Fishermen on Strike!

I'm sure many of our readers have heard about the recent "strikes" by Japanese fishermen hoping to force the government to do something about high diesel prices. The global rise in the cost of oil is affecting the prices of all kinds of fuels made from oil, such as fuel oil, gasoline, and diesel.
The fishermen argue that expensive fuel oil prices makes it harder for them to stay in business. Of course, this is true, but many other businesses are struggling, such as airlines, taxi drivers, bus companies, and delivery companies (among many others). I think it would be very politically dangerous for the government to only help one group of people while not helping others.
So what will happen then?
Unfortunately, in the short term it means that fishery products will become a bit more expensive. But if restaurants, supermarkets, and markets increase fish prices too much, customers will switch to other foods. So it is a very delicate situation.
And Tsukiji may become a little quieter.

Tokyo's Newest Subway Line

Well, we're just a little over a week away from the opening of the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, the newest subway line in Tokyo. In my travels around the capital, I've been constantly bombarded by advertisements for the new line. According to Wikipedia, "Fukutoshin" translates to "secondary city center." This makes sense, since the new subway line will connect Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Shibuya.

One of my favourite things about Tokyo and other big Japanese cities like Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya is that they have excellent transit systems. Back home in Canada most big cities have terrible transit systems and, as a result, there are serious traffic problems. Toronto, where I attended university, has one of the best systems in the country, but it is nothing like Tokyo. While Tokyo has dozens of subway and private railway lines, Toronto has only two and a half subway lines. I say "and a half" because the third subway line is only half-completed. The governments of Ontario and Toronto did not want to spend the money to build the entire line, so only a piece of it was built. There are plans to eventually extend the subway line, but it may take a while.

Thankfully, Toronto has convenient streetcar (or tram) and bus routes that help make getting around easier. But, given how cold Canadian winters can be, it would be nice to be able to stay underground!