I did not know about this today, but every year Kanji certification association of Japan selects "The Kanji of the year"! It seems awfully bizarre to me, because it is like choosing "The Alphabet of the Year." (But then again, I would be very curious to know what the alphabet of 2009 would be. Anyone has any ideas.)
Well, Japan has spoken, and the Kanji of 2009 was selected today. It is the Kanji which stands for "new." Here, take a look. http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091211-00000564-san-soci.view-000
More than 160,000 people voted this year, which was the most votes that they have ever gotten in the 15 years of its history.
2009 saw Japan's Liberal Democratic Party defeated by Democratic Party of Japan; a new cabinet was born. People welcomed Prime Minister Hatoyama with hopes for change; he was to be a breath of fresh air. Whether he will be able to fulfill on that expectation is uncertain in the midst of issues with suspicious funding.
Being a Japanese myself, I have always believed that Japan is not a country made for revolutions. Japanese people are much too conservative and timid to seek a radical change. However, I may have been wrong. Japanese people have seen an opportunity for change and they grabbed hold of it. Whether they will be able to make it happen... is anyone's guess. For now, I am willing to believe that Japan is ready for change.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
WAKEARI Gourmet
Maybe about a year ago I started hearing this expression WAKEARI Gourmet.
The expression WAKEARI Gourmet is applied to food products that do not meet "visual" quality standards, but otherwise are perfectly acceptable. Crabs, Cookies, Chinese dumplings, apples..., you name it.
These products, as you may guess, are priced much lower than their counterparts which do meet the quality standards. That is why, in this recession, they are attracting the Japanese consumers' attention.
I have heard many foreign visitors to Japan say how impressed they are with the aesthetics of supermarkets in Japan. Perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables which are neatly packaged and beautifully displayed... Supermarkets in Japan are like food galleries!, they say.
Being a Japanese expat in LA, I find the uniqueness of Trader Joe's and the airy open market feel of Whole Foods more exciting than the cleanliness of Japanese supermarkets. In my opinion Japanese people culturally are a bit too obsessed with how perfect their food looks. I remember working at Mister Donut one summer while I was in college. They had employees like me survey the display shelves one by one, screening out the baked goods that are misshapen and throwing them away. It worked to my advantage though, because we were allowed to eat them if we liked. Today they would be sold as WAKEARI donuts.
Personally I am hoping the current trend of WAKEARI Gourmet will change Japanese people's mind about how their food should look. I hope they will learn not to be so concerned about visual perfection. That way we may be able to stop wasting food and may be able to purchase them much cheaper at stores. (But then, some producers will no longer be able to make money off WAKEARI Gourmet???)
If you are curious, you may check out WAKEARI Gourmet News. http://www.gourmet-digest.com/
The expression WAKEARI Gourmet is applied to food products that do not meet "visual" quality standards, but otherwise are perfectly acceptable. Crabs, Cookies, Chinese dumplings, apples..., you name it.
These products, as you may guess, are priced much lower than their counterparts which do meet the quality standards. That is why, in this recession, they are attracting the Japanese consumers' attention.
I have heard many foreign visitors to Japan say how impressed they are with the aesthetics of supermarkets in Japan. Perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables which are neatly packaged and beautifully displayed... Supermarkets in Japan are like food galleries!, they say.
Being a Japanese expat in LA, I find the uniqueness of Trader Joe's and the airy open market feel of Whole Foods more exciting than the cleanliness of Japanese supermarkets. In my opinion Japanese people culturally are a bit too obsessed with how perfect their food looks. I remember working at Mister Donut one summer while I was in college. They had employees like me survey the display shelves one by one, screening out the baked goods that are misshapen and throwing them away. It worked to my advantage though, because we were allowed to eat them if we liked. Today they would be sold as WAKEARI donuts.
Personally I am hoping the current trend of WAKEARI Gourmet will change Japanese people's mind about how their food should look. I hope they will learn not to be so concerned about visual perfection. That way we may be able to stop wasting food and may be able to purchase them much cheaper at stores. (But then, some producers will no longer be able to make money off WAKEARI Gourmet???)
If you are curious, you may check out WAKEARI Gourmet News. http://www.gourmet-digest.com/
Thursday, December 3, 2009
There is nothing cool about a murder.
There is something which is bothering me in Japan, a lot.
Japan is my home country, even though I have not lived there for the last twenty years (currently I reside in Los Angeles).
When I was visiting Japan on business in early November, there was a news of an arrest. A young guy, by the name of Ichihashi, was finally arrested after a year and seven months on the run from the authority. Ichihashi is suspected of murdering a young British woman who was teaching English in Japan at the time. I will spear you the details, but her body was found on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment.
Ichihashi avoided getting caught by having his facial features altered by cosmetic surgeries multiple times. During the days leading to his arrest, his trail was discussed all over the news. It started looking like a plot from a TV murder mystery typically shown around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Now the sick thing is that there are multiple fan clubs for Ichihashi on Mixi, the largest SNS in Japan, with some attracting more than 2,800 members.
Inside these fan clubs Ichihashi is called "Ikemen," a modern Japanese slang for good looks. There are women who claim they wish to marry him.
I need to say no more. I am in total disbelief. Come on, since when is a murder cool?
I realize I have promised to spare you with the details; however, I need to say this: There is nothing cool about a murder or a rape.
Japan is my home country, even though I have not lived there for the last twenty years (currently I reside in Los Angeles).
When I was visiting Japan on business in early November, there was a news of an arrest. A young guy, by the name of Ichihashi, was finally arrested after a year and seven months on the run from the authority. Ichihashi is suspected of murdering a young British woman who was teaching English in Japan at the time. I will spear you the details, but her body was found on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment.
Ichihashi avoided getting caught by having his facial features altered by cosmetic surgeries multiple times. During the days leading to his arrest, his trail was discussed all over the news. It started looking like a plot from a TV murder mystery typically shown around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Now the sick thing is that there are multiple fan clubs for Ichihashi on Mixi, the largest SNS in Japan, with some attracting more than 2,800 members.
Inside these fan clubs Ichihashi is called "Ikemen," a modern Japanese slang for good looks. There are women who claim they wish to marry him.
I need to say no more. I am in total disbelief. Come on, since when is a murder cool?
I realize I have promised to spare you with the details; however, I need to say this: There is nothing cool about a murder or a rape.
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