and /l/ to EFL learners: a lexical approach (parts 1-3 final)
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui, Japan
excerpt:
Introduction
English /r/, /l/ and contrasts across these two categories of sounds are often cited as pronunciation and listening perception problems for a variety of EFL learners, most from E. Asia. The language backgrounds most often associated with these problems are Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some languages of SE Asia (e.g., Thai but also Cantonese Chinese). Other language speakers have also expressed an interest in improving their pronunciation of English /r/ and /l/, including Russian and German EFL learners.
Perhaps the most well-known group to have a problem with the two categories of sounds is Japanese EFL learners. This could be because their native language background creates the most difficult problems to overcome, both in terms of listening perception and spoken production. It could also be because Japan attained affluence before most of the rest of Asia and hired native speakers of English to help teach and model the language. So a lot of information based on knowledge and experience of Japanese and Japanese learners of EFL has been exchanged and discussed in 'global ELT'.
Rest of article here:
http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/teaching-english-r-and-l-to-efl.html
Teaching English /r/ and /l/ to EFL learners: a lexical approach (parts 1-3 final)
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui, Japan
excerpt:
Introduction
English /r/, /l/ and contrasts across these two categories of sounds are often cited as pronunciation and listening perception problems for a variety of EFL learners, most from E. Asia. The language backgrounds most often associated with these problems are Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some languages of SE Asia (e.g., Thai but also Cantonese Chinese). Other language speakers have also expressed an interest in improving their pronunciation of English /r/ and /l/, including Russian and German EFL learners.
Perhaps the most well-known group to have a problem with the two categories of sounds is Japanese EFL learners. This could be because their native language background creates the most difficult problems to overcome, both in terms of listening perception and spoken production. It could also be because Japan attained affluence before most of the rest of Asia and hired native speakers of English to help teach and model the language. So a lot of information based on knowledge and experience of Japanese and Japanese learners of EFL has been exchanged and discussed in 'global ELT'.
Rest of article here:
http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/06/teaching-english-r-and-l-to-efl.html
12 June 2011
For Microsoft, Japan Collaboration Mutually Beneficial
At best it looks like an exclusive academic club and a way for Microsoft Asia to recruit some top talent from Japan. However, about the institute, in 2009 MS released this PR:
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/japaneseacademics-100109.aspx
Japan Collaboration Mutually Beneficial
By Rob Knies
October 1, 2009 10:00 AM PT
excerpt:
When the Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration was founded in July 2005, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates left little doubt about his high hopes for the new effort.
“Japan is one of the most advanced countries in scientific research and engineering in the world,” Gates said at the time. “It has a talent pool that provides tremendous potential.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announces Microsoft Research Asia's collaborative effort with Japanese academia, which debuted in July 2005.
“This platform will allow researchers in one of the world's leading economies to put their long tradition of technological development and product innovation into collaboration with Microsoft.”
A little more than four years later, Microsoft Research Asia will demonstrate the ongoing importance it places on collaborating with Japanese academia when it hosts the 11th annual Computing in the 21st Century conference in early November.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/global/asia-pacific/regions/japan-ijarc.aspx
Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration
Established in 2005, the Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration (IJARC) acts as a virtual extension of Microsoft Research, building connections with Japanese academia and fostering Japan's technical talent pool.
When Bill Gates announced the formation of the IJARC in June 2005 in Tokyo, he presented the IJARC as a platform to advance research in Japan and to develop young talent through collaboration with Microsoft.
Japanese Academic Research Collaboration, 2005Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announces Microsoft Research Asia's collaborative effort with Japanese academia, which debuted in July 2005.
In addition to conducting sponsored research, the IJARC has organized a series of workshops to facilitate project collaboration and idea sharing between Japanese universities and Microsoft researchers.
Japan Academic Advisory Committee (AAC)
Comprised of some of the most prominent academics in Japan, the Japan Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) represents the IJARC as it works to build connections between Microsoft Research and Japanese academia.
The AAC provides strategic advice to Microsoft Research on regional themes, programs, talent fostering, and academic exchange in Japan. The committee also reviews research proposals submitted by Japanese researchers. The selection criteria they use to evaluate proposals emphasize stimulating innovation by young Japanese researchers, as well as the development of Japanese society.
