Ai Love Japan

Your Japanese Podcast Connection

2006-01-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

A little about the Japanese Podcast 101:

Our goal is to make Japanese, easy and fun, while incorporating culture and current issues into our lessons. We believe the more you speak the quicker you learn, so we have designed our program to get you speaking right away. Situational Japanese is heavily stressed, and our 4-member team role play various situations to demonstrate what form of Japanese to use when speaking with friends, customers, executives, etc. Knowing which form to use, separates good speakers from great speakers.

I admit, the dialogues are a little slow, but it's great listening practice and they break down vocabulary wonderfully. Also, you can' t beat having a native speaker.

GET YOUR PODCAST HERE: http://www.japanesepod101.com/

Catagory Four Language - Japanese

2006-01-12T19:47:00.000-05:00

According to the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn. The Institute, which oversees the training of U.S. diplomats, catagorizes languages into four groups, from Category 1 (easiest to learn) to Category 4 (most difficult). Japanese is a Category 4 languageone of fourthe others being Arabic, Chinese, and Korean. Here is the complete breakdown for the major languages:

Category 1

To attain "professional" proficiency: 24 weeks of full-time study

Danish

Dutch

French

Italian

Norwegian

Portuguese

Romanian

Spanish

Swahili

Swedish

Category 2

To attain "professional" proficiency: 32 weeks of full-time study

Bulgarian

Dari

German

Greek

Hindi

Hausa

Indonesian

Malay

Urdu

Category 3

To attain "professional" proficiency: 44 weeks of full-time study

Amharic

Armenian

Azeri

Bengali

Burmese

Czech

Finnish

Georgian

Hebrew

Hungarian

Kazakh

Kyrgyz

Khmer

Nepali

Filipino (Tagalog)

Polish

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Sinhala

Thai

Tamil

Turkish

Uzbek

Vietnamese

Category 4

To attain "professional" proficiency: 88 weeks of full-time study

Arabic

Chinese

Japanese

Korean

All about JET

2006-01-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

I found browsing this site to be very helpful and informational about the entire JET process (esp. for the ALT), form application, picking your placement, and teaching classes.

Includes such pearls of wisdom as:

The city or the countryside?

Where you end up going in Japan can make all the difference in what kind of experience you're going to have here. I feel as though my arrangement is pretty good, but it really depends on the person.

My first piece of advice is: even if you want to live in a big city, don't request Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto. Those are the places that people who've never been here have heard of and ask for, and account for an extremely small percentage of all available slots. One problem is that the big cities have plenty of foreign teachers to choose from without needing JETs at all. Indeed, many expect that the rural JET would have the toughest time here, but in many ways I think the urban JETs actually have it worst. Basically, big Japanese cities are lots of fun so long as you don't have to live in them.

Winter Sonata hits Japan

2006-01-12T09:40:00.000-05:00

The popular South Korean TV drama Fuyu no Sonata (Winter Sonata) is now being performed as a stage musical in Sapporo with actors, actresses and backstage staff all from South Korea. The show is due to be performed again during this year's Sapporo Snow Festival in February, and then every year until 2010 as part of the popular annual event showcasing snow and ice sculptures.

The performance is in Korean with Japanese subtitles.

The TV melodrama starring Bae Young Joon and Choi Ji Woo ignited a craze for South Korean drama in Japan after the series was broadcast here. The drama also drew attention for its extensive use of beautiful snowy landscapes.

Im Tae Kyung, a well-known South Korean opera singer, and Go Young Bin, who performed at Shiki Theater Company in Japan for two years, will alternate playing the lead role that Bae--known as "Yon-sama" to his legions of Japanese fans--made famous in the televised version.

Im, who had been to Hokkaido for skiing in the past, said it immediately made sense to him when he heard the musical was to be staged in Sapporo. "I think the town's snowy image sits well with Winter Sonata," he said.

Speaking of the great popularity of the television series in Japan, Im said he wanted to use the pressure of stepping into such a famous role to produce his best-ever performance.

