Speaking Out with JAPAN Forward
195 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago -Speaking Out is produced by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
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Deterring China: The Vanishing Kissinger Magic
June 03, 2022 07:47It’s been 10 days since US President Joe Biden’s seeming gaffe when he was asked whether the United States would be willing to intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it were attacked. “Yes,” he replied. “That’s the commitment we made.” Since the first visit of an American president to Communist China in 1972 by Richard Nixon, the United States has been ambiguous about military intervention in the event of a conflict between the mainland and Taiwan. Domestic and foreign opinion has been ...
Damage Estimate for a Predicted Quake in Central Tokyo: 190,000 Buildings and 6,100 Deaths
June 03, 2022 05:33On May 25, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government released new damage estimates for four earthquake scenarios that are expected to occur directly under the capital. The worst-case scenario would be an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale with a hypocenter directly under the southern part of central Tokyo. It would be expected to cause the most significant damage in the metropolitan area. With six or higher on the Japanese seismic intensity level, it would shake approximat...
[NOTES on a SCORECARD] New Column Debuts With Mix of News and Views on Japanese Sports
June 03, 2022 03:01Welcome to “Notes on a Scorecard,” a column that will be a regular feature with notes, quotes, anecdotes and opinions primarily about Japanese sports and athletes in and outside the country. The format is based on the column by the late legendary columnist Allan Malamud, which first ran in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and later Los Angeles Times. So without further ado, here we go. It appears that Sapporo, the host of the 1972 Winter Games, is in the driver’s seat to be the host of the...
[Hidden Wonders of Japan] Beautiful Racehorses Take a Therapeutic Dip at JRA’s New Facility
June 03, 2022 01:09The Japan Racing Association (JRA) opened its new Rehabilitation Research Center in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture on May 26, with five thoroughbreds taking a swim. The facility is specially designed for rehabilitating injured horses so that they can return to the racetrack. Under beautiful blue skies, Meisho Dassai, JRA’s best horse which was injured in 2020, was led around a donut-shaped outdoor pool by a trainer. Occasionally snorting and drinking water, the horse swam 3 or 4 laps i...
EDITORIAL | China, Russia Should Lose UN Security Council Seats
June 02, 2022 23:03A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution for strengthening sanctions against North Korea, following its violations in launching an international ballistic missile (ICBM), garnered a vote of 13 in favor and 2 against on May 26. China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, exercised their vetoes and the measure failed. Since the UNSC first adopted sanctions against North Korea in 2006, this is the first time that a resolution sanctioning Pyongyang has not pas...
RUGBY | Faf de Klerk Signs with Yokohama Canon Eagles
June 02, 2022 13:10Faf de Klerk, who has suited up for the English Premiership’s Sale Sharks since 2017, is headed overseas for the Japan Rugby League One’s 2023 campaign. The Yokohama Canon Eagles announced the signing of the veteran scrum-half on Wednesday, June 1. De Klerk, 30, started against England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama. He also had a try against Japan in the Springboks’ 26-3 quarterfinal victory over the Brave Blossoms in Tokyo. He was chosen as the Player of the Match against...
Japan Finally Opens To Visitors As Infection Rates Drop
June 02, 2022 09:32In Japan as of June 1, 20,000 people are now allowed to enter each day. On the same day, travelers coming from low-risk countries with proof of vaccination were also allowed to enter the country without taking a PCR test at the airport or going through quarantine. Countries and regions have been divided into three groups, depending on risk factors such as rates of positive test results upon arrival in the past. They are color-coded respectively in blue, yellow, and red, going from low ri...
[ODDS and EVENS] Ukrainian Sumo Wrestlers Proudly Prepare to Compete for Their Country
June 02, 2022 07:25As the war in Ukraine rages on, leisure, including sports and entertainment, is not a priority for Ukrainians ― survival is. The unrelenting courage of the Ukrainian people to defend their homeland against the invading Russians has inspired the world. At the same time, amidst the horrors of war, Ukrainian athletes have struggled to maintain training routines, or train at all. For example, Ukraine’s amateur sumo wrestlers faced the reality of not having a place to train after the Russian ...
