Japanese Night Race In The Books?

We’ve all experienced the hype about the first ever Singapore F1 night race. Some of you might even have experienced it yourselves. We had planned on going to watch it but certain things came up that disallowed that possibility. We had to content ourselves on watching the events unfold on TV.

Here’s another bit of news to you F1 enthusiasts out there, though. It is rumored that the big boss of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, is planning on making the Japanese Grand Prix into a night race as well. BBC
has this report:

And asked if more floodlit races were planned, Ecclestone told BBC Radio 5 Live: “If we have more races in this part of the world, yes.

“We’re going to try to get Japan to do it. I hope when people see Singapore they realise it wasn’t a stupid idea.”

I am quite happy to hear this piece of news due to several things. For one, I know that a lot of people have always had this fascination for the country and its culture. For people who are interested in both the country and F1 racing, this turn of events is definitely a cause for celebration! Another reason is that we all know how technologically advanced Japan is. Perhaps it is even safe to say that they are the best when it comes to technology. If the Singapore night race was a success in many areas – including technology – can you just imagine how much better a night race in Japan would be?

La MaMa Features “The Doll Sisters” Yet Again

For many people, Manhattan is the center of many world cultures and who am I to dispute that? Different places mean different things to different people. Anyhow, if you are interested in the Japanese culture and you are in the vicinity of Manhattan, you might want to pay the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club a visit anytime between October 23 and November 2 of this year.

They will be featuring “The Doll Sisters,” a legendary masterpiece that combines the use of puppets and a variety of Japanese performance styles. Expect to experience both ancient and contemporary performance styles as you watch the production.

Together with Atelier Asakura, La MaMa is holding the production in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Praemium Imperiale (Takamatsu no Miya Memorial World Cultural Award). This award is meant specifically for outstanding artists and has been in existence since 1989, at the orders of the Japanese Emperor. This award is so prestigious that it has been likened to the Nobel Prize for art.

This is not the first time that the production has been held at La MaMa. In October of 1978, Setsu Asakura directed a version of “The Doll Sisters.” Though it ran for only 5 days, the production became a hit and has since then been regarded as one of the best cultural productions.

What is the production about? News Blaze reports:

In “The Doll Sisters,” two sisters are paralleled by a doll character, who are revealed finally to be the two natures of the single woman. The younger, more passionate sister is obsessed with finding a man to love her; her older, more reserved sister is obsessed with the man who abandoned her. On the modern psychological level, the play explores opposing qualities, both innate and acquired, of being female. It has strongly feminist tones.

Yomiuri Features Tea Ceremony

Everyone in the world knows that the tea ceremony is something associated strongly with the Japanese culture. When we talk tea and the art the surrounds it, we automatically think of Japan. Dainty tea cups, delicate tea, and serene actions – these are some of the things that come to mind when the phrase tea ceremony is heard.

Yet not everyone knows all that much about the intricacies of the tea ceremony. Perhaps that is why The Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan, is sponsoring a lecture on the tea ceremony. This is going to be held on the 6th of October at the Gallery Yomiuri in Osaka. The lecture will run from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the basement and will be given by Toru Ota, the head of Oimatsu, a Kyoto-based Japanese confectionary maker. Shse is also an instructor at the Kyoto Women’s Unviersity. This event coincides with the 15th anniversary of the English newspaper’s Kansai edition.

The aim of the organizers is to spread the word about the real deal when it comes to the tea ceremony. Their targets are the foreigners in the area who might want to know about the tea ceremony in a more in depth manner. The lecture is free but there are only 40 seats available and they will be giving out invitations through lottery. If you want to participate, send in a postcard with your name, age, address, and postal code to The Daily Yomiuri Japanese Culture Lecture, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Osaka, 530-855 before September 28.

Mt. Fuji Skate For Charity

Acts of charity are always considered news worthy and this item is no different. A young British adventurer is planning a considerable feat that would benefit charity. He plans to skate down Mt. Fuji with the aim of helping The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.

