INSIDE JAPAN

In a dark alleyway not far from the bustle and glare of Tokyo's Shibuya district, smoke smelling of scorched starch spirals from a wood-burning stove set in the bed of a small truck. A sonorous ditty coming from a horn on the roof announces the arrival of something that seems oddly ancient in a city that often feels futuristic: the sweet-potato vendor. Until the late 1970s, vendors of all stripes tramped Tokyo's streets, armed with goods and a gimmick. The caramel-candy man told tales; the frog-oil man rapped; the herb seller dressed like a hermit. Most are now gone, replaced by 24-hour convenience stores and complex vending machines, but Table-Mono, a company that peddles healthy tofu products, has revitalized the once fading industry. Table-Mono sellers blow a catchy tune on toy trumpets and cater to both a housebound and nostalgic elderly population and a younger group who are health-conscious and in a hurry. (Time)

As bartenders close the shutters in Tokyo's glitzy nightlife district, just a short walk away handbells ring in the pre-dawn tuna auctions in an old warehouse in Tsukiji. Veteran auctioneers call for bids for hundreds of snap-frozen tuna laid in neat rows in the world's largest fish market, the size of more than 40 football pitches. The ocean predators, laid out on steaming dry ice, have their tails cut to reveal oval windows of the burgundy flesh that has fetched as much as 175,000 dollars for a 232 kilogram fish here. In the chilly halls, fishmongers with headbands and aprons slice the red flesh with large knives, while three-wheel trolleys are pushed through the narrow aisles. The famous market on Tokyo Bay, long a must-see tourist spot, is facing a disputed relocation plan in coming years - but another threat is looming large, a possible cross-border trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna. (calgaryherald.com)

Much of what you need to know about Japan's long-standing attitude toward immigrants is summed up in the logo of the nation's official immigration agency: It depicts a plane departing, rather than arriving. But today the country faces a demographic crisis, one that some here believe will finally compel a traditionally homogeneous Japan to turn that plane around and let foreign workers come. The population is aging and shrinking -- a formula for economic calamity and social stagnation. Over time, there will be too few workers to care for the millions of elderly citizens, grow food on farms or fill the manufacturing jobs that drive this export-led economy. Given the forces of history and culture, the notion of a multiethnic Japan may seem impossible, a tautology in a country where nationality and ethnicity are fused to the point of being nearly indistinguishable. Yet a multiethnic Japan is what the country needs to become if it is to survive among the top tier of the world's powers. (Washington Post)

A seven-car shinkansen line inspection train runs about once every 10 days between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, and rail buffs who spot it claim it brings good luck. The train has been nicknamed "Dr. Yellow" because of its color but it is officially called a comprehensive shinkansen test train. The test train that travels the 1,174-km distance between Tokyo and Hakata is popular with rail fans. An urban legend has it happiness comes to those who spot it. Its timetable is not published. Nevertheless, a Web site details the places and times it passes so those interested may figure out when they can see it. A cheering crowd with cameras was on hand when Dr. Yellow pulled into Shin-Osaka Station en route to Hakata in December. All of the coaches' windows are blocked out. Carriages six and seven house large equipment to gauge signals and electricity. A dome in coach five lets inspectors view pantograph connections. (Japan Times)

Japan's biggest Internet forum, where anonymous netizens trade anything from cooking tips to death threats, has long been an anarchic zone of uninhibited free speech and a magnet for controversy. This week the raw commentary on 2channel - which with 10 million visits a month is one of the world's largest online bulletin boards - saw tempers flare anew. A massive hacker attack from South Korea crippled the site in retaliation for users' online slights against Olympic skater Kim Yu-Na, after she beat Japanese rival Mao Asada to take gold at the Vancouver Winter Games. The site was attacked on Monday, the anniversary of a 1919 uprising in Korea against Japanese colonial rule, and shut down for two days. (independent.co.uk)