AAC Members
Kiyoharu Aizawa
University of Tokyo
Katsuro Inoue
Osaka University
Sadaoki Furui
Tokyo Institute of Technology (AAC Director)
Katsumi Tanaka
Kyoto University
Akinori Yonezawa
University of Tokyo
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/japaneseacademics-100109.aspx
Japan Collaboration Mutually Beneficial
By Rob Knies
October 1, 2009 10:00 AM PT
excerpt:
When the Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration was founded in July 2005, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates left little doubt about his high hopes for the new effort.
“Japan is one of the most advanced countries in scientific research and engineering in the world,” Gates said at the time. “It has a talent pool that provides tremendous potential.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announces Microsoft Research Asia's collaborative effort with Japanese academia, which debuted in July 2005.
“This platform will allow researchers in one of the world's leading economies to put their long tradition of technological development and product innovation into collaboration with Microsoft.”
A little more than four years later, Microsoft Research Asia will demonstrate the ongoing importance it places on collaborating with Japanese academia when it hosts the 11th annual Computing in the 21st Century conference in early November.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/global/asia-pacific/regions/japan-ijarc.aspx
Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration
Established in 2005, the Microsoft Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration (IJARC) acts as a virtual extension of Microsoft Research, building connections with Japanese academia and fostering Japan's technical talent pool.
When Bill Gates announced the formation of the IJARC in June 2005 in Tokyo, he presented the IJARC as a platform to advance research in Japan and to develop young talent through collaboration with Microsoft.
Japanese Academic Research Collaboration, 2005Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announces Microsoft Research Asia's collaborative effort with Japanese academia, which debuted in July 2005.
In addition to conducting sponsored research, the IJARC has organized a series of workshops to facilitate project collaboration and idea sharing between Japanese universities and Microsoft researchers.
Japan Academic Advisory Committee (AAC)
Comprised of some of the most prominent academics in Japan, the Japan Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) represents the IJARC as it works to build connections between Microsoft Research and Japanese academia.
The AAC provides strategic advice to Microsoft Research on regional themes, programs, talent fostering, and academic exchange in Japan. The committee also reviews research proposals submitted by Japanese researchers. The selection criteria they use to evaluate proposals emphasize stimulating innovation by young Japanese researchers, as well as the development of Japanese society.
AAC Members
Kiyoharu Aizawa
University of Tokyo
Katsuro Inoue
Osaka University
Sadaoki Furui
Tokyo Institute of Technology (AAC Director)
Katsumi Tanaka
Kyoto University
Akinori Yonezawa
University of Tokyo
30 May 2011
Previously unpublished article from the JHEO archives: Microsoft partners with top Japanese universities
This is a piece written in 2005 and never published (although parts of it were integrated into other articles, including freelance articles sold to THES). It would be interesting to update this to see what ever developed from the IJARC initiative. Another development that needs updating is the so-called Asian OS (which was supposed to help Asia compete with the Microsoft monopoly in desktop and notebook OSes). A third thing that requires follow up is just where the TRON OS is at and is going. These all have to be updated with things like the following in mind: (1) Apple's resurgence, including in OS development, (2) Google's emergence as a key player in OSes, and (3) the presence of Linux OS in many aspects of networked and embedded computing. Other spin-off topics might include the importance of JAVA in embedded computing and the shift in personal computing from desktops and notebooks to all sort of mobile devices, including smart phones and tablets.
Microsoft partners with top Japanese universities
[note: article refers to events and developments in 2005]
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui
This summer [the summer of 2005] US-based software giant Microsoft announced the creation of the Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration (IJARC) and appointed professors from some of Japan's top research universities to vet proposals and monitor projects. The move to sponsor research at the universities comes in parallel with Microsoft's increased cooperation with Japan's global electronics manufacturers to set the next format for DVD video playback. More generally, the company's involvement in Japan centres on the development of more reliable and versatile products in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine processing of language, and portable computing, games and communication devices. However, the software juggernaut has held out the possibility that its largesse for the universities will not be limited to applied technology ready for immediate commercial development and may also be directed to basic research in fields of study not directly related to computers and software, such as biology and the environment.
