Japan launches digital address system
A fascinating concept. It looks like is essentially an address which you can take with you, even if you move.
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"The Untold Story of Japan's First People"
A great article (published in 2017) that introduced me to the Ainu people, the indigenous people on the island of Hokkaido who were largely erased from Japan by the government.
For much of the 20th century, Japanese government officials and academics tried to hide the Ainu. They were an inconvenient culture at a time when the government was steadfastly creating a national myth of homogeneity. So officials tucked the Ainu into files marked "human migration mysteries," or "aberrant hunter-gatherers of the modern age," or "lost Caucasoid race," or "enigma," or "dying race," or even "extinct." But in 2006, under international pressure, the government finally recognized the Ainu as an Indigenous population. And today, the Japanese appear to be all in.
I won't bother pulling excerpts as I'd be pulling most of the article. Lots of fascinating stuff in it.
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Predicting 2024 Japan Megatrends
First, a necessary "fuck Substack" comment, given their stance on platforming Nazis.
With that out of the way, I think it's interesting to share this from the article about Japan's future for immigration:
4. Open-Door Japan
Japan will become an immigration powerhouse. Before the pandemic, the country was on track to accept about 150,000 new non-Japanese employees per year. This more than doubled to almost 350,000 in the first half of 2023. There are now approximately 3.2 million non-Japanese residents of Japan, up from barely half a million 30 years ago. Visa and permanent-residency requirements continue to ease. Most importantly, the biggest obstacle to employing non-Japanese talent—seniority-based rather than merit-based compensation—is beginning to change. All said, it is now perfectly reasonable to expect that about 10 percent of employees will be non-Japanese by 2030. That's more than double the current rate of just below four percent.
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There was a diplomatic network between Australia, India, Japan and the United States
The "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" originally launched in 2007, it fell apart in 2008 when Australia removed itself. It was reborn in 2017 under Trump for purposes of countering China's growing influence.
I don't recall hearing about it before, it came up in an article discussing the U.S.-India relations, so I went and looked it up.
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Japan to make university free for families with three or more children starting in 2025
I saw this mentioned on Mastodon and so I went to find a related article for more information:
In a significant policy shift to tackle Japan's severe decline in birth rates, the Japanese government is planning to offer free college tuition to families with three or more children starting the 2025 academic year. This move is a part of the broader "Children's Future Strategy," which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed in a recent press conference. This policy and the broader strategy is set for a Cabinet decision later this month.
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"Hiroshima's Anniversary Marks an Injustice Done to Blast Survivors"
I told Katie yesterday, I have a hard time getting excited to go see a movie about Oppenheimer. I don't laud the creation of the nuclear bomb. And I think hero worship of that sort is problematic. Especially considering it in light of today, a day where so many people were killed and so many more had their lives changed forever.
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. used an atomic bomb for the first time in history, against the city of Hiroshima. The U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki three days later. Experts estimate that the two bombs instantly killed more than 100,000 people.
But an equally disturbing and important story should not be forgotten—the fate of the more than 500,000 hibakusha, those Japanese civilians who survived the nuclear bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
American leaders wanted information about the human cost of fighting what many thought was an inevitable nuclear war against the Soviet Union. Japanese survivors of nuclear bomb attacks were drafted for study with no informed consent and no discussion of the risks of radiation. Within six weeks of the bombings, U.S. and Japanese expert teams were in both cities studying the biological impact of radiation while saying nothing about their suppositions of its dangers. The survivors’ enrollment began just as the victorious Allies concluded Nuremburg trials of Nazi doctors and scientists, which ended with convictions for atrocities including treating unwilling people as guinea pigs.
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Japan reveals that a 48-year program forcibly sterilized 16,500 people - including children as young as nine years old
Campaigners in Japan have reacted angrily to a government report revealing that children as young as nine were among thousands of people who were forcibly sterilised under a eugenics law that was not repealed until the 1990s.
The 1,400-page report, submitted to parliament this week, details how, between 1948 and 1996, about 16,500 people were operated on without their consent under the law, which aimed to "prevent the birth of poor-quality descendants … and to protect the life and health of the mother". Most of the victims were women.
