Izakaya Food

Aji fry, Shishamo, and side dishes.

As Seen on TV': Lawson's Sapporo Miso Ramen

Supposed to be the bomb.

The verdict: rich miso flavor, as promised At about 200¥, cost performance (an expression I despise, but there it is) I eat cup men infrequently; my gustatory habits won't be changing.

University Cafeteria Lunch

Character of the Year: 熊

Check out this video, "2025 漢字" https://share.google/YwYVXDBI3ESiA0kMv

An ALT in Japan

The Mainichi is running this in it's opinion section. As a former municipal ALT with 16 years' experience, I feel qualified to offer a few observations. Assistant Language Teacher: 外国人指導助手 (助手= assistant). The author states "the Ministry of Education insisted (is that the word?) foreign educators (ALTs) be labeled 'assistants', not 'teachers'" when the program was established. They are in fact both: teaching assistants. Further: "The goal was simple: introduce international contact while preserving domestic authority." I sense the author regards "preserving domestic authority" as somehow problematic. Allow me to demur: Foreign teachers who lack Japanese teaching qualifications and possesss limited Japanese skills work under authority of local school officials, as is right and proper. (For that matter, the same is true of both Japanese ALTs and licensed teachers.) "The same job title produces vastly different experiences -- sometimes empowering, sometimes unsettling." I am afraid that is the case with most jobs (and in life, generally) and is certainly not unique to nor the product of the ALT title. What is missing from this broad statement is reference to the personalities and practices of the individuals involved. Even a veteran, effective ALT may encounter the gamut of classroom experiences at a single school, from considerable freedom and responsibility in one class to constraint and disengagement in another. This is not the fault of the "ALT title". That's just how it is. (Professional athletes know a thing or two about this experience.) "Yet the ALT system -- the country's largest point of contact between Japanese youth and international residents -- has barely evolved since 1987." This is simply naive, uninformed; perhaps it is disingenuous.The program has grown from its birth in 1987 as the Japan Exchange and Teaching program with 848 participants from four countries to over 10,000 ALTs representing dozens today (including Japan- why is our correspondent mum on the subject of his Japanese ALT colleagues?). Moreover, senior municipal ALTs now advise local education authorities on matters pertaining to foreign teachers. This is not mere expansion but also evolution. "What Japan's schools have taught me, after 16 years, is that change does not begin in ministries or boardrooms. It begins in classrooms". Has the writer served on boards, worked in ministries? The changes the author advocates, in title and status, will originate (if at all) not in classrooms but meeting rooms at the local BOE if not the Education Ministry itself. symbolic openness If you're keeping score: foreign teacher at public schools, permanent residency (given the 16 years and family), national health care... Not openness but mere empty promise (like the Statue of Liberty) ? I could go on, but won't. My advice: put in your seven hours a day, then go about your business. Do you really want to attend interminable meetings, deal with difficult parents, or undertake the myriad of onerous tasks facing Japanese teachers day in and day out? Accept the ALT job for what it is- it's not a bad gig, there are many worse. Or quit (as I did). If you want more out of your teaching career, consider working at a private school (which will arrange for a provisional license if you're teaching solo) or in tertiary education.

Is Life Better in Japan? But of Course.

Safe. Superior food. National health care. Public transportation that works. Affordable higher education. Affordable housing. And on and on. Enjoy your indispensable country, MAGA.

What's in the Chips?

Imported potatoes, snacks, and other items contain traces of chemicals banned in Japan. This: https://earlybirds.ddo.jp/bunseki/report/agr/potatochips/1st/index.html

Wherefore the Clapping of Hands?

