Nipponica

“They are distasteful. As a Japanese citizen I feel embarrassed, as I see many foreign visitors pass by those billboards and they must wonder what’s going on,” said Mayumi Noda, an office worker. “As a voter, I think it’s outrageous and disrespectful to the other candidates who are seriously competing.”

A record 56 candidates, including incumbent Governor Yuriko Koike, who seeks her third four-year term, are running in the election. Many of the candidates are fringe figures or influencers seeking even more exposure. They include a man dressed as The Joker, who supports freedom of sexual expression, including allowing polygamy to help Japan’s falling birth rate.

While the exploitation of the traditional poster advertising system was a nice way to show its flaws, there is a more nihilist element in these elections than usual. Even moreso than in the British elections on Thursday, which featured its usual cast of characters like Elmo, Count Binface, and Rishi Sunak.

An entire set of Hiroshige’s colorful depictions of his native city was bound into a book, donated to the Brooklyn Museum and left in storage for 40 years before being unbound in the 1970s. Because it was probably intended especially for such a collection, this particular set was also a kind of luxury edition, made with extra care and details, like the use of reflective metallic dust, that ordinary consumer-grade prints, for all their intricacy, didn’t have.

Bit of a drive from Asia but if you are in the New York area, it is a must-see.

The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday resumed flights of its Ospreys in Japan after suspending them following a fatal crash of one of its tilt-rotor aircraft off a southwestern Japanese island in November, a Defense Ministry official said.

Keep an eye to the sky.

A string of death threats directed at the two leading candidates in the Tokyo gubernatorial race reflects the “latent anger” of the electorate and Japan could be on the brink of a return to the politically tumultuous 1930s era, analysts warn.

Even allegedly peaceful Japan is not immune from the worldwide dissatisfaction in the political status quo, which should have been obvious in the post-Abe world we inhabit. I think most people don’t realize that the peace that they think is normal in the order of the world is historically a mirage. Our species is a selfish one and is prone to conflict.

Japan has announced plans to construct a network of hi-tech, automated conveyor belts to transport goods more than 500km between Tokyo and Osaka as a solution to a looming cargo logistics crisis.

The proposed network of massive conveyor belts, dubbed the Autoflow-Road, would use tunnels beneath major highways that link Japan’s two largest cities, as well as above-ground tracks in the middle of the roads. it is the brainchild of a panel at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

This is such a cool idea and a great way to get a lot of freight traffic off of roadways. Whether it actually gets built is another matter. 回転貨物。

A facial robot covered with "living skin" made from human cells has been developed by a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and other institutions. The device will apparently help elucidate the process of wrinkle formation and reduce animal testing in cosmetics and drug development.

I'm sure this will have no negative consequences down the road.

"We try to be the most open race in the world by respecting the diversity and identity of all participants," the foundation said.

One more step...

“In classical music, you play what’s written on the music sheet. Onigiri is the same,” he says. “You don’t try to do something new.”

A delightful read on one of Japan's core food staples.

As I am sitting in the ANA Lounge in Haneda, let’s look back over the past week. Nipponica started publishing last weekend so let’s debrief on how the first seven days has gone for my new baby.

Set in pandemic-era Tokyo, the film focuses on a young woman (Yukino Takahashi) whose boyfriend has absconded, leaving her broke and feeling broken. She drifts into sex work, taking the professional name Kotone.

She quickly transforms from a lost-looking waif wandering down Kabukicho streets to a wised-up sex worker who takes nothing and no one at face value. She works at a “cafe” where masked women sit staring at their smartphones while men on the other side of a large window make their selection, which a male employer conveys to the chosen woman. The newly formed couple then retires to a private room.