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A busy couple of weeks: the election is over, we've got a couple
more TV stars running the country and the Tanaka Makiko saga continues;
there's been a bit of a break from the summer heat but now the
worry is drought; there have been more shocking crimes (and I
don't mean the exploits of Morning Musume); my favorite TV starlet
is getting hitched (much wailing and gnashing of teeth); Sons
of Koizumi are set to take the country by storm; and Japanese
athletes have been displaying their guts and power.
I've been adding a bit of content to the site, including a new
Forum area (see below) where I hope people will ask questions,
offer answers, enjoy heated discussions and make friends.
https://www.japan-zone.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cg
-- GIVEAWAY RESULTS--
Surprisingly, nobody guessed correctly the number of seats the
LDP would have in the Upper House after the recent election. In
fact, only a couple of people were close but - nice guy that I
am - I'm sending them both a consolation prize of a Japanese writing
set. The right answer was 111, a gain of just four seats but with
the ruling coalition having a toatal of 141 seats over the opposition's
106, it was considered a landslide victory. It's been a couple
of weeks now but the Upper House website still hasn't been updated
yet (in English at least).
Mark McBennett
Webmaster, Japan Zone
Contents
1. What's going on in Japan
2. True crimes
3. Gei-noh news
4. Sports news
5. Links we like - Wailing over Whales
6. Let's Get Naked!
7. Japan Zone updates
8. I stiiiiiill haven't found what I'm looking for...
9. Unsubscribe
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1. What's going on in Japan
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A huge amount of media attention was given to Prime Minister Koizumi
Junichiro's decision about whether or not to visit Yasukuni Shrine
on August 15th. The date is the anniversary of Japan's surrender
in WW2 and the shrine is dedicated to Japan's war dead since 1869.
But the idea of a visit arouses hostility in other Asian countries
mainly because 14 Class A war criminals, including wartime PM
Tojo Hideki, are among those enshrined. Koizumi has visited the
shrine on this date for many years and stated his strong intention
to continue doing so, and such a stance was vociferously backed
by the powerful right-wing lobby, especially in Koizumi's own
LDP. But strong objections both from abroad and within Japan led
him to consider the issue more carefully. Last weekend, he sent
flowers to the shrine, paid for out private rather than state
funds, but fudged on the question of the visit. In the end, he
visited the shrine yesterday, two days earlier than planned. Details
of whether he attended in his official capacity or as a private
individual, how many times he bowed on entering the inner sanctum,
what kind of wreath he presented and so on will be analyzed but
the end result looks like a compromise that will probably allow
the issue to blow over.
The death of a 5-month old baby on July 28th brought the death
toll of the Akashi bridge incident to 11. A report issued by the
security firm responsible for the flow of people around the bridge
was found to contain faked details and the firm later admitted
responsibility.
The Liberal Democratic party (LDP) comfortably won the July 29th
election and increased its majority in the Upper House, despite
a low voter turnout. The focus now is on the continuing economic
stagnation and details of the governments reform plans. Among
the winners were Onita Atsushi, a professional wrestler, Ohashi
Kyosen a former TV presenter and Masuzoe Yoichi, a TV personality
and political analyst. One loser, despite getting over 150,000
votes, was Tsurunen Marutei, a Finn who became a naturalized Japanese
in 1979. It was his third try for the Upper House. The majority
of celebrities ran for the Jiyu Rengo (Liberal League) party,
which failed to win a single seat.
Tanaka Makiko gave a stump speech for election candidate Yoshikawa
Mayumi in Maebashi city that probably had the poor woman wishing
she'd never joined the LDP. Tanaka had the crowd in stitches saying
she arived at the local station not knowing if the candidate was
a man or a woman, what their name was or anything about them.
