1,550 to Zero

Here’s a short piece of news before calling it for today.

Three years ago, Yokohama had 1,550 children on waiting lists for nurseries for a population of 3.7 million. The number as of April 2013 is zero!

This movement was implemented under Mayor Fumiko Hayashi, Yokohama’s first female mayor. Ms. Hayashi comes from the private sector and knows how hard it is for women in the work force in Japan – where the glass ceiling is said to be made of iron – who still often have to choose between a career or staying at home.

One of her goals has always been to promote the place of women in the economy, and so many children on waiting lists meant as many women who needed support. So the city set on decreasing this number. The feat was accomplished by collaborating with private enterprises in increasing the number of daycare facilities around train stations. The municipal government has also designated consultants, called daycare ‘concierge’, in all 18 wards to give advice to parents.

Back when she was Chairperson of The Daiei, in 2005, Ms. Hayashi was selected as one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes Magazine and one of the “50 Most Powerful Women” by Fortune Magazine. Before that, she had worked her way up to the position of President of BWM Tokyo and just before running for mayor, she had become President of Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales.

It must be said that, although there are currently no waiting children, the facilities have a shortage of staff, and many parents were not able to register their children into the certified daycare center they originally wished for…

But I call this a step in the right direction! And Yokohama is now working on fixing these ensuing problems.

Prime Minister Abe, who has announced he plans to bring the national number to zero by 2017, is paying close attention to Yokohama and has mentioned a desire to spread the “Yokohama method” nationwide!

Hello World!

After years of not writing my opinion online, I’m back with a bone to pick! Nah. Not really, but I propose to bring some news from Japan and the world to my readers.

I’ll get around to properly designing my blog in the days to come. For now, here’s the first piece of news.

Today, May 22, 2013, marks the first anniversary of Tokyo Skytree. In the one year since it was inaugurated, the tower, restaurants and Solamachi shopping mall making up what is referred to as “Tokyo Skytree Town” has seen 50.8 million visitors of which 6.38 million climbed up to the observation deck. I guess the steep price of 2,500 yen (plus another 1,000 for the higher deck) and bad weather conditions throughout the year come into account to explain the difference between the two numbers.
I have heard of tourists coming from the other end of the country as well as overseas  having to go back without a chance to go up because of changeable weather. Although I have been to the base of the tower, I also admit not to have actually climbed it… So sue me 😛

After a commemorative ceremony in the presence of Sorakara-chan, the mascot with a star-shaped head, 634 Goldcrest saplings (one for every meter of Skytree) were handed to the people who came for the festivities.

The occasion was also celebrated by businesses in the area. Many restaurants had special menus such as pasta, domburis and pastries evocative of the shape of the Skytree. Even temples tried to get a piece of the action. One labeled itself a special power spot! For those who don’t know, power spots were the new spiritual craze in Japan a few years ago. Maybe they still are, but I haven’t heard much about them recently.

Pictures to follow when I get around to the design.

Also look forward to more news updates ^^