It is no coincidence that Microsoft's foray into sponsoring research with top research universities come about at this time [summer of 2005]. Over a year ago, by act of legislation, the Koizumi government earned one of its first substantial victories in its effort to liberalise the political economy with the de-nationalisation and individual incorporation of the national universities. As of April 2004, the administration and day-to-day operations of the former national universities have been transformed into 'national university corporations' (NUCs). Having lost their national-public status, the NUCs now have to compete more and more for funding and revenues, not only amongst each other, but also with the more numerous private universities, the best of which also want to be 'world class' institutions in both teaching and research. Though consolidated in number by about 10%, the former national universities (which have always dominated university-level research in Japan) now have much more freedom to pursue cooperative research and joint ventures with for-profit companies. In that connection, joint ventures and tie ups with private industry will be very important as the 89 new NUCs establish foundations in search of financial stability. Success in competition and multiple sourcing will help guarantee that. However, it is not yet clear how successful Japanese universities will be in sharing the revenues from the commercial success of applied research and technology.
Microsoft's move into university research in Japan has proven to be very well timed now that the country has an electorally renewed Koizumi government set on further reforms and liberalisation. Microsoft forecasts that it will spend around $6.7 billion worldwide on research and development in FY 2005, much of it in Asia. It already has research centres in Britain, India, and China--as well as in California's Silicon Valley and Redmond, WA, where the company is headquartered. Yet until now it had not tried to make any similar major research efforts in Japan. One reason for this has been the perception overseas that Japanese universities lack programming talent--except perhaps in coding for electronic games. But a significant part of the problem is the language and cultural barriers. Subsidiaries of global companies which succeed in Japan (including in recruiting top talent) become very nativised in their corporate culture and operations. And world-class research, especially applied research, has more often been attributed to Japan's top companies, not its university system.
Microsoft's pledge to fund research at universities in Japan is not entirely without precedent though. The company has had a partnership with some top institutions here for several years, providing curriculum related to software and sponsoring lectures. Most recently the company sponsored a series of lectures on computer games; not surprising, perhaps, given the popularity of computer games here relative to the unpopularity of Microsoft's expensive entry in the market, the X-Box. Also over the last several years, it also has shared its closely guarded, proprietary Windows source code with six top technical institutions for the purpose of developing more secure software and anti-virus programs. Microsoft, however, retained the exclusive right to develop commercial products from the results of the research.
Perhaps most significantly, late in 2002, Microsoft announced it would participate in a consortium of companies and academics promoting the 'T-engine/T-kernal' concept for the compatibility of networked household appliances and mobile computing and communication devices (info-appliances). Though the meaning of the name might be opaque, T-engine/T-kernel is actually a very important offshoot of the two-decades-old TRON operating system project at the University of Tokyo, Japan's top university for both scientific research and taught programmes. 'TRON' stands for 'The Real-Time Operating System Nucleus' and encompasses an array of software and specifications, all of them 'open architecture' (the opposite of exclusive proprietary software, such as the much more famous Windows OS). Incredibly, numerous versions and adaptions of TRON OS are found embedded in over a billion electronic devices worlwide, making TRON the world's most popular (though largely unknown) operating system. (In fact, the TRON project was cited back in the 1980s as a possible trade issue in negotiations with the US government simply because it was seen as a potential threat to the American dominance in desktop operating systems, negative publicity which seems to have kept TRON OS off of desktop computers.)
Another reason why Microsoft may feel compelled to step up its presence in Asian computing is the recent announcement by governments and companies here that they would cooperate in developing an alternative operating system to Windows. The governments of Japan, China and Korea have announced quite publicly that their goal is nothing less than to break Microsoft's stranglehold on desktop computing, which they see as an obstacle to progress in the IT industry and the information-based society it supports. Though the impetus may well be self-serving, their efforts could help computing and networked communications all over the world if they succeed in developing software that is (1) faster and more reliable, (2) more compatible with a variety of applications, (3) more scalable to mobile computing and communications devices (including embedded systems), (4) costs less, and (5) can better handle non-western writing systems and languages.
For success of the Asian operating system, however, what is required first is source code and shared specifications that are accessible to larger numbers of developers (i.e., open standards, open architecture, open peer review, and collaborative programming). So the obvious choices have been, either in isolation or in combination, open standards software, such as Sun's Java, GNU/Linux, and the grandfather of open architecture computing, TRON. Some hybrid forms of Java-TRON and Linux-TRON are already being used or are in commercial release.
