Apparently a mine owned by the family of Prime Minister Taro Aso used “prisoners of war as well as forced laborers from Asia” during World War II.
Japan, like the United States and European countries was once a colonial occupier and has to live with that terrible history. Aso has tried to improve relations between South Korea and China, two countries that were once control for long periods of time by Japan, but serious challenges remain. Time will tell if this admission will hurt East Asian relations our will be seen as a welcoming sign. It would seem to be unrealistic for Korean and China to receive restitution, so would admission of guilt suffice? What would help the reconciliation process? Does the Japanese government need to do more?
Although it took years for other European countries to forgive Germany, Europe has sense gone on to form a solid union… Could this possibly happen in East Asia? What do you think would take for that to happen?
I find it healthy to break away from CNN.com and checking out international news sources. I seems only responsible to see what perspectives other people are exposed to.
Here are a few Japanese newspapers in English:
Asahi Newspaper: http://www.asahi.com/english/
It has an affiliation with the International Herald Tribune, the premier International Daily. I like the “Impact of History” section. Many of the articles are written by Japanese historical scholars and are quite interesting. Most the articles are about South Korea, Taiwan and Mainland China. All are written quite well.
Mainichi Daily News. http://mdn.mainichi.jp/
The editorial is of particular interest. It very capable sheds light on current thinking in Japan. The “News Navigator” Section is also really interesting, the current article is about overfishing: “Will our Tuna Supplies Last?” That is a very good question indeed!
Daily Yomuri Online http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/
The Daily Yomuri has all the sections of a normal Daily: Sports, National, Business, World… The Lens on Japan Column has articles going back to 2005 and is updated every two weeks with a very good article on Japan life. The author has an affinity for writing about food, so food lovers will love this!
Got to give a shout out to great comedy teams in Japan. Usually the team is made up of two performers, one who makes the joke (called boke ボケ) while the other comments on it (called tsukomi ツッコミ). The elite groups have been together for years, often knowing their partner since middle or high school. They therefore are excellent at playing off each other and have perfect comedic timing.
Here is one group that I like in particular:
Tunnels (とんねるず) pronounced “tonneruzu”
They currently have a few shows on TV. Because TV viewership is still so high in Japan, once a comedy team gets on TV they have reached the pinnacle. This is unlike US comedians who strive to do movies.
Sometimes Tunnels like make up silly songs such as “Fish Fight”:
A more recent song is called Yashima Biyoushitsu (矢島美容室)
Current Shows:
Kuwazugirai - You hate it before trying
Guests need to try four different dishes, one of which they hate. There are two teams. At the end of the tasting, the opposing must guess what that other team doesn’t like. While this is happening the Tunnels team makes jokes and keeps a lively yet controlled conversation… The joke is watching the famous actors, celebs, and musicians try to be stoic as the eat a food that disgusts them. In general, Tunnels often makes jokes which are only understood by the cameramen and producers… so their gawfs and chuckles are often heard on camera instead of the laughter from the audience or of the standard laugh-track used on most Japanese comedy shows.
Even David Beckham is willing to go on the show:
Human Tetris
Tunnels most recent crazy shows is Human Tetris. I recently heard that is making its way to US television after getting so popular on the web.
It was known originally as Brain Wall (脳カベ,Nōkabe)
Smaller size, fresh ingredients: you feel like you are indulging but yet somehow staying healthy at the same time.
I understand the Ocean part, there are seafood burgers like the scrimp scampe burger (ebi burger)… They don’t have any Mountain animals on the menu… Sorry no hyrax or snow leopards burgers…
The “Sea” in the name seems a bit redundant… OK! We get it, you have seafood!! I suppose it is better than just MO Burgers… but it would have been cool if they had gone with “inlet” - M.O.I. Burger or better yet “bay” - M.O.B. Burger.
A staple for students living abroad in Japan. Meat, sauteed onions, rice… a meal that can’t be beat. Well known for the speed in which they deliver the food to you, even spawned a video game on PS2:
But don’t feel pressure when ordering: the staff wants you to have the best possible meal so they will patiently wait for your order. Oh and there are big pictures on the menu to point to if you can’t yet read Japanese.
An interesting quirk in Japan are so called Escalator Schools エスカレーター学校. A student advances to next level within the same school without needing to take the typical standardize tests. It is possible to enter an escalator-school in middle school and go on to graduate university without leaving the institution.
A student could enter Keio Honan-Fujisawa Junior High School, move one to Senior High, and progress into the elite Keio University (慶應義塾大学) Graduates of this prestigious university include former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, other high ranking government officials, artists, and business elites.
Getting into an Escalator School is very difficult. The applicants are in the thousands so during the selection process, not only are the applicant’s academic merits heavily scrutinized; denial is possible if the student took too many days off from school! And you thought your school was tough!
Japan’s vending machines 自動販売機 (jidō-hanbaiki) are plentiful, always in service, dependable, and stocked with interesting items. This section will introduce new items as they hit the streets of Tokyo.
Fanta Furufuru Shaker ふるふるシャイカー
One merely shakes the container so to combine the insides into what I can only describe as semi solid Jello… Not surprisingly this is a hit with the kids is video, who dance a sugar-induced rush.
I came across a funny series of “instructional” culture videos about Japan today put together by the Japanese comedy group Rahmenz. The series is called Japan Culture Labs. While informative, don’t take these videos too seriously– they are quite over exaggerated… and that’s what makes them so funny! Here’s a good one on the topic of sushi:
Favorite line: “Most Japanese eat at one (Sushi-ya) every day.” Enjoy!
Japanese people have a different way of thinking about work than we do here in the USA. This is particularly apparent at the top ranks of Japanese companies, where executives earn a fraction of what they do in the United States. In the US, work-life is based on the individual and can feel like it’s all about “me me me” whereas in Japanese work-life, it’s all about “we we we.”
JAL’s (Japan Airlines) CEO is a great example of this mentality. Check this out:
