· July, 2009

Stories about Japan from July, 2009

Japan: DPJ's election manifesto

  29 July 2009

Tobias Harris from observing Japan comments on Democratic party's 2009 general election manifesto. The manifesto covers five major areas: (1) cutting waste (essentially political and administrative reform); (2) child care and education; (3) pensions and health care; (4) regionalization; and (5) employment and the economy.Part I and Part II.

Japan: Parental child abduction

  29 July 2009

Given the rise in cases where children born to a Japanese mother and a foreign father are abducted by the Japanese mothers and brought to Japan without the father's consent, the U.S., France, Canada and the U.K. have recently urged Japan to sign the Hague Convention.

Japan: Yokohama Mayor Resigns

  29 July 2009

Shisaku on Yokohama Mayor Nakada Hiroshi's resignation: “When an electoral shoo-in like Nakada takes a leap like this into the unknown, it is just one more indication that postwar system is on the verge of final, precipitous collapse”.

Japan: Fireworks in Tokyo

  26 July 2009

Auberginefleur at Japan Now & Then has compiled a handy list of Tokyo's firework events for 2009. suzurzan.ranran, cadm2, chris.jan have uploaded their photos of yesterday's Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, one of Tokyo's biggest summer events.

Japan: Mizuhiki twine art

  24 July 2009

Adamu from Multantfrog introduces a Japanese craft, Mizuhiki, which uses twine made from Japanese-style paper to create fancy bows and other designs.

Japan: No Twitter for Election Campaigns

  22 July 2009

In response to the government's decision that the usage of Twitter in election campaign activities violates the Public Offices Election Law, Kengo Preston wonders why disruptive methods such as direct phone calls and street speeches with megaphones are permitted while these low-cost and practical new technologies are not.

China: On Eclipses and Astronomy in Chinese history

  22 July 2009

Today part of India, China and Japan saw the longest total sola eclipse in 21st Century. In Chinese Astronomy, solar eclipses is related with instability and Granite Studio has an interesting article on eclipses and astronomy in Chinese history.

Japan: Political animation

  22 July 2009

Adamu from Mutantfrog Travelogue posts three political animations produced by political parties that campaign for the Lower House election in August.

Japan: Cat mania

  21 July 2009

The spreading of communities of people with same interests and hobbies is not new in the internet society. Netizens often exchange news, suggestions and picture on things and activities they share a common interest on. In Japan that is not only limited to hobbies, however, also love for pets is...

Japan: Japanese characters as ccTLD?

  21 July 2009

Motoko Hunt reports that a new conference is being set up to discuss Japanese ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) issues. We'll be seeing ccTLD with Japanese characters, such as “xx.日本”. (日本 is ‘Japan’ in Japanese.)

Japan: Poor Japanese people

  15 July 2009

Lee from Tokyo Times brings into focus a 10 minutes documentary, Japan: A Story of Love and Hate, which touches upon poverty problem in Japan.

Japan: The coming DPJ tsunami?

  15 July 2009

Tobias Harris from Observing Japan comments on Daniel Twining's argument that the advent of a DPJ government could represent a “tsunami” for the US and Japan. The blogger pointed out that the era of Japan's becoming a deputy to the US sheriff in East Asia has passed.

Japan: Beng Mealea Temple and Miyazaki's Laputa

  11 July 2009

Karapaia shares some pictures of the ruins of Beng Mealea Temple, Cambodia, which, the blogger says, inspired the architecture of the floating island in the anime Laputa: Castle in the Sky (original title 天空の城ラピュタ, Tenku no Shiro Lapyuta), by Miyazaki.

Japan: Personal Donations to Politicians

  9 July 2009

With “Love Japan“, Rakuten Inc. has enabled personal donations to politicians via credit card, a first in Japan. Hit Okano [ja] ponders about the relationship between the amount of donated money and its influence on politicians, while blogger Satotaku [ja] refers to U.S. President Obama's success with online contributions and...