Not wanting to be left out, even Microsoft has admitted that the real-time speed and scalability of TRON OS has advantages for portable computing and communications over its product, Windows CE, an OS for info-appliances that has a very good graphic user interface (GUI) but has not enjoyed much popularity. Therefore, with developments in Asia in mind, it announced that it would make make the source code for Win CE freely available for manufacturers and programmers so they could alter the OS or adapt it to their own hardware needs. This means that Microsoft software could still end up in a hybrid form with TRON for a complex set of integrated, graphic-intensive applications, such as a car navigation system that has a Windows-like GUI coordinating satellite position data, digital radio, radio text and 3G wireless internet capabilities.
For the Japanese universities and institutes (and their previously non-profit projects, such as TRON) seeking funding from Microsoft, the chief question for the future seems to be: How do they arrange co-operation with a for-profit company so that they can also reap some of the monetary rewards that follow from profitable commercial development? For Microsoft the over-riding issue must be whether or not it can overcome its old exclusive, proprietary way of doing things and embrace the inevitable but unpredictable world of ubiquitous computing. In other words, can university-company tie ups actually find the right balance of cooperation and competition so that everyone benefits?
Microsoft partners with top Japanese universities
[note: article refers to events and developments in 2005]
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui
This summer [the summer of 2005] US-based software giant Microsoft announced the creation of the Institute for Japanese Academic Research Collaboration (IJARC) and appointed professors from some of Japan's top research universities to vet proposals and monitor projects. The move to sponsor research at the universities comes in parallel with Microsoft's increased cooperation with Japan's global electronics manufacturers to set the next format for DVD video playback. More generally, the company's involvement in Japan centres on the development of more reliable and versatile products in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine processing of language, and portable computing, games and communication devices. However, the software juggernaut has held out the possibility that its largesse for the universities will not be limited to applied technology ready for immediate commercial development and may also be directed to basic research in fields of study not directly related to computers and software, such as biology and the environment.
It is no coincidence that Microsoft's foray into sponsoring research with top research universities come about at this time [summer of 2005]. Over a year ago, by act of legislation, the Koizumi government earned one of its first substantial victories in its effort to liberalise the political economy with the de-nationalisation and individual incorporation of the national universities. As of April 2004, the administration and day-to-day operations of the former national universities have been transformed into 'national university corporations' (NUCs). Having lost their national-public status, the NUCs now have to compete more and more for funding and revenues, not only amongst each other, but also with the more numerous private universities, the best of which also want to be 'world class' institutions in both teaching and research. Though consolidated in number by about 10%, the former national universities (which have always dominated university-level research in Japan) now have much more freedom to pursue cooperative research and joint ventures with for-profit companies. In that connection, joint ventures and tie ups with private industry will be very important as the 89 new NUCs establish foundations in search of financial stability. Success in competition and multiple sourcing will help guarantee that. However, it is not yet clear how successful Japanese universities will be in sharing the revenues from the commercial success of applied research and technology.
Microsoft's move into university research in Japan has proven to be very well timed now that the country has an electorally renewed Koizumi government set on further reforms and liberalisation. Microsoft forecasts that it will spend around $6.7 billion worldwide on research and development in FY 2005, much of it in Asia. It already has research centres in Britain, India, and China--as well as in California's Silicon Valley and Redmond, WA, where the company is headquartered. Yet until now it had not tried to make any similar major research efforts in Japan. One reason for this has been the perception overseas that Japanese universities lack programming talent--except perhaps in coding for electronic games. But a significant part of the problem is the language and cultural barriers. Subsidiaries of global companies which succeed in Japan (including in recruiting top talent) become very nativised in their corporate culture and operations. And world-class research, especially applied research, has more often been attributed to Japan's top companies, not its university system.
Microsoft's pledge to fund research at universities in Japan is not entirely without precedent though. The company has had a partnership with some top institutions here for several years, providing curriculum related to software and sponsoring lectures. Most recently the company sponsored a series of lectures on computer games; not surprising, perhaps, given the popularity of computer games here relative to the unpopularity of Microsoft's expensive entry in the market, the X-Box. Also over the last several years, it also has shared its closely guarded, proprietary Windows source code with six top technical institutions for the purpose of developing more secure software and anti-virus programs. Microsoft, however, retained the exclusive right to develop commercial products from the results of the research.
