A Great Science Communicator Prof. Yamanaka, With or Without Novel Prize （ノーベル賞と無関係に偉大なサイエンスコミュニケータ、山中教授）

Yesterday, Prof. Shinya Yamanaka (Kyoto Univ.) won the Nobel Prize for work on iPS cells. As a Japanese, I'd like to celebrate Prof. Yamanaka.

And I'd like to notify about how he has been struggling to raise research fund. After  the Japanese government's budget screening process in 2009, it is too difficult to get research fund from government for top-lever researcher like Prof. Yamanaka. Of course, Prof Yamanaka can raise donations from companies. A research center named "CiRA", which now he is working for, has been raising and allocating donations from companies or individuals.

CiRA's page about funding
http://www.cira.kyoto-u.ac.jp/j/about/fund.html

From 2011, Prof Yamanaka has been acting as an advertising tower in a cloud funding system to protect jobs of research technicians. He runs in marathon events for civilians for advertising. This makes easy to understand for general public that scientific researches need many kind of people including research technicians, and it is too difficult to hold their life and career formation at government expense.

JustGiving Japan
http://justgiving.jp/c/7882

I'd like to admire Prof. Yamanaka as an excellent science communicator. 

Congratulations! 

I want to see in the future more actively science communication as a Nobel prize winner.

昨日、山中伸弥教授（京都大学）がiPS細胞に関する研究でノーベル賞を獲得されました。一人の日本人として、祝福を申し上げます。

さらに私は、山中教授がどのようにして研究費を獲得しているかについて知ってほしいと思います。2009年の「事業仕分け」以後、日本では、山中氏のようなトップレベルの研究者でも、国費（科研費）の利用が難しくなっています。もちろん、山中氏はさまざまな企業から寄付を得ることが必要な立場にあります。企業からの寄付は、山中氏の所属する研究所が集め、配分しています。

CiRA　「ご支援のお願い」
http://www.cira.kyoto-u.ac.jp/j/about/fund.html

昨年から、山中氏は自らクラウドファンディングを行い、テクニシャンの雇用を守っています。クラウドファンディングのPRのために、自ら市民マラソンに出走しています。このことにより、山中氏は、研究にはテクニシャンを含めた多様な人々が不可欠なこと、その人々の安定した生活とキャリア形成が国費では難しいことを、日本の一般の人々に訴えています。

JustGiving Japan
http://justgiving.jp/c/7882

私は、素晴らしいサイエンスコミュニケータとして、山中伸弥教授を讃えます。
山中先生、おめでとうございます。
今後、ノーベル賞受賞者として、さらに積極的にサイエンスコミュニケーションを展開されますことに、期待しています。

I'm proud of you, Reiko!

On June 6th, a 11 years old girl passed away, because of brain stem glioma, after struggle with the disease for about 1 year. Her name was Reiko.

I knew her because her father was one of my friends. He is a librarian, and I'm a heavy user of libraries. We knew each other at some informal meetings of librarians.

After Reiko's glioma was found, her parents shared Reiko and family's struggling with the disease on their blogs. Her mother was working for day care center for children at that time, but she had been a librarian. Both her father and mother knew well about the importance of information and collaboration, so they shared the struggling positively on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.

Reiko's father's blog　(in Japanese )
http://karatekalibrarian.blogspot.jp/

Reiko's mother's blog (in Japanese )
http://arikoyuko.seesaa.net/

At first, I was afraid about that if Reiko would be known exactly about her disease. Her parents said her "The disease in your brain will be killed by treatment". They didn't said for Reiko that was fatal. But people who shared about Reiko's struggle helped her, her older brother Shu-ichiro, and her parents. Now Reiko's parents are considering that Reiko might be aware of she was dying for several reasons. I think that the merit of sharing superior than the demerit of that ( Reiko might have noticed about her disease ).

I have no human family living with me, but during the year, I was feeling that I was a member of large family or "Team Reiko" that are helping Reiko, Shu-ichiro, and their parents. I became happy, angry or sadly when I read Reiko was well, sad or bad.

