· February, 2010

Stories about Japan from February, 2010

Japan: Blogging from a locked room

  28 February 2010

What if you found yourself trapped in a room of your house with the door lock broken and few tools with you? This is what happened to Fumiko Fumio. Equipped with a camera and his faithful laptop the blogger diarized his adventure as he lived it. Asking advices on twitter...

Japan: Thoughts on Longevity

  21 February 2010

As the most rapidly ageing country in the world in addition to having the highest life expectancy, Japan has a lot to think about concerning quality of life and a sustainable society. However, it's rare that one contemplates about it on a personal level. In Long Life is a Risk...

Japan: A Typical Day

  18 February 2010

Matt Alt translated a diagram that shows the exaggerated schedules of a “normal” person versus that of a “NEET” (Not Employed, in Education, or Training).

Japan: Cool bizz campaign

  17 February 2010

Neojaponisme blogs about conflicts and challenges surrounding the cool bizz campaign in Japan. The campaign encourages white-collar workers to work sans jacket and tie in the summer months to reduce dependence on air conditioning.

Egypt: Recall your Corolla

  16 February 2010

Zeinobia mentions that the Egyptian Consumer Protection Agency has obliged Toyota Egypt to recall some of its models from the market, in order to fix defects Toyota announced earlier on the company’s expense.

Japan: Momus, on This Ageing Country

  12 February 2010

In “Growing old in, and with, Japan” on the Click Opera blog, Nick Currie (aka Momus) lists several points of what could be “a silver lining to Japan's likely silver age” but concludes that realistically, “Japan will get cheaper, smaller, poorer, purer, wiser, more itself.”

Japan: Top Ten Successful Expats

  12 February 2010

Alex at VictoryManual.com lists “Top Ten Successful Expats in Japan” – “Definitely English-speaking, American, white males have the easiest access to success as a foreigner in Japan.”

Japan: When forced confessions lead justice astray

  11 February 2010

The recent Ashikaga case [en] saw a man acquitted after serving 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering a child because of inaccurate DNA tests. It has once again brought to light the problem of false confessions used by Japanese police. In the past, the methods adopted by...

Japan: Learning the art of diplomacy from a mobster

  10 February 2010

Blogger at U-SUKE's tumblr says [ja] he learnt the art of diplomacy from a former mobster. This the yakuza's advice: “During negotiations, you know, the one who looses his temper looses the game. First of all you listen carefully to what the other party has to say. Then, when he...

China: Let Feng Zhenghu come home, to jail time

  9 February 2010

After 92 days in Narita Airport, activist Feng Zhenghu has returned to Japan and is preparing for his ninth attempt to return home to China. Should he go? Illiberal members of Anti-CNN.com think jail time for leaders in China's exiled democracy movement could give it a fresh start.

Japan: Snow Candle Sparking Hope for Haiti

  4 February 2010

Over 100 international students of the International University of Japan joined together to build a snow ball in lighting the candle of hope for Haitians who have been suffering from the earthquake devastation since January 12th.