Changes Coming as teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum Reimagines Its Future
June 02, 2022 05:39How many museums in the world can instill that sense of childish wonder, where visitors feel like they are floating in an imaginary world? This is the appeal of MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM EPSON teamLab Borderless, the revolutionary interactive art exhibition in Odaiba, on Tokyo Bay, which has opened its doors to visitors since summer 2018. The project is led by Mori Building Co., Ltd, an urban landscape developer, and teamLab, a digital art collective, both pioneers in their respec...
Bad Faith? Under New President, South Korea Sends Vessel to Japan’s Takeshima
June 02, 2022 01:16Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno reported this week that a South Korean government research vessel had recently been conducting unauthorized maritime survey activity in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) adjacent to the Takeshima islands. The move has called into question Seoul’s professed desire for improved bilateral relations with Tokyo. Speaking to reporters on Monday, May 30, Matsuno criticized the South Korean research activity as “totally unacceptable.” Nonetheless, t...
EDITORIAL | Lift Japan Tourism Ban, Learn to Live with COVID-19
June 01, 2022 23:02Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced that international tourists, who have been barred from Japan due to COVID-prevention border measures, will be permitted to resume entry from June 10. Ahead of the lifting of the ban, the maximum number of entrants to Japan will be increased to 20,000 per day beginning on June 1. It is the first time in about two years that a ban on foreign tourists will be lifted. The measures come at a time when the spread of COVID-19 in Japan is being kept unde...
[Kimono Style] Celebrating in Shimoda With The Black Ships Festival
June 01, 2022 08:15The 83rd Kurofune Matsuri, or Black Ships Festival, was held in the small city of Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture on May 21 and 22. This festival commemorates the entrance of Commodore Perry and his black ships from the United States, whose arrival opened up Japan for trading purposes in the mid 1800s. It is reasonable to suppose that the residents of Shimoda were not so excited about such a relationship at that point in time. However, as years have gone by, ideas chan...
[ICE TIME] Junior Skater Taira Shinohara Poised for Success On and Off the Ice
June 01, 2022 06:00Inspired by a superstar from his ancestral homeland to start skating and hoping to follow the educational path of a pair of legends from the country of his birth, American junior Taira Shinohara has set an ambitious course for himself in the years ahead. The 16-year-old from Schaumburg, Illinois, talked about his career, his skating goals, and growing up Japanese in the United States in an exclusive interview with Ice Time recently. Shinohara’s parents both attended college in the ‘States...
Yesterday’s Tibet, Today’s Ukraine — Who Will Be Targeted Tomorrow?
June 01, 2022 02:49It has been 27 years since a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared in China. Where is he? Has the world forgotten the human rights and religious freedom concerns his continuing disappearance raises? On May 26, 2022, the author delivered a version of this article as remarks during a study session at a Giin Kaikan building in the vicinity of the National Diet, seat of Japan’s parliament, in Tokyo, Japan. Excerpts below. Mr. Akimasa Ishikawa, General Secretary o...
Yoon Makes History by Moving South Korean President’s Offices Out of the ‘Blue House’
June 01, 2022 00:56Seoul, South Korea’s capital, was once a Chinese-styled walled city. Gates like the Namdaemun (Great South Gate) and the Dongdaemun (Great East Gate) served as boundaries that separated the city from the outside of the castle. The royal palace was, of course, located within the castle compound, inside the city walls. Even after the period of Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), when modern city building progressed, the basic structures remained the same. The official residence for Japanese...
EDITORIAL | WHO Bends to China Again, Blocks Taiwan
May 31, 2022 23:04Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Organization (WHO) was rejected again at the May 22-28 meeting of the assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the sixth consecutive year that China’s vindictive backlash following the inauguration of the Tsai administration had led to the exclusion of Taiwan. Infections due to the virus that causes COVID-19 have not yet been stamped out. Figuring out how to deal with this virus that repeatedly mutates itself remains a criti...
Alvark’s Luka Pavicevic, Jets’ Atsushi Ono Leave Teams After Successful Coaching Stints
May 31, 2022 16:02Two days after the Utsunomiya Brex captured the 2021-22 B.League Finals title, the Alvark Tokyo and Chiba Jets announced that they are moving forward without their title-winning head coaches. Luka Pavicevic is leaving Tokyo after five seasons at the helm. Atsushi Ono is finished in Chiba after six seasons in charge. Both teams issued news releases on Tuesday, May 31 announcing the departure of their longtime bench bosses. The Alvark labeled Pavicevic’s exit a mutual agreement, as did the...
