Tim Patrick's Blog, page 4

What’s in Prime Minister Kishida’s 2023 Policy Speech – Part 1

A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio summarized his administration’s policy goals at the opening of the 211th session of the Diet. Although this speech happens around the same time of year as the American State of the Union address, the Japanese version is less of “the state of our union is strong” and more of “we have a lot of things to do.” The full list of policy items was extensive, to the point where I almost expected to hear “Dear Santa” at the start of the speech.(13 more paragraphs)

How Many Foreign Residents Live in Japan?

When you wander around Japan, be it the countryside or in urban areas, you notice right away that there are a lot of Japanese people here. But every once in a while, you will see a foreign face. Sometimes when I come home after a bit of shopping, I will say to my wife, “I saw another foreigner today.” They seem quite rare. But according to official numbers from Japan’s Statistics Bureau, there are a lot more immigrants and foreign residents than you might expect.(18 more paragraphs)

What You Need to Know about this Powerful Japanese Diet

Under Japan’s original 1889 constitution, all sovereign power rested in the person of the Emperor. He was the head of the Japanese Empire, “combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty,” an authority inherited through a “line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal,” granting him a position that was both “sacred and inviolable.” The Meiji Constitution confirmed the Emperor’s ability to “exercise the legislative power,” and he selected those nobles who made up the Imperial Diet’s more powerful House of Peers. He also had authority over Ministers of State in the executive branch, and was the supreme commander of the Army and Navy. If these left any doubt, the opening words of that era’s constitution use the Royal We, the document itself resting on the authority of the Emperor.(12 more paragraphs)

Japan’s Big News Stories for 2022

As we roll into 2023, let’s look at some of the news stories from last year that residents in Japan are still talking about.(11 more paragraphs)

What is Christmas Like in Japan?

This year, I celebrated my fourth Christmas since moving to Japan. For a country that has a Buddhist and Shinto rather than a Christian core, I have to admit that they do a fairly good job with the trappings of the Christmas experience. Grocery stores and coffee shops start playing holiday music in November, and the selections are way better than the Wham! / Mariah Carey rotation that has become the American Xmas soundtrack. There aren’t any Miracle on 34th Street department-store Santa Claus events here, but shopping malls still try to deck the halls with ornament-laden Christmas trees and strings of lights. Some towns even light up entire streets with Christmas cheer.(9 more paragraphs)

Is Japan Too Innocent?

Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to watch “Best Artist 2022,” a music special broadcast on Nippon TV (日テレ). It was presumably a compilation of the year’s best songs, but you know kids these days and their music. Anyway, we let it run in the background, but our ears perked up when they announced a special song in support of Ukraine.(11 more paragraphs)

Tonkatsu, Katana Swords, and the Roots of Japanese Culture

Consider the humble katana sword. If you are a fan of jidai geki historical dramas, you understand the kind of damage these weapons can inflict in the hands of a skilled samurai. By the nineteenth century, the katana functioned more as an emblem of authority than of bloodletting, and those who carried them were given respect that went beyond military prowess. Even today, when they appear in anime or TV commercials, these swords convey a heroic aura that you wouldn’t normally associate with a flat hunk of metal.(7 more paragraphs)

What is Japan’s Endgame for Masks?

As we approach the fourth year of this *!&$# pandemic, it’s a good time to start asking how we are going to get out of it. The vaccines and medicines, while a step in the right direction, haven’t cured us yet. I still have hope that scientists will eliminate this scourge, and cancer while they’re at it. But while we wait, can we do something about all these masks?(12 more paragraphs)

Nominate Japan’s English Word of the Year

The modern Japanese language includes more and more words imported from English and other language families. And now you have a chance to nominate one of them as the official English word for Japan for 2022. The contest is sponsored by 日本の英語を考える会, the Association for the Betterment of Public English in Japan, a group that works with government agencies in Japan to improve the quality of English in public signage and official publications.(7 more paragraphs)

Is Japan Too Trusting?

Japan is famously known as one of the safest countries on earth. Nobody gives a second thought to walking alone early in the morning or late at night, whether man, woman, or youngster. I read about an experiment a few years ago about where someone would “accidentally” drop their wallet and walk away. In every case, it was returned immediately, with some locals chasing down the owner. In general, people here trust each other—or at least, other Japanese—because they just don’t see the kind of criminal behavior that would lead them to doubt others.(7 more paragraphs)