· April, 2011

Stories about Japan from April, 2011

Japan: “Nuclear Power Mafia”

  17 April 2011

An anoymous user published on Nichannel (2ch) some pages from the manga titled Hakuryu Legend – Nuclear Power Mafia [ja] (by Tennoji Dai and Watanabe Michio), whose publication was suspended...

France, Japan: Debating President Sarkozy's Visit to Japan

  16 April 2011

When French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Japan on March 31, 2011, less than three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami that caused a nuclear emergency, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is reported to have said: "When it rains, a friend who comes is a true friend". Bloggers ask if Nicolas Sarkozy really came to visit out of friendship alone.

Interview with Gaël Brassac, Global Voices Translator

  13 April 2011

Translators are the behind-the-scenes contributors who allow Global Voices readers to access our content in other languages. One of them is Gaël Brassac who lives in France, but who always had a special place in his heart for Japan and strongly believes that the nation will recover swiftly from its current predicament.

Japan: Quakebook, a book born on Twitter

  13 April 2011

Journalist and blogger Jake Adelstein presents Quakebook [en], “a compilation of art, stories, and essays to raise money for Japan earthquake survivors” which started with a single tweet. The book,...

Japan: A Japanese medical aid worker's diary

  13 April 2011

Anonymous translator ( @anontrans) translated into English some blog entries posted by “a Japanese nurse who was dispatched to Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan as a member of one of the first...

Fukushima: Public Criticism and a Rising Anger

  12 April 2011

Open protests against Tepco as operator and the government as monitor had been relatively muted until recently, but this has now changed. For many foreigners however, used to much bigger numbers of demonstrators in their own countries, doubts remain. Why do Japanese people seem so reluctant to criticize the company and industry responsible for this man made disaster and the government which let it all happen?

Japan: Earthquake catfish prints

  7 April 2011

Pinktentacle published images from the series of namazu-e (lit. “catfish pictures”) that was realized in the 19th century after the Great Ansei Earthquake. “These prints featured depictions of mythical giant...

Japan: “The Fear of Magnitude 0″

  5 April 2011

In the wake of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake which hit Japan, changing forever the lives of so many people, popular writer Keiya Mizuno decided to use words as a means to react to the event and reflect on the meaning of life. In a post titled The Fear of Magnitude 0 published on his blog, the author highlights the importance of memory and the value of remembering lessons learnt from such tragedies.

Japan: Plutonium, Our Reliable Friend

  2 April 2011

Professor Yuji Ankei posted on Youtube a rare version of the animated video called Mr. Pluto, our reliable friend – Story of plutonium (頼れる仲間プルト君——プルトニウム物語). The video, that was later withdrawn,...

Japan: Machine Civilization

  2 April 2011

Pinktentacle presented [en] the latest coreographed video by World Order, the performance group led by former martial artist Genki Sudo. The video is called Machine Civilization and is a message...