Just as we did with the Black Stripe Theater’s Production of Glengarry Glen Ross, TPR is giving away tickets to their newest production: Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming. To get your pair, e-mail us at transpacificradio@gmail.com ASAP and let us know which shows you’d like to attend, in order of preference. We’re keeping this simple - first
come, first served. (Read on …)
In this edition of TPR’s Japanese politics podcast, your hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley take a look back at the big events of the ordinary Diet session that ended on Saturday. What was the ipact of the gas tax debate? The Bank of Japan Governor appointment debacle? The elderly health care struggle? The spats between the DPJ and LDP?
After that, the guys get into Prime Minister Fukuda’s ongoing troubles, the upcoming G8 Summit, Japan’s proposed new immigration policy, and more.
As always, thanks for listening.
Asahi is reporting that former Nova President Nozomu Sahashi has been arrested on charges of embezzlement, after having initially been brought in for voluntary questioning on Tuesday morning.
It was just a year and a week ago that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry slapped Nova with a six month ban on signing up customers to long-term contracts.
More details to follow as they become available - this post will be updated.
As letsjapan.org is following these events in more detail, we recommend anyone following the case to head over there to read up.
HT to Shawn at letsjapan.org and JEN reader trev.
Japan has decided to enact a modified jury system in an attempt to modernize its criminal justice system. The idea is to make the system more transparent and increase public participation in it. The lay judge system will go into effect in 2009.
At first, juries will be seated in cases involving murder and other serious crimes. In preparation for the upcoming changes, a wide range of modifications are being pondered, toyed with and fine-tuned. (Read on …)
Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama signed the execution orders for three more death row inmates. The three were hanged yesterday and boosted Hatoyama’s list of hangings to 13.
One of the two men hanged at the Tokyo Detention Center was none other than Tsutomu Miyazaki, the infamous serial killer of little
girls in Saitama back in the late 1980’s. He was executed 20 years after his first murder.
Miyazaki was one of those killers that was so feared that he was referred to by his first name, Tsutomu. He’s like the “Boogie Man” in the kanto region of Japan, the Keyser Söze invoked to scare little kids into good behavior.
Miyazaki was finally apprehended in July 1989 after trying to insert a zoom lens into (Read on …)
June 15, 1896
The Sanriku coastal area of Japan (Iwate prefecture) was nearly wiped off the map on this day after a magnitude 8.5 earthquake launched a tsunami that killed more than 25,000 people. 170 miles of coastline were demolished. Hawaii was also damaged by waves headed the other way. (Read on …)
After a much longer break than expected, BizCast Japan has finally returned with its 13th release. This edition of the show begins by discussing the massive investment in facility upgrades that we have seen at department stores in Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya over the past few years. What is behind the billions of yen being poured into renovating these shops? In part, the opening of the new Fukutoshin subway line is expected to bring an influx of new customers who will be able to more easily access those areas. Which area and company might come out ahead?
After that, the discussion turns to Seven-Eleven and it’s planned move into the mainland China market, and then the factors behind the recent business alliance between the New Otani and Royal hotel operators. Is more consolidation to come in the Japanese hospitality industry? Will operators such as the New Otani be able to compete in the overseas markets that they plan to move into over the next decade?
The import of whale meat from Iceland and Norway is also discussed, as Japan recently imported whale meat for the first time since 1990. After that, the Tokyo real estate market is considered. As rents at new Class A office locations shot up over the past few years, vacancies have finally started to rise as the rent level seems less tolerable as no new “Midtown” or “Roppongi Hills” has opened in the past months.
Finally, our hosts consider the launch of the iPhone into the Japanese market. With the iPhone set to debut in Japan on July 11, many eyes are on Apple and how many units they can move.
As always, thank you for listening.
[This article is a follow-up to last week’s “South Korean Protesters Call for President’s Resignation”.]
South Korean President Lee Myeong-bak’s approval rating now stands at 16%.
The people want change. True, this president was sworn in only a little over a hundred days ago, but they want change again. Serves them right for not voting in the first place.
But the protests of 2008 aren’t the protests of yesterday. These protests are being maintained by the well-connected community of regular people that surf the Internet every day (also known as netizens). More on that later.
Black Stripe Theater will present Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming “on July 4-5-6 at the Theatre Atelier Fontaine in Azabu Juban.
The Homecoming is the kind of play for which you would do well to prepare yourself, so be warned what you are getting yourself into: a lethal, haunting drama about familial one-upmanship, seduction, lust and betrayal.
Brilliant dialogue, dark humor and an air of menace have long marked it out as one of Pinter’s finest and most important works. (Read on …)
Today is South Korean President Myeong-bak Lee’s 100th day in office, and to mark the occasion 20,000 citizens have descended on central Seoul. The gathering, however, is not a celebration. Far from it. The people have decided that 100 days is long enough, and they’re not about to wait four and two-thirds years for Mr. Lee to finish his term in office. The people have decided that it is time for Mr. Lee and his friends to leave Cheongwadae (official presidential residence or the Blue House).
The controversy started a little over a month ago after the South Korean populace figured out that they were quickly becoming one of America’s favorite beef customers. After all, many Korean dishes use the parts of the cow that Americans prefer not to eat, and the South Korean government happily signed a deal to import beef from cattle including those past the 30 month age limit that other countries, such as Mexico and Japan, have decided pose too great a risk of carrying Mad Cow Disease (BSE).