Reiko was so clever, serious girl with kind heart.
I'm sorry that I can't see Reiko in teenage, adolescence and adult life.
But I'm happy because I could live with her.

Reiko, I'm proud of you!



Reiko and I (March 2012)

The Japanese government crushed hope on measure with disabled peoople 障害者政策の改善への希望、日本政府によって断たれる

I reported on an article in this blog

"Crisis in measures for persons with disability 日本の障害者政策が危機に"

http://ordinarydaysinjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/02/crisis-in-measures-for-persons-with.html

that the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry and the Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) were rushing to enact a new bill on  welfare for the disabled against a recommendation by the task force to discuss new act for disabled people.
It is regrettable that the new bill were decided by the cabinet on Mar. 13, 2012 and will pass into law in the Diet.


以前、本ブログの記事
「Crisis in measures for persons with disability 日本の障害者政策が危機に」
http://ordinarydaysinjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/02/crisis-in-measures-for-persons-with.html
で、厚生労働省と民主党が、総合福祉部会による障がい者総合福祉法案を成立させないよう、別の新法案の成立を図っていることを述べた。
残念ながら、厚生労働省と民主党による案は2012年3月13日に閣議決定され、国会で可決されることとなった。

・The pointless argument by Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry


the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry said that "It is necessary to hold continuity between the old act and the new act, so we can't terminate the old Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act”.
The recommendation by the task force intended to enact new act that will prepare the ratification of the disability convention of the UN. So it will radically change current law. Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry refusing the change, it means they have no plan to ratify the disability convention of the UN and to guarantee the basic human rights of disabled people in Japan.


厚生労働省の新法案阻止のための屁理屈

厚生労働省は「新旧の法律の継続性を考慮する場合は廃止が出来ない」という理由で、障害者自立支援法廃止を拒んだ。
総合福祉部会による提言の目的は、国連障害者権利条約を批准する前提となる新法案を成立させることにあった。したがって、障害者自立支援法の根本的な改革となることは必然である。それを拒む厚生労働省は、国連障害者権利条約を批准するつもりも、日本の障害者に人権を保証するつもりもないのである。


・Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act will be maintained in effect

The new bill by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is actually the Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act. The act has 105 sections, and the new bill made minor change on the act. Only 7 sections are changed. It should not be called the new bill.

障害者自立支援法が維持される結果に

厚生労働省による新法案は、障害者自立支援法の105条文のうち、7条文にマイナーチェンジを施したものである。これを新法案と呼ぶべきではない。

・The new bill by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said no to disabled people's initiative to right


The draft raw and recommendation by the task force could help disabled people's independent life in local communities and could make prior condition to ratify the disability convention of the UN. But the new bill by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry have no section to credit disabled people's initiative to right.

障害者を権利の主体とすることを拒んだ厚生労働省

総合福祉部会による提言と法案は、障害者が地域で自立した生活を営む基本的権利の保障規定を設け、国連障害者権利条約批准の前提を整備するものであった。しかし厚生労働省による新法案には、障害者を権利の主体とする記述が全くない。

・Disabled people will be forced to pay to assistance for live

Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act forced disabled people to pay for services that were necessary to live. It pushed disabled people and their family in poverty more increasing poverty. Several families with disabled person commit suicide, because their hope to live in peace were crushed.
In Dec. 2010, the act slightly changed to pay according to income, but it is not solved the problem that disabled people in Japan have to pay to live. The new bill by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry maintains this problem.  They are saying that the disabled person is responsible for the difficulties from the disabilities. That is conflicting to attitude adopted by the disability convention of the UN, because the convention is saying that the society is responsible to make disabled people to live with no difficulties from the disabilities.


