National
NRA makes new reactor safety regimen official
The Nuclear Regulation Authority officially approves new safety requirements for reactors aimed at preventing disasters like the catastrophe at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Feb 20, 2011
The trouble with today's youth is nothing new
by Michael Hoffman
Here we go again. “Young people,” frets Sapio magazine, “are rapidly becoming stupid.” They can’t read, can’t calculate, can’t communicate. They have no manners, no ambition, no interest in anything; no consideration for other people, no knowledge of world affairs. New technology enabling instant ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Feb 13, 2011
When criminals bask in the media spotlight
by Mark Schreiber
“Before I committed that incident, I was given many opportunities from my parents and others close to me. But I disregarded these. I never gave any consideration to my privileged situation.” With this display of contrition, Tatsuya Ichihashi — who will soon go on ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Feb 6, 2011
There be all kinds of monsters among us
by Mark Schreiber
An old saying goes “Issun no mushi ni mo gobu no tamashi” (even a one-inch worm has a half-inch soul); i.e., even the most humble and powerless creature can put up with only so much before turning on its tormentor. As if to confirm ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 30, 2011
The decline and fall of Japan and its sex drive
by Michael Hoffman
Only our descendants will know for sure, but we may be witnessing something not seen in the world since the slow demise of ancient Egypt — a nation expiring of natural causes. Nations, unlike people, are potentially immortal. When they die, it’s usually violently. ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 23, 2011
The countdown: six months and a day till TV goes digital
by Mark Schreiber
Quick: what happened in Japan on Sept. 10, 1960? A few people might recall that was the day Japan commenced color TV broadcasting. At the startup, color programs were few in number, but consumers still had four years and one month to buy a ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 16, 2011
Almost time for Japan to break out the bubbly for bubble 2.0
by Geoff Botting
Remember the bubble? In case you don’t, Shukan Gendai (Dec. 20) reminds us that the economic bubble of the late 1980s was an era of rocketing salaries, stock prices and property values, yet accompanied by little inflation. Wealth was seen everywhere. Catching a cab ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 19, 2010
Marriage: A royal pain in the heart
by Michael Hoffman
Some outmoded institutions live on as anachronisms because enduring qualities in them continue to appeal to people. Royalty is one example. Marriage is another. Royal marriage? Well, naturally. Royalty survives here and there as pageantry and as a reminder, always timely, that the present ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 12, 2010
Can Nissan start weaning the auto industry off petroleum?
by Mark Schreiber
On Dec. 3, BBC News reported that the prices of petroleum on both sides of the Atlantic hit their highest levels since the financial crisis, with Goldman Sachs forecasting an increase to $100 per barrel in 2011. This ominous news item seems to have ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 5, 2010
Privacy is losing its very meaning
by Michael Hoffman
Words come and words go. Times change, language evolves. Here’s a prediction: Two words that will be incomprehensible a generation from now are “secret” and “private.” They will wither like “ether,” “phlogiston,” “the celestial music of the spheres” and so on, and for the ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Nov 28, 2010
Trans-Pacific Partnership for a cheaper bowl of beef and rice
by Geoff Botting
The APEC summit in Yokohama earlier this month was a key event by any standard. Leaders of 21 countries came to discuss how to integrate the world’s most dynamic region in terms of trade. For many Japanese, however, one issue overshadowed all the rest, ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Nov 21, 2010
Tossing our leaders to the lions
by Michael Hoffman
In Tokugawa days (1603-1867), criticizing the government was a capital offense. Rulers, not only in Japan but the world over, expected to be — and generally were — not only obeyed but revered, sometimes as gods, sometimes as beings only slightly less exalted. “God,” ...
Media | BIG IN JAPAN Nov 14, 2010
A tale of one city (but two airports)
by Mark Schreiber
For the last three decades, air travelers on the Tokyo-Taipei route have utilized Narita International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. But with restoration from last month of international flights between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Taipei’s dilapidated Songshan Airport, round-trip travelers will shave four ...