'The Cove' to Be Screened in Japan from June

TOKYO —The Cove,the Oscar-winning U.S. documentary on a controversial dolphin hunt in a Japanese town, will be screened by at least 26 movie theaters across Japan from next month, the distributor of the film said Tuesday.

Unplugged Inc said the screening will start in Japan at Theater N Shibuya and Cinemart Roppongi, both in Tokyo, on June 26. The distributor added that theaters in at least 15 other prefectures, including Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Okinawa, will follow but gave no details about when they will start showing the film.

The company said it is still negotiating with other theaters for possible screening.

The film, mostly shot in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, partly with hidden cameras, won the 2010 Academy Award for best documentary but stirred criticism in Japan with some arguing that it has factual errors.

The distributor faced the possibility of canceling the planned screening of the film in Japan due to strong opposition from the town of Taiji, its fishery association and other groups.

‘‘While there are some voices against the decision to screen the film, the majority of opinions are supportive and many of them say ‘let audiences judge for themselves,’‘’ an Unplugged official said.

from Japan Today

Banning Male Employees from Having Beards

MAEBASHI —The municipal government of Isesaki in central Japan on Wednesday banned male employees from wearing beards, citing concerns that citizens find beards unpleasant and the need for public servants to maintain decorum.

The government of the Gunma Prefecture city said it has received complaints from some citizens who were offended by city office employees who had come to work unshaven following a holiday, and that it has instructed the employees concerned to shave each time a complaint was filed. But it is the first time that the city has put the ban, which carries no penalties, in writing.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said it believes Isesaki is the country’s first municipality to introduce such a policy.

The ban was introduced in step with the start of this year’s ‘‘Cool Biz’’ casual attire campaign for the summer months for city government employees. The campaign, which is aimed at cutting back on air-conditioner use by allowing government and company employees to work without jackets and neckties, has been practiced in Japan since 2005 under the initiative of the Environment Ministry.

‘‘Some citizens find bearded men unpleasant, so beards are banned,’’ a city government in-house notice says.

Although public opinion has become more tolerant of beards, ‘‘public servants should look like public servants,’’ a city official said.

But an official at the Environment Ministry said it is ‘‘hard to say’’ whether beards have anything to do with maintaining decorum.

Minoru Fujii, a member of the Hige (beard) Club, a Tokyo-based organization to promote beards that consists mostly of barbers, said, ‘‘I’m designing beards for my customers based on the concept of ‘a beard acceptable in the office.’ In the case of public servants, maybe the ban can’t be helped.’’

from Japan Today

Lovely smiles Hide the Pathetic State of Politics

"I want to do my best with enough love to cover the Earth," said Ryoko Tani, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, at a news conference Monday to announce her candidacy in this summer's Upper House election on the Democratic Party of Japan ticket.

She is one of few people who can deliver such a line unabashed and with a beaming smile.

That must be part of the reason why the DPJ decided to field her. No normal person could try out for the Olympics and engage in national politics "on the side." People who devote themselves to either one must be annoyed at the idea.

The DPJ is putting up several well-known figures, including a former gymnast, a rakugo storyteller, an actress and a singer. The Liberal Democratic Party is fielding former professional Yomiuri Giants baseball pitcher Tsuneo Horiuchi, and the Sunrise Party of Japan is endorsing the candidacy of Kiyoshi Nakahata, also a former Giants player.

The lineup is so diversified that it almost looks like that of a variety show. These people, who polished their skills and made their names in their own specialist areas, must want to draw on their experiences while working for the public good. But I want to know why they have chosen to be lawmakers, instead of giving lectures or writing books.


In the Upper House election this summer, tens of millions of voters, who are giving up on the LDP and feel betrayed by the DPJ, are going to drift. Sitting next to Tani, DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa told reporters: "I feel as if we won over a million or 10 million friends." Maybe he meant "votes." Celebrities running in the proportional representation system are traditionally thought to attract votes.

When we look around the world, there are inspirational people like Tani who make us want to place our trust in them. However, now more than ever, our politicians need professional awareness and competence to get things done. They must have a passion for rebuilding the nation and the wisdom and skills to work out policies that will give shape to that passion and then explain those policies to the public. A refreshing smile is a mere extra gift.

