Stories about Japan from March, 2010
Japan: The Strange Country
Kenichi realized an “info-graphic, motion piece” (which is his final thesis) with the aim of making Japanese people think about their country, that, the Japanese videomaker says, “isn't that normal”....
Japan Government: On the Fall of the Employment System
A think tank for Japan's Cabinet, the Economic and Social Research Institute (内閣府 経済社会総合研究所) (ESRI) published a study that quantified the present status of lifetime employment and seniority-based wage (i.e....
Japan: Long life to bluefin tuna. The experts’ word.
With 68 countries voting against, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species that regulates the international trade of wild animals and plants, rejected a ban on Atlantic bluefin...
Japan: Cherry Blossom Viewing 101
Legonjapan made a video [en, ja] to explain the abc of Hanami, or flower viewing. The animation teaches the related terms and the etiquette to follow during the parties, usually...
Japan: A whale of a controversy
Only a few days after The Cove was awarded the Oscar as best documentary, drawing public and media attention around the world to the hunting of cetaceans issue, anti-whaling group...
Japan: Human-faced dog
Pink Tentacle has a feature story about the legend of human-faced dog in Japan.
China and Japan: Expo Osaka and Expo Shanghai
Martin J Frid notices that the theme of Expo 2010 is loaded with a strong belief in “developmentalism” and “urbanism”. He then shares the experience of Expo Osaka in 1970...
Japan: Live Streaming Tokyo Marathon
Joseph Tame live streamed his run of the Tokyo Marathon with a hotel room “studio”, multiple live stream channels, Twitter, and GPS uplinks. Here's his full feature post chronicling the...
Japan: Foreign trainees’ sad stories
A photo-reportage by Buddhika on five Chinese female trainees who reportedly escaped from the fabric factory of Tode Bussan (in Toyama prefecture) where they were underpaid and exploited.
Japan: Brussels sprout in Kyoto
Photographer and blogger Sigrid, author of one of the most popular Italian gourmet blogs, is in Kyoto. Wonderful pictures of the city and of the delicatessen she has, together with...
Japan: Farmers’ blogs
Kurashi introduces a number of Japanese farmers who blog about farming.
Japan: Most visited 50 websites
Two different lists of the “most visited websites in Japan”. One by the Tokyo Ogilvy Digital Influence team and one by Authority.jp [en].
Japan: Bulwark of citizen journalism closes shop
JanJan, Japan Alternative news for Justices and NewCultures, Japan’s most popular news website based entirely on citizen journalism is about to suspend publication. At the end of March, the Japanese...
Japan: No Nukes
Martin J Frid blogs about the recently revealed secret agreement between Japan and the U.S in 1969 which has violated the three non-nuclear principles signed by former Japanese Prime Minister...
Japan: Miso making party
Tokyo Green Space has a photo essay on a Miso making party.
What is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test?
The NihongoUp Blog gives an in-depth explanation of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) – “It is a Japanese language test for non-native speakers, held twice a year in East...
Japan: Flight Doctor Tweeting in Chile
Flight doctor George Tomioka, who is in Chile as part of the Japan Disaster Relief Team from JICA, is tweeting at @georgetomioka [ja]. Here's a tweet from March 7th: “[Chile...
Japan: Manga Newspaper
According to Anime News Network [en], Manga No Shimbun [ja] (漫画の新聞), the first web newspaper that reports daily news in a manga format, will be soon available also in English,...
Japan: No More JANJAN
The website JANJAN, one of the pioneers of citizen journalism in Japan, has announced that they will go on hiatus for an undetermined period of time [ja] due to the...
Japan: How are the fishes after the tsunami?
Blogger Nishimura [ja] (from the southern island of Okinawa) explored the “near reef” to check the impact of yesterday's tsunami [en] on the local fauna.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
