Latest posts by Hanako Tokita
Japan: Turn off the lights
Since their introduction in the 1970s, convenience stores, popularly called konbini, have developed into a prominent feature of the Japanese landscape. Now the number has grown to about 45,000 stores, 94 per cent of which are running 24-7, offering everything from food, to beverages, to snacks, to ATMs, to ticketing and utility bill payments, you name it.
Japan: Changing New Year Celebrations
New Year's Day is the most important holiday for many people in Japan, where anything "first of the year" bears a special value: first day of the year, first sunrise, first dream, first sales...
Japan: The battle of HCV victims
Stories about tainted blood products are nothing new in Japan. In the 1980s, patients with hemophilia contracted HIV from tainted blood products, the result negligence on the part of the government and pharmaceutical companies about an earlier FDA decision to withdraw its approval of the products.
Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2007
Three years after its establishment in 2004, organizers of the Alpha Blogger Awards, established to showcase influential bloggers in the Japanese blogosphere, have changed their approach. In contrast to previous years, the group of nominees in the 2007 awards were largely unknown even to the presenters themselves. Include in this post is a summary of the event and an interview with one of the winners.
Japan: Pearl Harbor and John Lennon
kitanomizube[jp] reflected on peace and violence on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, which also happens to be the day John Lennon passed away.
Japan: Welcome, we'll collect your fingerprints and mugshot
tokyodo-2005[jp] has reposted a cartoon by Hashimoto Masaru. “People are not concerned even when the government violates human rights. This probably means that people who live in Japan in fact are very unhappy. Because they are unhappy, when other people's human rights are violated, they don't consider these to be...
Japan: Three inmates executed
Tomumaru[jp] quotes recent BBC coverage of the Japanese executions of three death row inmates on December 7. The glogger condemns the secrecy of Japanese executions and discusses in detail the national debate on the issue of the death penalty in the country.
Japan: Michelin Guide Hits Tokyo
On November 22, the much-talked-about Michelin Guide Tokyo went on sale. With a combination of French connections and something of gastronomical interest, you can never go wrong in Japan. Sure enough, for days leading up to and after its release, the Japanese media flocked to cover the event and the Guide itself, the most recognized restaurant and hotel guide book published by French tire manufacturer Michelin.
Japan: 16 suicide cases in Self Defence Forces
tokyodo-2005 [ja] quotes a November 14 newspaper article which reports 16 cases of suicide among Self-Defence Forces personnel deployed in the Indian Ocean and Iraq this year (up to October). The blogger speculates that the number may actually be larger since some cases might be misclassified as “natural causes” and...
Japan: Anti-fingerprinting protest leaflet
Re-entry Japan is a collaborative blog site which offers information and discussion on the newly introduced fingerprinting of non-Japanese nationals in Japan. The site has a protest leaflet which people can put in their passport when they go through customs.
Japan: Environmentally-friendly coffin
Blogger Kaz introduces and talks about environmentally-friendly paper coffins, which he found in an advertisement put by an ISO14001 certified funeral company. The paper coffins reduce the amount of fuel necessary for cremation by 50% and shrorten the cremation time by 10 munites, according to the blogger.
Japan：Travelogue from Georgia
Japanese blogger and blog journalism analyst Fujishiro Hiroyuki of Gatonews has posted a three-part travelogue, recording his trip to Georgia last month[Ja]. (1, 2, and 3) The series describes his experience in detail with photos. The blogger also expresses his concern about the current state of the country and worries...
Japan: Has Beaujolais Nouveau gone sour?
As the date changes at midnight on the third Thursday of November, corks come out of bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau and the celebration begins — in Japan. This has been an annual event since the 1980s, the period when the country enjoyed its bubble economy. The tradition still carries on,...
Japan: Fingerprints, mugshot, welcome to Japan
Despite protests from human rights organizations and the foreign community, new immigration procedures, which require all non-Japanese citizens over 16 years of age to be fingerprinted and photographed when entering Japan, will come into effect on November 20, 2007. Fingerprinting of foreign nationals in Japan is not a new affair,...
Japan: Kameda hits below the belt
(In)famous for their big mouths and bad behaviour, coupled with showy performances such as singing karaoke after their victories in the ring, the Kamedas have become the media's favourite boxing family. After the title match on Oct. 11, however, the family found themselves in the middle of harsh media bashing.
Japan: Bloggers respond to kidnapping in Iran
Earlier last week, the first report was made that a Japanese male was kidnapped and in captivity in Iran. Later it was revealed that the abductee is a Japanese university student who was backpacking in southern Iran. The news has reminded many of the previous cases in which Japanese individuals...
Japan: Impatient patients
In recent years, harsh criticisms have been focused at hospitals and healthcare workers about the quality of medical care. An example of the target of criticisms was a doctor conducting transplants using diseased kidneys in Ehime. And most recently, a pregnant woman, who lived just a few minutes away from...
Japan: Protecting the Kyoto Cityscape
While many countries around the world are struggling to tackle Kyoto at home, the city the environmental accord was named after is caught up in its own struggle. The capital of Japan for over 1,000 years (794-1868), Kyoto was once a picturesque ancient city surrounded by mountains. Today it is...
Japan: The Penalty of Death
On August 23, three inmates, in Tokyo and Nagoya, all convicted of murder, were put to death by hanging. The executions brought the number of hangings administered under then-justice minister Nagase Jinen, who was removed from the position shortly later in the recent reshuffle, to 10 during his 11-month term....
Japan: Yokozuna gets the boot
Never far from controversy, Mongolian Yokozuna (sumo champion) Asashoryu is again in hot water. He left Japan having submitted a doctor's note claiming he was injured, after which a video image showing the yokozuna playing soccer in Mongolia made it onto some of the major Japanese TV networks, sparking a controversy.
Japan: Tokyo Pride Parade
On August 11, 2007, the 6th Tokyo Pride Parade with nearly 3,000 participants hit the streets of downtown Tokyo under the blazing August sun. The TPP is becoming an annual event, one in which members of Japan's sexual minority community embrace and celebrate their sexuality and promote sexual diversity to the larger society. Bloggers who participated in the parade offer their impressions.