The political world is in the midst of a complete overhaul. The election is a good chance also for voters to shed old thinking. But once again, it looks like smiles and name recognition are going to be the decisive factors. How pathetic. The choosing of governments based on election manifestoes supposedly enhanced the nation's politics.

Once that connection starts to loosen, it can fall apart in no time.

I find myself thinking, "Is this right?" in the face of a magnificent extra gift.

from Asahi Shimbun


* * *


Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Hanging Wisteria Flowers

KITA-KYUSHU--An arch of hanging wisteria flowers welcome visitors at Kawachi Fujien.

The 4,620-square-meter park has 100 wisteria vines in colors from various shades of purple to pink and white.


Twenty-two different types of wisteria are grown.

The flowers are particularly bright this year due to cold weather in March and April.

"It's great if everyone leaves the park feeling happy," said Takashi Higuchi, 63, who manages the park.

From Asahi Shimbun
Wisteria

In Japan, the Children Are Buying Bugs

While American children are buying Japanese action figures, Japanese children are buying bugs. That’s one lesson to be drawn from Jessica Oreck’s documentary “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo,” a guided tour of a national predilection that introduces us to insect stores, insect fairs, insect video games, insect vending machines and insect viewing areas.

Ms. Oreck, a filmmaker-botanist double threat, ventures into the woods with a professional beetle hunter (whose career has paid for a Ferrari) and observes children playing with prehistoric-looking bugs as big as their hands. She also visits shrines and festivals featuring traditional dance and music, part of her attempt to tie Japan’s unusual love of insects into its aesthetic affinities for transient beauty and communion with nature. This entails a somewhat stilted narration that introduces us, as if for the first time, to things like haiku and The Tale of Genji.

Punctuated by images of crowded cityscapes, slowly moving trains, neon-lighted streets and green hillsides — backgrounds familiar from Japanese art-house films and serious anime — the diverting “Beetle Queen,” like “Lost in Translation” or Takashi Murakami’s art, says less about Japan than it does about America’s continuing fascination with modern Japanese culture. A scientist looking for a combination of childlike innocence and minimalist sophistication might not see it in Hello Kitty but can recognize it in a horned beetle.

From the New York Times

Children Song: Rain, Rain Go Away

Rain, rain, go away
Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Come again another day
Little Johnny wants to play
Little Johnny wants to play


Rain, rain, go away
Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Come again another day
Little Johnny wants to play
Little Johnny wants to play

Little Johnny wants to play
Little Johnny wants to play


(Change the name into your name)

Cebu: The Queen of the South

Located in the wealthy residential suburb of Beverly Hills about 6 km north of downtown Cebu is an enormous Taoist Temple. It was built by Cebu's substantial Chinese community (the Chinese make up about 15% of Cebu's population).

The temple is the a center of worship for Taoism, the religion which follows the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tze. You can see Taoist devotees following their rituals on Wednesdays and Sundays, as they climb the 99 steps of the temple to light joss sticks and have their fortunes read by the monks.

Built in 1972, the Taoist Temple is constructed in a highly ornate and, some would say, gaudy style of Chinese architecture, and is topped with a pagoda-style roof.

The temple has an elevation of 300 meters above sea level, and if you climb the 99 steps to the entrance, you will be rewarded with a good view of Cebu City and in the distance Mactan and Bohol islands. Nice sunset views too.

Bantayan Island is an island in the Philippines located at the western portion of the northern tip of Cebu Island, Philippines

Malapascua Island is situated in the Visayan Sea, located across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu Island.

Osmena Peak is known to be the highest peak in the province and Island of Cebu. Base on actual GPS altitude, it stand approximately 1000 meters above sea level. Osmena peak is located in the vicinity area of Mantalungon, (a town that is around 700 to 800 meters and probably one of the highest towns in Cebu. Mantalungon has been known as the vegetable kingdom of Cebu. Its really unusual finding this town where you feel it was like an area in the Cordilleras were they have their trading post for vegetable dealers and townfolks and children are wearing jackets at high noon.

Its towering facade blends Muslim, Romanesque, and neo-classical architecture, this church of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu–which translates literally as “holy child of Cebu.”

Cebu’s oldest Roman Catholic Church, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, also still retains the original stone texture and natural color it had in 1735. (Click on photo to view larger image.)