Yoshikawa managed to cringe and laugh as she patted Tanaka on
the arm, only to be rebuked "I don't even know you! Don't touch
me!" by the foreign minister. This incident, together with Tanaka's
arrogant off-the-record claim that she "made the Koizumi cabinet!"
and her defiance against the Prime Minister over a Foreign Ministry
reshuffle and Koizumi's planned visit to Yasukuni Shrine, has
put her close to the chopping block again. She has since apologized
to Yoshikawa and the LDP's Gunma prefectural chapter.
The Aum Supreme Truth religious cult has been in the news again
recently. In the ongoing trials of founder Asahara Shoko (46,
real name Matsumoto Chizuo), he was ordered to pay 465 million
yen to the families of four people killed in a gas attack in the
city of Matsumoto in 1994. Asahara is not believed to be capable
of paying the money but the decision recognizes that it was he
who ordered the massacre. Former spokesman for the cult, Joyu
Fumihiro (38) seems likely to be named seitashi (great teacher),
a rank second only to Asahara. Joyu was released from prison in
1999 after serving time for his cult activities. For some bizarre
reason, he enjoyed great popularity among young women at the height
of his, and Aum's infamy.
PM Koizumi attended a ceremony held in Hiroshima on August 6th
to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the atomic bombing (Nagasaki
was August 9th). And on a separate note, he was reelected as LDP
president on August 10th, and begins a 2-year term.
As part of the above Foreign Ministry reshuffle, Kato Ryozo and
Orita Masaki were named as the new ambassadors to the US and UK
respectively.
A recent survey showed that a majority of Japanese are in favor
of revising the Civil Code to allow married couples to continue
using their pre-marital surnames. The survey reflects modern trend
of Japanese women pursuing a more independent lifestyle. The Japanese
system of koseki (family registers) is quite different to western
marriage custom and it is not uncommon for a man to take his wife's
family name (as my father-in-law did).
The number of suicides in Japan dropped in 2000 but topped 30,000
for the third year running. The number per capita is roughly double
that of Ireland.
The national Police Agency announced that the number of computer
hacking cases in the first half of 2001 was 959 - 27 times more
than that of the previous year, when an anti-hacking law was introduced.
The summer heat and low rainfall so far this year has led to a
water shortage throughout the country. Several regional governments
have issued warnings to reduce water consumption.
Three Japanese climbers died in the Alps in two separate incidents
at the end of July. Despite this news, 45-year old blind climber
Goto Hiromi set off on August 9th to climb Mont Blanc, the tallest
peak in the French Alps.
"Sen to Chihiro no Kami-kakushi" the new animated movie by Miyazaki
Hayao set a new Japanese record in its first weekend of release,
taking in almost 2 billion yen. The record was held by Miyazaki's
previous movie Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) which went on
to take in almost 20 billion yen and was watched by over 14 million
people at Japanese cinemas alone. "Sen to..." is a fantastic Alice-in-Wonderland
kind of tale that Miyazaki says is his first movie made especially
for the young children in his life.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/miyazaki_hayao.shtml
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2. True crimes
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There were the usual smattering of crimes: murders, robberies,
gang killings, arson, bureaucrats dipping in the till, etc. But
particularly disturbing were two crimes commited against children:
A 12-year old girl was found handcuffed by the side of the Chugoku
Expressway in Kobe on July 25th and died later in hospital. It
is believed that the girl was thrown from a car by one of several
men she met through a telephone service. One driver noticed her
body being hit by a passing truck.
Kikuchi Hajime (45) broke into a neighbor's home in Hokkaido on
August 8th, believing the house to be empty. When he noticed there
were children in the house, he fled. But believing they had seen
his face, he returned and stabbed them, killing two (2 and 5 years
old) and seriously injuring the eldest (6). Kikuchi gave himself
up to local police later the same day.
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3. Gei-noh news
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Sakamoto Kyu holds a special place in Japanese music history.