Japan baby boomers face divorce in late life

2006-01-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

TOKYO: Newly retired engineer Kotaro Toyohara arrives home for a family celebration after his final day at work, clutching a ring for his wife, Yoko, his head full of plans for the years of leisure ahead.

To his shock, Yoko blurts out that she wants a divorce.

That was the scenario for one of this season's most popular Japanese television drama series, "Jukunen Rikon" or "Mature Divorce," reflecting a phenomenon that many commentators fear may balloon as Japan's baby-boom generation heads into old age.

"We get more and more consultations like this," said Atsuko Okano, who runs Carat Club, a divorce counselling service. "Women are becoming more independent. When their husbands retire, they realize they have 20 or 30 years of life ahead of them and they don't want to carry on as before."

With a new law set to come into force in 2007 allowing ex-wives to claim half their husband's pension, domestic media are warning of a possible divorce boom.

The number of Japanese couples parting ways has risen rapidly over the past 20 years to a 2002 peak of 290,000, while divorce among those married more than 20 years has increased even faster.

Now figures are drifting downwards, but many commentators speculate that women who initiate the majority of divorces are holding out until 2007.

Some Japanese women see their husbands as an obstacle to enjoying their sunset years.

Anime Info

2006-01-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

ON THE INTERNET AND TV, TEENS FOLLOW FAVORITE CHARACTERS AND SERIES

For many teens in the Bay Area, there's never enough anime. They tune in to Japanese animation shows on the Internet and on TV. They draw their own anime and dress up like their favorite characters on occasion. Some even join Japanese language classes. Here are profiles of four popular anime series:

``Naruto''

Though it made its debut on Cartoon Network's ``Toonami'' in September, the animated episodes have been accessible via the Internet since 2000. The popularity of ``Naruto'' has grown since its creation in 1999 by Masashi Kishimoto.

``It teaches life lessons and is super-inspirational and has extreme tragedy that made me almost cry once. And a blend of humor!'' said Justin Shaw, a senior at Lynbrook High School in San Jose.

Synopsis: ``Naruto'' chronicles the passionate, hyperactive teenage ninja Uzumaki Naruto, who strives to become the fourth Hokage, the strongest ninja in the village. Sealed inside his body is Nine-tails Demon Fox, a demon whose character emerges only when Naruto is extremely sad or angry.

``Bleach''

``Bleach'' -- viewable only on the Internet -- has intense sword-fighting scenes and an unpredictable story line.

``It has cliffhangers at the end of most episodes, and you can identify with the characters, which is why it's so popular,'' said Patrick Shyvers, a senior at Cupertino High School.

Synopsis: The evil spirit Hollow attacks 15-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo and his two sisters, but the Shinigami, or death god, Kuchiki Rukia comes to his defense. Rukia gets injured and transfers her powers to Ichigo, who must train to learn the duties of a Shinigami.

``FullMetal Alchemist''

This show gained popularity through viral advertising -- the Internet equivalent of word of mouth.

``Since most animes are watched before they're licensed, they're not advertised anywhere, so really you can only hear about new animes from other people. If it's good, it spreads,'' said Bryant Kou, a senior at Saratoga High School.

Synopsis: Edward and Alphonse Elric lose their mother in childhood and attempt to bring her back using alchemy. They stumble upon curious objects and face moral dilemmas as they learn alchemy.

``One Piece''

``One Piece'' is quirky, ridiculous, strange and wonderful. ``It's absurd and unlike any other anime I've seen,'' said Stephanie Wei, a freshman at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.

Synopsis: In search of a pirate's loot, 17-year-old pirate Monkey D. Luffy eats a gum-gum fruit, which grants him the power to stretch like rubber. Luffy and his crew struggle to realize their dreams and fight villains.

Where to view anime

Dedicated anime fans watch their favorite shows on the Internet for the convenience and quality. On television, anime has been censored to tone down violence, and voices are dubbed.

``The anime on TV is really bad unless you have Cartoon Network, because the stuff on TV is edited so everything good is taken out,'' said senior Jennie Chen of Cupertino High School. ``People who are true anime fans like watching it online in Japanese with English subtitles.''

