Monthly Archives: October 2011

Cardboard beds in the land of high technology

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by Robert Moorehead

I don’t know whether to be impressed or depressed. A cardboard manufacturing company has come up with a way to keep tsunami refugees warm when they sleep in their temporary homes: bed frames made of cardboard boxes. Instead of laying their futons on the cold floor, refugees can now lay them on a bed made of overturned boxes. With their bodies off the cold floor, the refugees can stay warmer when they sleep.

Is this a case of private sector ingenuity? Of concerned citizens filling a gap left by government incompetence? Of people pulling together to help each other in a time of crisis? Of a manufacturer looking to sell more boxes? Instead of a cardboard manufacturer stepping up to the plate, why aren’t Nitori and Ikea donating a bunch of beds?

On the one hand, this is a low tech, environmentally friendly solution. It uses items that are readily available, and costs very little. On the other hand, be careful you don’t spill any liquids on your bed, or it will disintegrate. And sexual intimacy with your partner on a bed made of cardboard? Now that’s romantic. More importantly, why are the temporary houses so cold in the first place? They also leak when it rains. How long will refugees have to endure such a standard of living? And in a land of plenty, why are refugees forced to to emulate the homeless when trying to stay warm?

What’s next? Newspapers make good blankets, so when you’re sleeping on your boxes, cover yourself with newspapers you find in the trash. Is this glass half-empty or half-full?

Source:
“Cardboard Beds to Keep Quake Victims Warm, Comfortable in Winter.” Mainichi Daily News, Oct. 27, 2011.  http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20111026p2a00m0na020000c.html

Occupy Tokyo – We Are the 99%

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Sharing their pain: Participants in the “Occupy Tokyo” rally demonstrate solidarity with their counterparts in New York City during a gathering at Mikawadai Park in the Roppongi entertainment district Saturday. SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

by Robert Moorehead

The Arab Spring turns westward to the United States, and now across the Pacific to Japan, as protestors are occupying public spaces to demand a more just distribution of wealth. In the United States, protestors have decried the dramatic concentration of wealth in the top one percent of the country’s population. While the US holds much of the world’s wealth, recent decades have seen this wealth concentrated in the hands of a select few, while much of the country struggles with long-term unemployment, a housing crisis, and growing poverty. While the nation’s political debate has focused on whether millionaires and billionaires should receive new tax breaks, and how large those tax breaks should be, protestors have occupied a park near Wall Street, demanding a new social contract that focuses on the needs of the many, rather than acquiescing to the luxuries of the few. Protests have also spread across the United States, and to Tokyo, where protestors have added demands for a safer energy supply.

Mass media in the United States have largely ignored the protests, despite the arrests of hundreds of demonstrators. However, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites have filled the void. Gil Scott-Heron told us 41 years ago to not sit back and wait for the revolution to come to us via corporate-run mass media. Instead, “the revolution will not be televised.”

“You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out …
Because the revolution will not be televised.”

But will it be Tweeted? Will it be live-streamed over the Internet? Can social networking sites sidestep the mass media and “televise” the revolution, even if mass media ignore it?

Are you the 99%? Or the 1%?

Student Essay Contest – Reimagining Japan

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This is from nipponnomirai.jp. Contest winners can receive 250,000 yen or an iPad 2.

McKinsey & Company recently convened 80 thinkers in and outside of Japan to share their perspectives on the future of the country. The process evoked candid and creative answers that came together to form the book Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future That Works.

To celebrate the publication of this special book and add to its rich mosaic of ideas, McKinsey & Company is organizing an essay contest. Participants are asked to select one of six essay themes addressing the future of Japan (details below), and submit essays of no more than 2,000 English words or 4,000 Japanese characters. The grand prize winner will be awarded ¥250,000, and five runners-up each will receive an iPad2. Winning student essayists will be recognized at an awards ceremony and their essays will be published on the Reimagining Japan website, http://www.nipponnomirai.jp.

Eligibility

【Student division】The contest is open to individuals of any nationality enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate university program in Japan, and to Japanese nationals enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate university program in abroad as of October 31, 2011

【General public division】The contest is open to individuals of any nationality who are living in Japan and to Japanese nationals who are living abroad under age 31 as of October 31, 2011

Submissions

Students are required to complete the online submission form and submit essays online and also send a copy by postal mail. The contest deadline is October 31, 2011* (submissions must be postmarked no later than October 31, 2011).

* Deadline has been extended to October 31 from September 30.

-Online: Please visit http://www.nipponnomirai.jp and click on the “apply” button to send your essay via e-mail (in .doc or .docx format) with your
①Name
②Address
③Telephone
④E-mail address
⑤Gender
⑥Date of birth
⑦Name of school/company
⑧Faculty&Major/department
⑨Class level(*student only)
⑩Theme
⑪Division（Student or General public)
-Postal address: Essay Contest Office, McKinsey & Company, Inc., Japan Roppongi FirstBuilding, 9-9, Roppongi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8509, Japan (please include your name, address, and telephone number)

Essays must be prepared in MS Word in either English or Japanese, and be no more than 2,000 English words or 4,000 Japanese characters in length. This count excludes any footnote citations or bibliography. The file size should be 10MB or less. Essays will not be returned after the contest.

Themes

Essays must cover one of the following six themes:

  1. Reimagining Japan “My vision” (the overall theme of Reimagining Japan)
  2. Revamping Japan’s economy
  3. Japan’s role in a globalized world
  4. Recapturing Japan’s leadership in technological innovation
  5. Developing the future leaders of Japan
  6. Revitalizing Japanese society

Judges

  • Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President, and CEO of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.
  • William H. Saito, President of InTecur Inc.
  • (We are going to expand our list of judges before the end of the contest)

Winner notification

McKinsey & Company will notify winners by post an announcement on the websites in December 2011.

Awards

The grand prize winner will be awarded ¥250,000, and five runners-up will each receive an iPad2. Winning participants will be recognized at an awards ceremony, and their essays will be published at http://www.nipponnomirai.jp and other selected websites of McKinsey & Company.

All participants will be invited to a planned gathering with judges and senior McKinsey & Company consultants.

Conditions

Only one submission will be accepted per student. Students must work independently (no joint submissions). The work must be original and not previously published.

All participants who submit an essay agree that McKinsey & Company is permitted to display their essays on websites, and publish them in upcoming books and periodicals by McKinsey & Company.

The Reimagining Japan essay contest, essay submissions, and contest results are separate and unrelated to McKinsey & Company’s recruitment process. All decisions made by McKinsey & Company in relation to the essay competition are final.

Contact

McKinsey & Company, Inc., Japan, Essay Contest Office

–E-mail: nipponnomirai@mckinsey.com
–Address: Roppongi First Building, 9-9 Roppongi 1-chome Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8509, Japan

Contest organizers

McKinsey & Company, Inc., Japan; Shogakukan