Nipponica

A reportage of stations along the circular JR Yamanote line in Tokyo, capturing the hustle and bustle at the heart of the world’s biggest urban area. In service since 1885, the line is the city’s oldest, most important and most famous, with millions cramming on to the 35km (22-mile) route’s distinctive green cars every day

Some nice photography inside of the transport infrastructure that keeps Tokyo alive.

It's often said in discussions about United States military bases in Okinawa and related issues that Japan is subordinate to the U.S. and lacks sovereignty. As someone who has never lived in a town hosting a U.S. base, this reporter had always thought that the blatant ruler-subordinate style of relationship under the postwar occupation had lifted.

It's been four years since I happened to witness a certain episode and began researching the activities of U.S. military aircraft above the Tokyo metropolitan region. Looking back, I think my previous views were naive.

Good article highlighting Oba's reporting over the past few years about US helicopter flights over Tokyo. These things need to be said out loud.

The Liberal Democratic Party won two races and lost six in Sunday’s by-elections for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly, far worse than the party’s self-set conditions for victory of four or more wins.

Koike, 71, secured a third consecutive four-year term, defeating Shinji Ishimaru, a 41-year-old social media-savvy former mayor from Hiroshima Prefecture, who closely contested second place with Renho, a 56-year-old former lawmaker backed by the main opposition party.

The election was initially expected to be a neck-and-neck race between Koike and Renho, both former TV anchors. However, Ishimaru, relatively unknown in Tokyo before the official campaign began, significantly boosted his profile by expanding his election activities through social media.

More of the same. Again.

“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.