Mt. Fuji, as you might already know, is the most popular peak in Japan. It is visited by countless tourists from all over the world as well as the locals. Year in and year out, people come in droves to experience this majestic mountain for themselves. James Langridge, however, is not only coming for his own sake.

Japan Today reports:

Langridge arrives with the aim of skateboarding down Mt Fuji for charity. This will be his first trip to Japan, so his knowledge of the mountain is limited to online articles, images from Google Earth and advice from people who have visited.

Langridge plans to get an early start, and he’s been assembling a team that’s randomly come together since he first put word out. “Some of the Outdoor Japan people [who took part in the first descent] have said they might join me. A few people have also contacted me over the internet expressing interest — one from Hawaii, one from Baltimore, and one from Sweden,” he says. “People can contact me by email if they want to join in.”

I admire this guy’s sense of adventure as well as intent. I hope that he succeeds!

63 Japanese Set For Space Burial

At the end of this month, 63 Japanese will be “buried” in space. The ceremonial burial is in fact going to include people from all over the world. This service is provided by Celestis, Inc, a company from the United States.

Celestis has been providing this service since 1997. According to a spokesman, since the space burial service was launched, the Japanese has become their second most numerous customers, the first being Americans. So what exactly is a space burial anyway?

The first step is for the deceased to be cremated here on Earth. The ashes which result from the cremation are then placed into capsules – or rather, a small amount of the ashes. The capsules range from 1 gram to 14 grams, depending on the person. The capsules containing the ashes of the deceased are the placed in a satellite, which will eventually be launched into space. Once launched, the satellite will be orbiting the Earth for several years, after which it will burn out in space.

How much will a space burial set you back? Celestis advertises different services in their web site and based on the information given there, you can spend anywhere from USD695 to USD12,500. The services range from Earth Rise Service, Earth Orbit Service, Luna Service, and Voyager Service, respectively.

For more information – whether you are merely curious or you want to make plans for your future – visit the Celestis web site.

Sony TV Goes Green

Everyone is doing it, why not Sony? Undoubtedly one of the world’s biggest names – if not THE biggest – in the world of consumer electronics, Sony has always been in the forefront of new technologies. This time, they are working on a green flat screen TV. Not green, the color, but green as in environment friendly.

The new Bravia KDL-32JE1 is supposed to go on sale in Japan on the 30th of July and is reported to cost 150,000 yen – that’s about USD 1402. Of course, the electronics giant is planning on marketing this product in other countries but as of yet, there is no definite news on the dates of release outside of Japan.

So how much greener is the new Bravia? During a demonstration held at the Tokyo headquarters, it was shown that the new model consumes 82 watts. The image displayed was from a Blu-ray disc. Compare this power consumption to 125 watts, which is what a conventional Bravia uses to show the same image, and you can see the considerable difference in energy use.

This works both ways – consumers are able to save on their electricity bill and they are also able to contribute to the environment. Then again, you have to consider the hefty price tag that goes with the new flat screen TV. Of course, if you are already using a Bravia or you are considering getting one, then you might as well shell out a bit more money to save more in the long run, don’t you think?

U.S. Navy Goes Manga

Not everyone loves manga, the Japanese comics. I would say that it does have a considerable following outside of Japan. Needless to say, the Japanese people have a strong passion for manga. Perhaps that is why the U.S. Navy has decided to go with this art form in an attempt to allay the concerns of Japanese citizens with regard to the George Washington, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

The George Washington is to be stationed in Yokosuka and will arrive there in August. The online newspaper Japan Today reports:

The U.S. Navy in Japan said Wednesday it has produced a Japanese ‘‘manga’’ comic book describing the daily life of the crew of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington which will arrive in Yokosuka in August. U.S. Naval Forces Japan, based in the city, plans to give away several thousand copies of the book to people in front of the base from noon Sunday in an apparent bid to dismiss safety concerns over the first nuclear-powered U.S. naval vessel to use a Japanese city as a homeport.

The book ‘‘Manga CVN73,’’ named after the carrier’s number in the U.S. Navy, depicts the hardships of a fictitious young U.S. sailor of Japanese descent engaging in various missions on the carrier and his experiences after the ship arrives in the port city in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Two Japanese cartoonists Harumi Sato and Hiroshi Kazusa did the drawings.