Perhaps most significantly, late in 2002, Microsoft announced it would participate in a consortium of companies and academics promoting the 'T-engine/T-kernal' concept for the compatibility of networked household appliances and mobile computing and communication devices (info-appliances). Though the meaning of the name might be opaque, T-engine/T-kernel is actually a very important offshoot of the two-decades-old TRON operating system project at the University of Tokyo, Japan's top university for both scientific research and taught programmes. 'TRON' stands for 'The Real-Time Operating System Nucleus' and encompasses an array of software and specifications, all of them 'open architecture' (the opposite of exclusive proprietary software, such as the much more famous Windows OS). Incredibly, numerous versions and adaptions of TRON OS are found embedded in over a billion electronic devices worlwide, making TRON the world's most popular (though largely unknown) operating system. (In fact, the TRON project was cited back in the 1980s as a possible trade issue in negotiations with the US government simply because it was seen as a potential threat to the American dominance in desktop operating systems, negative publicity which seems to have kept TRON OS off of desktop computers.)
Another reason why Microsoft may feel compelled to step up its presence in Asian computing is the recent announcement by governments and companies here that they would cooperate in developing an alternative operating system to Windows. The governments of Japan, China and Korea have announced quite publicly that their goal is nothing less than to break Microsoft's stranglehold on desktop computing, which they see as an obstacle to progress in the IT industry and the information-based society it supports. Though the impetus may well be self-serving, their efforts could help computing and networked communications all over the world if they succeed in developing software that is (1) faster and more reliable, (2) more compatible with a variety of applications, (3) more scalable to mobile computing and communications devices (including embedded systems), (4) costs less, and (5) can better handle non-western writing systems and languages.
For success of the Asian operating system, however, what is required first is source code and shared specifications that are accessible to larger numbers of developers (i.e., open standards, open architecture, open peer review, and collaborative programming). So the obvious choices have been, either in isolation or in combination, open standards software, such as Sun's Java, GNU/Linux, and the grandfather of open architecture computing, TRON. Some hybrid forms of Java-TRON and Linux-TRON are already being used or are in commercial release.
Not wanting to be left out, even Microsoft has admitted that the real-time speed and scalability of TRON OS has advantages for portable computing and communications over its product, Windows CE, an OS for info-appliances that has a very good graphic user interface (GUI) but has not enjoyed much popularity. Therefore, with developments in Asia in mind, it announced that it would make make the source code for Win CE freely available for manufacturers and programmers so they could alter the OS or adapt it to their own hardware needs. This means that Microsoft software could still end up in a hybrid form with TRON for a complex set of integrated, graphic-intensive applications, such as a car navigation system that has a Windows-like GUI coordinating satellite position data, digital radio, radio text and 3G wireless internet capabilities.
For the Japanese universities and institutes (and their previously non-profit projects, such as TRON) seeking funding from Microsoft, the chief question for the future seems to be: How do they arrange co-operation with a for-profit company so that they can also reap some of the monetary rewards that follow from profitable commercial development? For Microsoft the over-riding issue must be whether or not it can overcome its old exclusive, proprietary way of doing things and embrace the inevitable but unpredictable world of ubiquitous computing. In other words, can university-company tie ups actually find the right balance of cooperation and competition so that everyone benefits?
22 March 2011
Partially romanized map of Japan
This map courtesy of Kenn Sakurai at Facebook. Fukushima, the prefecture with the troubled reactors has been circled in red. The Kanto megalopolis is south of there. Major quake and tsunami damage starts in Chiba, on the coast and goes northward, taking in coastal, estuarine and even diluvial (up river) Ibaraki, Tochigi, Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Aomori, as well as coastal SE Hokkaido. Japan HEO is in Fukui, south of Niigata, on the Japan Sea side of Honshu (the other side of Honshu). Radioactivity is polluting the agriculture and waters of Fukushima and surrounding prefectures. It is also drifting south into the Kanto area.
Japan HEO statement about the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disasters in Japan #2
Regardless of all the western media coverage, it is important to remember that the Tokyo/Kanto area was largely spared from earthquake or tsunami damage. The troubled nuclear reactors are in Fukushima Prefecture, well outside the Kanto area. However, it is these damaged nuclear reactors that are threatening to bring an entire country to the edge of collapse.
It seems to me, a non-expert, that they have at least two reactors (out of six reporting major problems after the quake and tsunami) in meltdown (uncontrolled fission) and undergoing 'dirty' fission processes. This means that dumping seawater on them isn't going to cool them (water could actually increase reaction of U-235 because it slows emitted neutrons and helps U-235 to capture them, causing more fission).
