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The world is talking, are you listening?

Blogger and activist Masaki C. has something to say about English media coverage of LGBT politics in Japan, arguing that they simplify the issue down to marriage equality:

They are, in constructing LGBT politics in Japan as such, erasing local history and ignoring dialogues taking place among queers in Japan.

To counter the dropping birth rate, the Japanese government is proposing compiling a handbook with information on pregnancy and family planning to educate teenage girls on the subject. This plan to distribute the so-called “women's handbook” has been met with criticism by women's groups, which argue that the issues of pregnancy involve both men and women. More »

Hackathon in Tokyo for the International Space Apps Challenge. Photo by ISAC Tokyo Bureau CC BY 2.0

Japan participated in NASA's International Space Apps Challenge 2013 with a hackathon in Tokyo on April 21 and 22, 2013. Eighteen project teams developed apps with the aim of improving life on Earth and in space, including an app to create dishes in a shape of celestial bodies [ja] such as the moons of Mars using 3D printers, and a location finder app to suggest less cloudy places for installing solar panels.

Uploaded by Twitter User 島人JUN @baseball_re

A strong earthquake hit Awaji island of Japan on Saturday morning April 13, 2013. Twitter user JUN took this photo [ja] of the devastation. Seven people were severely injured, according to a report [ja].

The first non-profit community radio station to be licensed for broadcast in Japan made its debut a decade ago out of a small corner cafe in Kyoto city. Kyoto Sanjo Radio Cafe [ja], FM 79.7 on the dial, celebrated its 10-year anniversary on March 31, 2013. They aired a program to talk about how things have been in the community since the first broadcast.

FM79.7 Kyoto Sanjo Radio Cafe celebrates 10 year anniversary on March 31, 2013

The Japanese prime minister’s office revealed apps that give smartphone users easy access to official announcements and photos from official events. Masaru Ikeda at StartupDating writes:

 for the younger generation who don’t subscribe to physical newspapers or watch TV news shows, it could be a good touch point for them to stay up to speed on Japanese politics.

Harlem Shake in Shibuya crossing

Popular Internet video meme the Harlem Shake [en] has hit Tokyo. A verison organized by a Latino under the pseudonym Saw was filmed on March 17, 2013 in Shibuya, the heart of Japan's youth culture, and the video was uploaded on YouTube a few days later. Portal Mie [pt], an online portal that serves Portuguese-speaking foreigners in Japan, has more details [pt] .

The GoPetition site published Do not select Tokyo to host the 2020 Summer Olympics petition which has been introduced to many local sites. It accuses the current Japanese administration of denying the truth that more than 200,000 women and girls were indeed forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during the World War 2. 

Interest for Japan is at its peak among readers in France [fr] despite the Asian nation's gloomy economic outlook. Therefore, French Magazine ZoomJapan [fr] has featured 50 Japanese people that are transforming the archipelago; from architect Kyohei Sakaguchi―who established what he calls “independent government”―, to dancers, activists, business entrepreneurs, and journalists. The compilation is available online in French, Japanese and in English.
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A group of coders and concerned citizens have launched a Where Does My Money Go? [ja] website to explore tax spending in the city of Yokohama. With cooperation from the city, volunteers participated in a hackathon to brainstorm how to creatively showcase the city's tax spending. More »

Would you still be against it if someone you loved was killed by a psychotic murderer?

Human rights organization Amnesty International called for the death penalty to be abolished in Japan and criticized the Japanese Ministry of Justice for hanging three inmates. Beth at JapanCrush takes a look at reactions from netizens who are in favor of capital punishment in the country.

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Cecilia Miao translated a netizen story about the encounter of a Japanese and Chinese children in her family and reflect upon how the nationalistic education has affected the Chinese children in everyday interaction.

