Tofugu » Japanese News

Controversial Politicians, North Korea, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:19 +0000

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!

Women Forced Into WWII Brothels Served Necessary Role, Osaka Mayor Says

I could contextualize this story and tell you all about the history of WWII and Japan’s apologies and reactions since then, but all you need to know from this story is this: Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto is a huge turd. This is just the latest in a series of awful things he’s done and said, so any outrage I have at this is muted by Hashimoto’s sadly predictable behavior. Once a turd, always a turd.

Japanese Aide Makes Rare Trip to North Korea: Every once in a while, Japan extends the olive branch to the hermit kingdom with the hopes that maybe someday, North Korea will play nicely with its neighbors. For the first time in a long time, a high-level representative from Japan is in the DPRK right now trying to make nice with the Kims. Good luck!

Japan Mulling Offering Fast-Track Entry to Foreign Travelers: Japan has discussed many options over the years to boost tourism (including giving away free airplane tickets), but the latest plan has been to offer the same accelerated entry into the country. Americans and Canadians already enjoy this convenience, but more countries are currently being considered. Fortunately for everybody, North Korea is currently at the bottom of the list.

VIDEO: World Cosplay Summit 2013 Event Trailer: The World Cosplay Summit first caught my eye a few years ago when a Japanese governor and mayor cosplayed to promote the event. This year’s WCS isn’t until August, but it looks like promotion for the event has already begun. I hope that they can up the stakes a bit and convince the prime minister to dress up too.

Arctic Council Adds 6 Nations as Observer States, Including China: Recently the Arctic Council added six new countries as “observer states,” including Japan. What could Japan’s motivation be for joining the council? Maybe it’s more access to all of that delicious, delicious arctic whale.

More Photos Of Abe Shinzo On Top Of Military Hardware

Even though I never plan to run for elected office, I’ve learned one thing about being a politician: never, ever pose for a picture on a tank, plane, aircraft carrier, or any other military vehicle. Michael Dukakis and George W. Bush learned that years ago, and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is learning that posing on a fighter jet might not be the best idea. Just kiss a baby or something, dude.

Dispute Over Okinawa, New Kyary PV, And More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:00:14 +0000

China Refuses to Confirm Okinawa Island Belongs to Japanese

Japan and China have feuded over islands in the Sea of Japan for as long as anybody can remember, but it’s always been over minor, fringe islands. It seems as if China isn’t content with that, as it’s now beginning to eye Okinawa, an island that’s more or less been indisputably Japan’s for over a century. Next up: China claims that historically, Tokyo has always been a part of China. [via Reddit]

Donald Keene’s Latest Japanese Adventure: Donald Keene is the oldest of the old school of Japanophiles. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun before you were an otaku-tinted twinkle in your father’s eye. Keene is now trying out something new and very Japanese: adult adoption. The Donald adopted a friend 20 years his junior as a practical way of dealing with getting older. Can he adopt me, too?

VIDEO: “Invader Invader”, the New PV from Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: It might not seem like news that a Japanese musician has a new single out, but when that Japanese musician is pop superstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, I’ll make an exception. I haven’t watched the PV (promotional video) yet, but I’m guessing that there are brightly colored outfits, cute imagery, and bizarre happenings. (I joke because I love.)

Japan Says It Will Abide by Apologies Over Actions in World War II: One of the hot-button issues in Asian politics has long been Japan apologizing for its aggression in WWII. Lately, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been worrying people at home and abroad for hinting that the Japanese government might take back its landmark 1995 apology for its wartime actions. Fortunately, a minister in the Abe cabinet has reassured the public that the government has no plans for such a reversal.

Yen Hits Century Mark the Old-Fashioned Way: The yen has been promising to hit the oh-so-significant ¥100=$1USD mark for months now but, yesterday, it finally did it. And, surprisinly, it wasn’t Abenomics that pushed the yen over the top—it was some anonymous currency trader doing a series of massive transactions that finally pushed the yen over the top.

Author Murakami makes first Japan public appearance in 18 years

Photo by AFP

Haruki Murakami is a strange breed. Even though he’s far and away Japan’s most famous author, he’s not really that Japanese. He’s lived for a while outside of Japan, wrote his first novel in English, and is generally not that fond of publicity in his homeland. Now, after nearly two decades of public silence in japan, he’s making a public appearance to promote his new book, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. [via News On Japan]

Bonus Wallpapers!

