April, 2010

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30
Apr 10

Nagoya: Golden Dolphins and the Legendary Sword

Perhaps best known globally for its short-listed (failed) bid for the 1988 Summer Olympics, Nagoya is the 4th most populated city in Japan with about 2.17 million inhabitants. Located about 225 miles west of Tokyo in the Aichi prefecture along the Pacific Ocean, Nagoya is accessible by train from Tokyo in between 3 and 3 ½ hours.

Nagoya is home to several art museums as well as the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, one of the largest zoos in Asia that includes an amusement park as well. You may also decide to tour the Noritake factory, where world-famous fine china is manufactured. Nagoya is also famous for the 5th tallest building in Japan, Midland Square, which just opened in 2007 as the new international sales headquarters for Toyota.

One of the most popular tourist locations in Nagoya is Nagoya Castle, a castle restored to look like the original castle that stood in its place since 1612. It famously burned during World War II, so the current castle is a faithful reconstruction that was completed in 1959. Although many of the artifacts were destroyed, some of the original paintings were salvaged and are on display. One of the most iconic features of the Nagoya Castle is what many people call the “golden fish.” Two giant statues called the kinshachi are actually golden dolphin statues with tiger-like heads. They are placed on both ends of the roof and are meant, in a spiritual sense, to protect the castle from further fire.

If you’re in Nagoya, you should also stop at the Atsuta Shrine, the second most important shrine to the Shinto religion. Besides the beautiful grounds and architecture, you may get a glimpse of one of around 4400 national treasures, but don’t expect to see the legendary Kusanagi sword, a sword literally from legend (think Excalibur) and one of the three sacred treasures of Japan. The sword is rumored to be at the shrine, but no one from the public may see it. Even if you can’t see a sacred treasure, you may be in Nagoya during one of 70 annual festivals, so you’ll have plenty to do to enjoy your tour of the grounds.

Have you ever visited Nagoya? Would you be interested in touring Nagoya Castle, even though it’s a restoration? Do you think the Kusanagi sword exists?

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28
Apr 10

Fish for Breakfast: The Classic Japanese Breakfast

In the West, the classic breakfast could include pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, orange juice, milk, cereal, or hash browns—or maybe if we’re in a hurry, just a granola bar, a muffin, or yogurt. In Japan, though, breakfast is taken seriously and, when prepared in the classic fashion, may seem more like what we’d expect for dinner or lunch than breakfast.

While some Western breakfast staples have become a bit more popular in Japan, particularly as an occasional treat, they’re not typically eaten each morning. The closest breakfast item the West shares with Japan is eggs, as the Japanese are particularly fond of dishes such as ome rice, an omelet in which the egg yolks are mixed with (cooked) rice and any choice of vegetables (such as zucchini, carrots or onions) or meat (particularly chicken, pork, or beef) before the mixture is fried into an omelet. If the chef is so inclined, she or he may also decorate the oblong-shaped omelet with a design or message written in ketchup, the most popular condiment for omelets in Japan. Tamagoyaki, another popular style of omelet which is basically just a rolled omelet with or without vegetables and meat, is also served for Japanese breakfasts, usually with soy sauce.

However, the similarities between the Western and the Japanese breakfast end there. In the traditional Japanese family, the mother or wife will wake up before her husband and/or children—as much as an hour beforehand—to prepare a full-course breakfast while she also works on packing them a cold lunch for later. Traditional staples of the Japanese breakfast include:

  • Fish, particularly broiled, dried and salted fish. Popular choices are horse mackerel and salmon.
  • Rice, either just a bowl of steamed white rice or rice mixed with seaweed and/or vegetables. Some families prefer okayu, which is warm rice porridge.
  • Miso soup, complete with seaweed, tofu and onions.
  • Seaweed, either within other dishes or just served in dried rolls or strips. The seaweed on its own is often dipped into soy sauce.
  • Natto, which is a form of fermented soy beans. This sticky, strong-smelling part of a Japanese breakfast is great with soy sauce or on top of rice.
  • Pickled vegetables, which are pickled in brine or salt. Some popular pickled vegetables include cucumbers, turnips, ume (a kind of plum), cabbage and radishes. These can be eaten on their own or mixed with rice.
  • Salad, Japanese style. With lettuce or cabbage and traditional vegetable accompaniments.
  • Green tea (the most popular breakfast drink).