Domo, Snoopy, Barbapapa, Pikachu, Elmo and other characters hold hands. Image shared freely from teotsunago.com (For non-commercial use only)

“Project: Holding hands” (Teo Tsunago Daisakusen) [ja, en] is an art project that uses iconic children's characters to bring smiles to the people of Japan, especially children following the 2011 earthquake. More »

Japan has dropped from the 22nd spot to 53rd, recording the biggest drop of any Asian country, on the 2013 Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The report highlights lack of transparency and access to information on subjects related to Fukushima:

…The continued existence of the discriminatory system of “kisha clubs”, exclusive press clubs which restrict access to information to their own members, is a key element that could prevent the country from moving up the index significantly in the near future.

If the press have the energy to expose the names of victims and their pictures, why can't they pour the same energy into covering the information and wisdom that would prevent further tragedies?

A professor of Islamic studies Naito Masanori commented on Twitter [ja] about the press coverage of the Aménas hostage crisis in Algeria where 10 Japanese have allegedly been killed.

Image captured from http://zzhh.jp/questions/129, modified with English caption YES/NO

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The three-day conference “Digital Backyards” initiated by smal.jp and berlinergazette.de will take place in Sapporo on January 10-12, 2013. There will be a barcamp-style networking event on January 10 and 11 for journalists, activists, bloggers, researchers, entrepreneurs, cultural workers and programmers to define problems and come up with solutions. The outcome will be presented on January 12 to the larger public. Details can be found here.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department sent papers on Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder and former operator of Japan's popular online bulletin board “2channel” [ja] to prosecutors on December 20 2012, accusing him of helping in the solicitation of the narcotics trade, Jiji Press reported.
@Ikalga commented [ja] on Twitter that accusing the former operator for failing to delete comments of an illegal transaction is nonsense:

@Ikalga
Sending papers on Hiroyuki to prosecutors, is like blaming swordsmith for a suspect swinging his knife on the street.

First, Kin Jong-un took over North Korea after the death of his father. Then, Xi Jinping, the son of a communist politician veteran Xi Zhongxun, was announced the new leader of China. Last week, Park Guen-hye, daughter of South Korea’s longest-ruling dictator Park Chuang-Hee, was elected the new president.Chinese netizens wonder if dynastic politics are making a comeback in East Asia. Offbeat China has a detailed analysis based on Chinese web users’ comments.

The international Film Festival on Organic Farming was held in Satta Hall at Hosei University in Tokyo, December 16, 2012. One participant ama_san [ja] commented on Twitter:

Yesterday I went to the International Film Festival on Organic Farming. I was surprised to learn about the power of soil. This day and age, we are too removed from the earth. At the end of the day, it all comes down to earth, the birth place of everything. I was very moved.

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An online signature campaign has been launched to call for the release of Masaki Shimoji, Associate Professor of Economy at Hannan University, who has been arrested by Osaka police on December 9 for his campaign to oppose city plans to incinerate imported earthquake debris contaminated by nuclear leak in Fukishima.

Ainu, the indigenous people of Northern Japan seek cultural exchange with Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.

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Japan's popular live streaming platform Nico Nico Douga will host cross party talks on November 29, 2012. Niwango, the company that runs Nico Nico Douga invited the presidents of 14 different political parties. At the venue, nicofarre [ja], LED monitors which surrounds 360 degrees will show real-time comments made by online viewers.  The live stream will be available here [ja] at 8 pm Japan Standard Time.

A freelance photographer Takashi Ozaki published photos from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Image by OZAKI TAKASHI , (CC BY-NC-ND 2.1) taken on October 12, 2012

The plant was the scene of a nuclear disaster following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. More photos are available on fotgazet.com [ja], an online magazine by Japan Visual Journalists Association.

Even though Japanese is the second most active language in the world on Twitter, for the country's political candidates, tweeting during election campaigns is forbidden. A group of young activists is seeking to change this situation.

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North Korea Tech blogger posted about his visit to a small and rare book center in Japan archiving documents and contents related to North Korea.