January 2008

Yokoso! Japan

Yokoso! Japan

Ever considered a holiday in Japan? There’s more to the archipelago than the Zen temples of the ancient capital and the shimmering towers of the new. The Japan Journal guides you around some of the islands’ perhaps lesser-known attractions, stopping off briefly at Kyoto and Tokyo along the way. Yokoso! Japan. Welcome to Japan!

21_21 Vision

Hot on the heels of ultramodern Roppongi Hills comes another state-of-the-art multi-purpose building complex, Tokyo Midtown. Ryu Arakawa shuns the shops, restaurants, galleries and gardens and makes a beeline for the design facility 21_21 Design Sight.

Invigorating Onsen

Yoshiharu Hoshino, president of Hoshino Resort, aims to make Japan one of the world’s great tourist destinations. The Japan Journal reports.

Industrial-strength Heritage

Industrial heritage sites in Japan are gaining precedence as resources for community development and tourism. Keiichi Shimizu explains how and why.

Pathways to Paradise

The beautiful, precipitous Kii-sanchi mountain range symbolizes Japan’s fundamental beliefs, which combine Nature and faith, and continues to draw pilgrims in their hundreds of thousands every year. In recognition of the cultural importance of the area, in 2004 UNESCO inscribed the many sacred sites and pilgrimage routes established at Kii-sanchi on the World Heritage List. The Japan Journal reports.

What’s New Year’s without the Hassle?

Kaori Shoji laments the demise of the traditional New Year’s feast.

A New Era in Japan-China Relations

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hopes to make 2008 the year in which Japan-China relations take a giant leap forwards. The Japan Journal reports.

Good Neighbors

Japan and China have a history of interaction that stretches back over 2,000 years. This lengthy period has seen many exchanges of people, goods and culture, but never before has there been so much direct contact between the ordinary people of the two countries as there is today. The Japan Journal spotlights some of those at the forefront of this new age of interaction between Japan and China.

Manga from the Floating World

Professor Janine Beichman reviews Adam L. Kern’s humongous new guide to the “little yellow comicbook”—the kibyoshi of Edo Japan.

Going Underground

What are the prospects for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) in Japan? Yasunobu Mizuno reports on this promising means for separating and capturing CO2 emitted from power plants and factories, highlighting ongoing and planned demonstration tests both in Japan and overseas.

Separated at Source

Yuiichi Fujioka looks at some of the specific developments being made in CO2 separation and collection technologies.

The Age of Hi-Service in Japan

The first twenty-one companies to be included in SPRING’s Hi-Service 300 initiative were named in November last year. Teruyasu Murakami explains the background to the scheme and introduces some of the service industry companies identified as using innovative new approaches to achieve substantial increases in productivity.