Vox Populi

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Vox Populi

VOX POPULI: Science bears out theory on moon cycle, plant growth linkSeptember 17, 2019At a research lab I recently visited, heads of lettuce were flourishing in a culture chamber. A record of the exact times the lights were turned on and off was posted on the door. At Toyota Boshoku Corp. ’s
VOX POPULI: In our raucous world, small voices are often more powerfulSeptember 16, 2019My grandfather was a Meiji man, born during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). When I was a young child, he once gave me a piece of advice on how to speak. “If you really think you are saying the right thing, you
VOX POPULI: Verbal nitpicking can be fun, even enlightening at timesSeptember 14, 2019It's probably safe to say that not a day goes by that we don't read about global warming, climate change or greenhouse gases in a newspaper. I recently received a letter from a reader who questioned the
VOX POPULI: Abe should focus on revising pension system, not ConstitutionSeptember 13, 2019“Antei to Chosen” (literally, stability and challenge), the slogan adopted by the new Shinzo Abe Cabinet that was formed on Sept. 11, apparently means “remaining unperturbed while taking on challenges. ”In
VOX POPULI: Power-hungry society yet to heed lessons from the 1930sSeptember 12, 2019The writings of physicist and author Terada Torahiko (1878-1935) are replete with valuable lessons concerning natural disasters, based on his own experiences of historic catastrophes in the Taisho (1912-1926)
VOX POPULI: Nissan CEO is out, but dubious bonus begs even more questionsSeptember 11, 2019Ikeno Medaka, a comedian with the Yoshimoto Shin Kigeki comedy troupe, never fails to crack up the audience with his lines that are so out of kilter with the situation at hand, the effect is just too funny. For
VOX POPULI: Japan needs guilt-free time off in event of severe weatherSeptember 10, 2019Stepping out of my home yesterday morning, I got a whiff of ginkgo nuts in the air. It was still too early in the year, but many of the yellow nuts, with leaves still green, apparently got shaken off trees
VOX POPULI: Mayor’s case for building casino in Yokohama far from convincingSeptember 9, 2019Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi on Aug. 22 suddenly declared that the port city will seek to host a casino-based resort that the central government plans to permit in up to three locations. Hayashi was bombarded
VOX POPULI: Moon never fails to fascinate, stimulate human imaginationSeptember 7, 2019Around this time of year, the moon seems to glow brighter every night. In Japan, we "see" in the moon a rabbit pounding "mochi" rice cake in a mortar with a mallet. But people of other races and cultures
VOX POPULI: Outbreak of rubella in Japan yet to be put under controlSeptember 6, 2019A male character in the popular "Kounodori" manga series is urged by his pregnant wife to get vaccinated against rubella. But he says he is "too busy" and "can't be bothered" and keeps putting it off, until
VOX POPULI: ‘Miracle dino’ from Hokkaido on show at Ueno science museumSeptember 5, 2019A dinosaur named Mukawa-ryu is the centerpiece of "The Dinosaur Expo," a special exhibition running at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo's Ueno district. The reptile's skeleton, of which
VOX POPULI: Why the pope didn’t panic after he got trapped in an elevatorSeptember 4, 2019The protagonists of "Kate & Leopold," a 2001 romantic-comedy fantasy film, are a modern American woman and a 19th-century duke who is also an inventor. Their paths cross when the duke time travels to
VOX POPULI: Heroes abound at Tokyo exhibit on 3 kingdoms historical sagaSeptember 3, 2019“Sangokushi” (The Records of the Three Kingdoms) is a Chinese historical saga about the struggle for hegemony among the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. Many heroes grace the pages, but my absolute favorite
VOX POPULI: Jewel beetle’s beauty intact despite negative associationsSeptember 2, 2019The Japanese phrase “tamamushi-iro no ketchaku” (literally to agree on a jewel beetle's color) is a convenient expression that should be avoided at all costs since it's such a cliche. It refers to an ambiguous
VOX POPULI: Oil and water never mix, especially in a natural disasterAugust 31, 2019"Muken jigoku" (literally, endless hell), an expression used in an account written by clean-up volunteers after the Russian oil tanker Nakhodka sank in the Sea of Japan in 1997, pretty much summed up their
VOX POPULI: How deep-seated is political lobbying for personal gain?August 30, 2019"A politician is an animal that acts as a go-between" is a quotation that deserves a special place in post-World War II Japanese politics. I'm not sure whether to take it as a saying of great wisdom or just
VOX POPULI: Brazil may seem far away, but the Amazon wildfires threaten us allAugust 29, 2019"Opa!" is a Brazilian exclamation of surprise. It's also the title of a nonfiction book by novelist Takeshi Kaiko (1930-1989) about his fishing trip on the Amazon River. Kaiko was surprised by the broadness
VOX POPULI: Donald Trump, just a big bull raging in world’s china shopAugust 28, 2019I worry about the fate of ceramic cups and dishes on store shelves whenever I see the English idiom "like a bull in a china shop," which denotes a boorish individual capable of breaking or damaging anything
VOX POPULI: Cicadas falling silent at night signals winding down of summerAugust 27, 2019Looking back on this summer--which, by the way, I do not miss in the least--I acquired a new habit. I started using a parasol. In early summer, I bought a parasol designed exclusively for men, just to give
VOX POPULI: False road rage rumor shows risk of spreading info without thoughtAugust 26, 2019Which spreads faster on the Internet, false or true information?A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied the issue by tracking more than 120,000 cascades of information
VOX POPULI: Betrayal and bickering has no place in our ties with South KoreaAugust 24, 2019
VOX POPULI: Hong Kong demo soon to exceed duration of umbrella revoltAugust 23, 2019
VOX POPULI: Love and serious commitment are key to preserving the countrysideAugust 22, 2019
VOX POPULI: Koshien baseball championship finals signal the end of summerAugust 21, 2019
VOX POPULI: Kitchens remain the foundation on which family ties are builtAugust 20, 2019
VOX POPULI: Long life on the road awaits those who seek to play pro golfAugust 19, 2019

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Ghosn: Japan’s biggest plea bargaining case
This special page portrays the dramatic arrest of Carlos Ghosn and the twists and turns that followed.
Light and Darkness brought by Carlos Ghosn
This special page reviews what the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman left during his 19 years in Japan.
The Paradise Papers
This special page details how journalists uncovered shady transactions through Bermuda and other tax havens.
Transform through SDGs
Here are reports about efforts in Japan and abroad to achieve the U.N. sustainable development goals.

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