Writing in the late 1900s, Lafcadio Hearn reports that templegoers clap the hands thrice before praying to the Buddhist gods. Why three times?, he asks on a visit to a temple in Kamakura. His guide: once each for the Sansai, the three powers: Heaven, Earth, and Humankind. Hearn: Is the clapping meant to summon the gods? No, replies the student of the religion (the temple guide speaks English- Hearn himself never learned much Japanese)- it is to awaken oneself from the slumber that is existence, and from which prayer frees us. Apparently this practice of clapping has been discontinued since Hearn's day. https://www.kantsuji.tokyo/information/column/1592/

Eikando Temple, Kyoto

Sunday evening news digest:lead story the fall color at Eikando. Home page: 永観堂(Eikando,Kyoto) https://share.google/MC8A2rkRD7cRimEGB Photos: 永観堂紅葉

Sunday TV: Little House in the Mountains

Available here (tonight's episode from 徳島 is especially good). ポツンと一軒家 | TVer https://share.google/aCrXSdAKW7TCAAXqx

Asahi "Vox Populi" on the Unfolding American Tragedy

VOX POPULI: Insolent Trump presidency is the joke that is no laughing matter | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis https://share.google/ArxbHxiBpejkUjtWZ

Surprise, Surprise: Another Member of the LDP Takaichi Cabinet Embroiled in Scandal; and, WorkX5

This time it's Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki, one of only two female ministers in government (after PM Takaichi pledged "Scandi-level" female appointments). The PM has downplayed the seriousness of her party's financial promiscuity, refusing to tackle the issue head-on (by banning corporate donations) despite overwhelming public support for such legislation. Plus ca change... https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c23bd4f8a12804503ff7db5592822f0f11848a9b Anyhow, Takaichi was recently recognized for her contribution to Japanese popular culture in her declaration- promise/ exhortation 働いて 働いて 働いた 働いて 働いて. Maybe twice would have been enough. There's a Japanese word for that, Takaichi: 過労死。

Sumo Emperor's Cup

The tournament ended a few minutes ago, the champion a first-year student (18 or 19) at 日本大 university. A future professional wrestler, no doubt. https://www.youtube.com/live/Y0QIwtDg5r4?si=PW-IARYuqagiYPmv

Touching Story, Sexy Car

https://youtu.be/UiYliMxhuXE?si=kJCNUh_iWiMcgS7Y Makes one want to drive a Nissan.

Yuki Onna: 雪女

Yuki Onna is a Japanese tale of the supernatural first introduced to Western readers by Lafcadio Hearn, or 小泉 八雲 as he is known in Japan. My copy is a graded reader level 4 in the series, or N2 on the Japanese language proficiency test. The kanji are accompanied by furigana readings for ease of understanding.

Sample page:

Crow Boy: からす たろう

Excellent 絵本 by やしま たろう。First published in English by Viking. I strongly recommend this book. It could change your perspective on a lot of things. Do read.

Smorgasbord

Photos

Lower photo: ザクロ、or pomegranate

Monumental Cleaning

Vending Machines

The vending machine, or 自動販売機、shortened form 自販機。This week's Vox Populi column in the Asahi celebrates vending machines stocked with hot canned drinks to warm the hands and soul on cool autumn days. From Ozaki Yutaka's song "15の夜" (1983): “Warmth you can buy with a hundred-yen coin, gripping a can of hot coffee tight.” Live version: Check out this video from this search, 尾崎豊 15の夜 https://share.google/utiJQ6gDkniymGElJ VOX POPULI: The charms of a vending machine with hot drinks on colder days | The Asahi Shimbun: https://share.google/VdwtvNkJLujs7FW4X

