Just last year, The Cove, a documentary about dolphin slaughter in Japan, had environmentalists (as well as non-environmentalists) in an uproar. Nominated for an Oscar, the film discussed the annual killings of dolphins at a Japanese National Park in Taiji, Wakayama. Shocking numbers of dolphins killed were reported–with the total body count at 23,000, higher than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic annually.
Now friends of sea animals will have something new to be outraged about: Japan’s refusal to ban bluefin tuna. (more…)
While women in the Western world wait expectantly to receive chocolates, flowers, and other trinkets of affection for Valentine’s Day, Japanese women do no such thing. In fact, traditionally women in Japan bestow the gift of chocolate upon the men in their lives for the lover’s holiday.
But like many traditions, this one seems to be dying out. Today, more and more Japanese women are instead opting to exchange delectable gifts with their friends instead, leaving their their husbands and boyfriends to purchase their own candy. (more…)
Japan calls them soshokukei danshi– “herbivorous men,” or Ojo-man–”girly men.” They are men who shun the traditional aspects of Japanese men, and instead embrace things that tradition defines as being for females alone. Though most of them are not gay, they enjoy shopping, fashion, eating sweets, and spending time with female friends–similar things to what “metrosexual” men in the West like to do. (more…)
The rapid spread of influenza in Japan has caused a massive closing of schools across the nation. According to the health ministry of Japan, 13,964 schools have either been completed closed or had some classes cancelled due to the number of infected students reported between October 18 and 24.
These schools include kindergarten facilities as well. The previous week saw 8,534 schools close. (more…)
Since 1981, the Japanese kanji list has remained unchanged. All of that will change next year. The Japanese government has decided that the characters are due for a bit of an overhaul.
In the fall of 2010, the joyo, or the general use kanji list, will have new revisions put into effect. The joyo is currently composed of 1,945 characters, and makes up the official list of characters able to be used in the government, as well as in the country’s newspapers. (more…)
Japan has been the subject of many a joke when it comes to preventative health measures. Every time a photo or a video of Japan surfaces in the West, it seems that it’s more likely than not that it will show people wearing masks, apparently obsessing over disease control.
But maybe this focus is a good thing. The West is definitely not known for its preventative health care, and perhaps doesn’t understand the merits of these measures taken in defense of one’s health. Japan showed the world just how important preventative measures are yesterday during Global Hand Washing Day.
In honor of the day–which was created to highlight the importance of hand washing in preventing diseases and maintaining good health–Japan went further than many nations. While it was just another day around the world for many, in Japan it was nearly a festival of epic proportions.
From posters to DVDs to pamphlets, the importance of hand washing was made known to everyone. A cough etiquette campaign was launched to help prevent the spread of germs. The country even held a special dance created by a well-known choreographer in honor of hand washing.
While many people scoff at this level of involvement, doctors maintain that hand washing is the strongest thing that humans can do to protect themselves against deadly diseases–including the H1NI virus. With 8.8 million kids under 5 alone dying every year from preventable diseases, it’s especially important to teach them the values of staying healthy. And what better way to teach kids–and to get the message to stick–than using a special dance?
Kudos to Japan and their creative measures to keep kids–and adults–healthy.
More and more retired citizens are turning to alcohol in Japan. These elderly people, becoming addicted to drinking, are continually being advised by doctors to stop or suffer the consequences.
Even people who drank earlier in life have found that retirement brings an increase in the consumption of liquor. Many retirees have discovered that they are unable to control their drinking, which has led to an increase of nausea, shakes, hallucinations and other health problems among the elderly population. (more…)
The Japanese government is hoping to exponentially grow its foreign student population. According to the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education, a proposal is in the works that would raise the current number of foreign students to 300,000 by 2020.
This would be a massive increase from the current number of foreign students, which is about 120,000. (more…)
The Education, Science and Technology Minister of Japan, Tatsuo Kawabata, says that free public high school may be available as early as next spring.
The bill, based on the promises of a free public education made by the Democratic Party of Japan, may pass as part of Japan’s 2010 fiscal budget.
“We’ll eliminate wasteful spending in the ministry, but I don’t think that will be enough,” says Kawabata. Free education will cost the country 450 billion yen annually. (more…)
Though the point of listing a species as threatened or endangered is to help restore its population, such an outcome is not always guaranteed. Many animals that have been listed as endangered for years are still on the brink of extinction despite protection efforts, and mankind worries over the potential loss of another creature.
The opposite can be said of the great cormorant in Japan. During the 1970s, the great cormorants were scarce creatures, so sporadically seen they were labeled rare creatures. (more…)