Do you think you would like or dislike to eat so much for breakfast? Does the traditional Japanese breakfast appeal to you? Would you rather have fish or pancakes for breakfast?

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26
Apr 10

“America’s Pastime” in Japan: Japanese Baseball

Baseball may be America’s pastime, but it seems like other sports such as football often take the spotlight away from the sport. In Japan, though, baseball has been the most popular league sport in the country for decades (although soccer may be starting to steal some of the spotlight).

Contrary to popular belief, baseball was not introduced to Japan by American soldiers after World War II and has been present in Japan since 1872. The first game took place at Kaisei Gakko (which is now Tokyo University), where an American professor organized a game and introduced the game to the nation. Professional nation-wide teams have been present in Japan since 1934 and the national league was established in 1936. Rules fluctuated but have remained mostly the same since 1950, when two leagues became the norm.

The two leagues in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPL; “Nippon” is one word for Japan) are the Pacific and the Central Leagues and there are six teams in each league. In the Central League, there are the Chunichi Dragons from Nagoya, the Hanshin Tigers from Nishinomiya, the Yokohama BayStars from Yokohama, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from Hiroshima, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows from Tokyo, and the Yomiuri Giants from Tokyo.

In the Pacific League, the teams are the Orix Buffaloes from Osaka, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from Fukuoka, the Chiba Lotte Marines from Chiba, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters from Sapporo, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from Sendai, and the Saitama Seibu Lions from Tokorozawa.

The baseball season lasts from April through October with a total of 144 games. The two leagues have their own championships and then the winning teams from each league compete in the Japan Championship Series, a seven-game championship that airs in October and November. The Japan Championship Series doesn’t affect the participating teams’ rankings, so it’s similar the World Series in America, but it’s a beloved annual event in the world of Japanese sports.

Almost as popular as professional baseball is the annual high school tournament called the Koushien. The Japanese High School Baseball Federation allows Japanese high school teams nationwide to compete in two tournaments (one in the spring and one in the summer) that culminate in a final 2-week tournament of 49 teams at the Hanshin Koushien Tournament in August. Many high school players who hope to go pro know that their performance at this tournament can make or break their dreams.

Have you ever watched a Japanese baseball game? Have you ever seen how supportive the Japanese fans are for their teams? Why do you think baseball is more popular in Japan than it is in the US?

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23
Apr 10

Japanese Whaling Meat Finds Its Way to the US

A controversial subject for decades has been Japan’s decision to engage in annual whale hunts for what it deems a scientific program, a study to determine the status of population and species that the Japanese government insists does not significantly alter the whale population. Japan has come under fire from organizations such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund because they believe the “scientific study” is a cover—or otherwise not a legitimate enough excuse—to justify commercial whaling, as whale meat is a delicacy dish in Japan and is legally sold in fish markets as a result of these scientific expeditions. Japan’s retort has always been that the whaling is scientifically necessary and that other nations put an unjust importance on saving whales (yet accept eating other kinds of seafood) when not all species of whales are endangered.

Nevertheless, Japan is supposed to keep its whale meat sold domestically, as it is illegal to export the meat to other countries. However, recently Japan Today reported that illegal whale meat from Japan has been found in sushi restaurants in South Korea and the U.S. Interestingly, scientists could prove the meat came from Japan due to DNA testing on the sashimi meat that matches the DNA of meat sold legally in 2007 on the Japanese market; in other words, this meat was not just from the same species of whale, it was from the exact same whale.

The restaurant in the U.S. (The Hump, formerly in Santa Monica, California) was forced to close in response to the study and is facing criminal charges. The study, overseen by the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center, was a private study performed by opponents of whale hunting, but their discovery of illegally exported whale meat may influence the International Whaling Commission’s consideration of making commercial whaling legal (with restrictions), which has long been an aim of Japan. Opponents of legalizing commercial whaling fear that the whale population will suffer greatly and that illegal activity will continue. However, proponents believe that commercializing and regulating the activity will help decrease the illegal trade.

Do you believe Japan should stop whaling? Do you believe in Japan’s reasoning that it’s for scientific study, particularly when whale meat is such a delicacy? Do you think that making commercial whaling legal with restrictions will help quell illegal activity or make the problem worse?

