Latest posts by Hanako Tokita from December, 2007
Japan: The battle of HCV victims
Stories about tainted blood products are nothing new in Japan. In the 1980s, patients with hemophilia contracted HIV from tainted blood products, the result negligence on the part of the government and pharmaceutical companies about an earlier FDA decision to withdraw its approval of the products.
Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2007
Three years after its establishment in 2004, organizers of the Alpha Blogger Awards, established to showcase influential bloggers in the Japanese blogosphere, have changed their approach. In contrast to previous years, the group of nominees in the 2007 awards were largely unknown even to the presenters themselves. Include in this post is a summary of the event and an interview with one of the winners.
Japan: Pearl Harbor and John Lennon
kitanomizube[jp] reflected on peace and violence on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, which also happens to be the day John Lennon passed away.
Japan: Welcome, we'll collect your fingerprints and mugshot
tokyodo-2005[jp] has reposted a cartoon by Hashimoto Masaru. “People are not concerned even when the government violates human rights. This probably means that people who live in Japan in fact are very unhappy. Because they are unhappy, when other people's human rights are violated, they don't consider these to be...
Japan: Three inmates executed
Tomumaru[jp] quotes recent BBC coverage of the Japanese executions of three death row inmates on December 7. The glogger condemns the secrecy of Japanese executions and discusses in detail the national debate on the issue of the death penalty in the country.
Japan: Michelin Guide Hits Tokyo
On November 22, the much-talked-about Michelin Guide Tokyo went on sale. With a combination of French connections and something of gastronomical interest, you can never go wrong in Japan. Sure enough, for days leading up to and after its release, the Japanese media flocked to cover the event and the Guide itself, the most recognized restaurant and hotel guide book published by French tire manufacturer Michelin.
Japan: 16 suicide cases in Self Defence Forces
tokyodo-2005 [ja] quotes a November 14 newspaper article which reports 16 cases of suicide among Self-Defence Forces personnel deployed in the Indian Ocean and Iraq this year (up to October). The blogger speculates that the number may actually be larger since some cases might be misclassified as “natural causes” and...
Japan: Anti-fingerprinting protest leaflet
Re-entry Japan is a collaborative blog site which offers information and discussion on the newly introduced fingerprinting of non-Japanese nationals in Japan. The site has a protest leaflet which people can put in their passport when they go through customs.
