Vox Populi

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Vox Populi

VOX POPULI: New era of lunar research may yet bring the moon’s greatest harvestSeptember 24, 2018Leading nations of the world have shown a keen interest in the moon in recent years. China has successfully landed an explorer on its surface. India has sent a space probe into a circumlunar orbit. The United
VOX POPULI: Karaoke for the masses, but where to draw the line?September 22, 2018Old-time karaoke machines were not for the faint of heart. Since there was no video screen displaying the lyrics of the song selected, the user had to read a printed lyrics card while taped music played. Unless
VOX POPULI: Abe ignored opponents in race, dealt only with supportersSeptember 21, 2018Visitors to the home of author Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971) must have been a bit unnerved when they saw, posted on his front door, a message to the effect, "It makes me happy to welcome a visitor. But not
VOX POPULI: Choosing to stop dyeing gray hair is a liberating experienceSeptember 20, 2018When the Japanese expression “romansu gurei” (romance gray) came into use in the 1950s, it apparently created quite a stir in society. It changed the traditional Japanese image of gray-haired, middle-aged
VOX POPULI: Japan testing the waters with SDF in non-U.N. peace missionsSeptember 19, 2018The Sinai Peninsula lies between the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula. The Japanese government reportedly is considering sending two Ground Self-Defense Force members to the Sinai Peninsula to
VOX POPULI: The ‘one and only’ Kirin Kiki lived life in her inimitable waySeptember 18, 2018Actress Kirin Kiki, who died on Sept. 15 at age 75, was hopeless at sports as a young girl. When she was a sixth-grader, the event she chose at a school swimming competition was neither the freestyle nor
VOX POPULI: Scar of Lehman Brothers crisis lingers on a decade laterSeptember 17, 2018“When the wind blows, the bucket-maker prospers,” so goes a Japanese proverb, which refers metaphorically to an incident that ends up with a long string of unexpected consequences. A possible variation on
VOX POPULI: Donald Trump’s foul language leaves decent folks speechlessSeptember 15, 2018At an English conversation school I once attended, I was taught not to use words such as “moron” and “idiot” in public. But now, these pejoratives seem to be flying around daily in the White House. Having
VOX POPULI: LDP incapable of honest debate even within its own ranksSeptember 14, 2018Since last month, I have heard one well-known haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) being quoted repeatedly in reference to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's rigidly restrained presidential election campaign. The
VOX POPULI: The Japanese obsession with labor-intensive, elaborate ‘bento’September 13, 2018I thoroughly enjoyed “BENTO--Design for Eating, Gathering and Communicating,” an exhibition being held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in the Ueno district until Oct. 8. The lavish bento boxes of the
VOX POPULI: Yamagata’s new jumbo cauldron to make ‘imoni festival’ debutSeptember 12, 2018I recently visited a floodplain in the city of Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, to see a colossal, brand-new cauldron that can make 30,000 servings of “imoni” (taro soup with beef and vegetables). Set to make
VOX POPULI: Signs of humor, resilience lift evacuees of Hokkaido quakeSeptember 11, 2018In the Hokkaido town of Atsuma, which was jolted on Sept. 6 by a temblor with an intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale, a convenience store named "9. 6" has opened in a corner of a shelter for evacuees. There
VOX POPULI: Try to hear that low singing voice behind the roar of jackbootsSeptember 10, 2018There are tunes that appease people’s feelings when they sing them to themselves in times of hardship. For 76-year-old Eiko Kawasaki, it was “Echigo-Jishi no Uta” (Song of an Echigo lion), a 1951 hit by
VOX POPULI: Quake exposes our overreliance on modern conveniencesSeptember 8, 2018When the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 knocked out power, kerosene lamps apparently made a temporary comeback. A newspaper illustration from the time, captioned “Street lamp vendor,” shows a man with his
VOX POPULI: Ainu words tell of long history of quake disasters in HokkaidoSeptember 7, 2018The Ainu god of nation-building descended from heaven and created an island, according to “Ainu Minwa-shu” (Collection of folklore of Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu people) by Genzo Sarashina (1904-1985). The
VOX POPULI: Lessons learned from Typhoon No. 21 will help in the futureSeptember 6, 2018The Japanese expression "ishi-okoshi" (literally, "picking up stones") denotes gale-force winds, primarily those that blow in the spring, that are powerful enough to make stones fly. But Typhoon No. 21 brought
VOX POPULI: On hiring rules, Keidanren chief harvesting rice before it ripensSeptember 5, 2018“Aota-gai,” which translates literally as “buying green rice paddies,” originally denoted a form of speculative investment in rice in pre-modern Japan, whereby merchants would buy rice from farmers while
VOX POPULI: Laughter is the best medicine for times of trouble and needed nowSeptember 4, 2018“Try to laugh, especially when you are troubled” is a piece of advice I was given years ago. I don’t remember if it came from a senior colleague of mine, or from something I read. As I act on this advice
VOX POPULI: Take note of the positive things that come your way every daySeptember 3, 2018I have seldom kept a diary. The only time I ever continued one every day was when I was in junior high school. I felt embarrassed when I opened that diary during a recent visit to my family home. The text
VOX POPULI: Skillful use of insect pins can impart 'life' to mounted bugsSeptember 1, 2018Novelist Morio Kita (1927-2011) was well known for his love of insects. Just before his home in Tokyo was burned down in the final months of World War II, Kita, who was then in his teens, reluctantly parted
VOX POPULI: ‘Explosion’ of Jomon pottery is guaranteed to blow your mindAugust 31, 2018
VOX POPULI: ‘Blackthroat’ fish is worthy of all the praise it gets, if not the nameAugust 30, 2018
VOX POPULI: RIP Momoko Sakura, creator of manga ‘Chibi Maruko-chan’August 29, 2018
VOX POPULI: Poignant manga shows how we can discuss that toughest subjectAugust 28, 2018
VOX POPULI: Sprinter Zohri’s rags-to-riches tale has gripped rising IndonesiaAugust 27, 2018

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