· April, 2009

Stories about Japan from April, 2009

Macedonia: Celebrating Sakura Becomes a Tradition

  27 April 2009

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

  27 April 2009

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 watch.” Bullogger blogger Garbled Text won't be [zh] going to see it, lacking trust in Lu following mistreatment of animals...

Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free’ Money

  27 April 2009

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 have become more severe and illegal Tunisian residents are very few nowadays. While many of them come to Japan as...

Japan: The “anime” business

  26 April 2009

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 [ja] with news and reviews of books about the anime business world in Japan.

Japan: Petition for Tsuyoshi Kusanagi

  24 April 2009

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 nudity.

Japan: An Oscar to “Okuribito” (Departures)

  22 April 2009

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 With Bashir”. Directed by Yôjiro Takita, Okuribito is based on the novel Nôkanfû Nikki (納棺夫日記, lit. Diary of an undertaker)...

Japan: The SHADO Collective

  19 April 2009

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 Spanish David Coll Blanco and the German Eric Rechsteiner — intends to provide “five specific photographic approaches focusing mainly on...

Global Recession: The world is talking. Are we listening?

  18 April 2009

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: New Publishing Models for Manga

  15 April 2009

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) – 新ブラックジャックによろしく” on his site one month after their publication in Weekly Big Comic Spirits.

Japan: CB2, the child robot

  13 April 2009

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 to have developed socials skills by recording human expressions via eye cameras. According to Professor Minoru Asada, within the next...

Japan: Filipino girl sees her parents deported

  11 April 2009

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 the Calderons are heading for. Arlan and Sarah Calderon, two Filipino citizens, illegally resident in Japan since the early 90s,...