Dr.Teruo Higa’s
Living A Dream

#42 Shikoku EM FESTA 2010・Zenjunkan no wa (Virtuous Circle) Fellowship Conference in Tobe, Ehime Prefecture

There’s just one month left in this year. They say it will be much colder than usual in Japan this winter and there will be an influenza epidemic. People who live an “EM- lifestyle”, who use EM® items as freely as water and the air, aren’t affected by influenza. Last year during the epidemic of the new strain of influenza, a certain kindergarten in Matsuyama City thoroughly used a 100 part dilution of Activated EM•1® for soaking and spraying hands, and had great results; they didn’t have to close because of influenza, even though some of the older brothers and sisters of the kindergarteners did get the illness in their schools.

The majority of viruses become inactive if exposed to an environment between approximately pH 4 to 5 for 20-30 seconds. Further, if viruses come in contact with materials that have antioxidant properties, it is hard for them to multiply. A 1:100 dilution of Activated EM•1® meets these conditions, and as the concentration of Effective Microorganisms® in the environment increases, it has been shown that those who work there will have an enhanced immune system.

The virulent foot-and-mouth disease that struck in Miyazaki Prefecture was also caused by a virus, and where Activated EM•1® etc. was thoroughly applied the spread of the disease was halted, and there were dramatic results, with even the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry confirming these achievements. This year there were many EM®-related events, with the system in place to spread the use of EM® items in Shikoku starting to be well established.

Revitalizing Towns So They Are Like One’s Hometown

Each year the four prefectures in Shikoku have taken turns sponsoring the “Shikoku EM® FESTA”. At first, reports on case studies were collected from all four prefectures, but starting three years ago, the reports are limited to the sponsoring prefecture. Starting with the Kagawa Prefecture meeting last year, the FESTA has been held jointly with the Zenjunkan no wa no tsudoi (virtuous circle fellowship conference) of United Networks for Earth Environment (U-Net). Through the joint efforts of the Shikoku EM® Fukyu Kyokai (Shikoku EM® outreach group), which is extremely active in spreading the use of EM Technology®, and U-Net, the amount of available information they can diffuse has doubled and it has been possible to reduce the cost of EM® items, with the result that we see a level of activity in spreading the use of EM Technology® that is unparalleled in other regions.

What is particularly outstanding is the way all the EM®-related activities in the various prefectures were presented in digest format, using visuals, to report not only on methods of applying EM•1®, but the latest information and case studies. The contents of this are also printed in the program distributed on the day of the meeting, with enough information provided so that it is easy to grasp all the activities that have gone on during the year in Shikoku, and to see how EM Technology® is being used in various fields.

Especially worth noting is how Activated EM•1® has been used in swimming pools in schools throughout the four prefectures in Shikoku. This puts Shikoku in the group of regions most actively using EM•1® in this way; Ehime Prefecture, where this year’s FESTA was held, is at the top nationally in this use of EM•1®, with its principals’ association and boards of education particularly active in promoting this. Linked with the business activities of Atom Group, these activities are producing a new business model to prepare responses to such social issues as the low birth rate and aging society.

At this year’s FESTA the Atom Group made a presentation entitled “Revitalizing Towns So They Are Like One’s Hometown—Social Contributions by Businesses Through Use of EM Technology®.” The Atom Group is involved in numerous enterprises: support activities related to marriage, child rearing, and the handicapped; general advice and consulting related to medical checkups, improving health through the use of EM Technology®, and helping the middle aged and elderly find meaning in life; as well as support activities to help the sick and infirm, and support for ceremonial functions (weddings, funerals, etc.)

In the past, when there was a network to provide safety and security, these were public functions and belonged to a realm of life separate from business; people lived stable, secure lives and the majority of these tasks were handled at the public, community level. Now, however, with nuclear families, two-income families, the prioritization of economic efficiency, and severe competition, society has become more stressful, and with the lowered birthrate and aging population these networks that provide stability and security have become fragmented and become part of businesses.

