A K-pop boom in Japan

As I wrote in my previous post, South Korean companies have recently been drawing more attention in Japan. TV news programs often report on them, suggesting that there are things that Japanese companies can learn from them. 

On top of that, in the past year, there has been a huge boom in K-pop (South Korean pop music). Korean girl groups have debuted in Japan and frequently appear on Japanese TV shows. According to a TV show, in order to become popular in Japan, these groups were launched by South Korean agencies based on specific strategies. In the case of the popular Korean girl group, 少女時代/shoujyo-jidai (girls generation), it appeals mainly to girls in Japan. All the members highlight how cool they are by means of exploiting their good figures, especially their long and beautiful legs. In contrast, in Korea, they highlight how cute they are to attract boys. Its catchy debut song, impressive dancing and promotional activities are based on detailed marketing research. Needless to say, the group has successfully captured the hearts and minds of Japanese girls as the agency managing the group expected.

It's also been reported that many Korean girls dream about becoming popular singers like the aforementioned girl group. It's becoming common in South Korea for elementary school girls to be very busy developing their talent. After school, they take singing, dancing and English lessons. Some families are willing to move into smaller houses to get the money for these lessons.

As I mentioned in July, about eight years ago, the South Korean TV show, 冬のソナタ/Winter Sonata, triggered the first South Korean boom. Japanese women, especially those over 50, are fascinated with Korean TV shows and Korean actors. A few years ago, Korean boy bands started becoming popular in Japan. I've realized that becoming familiar to Korean TV shows and music have changed Japanese people's attitude toward South Korea.

Personally, I prefer creative and original singers rather than these commercialized ones, regardless of nationality.

Girls generation

KARA

South Korean companies drawing more attention in Japan

In Japan, a lot of companies have been struggling for many years to build new business models in order to get out of the prolonged recession. In contrast, South Korean companies, especially well-known corporations, have been recently doing well. Some of them believe that now is the time to enter the Japanese market, and they started entering competitive battles for market share in Japan. Under these circumstances, TV news programs often report on South Korean companies, suggesting that there are things that Japanese companies can learn from them. It's also been reported that the Korean economy is improving.

Every time I hear of South Korean companies going strong, I remember complaints that many South Korean classmates would always make when I was studying Mandarin in Guangzhou, China a few years ago. They would say that it was difficult even for graduates from prestigious universities to find a stable, good job in South Korea, where it's well-known that your academic background can determine so large part of your future and life that a lot of children are engaging in a fierce battle to get in prestigious universities. Because of this, many of my Korean classmates were willing to find a job in China. They seemed to believe that they could have a better life in China. They would also say that it was very common for young people to study abroad since they were required to master at least two foreign languages to get a good job in Korea.

According to the news, both the South Korean government and companies are making great efforts to provide comfortable working environments to non-Koreans to attract qualified people worldwide to Korea. Korean companies appear to enhance their competitiveness in the global market by luring qualified people worldwide to Korea, and Koreans who are willing to or are forced to live abroad support Korean companies outside Korea.

Anyway, I hope that ordinary Korean people like my classmates are enjoying the fact that the Korean economy is getting stronger.

The popular coined word 終活/shuukatsu reflecting the Japanese society

In the Japanese language, job hunting is referred to as 就職活動/shuushoku-katsudo. However, from a certain point of time, the abbreviated form of the phrase 就活/ shuukatsu became more popular. These days, 就活/shuukatsu is being used more frequently than 就職活動/shuushoku-katsudo in society. In the past few years, the coined word 婚活/konkatsu has become very popular to the point where the word often appears in conversation among elderly people who always have a hard time catching up with new words. 婚/kon indicates 結婚/kekkon(marriages in English) and 活/katsu indicates 活動/katsudou(activities or acts etc in English). So, 婚活/konkatsu means doing something to find a marriage partner. I think that the great popularity of the word 就活/shukatsu partly helped the word 婚活/konkatsu become popular since these two sound similar. Currently, another coined word 終活/shuukatsu is becoming popular. Since both 就活 and 終活 are pronounced as shuukatsu, when I first heard of 終活/shuukatsu in a TV news show, I assumed that the show was going to talk about job hunting (就活/shuukatu) until I saw the word.

終活/shuukatsu means thinking about how to lead your late life and how to prepare for the end of your life. As you know, Japanese people live long. The aging population is increasing rapidly. The baby-boomer generation is already in their 60s. Many of the people are struggling with taking care of their parents and in-laws or have struggled with that. They often hear of family troubles after their parents and in-laws have passed away, such as family conflicts over inheritance. Under these circumstances, many people over 60 are willing to think about and decide how to lead their late lives and prepare for the end of their lives when they still have judgement so that their families will be able to avoid nasty battles. According to the news, many books and magazines related to 終活/shuukatsu have been recently published. Some of them are enjoying good sales. Specifically, the magazine, 遺言書キット/Will kit, and the notebook, Ending notebook, are engaging hearts and minds in many age groups. The former illustrates how to make a legitimate will by yourself, and the latter gives an opportunity to think about late life.

A battlefield photographer attracting considerable attention

In Japan, Yoichi Watanabe/渡部陽一, a unique 37-year-old man, has gained popularity in the past year. He is a photographer specializing in battlefields worldwide, and a camera operator as well. He always expresses his strong desire to report realities of battlefields unknown in Japan. He seems to pay attention to the lives of ordinary people, especially children, suffering from wars. Recently, he's often appeared in TV shows due to the surge in popularity. I don't know what determined him to appear in TV shows. However, given that he always says that he doesn't know what is happening to him, he didn't seem to expect that he would become popular.

His way of speaking in TV shows is very original. He speaks slowly and calmly while keeping his rhythm in any situation. He always looks calm even when he's embarrassed, excited and nervous. In contrast to these calmness, his stories about battlefields are so serious and powerful that the audience is inevitably captivated by the stories. It shows us that stories based on experience are always convincing.

Today, you can get any information you need on the Internet. You might sometimes assume that you know about a lot of things. Various kinds of free videos on the internet tend to make you feel as if you saw things that you have never experienced. Needless to say, I don't deny these roles of the internet. As a matter of fact, the internet enriches many people's lives. However, it's more important for you to go see for yourself. I feel like the photographer reminds many people of this importance.

Most recently, he has been frequently asked to come to schools and talk about what he saw in battlefields. I hope that school kids will become interested in his stories, and it'll inspire them to see what is happening worldwide.

http://yoichi-watanabe.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcFYWH_RPNA

Popular women gatherings called 女子会/ joshi-kai

About two years ago, the phrase 女子会/joshi-kai started being frequently used in Japanese society. 女子/joshi means women or girls and 会/Kai means meeting, gathering and so on, so 女子会 means women gather to enjoy meals, drinking and talking mainly in restaurants. Men are not allowed to join them. These days, a lot of restaurants offer special menus for 女子会. I do not know exactly why the phrase has become that popular nor do I know when it began being used. However, I guess that restaurants struggling to survive coined the phrase, or perhaps started exploiting it to give women more opportunities to go out for a meal. This might be because there was a palatable change in society; more and more women were willing to enjoy drinking; in contrast, men had less interest in drinking. Women had become more active; on the other hand, men had become less active. Speaking of inactive men, at the time, the coined phrase 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (please click here) started being frequently used to describe the characteristics of young Japanese men.

When I first heard of 女子会, it sounded bad to me, making me think of housewives who really like gathering and gossiping about people they know. I assumed that 女子会 was definitely going to become a sort of compulsory gathering, no matter how people actually intended to use the phrase. Can you guess why?

I've realized that some women force their friends etc to join gatherings organized by them. Their friends often feel that they are under a great deal of silent pressure to join them. The polite answer "I'm afraid I can't" sometimes leads to a sort of bullying. You might realize sooner or later that others complain about you whenever you don't join the gatherings. Because of that, if you are frequently asked to go to a women gathering due to the great popularity of 女子会, some of them will be frustrating.

