Japan in Terminal Decline

The root of Japan's myriad problems is population decline, as this article outlines. Locally, the prefectural BOE has announced it will reduce the number of public HS from 86 to 64 by 2039. (Last March, a mere 18,500 15-year-olds graduated from JHS- the total population of Niigata is 2.1 million). Furthermore, in 2039 the no. of JHS graduates is expected to number less than 8000.

Tale of Two Japans: Update

Seven foreign skiers are rescued, one hospitalized, after off-piste misadventure in Hokkaido.

Rice Price

The price of rice in Japan has remained stubbornly high in recent months despite government countermeasures. Crop yields have dropped owing to climate change (yes, USA, a real thing with a name), and inbound tourism may be a contributing factor. Japanese consumers are fed up, as the linked article shows.

Dump- 2 Days Later

This video (1 min., particularly) shows that the dangers posed by heavy snowfall in mountainous regions in Japan are by no means over when the snow stops falling.

Historic Dump

A recent winter storm caused record snowfall throughout Japan, with Niigata City receiving 40 cm overnight last Friday. Obihiro, Hokkaido, got a record 1.3 meters in 24 hours.

Next Generation: 1/17/25

A Tale of Two Japans

Articles like this appear online almost daily. Two Japans: the one the vast majority of residents know- weak yen, wages that lag far behind cost-of- living increases, general obi-tightening- and the other Japan, where the weak yen favors inbound tourists who think nothing of 15,000¥ seafood- bowls or ski-park lift tickets far beyond the means of those who live nearby- and whose taxes pay for tourism infrastructure, including the rescue of morons-on-planks who venture off piste and come to grief.

Student Art

紅葉 Fall Color at a Zen Temple

A Japanese Expression for Our Times, for All Times

歯を食いしばる (ha wo kui shibaru): To grit one's teeth, to bear up in tragedy 歯- teeth 食い- eating しばる、縛る- to tie, fasten, bind Or, as a man who lost nearly everything in southern Japan's unprecedented flooding today (11/9) commented more eloquently, 人生には色々ある。

Artwork by Niigata Primary and Secondary School Students

These works are by atudents ages 11-15.

Saigo Takamori: One of the Founders of Modern Japan

Samurai Saigo Takamori, along with Sakamoto Ryoma, is one of the most influential figures in the restoration of the emperor and modernization of Japan in the 19th century. This statue is in Ueno Park, Tokyo. When it was unveiled, his widow thought it execrable.

Golden Carpet: Gingko at Ueno Park

A Festoon of Drying Daikon

'Tis the season for daikon.

Sado Cat

Neko and Jizo Sado temple welcome committee

Wabi and Wabishii

The former means quiet elegance, refinement, while wabishii something quite different: miserable, wretched. I think this farmhouse with the thatch roof expresses 侘しい。

Ramen to soothe the soul

The highlight of the past 48 hours: 辛海老味噌らぁめん from Magogorotei. They've got the best miso ramen around (Niigata City), the spicy shrimp my favorite.

Harris Defeat: Glad to be in Japan

Wow. Clean sweep. Yet not that surprised, really. Many people who have no business voting for Republicans did just that. One of the stated aims of these Republican zealots is to end America's pathetic version of government funded health insurance. And people who rely on Obamacare voted for the these fanatics. Morons. So glad I live in a country with universal health care. So glad I don't live in the US. Goodbye to all that.