Category Archives: Cultural Resources

Contained within this category are news summaries and commentaries, cultural experiences, and explanations on Japanese culture.

Good Economic News in Japan

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Background: With America still recovering from the worst job numbers in recent memory, Economists are still pondering the question is the economic recession bottoming out, or continuing to get worse? Although there are some signs from America the economy’s taking off like housing sales up and mortgage rates now climbing, overall the picture is still unclear.

Japan’s economic news today offered hopes that perhaps the world’s second largest economy is showing signs of economic recovery. Despite the comparatively strong yen (it’s been hovering close to 90 yen to the dollar) which hurts Japanese exports, the Monthly Economic Report published by the Japanese authorities today had positive comments on the economy. Each newspaper told a different story on the economic climate.

Yomiuri “The Monthly Economic Outlook Revised Up 3rd Month in a Row” The Monthly Economic Report’s analysis of the economy was revised up compared to last month, according to the Yomiuri. In June the report stated “A part of the economy looks like it might recover,” where as now “At this time the economy looks like it might recover.”

The report stated that along with an increase in corporate production and exports, personal consumption is also showing signs of recovery. The Yomiuri points to the government’s stimulus package that has encouraged spending on personal products such as televisions and cars that has helped revise the economic outlook upward.

Nikkei “The Monthly Economic Outlook Revised Upward 3rd Month in a Row, Consumption Takes Off” The Nikkei actually tells the full quote from the Economics Minister, stating “Although we’re in a tough economic climate, at this time the economy looks like it might recover.” The last time the economic outlook had been revised upward three times was 7 years ago, after the IT bubble in 2002.

However the Nikkei also pointed out that the economics minister used words of caution. “Although we have this analysis, there is still risk involved in the economy. The movements of the stock market and the exchange rate have been neurotic.”

Asahi “The stock market dips for the 9th time in a row” After searching the Asahi’s site I was surprised to not find anything about the Monthly Economic Report. It was instead filled with political articles about how the vote of no confidence was going to happen earlier, and that Google was now going to publish Japanese political commentary on their site “You Tube.” It seems as if the Asahi is publishing articles showing “political change”, and the possibility of the DPJ beating Prime Minister Aso and the LDP in the next election.

Maybe the reason the Monthly Economic Report wasn’t included was that it was positive, and the Asahi was looking to publish negative economic news to support their theme of “political change.”

J-News Mini-Roundup: “Talent” Governor, Candidate for Congressman?

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Background: One of the most amusing parts of Japanese politics is the willingness for politicians to get involved in comedy shows. Although this might sound familiar in terms of American politicians joining Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, or Obama at Jay Leno, the Japanese air tons of comedy and game shows everyday, most of which do not have the star quality of a light night talk show. It is here where the “Talent” Governor, Hideo Higashikokubaru, appears so much that the average viewer wouldn’t recognize him as a governor.

A former comedian turned politician, Higashikokubaru-san uses the television to increase his popularity and discuss his political life. Today he was encouraged to be a candidate for the Diet by Koga-san, the head of the electoral commission. Each newspaper reported a different take on the event.

Asahi “Higashikokubaru: If I were a candidate…” The Asahi reported more detailed commentary and remarks than the other papers. They claim that the head of the electoral commission for the LDP, Koga-san, stated that, “The LDP needs to change and develop power to reinvent itself.” They claimed that this comment was then a signal to Higashikokubaru that he needs to run for the Diet.

In response, Higashikokubaru-san stated he would get together with all the governors, and create a manifesto outlining how he would change the party going forward. He also said that “If I were a candidate, we’d have to talk more in depth about the conditions of my candidacy.”

Nikkei “Higashikokubaru Encouraged to be a Candidate” The most striking difference between the Asahi’s article and the Nikkei’s article is the Nikkei lacks all description of the event. It makes the reader wonder if the Asahi has articles that pay much more attention to detail, or more likely the Asahi added commentary that it saw appropriate, such as “The LDP needs to change…” Usually when the Nikkei reports political events it takes the more conservative, pro – LDP approach.

The Nikkei stated: “What was discussed between the governor and the head of the election commission is not clear, what is clear is that the governor did not announce his candidacy for the Diet.”

Yomiuri “Higashikokubaru: If I were the president of the LDP…” The Yomiuri had a slightly different take on the event vs. the Asahi and Nikkei. They claimed that Higashikokubaru-san stated his conditions for running as a member of the Diet, and in response the head of the electoral commission said “I’ve heard these conditions.” They turned the event into a conversation between Higashikokubaru-san and Koga-san, with Higashikokubaru-san requesting certain conditions be met before he becomes a candidate, and Koga-san stating he’ll think about it.