RUGBY | A New World Rugby Tournament: Key to Unlocking Japan’s Potential
May 31, 2022 11:07A new world rugby tournament is in the works, as reported by the British media and others. World Rugby is preparing to host a tournament tentatively called the Nations Championship, which will include the world’s top 12 nations and regions. The tournament will include the six nations of the Northern Hemisphere, as well as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina, which make up the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship. Japan and Fiji will also participate. In plan under discuss...
[Gamer’s World] Making the Most of the Calm Before June
May 31, 2022 08:15May is the calm before the storm in the videogame media. We’re about to get extremely busy – June will bring an avalanche of announcements and updates of new games, as the game industry primes its hype machine ahead of the holiday season. Traditionally the world’s eyes would be on the Electronic Entertainment Expo – better known as E3, and held most years since 1995 in mid-June in Los Angeles. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show has been put on ice, and a multitude ...
What Happens When you Give a 3-year-old a Camera for a Day. Photos are "Moving”; "Genius”
May 31, 2022 06:52Japanese photographer わたろ Wataro (@wataro_photo) posted a series of photos on Twitter that received over 153,000 likes at the time of writing. However, the photos weren’t taken by Wataro. When he handed his camera to his 3-year-old son…? Wataro is a father of two children. One day, he handed the camera to his 3-year-old son and went to work. When he returned home, he checked the camera and found these photos. The rest of the article can be viewed on our partner’s website, grape Japan a...
Japan’s One-person Ramen Hot Pot is a Game-changer for Instant Noodle Lovers
May 26, 2022 05:15Akihabara-based retailer Thanko has a knack for crafting quirky but convenient goods meant to match a solo lifestyle. In recent years they’ve released a “secret base” privacy taste to be lazy in, as well as a bento-sized rice cooker that serves just enough fresh rice for one person in minutes. Thanko recently gave some of that tailored-for-one-person ingenuity with a foldable ramen hot pot. Now the makers are doubling down on that design with a new and improved “Ore no Ramen Nabe” (My Rame...
Women Of War: Japan’s Rising Attention To Women on the Front Lines
May 26, 2022 05:12The situation in Ukraine has been occupying my thoughts since February. Young Ukrainian men and women with guns in their hands are appearing on TV and social media, as they elatedly vow to “protect their country”. The sight of these young people triggers in my mind the fervor of the days depicted in a comic. It tells the story of young women in the former Soviet Union pleading to be sent to the front during the Great Patriotic War, and I am engulfed in feelings that are indescribable. At...
First Institutional Solo Exhibition of Kazuko Miyamoto in New York
May 26, 2022 03:34Since 1971, Japan Society Gallery has been the premier institution in the United States for the display and interpretation of Japanese art and culture in a global context. Through groundbreaking exhibitions and related programs, the Gallery cultivates a broader understanding and appreciation of Japan’s contributions to global artistic heritage and celebrates the diversity of Japanese visual expression from prehistoric times to the present day. A new installation titled Kazuko Miyamoto: T...
EDITORIAL | Kishida’s Lead Urgently Needed to Restart Japan’s Nuclear Power Plants
May 25, 2022 23:05The Special Committee on Nuclear Regulations of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, chaired by Junji Suzuki, has compiled a report containing proposals for more efficient safety inspections of Japan’s nuclear power facilities. The report was presented to Environment Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in mid-May. The Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has been taking such a long time to conduct its safety inspections that only 10 of the nuclear power plants...
[ODDS And EVENS] Roy Rana Embarks on New Coaching Challenge with Kyoto Hannaryz
May 25, 2022 22:57David Benoit became the first head coach in Kyoto Hannaryz history. In June 2009, the former NBA forward was hired to lead the bj-league expansion team Thirteen years later, Roy Rana became the fourth bench boss in team history. Rana recently wrapped up his third season as an assistant coach/chief of staff for the Sacramento Kings, who missed the playoffs for the 17th consecutive NBA season. Kings sideline supervisor Luke Walton was axed in November and interim boss Alvin Gentry coached ...