It seem that they are simply hoping that the containment underneath holds while they spray sea water on the cores and work to restore power to buildings and pump systems that are largely destroyed and inoperable.
That is to say, they have no other plan that they want to discuss publicly.
If radioactive contamination continues to worsen, at best, they have about a week from today to come out with something that looks like a plan to solve the issues, or they are going to have major panic in the Kanto area, with 35 million people.
Things in Japan are not going well at all.
Charles Jannuzi
Fukui, Japan
http://www.eltinjapan.com
It seems to me, a non-expert, that they have at least two reactors (out of six reporting major problems after the quake and tsunami) in meltdown (uncontrolled fission) and undergoing 'dirty' fission processes. This means that dumping seawater on them isn't going to cool them (water could actually increase reaction of U-235 because it slows emitted neutrons and helps U-235 to capture them, causing more fission).
It seem that they are simply hoping that the containment underneath holds while they spray sea water on the cores and work to restore power to buildings and pump systems that are largely destroyed and inoperable.
That is to say, they have no other plan that they want to discuss publicly.
If radioactive contamination continues to worsen, at best, they have about a week from today to come out with something that looks like a plan to solve the issues, or they are going to have major panic in the Kanto area, with 35 million people.
Things in Japan are not going well at all.
Charles Jannuzi
Fukui, Japan
http://www.eltinjapan.com
Japan HEO statement about the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disasters in Japan
This was written one day after the quake (12 March 2011) and sent out to the Dogme ELT group at Yahoo Groups. I am sharing it with Japan HEO readers here. It looks like premonitions about the nuclear reactors are proving unfortunately correct, if understated:
It started with a very long, strong seaquake. It was strong enough in parts of
coastal Japan to cause quake damage. Minutes later the NE coast of Honshu was
hit with huge tsunami waves, which caused flooding. In many places.
Right now I'm watching horrifying images and reading horrifying reports of what
is going on at Fukushima nuclear power plant. They might have serious incidents
at THREE reactors, but one is approaching 'melt down' (a non-technical term for
loss of containment below ground level--they may have already lost containment
above ground). Back up coolant systems failed because diesel generators were
flooded with sea water (design flaw or human execution flaws).
In a way Japan got lucky yesterday because had this quake hit closer to Tokyo,
we would be looking at the collapse of the entire country in terms of it
functioning as a modern, developed political economy.
I wish they had thought more about nuclear reactor design along coasts that have
seaquakes and tsunami, though. That includes where I live, Fukui, which has had
severe quakes and tsunami and has a lot of nuclear power located here, on the
coast.
This is the largest disaster in post-war Japan since the Fukui quake in 1948
(where I live!) and the Kobe-Awaji-Hanshin quake (in 1995). Fukui's quake was so
deadly because post-war construction in 1948 was so shoddy. In 1995 the Kobe
quake was powerful and concentrated in very developed urban areas (but with lots
of old-style wooden houses that burned).
The extent of this disaster could well exceed anything in recent memory in
Japan, but much of that is because it is a country that is over-developed,
over-engineered, and highly dependent on the functioning of a national
government located in Tokyo (and Tokyo has been paralyzed because of loss of
electric power, leading to loss of transport and some communications). I doubt
that it will come anywhere near approaching the human tolls we saw in recent
quakes in S. Asia (such as the tsunami disaster there) or the quake in S. China
(hundreds of thousands dead in that quake!) or the floods in Myanmar.
With one proviso: that is, if they can deal with the nuclear disasters that are
unfolding. These could be catastrophic for the entire Pacific region.
So Japan got lucky yesterday, believe it or not. Just hope the luck holds with
the nuclear disasters (and it's looking very scary right now).
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui
Fukui, Japan
It started with a very long, strong seaquake. It was strong enough in parts of
coastal Japan to cause quake damage. Minutes later the NE coast of Honshu was
hit with huge tsunami waves, which caused flooding. In many places.
Right now I'm watching horrifying images and reading horrifying reports of what
is going on at Fukushima nuclear power plant. They might have serious incidents
at THREE reactors, but one is approaching 'melt down' (a non-technical term for
loss of containment below ground level--they may have already lost containment
above ground). Back up coolant systems failed because diesel generators were
flooded with sea water (design flaw or human execution flaws).
In a way Japan got lucky yesterday because had this quake hit closer to Tokyo,
we would be looking at the collapse of the entire country in terms of it
functioning as a modern, developed political economy.