Death Threats on Wikipedia, in Japan

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Background: Japan is a perfect example of how the internet’s reach has gone global. One way to measure popularity of the internet is how many websites have been translated to other languages besides English, and Japanese has no shortage of translations in cyberspace. The internet in Japan has become a popular tool for commerce and social networking.

However, Japan is relatively new to abuses of the internet. Although sometimes incidents such as the Akihabara hit and run (06/08) were written about on blogs before the event took place, big websites such as Wikipedia have not seen abuse yet from users. The newspapers each had their own take on the “Wikipedia Incident”, the first documented arrest for abusing the Wikipedia website in Japan.

Asahi “3 Boys Charged with Writing Death Threat Articles” The Asahi reports that on February 26th, three boys went onto Wikipedia and changed the “Buddha” description on Wikipedia to “on March 8th at the Big Site Tokyo Expo, we’ll bring a rifle and kill all the participants.” In response, the boys are reported to have said “we did this like ten times.” Wikipedia has mentioned that this year from January to April they’ve had about 100 articles talking about killings.

How did the boys do it? According to the Asahi, the boys accessed Wikipedia through a server in Germany, hoping not be traced. They reported that the boys are actually quite prolific writers and usually update pages that have to do with video games.

Yomiuri “You’ll all be Killed” The Yomiuri’s depiction of the incident was dramatized for effect. Not only did they highlight this quote in their headline, but they also the charge the boys for death threats “without discrimination”. The Japanese in the article is 無差別殺害予告 , which literally means “in discriminatory prophesized killing.”

The Yomiuri also added that the authorities at the Big Site event increased the security presence in response to the boy’s threats.

Nikkei “3 High Schoolers Arrested in Fukuoka” The Nikkei had a very short summarized article about the incident but they did also outline that the students claimed that “they had written the same type of article at least 10 times on Wikipedia.”

Nature Attacks! – in Japan

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Background: Living in Japan one of the things you notice is how different your natural surroundings are. Coming from the east coast of the U.S., I was not used to Earthquakes waking me up at 4 in the morning. Or just turn on a nature show and you’ll hear about the Zumebachi, the vicious bees that are a couple inches long and supposedly have some poison associated with their sting.

The collection of articles today tries to capture the different threats from nature that are experienced in Japan. The newspapers each focused on a different phenomenon; some strange, some more common.

Asahi “Tadpoles Fall from the Sky” In Iwate Prefecture at about 6pm, while Kiyoko was busy working in the farm, she heard a sound like little bodies were falling from the sky. She looked around and found about 15 tadpoles laid out on her rice field.

In regards to the incident, Professor Azuma of conservation biology stated: “there’s a possibility the size of these tadpoles are about the size of Tokyo Daruma Frogs. When Herons fly through the sky, if they get spooked they might throw up their food.”

Nikkei “A 6+ Earthquake Would Take Down 7200 Buildings” The Nikkei claims that there is about 12,490 Middle and Elementary Schools in Japan. If an earthquake of 6+ were to hit, they claim that over half of those would collapse. They go onto explain that the buildings overall are about 67% earthquake resistant, with targets this year with a new budget of trying to up that to 78%.

Since the large Earthquake in China’s Szechuan Province, Japan has been taking a much more serious approach to earthquake preparedness.

Yomiuri “Floods and Lightning Threaten Tokyo” On a less serious note, the Yomiuri reports that Tokyo is in for a huge downfall of rain, which could be accompanied by lightning, flooding, and high winds. When this article had gone to press, the Tamagawa River had already gotten 50 mm higher.

The Swine Flu Continues to Spread

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Although articles about school closings and the threat of the swine flu have abated in the U.S., in Japan they’re still going strong. Effects from the economic downturn have been exacerbated by the spread of the swine flu, which has scared some consumers into shopping more through the internet than at their local department stores. There have also been articles from international news sources claiming that the threat of swine flu in Japan might prompt the WHO to raise the world alert level.

The last frontier, the “West” of Japan was hit today by the Swine Flu. The big news was that the northern island of Hokkaido had its first case. The flu has already spread and affected most of Honshu, Japan’s most populous island. Each newspaper reported the incident.

Asahi: “In Hokkaido, the First Infection of the New Virus Has Been Found.” The Asahi claims that on June 4th, ten friends left to travel to the U.S. and on the 9th they came back with more than they bargained for. At about the 11th of June, a call was placed to the local authorities stating “one of my friends has become infected with the swine flu.” The friend had the typical symptoms, such as runny nose and a high fever, and he went to the local counseling center.

