Stories about Japan from June, 2007
Japan should work with China to tackle photochemical smog problem
Some scientists have been arguing that air pollution in China is responsible for increased incidents of photochemical smog in Japan. Kaz points out Japan's responsibility as a nation which suffered...
Japan: Distance between NHK and Government
The recent appointment of Komori Shigetaka, who is a close acquaintance of PM Abe Shinzo, as an NHK's management committee member has raised a controversy over the possibility of the...
Japanese Enlist for Billy's Boot Camp
Billy's Boot Camp has hit Japan, and Japanese bloggers are talking all about the show's star, Billy Blanks. Athlete of the year in the USA Karete Hall of Fame and actor in a number of American action-adventure feature films, Blanks has now brought his show to Japan, where it is making the rounds of local TV stations, drawing reactions from bloggers.
Japan: Chlorophyll cleansing at Osaka
Osaka is listed number 1 City with the least amount of greenery. Englishman has a post on the situation: Parks are banned, as are grass tennis courts. People nurture plants...
Japan: Poor = Creativity?
Neomarxisme argued against the inverse-relation between economic growth and culture.
Japan: Anti-freeze Toothpaste and Toxic Thomas
Last week, reports emerged that two Japanese companies were recalling thousands of Chinese toothpaste products sold to hotels across the country after the health ministry reported finding that they contained chemicals used in anti-freeze. At the same time, Sony announced that it was recalling 43,000 “Thomas the Tank Engine” wooden toys, which were found to be covered in paint with excessive levels of lead. Bloggers in Japan reacted with anger and disbelief.
Japan: parents’ involvement in after-school daycare centers
After-school daycare centers play an important role in providing children of working parents with a safe environment to spend their after school hours. A blogger shares her experience with one...
Japan: Reactions to the Nova Suspension
Nova, the largest English language school operator in Japan and well-known for its fuzzy pink mascot, is in dire straights, having been ordered last week to suspend part of its operations for six months after it was found to have deceived its students and violated consumer protection laws. Bloggers in Japan offer their reactions.
Japan: Cellphone recycling bins
Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs about cell phone companies’ plan to equip convenience stores with cellphone recycling bins, making it easier for people to recycle their unwanted handsets.
Japan: Pearl Harbor Never Happened
Soon after the denial of the existence of forced prostitution (comfort woman), 100 lawmakers in Japan denied the history of a surprise attack by Japanese soliders on the U.S. Pacific...
Japan: War Responsibility Project
Tessa Morris-Suzuki wrote in Ohmynews the background of Yomiuri's project in publishing a book on war responsibility: it is a re-examination of the problem of war responsibility initiated by a...
Japan: Freak Accidents
TokyoMango reports on freak accidents in Tokyo in the news today: a 28-year old woman was strolling in Shinjuku when a sign from a pizza place fell on her head,...
Japan: Video Art, Media and Zen
An interview with Montreal-born Japan-based video producer Michael Goldberg has been posted at gyaku. In the interview, Goldberg discusses his experience with media art movements in the 60s and 70s,...
Japan: Lawmakers’ Ad on Comfort Women
A group of Japanese lawmakers took out an ad in the Washing Post to present “the facts” about the comfort women that “no historical document has ever been found by...
Japan: Art of campaigning
Japan Observer has a post commenting on the culture of political campaign in Japan: elections serve neither as a vehicle for holding officials accountable nor as a transmission belt for...
Japan: Fingerprinting visitors
Debito reports that Japan immigration will adopt a new policy in November 2007 for fingerprinting and photographing all foreigner visitors to Japan: Except that as well as being kinda weird...
Japan: Confidential Police Files Leaked, Again
What do a group of sex crime victims, police informants, traffic violators, members of Japan's largest crime syndicate and a man being stalked by his girlfriend all have in common this week? They all had their personal information -- including names, addresses, photos, bank account numbers, private testimony, and interrogation reports -- leaked from a police officer's personal computer onto Japan's hugely popular bulletin board 2channel Tuesday morning. Japanese bloggers have responded to the leak with outrage and frustration.
A Japanese blogger who studies Korean
A Japanese blogger who studies Korean introduces herself and welcomes bloggers who would like to know about Japan and Japanese.[ko]
Japan: Wooden Car
James from Japan probe introduces a Japanese Wooden Car: The vehicle, which can go up to 80km/h, costs around 32,000 US dollars.
Japan: Death of a Pop Star
Blogger shisaku has a great post about the death of Sakai Izumi, singer and songwriter for the group ZARD and “the Voice of the Lost Decade” in Japan.
G8 Summit: Is the world a better place yet?
The G8 (+5) met in Heiligendamm, Germany last week. The world's richest countries came to agreements on climate change and poverty in Africa that are unlikely to satisfy most critics...
