· January, 2007

Stories about Japan from January, 2007

Japan: marriage stats

  30 January 2007

Adamu highlights some figures in the recent marriage statistics in Japan: In 1995, most internationally marrying Japanese men (35%) took Filipina brides, while a quarter of them married Chinese women. In 2005, the tables were turned, with only 30% marrying Filipinas and 35% marrying Chinese.

Japan and South Korea: waves from both sides

  30 January 2007

Ampontan blogs about the recent Japan wave from South Korea in term of tourism to Kyushu. Korean tourists, by taking the high speed jetfoils across the sea of Japan, can comfortably depart from Busan after breakfast and reach the Port of Hakata by lunchtime. The blogger believes that the emergence...

Japan: Namba Yasaka Shinto Shrine

  26 January 2007

Ampontan introduces the Namba Yasaka Shinto Shrine in Osaka: The outdoor structure is called the Ojishi-den, or Palace of the Great Lion. Visitors say it’s about the size of a three-story building, and officially it is 12 meters high, 11 meters wide, and 10 meters deep. The ferocious face is...

Japan: kogal phenomenon

  23 January 2007

Neomarxism has an informative post about the kogal phenomenon in Japan: For foreigners looking at Japan from abroad, the kogal appeared to be empowered young women forming a revolutionary army against the patriarchal mores of traditional society…

Japan: karakuri dolls

  18 January 2007

Karakuri dolls are ancient little robots from Edo made out of wood and porcelain with no metal screws or anything. Paul Nicholls from Japundit introduces a website that sells the doll.

Japan: Foreign Minister's cultural diplomacy

  15 January 2007

Adamu from Mutantfrog blogs an interesting photo of Japan Foreign minister Taro Aso: If Foreign Minister Taro Aso can keep wonderful photo opportunities like this up, I would support him for prime minister no matter who he might want to nuke…

Japan: white collar exemption

  15 January 2007

Adamu in Mutant frog has a nice article discussing the recent debate on white collar exemption, which means office workers who earn 4 million yen or more annually could no longer be eligible for overtime.

Japan: Gross National Cool

  12 January 2007

Neomarxisme blogs about his experience in Japanese popular culture in terms of Gross National Cool: the idea is that this kind of pop cultural influence will translate into a “soft power” for Japan in international relations.

Japan and Korea: tunnel

  11 January 2007

Goh Kun, a former prime minister of Korea, is proposing a Japan-Korea tunnel as part of his campaign for president. Joe from Multant Frog gives some historical background on the proposal.

Japan: first mosque in Kyushu

  10 January 2007

Ampontan explains the process about how the decision of building the first mosque in Kyushu managed to get concensus from the local community. It takes 8 years and the construction involves huge amount of money.

Japan and South Korea: sea of peace

  9 January 2007

South Korea's president's suggestion to name the sea between Japan and Korea (East of Korea) Sea of peace instead of Sea of Japan, has stirred up much reactions and comments. Overoften in Japundit points out that the name Sea of Japan has never been an issue in Japan and other...

Japan: environmental Furoshiki

  8 January 2007

Paul Nicholls in Japundit blogs about Furoshiki, a traditional wrapping cloth, which has easily been adapted in modern Japanese society. The ministry of environment recently promoted Furoshiki as an ancient wisdom of environmentalism.