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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 28, 2007

More than money was found wanting in 'the lost decade'

Last week in this column, in an attempt to trace the roots of the nationalism now becoming a mainstream political force in Japan, I discussed the currents that characterized this country in the 1980s. This week I will look at the 1990s, to see how the social euphoria of the '80s led to what has come...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 5, 2006

Radio rivals are a turn off by playing it safe

In the United States, media critics bemoan the homogenization of FM radio, which has become dominated by a handful of corporations dictating what music is played. Meanwhile, AM radio is considered the exclusive domain of the right wing, filled with talk shows that badger so-called Middle America into...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2006

Minister won't warn media for naming juvenile suspect

Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura said Tuesday he will not issue a warning to the media for releasing the name and photograph of a 19-year-old suspected of killing a 20-year-old female student, saying they had not infringed on his rights.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2006

Birth of a male has raised profile of 'second princess'

Princess Kiko can do no wrong these days.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2006

Owning the bragging rights to work addiction

The Japanese were once famed for their work ethic. Now, shigoto-chudoku (workaholism) has been franchised out to the rest of the world and become a fact of globalized life.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 27, 2006

'Disguised contracting' gets proper airing in media . . . with results

The main front page story of the July 31 Asahi Shimbun was about the prefectural labor bureaus cracking down on major manufacturers for improper employment practices; in particular, something called giso ukeoi, or "disguised contracting."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 13, 2006

High-school baseball pitches the way of the samurai

It's said that even Japanese people who don't like baseball still get caught up in the annual summer high-school baseball tournament, which happens to be taking place right now at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture. Apparently, this same paradox applies to at least one American. On the Internet message...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 9, 2006

There's a price to pay for flaunting wealth in Japan

For its annual World Wealth Report, finance firm Merrill Lynch circles the globe and counts the number of millionaires. Though a million dollars -- 114 million yen, as defined by the survey -- ain't what it used to be, it's still a distant dream for the vast majority.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 2, 2006

Consternation characterizes response to Zico's World Cup flops

Though it may not be any consolation to local soccer fans, the Japanese team won the Humanoid Division in the RoboCup soccer competition that took place in Bremen on June 14-20.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 25, 2006

TV Asahi's "Takeshi's Really Scary Home Medicine" 3-hour special and more

This week, Beat Takeshi's medical horror series, "Takeshi's Really Scary Home Medicine" (TV Asahi, Tuesday, 7 p.m.), expands to three hours for a special look at eating habits.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 18, 2006

NHK's public service is to take your money and run . . . bad TV

Fans of baseball star Ichiro Suzuki had reason to be mad at NHK two weeks ago. The Seattle Mariners outfielder was on the verge of his 2,500th career hit, one of the game's rare milestones, which was predicted to happen some time between June 6 and 9. However, the public broadcaster, whose BS-1 satellite...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 11, 2006

Stick-thin, gay, or preferably both -- a television career awaits

Truth in advertising has never been strictly enforced in Japan, especially with regard to health-related claims. Breweries can get away with promoting "low-calorie" beers as weight-loss aids, while pharmaceutical makers sell vitamin supplements that claim to do everything from clear up your skin to help...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 4, 2006

The boys in blue got better things to do than ticket you

Local authorities nationwide started implementing a new policy to crack down on illegal parking last Thursday. Most people welcome stricter enforcement, since it presumably means safer streets and a smoother traffic flow. But there are many who don't like the new system, in particular people who operate...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 28, 2006

'Patriotism' a useful tool for the government to meddle in education

"I Am a Patriot" was a song released by "Little Steven" Van Zandt in 1984. In it, he sang that he loved his country because "my country is all I know." It's worth mentioning as the controversy over the use of "patriotism" in the revision of the Fundamental Law of Education continues to make headlines....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 30, 2006

Harking back to the past in order to secure the immediate future

Thanks to continuing malfeasance on the part of some of its employees, NHK remains in the dog house, so it's tempting to view recent programming decisions with an eye for how they might boost the public broadcaster's standing among subscribers. For example, why has NHK revived not one, not two, but four...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 23, 2006

Has pachinko got the balls to survive if casinos are legalized?

In February, the Liberal Democratic Party formed a team to study the possibility of lifting the ban on casino gambling in Japan. About half of Japan's prefectures, as well as Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, have said they want to build casino resorts to attract foreign tourists.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2006

Unlike with the French, a lack of fight spells future gloom for Japan's workers

While traveling through Europe recently I tried to get a handle on the controversy surrounding France's now abandoned First Job Contract (CPE) law, which was meant to make it easier for companies to hire young people. However, those same young people thought the law would make it easier for companies...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 26, 2006

Consumer credit companies have your money, and the media, in their pockets

On Jan. 13, the Supreme Court found in favor of an individual who had sued a consumer credit company for charging too much interest. By doing so, the court rejected the controversial "gray zone" that such companies take advantage of in their business.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 5, 2006

A few bows too many for shamed DPJ lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata

One picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words, and the one that graced the front page of the Feb. 24 Asahi Shimbun is worth more than all the kanji expended on the Democratic Party of Japan's e-mail fiasco.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 29, 2006

Sifting through the geeks -- that's all of us -- to identify the perverts

Less than a week after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki on Jan. 17, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia had not only recorded the ruling in its entry on Miyazaki, but had added an incisive note. When the Miyazaki case was dominating the headlines in 1989, he...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2006

Ministry defends not telling Koizumi of diplomat's suicide

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday defended its actions in not informing the Prime Minister's office about the 2004 suicide of a Japanese diplomat in Shanghai.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Koizumi aide Iijima wins libel suit

The Tokyo District Court ordered a publisher and a writer Friday to pay 1.35 million yen in damages to a key aide to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over a magazine article that claimed he is effectively subordinating Koizumi.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 11, 2005

If you want to build a home for the future then do it outside of Japan

Shortly after the quake-proofing scandal broke, Shukan Bunshun referred to the "hairstyle" of architect Hidetsugu Aneha as being just as much a "fabrication" (gizo) as the structural calculations he drew up for all those doomed condominiums. The joke was a telling one. Publicly exposing wig-wearers is...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 20, 2005

Getting hitched and escaping from the Imperial self-preservation society

Ever since it was revealed more than a year ago that Princess Nori would marry civil servant Yoshiki Kuroda, the media have expressed mild concern about her future as a commoner, implying that it might be difficult for her to adjust to life in the real world.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 23, 2005

It's about time for Japan to take its foot off the gas . . . and think

What do the following recent news items have in common? 1) An automobile driven by a 23-year-old man in Yokohama accidentally runs into a line of high-school students returning home from school, killing two and injuring seven. 2) The United States Senate votes to open the Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil...
Features
Sep 25, 2005

Shinobazu Pond

"Listen," said Nishizawa-san.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?