According to a TV show that was on a few days ago, some young women are fed up with 女子会. Some consider the gatherings to be sort of official meetings, not expecting themselves to be able to enjoy talking with other participants. Some don't like 女子会 largely because they can't express themselves especially when they disagree with somebody, feeling like they are always required to stay in line with her.

I'm wondering why women's gatherings are more likely to become awkward meetings.

2010 top 10 hit products in Japan.

At this time of every year, a popular magazine, Nikkei Trendy /日経トレンディ, announces the top 30 hit products of the year which have gained considerable attention and popularity in Japan throughout the year. The magazine decides which products are hit products based on sales, novelty and influence. The results are widely reported in the news every year. People often make it a topic of conversation when looking back on the year. Here are the top 10 hit products of 2010 which were just announced yesterday.

1. A new type of chili oil / 食べるラー油
In Japan, chili oil is used as a seasoning. Many people only use it for a few common Chinese dishes. This new product enables you to use it for many other dishes. Because of a production bottleneck due to the surge in popularity, it was very hard to buy it for a while.

http://www.momoya.co.jp/products/detail/rayu_sukoshikarai.php

2. 3D movies

3. Smart phones

4. Premium roll cake 

LAWSON, a major convenience store in Japan, developed the cake and have been selling it since then. In Japan, a large number of people often stop by convenience stores such as Seven-Eleven even when they don't intend to buy anything. So, convenience stores are important and effective distribution channels.

http://www.lawson.co.jp/recommend/uchicafe/index.html?ca=rec_uch_001

5. iPad

6. Pocket doltz Actually, I didn't know about the product until now. According to the information in the link below, it's a pocket-sized sound wave vibration toothbrush. As the homepage shows, the toothbrush is compact enough to carry around. It looks like it's part of a makeup kit. In Japan, people, especially businesswomen, are so sensitive to having bad breath that they often brush their teeth. I guess that this is in part because this product has gained popularity.

http://panasonic.jp/pocket_doltz/product/

7. LED bulbs at lower prices

8. A convenient cooking tool for grilling fish in the microwave / チンしてこんがり魚焼きパック
It's very hard to explain it. Please see the YouTube video below. In Japan, a grill space along with special tools for fish is usually installed on kitchen stoves. However, some people feel that cleaning up the tools after grilling fish is bothersome, which discourages them from grilling fish. I think this product meets their needs.

http://www.kobayashi.co.jp/seihin/tn_ksp/index.html

9. Staplers without staples / ハリナックス
Personally, I love them. Please see the video in the link below. At the office, getting rid of staples from documents before shredding them is really bothersome.

http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/stationery/sl-stapler/handy/index.html

10. A new instant miso soup named 1杯でしじみ70個分のちから
In Japan, various kinds of instant miso soups are being sold. However, food companies had a very hard time developing a popular hit instant miso soup until this product was launched. 

http://www.nagatanien.co.jp/r_products/index.php?pnum=j220

It's been 44 years since the Beatles landed at Haneda Airport.

Ten days ago, a new international terminal finally opened at Haneda (Tokyo International) Airport near downtown Tokyo. A little bit past midnight on the 31st of October, a JAL flight bound for San Fransisco and an ANA flight bound for Los Angeles took off from the airport. Although the airport served as a gateway to foreign countries until the Narita Tokyo International Airport took over this role 32 years ago, it had served as a domestic airport for many years until a day ago. Three hundred and seventy flights per week between Haneda Tokyo and 17 other cities in 11 countries will be offered.

Narita Airport is located in Chiba next to Tokyo. It takes over an hour to get there from downtown Tokyo by express train which requires you to pay an extra fare. The airport opened under the circumstance where the Japan's government had been having a very hard time buying the land from farmers and securing enough land and massive protests kept going. Since the airport opened, there have been many complaints from both passengers and airline companies. To make matters worse, the government's inability to draw a blueprint for a nationwide airport development has allowed the Incheon Airport in Seoul to play an important role as the hub airport of East Asia. Even Japanese people living in areas other than major cities tend to take connecting flights there.

Although Haneda Airport started offering international services, each of the two airports is going to have its own role. I hope that their roles will be decided based on a clear strategy.

In 1966, the Beatles first visited Japan. The film and pictures of the Beatles getting off of a JAL airplane at Haneda Airport are often used as a symbol of the rapid growth era.

Are Japanese women too patient?

Yesterday, it was reported in a TV show that a lot of middle-aged Japanese women try to overcome climacteric disorder only by being patient even though there are many medicines to ease their symptoms.　The phrase "being patient" reminded me of two of the following stories.　

The first one is about my Japanese friend.　Many years ago, she gave birth in Sydney. According to her, her delivery was expected to need a special technique, so the hospital asked her if other doctors and residents could observe her delivery. She accepted the offer. Because of this, her delivery started in a large operating room while being watched by many doctors. 

While she was struggling with an acute pain during her delivery, she tried to hold up as much as possible and didn't yell out. A lot of observers seemed to make her feel like she wanted to hold up better than usual. Despite her bearing the pain, a nurse beside her started slapping her cheek. Although she was surprised by it, she was struggling so hard to give birth that she couldn't ask why. After the delivery, it turned out that the nurse had assumed at the time that my friend had been unconscious since the nurse had never seen patients not yelling out during the delivery.

The next story is about mysterious Japanese women's behaviors. I'm sometimes asked by Western men why their Japanese girlfriends suddenly express outrage without clear reasons. They don't understand why at all and don't know how to deal with their girlfriends. The blasts sometimes lead to a break up.

As you may know, some Japanese women still don't say anything when they feel frustrated with what their boyfriends did.  They just try to let it to go away or accept it while being patient. Some try to imply that they don't want it instead of saying no verbally. Some hope that their boyfriends can notice what they are thinking before they say it. However, these approaches often make the frustration grow, and the women end up erupting in rage.

Today, more and more Japanese people clearly express themselves. It's generally said that they have become less patient. However, they still tend to be patient based on Japanese culture. I think that keeping it bottled up is good, but it's more important for Japanese people to release frustration and try to solve problems before they are stretched thin.

Is Japan on the edge of a cliff??

This year, two Japanese people won the Noble Prize in Chemistry. Immediately after the news was announced, it caught public attention and the two winners earned enthusiastic applause in Japan. However, a few days later, the happy news was overwhelmed by the announcement that Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize. The recent political conflict over an island between China and Japan made a lot of Japanese people focus on China, so his winning inevitably drew considerable public attention.

Anyway, when the two elderly chemists were asked for a comment on receiving the prize, both of them expressed concern about the current situation in Japan, saying that young people have become less interested in the persistent research which usually takes a long time to be appreciated. 

Recently, I happened to see a TV show which talked about small companies struggling to survive by sticking with made-in-Japan products. Some small factories are taking advantage of their highly sophisticated original techniques and have successfully developed an overseas market. Although they are doing well now, most of their skilled workmen who are supporting the techniques are old. These companies have difficulty passing their techniques to younger generations.

A tiny children's clothing manufacturer in Okayama/岡山 is enjoying good sales. Under the circumstance where almost all of the clothing manufacturers have relocated their production bases to China to cut down the labor cost, the company sticks with made-in-Japan clothing which can be competitive with made-in China ones. It has succeeded in cutting down labor costs while keeping high quality by taking advantage of elderly skilled housewives who used to sew clothing on sewing machines in factories until those were relocated to China. As far as I saw in the show, their skills were impressive. They proudly said in the show that they were confident in sewing.