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20
Apr 10

Saying the Year in Japanese

The last time we talked about language in this blog, we covered how to say the day and date in Japanese. Conspicuously missing was how to state the year. In this short lesson, we’ll take a look at how to pronounce the year in Japanese, but first you’ll need to review the Numbers Lesson.

There are two ways to state the year in Japanese. The first is based on the international Gregorian calendar, in which this year is considered 2010. To state the year in Japanese according to the Gregorian calendar, simply state the number followed by one pronunciation for the word for “year,” which is “nen.” Just remember that 2010 is not “twenty ten,” but actually “two thousand and ten.” For example:

Year Japanese Pronunciation
1910 sen kyuu-haku juu-nen
1920 sen kyuu-haku ni-juu-nen
1930 sen kyuu-haku san-juu-nen
1940 sen kyuu-haku yon-juu-nen
1950 sen kyuu-haku go-juu-nen
1960 sen kyuu-haku roku-juu-nen
1970 sen kyuu-haku nana-juu-nen
1980 sen kyuu-haku hachi-juu-nen
1990 sen kyuu-haku kyuu-juu-nen
2000 ni-sen-nen
2010 ni-sen juu-nen

To get the years in between the decades, just count upwards. For example, 1976 is “sen kyuu-haku nana-juu roku-nen” and 2009 is “ni-sen kyuu-nen.”

There is another way to state the year in Japanese that is based on the Japanese imperial rule. According to this calendar, a year is referred to by the title for the emperor’s reign, the number of years for which he has been crowned emperor at that point, and the word for year, “nen.” (Note: The first year in the emperor’s reign is not referred to as “year 1” [“ichi-nen”], but is instead referred to as “gannen,” which means “original year.”)

Although this system wasn’t widely adopted until the Meiji Era (1868-1912), this system of dating stretches back thousands of years. However, we’ll just worry about the most recent imperial eras here.

Imperial Era Years Applicable
Meiji 1868-1911
Taisho 1912-1925
Showa 1926-1988
Heiwa 1989-present
Year (Gregorian Calendar) Year (Imperial Calendar) Japanese Pronunciation (Imperial Calendar)
1910 Meiji 43 Meiji yon-juu san-nen
1920 Taisho 9 Taisho kyuu-nen
1930 Showa 5 Showa go-nen
1940 Showa 15 Showa juu go-nen
1950 Showa 25 Showa ni-juu go-nen
1960 Showa 35 Showa san-juu go-nen
1970 Showa 45 Showa yon-juu go-nen
1980 Showa 55 Showa go-juu go-nen
1990 Heisei 2 Heisei ni-nen
2000 Heisei 12 Heisei juu ni-nen
2010 Heisei 22 Heisei ni-juu ni-nen

The most recent imperial years are sometimes abbreviated with the roman letters “S” for “Showa” and “H” for “Heisei” on official documents.

So how do we say today’s date? First, let’s use what we learned earlier this month to state, “Today is Tuesday, April 20th” in Japanese:

Kyou wa shigatsu hatsuka kayoubi desu.

Remember that the order is: month, day of the month, day of the week. To add the year to that sentence, you should state it in the following order: year, month, day of the month, day of the week. So “Today is Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 (Heisei 22)” is:

Kyou wa ni-sen juu-nen shigatsu hatsuka kayoubi desu.

-or-

Kyou wa Heisei ni-juu ni-nen shigatsu hatsuka kayoubi desu.

How about stating when you were born? State the date, year first, and finish the sentence with “ni umareta (casual)” or “ni umaremashita (polite)” (“[I] was born.”) So “I was born on October 15th, 1983 (Showa 58)” is:

Watashi wa sen kyuu-haku hachi-juu san-nen juugatsu juugo-nichi ni umareta.

-or-

Watashi wa sen kyuu-haku hachi-juu san-nen juugatsu juugo-nichi ni umaremashita.

-or-

Watashi wa Showa go-juu hachi-nen juugatsu juugo-nichi ni umareta.

-or-

Watashi wa Showa go-juu hachi-nen juugatsu juugo-nichi ni umaremashita.

What year were you born? Practice converting it into the imperial equivalent. State your full birthday in Japanese. Continue practicing by stating the full birthdays of all of your friends and family members.