I wish they had thought more about nuclear reactor design along coasts that have
seaquakes and tsunami, though. That includes where I live, Fukui, which has had
severe quakes and tsunami and has a lot of nuclear power located here, on the
coast.
This is the largest disaster in post-war Japan since the Fukui quake in 1948
(where I live!) and the Kobe-Awaji-Hanshin quake (in 1995). Fukui's quake was so
deadly because post-war construction in 1948 was so shoddy. In 1995 the Kobe
quake was powerful and concentrated in very developed urban areas (but with lots
of old-style wooden houses that burned).
The extent of this disaster could well exceed anything in recent memory in
Japan, but much of that is because it is a country that is over-developed,
over-engineered, and highly dependent on the functioning of a national
government located in Tokyo (and Tokyo has been paralyzed because of loss of
electric power, leading to loss of transport and some communications). I doubt
that it will come anywhere near approaching the human tolls we saw in recent
quakes in S. Asia (such as the tsunami disaster there) or the quake in S. China
(hundreds of thousands dead in that quake!) or the floods in Myanmar.
With one proviso: that is, if they can deal with the nuclear disasters that are
unfolding. These could be catastrophic for the entire Pacific region.
So Japan got lucky yesterday, believe it or not. Just hope the luck holds with
the nuclear disasters (and it's looking very scary right now).
Charles Jannuzi
University of Fukui
Fukui, Japan
07 March 2011
Japan universities rocked by cheating scandal
But it's not quite what you would expect. It's not a case of students at the universities cheating on exams or term papers. Instead it's high-tech cheating at the institutions' entrance exams. The test taker allegedly took photos of test questions, posted them to a 'help' site run by Yahoo Japan, got answers and used them to complete the test. All under the supposedly watchful eye of invigilation.
I would argue, though, that the universities involved (e.g., Kyoto University) have no one but themselves to blame. They run their own exams in order to make lots of money because they accept applications from far more people than they could possibly admit as students. Lower-ranked universities scramble to get enough students to enroll while these elite universities (both public and private) profit from testing huge numbers and turning most of them away. And then they are too cheap to provide proper invigilation.
Here is a link to a Japan Times article, with excerpt following the link.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110306b1.html
excerpt of Japan Times (Kyodo News) article:
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Alleged cheat handed to prosecutors
KYOTO (Kyodo) Police handed a 19-year-old preparatory school student over to prosecutors Saturday for allegedly "disrupting" a university entrance exam last week by using a cell phone to solicit answers online during the test.
The Sendai prep school student, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, is suspected of cheating by posting questions from Kyoto University's entrance exam on an online help site and using the answers that were provided.
According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, the student said he entered text from the exam questions into his mobile phone with his left hand during the math and English tests for Kyoto University on Feb. 25 and 26.
The police believe he then wrote down the responses posted by other Internet users on Yahoo Japan's Chiebukuro (Pearls of Wisdom) question-and-answer service with his right hand, they said.
The student also admitted cheating in a similar way on the exams for Waseda, Doshisha and Rikkyo universities earlier the same month, they said.
I would argue, though, that the universities involved (e.g., Kyoto University) have no one but themselves to blame. They run their own exams in order to make lots of money because they accept applications from far more people than they could possibly admit as students. Lower-ranked universities scramble to get enough students to enroll while these elite universities (both public and private) profit from testing huge numbers and turning most of them away. And then they are too cheap to provide proper invigilation.
Here is a link to a Japan Times article, with excerpt following the link.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110306b1.html
excerpt of Japan Times (Kyodo News) article:
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Alleged cheat handed to prosecutors
KYOTO (Kyodo) Police handed a 19-year-old preparatory school student over to prosecutors Saturday for allegedly "disrupting" a university entrance exam last week by using a cell phone to solicit answers online during the test.
The Sendai prep school student, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, is suspected of cheating by posting questions from Kyoto University's entrance exam on an online help site and using the answers that were provided.
According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, the student said he entered text from the exam questions into his mobile phone with his left hand during the math and English tests for Kyoto University on Feb. 25 and 26.
The police believe he then wrote down the responses posted by other Internet users on Yahoo Japan's Chiebukuro (Pearls of Wisdom) question-and-answer service with his right hand, they said.
The student also admitted cheating in a similar way on the exams for Waseda, Doshisha and Rikkyo universities earlier the same month, they said.
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