FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu (Kyodo) Touring Pacific islands for three years proved a turning point in the life of Kazuyoshi Ogawa, a former radio program director who used to work many hours of overtime.
He now lives in Funafuti, capital of Tuvalu, a nation of atolls and coral islands in the Western Pacific that has drawn world attention as it faces being submerged by rising sea levels due to global warming.
Ogawa, 49, is a specialist in charge of coordinating a variety of Japanese assistance programs and a development policy adviser to the Tuvalu government in Funafuti, located on a small island whose average elevation is less than 1.5 meters above sea level.