Highlighting JAPAN

through images

Using photographs, illustrations, and videos, this online magazine helps people throughout the world know more about Japan from a variety of aspects.

January 2010

East Asian Community
A New Commitment to Asia

all of the documents (6,261KB)

COVER STORY I
East Asian Community A New Commitment to Asia

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Japan is on the brink of an era of heightened cooperation in Asia. At his New Year press conference on January 4, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he would like to make 2010 a year for promoting the concept of an East Asian Community that gives priority to Asia while keeping the Japan-U.S. alliance as a cornerstone.

ON THE COVER: Under the "Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program," Japanese and ASEAN youths engage in cultural exchange events such as the performance of traditional folk dances during a voyage. The program has been conducted annually since 1974 by Japan and ASEAN. In 2009, they enjoyed living together during a cruise of some 40 days, paying visits to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.

COVER STORY II
Mutually Supportive Society

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One of the Hatoyama administration's policy goals calls for a "Japanese society whose members offer mutual support," as the prime minister put it in his first policy speech in the National Diet. It seeks to realize a society where each person can discover "a place he or she belongs" and "a role to play." This article introduces examples of such a society seen in various parts of Japan.

TOPICS / Prime Minister
BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM II

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Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama attended the Bali Democracy Forum II, an international conference held in Bali, Indonesia, on December 10, 2009.

TOPICS / Prime Minister
COP15 IN COPENHAGEN

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Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama attended and addressed an informal high-level event at the 15th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) on December 18.

TOPICS / Iron Man #28
GIGANTIC ROBOT RISES ABOVE FORMER QUAKE RUINS

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Recently a 15-meter Iron Man #28 statue arose above an area that was ravaged by the Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995. This Gigantor is truly iron as it is a monument erected in Kobe City, an area devastated by the quake, and has become a tourist destination in its own right.

TOPICS / Tori-no-Ichi
RAKING IN GOOD FORTUNE IN NEW YEAR

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The annual "Tori-no- Ichi" open-air market is held at various places across Japan in November. In 2009, the fair was held on November 12 and 24 at various Otori (eagle) shrines around Japan.

TOURISM / Yokoso! Japan
THE BEAUTIFUL SMILE OF AN AIRPORT CONCIERGE

PDF(333KB)

"Yokoso! Japan" Ambassador Yuka Tsujimura, general manager of the Tourist Information Center at Narita International Airport, knows the weighty responsibility of making a good first impression for the nation.

NATURE / Tateyama Peaks
FORBIDDING SACRED MOUNTAINS

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The Tateyama Peaks are located in the northern part of the Northern Japan Alps, a cluster of summits famed for its collection of peaks that pierce the sky at over 3,000 meters.

all of the documents (6,261KB)

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