The structure, located right in the heart of downtown Cebu City, is way, way older–it is the Philippines’s oldest church, but it was made out of hard wood, mud, and nipa when it was first built by the Spaniards in 1566 on the very spot where the image of the Santo Niño, left behind by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in 1521, was found preserved in a burned wooden box.

Picture Sources:
Kawasan Waterfalls
Bantayan Island
Malapascua
Osmeña Peak
Basilica del Sto. Niño

Nihon Sankei—the Three Most Scenic Spots in Japan

Japan is island nation of unique beauty, but three locations are traditionally accepted as being the three most scenic spots of Japan. We may ask, how were these places selected? During Japan's Edo period(1600-1867) a Confucian scholar, Shunsai Hayashi, wrote a book based on his experiences as he traveled throughout Japan on foot. In his book, Nihon Kokujisekikou (Observations About the Remains of Japan's Civil Affairs), he bestowed his unqualified praise on the three locations in Japan he thought offered travelers the most scenic beauty in the nation.



The scenic masterpieces of Matsushima, Amanohashidate, and Miyajima are as spectacular today as they were in the Edo period. These three remarkable sites, textured by the sea and abundant greenery, have not only touched the hearts of millions of people but also have served as a colorful background to history itself.



The exquisite beauty of these sites has inspired poets, writers, and artists to immortalize the scenic charm and awe inspiring vision of Japan.




Japan's Meccas that everyone wants to visit at least once.


Essay from Nihon Sankei

Picture Sources:
Matsushima
Miyajima Toori
Amanohashidate- The kid bending over is a student in iTalk. He is Shinossuke. He has a bright future in translating Japanese literature into English.

Yamazaki Returns from Space Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida--Naoko Yamazaki and her fellow astronauts returned to Earth on Tuesday after a two-week mission to the International Space Station.



She was reunited with her husband Taichi, 37, and daughter Yuki, 7, who handed her a bouquet of roses. "It smells good, thank you," Yamazaki told her.

Yamazaki, 39, and the six other crew members blasted into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 5.



About one hour and 40 minutes after the shuttle landed here, Yamazaki and her colleagues met with some of the people who had made the mission possible.




"Thank you to the Japanese people for cheering for me," she told a televised interview. "I'm happy to have seen and felt Earth's beautiful nature" (from space).

News from Asahi Shimbun

Two-headed Snake in Kagoshima

TANEGASHIMA, Kagoshima — A two-headed Japanese ratsnake has been found here and is currently being kept at Tanegashima Municipal Government Hall, town officials said.



The 27-centimeter long snake with heads that each extend about 2 centimeters in length was found last week in a Tanegashima man’s garden and is being temporarily cared for at the local government offices.

“I don’t know why it’s got two heads, but it’s an extremely rare find,” a spokesman from Kagoshima’s Hirakawa Zoo said.



Apparently snakes are sometimes seen as a sign of good luck in Japan, so they expect a lot of visitors looking to have their lotto tickets blessed by the snake’s two-headed super powers.

From Japan Probe

Giant Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctic Glacier

(Reuters) - An iceberg the size of Luxembourg has broken off from a glacier in Antarctica after being rammed by another giant iceberg, scientists said on Friday, in an event that could affect ocean circulation patterns


The 2,500 sq km (965 sq mile) iceberg broke off earlier this month from the Mertz Glacier's 160 km (100 miles) floating tongue of ice that sticks out into the Southern Ocean.



The collision has since halved the size of the tongue that drains ice from the vast East Antarctic ice sheet.

"The calving itself hasn't been directly linked to climate change but it is related to the natural processes occurring on the ice sheet," said Rob Massom, a senior scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Center in Hobart, Tasmania.

Both organizations, along with French scientists, have been studying existing giant cracks in the ice tongue and monitored the bumper-car-like collision by the second iceberg, B-9B.

This 97 km long slab of ice is a remnant of an iceberg of more than 5,000 sq km that broke off, or calved, in 1987, making it one of the largest icebergs ever recorded in Antarctica.

The Mertz glacier iceberg is among the largest recorded for several years. In 2002, a iceberg about 200 km long broke off from Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf. In 2007, a iceberg roughly the size of Singapore broke off from the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica.




Massom said the shearing off of the ice tongue and the presence of the Mertz and B-9B icebergs could affect global ocean circulation.