As women in the United States and across the industrialized world get fatter, most Japanese women are getting skinnier. Still, many view themselves as overweight. "I am quite fat, actually," said Michie Takagi, a 70-year-old grandmother and retired clothing store executive. She has a body mass index (BMI) of 19.9, which is at the thin end of normal. While the average American woman has gained about 25 pounds over the past 30 years, Takagi has gained 4.5 pounds, typical for her age cohort in Japan, according to U.S. and Japanese government figures. Skinnier still are Japanese women younger than 60, who were thin by international standards three decades ago and who, taken as a group, have since been steadily losing weight. The trend is most pronounced among women in their 20s. A quarter-century ago, they were twice as likely to be thin as overweight; now they are four times more likely to be thin. For U.S. women of all ages, obesity rates have about doubled since 1980, rising from 17 percent to 35 percent. (Washington Post)

There's no shortage of tourist hotspots in Tokyo, where a walk down an average city street is an experience in itself, but some of the capital's quirkiest encounters are those not always listed in the guidebooks. The Japanese love a museum and alongside the city's many well-known galleries and institutions are dozens of smaller, often privately-run museums dedicated to just about anything you care to imagine, all well worth a detour from the traditional tourist landmarks. You won't find many English translations - or tourists for that matter - at the Meguro Parasitilogical Museum, but its hundreds of jars of preserved parasite specimens, many of them spilling out of organs and dead animals, don't really require much explanation. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly venting their frustrations over the country's economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth-highest rate of poverty among developed countries. She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class. "They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals, but it's there. It's just that we have to open our eyes and see," Abe said. Abe attributes the increase in child poverty to the country's changing demographics, struggling economy and high social security premiums. She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the threshold of poverty. (moneyobserver.com)

Nothing outside Tokyo's 24-Kaikan hotel hints at what goes on behind its gray concrete walls. Tucked in a back street in Shinjuku 2-chome, the seven-story building could be an apartment block for retired civil servants. Only in the lobby, cheerily adorned with scenes from a sex movie, does it become clear this is one of Asia's biggest gay landmarks. After passing the ticket machine - ¥2,600 for a 13-hour stay - pretty much anything goes, according to the guests, who come from across Japan and even abroad. Soak in the sauna/bathtub, then make your way up seminaked through the floors, where porn flickers 24 hours a day in dimmed communal sleeping areas equipped with futon. Wander around or lie back and wait for someone who fancies you, instructs one guide, which blissfully advises customers to expect "some mind-blowing tableaux." (Japan Times)

A cold winter spell is still blanketing many countries in the northern hemisphere. In Japan, many are looking for unique ways to keep warm, while reaping health benefits. The warm sand by the sea in Kagoshima is among the hottest around the globe. The closer one gets to the shore, the hotter it gets. At some places, it is regarded to be around 85 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature most people can withstand is around 50 degrees Celsius. Although the mechanism is said to be unknown, it is said to be the only such place in the world. (Channel NewsAsia)

It would be normal to assume that Japan's first lady has her own chef, but that's not the case with Miyuki Hatoyama. In fact, the prime minister's wife is so talented in the kitchen that she's published her own cookbook, which has now been made into an English version. Hatoyama's recipes are straightforward -- just like her thoughts on certain political issues like the jeering that disrupts proceedings in the Diet. In a recent interview with the Mainichi, Hatoyama discussed topics ranging from political turmoil to her position as first lady and her taste for cooking. Following the August 2009 House of Representatives election, foreign media reports pounced on Hatoyama's reported comment that she thought her spirit once flew on a triangular-shaped UFO to Venus. (Mainichi)

Although Japan is among the most heavily forested countries in the world, much of it has become uninhabitable for bears and other wildlife. Sixty years of development and urbanization have reshuffled ancient patterns of land use and radically changed the composition of Japan's forests. Habitat for ordinarily shy mountain wildlife has shifted closer to villages, causing conflict with humans to increase. Black bears play an important ecological role as scavengers and occasional hunters. They are often also described as an indicator or umbrella species: because they require a large, diverse habitat, their presence is one sign of a healthy natural environment. Protecting them by default leads to protection for a wide range of plants and animals that fall under the bear's habitat "umbrella." (Japan Focus)

