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civic media enthusiast. interested in digital engagement, radio, youth culture. B.A. in Journalism, currently in graduate school studying Information Technology.
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.
Japan has approved a bill that will allow political candidates to tweet and blog during their election campaigns. Up until recently Japanese electoral candidates had to cautiously navigate their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and blogs to avoid breaking the country's strict election laws which banned all online political activity.
A thousand Japanese Facebook users unknowingly endorsed and shared a fictitious image that claimed to be an official publication and highlighted the negative impact Japan's apologetic stance in history has on the country's children.
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
Recruitment Rhapsody, an emotional short animated film that captures the rigid and obstacle-ridden job hunt process Japanese students must endure has gone viral with more than 350,000 views.
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] .
Our latest ebook is dedicated to people and stories of Africa’s Sub-Saharan region as told by local netizens. It is available as PDF, ePub and Mobipocket formats.
Global Voices is a super-important part in fixing what I call the "caring problem".
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RSS feed for Keiko Tanaka 
we are def getting there .