``The Internet has made this process very fast. Not only does knowledge of new animes spread quickly, entire animes can be sent to a large amount of people in a relatively short amount of time,'' said senior Bryant Kou of Saratoga High School.

Typically ``fansubbing'' groups in Japan download anime programs, subtitle them in English and upload them to the Internet. Because sometimes it takes years to license anime for the American market, the underground downloading movement continues to make anime available to markets outside Japan.

Anime is usually sent through Web sites such as Bittorrent.com. Anime is to Bittorrent as music is to Kazaa. The legality of file-sharing anime that is licensed in Japan but not in the United States is ambiguous. But once the producer exports those programs to a U.S. licensee, users would be violating the license agreement by downloading it from the Internet.

To view anime, try these Web sites:

www.bittorrent.com, www.animesuki.com

www.moonbeanmanga.net

Keizo Miura, Japanese Ski Pioneer, dies at 101

2006-01-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

Keizo Miura (Mainichi)Keizo Miura, a pioneer of skiing in Japan and the father of adventurer Yuichiro Miura, died of multiple organ failure, his office said. He was 101. Miura was a ski instructor and also worked at regional forestry offices.

He made headlines in 2003 at 99 when he skied down the famed Mont Blanc's Vallee Blanche, or White Valley, with his family spanning three generations.

The spirit of adventure runs in his family. His son, Yuichiro, was the first person to ski down Mt. Everest in 1970 and scaled the mountain again in 2003 to become the oldest climber with his son Gota. Keizo was one of the most famous centenarians in Japan, appearing on television talk shows and writing many books on skiing.

He was skiing until April 2005, when he injured his neck, according to Kumiko Kudo, official of Miura Dolphins, his office.

He recovered from the injury, but suffered a stroke in September and pneumonia in December, she said.

Miura was survived by his three sons and a daughter.

A funeral service will be held Jan. 11, according to the office. (AP)

Check out the Drama that's rocking Japan, Hong-Kong, Korea, Tiawan and even Chicago

2006-01-06T14:36:00.000-05:00

Article by: Atiya Achakulwisut

The first reaction I had when I finally had time to sit down and watch the talk-of-the-town Korean series Dae Jang Geum, was how come there were so many women and they all looked the same? After getting over the initial who's who confusion, I began to pick up the story. I admit that at first I did not think much about this series. I grew up with the phenomenal popularity of Oshin, the Japanese series about the life of a poor but smart and diligent young Japanese woman who finally found riches, and the Hong Kong-made Shianghai Godfather about the struggle to maintain your place in a dangerous world against the intensity of love, friendship, treason and revenge. What more could modern soap operas offer? I dismissed the growing popularity of the Korean series as perhaps artificially whipped up by the channel's heavy advertising.

I was wrong. The advertising may have brought it public attention but the series itself has a solid story _ and many meaningful messages _ to impart. In a nutshell, Dae Jang Geum, known in English as ''The Great Jang Geum'' or ''Jewel in the Palace'', is based on the true story of the first Korean woman to become a royal physician more than 500 years ago. Poor and orphaned at an early age, Jang Geum had a chance to work in the royal kitchen, where she learned the intricate art of cooking, and the depth of human vices, especially when it came to money and power. An exceptionally intelligent and resourceful woman, she rose to the prestigious post of royal head chef. She was later framed for trying to poison the royals and expelled from the palace. Jang Geum then turned to study medicine and was so good at it that the royals had to ask for her help later.

The drama is not only praiseworthy for its presentation _ the setting, costumes and acting show the makers all cared about its quality _ but its content is also first-rate. I was not surprised to find out that it is the number-one hit not only here but in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and, believe it or not, Chicago. The China Daily has just reported that 3.28 million Hong Kong residents, or half the island's entire population, watched the drama.

Get New Japanese Music on your iPod (hassle free)

2006-01-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

That's right! Thanks to internet pioneer company Rightsscale, Japanese music is now becoming available for download through iTunes. Now no more struggle to work around Japanese encryption to download your favorite tunes to your iPod!

