Peace and Prayer
at Mt. Fuji

In the words of the organisers, "World Peace and Prayer Day is a gathering of all nations, all faiths, one prayer, joining hearts in prayer for world peace and global healing.” This year the annual event will be held in Japan at a site near Mt. Fuji.
The first World Peace and Prayer Day was in 1996, organised by native American Chief Arvol Looking Horse and has since been held in places as diverse as Ireland, Australia, and South Africa.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse and his associates believe that as humans have grown away from nature so they have grown away from their spiritual selves. Chief Arvol believes that we can reconnect by learning about the way the older societies such as the native Americans and Ainu lived with nature and not through trying to control it.

They are also keen to point out that this event aims to bring together all kinds of people regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion.
During the three-day event which climaxes on June 21, the summer solstice, there will be symposiums on eco-philosophy and sustainable lifestyles. There will also be traditional art and dance fairs where different cultures can mix and learn about each other. On the 21st there will be the World Peace and Prayer Day Ceremony.

You can learn more about this event at http://www.wppd2004.org/ (English available)

Koizumi scolds MPs
for not paying attention

It is a common problem for teachers in Japan that many of their students are more interested in their mobile phones and comics than in class. Now Prime Minister Koizumi has the same problem: younger members of the Diet are reading manga and sending email with the keitai instead of paying attention to the process of government.
In the Japanese parliament, the junior members sit in the front and the seniors to the rear, so that the fidgeting is clearly visible to the PM.

Koizumi’s displeasure led him to take the opportunity of a special luncheon with thirty first termers to give them a good telling off.
He is reported to have said "Don't send e-mail on your cell phones or read comic books in Parliament while in session. You can be seen very clearly from the prime minister's seat. You should really stop that — it's disgraceful."
Teachers may be glad to know they are not suffering alone.

Struck out for
a Meteorite

A woman has been arrested in Russia trying to smuggle a lump of meteorite into Japan. The metallic fragment weighed one kilogram and was discovered by customs officers using a special scanner at Khabarovsk airport.

It is assumed the woman was intending to sell the ET rock — it has an estimated value of 43,000 roubles. However, despite zooming around the universe for millions of years before landing here, the Russian government deems it its own property and has charged the woman with trying to secretly transport the rock out of the country.
Although this meteorite is a first for Khabarovsk airport, meteorite smuggling is not actually rare in Russia’s eastern provinces.
Fifty years ago the Sitohe-Alinsky meteorite crashed to earth and pieces can still be found littering the region.

So if someone offers you a chunk of partially melted space rock, be careful: it might be hot.

Now you see me not

Japanese boffins have invented an invisibility cloak.
The eye-popping device was shown — but not seen — at NextFest, an exhibition of new technologies held in San Francisco and hosted by the magazine Wired.

The material of the cloak is covered in tiny light reflective beads and cameras which catch light from the front and project it on the reverse, and vice versa.
One major application would be on the battlefield, but could also be used in the body of airplanes to improve pilot all-round vision, or in motorvehicles.

Also from Japan in the show, the latest robotic advances from Honda who have developed Asimo, a humanoid robot that can walk, climb stairs and dance. Its makers believe that one day such robots can help the disabled or elderly.
Honda have put as much thought into its appearance as its functionality: "Asimo was designed to be cute and friendly-looking because we believe that the robot's design may be key to human acceptance in society." And judging from the appeal of the robot, the design works. From other nations other new technologies included flying cars, machines to read minds, and ‘smart’ biometric clothing that will adjust temperature and size to the wearer and even dispense medicine.

If you know of any newsworthy events in the Kansai or Japan, if you are about to dive naked into a vat of hungry piranhas for a bet, be sure to let us know. mailbox@kansaiscene.com