translation of le Dessous des cartes at SP

1. Japan, a floating world
Selim Stahl, 23th June 2014
This is a translation of Arte Geopolitical Show ”Le dessous des cartes”

2. Three years after the tsunami in March 2011, how is Japan? What are
today's challenges of this island state? These maps discuss the
consequences of Fukushima and examines the fragility of the world’s
third largest economy.

3. Japan is located in North-East Asia, facing the Pacific Ocean and the sun rising. This is why it is
nicknamed the "Land of the Rising Sun". This is also the symbol of the Sun that can be found on the
national flag. As "lying" in the far east of Eurasia, Japan is almost 378,000 km ².
JAPAN GEOGRAPHY

4. If we look at the maritime territory claimed by Japan, its area is multiplied by twelve, or 4.5 million km ²,
because of the exclusive economic zones generated by the 6,852 islands of the archipelago. This huge
EEZ is an essential asset for a country where the sea plays such a major role, both in history and in
culture or economy. And it's finally more the sea than the land that gives Japan its outer limits.
THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ) OF JAPAN

5. But these limits are challenged by its three main neighbors. First the north by Russia, around the South
Kuril Islands. Annexed by Stalin in 1945, Moscow has never returned them but they are seen as an
integral part of Japanese territory. Moreover, no peace treaty was signed between the two countries after
the Second World War.
THE CONFLICT AROUND SOUTH Kuril Islands

6. Then in the west with Korea, around the rocks you see here. In Korea it is Korean islands, the Dokdo
islands. For Japan, these are Japanese islands, called Takeshima.
CONFLICT AROUND DOKDO / Takeshima ISLANDS

7. Finally in the south with China and Taiwan, around the Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu in Chinese and
Tiaoyutai in Taiwan. This is undoubtedly the most serious issue for two reasons. On the one hand, there
are oil resources offshore…
CONFLICT AROUND Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands

8. …on the other hand, if we change the map scale we find that the shipping routes, starting from the
Oil&Gas fields of the Middle East, pass through the East China Sea near the Senkaku to supply Japan.
And these routes are very important since Japan do not have its own energy resources. The country is
92.5% dependent on fossil energy imports.
MARITIME ROUTES BETWEEN THE MIDDLE EAST AND JAPAN

9. Since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Japan's energy policy is weakened. Before the disaster, in
2010, Japan was the third largest producer of nuclear power after the United States and France. Nuclear
then provided 30% of the country's electricity, and Tokyo planned to increase this to 50% by 2030. But the
Fukushima accident, due to the tsunami of March 11, 2011, led to the shut-down of the 54 reactors in the
country. The Japanese government made ​​a commitment to put an end to Japan's dependence vis-à-vis
nuclear and develop renewable energy.
A NEW ENERGY POLICY?

10. Japanese authorities want to make Fukushima Prefecture a center for green energy. First, in Koriyama, 60
km from the power plant, was opened in spring 2014 the Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute,
dedicated to research on green technologies. Its goal is that by 2040 renewable energies provide all the
energy needs of Fukushima prefecture, for about 2 million inhabitants.
Fukushima Prefecture, NEW GREEN ENERGY CENTRE?

11. What is the human toll three years after this catastrophe? You can see from this map different areas. The
red areas are the most severely contaminated and will remain closed to residents as long as the Cesium
137 (which is a radioactive element) eventually disintegrate naturally. Yellow areas where radioactivity is
still too high: people can return pick-up things in their homes for a few hours every three months. The
government promises that the yellow areas will reopen in less than ten years. Finally the green areas
where the exposure dose is between 1 and 20 millisieverts/year border the forced evacuation zone and
include the 20 km exclusion area around the powerplant. It is open only during the day and should be
reopened to the public in 2014 or 2015.
HUMAN TOLL THREE YEARS AFTER THE FUKUSHIMA DISASTER

12. This curve shows the evolution of Japan's public debt since 1984. It exceeds 200% of GDP in 2011, more
than two years the country's GDP, and it reaches 233% of GDP in 2014. Japan, the third world power
behind the United States and China, is also the most indebted of industrialized countries. This public debt
is held almost entirely by the Japanese. So for the Japanese government, the cost of debt financing is
very stable at a very low level.
EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE DEBT

13. The Japanese population is not renewed. You can see from this curve that the Japanese population not
only does not increase, but actually decreases. According to the Statistical Office of Japan, the country
had 128.1 million inhabitants in the last census in 2010 and 127.3 million people in 2013. In addition, the
Japanese population ages. People over 65 form today more than 20% of the population and they will be
40% of the Japanese population in 2060. And an aging population means a reduction of the workforce,
which will weigh on the economic activity in the country.
EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE POPULATION

14. Natural Gas in Japan is growing. Here are some SP
Gas Services:
 Metering of LNG
 Analysis of natural gas & biogas composition
 Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment
of alternative fuels like shale gas, biogas, synthetic natural gas
etc
 Life Cycle Cost analysis of new designs
 Fire Safety Analysis of LNG refueling systems
 Research into the durability of natural gas pipelines
(emphasis on optimisation of materials, designs and methods
of laying, in order to minimise investment costs)