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16
Apr 10

Japanese Schooling, Part 3: School Life

Uniforms are required at most Japanese middle and high schools (and some elementary schools), public and private alike, but each school makes the uniforms slightly different. Boys’ uniforms can either be similar to a business suit (pants, blazer, tie, dress shirt) or military-style with a high-collared buttoned-up jacket and perhaps a military-style hat that they wear for special occasions.

Girls’ uniforms always consist of skirts but can follow one of two styles: business-style (skirt, blazer or sweater, dress shirt and tie or bowtie) or seeraa-fuku (“sailor uniform”), which consists of a skirt and a shirt with an old-fashioned sailor collar and bowtie or ribbon around the neck. There are usually two types of uniforms for each gender at each school, one for the colder months and one for the warmer uniforms, but girls always have to leave their legs exposed, even during the cold months!

Although it varies from school to school, most Japanese school days last from 8:30 or 8:45 a.m. to 3:50 p.m., although attendance at after-school activities is virtually required, so students usually stay until 5 to 6 p.m. Students get a lunch break for 30 to 45 minutes halfway through the day, during which they can either eat cafeteria food—if the school has a cafeteria—food sold at a snack cart, or food they’ve brought from home. If the school doesn’t have a cafeteria, students eat in the classroom and lunch workers bring wrapped trays of food for those who haven’t brought their own lunches. Older students can usually eat where they want in the public areas of the school (like outside if it’s nice out), but elementary students are usually supervised during lunch.

Instead of teachers generally staying put in one classroom and students moving from classroom to classroom throughout the day as they do in American middle and high schools, Japanese schools even through high school are closer to American elementary schools in that the same group of students stays put in one classroom all day long (expect when headed for gym or perhaps some arts class). Instead, the teachers move from classroom to classroom throughout the day. This means that students are typically stuck with the same group of classmates—for better or worse—for at least the entire school year, if not for the full three years. Each classroom has a homeroom teacher who takes attendance and discusses morning announcements before classes begin.

Do you like the idea of wearing uniforms in middle and high school? Do you think it’s fair that the girls’ uniform requires a skirt? What do you think of the idea of staying put in a single classroom for the entire day?

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14
Apr 10

Japanese Schooling, Part 2: School After School

Japanese students are easily overworked because they do more than just attend 50 to 60 more days of school each year than their American counterparts. Participation in after-school activities is virtually required—it’s an unwritten rule in a society that stresses cooperation and working together over individual achievements—and students who refuse to participate in at least one club are considered to be unsocial and are jokingly referred to as the “Go-Home Club.” Luckily, many of these clubs can be fun, such as sports and hobby clubs, but there are a number of clubs for those who particularly like certain school subjects. Japanese students are therefore not usually done with school until 5 or 6 p.m.

However, the commitment to education doesn’t end there. Besides after-school activities, most Japanese students attend what’s called gakushuu juku or “cram schools” for several hours each evening or their parents pay private tutors (usually college students at the more prestigious schools) to work with their children one-on-one. Cram schools, optional schools for which parents must pay a small tuition, are nonetheless so common in Japan that most students attend at some point or another. Private tutoring and cram schools focus on one thing: getting students to pass exams to get into middle schools, high schools, and college—particularly high schools.

In the US, students headed for college may be used to taking a national standardized test such as the ACT or the SAT. If the college is particularly selective, there may be another test from the institution. However, taking tests to get into middle or high school is virtually unheard of, unless it’s a private school, and even then, not all private schools have such a requirement.

However, Japanese students must take tests to see if they can get into the school of their choice, even public schools. Each school offers its own tests and some schools are famous for being particularly hard to get into, but those schools are attractive to high-achieving students and parents alike, as acceptance into the best middle and high schools increases a student’s chances of getting accepted into the best colleges. The entire school year before taking a test, most Japanese students will concentrate on studying what may be on the exams during the school day and during cram school at night. Then they’ll study for a few more hours each day during their free time. Many Japanese parents even prefer that their children stay up late studying than go to bed early to get enough sleep. It’s easy to see how Japanese students on the whole become more overwhelmed and overworked than most of their American counterparts!

To add to the pressure, there are generally no make-up days for the exams. If you’re sick or otherwise late or miss the exam for a school you want to apply to, you’re out of luck. With college, you can wait a year and apply the next year, becoming what’s called a rounin and studying non-stop (perhaps while working a part-time job) for yet another year for the exam. However, with high school, you’ll just have to apply to other schools and miss out on your top choices. This kind of pressure actually makes some kids sick on the day of the exams, but they go anyway.