Currently the friend who was diagnosed is in the Sapporo hospital, in stable condition, according to the Asahi.

Yomiuri: “It Came from America” Although they do not mention this in their headline, the first sentence tells that the infected 20 year old “flew home from America.” The Yomiuri also claims that when the person phoned into the local authorities, he had added where he had been, saying “My friend who went to Hawaii with me has been infected with the Swine Flu.”

The Yomiuri closes their article by mentioning the temperature of the patient, at 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit and said “his symptoms are stabilizing” instead of the Asahi’s more optimistic “he’s in stable condition.”

Nikkei: “The WHO is investigating raising the alert level” The Nikkei reported that on the 11th, the WHO held a meeting of its top specialists in disease control to discuss the possibility of raising world-wide alert to its highest level: 6. The Nikkei claims due to the presence of the flu in the southern hemisphere, they’re looking at calling this a pandemic.

However the end of the Nikkei’s article closed on an optimistic note. They claim that the WHO recognizes that the current strand of flu has a low probability of becoming fatal. So even if the alert is raised, they’ll stop short of ordering blockades and closing borders, due to the economic and social consequences.

The Economy Continues to Bleed

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The news articles this morning had conflicting stories of how the Japanese are being affected by the economic downturn. The Asahi ran a miraculous headline stating “record catches of black tuna found in Ishikawa Prefecture.” They also stated, although not in a headline, that the Nikkei average had bounced back over the past couple days.

Despite some exceptions, the headlines this morning each told of a different part of the economy sputtering. Looks like in Japanese economic news, what still catches reader’s eyes follows the old saying “if it bleeds it leads.”

Yomiuri “Record Bankruptices” The rate for bankruptcies among Japanese companies in May had increased by 6.3%, as compared with the previous month, April. The total bankruptcies now in Japan number 1,057, which has already surpassed the number of companies that went bankrupt in 2008. Debt held by Japanese companies has also increased by 6.3%.

Despite these dire numbers, the Yomiuri adds that although the number of bankruptcies continues to go up, they’re increasing at a slower pace. In April, there was 15.4% more bankruptcies than March. The rate of bankruptcies is going down, they claim, due to the government’s rescue package and stimulus that tries to decrease the amount of bankruptcies.

Asahi ”Workers are More Depressed” The Asahi reported that stress from overwork in 2008 was the highest it’s ever been, with 269 cases diagnosed. Within these numbers, 66 were reported to commit suicide, which is the second highest number on record. The report said that the work environment is getting more intense.

When the companies let people go, the employees that are left behind have more responsibility, and more work hours. The report concluded that 60% of the people diagnosed with stress from work worked over 100 hours a week! The people who worked over 160 hours a week, only 24 responded they had stress related symptoms from overwork.

Nikkei “World Economic Slowdown is the Worst Ever” The Nikkei not only focused on dire Japanese news but also highlighted that the world economy as a whole is slowing down. They quoted the report put out by the OECD that measures the economic growth rate of developed nations that includes Europe, the U.S., and Japan. From January to March of 2009, they estimated that combined GDP fell 2.1%, the lowest on record since the measurements began, in 1980.

3 Die in Tragic Accident in Yokohama

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Remember what it was like to first get your license? It’s both exciting and nerve racking to be driving around on your own free will. This is probably what the 18 year old university student was thinking last night as he was driving through the streets of Yokohoma.

Unfortunately, he did not think to check the light as he was heading for the intersection. As he went through the red light, his car was side swiped by another, and pushed up onto the sidewalk. Waiting on the sidewalk were three female pedestrians. They died shortly thereafter. The newspapers each had a different account of the story that made the driver seem guilty, or not guilty.

Asahi – Guilty: “I was really not looking” The Asahi reported the words of the university student as “I was really not looking.” The Asahi then reported the words of the other driver, claiming that she turned “following the light.” Due to this testimony the police are looking into the possibility of the student driver running and ignoring the red light.

The student’s car when it hit the other car turning into the intersection must have gone far. In the Asahi article according to the authorities, pedestrians who were killed were estimated to be about 10 meters from the crash.

Nikkei – Maybe Not Guilty: “I did not know the light was there” The Nikkei reports a different version of the student’s testimony. Instead of admitting he “wasn’t looking”, as the Asahi reported, they instead claim he “did not know the light was there.” They also tell that the authorities are looking into the possibility of the student running the red light, and omit the testimony from the other driver that was included in the Asahi’s article.

