Stories about Japanese from August, 2008
Japan: Ministry study on biological roots of withdrawal and rage
Starting next year, a team of researchers recruited by the Japanese Ministry of Education will commit themselves to studying the connection between brain structure and sociability. Their aim will be the analysis of structures of the brain that control mechanisms such as sleep rhythm and stress tolerance, in order to prevent -- and eventually cure -- those disorders which affect social relations.
Japan: Ikeda on Everything is Miscellaneous
Well-known Japanese blogger Nobuo Ikeda (池田信夫) reviews [ja] the recently released translation of David Weinberger's book “Everything is Miscellaneous” (インターネットはいかに知の秩序を変えるか?), translated to Japanese by Rei Kasiwano (柏野零).
Japan: To Japanese women, WaiWai was sexual harassment
Since it exploded on the Japanese Internet less than two months ago, the scandal at Mainichi surrounding the newspaper's former English-language column “WaiWai” has taken on epic proportions. While much has been written about the scandal and its deeper implications, the duration and intensity of attacks on one of Japan's largest national newspapers has surprised almost everybody.
Japan: Debate over Google Street View continues
Less than two weeks after Google rolled out Street View in Japan, debate continues in the blogs over whether the new service is an appropriate match for Japanese culture and urban residential life. A letter addressed to Google written by IT professional Osamu Higuchi drew a huge reaction last week, the translation of which was picked up abroad in both the U.S. and the U.K., in Japan both in English and in Japanese, and eventually even made its way onto Chinese bulletin boards. While many bloggers in Japan supported sentiments expressed in the letter, others responded with criticism.
Japan: Rumors of idol photo in Olympics press kit
From 2channel, rumors [ja] that a photo of Japanese idol Yuko Ogura appears hidden in the press kit handed out at the Olympics in Beijing.
Japan: Mainichi to shut down website? WaiWai controversy continues
In the latest installment of the ongoing WaiWai saga, news [ja] is climbing the bookmarks [ja] in Japan that Mainichi is investigating the possibility of shutting down the online version...
Japan: Ainu recognized as indigenous people
On June 6, a couple of months prior to the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to officially recognize the Ainu as an...
Japan: Letter to Google about Street View
One year after its debut in the United States, Google's Street View has arrived in Japan, where it is already drawing criticism. Despite the company's generally positive image in this country, bulletin board threads and blogs are filled with comments questioning the way Google has rolled out its latest service.
iSummit2008: The Japanese-English divide
The 2008 iSummit in Sapporo, Japan ended last week after three days of keynotes and lab sessions on open content and open culture. Blogger Shinya Ichinohe (shinyai), who attended the event, reflected on his experiences, noting that while grateful for all that he learned, he also regrets the division which emerged between Japanese-language and English-language tracks.
Japan: CNET article on Mainichi scandal sparks huge response
An article [ja] by former Mainichi journalist Toshinao Sasaki has sparked a huge response from Japanese Internet users, scoring a whopping 23643 votes on CNET and nearly one thousand bookmarks...
Japan: Toyota's Just-In-Time System and the Akihabara Killings (Part 2)
In the first part of this two-part series, we translated the first half of a blog entry by blogger boiledema, who presented a very personal perspective on the Akihabara massacre on June 8th. In this second half, boiledema elaborates further on Japan's temp worker industry, expresses his frustration at Kato's actions on June 8th, and provides further details about Toyota.
Blogger of the week: Hanako Tokita
In this week's installment of the Blogger of the Week series we talked to Hanako Tokita, the editor of the Global Voices Lingua site in Japanese and author for Japan, about blogging, the perception of Japan and of course her involvement with Global Voices.
