· December, 2006

Stories about Japan from December, 2006

China: Nary Xmas?

  23 December 2006

A group of PhD students at several of China's biggest and best universities came together last week to release a letter calling for Chinese to boycott Christmas—a holiday they see as representing waning interest in traditional Chinese culture—and all the rest of non-native cultural trends. Presumably not a very popular...

Japan and South Korea: citizen reporters meeting

  21 December 2006

Oh Mun-su from Ohmynews reports on the recent meeting between Korean and Japanese Citizen Reporters. “It was held in the OhmyNews Japan office in Tokyo to reconcile differences in thinking between the two citizen groups and extend each other's understanding.”

East Asia: the East Asian Libraries and Archives wiki

  18 December 2006

Frog in a Well announces a project on the East Asian Libraries and Archives wiki. The project will will serve as a central collection site for information about archives, libraries, museums, etc. in East Asia that are of potential interest for anyone doing research on or in East Asia.

Japan: wealth

  10 December 2006

Alexpappas in Japundit puts forward a local report about the distribution of wealth: Japan is home to a fifth of the world’s richest 10% of adults in terms of global household wealth…

Japan: organic architecture

  10 December 2006

Verena in pinkmag writes a feature story on organic architecture by Patrick Blanc, where plants can grow vertically into a garden building.

China and Japan: translating USA

  8 December 2006

The Japanese translation of USA is “rice country”, while the Chinese translation is “beauty country”. Zhaihua looks into historical documents and tries to explain why there is such a difference. One explanation provided by Chiang Kai-shek in 1934 was that “rice” is edible… (zh)

Japan: metabolic ministers

  6 December 2006

Lee in Tokyo times reports two Japanese health ministers have started a website (with photos of their bellies) to document their fight against getting fatter.

Japan: foreign workers

  6 December 2006

Debito translates an article about the treatment of foreign workers in Japan and NGO's effort in advocating “free choice of work sector”.

Africa: Japan and Africa

  5 December 2006

Africa Beat writing about Japan and Africa: “Did you know that Ethiopia once “looked East”…to Japan. Or that in Madagascar, an early attempt to gain independence was prompted not by Western liberalism, but by a desire to pursue Japanese-style economic development?”