Here is an interview with Shaun Iwase - Rightscale Director of International Relations for more info on how this great news came to pass (from the fine folks at Anime News Network):

To Japanese music fans, the promise of digital music is endless. Instead of settling for the five or six albums your local record store might have, or paying outrageous prices for the privilege of waiting two weeks for your import CD to arrive, you could have instant access to millions of songs for a fraction of the cost.

And now, finally, it's beginning to happen. But you'll never guess who's leading the way: a small company called Rightsscale. While the rest of the industry moves like molasses, Rightsscale has already thrown major artists like Bonnie Pink and underrated indies like PE'Z into the digital ring.

So how did they do it, and when will everybody else catch up? Shaun Iwase, Rightsscale's Director of International Relations, is here to share some insight.

How did you manage to get J-Pop on iTunes so far ahead of the big guys like Sony and Avex?

Major labels like Avex and Sony have a large infrastructure, so it takes a long time for something to be put into action. Rightsscale is much smaller in scale. We can act immediately after making a decision. We've been thinking about entering the digital world for years and acted quickly when the time was right. As a result we became the first company to directly put songs on iTunes from Japaneven before the opening of iTunes Japan.

Has the response been about what you expected?

Yes. Sales are not that great, and it has yet to cause a huge reaction in the states. However, people are gradually realizing that Japanese music is now available on iTunes, and the interest in it is gradually rising. I hope this trend would continue as we upload more songs.

So who's up next for Rightsscale?

We are planning to upload tracks by ELLEGARDEN, who are currently one of the top 3 Indies bands in Japan. We've already uploaded albums of PE'Z and The Rodeo Carburettor, bands that were extremely popular at the Japan showcase during In The City 2005 at Manchester. TsuShiMaMiRe is an all-girl band we are handling. They performed for this year's Suicide Girls Live Burlesque Tour and have been immensely popular.

Can you give a quick rundown of In The City?

We were given the opportunity by several organizations in UK - the event itself was a joint effort between Rightsscale, British Underground, UKTI and BPI.

These organizations coordinated the British Showcase in Japan, and since they've been promoting British music in Japan, they offered us the opportunity to promote Japanese artists in the UK through In The City.

In The City is an International Music Convention that is held every year in the UK. It offers up-and-coming bands the opportunity to perform in front of a large crowd of music industry figures, as well as offering valuable grounds for business talks and socialization, both of which are vital to thriving in this industry.

Although many European countries send over bands to ITC, Asian bands were not present until 2005 when we held the first-ever Japanese music showcase. I also spoke with members of the UK music industry in a panel called "Access Japan" that offered the listeners a chance to ask questions about the music situation in Japan.

Although Japan is the world's second largest music market, not much information is attainable out of Japan, especially when it comes to Japanese artists. We wanted to use this event to further strengthen the trade ties with the UK and to also show the British music fans the true capabilities of Japanese bands.

How did your company get started? Did someone at your parent company, Taisuke, just conclude that they needed to take digital music seriously?

The members of Taisuke always had the dream of spreading Japanese music to the world and we saw the digital media market as a great opportunity to show the world the music our country has. Digital music has no boundaries - a truly international market.

Previously interest in Japanese music was limited due to obstacles like language and the import price. Now that people can buy such music without the expensive price tag, along with the recent surge in anime and manga popularity, Japan itself has become more familiar around the world. This opens up a way for us to promote music worldwide. It's also true that we have been interested in the digital market. The market boasts so much opportunity that we just had to take part in it.

I 've been told anime and J-pop are two different audiences. Do you buy that?

Anime and J-pop are intimately tied but remain as different entities. The origins of the two are completely different. J-pop is simply pop music that is adjusted to meet the taste of the younger pop-loving generation in Japan. Anime became related to J-pop ever since anime series began using J-pop in their opening and ending clips. Although the practice has now become common, a decade ago it was normal for anime to have their original theme songs rather than actual commercial songs.