These episodes show that skilled workmen who supported the high growth of the Japanese economy in the past are old and there are few Japanese people who can take over their skills. I understand that skills require change as the times and the situation of Japan change. However, I feel like Japan is losing something important.

Long-distance coaches with luxury, comfortable seats installed

As I mentioned in my previous posts, bus tours have become more popular in the past few years due to the recent recession. In addition, long-distance coaches have become more popular since more people are trying to pinch a penny. I remember that I was surprised to see how crowed the long-distance bus terminal in Tokyo Station was at midnight when I was passing through it a year ago.

In Japan, a lot of people travel between Tokyo and Osaka everyday. Shinkansen (bullet trains) and airlines have been engaging in a fierce competition for many years to gain more passengers. Recently, long-distance coaches seem to have joined the competition. According to the news, a few long-distance bus companies started offering new services, and then these services have successfully captured the hearts and minds of people, especially women.

Women tend to hesitate to take long-distance coaches by themselves because men sitting next to them sometimes bother them. Some women feel uncomfortable with sitting next to men even if the men are harmless. In order to attract more female passengers, female-only couches and those with seats installed three deep (no passengers have a seat next to them, please see the picture) has become popular in the past several years.

A few months ago, coaches with new type of seats installed appeared on the route between Tokyo and Osaka. Even though the fare is more expensive, the coaches have already gained the popularly. The coaches enable you to secure a private space and to enjoy movies and games on a small private screen (click here) like you can do that on flights. Other than that, following coaches have become more popular on major routes like between Tokyo and Osaka.
-Coaches for businessmen/women (click here)
-Coaches with conformable, luxury seats installed (click here)
-Overnight buses with luxury seats that enable passengers to have a good night's sleep (click here)

As for the competitive route between Tokyo and Osaka, for example, even the most expensive buses are cheaper than Shinkansens and airplanes. It's good for us to have more choices. However, I can't help but wonder if some companies will force their employees to travel by the luxury overnight buses to cut down costs.

In your country, do long-distance coaches with luxury seats exist ?

What do you trust ? What do you think about the result of the survey? I find it interesting.

Recently, I happened to find that Japanese mass media was being discussed on Twitter. The current anti-Japan demonstrations in China seemed to trigger the discussion. In this discussion, a well-known Chinese man who has been living in Japan for over twenty years pointed out that Japanese people tend to believe the news reports and the comments made by mass media without trying to make sure whether or not what mass media says is reliable and without trying to think about what mass media intends to do. I thought he was basically not wrong. However, his single careless, misleading Tweet fueled the discussion. He quoted a survey result to back up his statement, saying that the survey shows that Japan has the highest percentage of people who trust in mass media among the countries surveyed. He added that this Japan's percentage is higher than China's, and much higher than Britain's and America's. Unfortunately, he didn't attach the link to the data quoted.

His statement intrigued me, so I tried looking for the survey on the internet. Luckily, I was able to find it easily (click here). According to the site, some universities and research institutes from over ten countries worked closely and conducted the survey. Regarding each of the nine institutions/organizations/systems, around 1000 people over 18 in each of 18 countries were questioned whether or not they could trust it. Please see the bar graph in the link. Each figure in the graph is the sum of the percentage of "Yes-very reliable" and that of "lean Yes-a little reliable".

Although the survey was conducted about ten years ago and the site doesn't mention the details, I find the result interesting. I think that you can learn some tendencies from it. As for Japan, you can see that Japanese people don't trust the Japanese government and the Diet. Only given that the Japanese Prime Minister frequently changes in the past twenty years, the result is convincing. As the aforementioned Chinese man said, the survey shows that 70% of the Japanese people surveyed trust newspapers and magazines.

I can guess some reasons why Japanese people tend to take a positive attitude toward newspapers and magazines. However, I think that we, Japanese people, need to improve our ability to evaluate the information reported by mass media and read the situations behind it. Today, you can obtain abundant information, so the importance of this ability is growing.

*the 18 countries (The vertical axis of the bar graph, from top left to bottom right) :
-日本: Japan,
-韓国 : South Korea
-スウェーデン: Sweden
-カナダ: Canada
-米国: America
-フィリピン: Philippines
-中国: China
-インド: India,
-英国: The UK
-フランス: France
-ドイツ: Germany
-オランダ: the Netherlands
-イタリア: Italy
- ロシア: Russia
-ナイジェリア: Nigeria
-イラン: Iran.

*the 9 institutions/organizations/systems questioned (The horizontal axis of the bar graph, from left to right):
-新聞・雑誌: newspapers and magazines
-軍隊: the army of your country, as for Japan, the Self Defense Force
-警察: the police of your country
-国連: United Nations
-労働組合: Labor Unions of your country
-行政: the government of your country
-大企業: Large corporations of your country
-国会: the Diet/the Congress of your country
-宗教団体: religious organizations of your country

Beautiful young women working as temporary bus tour guides / 美バス

In Japan, when you attend bus tours, bus tour guides will explain many things both on the buses and on the sightseeing sites. When your bus is about to pass through something interesting, they will let you know about it, and explain what it is and the history of it. In addition, when your bus gets stuck in traffic, they will try to entertain you. They often offer to play games to make the irritating time enjoyable. I think that all of the bus tour guides are female. As a matter of fact, I've never heard of male bus tour guides. They are usually the employees of bus companies offering sightseeing tours. In my experience, their speeches and hospitality can often determine customers' satisfaction with tours.

Bus tours have been very popular in the past few years in part because many of them are very cost-effective and in part because people have been paying more attention to domestic trips due to the recent recession. In contrast, these bus companies have been suffering from a lack of bus tour guides for many years. They seem to have difficulty hiring young women as bus tour guides, although I've heard that the recent economic crisis has slightly improved the situation.

This June, a temp staff agency started offering a new service called 美バス/bi-bus (click here). The agency trains certain women a little and sends them to bus tour companies as temporary bus tour guides. These certain women have experience of working as models, flight attendants, actresses and so on. They are relatively good-looking and are used to attracting people's attention and offering hospitality. Some of them want to improve themselves through the experience of working as bus tour guides and take advantage of the experience to grab better chances in their main jobs. Some try working as bus tour guides to see which job is the most suitable for them since they feel that it's a time to step into the next stage.

According to the news, bus tour companies consider the temporary, younger bus tour guides to be big helpers. Regular bus tour guides who are 37 years old on average seem to welcome them. As for participants in the bus tours, men and children are especially happy with them. Generally, you don't know who will be your bus tour guide when you apply for the tour. However, due to the appearance of the relatively good-looking bus tour guides, special bus tours with them have appeared. Personally, I prefer bus tour guides who can deliver interesting and informative speeches.

Cooking: there's always more to learn

A few days ago, an ordinary Japanese housewife with two small boys appeared in a TV show. Although I had never heard of her until I watched the show, it seems she is popular among Japanese women. In fact, both her blog(click here) and a recipe book in which her original recipes appear have recently gained popularity.

Her recipes can make ordinary housewives feel happy and fulfill their desire to prepare and enjoy meals while preventing waste and saving time and money. She explains how to make fine dishes with cheap ingredients and how to turn leftovers into other fine dishes that you wouldn't normally think of. In the aforementioned show, she demonstrated how to make some recipes using leftovers. What surprised me most was that she turned the traditional Japanese dish, pumpkin stewed in soy sauce, into sweet pumpkin pudding in no time at all. Some people on the show said that the pudding tasted very good and was just like pudding at an Italian restaurant, wondering why they didn't taste soy sauce.

Her amazing ideas remind me of my male friend who is a doctor. He loves experimenｔs which everybody can do at home. He often does simple experiments with his children. Also, he always tries to find time to cook because he thinks of cooking as an experiment. He makes up new recipes using his background knowledge of chemistry. There's always more to learn when it comes to cooking.