Yomiuri – Definitely Guilty: “Strong Possibility that he ran the light” When the Yomiuri reported that the authorities were looking into the possibility of the student running the red light, they emphasized that they were looking into the ”strong possibility that he ran the light”. They seem to side with the Asahi, as their report of the student’s testimony also stated “I was really not looking.”

The Yomiuri’s estimate for how far away the pedestrians were was even farther than the Asahi’s, at 15 meters! The Yomiuri also claims that there was a car stopped at the intersection, and the driver passed it and ran the red light. Guilty, as charged.

Japanese SMAP Member Returns After House Arrest

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SMAP is one of the most popular boy bands in Japan. Anyone that’s been to Japan and done Karaoke will probably tell you about their songs. Just turn on the TV and you’ll see the very popular Smap Smap variety show. According to Wikipedia SMAP leader Nakai was the highest tax payer of any entertainer in Japan in 2003.

In late April of this year, SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi was arrested for indecent exposure in a public park. He was found not guilty by authorities, and is scheduled today to return back to showbiz on the show Smap Smap. The Japanese newspapers each had their own account of the Smap member’s return.

Yomiuri He’s Back As Popular Than Ever This summary of the article basically sums up Yomiuri’s reporting of the return of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. They quote him by saying “I’m happy to have my job and start from square one. I apologize for any inconvenience caused to my band members, and I also thank the fans for all their encouraging words.” The “encouraging words”, according to Yomiuri, were about 45,000 letters sent by fans during his one month absence. Yomiuri paints a picture of Tsuyoshi both as popular as ever, and also as busy as ever. After his debut on Smap Smap tonight Tsuyoshi then is scheduled to appear on “Waratemoii” the following day.

Asahi He Has Risen and Reformed The Asahi fails to mention the massive fan mail and rigorous schedule of Tsuoyoshi and instead paints a picture of a secluded entertainer who has emerged and reformed himself. Quoting Tsuyoshi, “From today I, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, would like to start again as a member of Smap. I feel happiness.” They then add Tsuoyoshi, for his one month under “house arrest”, did not go out once. He instead chose to read and exercise. “All I can say is how grateful I am for my fans and the people involved.”

Nikkei “Teacher Arrested on Indecent Exposure Charges” The Nikkei did not run a cover story about the SMAP member returning to showbiz but instead focused on an engineering teacher for a girls middle school being arrested for indecent exposure. According to authorities at the school, the teacher’s being charged for exposing his “lower half” to three girls on their way to school. When questioned, he replied, “I’ve been very stressed out to the point where I’ve been unable to continue writing my own thesis.”

SMAP is one of the most popular boy bands in Japan. Anyone that’s been to Japan and done Karaoke will probably tell you about their songs. Just turn on the TV and you’ll see the very popular Smap Smap variety show. According to Wikipedia SMAP leader Nakai was the highest tax payer of any entertainer in Japan in 2003.

In late April of this year, SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi was arrested for indecent exposure in a public park. He was found not guilty by authorities, and is scheduled today to return back to showbiz on the show Smap Smap. The Japanese newspapers each had their own account of the Smap member’s return.

Yomiuri He’s Back As Popular Than Ever This summary of the article basically sums up Yomiuri’s reporting of the return of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. They quote him by saying “I’m happy to have my job and start from square one. I apologize for any inconvenience caused to my band members, and I also thank the fans for all their encouraging words.” The “encouraging words”, according to Yomiuri, were about 45,000 letters sent by fans during his one month absence. Yomiuri paints a picture of Tsuyoshi both as popular as ever, and also as busy as ever. After his debut on Smap Smap tonight Tsuyoshi then is scheduled to appear on “Waratemoii” the following day.

Asahi He Has Risen and Reformed The Asahi fails to mention the massive fan mail and rigorous schedule of Tsuoyoshi and instead paints a picture of a secluded entertainer who has emerged and reformed himself. Quoting Tsuyoshi, “From today I, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, would like to start again as a member of Smap. I feel happiness.” They then add Tsuoyoshi, for his one month under “house arrest”, did not go out once. He instead chose to read and exercise. “All I can say is how grateful I am for my fans and the people involved.”

Nikkei “Teacher Arrested on Indecent Exposure Charges” The Nikkei did not run a cover story about the SMAP member returning to showbiz but instead focused on an engineering teacher for a girls middle school being arrested for indecent exposure. According to authorities at the school, the teacher’s being charged for exposing his “lower half” to three girls on their way to school. When questioned, he replied, “I’ve been very stressed out to the point where I’ve been unable to continue writing my own thesis.”

