Stories about Japan from May, 2010
Japan: My Eyes Tokyo
Isao Tokuhashi at My Eyes Tokyo interviews foreigners living in Tokyo. The latest interview, the 32nd in the series, is Robert Koch, an audio products manufacturer from Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.
Japan: Those Commonplace, Vinyl Umbrellas
How "temporary" vinyl umbrellas fare in the cities of Japan.
Japan: Okinawans vent frustration over Futenma
Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama has backtracked on promises to reduce the presence of American military forces in Okinawa, and inhabitants of the prefecture are furious. In blogs, they express their disappointment and rage against the failed Japan-U.S. negotiations.
Japan: National police to share information on organized crime members
Sarah Noorbakhsh, at Japan Subculture Research Center's blog, reports [en] on the forthcoming cooperation between the National Police Agency (NPA) and the Japan Security Dealers Association (JSDA). The police will provide information for a database on yakuza (Japanese mafia) members “to combat organized crime members opening securities accounts”.
Japan: Monozukuri for the Modern Age
The Japanese counterpart of Make Magazine, an American quarterly magazine for DIY enthusiasts, organizes a regular event in Tokyo called Make Tokyo Meeting (MTM). The fifth MTM, held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology on May 22-23, was the largest yet, featuring everything from bicycle wheels with LED lights, to complex wooden ball machines, to mechanical robot birds. Check out reports on the event on blogs, Twitter and YouTube.
Japan: 1300 years in the making, celebration in Nara
While both culturally and physically a long ways from the modern capital of Tokyo, tracing back well over a thousand years into Japanese history one comes across Nara, a quiet, highly rural area which was established as the capital in 710. In doing so, a more centralized national administration was...
Japan: PacMan, still a hit after 30 years
When it was released in 1980, Pac-Man captured the world's attention and transformed the video game industry. Now Pac-Man is back to celebrate his 30th birthday, and he's popping up in unexpected places. In blogs and on Twitter, Japanese reflect on the game that launched their country to the forefront of the global video game industry.
Japan: Can Twitter help to prevent suicides?
Considered the dramatic increase of young victims who decide to commit suicide every year, some bloggers debate on the use of twitter to promote dialogue and help in suicide prevention.
Japan: The part-time jobs that Japanese never want to do again
Japan Style sums up [en] a discussion on “the part-time job I never want to do again” that took place on the the Japanese bullettin board 2 channel [en].
Taiwan: In memory of Chao-Jung Hsu, a Taiwanese WWII veteran
As part of an impassioned campaign to create a memorial park for Taiwanese WWII veterans, Chao-Jung Hsu's set himself on fire and died exactly two years ago.
Japan: Buddhist Pet Funerals
The Quirky Japan Blog introduces some actions a pet owner can take following the loss of a beloved pet, in a post titled “Buddhist Pet Funerals“.
Japan: The Strength of Soft Power
“If Japan is cool now, can it possibly stay that way?” Roland Kelts explains Why ‘Cool Japan’ is over.
Japan: 100 Japanese Books with Global Appeal
Tomo Akiyama links to Yurindo's book fair, which lists 100 Japanese Books with Global Appeal in English.
White American pop singers marketed in Japan
Adamu from Mutantfrog travelogue comments on the localized marketing of American pop-singers EastWest Boys.
Japan: Sanja Festival
Powerful images of the traditional Sanja Festival [en] (Tokyo), by Zuco.
ICT for Development News in Japanese
“ICT for Development.JP” provides regular and comprehensive coverage of ICT4D news and project updates from around the world in Japanese. It is run by Maki and Tomonari, who started this blog as a response to the lack of centralized resources for this topic in Japanese.
Japan: A fashionable prime minister
Sarah Noorbakhsh at JSRC wrote a post [en] about Japanese prime minister`s fashion. Check out the pictures of Mr. Hatoyama and his playful shirts.
Japan: Caterpillar, by director Wakamatsu
The Tokyo Reporter gives an overview [en] on the latest movie by Japanese director Koji Wakamatsu Caterpillar [ja], a film that “attacks the hypocrisy inherent in nationalism and the suffering of innocent civilians.”
Images from Japan's Largest Slum
The DJMICK blog posts select images by photojournalist Androniki Christodoulou of Japan’s Largest Slum in Kamagasaki, Osaka.
Japan: Another language school banruptcy
The Eikaiwa Review blog covers the situation with GEOS, yet another language school in Japan to go bankrupt.
Japan：Blogging about illness
High school student Piiko blogs [ja] about her illness (cerebrospinal fluid hypovolemia) and how she deals with symptoms such as chronic headache in her daily life.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
