Tokyo Photo News November 2008

The 58 camphor trees along Parthenon Avenue were among those lit up by approximately 400,000 holiday lights at the Tama Center Illumination 2008. Marking its eighth year, the festival featured such bedazzling scenes as the “Aquarium of Lights,” “Santa’s Forest,” and “Wonderland.” The energy-saving LED lights used at this eco-friendly event gave a warm and bright welcome to visitors. Photo: Aquarium of Lights

On November 7, approximately 1,000 members of the Metropolitan Police Department, Tokyo Fire Department, and Japan Self-Defense Force gathered at Tokyo Big Sight to participate in a field training exercise simulating the explosion of a radiation-emitting terrorist bomb. At this first drill of its kind in Japan, the Tokyo Fire Department’s unmanned rescue robots and the NBC reconnaissance vehicles of the Japan Self-Defense Force were among the sophisticated equipment used. Exercises included triage, to sort out the injured according to the severity of their condition, and decontamination. Photo: Robots rescue radiation bomb victims (mannequins)

On November 17, a “Symposium on Measures to Be Taken Against New Strains of Influenza” was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. New strains of influenza emerge when the viruses of birds and other animals mutate to be easily passed from person to person. As most people do not have built-up immunities to the new strains, it is feared that this could lead to a global pandemic. Following Governor Ishihara’s opening address at the symposium, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Shigeru Omi and two other researchers gave keynote presentations and participated in a panel to discuss precautions and countermeasures. Photo: Case studies are discussed in a slide presentation

On November 26, the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee appointed comedian Kanpei Hazama as a “Tokyo 2016 Bid Ambassador.” In December, Mr. Hazama, an active marathon runner, will embark on a challenging journey that will see him run and sail around the world. He intends to arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark, by the end of September 2009, just before the IOC decision on the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to offer his support to Tokyo’s bid. Mr. Hazama expressed his hopes for the journey saying, “I want to manage to arrive by two or three days before the meeting.” Photo: Mr. Hazama appears slightly self-conscious as he shakes hands with Vice Governor Tanigawa while holding a Tokyo 2016 cap in his other hand.