Tag - the-zeit-gist

 
 

THE ZEIT GIST

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 1, 2002
Isles trampled in white elephant stampede
Japan's islands have long been a source of tearful TV documentaries that focus on aging populations and families abandoned by children who have left for the cities.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 25, 2002
Debunking strange myths about Asia, Part I
In 1980, I traveled through the United States just after the TV miniseries "Shogun" ended its run. Any time I mentioned to someone that I was living in Japan, he or she would invariably ask me one of two questions related to the program. One was, "Is it true that back then a samurai could chop off somebody's head just because he felt like it?" To which the answer, amazingly, was "Yes" (The word for this in Japanese is kirisute gomen).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 13, 2002
Canny Japanese playing it by the numbers
Any time I require the services of a taxi, I can easily recall the telephone number of the Daiwa Taxi Co., 3563-5151, because it transliterates phonetically into "Sa, Goro-san, koi-koi" (Well, come and pick me up Goro-san).
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 6, 2002
Looking at the bright side of Japan's cash woes
One of the most soul-destroying experiences of my life in Japan occurred back in 1986.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 30, 2002
Concrete -- modern Japan's blockhead obsession
They invented it, didn't they?
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 23, 2002
Buyers be wares -- shopping consumes Japan
I was once asked to translate a pamphlet published by the municipal government of one of the most beautiful and historically endowed cities in Japan. The material was aimed at foreign companies and their expat employees to entice them to the city.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores