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"We can only change things if we care."
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 (02:15 PM JST)
Neil Ducket, who keeps a very interesting blog by the same name, recently embarked on a fun project, both for himself and his readers. Over the course of the next 12 months, he is visiting all the stations on the Yamanote line and describing them on his blog at Tokyo JR Yamanote Line. Kind of a modern version of the old woodblock print series of the city done by the likes of Hiroshige. So far, Neill has visited Akihabara, Ebisu and Gotanda. Go have a look.
Keywords: internet_news
Friday, March 28, 2008 (07:47 PM JST)
I have started a new multilingual blog showing photos of Japan between 1860 and the 1930s: Old Photos of Japan.
The images show old customs and street views. Well-researched articles take you back in history. Many of the articles contain maps and additional illustrations, making them a fun and useful resource on Meiji, Taisho and early Showa Japan.
The photographs can be searched by keyword, period, theme, location, photographer and medium.
Keywords: internet_news
[COMMENT]
Friday, March 28, 2008 (07:40 PM JST)
If you think that you are busy, watch this NHK program about the super busy schedules of Japanese kids. What are their parents thinking, I wonder?
Keywords: culture_news, national_news
[COMMENT]
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (12:41 AM JST)
Discover magazine carried a very good article some ten years ago about the roots of the Japanese, showing that Koreans and Japanese share a lot more than many will feel comfortable with. "Unearthing the origins of the Japanese is a much harder task than you might guess. Among world powers today, the Japanese are the most distinctive in their culture and environment. The origins of their language are one of the most disputed questions of linguistics. These questions are central to the self-image of the Japanese and to how they are viewed by other peoples. Japan’s rising dominance and touchy relations with its neighbors make it more important than ever to strip away myths and find answers." Recent DNA research has shown that this article was on the mark. Read the full article here.
Keywords: culture_news
[COMMENT]
Monday, March 24, 2008 (11:15 PM JST)
It is Cherry Blossom time again and everyday Japanese news programs faithfully report Japan's Cherry Blossom Front, showing how far the cherry blossom has moved through the country. There is even an excellent site showing the Cherry Blossom Front.
Keywords: culture_news internet_news
[COMMENT]
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 (10:44 AM JST)
The Japanese government is considering to require foreigners who want to work in Japan to have proficiency in Japanese before they enter Japan. This is imminent. Officials aim to reach a tentative conclusion by the end of March. During a press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on February 12, Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi answered questions about this contentious new initiative.
[FULL STORY] [3 COMMENTS]
Thursday, January 24, 2008 (06:25 AM JST)
The Japanese government has had to face some serious questioning since the opposition's historic landslide win last year that landed them a majority of the seats in Japan's Upper House (House of Councilors). This Jan 11 the Japanese cabinet, for the first time, was questioned about the events of Sep 11, 2001, which claimed the lives of 24 Japanese nationals. Upper House member Yukihisa Fujita (Democratic Party of Japan) gave a presentation for over half an hour, questioning Prime Minister Fukuda and two ministers. Quite intriguing to see the questions asked by conspiracy theorists, being discussed in the Japanese diet. The presentation was carried live by NHK, but as far as I know no Japanese media have reported on this. However it is now available, with English subtitles, on these video clips:
[FULL STORY] [3 COMMENTS]
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 (12:07 PM JST)
As a professional photographer I like to keep my eyes open for new items that make my live easier. Three caught my eye recently:
Eye-Fi is a wireless memory card. It automatically uploads pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac and to your favorite photo sharing, printing, blogging or social networking site.
Fotoflōt is a service that allows you to make your photographs into big beautiful prints mounted without frames, mates, glass or glare.
Smug Mug is a photo sharing service like flickr. It allows you to use fotoflot.
Keywords: Internet
[COMMENT]
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 (11:46 AM JST)
If you have ever been to a real Japanese sushi shop, you will love this video clip. It takes a little time before it really gets going, but I almost fell off my chair laughing. Enjoy!
Keywords: Culture
[COMMENT]
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 (09:44 AM JST)
New York's The Puffin Room is exhibiting Into the Atomic Sunshine -- Post-War Art Under the Japanese Peace Constitution Article 9 through Feb. 10, 2008. Japan's article 9 renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation. In a climate in which the Constitution is faced with the possibility of being revised, "Into the Atomic Sunshine" attempts to highlight issues and raise awareness of the great influence of the Peace Constitution.
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Friday, January 18, 2008 (09:14 AM JST)
(by Rumi Sakamoto) - As a study of the influence and nature of popular nationalism in Japan, this article examines the relationship between nationalism and history in Kobayashi Yoshinori's best-selling manga comic, Sensoron (On War, 1998).
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Saturday, December 22, 2007 (08:12 AM JST)
This year saw record prices for Japanese art. Japanese artist Maruyama Okyo's Cranes sold for an incredible 1,105,000 dollars, three times its estimated pre-auction price.
Katsushika Hokusai's famous Pink Fuji was sold for 602,100 dollars. Also three times as much as the estimate and a world auction record for a Japanese woodblock print.
Another woodblock print, Cats Suggested by the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, sold for 81,184 dollars, setting a world auction record for an Utagawa print.
Hidden in the shadows of these headline grabbing bids is a development in auction prices for lowly vintage postcards.
[FULL STORY] [2 COMMENTS]
Tuesday, December 4, 2007 (11:19 AM JST)
A rally cry that helped win former comedian Hideo Higashikokubaru win the governorship of Miyazaki Prefecture has been chosen as this years hottest buzzword. Higashikokubaru, who decided to run after his predecessor was implicated in yet another money scandal, repeatedly told voters "Dogenka sento ikan" or "I have to do something". The local dialect he used and his message touched the hearts of Japanese nationwide in a year that saw a huge flood of such money scandals.
