Japan

Symbols of Japanese Summer | | | | | | | | | | | | | Page 1 of 2 August is the hottest month of the year in Japan. Not only is the temperature high, so is the humidity. The word for "hot" is "atsui（暑い）," and "humid" is "mushiatsui （蒸し暑い）." Although the northernmost Hokkaido is much cooler, the temperature there goes up to 30 degrees or more on an almost daily basis in August. This is called "manatsubi（真夏日）" or midsummer days. Let's look at symbols for the hot Japanese summer. Yukata　（浴衣） Yukata is an informal, unlined kimono made of cotton and worn with a narrow sash (obi). It is usually worn to the bath or in the summertime. Unlike ceremonial kimono, yukata is casual and comfortable to wear. It can be worn next to the skin. Wooden clogs (geta) are usually worn without Japanese socks (tabi) when wearing a yukata. Today many people wear yukata at summer festivals (matsuri), fireworks displays (hanabi-taikai), and the Bon Festival Dance (bon-odori). Recently the yukata has become fashionable among young women. Bon-odori　（盆踊り） O-bon is a Buddhist festival in honor of the spirits of the dead who return to their families. It was originally cerebrated in mid-July according to the lunar calendar, but is now held from July 13 to 16, or from August 13 to 16 depending on the area. It is the biggest yearly holiday in Japan after New Years (shougatsu), and is a time for family and relatives to get together. One of the events that customarily accompany o-bon is the bon-odori (Bon Festival Dance). Originally the dances were held to console departing spirits, but today they are simply enjoyed as entertainment. In open public spaces, communities build a platform (yagura) and lanterns are tied to it. People dance in a circle around the platform. Hanabi　（花火） Firework displays (hanabi-taikai) are a typical summer scene in Japan. They originated in the Edo period (1603-1867), and it started with the competitive exhibition of fireworks between two fireworks factories, Tamaya and Kagiya. Large-scale fireworks displays are held regularly at various locations, but enjoying small hand-held sparklers and low-risk fireworks in backyards is also very popular. More symbols of Japanese summer are on the next page! Semi　（蝉） The cry of the cicadas (semi) is one of the piercing sounds of summer. When Japanese hear semi singing, they realize that summer has arrived. When there are many cicadas, the sound becomes like a shower, which is called "semi-shigure" (shower of cicadas). There is a famous haiku poem about cicadas written by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). Shizukesa ya  静けさや | The tranquility | Iwa ni shimiiru  岩に染み入る | Permeating the rocks | Semi no koe 蝉の声 | Voices of cicadas | Since cicadas die only about a week after birth, they are compared to the transient life of man. Koukou Yakyuu　（高校野球） Baseball is one of Japan's most popular spectator sports, along with soccer and sumo. Despite the popularity of pro baseball, the most avidly followed sporting event is the All-Japan High School Baseball Championship Tournament (Zenkoku Koukou Yakyuu Senshuken Taikai), first held in 1915. The competition is fought among the 49 schools that win their respective prefectural titles. (There are 47 prefectures in Japan, but Tokyo and Hokkaido have two divisions each.) This encourages a feeling of local pride and is a major reason for the tournament's nationwide popularity. The teams gather at the Koshien Stadium (Hyogo Prefecture) in August to compete for the championship. The tournament is nationally broadcasted and it draws almost one million spectators. There is also the National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament held in spring, which invites 32 schools that had the best records in each regional division during the fall season of the previous year. Kakigoori　（カキ氷） Kakigoori (shaved ice flavored with sweet syrup or snow cone) is a popular summer snack. It seems everywhere has a version of it. In Japan it comes in green tea flavor with an azuki (sweet red bean) topping. Some condensed sweetened milk also can be added on top. Fruit flavors like strawberry and melon are also popular. Other popular foods in summer are somen (cold noodles), hiyashi-chuuka (cold ramen noodles), zaru-soba (cold buckwheat noodles), mugi-cha (cold roasted barley tea) and so on. Click here to check out "Foods to Beat the Heat". Politics Japanese editorial excerpts -2- Japan Policy & Politics, June 14, 2010 * ------------------------------------------------- 1 * ------------------------------------------------- 2 * ------------------------------------------------- Next TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo Selected editorial excerpts from the Japanese press: NEW PRIME MINISTER'S LINEUP (The Japan Times, an English-language daily) New Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced the lineup of the Democratic Party of Japan's party leadership and the Cabinet. The lineup clearly shows his thinking: Give a fresh image to the party and Cabinet and win back people's trust by diluting the influence of former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. Mr. Kan appointed Mr. Yukio Edano to the post of party secretary general. Mr. Edano is highly critical of Mr. Ozawa's political style, which aroused suspicions of pork-barrel spending and the revival of vested-interest