Vox Populi

Share 0
Tweet list

Vox Populi

VOX POPULI: The weighty issue of a more precise standard for a kilogramNovember 17, 2018Accurate sexing of silkworms is crucial to sericulture. In bygone days, the job was performed by seasoned workers who would closely inspect cocoons held in their hands. Eventually, weighing scales were
VOX POPULI: Could new tack on disputed isles realize their return to Japan?November 16, 2018The Habomai islands, northeast of Hokkaido, used to be home to a good number of people who relocated from Toyama Prefecture on Honshu, the Japanese mainland. Probably owing to Toyama's long history as a
VOX POPULI: Intentions aside, no room for offhand allusion to A-bomb eventNovember 15, 2018Superdry, a global fashion brand that is popular in Europe and the United States but hardly known in Japan, sells T-shirts with logos in unintelligible Japanese. In fact, the brand name itself has been
VOX POPULI: Mild November is nice, but is odd weather cause for concern?November 14, 2018As I am partial to "kanzake" (hot sake), I am probably being a bit of a snob when I frown upon people making too much of "reishu" (cold sake). This is precisely why I felt vindicated when I came across this
VOX POPULI: Lessons of war appear lost on leaders touting ‘nationalism’November 13, 2018Before a French soldier left home to fight against Germany during World War I, his young son asked him to bring back an enemy helmet. In a letter from the front, the soldier said the boy’s wish was unlikely
VOX POPULI: Remarks by Games’ minister show loyalty to boss, not publicNovember 12, 2018The Cabinet member who has attracted the most public attention during the current Diet session is probably Yoshitaka Sakurada, minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. On many occasions
VOX POPULI: Okamoto's ‘The Tower of the Sun’ still exudes amazing vitalityNovember 10, 2018I was an elementary school pupil when "The Tower of the Sun" tugged at my heartstrings in 1970. Created by Japanese avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) for Expo '70 held in Osaka, it was totally
VOX POPULI: Bicentennial of Turgenev’s birth an ideal time to read a classicNovember 9, 2018The season is autumn. A young woman from a poor farming village waits for her lover in a quiet forest after the rain. When he shows up, he acts with cool disinterest, having already made up his mind to
VOX POPULI: Trump's America is 'a house divided against itself'November 8, 2018A few years ago, I heard this lament from a married couple in suburban San Francisco: “In today’s America, it’s become so difficult for a conservative and a liberal to live under the same roof, it makes
VOX POPULI: It may feel mild in Tokyo, but winter looms in northern JapanNovember 7, 2018Mount Nakuidake in Aomori Prefecture is nicknamed "Nanbu Kofuji" (Little Fuji of Nanbu) for its graceful shape, resembling that of Mount Fuji, Japan's tallest peak. At the foot of Mount Nakuidake, a vast
VOX POPULI: Ginkgoes hit by salt damage to make golden return next yearNovember 6, 2018After I wrote about the beauty of ginkgo trees at the peak of autumn in this column last week, I received phone calls from readers in Aichi and Wakayama prefectures. They informed me that there were no golden
VOX POPULI: Tochigi zoo plays cupid in effort to breed rare African shoebillNovember 5, 2018Hashibiroko (shoebill) is an unusual bird that looks somewhat like a pensive philosopher. They spend a lot of time just staring at a single point, motionless. Nasu Animal Kingdom, a zoo in Tochigi Prefecture,
VOX POPULI: Japan’s insular mind-set in the face of more foreign residentsNovember 3, 2018Cameroon-born manga artist Rene Hoshino was 4 years old when he moved to Japan. His Cameroonian mother's new husband was a Japanese citizen. Fluent in Kansai dialect, Hoshino has published a manga titled
VOX POPULI: Deep self-doubt seemed to drive ‘god of manga’ to sublime heightsNovember 2, 2018Renowned cartoonist Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) was known for many things, one of which was that he had a jealous streak. Tezuka admitted in his book that even as a solidly established veteran, he would become
VOX POPULI: As antipathy for refugees swells, Merkel losing hold on powerNovember 1, 2018"Welcome to Germany," a 2016 German comedy recently shown in theaters in Japan, made me laugh, cry and gave me quite an insight into the country's refugee crisis. The Hartmanns are a well-to-do German family.
VOX POPULI: Leaves ablaze in autumn hues offer vistas not to be missedOctober 31, 2018Novelist Fumiko Enchi (1905-1986) once mused about the toughness of ginkgo trees. "Their leaves remain glossy with strong veins (even after they have turned yellow in autumn)," she wrote. "There is nothing
VOX POPULI: Trump’s vitriolic rhetoric fueling surge in ‘white nationalism’October 30, 2018U. S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is Jewish. And there is no question that Trump is pro-Israel. However, that apparently does not mean he has the support of a majority of America’s
VOX POPULI: Revisiting dream of Japan-China economic cooperationOctober 29, 2018Japanese business leaders probably felt a touch of pride in the past when they said Japan should help Chinese people increase their wealth. “I personally believed we should provide as much aid as possible,
VOX POPULI: Refined samisen sounds can cross the seas without animal skinsOctober 27, 2018Running the gamut from seductively elegant to wild and frenzied, the sounds of samisen, Japan’s traditional three-stringed musical instrument, tug at the listener’s heartstrings. That a single instrument
VOX POPULI: Film reminds how society has much to learn on Alzheimer’sOctober 26, 2018I just watched “Mainichi ga Arutsuhaima” (Every day is Alzheimer’s), a three-part documentary film directed by Yuka Sekiguchi, 61. It features her mother, Hiroko Sekiguchi, an 88-year-old Yokohama resident
VOX POPULI: Singing the praises of our National Choral CompetitionOctober 25, 2018
VOX POPULI: Veritable gold mines in our closets can help Olympic effortOctober 24, 2018
VOX POPULI: Farewell ‘Dr. Jellyfish,’ who cracked secret of creature’s glowOctober 23, 2018
VOX POPULI: Baseball brings Big Data to the mound to help with analyticsOctober 22, 2018
VOX POPULI: Thou shall not commit fraud: Corporate moral compasses awryOctober 20, 2018
VOX POPULI: Crazy climate causing ‘insane flowerings’ is a real concernOctober 19, 2018
VOX POPULI: Negligent or not, could TEPCO top brass guarantee nuclear safety?October 18, 2018

What's New

: Famed F1 race cars roll out of retirement at Suzuka for fans
: APEC fails to reach consensus as U.S.-China divide dominates
: Families of victims abducted by N. Korea call for a resolution

The Paradise Papers
Featured here are videos, photos and graphics on how journalists dug into the more than 13 million documents leaked from Bermuda and elsewhere to uncover shady transactions through tax havens.
Chasing Haruki Murakami
Here are news reports and feature stories that keep you up to date on author Haruki Murakami.
360-DEGREE LIVES
The page features videos of variety of animals. You can view the videos as interactive images that allows you to pan and zoom in to them.

Videos

Asahi Shimbun on Twitter

Learning English

Asahi Weekly

In-house News and Messages

Link

The New York Times

What's New

Recommended

Videos

Learning English

Link