In 1963, his song Sukiyaki became the only record by a Japanese
artist to top the US charts. "Ashita ga aru sa" (There's always
tomorrow) was also a big hit in Japan in that year and the song
has been enjoying a huge revival 38 years later. It has been recorded
by several different groups, but the latest is the most poignant
(or blatantly commercial depending on how you look at it). Sakamoto's
wife and two daughters have recorded the song to mark the "ju-nana
kaiki" or 16th anniversary of his death, a significant Buddhist
observation. Sakamoto was one of the 520 people who died in a
Japan Airlines 747 that crashed into a mountain on its way to
Osaka in 1985, Japan's worst ever aviation accident.
The eldest and second sons of prime minister Koizumi Junichiro
are set to become big stars. Kotaro (23) drew some 300 reporters,
a huge number for a new actor, to the screening of his debut movie
Taiga no Itteki. He managed to maintain some anonymity when he
entered the Star-is-Born-type New Yujiro contest in 2000 but no
such luck now that his father is perhaps the most common face
on TV. Second son Shinjiro (20) is set to make his debut as a
musician. Youngest son Miyamoto Yoshinaga (19) was born just after
the breakup of his parents. His mother Kayoko has been appearing
on the daily 'wide shows' talking of her feelings on seeing her
eldest son for the first time in 19 years, as yet still only on
TV.
Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone recently came to town on a
30 million yen charter jet to promote his movie Driven. The movie
company had wanted to stage a promo event, complete with racing
cars, in the upscale Ginza district but settled for Stallone participating
in a cart race in hip Shibuya.
A sad day indeed: actress and singer Nishida Hikaru (29) announced
at her annual birthday party bash that she got engaged in July
and plans to marry next spring. Her fiance is said to be a 33-year
old trading company employee.
After Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke said on radio
the week before that the band had a big announcement to make,
fans were frantically anticipating the shocking end of the band.
It turned out that guitarist Omori Takashi (44) has decided to
go solo. Omori is the first member to leave the band in its 23-year
history.
Rock band Glay continue to pull in the crowds. A concert for some
100,000 fans in their home district of Hokkaido was followed by
an 80,000 sell-out in Kyushu.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/glay.shtml
These are difficult times for sumo's Hanada dynasty and its Futagoyama
heya (stable). The end of July saw the divorce of Futagoyama Oyakata
(stable-master) and Fujita Noriko (53), who has decided to return
to her acting career. Just a week later, Hanada Kie, mother of
the oyakata and grandmother of Yokozuna (grand champion) Takanohana,
died. Fujita attended the funeral but as an "ippanjin" (ordinary
person) and did not join or speak with other family members or
sumo affiliates.
https://www.japan-zone.com/omnibus/hanada.shtml
It seems that on-again-off-again singer Suzuki Ami, who recently
won a legal dispute releasing her from her agency and "traded"
to a new agency for 50 million yen, is set to go to the US to
study. There are also rumors of a "hair nude" photo book. The
expression is used to describe photos in which pubic hair is visible,
taboo in the mainstream until the early 1990's.
Perhaps in an effort to stifle rumors of his being gay, actor
(and godawful singer) Oda Yuji has been said to be in a heated
romance with a beautiful stewardess (the word flight attendant
might not have been sufficiently clear-cut in this case!).
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/oda_yuji.shtml
The latest romantic rumors about soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi
have him linked with actress Kobayashi Chikako.
https://www.japan-zone.com/omnibus/sports_star.shtml#nakata
It seems the almost 4-year romance between actress Toyota Maho
(34) and actor Ishida Issei (26) has come to an end.
Former child actor Enari Kazuki (16) made his musical debut with
a single produced by, who other, Tsunku of Morning Musume fame.
Former TV announcer Nakamura Eriko (32) is set to marry her French
fiance Charles Edouard Bartot (30) in September. The couple have
had the wide shows all a flutter since they appeared together
at last year's Cannes film festival.