1280×800
2560×1440

Japanese Harry Potter, Russia & Japan, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:00:16 +0000

NHK on changing the Japanese constitution: Last week, I mentioned that the Japanese prime minister and the political party in power in Japan have thought about amending the constitution. This week, What Japan Thinks rounded up public opinion on amending the constitution and the sentiment of the people is a resounding “meh.” Opinion is split more or less evenly three ways on changing the document, which probably means that nothing’s likely to get done and people won’t care about it, anyway. Win-win!

Daniel Radcliffe To Star In Crime Saga ‘Tokyo Vice’: Jake Adelstein’s yakuza memoir Tokyo Vice is being adapted movie, which is pretty exciting on its own, but the big names being attached to the project is pretty astounding. Big-time music video director Anthony Mandler is set to direct, and Harry Potter wonderboy Daniel Radcliffe is tagged to star in the movie. Yer a yakuza, ‘arry!

Cool Biz season kicks off across Japan: Summer’s right around the corner in Japan, which means it’s time for “Cool Biz,” the Japanese program to get working people to dress more casually to cut down on the energy used to power air conditioners. Unfortunately, Cool Biz is kicking off during an unseasonably cool time in Japan, with temperatures hovering around 60 °F. Guess we can’t bust out the Hawaiian shirts quite yet! [via News On Japan]

Weaker Yen Ups Cost of Life’s Simple Pleasures: We’ve talked a bit about what it means that Japan’s currency, the yen, is getting weaker and weaker, but there are consequences to the weak yen that are more terrible than anybody could have possibly imagined. A 10%-15% price increase on toilet paper? The horror . . . the horror.

LDP plans expansion of JET program:Exciting news for people who want to work in Japan! Japan’s JET program, which hires foreigners to teach English in Japan, is planned to double in size in the next couple of years, bringing a JET language assistant to every single elementary, middle, and high school in the entire country. The bad news? Incidents of kancho per capita are expected to skyrocket.

Putin mentions even split of disputed territory in talks with Abe: source: For the first time in nearly a decade, the heads of state of Japan and Russia met this week to discuss the biggest issues affecting the two countries; among them, coming up with a peace agreement to end WWII (seriously), and divvying up some of the islands that the two countries have been fighting over for over 100 years. Exciting times! [via News On Japan]

Working Women, Dying Trees, AKB48 Scandal, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:00:13 +0000

Photo by Neil Parker

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]

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.

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 ]

Photo by Kabacchi

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.

North Korean Hijinks, Speedy Internet, Judo Crisis, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:00:30 +0000

Photo by Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games

Is There Hope for Japanese Jūdō?:As Americans struggle with issues surrounding sports like basketball and football, Japan is facing problems of its own. Controversy is engulfing the traditional Japanese sport of judo, as revelations of coaching abuse emerge and Japan’s performances at the Olympics have been coming up short. It raises a lot of questions about the future of the sport, and the basic relation between coach and student.

Sayonara Taxis? Tokyo to Consider Operating Trains, Buses Around the Clock: The biggest gripe about Japan’s public transit system may soon be fixed, at least in Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is considering extending bus, and possibly train service around the city to later hours, meaning you won’t have to cut the party short to catch the last bus home. [via ]

Sony ISP launches world’s fastest home Internet, 2Gbps: While Google Fiber is causing excitement in the US, Japan’s internet is still running circles around American ISPs. For $50/month, customers in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures can receive 2Gbps down / 1Gbps up fiber internet service, making it one of the fastest commercially available internet services around. [via Reddit]

Japanese tourists to South Korea plummet amid Pyongyang’s rhetoric: Unsurprisingly, North Korea’s antics and threats of war have driven Japanese tourists away from visiting South Korea. The real tragedy of this story though, is that Kim Jung-un, unlike his uncles, has yet to visit Tokyo Disneyland. Will somebody please think of the man child dictator here?

Japan’s population falls by record level: [via Reddit] In the last year, Japan’s population plummeted by nearly 290,000 people, the biggest drop in recorded history. This isn’t a huge surprise, as Japan’s population has been shrinking for decades, but it’s a disappointing news nonetheless. C’mon, Japanese people! Just have more babies and everything will be ok!

