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Suffocating smog from
China reaches regions of Japan
AFP, TOKYO
The suffocating smog that blanketed swathes of China is now hitting parts of
Japan, sparking warnings yesterday of health risks for the young and the sick.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment¡¦s Web site has been overloaded as
worried users log on to try to find out what is coming their way.
¡§Access to our air pollution monitoring system has been almost impossible since
last week and the telephone here has been constantly ringing because worried
people keep asking us about the impact on health,¡¨ a ministry official said.
Pictures of Beijing and other Chinese cities shrouded in thick, choking smog
played out across television screens in Japan last week.
News programs have broadcast maps showing a swirl of pollution gathering
strength across China and then spreading out over the ocean toward Japan.
Pinks, reds and oranges that denote the highest concentrations form a finger of
smog that inches upward to the main southern island of Kyushu.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing are already strained, over the sovereignty
of the Diaoyutai Islands (³¨³½¥x), claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan, which calls
them the Senkakus. On the streets of Tokyo, reaction was tart.
¡§China is our neighbor and all sorts of problems happen between us all the
time,¡¨ Takaharu Abiko, 50, said. ¡§It is very worrying. This is dangerous
pollution, like poison, and we can¡¦t protect ourselves. It¡¦s scary.¡¨
Japanese officials were coy about lumping all the blame on their huge neighbor,
but Yasushi Nakajima of the environment ministry said: ¡§We can¡¦t deny there is
an impact from pollution in China.¡¨
Air pollution over the west of Japan has exceeded government limits over the
past few days, with tiny particulate matter a problem, Atsushi Shimizu of
Japan¡¦s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) said.
Prevailing winds from the west bring airborne particles from the Asian mainland,
he said.
Of specific concern is the concentration of particles 2.5 micrometers or less in
diameter, which has been as high as 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over
recent days in northern Kyushu. The government¡¦s safety limit is 35 micrograms.
Yellow sand from the deserts of Mongolia and China is a known source of these
particles, as are exhausts from cars and smoke from factories.
¡§At this time of year they are definitely not yellow sand, so they¡¦re toxic
particles,¡¨ Shimizu said, adding that ¡§people with respiratory diseases should
be careful.¡¨
Toshihiko Takemura, an associate professor of Kyushu University who runs another
air pollution monitoring site, said ¡§the impact of air pollution originating
from China on Japan was scientifically discovered more than a decade ago.¡¨
¡§Especially in Kyushu, the level of air pollution has been detectable in
everyday lives since a few years ago,¡¨ he told reporters. ¡§People in eastern and
northern Japan are now belatedly noticing the cross-border air pollution.¡¨
Takemura added that pollution in Japan over the past few days has not been quite
as bad as it was in February 2011, when ¡§very hazy days continued for several
days in western Japan.¡¨
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