Shape of Things to Come
Would our times historical tendencies and directions become obvious if one studied them from the future?
Big (!) in Japan
YOU KNOW ATTITUDES are shifting when, in the land of huge sumo wrestlers, ubiquitous jolly, fat-bellied tanuki and laughing buddhas, the size of your waist becomes a matter of legal concern.
I’ve been following with interest and with some dismay, to be sincere, the recent developments of the “metabo-mania” in the local society. Metabo - the [...]
On forced simplicity
A few days ago I watched a TV program about a Japanese best-seller author and I felt sorry, for I could relate to some personal experiences in my professional field.
See, the respective author wrote a book targeting the women readers, and probably the younger ones but, following the advice of her publisher, she had to [...]
Thank you for defending “us” from “them”!
Welcome to the E.U.! Put your finger on the scanner, please; and smile to the camera!
[...]
Welcome to Japan! Put your finger on the scanner, please; and smile to the camera!
[...]
Welcome to the U.S.A.! Put your finger on the scanner, please; and smile to the camera!
[...]
[...] Thank you sir/madam, we’re glad to inform you that you [...]
Where are you headed to, Japan?
IMAGINE someone - me, for example - standing in front of one of the ubiquitous automatic vending machines in Japan.
“Hello, my name is M.S., I’m Xx years old, I live at this address in this city, and here’s my phone number. Could I… uhmm… buy a pack of cigarettes?”
The lines above might seem outright hilarious, [...]
Yokoso Japan! (?)
“On Tuesday, Japan will put in place one of the toughest systems in the developed world for monitoring foreign visitors. Modeled on the United States’ controversial U.S.-Visit program, it will require foreign citizens to be fingerprinted, photographed and questioned every time they enter Japan.”*
I first learned about these measures only a few days ago, and [...]
