Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar 1997/98

Sunday Star, 24 November 1996

With the most important person - Mum - at the Rotary award presentation.

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The Star, Sunday, 21 December 1997 12:00 AM

Section: Education, Page 9

By LOH FOON FONG

Taken with Boston's elegant charm

EVERY hour of daylight, the Charles River that runs parallel to Boston University (BU) has visitors dying to be near it. It sits confidently with its charm, enticing walkers, joggers, skaters, cyclists, leisure sailors and day-dreamers.

Though not exactly crystal clean, the sight of the river thrilled me the moment I set foot in BU. I then decided to take up sailing under BU's Physical Education programme. It is a real haven for relaxation.

MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER ... the Charles River is a hive of activity throughout the day. Here the writer (left) and a sailing friend are about to go on a boat ride.

The university, "bestowed" with the lovely river, is endowed with many other wonders. Covering about 30ha, the various departments lining the seemingly endless boulevard of Commonwealth Avenue (known simply as Comm Ave to locals) are interspersed with eateries, a church, a library and covenience stores.

At the College of Communication, the professors are mostly working professionals who come from interesting backgrounds. A Boston Globe journalist, a CNN director and a former Wall Street Journal journalist are among the professors teaching me this semester. Their unique creative approaches, backed by active student participation, have made classes very interesting.

On one occasion, two students stormed into our class and started yelling and accusing our lecturer of plagiarism and for trying to avoid them. The class was stunned, and we began to doubt the credentials of our highly respected teacher as he handed out sheets of papers outlining our assignment on the incident. It had been a set-up! "Throughout this semester, expect the unexpected," he said as we burst into laughter.

While working on our assignments we discovered the most striking characteristic of Americans their openness is a culture that we Asian journalism students have found confounding but revered. Racism for instance, is discussed openly. This characteristic has helped us write comprehensive and fair stories without having to constantly punctuate articles with "so and so declined comment", or "so and so could not be reached for comment," which is irritatingly common in the Malaysian media.

Here, even a mere student can call a CEO. They may not know you, but chances are they will return your call and respond to your enquiries. Information is easily accessed through the Internet and special interest research institutions. The United States is certainly a conducive place to pick up many journalistic skills.

As a university with among the highest number of international students in New England, BU is a melting pot of cultures. Students not only gain from the institution, but also from each other. It is a great opportunity to learn to "network". With more than 50 colleges and universities in Boston city and Greater Boston, students are exposed to many great minds.

Across the Charles River, which separates Boston and Cambridge, is the world renowned Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Interesting professors and Nieman Fellows (selected mid-profession scholars from various parts of the world) from Harvard are frequently invited as speakers to BU.

Books aside, Kenmore Square, with its many pubs, is a popular haunt for many university students. The square is only a five minute walk from the College of Communication School. Located close to the square is Fenway Park, which has earned a reputation in baseball's major leagues. Described as Boston's most cherished landmark by the Lonely Planet travel guide, Fenway Park is the home of the much loved Boston Red Sox baseball team with well-known names of the past such as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Boston city, as most locals would jovially reveal, began as cow paths, which explains why the city is rather haphazardly developed.

With a rather simple lifestyle and manageable pace of life, Boston is an easy place to adapt to. It is a relief getting away from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur and the uncontrollable traffic madness! However, being so used to new and modern Kuala Lumpur, I initially found Boston old and drab. Its beauty, as travel guides, books and friends have proclaimed, seemed over-rated. But just hold it there. Time is all you need before its charms work on you.

The Charles River that cuts across the city decorates the city's backdrop exquisitely. The suburbs, called Greater Boston just a half hour drive away from the city is captivating. Tastefully painted three-storey wooden bungalows line the shady streets. Each house is different and unique, done up with much effort.

Most of all, the city is certainly not dull. With interesting museums, broadway theatres, cinemas, galleries, cafes and bars, Boston is ideal for cultural pursuits. The Museum of Fine Arts in Huntington Avenue, Fenway, considered second only to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a must for visitors here. It has an impressive collection of art and artifacts from various parts of the world. Special exhibitions are held regularly. Currently on display is Picasso's early works (before his cubism attempt) which have awed many visitors with the painter's exploration and flexibility in different painting styles.

