Latest posts by Chris Salzberg from October, 2007
Japan: Chinese spectators boo Japanese team, arouse national debate
Ampontan discusses the booing of the Japanese national team by a crowd of Chinese spectators at the Women's World Cup. After losing the game, the Japanese team displayed a banner that read: “Thank you China” in three languages, a gesture which Ampontan describes as “the gold standard for behavior in...
Japan: Racial profiling in the U.S. and Japan
Hasan at hasanhujairi[dot]com writes about his experience being a Middle Eastern foreign student in a post 9/11 world, subject to racial profiling first during his time in the U.S., and then again in Japan.
Japan: Taiwanese chorus music to the ears
A video of an auditorium in Taiwan featuring 258 Taiwanese people watching and singing along to the lyrics of Japanese anime songs became a hit in Japan earlier this week after it was uploaded to a popular video sharing website, attracting over 120,000 views and nearly as many comments. A Japanese blogger considers how this kind of connection can bring Japan and Taiwan closer together.
Japan: Rape at Iwakuni
Turner at Keeping Pace in Japan comments on the alleged rape of a 19-year-old Japanese girl by four US Marines on the first night of the Sake Matsuri [Festival] in Higashi Hiroshima.
Japan: Investigation commission to discuss welfare cutbacks
Starting in 2008, according to blogger tokyodo-2005, an investigation commission will begin discussing plans to cutback the welfare system in Japan. tokyodo-2005 writes that the existence of the commission has only been covered by one media organization (Hokkaido shinbun), and that otherwise there has been a virtual media blackout on...
Japan: NOVA on the brink of collapse
Despite numerous statements to the contrary from an increasingly evasive management, the collapse of Japan's largest English language school operator NOVA appears imminent as bloggers have been reporting lesson cancellations, school closings, and busy phone lines. Read about the thoughts and first-hand experiences of Japanese bloggers in today's post.
Japan: Starving in the Land of Plenty
The recent story of a man starving to death as a result of not being able to receive welfare assistance, made famous thanks to his having documented his last days in a diary, sparked many Japanese bloggers to reflect on the broader implications of their country's welfare policy. Read some of their thoughts on the issue in today's post.
Japan: Employers to start reporting non-Japanese employees
Debito reports that Japanese employers have been forced to start reporting all their non-Japanese workers to the government, in an attempt by the government to crack down on illegals.
Japan: Sports with “no future”
Why do people play sports? Is it out of a love for the game, just for a good time, or is it actually a career choice like any other? 21-year-old Japanese pro-golfer Ueda Momoko sparked a heated debate earlier this week after she remarked that she could not understand young people who play sports which, according to her, have "no future".
