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Within the Japanese business community there are whispers of a sense of paralysis or "hopelessness", and the fear that if decisive action is not taken, some of the companies that were the engine for Japan's postwar growth could fall into irreversible decline. "Japanese companies cannot keep doing what they have been doing," says Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten, equivalent to the Japanese version of Amazon.com
The country's electronics sector has been hit by the success of South Korea's Samsung and LG, which assemble products in lower-cost countries such as China, Indonesia and Thailand. There have also been lack of ambitions since the bubble burst, for instance, Japan already had web-surfing handsets nearly a decade before the iPhone, yet local producers failed to tap overseas markets.
Japanese electronics giant NEC has just announced it would cut 10,000 jobs as it projected to lose more than a billion dollars (100 billion yen) for the fiscal year ending this March. Gaming giant Nintendo unnerved investors by reporting a US$838 million losses (its original projection was $260 million losses), the worst year since it began making games 30 years ago. (zimbabwemetro.com) |
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has come under fire for using a catchphrase in an anti-suicide campaign that evokes images of popular all-girl group AKB48.
During discussions in the Diet on Monday, a DPJ member called the anti-suicide slogan "deeply inappropriate," TBS reported.
The catchphrase, which was unveiled last month, has already been criticized by mental health professionals, as well as members of both the DPJ and opposition parties for the way in which it apparently handles the issue of suicide, while simultaneously leveraging the popularity of AKB48. (Japan Today 
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Few countries are as passionate and proud of their food as Japan. Each of its 47 prefectures is fiercely tribalistic about one dish or another, and noodles are particularly contentious. In Shikoku they argue about who produces the best udon (fat, chewy wheat-flour noodles), while on Kyushu ramen (slobbery Chinese-style wheat noodles) is the most popular. When it comes to soba (slippery, often cold, buckwheat noodles) almost every prefecture in northern Honshu claims to be its authoritative home.
As an uninitiated gaijin (foreigner), it's impossible for me to say which is the best, but this much I know: eating soba is never more fun than in Iwate - specifically, when ordering the unfortunately named wanko soba.
There are several theories about the origins of wanko soba, but one of the most likely is that a gluttonous feudal lord dropped in unexpectedly on some local peasants. Without much in the pantry, they sheepishly offered cold, plain soba noodles, fully expecting the lord to fly into a rage. But he loved them, asking for more and more and piling up small bowls as he wolfed the food down. 
"Winning [the Prix de Lausanne] has greatly encouraged me for my future. I'd like to become a dancer who can move people," said Madoka Sugai, 17, on Sunday after winning the Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition for young dancers in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday.
The Prix de Lausanne is known as the gateway to success for young ballet dancers aged 15 to 18.
Judges lauded Sugai for not only her classical dance routine, but also her dynamic contemporary dance program, which is often considered a weak spot for Japanese dancers. Experts expressed hearty congratulations to Sugai, saying they hoped she would become a superb dancer.
At the competition, Sugai danced to "Raymonda" for her classical dance routine.