ひらみ ぱん Bakery Cafe, Entitled Europeans

Went to this famous bakery cafe in Kanazawa yesterday. Excellent food, coffee, atmosphere. Line outside, as anticipated (waiting in line not brilliant, but that's the drill): family of four and three couples ahead of me. About 10:45. Affluent ( it's not just the obvious effort to be polloi in Uniqlo and Onizuka Tigers, but the self-confidence, the air of entitlement, and the smirk of privilege) European (Swiss? Austrian?) family of four behind me in the queue. After about 15 minutes a member of the staff opens the door and invites the first group to enter. Over 15 minutes several couples leave, but none of those ahead of me are seated. Growing impatient, but what's the point? About 10 minutes later, the staff usher into the cafe the next four groups, including me. A few minutes after that, the horse-faced patrician matriarch enters with her brood and husband in tow and announces she will be seated. The owner-chef rushes out of the kitchen to assist staff in bussing a 4-top. Again, all smiles from these people who are accustomed to getting their way, always. Ugly, entitled Europeans. Don't come here ( wherever you're from). We don't want you. https://photos.app.goo.gl/AmJcnhAfcCaiyTj76

Kanazawa Kids on Books and Libraries

Was in Kanazawa yesterday and visited the Izumino Library. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rSmHNvxGkTrK8ZrdA https://photos.app.goo.gl/WUbwZacqvptQCy4A9 Impressive local library in a castle town known for sophisticated culture. The Prefectural Library, also in Kanazawa. https://www.library.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/ Really worth a visit.

Rail Journey: Niigata, Kurobe- Unazuki Onsen, Kanazawa, and Return

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hqdnJynmCRfpfSAt5

RIP: Former PM Murayama Dead at 101

村山富市元総理が死去　水俣病の政治解決にも奔走　その死を悼む声多く　（RKK熊本放送）｜ｄメニューニュース（NTTドコモ） https://share.google/m1AZ8AJqwFF86kJDv Apologized for Japanese militarism. A decent man. A good man.

NHK toi-toi: Recognizing the Marginalized and Misunderstood: Oh, and F'k Chuck Kirk

A program produced by national broadcaster NHK and aired on its educational channel NHK-E. This evening's show considers the experiences of those with intellectual impairments. (Can't resist a dig at Christian- exceptionalist US: best of luck finding such humanizing programming on PBS. Or Christian love and kindness in the sanctuaries of White power in that most benighted and uncivilized s'hole banana republic.) I'm done. ごめんねぇ。Oops. I forgot to mention the late Chas Kirk, recently 'sainted' with a medal of freedom for being an Upstanding White Person. Hateful bastard. There's this, too: https://www.web.nhk/tv/an/toi-toi/pl/series-tep-72L62Z715X

Foreign Tourists Deface Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Kyoto struggling with tourists defacing beloved bamboo forest | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis https://share.google/2YDnL7gX06Oa4Bux6 Well done, gaijin. Thinking of designing a t-shirt that says 'I am not a tourist'.

University Cafeteria

Mottainai Art

Local artist Kajika

wa Seiya (?) shared his work at a local festival. Waste not, want not. Cool, no?

Otaku- Sweet

Hello, fellas.

Finally: The Buddhists Say Sayonara to Nationalism and Corruption: Kudos to the Buddhists

Mr Saito, head of long-time LDP junior partner Komeito (lay Buddhist Sokka Gakkai- backed) has announced it will end its 26-year collaboration with its corrupt partner over the latter's failure to tackle- what else- campaign finance corruption. Additional impetus for Komeito's decision was Takaichi's anti-foreigner rhetoric. Oh, have I mentioned toxic faction boss amd former PM Aso? Ironically, that reptile and his protege/ minion Takaichi could end up relegating the LDP to also-ran status A rare instance of a politician and party putting values/ principles before cynical party politics. Truly astonishing. Saito Tetsuo-sama and Komeito- arigato.

University Lunch

Fords for Official Business?

Don't buy that crap. Don't cave to the bastards in DC, Japan. アメ車の公用車導入 日本政府検討 - Yahoo!ニュース https://share.google/i876yBacELlKwGXn7

Happy Halloween

'PM' Takaichi and Forced Labor

Japan's first female PM (technically a bit premature to refer to her as PM, as her coalition lacks enough votes to secure a parliamentary majority- she's head of the largest bloc in government, more accurately) has named Aso Taro her deputy. His family operated mines in Japan during WW2. While Japanese youths were dying (and committing war crimes overseas- Bataan, Nanking, etc.), labor-starved Japan impressed what was left: women, children, and POWs. Enriching the deputy party boss's family.

