By Konishi Hiroshi, Jingu Momoko in Tokyo, and Suzuki Takuya in Seoul On Jan. 28, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced that he will nominate the remains of gold and silver mines on the island of Sado in Niigata Prefecture for inclusion in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites. Kishida had been leaning toward not nominating the mines but changed….Read more
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Under pressure from LDP, Kishida nominates Sado mines as World Heritage site
- January 29, 2022
- , Asahi , p. 2
- JMH Translation
- South Korea
Vox Populi: Chie Nakane’s grim assessment of Japan society still valid today
Many citizens were deeply dismayed by the 1945 radio broadcast of Emperor Hirohito’s declaration of Japan’s defeat in World War II. But Chie Nakane was not. Then a second-year student at Tsuda Juku Senmon Gakko (present-day Tsuda University), Nakane was overjoyed that she no longer had to be awakened at night by air raid alerts. To celebrate, she shed….Read more
- November 9, 2021
- , The Asahi Shimbun , 1:43 p.m.
- English Press
Museum to launch investigation into cultural assets taken overseas at time of Battle of Okinawa
A temple bell that was taken to the U.S. after the Battle of Okinawa has been returned to Okinawa for the first time in 76 years. It is not known when or where the bell was made or where it used to hang. Valuable cultural assets were either destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa or they were lost after being….Read more
- November 4, 2021
- , Ryukyu Shimpo , p. 25
- JMH Translation
Ex-U.S. envoy Kennedy among foreign recipients of Japan decorations
Tokyo– Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, is one of 124 foreigners recognized in this year’s fall decorations for enhancing friendship with Japan, the Japanese government said Wednesday. Kennedy, 63, who served as U.S. envoy from 2013 to 2017, will be bestowed with the Grand Cordon of the Order….Read more
- November 3, 2021
- , Asahi , Kyodo News , p. 21, 5:00 a.m.
- JMH Translation
Japan mulls lending statue of famed Chinese Zen master to China
BEIJING – Japan is considering temporarily lending a statue of a famous Chinese Zen master to China in a goodwill gesture as next year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The move is intended to help improve Sino-Japanese relations through cultural exchanges, at a time when the two….Read more
- November 2, 2021
- , Kyodo News , 2:12 p.m.
- English Press
- China
Sake brewing to be registered as intangible cultural asset
Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government panel Friday advised culture minister Shinsuke Suematsu to register a traditional way of making sake using “koji,” a type of fungus, as an intangible cultural asset under a new system. The Council for Cultural Affairs, under the education and culture ministry, also recommended a traditional technique for the “shodo” art of Japanese….Read more
- October 15, 2021
- , Jiji Press , 7:59 p.m.
- English Press
Countries show creativity in showcasing their culture amid pandemic-hit Olympics
Countries participating in the Tokyo Olympics have been setting up “Olympic houses” in Tokyo since late July to promote their countries. Though the houses are smaller in scale than those of past Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries are getting creative and receiving visitors by taking thorough anti-infection measures and going online instead of opening physical houses. ….Read more
‘Golgo 13’ tops Guinness World Record for most manga
By Kuroda Keiko, staff writer Guinness World Records announced that “Golgo 13” set a new global benchmark for most volumes of a single manga series when its 201st volume was published July 5. The “gekiga” (dramatic pictures) comic series by Takao Saito surpassed Osamu Akimoto’s “Kochikame: Tokyo Beat Cops,” which earned the ranking in 2016. “Golgo 13”….Read more
- July 29, 2021
- , The Asahi Shimbun , 7:10 p.m.
- English Press
Japan vows to help Ainu culture to be shared widely
Shiraoi, Hokkaido, July 17 (Jiji Press)–Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato pledged Saturday that the Japanese government will ramp up efforts to help Ainu culture to be shared more widely. “We will work to provide better content and strengthen publicity activities so that people can experience the greatness of Ainu culture and empathize with the ideal of ethnic harmony,” Kato said….Read more
- July 17, 2021
- , Jiji Press , 12:45 p.m.
- English Press
Taiwan-born novelist Li Kotomi nabs Akutagawa Prize
By Yamazaki Satoshi, staff writer Li Kotomi from Taiwan was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize on July 14 for her Japanese-language novel “Higanbana ga Saku Shima” (The island where red spider lilies bloom). Li, 31, became the second novelist whose native language is not Japanese to receive the honor following Yang Yi, who won the literary prize in….Read more
- July 15, 2021
- , The Asahi Shimbun , 7:01 p.m.
- English Press
- Taiwan