Originally networks that provided safety and security functioned only when they were connected, but now that they have been divided into various businesses, each individual case is considered separately, each field and facility leaves its management up to separate managers and administrators, and these systems now provide markedly less safety and security.

The Atom Group maintains an inclusive system that provides consultation on all aspects of safety and security, that gives help in every area and makes it easy to link one field with another. Needless to say, for the weakest members of society this sort of enterprise is tremendously convenient.

One other aspect of the network to provide safety and security is the need people have for high-level, specialized information and counseling. The Atom Group has done much to train people and work with each business, but there are limits to what they can do. As a step to deal with this, NPOs have been created that are made up mostly of retired former civil servants and educators, former leaders in society, who are now engaged in various volunteer activities to help these systems to provide safety and security function well. The representative group is the NPO Corporation Active Volunteer 21. This movement not only provides meaning to the lives of retirees and a place to be active, but volunteer activities for the handicapped at related facilities, helping them participate in society, and also helping with volunteer activities that let local residents participate and feel that they are really part of the local community.

In a number of fields—social welfare, health, the environment, organic farming (food)—these volunteer activities aim to improve the gifts of those involved and create a reason for living. If these activities thoroughly make use of the EM Technology® as well, it will be possible to revitalize localities so people can live in them more safely and contentedly. One can see in this the model for a future society that provides a system of safety and security, and of coexistence and co-prosperity.

Research Report by High School Students that Touches on the Core of EM®’s Capabilities

Mr. Satoshi Nakano of Uwa-cho, Seiyo City, reported on “Rice Cultivation with EM Technology®”. His report on his own 4.7 hectare rice fields is a future model for depopulated rural farming villages where small-scale rice farming is the norm. Most such production has been recognized by JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard) as organic, and if this style of farming breaks through existing limits, it will be possible in the future to revitalize farming villages to new levels.

Mr. Tadashi Tsuchiya reported on “Raising Up Localities Through Raising Flowers.” He reported on how an empty public lot facing a road next to the Matsuyama Airport (a vacant lot overgrown with bamboo grass and weeds) was revitalized. They consulted with local authorities on the project, were helped by local residents and children, and in the process won many awards for their work. They also had support from a nearby elementary school, which incorporated the project as part of their practical and environmental training program for their pupils. The project aims at bringing harmony to the entire area, and has become a valuable intangible asset for the community. It also functions as a place where elderly residents can participate and has become an excellent model that reveals the ways in which flowers can be a vital part of society.

Finally, there was a report, entitled “Research on the Results of EM Technology® on the Natural Environment” by three students, named Sakai, Ota, and Namikiri, members of the Culture and Science Club of the Ehime Yuge Prefectural High School. Since they were in elementary school, they participated in the EM® activities of the NPO group “Yuge Yume Land” to clean the oceans, which has resulted in a cleaner ocean, a return of various fish and shellfish to local waters, and a more abundant ecology. Amazed by these wonderful results, the three students decided to investigate the capabilities of EM•1® by using newly made Activated EM•1® and Activated EM•1® that was over a year old.

Since EM•1® is a living thing, they anticipated that the new Activated EM•1® would be more effective, but found that even the old Activated EM•1® still maintained its capabilities. In this case, they found that the older Activated EM•1® could be reactivated through adding sugars to it. At the same time, they discovered that the reactivation could be enhanced through the addition of chemicals that included manganese and iron, that even in the presence of anti-bacterials such as silver nitrate, the functions of EM•1® would remain, and that when a black light (ultraviolet light that is used for sterilization) is applied to EM•1®, it will still become activated.

Further, they made a model beach to use in the experiment, and found out how well EM•1® is able to break up sludge, and also confirmed how well it reduces sludge in the test tube. These results were negated by experiments conducted by the Environmental Department of Hiroshima Prefecture and the Sewage Department of Osaka City. The difference comes from the high school students’ full awareness of the effects of EM•1®, how they gave sufficient time for the results of EM•1® to be seen, and how the setup for their experiments was closer to natural conditions.