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Friday, November 30, 2007 (10:13 AM JST)
Prime Minister Fukuda was pushed deeper into his corner this week by four events. Combined, and followed by others, they may eventually bring his government down.
[FULL STORY] [2 COMMENTS]
Friday, November 30, 2007 (09:33 AM JST)
This article by Carolyn Baker oozes fear. The scary part is that some of her concerns resemble some of my own views. I have told some of my best friends many times that the current state of the US reminds me of the end of the Roman Empire, while the current world situation resembles the onset of the Great Depression and the subsequent wars much more than I would like. Add to that the environmental problems that we are now facing.
[FULL STORY] [5 COMMENTS]
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 (12:03 PM JST)
An evolving list of known printers and distributors that printed Japan related cards:
Monday, November 26, 2007 (10:08 AM JST)
An inter-religious conference on Article 9 will be held at Korean YMCA Hotel in Tokyo on November 29 and 30. Portions of this conference will be open to the public. There will be a keynote presentation by Ms.Takako Doi (former chief of the Social Democratic Party in Japan), panel discussions on the praxis of non-violence and peace, Article 9 and the militarized world, as well as a concert with singers Rattlesnake Annie and Noriko Shintani.
[FULL STORY] [1 COMMENT]
Friday, November 23, 2007 (09:16 AM JST)
Aridou Debito has listed a number of active and passive ways to protest Japan's new law to fingerprint and photograph non-Japanese nationals each time they enter Japan. They contain excellent suggestions:
[FULL STORY] [6 COMMENTS]
Friday, November 23, 2007 (08:05 AM JST)
A responsible law-obeying person may not feel comfortable to protest a law. Especially not if you are told that it will protect you. But the new Japanese fingerprinting law absolutely requires protest from every responsible law-obeying person living in and visiting Japan.
Why?
1. Requiring people to identify themselves with fingerprints and photographs each time they visit a country is an assault on their human rights.
2. Singling out foreigners for identification is morally wrong. Foreigners and native-born are equally capable of being good or bad.
3. Singling out foreigners for identification is stupid. A potential terrorist intent on creating mayhem in Japan could easily enter Japan on a faked Japanese passport.
4. It can, and most probably will, lead to increasing erosion of your individual rights.
5. Additionally, it is a big pain. Read the following experience of Martin Issott, a Kansai-based non-Japanese:
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Friday, November 23, 2007 (07:17 AM JST)
A storm of protest against fingerprinting is building on the web. Naturally, Arudou Debito's site has been on the vanguard. But it is being joined by an increasing number of others. Especially worthy of mention is Re-Entry Japan, which also runs an online petition against fingerprinting.
Keywords: national_news
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (01:22 PM JST)
First Prime Minister Fukuda approaches the largest opposition party in Japan, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to discuss a coalition. Then DPJ's leader Ichiro Ozawa offers to step down after other DPJ topmen did not agree with him on going into sea with the governing LDP. They beg him to stay on and a few days later he reconsiders and decides not to resign. The past week of Japanese politics has been like an out-of-body experience, totally insane and incomprehensible.
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (12:37 PM JST)
(by David Hearn and Matt Antell) - We first learned of this situation in January 2006 in a Metropolis article titled "Think of the Children" by Kevin Buckland, and after some discussions we felt strongly that a documentary film would be an influential way to raise awareness about the issue. Both of us are married to Japanese and have started wonderful families, but hearing how easily and frequently a parent can be cut off from seeing their own kids was very disturbing.
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (12:17 PM JST)
"Team Minus 6 %," a government-led campaign by Japan's Ministry of the Environment, launched a website called "Go for it! Let's reduce individual CO2 emissions by 1 kg per day "on June 26, 2007. The aim of the site is to support a national citizens' initiative in connection with "Cool Earth 50," a new strategy against global warming, announced in May 2007 by the then-Prime Minister Abe, who headed the "team."
[FULL STORY] [1 COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (12:16 PM JST)
East Japan Railway Company has developed a railcar equipped with a diesel hybrid system with the aim of "Reducing Environmental Burden." The hybrid system uses a diesel generator and rechargeable batteries to power its motor. In a world first on July 31, 2007, the company began commercial operations with this hybrid railcar on the JR Koumi Line (from Kobuchizawa in Yamanashi Prefecture to Komoro in Nagano Prefecture).
[FULL STORY] [1 COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (12:14 PM JST)
In Kitakyushu City in southern Japan, a pilot plant to produce ethanol from food waste was established as a part of the city's Eco-Town project. The city started the collection of food waste from some hospitals, elementary schools, retailers and households in the city on June 11, 2007.
[FULL STORY] [1 COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (10:39 AM JST)
Pierre Tristam's article about Tibbets, the pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima certainly touched a string. Tibbets could somehow be excused — although he is not in my book — for needing a strategy to remain sane after his horrific exploit, but many others are not. I recently ran into an instance of ignorance about the horrors of the nuclear bomb that was small but illustrative:
[FULL STORY] [COMMENT]
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (10:08 AM JST)
(by Pierre Tristam) - How convenient, this forgetting — this respected ignorance — that the only nation to have ever used the deadliest of all weapons of mass destruction, the only nation to have terrorized a country by means of those weapons, the only nation to have nuked civilians, twice, with questionable necessity, obliterating 340,000 lives (by the time all the deaths related to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were tallied five years out), is us, the United States.
[FULL STORY] [1 COMMENT]
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The now legendary Sir Ernest Mason Satow (1843-1929) was a member of the British legation in Tokyo for twenty-one years. This classic book is based on the author's detailed diary, personal encounters, and keen memory. In it, Satow records the history of the critical years of social and political upheaval that accompanied Japan's first encounters with the West around the time of the Meiji Restoration. Fascinating.
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