Hayfever affects nearly 20 million Japanese, especially in big cities like
Tokyo

JAPAN: Japanese are again preparing for hay fever season with white masks and
medicine, but this year, technology may soften the blow.

The pollen in the air triggers sneezing fits, streaming eyes and headaches,
affecting nearly 20 million Japanese especially in big cities like Tokyo.

SHIZUKO FUKUSHIMA, 56, HAY FEVER SUFFERER:
    "It's terrible. I have to be wearing a mask even when I go to
bed."

The main cause of hay fever in Tokyo is the Japanese cedar tree, which
covers more than 10 percent of the country.

The trees were planted as a result of a government-backed scheme in the
1950s and 1960s. As the trees have matured, the problem has ballooned to
affect about one in five Japanese. 
    
    "I'm in a cedar tree forest north of Tokyo and I can see cedar
pollen swirling in the air. Excuse my mask and sunglasses, but if I take these
off, I immediately start sneezing and my eyes get itchy."

But now, allergy sufferers are fighting back - with technology.

Tokyo resident Masaaki Murakami has installed a "pollen level
detector" on his balcony, which issues warnings on a scale from one to
five with the color of the detector's "eyes" changing depending on
the level of pollen.

MASAAKI MURAKAMI, 36, HAY FEVER SUFFER:
    "The detector eyes are white when the pollen level is low, but
when it's high, the eyes turn blue. That's when I get nervous and my nose
starts running and getting itchy."

Murakami's pollen detection ball is one of the 200 such devices distributed
across the nation by Japan's Weather News. The collected data are analysed at
the company's headquarters and are then released on their Website.

The number of hay fever sufferers in Japan seems to be increasing every
year, expert say, partly due to a change in lifestyles and urban housing
environment.

Toshi Maeda, Reuters, Tokyo