Quad Leaders: Condemn Unilateral Use of Force in the Indo-Pacific
May 25, 2022 08:24On May 24, the leaders of Japan, Australia, the United States and India met in Tokyo for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad. This is the second in-person leaders meeting, following the summit in Washington DC in September 2021. In addition, two online leaders meetings have taken place since 2019. The frequency the leaders have met in recent years underscores the leaders’ resolve in showing their stand on the Indo-Pacific, in an implicit will to fight back the influence of Chin...
Japan Diversifies Defense Partners, Chooses BAE for its Next Generation Fighter
May 25, 2022 06:08Japan’s Defense Department has begun to specify details for creating a successor to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (ASDF) F2 fighter jet. Government sources with knowledge of the project revealed on May 13. Japan was previously considering Lockheed Martin for technological development support. However, eventually, major British air defense equipment manufacturer BAE Systems PLC and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd were selected to be the lead contractors. Based on the May 5 ...
Extend Your Life, Train Safely Like Athletes
May 25, 2022 03:59Do you know the difference between average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy? What should you be concerned about if you want to train in hypoxic conditions, safely and effectively like athletes? Dr. Toshitaka Yamakawa, an associate professor in the Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology at Kumamoto University, found in his recent research that real-time monitoring of heart rate and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) was a useful way for safe hypoxic training. He then develo...
New Dawn of Research Begins with Capture of First Black Hole Image in the Milky Way
May 25, 2022 02:03Among the black holes, the heaviest and most mysterious of celestial bodies in our universe is Sagittarius A*. It is the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, home to our solar system. On May 12, an international team including the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan announced that they had taken an image of Sagittarius A* for the first time. Black holes attract all substances with their extremely strong gravity, so they are difficult to see. This is only the second su...
EDITORIAL | Regional Strategy Centered on Japan-US Alliance Key to Deterring China
May 24, 2022 23:05Against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and United States President Joe Biden met in Tokyo on May 23 in what was Biden’s first trip to Japan since taking office. The invasion of Ukraine has shaken the global order, with repercussions even reaching the Indo-Pacific region. Biden has been strongly supportive of Ukraine. At this time his visit to Japan, a neighbor of China, is highly significant as it shows that the most important concern of...
Japan Wants to See More Filipino Workers — Ambassador
May 24, 2022 09:16MANILA, Philippines — Japan’s ambassador to Manila, Kazuhiko Koshikawa, paid a courtesy call on the Philippines’ presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, May 23, discussing infrastructure assistance and job opportunities in Japan for more Filipinos. Koshikawa came to Marcos’s campaign headquarters- turned- transition office with two other ambassadors — those of South Korea and India — and the chargé d’affaires of the United States embassy. In a press briefing after the mee...
China Watch | Commander’s Exposé Reveals Chinese Military Troubled by ‘Peace Disease’
May 24, 2022 07:34The official newspaper of the Chinese military has published an article urging the PLA’s forces to prepare for war. The opinion piece appeared on April 20 in The Liberation Army Daily, contributed by General Ding Laifu, who recently took command of the 73rd Army Group in the Eastern Theater Command Ground Force. The article’s title is: “The Army Must be Prepared for War.” The 73rd Group Army is based in Fujian Province and is the main front line force against Taiwan. Its commander-in-chi...
Kosei Inoue: The Challenge and Charm of the All Japan Championships
May 24, 2022 04:06Greetings fellow readers of JAPAN Forward. In Japan, where I live now, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are at long last starting to subside, and nearly all sports events are once again allowing spectators. At judo tournaments, too, organizers are now beginning to allow fans to watch the events in person. On April 29, the All Japan Judo Championships took place before spectators for the first time in three years at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. In this month’s message, I would like ...
INTERVIEW | Ambassador Verma on Russia: India Favors Dialogue Over Sanctions
May 24, 2022 02:21Leaders of the Quad countries are set to meet in person in Japan on Tuesday, May 24. Ahead of the meetings, India’s ambassador to Japan, Sanjay Kumar Verma, sat down for an exclusive interview with The Sankei Shimbun and JAPAN Forward. The ambassador discusses India’s views about the Quad, which is made up of India, Australia, the United States, and Japan. He also answers questions about the Indian government’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Excerpts of the interview foll...
