Latest posts by Hanako Tokita
15 March 2011
Japan: Frustrations from the Overlooked
While the eyes of the media and the rest of Japan have been glued to developments in the Tohoku region, cries for help from other disaster areas have not received...
17 February 2009
20 November 2008
18 September 2008
Japan: The End of OhmyNews Japan
At the end of August, 2008, OhmyNews, the citizen journalism site from South Korea that entered the Japanese market in 2006 with much fanfare, closed its doors. First officially announced...
12 August 2008
Japan: Ainu recognized as indigenous people
On June 6, a couple of months prior to the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to officially recognize the Ainu as an...
23 July 2008
9 July 2008
Japan: Bloggers on food crisis feast, G8 over Skype?
The G8 Summit at Toyako, Hokkaido, ended on June 9th after three days of meetings, leaving a bitter aftertaste for some bloggers in Japan. Many questioned the high cost of...
17 June 2008
Japan: Iwate-Miyagi Inland Earthquake
On June 14, an inland earthquake reaching M7.2 on the Richter scale struck the Tohoku region of Japan. In Iwate and Miyagi, the hardest hit prefectures, 10 have been confirmed...
24 May 2008
Japan: Experiences at IDAHO
On the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), Japanese LGBT communities organized several events and street activities in several cities across the country. With a slogan of “Yes to sexual diversity”...
18 May 2008
Japan: A surge of suicides
Over the past few weeks, the Japanese media have been extensively reporting suicide cases associated with the use of hydrogen sulfide gas, providing detailed description of ingredients and methods used....
23 April 2008
Japan: Where has all the butter gone?
Where is the butter? — cry Japanese consumers who have been hunting everywhere for the dairy product. The drastic reduction in raw milk production, complicated by hikes in the price...
14 April 2008
Japan: Architect bloggers stand against redevelopment plan
One of the most prominent modern architectural works in Japan is facing possible demolition. Japan Post, privatized last October, announced last year its plan to build a 200m building in...
6 April 2008
Japan in full bloom
Spring has come to Japan with the first cherry blossoms of the year. People anxiously wait for the blossom forecast announced by the Meteorological Agency, while marking their calendar for...
31 March 2008
Japan: Views on Yasukuni, the movie
A documentary film about the controversial Yasukuni shrine, shot by a Chinese filmmaker through funding by a Japanese government agency, has sparked debate and discussion after a group within the...
16 March 2008
Japan: Obama gets support from Japanese city
Excitement is growing in a sleepy fishing town on the coast of the Japan Sea. The city of Obama, whose name means “little beach” in Japanese, is receiving unusual attention...
7 March 2008
Japan: American enka singer makes waves
The first ever American-born enka singer, Jero, has become the talk of the Japanese blogosphere the past weeks as he made his debut with the single “Umiyuki (Ocean Snow)”. The...
3 March 2008
Japan: Is it obscenity or is it art?
On February 19, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled that a Robert Mapplethorpe book, confiscated at Narita Airport in 1999 on the basis of its perceived pornographic content, does not violate...
10 February 2008
Japan: Coming-Out Letters
The Japanese LGBT community has come a long way to claim its position in society today. However, aside from those flamboyant celebrities on TV who satisfy viewers’ appetite for entertainment,...
