WHILE THE GETTING'S GOOD

I have spoken here before of the advantages of a mountainside residence in regard to rising sea levels, which may one day turn Lake Biwa into an ocean inlet and transform my remote domain into beachfront property. By then, diehard major cities will be using submarines instead of subways. But of the more than 30 millions of those seacoast folks, what about the ones who don't have SCUBA licenses and prefer a landish lifestyle? Where will they go in their small boats?

The International Institute for Environment and Development lists Japan as the country with the sixth-largest number of people living within 10 meters of the average sea level. That of course includes including Tokyo and Osaka, which average a couple of meters above sea level right now. The subways are below sea level already.

They say that Japan should start shifting things around in the near future; wonder if they include politics in that.