The World Reacts to North Korea

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Earlier this year in April North Korea did two long range missile tests, aimed at the two bodies of water bordering Japan. Although North Korea claimed the rockets were designed to launch a satellite, these launches were widely condemned by the United Nations as acts of aggression. North Korea in response to the U.N.’s condemnation said it would start testing its nuclear facilities again and continue to do more long range missile tests. Yesterday North Korea put words into action by conducting a nuclear test. The Japanese newspapers this morning reported different world reactions to the North Korean nuclear testing.

Asahi “Korean Foreign Minister: 3-4 Times the Size of Hiroshima” In response to the nuclear testing conducted by North Korea, the Asahi reported that Korea has determined the blast was 3-4 times the size of the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Yu Myonfan, the foreign minister, claimed this in an interview in front of the Korean cabinet. Although these numbers are alarming, the Asahi does point out that the Defense Minister, Lee Sanghi, claimed the day before that the blasts were not as big as the Hiroshima blast.

Why are the opinions differing between the Defense Minister and Foreign Minister? The Asahi offers this troubling thought: “According to scientists, both the defense and foreign ministers would have had a different perspective on the bomb blast. If they were in different parts of the country when the nuclear bomb went off, they would’ve felt a different earthquake-like wave.”

Nikkei “Russia: A Strict Resolution is Inevitable” The Nikkei reported the commentary by the Russian Foreign Ministry. As Russia is part of the Security Council, any commentary made by them will surely affect the outcome of how the United Nations responds. “Using our power in the Security Council of the United Nations, we cannot back down from giving a strict response of sanctions to North Korea.”

To echo these comments, the economic summit that was planned between Russia and North Korea for the 28th of this month was delayed until further notice.

Yomiuri “Missiles Launched at the Sea of Japan” Perhaps the most alarming headline this morning about North Korea was the Yomiuri’s. It is one thing to talk about an event after it has taken place and the world’s reactions. It’s another to briefly state: “North Korea, as confirmed by the authorities in Seoul, launched two missiles directed at the Sea of Japan. One missile was a surface to ship, one missile was surface to air.” It appears Yomiuri, unlike the Nikkei and Asahi, preferred to focus on the long range missile testing instead of the nuclear testing. I know if I was living in Japan though, my first reaction to that article would be: where did the long range missiles end up?

The Sumo Tournament for Losers, Asashoryu Included

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Last night sumo’s match was an upset for the returning champion sumo, Asashoryu. After an accusation from the sumo authorities for “playing soccer in Mongolia”, among other charges, he was officially banned from sumo for an extended period of time in 2007 to 2008. Now this year he’s back along with his arch rival, Hakuhou. While Hakuhou was undefeated last tournament, Asashoryu racked up two losses. Last night also demonstrated that Asashoryu is not going to be able to come out of this tournament unscathed. Each newspaper had a slightly different take on Asashoryu, Hakuhou, and the tournament last night at Ryogoku, in Tokyo.

Yomiuri “Asashoryu hits the floor, Hakuhou racks up a third win.” The Yomiuri, compared with the other two papers, focuses on Asashoryu’s loss and him literally “hitting the floor.” His rival, Aminishiki, pushed him out of the ring by a well positioned start. The Yomiuri then describes this defeat as the seventh time Aminishiki has beaten a sumo champion. Hakuhou on the other hand, as they describe in their second paragraph, has racked up his third consecutive win.

Nikkei “Asashoryu’s first defeat, Hakuhou and Haruma win” The Nikkei cleverly gives the spotlight in their headline for a win to both Hakuhou and Haruma, to take the focus off of Hakuhou’s win. They then also describe Asashoryu being defeated for the first time, which could well be true in this tournament, but as mentioned in the background of this article Asashoryu had lost twice in the last tournament. The Nikkei favors Asashoryu, and the Yomiuri cheers for Hakuhou.

Asahi “Asashoryu was unilaterally pushed out” The Asahi stated that Aminishiki defeated Asashoryu by “unilaterally pushing him out of the ring.” Comically they stated the first day of the sumo tournament was a wave of chaos, in that most sumo wrestlers had lost, with the exception of Hakuhou and Haruma. For supporters of Hakuhou and Haruma, they wouldn’t see this as chaotic, but rather a good day for sumo. Asahi joins the ranks of the Nikkei in cheering for Asashoryu, while the Yomiuri seems to favor Hakuhou.