‘Iron Man 3′ to Become First Film to Play in 4DX Format in Japan: 3D movies haven’t performed as well as the movie industry would have liked, but that’s not stopping them from introducing new, immersive technologies. The 4DX format uses effects like jets of air, tilting seats, and even smells to turn a movie into something that resembles an amusement park ride. Next stop: holographic, vocaloid Tony Stark. [via Reddit]

Putin & Puppies, Wild Boars, Anti-Missile Defenses, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:00:52 +0000

Putin posts photos of puppy gifted from Akita Prefecture: Last year Russian President Vladmir Putin was gifted an adorable Akita puppy from the governor of the Akita Prefecture. In what’s presumably a gesture to show that he hasn’t had the dog killed or jailed, Putin posted pictures of him frolicking in the snow with the Akita and another. See, scary authoritarian leaders can have a soft side, too! [via News On Japan]

Sukiya, Matsuya to cut ‘gyudon’ prices: What’s better than the cheap, cheap beef bowls (AKA gyudon) from Japanese fast food giants Sukiya and Matsuya? How about even cheaper beef bowls from Sukiya and Matsuya? Word is still out if gyudon rival Yoshinoya will follow suit, but one thing’s clear: everybody’s winning (but the cows). [via News On Japan]

Boar rampage leaves eight hurt in Hyogo town: Even though people like to portray Japan as a hyper-futuristic megaopolis, the country still faces problems that it’s faced for centuries. One such example is wild boars, one of which ravaged a town in Hyogo prefecture, injuring eight people. No matter how advanced your country’s toilets are, it’s still hard to stop a 200lb boar. [via News On Japan]

Why Japan is the most interesting story in global economics right now: As the yen is reaching towards ¥100 to $1 USD, people all over the world are watching intently to see what the results of Japan’s dramatic economic policies will be. Since Japan’s situation is so similar to that of other industrialized countries, its economic experiment could have huge implications elsewhere in the world. No pressure, guys! [via Twitter]

Japan outranks U.S. as world’s biggest recorded music market: After years of people screaming that the music industry is dying, Japan is showing ample evidence that it’s still very much alive and kicking. More surprising than that, Japan has not only surpassed the United States as the largest consumer of recorded music, but a lot of that is still CDs. Gotta get those AKB48 handshakes somehow!

Photo by Tolka Rover

Japan deploys Patriot antimissile system in downtown Tokyo: As Kim Jong-un continues to throw a global temper tantrum, North Korea’s neighbors have to make contingency plans, just in case the DPRK accidentally launches a successful attack. In Japan’s case, it’s set up anti-missile system throughout the country in major cities. More advanced, robotic solutions, are undoubtedly in development as we speak. [via Reddit]

Japan’s Richest People, North Korean Plots, Whales, and More [Sunday News]

Hashi — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:00:16 +0000

Retractable Tsunami Breaker Construction and First Test Underway off Coast of Wakayama: People in Japan are always working on technology to mitigate the effects of earthquakes and tsunami, but it’s become a much more serious endeavor since the horrific 3/11 disaster. Last month, a brand new, retractable barrier was built and tested out. I have no doubt that these barriers have benefited from years of experience with Japan’s retractable bidet technology.

Japan’s AV biz to thrive under TPP : A lot of the times, trade agreements between countries have unexpected consequences. It looks like for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement currently being worked on, one of the unforeseen results could be more direct competition between US and Japanese pornography. Finally, the free market can decide which country’s smut reigns supreme.

Japan’s 50 Richest: Without a doubt, Japan has its share of millionaires and billionaires, as proven by Forbes’ “50 Richest” list. UNIQLO tycoon Tadashi Yanai tops the list for yet another year, proving that big money isn’t in oil, finance, or tech: it’s in casual, designer clothing. [via News On Japan]

North Korea ‘moves mid-range missile’: As Kim Jong-un gears up North Korea’s military for another round of threats and scare tactics, Japan and other Asian countries are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Kim is still only in his second year as leader of the DPRK, so here’s hoping that this is just his terrible twos.

Campaigns on Multiple Fronts Against Whale Hunting: Whaling remains a hot button issue internationally as the U.N.’s International Court of Justice in the Hague hears a case against Japan about whale hunting. While it’s doubtful that anything will be decided for certain (or that anything will change at all), it’s still the most high-level court in which the issue has ever been discussed.

Photo by Ismael Núñez

Have Japan’s Anti-Smoking Laws Gone Too Far? Smokers Begin to Feel the Pressure: Japan has long been known as a smoker’s paradise, but the Japanese attitude towards smoking has been changing over the years. Now, smokers are beginning to feel squeezed out, almost discriminated. My advice: take solace in knowing that no matter how stigmatized, unhealthy, and polluting smoking is, it still makes you look cool. Joe Camel told me so!