His Right Honourable Deputy LDP Head Aso: Forced Labor (POW) at Family-owned Mines': Forced Labor = War Crime

I think this photo does Aso the justice he deserves. So. Did the Aso mines employ forced labor? 10-16K prisoners? Here's Taro's Dad: 麻生首相の父、炭鉱で朝鮮人を強制労働させる There it is. Also this: https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/2596101

Takaichi Administration Appointments : Deputy PM Aso

Newly minted PM Takaichi, Japan's first female PM, has named paleo-LDP stalwart and former PM Aso Taro her deputy. He is a piece of work. Does a right-wing LDP PM take votes from opposition nationalist Sanseito in the next election? That's the LDP plan, as the opposition party is only only a bit farther right than the Takaichi administration itself. To date. (The one-upmanship will commennce soon, no doubt.) Crucially, however, Taniya, leader of Sanseito, is much younger (less than half Aso's 85 and some 17 years younger than the PM herself.) Sanseito is the one party enjoying cred with the under-45 bloc. Maybe Takaichi and the LDP were thinking a lurch to the right would claw back recent (as in July) electoral losses to Sanseito, but I think not: with the same octogenarian relics on perpetual rinse- repeat (sans the rinse, really), good luck with that. So, what manner of work is he? I mean Aso. Wealthy, born with the proverbial (though we might suggest sticking the proverbial somewhere else). So, he's from money, privilege, connections, patronage (forgotten anything?) So, that's life. 親ガチャ。But. He's a wanker. Noblesse oblige? Say what? Family's construction business used POW labor during the war. His take? Nothing to see here- 別に。He's complained that elderly Japanese visit the doctor too often. One could go on, but why?

Japan's First Female PM- Almost

Honestly, I don't care for Takaichi Sanae, she's right wing, the usual anti-foreigner BS, but a woman PM, Japan's first (Takaichi will become PM officially if she can form a coalition government representing a majority of parliamentary seats.) So, about time. A couple days ago I asked a student (car otaku) which candidate he supported, and why. "Takaichi. Because she drives an older Supra". Longtime LDP junior partner Komeito (the 'political wing' of Sokka Gakkai) may not join the Takaichi government over her anti-foreigner rhetoric and casual dismissal of LDP donations scandal criticism. Well-done, Komeito.

Tropes That Never Die

An article in Japan Today about foreign kids not enrolled in Japanese schools. Typical of the comments section on that site, regardless of the topic: "At least in primary school here, most children get a decent education, the indoctrination begins in middle school" A favorite trope of the expat community. Here's the philosophy of the Niigata City BOE: 誰もが安心して学び、生涯を通じて自己実現できる社会の実現」**を基本とし、「これからの社会で自信をもって自己実現していける子どもを育てる」「学びの循環による人づくり・地域づくりを進める」「地域と一体となった学校づくりを進める Google translate: >Building a society where everyone can learn with peace of mind and achieve self-fulfillment throughout their lives''** is the basis of ``nurturing children who can self-actualize with confidence in the future society'', ``promoting human development and community development through the cycle of learning'', and ``promoting the creation of schools that are integrated with the local community Not much indoctrinating going on here.

University Cafeteria

"Foreigners have no fundamental human rights" in Japan

Sigh. Tat's accordingto Saitama assemblyman Moroi Masahide. Assemblyman in Saitama blasted over remark on foreigners’ rights | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis https://share.google/pWADI3CVB4xijCdip One wonders how many share his view. Well, Japan's Supreme Court, for starters: A 2014 Supreme Court ruling declared that foreign nationals, even permanent residents, are not legally entitled to welfare benefits in Japan, overturning a lower court decision that favored a Chinese woman in Oita. The court's rationale centered on interpreting the term "citizen" in the Public Assistance Act, concluding that only Japanese citizens have a legal right to benefits. This ruling solidified that foreigners' eligibility for welfare is a discretionary matter, not a guaranteed right. The Chinese woman, a life-long resident of Japan and taxpayer, argued that she was eligible based on her good standing with tax authorities. So, you get on with your life, leave, or naturalize. Those are the options.