Cool men! イケメン/ikemen イクメン/ikumen

Have you heard of the Japanese word, イケメン/ikemen? This word was coined a decade ago and used only among the youth. In the past few years, the word has become very popular to the point where elderly people who always have difficulty catching up with new words often use the word. イケメン/ikemen means good looking men. イケ/ike comes from the slang word, イケてる/iketeru (being cool). メン/men comes from 面/men (faces) and the English word, men.

Nowadays, I often hear another new word ,イクメン/ikumen, which was coined recently and is becoming popular. イク/iku comes from 育児/ikuji (child rearing). イクメン/ikumen means men who are willing to or are active in taking care of their children. According to the news, more and more husbands, especially young ones, want to have more time to take care of their small children and spend with their children since they are wondering about a life like older generations are leading. Specifically, younger men think that it's meaningless that like older traditional men, they always work long hours and don't have time to spend with their families. A few months ago, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched the イクメン/ikumen project to encourage men to take paternity leave since the declining birthrate is a serious social problem in Japan.

Today, nobody is surprised to see suited businessmen holding their babies on the way to their offices in order to take them to baby-care centers. In the past decade, the idea that both a husband and wife should be involved in taking care of their children has become common. More and more young husbands don't want their wives to give up their careers, want them to bear some of the financial burdens, and are willing to share housework. Some young men believe that the great involvement of child rearing will improve themselves. It's reported that a major securities company requires all of their workers to finish their duties and leave their offices by 7p.m. so that their workers can have more time to spend with their families. As a result, the company has succeeded in boosting employee working efficiency.

However, it's still a reality that many men who want to become イクメン/ikumen are forced to work long hours or hesitate to ask their companies to take paternity leave since they feel under a great deal of peer pressure not to do that even though they have a right to do.

Young Australian models trying to dress in unique Japanese Kawaii clothing

According to the news, the Japanese word, Kawaii/かわいい, has appeared in the latest edition of Oxford Dictionary of English, although I think that the English explanation of the word in the dictionary doesn't cover all of the meanings and nuances that are used in Japan. However, it does show that the Japanese word, Kawaii, has become very popular throughout the world.

A few days ago, I was watching TV, and the NHK TV program called Tokyo Kawaii TV/東京カワイイTV happened to come on. Four fresh, young Australian models who were selected in the popular Australian TV program, Australia's Next Top Model, appeared on the Japanese TV program as a part of the Australian TV program. They came to Japan to see how they could dress in unique and popular clothes that girls in Tokyo love yet can't be obtained in Australia. A producer of the Australian TV program said that she wanted to see how well they could do as fashion models for the unique Japanese fashion styles.

The Japanese TV program picked up four types of original Japanese Kawaii fashion styles: the high school uniform fashion style /制服ファッション, the Lolita fashion style / ロリータファッション, a fashion that girls in Shibuya love /渋谷ギャル系ファッション, and a new fashion style in Harajyuku/フェアリーファッション. Then, each of the four Australian models tried one of the four styles, although they all are far from being the kawaii type defined by many Japanese people, as they are beautiful and sexy. Four Japanese models from each of the four styles advised the Australasia models.

Contrary to my expectation, all of them looked good. The video of the TV program is in the link (click here).  I hope you can access it from outside Japan. The program is 30 minutes. If you don't have time, I think that just watching it from 3:00 to 25:30 is fine.

Other reference sites:

http://www.nhk.or.jp/kawaii/locaspot/spot_101002.html

http://youtubeowaraitv.blog32.fc2.com/blog-entry-5604.html

The 25-year-old woman who is better than our government

Have you heard of the 25-year-old Japanese professional golf player competing on the LPGA tour, Ai Miyazato/宮里藍? When she was a high school student, she won a Japanese professional tournament as an amateur, which enabled her to become a professional player. After that, she won twelve tournaments during the 2004 and 2005 Japan LPGA seasons. In 2006, she moved to Los Angeles and started competing on the LPGA Tour. In the first year of LPGA, she did well, as many Japanese people expected. c However, in the second and third year, she was in a terrible slump, making people wonder if she would be able to get out of it. It wasn't until last year that she finally earned her first LPGA tour win. This season, she has already won five LPGA tournaments and is currently ranked No.1 in the Rolex Rankings.

A few days ago, in a Japanese news program, she was asked what she thought had made her get out of the slump. She listed a few reasons and said: "This season, even if she misses a shot, she can calmly accept the miss as a fact, quickly move on and think about what to do next".  Her words convinced me that she had become a strong player.

 
Actually, it's not easy to accept terrible things as facts. When you need to take responsibility for them, you tend to feel like you want to shun the responsibility, or you get stuck with remorse and questioning what to do next. When you don't need to take responsibility but are affected by terrible things, you tend to blame them on others, not thinking about what to do next in order to pull through.

I think that the recent political conflict between Japan and China shows this tendency. I was angry that they just blamed each other, without trying to understand the other. I was disappointed by both the Japanese government and the Chinese government. It seems to me that the Japanese government doesn't have strategies, and gets stuck with thinking about what to do, and the Chinese government pays more attention to saving face and unifying China.

http://www.ai-miyazato54.com/

People making a respectable showing in foreign countries

A few days ago, a Japanese baseball player on the Seattle Mariners, Suzuki Ichiro, obtained 200 hits for 10 straight years.Immediately after he hit his 200th hit of this season, he didn't react on the first base, seemingly hesitating to express his happiness. When he saw his teammates in the bench urging him to response to his fans' cheers, he finally tipped his helmet and smiled. The reason of his hesitation was that he had a traumatic experience in 2008: Some local newspapers criticized him, saying that he was likely to pay more attention to himself than his team. Some said that he had too many infield hits. A lot of Japanese people were angry about these kinds of reports.

Today, I suddenly remembered the story above, then I was wondering why Ichiro was criticized, remembering the following story.

About a year ago, a Mongolian Sumo wrestler in the highest rank (横綱/Yokozuna), Asashoryu / 朝青龍, was finally forced to retire. Traditionally, Sumo wrestlers in the highest rank are required to become good wrestlers who can be respected by wrestlers in lower ranks, and they are expected to make social contributions. Despite that, Asashoryu frequently broke the rules. Then, a scandal eventually forced him to retire from Sumo, even though he was still strong and very popular among Japanese people. When it was reported in Mongolia, a lot of Mongolians criticized the Sumo Association, saying that Japanese people and the Sumo Association discriminated against Mongolian wrestlers.

After Asashoryu retired, another Mongolian wrestler in the highest rank, Hakuho/白鵬 was expected to play a leading role. So far, he has been doing well and seems to be respected by both common people and even very well-known retired Sumo wrestlers, even though the Sumo Association has been having difficulty dealing with serious problems in the past year. His words and behaviors/actions are often impressive and moving, making people feel that he really loves Sumo and that he knows what to do. It's said that he always studies the history of Sumo, Japanese culture and things like that.

These days, Sumo, the national sport of Japan, is supported by many wrestlers from foreign countries. because of this, Japanese people want Japanese Sumo wrestlers to do better. Likewise, Americans might want American baseball players to accomplish great feats in MLB. I think that these kinds of feelings is natural. I hope that Ichiro will catch the hearts and minds of more Americans like the Mongolian Sumo wrestler, Hakuho, does.

The impact of recent political conflict between Japan and China.

Recently in Japan, the news has been filled with the political conflict between Japan and China over the vessel accident that occurred near the island in Okinawa, Japan. This statement is based on the Japanese perspective, but I know that China and Taiwan have different perspectives. The conflict is arousing controversy and leading to various speculations. Many people assume there are agendas and ulterior motives, but ordinary people don't have any way of getting to know the truth. As far as I know, national interests among China, Japan, Taiwan and America are complexly intertwined.