Newbury Street, just a 20-minute walk from BU's main campus, along with Cambridge's Harvard Square, strikes out as the most interesting spots in Boston. Both are filled with bookstores, boutiques, interesting cafes and shops, and street musicians. The Let's Go travel guide aptly describes Newbury Street as Boston's most flamboyant promenade. The street certainly has a distinct character from the rest of Boston. Besides the colourful street, its residents are lively and diverse, sporting styles that range from the latest elegant fashion to punk.

Boston's affluent neighbourhood, Beacon Hill, is a picturesque spot. A haven for photography, Beacon Hill is laid with brick sidewalks and cobblestone alleyways. Its 19th-century townhouses have little courtyards and rooftop gardens. Quaint gas street lanterns light the streets night and day. Adjacent to Beacon Hill are two large parks, the 20ha Boston Common, the country's oldest public park built in 1634, and the 24-acre Public Garden.

For a rich cultural experience, exlore the North End Italian community with its authentic Italian food of homemade pastas, pizzas, fresh breads and pastries. Festivals held in the summer are exciting and colourful. Chinatown, where Asian food is aplenty, adds an oriental touch to Boston. Recently opened Malaysian restaurants like Penang and Pandan Leaf are a hit among Americans and foreigners.

For newcomers and visitors, downtown Boston's 4km, Freedom Trail is worth exploring on foot. With its many historical landmarks, it provides a good introduction to Boston, one of the early British settlements in the 17th century. Together with Boston as part of Massachusetts, are Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire which made up New England. After several months here, I would say Boston suits me fine. I have settled down nicely and find the environment most conducive for study.

* Loh Foon Fong is a journalist of The Star who is pursuing a Masters degree in Print Journalism at the Boston University.

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Autumn changes along Charles River Nov 1997. Managed to capture this changing shades from a bridge that links the back of Boston University to Storrow Drive.

While pursuing a Master of Science in Print Journalism, the writer (standing) is required to give talks about Malaysia to American Rotarians as part of her "ambassadorial" duties for being the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar 1997/98. Slides of Malaysian life, population, food, culture, etc, which she had prepared are shown to these Rotarians at the Charles River Club in Natick on February 19, 1998.

With Rotary Host Counsellor, the late Jean, left, and her husband Peter Fox in 1998. Lovely couple who have made my time in Boston wonderful. We had many interesting exchanges about food, culture, politics and just about anything about our countries.

The writer, left, with her astounding academic adviser, then 70-year-old, Prof Keith Botsford, middle, and her other course mates in Critical Journalism class 1998. Keith had kindly invited us all for dinner (in which he personally prepared) at the end of the course. The course was so tough! (hence, the small number of students) The writing included topics relating to philosophy, critique of some abstract passages and books. Keith really stretched me. There were moments I wished I had taken Video Production, which I initially and badly wanted to but when you have an academic adviser who told you to take his paper, it was difficult to say “no” as it would not make sense not to take any of his papers when I was under his tutelage.  The Video Production that teaches a skill was enticing to me but I knew deep down that I should opt for the other that stretches the mind and soul. And so I took the bull by the horns and rode along with it since I thought it was my destiny to be assigned to such a highly demanding teacher. While in it, I did wonder if I had jumped into it out of stupidity or madness. I was not surprised when some Americans opted out from having him as the adviser or from taking his course. There was no turning back for me and I soon discovered that Keith was an icon in the literary world as well as an amazing character in person, one who cared deeply for all his students. He probably saw me as the Asian student who barely survived his class but for me, no value could be put to life’s lessons – from the interactions we had with him, even though it was just a brief one semester. Check out Keith Botsford in Wikipedia.

Bar Council: Govt must act on reports of Penan girls being raped

The Star

BY LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council is disappointed with the Government’s continued lack of political will in ensuring that the welfare and rights of indigenous people throughout Malaysia are protected.

Its president Ragunath Kesavan said the Government’s inaction makes a mockery of its vote in favour of adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007, he said.

“We strongly urge the Government to perform its duty by taking concrete steps to improve the welfare of the indigenous peoples,” he said in a statement Friday.

Ragunath said the Bar Council was disappointed with the Government’s initial refusal to make public the report of the National Task Force established to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse against the Penan women and girls.

