Stories about Japanese from October, 2009
Japan: When Your Wife is Sick
When Japanese “corporate livestock” (社蓄 shachiku) culture and values on marriage collide – more than 300 people responded to this question on the mega forum Hatsugen Komachi: Should a husband take time off work when his wife is sick? Situation Rina has been married for 8 years and has a...
Japan: News in Manga Format
The Kininaruu blog is enthusiastic about Manga no Shinbun (‘Manga Newspaper’), a new Japanese website that publishes news stories as manga illustrations. Boo-hee thinks it's a good medium in a world overflowing with information [ja]. Hiroshi Hara posted an image of a similar attempt in his high school years.
Japan: Latest survey on poverty destroys the prosperity myth
One Japanese in six is living in poverty says the latest Welfare Ministry report [en]. According to OECD figures [en], Japan has one of the highest poverty rates in the developed world and is 4th after only Mexico, Turkey and the U.S. In September, Makoto Yuasa, Secretary-general of Anti Poverty...
Inheritance tax and children in limbo: adoption in Japan.
Adoption in Japan is a statistically under-represented, multi-dimensional issue. Young families seeking children, inheritance tax-evading grandchild adoptions, conservative opposition to confusing family blood-lines, and loosely regulated groups illegally netting profit from international adoptions out of Japan.
Japan: Avatars come to life in the anime Summer Wars
Against the background of the Japanese countryside, feel good sentiments and an extraordinary virtual world are featured in Summer Wars (サマーウォーズSama wozu) [ja], the new animated movie by director Mamoru Hosoda [en]. The anime tells the story of Kenji, an awkward teenage math genius who finds himself involved in an...
Japan: A blogger has dinner with Prime Minister Hatoyama
Blogger Satonao tells [ja] about him having dinner with Prime Minister Hatoyama and other politicians in a restaurant of Tokyo on Sept. 30. On that occasion, he could explain Mr. Hatoyama what Twitter is and exchange a few words on the condition of social media in Japan. Here are some...
Japan: The Buddha girls
They call them 'Buddha girls' (仏女 butsujo), Japanese ladies in their 30s or 40s passionate about visiting temples and admiring statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva.
Japan: Reactions to Tokyo's Olympic Bid (Part Two)
What does the Japanese blogosphere and Twitterverse have to say about Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympics? Part Two introduces some reactions after Rio won the bid.
Japan: Visiting Todaiji Temple
Yama explains [ja] in detail the architecture of Todaiji temple [ja] (東大寺) in Nara and of its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 Daibutsuden), the largest wooden building in the world. Pictures of the temple complex are also provided.
Japan: Reactions to Tokyo's Olympic Bid (Part One)
What does the Japanese blogosphere and Twitterverse have to say about Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympics? Part One introduces some reactions before the announcements at the bid ceremony on October 2nd.