This conflict inevitably and strongly makes Japanese people realize that they seriously have to think through how to protect Japan, as it has made them feel like China is likely to do anything, including the use of force, in order to achieve its goals. Some people say, "Through this conflict, our government exposed its lack of ability to conduct diplomacy, disappointing people. However, the conflict made people feel that Japan needs to enhance its defense strategy. It might be convenient for our government since it has been having a very hard time dealing with the issue about the Futenma US Force in Okinawa in the past year." I hope that the public objectively and unemotionally discusses Japan's defense policy.

The impact of various countermeasures taken by China is expected to be so serious that many people have finally realized that over dependence on China is very dangerous and that they need to build new business models. Speaking of over dependence on China, I was told by some Westerners that it was ridiculous that many Japanese companies invested a lot of money in China to open their businesses there. Even I sometimes wondered whether or not Japanese companies were thinking about diversifying risks. Recently, foreign companies have tended to shift their factories from China to other countries due to frequent strikes by workers, whereas Japanese companies are still having difficulty acquiring sites in other countries.

This conflict shows that now is the time for Japanese people to think through what Japan will be like, and decide polices based on our vision. Both Japanese people and our government haven't done that since Japan became a developed country.

Needless to say, our government needs to improve its ability to conduct diplomacy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11341139

Younger people trying to revitalize their hometowns--the 5th contest for grade-B local dishes

As I mentioned in my previous post (click here ), some younger people are doing something in order to revitalize their hometowns which are suffering from the shrinking population and poor economic conditions.

With the economic downturn in Japan, people who used to have an interest in traveling abroad came to pay more attention to domestic travel, although now, the super strong Yen is encouraging people to go abroad. As a matter of fact, for the past few years, bus tours have been enjoying great popularity especially among women and retired couples since these tours are cost-effective and easy to attend. In part because the tendency of people to pay more attention to domestic travel, a lot of areas are trying to attract people by popularizing street food (grade-B local dishes) that locals love such as たこ焼き/Takoyaki in Osaka.

A few days ago, the 5th B-1 Grand Prix/B-1 グランプリ, a street food competition, was held in Kanagawa Prefecture next to Tokyo. Forty-six teams from various areas throughout Japan attended the contest. Each team cooked its local dish at an outdoor site and sold it for 300 to 500 Yen (around 3 to 5 US$). Visitors bought the local dishes they wanted to try. After they ate the dish called ABC, for example, if they were sure that the dish was good, they could throw their pair of disposable chopsticks provided into a rubbish box that had a name plate for ABC. The team that was able to obtain the heaviest rubbish box was the winner.

In the contest, all of the teams were able to let many people know about their local dishes, in hope that their dishes can make people have an interest in their towns at the very least and inspire people to visit there. Should one win the contest, the positive economic impact on the winner's hometown will be surely generated mainly because the winner would be widely reported in the news. In fact, some areas that ranked in the top 10 in the past contests successfully boosted their local economy.

During the recession period, people can pay attention to what they usually don't pay attention to when the economy is strong, and they may find something they shouldn't have neglected. This sometimes leads to create new businesses. In addition, looking back at the past, new businesses often started in local areas. I hope that something that can help us reform our ailing economy will be generated.

Young Japanese people tend to remain in their hometowns

In Japan, up until two decades ago, many young people were fascinated by large cities. They were willing to study or work there. In fact, a lot of young people came to large cities, especially Tokyo. Exciting city lives were really appealing to them. As a matter of fact, at the time, there were a lot of things that you could obtain only in Tokyo. As a result, Tokyo came to have more population, and more things and information have naturally concentrated in Tokyo.

Today, young people, in contrast, tend to remain in their hometowns, saying that Tokyo has nothing to attract them. Tokyo appears to give them negative impressions like hectic lives, a high cost of living and unfriendly people. It's been said that the great popularity of the internet has contributed to create this tendency since the internet enables people anywhere to get anything they want. I've heard that more university graduates who studied in large cities want to work in their hometowns or in mid-sized cities near their hometowns.

These days, some of the younger people try to do something in order to revitalize their hometowns which are suffering from shrinking population and poor economic conditions. Under these circumstances, a few days ago, the 5th contest for grade-Blocal dishes called B1 Grand Prix/B1 グランプリ was held. This contest caught considerable public attention and was widely reported in the news. Actually, winning the contest is an effective way to boost the local economy and attract people throughout Japan. I'll talk more about the contest in the next post.

A very impressive 102-year-old woman !!

In Japan, yesterday was the Respect for Senior Citizen Day /敬老の日, so some senior citizens were reported in the news. A 102-year-old woman was the most impressive among them (click here). In the news, she looked like around 70. Her compelling and reasonable statements really made me doubt her age, making me wonder what was the secret to becoming an impressive elderly person like her. When she was asked for a comment on the Respect for Senior Citizen Day by a reporter, she insisted that elderly people should make efforts to be respected, saying that it was wrong to assume that elderly people should be respected only because of age. This statement convinced me that she deserved to enjoy longevity.

Her husband died young. She doesn't have children. Although she had lived with her sister for some time until her sister died, she has been living on her own for many years. She always cooks meals by herself, believing that it's important for her to eat anything she wants. She teaches some people Japanese calligraphy (書道/shodo in Japanese) which she started studying when she was around 50. When she was 92, she first went on a trip abroad and fully enjoyed the trip to Italy.

Generally speaking, elderly people tend not to listen to others, sticking with traditional ideas and insisting that younger people should listen to them. Needless to say, we need to respect elderly people. However, as the 102-year-old woman said, regardless of age, we should try to improve ourselves, listening to others.

In Japanese society, people over 65 are often considered as senior citizens. According to the newspaper below, senior citizens comprise 23.1% of the entire Japanese population.

A few months are long enough for that area to change

The day before yesterday, I went to Omotesando/表参道 in Tokyo, which is well-known as an area where many shops offer notable items (we often describe them using the following adjectives: designer-brand, outrageous, original, fresh, and innovative). Until then, although I sometimes passed through the area, I hadn't looked around it for more than a few months. When I was hanging out there, I could usually find something new here and there.

Up until a few years ago, the area always made me realize how many Westerners were in Tokyo because the area is popular among both Western tourists and Westerners living in Japan. In fact, when the economy wasn't that bad, many Westerners who had been transferred to Japan by their companies lived in areas near Omotesando. Before the Lehman Shock, since the Euro was very strong against the Yen, the area would be filled with European tourists. I remember that I would always hear the German language there. The day before yesterday, there weren't that many Westerners. Instead, I heard the Chinese language everywhere in the area. Before I went there, I already noticed that more and more Chinese people are visiting Japan since our government relaxed the personal tourist visa requirements for them in July. Yet the change still surprised me.

The shops and the flow of people have also changed. The main streets that used to be the highlight of the area are now fading. Instead, more side streets have become more appealing and are attracting more people. Anyway, a Snoopy Town Shop in the area made me feel very happy as always.

Japanese women being like men/ オス化女子

Have you heard of the Japanese phrase 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) ? When I first talked about the coined　phrase here more than a year ago (click here), it just started gaining popularity. Now, the phrase is very popular to the point where even elderly people who always have a hard time catching up with new words often use the phrase in daily conversation. Everybody has realized that the number of men categorized as 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) are increasing, although the definition is ambiguous. Some young men are willing to refer to themselves as 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men).

http://zexy.net/contents/lovenews/
article.php?d=20100915

As 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) has become popular, Japanese phrases: 男前女子/otokomae-jyoshi and オス化女子/osu-ka-jyoshi have been often heard of. These two phrases represent Japanese women who act or think like men typically do. These women often make people feel that they are more masculine (mentally) than 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men). Also, it's said that these women are increasing in number.

