October 30, 2014Leave a Comment
Some of you might remember the mahogany laminate bicycles built by shipbuilder Sueshiro Sano and shown at the Japan Handmade Bicycle Fair in 2010. Sano and his “Sanomagic” bikes are once again making in appearance in the mainstream media.
October 16, 20142 Comments on Typhoons and bikes
I rode a bicycle during a typhoon in Tokyo once. I don’t recommend it.
HIMEJI, JAPAN – OCTOBER 13: A cyclist wears a rain poncho in the strong wind and rain delivered by Typhoon Vongfong on October 13, 2014 in Himeji, Japan. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Vongfong surpassed Genevieve for the most intense western Pacific typhoon of 2014 by estimated central pressure of 970 hectopascals at its center and packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour. Local media reported at least 44 people were injured in typhoon-related accidents, while Japanese airlines cancelled at least 329 flights. JMA has issued the high alert for heavy rainfall as well as strong winds and waves. Over 80 people deaths following three previous typhoons and torrential rain in Japan this year. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
July 18, 20142 Comments on Why everybody rides the train in Japan
January 23, 20144 Comments on Attention expat gaijin and Japanophiles
Byron Kidd, an expatriate Australian who works and bikes in the Tokyo area, has asked me to forward this appeal for petition signatures to a wider audience.
January 21, 20142 Comments on HOWTO ride the Japanese 3 person mamachari bicycle
Here’s a 15 minute documentary video on the uniquely Japanese 3 person mamachari bicycle. In Japanese with English subtitles.
The narrator talks about recently changed law that allows these huge bikes, describes differences between these and more traditional bikes, and follows a young mother as she takes a safety class.
Features of these bikes include heavy duty ultra-low step through frames, low center of gravity, handlebar lock, wide stands,
Via the Mama Bicycle Blog, from where you can have a 3-seat mamachari imported into the USA.
October 25, 20131 Comment on Japan considers cabinet level bicycle ministry
A non-partisan caucus of legislators in the Japanese Diet (Kokkan) are moving forward on the creation of a Ministry of Bicycle Promotion (自転車担当相設置を – Jitensha Tanto Sho).
Bicycle policy in Japan is determined by multiple agencies. The police establish the rules of the road, while the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism governs infrastructure, and the National Public Safety Commission publishes yet another set of rules for bicycles. Bicycle users report confusing and often contradictory laws. The proposed Bicycle Ministry would bring Japan’s disparate efforts to promote and improve cycling under a single cabinet level executive office.
This legislative working group to promote bicycles is chaired by 68-year-old Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, an avid long-distance road cyclist. The draft proposal says the Minister of Bicycles should be a cyclist, and members of the working group are pushing Tanigaki to take the proposed post.
The draft proposal calls on the government to promote cycling as an effective means of transportation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The new ministry, if accepted, would review and simplify existing traffic laws as they related to bicycling, and would be tasked with developing bicycle infrastructure such as cycle tracks and bicycle parking.
The working group will present their proposal to the government on Monday, October 28.
Via Aussie ex-pat Byron Kidd at Tokyo By Bike, who astutely notes the political culture of Japan encourages a cynical wait-and-see attitude and reminds readers: “Whatever eventuates you can rest assured that public consultation will never feature in the decision making process and that our voices will go unheard.”
The Japanese have a parliamentary form of government. The Cabinet of Japan forms the executive. The head of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister, is appointed by Japan’s bicameral legislative branch, the Kokkan. The members of the cabinet are, in turn, appointed by the Prime Minister. By convention, English speakers usually call Japan’s parliament the “Diet,” which is what we also call the old German legislative assemblies that they inherited from the Romans. Why German? Because of the heavy Prussian influence during the Meiji era, when Japan established its first modern constitution.
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