Whales in the Japanese Landscape: Natural Resources and Root of Manufacturing
May 24, 2022 01:01First of 5 parts The Japanese have been hunting whales since ancient times. It is impossible to consider the relationship between the Japanese people and the sea without examining the history of whaling. This is the first of a series of five articles on “Whales in the Japanese Landscape.” The series is part of a larger ongoing collection published by the Sankei Shimbun in Japanese, titled “Tales of the ‘Watatsumi’” after the Japanese god of the sea. Series begins: Traditional whaling...
EDITORIAL | Turmoil Continues in Myanmar, in Case We Have Forgotten
May 23, 2022 23:09The world is heavily focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, we must not forget the problems plaguing Myanmar. There has been no movement toward normalization in the country, which has been under the rule of a military junta since a coup d’etat in 2020. Instead, the iron-fisted rule of the military government is becoming entrenched. Some of the Southeast Asian state’s pro-democracy advocates have turned to an armed struggle. Reinforced by ethnic minority armed groups, pro-demo...
BASKETBALL | Golden Kings, Brex Advance to B.League Finals
May 23, 2022 16:45The final sequence produced a dream for the Ryukyu Golden Kings and heartbreak for the Shimane Susanoo Magic. Ryukyu’s Dwyane Evans grabbed an offensive rebound with 2 seconds left on the game clock and scored on an inside jumper at the buzzer, lifting the Golden Kings to a pulse-rising 72-70 victory over the Susanoo Magic in Game 2 of their B.League Championship best-of-three semifinals at Okinawa Arena on Sunday, May 22. With the win, the Golden Kings, who had the league’s best record i...
TENNIS | Naomi Osaka Eliminated in First Round of French Open
May 23, 2022 15:16A year ago, Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after her first-round victory, citing the need for a mental health break. This year, former world No. 1 Osaka didn’t make it past the first round. American world No. 28 Amanda Anisimova, a 2019 French Open semifinalist, eliminated the 38th-ranked Osaka 7-5, 6-4 on Monday, May 23 in Paris. “I thought I tried really hard, and I just feel like it was a bit unfortunate because I wasn’t able to play as many matches leading into this tournam...
Beware, China’s Growing Soft Power in Africa Through Confucius Institutes in Universities
May 23, 2022 07:03China’s United Front Work (UFW) network is known to wield exceptional authority vis-à-vis shaping developing nations’ opinions of Chinese thinking and strategy in global affairs. Through this network, Beijing is advancing the scope of economic engagement, political influence, and media impact to garner major soft-power gains across Africa. The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a key institution of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It has been promoted since the ti...
Ine Village, Kyoto’s Rustic Fishing Town
May 23, 2022 05:15The town of Ine is located approximately 130km north of Kyoto, on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Due to its seaside location, fishing and seafood have long been part of the history of the area. Since the 1700’s, local fisherman have built their wooden, thatched-roof homes right on the water. The bottom floor acts as a boat garage come workshop with the living quarters above. This design made the morning commute as simple as heading downstairs. Amazingly, these ‘funaya’ traditional home...
Biden Shows South Korea’s President Yoon How to Enhance the Security of Asia
May 23, 2022 03:18The exchange of business cards is an important ritual which takes place during most high level meetings in Asia. These small pieces of paper are exceedingly important to their bearers, especially if they display a job title which reflects a recent promotion. For those who have reached the very top – such as a president or a prime minister – a card is unnecessary ー everyone knows they’re in charge. The recently appointed foreign minister of South Korea, Park Jin, probably keeps a few car...
#9 Sports Talk ― Luke Evans Finds a Second Home in Japan’s Basketball World
May 23, 2022 01:52By Ed Odeven Luke Evans, who has plied his craft in Japan for nearly a decade, recently became a naturalized citizen, and he discusses the thrill of playing for the Japan men’s national basketball team under head coach Tom Hovasse earlier this year. The veteran forward’s team, the Fighting Eagles Nagoya, had the best overall regular-season record (42-8) in B2 and advanced to the playoff finals, earning promotion to B1 for 2022-23. The California native shares insights about the Fighting ...