Just what the hell. This program ended less than 30 years ago. The math is that they did this roughly to a person a day for nearly fifty years.
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With G7 in Japan, China hosts summit with central asia neighbors
With G-7 leaders meeting in Japan, China kick-started its first-ever Central Asia summit on Thursday. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are all in attendance for the two-day event. Leaders met one-on-one with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday before group discussions on Friday. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, this is the first major diplomatic event China has hosted this year.
...
China and Central Asia have long been vital partners on the global stage. In 2013, Beijing launched its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan and has since spent billions of dollars on transportation and infrastructure in the region. China is Central Asia’s largest trading partner. Last year, trade reached a record high of $70 billion, including $31 billion with Kazakhstan alone. This year is proving to be no different; already, China and Central Asian nations have conducted more than $24.8 billion in trade. Just as Central Asia relies on Chinese trade and investment, Beijing depends on Central Asia for key resources. Many Chinese cities rely on natural gas pipelines from Turkmenistan and oil from Kazakhstan.
If you had asked me how much trade China would get from these neighbors, I wouldn't have guessed it was that high. Though, it is notable that this is still a fraction of China's trade with other countries. For example, according to ustr.gov:
U.S. goods and services trade with China totaled an estimated $615.2 billion in 2020. Exports were $164.9 billion; imports were $450.4 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China was $285.5 billion in 2020.
China is currently our largest goods trading partner with $559.2 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2020. Goods exports totaled $124.5 billion; goods imports totaled $434.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $310.3 billion in 2020.
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This morning's soundtrack
I've been a long time fan of this channel on YouTube. I love listening to the foreign music because, first, it's usually fantastic. And second, being non-English, it helps me not get distracted by the music.
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Japan World Cup team honors their long-time team chef by including him in the team photo
(Link goes to the Google translation of the page. Text below uses those translations.
On the evening of the 19th, the Japanese national team took a commemorative photo of the team before practice. In addition to the 26 members there, there is another man in a uniform... Mr. Yoshiteru Nishi (60), the exclusive chef of the national team.
Nishi has accompanied the team since the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This is the fifth time in a row that she (sic.) has "participated" in the tournament.
(As noted above, the translation uses 'she' but is clearly referencing Mr. Nishi.)
They apparently did something similar last time with their kit/gear guy.
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"Japan to push for Africa seat on the UN Security Council"
"Japan reiterates its determination to redress the historical injustice against Africa of not being represented through a permanent membership on the Security Council," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunis, Tunisia on Sunday.
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This incredible Japanese high school batter makes life hell for pitchers
Found via Boing Boing watch as Ko Yamaguchi puts this pitcher through the ringer.
Boing Boing also quotes from Larry Brown as he discusses Yamaguchi. It's fair to say that Larry Brown was also annoyed by the antics. Me? I'm entertained. Keep at it Yamaguchi.
I am also reminded of a TikTok I saw recently. The Tiktoker was telling the story of an interaction with a reclusive coworker who had been labeled "brilliant." In an effort to determine his opinions of his coworker, he decided to ask the other guy what the best sports were. After a pause the answer was, "Baseball and horse racing. Baseball starts as pitcher vs batter, then batter vs fielder, then fielder vs runner. And horse racing is the only sport to include animals."
I think this excellently highlights that first competition and that batters should strive to take every advantage afforded to them.
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A good overview of Shinzo Abe's political career and impact
I knew him, but only from headlines. This was good background and history on his history.
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It's been six years since I was last in Japan. I dearly want to go back. There is so much yet to see. I've only really made it to Tokyo.
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The Shinto Temple in Ise
A fascinating insight into a Shinto tradition I wasn't aware of. Every 20 years for the past 1,400 years, they have rebuilt this Shinto temple.
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Japan reportedly is going to cancel the Olympics due to Covid
Makes total sense, but still very sad to see one of these global moments officially be canceled because of this fucking disease.
Update: Now reports are coming out denying this report. We'll have to wait and see what fully happens.
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A stunning origami samurai made from a single (large) piece of rice paper
Found via openculture.com
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