In recent years many anime series have been exported in forms of DVD and video files, in to the hands of anime fans worldwide. When the fans see such anime, it contains some J-pop tracks, and thus the relationship between the two are born. Therefore some overlap may occur (anime fans buying J-pop CD's that were featured) but overall I believe that the audience is separate.

Geisha: More than just Memoirs

2006-01-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

The enigmatic geisha women of Japan are renowned for their beauty and elite accomplishments in the art of entertainment.

Women's Editor LINDSAY JENNINGS speaks to two North Yorkshire businesswomen who are bringing a geisha to England

IT was a moment they had dreamed of for years. Jill Clay and business partner Katie Chaplin took off their shoes in the tea house at Kyoto, Japan, and waited for their 'ozashiki' (private party) to begin. Upstairs, waiting in a beautiful embroidered blue silk kimono was a young maiko - trainee geisha - and her 75-year-old mentor.

Sitting down on the mats, Jill and Katie watched transfixed as the two women sang and played the most exquisite traditional Japanese music.

Then Fukucho, at 16 the youngest maiko in Kyoto, turned her painted white face with her crimson lips towards her guests and began a slow, mesmerising dance.

Next, the geisha and her apprentice went on to show Jill and Katie how to play Japanese drinking games, including scissors, paper and stone. They ate a meal of rice, tofu, vegetables and soup in beautiful lacquered bowls. Throughout the evening, if the women so much as dropped a chopstick or a napkin it was instantly picked up. If they went to the bathroom, the geisha or her young apprentice came too - although they waited outside.

For Jill and Katie, who run a Japanese inspired website-based company, Vintage Kimono, the night was certainly one to remember.

"It's funny because we went in with all these questions and ended up just sitting there in awe, " recalls Jill, 41, of Aske, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
"Words can't describe what it was like.

After we'd had the party we were absolutely speechless, it was the best night of our lives."

Jill and Katie, 27, have been business partners for two years. The trip to Japan in April fulfilled a lifelong ambition for them to meet a geisha - women skilled in the traditional Japanese arts - and to learn traditional arts and crafts among the people of Kyoto. The pair had met at one of Jill's Japanese silk artwork exhibitions in Hawes, North Yorkshire, and went on to set up their Japanese inspired business.

Crime, Boobs, and Ramen on the rise in 2006

2006-01-04T20:18:00.000-05:00

Noodles down, crime up, and butts beat boobs in 2006:

Ultra-cheap noodles, exposed buttocks, sacked bosses, African criminals and cutesy Japanese dogs are going to be the country's biggest trendsetters in 2006, according to predictions made in Asahi Geino (1/12).

Bountiful breasts were big (in more ways than one) in 2005, but this year it seems pin-up girls are going to butt the buxom out.

"Boobs dominated pin-ups last year, with trends like false nipples and bras that enhanced cleavage. This year, though, we're going to see a boom in flashing the fanny," says Toshihito Sugita, editor in chief of The Best Magazine, a rag that focuses on cheesecake shots.

"Rather than directly emphasizing the bust, it's going to be a year where women are going to enhance the depth of their derriere."

Ramen is going to get restaurateurs going off their noodle this year, with an expected escalation in a price battle that began in 2005 after an Osaka chain began offering fare at 180 yen a dish, well less than the few hundred yen normally charged.

"I've seen a photo of an Osaka-based chain that will offer ramen for 30 to 50 yen a bowl," Kenzo Kosugi, managing editor of Mengyokai -- a monthly tracking trends in the ramen industry -- tells Asahi Geino. "It's due to start operating in April and will make waves for sure."

How about getting paid to watch anime?

2006-01-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

From ign.com:

Are you an Otaku and proud of it? Do you stay up till the wee hours of the morn' watching anime? Does your dream guy/gal have big eyes and a tiny nose? If you love manga and anime and like to write, IGN may have a place for you. We are currently looking for freelancers to write manga and anime reviews. What could be better than free books and DVDs and a paycheck? Nothing. Nothing could be better.