Aside from the way their results were organized, the content of their report was comparable to that of Master’s level students in gradate school, and touched on the core of EM®’s many capabilities. After these high school students’ report, a boy named Murata from the Kamijima Municipal Elementary School in Yuge, read an essay, entitled “Let’s Make an Abundant Sea,” he wrote that won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award, Elementary School Division, at the 29^th National Essay Competition on Revitalizing the Oceans. His essay discussed the movement in Kamijima-cho in Yuge to use EM•1® to clean up the ocean, and the knowledge gained thereby. For more details on this, please contact the Shikoku EM® Fukyu Kyokai.
 
The COP10 Meeting in Nagoya

As already reported in this website, the national movement to throw EM® mud balls and Activated EM•1® into bodies of water as part of Ocean Day has been recognized as a COP10 partnership enterprise and was carried out as such. COP10 civic exchange events included a forum on health that discussed Nature Farming, as well as a forum on environmental cleanup in Ise Bay, Mikawa Bay, and Kumanonada. All of these were very successful and well received.

In a week’s time over 2,500 people visited the EM® booth, which was run by United Networks for Earth Environment (U-Net ), in collaboration with EM-Seikatsu Inc., EM Research Organization, Inc. (EMRO), and members of the EM® Fukyu Kyokai (EM® outreach group). A pamphlet, both in English and Japanese, was also distributed, which gave case studies on Nature Farming and on how water quality had been improved and the ecology revitalized in regions throughout Japan; foreign participants were especially pleased to receive this.
Anyone interested in this can obtain these materials from EM-Seikatsu Inc.  Detailed information presented at this year’s COP10 on preserving biodiversity can be found in an article I wrote in the previous issue of the magazine Kenko Seikatsu Sengen (declaration on a healthy life). It is clear that it is time for humankind to choose to live in balance with other living beings and no longer sacrifice other creatures. Needless to say, using EM® as freely as the air and the water is the answer.
 
Links/Queries
Atom Group
Active Volunteer 21
EM-Seikatsu Inc.
Mr. Satoshi Nakano of Nakano Farms
Shikoku EM® Fukyu Kyokai
About Yuge City
Shizen Kankyo Ehime, Ltd.
182-7 Agata Ko
Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture
Tel: 0898-25-0140
 
 
Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Ken EM® Fukyu Kyokai
c/o Shiba Shoji, Inc.
140 Toiya-machi
Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture
Tel: 088-622-8666
 
Kagawa Prefecture
NPO Kagawa Ken EM® Fukyu Kyokai
c/o Shikoku EM® Fukyu Center, Ltd.
349 Kamitakaoka, Miki-cho
Kita-gun, Kagawa-Prefecture
Tel: 087-891-1555
 
Kochi Prefecture
NPO Kuroshio Sosei Koryukai
c/o Suehiro Shopping Center Inc.
1353-2 Tai, Tosa-cho, Tosa-gun, Kochi Prefecture
Tel: 0887-82-0128
 
Ehime Prefecture
Ehime EM® Fukyu Kyokai
c/o Arumu no Sato
280 Shigemitsu Tobe-cho, Iyo-gun
Ehime Prefecture
Tel: 089-905-8777
 
 
The Culture Hall at Tobe-cho, where the FESTA was held
 
The Hall, full of attendees from all the prefectures in Shikoku
 
An EM® folk song was performed
 
The enthusiastic crowd at the hall
 
High school students from Yuge High School presenting. On the right is Mr. Murase of Yuge Yume Land
 
Mr. Satoshi Nakano asking a question to Dr. Higa
 
Plentiful information about EM® activities in Shikoku over the past year

Introducing EM® at a civic exchange event as part of COP10

Pamphlet in both Japanese and English