Stories about Japan from May, 2008
Musical instruments from around the world
Videos with interesting instruments from different corners of the world, including some made from recycled cans and plastic sodabottles, a record of how didgeridoos are made, and a Russian folk song on a hurdy gurdy.
Japan: Fujyoshi Sub-culture
Ben Ng notices that the Fujyoshi (female ontaku) sub-culture is on the rise in Japan.
Japan: Demographics
Ampontan blogs about government and private sector's plan for meeting the demographic challenge.
Japan and China: Hu's Visit
Japan Observer comments on Chinese President Hu Jintao's 5-day visit to Japan.
Japan: Death Penalty Broadcast, 53 Years Later
An audio tape recorded 53 years ago of a death penalty execution in Japan, aired by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting on May 6th and and by Asahi television's Super Morning show on April 29th, has triggered conversations among bloggers about the country's death penalty system. The 50-minute audio footage, which features the last moments of one unnamed death row inmate, is the first of its kind to have ever been released.
Japan: Kite
Lee from Tokyo Times posted photos of a huge Japanese style kite.
Japan: Common Web TV Standard
Serkan at Tokyotronic reports on news that a common Web TV standard will be rolled out in Japan as early as next year. Companies involved in the move, such as...
Macedonia: Sakura – Cherry Blossom Celebration in Skopje
Even though very few ethnic Japanese live in the Republic of Macedonia, many locals took part in the second annual celebration of Sakura - the festival of cherry blossoms in Macedonia's capital, Skopje. Organizers of the festivals included some prominent bloggers who recently started a collaborative blog, Japan@mk, and initiated spreading the word through the Macedonian blogosphere.
Japan: Global Article 9 Conference
Martin J Frid from Kurashi blogs about the Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War. Here is the conference's opening anime and Nobel Peace Price winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire's speech.
Japan: Fashion Webservice
Serkantoto from Asiajin blogs a new webservice for ordering fashion online.
Japan and Burma: Free Burma Hip-hop
Adamu translated a hip-hop song by a famous Japanese rapper in a free Burma gathering.
Global: The price of food, the cost of despair
The crisis of skyrocketing food prices is affecting all economic groups in every corner of the world. Every day, it seems, high-priced food sends another country lurching through some crisis:...
Japan: Return of the Gas Tax
Japan's “temporary” gasoline tax of 25 yen per liter of gas, extended for over 30 years and funding some 5000 road construction programs, has been re-instated after a short-lived battle with the opposition, and people aren't happy about it. Bloggers describe their experiences trying to fill up at gas stations in the last day before the gas hike came back into effect on May 1st.
