The Revised Designated Invasive Alien Species Act

A new law goes into effect in Japan today - The Revised Designated Invasive Alien Species Law.  This law regulates the importing and sales of the red swamp crayfish and the red-eared slider turtles, and prohibits the release of these animals into the wild. The government has designated them as invasive alien species which have a negative impact on the ecosystem. The two species are originally from North America and highly fertile, harming the environment by outcompeting native species.

Many people in Japan keep these animals as pets. It is estimated that 5.4 million of the crayfish and 1.6 million of the turtles are kept as pets in Japan. In the past I have seen turtles sold at festivals. No more! 

People can continue to keep their current pets, but not release them. If individuals do release them, including cases where the pets escape, the pet owners face up to three years in prison, or a fine of up to three million yen. Corporate bodies face a fine of up to 100 million yen for releasing these animals. This is serious. 

Red swamp crayfish live four to five years and red eared slider turtles live 20 to 40 years. If individuals become unable to keep them, they need to find someone else to take care of them. Selling them is prohibited, but giving them to new owners for free will be allowed. One of my students told me that IZoo, the reptile zoo in Izu, Shizuoka, will accept these turtles from individuals who can no longer keep them. (I have not personally verified this.) 

Do you have either of these creatures as pets? Are there any laws or regulations about them where you live?

Work In Progress Wednesday

Santa keeper (freebie from the Drawn Thread). I finished the beard and the cheeks.  

Mini Nine Patch lap quilt - I started the hand quilting.

Measles "Outbreak" in Japan

I read a story on the NHK website that said Japan may be experiencing a measles outbreak, with the number of infected people this year higher than the totals reported in each of the last two years. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases reported that as of May 14th, there were seven cases of measles confirmed across Japan this year.  You read that correctly - seven cases in 2023 as of the middle of May. Japan had six cases confirmed in 2021 and six cases in 2022. When I first read about a "measles outbreak" I expected to read hundreds of cases! 

I realize measles is dangerous and highly contageous and am not making light of the disease. It is a viral infection that causes fever, coughing, and rashes. It can also trigger pneumonia or encephalitis, leading to serious illness or death. 

I grew up before the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine was developed. When I was in second grade, I had measles, mumps, and chicken pox all in the same year, as did all of my classmates as well as the students in the other grades in my school. I guess that was considered an outbreak in my small town. 

What about you? Did you have measles or any other childhood diseases?

Monday Morning Star Count

I've been working on connecting the hexagons and I like how it is coming along. 

I bought a couple of pot holders and will add some hexagons.

The Stitch Group Becomes the Hiking Group

Yesterday, the stitch group met for a hiking trip to Nihondaira Yume Terrace. We had a beautiful day for our fun adventure.

This is the start of our hike.

We stopped from time to time to enjoy the view.

Here we can see the tea fields.

Another place we could look down on Shimizu Port and Miho.

Here we are, almost at our destination.

From the balcony of the Terrace building, we could see for miles.

We ate our lunch under this white tent thing.

Under the white tent, we ate our lunches.

Behind us was the Terrace building.

Mt. Fuji above the clouds.

Some of us had ice cream cones, one of us had a beer.

After that, it was time to head down.

We stopped on the way down to check out the Dry Flower Gallery.

What a fun day!  Our next get together will be a new stitch project, but we are already planning another hiking trip.

Snow in Late May

We have been having some clear days and I am happy to see that Mt. Fuji is still snow covered. This seems late for there still to be so much snow, but I'm sure it won't last much longer. The climbing season is from July 10 to September 10.

One of the great things about my apartment is being able to see Mt. Fuji.

Smalls SAL for May - 2023

 Thank You, Mary (at Mary's Thread) for hosting this link up. If you also want to join, check out this page on Mary's blog to find out how. 

This month, I finished the Lizzie Kate freebie called Count Your Blessings.  The chart can be found here.

Throwback Thursday 5/25

I haven't done one of these in a while. Throwback Thursday is about looking back on what I wrote each year on this date.  The year links to the actual post. 

2022   - A year ago was a Work In Progress Wednesday post and I was working on the Paisley Purse and the Ukrainian pin cushion.

2021  - Baby panda Fuhin was six months old.

2020  This was a Monday Morning Star Count post.  I made some gift bags and made the third week of the fourth year of the temperature quilt.

2019  My friend and I went out for a sushi lunch at a restaurant she knew about.

2018  - This was a link up post for the Smalls SAL. I finished a snowman ornament.

2017  - I posted a couple of pictures about the birds I saw in the stream near my apartment.

2016  - This was a Work In Progress Wednesday post and I was working on the pink block of a crazy quilt piece.

2015  - This post was about my finished sewing machine cover. This is one of my favorite pieces.

2014   - I was working on a blackwork alphabet project that year.

2013  -  This post was about a stitching magazine I received in the mail from Margaret, a bigger garden, and an aikido photo.

2012 - This was a post with four topics - An elderly man hit a boy on a bicycle near where I lived in Hokkaido, cherry soft serve ice cream, an earthquake that I slept through, and the start of the garden.

It's fun to look back from time to time.  I am thankful for the wonderful life I have in Japan.