Nipponica

All too many of my friends and acquaintances in Japan fall under the self-described “aspiring writers” label: people who write in private, but have yet to successfully pitch and publish an article, short story or — most formidable — a full-blown book. And yet, from fiction novelist Karen Hill Anton to memoirist Florentyna Leow (both previous contributors to The Japan Times), it is clear that non-Japanese writers can thrive in Japan. Some find career stability in teaching, translation or corporate work that frees up time for writing, while others find that the culture and vibrance of this country inspires their imaginations and world-building.

I sat down with three authors with books coming out in 2024 — Ellen McGinty, Ambika Nagino and Kristin Osani — to discuss the ups and downs of the publishing industry and the long (and very different) roads each of them took to seeing their books in print.

Aleph, which has most of the roughly 1,650 worshippers of Aum Shinrikyo's three successor groups, continues to worship the teachings of cult leader Chizuo Matsumoto, who went by the name of Shoko Asahara and was executed in 2018, as dogma. Authorities still believe that Aleph may conduct mass murders.

It is kind of amazing that the Aum Shinrikyo successors are still allowed to operate in the post-Abe assassination world when organizations like the Unification Church are being squeezed. Perhaps this is a first step towards that.

The man told the Mainichi, "In the workplace, there was always an unwelcoming atmosphere toward marriage and having children. I was very sad."

We don’t live in a world where the employer owns the employee anymore. Black companies like this should not be allowed to operate like this.

"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...

Of the 71 toilets at Tawaramoto Elementary School in Tawaramoto, Nara Prefecture, nearly half, or 34, are the squat type. The elementary school has lagged behind other counterparts in the town in adopting Western-style toilets, and new students have voiced their dislike of squat toilets, saying that they are "dark and scary."

As a westerner that has had a few dark and scary moments in one of these, I side with the kids.

“Japanese users have long preferred platforms like Twitter that allow you to be anonymous over something like Facebook that makes it mandatory to use your real name,” Moreno says. “Virtual reality experiences like VRChat are an extension of anonymity. Some users even use voice changers. They are able to create a representation of themselves that they want to show to the world.”

Japan's top court on Friday recognized a transgender woman as the "father" of her 3-year-old daughter conceived using her frozen sperm and born to her female partner after legally transitioning, in the first such ruling.

One step closer.

Regarding the expulsion, the university stated that the students had "disturbed university order and acted against the duties of a student." The administration explained that "participating in the anti-war protest with a banner without submitting the required event notification and off-campus name usage permission created the appearance of an official university activity." Concerning the tuition fee protest, the university stated that "despite clarifying there would be no fee hike, the protest caused unnecessary anxiety and confusion among students and their guardians."

Typical Japan, death by bureaucracy. The student's argument is much more tangible.

One of the former students remarked angrily, "Is it the role of an academic institution to use authoritarian power to suppress inconvenient truths? This is an unacceptable act of censorship." Nishizawa explained, "For university administrators to tamper with mail addressed to individuals undermines the reliability of the postal system. It constitutes censorship and infringes on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression." The ex-students are considering filing criminal charges, including violation of Article 263 of the Penal Code for concealment of letters.

Students at a junior high school here are now able to set their own class rules apart from school rules in an initiative intended to address issues in school life. However, while the system reflects some students' input, others find it confusing, and parents are questioning the entire project, the Mainichi Shimbun has discovered.

This entire story is worth a read simply to see how feckless the school was from preventing students from abusing each other with the regime they created. A personal favorite to demonstrate the monster that was created:

Meanwhile, there are also rules that the school is unaware of, such as, "Gym short drawstrings must be the same color as when purchased." The male student said, "There was an uproar in the class when someone changed their drawstring color." His mother wondered whether the students had adopted the mindset of binding people with rules.

More than half of people in Japan are not comfortable with the recent trend of emphasizing "time performance" in leisure and other daily activities, such as watching movies at double speed, a recent survey by watchmaker Seiko Group Corp. showed.

I haven't heard of タイパ before and the idea of watching a film at double speed is crazy. However, I am guilty of doing the same thing for podcasts and audiobooks so perhaps I am just as culpable for not slowing down and enjoying art.