Tokyo Dims Lights, Still Pretty Bright

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Tokyoites, like residents of many big cities, are used to bright nights. In the wake of the failure of the Fukushima nuclear plant and power station, Tokyo is trying to save electricity. For example, in subway tunnels, only one of every three ceiling lights is being lit, and the huge, bustling Shinjuku area of downtown Tokyo has many signs left dark. But despite these cuts, one news station shows that even at current levels, Tokyo is just as bright as London. In general, Tokyoites are used to much brighter (and more) lights than Londoners.

Above, you can see a NASA map of Japan and London from space at night. Despite having comparable populations of around 12 million, London and Tokyo look different from space. Tokyo looks brighter, though that could be because of Japan’s overall higher population density. The people in Tokyo interviewed in the video say that they’re okay with things being a little darker than before, and Londoners seem fine with their slightly darker city. So perhaps going forward, Japan could consider reducing its non-essential electricity use. This could be particularly true in the case of hot, humid, Tokyo summers, when overall energy use increases as residents turn to air conditioning and fans to cool down. Some Tokyoites, stuck after the earthquake disrupted train service, have already switched to non-electric forms of transportation like bicycles that would remain unaffected by rolling blackouts.

As a side note, I remain encouraged that the situation in Japan will improve and later this year (with any luck) Tokyoites will have a life that more closely resembles normal. If anything, at least when a Japanese company like Tepco suffers a huge disaster, they cut executive pay rather than give them bonuses for “the best year in safety performance in our company’s history” like Transocean did after the BP spill. 

h/t JapanProbe

 


setsuden nippon by weathersunksprb

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate