Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

Recently, the Japan Electric Vehicle Club set a record for an electric vehicle (EV) by driving over 1,000 km on a single charge. The English version of the Asahi reported it as thus:

The Japan Electric Vehicle Club drove its test car 1,003.184 kilometers, far outstripping its own previous world record of 555.6 km.

The group will apply to register the new record with Guinness World Records.

The new record was set with the "Mira EV," a minivehicle made by Daihatsu Motor Co. and modified by the club. It was equipped with 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries produced by Sanyo Electric Co.

The minivehicle circled the 689-meter circuit at Tsukuba Circuit in this city 1,456 times in about 27 hours and 30 minutes from Saturday to Sunday.

The Telegraph also praised the achievement:

The achievement is timely: Japan and other nations are bracing themselves for an electric car boom as car manufacturers race to produce competitive versions of the environmentally-friendly vehicles.

However, the biggest inconveniences for many potential e-car owners relate to charging – from finding a nearby charger to making sure that the car does not run out of power during the school run.

The latest epic electric vehicle drive of over 1,000km effortlessly beat the previous world record of uncharged driving 555.6km, which was achieved last November by the same Japanese organisation.

However, there are gaping holes in both stories. The Japanese version in the Asahi shimbun contained far more detail, particularly this:

挑戦するＥＶは、もちろん、ミラＥＶだ。１０００ｋｍに挑戦するにあたり、徹底して車両を軽くした。２人乗りシートを約４０キロ軽い超軽量タイプに取り換え、転がり抵抗を軽くするタイヤを採用した。

そして、ドライバーをどうするか。舘内代表が１人でハンドルを握り続けた東京－大阪間よりも長時間の挑戦になるため、今回は舘内代表や自動車ジャーナリスト、関係者ら１７人が約１時間ずつ交代して記録に挑んだ。

２２日午前１１時スタートしたミラＥＶは、電圧低下で３０分間中断するというトラブルに見舞われながら未明のコースをひたすら走り続けた。夜が明けた翌２３日午後８時過ぎ、今度は雨が降り始めた。雨が降ると路面の走行抵抗が増す。ＥＶにとっては大敵だ。「こりゃ、大きなマイナスだな」。次第に雨脚が強くなり、ＥＶクラブの関係者が詰めていた本部席からため息が漏れた。

　記録挑戦に参加したドライバーたちは運転席で速度計と電流計をみながら、一定の速度で走るのに全神経を集中した。中にはアクセルを微妙に操作するため裸足でペダルを踏む人もいた。

　

ミラＥＶのハンドルを２回握ったモータージャーナリストの竹岡圭さんは、二度目の挑戦時は雨に見舞われた。電力消費を抑えようと、ワイパーを使うのは１周２回に抑えた。「同じスピードで走っても２回目は多くの電力が必要だった。電池切れしないようにアクセルを踏み過ぎないように心がけた。まるで『修行』のような走りでした」と振り返る。

They fitted the car with ultra light seats for a weight savings of 40kg and used special tires to reduce rolling resistance. It started raining, which increased rolling resistance. To save power, drivers only switched on the windshield wipers two times per lap. Lap being a key word here as they were driving on a closed test track with no need to switch gears or touch the brakes. They also had a light touch on the accelerator to keep the car at a steady 40km/h.

For the Telegraph to call this an "epic drive" that "effortlessly" broke the previous record is pure BS. It's also bad that the Asahi whittled the English version down to be utterly meaningless. Sure, a distance record was broken, but the group went to great lengths to control the driving environment and modify the car. This isn't as big a deal as the newspapers are making it out to be. EVs may be sexy technology but their practicality is still very limited. l'll be impressed when EVs can drive 1,000km under real conditions: traffic jams, bad weather, uneven acceleration and deceleration, poorly inflated tires, a full passenger load, plus groceries and other assorted junk loaded in the back.

The eco-point program is now officially underway with the government accepting applications:

Under the Eco-point system, those who buy designated energy-saving appliances between May 15 and March 31 will be eligible for the points, with one Eco-point worth roughly ¥1.

Points given vary between 6,000 and 9,000 for air conditioners, depending on cooling power, 3,000 and 10,000 for refrigerators depending on capacity and 7,000 and 36,000 for televisions for terrestrial broadcasting depending on the size of screen.

Starting Wednesday, purchasers of these appliances may register Eco-points by mailing applications along with documents such as receipts and copies of product warranties to the Eco-point secretariat. These points may be exchanged for merchandise coupons, electronic money and other items of choice.

For instance, 13,500 Eco-points may be exchanged for ¥12,000 stored in a Suica electronic money card issued by East Japan Railway Co., while 5,000 points are exchangeable for ¥5,000 worth of department store coupons.

