After China was hit by the suffocating smog, certain parts of Japan are feeling its effect. On February 04, 2013, the Japanese government had put out health risk warnings for the young and the sick. The website of the environment ministry was overloaded with worried queries from people who were trying to find solutions to the problem as well.
An official from the environment ministry said, “Access to our air-pollution monitoring system has been almost impossible since last week, and the telephone here has been constantly ringing because worried people keep asking us about the impact on health”. The television channels displayed pictures of Beijing and other cities in China, shrouded with thick smog .
News channels also broadcast maps which showed pollution gathering across China and then spreading out over the ocean. The air pollution in the west of Japan has exceeded the government limits in the past few days. Officials also said that the prevailing winds from the west brings airborne particles from the Asian mainland.
An associate professor of Kyushu University, Toshihiko Takemura, said that it is a known fact that for over a decade air pollution from China has been affecting Japan.
