From Eco to Setsuden

While it is hard for me to chronicle the shift from eco to setsuden since I was not in Japan when eco was the main focus, I will instead reflect on the setsuden practices I have seen (and not seen). The major thing that jumps out in everyday life in Japan is the escalators that are on or not on. My home station (Nishikawaguchi, Keihin-Tohoku line) recently started running it's up escalator in the mornings, which surprised me -- if it wasn't necessary before, why is it needed now? Walking around the Tokyo Dome today I was confronted with a pair of escalators -- the up one was running while the down was not. I took a picture, then realized it was kind of silly since you can't tell that one of the escalators was actually moving. But, you can see the explanatory sign they have posted -- I can't read the Japanese but I could see the Kanji for setsuden.

Okay, in the picture the kanji for setsuden are actually cut out >.< but my camera wasn't working so I had to use my phone! Gomen ne. But, situations like this are a microcosm of the larger setsuden shift happening in Japan. "Non-necessary" electrical equipment like down escalators and extraneous lights are being cut out. It seems to be enough, as the informational signs in the train routinely display percentages that are well under the 80% mark -- today I actually saw 56% at one point in my commute.

We discussed in class whether people are only tolerating these small inconveniences because they view them as temporary. I had thought that to be the case, but the other day I was talking to a Japanese friend who was discussing matter-of-factly that "this summer we have to save energy, but next summer we'll have to save even more." She wasn't claiming to be an expert on the subject; she was just relaying her perspective on the situation that these measures were in place to stay. I find that viewpoint interesting: on the one hand it's better for long-term environmental health if people stress electricity conservation, but on the other hand it is perhaps impractical for businesses and consumers to continue to employ these measures when an "eco friendly" alternative does not really exist. (It is one thing for businesses to practice electricity conservation if there is an alternative that will allow them to maintain similar economic output, but another thing entirely to expect businesses to continue to practice inconvenient tasks if it hurts their bottom line.) As an economics major , I am very interested to watch and see where Japan moves in the future.