Reflection 3

After reading the article, i feel that i have found a major problem within our society. We are getting too materialistic, and have way too much concern about money and physical possessions over anything else, like health or family. I think that this drastic increase in overworking is contributed by mainly two factors, employees working too hard, and employers demanding too much. Both of which caused by materialism, as both try too hard to earn more money.As seen in the article, there is an increasing amount of part-time jobs in Japan, and this directly leads to pressure on full-time employees. Due to competition and lack of security, i think that many of these full-time employees are afraid that their jobs would be taken over by these part-timers. Due to this pressure that is caused by part-timers, there people tend to overwork and push themselves too hard in order to stay in their positions.

Japanese labour ministry official Takashi Amano also says in the article, "In many cases, workers faced many demands while receiving limited support, putting (huge) pressure on them mentally." This shows how demanding the Japanese employers are, and how much pressure they are putting on employees.

Materialism refers to the thinking that physical possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. In short, money and possession is very much everything.Since people are so materialistic and value physical possessions so much, they would definitely put physical possessions over their own health, and compromise their physical well-being for the sake of money. This is seen from how people choose to "push themselves beyond the limit" to protect their jobs, or simply to earn more money, rather than take care of their health. Often, instead of being happy from earning money and gaining physical possessions, these people end up falling sick and even dieing from overworking.

Lastly, to solve this problem, I think measures should be taken to solve the most fundamental issue, that is materialism. More traditional teachings should be imparted to school children and even adults. I personally think that traditional teachings like Confucianism are very meaningful to the heart and soul, as they generally believe in a life where one is happy and fulfilled spiritually, and not just in terms of physical possessions.

Article 3

Deaths from overwork in Japan at record high
May 18, 2007 The Straits Times

TOKYO - A RECORD number of Japanese people literally worked themselves to death last year, the government said, despite campaigns to ease the country's notoriously long office hours.
Some 355 workers fell severely ill or died from overwork in the year to March, the highest figure on record and 7.6 per cent up from the previous year, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour said.
Of the total, 147 people died, many from strokes or heart attacks.


Death from overwork grew so common during Japan's post-World War II economic miracle that the country coined a word for it - karoshi.

The government has tried to address the problem by promoting telecommuting and encouraging workers to take leave when they start families or need to care for elderly parents.

But as the world's second largest economy posts a record-long expansion, critics point to the rising number of part-time jobs, saying new employees lack the security that would allow them to resist pressure to overwork.

Lawyer Mikio Mizuno, who has long fought to stop karoshi, said the growing number of part-timers has also increased the workload and pressure on young full-time employees.

'Those in their 20s and 30s, who still have some physical strength, tend to push themselves beyond the limit,' he said.

'They can suddenly have an irregular pulse or a heart attack. As for what triggered it, you can't think of anything else but overwork.'

The labour ministry said it rejected nearly half of the record 938 worker claims filed in the last financial year seeking compensation for suspected illness or death from overwork.

Among the 355 worker compensation cases approved, the largest age group - 141 cases - was those in their 50s, the ministry report said.

But the number of overworked workers in their 30s shot up by 31 per cent from the previous year.

'We saw that the trend of people in their 20s and 30s being most prone to mental diseases was particularly strong in the past year,' said labour ministry official Takashi Amano.

'The working environment remained harsh for workers. In many cases, workers faced many demands while receiving limited support, putting (huge) pressure on them mentally.'

A total of 819 workers suggested that they became mentally ill due to overwork, and 205 of them were given compensation, according to ministry data released on Wednesday.

Mentally troubled workers killed themselves or attempted to do so in 176 cases, of which a record 66 cases were found eligible for benefits, the report said.

Among applicants seeking worker compensation for their mental problems, those in their 30s accounted for the largest number at 40 per cent, followed by those in their 20s at 18.5 per cent.

The occupational group most prone to death or disease from overwork was the transport industry, which accounted for 27 per cent of all the applicants who were found eligible for compensation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Reflection 2

I think that this act is a really meaningful one. As a geography student, i know from all the lessons that I have had, that global warming is THE major environmental issue of the 21st century, and it relieves me to know that leaders of major cities are doing something about it.

Average global surface temperatures have risen a lot in the past century, and so has carbon levels. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which traps heat, it is no doubt that the rise in surface temperatures is partly due to the increasing levels of carbon, which in turn is caused by the increased burning of fossil fuel from transportation vehicles, idustries, as well as homes.

