Comme ça du Japon

This article is the first part of a serie dedicated to the different softwares for the Nintendo DS to learn the japanese Kanji.

Kageyama method

The software 正しい漢字 (TadaShiI KanJi) かきとりくん (KaKiToRiKuN) “Tadashii Kanji Kakitorikun” was developed with the cooperation of 陰山英男先生 (KageYama HideO SenSei) “professor Kageyama Hideo”, the vice-director of a primary school and honorary member of the special governmental commission in charge of the national education reform. He is known for 陰山メソッド (KageYama MeSodDo) “the Kageyama method”. It is mostly based on a healthy life style (breakfast, sleep early and wake up early, no exercise late at night) and on a regular practice with reading, writing and calculation ???? drills. The 百ます計算 (HyakuMaSuKeiSan) “10 by 10 calculation table” is the quite famous in Japan because of the software version of the drill for the Nintendo DS. You can read this article on the Kageyama method to understand all the details. For now, let’s dive into Tadashii Kanji Kakitorikun for the Nintendo DS.

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In a few months, a law about the safety of electrical appliances will be applied in Japan. This law concerns electrical appliances which did not pass the safety check system introduced in 2001. It will be illegal to sale those equipments after April 1st. This is not an April fool joke. The reason behind the date is that the fiscal year begins on the first of April in Japan. Directly concerned by this law, the second hand shops owners are upset and are trying to find a way to make use of their soon to be illegal stock of merchandise.

Second hand shops in Japan

The second hand market is evaluated at a whopping 千億円 (SenSuuOkuEn) “100 billions JPY”. From digital camera, ゲーム機 (Ge-Mu Ki) “game consoles” to washing machine, they have everything at any price. The second hand retailers are criticizing the 電気用品安全法 (DenKi You Hin AnZen) “law on the safety of electrical appliance” because it is against all the effort made towards the recycling of used goods. The japanese government recognizes the role of second hand market in the 粗大ゴミの減量 (SoDai GoMi No GenRyô) “reduction of bulky refuse” but in the end 安全 (AnZen) “safety” is always the priority.

PSE

This law makes it illegal to sale equipments that did not pass the PSE safety check. It is very easy to determine if a piece of equipment passed the test. You just have to look for a mark with the acronym PSE for “Product Safety Electrical appliance and material”. There are two shapes. The round mark is when the test is done by the maker and the diamond shape is for tests done by third parties. Particularly dangerous equipments are required to be tested by a third party. As this system was introduced in 2001, all the electrical appliances made before this date are concerned. However, the law will be progressively applied. First the ban will be applied on 259 types of appliances (television, washing machines…), then another batch of 101 categories (air conditioner, AC adapter…) in 2008, and 87 kinds of electrical components such as coords, switches and so on, in 2011.

Bypassing the law ?

The japanese government said it has to deal with more than 150 calls per day regarding the law. Most calls come from second hand profesionnals who are trying to determine what to do with their 在庫 (ZaiKo) “stocks”. Some of them said they were told that they could apply the PSE mark if they did the tests themselves. However, they would have to take responsability in the event of an accident. The truth is somewhat different, you have to register as a 製造事業者 (SeiZô JiGyô Sha) “maker”. This might look like a bummer but it turns out to be a matter of filling up some forms as no qualifications are needed. As a maker, you can perform the test which consists of looking for defects, checking that the device functions correctly and that there is no 漏電 (RôDen) “current leakage” during a 通電実験 (TsuuDen JikKen) “test of current transmission” for which a current of 1000 volts is used.

Some big second hand chain stores are considering to change their economic model. They would rent equipements rather than sell it, effectively avoiding the ban on sales. Another way to escape the law would be to sell abroad. Many professionals are asking the governement to clear up the confusion. It remains unclear what means will be employed to avoid the sales of 粗悪な商品 (SoAku Na ShôHin) “subquality products” abroad or to check the conformity of PSE tests done by individuals.