vox
June 20, 2013
In W. Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage,” an epic story about a young man’s growth and journey through life, a character says, “Without an adequate income, half...
June 19, 2013
A farmer who grew organic vegetables in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, hanged himself just 13 days after the onset of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
June 18, 2013
I don’t know if it’s true, but an interesting story I read recently had the following to say about the origin of cannons: During the Middle Ages, when a monk was mixing...
June 15, 2013
When like-minded people discuss a subject, it is not unusual for their opinions to gradually escalate toward the extreme. Take, for instance, a group of people whose shared pet ...
June 14, 2013
Even though the Meiji Constitution vested the emperor with supreme power, the political structure of the time was dubbed a "multiheaded monster" for allowing some elder...
June 12, 2013
A comment by Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is attracting attention. She once again publicly stated that she is against nuclear power, saying, "I am an...
June 11, 2013
Writer and psychiatrist Nada Inada died June 6, two days shy of his 84th birthday. The Tokyo native, whose real name was Shigeru Horiuchi, had great insight into reality. He...
June 10, 2013
We complain when we feel pressed for time. But then, we don't like having too much time on our hands, either. Time hardly ever seems to pass at just the speed we want.
June 07, 2013
On the night of June 4, Japan's national soccer team became the first to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals. As excited fans spilled into an intersection in front of Tokyo's ...
June 06, 2013
I used to have a video of the rakugo “Unagi no Taiko” (Eel jester) performed by the eighth Katsura Bunraku (1892-1971). Hoping to be treated to lunch, the protagonist...
June 05, 2013
Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose proposed May 22 that Japan should move up its standard time by two hours so that Tokyo’s financial market will be the first to open in the world.
June 04, 2013
I found a letter to the editor that ran in the Koe (Voice) column of The Asahi Shimbun's Tokyo edition the other day quite convincing. When the writer was an elementary school...
May 31, 2013
The pleasant weather of early summer did not last very long this year. Damp air is beginning to blanket the Japanese archipelago earlier than usual, making me wonder if this is ...
May 29, 2013
Last week I wrote in this column about a booklet tentatively titled “A Handbook for Life and Women” that was under study by the Cabinet Office. The piece prompted many...
May 28, 2013
During the asset-inflated economic boom, I did some reporting on stock traders called "shitesuji" (stock speculators). They targeted specific stock issues and made huge...
May 27, 2013
For every alpinist who scales the summit of a mountain, the adventure is not over until he or she makes a successful descent. And the descent can be more arduous than the...
May 24, 2013
The Billiken is an American-born charm doll that is said to bring good luck and happiness to people. With its pointed head and slanted eyes, the Billiken has an interesting...
May 23, 2013
Caught in political strife, Su Shi, poet and bureaucrat of China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279), was banished twice. As a bureaucrat he was competent, but he spoke so frankly and...
May 22, 2013
A referendum to be held in the western Tokyo suburb of Kodaira on May 26 represents a novel approach to democracy.
May 21, 2013
Believe it or not, the following is the gist of a Cabinet-approved document: Marriage age should be lowered three years from the present age. Couples should have an average of...