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”. Unfortunately, the English version is no longer available.
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. the Japanese employment system). They used the data (1989-2008) from Basic Survey on Wage Structure (賃金構造基本統計調査) (BSWS) of the Ministry of...
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 tuna, that was slated for listing on Appendix One, i.e. a complete ban.
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 held under the pink flowers in full bloom (around the end of March or the beginning of April).
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 Sea Shepherd’s leader Peter Bethune was arrested in Tokyo, re-igniting the controversy between Japan and Australia-New Zealand.
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 which helped setting up the global agenda of sustainable development.
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 successful project.
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 mouth-watering Japanese recipes for the Cavoletto di Bruxelles‘ fans.
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 version of Ohmy News, launched in 2002 and following in the footsteps of its Korean counterpart, will shut up shop....
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 Sato in 1974. The agreement stated that if there was a war or a crisis, Japan would not object to...
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 Asia and once a year in the rest of the world.”
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 Info #3] The parks in Chillan were filled with tents right after the earthquake, but people have started to head...
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, French and Korean.
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 changing landscape of citizen journalism and falling advertisement revenue. JANJAN, which stands for “Japan Alternative News for Justices and New...
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.
