Kuchikomi
For some, AI-generated love partners easier to be with than real live people
“You’re ready to leave, Kana-chan? Wait, love, we’re almost done.” Turning to the reporter: “You’re almost finished, aren’t you?” “Yes. Just tell me a little more about how you and Kana-san met.” “Well… it was 10 years ago. She was working at a girls bar” – where female bartenders socialize with… Read
Hakuho's lofty 'global sumo' ambitions bolstered by generous backers with deep pockets
In a June 9 press conference, former sumo stablemaster Miyagino, a retired yokozuna (grand champion) who formerly competed under the name Hakuho, announced his resignation from the Japan Sumo Association. The Mongolian-born Hakuho, now age 40, holds sumo's all-time record of 45 tournament victories, but was nudged out of sumo… Read
Need for baby hatches in Japan seems greater than ever
“Lonely childbirth” is the English title Spa (June 3-10) gives its report. Can a deeper loneliness be imagined? A girl, a teenager, perhaps in her early 20s, a child herself, at an age when “knowing the facts of life” means knowing what fun they are. That’s a start. The childish… Read
Government tells parents what not to name their babies
Those who were in Japan in August 1993 might recall a news item about the father of a newborn, who went to the Akishima City office and attempted to register his infant son with the given name "Akuma," written with two characters that combined mean devil or demon. Perhaps out of sympathy… Read
As a society we seethe with irritation: What can we do about it?
Come, let’s be frank with one another: what irritates you? This person, that thing, this situation, that sound – oh, that sound, that grating sound! “We’re losing control of our emotions,” writes psychiatrist Hideki Wada in a booklet, published by President Books, titled “How to Cultivate an Unemotional Heart.” “Emotional” is… Read
A nostalgic look back at the half-decade when Japan was No. 1, sort of
In 2023, Japan's nominal GDP (gross domestic product) dropped one notch, to fourth place in the world, as Germany moved up to occupy the third slot. Japan's GDP had exceeded Germany's for nearly half a century up to then. "The figures have been influenced to some degree by the yen-dollar… Read
Matching apps for the already married latest trend in 'furin'
The pursuit of happiness, guaranteed by the Constitution whose 80th anniversary Japan celebrated earlier this month, takes many forms, causing endless complications. On whether complications outweigh fulfillment or fulfillment complications the Constitution is silent. It guarantees the pursuit, not the outcome. What is happiness? Sex, wealth and power to some; peace,… Read
Business guru bashes current family registration system as antiquated and full of loopholes
With the adoption of the revised Family Registry Act in May of this year, furigana -- a superscript that indicates the intended readings of Sino-Japanese characters -- are now required to be entered above the names appearing on Japan's koseki (family registers). This new requirement will supposedly prevent fraud. But veteran management… Read
Cleanse your mind of the dregs of old thinking, says Zen priest
There stands before you an empty cup. Empty? No. Dregs remain. What to do? Pour fresh tea over the dregs? Nonsense. You empty the cup and wash it, only then considering it fit for use. As with cups, so with minds, writes Zen priest Shoshu Hirai in President magazine (May… Read
How close did the Aum cult come to getting a nuclear bomb?
On March 20 this year, people in Tokyo observed the 30th anniversary of the doomsday cult Aum Supreme Truth's nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. Writing in Shukan Shincho (May 15), reporter Koji Kiyota relates the Aum's activities in the summer of 1993, the same year the cult… Read
