The Leadership Japan Series By Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Japan has always been a country which has adapted to weather and seismic conditions.  Traditional housing was built on the assumption that earthquakes would less easily destroy wooded houses with built in flex points.  High-pitched roof angles allowed snow to fall more easily from the roof and prevent the snow’s weight from crushing those inside.  Things have changed though and we now have typhoons going as far north as Hokkaido.  When I arrive here in April 1979, that possibility would have been unthinkable.  We have massive flooding of low-lying areas, which until relatively recently, could survive heavy rains.  Japan is also becoming unbearably hot.  Cities like Tokyo have lots of concreted surfaces, not that many trees and the heat at ground level is becoming more and more intense.  The NHK news today was reporting an average temperature for Tokyo of 36 degrees centigrade.  While I was driving around, my car temperature gauge was showing 39.5 degrees for outside the vehicle and trust me, it was red hot on