politics. Most RecentGovernment Articles * Canceled "Future Combat System" Springs to Life With a New Name -- But the... * JSF Cost Increases May Imperil the Fighter Program -- and Lockheed * Colleges and Universities Reap an Earmark Bonanza, Thanks to Congress * KC-X Aerial Tanker Contract Starting To Become A Farce * Small Businesses Are Starting to Organize Against Federal "Insourcing" of... * More » A weak point of the DPJ lawmakers criticizing Mr. Ozawa is their lack of experience in organizing nationwide election campaigns as Mr. Ozawa did. Mr. Edano's appointment will improve the DPJ's image. But he must prove his ability in the DPJ's fight in the coming election. Mr. Kan also revived the party's policy affairs council and appointed Mr. Koichiro Genba as chief of the council. Mr. Ozawa abolished the council. But this deprived many DPJ lawmakers of the opportunity to take part in working out policy measures and also led to concentration of power in Mr. Ozawa. We hope the new system will revive lively discussions in the party and improve communication between the party and the Cabinet, thus increasing transparency in decision making. Mr. Kan appointed Mr. Yoshito Sengoku, a trusted politician well-versed in a wide range of policy matters and known for his criticism of Mr. Ozawa, as chief Cabinet secretary. Mr. Kan promoted Mr. Yoshihiko Noda to finance minister. Mr. Kan, Mr. Sengoku, Mr. Genba and Mr. Noda have been positive about discussing a consumption tax raise - a departure from Mr. Ozawa's approach of giving priority to fulfilling DPJ campaign promises. Mr. Kan and the DPJ must strictly prioritize the promises to effectively implement key DPJ policies without letting total spending swell. Mr. Kan and his team should realize that relying only on an increase in the consumption tax will be unfair to the poor. They should consider making income taxes more progressive to help push income redistribution. Utmost efforts also must be made to keep the economy afloat and cut government waste. Mr. Kan must exercise strong leadership to achieve ''a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare'' - his major goal. He must not ignore the will of the Okinawan people in trying to resolve the Futenma air base issue. Mr. Kan also must clearly enunciate his foreign and security policies. Economy Grab a bargain by iPhone By MoneyWeek Editor-in-chief Merryn Somerset WebbApr 09, 2010 Comments (0) Print this article The Japanese have encountered an unlikely foe in their fight against the deflation that has ravaged their economy over the last 20 years: the urban housewife. Close on 8,000 Japanese supermarkets are now under the spotlight of the Mainichi Tokubai (everyday bargaining) mobile website. This scrutinises their prices (via the visits and voucher-scouring of 25,000 enthusiastic ‘regional correspondents’) and uploads every single one to the site. The result' Tens of thousands of users of the site have at their fingertips what the Wall Street Journal calls a “devastating weapon” in the battle for bargains. They rush to the cheapest places to do their shopping, leaving the supermarkets with no choice but to keep dropping their prices to “compete with the lowest price on offer in any given region”. It’s a nightmare for any retailer who was hoping that the signs of recovery in the Japanese economy might mean they could finally get away with a few itsy weeny price rises. They can’t. That might be good for the individual, trying to stretch a wage that’s barely risen in real terms for two decades, but it isn’t so good for the economy. But before you start thanking your lucky stars that crowds of bargain-surfing housewives are one economic problem we don’t have, cast your eye over the list of newish apps available for the iPhone (to which I am a relatively new and very happy convert). The one that should be getting retailers thinking is Vouchercloud. For a relatively small monthly subscription fee (or for free if you’re happy with limited access) you download this app then use it to ensure you’re getting the best deals you can when you are out and about. The app uses GPS to get your location and then tells you where the bargains are on any given day – then you simply show your phone with its downloaded voucher to the restaurant or retailer in question to bag your discount. As an app, this doesn’t have quite the integrity of Mainichi Tokubai, in that the discounts are put about by the business, not the consumer, but the effect should be much the same. If you’re strolling along, wondering what to have for lunch and your phone tells you that you can have 25% off at Feng Sushi, 20% at Carluccios, and 25% at Café Rouge, you simply aren’t going to choose anywhere not offering something similar. The point being that as more people download this kind of software (as I have), service providers will be forced into competitive price cuts. It’s deflation in action. Here at MoneyWeek we still think the end result of the financial crisis will be inflation – and that is particularly the case as it becomes clear that no politicians can bring themselves to talk about how they would really cut the growth in our national debt. But this kind of thing, along with the weakness of our recovery and the fact that we have already had a pretty dramatic sterling crash, rather suggests there will be a bout of deflation first.