Stories about Japan from February, 2009
Japan: Bloggers on the Nakagawa affair
Over a week has passed since now-infamous footage of Japan's former finance minister Shōichi Nakagawa stumbling through a 20 minute speech at the G7 meeting in Rome made world headlines...
Korea: Economic downturn and which companies have the best chances for survival.
While all of us hope the economic downturn is over soon, it seems that it’s a long term battle. Companies are cutting employees or decreasing their business scope. A netizen...
Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 2)
Starting December 24th, the Alpha Blogger website called for people to nominate 1-3 blog entries written in 2008 that had affected them the most. Mid-term results were announced on January...
Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 1)
On the 20th of February, the 2008 Alpha Blogger Awards were held in Tokyo. Sponsored by Pringles Chips, the event this year was attended by close to 80 people (including...
Japan: Pop-culture mashup
Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs a selection of pop-culture mashup posters by enfu.
Japan and South Korea: Cheap Won Draws Japanese Shoppers
Jean Min from Ohmynews! reports about the drop in South Korean currency Won and its side effect of drawing Japanese tourists to Seoul for shopping.
Japan: Pictures of Japanese festivals and ceremonies
Yoshio Wada (和田義男)'s website [jp] has fascinating photos of the most interesting Japanese festivals and ceremonies. It also includes some pictures from famous historical places aorund the world. (The website...
Japan: Agriculture the latest trend among celebrities
The Japanese economy is facing one of the worse slowdowns in its modern history, with a GDP that has declined at a rate of 12,7%. Nonetheless, TV programs and lifestyle...
Egypt: Because he is Japanese
Zeinobia comments on the Japanese Finance minister Shoichi Nakagaw resignation, after the criticism he received due to his embarrassing moment in the G7 summit in Italy. She also compares him...
Japan: Internet paranoia
Neojaponisme has an article discussing the recent legal prosecution of 18 internet users for making false accusations towards a comedian. The blogger points out that in reporting the case, mainstream...
Japan: Hay Fever Season is Here
If only it was just love that's in the air. Spring is slowly dawning, and pollen from Japanese cedars is starting to make its way around. Kafunsho (hay fever) season...
Japan: Transgender Man to Receive Compensation As a Male. Surprised?
The Okayama District Court has ruled that calculations of estimated lost earnings for a transgender man suffering severe aftereffects from a traffic accident be based on average wages for an...
Japan: Early-modern Japan in photography
Old Photos of Japan has a collection of fascinating photos taken between the 1860s and 1930s in Japan. The site is available in Japanese, English and Dutch.
Japan: Jerusalem Prize to writer Haruki Murakami
Mojimoji praises [jp] a speech given by writer Haruki Murakami (村上春樹), who received the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society on Sunday Feb. 15th. The blogger...
Japan: Hetalia Axis Powers and the limits of parody
Hetalia, a satirical manga set mainly during the Second World War and featuring national protagonists of that era, has attracted attention among both domestic and international audiences for its caricature...
Japan: Art of Non-debate
Adamu from Mutant Frog translated an essay by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, an Associate Professor of Global Media Studies, on local media's style in dealing with public debate, especially regarding the issue...
Japan: Municipal opposition to Street View
Demands by municipal assemblies and bar associations across Japan that Google revise [ja] or even halt altogether its new Street View service, rolled out in 12 Japanese cities late last...
Japan: Google Japan and PayPerPost
Motohiko Tokuriki at Tokuriki.com posts a long discussion [ja] of the recent PayPerPost incident at Google Japan. Tokuriki writes that while he does not agree with the PayPerPost approach, there...
Japan: Miyako Festivals
Peacay from BibliOdyssey posts picture of Japan Miyako Festivals -the annual festivals and customs of Kyoto at the beginning of the Showa period.
South Korea: Prospects for Peace
Jae Young Lee from Ohmynews writes an analysis on the prospects for peace in Northeast Asia region.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