As a whole, high school entrance exams generally have the reputation of being the turning point of a student’s career, although college exams are nearly as important. (Although most students do go to college, fewer move onto college than to high school, and the exams can be easier for students if they already know what kind of career or field of study they’d like to go into.) However, even if they’re much easier and less stressful, there are even exams for many middle schools and some elementary schools—even some kindergartens! A number of overachieving Japanese parents want their children to start at a very young age on a path to the best high schools, colleges, and careers in the country, which can lead to a lot of pressure on their kids.

Can you imagine having to study for a year for important exams to get into even public schools? Do you think that one-time exams are a good indication of a student’s skills? Do you think it’s fair to look down upon students who choose not to join an after-school club?

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12
Apr 10

Japanese Schooling, Part 1: A Brief Overview

This week we’re taking a look at the Japanese school life. Look for Parts 2 and 3 later this week!

So you’ve finished all your back-to-school shopping and just entered a new grade at school. The flowers are blooming and it’s finally spring. Think I’m mixing up with spring with fall? Not in Japan.

The Japanese school year begins in early April, after students have had only one week of vacation from school. The school year is year-long, ending in late March. Japanese students do have a number of holidays off from school each year, including a few week-long vacations, particularly around Golden Week in May (more on that later in the month) and New Year’s. Their summer vacation is the longest of all of their vacation periods—but they usually only have about a month off from late July to late August, not the 3 months we’re used to in the West. Plus, their summer vacation occurs in the midst of the school year, so they have plenty of homework to do during their time off and return to school to continue in the same grade they were in before they left.

American students attend an average of 180 to 190 days of school per year, but Japanese students spend about 240 days each year at school. It was only in 2002 that the Japanese government introduced the yutori kyouiku (“relaxed education”) policy that no longer required students at public schools to attend school for half days on Saturday. The required Saturday school days were progressively relaxed since the 1970s (schools closed one to two Saturdays a month) in response to overly stressed students, overworked teachers and higher costs. However, some Japanese people believe the total cancellation of Saturday classes has led to a decline in academic performance. Nevertheless, it may reduce some of the risk of overworked students bullying other students or committing suicide, both of which have long been concerns of the Japanese public. (Later this week, we’ll talk more about what makes Japanese students so stressed.)

Japanese schooling is divided into the following:

  • Pre-school/Kindergarten: These are private schools, as attendance is actually not required by the Japanese government. Parents can choose to educate their children at home at this age if they wish.
  • Elementary school: Grades 1 through 6. This is the start of the compulsory education.
  • Middle school: Grades 7 through 9. Middle school is a part of compulsory education.
  • High school: Grades 10 through 12. High school is actually optional, although most students do choose to go on to high school. However, they can choose to move onto careers or technical schools instead if they wish. This mostly happens in more rural areas, where students join parents’ businesses or becomes farmers or fishers.

Do you think education in other countries should be compulsory only through 9th grade? (It’s compulsory until the student turns age 18 in the US.) Why or why not? Would you like a 5 ½ day school week? Do you think it’s a good idea for students to have shorter summer breaks?

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9
Apr 10

Saying the Day and Date in Japanese

If you’ve been teaching yourself Japanese with the grammar lessons on this site, you ought to have a firm grasp on basic counting in Japanese. You’ll need to know those numbers to be able to say the date in Japanese—but it’s not as simple as saying the word “one” for the first of a month, for example.

Let’s start with the days of the week. The vocabulary for the days of the week are:

Sunday nichiyoubi
Monday getsuyoubi
Tuesday kayoubi
Wednesday suiyoubi
Thursday mokuyoubi
Friday kinyoubi
Saturday doyoubi

Each day of the week is named after an element or the sun or moon. Interestingly, the word for “Sunday” uses the kanji for “sun” and the word for “Monday” uses the kanji for “moon.” These two days of the week are named after the sun and moon in English as well.

The months of the year are a little easier than the days of the month because they follow a basic pattern. Just state the number of the month in Japanese and add one pronunciation of the word for “month,” “gatsu.”

