Stories about Japan from April, 2009
Macedonia: Celebrating Sakura Becomes a Tradition
Sakura, the annual celebration of cherry blossoms through display of elements of Japanese culture, took place in Skopje, Macedonia, this weekend: somewhat later than last year, because the organizers did not want it to overlap with the Catholic and Orthodox Easter celebrations during the previous two weekends.
China: Brutal film on brutal history
Lu Chuan‘s retelling of the Nanking Massacre, City of Life and Death, is in theaters now; according to the people at China Film Journal, “it's a hard, brutal film to...
Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free’ Money
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Japanese government is spending two trillion JPY for cash handouts to boost consumer spending. To put it simply, all Japanese citizens and those registered as residents will receive 12,000 JPY, or 20,000 JPY for those under 18 or over 65, once they've lodged their application forms.
Japan: Tunisians in Japan
Blogger kuskusu, whose husband is Tunisian, makes some observations about the Tunisian people living in Japan. Dividing them into two categories, she observes that, since 9/11, immigration laws in Japan...
Japan: The “anime” business
Hiromichi Yasuda (増田弘道), production director of the anime production company Simple d'essai [ja] and author of Anime Bijinesu ga Wakaru (アニメビジネスがわかる, lit. Understanding the Anime Business), constantly updates his blog...
Japan: 50 Japanese Twitter Bots to Follow
From the weather in Tokyo to updates on what manga was published that day, Ascii.jp has posted a list of 50 Japanese Twitter bots to follow.
Japan: Petition for Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Blogger akinori-i is asking people to sign an online petition that calls for tolerance from the media and the government for SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, following his arrest for drunken...
Japan: Green deal
Martin J Frid blogs about Japan environment minister's plan of a “green deal” to to boost the economy and the environment.
Japan: Place to visit in Tokyo
Mari Kanazawa recommends a number of touristic sites to visit in Tokyo.
Japan: An Oscar to “Okuribito” (Departures)
For the first time a Japanese movie, Okuribito (or Departures), has been awarded the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, over the French “The Class” and the Israeli animated documentary “Waltz...
Japan: The SHADO Collective
Photoreporter Noriyuki Aida (会田法行) presents the SHA-DO Collective (写道・写真家集団). The group comprising Aida-san and other four photographers based in Tokyo — the Japanese Yasuhiro Ogawa, the Greek Androniki Christodoulou, the...
Global Recession: The world is talking. Are we listening?
There is no lack of online articles about the various aspects of the global economic crisis. Many of them are written by economic experts and policymakers. What about the perspectives of ordinary bloggers? This global roundup of blogs gathers stories of people around the world who are struggling to survive the economic downturn.
Japan: Crisis Vocabulary
Adamu from Mutantfrog Travelogue collects and explains a list of Japanese vocabulary for describing the financial crisis.
Japan: Hacker Community
Fumi Yamazaki shows a glimpse of Japan Hacker Community in What's happening in Japan right now?
Japan: Dog poo signs
Englishman blogs interesting pictures of dog poo signs in Japan.
Japan: New Publishing Models for Manga
Experimenting with new publishing models to overcome the decline of manga magazines, Shuho Sato has announced that he will be posting updates of “Say Hello to Black Jack (Sequel) –...
Japan: Missile Launched. What to Believe?
On April 5th, North Korea launched a Taepo Dong 2 'rocket' that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government, media, and the blogosphere all had very different reactions.
Japan: CB2, the child robot
On Pink Tentacle, updated news about CB2, the Child Robot With Biomimetic Body. The robot, already presented to the public in 2007 by the researchers of Osaka University, is said...
Bahrain: Airport Stories
Bahraini blogger Yagoob recounts some of his recent experiences in airports – including meeting a Japanese security officer in Nagoya who wanted to practice speaking Arabic.
Japan: Filipino girl sees her parents deported
All are equal before the law and in Japan, foreigners without a legal permit to stay must leave the country. Deportation is assured for any illegal immigrant. This is what...
Japan: Chalk Drawing of Ichiro Suzuki
WBC afterglow? A video of a portrait of Ichiro Suzuki drawn with sidewalk chalk by artist Phil Hansen has recently been making the rounds in the Japanese blogosphere.
