I thought I’d written about Japan’s crazy vending machine costume before, but perhaps it was back in the archives of my blog that disappeared in the server debacle awhile back. Anyhow, I’m posting (or reposting?) it on request.

There are a couple of cultural details you have to be familiar with in order for this [...]

There are many “common” phrases used in the world of international politics that we use often put probably don’t fully understand — One of these for me is the term, “Japan passing.” According to the Economist, this phrase has two meanings: (1) that world’s second biggest economy was being passed by in a fast-changing [...]

On Saturday the US removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. While Western media highlighted that the announcement was meant to “break a two-month deadlock in the six party talks,” Japanese media is far from pleased with the development. Japanese press expressed particular concern over Japan’s being left in [...]

Yesterday I wrote on the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute that’s currently driving a wedge between Japan and South Korea. If the US had any sense it would keep the mess at arms-length — but no. Perhaps in response to the ROK’s vehement objection to a decision by the US Board of Geographic Names to change [...]

Present-day international relations in NE Asia are inextricably conflated with ongoing history disputes. It really is quite a headache at times. Although China and Japan appear to have placed some of their differences behind them in favor of building friendly atmospherics and strengthening trade (which isn’t to say they’re on the same page [...]

There are rumors afoot that the 2009 Yaris lineup in the US will include the 5-door hatchback that both Japan and Europe are currently enjoying. That’s probably enough to make any 3-door owner jealous… and now that it looks like Toyota is going to scale back its SUV lineup here in the States, I [...]

The 2008 Toyako G8 Summit (hosted by Japan in Hokkaido) came and went without incident, but what else is to be expected of an archaic Cold War institution whose members reflect a late 20th century balance of power and whose non-binding statements don’t even hold the signatories accountable for the agreements reached? The Economist, [...]

Japan can be a tough nut for foreigners to crack — foreigners who want to go beyond the “tourist” level and actually integrate into Japanese traditional society, that is. In particular, there seems to be this overall feeling that it’s impossible for non-Japanese natives to truly understand traditional Japanese culture. That’s what makes [...]

The plethora of news stories documenting the recent disruptions to the Olympic torch relay have illustrated the various ways that Western cities has chosen to deal with the arrival of the flame. After being accosted in London and Paris and diverted in San Francisco, the torch actually received a relatively peaceful welcome in Argentina.
However, [...]

Some people complain about congestion on the DC metro, especially the organge line. Of course, larger subdivisions further out from the city center–especially along the infamous orange line–have pushed up rush-hour metro ridership to new heights. I wonder if anyone considered this when they thought out the Dulles Corridor extension? As you can [...]

I put up the Christmas tree today (maybe I’ll get around to decorations tomorrow), and with holiday music playing in the background, warm winter food simmering on the stove, and “light snow possible midweek,” it truly feels like the season is underway. Now if only all those dead leaves still clinging to the trees [...]

Lately I’ve developed a new obsession: current events. Sometimes when I’m cooking dinner or driving in my car or doing whatever, I get this insatiable urge to find out what’s going on right now around the world. Because it there’s something I’ve learned over the past few months, it’s that there’s always something [...]

Obviously, as far as this blog goes, I’ve been letting the grass grow under my feet. In all other aspects of life, I think, I’ve been sprinting at full speed. Work has been busy–but I suppose that’s been a given recently. Aikido has also taken up a decent amount of time. [...]