Stories about Japan from January, 2009
Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth
What if one day Jesus and Buddha descended to Earth to spend their holidays? And what if they lived together in a cheap apartment in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo? This...
Japan: My darling wife, I love you!
Blogger at Prism Cafe [ja] comments on news about an event organized by Japan Aisaika Organization (日本愛妻家協会 lit. Japan Organization of Beloved Wives) yesterday, the 29th of January, when in...
Japan: Blurry Lines Between Buzz and Truth – McDonald's Quarter Pounder Debut
Cultivating imported products into megahits is a big part of creating consumer trends in Japan, and food is no exception to the rule. Last year, it was the American donut...
Japan: Illustrator Junko Kawashima's blog
Check out the manga blog [ja] of the artist Junko Kawashima.
Japan: Obama vs. Aso
Like every other country in the world, Japan, one of the strongest of America's allies in Asia, followed closely the election of President Obama. His speech has been broadcast, translated...
Japan: Dual Employment System
Adamu from Mutantfrog questions if the dual employment system is an asset for Japan to deal with the economic crisis.
Japan: Robot Puppets
Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs about the use of robot technology in classic bunraku puppets in Japan.
Japan: Looking back on 2008
The last year in Japan saw, among other things, an economic crisis, employment instability, and the beginnings of the collapse of journalism. While the year was already recapped here last...
Japan: Bloggers on TV-Asahi and “Uso Basutaa”
Heated has been the reaction of many Japanese bloggers over the last week who felt cheated by TV Asahi after it turned out that in the variety show ウソバスター！ (Uso...
Japan: Coming of age in 2009
Every year, on the second Monday of January, in the neighbourhood of every city hall of Japan, one can see young men wearing the hakama (typical Japanese trousers) and women...
Japan: Battle of Search Engines 2008
Mokoto blogs about the 2008 annual result of search engines battle in Japan and observes some new development.
Southeast Asia: Ship of dreams and friendship
Take a luxury cruise liner, fill it with some 300 vibrant youths from Southeast Asia and Japan, stir in cultural agenda and social interactions. The result: a strong bond and...
Japan: Making a comic strip out of your daily life
Blogger pontadon regularly updates her blog [ja] with funny comic strips about her daily life.
Japan: Hakenmura, the Temp Workers Village
Over 300 people spent their nights between New Year`s Eve and the 5th of January in a tent camp stationed at Hibiya Park in central Tôkyô, referred to as 年越し派遣村...
Japan: The future of Toyota
Michi Kaifu at Tech Mom from Silicon Valley responds to news that Toyota “crown prince” Akio Toyoda is to take the company's president position in June this year. Reflecting on...
Japan: “What are you up to now?” has become a taboo question
The world recession has hit Japan just as it has hit other parts of the world, and many are worried about their future. In an entry that attracted a great...
Japan: Space Toilet
Edo shows how the next generation of space toilet looks like.
Japan: J-CAST vs. newspapers
Blogger smashmedia points to [ja] Japanese business news site J-CAST‘s recent negative campaign against traditional media. The blogger posts links to a J-CAST interview [ja] with freelance journalist Tetsuya Kuroyabu...
Japan: The end of PingMag?
PingMag, the Tokyo-based magazine about “Design and Making Things”, has announced that it will be “taking an extended hiatus, and will not be updated for the foreseeable future.” Over 300...
Global: Protesters in Full Force Against Gaza War
Millions of people around the world took to the streets in protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza over the previous few days. Here's a selection of videos posted on...
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