With the establishment of this act, in line with the current kyoto protocol, i think it would do quite a fair bit in reducing carbon emissions. I choose to say "quite a fair bit" because I think that though this act aims to cut down carbon emissions in major cities, there are still too many factors affecting global warming that needs to be taken care of, such as deforestation, planting of too many paddy fields (as suggested in the recent news, paddy fields contribute to global warming by producing methane), rearing of cattles(also produces methane) and many more. However, though this act, we can see, like what New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg emphasized on, "political will". We can see that people are taking more and more interest on the topic of global warming and climate change, and are starting to take actions like the establishment of this act. Thus hopefully in the future, there would be more and more of this kind of acts, this one would act as a stepping stone for all the rest to come.

Another part to this article is regarding the US president George W. Bush on not ratifying the kyoto protocol. This is no news, and has been published for a very long time already, and it is again brought up in this meeting. The US has been critisised by many, such as Japanese Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who blames Mr. Bush for worsening the environment, and also New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who criticised governmental inaction reagarding climate change, and said that they are lacking "political will".

From my point of view, it seems as though the US had been pressured into signing this accord to cut down on carbon emissions. However, this is still good news as not only will it cut down the carbon emission of the world's most polluted country, but as said before, it will act as a stepping stone for many more of this similar acts to come.

In conclusion, I think that not only would the established act cut down on carbon emissions and reducing greenhouse gases in the environment, it also would pave the path for more and larger-scaled acts to stop global warming. This act is indeed very valuable and meaningful.

Article 2

Polluted cities taking initiative to tackle global warming
May 17, 2007 The Straits Times
NEW YORK - MAYORS from more than 40 of the world's most polluted cities have declared at a climate summit here that cities must take the lead in the campaign to reverse global warming.

City leaders cannot wait for their countries to enact national policies, they said.

'As cities produce three-fourths of the carbon emissions, we must act,' London Mayor Ken Livingstone told delegates, describing climate change as 'the single biggest threat to the future of humanity'.

'Whatever the discussions within our governments, as cities we are not waiting,' he told leaders from 46 of the world's most polluted cities, from Cairo to Shanghai and Los Angeles to Singapore.

The C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, which started late on Monday and is set to run through today, is dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and developing more energy-efficient infrastructure.

One of the first agreements to come out of the meeting on Tuesday: A pledge by 514 US mayors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Kyoto Protocol, a move which signals their objections to the environmental policies of US President George W. Bush.

The US mayors signed an accord to slash pollutants to below 1990 levels by 2012.

The accord is the only climate protection agreement of its kind among US elected officials. Mr Bush has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol.

Tokyo's outspoken nationalist leader yesterday lashed out at the US for not ratifying the Kyoto treaty and blamed the country for worsening the world's environment.

' It is ridiculous that the United States did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol,' Governor Shintaro Ishihara told Japanese journalists in footage broadcast here.

Apart from calling for US ratification of the landmark treaty on cutting emissions, Mr Ishihara is also expected to explain the tough regulations on diesel vehicles that he implemented in Tokyo.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also criticised governmental inaction on climate change, telling delegates: 'We need no new technology, we need no new invention, all that is required is political will.'

Former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern last year warned that the fallout of climate change could be on the scale of the two world wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s unless urgent action was taken.

London was the venue for the first such summit of mayors in 2005, bringing together environmental officials from around 20 cities for what was mostly an opportunity to exchange ideas and set up the large cities network.

This year's summit brings together mayors and senior officials from 46 cities committed to tackling climate change and reducing their carbon footprint on the planet's atmosphere.

For the first time, it also includes top business leaders and corporations from around the world, including General Electric, Deutsche Bank, Shell and Siemens, who are here to offer technological expertise and financial backing for green projects.

Other topics up for discussion include beating congestion, making water systems more efficient, adopting renewable energy sources, increasing recycling levels, reducing city waste and improving mass transit systems.

Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore planned to ask other cities to follow Sydney by implementing an 'Earth Hour', during which businesses and homes turn off their lights for one hour to reduce energy consumption.

The city's first 'Earth Hour', on March 31, was hailed as a success. It cut normal energy use by 10 per cent.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE