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A Happy New Year, everyone. I hope the Year of the Horse will
be a happy, healthy and prosperous year for you all.
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There haven't been any particularly big news stories over the
last few weeks, though tax evasion and all things Korean seem
to have become the current trends.
Mark McBennett
Webmaster, Japan Zone
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Contents
1. Roll On 2002!
2. What's going on in Japan
3. Sports news
4. Gei-noh news
5. Links we like
6. Japan Zone Updates
7. Unsubscribe
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1. Roll On 2002!
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The end of last year was a mad rush of events for me and my family.
The birth of our daughter, my wife's birthday (same day as the
Emperor!), my mother in town, Christmas, New Year. The Japanese
expression "Bon to Shougatsu ga ippen ni kita" (O-bon and New
Year came all at once) pretty much summed it up.
Like millions of other Tokyo residents, I went "home" for a break
over the New Year holidays. In my case, that meant going to my
wife's hometown of Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture. Hatsumode
(the first shrine visit of the year) was to Futaara-san Jinja,
where the celebrations were a bit muted. Utsunomiya is a big city
where, unlike bustling Tokyo only an hour away, you can really
sense the effects of the prolonged recession.
The busiest shrines in the country were, as usual, Meiji Jingu
in Tokyo and Narita-san Shinshoji Temple in Narita City, Chiba
Prefecture. Overall, shrine visits were down by several million
compared to last year, largely due to heavy snowfall in much of
the country. Not surprisingly, the number of people traveling
abroad was also down by about a quarter. Probably thanks to the
addition of the new Disney Sea theme park, the Tokyo Disneyland
resort was the one of the few places to see an increase in visitors
over the holiday.
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2. What's going on in Japan
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Following investigations into tax evasion by the Rising Production
talent agency, two bigwigs who accepted payments from the firm
have become embroiled. Hamada Tsunekichi (64), a tax consultant
and the former head of the Sapporo Regional Taxation Bureau, was
arrested on charges of evading about 250 million yen in taxes.
He has since revised his tax reports and paid the outstanding
money. It was said that he kept his income tax below 10 million
yen, a level that would have meant his inclusion on a publicized
list. Sato Saburo, a 61-year old senior secretary of former LDP
secretary general Kato Koichi, was paid some 200 million yen through
a paper company by a host of companies, including Rising Production
and a construction company in Kato's constituency, that asked
him to lobby on their behalf. Not surprisingly, the money was
spent on the usual things: stocks, wining & dining and golf. The
incident is likely to hurt Kato's power base in the ruling party,
which he has been busy rebuilding after a revolt against then
PM Mori Yoshiro in November 2000 ended in a tearful standdown.
As part of the "YKK alliance" (along with current secretary general
Yamasaki Taku) he is also an important ally to PM Koizumi Junichiro.
The government's budget for fiscal 2002 placed the emphasis on
fiscal reform rather than the usual economic stimulus, albeit
less so than the reform-minded prime minister would have liked.
Koizumi Junichiro managed to keep his promise to keep a cap of
30 trillion yen on new bonds. Public works spending, for decades
a way of using public funds to support construction companies
working on useless projects, was cut by over 10%. Defense spending
remained much the same at over 10% of the total.
Topping the asset rankings of Diet members is former television
presenter Ohashi Kyosen, with over 460 million. Political analyst
Masazoe Yoichi, who was ranked fourth, criticized the system saying
it was too easy for Diet members to hide their true wealth. Such
things as deposits in ordinary savings accounts or jewellery need
not be disclosed.
The scandal-wracked Foreign Ministry will relocate temporarily
this month while its Kasumigaseki offices undergo refurbishment
to inrease their earthquake resistance. No doubt, a lot of rats
and cockroaches - and not a few bureaucrats - will be seen scuttling
through the edifice.
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, currently on the run
from an arrest warrant in his home country, has been given a job
as a guest lecturer at a Tokyo university. Fujimori, accused of
involvement in 25 murders in the early 1990s, lectured in Spanish
on his experiences running the South American country, including
the seizure of the Japanese embassy in Lima by terrorists in 1996.
The upcoming FIFA World Cup, to be cohosted by Japan and Korea,
may the big event of the year but there are an increasing number
of other signs of growing ties between the two longtime rival
countries. In addition to the joint effort to produce the official
World Cup song (see below), Korean manga (comic books), movies
and food are among the hot items featured these days in the media.
More and more TV shows are featuring Korea and its youth. But
will it all last beyond June?
