PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Wade Allison, Emeritus Professor, The University of Oxford
Akira Tokuhiro, Professor, The University of Idaho

The speech and Q & A will be in English.

It's now more than six months since the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, but clarity on the risks posed by the emissions from the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant remains in short supply.

Survivors in the worst-affected areas live their lives amid a backdrop of fear over the amounts of radiation they are absorbing from the cesium-laced soil. There is widespread mistrust of government assurances about their safety. Food contamination and the uncertainty of the science around low doses of radiation and their effect on the human body are adding to people’s uncertainty about the viability of remaining in their home towns.

Professors Wade Allison and Akira Tokuhiro represent a social network of nuclear science and engineering professionals who are calling for "radiation and reason". They recognize that there is a concern about contamination of the food supply chain. However, they would like to promote understanding of radiation, reason instead of fear and to foster greater forthrightness in the institutional response to food and human health monitoring. The pair will present their take on the radiation risks in Japan at the FCCJ on October 3.

Wade Allison is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, UK. He has taught and lectured widely in physics and mathematics during the past 40 years. He has never had any links to, or involvement with, the nuclear industry and is the author of an explanatory account of the science of nuclear radiation and mankind's reaction to it called Radiation and Reason: The Impact of Science on a Culture of Fear.

Akira Tokuhiro, Professor of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering for the University of Idaho, was born in Tokyo, but now works in the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls. He has more than 20 years' experience in nuclear engineering and has been closely monitoring the situation in Japan following the nuclear accident.

MENU:
Creamed Sliced veal Stew with Spatzle, Green Vegetables, Club Green Salad

Wade Allison, Emeritus Professor, The University of Oxford

Akira Tokuhiro, Professor, The University of Idaho

PRESS CONFERENCE
Phil Robertson, Benedict Rogers,
Ha Tae Keung & *Kim Tae Jin
The International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity
in North Korea

The speech and Q & A will be in English and Korean with English interpretation

* Dr. Oh Kil Nam couldn't attend for this event, instead Mr. Kim Tae Jin joined the press conference.

Human rights abuses in North Korea are a worldwide concern. The new International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), will soon launch its effort to unite the world’s major international human rights organizations, campaigners for freedom for North Korea and survivors of the North Korean gulags in a global campaign seeking a full investigation of the North Korean regime’s crimes against humanity. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry will serve as the investigative body. The coalition will demand a concerted international campaign to persuade Japan and other governments to agree to call for the establishment of a formal UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate rights abuses in North Korea.

Members of the coalition speaking at the FCCJ include Tae Keung Ha is President of Open North Korea; Phil Robertson is Asia Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch; Benedict Rogers is East Asia Team Leader of Christian Solidarity Worldwide and a writer and human rights activist specializing in Asia; Dr. Oh Kil Nam is a North Korean defector, making his first appearance in front of the media. He defected in 1992, but his wife and two daughters have been detained in the 15 Camp in Yoduk ever since.

Their organization links leading NGOs working on North Korean human rights issues in Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe. It aims to bring together all the key organizations and individuals working on North Korean human rights in the belief that a common, united effort will influence international political and public opinion and send a powerful message to the regime.

Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/6844 (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.

Professional Activities Committee

Kim Tae Jin , Defector

Ha Tae Keung, President of Open North Korea

Phil Robertson,　Asia Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch; Benedict Rogers,East Asia Team Leader of Christian Solidarity W

PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Shigeru Ishiba,
Chairman, Policy Research Council, Liberal Democratic Party

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation

PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Shigeru Ishiba,
Chairman, Policy Research Council, Liberal Democratic Party

12:00-14:00 Wednesday, July 27, 2011
(The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation)

Despite appearances, the Liberal Democratic Party has arguably helped the ruling coalition to pass bills related to the recovery and reconstruction of Japan's disaster-hit Tohoku region. This cooperation includes passing the first supplementary budget. The diet is now deliberating the 2nd supplementary budget, a bill to allow the issuance of deficit covering bonds and another to promote renewable energy. What will the LDP do this time?

During the lower house budget committee session on July 6, Shigeru Ishiba, Chair of the LDP's Policy Research Council, did not rule out the possibility of submitting another no confidence motion against the cabinet of Naoto Kan, following an unsuccessful motion in early June. Either way, Kan appears to be living on borrowed political time.

Why do Ishiba and the rest of his party find Prime Minister Kan an obstacle to the recovery of the Tohoku region? Do they give him any credit for his work during Japan's worst crisis since World War 2? How would the LDP -- now climbing in the polls again -- pursue the recovery, and how far is the party willing to cooperate with the Democrats? Ishiba will attempt to answer these questions, and discuss Japan's relations with the international community in the wake of the disaster.

A former defense minister and now one of the most experienced members of the LDP, Ishiba hails from Tottori. He has also served major as minister of agriculture forestry and fisheries. He was appointed head of the LDP's Policy Research Council last year.

MENU
Cajun Spiced Swordfish with Cucumber Yogurt, Carrots and Green Vegetables

Shigeru Ishiba, Chairman, Policy Research Council, LDP

PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Takayuki Matsutani, Kazushi Inui, & Frederik L. Schodt,
English-language Digital Library of Japanese Cartoonist Osamu Tezuka

The speeches and Q & A will be English and Japanese with interpretation

Have you ever wanted to read Astro Boy from your mobile phone on a packed rush-hour train, or Black Jack while waiting for a table in a crowded restaurant? Manga lovers will soon have that option with the introduction of a digital library of Japan's "Godfather of Anime" Osamu Tezuka.

Beginning in this July, the library will be offered to iPad users in the English-speaking world, allowing subscribers to carry around a large digitalized archive of translated volumes of Tezuka's work. The library will expand to Android PC tablets later this year, with services provided in French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean also planned.

In addition to digital manga, the application also includes video versions with voiceovers from top actors and special effects for added entertainment called "Motion Manga" (with English Subtitles).

Joining us at the presentation will be the co-producers of the service, Takayuki Matsutani, President of Tezuka Productions Co. Ltd. and Kazushi Inui, President of SOBA Project. Manga scholar, Frederik L. Schodt, who has translated many of Tezuka's classics into English, will be participating by teleconference from overseas.

The new service will be shown on the big screen, and before the press conference all attendees will be able to it out on an iPad device.

Please come and be the first to experience this unique project, which is expected to bring Osamu Tezuka's manga into the digital era.

Menu
Sauteed Mahi mahi (Shiira) with Balsamic Sauce, Vegetable Rice and Green Vegetables, Seasonal Salad

Takayuki Matsutani, President of Tezuka Productions Co. Ltd.

Frederik L. Schodt, Manga Scholar