|
It's been a sad, shocking and worrying couple of weeks. My sincere
condolences go out to any of you who have lost friends or loved
ones in the US.
Events have been followed very closely here in Japan and some
40-50 Japanese are among those dead or missing. The last week
has seen a predictably slow political response to the situation
followed by a flurry of activity and decision making when Japan's
allies started to criticize the inaction. It's likely that Japan
will make new laws to allow the Self Defense Forces to play a
more active role in any upcoming military operations than they
did during the Gulf War.
There have been a couple of reported cases of members of the 100,000-strong
foreign Muslim community being abused or harrassed. It is to be
hoped that there will not be misguided acts of 'revenge' against
innocent people such as have happened in the US.
Needless to say, the Japanese entertainment world carries on pretty
much as before, although the morning and afternoon wide shows
have focused on events abroad more than domestic scandals and
party fashions.
Mark McBennett
Webmaster, Japan Zone
If you're looking for a hotel or ryokan in Japan, Bookings JP
provides a new quick and easy English search engine to help you
find and book accomodation anywhere in the country, often at discounted
rates.
https://www.japan-zone.com/index.shtml
Contents
1. What's going on in Japan
2. Gei-noh news
3. Links we like
4. Japan Zone updates
5. Unsubscribe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What's going on in Japan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early reportage of the terrorist attacks in the US was full of
the rumors and false stories that follow such a chaotic situation.
In Japan, it was hard to know whether stories about terrorist
cells being in the country or having passed through were true
or not. There were also bomb scares, the main one being a threat
to Citicorp that led most gaishikei (foreign companies) to evacuate
their buildings or send workers home early. Fortunately there
have been no real incidents as yet.
Recent terrorism-related events make me wonder about the timing
of the return to Japan at various times this year of several former
Red Army terrorists. Most were involved in hijackings back in
the 1970s and have been living in North Korea but some also spent
time in the Middle East. They were arrested on arrival in Japan.
A huge drop in the number of Japanese tourists visiting the US
is sure to have an impact of the already struggling economy, with
hawaii and California perhaps worst hit. Departures from Narita
are said to be down by around 40%. One man planning to visit is
Prime Minister Koizumi. But his trip, hastily arranged for this
Thursday, has been put off until next week.
While football authorities in Europe were criticized for allowing
Champions League games to go ahead the day after the attacks,
sports in Japan carried on oblivious. Though I must admit I was
glued to the news rather than sports coverage and may have missed
any signs of sympathy or condolence, there didn't seem to be any.
In another Foreign Ministry financial scandal, a bureaucrat was
arrested for padding hotel bills by hundreds of millions of yen
during the 1995 APEC forum in Osaka. Hotel New Otani employees
were also arrested.
The Tokyo stock market was already in trouble a couple of weeks
ago and recent events and the fall in the Dow Jones index have
made things worse. The Nikkei Stock Average fell below the psychological
10,000 yen line and is at a level not seen since the early 1980s.
Mycal Corp, the country's 4th-largest supermarket chain declared
bankruptcy on September 14th. While a blow to the economy, it
was seen as a positive sign of the nation's banks new willingness
to stop propping up debt-ridden companies. America's WalMart is
set to buy the bulk of Mycal's profitable stores, making its first
move into the Japanese market.
Fears of an outbrek of mad cow disease (BSE) followed the discovery
of a cow with the disease in Chiba Prefecture. The cow's was processed
into feed, which could cause the spread of the disease. Inspections
of hundreds of thousands of animals across the country followed.
There were claims that the Agriculture Ministry and prefectural
government tried to cover up the incident. Schools have stopped
serving lunches that include beef.
The new 338 billion-yen Tokyo Disney Sea resort opened next to
Tokyo Disneyland on September 4th. Tokyo Disney Resort, which
also includes hotels and a mall, is actually just outside Tokyo
in neighboring Chiba Prefecture.
Sales of the book Koizumi featuring 94 photos of the prime minister
are expected to set a new record, with some 200,000 copies already
in print. Many of the people buying the book are women with no
special interest in politics.
