Every Sunday we gather the week’s weird and interesting Japanese news and present it to you in our Sunday News column. It might not always be hard-hitting news, but we hope that it still informs and entertains you. Enjoy!
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Japan PM: Women, advanced technology key to restoring economy: Japan’s economy has been in the doldrums for decades, but prime minister Shinzo Abe’s set of economic policies known as “Abenomics” has been trying to fix all of that. Part of Abe’s plan to jump start Japan’s economy includes accomodating mothers in the work place, encouraging shorter working hours and on-site daycare centers for workplaces. While it all sounds good in theory, whether or not Japanese companies will implement these practices remains unclear. [via Reddit]
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Revisiting a Constitution Crafted ‘in a Week’: It’s always struck me as odd that while the US has amended its constitution a whopping 17 times, the modern-day Japanese constitution has remained exactly the same since its inception in the postwar years. But now, Japanese Prime Minister and his LDP are considering changing the cornerstone of Japanese law for the first time in more than seven decades. First amendment planned? “Soft subs only.”
Majority oppose 24 hour buses and trains: Even though the newly-proposed later bus hours have been getting a lot of favorable press in the West, Japanese people aren’t as keen on the prospect. In fact, a majority of Japanese people polled in an online survey say that 24 hour public transit is unnecessary. What makes them say that? Noise, traffic, or price, nobody knows for sure; all we know if that you may still have to catch that early bus home from your nomihodia.
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Live Action Kiki’s Delivery Service: Studio Ghibli has been known for decades as an animation powerhouse, but now the house that Miyazaki built is trying its hand at something new—live action. For its first foray into the live action, Ghibli is revisiting an old classic, Kiki’s Delivery Service. What comes after live action movies for Ghibli? Maybe a 4DX version of My Neighbor Totoro where you can feel like you’re actually riding the cat bus. One can only hope.
AKB48′s Tomomi Kasai in fling with president of AKS management agency: Japanese idol groups sometimes forbid its members from any sort of romantic relationship, as was made extremely clear last year when an AKB48 starlet was demoted for a relationship with Koichi an unknown man. But it seems when the relationship involves a group’s manager, the rules can be bent a bit. Somehow , I’m unsurprised that idol group management plays fast and loose with the rules.[via ]
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Scientist Says Pollution From China Is Killing a Japanese Island’s Trees: As China’s air slowly turns into a toxic grey soup, Japan might be beginning to feel real consequences from its neighbor’s pollution. Ancient trees are dying off in the southern islands of Japan and some scientists are beginning to believe that China’s industrial waste is to blame. It’s chilling to think that what’s happening to trees hundreds of miles away must pale in comparison to what’s happening in China.
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