He also said they were disappointed that despite the Inspector-General of Police’s pledge of full support for a joint police-NGO investigation mission, the Sarawak police had reportedly stated that the funds allocated for the project were not sufficient for the NGOs participation.

“The sexual abuse faced by the Penans is but one of a multitude of human rights violations that indigenous communities face on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Ragunath said the Bar Council was concerned that many indigenous communities still live without basic amenities and infrastructure and were deprived of their rights to ancestral lands and access to basic services have made them vulnerable to sexual abuse and other human rights violations.

“The Goverment must fulfill its state obligations by formally recognising, protecting and guaranteeing the rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands throughout the country and gazetting such ancestral lands as reserved areas for them,” he said.

The Bar Council also denounced the arrest of 15 Sarawakian indigenous leaders on Sept 16 who were reportedly detained as they tried to deliver a memorandum to the Chief Minister to protest the building of hydro-electric dams that would adversely affect their communities, he said.

The rape of young Penan girls

The star

BY STEPHEN THEN, SHARON LING, LOH FOON FONG, FLORENCE A. SAMY AND R.K. SHYAMALA

Allegations of Penan girls and women being raped and molested by timber company workers in the Baram district in Sarawak have been confirmed to be true.

A special committee set up by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry revealed that at least seven girls and women were raped and molested - confi rming a news report by The Star late last year.

The horror the Penan girls and women went through.

● A girl, 12, was raped by a stranger outside her hostel and by a timber worker when she took a lift in a timber company’s vehicle from her village in Long Kawi to her school in Long Lama. She got pregnant, quit school and married a Penan man.

● A woman from Long Item was raped by a timber worker in 2005 and 2007 and gave birth to a baby girl, now two years old.

● One was raped by an Iban timber worker when she was kidnapped at the age of 13, while visiting her relatives in Miri.

● One was almost raped when she took a lift with her father from a timber company to apply for an identity card.

● In Long Muboi, a student said her 14-year-old friend was molested by a truck driver who gave her a lift to school.

● A 17-year-old girl gave birth to a child and her neighbours claimed that she had sexual relations with the timber workers.

● A group of women said they believed that sex exploitation exists among the Penan women and girls but they were too ashamed to tell their stories.

The Star

Friday September 11, 2009

Panel: Most had problems getting IDs

PETALING JAYA: The national action task force committee that investigated allegations of sex abuse of Penan women in Sarawak found that most of them had difficulty in getting identification documents.

This was due to poverty, the long distance from their villages to town and basic ignorance on the need to get the documents.

It found that many parents were poor and could not provide their children with basic schooling. The lack of transportation had also prevented them from sending their children to school.

The 112-page report noted that health facilities were located far from their settlement and most did not get any form of immunisation and most babies were received by mid-wives.

The committee was headed by then Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen.

Healthy, friendly Japan

The Star

The Japanese are known to have the longest life span on earth, and that has not happened by chance. The Star had a glimpse of their mindful and purposeful healthy living practices that amazingly permeates all aspects of their lives.

Japanese school lunch programme

By LOH FOON FONG

MANY have wondered and even examined the diet and lifestyle that contribute to the long life span of the Japanese.

With life expectancy a high 82 years, they are the most long-lived people in the world and it is widely known that the low-fat traditional Japanese diet, made up of rice, some meat, various vegetables and soy-based products, has a lot to do with it.

“The longevity that the Japanese enjoy today is the result of their consumption of traditional Japanese food, although that may not be the practice now,” said Futami Daisuke, senior managing director at the Japan Dietetic Association in Tokyo recently.

The Japanese government provides healthy lunches to almost all public schools to encourage children to eat healthily.

Today, Japan battles with obesity and lifestyle-related diseases like any other advanced nation.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s National Health and Nutrition Survey, the proportion of obese (BMI 25 or more) Japanese men in 2005 increased, with one in three men between 40 and 60 years old affected.

Ironically, among its women, one in five between ages 20 and 30 are too thin (BMI 18.5 or below), resulting in low birth weight babies, said Daisuke.

Will the growing obesity problem shorten the lives of the Japanese?

Daisuke said it is unlikely.

“In fact, with better diet, it is possible for our life expectancy to increase by another three years,” he said.

Knowing the benefits of the Japanese traditional diet is one thing, but maintaining the good diet can be a challenge amidst burgeoning fast food and pre-packed meals.