The Vanished - Afterword

Mauger and Remael's book is utter garbage. Unless you like your 'journalism' fabricated, falsified. Google was around in 2014, when the English translation was published; Benjamin, Hector, Charles- any reason you didn't spend a few minutes Googling? Tourists with preconceptions, not journalists. Ignorance of the language, plain ignorance, facts that don't add up, no facts at all- none of this deters Lena et al. Finally, here's Lena.

The Vanished: -17: Fin

March 11, 2011. Lena's breathless claim at the bottom of the page is utter bullsh*t. I was here. Like millions in Japan, I was glued to Japanese TV for days. We knew. Nor would I trust Stephane's testimony. He visits Fukushima's no-go zone after the disaster:

Take a dive here And here

The Vanished- 16: Tojinbo Cliffs

Mauger and company visit the famed cliffs of Tojinbo, which she describes as "two hours from Tokyo City". Well, the flight from Haneda to Komatsu (nearest airport), Ishikawa, takes an hour. From there it's about 45 minutes to Tojinbo, Fukui, by car. Did the budget stretch to airfare for three and a rental? Overland from Tokyo the journey takes seven hours. (Did they even go there?) Anyhow, Mauger says they've been invited by Shige Yukio, a retired police officer and founder of an NPO whose mission is suicide prevention at the cliffs. Later that day the following bizarre scene unfolds:

So, just like that, it's off to Osaka.

The Vanished - 15: Planet Toyota, and a Mitsubishi

Still in Toyota City. Aichi Prefecture. Lena claims to meet one Peruvian named Freddy who arrived in Japan in 1991 and began working for Toyota that year. According to Lena, he was a temp worker (yes, for nearly 30 years!) and has been laid off by the manufacturer, which she says is letting people go in large numbers in 2010 (?) despite an 8% increase in sales over the previous year (makes no sense, given Toyotism and Just in Time production). Or what year is it? Lena doesn't enlighten. (In any case, Japanese labor statistics don't support her assertion.) Anyway, Freddy wonders- (see photograph)

Problem is, this pic (oh la la, tres symbolique) was taken not in Toyota (or anywhere else in Aichi, for that matter) but in Osaka. Busted by the blue plate. Again. Did Stephane even snap this, Lena? Oh. And the car? It's a Mitsubishi.

The Vanished- 14: Lena Goes to Toyota, Aichi, and Splains Some Things

In which we travel with Mauger and friends to Toyota City, Aichi, to meet "connections". Home to Toyota Motor Corporation, of course, and Lena claims that people are fleeing the "jewel of Japan [which] has been sinking in the recession." Since 2008, and she knows this how? Because "(t)hey say". Let's consider a couple of bits straight off. First: What does the government say about Toyota's population? 2005- 400K 2010- 413K 2015- 414K So that's that. Lena is too preoccupied with her preconceived notions about Toyota (and Japan) to be distracted by mere facts. Moreover, she senses something sinister in "Planet Toyota", where everything is named, you guessed it, Toyota. As in Toyota Station, Toyota Post Office, Toyota Elementary School, Toyota Hospital.. A bit like Niigata City, with its 新潟小学校、新潟高等学校、新潟大学、新潟中央郵便局, 新潟市民病院... A bit like anywhere. "In 1959, the Japanese government renamed the small city of Koromo, known from then on as Toyota City." Nope. This is not the DPRK, Lena. The city assembly did, for multiple reasons: 1) the kanji rendering Koromo were difficult to read: 挙母 (Good luck getting 'Koromo' from that-in fact, Toyota's headquarters adopted katakana: コロモ); 2) to avoid confusion with a city of the same name in Nagano; and 3) to identify the city as home to Toyota Motor Corp.