Recent incidents of suspected North Korean spy ships led authorities
to act quickly when a man called in to report in great detail
seeing frogmen landing on the coast of Enoshima in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Helicopters, divers and police were dispatched, while elsewhere
a North Korean ship was boarded and searched and news shows reported
the incidents. It turned out to have been a hoax by the unemployed
41-year old who had just had a bust-up with his wife. It wasn't
until a day or so later that a reporter pointed out that at the
time of the alleged sighting, the remote spot would have been
pitch dark.
More than 6,000 junior and senior high school students were arrested
or taken into police custody for commiting violent acts in 2001,
an increase of 20% over the previous year. Almost half of the
acts took place in school. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the number
of teachers punished for lewd acts was also up by 20%, to 141.
Tokyo may have the prestige of being Japan's No.1 city but the
crime capital is now officially Osaka. The city has about three
quarters of Tokyo's 12 million population but 10% more crime.
But the biggest city in the Kansai region still has some catching
up to do in terms of serious crime, such as homicide and robbery,
where it lags behind the capital.
The death sentence was in the news several times over the last
couple of weeks. The sentence was sought by prosecutors in two
cases. One was the trial of Aum Supreme Truth cult "home affairs
minister" Niimi Tomomitsu (37) on charges including seven counts
of murder in the mid 90s. The other was the murder of 6 jewellery
store workers in Utsunomoiya last year by 50-year old Shinozawa
Kazuo. Meanwhile, Takuma Mamoru (38), charged with the murder
of eight elementary school children in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture
last June, said he was ready to die for his crimes.
The latest unemployment figure, for last November, stands at a
record 5.5%, with over a million of those out of work being the
head of a household. Also, reflecting an ongoing change in the
job market, the number of temp workers increased over the year
by 30%.
United Financial of Japan (UFJ) officially became the nation's
second biggest bank on January 15th. It was formed through the
merger of Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank and has total assets of 80
trillion yen. The bank's major challenge is the reconstruction
of the Daiei supermarket chain. Daiei has hundreds of billions
in outstanding loans, for half of which UFJ is creditor, and plans
to close more than 50 stores over the coming year. Also in banking,
at the end of December Ishikawa Bank became the first Japanese
bank to go bankrupt in over two years. Based in Kanazawa, it is
a second-tier regional bank.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/company6.shtml#ufj
US securities firm Merrill Lynch's Japan unit, which took on many
of the branches and workers of the defunct Yamaichi Securities
back in 1998, is scaling back its operations. It is closing some
two thirds of its branches and laying off the same number of staff.
My wife is currently on maternity leave from the company - will
she have a job to go back to?
On a more positive note, Japanese cars continue to do well in
the US. Honda's Accord was the No.1-selling car in 2001, ahead
of the Toyota Camry, and the Honda Civic was fourth. The Nissan
Altima was chosen as the 2002 North American Car of the Year.
Meanwhile at home, the Toyota Corolla was the nation's best seller
- for an amazing 33rd straight year! What's more, sales were up
over 45% last year. Toyota had five of the top ten sellers.
NTT DoCoMo now boasts over 30 million users - 1 in 4 people in
Japan - of its i-mode phones, equipped with wireless Internet
access. A third of those phones are Java-enabled. Despite a drop
of 25% in its shares last year, DoCoMo is Japan's most valuable
company, with a market value of 15 trillion yen eclipsing that
of Toyota or Sony.
Kojima Hideo, the 38-year old designer of Konami's "Metal Gear
Solid 2" video game, was named as one of Newsweek's 10 people
who could shape the future.
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3. Sports news
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Yomiuri Giants outfielder Matsui Hideki (27), one of the most
talented players in Japanese baseball, has become its best-paid.
Matsui inked a one-year deal worth 610 million yen, beating the
530 million record salary paid by Orix Blue Wave to Ichiro in
2000. He will be eligible for free agency at the end of this new
contract and is expected to aim for the major leagues.
Already on his way is Yakult Swallows left-handed pitcher Ishii
Kazuhisa (28). Ishii used the posting system, whereby a team can
put the negotiating rights to a player up for auction in the US
before he becomes a free agent (which was how the Seattle Mariners
won the right to talk to Ichiro last year), to put himself on
the market. The LA Dodgers put in the highest bid, over $11 million,
and have until the end of the month to work out a deal with the
pitcher. If he signs with the Dodgers, he'll play alongside the
right-handed Nomo Hideo. Ishii had earlier changed his mind about
heading to the US, citing concerns for his family's safety after
the terrorist attacks. His wife Kisa Ayako, a former TV announcer,
recently gave birth to their first child.