The area is an important zone for the creation of dense, salty water that is a key driver of global ocean circulation. This is produced in part through the rapid production of sea ice that is continually blown to the west.

"Removal of this tongue of floating ice would reduce the size of that area of open water, which would slow down the rate of salinity input into the ocean and it could slow down this rate of Antarctic bottom water formation," he said.

He said there was a risk both icebergs would become grounded on banks or shoals in the area, disrupting the creation of the dense, salty water and the amount that sinks to the bottom of the ocean, he said.
Oceans act like a giant flywheel for the planet's climate by shifting heat around the globe via myriad currents above and below the surface.




(Reporting by David Fogarty; Editing by Alex Richardson)

News from the Reuters

Children Song: It's a Small World After All

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears
It's a world of hopes, it's a world of fear
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

CHORUS:
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone.
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small small world

(chorus)

Ins and Outs of Marriage

TOKYO —Actor Junichi Ishida, 56, held a talk show recently for 125 couples planning to tie the knot. He lectured them on how to keep things going smoothly, explaining, “I fight with my wife too. A few days ago we were going somewhere in a hurry, so I tried to get on the expressway, but she yelled at me, ‘That’s a waste of time!’ In essence, it’s all about being considerate.”

Ishida also revealed plans to release a book together with famous neuroscientist Kenichiro Mogi.


News from Japan Today

Going green with nuclear power

The Nuclear Safety Commission and the Atomic Energy Commission have issued their annual reports for 2009, in which they call for the promotion of nuclear energy as an important means of fighting global warming. Nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide while operating.

The reports came as the Hatoyama administration is pushing a policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan agreed to slash emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels during the 2008-2012 period, but present levels still exceed those of 1990.

To both reduce CO2 emissions and increase the supply of electricity, the NSC and the AEC call for improving the operation rate of Japan's 54 nuclear power plants, which produce about 30 percent of the nation's electricity.

In the 1990s, the plants' average operation rate was around 80 percent. But from 2007 it dropped to around 60 percent. In contrast, nuclear power plants in Europe, North America and South Korea have enjoyed an operation rate of 80 percent to 90 percent throughout the past decade. The safety commission says that a 1 percent improvement in the operation rate would be equivalent to a reduction of some 3 million tons of CO2 annually. It is estimated that if the operation rate returns to 80 percent, Japan will be able to reduce its CO2 emissions by about 5 percent.

But improving the operation rate will not be an easy job. Eighteen — or one third — of Japan's 54 reactors are more than 30 years old, and one is 40 years old. Another will turn 40 this year. Pipes and reactor components are deteriorating rapidly in nuclear power plants built in the 1960s and '70s.

The safety commission calls for lengthening the interval between regular checks of nuclear power plants, prolonging the operational life of such plants to more than 40 years and increasing their output by about 5 percent — all steps that increase safety risks. A series of mishaps at nuclear power plants has lowered people's trust. In its pursuit of an improved operation rate, the nuclear power industry must take every possible step to ensure that safety is not compromised.

Editorial from Japan Times

Mt. Fuji

Photographers gathered before dawn to capture pictures of the sun reflecting off Lake Tanukiko after rising at the peak of Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The sunrise glare on the summit Monday is a phenomenon known as "Diamond Fuji."

It was a particularly auspicious day because an absence of wind left the surface of the lake as smooth as glass, creating a breathtaking reflection.

The phenomenon can be seen for several days in late April and late August each year. It was expected to last until around Wednesday.





News from Asahi Shimbun

The Importance of Reading

The Importance of Reading

It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary leisure activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away-in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, aside from books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving vocabulary and word power. It is advisable to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.





It is observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs. They are more creative and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading is said to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading aloud helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good language skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better.



Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge acquired, consistently. The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay in-touch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of yore and makes us sensitive to global issues.

by Damian Sofsian

Photo Essay: Innocence and War

Ruined Body










Writing with a Crippled Hand









Smile









A New Bed!










A Happy Family







Deanne Fitzmaurice Photography
She won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Photojournalism

Naruto Whirlpool

NARUTO, Tokushima Prefecture--A famous whirlpool in the Naruto Strait drew crowds of sightseers Sunday as relatively calm conditions and strong tides created a huge vortex.