According to a survey on these women in their 20s and 30s conducted by a major magazine, the following things make them realize that they are like men.
-Using male words subconsciously (In the Japanese language, some words are used mainly by men; some words are used mainly by women. In addition, suffix forms make your sentences sound masculine, feminine and things like that )
-Always expressing oneself very clearly. Disliking women who sneakily bitch about others. 　
-Disliking all of the things that are generally considered to be feminine.
-Disliking typical Japanese women's behavior: always doing something and going somewhere with the same close friends. Preferring going to a movie and on a trip alone.
-Loving drinking alcohol very much. Stopping by male-dominated bars alone without hesitation.
-Not wearing skirts. Sitting in a chair with your legs open.

In addition, the survey describes that people consider the following women to be オス化女子/osu-ka-jyoshi.
- Women who are frank, have a positive way of thinking, can move on quickly and never linger on things unnecessarily. Their behaviors always stun men. -Women who can make quick decisions at work and always express themselves clearly.

In the survey, other examples are also introduced. From these descriptions alone, I would say that I'm a オス化女子/ /osu-ka-jyoshi.

No more power games!!

Our Prime Minister, Naoto Kan,/菅直人, managed to survive the political fuss created by a power-broker named Ichiro Ozawa /小沢一郎 and averted another disaster: the change of our PM in three months (click here). PM Kan prevailed because he was greatly supported by the public opinion that the frequent change of our PM doesn't make sense. The public really wants our government to spend time reforming our ailing economy, wondering if the politicians understand how fiercely people are struggling to get through life, even though the cabinet members insist that they've realized that Japan is in a critical situation.

One day after that big day, the Bank of Japan finally but unexpectedly intervened in the foreign exchange market to stem the soaring Yen, as if PM Kan tried to dispel the impression that he has a lack of leadership. Some experts project that this intervention has temporarily worked, but the super strong Yen will continue since many developed countries struggling with the recession want to accept the super strong Yen in order to climb out of the recession.

Now, PM Kan is selecting new cabinet members.I hope that all of the politicians will be able to cooperate closely with one another in order to overcome this crisis.

These days, many things make us feel gloomy. Precisely because of that, I always try to fully enjoy my life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/asia/15japan.html?_r=1&ref=asia

If women start being fascinated only with men younger than they are.....

What makes you realize that you are no longer young? What behaviors make you realize that someone is no longer young? There are a variety of actions can make you realize that you or somebody is no longer young. 

I often hear that if women start becoming fascinated by men or celebrities younger than they are, it shows that they are no longer young. I think that it's most likely true. Many female friends of mine and I used to be attracted mainly to men older than we were when we were in our 20s; in contrast, when we were around 30, we suddenly started having a great interest in dating men younger than we were. One of my friends would always be fascinated with men over 35 while in her early 20s; however, during her early 30s, she would always stick with having a boyfriend in his 20s, saying that men in their 30s and 40s were not attractive. Eventually, she married a man who is six years younger than her. As for male celebrities, in Japan, very popular actors and male singers in their 20s and 30s are supported by many female fans over 40. 

This is just an observation; however, from a biological perspective, it can be true.

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors!

In Japan, the shortage of doctors is a serious problem. Many doctors working in hospitals, especially pediatricians, obstetricians and anesthetists, are forced to work extraordinarily long hours. They are so busy that they always have difficulty finding time to have a meal. Many of them don't have time to spend with their families, or even have a good sleep. Countless local hospitals were forced to close for not being able to recruit enough doctors. As a result, areas where there isn't a nearby hospital are increasing.

Despite the harsh working environment, many doctors are doing their best to save as many lives as they can. I really appreciate them. On the other hand, I often hear of terrible doctors who make patients feel like these doctors just want to earn money. My friends who are nurses or pharmacists always complain about doctors, saying that there are some doctors who don't have enough knowledge or don't try to examine patients seriously. My friends who are doctors working in hospitals often feel disappointed with the young residents at the hospital, saying that some of them are half-hearted about becoming doctors and don't have a passion for saving lives.

These days, I often hear that students who are doing very well in prestigious high schools generally head for medical schools (strictly speaking, in Japan, the medical department in universities) just because their academic results are high enough to challenge the most difficult entrance examinations for medical schools. They and their parents think that a doctor is just a stable job with a higher salary, not thinking about whether or not they really want to become doctors or about the fact that doctors deal with human lives. Although I can't explain it very well, every time I hear of these kinds of things, I feel like there is something wrong with it.

When you are sick in Japan, you can go to any hospital and clinic you want, which means that if the medical service provided is the same, the fee you have to pay at the hospital is the almost the same as the fee for clinics. In my experience, the fee that I paid for treatment at a university hospital was cheaper than that of a clinic even though the hospital provided a little better medical service. Today, although hospitals that are designated as advanced treatment hospitals require you to hand in a reference written by a doctor, you can still receive medical treatments there if you pay an extra 5000 Yen. (around 50 US$).

Let's try to obtain an attractive face!

When my friend was working for a well-known cosmetic company, a make-up artist who was working forseveral popular Japanese actresses came to the company and gave a demonstration to the employees. First, two of the female employees--a good-looking woman and an ordinary-looking one(to be honest, a rather bad looking)--took off the makeup that they had put on themselves. Then, as the rest of the employees watched, the artist started putting makeup on them, demonstrating her skill and turning these two into enchanting women. The unattractive woman changed to the point where the other employees hardly recognized her, which really stunned them. The make-up artist found out the most charming part of her face, highlighted it to create an appealing face. On the way home, the unattractive woman was finally able to enjoy the experience of having men look at her. She was surprised that even young men were trying to hit on her, and it made her happy.

Usually when people apply makeup on themselves, they tend to put heavy makeup on parts with which they aren't satisfied with, like how Japanese women try to make their eyes look bigger and more impressive. However, as you can see, experts insist that this way will make your face less attractive since the heavy makeup can end up highlighting your weak points.

It's generally held that facial expressions are important in social life. As expressions gain in importance, makeup plays the more important role of helping you achieve impressive facial expressions. Upon seeing makeup from these perspectives, I really feel like I cannot neglect makeup, although I know that your face and facial expressions often come from within.

Speaking of makeup, it reminds me of a funny story: If a woman is taking a bath, and her male friends accidentally appear in front of her...If she is in her 10s or 20s, she subconsciously hides her boobs and her crotch with her hands. If she is over 30, she subconsciously covers her bare face with her hands. I can't deny it.

What kind of town will Ginza/銀座 in Tokyo become ??

Have you heard of the very popular downtown area in Tokyo, Ginza/銀座? Until a few years ago, the downtown was well known for a town filled with luxury goods, and used to be creating a fun atmosphere that made people want to dress up there. The town could fulfill your material desires and satisfy your vanity.

When the Japanese economy was good, during the day, the town would be always jazzed up with many women wearing stunning outfits and enjoying shopping. As the sun went down, businessmen/women would appear from nowhere. They fully enjoyed having luxurious dinners and drinking. Even after midnight, the town was still bustling with people who didn't care about spending a lot of money. Tough battles to grab a taxi would happen here and there.

Before the Lehman Shock, foreign luxury brand shops were trying to open a flagship shop in Ginza. Some of them succeeded in their plans. In contrast, after the shock ran through world, casual brand shops which wouldn't be allowed to enter the town some years ago started occupying the prime locations. Now, Zara, H&M, UNIQLO and Abercrombie & Fitch are playing an important role of luring people into Ginza (an Apple store is playing this role, too). As the mainstream is changing, regular visitors to Ginza are inevitably changing. All in all, the times are forcing Ginza to change.

