| The Sea of Japan:
あなたの本をレビューすることは名誉でした。
Anata no hon o rebyū suru koto wa meiyodeshita.
| The Sea of Japan is located between the Asian mainland, Sakhalin, and the Japanese archipelago, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific Ocean. Because it is almost completely closed off from the Pacific Ocean it has almost no tidal activity and it also has lower salinity than the ocean. This marginal sea is bordered by the countries South Korea, North Korea, Russia, and Japan. The Sea of Japan covers an area of 378,000 square miles and is carrot-shaped, with its widest point being 660 miles and its length extends 1,401 miles. The maximum depth of the Sea of Japan is 12,277 feet and the average depth is 5,748 feet. The coastline of the Sea of Japan extends 4,700 miles. The Sea of Japan experiences warm waters and it also experiences monsoons that can bring tsunamis and typhoons. But what is imperative to this novel is that the Sea of Japan has many species thriving in its waters. It has more than one thousand fish specials, 3500 animal species and the oceanic fish that can be found in this sea are mackerel, sardines, anchovies, herring, trout and even squid. The main commercially fished species from the Sea of Japan are bluefin tuna, sardines and herring. , Ishikari, and Toyama are at the heart of this novel. The fishing industry is suffering in Hime but first meet Lindsey a thirty year old teacher from Boston who has been sent to Japan to teach students in the Hime Middle School English but whose tenure there becomes tenuous as she begins to doubt her choice of employment, whether she is really educator material and winds up embroiled in a conflict within the school and in the fishing community that takes her in many different directions.
Schools foster education and in Japan the rules and the regulations differ from that of America. Lindsey was confronted with a situation that required quick action and thinking when a group of teens was bullying a younger student and she had to intervene. But that was just the beginning of her confrontations as Kong, the PE teacher in the school decided to take a different stand with these boys and the result was a yelling and screaming match between Lindsey and Kong in front of the students. He believed in teaching them the true meaning of their actions by inflicting a punishment on them that matched the crime. Conflicts, arguments and Kong and Lindsey and the board were at odds and the job of the Principal at stake. Instead of trying to remain in their positions with the animosity rising, the students respect for Lindsey and the possibility of the Principal being fired Kong and Lindsey came to an agreement both resigned much to the dismay of the Principal and the students.
Lindsey befriended a fisherman named Ichiro who taught her a lot about the fishing industry, allowed her to come along to the meetings of the fishing association and here is where things take on a different turn as the town of Nanae now is the focus as their leader, Gorilla who runs and is high up in the fishing industry and has the ear of the Governor of the town, she realizes as he does that things are becoming tense, the changes are in place and half of Hime wants to merge with them and the government wants to impose what is called the International Transferable Quota system for all fisherman. |
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Individual transferable) are a type of catch share system, which is a tool used by some governments to manage fisheries. Technical reasons for taking a rather cautious approach to the implementation of ITQ’s have been provided previously. The limits that are set for commercial fisheries are called individual fishing quotas, or IFQs. … Each share represents a percentage of the total allowable catch for the species and region, called a fishery. Many times, the quota share for a vessel will be based on the catch from the previous year. https://www.google.com/search?q=international%20transferable%20quotas%20fisheries
Different groups on each side of the fishing organization in Hime differed in their opinions and Ichiro did not agree with the merge but in order for the town to proper at all they would have to make a decision whether to merge with the other town or lose amount of fish. But, the day the Lindsey resigned Ichiro asks her to come and work for him in order to help him get his quota and with a surprise visit from her friend Judy she learns more about herself and although she is about to leave Japan she agrees to stay since Ichiro has broken limb and needs someone to go out with him but then things get tense when he is in trouble of losing his boat and what Lindsey does will surprise readers.
A surprise offer from Hakodate Marine came from an old friend named Paul and with his assistance, the support of the fisherman and then hopefully a merge with Nanae a plan would be in place to start to save Hime but the uphill battle was yet to come and Lindsey with the help of her best friend Judy, and Ichiro hoped to put her five part plan into place. Fishing tourism was implemented, restaurants that would serve what they caught, international export account and then they hoped to invite Nanae and Hakodate Marine to join their operation on this Operation Tripod. Her friendship with Paul disturbed Judy there was something she did not trust and yet Ichiro next made a move or let her know he cared about her even when seeing her grandfather after a long time you could tell they bonded.
Kong needed her to help him get a job and things were moving slowly and meeting with Gorilla seemed to mend the ways and hopefully pave the way to working together and getting Hime their proper share.
Betrayals, deceptions, promises broken, lies and the final reveal as the deal is supposed to go through and Lindsey gets a surprise that she will never forget. Judy and Mr. Bamboo have the deli and the sushi is selling quite well as well as the tourism part until someone blindsides them and then Ichiro realizes that Lindsey did not handle the situation as expected. Contacting the parties involved and learning what happened, who was being arrested and the result of the franchise agreement, Lindsey once again uses poor judgement and finds herself trusting all the wrong people.
Meetings hope and the outcome you will have to learn as the ending is tragic and the sadness you will feel when the final challenges are completed. The end result and what happens to her plan will blindside Lindsey but those loyal to her will have to reconcile that the press is out there, the harsh truths will be known but Lindsey won’t give up until she completes her task, saves Hime and shows her loyalty to Ichiro. Will she remain in Japan when everything concludes? Will she show her loyalties to the people of Hime or will she allow Nanae and Hakodate Marine to win? At the close of the novel what will she see from her window: The skyline of Boston or the magical Sea of Japan? Some stories need to be told and the characters in this novel tell is exactly the way you need to hear them. Author Keita Nagano takes us inside the fishing industry and brings us up close with the fisherman, the contractors, the corporations and one tenacious Lindsey.
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About Just Reviews by:gabina49:
author educator book reviewer for authors
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Book reviewer for manic readers, ijustfinished.com
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I am the author of five published books. I wrote three children's books in my Bertha Series and Two on Alzheimer's. Radio show talk host on Red River Radio/Blog Talk Radio Book Discussion with Fran Lewis the third Wed. of every month at one eastern. I interview 2 authors each month feature their latest releases. I review books for authors upon request and my latest book Sharp As A Tack or Scrambled Eggs Which Describes Your Brain? Is an E book, Kindle and on Xlibris.com
Some of the proceeds from this last book will go to fund research in the area of Brain Traumatic Injury in memory of my sister Marcia who died in July.
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