Stories about Japan from September, 2008
Japan: Internship at Hatena
University student and blogger id:suztomo describes (with many photos) their experience in September doing an internship [ja] at Hatena in Kyoto, Japan. The blogger had two objectives with the internship:...
Japan: The psychology of prostitution, and why it should be legalized
id:fromdusktildawn delves into the the roots and social context of prostitution [ja], arguing that by looking down on women who work in the sex industry, men offload feelings of guilt...
Japan: MIRAI brings together gadgets and the Internet
Alpha Bloggers announces a free event [ja] in Tokyo entitled, “Mirai: synthesis of gadgets and the net” (MIRAI：ネットとガジェットの融合), to be held on October 20th from 7pm to 10pm near Kudanshita...
Japan: Fluctuations in Yen-Dollar rate
Japanese blogger kawase_oh [為替王] analyzes recent fluctuation in exchange rates [ja] between the yen and the U.S. dollar, and also between the yen and other major currencies. The blogger says...
Japan: Group Bookmarking with 4dk
Osamu Higuchi at Higuchi.com introduces a free bookmarking service [ja] (in Japanese) called 4dk [ja], where bookmarks are visible only to those within a closed group. Higuchi refers to this...
Japan: Dropping out of Graduate School
At Hatena's AnonymousDiary, a former student of a Japanese graduate school describes their experience and why they decided to drop out [ja]. The student explains that in their lab, what...
Japan: Taiwanese blogger looking for Japanese boyfriend
According to Ameba news [ja], Taiwanese blogger and Japan-lover Shuen Shuen, also known as “Naomi”, announced on her blog [zh] that she wanted to move to Japan and find a...
Japan: Photos from Iriomote
Blogger id:mereco posts amazing photos [ja] from her trip to the island of Iriomote [西表島] in Okinawa, Japan. Photos from the trip include pictures of cows, hermit and coconut crabs,...
Japan: Uni likes the bathtub
At Uni no Himitsu Kichi (うにの秘密基地), Japanese blogger sauta19 posts photos of her cat [ja] Uni following her into the bathroom and on top of the bathtub, a place that...
Taiwan: The Return of Local Cinema
This summer, Taiwanese cinema is not only celebrating a comeback, but is also shining like the sun. No matter how strongly the typhoon hits Taiwan, movie theaters are witnessing hundreds,...
Japan: Mapping the News with Newsgraphy
Hatena user id:kaiseh introduces a news mapping mashup service they created [ja] called “Newsgraphy“, based on an earlier mapping service for Hatena blogs released in June (with much fanfare [ja])...
Japan: Kiki's Atashi Kanojo
Blogger Akihito Kobayashi at the Shirokuma Blog reports on his experience [ja] reading the winning work in this year's keitai shosetsu awards: “Atashi Kanojo” (あたし彼女) by 23-year-old writer Kiki. Although...
Japan: Nakayama comment on expansion of Narita Airport
id:takerunba comments on a statement [ja] by Japanese Minister of Construction and Transport Nariaki Nakayama in an interview with Sankei Shimbun, in which Nakayama criticized local residents obstructing the expansion...
Japan: Views on Wall Street Crisis
The ongoing collapse, bail-out and buy-out of Wall Street investment banks, threatening a U.S. and possibly worldwide recession, has triggered no lack of debates in Japanese blogs on the country's...
Japan: Hikikomori – Invisible Population
Coriolinus from Japundit blogs about the social phenomena of Hikikomori - People who isolate themselves and refuse all human contact for long periods of time, often years.
Japan: 2channel on Aso UN speech
New Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro‘s speech at the UN yesterday is all the talk on 2channel [ja], Japan's largest bulletin board. According to news reports [ja], 5 minutes into...
South Korea: Essay Contest on “Why is Dokdo Korean Territory?”
Ampontan brings the readers’ attention to a writing competition (for foreigners) sponsored by Korea Time on “Why is Dokdo Korean Territory?” And the prize is round trip to Dokdo!
Japan: Google or Galapagos?
Blogger and economist Nobuo Ikeda [池田信夫] remarks in an article [ja] that whereas U.S. papers are making their sites more Google-friendly, articles on Japanese news sites do not even have...
Japan: Name of new PM poses challenge for Canadians
At Canada de Nihongo (カナダde日本語), a Japanese blogger living in Canada describes how she can't stop laughing [ja] when people mention the name of Japan's new Prime Minister: although they...
Japan: Prosecutors want 1.5 years for bulletin board comment
2channel threads are commenting on news [ja] that prosecutors in Japan are asking for 1.5 years in the case of 23-year-old Atsushi Sugita's (杉田敦史) declaration on a bulletin board that...
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