So, how can I help the environment by purchasing newer appliances? This is how the points are awarded for refrigerators and TVs:

• Refrigerators
  • 501L or more: 10,000
  • 401L to 500L: 9,000
  • 251Lto 400L: 6,000
  • 250 or less: 3,000
• Digital terrestrial TVs (LCD and plasma)
  • 46-inch or larger: 36,000
  • 40 to 42 inch: 23,000
  • 37-inch: 17,000
  • 26 to 32-inch: 12,000
  • 26-inch or smaller: 7,000

The list of refrigerators eligible for the eco-points program is here [PDF]. TVs are here [PDF].

Note: The links to the lists of eligible appliances seem to have died. They were working a few days ago, but somebody seems to have removed them from this page on the eco-point website.

I currently own a 28-inch Sony TV that is rated at 125W and a 401L Hitachi refrigerator rated at 140W, or 260kWhr/year. Both are 6 years old and in good working order. I want to maximize my points, so that means buying a larger TV and fridge.

Let's go for a Sony 52-inch KDL-52X5050. According to Sony, it consumes 315W, more than double the consumption of my current TV. How about a 46-inch Sharp LC-46AE6? 150 watts. A 40-inch Sharp LC-40AE6? 120W, so I'm better off in terms of consumption, plus I end up with a larger screen although I'm going to have to pay over 100,000 yen for it.

The same goes for refrigerators. The one I have has consumes 260kWhr/year. Let's look at the Hitachi R-SF50YM, which has a capacity of 501L. It consumes approximately 400 kWh/year. How about Panasonic's 470L NR-F473TM? It consumes roughly 390kWh/year. A quick look at the offerings from Panasonic and Hitachi shows that I need to buy a significantly smaller refrigerator if I'm to reduce my energy consumption.

Can you reduce your energy consumption by upgrading to newer appliances? Yes, but only if you pay attention. But when was the last time you thought about power consumption when shopping for an appliance? Sadly, the way the eco-point scheme is structured, consumers are "rewarded" for purchasing larger and more expensive appliances, which also consume more electricity. If you fall into the trap of maximizing your eco-points, you will likely increase your overall electricity consumption instead of reduce it. As I said before, like the 12,000 yen kickback, it's a ploy to boost consumption in the short term under the guise of "being green."

While I'm on the subject of TV, Japan for Sustainability has this interesting bit:

As a special one-day environmental event, Japan's public broadcaster, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), shortened the airtime of its educational TV channel on December 29, 2008, to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and save electricity.

The shorter airtime was instituted to remind both the broadcaster and viewers that daily broadcasting consumes a large quantity of electricity and results in a considerable amount of CO2 emissions. NHK expects such an event will promote efforts in energy saving and CO2 reduction.

The educational TV channel normally broadcasts from 5:00 a.m. to 2:50 a.m. the following day. On that day, however, the channel aired programs for only nine hours, from 12:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., shortening the broadcast by 12 hours and 50 minutes. While broadcasting was suspended, NHK's approximately 3,100 analog transmitting stations across the nation stopped sending TV signals, which resulted in saving about 17,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or a reduction of some 9.4 tons of CO2 emissions, compared to a regular broadcasting day.

If only Japan's commercial broadcasters would do the same, the nation would have the lowest CO2 emissions on earth and save us from the mountains of crap the serve on a regular basis. Snark aside, NHK's move demonstrates that not using energy is the best way to reduce emissions. There's nothing worth watching on TV in Japan anyway, so you might as well do your part and tune out and turn the TV off.

Sort of. They are testing what happens when you put biofuel in one engine:

Triple-digit oil prices are doing their damage across the world. With airlines strugglin to survive, the Business Travel Coalition issued a stark press release warning of bankruptcies by the end of the year.

High oil prices are a serious problem when it comes to food. Peak oil is peak food.

One of the nice things about living and working in Japan is that it's a convenient base for traveling to other parts of Asia. However, with oil hitting $135 a barrel last week, the days of cheap and easy travel look to be at an end.

In the wake of the earthquake in Niigata, Japan's nuclear power program is once again in the spotlight for its failures. After initial reports of a fire and a small leak at the Kashiwazaki power plant, we find out later that things were actually worse: Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) had the facts but waited 12 hours before letting the public know, the fire burned for several hours, radioactive waste spilled from collection pools, and some radiation was released into the ocean and into the atmosphere. Oh, and the reactor appears to have been built on a fault line. But we're told not to worry.

More evidence of the biofuel craze affecting the food supply:

TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) - Japanese food and service prices are creeping up, a possible sign that companies are finally starting to pass on higher raw material costs to customers despite overall tame consumer inflation, analysts say.

Yet again, another example of the food for fuel problem. Mayonnaise maker Kewpie announced yesterday [in Japanese] that the price of mayonnaise will increase by 10% as of June. As you know, mayonnaise is its own food group in Japan, so this is serious news. The reports on TV made a point of noting how the price of mayonnaise hasn't changed in 17 years.