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Highlighting JAPAN

Cover February 2013

February 2013

WINTER WONDERLAND


PRIME MINISTER'S DIARY
Diplomacy Starts with Southeast Asia  ( HTML : English / Japanese )
PDF(168KB)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first overseas trip since taking office in December 2012 took in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

 


COVER STORY
WINTER WONDERLAND  ( HTML : English / Japanese )
PDF(269KB)

This month's Cover Story introduces some of the distinct customs and cultures that have emerged in Japan in response to the often harsh winter climate. The feature begins with an interview with University of Tokyo Emeritus Professor Yoshio Tsukio, who advises on regional development in Hokkaido and Tohoku, where the winters are extremely cold and snowy.

 


Buildings for All Seasons  ( HTML : English / Japanese ) PDF(689KB)

Technologies for reducing energy consumption that utilize the cold and snow are finding a foothold in Japan. This story looks at the examples of the Okudaisen Bunanomori Water Plant in Tottori Prefecture, where a snow room stores up to 260 tons of snow to produce cold water, and at a new type of wholly insulated home that draws on geothermal power.

 


In the Depth of Winter…  ( HTML : English / Japanese ) PDF(746KB)

Villages within the mountains of the Tohoku, Joshinetsu and Chubu regions of Honshu (the largest of Japan's four main islands) are hit with heavy snow during the winter. How have the people living here adapted to the climate? We look at the examples of gassho-zukuri houses, basket weaving and fabric making, and at the tradition of fermenting food.

 


SERIES
STUDENTS' CORNER
Ways of Japan: Kamakura  ( HTML : English / Japanese )
PDF(239KB)

Learn all about this popular event and answer our quiz!


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Safe and Efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cells  ( HTML : English / Chinese / Japanese )
PDF(129KB)

A Kyoto-based company has achieved a groundbreaking compact for its solid fuel type hydrogen fuel cell for smartphones.


JAPANESE ABROAD
A Life in Love with the Fabrics of Laos  ( HTML : English / Chinese / Japanese )
PDF(232KB)

Yukiko Tani lives in Laos, Southeast Asia, where for more than ten years she has been making handmade fabrics with minority ethnic groups.


47 PREFECTURES: FROM A TO Y
Aomori/Chiba  ( HTML : English / Chinese / Japanese )
PDF(438KB)

Continuing this series introducing places or things of interest in each of Japan's forty-seven prefectures, Rob Gilhooly visits a lacquerware maker in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, and a Boshu uchiwa fan maker in Minamiboso, Chiba Prefecture.



all of the documents (3,577KB)