Drop in sales in 2010? Nope. Toyota reported an 8% jump for that year.

The Vanished- 13: Did You Even Read It?

High praise for this tripe comes from from Benjamin, Hector, and Charles. "Hats off", exclaims Benjamin. (Of prestigious Keio University, no less-just goes to show). From Hector: "I feel the word johatsu will stay in my heart forever." That's unfortunate. From Charles: "I hope the book will be translated into Japanese." Honestly, Chuck, I hope not.

The Vanished-12: Miyamoto Naoki (not Naori), Vanished 2002, 3/3.

In which our investigator finally meets the family of an evaporated, only to get his name wrong. And a couple other things. Lena's new interpreter, one Jun (what happened to chubby guy Guy?), introduces her to detective Hayashizaki, who in turn sets up a meeting with the Miyamoto family. On 3/3/2002, their younger son, 25, disappeared. Two days later the coast guard (not the "Ocean Tokyu Ferry company", Lena) in Fukuoka phoned to say that his belongings had been found in one of the cabins. Now, Mauger gets the surname right: Miyamoto. Only, she's wrong about his prenom: it's Naoki, not "Naori". I would say I'm shocked at the incompetence. But at this point...

Again, Miyamoto was 25 at the time, Lena. How did you get both his name and age wrong? Beyond pathetic. But beyond pathetic is not beyond Lena Mauger. Clearly. And where was interpreter Jun? As amateurish as his employer, apparently. Link: 宮本　直樹 | 特定失踪者問題調査会 https://share.google/d5EmfBTylIswSmTi7

The Vanished-11: 5.5 Million Evaporated

Apologies, Dear Readers, for this tedious and repetitive series. We get the idea, enough already. Yes, but I must soldier on. Positive note: the end approacheth.

Page 122: in which we encounter the astonishing figure 185,000- the true number of evaporateds, annually. Let's see, I arrived 30 years ago, that's 30X 185,000= 5.5 million. That's impressive hush hush. "Burial"- Hmm. Few Japanese opt for that.

The Vanished - 10: Otaku and Hikkikomori

Mauger visits Akihabara, The Maid Cafe. Where she meets "Picchi", one of the staff, dressed as Cinderella. Who frequents the establishment? Otaku. Nerds, geeks, those with a manga/ anime monomania. Mauger descibes them as "recluses living out their passions alone, holed up in a room, isolated on the Japanese archipelago". (Except when they're patronizing the cafe, of course.) That would be hikkikomori, Lena. Apparently our correspondent is unaware of the distinction. Bless her. She's really trying. Really, really hard.

The Vanished- 9: More of the Geographical

Sanya, we are told, "cannot be found on any map." Okay, whatever. But 'Sanno'? Blue plate to the left of the meter: 山王一丁目15. That would be Ota Ward, south of Shinagawa, on the way to Kawasaki and Yokohama. Haneda Airport. Nowhere near Sanya, Arakawa/ Taito. Chubby filmmaker/ interpreter garcon Guy's been napping on the job.

The Vanished -8: Interlude

A couple of gems. 1)"There is another world, but it is in this one." Profound observation by French surrealist Paul Eluard. But of course. I'm surprised that, after 72 pages, we have yet to encounter Foucault, Derrida, Barthes. Perhaps those luminaries are waiting in the wings. 2) "Sanya is not what he (Stephane, our photographer) imagined evaporation to be- vibrant, romantic, like in literature or film." Aww. Stephane wants his money back. There you have it, the problem with these French tourists' project. Thanks, Stephane, for distilling it, unwittingly.