Yet another US-bound player is Taguchi So (32), a former teammate
of Ichiro at Orix Blue Wave, who has signed with the St. Louis
Cardinals. Taguchi signed a three-year, $3 million contract and
becomes the twelfth Japanese player active in US baseball. His
other options had been to stay with Orix or move to the Hanshin
Tigers, both of whom had offered him more money.
Seattle Mariners star Suzuki Ichiro (28) (he seems to get into
every story) tied with Tiger Woods for third in the Associated
Press Male Athlete of the Year Award. He and relief pitcher Sasaki
Kazuhiro will be joined next season by Ichiro's old Orix teammate
Hasegawa Shigetoshi (33), who moved from the Anaheim Angels. Hasegawa
was born in Kobe, a sister city of Seattle.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/suzuki_ichiro.shtml
In soccer, newly relegated Cerezo Osaka were looking to salvage
something from their season in the Emperor's Cup final against
Shimizu S-Pulse on New Year's Day. Shimizu were trying to make
up for falling twice at the final hurdle in the last three years.
After building up a 2-0 lead, Shimizu - who lost in extra time
to Kashima Antlers last season - looked doomed again when Cerezo's
Korean striker Yoon Jong Hwan leveled the score from the penalty
spot in the 89th minute. But the boys in orange finally clinched
their first Emperor's Cup when striker Baron scored in the seventh
minute of extra time. They now face league winners Kashima in
the Xerox Super Cup on February 23rd.
In another New Year's tradition, the nation's sports fans tuned
in to watch collegiate and corporate athletes compete in the annual
ekiden relay road races. The corporate race was won by Konica
while Komazawa University took the college title in the 109.2km
Tokyo-Hakone race.
The New Year sumo tournament got off to a bad start for Hawaiian
Musashimaru, the only Yokozuna (Grand Champion) taking part. He
lost on two of the three first days and withdrew with an aggravated
hand injury. Rising star and newly promoted Ozeki (Champion) Tochiazuma
got off to a much better start, with three straight wins.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/musashimaru.shtml
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4. Gei-noh news
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Asahi Teruko, mother of actor Kanda Masaki (51), died on New Year's
eve. She was 77. Kanda is the ex-husband of pop diva Matsuda Seiko
(39) and father of their daughter Sayaka (15),both of whom attended
the funeral and farewell service on January 10th.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/matsuda_seiko.shtml
Almost half of the nation's viewing public tuned in to SMAPxSMAP
on January 14th. The occasion was the return of prodigal son Inagaki
Goro (28), who has been keeping a low profile for the last 5 months.
Last year, Inagaki was involved in a parking violation that almost
became a hit and run. His prolonged absence prompted rumors of
his retirement or even the breakup of Japan's No.1 boy band. The
program featured a tearful rendition by the five-member group
of their song "Best Friend".
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/smap.shtml
The official song for this year's World Cup is to be a combined
effort by artists from Japan and Korea. Japan's representatives
are pop duo Chemistry and R&B newcomer Sowelu (19). The young
singer's unusual name comes from the fact that her maternal grandfather
was Irish and it's the rune (ancient British) word for sun. Korea
will be represented by R&B duo Brown Eyes and singer Lena Park.
The hugely popular Denpa Shonen show, which over the last eight
years has spawned many of today's minor TV personalities, is set
to go off the air in March. Their final project sends three young
Koreans on a road trip across Asia. The Japan-Korea tieup on a
variety show and its airing on Korean TV are both firsts.
On the wedding trail: former Clarion Girl and "gurabia" queen
Kato Reiko (32) announced her retirement from entertainment following
her marriage to pro golfer Yokou Kaname (28); Nihon TV announcer
Saito Maria (24) married a 26-year old businessman; Kurosawa Yuu
(29), daughter of the late movie director Kurosawa Akira, married
Matsuoka Mitsuru (30), vocalist of the group Sophia (it was said
to have been a "dekicahatta kekkon", or shotgun wedding); Kyogen
star Izumi Motoya (27) married actress Hano Aki (33), despite
the objections of his mother Setsuko (59), who said that her new
daughter-in-law should keep her mouth shut and study the traditional
world of the stage for the next ten years; Umezawa Yukari (28),
a 4th dan and poster girl for the Japanese board game "go", married
Yoshihara Shinya (23), a goalkeeper with J-League team Kawasaki
Frontale.
More bits and bobs:
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ukon (38) gave a press conference to announce
his divorce from his wife of two and a half years. He said his
wife had decided to go abroad to pursue her interest in Salsa
dance.
