Tag Archives: news

Upcoming Bay Area Fundraisers for Japan

Posted on April 16, 2011 by

Since I’m back in Berkeley at the moment, I thought I would put together a list of upcoming fundraisers for the Japan relief effort—although it seems like things are starting to die down a bit, the local outpouring of generosity … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s the End of the World and I Feel Fine: Earthquake Update

Posted on March 12, 2011 by

Houses swallowed up by tsunami waves in Miyaji prefecture. Photo: Kyodo News/Associated Press via The Big Picture As I’m sure all of you know, Japan experienced a massive 8.9 earthquake yesterday at 2:46 pm. The largest quake to hit Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Day of Reckoning: The University of Tokyo Announces Its Entrance Exam Results

Posted on March 10, 2011 by

On my way to renew my library books today, I unwittingly stumbled onto a mass of activity the likes of which I’d never seen on the University of Tokyo campus. I’m generally struck by how quiet the portion of the … Continue reading →

Posted in pictures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Indomitable Mrs. Kan

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

Anyone who follows Japanese politics knows that Prime Minister Naoto Kan hasn’t been having an easy time of it. Despite the fact the his party, the Democratic Party of Japan, was swept into power on a tide of great popularity … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Beware the Killer Mochi

Posted on January 10, 2011 by

Photo: Mochi, © Wendy Wallace, Let the dog in! In my New Year’s post, I mentioned the Japanese tales about rabbits making mochi (and the rabbit in the moon). Interestingly, there have been a rash of news items lately about … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Troubling News from North Korea

Posted on November 23, 2010 by

Picture via the Associated Press and The New York Times As many of you know, North Korea fired a number of artillery shells at a South Korean island today. The reports are still coming in, but at least two South … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

More join the ranks of the missing!

Posted on August 10, 2010 by

Just a quick update on my previous post. While I earlier mentioned that Japanese officials estimated that there were about 75 people missing across Japan, it now appears that there are 105 centenarians unaccounted for in the city of Kobe alone. Yikes! … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Japan’s Missing Centenarians

Posted on August 7, 2010 by

Photo: A Loving Japanese Couple in Old Age (1880s) by Okinawa Soba It appears that having the world’s second-largest number of centenarians (people over 100 years old) has its hazards. It all started in late July, when the mummified remains of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

East Timor president suggests Japan eat fruit, not whales

Posted on June 24, 2010 by

Simpsons Food Chain by =SpacePlatypus on deviantART I came across this article and couldn’t resist sharing it as a follow up to my previous post on the Japanese and the whaling issue. According to Kyodo News, East Timorese President Jose … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Japanese and the Whale

Posted on June 23, 2010 by

As some of you may be aware, for the last two days, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been meeting in Morocco to try to reach a compromise between pro- and anti-whaling countries. Commercial whaling has been banned since 1986, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments