Politics & Diplomacy
Hashimoto to retract sex suggestion for U.S. military
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto aims to retract his remark that U.S. servicemen in Okinawa should use the local adult entertainment industry to avoid committing sex crimes.
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Dec 1, 2012
When the past catches up
by Thomas Dillon
“Ha ha! I can’t believe it’s you!” The man extends his hand as if pointing a pistol. I spin around, just to check, but there is no mistaking. The target is me. He wrenches my wrist. “How long has it been, I wonder? Years ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Nov 17, 2012
A little bit of telephone talk
by Thomas Dillon
“I see,” I say. And then I say, “I see.” And a few more times as well. “I see. I see. I see.” “You say, ‘I see,’ too much,” says my wife, who has been eavesdropping as I spoke with my boss via telephone ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Nov 3, 2012
In the valley of the uncanny
by Thomas Dillon
I am at this bar, see, and with me are two friends. Both have lived in Japan as long as I have, give or take, and both claim to like it here, mostly. “Mostly my eye,” says my first friend. Let’s call him Mutt. ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Oct 20, 2012
Then and now
by Thomas Dillon
I remember well my first Halloween in Japan, mostly because I was invited to speak about it at a junior high. Trick or treating? Kids in sheets with peep holes? Jack O’ Lanterns? I might have been lecturing about life on Mars. And now? ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Oct 6, 2012
Digging for things to do
by Thomas Dillon
One of life’s little facts: “Every man needs a hobby.” “But I thought I was your hobby,” says my wife, with a hint of a smile. So I must clarify: “Every man needs an affordable hobby.” And there I stand in my hobby clothes: ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Sep 22, 2012
Mobile phones on mannerless mode
by Thomas Dillon
And here I thought mobile phones couldn’t get any worse. But a recent stateside trip has taught me otherwise. Not only can they get worse, they can get hard-core. To start, I am not a fan of such devices. Oh, I have one — ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Sep 8, 2012
Where the skies are not cloudy all day
by Thomas Dillon
Recently I once again journeyed back to the gentle plains of my Midwestern home, this time with my younger son in tow. He had been there often enough as a boy. In those days, we spent part of every other August soaking up my ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Aug 25, 2012
A plan for a healthy TV diet
by Thomas Dillon
The world is going to pieces. I know because the television told me so. Global warming, economic meltdown, regional conflicts, partisan politics, Justin Bieber. Is there anything good happening? Anywhere? “The problem,” says my luncheon mate, “is not the world. It’s you.” Now how ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Aug 11, 2012
The race to be at rest
by Thomas Dillon
“Japanese are supposed to be polite. It’s a defining part of the national character.” And before that argument can crash, I back it with . . . “In the same way that bees have buzz, cows say moo, and pigeons on the street go ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Jul 28, 2012
The buzz about cicadas
by Thomas Dillon
Japan is entering cicada season, so let me start with a modest observation: Cicadas are the ugliest bugs on earth. I can state this not because I am an expert on bugs, but rather because I am an expert on ugly. In regards to ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Jul 14, 2012
The fear of phobias
by Thomas Dillon
A peek at “The Phobia List,” a webpage cataloging the accrued fears of our mighty human race, finds a list of over 500 documented phobias. Some on the list are interesting all by themselves. Such as . . . Barophobia — Fear of gravity ...
Our Lives | WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST Jun 30, 2012
Where the wild things aren't
by Thomas Dillon
“I have this idea to get rich quick,” says this friend. Like me, he is underwhelmed by his Japanese income. Unlike me, he still has dreams. He also has my attention. For we all want to get rich and “quick” is by far the ...