Today there are colorful portable gadgets and iPhone applications to cover up the sounds people make when using the toilet, but a museum here has a large bronze urn dating from the 19th century that could be the earliest form of such devices. Because many Japanese women are embarrassed to have other people hear the sounds of the more private bodily functions, most ladies' rooms in department stores and office buildings are equipped with a device commonly known as the Otohime - originally the brand name of a product developed by Toto Ltd. - that emits the sound of a toilet flushing. Toto put on sale its first Otohime product in 1988 to cater to the delicate sensibilities of women and save water at the same time. Before the device was introduced it was customary for women to flush the toilet twice - the extra flush being to mask the bodily sounds. (Japan Times)

She likes Care Bears, doesn't wear makeup yet, and took her nom de plume from a character in the Disney classic "Bambi." And last year, 15-year-old "Bunny" became one of Japan's top authors of a genre called keitai -- cellphone -- novels. After getting its start as a tale told on tiny cellular screens, her three-volume novel "Wolf Boy x Natural Girl" has gone on to sell more than 110,000 paperback copies since its release in May, according to Starts Publishing Co. The "Wolf Boy" author, who took her alias from Thumper's friend Miss Bunny, started writing when she was in the sixth grade, after her parents bought her a cellphone. "I was so excited," she says with a shy smile. (Los Angeles Times)

Just before 5pm on a sunny autumn afternoon, Tetsuhito Aikawa strode into the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Japan, an unprepossessing eight-storey building in Tokyo's Nagatacho district. Guards stationed on the ground floor saw nothing suspicious about the 24-year-old part-time worker from Yamanashi Prefecture, who was wearing a black suit and tie and making his way to the ruling party's seventh-floor reception desk. When he emerged from the lift, Aikawa pulled out a 53-centimetre wooden sword and charged up a set of emergency stairs to the unattended office of the Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, where he began smashing a computer server until he was finally overpowered by security. "I thought I could put a stop to the party's policies," Aikawa was reported to have said, in a reference to a proposed bill that would give permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections. His ambitious plan was the surest indication yet of rising resentment among Japan's right-wing groups about the government's plan. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Japan's unique Valentine's Day tradition of women giving chocolate to men is melting away as more women show a preference for pampering each other instead of their boyfriends and spouses. The practice of giving tomo choco (friendship chocolate) has been highlighted as a new trend in a recent survey that found 74 percent of women plan to give a Valentine's gift to a female friend but only 32 percent intended to buy something for a boyfriend. The popularity of tomo choco has been attributed to the way that the custom offers women an excuse to have a girls' night out - something pertinent at a time when so much social interaction is going digital. (Japan Times)

Anyone who travels to Japan will quickly learn two things: food is a very serious business, and Japanese cuisine isn't all sushi and rice. Although it's a relatively small country, Japan is blessed with an exceptionally rich variety of diverse ingredients and cooking styles. However Japanese food also has a strong focus on seasonal ingredients, coupled with an endearing attention to detail when it comes to presentation. Even a fast-food bento box, sold at a railway station to a hungry executive on his way home from the office, is arranged with loving care and attention. Japanese food is undeniably unique among the great cuisines of the world, but it's only been in recent years that the country has come under the spotlight as a fine dining destination. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Masatoshi Shimbo has always felt more than a bit paternal toward the changeling Roppongi district, the inner-city neighborhood where he grew up and his family made its real estate fortune. But Roppongi often breaks his heart, over the decades turning from a U.S. servicemen's haunt into a respectable business district and then back to disrepute -- the gentle women in kimonos giving way to mobsters and drug dealers. Good or bad, in this famously safe city, Roppongi stands out: elegant one block, seedy the next, a multicultural meeting spot known as Tokyo's most cosmopolitan dusk-to-dawn adult playground. Through it all, Shimbo has fiercely gone to battle over Roppongi's reputation. Now the 58-year-old merchants association leader is facing a new challenge: bar touts. Popping up sometimes five or six to a block, the mostly young men from Nigeria and other African nations have a particularly un-Japanese way of doing business. (Los Angeles Times)