Qualifications

Must be at least 18 and live in the US.

Have an almost unhealthy love for manga and anime

Possess exceptional writing skills

Want a shot at the big time? If you think you have what it takes to be an IGN freelancer, send your resume and a 350-500 word review on a recent manga or anime release to animejob@ign.com.

A Woman Emperor?

2006-01-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

Japanese monarchy could include females:

The Japanese government will present a bill that would authorize females and their descendents to ascend the throne, sources say.

The Kyoto News Service, via Japan Today, said the amendment to the Imperial House Law is scheduled to reach the Diet in early March.

If passed, the bill would have no effect on the most immediate line to the throne. Crown Prince Naruhito, 45, Emperor Akihito's first son, would remain the heir.

But the revised law would change the second in line to 4-year-old Princess Aiko, the crown prince's only child.

Safer roads in Japan

2006-01-04T00:08:00.000-05:00

Annual road deaths in Japan dropped to 6,871 -- a 49-year low -- the National Police Agency said Monday.

Japan Times online said 2005's total reflects a decrease of 487 fatalities from 2004. The number has dropped for five straight years and dipped below 7,000 for the first time since 1956.

The death toll for 2005 was just 40 percent of the figure for 1970, when traffic fatalities hit a postwar record of 16,765.

Traffic death figures only count people who die within 24 hours of an accident.

Kawasaki foreign residents' panel has significant impact on city policy

2006-01-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

In the nearly 10 years since its establishment, the Kawasaki City Representatives Assembly for Foreign Residents, an advisory body to the mayor made up of non-Japanese residents, has been largely successful.

As the country's only foreign residents' panel established by ordinance, residents and those involved in the assembly alike say it has helped reflect foreigners' needs in local administration, for example by taking on the issue of housing discrimination.

But the problems facing foreign residents continue to multiply and the assembly's work is far from over, they added.

Kawasaki set up the panel in December 1996 amid a growing movement across the country to demand suffrage at the local government level for foreigners, modeled after similar municipal assemblies in Germany, said Nobuki Yamazaki of the city's Human Rights and Gender Equality Office.

The assembly consists of 26 members who serve two-year terms. They are selected from foreign residents who volunteer to serve. The current body has people from 15 countries and is chaired by Mohammad Anwer, a Pakistani who runs a computer-related business and has lived in Kawasaki for 15 years.

"An increasing number of foreigners in the city do not return to their homelands and continue living here," Anwer said. "So I want them to participate in local communities, and the assembly should keep on working on their problems."

Artistic Collaboration bridges connection between Japan and Washington

2006-01-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

Itchu brought his mastery of the three-stringed shamisen to the Japan Information and Culture Center at the Japanese Embassy in December as part of a four-city tour that also took him to Boston, New York, and Middletown, Connecticut.

Behind Itchu on the stage hung a large, multicolored Nihonga scroll painting created by West, who grew up in Washington but has lived as an artist in Japan since 1982. In addition to providing artwork for the concert, West served as Itchu's translator throughout the performance.

Flanked by a group of singers and musicians playing other traditional instruments, Itchu took audience members on a musical journey through ancient temples, street festivals and falling cherry blossoms -- with a detour into the red light district of Edo.

West's painting provided a vibrant backdrop for the music, complementing the different styles showcased by Itchu and his ensemble.

The crowd responded enthusiastically to the collaboration, with audience members lauding West's artwork before the show, and an extended ovation following Itchu's last song that clearly humbled the master musician.

In an interview with Kyodo News before he took the stage, Itchu described the connection he felt when playing for audiences outside Japan.

"Women are not Weak" - Diplomat Saiga sets to prove it in N. Korea

2006-01-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

Diplomat Fumiko Saiga has repeatedly tried to convince Japanese politicians and labor officials that women are not weak. She is again set to prove that point on her new mission as Japan's first ambassador in charge of human rights.

Having long dedicated herself to the elimination of discrimination against women, Saiga will now take on a country that world leaders are still trying to figure out: North Korea.

