First, let me say it’s fun watching more people sign up for Insider and create archive accounts. All of us at UJ appreciate the support. As always, if you have any suggestions or even a question about Japan you want answered, please feel free to reach out.
This is my first issue publishing Insider “WordPress-first.” As I indicated, that means you should be seeing a more polished Insider newsletter this week and subsequent weeks. I hope you enjoy it!
This week, I want to tackle what I hope doesn’t become a truly explosive topic. It concerns a certain long-running world exposition, a worrying quantity of methane gas, and nicotine addicts with no place to go.
There have been many controversies surrounding Osaka Expo. The lines have been long. Some of the food is overpriced. And, overall, many people in Japan just aren’t that interested in attending.
But another controversy has sparked up around methane gas. It started back before the Expo opened on the 13th. A member of Japan’s Communist Party used a methane gas measuring device during the Expo’s test run and found places where the concentration of methane gas in reclaimed land exceeded healthy levels.
A follow-up by the local fire department also found excessive concentrations of methane in an underground pit. The department covered and sealed the pit, forbidding entry. The pit, covered by a manhole, was a ways away from the wooden ring, the exhibition’s big attraction. However, it was fairly close to the exhibit’s West Entrance.
