Japan: a country of contrasts

Jessica Vine explores the best and the worst of Japanese technology, and why she thinks Japan is a good choice for the next G8 conference

beyond the urban jungle of Tokyo lies the wilderness of the mountainous regions holding the G8 conference on the island of Hokkaido will provide the world with a lesser seen image of Japan

On first arrival in Osaka, I was greeted with what every tourist might expect of Japan: bright and engulfing neon advertisements, huge, air-conditioned skyscrapers, and luminous labyrinths of underground shopping centres. I was by impressed by electrically warmed toilet seats, lifts which parked my car in multi-storey spaces, vending machines on every street, and plastic bag dispensers which prevent umbrellas dripping inside department stores.

Japan is, however, a country full of contradictions; beyond the urban jungles of Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama lies the wilderness of the mountainous regions and behind the neon lights there is also a greener side to Japanese living. For many years, household rubbish has been strictly divided into burnable, non-burnable and recyclable items, for example, beside every drinks machine stand three different types of recycling bin and many train stations now have escalators installed with sensors so that they automatically switch off when they are empty.

As well as being modern and industrialised, Japanese society is characteristically highly organised, sophisticated and adaptable, and is now recognised to be one of the industrial world’s most energy efficient nations. In 2008, the Japanese government plans to spend around 63 billion Yen on the development of new carbon reductive technology, and lets not forget that it was Japan who launched the Toyota Prius – the world’s first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle.

This summer the G8 leaders will meet in Japan, but rather than setting up talks among the sprawling lights of Tokyo, the conference is to be held in one of the least developed areas of this otherwise highly sophisticated and industrialized nation, the island of Hokkaido will provide a lesser-seen image of Japan to the world and will set the scene for an exhibition of some of Japan’s existing green innovations, including a form of air conditioning sourced from winter snow.

I hope that holding the G8 conference in Hokkaido will be a way of celebrating the natural beauty of a country which most recognise as crowded and urban, as well as a force to encourage the Japanese to channel their innovation into finding a solution to the problem of our dependence on electricity, and decreasing ability to exploit non-renewable resources.