Stories about Japan from July, 2013
An Undeniably Racist Song, ‘Asian Girlz’ Sparks Controversy
Packed with Asian stereotypes and fetishes, song ‘Asian Girlz’ by ‘Day Above Ground’ has invited controversy and angry comments. Blogger Angry Asian Man typed down the entire lyrics to comment [if they have not]...
African Fabric Kimono Belt Supports Mothers in Earthquake Disaster Area
A group of Japanese mothers in Sendai city is producing special kimono belts with fairly-traded African fabrics. Yumi Nakano, who organizes the fundraising [ja] by requesting a donation in exchange for...
Japanese Railway to Sell Customers’ E-Ticket Data
Japan's largest railway company has decided to sell non-identifying data on its commuters to third-party companies. Though technically legal, some see the move as an invasion of privacy.
Fukushima: No Place Like Home
‘No Time for Anger [de]’, a visualization journal by a team of Swiss media reporter and designers, illustrates Fukushima two years after the triple catastrophe of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami...
Foreign Words Invade Traditional Japanese
A 71-year-old man is suing Japan's public broadcaster because he is literally lost in translation, in his very own country.
Data Visualization: Electric Japan
Electrical Japan [ja], a website by researcher Asanobu Kitamoto [ja] lets you explore electric power plants and energy consumption in Japan through data-visualization. The color of the dots represents the type of power plant, for...
Web Popularity of Japan's Candidates Ranked
In the midst of Japan's first election campaign where politicians are officially allowed to use social media, freelance engineer Masahide Mori [ja] has compiled a ranking [ja] based on the number of...
Former Fukushima Plant Manager Passes Away
Masao Yoshida, the manager at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at the time of the accident in Japan, died on July 9, 2013. He had esophageal cancer. Many people expressed condolences...
Club-Goers Rebel Against Japan's Dance Regulation
Club goers across Japan are rebelling against an antiquated law that requires public venues to acquire a license for dancing or face raids, arrests and closures.
Japan: Winny Developer Dies at 42
Isamu Kaneko, the Japanese developer of file-sharing software Winny, died due to an undisclosed illness on July 8, 2013 at the age of 42. He was charged in 2006 with “assisting”...