In this respect, the Japanese do not take things lying down but continue to beef up healthy diet efforts.

In schools, for instance, despite more than half a century after World War II, and with most Japanese no longer poor, the Government continues to provide healthy lunch meals at a highly subsidised rate in public schools.

“Almost all public schools have lunch meals based mainly on the traditional Japanese diet. This is to encourage good diet and healthy eating habits,” said Daisuke, one of the speakers invited by Yakult Honsha to give foreign journalists a talk on the Japanese health status.

More than that, in recent years, a national registered dietician is put in every school. Besides planning for the children’s diet, they now teach children about balanced and healthy diets, he said.

“This is an unprecedented initiative in the world,” he said.

Before, only one dietician takes charge of several schools to ensure proper meals are planned for the children.

The Japanese’s longevity is not just based on good diet but also supported by a good health system and government initiatives that promote healthy living, said Daisuke.

Their health efforts received a greater boost in mid 2005 when the Syokuiku Promotion Law (that draws out the basic philosophy for dietary education and legal framework) was introduced.

“Syokuiku Promotion is necessary for living and is considered an intellectual, moral and physical education necessity,” said Miho Kawano, assistant counsellor at the Food Promotion Cabinet Office.

It is a national movement that nurtures people into practising a healthy lifestyle, she said in her talk Formulation of Basic Syokuiku Promotion Law and Syokuiku Promotion.

(The Syokuiku Promotion Law is currently voluntary for the people and organisations to implement.)

The Syokuiku Promotion is not only about improving diet but also about deepening understanding and appreciation of food, continuing traditional food culture practices and considering diet that takes advantage of regional uniqueness,” she said.

That is because, just like other advanced countries, Kawano said there is concern in Japan about dietary change due to lifestyle changes, increase in nutritionally unbalanced or irregular foods, increase in obesity and lifestyle related diseases, increase in extremely thin women, outbreaks linked to food safety, dependence on food from abroad and loss of traditional culinary culture.

Children are having dinner with the whole family less frequently, and there is an increasing trend for people to eat out, eat pre-prepared foods and skipping breakfast, she said.

There is also a trend towards taking excessive amount of fat and less vegetables, she said.

More than 16.2 million people or 1% of the population are suspected of having diabetes, and one in two men or one in five women between ages 40 and 74 are suspected of having metabolic syndrome, she said.

To increase health awareness, a handbook on dietary education is distributed to families, nurseries and schools, she said.

“There was an aggressive introduction of local cuisine into school lunches and schools are encouraged to use food ingredients from their own prefecture. This is to encourage them to appreciate local produce,” she said.

National registered dieticians, chefs and cooks are stationed in schools to beef up health awareness and create a healthy diet, she said.

In the larger community, communication is encouraged between manufacturers and consumers and farmers are encouraged to rejuvenate environmentally sound practices in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.

The promotion of these practices are done through hands-on activities for children such as cutting rice and working in a dairy farm while city folks are encouraged, through green tourism, to visit agricultural villages.

Besides governmental efforts, the business community too is very involved in promoting health food.

A whopping 703 food products have been given the Foshu (Food for Specified Health Uses) approval, said Toshiaki Kitsukawa, director of Food for Specified Health Uses Department at the Japan Health Food and Nutrition Food Association.

The market size of Foshu products in 2005 amounted to 630 billion yen, similar to that of over-the-counter drugs in Japan, he said.

The Foshu mark, introduced in 1991 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, is for products that have positive mild effects on a person’s health such as foods for special dietary uses, foods with health claims (such as Foshu) and foods with nutritional function claims.

“The Foshu system came out of an increased health awareness among Japanese and their demand for positive use of various food functions to improve public health,” said Kitsukawa in his paper Foods for Specified Health Uses (Foshu) and the Claims regulation in Japan.

With such highly visionary and responsible practices, one need not wonder why the Japanese continue to enjoy healthy long lives.

The writer was in Japan for 10 days, enjoyed Japanese food, and was happy to have lost 2kg excess fat without dieting. She also did not suffer from shoulder aches and breathlessness as she often does when eating out.

Gut knowledge

Friendly bacteria is vital for good gut health.

By LOH FOON FONG

MOST Malaysians may know that beneficial bacteria are good for their gut, but not many know that Yakult was the first company in the world that came up with fermented milk drink containing beneficial bacteria.