Saiga, 62, ambassador to Norway and Iceland, was appointed Dec. 6 to concurrently serve in the newly created post.

Flying back to Tokyo from Oslo on Dec. 8, Saiga landed in Seoul the same day to attend an international conference urging Pyongyang to improve its human rights records.

There, she agreed with Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. special envoy on human rights, to strengthen cooperation to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted to North Korea.

Saiga said she will have to shelve her gardening and golfing hobbies to shuttle between Oslo and such cities as Geneva and New York to attend U.N. human rights meetings and other international forums.

"Abduction is an unpardonable act that infringes on all kinds of human rights, such as freedom of expression, thought, creed and abode," she says. "Since many countries in Europe have diplomatic ties with North Korea, I hope to seek their understanding and cooperation."

Japan and Taiwan: Learning from each other

2006-01-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Taiwan has a complex relationship with Japan. For one thing, two-way tourism is booming -- Taiwan people love Japan, and the things that Taiwan offers in tourism promotion, such as hot springs, spas, mountain scenery -- not to forget food, shopping and the night markets -- appeal to Japanese people.

But the relationship goes much deeper than that. Taiwan was once a Japanese colony, and remained so until retrocession to the Republic of China in 1945. Many older people still have strong ties to Japan in language and culture -- indeed, their Japanese is often superior to their Mandarin. The native Taiwanese look back with some affection to the Japanese colonial period.

However, Japan also invaded China, committing numerous atrocities, not least the Rape of Nanking, where the Japanese forces went on a rampage of rape and slaughter. The animosity towards Japan still runs deep in some Asian countries, notably China and Korea, which was also a Japanese colony, but with a much less favorable legacy than Taiwan.

Japan shows positive signs of pulling out of the decade-long "post-bubble economy," that has seen the economy stagnate. However, the key word is stagnation -- not collapse. Japan might have been stagnating, but its economy has reached a very high level, and Japan is still the world's second-largest economy.

japan taiwan china

A Burger for Dessert?

2006-01-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

Brought to us by the fine folks @ The Foriegner - Japan

A burger for dessert?
by Patrick Benny

You walk out of Shibuya station, hungry for a good old fast food combo, and notice this new tiny burger shop across Hachiko crossing. The shop’s customers do seem slightly suspicious though, mostly young girls giggling uncontrollably while staring at the menu. The staff looks however perfectly normal, wearing typical junk food joint uniforms and stuffing the goods into paper bags.

Don’t let yourself be fooled, Mamido Burger does sell what looks like hamburgers and fries, but they're made of the sweetest ingredients.

How about a fried fish burger, containing sponge cake and bananas, or maybe a gratin burger, garnished with cream cheese and fruits? There’s also the classic, Mamido burger, a delicious combination of chocolate cream with kiwi and raspberries, or Big Mamido for the hungry ones. As side dish, Mamido recommends its most trompe l’oeil offering, Mamido fries. Shockingly realistic, they're really made of custard, but nevertheless served with true Heinz ketchup! Otherwise, there are always the nuggets, which are actually pieces of French toast with caramel sauce.

japan

OM? What's that?

2006-01-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what the acronym for your favorite anime is? How about what OM or FT mean?

Check out the Anime Acronym List:

Includes topics like:

Suggested Tag-Lines

Terms Specific to the Anime Newsgroups

General Internet Terms

japan anime

Quest for redemption

2006-01-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

When in 1964, Takashi Nagase returned to a cemetery close to Kanchanaburi Station, about 130 kilometers from Bangkok, he stood before a cross and prayed.

"I felt as if my guilty feelings were evaporating-feelings I'd kept inside for 20 years. That experience was the start of my mission," he said.

The cemetery holds the graves of about 7,000 Allied POWs killed during World War II. Nagase had joined the war at its height. At that time, the Imperial Japanese Army was constructing the Thai-Burma Railway to secure a land supply line to the war zone.

The railway was built by POWs from Australia, Britain, and the Netherlands, and Asian slave laborers, who are believed to have totaled 300,000.

