Hanako Tokita

Latest posts by Hanako Tokita

“Welcome to Japan”? Kurdish refugee family leaves for Canada

  22 July 2007

Few people, including Japanese themselves, are aware of the dismal record of Japan's treatment of refugees, particularly its treatment of Kurdish refugees. After struggling for many years to make a home in Japan, Erdal Dogan and his family, who fled Turkey amid religious and ethnic persecution, have finally been forced to leave, luckily having been accepted as refugees in Canada. Japanese bloggers reflect on the departure with sadness and frustration.

Japan: Typhoons, earthquakes and missiles

  19 July 2007

After Japan experienced one of the most disastrous weekends in its history, a blogger [Ja] comments that “the odds of Japan getting devasted by typhoons and earthquakes are much higher than they are of it getting hit by a missile from a foreign country; however, the government is more preoccupied...

Japan: Internet regulation up for debate, but nobody is debating

  12 July 2007

While nobody was watching, an interim report drafted by a study group under the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has set down guidelines for regulation of the Internet in Japan which, according to one blogger, would extend as far as personal blogs and homepages. In the report, this...

Japan should work with China to tackle photochemical smog problem

  29 June 2007

Some scientists have been arguing that air pollution in China is responsible for increased incidents of photochemical smog in Japan. Kaz points out Japan's responsibility as a nation which suffered its own pollution in the past and says that Japan should build a good working relation with China in order...

Japan: Distance between NHK and Government

  29 June 2007

The recent appointment of Komori Shigetaka, who is a close acquaintance of PM Abe Shinzo, as an NHK's management committee member has raised a controversy over the possibility of the government's intervention in public broadcast. Blogger Miepong draws on and analyzes discussions in the Japanese blogosphere as well as mainstream...

Japan: Reactions to the Nova Suspension

  23 June 2007

Nova, the largest English language school operator in Japan and well-known for its fuzzy pink mascot, is in dire straights, having been ordered last week to suspend part of its operations for six months after it was found to have deceived its students and violated consumer protection laws. Bloggers in Japan offer their reactions.

AIDS in Japan: Blame it on gays?

  1 June 2007

Since the first case of AIDS in Japan was officially reported in March, 1985, official figures have indicated that the number of cases of HIV/AIDS among Japanese has been steadily increasing over the years (this despite the difficulty of making assessments due to the low rate of HIV testing among...

Japan: Listen to the voices of the Tokyo fire bombing victims

  25 May 2007

112 people, including the victims and their families of the 1945 Tokyo fire bombing, are suing the Japanese goverment for an official apology and 1.2 billion yen compensation. On March 24, a trial hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court and blogger tokyodo-2005 urges that more attention should be...

Japan: Mail from Henoko

  20 May 2007

dr.stonefly reprints an email sent by an activist in Henoko, urging the readers to take direct action in the protest against the marine survey. The email describes a fierce collision between the authorities and the peaceful demonstrators on boats and canoes. [Ja]

Which father is my real father?: Japan's 300-day rule

  20 May 2007

In early May, the Japanese government announced that it will take a special measure to recognise children born within 300 days of their mother's divorce, given that the mothers became pregnant after divorce. This announcement came after a group of divorced women with children raised the issue on the current...

Japan: Japanese 30-somethings not happy

  14 May 2007

shigeto2004 refers to and gives an analysis on the result of an online survey conducted by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri on workers in their 30s. This entry is followed by an active thread of responses. [Ja]

Civil movements in Japan and Korea

  11 May 2007

kenzo , an architect actively involved in an anti-gentrification movement in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo, talks about his recent experience of receiving a group of enthusiastic urban planning students from Korea. He describes the crosscultural conversation he had with the students on the topic of the differences between civil...

Japan: On PM Abe's Yasukuni offering

  9 May 2007

Japanese blogger shigeto2004 comments on PM Abe's recent offering of “masakaki” to Yasukuni shrine during the shrine's spring festival last month. He also criticises the ambiguity of the series of statements the PM has made over the past months. [Ja]

Japan: “Parental Studies”

  7 May 2007

The Japanese government has recently come up with a proposal for introducing so-called “oyagaku”, or parental education, as part of its education al reform program. Japanese MP Hosaka Nobuto criticises this recent movement mainly supported by some conservative groups and argues that the state has no place in the nation's...

Japan: Precariat May Day march sparks debate

  5 May 2007

On April 30, among many other May Day gatherings, “MayDay for Freedom and Lives” took place in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Subtitled “Resistance of the Precariat”, over 400 people including freeters, part timers, day labourers and homeless, who live with neither security nor stability, participated in this May Day event. Over the...

Government campaign for “Beautiful Japan”

  1 May 2007

Blogger tokyodo-2005 came up with a rough estimate for the amount of money spent by the Japanese government (Ja) on an advertisement that recently appeared in major newspapers. The ad asks Japanese citizens to submit their ideas about what they think is “the essence of beautiful Japan”.

Japan: What will happen after Golden Week?

  30 April 2007

Social Democratic Party MP Hosaka Nobuto and former diplomat Amaki Naoto say things will start moving in the Diet after Golden Week (one week period with several national holidays). Hosaka expresses his concern[Ja] about a recent trend in which the ruling coalition has forced through several bills and also points...

Japan: Has the age of the Internet arrived?

  28 April 2007

Japanese blogger hirochan comments on the recent elections in Japan [Ja] and gives his insights into the nature of the role of the Internet in political and election campaigns in Japan. He points out the fact that Japanese politicians are not maximizing the potential of the Internet as a tool,...

Hanako Tokita's space

I write for gyaku, a bilingual Japanese/English media project based in Japan.