EDITORIAL | Fukushima Plan is Safe, and People Need to Hear It From Kishida
May 23, 2022 01:32The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plan for the release of treated water into the ocean from its stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after it has been decontaminated has moved one step further towards implementation. On May 18, the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Authority provisionally approved TEPCO’s treated water discharge plan. After a one-month period during which public comments will be solicited, the NRA is expected to give the plan its formal go-ahead. The Japanese gove...
Kishida Asks Scholz to Intervene in Berlin on ‘Comfort Women’ Statue
May 22, 2022 23:11The Sankei Shimbun has learned that at the Japan-Germany summit meeting on April 28, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for help with removal of a statue in Berlin symbolizing the Korean comfort women. Currently sitting on public land in the Mitte (central) district of Germany’s capital city, the local government has set a time limit of August 2022 for display of the comfort women installation. But the German-Korean civic group that installed the statue is lobbying ...
Stars On Earth Stays Perfect in Japanese Fillies’ Triple Crown Races
May 22, 2022 14:24Two days after his 43rd birthday, Christophe Lemaire collected his 41st overall Japan Racing Association Grade I victory. In doing so, he guided Stars on Earth for the first time in a race on Sunday, May 22, in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks). It was a quintessential Lemaire-esque victory, the veteran jockey biding his time for the opportune moment to make a strategic move for the lead late in the 2,400-meter race at Tokyo Racecourse. Stars on Earth was racing at that distance for the fi...
SUMO | Terunofuji Outmuscles Mitakeumi to Capture Seventh Emperor’s Cup
May 22, 2022 10:48Grand champion Terunofuji is back in the winner’s circle. The determined yokozuna drove out ozeki Mitakeumi on Sunday, May 22 to win his seventh Emperor’s Cup on the final day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament. In the day’s final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Terunofuji quickly got a double inside grip on the belt of Mitakeumi and shoved his opponent out in a matter of seconds to improve to 12-3. After a shaky start to the 15-day tournament, in which he lost three times in the first week,...
[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Who Will Host the 2023 Asian Cup?
May 22, 2022 00:59After China withdrew as the host for the 2023 Asian Cup, a 24-nation event scheduled for June 16 to July 16 in 10 Chinese cities, due to the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, Japan is being considered as a possible replacement host. China’s withdrawal as tournament host was revealed by the Asian Football Confederation on Saturday, May 14. “The AFC acknowledges the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the relinquishment by [China] of its hosting rights,” it s...
‘The Week’ Podcast #7: Biden in Asia, Masks, Rieko Kawakami, and Loch Ness Adventures
May 21, 2022 08:18There is a lot going on in the world and we know you want to stay informed. You are the reason JAPAN Forward launched The Week – a podcast for busy people who want to keep abreast of Japan’s culture, politics, business, economy and research worlds. Hosted by Arielle Busetto. In our seventh episode we discuss Joe Biden’s first trip to Asia as US President. We also talk about Japan’s COVID response, travel rules going forward, golf veteran Shugo Imahira and authors changing the face of Japan...
Back to my Roots: Foraging Wild Foods in Japan’s Mountains
May 21, 2022 06:03Sansai holds a special place in the hearts of many Japanese. A nostalgic word that invokes images of country life and living off the land, Sansai has at the same time become a culinary delicacy. Translated as “mountain vegetable,” the word Sansai is difficult to define but typically includes any edible plant foraged in the mountains. These flowers, leaves, stems, shoots, roots, and bulbs are organic, picked seasonally, nutritious, and, most importantly, delicious. Although many culture...
SOCCER | Yoshimi Yamashita Becomes First Japanese Woman Picked to Referee at the FIFA World Cup
May 21, 2022 04:35Yoshimi Yamashita is gearing up for the biggest assignment of her career as a soccer referee. FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, announced on Thursday, May 19 that Yamashita is one of 36 referees for this year’s World Cup in Qatar. Yamashita is one of three women who’ll work as referees in the quadrennial men’s soccer showcase for the first time. France’s Stephanie Frappart and Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga were also named to the list. Among 69 assistant referees for this year’s tournam...