Senior managing director of Yakult Honsha and head of International Business Department Naomasa Tsuritani said Yakult has been ahead of the times in contributing to the health of the Japanese people.

In 1930, professor at Kyoto University in Japan, Dr Minoru Shirota, discovered a resistant strain of the Lactobacillussubsequently called Lactobacillus casei Shirota.

Three years later he became the first in the world to succeed culturing a fortified strain of lactic acid bacteria beneficial to human health, said William R. Henning Jr, public relations coordinator at the International Business Department of Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd.

Yakult, a fermented milk drink that deliversLactobacillus casei Shirota strain to the intestines alive, was introduced to the world in 1935. The name originates from the Esperanto word “Jahurto”, meaning yoghurt.

“Then, Japan was not a wealthy nation and medicine was only thought of as therapeutic medicine and Shirota’s main concern was to help people in rural areas who have little access to healthcare,” said Henning during a Yakult familiarisation trip in Tokyo for journalists.

Hence, to best explain how Yakult benefits people’s health, direct communication was necessary and Yakult hired women to promote the products directly to the people.

Until today, Yakult Ladies delivering the drink is the mark of the company.

Senior managing director of Yakult Honsha and head of International Business Department Naomasa Tsuritani said besides the excellent healthcare and diet that had contributed to the Japanese longevity, Japan has for a long time made proactive efforts to embrace foods which are considered to be healthy and probiotic products has firmly been established in the Japanese diet for many years, he said.

Moreover, building on the idea of using one’s diet to prevent lifestyle-related diseases, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has established the Foshu, the mark for foods for specific health uses, while new societal approaches, such as the movement for consumers to personally think about engaging in a healthy lifestyle, are being promoted.

“In this context, we at Yakult have been ahead of the times in contributing to the health of Japanese people,” he said.

Senior Research Fellow Dr Masaaki Watanuki of Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research in Tokyo said all of Yakult’s 34 functional food products have the Foshu (Food for Specified Health Uses) mark approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In his presentation Probiotics and functional food, one health claim approved by Foshu is – the L. casei Shirota strain reaches the human intestine alive to effectively increase the population of good bacteria living there while reducing bad ones. This improves the intraintestinal environment and helps maintain the proper functioning of the digestive tract.

From studies shown, there is a reduction of E. coli after consuming Yakult products for three weeks, said Watanuki.

The gut is kept healthy when the good bacteria suppress the production of harmful substances released by intestinal bacteria and help with digestion and food absorption, synthesise vitamins and enhance immunity and resistance, he said.

When there is an imbalance in the intestinal flora, it causes intestinal putrefaction, producing mutagenic/carcinogenic substances and toxins, he said.

There are more than 300 species of bacteria living in a normal healthy gut and most are harmless but some potentially harmful, he said.

“Of all the Lactobacillus strains, the Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain has the highest resistance against gastric juice and is able to reach the intestines alive and improve the balance of intestinal flora to positively affect our health,” he said.

Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria are the most significant bacteria that contribute to a healthy gut flora, he said.

Besides fermented milk, Yakult also produces cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Yakult’s cosmetics, mainly skincare products containing lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria and their metabolites, such as hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants, are ranked 31st in the Japanese cosmetics market, said Nakajima Kaoru, a staff member from Yakult Honsha Cosmetics Department.

They are only sold in Japan, with some in Brazil, and are delivered house-to-house by Yakult Beauties, she said.

On whether there is a limit to the number of bottles one could consume, Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research senior research fellow Masaroro Osamu said based on studies required by Foshu standard, people in the studies drank three bottles a day for two weeks and there had been no side effects.

Yakult probiotic drink is ideally consumed within two weeks from the time it arrived at the supermarket. However, when kept in the fridge, it can last 45 days, he said.

“It is best stored below 10 degrees Celsius and the drink should be discarded if it has been left outside the fridge for more than half a day,” he said adding that babies after six months old could also take the drink.

On whether there has been any mutation of the Yakult bacteria strains, he said product character and stability had been checked and they are found to be stable.

In natural sources, probiotic food are dietary fibre (such as whole grain), pectin and guagum while prebiotic food are food that contains oligosacharrides, he said.

“Both probiotics and prebiotics are useful for health,” he said.

