Stories about Japan from August, 2011
Japan: A Revealing Blog by a Fukushima Robot Operator
Blogger Erico Guizzo at IEEE Spectrum's robotics blog reported that “an anonymous worker at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant has written dozens of blog posts describing the ups and downs of his experience as one of the lead robot operators at the crippled facility.” The blog was called “Say...
Japan: Noda elected as leader of ruling party
Finance minister Yoshihiko Noda has been elected leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, and will become the next prime minister. On the Agora blog, Hiroshi Ohnishi calls [ja] it a safe, if low-key choice, while Seki Obata claims [ja] Noda's virtuous personality is the only way of survival for...
Japan: Tofugu's favorite YouTube vloggers
The Tofugu site shares their favorite Japanese/English YouTube vloggers, saying “there is definitely a rising J-vlogging scene“.
Japan: Trends in the blogging service landscape
Netaful shares observations [ja] from a recent comScore report [ja/pdf] that in terms of visitor count, livedoor blogs have surpassed Ameba Blogs. The report concludes that even with the spread of SNS, “Japan remains one of the world's leading blog markets“.
Japan: Web, Social Games, and Mobile
Serkan Toto from Asiajin has made available his presentation on The Web, Social Games And Mobile In Japan.
South Korea: Blood Type Personality Theory, How It Works
The blood type personality theory claims that people's blood type is predictive of their personality and compatibility with others. Nowhere is this belief more popular than in South Korea and Japan. Yoo Eun Lee delves deeper into the theory's history.
Japan: Computers as a social and communicative tool
In Japan's Former Computer Lag, Néojaponisme looks at the development of the Internet and computers in Japan from the perspective of infrastructure and as a social and communicative tool.
Japan: How to Unplug Your Life and Save Electricity
People in Japan have been unplugging their lives as electricity-saving measures have been implemented to cope with power shortages. The effectiveness of the measures is yet to be proven but many have taken this opportunity to change their power consuming life style.
Japan: Indie service GoogleSatTrack used by NASA
Isana Kashiwai, developer of GoogleSatTrack, is astounded [ja] to see his software being used in NASA's Mission Control Center. He had happened to be watching the Atlantis return to Earth on NASA-TV.
Comedic Fun with Japanese Hashtag Memes
Since Twitter introduced Japanese language capability for hashtags, the Japanese Twitterverse has turned into an oasis for wordplay.
Japan: Mapping radiation online
Rick Martin gives an update on the radiation mapping work by Yahoo Japan and Safecast.org.
Japan: Kusoshigoto blog closed down
“Diary of a NEET Working Abroad” by Kusoshigoto “crappy job” was unexpectedly closed down and deleted, with a short message that conveyed his regrets and fear of danger. Tweeps are speculating [ja] that his identity had been compromised. A Japanese expat in Singapore, Kusoshigoto blogged against “slaving away” for Japan...
Japan: Chaos at Chitose Airport on March 11
On March 11, 2011, a Delta airplane pilot approaching Tokyo airport described his experience of an emergency landing in an email so vividly, that it spread rapidly across the blogosphere. Aviation fan blogger BUTA_NEKO responded to the meme in Japanese, to tell the other side of the story.
Japan: “Plutonium is safe,” they say
Youtube user tokyobrowntabby has translated into English the video clips of three Japanese nuclear researchers who claimed safety for plutonium in a TV show. A blogger at EX-SKF – who nicknamed the researchers the “Three Plutonium Brothers” – posted the transcript [en] of their speeches.
Japan: Perspective on London Riots scale in relation to Tokyo
To get perspective on the geographical scale of the London Riots, @c50cub96 mapped a comparison to the greater Tokyo area.
Walking through Japan
On August 1st Thomas Köhler started a mission: to walk trough three of the major Japanese islands, from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Köhler – who works as a manager at a tour operator – came up with the project after the March 11 disaster, when the number of visitors to Japan...
Japan: Foraging for food in Tokyo
Jess Mantell blogs about “free food everywhere, in Tokyo” at her blog, Edoble. Her latest discovery is perilla growing in the pavement.
Japan: Photo Report for Yokohama Triennale 2011
William Andrews from TABlog has a photo report on Yokohama Triennale 2011, “arguably the biggest art event of the year”.
Japan: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Creative Industry Survey Results
Chris Palmieri published “Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Creative Industry Survey Results” in English and Japanese on the AQ blog, reporting how people who work in the creative industries were affected by the events following the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. It's also been translated into Chinese.
Japan: “Hiroshima Archive” maps testimonials and photographs
Hiroshima Archive is a multilayered resource cataloging the reality of atomic weapons. They use Google Earth to associate geographic information with testimonials and photographs. Their website is in Japanese and English.
Japan: A Nuclear Gypsy’s Tale
Blogger Takeshi Kawakami was one of Japan's so-called ‘nuclear gypsies’, who for about 30 years made his livelihood working at the country's different nuclear plants. In his blog he has denounced the corruption and collusion between the government and the nuclear industry.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