The Vanished- 7: Sanya

Sanya (山谷): straddling Taito and Arakawa Wards in Tokyo. According to the book jacket:

"A little learning is a dangerous thing", as someone famous once observed. Search for 山谷 online, and you'll find it. The name was changed, in 1966, though not because the area was/ is "notorious for its petty criminal activities". Rather, names change: Tokyo used to be Edo, Niigata (where I live) Echigo... And a word on vending machines: those offering alcohol shut off automatically at 11:00 (23:00). By law. I know, from experience.

The Vanished-6: More Geographical Oddities

"Shunsuke Soda left Tokyo seven years ago to settle in Yamanashi province (sic) in northern (sic) Japan." Chubby filmmaker Guy, I'm beginning to lose faith in you. Yamanashi is neither a province (though it is a prefecture), nor would even the most deranged cartographer place it in "northern Japan".

The Vanished-5

Our intrepid investigators- a reminder, they don't understand Japanese, though chubby Guy apparently does- visit the home of an evaporated. "Tim" is the eldest son. Really? A Japanese couple, this is. "Upstairs, lying in her bed, the grandmother clears her throat." Did she? Lay eyes on her? The family mutt? The point is?

They "used to live among the cherry blossoms in Saitama", the eldest "the son of tanners" . Tanners, traditional outcasts, did not live near the best blossom viewing spots, Lena. Or perhaps you mean they no longer reside in that prefecture. Or perhaps you don't have a point at all.

The Vanished 4: More Pesky Facts

120K in the mid- 90s? Nope. In fact, the National Police Agency reported 80,030 missing persons in 1995. Sigh. Chubby Guy. You really, vraiment should have stayed with filmmaking.

The Vanished 3- Geography

To the list of things modified or left anonymous we can add facts and truth. But we are not done, dear reader. In fact, we have only reached p. 17. From p. 18:

I'll keep it simple: Hananoyu is not in Shizuoka City- it never was- but Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Dear reader, I apologize: you've already decided between Guy and the sextant, further examples are but superfluous.

The Vanished 2- More Facts

Mauger and friends travel by shinkansen from Tokyo to hot-spring town Atami, Shizuoka. Why? Because our journalist has been told that people on the run "wash away their pasts in the sulfurous steam of the baths before being reborn elsewhere". Whatever. Because bustling hot-springs resorts are the perfect place to disappear, and easy on the pocketbook. Our investigators stroll through town asking for the evaporated people, Where are they, the 'johatsu'?- and are met with evasion, in Mauger's telling (it's not just Americans that are ugly overseas). Finally, they are directed to one Doctor Uchida, "the physician of the springs". Meaning? So they troop off, locate the good doctor, ask him about vanished people and hot springs (well, Guy does, presumably). Doc Uchida shares this:

Now, either the sawbones is in his dotage or, as I prefer to think, it's complete bullsh*t. Fukuda murdered a co-worker. Former. Singular. This was in Matsuyama, Ehime. During her 15 years on the lam, from 1982-1997, she was in a number of places: Nagoya, yes, Osaka, yes, Kanazawa and Fukui, yes and yes, but Shizuoka? No.

The Vanished 1: Fact-check: Vanishing Act

Mauger first published on Japan's 'evaporated' in 2009 in the magazine XXI, so presumably she and her collaborators visited Japan earlier that year or, more likely, 2008. From the jacket: "Every year, nearly one hundred thousand Japanese vanish without a trace." Mauger's book lacks a bibliography, so readers are left to dig into this surprising claim themselves. (Because it is a head-scratching figure and invites digging.) Really? 100K? No trace, never found? Here are the numbers, courtesy of the National Police Agency. From the year 2008: 84, 739 missing persons reports, 78, 668 cases closed. Let's consider the first year for which both figures are available, 1966: 91, 593, and 63, 667, respectively. Finally, in 2022: 84,910 and 80, 653. The data goes back to 昭和31, or 1956, and since then the annual figure for missing persons has reached or exceeded 100K in just 11 years. Not only that, but never have "nearly one hundred thousand people" permanently vanished. Habemus Corpus. Just where did Mauger get her numbers? Chubby Guy? Methinks the filmmaker's Japanese skills did not extend to internet searches in the language. Or was it "facts are so passe"? Or perhaps the triumvirate decided they were entitled to their own.