Delivery ladies

A look at the Yakult Ladies of Honsha Co. Ltd, one of the leading fermented milk drink suppliers in the country.

By LOH FOON FONG

IT was drizzling heavily on the morning we, journalists, set out on bicycles to observe the work of women delivering Yakult fermented milk drink and yoghurt to their neighbourhood in Japan.

There are 593 Yakult centres in Tokyo itself and it takes 180 Yakult Ladies and 60 staff members to ensure smooth delivery of their products to a million customers daily, said Hitoshi Sasaki, president of the Yakult Touto Sales Co.

Whether rain, shine or snow, the Japanese can be sure that a Yakult Lady will be there at their doorsteps supplying the probiotic drink. Yakult has been a household name in Japan for more than 70 years.

The Japanese believe that besides a healthy traditional Japanese diet, it is important to keep the gut healthy by consuming probiotic (food containing beneficial bacteria) and prebiotic food (food for beneficial bacteria).

The streets in the Edogawa district, Japan, were quiet and tranquil, since most adults had gone to work and children tucked away in schools.

Kimiko Okuda, 36, cycled with a 30kg load of products kept in ice in a special storage box at the back of her bicycle and in the front basket.

Everyday at 9am, from Monday to Saturday, Okuda, like all Yakult Ladies, goes to the Yakult Centre near her house to collect the stock for pre-ordered products as well as store up for those who wish to buy the products on the spot.

By 1pm, Okuda returns to the Centre, returns unsold products and keeps an account of the sales she has made for the day.

“I decided to take on the part time job to earn some money while the children are at school,” said Okuda who has two children in elementary school and one in kindergarten.

Of all the products that the women distribute, the most popular products are the Lactobacilli fermented milk drinks, said Okuda.

Yakult Lady Kimiko Okuda, 36, in a raincoat, delivers fermented milk to Katsuko Kobayashi, 71, in the Edogawa district of Japan.

Other products distributed are the Lactobacilli drinkable, hard and soft type yoghurts, Bifidobacteria fermented milk drink and beverages with health benefits such as the sugar free tea Bansoreicha containing guava leaf polyphenols that helps moderate absorption of sugars.

At one of the homes, Katsuko Kobayashi, 71, who looked twenty years younger than her age, said she started consuming the drink more than 40 years ago.

“Now my grandchildren are also drinking it,” she said. She orders 20 bottles every week and gives them mostly to her grandchildren.

Hiroyuki Wada, 56, owner of the Marumoriya Restaurant in Edogawa district, said he had been taking the drink for six years for they made him healthier.

Car parts yard owner, a paraplegic and retirees were among those we encountered while trailing Okuda in her journey in that morning.

There are 593 Yakult Centres in Tokyo and it takes 180 Yakult Ladies and 60 staff members from 15 Yakult Centres to ensure smooth delivery of the products to a one million population daily, said Hitoshi Sasaki, president of the Yakult Touto Sales Co.

Its managing director Kouichi Nakayama said more than 60% of Yakult products in Japan are distributed by Yakult women while the rest are marketed through supermarkets, he said.

“Door-to-door sales through the Yakult Lady system is more profitable than supermarkets sales,” he said.

Women interested in the job can be high school or university graduates and there is no age limit, he said.

Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd International Business Department’s public relations coordinator William R. Henning Jr said 35% of women in Japan deliver the products by car, 31% by motorbike, 28% by bicycle, and 3% each by walking and push cart.

The Yakult Lady system started in 1963 and as of March, there are 43,753 Yakult women in Japan and 35,336 overseas, he said.

“Everyday, more than 25 million people consume Yakult. The recommendation is for people to drink one bottle a day,” he said.

In Malaysia, 31 Yakult women have been hired in Ijok, Kuala Selangor and Rawang, said Hideki Kawasaki, sales and marketing director of Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-listed Yakult Honsha Co Ltd. established in 2002.

“They only cover areas within their own neighbourhood. This helps ensure their safety as they are familiar with their own area and are within their own community,” he said.

Yakult products were introduced to Malaysians in 2004. Currently, only its Lactobacilli fermented milk drink Yakult Ace is available in Malaysia.

All of Yakult’s 34 functional food products have received the FOSHU mark, Japan’s recognition for food with specific health benefits.