The rock band Siam Shade are to play their farewell concert at
Nippon Budokan on March 10th.
Enka singer Funaki Kazuo (57) was recently rushed to hospital
after suffering an angina attack.
Former Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki (29) is currently appearing
in a TV commercial for the Toyata "WiLL VS" car. The song in the
ad is called "The End of Shite". Could that mean the death of
J-Pop?!
Super-couple Sorimachi Takashi (28) and Matsushima Nanako (28)
have bought a 150 million yen plot in a high-class area of Zushi
in Kanagawa Prefecture.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/matsushima_nanako.shtml
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/sorimachi_takashi.shtml
Comedy/singing duo Kinki Kids earned themselves a place in next
month's Guinness Book of Records when their 13th single went straight
to No.1 in the Oricon chart, just as all their previous singles
have done. The duo is made up of Domoto Koichi (23) and Domoto
Tsuyoshi (22), who are not related.
Hamasaki Ayumi has announced a nationwide tour starting April
27th. Like her previous releases, her 5th album "I am..." has
become a million-seller. She managed to win a total of 20 awards
last year, with the climax being the Artist of the Year at the
43rd Japan Record Awards last month. The newcomer award went to
w-inds, whose debut album entered the chart at No.1 on New Year's
eve.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/hamasaki_ayumi.shtml
Stage performer Carousel Maki (59), arrested last year for marijuana
use and acquitted due to lack of evidence, made his/her stage
comeback on January 2nd.
Troubled young singer Suzuki Ami (19) is set to join the Yoshimoto
Kogyo talent agency. The agency is famous for producing many of
Japan's top comedians. Suzuki will be reunited with super-producer
Komuro Tetsuya (43), who joined the agency last year.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/komuro_tetsuya.shtml
In what is considered something of a crisis, NHK's Kohaku Uta
Gassen (Red-White Song Contest) on New Year's eve drew an audience
of less than 50% for the second year running. The highest viewing
figures were registered during the performances of popular young
enka star Hikawa Kiyoshi (24) and pop duo Chemistry. The show
hasn't got over 60% since 1998, when singer Amuro Namie appeared
shortly after becoming a mother.
No doubt in a complete spin after her speedy marriage and even
speedier divorce in Hawaii, retired (?) actress Hazuki Riona (26)
has received an offer to appear in a new movie by respected director
Shinoda Masahiro (70). Hazuki has appeared in two of Shinoda's
works.
Popular NHK announcer Kubo Junko (29) has given birth to a baby
daughter.
In NHK's annual ranking of the nation's most popular stars, the
male award for 2001 went, for the fourth year running, to comedian
Akashiya Sanma (46). The most popular female entertainer was comedienne
Hisamoto Masami (41).
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/akashiya_sanma.shtml
Male
1. Akashiya Sanma (1)
2. Beat Takeshi (2)
3. Tokoro Joji (3)
4. SMAP (10)
5. Kitajima Saburo (9)
6. Tamori (11)
7. Katori Shingo (SMAP) (7)
8. Oda Yuji (6)
9. Takahashi Hideki (14)
10. Kimura Takuya (4)
Female
1. Hisamoto Masami (3)
2. Matsushima Nanako (1)
3. Wada Akiko (2)
4. Hamasaki Ayumi (4)
5. Morning Musume (7)
6. Matsu Takako (22)
7. Kanno Miho (15)
8. Utada Hikaru (9)
9. Tendo Yoshimi (11)
10. Fujiwara Norika (5)
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5. Links We Like
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Yes Japan
If your struggling with Nihongo, this site should be on your list
of places to visit. Clean, simple design and a lot of useful features,
including thousands of sound files, lessons at five levels and
online teachers.
http://www.yesjapan.com/
Rue Morgue
If horror's your thing, you probably already know about this magazine.
They contacted me for info on the recent controversial film Battle
Royale that had Japan in a flutter a couple of years back. So
if you're in Canada, you have that to look forward to.
http://www.rue-morgue.com
2002 FIFA World Cup Korea Japan
There are several websites out there focusing on next year's big
event. This one is growing and offers a wide variety of information.
http://www.soccerphile.com/
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6. Japan Zone Updates
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Well, I finally found time to start writing new content for the
site. Still not much but hopefully there'll be more to come.
Dreams Come True: possibly Japan's most talented pop group.
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/dreams_come_true.shtml
Yoshimoto Kogyo: Japan's largest comedy stable
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/yoshimoto.shtml
The company guide has a link to the new UFJ bank's website:
https://www.japan-zone.com/modern/company6.shtml#ufj
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7. Unsubscribe
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