Highlighting JAPAN

THEME FOR November
Living In Tune with Nature: Japan’s Connection to Wood

Japan’s love and respect for wood are evident in everything from its forests to the homes people live in, the places they worship in and the instruments they play. The country and its people are striving mightily to preserve the living legacy they inherited?such as the magnificent cedars on the remote island of Yakushima?and the buildings and traditional arts and crafts fashioned from it.

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Protecting, Growing and Utilizing Japan’s Forests

An interview with Kouji Makimoto, director-general of the Forestry Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

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People and Nature Transform a Wasteland into a Special Forest

The sacred forest around Meiji Jingu Shrine went through a carefully controlled evolution over the course of a century

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Community Building in the Forest of the Golden Eagles

The AKAYA Project seeks to revive a vast forest ecosystem in Gunma Prefecture and provide shelter for endangered golden eagles

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Yakushima: Island of Thousand-Year-Old Cedars

On a mountainous island off Kyushu, wooden giants that grew up tough in harsh conditions now thrive in protected splendor

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A Life Dedicated to Wood and Community

Mitsuo Ogawa was disinherited for pursuing his love of building and rebuilding Japan’s wooden shrines and temples

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The Merits of Traditional Japanese Houses: A Perspective from the Engawa

Insights into how the front porch of traditional Japanese wooden homes influenced family and community life

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The Sounds of Tradition in the Art of Making Koto

A master koto maker muses about the look and resonance of his instruments　and the paulownia logs he fashions them from

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The Satisfying Union of Scandinavian Furniture and Japaneseness

Scandinavian furniture and culture have found a place in Japanese homes and hearts, and in turn derived design ideas from Japan

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PRIME MINISTER’S DIARY

PDF(290KB) | HTML English | Japanese

POLICY-RELATED NEWS

Special View: Autumn Leaves at the Imperial Palace’s Inui Street

PDF(2,198KB) | HTML English | Chinese | Japanese

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Sensitive Robotic Arms Hold a Better Future in Their Grasp

PDF(495KB) | HTML English | Chinese | Japanese

MY WAY
An American Cheering On Japan’s Globalization

PDF(1,117KB) | HTML English | Chinese | Japanese

FROM JAPAN TO THE WORLD
The Living Appeal of Bonsai Art

PDF(1,880KB) | HTML English | Chinese | Japanese

A TRIP BY LOCAL TRAIN
Riding the Rails Along Hozugawa Canyon

PDF(4,003KB) | HTML English | Chinese | Japanese