Last summer a landslide election changed the face of Japanese politics. Now the 2,000-year-old national sport of sumo faces its own shake-up if a group of reformist rebels have their way. The Japan Sumo Association has been thrown into turmoil by seven breakaway members who have demanded sweeping changes to boost the waning popularity of the sport, which has been hit by a series of scandals in recent years. Leading the reformist charge in the ritualistic, male-only sport is former grand champion Takanohana, 37, who wants to start by having the association's 10 board members openly elected rather than decided behind closed doors. (Dawn)

Summer on the main island of Japan is hot, humid and often just plain hard work. So it is not surprising that during these muggy summer months the Japanese consider a trip to the beach an important escape. For the 30-odd million people around Tokyo many will choose to visit the Shonan Peninsula and, in particular, the numerous beaches around Enoshima Island. The environment at Enoshima Beach really is a bizarre contradiction for a nation that prides itself on cleanliness and orderly behaviour. (Sydney Morning Herald)

For the newly minted Japanese woman, the national Seijin No Hi celebration (a.k.a. Coming of Age Day) on the second Monday of January, is a chance to strut her stuff. She makes a trip to the salon to curl and set her hair in an elaborate up-do; wraps herself in an expensive, silk furisode kimono; and makes a pilgrimage to the local shrine for good fortune, as turning 20 years old signifies all the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood. Along the way, she is also liable to run the gauntlet of ogling older men who, for one day at least, have a free pass to snap as many photos of the young debutantes as they would like. The men who show up in droves at Meiji Jingu might not be exactly what the young women have in mind, however. Some of the men are old enough to be not just the women's fathers, but their ojisan, the Japanese word for grandfather. (Global Post)

Tons of snow are piled up on the roof of an old farmhouse. Two old men tirelessly shovel the snow off, clearing the roof bit by bit. It's back-breaking work, but the old folks do not have much choice. There are not too many young people left to give them a hand. The fresh snowfall pushed the snow accumulation to 230 centimeters in some parts of the town in Japan's northern province of Yamagata, which is also famous for quality rice and hot springs.
However, Tsunan is more troubled by turning grey than by the white blanket covering it every winter. Like most rural areas in Japan, Tsunan faces serious threats from depopulation and ageing as people aged 65 or older account for 35.4 percent of its population of 11,400. (China Post)

Japan may be one the world's biggest economies, but it is not immune to poverty. According to Masanori Matsumura, a primary school teacher for 30 years, a growing number of children in Japan today cannot even afford classroom supplies "such as paints or craft materials." He adds, "The expanding poverty is hitting the most vulnerable victims - children." Such a situation has its social costs. Children grow frustrated - even turn violent in some cases - when their parents are not around to take care of them because of the resulting neglect by parents. (newjerseynewsroom.com)

They were told a utopian society awaited them. And faced with discrimination in Japan, many believed life could only get better across the sea as they boarded ships for North Korea under a repatriation program that sent more than 93,000 ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses to an uncertain fate. The program, arranged by the Red Cross societies of the two countries, lasted 25 years. It was discontinued in 1984. But what awaited many who took part was an even more harsh reality: an impoverished society that regarded them as enemy elements from the capitalist world, and relegated them to the lowest rank in society. (Asahi)

For Atsushi Nakanishi, jobless since Christmas, home is a cubicle barely bigger than a coffin - one of dozens of berths stacked two units high in one of central Tokyo's decrepit "capsule" hotels. The rent is surprisingly high for such a small space: 59,000 yen a month, or about $640, for an upper bunk. The rent is surprisingly high for such a small space: 59,000 yen a month, or about $640, for an upper bunk. But with no upfront deposit or extra utility charges, and basic amenities like fresh linens and free use of a communal bath and sauna, the cost is far less than renting an apartment in Tokyo. (New York Times)