Japan Articles

The Japundit website went through an overhaul which eliminated the need for contributors such as myself. That coincided with my ascendance to the interim principal's role at school which has resulted in more work and less time. Nevertheless I am still reading the news and listening to NPR and still come across interesting articles on Japan from time to time.

I came across several such articles recently:
1. Japanese Yakuza (Mafia); The New York Times

2. Brazilians in Japan; The New York Times

3. Japanese General Revises Pearl Harbor; The New York Times

4. Japanese Convenience Stores; Washington Post

5. Yankees' Pitcher Heading for Japan; ESPN.com

6. Japanese Attitude Towards Obama; Washington Post

The first article is interesting in that it discusses the underside of Japanese society and also highlights the vast differences between our societies (the mafia are careful to be polite and separate their trash properly so as not to irritate the neighbors). The second article highlights the touchy subject of foreigners and racism, which of course touches my life directly. The Japanese are alleged to be quite xenophobic. I don't know if they are empirically more so than other countries, though. The third article highlights an ongoing struggle between the extreme right and the rest of the country which flares up from time to time, often over historical revisionism. The fourth article discusses the Japanese phenomenon of convenience stores, of which I frequent almost daily. The fifth article piques my interest; I understand why he wanted to leave the Yankees (he lost his starting pitching role) but it is not clear why he wanted to be traded to a Japanese team. The last article is an interesting observation of Japan's view of the U.S., Obama, and the Democrats.

My last two articles on Japundit which I never cross-posted are:

Japanese Women Today (Washington Post)

Sukiyaki Western Django (Slate.com)