Stories about Japanese from April, 2009
Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free’ Money
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Japanese government is spending two trillion JPY for cash handouts to boost consumer spending. To put it simply, all Japanese citizens and those registered as residents will receive 12,000 JPY, or 20,000 JPY for those under 18 or over 65, once they've lodged their application forms.
Japan: Tunisians in Japan
Blogger kuskusu, whose husband is Tunisian, makes some observations about the Tunisian people living in Japan. Dividing them into two categories, she observes that, since 9/11, immigration laws in Japan...
Japan: The “anime” business
Hiromichi Yasuda (増田弘道), production director of the anime production company Simple d'essai [ja] and author of Anime Bijinesu ga Wakaru (アニメビジネスがわかる, lit. Understanding the Anime Business), constantly updates his blog...
Japan: 50 Japanese Twitter Bots to Follow
From the weather in Tokyo to updates on what manga was published that day, Ascii.jp has posted a list of 50 Japanese Twitter bots to follow.
Japan: Petition for Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Blogger akinori-i is asking people to sign an online petition that calls for tolerance from the media and the government for SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, following his arrest for drunken...
Japan: An Oscar to “Okuribito” (Departures)
For the first time a Japanese movie, Okuribito (or Departures), has been awarded the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, over the French “The Class” and the Israeli animated documentary “Waltz...
Japan: The SHADO Collective
Photoreporter Noriyuki Aida (会田法行) presents the SHA-DO Collective (写道・写真家集団). The group comprising Aida-san and other four photographers based in Tokyo — the Japanese Yasuhiro Ogawa, the Greek Androniki Christodoulou, the...
Japan: Crisis Vocabulary
Adamu from Mutantfrog Travelogue collects and explains a list of Japanese vocabulary for describing the financial crisis.
Japan: New Publishing Models for Manga
Experimenting with new publishing models to overcome the decline of manga magazines, Shuho Sato has announced that he will be posting updates of “Say Hello to Black Jack (Sequel) –...
Japan: Missile Launched. What to Believe?
On April 5th, North Korea launched a Taepo Dong 2 'rocket' that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government, media, and the blogosphere all had very different reactions.
Japan: CB2, the child robot
On Pink Tentacle, updated news about CB2, the Child Robot With Biomimetic Body. The robot, already presented to the public in 2007 by the researchers of Osaka University, is said...
Japan: Filipino girl sees her parents deported
All are equal before the law and in Japan, foreigners without a legal permit to stay must leave the country. Deportation is assured for any illegal immigrant. This is what...
Japan: The best remedies for hay fever
id: Fromdusktildawn sums up [ja] the best items and treatments against hay fever (花粉症, kafunsho). The blogger illustrates the pollen structure and the allergens that cause the hay fever through...
Japan: “Missile” or “Flying Object”?
“Missile” or “flying object”? Yasuharu Dando has put together a page with screenshots of how the major Japanese newspapers have reported whatever it was that North Korea launched over Japan...
Japan: Bullying at school, the parents’ point of view
Ijime – the Japanese word for “bullying” – is still a worrying social phenomenon in Japan, despite the “latest” surveys published by the Japanese Ministry of Education [pdf, ja] (no data after...
Japan: Tokyo Marathon 2009
Tokyo Marathon 2009, the largest marathon event in Japan, was held on March 22nd. It felt like everyone in Tokyo knew someone who was competing or had wanted to, and...
Japan: A food tale
Greenz.jp, a bilingual internet media source “dedicated to promoting a green economy and a sustainable society”, presents the illustrated book Tabemonogatari (たべものがたり, lit. A food tale). The book is part...