Under these circumstances, yesterday, a long-established department store in Ginza, Mitsukoshi/三越, was renovated, and started a fight for survival with a new strategy. The department store keeps its traditional image:a luxury image, highlighting a luxury atmosphere. On the other hand, it newly provides a large bike parking lot to attract ordinary people living in a newly developed bay area near Ginza. As I mentioned above, since Ginza itself used to be where people could put themselves into a luxurious atmosphere, it's said that this attempt, the bike lot, is notable. Many people are paying attention to what kind of town Ginza will become.

By the way,
I pray for the victims of the 9.11 attack and world peace. I happened to see the airplane crashing into the World Trade Center on live TV. When I saw the moment, I was glued to the TV, wondering if Hollywood was doing something surprising. The TV news casters seemed to be wondering how to manage the program. They just said over and over that they didn't know what was going on there and they were waiting for the new information from New York. I'll never forget that moment.

The story makes me realize that the traditional idea is still ingrained in younger generations.

A few days ago, my friend told me the story below:
Her friend has a son who is a senior in University of Tokyo, the most prestigious university in Japan. He has a　girlfriend from the same university. He used to spend a lot of time doing a sport after school, and had struggled for some time to make a good team as a captain. Every time he had difficulties in his sport team, his girlfriend supported him and helped him overcome them. Thus, they have already built a good and strong relationship, and started thinking about marriage after graduation. When his parents noticed that, his father frowned on the marriage despite being sure that she is a very nice person. Can you guess why?

His father believes that he has a huge potential for the future mainly because he will be given a big title: a graduate of the University of Tokyo. As a matter of fact, this title is still effective in Japanese society, so many parents with children attending the University of Tokyo put their hopes on the children. In addition, the parents tend to want their children with the big title to marry someone who really can support their careers. Like these parents, his father wants that, but wants that in a very traditional way. In other words, his father wants him to marry a woman who is willing to stay at home and devote a large part of her life to supporting him and his family. However, his girlfriend is intelligent enough to enroll in the University of Tokyo, so his father assumes that she wants to purse her own career. At the same time, his father objectively thinks that she should do that. Because of these reasons, his father doesn't view her as eligible or the right person for the son's wife. Actually, his father's attitude toward marriage is based on a traditional idea.

With the economic downturn and social change, more husbands, especially young husbands, expect their wives to earn money. These days, if wives don't work, it will be very difficult to make ends meet. It's common for married couples to share housework and financial burdens. Workers have realized that everybody, regardless of educational background, is subjected to the risk of getting fired due to corporate restructuring. Thus, I'm surprised to see that the traditional idea is still ingrained in the father despite him being around 50 ( if he were over 70, I wouldn't be surprised).

Male graduates of prestigious universities are still likely to play important roles in our society. I have to admit that their parents still tend to take a conservative attitude toward marriage. This attitude can have a influence on the sons: the male graduates. Under these circumstances, it will take some time for our society to change to the point where women can pursue a career path without hesitation if they want.

Impressive Japanese TV commercials. If you study Japanese, please try to enjoy the wordings.

Every time I move back to Japan from a foreign country, I realized that TV commercials in Japan are creative and interesting, although I don't know very much about TV commercials in Western countries.

A very popular series of cellphone commercials is so funny and interesting that I always look forward to the next one (The first video). This series has a storyline that revolves around a family. The father is a white Japanese dog. The mother is being played by a popular middle-aged Japanese actress. A young popular actress, Aya Ueto/上戸彩, is playing the daughter's role. An American is playing the son's role. This portrays our social trends sarcastically and humorously , so the commercials can always catch the public attention.

Speaking of a popular series of TV commercials, the series of a canned coffee commercial where Tommy Lee Jones appears are still continuing. Surprisingly, he has been playing an alien role in the commercials for more than four years.

Although this kind of TV commercials usually catches my attention, sometimes other serious commercials resonate with me and makes me think a lot. An organization , AC Japan, examines our society and the world, and decides every year what it should advocate through its advertising campaigns. The Japanese phrases that are used in this newest TV commercial, created by this organization are impressive, so I want to introduce them. The phrases are below. I hope you can enjoy the wordings.

「こころ」はだれにも見えないけれど
「こころづかい」は見える
No strangers can see your heart (it implies that no strangers know what you are thinking), but every stranger can see your kindness/thoughtfulness/consideration.

「思い」は見えないけれど
「思いやり」はだれにでも見える

The meaning of this phrase is almost the same as the one from the phrase above, although nuances of these two phrases conveyed are slightly different.

The cellphone commercial

The canned coffee commercial series where Tommy Lee Jones appears

The AC commercial

Japan has no future !?

In Japan, it's said that the total cost of raising a child from birth to university graduation is ten to twenty million Yen (one to two hundred thousand US dollars, 1USD= 100 JPY. For the sake of simplicity, I use this rate). These days, it's not easy for 35-year-olds to earn five million Yen yearly even if they work full time (This is before taxes and insurances deductions.) , so the cost is too expensive. 

Compulsory education in Japan consists of six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. If you go to public schools, you don't have to pay tuition, although you have to pay some monthly fees and deal with back-to-school shopping needs. As for public high schools, the tuition finally became free of charge this April because of a policy established by the new government that took power a year ago. However, the tuition at public universities remains high. The tuition started increasing sharply about twenty years ago and reached the current level about ten years ago. Even if you can enroll in a public university, you will have to pay about eight hundred thousand Yen for the first year, as the cost of the first year is higher than those of other years.

When I was a public university student many years ago, the tuition was not that high, and the Japanese economy was not that bad. Therefore, it was not difficult for "public" university students to earn money for tuition with part-time jobs. In addition, many parents could afford to pay the tuition. In contrast, these days, many university students are forced to take out low-interest student loans due to high tuition costs and the bad economy. To make matters worse, interest-free student loans were abolished a few years ago. According to the news, about 40% students now take out loans, and many graduates are struggling to pay off their loans since they have difficulty getting a stable job (They are required to start paying off their loans as soon as they graduate).

I've heard that many students who enrolled in the University of Tokyo this April are from relatively affluent families. Many of the students are graduates of prestigious private junior high and high schools. Almost all of them have had the experience of going to expensive cram schools. Due to this reality, bright or gifted children from families that are struggling financially are unlikely to have the opportunity to cultivate their talents.  

The declining birthrate is a serious social problem. We do know that we have to improve the situation, but those circumstances are discouraging us from having a child or from having more children.

Again, again. I can't help but sigh a heavy sigh--part 2

Ryoma Sakamoto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Sakamoto_Ry%C5%8Dma

These days, a historical figure named Ryoma Sakamato/坂本龍馬 (1836-1867) is very popular in Japan.　Not only the popular TV drama, Ryoma-den/龍馬伝, but also his policies, have boosted his popularity since now is a good time for us to adopt his policies.

Ryoma played important roles at the end of the Edo Era when Japan was being forced by some Western countries to give up its long-term national isolation policy.At the time, even though Japan was subject to the danger of foreign incursions, many key people paid a lot of attention to the struggle for supremacy. Ryoma insisted that Japan didn't have time to compete for power, and warned the key people to cooperate closely with one another in order to overcome the crisis and protect Japan from attacks by foreign countries.

Two days ago, a big political fuss was created again by a power-broker named Ichiro Ozawa /小沢一郎. I don't want to explain the details here since it's a long story. Speaking briefly, we are suffering from the possibility that our Prime Minister will change "again". As a result, even though many Japanese people want our government to take effective measures against the strong Yen immediately, the government will most likely spend about two weeks competing for power.