Kintetsu Buffaloes American star Tuffy Rhodes is closing in on
one of Japanese sport's most famous records. Rhodes is currently
one short of Oh Sadaharu's record of 55 home runs. It will be
interesting to see how pitchers deal with Rhodes, as his team
is leading the hunt for the Pacific league title and Oh currently
manages the Daiei Hawks, second in the pennant race. One modern
baseball legend tells of how Oh (then manager of the Yomiuri Giants)
refused to let his hurlers pitch to Randy Bass when the big American
was on track to break the record back in the 1980s. (see the Time
Asia article linked below)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Gei-noh news
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rock band The Alfee have cancelled a show planned for London's
Royal Albert Hall following the recent hijackings. Kitajima Saburo
has cancelled a concert scheduled for Hawaii in October.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/the_alfee.shtml
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/kitajima_saburo.shtml
Singer Sano Motoharu has released a new single in support of the
victims of the US terrorist attacks. It is available for free
download until September 25th.
http://www.moto.co.jp/light/
Actor Ishida Issei (26), arrested last month on drug possession
charges is to make his first court appearnce on October 6th. I
saw on TV that in addition to the cannabis originally reported,
police also found LSD and cocaine.
Another celebrity (that I'd never heard of before) called Carousel
Maki was arrested this week for marijuana possession. He is one
of the many "okama" (transvestites) in the gei-noh (entertainment)
world.
Following the recently publication of a tell-all book, Kenny Nomura,
second son of the poison-tongued Nomura Sachiyo, has been called
to help an investigation into tax irregularities involving his
parents. His mother is married to Nomura Tatsuya, manager of the
Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
Famous kabuki actor Bando Tamasaburo is being taken to court by
a former "deshi" (pupil) for sexual harrassment. As you may know,
the kabuki world is entirely male.
https://www.japan-zone.com/culture/kabuki.shtml
The eminently qualified Iijima Ai is to appear as a guest personality
and sex counsellor on a late night Nippon Houso program. Former
porn actress Iijima's recent best-seller "Platonic Sex" has already
been made into a two-part TV drama and a movie.
Miyazaki Hayao's latest animated movie "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi"
(Spirited Away) has surpassed the record held by his previous
release Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) with attendance figures
approaching 15 million.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/anime.shtml
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/miyazaki_hayao.shtml
Comedian Tashiro Masashi, making a comeback after his arrest for
using a hidden camera to film up women's skirts, is to star in
V Cinema's upcoming "Gokuraku Doumei" (Heavenly Alliance).
Singer Go Hiromi is set to release his final single, a collaboration
with the popular acapella group Gospellers, on November 7th. Go
is known, among other things, for having been one half of Japan's
perfect couple back in the early 1980s - the other half was pop
diva Matsuda Seiko.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/matsuda_seiko.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Links we like
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan Today
Keep right up to date with news and developments in Japan. Get
the news
delivered by email twice a day.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=home
TIME Magazine
Includes features on Japan in its Asian edition.
Japan Plots a Less Pacifist Role: Will retaliation awaken Japan's
sleeping giant?
http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/column/0,9754,175626,00.html
Kabuki or Not Kabuki, That Is the Question: Tokyo offers performances
to suit all tastes.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/travel/magazine/0,9754,175155,00.html
Swinging for History: American journeyman 'Tuffy' Rhodes closes
in on a hallowed Japanese home run record.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/arts/magazine/0,9754,174302,00.html
Japan Life
Another collection of weird and wonderful abuses of the English
language.
http://freespace.virgin.net/r.barnett/jappics/japmain.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Japan Zone updates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been working on a change in the site design so there's been
no time to write new content, I'm afraid. But I hope you like
the new look of the site.
I have teamed up with Bookings JP, who provide a very convenient
and easy way to search for and book a hotel or ryokan in English
anywhere in Japan. There are special offers and discounts available
for Internet bookings.
https://www.japan-zone.com/index.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Unsubscribe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you ever want to cancel or stop receiving this newsletter temporarily,
you can unsubscribe easily. Just click the link below.
|