The whirlpool between Shikoku and Awajishima island in Hyogo Prefecture reached a diameter of 15 meters shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday. During the afternoon and evening, tourist boats crowded into the narrow straight to watch the spectacle.

Uzu no Michi (road of whirlpool), a tourist center run by Tokushima Prefecture and located under the Onaruto Bridge which crosses the strait, was also packed with visitors. According to Uzu no Michi, the whirlpool will reach its peak at 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday.


News from Asahi Shimbun

Japan: Its Culture and Attractions

A geisha stands with sealed lips symbolizing a code of honor. Entertaining Japan’s male elite through music, dance, song, and conversation, geisha are valued as much for discretion as for beauty. The famed icons of Japanese culture have practiced their gei, or art, for over 250 years.




Geisha







A brilliantly decorated lantern float stands out against the summer night sky during the Neputa Festival in Hirosaki. Often depicting warriors and shaped like fans, the floats are accompanied by traditional drums. Folk festivals featuring traditional music, dance, and costume are an important cultural element in Japan.









Sumo wrestlers clash in a ring in Nagoya. Once supported by the patronage of emperors, Japan’s national sport has roots going back nearly 1,500 years. Short but intense, most matches last less than a minute, with the grandly attired gyoji serving as referee.










Paper lanterns decorated with script glow orange in Japan. The Japanese language commonly uses 15,000 kanji characters, which are borrowed from Chinese. Schoolchildren as young as seven must confront the language’s complexities, such as learning to write some of the 200-plus characters for the sound “shou.”






Rice cakes, or mochi, are a favorite in Japan, particularly during the New Year, when they are traditionally given as gifts, set out decoratively in the home, or offered at shrines and temples. Their surfaces dusted with flour, the sticky, glutinous cakes are often stuffed with sweet beans or served in soup and, when not made by hand in a complex process, are widely available in supermarkets.









Photos are from National Geographic.

Japan: Its Culture and Attractions

Soaring bamboo stalks dwarf visitors to Arashiyama Park in western Kyoto. Known for its vertiginous growth, bamboo has numerous uses in Japan, particularly in Kyoto, where it is made into baskets, flutes, pipes, benches, dolls, garden fences, and artifacts for tea ceremonies.

Kyoto










Kinkakuji



Outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, a crowd of pedestrians crosses a busy intersection beneath the glare of lighted billboards and neon signs. Japan’s capital is the planet's largest urbanized area, with some 36 million people.




Shibuya



Snowcapped Mount Fuji casts a bright spot on the frozen surface of Lake Yamanaka. The 12,388-foot (3,776-meter) volcano, which last erupted almost 300 years ago, is for the Japanese an enduring national symbol of serenity and strength. On a clear day, the iconic peak can be seen from Tokyo, 70 miles (112 kilometers) away.



Mt. Fuji


Standing at low tide, the torii on Miyajima is thrown into silhouette as the sun sinks behind a mountain. The famous vermilion gate was built in 1875 and is the largest in Japan, standing about 53 feet (16 meters) high. Torii are traditionally built as entrances to Shinto shrines.



Miyajima

Pictures are from National Geographic

ShinJon, Pyonkichi, and Shinkun

Shinkun is my first regular kid student. He is fascinated with anything about frogs, including Keroru, with Naruto, and Fairy Tail (Yes, manga can be a good literature especially if you're studying Japanese culture). Shinkun and I started from scratch. He makes me proud for improving a lot nowadays whereas he could barely utter a single English word before.

Shinkun rocks!


Yesterday, he said they bought a frog's house. I thought it was a joke. But it seems he caught two tadpoles in the park's puddle and decided to make them as pets. The name of the first is Pyonkichi. I asked him the name of the second one, and he said, "JONA." Hahaha! I laughed so hard. We decided to give it a name "ShinJon." A combination of our names. Hahaha. How could he distinguish Pyonkichi from ShinJon? Tadpoles look alike. Hahahaha

Where are Pyonkichi and ShinJon? <

Where are they?





Here he is: Shinkun aka the Jake in my iTalk existence with his antics in my class.

























Shinkun having fun stuffing his nose with tissue paper. I did this too while having our class. Hahaha





















Angry Shinkun. We had a Facial Expression class. We practiced basic facial expressions such as "happy," "sad," "tired," and "sick."