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4. Sports News
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Japanese athletes did well at the World Judo Championships in
Munich. Olympic gold medallist Tamura Ryoko (26) won her fifth
straight world gold in the under-48kg class. This was despite
a heavy knee injury which had her hobbling on the dojo. "I was
thinking that I couldn't go on," she said "But then the fight
inside me took over." Other gold medallists included Inoue Kosei
(23, men's 100kg) and Ueno Masae (22, women's 70kg). Japan ended
up with a total of 4 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/tamura_ryoko.shtml
Hammer thrower Murofushi Koji (26) and 400m hurdler Tamesue Dai
(23) broke new ground for Japanese athletes at the IAAF World
Championships in Athletics in Edmonton. Murofushi's silver and
Tamasue's bronze were only the 3rd and 4th ever won by Japanese
at the championships and the first in track and field. Dosa Reiko
later won Japan's fifth world medal, silver in the women's marathon.
The two previous medals were also in the marathon, a bronze in
1999 and gold in 1991.
Japan ended the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka with a
total of 9 medals, but only 1 gold and 1 silver to finish 11th
in the national standings. Star of the show was young Australian
Ian Thorpe, hugely popular in Japan, who won gold in 6 out of
7 events.
Hanada Masaru (formerly sumo Yokozuna Wakanohana), after having
failed in his attempts to get into the NFL, has joined the Japanese
"shakai" (company team) league.
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5. Links we like - Wailing Over Whales
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Japan Today
If you want to follow the Yasukuni Shrine visit developments and
other Japan news with twice-daily updates, this is the site to
visit.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=home
TIME Magazine
Always includes features on Japan in its Asian edition.
Okinawa Nights: U.S. servicemen and local women can be a volatile
mix. A rape allegation against an American airman casts harsh
light on the island's race relations.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/magazine/0,9754,170085,00.html
Wailing Over Whales: Some Japanese say the right to hunt and eat
them is key to national pride - and as important as sex.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/arts/magazine/0,9754,169342,00.html
The Other Kurosawa: Kiyoshi Kurosawa talks about his unique approach
to filmmaking.
http://www.time.com/time/sampler/article/0,8599,169908,00.html
Solve your Japanese accomodation problems online:
Japanese Guest Houses
If you're travelling to or within Japan, you should at try staying
at a ryokan at least once. Ryokan were originally for travelling
businessmen/salesmen but these days offer cheap and traditional
Japanese accomodation.
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/
Bookings Online Japan
A searchable database of hundreds of hotels across the country.
Online booking with detailed information, including of course
rates, contact info etc.
http://www.bookings.co.jp/
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6. Let's Get Naked!
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A couple of tasty morsels I came across at the convenience store:
Morinaga's Disney-insired snack: Pooh Biscuits
Meiji's chocolate snack: Horn
Naked World? Club Naked? Am I finally going to give you some risque
Japanese site URL's? I'm afraid not - Naked is a Daihatsu mini
car. The official website (Japanese only) is at:
http://www.daihatsu.co.jp/cata/naked/top.htm
Among the unofficial Japanese websites dedicated to the vehicle
are:
Naked World: http://web-jp.com/naked/index-j.html
Club Naked: http://members.tripod.co.jp/okonishi/
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7. Japan Zone updates
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Some new content:
Profiles of some popular actors and actresses:
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/koizumi_kyoko.shtml (Koizumi Kyoko)
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/nakayama_miho.shtml (Nakayama Miho)
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/nagase_masatoshi.shtml (Nagase Masatoshi)
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8. I stiiiiiill haven't found what I'm looking for...
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For the last couple of years, I've been doing my best to answer
questions sent to me through the site. Finally I've got around
to putting a forum on the site where you can ask questions and
hopefully get answers and advice from others as well as me. There
is also a general discussion section where you can give your opinions
on the issues of the day, talk about Japanese culture or whatever
you like. You can post and read messages freely or sign up to
enjoy added features (also free). For people looking for penpals
or friends, the Forum offers another way to seek them out.
https://www.japan-zone.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi
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9. Unsubscribe
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