障害福祉サービスは利用者負担のまま


障害者自立支援法は、障害福祉サービスの費用を利用者が支払うことを「自立支援」と呼ぶ意味不明な法案で、一般的に貧困な障害者をさらに貧困にし、生きる権利を奪うものであった。障害者自立支援法の施行前後、数組の障害者家族が、先行きを悲観して心中を図っている。
2010年12月、障害者自立支援法のマイナーチェンジが行われた。それまでの、サービス利用量に応じて費用を支払う「応益負担」から、家計能力に応じて支払う「応能負担」となった。しかし、障害者から生きることそのものに対するコストを徴収しているという問題は解決されていない。厚生労働省による新法案は、この「障害者は生きているだけでコストを支払わなくてはならない」という問題点をそのまま維持するものである。これは、障害の個人モデルに基づいた考え方であり、国連障害者権利条約が採用している障害の社会モデルと相反している。

At last of this article, I'd like to quote a line from a novel "Exodus for the nation of the hope" by Ryu Murakami that fits my dispair.
"In this nation, there are everything. There are various items. But there is no hope."


最後に、日本のある小説から、今の私の感情を言い表してくれているかのようなセリフを一つ引用して、結びとする。
「この国には何でもある。本当にいろいろなものがある。だが希望だけがない」（「村上龍・希望の国のエクソダス」）

References( in Japanese ):

参考資料：

・障害者自立支援法違憲訴訟原告団・弁護団「厚生労働省案ではなぜダメなのか」
http://www.kyosaren.or.jp/news/2012/120229sosyoudanpress.pdf

・障害者総合支援法案に対する見解
http://www.kyosaren.or.jp/news/2012/0313_1.htm

On 1 year after the quake

Today is just 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

In last autumn, one of my friend Sandra Katzman collaborated with me and wrote a brief article in dialogue about our experiences after the quake.
Today, I would like to post the article in memoriam of the quake.

Thank you, Sandra.

Brief bios:

Sandra Katzman, a U.S. citizen living in Japan since 1996, reports for Platts energy industry news and has written for Reuters Health and for various American Chemical Society journals.  

Yoshiko Miwa, a Japanese national, is a doctoral candidate at University of Tsukuba, majoring in the computational simulation of semiconductor nanoprocess. Miwa is a Journalist in Residence of the Mathematical Society of Japan. She has collaborated on books such as A first guide of hardware for software engineers (published by Gijyutsuhyouronsya) and reports for online engineering magazines.
Email miwa@miwachan.info


3.11--Japan’s 9.11
by Sandra Katzman and Miwa Yoshiko

“Cities of death” and “credible threats” describe persistent disaster in Japan and in the United States.  The trade minister lost his job for saying the first; U.S. security forces gained respect for announcing the second.  At this month’s anniversaries of unkind explosions, Japan lures foreign tourists with sales, and the President says the U.S. is stronger.    It’s business as usual.

A Japanese graduate science student who is also a science/technical writer and an American science writer talk about living in Japan after the meltdown in March at Fukushima nuclear power plant.  Although each lives with compromised health --the former has been motion impaired since 2004 in a wheelchair due to unknown causes, and the latter has terminal lung cancer—both are upbeat yet skeptical about safety in newly radioactive Japan.

Sandra: I saw on your blog a photo of a bakery in Tokyo selling bread with some purported anti-radiation effect. Can you tell me about that bakery?

Yoshiko: On September 12, I visited the bakery again, and it had closed. The bakery had been under a court-guided rehabilitation process for companies that failed in business, but did not revive and is now awaiting bankruptcy proceedings.

I think the bakery unsuccessfully tried to profit from the Fukushima nuke power plant accidents. And I’m angry that the bakery used the victim of the quake for promotion. It employed a baker who had been a bakery owner at Fukushima before the quake and now that baker lost his job again.

Sandra: My cousin, an American boy, married a Japanese.  The girl's father is a gynecologist, and not worried about his grandchild due in May in Tokyo.

Yoshiko: I think the young couple chose well. Slight radioactive pollution of air and water may not damage newborns. Tokyoites can buy unpolluted food and water, and superior employment eases education of children. Wherever we live in Japan, we are not safe from a little radioactive pollution. So it is wise to hold the freedom of choice and take a little risk. Are you well informed about disasters? The media in Japan are not informative enough. We depend on CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera.