About a year ago, we selected the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) as the governing political party since the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had disappointed us for many years. Thus, we bore responsibility for this situation. However, I didn't expect the frequent competitions for power. A year ago, I was ready to wait a few years for visible results made by the new government, but I now feel like my patience will be more likely be in vain. We need Ryoma now.

http://www.asahi.com/special/minshudaihyo/TKY201009020477.html

Again, again. I can't help but sigh a heavy sigh-part 1
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2010/06/again-again-i-cant-help-but-sigh-heavy.html

Plastic surgery

In Japan, South Korean singers have become very popular in the last few years.　According to the news, music sales in South Korea are less than one thirtieth of those in Japan because of the popularity of illegal music downloads and low-priced music CDs. Thus, Japan is a necessary and attractive market for South Korean music agencies. Under these circumstances, well-selected young South Koreans study not only singing and dancing but also the Japanese language before their debuts.

Speaking of South Korea, it's well-known in Japan for plastic surgery. Many Japanese people assume that minor plastic surgery is so popular among South Korean women that it doesn't a convey negative image there. I've head that it's partly because South Korean women place great value on beauty. As a matter of fact, they seem to make great effort to be as beautiful as possible. In a TV program, it was reported that South Korean actors/actresses tried to improve their acting skills to survive in the competitive show business there since it is thought that any actor/actress could obtain good looks through plastic surgery.

In Japan, minor plastic surgery has become common recently. Some people reckon that if plastic surgery can get rid of their complexes and change their lives in a positive way, there's nothing wrong with it. However, plastic surgery still conveys both positive and negative images in Japan.Personally, I don't want to risk looking even worse and complications, although it's said that the risk of minor plastic surgery is low.

Career-minded women exploited by companies.

About 15 years ago, despite many women still working at traditional assistant positions without promotion potential, well-known companies would take every chance to advertise themselves by showing what a good environment and opportunities they gave their capable female employees. Since the times and the law required companies to offer career paths to more women, major companies took advantage of a tiny number of their female employees working on the same level as men in order to improve their images. Unsurprisingly, this helped companies improve their image.

Contrary to good images conveyed by companies, I would often hear various complaints and about terrible situations from these career women. When a large company was introduced as a good workplace for career-minded women in a TV program, my friend working on the same level as men in the company sighed about the introduction, saying that the information in the TV program was far from the reality. She added that she had realized her company's ulterior motive behind the advertising campaign. Sadly, it's just one example.

As for my company where I was working in a male-dominated position, it didn't try to use their female employees in order to improve its image. Rather, my company didn't pay attention to doing that. However, I was sometimes requested to deliver a speech as a part of the recruitment activity of my company.

Today, women working on the same level as men have become much more common. However, many companies still try to show what a good working environment they give their female employees and what important roles their female workers are playing in their businesses. I think that these appeals imply companies have many problems solved.

Needless to say, all of these problems aren't attributed to companies. Our economic structure that is overly dependent on working long hours and some traditional ideas are the fundamental problems.

Career women supporting male co-workers after work

As I mentioned in my previous post (click here), when I was looking for a job in male-dominated positions with career paths while I was a senior in university many years ago, assistant positions without career paths were still common for women, although the law required companies to give women the same opportunity for promotion as men. Under these circumstances, in job interviews, some companies tried to make sure if I was used to male-dominated environments. The fact that I studied at a male-dominated economics department in a male-dominated public university was  often helpful. On top of that, my frankness and relatively male-like character (男っぽい性格), which might be have been developed mostly in such a male-dominated environment, unexpectedly gave a good impression to companies.

When I was in my mid-20s, like me, many women working on the same level as men were more frank, more independent, and stronger than the average Japanese woman, even if they looked cute. Thus, these career women were less popular among Japanese men since many of them culturally wanted to catch less intelligent, dependent and adorable women. Nonetheless, these career women, including myself, would be often asked to go out for dinner and a drink after work by their male co-workers. In my experience, when male workers wanted to grumble about their jobs and their families/girlfriends, they viewed career women as the best fellows. They reckoned that career women were still women and had enough knowledge about businesses to make conversations with them exciting and constructive. When I was forced to be a listener during conversations with my male co-workers at restaurants, I felt like I was a hostess at a bar (Note 1).

Today, the situation has changed. However, independent and solid women are still playing this role. I think they are still not popular among Japanese men, although I've noticed that more and more young men like independent and solid women.

Note 1:
In Japan, there are many bars called スナック(sunakke, this word is from snack bars in English) and clubs. In these bars, women called hostess/ホステス sit beside customers whether they are men or women and talk with them. No physical contact is allowed. Some men go there just to get the hostesses to listen to their stories while drinking.

Female workers struggling with the idea that women should be かわいい/Kawaii

When women are evaluated or described, being かわいい/kawaii（cute, pretty, adorable and so on) both in appearance and in characters is highly valued in Japanese society. I would say that being かわいい/kawaii is an important element for women to attract men. Despite that, the concept of かわいい/kawaii is so ambiguous that I can't clearly define it. However, I can say that men still tend to view immature or less intelligent women to be かわいい/kawaii, although more and more young men don't do that. 

I started working at male-dominated positions with career paths immediately after graduation (It was many years ago). At the time, assistant positions without career paths were still common for women, even female university graduates, I would often be forced to struggle with the idea that women should be かわいい. The fact that some women were working on the same level as men was annoying for conservative men, although they understood that the times required it. Companies expected these women to perform better than the men. This was because companies need to convince their conservative male workers that they had made the right decision to employ these women since their conservative male workers were against hiring these women. However, the better these women performed, the more negative attention they attracted. Both male and female co-workers gossiped about them, saying that 女のくせに. I don't know how I translate the typical phrase into English, but the translation might be that you shouldn't do it because you are a woman or it's unbelievable that women do it. The phrase is used when women exhibited behaviors go against the stereotype.

Women working on the same level as men sometimes suffered from the feeling that the more highly they were appreciated at work, the less value they had as women. In fact, it was not easy for these women to find a boyfriend who appreciated and supported their careers. 

Today, more and more people, regardless of gender, keep an open mind. However, I sometime find that some men still stick with the idea that women should be かわいい/kawaii. As a matter of fact, some men don't want to work under female managers. Some male managers don't want to hire capable women because these women seem to be smarter or older than they are. I think that these attitudes are based on this idea. However, as far as I know, men who can manage capable women well and take advantage of their abilities tend to succeed.

Come to think of my first job hunting when I was a senior student

When I was writing about the recruitment of new graduates here a few days ago (click here), I thought of the old days when I was struggling with job hunting as a senior student.

First, ridiculous interview questions asked by companies such as "do you want to get married and have a child in your 20s?" came to my mind. These were not just questions to break the ice. Companies seriously asked these questions; in fact, a board member of a major corporation spent some time asking me in the final interview whether or not my parents would mind if I were transferred since I'm a only child. I had a hard time convincing him that my parents wouldn't.

When I was a senior in university, companies offered positions with career paths to male university graduates, expecting them to work many years; in contrast, companies still tended to offer traditional assistant positions without career paths to female university graduates, expecting them to support the male workers. Thus, when female university graduates applied for the male-dominated positions, they were always forced to deal with such questions since companies tried to make sure that their female candidates were suitable to the positions in every aspect.

Next, these tough circumstances reminded me of a male friend with whom I studied economics in my university. During a conversation with him, when I blurted out that I felt like I wanted to give up pursuing the male-dominated positions since I had great difficulty obtaining a job offer for the positions, he asserted that I should work on the same level as men, saying that taking an assistant job was meaningless to me. His strong words got rid of my wavering mind, making me feel like I was qualified, and encouraged me to keep struggling to obtain an offer.

After that, I imagined what my life would be like if I had accepted an offer from a company at the time. The company liked me and gave me an offer, expecting me to work in Europe five years later after joining the company. When I was a senior, I neither had an interest in English nor working abroad, and my TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) score was not good. Despite that, people of the company insisted that I was cut out for working abroad and tried to convince me that I would be able to improve my English if I took the English courses provided by the company. Although I didn't join the company, now come to think of it, the people judged me well.