Stories about Japan from August, 2009
Japan: Voting for Change
Diary of A Singaporean Mind comments on the Japanese election result that ended the LDP 54 years of continuous rule. The blogger pointed out that Japanese people had voted for change even though the future remains uncertain.
Japan: We will not forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki
64 years ago, on the 6th and the 9th of August, atomic bombs were dropped by the U.S. forces on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people died and every year, ceremonies are held to commemorate those victims and to remind humanity of the horrors of war and of the use...
Japan: Marines and Okinawa
Peter Ennis at NBR Forum explains [en] the “role” of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa. “The US Marines are so heavily based on Okinawa for one reason:Budget. Japan picks up most of the bill. War plans for the Korean Peninsula virtually do not include the US Marines.” [via Tobias Harris,...
Japan: Robot nurse bear
Pink Tentacle featured a new machine – robot nurse bear which is designed to assist nurses by lifting patients in and out of their beds and wheelchairs.
Japan: Falling Asleep on Trains
A Tsukuba Express train driver fell asleep at the wheel and was reported by a customer who used his cell phone to film the driver's slumber. While many bloggers expressed relief that this didn't cause an accident, ruhiginoue wonders why the line needs drivers [ja] when it's equipped with an...
Japan: Hazy yet Familiar IT Vocabulary
Motoko Hunt discloses “top IT words that many Japanese don’t understand – secretly“.
Japan: What to do with “Media Arts”
For a nation working to capitalize its “soft power”, what is the role of anime and manga culture in governmental policies? The official answer is that anime, manga and digital art is both an important heritage and high-growth industry, requiring an official hub for preservation and presentation. Throw in a...
Japan’s Medical System
In response to the New York Times’ blog Q&A about the health care systems of the world, Cruzon from Mutant frog blogs about his experience in Japan's medical system, which is full of flaws.
Japan: 74-year-old American tourist detained for carrying pocket knife
James from Japan Probe updated the news story about a 74-year-old American tourist being detained for 10 days because he was carrying pocket knife.
Japan: I won`t vote
The general elections will be held on the 30th of August but many Japanese won`t vote. One of these, at takuyaonline, gives vent to his frustration [ja] against the rotten political class and the decadence of the Japanese society in a post titled I won`t go to vote (選挙には行かない) .
Paraguay: Blogger in Japan
Carlos Rodríguez of Rescatar [es] interviews Paraguayan blogger Rodrigo Yoshio Murayama of Vicento's Shrine [es], who has been living in Japan.
Japan: Whaling. Scientific research or commercial hunting?
Only "scientific whaling" is allowed in Japan, since commercial whaling was banned in 1986. But this is often regarded by environmental organizations as a ruse to continue commercial hunting.
Japan: Poop Obsession
Mari introduces a poop animation called “Unko-san” (meaning Miss Poop) to show the poop obsession culture in Japan.
Japan: Food self-sufficiency ratio calculation
JMR at Eris in Asia blogs about the reasoning behind the Japanese government's use of “the calorific method of calculation, rather than the near universal cost-base calculation” to calculate food self-sufficiency ratio.
Japan: Bean Curd
Ad Blankestijn from Japan Navigator explained more or less everything you need to know about Tofu or Bean Curd.
Japan: Law Banning Cell Phones for Kids Passed in Ishikawa
Ever since Ishikawa prefecture (500 km/315 miles north of Tokyo) passed the first of a kind regulation in the nation to limit cell phone usage for kids and tweens on June 29th, the blogosphere has been buzzing with what's appropriate for kids.
Japan: Suicide rate of SDF officials
Id:zyesuta analyses the problem of the high rate of suicides among the Self-Defence Forces (自衛隊 Jieitai) officials. The number of cases was particularly large in 2006 while it seems to have been slowly decreasing since then.
Japan: Reactions to the Japanese tourist rip-off in Italy
Japanese tourists in Rome are said to have diminished in the last period. Not only the economic crisis but also the bad service that Italian restaurants and hotels provide to the tourists as well as the fear to have their wallet or mobile phone ripped off, have made the Japanese...
The Sun went out over Japan recently.
The Sun grew dark and the morning skies dimmed down just before 11:00am on July 22, 2009 in Japan, where it has been more than four decades since a total solar eclipse has been visible.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