January ichigatsu
February nigatsu
March sangatsu
April shigatsu
May gogatsu
June rokugatsu
July shichigatsu
August hachigatsu
September kugatsu
October juugatsu
November juuichigatsu
December juunigatsu

Most of the days of the month are simply the basic number in Japanese plus one pronunciation for the word “day,” which is “nichi.” However, there are a few exceptions, which are bolded:

1st tsuitachi 17th juushichi-nichi
2nd futsuka 18th juuhachi-nichi
3rd mikka 19th juuku-nichi
4th yokka 20th hatsuka
5th itsuka 21st nijuuichi-nichi
6th muika 22nd nijuuni-nichi
7th nanoka 23rd nijuusan-nichi
8th yooka 24th nijuuyokka
9th kokonoka 25th nijuugo-nichi
10th tooka 26th nijuuroku-nichi
11th juuichi-nichi 27th nijuushichi-nichi
12th juuni-nichi 28th nijuuhachi-nichi
13th juusan-nichi 29th nijuuku-nichi
14th juuyooka 30th sanjuu-nichi
15th juugo-nichi 31st sanjuuichi-nichi
16th juuroku-nichi

Now you should have enough information to say today’s date, minus the year. But first you’ll need to know the word for “today,” which is “kyou.”

Kyou wa shigatsu kokonoka kinyoubi desu. = Today is Friday, April 9th.

(Notice that the order is month, day of the month, day of the week.)

You might also want to say when your birthday is. The word for “birthday” in Japanese is “tanjoubi.”

Watashi no tanjoubi wa juugatsu juugo-nichi desu. = My birthday is October 15th.

There’s one more set of vocabulary you may need to know when talking about the date—the questions to ask when you don’t know what day it is (or what day someone is going to make plans). Just say the word for “what,” “nan,” and add the common ending for that particular question.

What day of the week? nanyoubi
What month? nangatsu
What day of the month? nan-nichi

Kyou wa nanyoubi desu ka. = What day of the week is it today?

Kyou wa nan-nichi desu ka. = What’s today’s date?

Tanjoubi wa nangatsu desu ka. = What month is your birthday?

When is your birthday? When is your friends’ birthdays? State them all in Japanese. Practice stating the day’s date in Japanese every day from now on.

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7
Apr 10

The Japanese Ministry Aims to Boost ‘Cool Japan’

According to The Yomiuri Shibun, the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry recently revealed a plan to boost the “Cool Japan” culture internationally. What’s “Cool Japan”? Well, if you’re interested in this blog, you may already know and not realize it. “Cool Japan” is Japanese pop culture and other countries’ love for it, particularly Japanese food, fashion, anime/manga, and video games.

The Ministry’s strategy targets other parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. Currently, only 2% of these Japanese pop culture sales are actually made outside of the country. However, the “Cool Japan” industries employ over 2 million people in Japan and total about ¥45 trillion (about US$480 million) in sales annually, so adding to this total by focusing on foreign markets can boost employment and commerce in Japan considerably.

The proposal asks the Japan External Trade Organization and private Japanese consulting firms to provide assistance to companies that want to export their properties overseas, particularly small to midsize businesses that are struggling to get a foothold. Companies like Nintendo, for example, certainly won’t need the assistance, but they could still benefit from some of the proposed changes.

Japan’s largest book publisher, Kodansha, might have been ahead of the game. Long since one of the biggest manga publishers in Japan, multiple American manga publishers have licensed their work for North American publication over the past decade or so. Kodansha got a cut of the sales, but they largely left creative control over translation, presentation, and marketing to the American companies. This has led to a wide range of quality from title to title and publisher to publisher. Not so anymore, as Kodansha has stopped licensing its manga titles to American companies and let most of its licenses with American publishers expire in preparation for starting its own American division. This will employ more Japanese citizens, give Kodansha full profit over North American sales, and allow Kodansha better control over how their part of pop culture is presented outside of Japan. (However, they will still be distributed by an American company—Random House—and so are allowing some of their titles to continue publication with Del Rey, one of the top American publishers of manga.)

Another part of the Ministry’s strategy actually involves asking foreign creators to come to Japan to help create the “cool Japan” image that’s going to be exported. The Ministry hopes to accomplish this through a reform on the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law that will make issuing and keeping work visas easier for companies and immigrants.

Are you a fan of “Cool Japan”? What’s your favorite part of Japanese pop culture? Do you think it’s counterintuitive for the Ministry to want foreign creators to help them export the “Cool Japan” image? Why or why not?

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