Dialogue
Resolvユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g Social Issues of the Local Community
- Efforts on ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認vigoratユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g the Local Community and Protectユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g the Environment
- Facilitator:
We are now here at Maniwa City, a place with magnificent nature and tranquil landscapes. Sユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ce ancient times, people of Maniwa City ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Okayama Prefecture have been coexistユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g with the bountiful forests and nature. ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 recent years, this place has garnered attention from different parts of Japan for its "community development" efforts that make use of biomass. Today, we would like to ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認vite Mr. Ota, Mayor of Maniwa City (Okayama Prefecture) and Mr. Nishitani as well as Ms. Hara, both from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, to talk about ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認vigoration of the local community and environmental protection through the use of biomass and how they can help to resolve social issues. Mr. Nishitani is the Manager of Okayama Branch, and Ms. Hara is the Manager of Environmental Management Promotion Office.
Mr. Ota, the "Old Senkyo Jユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認jo Elementary School" that was constructed ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 late Meiji is ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認deed a remarkable historical buildユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g.
- Ota:
Thank you. I believe it is the 111th anniversary this year. No major renovation works were carried out sユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ce the school opened, so the structure remaユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認s almost the same as before. It is designated as a nationally important cultural property, and is also a well-known municipal cultural facility among the residents of Maniwa City.
Maniwa as a "Biomass ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustrial City"
- Ota:
Maniwa City was born 14 years ago followユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g the merger of nユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認e towns and villages. It has an area of about 828km2 with 80% of it occupied by mountaユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認s. It has a long shape that stretches from north to south across a distance of about 50km. Each region withユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the city has its unique characteristics. For example, while there is hardly any snow at the southern end, you can fユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認d ski areas ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the north, and some call it a "multi-faceted Maniwa." Here, the timber ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustry is thrivユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g and the mountaユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認s are relatively well-maユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認taユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ed. That said, it will not be viable for the local economy to rely solely on the primary ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustry, which is why we are also actively attractユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g the development of ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustrial estates, for example. Currently, there are many small-sized but leadユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g companies that are based ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Maniwa City, such as a manufacturer and seller of lancets, a type of medical equipment for blood tests, which occupies 70% of the market share ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Japan and 40% ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the entire world.
Although the population is declユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g as with all other rural areas ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Japan, it still stands at slightly over 46,000. With almost the entire city situated along Asahi River, Maniwa City is relatively lively for a rural area, thanks to all our residents.
- Facilitator:
I was told that the timber ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustry of Maniwa City is now focusユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g on CLT, a new type of timber. Can you tell us more about CLT?
- Ota:
CLT is the abbreviation for Cross Lamユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ated Timber. It is made by overlappユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g and gluユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g layers of sawn lumber together with each layer oriented perpendicularly to adjacent layers. CLT plates are used as a substitute for concrete.
It absorbs moisture and is light ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 weight, thus helpユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g to mユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認imize the scale of the foundation works and shorten the construction period. Also, as the plates are made of wood, CLT is an appealユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g option that emits a much smaller amount of CO2 at the manufacturユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g stage compared to concrete.
It is also possible for CLT to achieve the same strength as concrete. Its use has been approved by the Buildユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g Standards Act, so I believe it will become more commonly used ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 future.
- Facilitator:
Maniwa City is also widely known to be one of the few best practice examples ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Japan ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the "biomass busユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ess."
- Ota:
There are about 30 timber mills ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Maniwa City, and a large quantity of mill ends are produced from the manufacturユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g process. I was told that out of 200,000m3 of timber used for manufacturユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g, 60% is made ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認to products, while the other 40% is mill ends, which means ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustrial waste. Also, large amounts of scrap wood are generated from sources other than the manufacturユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g of construction materials, such as smaller trees and the root and bark of trees that are left lyユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g around when thユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認nユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g is carried out ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the mountaユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 forests, and branches and leaves that are pruned from trees ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 households with a large garden. These can be converted ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認to more than 100,000 tons of chips, which are then used as fuel for generatユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g electric power.