It is estimated that 73,000 people died from malaria, dysentery and other diseases due to hard work, poor sanitary conditions and lack of nutrition.

As an interpreter, Nagase sometimes was obliged to be present at scenes of torture during interrogation.

After being repatriated to Japan, Nagase eventually opened a private English-language school in his native Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture.

But soon after opening the school, he began to suffer fits, which made it difficult for him to breathe. He was diagnosed with autonomic ataxia, a nervous disorder that was an aftereffect of the war.

japan

China-Japan Relations: Is there Hope?

2006-01-01T14:17:00.000-05:00

Most news about the China-Japan relations in 2005 is negative, which led people to truly believe in a crisis. However, the China-Japan relations have their intrinsic exuberant vitality, holding hopes beneath the hard ice and calling for new breakthroughs.

There is no denying the existence of some sticking points, which does not, however, mean complete gloominess for the future.

It is already known to all that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine are the crux for the development of the China-Japan relations. A few years ago, although bilateral visit exchanges could not be realized due to this, a "side door" was still left open for Chinese and Japanese leaders to meet on the sidelines of multilateral activities. Even this door has been shut this year.

So is it true that no vitality is left in the body because of the existence of some persistent ailment?

The answer is negative and the China-Japan relations will continue to develop forward. The rationale is rather obvious -- the China-Japan relations cannot develop in isolation from the overall international situation.

japan

Japanese consul thrown out of pub

2006-01-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Japanese consul in Edinburgh was thrown out of a pub after his son and a friend fell asleep.

Shuhei Takahashi insists he and his family were treated unfairly at the Three Tuns, with the teenagers falsely accused of being drunk when they were exhausted by a long flight from Tokyo.

But bar employees told The Scotsman that Takahashi "went crazy" and insisted he had diplomatic immunity.

japan

US Marines to train with Japanese Troops

2006-01-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Japanese troops will train with U.S. Marines next year to strengthen Tokyo's defense of islands also claimed by China which are believed to lie near oil and gas resources in the East China Sea, a report said Saturday.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces will also develop short-range torpedoes for combat in shallow waters, the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

The paper said about 125 Japanese troops will be sent to San Diego in January for joint exercises with Marines simulating a landing on an occupied island.

The islands _ called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan _ lie in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan. They were ceded to Japan by China in an 1895 war and continue to be a frequent source of friction between the nations.

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Big in Bulgaria, huge in Japan

2005-12-31T15:27:00.000-05:00

It is not every day in Japan that one sees a 6ft 8in Bulgarian, wearing a purple kimono and a green bib, dining with an English reporter dressed in green bib and grey suit. Still less when one of them is the first European to break into the highest ranks of sumo (that's the 6ft 8in one, not the reporter) and the conversation is being conducted in jumpy, if reasonably fluid, Japanese.

But such sights are more common than they used to be. Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov is proof that few crevices of national culture are safe from outside influence, even in Japan, which was closed to foreigners for hundreds of years.

Better known by his sumo name of Kotooshu, or Zither of Europe, the Bulgarian wrestler may be the first European to attain such lofty status in the ancient Japanese sport. But following Hawaiians and Mongolians, he is the fifth foreigner to reach the top levels of what was once an impenetrable world. He is oneof 58 foreigners from 12 countries competing in Japan, where homegrown wrestlers now struggle to excel.

We have met - perhaps fittingly, given the cosmopolitan theme - at a Korean barbecue in Fukuoka, a thriving coastal city in western Japan that hosts one of six annual championships. A few days later, Kotooshu will have been promoted to ozeki, sumo's second highest rank, in a record-breaking three years.

In all Japan, there is only one yokozuna, the exalted rank above ozeki. He is the formidable Asashoryu, a Mongolian.

The past three years have turned Kotooshu into one of Japan's biggest stars. Unlike most sumo wrestlers, whose bodies are like large corn sacks, Kotooshu is tall and muscular, witha handsome, boyish face. He is routinely compared with David Beckham, the English footballer, who a few years ago set a million Japanese hearts aflutter.