Cmdr Dave Waterman, the chief of the naval force’s Public Affairs Office, told reporters that readers would learn from the comic book that the crew is professional and constantly trains so that damage control in any kind of event can be addressed.

Do you think this approach will work? I cannot say, but I do think that the use of manga is a marvelous idea.

Taspo Card Lent To Teenager

Do you remember the entry we had in April about the smart card that will, ideally, deter teenagers from purchasing cigarettes from vending machines? One of our readers, Jacl, commented on that post:

The only thing is … the machine will not “see” who is actually using the taspo card. If a minor is truly serious in trying to buy cigarettes, it wouldn’t stop the teenager from “borrowing” the taspo card from an adult and using it or finding some other creative ways around it.

Was he right! I was browsing Japanese-related news today when I ran across an article talking about a mother who lent her taspo card to her 15-year-old son! The article from AP goes:

Japanese police are demanding charges against a woman who allegedly lent her 15-year-old son an identification “smart card,” which is being introduced to prevent minors from buying cigarettes from vending machines.

The mother, 41, whose name was not disclosed because she has not been charged, lent her taspo to her son Monday so he could buy cigarettes to smoke in their home, a police official in southwestern Fukuoka prefecture said Tuesday.

Police have sent papers to prosecutors demanding charges of violating the law banning minors from smoking, he said on condition of anonymity because he was merely reading from police records. The maximum penalty is a 10,000 yen (US$96; €62) fine.

If parents themselves do not respect the rationale behind the taspo card, then I suspect that the Japanese government’s campaign may not be as effective as they had foreseen it. Then again, with prosecution as a possibility, then parents might think more than twice before doing something like this.

Yasukuni Shrine Ban Lifted

It cannot be denied that there is a strong worldwide interest in the Japanese culture – and most anything Japanese, in fact. At the same time, there are certain topics that are almost taboo – and one of them is the war. There were many repercussions of what happened many decades ago and the topic is still quite sensitive in some sectors.

This piece of news that I read from The Japan Times seems to foretell a slight shift in ideas:

The government Friday declared null and void a 1949 state-imposed ban on public schools organizing field trips to Tokyo’s war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

The government clarified the point in reply to a query by Takeo Hiranuma, a nationalist ex-trade minister from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who is now an independent Lower House lawmaker.

Hiranuma, along with several LDP hawks, was involved in obscuring the international outcry over the wartime sex slave issue and blocking discussion on having a female head the Imperial family.

The government’s answer in a document the Cabinet endorsed Friday said, “It is permissible for schoolchildren to visit Yasukuni Shrine to learn about Japanese history and culture as part of school education. ”

The Shinto shrine in Chiyoda Ward honors Japan’s war dead, as well as convicted war criminals, who were dedicated at Yasukuni in the 1970s.

I am sure that this is a positive step toward acceptance and knowledge, especially for the younger generation.

Shunsuke Nakamura

Though the Japanese may not be as well known for sports as the Chinese are, they do have their own share of nationals who have played or are playing for famous teams in other countries. In the world of football, they have Shunsuke Nakamura, who is currently playing for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.

So why are we featuring Shunsuke Nakamura? We actually got wind of him through Patrick Brennan’s e-mail (Thanks, Patrick!). To be honest, I have never heard of him before, so I did some research, and this is what I found on Wikipedia:

He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Europe and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the Champions League and the second Asian player to do so.

He has won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.

Apparently, his success has become a bitter pill to swallow for fans of their archrival team, the Rangers. They have started (and are continuing) a campaign, which I find particularly offensive due to its racist slant. I do not want to promote racism of any kind but perhaps, if we get the word out, we can stand up against this. The slogan that the Rangers’ fans are using has something to do with the idea that people from Japan eat dog meat – you can see a video on YouTube highlighting this.

It shouldn’t really matter, but just to set the record straight – the Japanese in general do not eat dog. Oh the complexities of race…