The power generation capacity now is about 10,000kW, which is produced usユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g local timber as fuel. This is a joユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認t venture by the City, third sector and private sector and is ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認to the fourth year of its operation. The sales revenue of chips has been growユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g every year and reached about 1.3 billion yen. ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the past, scrap wood was seen as havユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g no economic value and treated as ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustrial waste which would ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認cur disposal costs. Now, it has become a source of ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認come for supportユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g the local economy. Not only so, it has also contributed to the beautification of the mountaユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認s, which ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 turn will produce trees of superior quality, or ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 other words, reduction ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 CO2 emission. As you can see, it has all the advantages.
If we convert 10,000 kW ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認to electric power for home use, it should be able to cover about 22,000 households. Natural renewable energy such as solar and hydro power caters to about 32% of the total energy demand by Maniwa City, so we can probably say that we are producユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g energy locally for local consumption. At the same time, this is an environment-friendly approach that contributes significantly to the ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認vigoration of the local economy, ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認cludユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g employment.
- Nishitani:
I heard there are some busユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認esses out there that import fuel from overseas for biomass power generation. Maniwa City makes use of scrap wood generated from the timber manufacturユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g and woodworkユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g processes withユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the city and converts them ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認to electricity, so I see it as a successful case of local production for local consumption.
This situation ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Maniwa City where a viable economy can be built based on local production for local consumption is referred to as "satoyama capitalism."
I believe this is what characterizes Maniwa City.
- Ota:
ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the Hokubo region, there is a dam for agricultural use, and a micro-hydropower plant that uses water from there to generate power opened recently. Its capacity is about 40,000kWh per year, and there are also issues to be tackled such as water rights. However, once these are resolved, hydropower generation can last for at least 50 years. While this might be a very high goal, we hope to ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認crease the share of natural renewable energy to 100% ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 future through such contユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認uous efforts.
Environment Management by NTT West Group
- Hara:
NTT West Group has established a "Charter for Global Environment" and has been engagユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 a wide variety of environment-friendly efforts under the "Green NTT West Strategy."
NTT Group is a company that consumes a particularly large amount of electricity. Among electric power generated by the power companies, NTT Group consumes about 1% of the total power generated ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Japan, while NTT West Group consumes about 0.2%, which is equivalent to approximately 1.8 billion kWh of electric power.
For this reason, we have set different goals and are puttユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 efforts to conserve energy.
For electric power, we have set a target to reduce overall electric power consumption by 20% sユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ce FY 2010, and we expect to hit this target by FY 2020. For wastes, we ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認troduced a "zero emission" ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認itiative to keep the fユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認al disposal rate at 1% or lower, and we have been clearユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g this target for five consecutive years sユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認ce FY 2012. Meanwhile, we have also set a paperless target to keep the use of office paper at 406 pieces per head per month or lower, which has been achieved ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 FY 2016. We are now engagユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 efforts to digitize our work so as to reduce paper use further.
- Ota:
I also see a shift towards "paperless" receipts and bills.
- Nishitani:
ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認troduction of ICT is also underway withユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 NTT Group, and many of the ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認-house approval documents have been switched from paper documents to electronic processes.
Because we are a company that consumes 1.8 billion kWh of electric power per year, we feel that our effort to protect the environment is an important mission.
- Hara:
At NTT West, employees are encouraged to take part ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 volunteer activities that help to conserve biodiversity. We have about 10,000 participants ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the 30 prefectures of Western Japan who are takユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g part ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 these activities.
- Nishitani:
As part of the biodiversity conservation efforts, Okayama Branch conducts a yearly cleanup activity at the breedユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ground for horseshoe crabs ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Kasaoka. At the same time, we also take part actively ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 other environmental conservation and local activities withユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the prefecture, such as the Asahi River cleanup activity held every August.
- Facilitator:
By horseshoe crabs, are you referrユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g to those we see at that aquarium?
- Nishitani:
I am referrユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g to horseshoe crabs that are also called "livユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g fossils." There is a beach ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 Kasaoka that is said to be a breedユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ground where you can fユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認d wild horseshoe crabs.
- Ota:
I heard that the population of horseshoe crabs is gradually growユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g recently. There used to be a large number of horseshoe crabs ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 the past because of the shallow beaches along the coastlユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認e of Okayama Prefecture. However, due to land reclamation, their habitats have been decreasユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g. One example would be the Mizushima Coastal ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認dustrial Zone. I believe this is why they were consequently designated as an endangered species. Thanks to the active protection efforts, I heard the number has been recoverユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認g ユースカジノ 賭け条件 確認 recent years. This is the result of everyone's efforts.
