March 2011

Daily Pay for Nuclear Plant Disaster Workers Possibly Over $4,000

Tokyo Shimbun reports on a 27 year old plant worker who received a call to come to the Fukushima Daiichi plant and work, but turned it down for the sake of his 26 year old wife and 3 year old son. The man said that many workers over the age of 50 were returning to […]

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Higashikokubaru vs Ishihara in the Next Tokyo Governor’s Race?

Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru, also known as comedian, writer, and TV personality Sonomanma Higashi, has his eyes set on following his stint in Kyushu with becoming the next governor of Tokyo. He announced his official candidacy this week. Incumbent Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who loves a good (or bad) soundbite, continues to be criticized for

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Female Teacher Caught Sleeping With High School Student in Japan

In the what happens where you live happens where we live category, a 23 year old female teacher at a prefectural high school in Saitama was caught in the act of having sex with an 11th grade male student. The teacher was at the school as a temporary substitute. The teacher had been communicating with

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Best Places to See Sakura Cherry Blossoms Around the Kobe Area

If you are lucky enough to be in the Kobe area for the cherry blossom season, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of places you can go. Actually, I will be writing a lot about places outside of Kobe and toward the western side of the Kansai region here because some of the best places to

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Some Other Japan News Blogs Covering the Earthquake Tohoku

A few other blogs have been doing a great job of taking to task the sensationalist mainstream English language media, but also being straight about the information available. I just wanted to provide links to some other blogs definitely worth taking a look at for information. Japan Probe’s latest post: “New York Times Quietly Edits

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Time Magazine Article on Japan’s Bureaucracy and the Slowing of Earthquake and Tsunami Aid

I usually don’t read a lot of Japanese news in English, but an article in Gendai’s online magazine led me to hunt down an article on Time’s site. Funny that Gendai refers to Time for a hard-hitting story on how the government and bureaucracy in place in Japan has made it hard for other countries

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Comedian and Singer Chiaki Among Those Injured in Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Chiaki, a comedian, singer, businesswoman, and mother recently reported the injury on her blog. She said she suffered a cut on her finger that reached down to the bone and needed an operation. The injury is expected to take 5 weeks to heal. After describing her injury she quickly added… but I’m in Tokyo and

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TEPCO Introduces Controversial Billing Plan and Small Rate Hike for Post Earthquake Kanto

Two new policies have been introduced by TEPCO in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Tohoku region this month. Residents to be affected by the billing changes are understandably livid after enduring both planned and unplanned blackouts, in addition to cooperating with TEPCO and government requests to conserve as much energy

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Making a More Stable Japan Prime Minister Tweet

Sometimes tweets from the government here in Japan send up red flags for me. Below is one of those tweets. A very suspicious way of looking at the statement below is that government officials are already rubbing their hands together thinking of things that they can do to make a “more stable” Japan… more stable

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Man Rescued Eight Days After Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Not Actually Rescued After Eight Days

This is another interesting story about the sensationalism of the media and the lack of fact checking done by most major media outlets. I have seen the same story repeated on the websites of both national and local newspapers in the United States, Canada, China, and Australia with only a simple search for them. The

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Scary Tweets from Japanese Government Concerning Safety Around Fukushima Nuclear Plants

Readers of the blog know that I’ve been tweeting information about the situation in Tohoku whenever I’ve been available and had something to add or emphasize from the conversation. One of the important ongoing discussions between the media, Japanese government, foreign embassies, and people of Kanto and Tohoku is just how far away is far

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Japanese Comedy Pair “Sandwichman” Unlikely Heroes in Japan Earthquake

In all the pain, suffering, and uncertainty facing the people in Japan. There have been some heroes. None of the heroes have been so unlikely as the two members of the Japanese manzai pair “Sandwichman”. The pair, Mikio Date and Takeshi Tomizawa, both have popular blogs on the blog site Ameblo. Both also hail from

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