Sandra: I can read Japanese English-language media: The Japan Times, and English translations of the other newspapers.   I also subscribe to websites such as news from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and from the federation of trade unions, Keidanren.

Yoshiko: I have been a member of LinuxChix (the world’s largest female Linux user group) for twelve years. I heard about friends of members in Tokyo who couldn’t get information about daily life, like when the electric power cut would occur, or where water could be bought. So I notified the group about radio broadcasts for foreigners and provided my cell number.  It was very odd:  People living in Tokyo got help from their friends in the U.S., and the people in the U.S. asked me to help the people in Tokyo. The Japanese government and neighbors were not effective.

Sandra: A few weeks after the disaster, U.S. national newspapers stopped carrying daily coverage about Fukushima; but the Japanese dailies kept running stories.

Yoshiko:  I didn't know that. I thought U.S. national newspapers covered Fukushima and its problems thoroughly.

Sandra:  I worried about information lack when a U.S. friend told me about the claims of anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott, M.D. that the Japanese government was hiding information, and that the situation was much more dangerous than the Japanese government and other official sources let on.  So-called “low-level” radiation, Caldicott warned, causes “medical problems of very large dimensions.”

Yoshiko: Familiar with government attitudes, we Japanese guess the truth through very uncertain information.  Some Japanese are sponsoring independent journalists.

Sandra: I was on spring vacation skiing in California with my brother and my cousin. Email alerted “EQ Tokyo.”  I was reminded of the 9.11email, “terror.”   Skiing was very good on March 11.  Fun on frozen water was the opposite of the terror of a seismic wave.  My cousin’s son sent photos of the newlyweds smiling and swaying in hardhats on the 30th floor of a Tokyo office building.

Yoshiko: On 3.11, I was going to file my taxes when the quake occurred. I told my cats, “Calm down, calm down!" By Internet, I learned about the disaster. I joined the housewives talking in the street. They were worrying about their husbands and children who were working or studying in the heart of Tokyo.  I called my aunt in a faraway place to tell that I was OK. By phone, I ordered rice and water before the buyout started.  In the evening, I heard that the Fukushima nuke power plant had exploded. I joined the project "Payforwarding" where engineers developed applications to help disaster victims.   My role was a document engineer.

Sandra:  A friend from the U.S. will visit Kyoto. She changed plans last April, not wanting to celebrate cherry blossoms when Japan mourned.  Now she thinks meat and fish are dangerous.

Yoshiko: I thank your friend for her kind attention to us Japanese. The maple leaves will beautiful in October and November, and delicious autumn fishes around Japan can be eaten without danger. We consumers are nervous about food radiation, and distributors are more nervous. Eat only commercially distributed products.

Sandra: A Japanese friend believes konbu, or kelp, will help prevent bad effects from radioactivity.

Yoshiko: Konbu contains a lot of iodine, but how the human body will absorb it is not certain.  Take iodine under a doctor’s supervision to prevent uptake of radioactive iodine. I'm afraid that the konbu itself may be radioactively polluted after 3.11.  And now, the problem is cesium 137 rather than iodine. Konbu may not be effective for cesium.

Sandra:  Before flying back to Japan, I sought advice.  “There is no reason to postpone your return to Japan,” my oncologist told me.   “There is no influence in west Japan for the present. The nuclear power plant in Fukushima is far from Kyoto, and the leaking radiation level is still low.” Tokyo is 150 miles from Fukushima; Kyoto is about 324 miles from Fukushima.

Yoshiko: I think your doctor made good suggestion. Wherever we live, we are not safe from various threats like terror, accident and natural disaster. So we have to deal with threats, not escape.

Crisis in measures for persons with disability in Japan 日本の障害者政策が危機に

1. Problems about Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act (enforced 2007)


This act requires people with disabilities to pay for welfare service in principle.
Many disabled people and their family are in poverty (or on welfare) because of lack of welfare for the disabled. A statistics says that annual salary of working disabled in Japan is about 1.6 million Yen (about 1/2 of all working Japanese). 
This act demands payment to live such poverty people. After the enfocement of this act, some family with disabled commited or attempted joint suicide.

