Spring 1986 RAIN Page 19 person (hito), place (sha). Gurin-Piisu, for example, is an interesting place consisting of tea rooms, places for handicrafts from Thailand and Bangladesh, pottery, books for sale and loan, natural foods, and a meeting and cinema space. The main thrust is to have a place that "expresses and appeals for peace." The person responsible for the space publishes his own books, one of which is a book of drawings based on the Hundredth Monkey book by Ken Keyes. It has sold 21,000 copies in the last year. He has also established the Hundred Monkey Network among 400 of the readers of the book. Japan Recycling Movement Citizens' Center 14-1 Hariyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 03-770-6600 Japan Recycling is a fairly prosperous recycling center with branches in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Its main business, like most of the other recycling groups in Japan, is focused on second-hand consumer goods. Japan, as an island economy has a long tradition of recycling basics like newspapers. But, especially with its rapid industrialization, Japanese has gone consumer-mad, creating a large waste stream of used stuff. Japan Recycling acts as a clearinghouse for people to buy, sell and trade. It operates phone lines for people to place ads in one of its magazines or spaces in newspapers. The calls sometimes flood the place— 50,000 a day on several occasions, more than the local phone system could handle. Japan Recycling also sponsors picnics and large flea markets where people can trade goods. Buraku Liberation Research Institute 1-6-12 Kyboyoshi, Naniwa-ku, Oasaka City, Japan 556 The Buraku are darker skinned Japanese who for several hundred years have held the most menial of jobs. They are the most, identifiable “class” in Japan. The Buraku Liberation Institute works on ways to strengthen the position of the Buraku people in Japan, and of other minorities including the Ainu, the so-called fair-skinned people of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, and Japan's primary foreign minorities, the Koreans and Taiwanese. One issue that the institute is working on is the national government's fingerprinting policy that forces all aliens to register with the government. A complementary law, the Family Registration Law, forces all Japanese to register with the government using a form that requires families to register a head of household (male) and the order of birth of the children for inheritance purposes. Aliens are not allowed to be registered and therefore are not given the benefits of full legal status. The Institute publishes the bimonthly Buraku Liberation News. Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC) PO Box 5250, Tokyo International, Japan PARC is a well-established grassroots action/research group. Operated mostly by women, the center's most visible product is AMPO, the Japan-Asia Quarterly Reveiw, which has been published since 1969. AMPO covers progressive to radical activities in Japan and East Asia, including such things as liberation battles in the Philipines, follow-up on the Bhopal incident, radical politics in Japan, south Korean farmers problems, and Micronesia's battle for a nuclear-free future. AMPO is available overseas for $16/year; add $2 for airmail. Minna-No-Ie c/o Sakaguchi, Kujinoura, Nachikatsuura- nachi, Wakayama-Ken, Japan 649-53 (Meaning “evenyone's home") Taking action right at home, the Sakaguchi family in Wakayama built a special house. The house was constructed three years ago, not just for the Sakaguchi family, but for anyone visiting the Kumano area. The house is used as a place to meet with others interested in protesting against the construction of nuclear power plants, promoting natural foods and organic farming, meditating, and writing. Consumers Union of Japan 3-13-29 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan 153 The Consumers Union is a group similiar in scope and type of activity to Nader-inspired public interest groups. The union works on a wide variety of issues with a special focus on hazardous products, and environmental pollution that effects health. It publishes Japan Resources (in English), which covers pollution and hazardous products and waste issues. People's Research Institute on Energy and Environment (PRIEE) B-Kaikan, 3F, 7-26-24 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan Since 1976 PRIEE has been active inanti-nuclear-energy, anti-war, and environmental issues. The PRIEE office is used by many activists to work on their specific issues. PRIEE translated works from other nations into Japanese, and occasionally publishes an English language newsletter covering environmental and energy issues in Japan and elsewhere. Ohdake Foundation 1-1-5, Kyobashi, Chuo-Ku,Tokyo, Japan 104 The Ohdake Foundation is a rare organization in Japan, sometimes referred to as the only foundation that provides support for grassroots citizen action activities. It was started by the present director's father, Yoshiaki Ohdake, Sr. During World War II, Mr. Ohdake was horrified by the war and swore after it was over he would do something to help make sure it would not happen again. The foundation provides support mainly for groups working on environmental problems, population control, and anti-military areas. It also provides funds for individuals to attend international conferences in other countries. The foundation publishes a monthly news service called Revealing Japan, which consists of news clippings and stories with a focus on environmental and peace issues. Ohdake is also presently the office of the Information Center for Public Citizens (ICPC). The Other Japan
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