"The Vanished"- Introduction

In which Lena Mauger, avid traveler and magazine journalist, and Stephane Remael, photographer, propose to tell of "The Evaporated People Of Japan In Stories And Photographs". A tall order for Mauger and Remael, as neither speaks Japanese, and Translate wasn't a thing. So they enlist the services of one Guy (no surname), a "chubby filmmaker on the cusp of retirement". (Is any of that relevant? Meaning not particularly busy, thus free to tag along as Lena chases this non-story?) At least he's got a Japanese wife and some degree of Japanese fluency, apparently- so this Guy is on board as interpreter. As night falls over the Place de Clichy, Guy regales Mauger with "all the little things that, for him, make Japanese living so serene". You know: "the feminine gentleness, the elegance of movement, the efficiency of public transportation". Was chubby guy having her on? Place de Cliche. Anyhow, it's Guy who mentions "*a strange phenomenon: every year, thousands of Japanese people leave their homes and never return." According to our filmmaker, **Japan has more missing persons than any other country. Now, I don't want to put too fine a point on it, but there's something(s) slightly off about this tete a tete: if Mauger first hears about this phenomenon from Guy, then what was the subject of her original investigation? Anyhow, "there we were, two months later, foreign to this enigmatic culture, our only compass being our guide's perseverance in the face of shadows..." Nauseating, I agree. As for the "compass"- we shall see in later installments whether a sextant wouldn't have been the smarter choice.

* One of the few accurate claims in the entire book. In fact, tens of thousands are reported missing every year, with all but a few thousand found within 72 hours. Lena vastly inflates this figure. But of course. Because, Mon Dieu, the story. Among the 2-4K not found annually: those who have come to grief, whose bodies are never located; those suffering dementia who wander off with no ID; and, the truly vanished, those who do not want to be found, for any number of reasons. ** Sure about that, Guy? Take a peek at figures for the US.

Behind the Curtain: Japan and Korea

Just saw an informative deep-dive on NHK into efforts to recover the remains of Japanese and Koreans lost in industrial accidents during WWII. 長生 Coal Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, 1942, February 3: a cave-in occurs, claiming the lives of 136 Korean forced laborers and 47 Japanese. Until this summer, no remains had been recovered, though descendants of the Japanese victims had petitioned their own government in vain for help. Steps up the Korean government, dispatching divers to help in the search. Result: discovery of some remains, and bope of more to follow. Who made this happen? Groups representing Japanese families, their Korean counterparts, and the Korean government. Japanese authorities have been MiA. Why the reluctance to help? Doing so would require the country to confront the issue of Korean forced labor. A touchy issue, even 83 years on? One wonders. No, one doesn't. Consider the 30-year campaign (resolved in 2024) by Sado Island, Niigata, to have 佐渡金山 recognized as a World Heritage Site. Same complication: forced labor, Korean. Back to the coal mine: ironically, Yamaguchi Prefecture was home to the late right-wing PM Abe, murdered for his (and his political party's) ties to the Korean Unification Church. Ironies upon ironies. (Japan- Korea fraught- from the Japanese perspective, at least. Also, let's not forget wartime so-called comfort women, which Japan hasn't recognized as sex slaves, hence the "comfort women" fudge.) Mainichi Shinbun story here photo

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

日本人ファスト。Japanese First. The volunteers were extremely polite. They thanked me for taking these photos. I asked if they were being sarcastic- 皮肉。 No, they responded- from the heart. Now I feel bad. Almost.

Harvest Time

The rice harvest in the north of Niigata is essentially complete. Record heat and drought in June and July led many rice farmers to write off this year's crop, but in early August the rains came, and came some more. 恵みの雨、it's called. However, by this time some of the crop was beyond recovery, including that shown in the photos (though it looks healthy to me).