障害者自立支援法（2007年施行）の問題点

介護サービス等の応益負担が原則。

日本の障害者・障害者家族は、貧弱な障害者施策により、貧困であったり生活保護を受けていたりすることが多い。ある統計によれば、職業を持つ障害者の平均年収は約160万円である（日本全体の有職者の平均年収は約350万円）。

応益負担とは、貧困かつ生きるために介護を必要とする障害者から、その介護の費用を徴収するということである。

「生きていけない」と悲観した障害者家族が、障害者を道連れに自殺・自殺未遂した例が数件ある。

2.Constitutional complaint on Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act


Some disabled and lawyers submitted constitutional complaint on Oct.2008 with Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act which would drive disabled couldn't live. Their argument were that Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act was against constitution declaring the right to life. They reached the  settlement  in Apr. 2010.

障害者自立支援法訴訟

障害者の自立を支援するのではなく、障害者を生きてゆけなくする障害者自立支援法に対し、憲法の生存権保障に違反しているという視点から、2008年10月、障害者たち・支援する弁護士たちが違憲訴訟を開始した。2010年4月、和解成立。

3 .The Democratic Party of Japan （DPJ） and public promise to repeal Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act


In Sep. 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan （DPJ） voted into power. At that time, DPJ made public promise to repeal Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act.

民主党政権成立と障害者自立支援法廃止公約

2009年9月、民主党政権が成立した。この時、民主党は障害者自立支援法の廃止を公約していた。

4. Reviews to the new act for disabled people


After DPJ voted into power, Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry called a task force to discuss new act for disabled people. The member of the task force were disabled people, care workers, and people concerning with the welfare of disabled people. They had 18 meeting from Apr. 2010 to Aug. 2011, discussed about the new act and made recommendation. 

障がい者総合福祉法の制定を目指した検討

民主党政権成立を受け、厚生労働相は「障がい者制度改革推進会議　総合福祉部会」を設けた。メンバーは障がい者・ケア労働者など、障がい者福祉にかかわる幅広い分野から集められていた。総合福祉部会は、障害者自立支援法に代わる新法「障がい者総合福祉法」の制定のため、2010年4月から2011年8月にかけて18回の会合をもち、提言を取りまとめた。

5.Draft law from Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry


In Jan. 2012, Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry introduced into the Diet a new draft law about disabled. The draft was minor changed Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act.

厚生労働省案の国会提出

2012年1月、厚生労働省による障害者新法案が国会に提出されることとなった。この新法案は、障害者自立支援法のマイナーチェンジである。

6.Action of DPJ

Most of assembly member in DPJ are agreeing with the new draft law. At 27 Feb. 2012, few in DPJ are resisting the draft, so the law are not enacting now.

民主党の対応

民主党議員の多くは、厚生労働省による障害者新法案を成立させることに概ね同意している。2012年2月27日現在、一部議員が必死の抵抗を続けているため、障害者新法案はまだ成立していない。

7.Reaction of mass media


Mass media are saying that the new draft law by Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry will enact. Some media (including NHK) are criticizing DPJ and the ministry.

大手メディアの反応

大手メディア報道は概ね、厚生労働省による障害者新法案の成立を規定路線としている。NHKを含む一部メディアが、厚生労働省と民主党を批判する報道を展開している。

8.　To ratify interregional expert group meeting on elaborating a disability convention of the UN

Japan have not ratified interregional expert group meeting on elaborating a disability convention of the UN. The recommendation from the task force will be the condition to ratification.

国連障害者権利条約批准との関連

国連障害者権利条約を、日本はまだ批准していない。障がい者総合福祉法の成立は、批准の前提条件でもある。

9. After new act by Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry will react


Disabled peoople in Japan will be in harsh condition with insufficient protection of human rights to live and right to work that equal to other people in Japan.

厚生労働省の障害者新法案が成立したらどうなるか

充分に生存・勤労などの人権を保障されていない日本の障害者が、将来にわたり、現在の劣悪な状況から脱することができなくなる。