UK view of Japan

Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam

2012-01-24T01:13:00.000-08:00

24 January 2012 Last updated at 00:30

By Mike Lanchin BBC World Service

It's exactly 40 years since a Japanese soldier was found in the jungles of Guam, having survived there for nearly three decades after the end of WWII. He was given a hero's welcome on his return to Japan - but never quite felt at home in modern society.

For most of the 28 years that Shoichi Yokoi, a World War II Lance Corporal in the Japanese Army, was hiding in the jungles of Guam, he firmly believed his former comrades would one day return for him.

And even when he was eventually discovered by local hunters on the Pacific island, on 24 January 1972, the 57-year-old former soldier still clung to the notion that his life was in danger.

"He really panicked," says Omi Hatashin, Yokoi's nephew.

Startled by the sight of other humans after so many years on his own, Yokoi tried to grab one of the hunter's rifles, but weakened by years of poor diet, he was no match for the local men.

Shoichi's story

Born in 1915 and conscripted in 1941 to serve in Manchuria, before being sent to Guam in 1944
On his return to Japan he expressed embarrassment at having returned alive, rather than dying in the service of the emperor
Japan had changed utterly during his three-decade absence - some found his stoicism and loyalty inspiring, others found it absurd
He married in 1972, within months of his return and died in 1997, aged 82
He longed to meet Emperor Hirohito - in the end he was granted Emperor Akihito in 1991

"He feared they would take him as a prisoner of war - that would have been the greatest shame for a Japanese soldier and for his family back home," Hatashin says.

As they led him away through the jungle's tall foxtail grass, Yokoi cried for them to kill him there and then.

Using Yokoi's own memoirs, published in Japanese two years after his discovery, as well as the testimony of those who found him that day, Hatashin spent years piecing together his uncle's dramatic story.

His book, Private Yokoi's War and Life on Guam, 1944-1972, was published in English in 2009.

"I am very proud of him, he was a shy and quiet person, but with a great presence," he says.
Underground shelter

Yokoi's long ordeal began in July 1944 when US forces stormed Guam as part of their offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific.
Yokoi's eel trap Yokoi's eel trap was one of his prize possessions

The fighting was fierce, casualties were high on both sides, but once the Japanese command was disrupted, soldiers such as Yokoi and others in his platoon, were left to fend for themselves.

"From the outset they took enormous care not to be detected, erasing their footprints as they moved through the undergrowth," Hatashin said.

In the early years the Japanese soldiers, soon reduced to a few dozen in number, caught and killed local cattle to feed off.

The last holdouts

Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda led a guerrilla task- force on the Philippine island of Lubang for many years after the end of the war. He doggedly refused to lay down his arms until formally ordered to surrender. Repatriated March 1974.

Private Teruo Nakamura, a conscript from Taiwan, was found growing crops alone on the Indonesian island of Morotai in December 1974. He was repatriated to Taiwan where he died in 1979.

But fearing detection from US patrols and later from local hunters, they gradually withdrew deeper into the jungle.

There they ate poisonous toads, river eels and rats.

Yokoi made a trap from wild reeds for catching the eels. He also dug himself an underground shelter, supported with strong bamboos.

"He was an extremely resourceful man," Hatashin says.

Keeping himself busy also kept him from thinking too much about his predicament, or his family back home, he said.
Return to Guam

Yokoi's own memoirs of his time in hiding reveal his desperation not to give up hope, especially in the last eight years when he was totally alone - his last surviving two companions died in flooding in 1964.
Yokoi and his handmade loom Yokoi demonstrating the handmade loom he used in the jungle

Turning his thoughts to his ageing mother back home, he at one point writes: "It was pointless to cause my heart pain by dwelling on such things."

And of another occasion, when he was desperately sick in the jungle, he writes: "No! I cannot die here. I cannot expose my corpse to the enemy. I must go back to my hole to die. I have so far managed to survive but all is coming to nothing now."

Two weeks after his discovery in the jungle, Yokoi returned home to Japan to a hero's welcome.

He was besieged by the media, interviewed on radio and television, and was regularly invited to speak at universities and in schools across the country.

Hatashin, who was six when Yokoi married his aunt, said that the former soldier never really settled back into life in modern Japan.

He was unimpressed by the country's rapid post-war economic development and once commented on seeing a new 10,000 Yen bank note that the the currency had now become "valueless".

According to Hatashin, his uncle grew increasingly nostalgic about the past as he grew older, and before his death in 1997 he went back to Guam on several occasions with his wife.

Some of his prize possessions from those years in the jungle, including his eel traps, are still on show in a small museum on the island.

Big Tokyo earthquake likely 'within the next few years'

2012-01-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

23rd January 2012 from the BBC

A big earthquake is much more likely to hit the Japanese capital, Tokyo, in the next few years than the government has predicted, researchers say.

The team, from the University of Tokyo, said there was a 75% probability that a magnitude 7 quake would strike the region in the next four years.

The government says the chances of such an event are 70% in the next 30 years.

The warning comes less than a year after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's north-eastern coast.

The last time Tokyo was hit by a big earthquake was in 1923, when a 7.9 magnitude quake killed more than 100,000 people, many of them in fires.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute based their figures on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since the 11 March 2011 quake.

They say that compared with normal years, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of quakes in the Tokyo metropolitan area since the March disaster.
Continue reading the main story
Japan quake victim in 2011

What chance of a 'big one' in Tokyo?

They based their calculations on data from Japan's Meteorological Agency, They said their results show that seismic activity had increased in the area around the capital, which in turn leads to a higher probability of a major quake.

The researchers say that while it is "hard to predict" the casualty impact of a major quake on Tokyo, the government and individuals should be prepared for it.

Correspondents say that while the university calculations take account of greater seismic activity since March, government calculations may use different or less up-to-date data and different modelling techniques.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake last year aksi crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power station, causing meltdowns in some of its reactors.

Japan is located on a tectonic crossroads dubbed the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which is why its is commonly regarded as one of the world's most quake-prone countries, with Tokyo located in one of the most dangerous areas.
Tectonic plates (BBC)

Aum Shinrikyo cult fugitive surrenders to Japan police

2012-01-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

1 January 2012 Last updated at 11:48

A former member of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult has turned himself in to police after nearly 17 years on the run, one of three remaining fugitives.

Japanese police said Makoto Hirata gave himself up at a police station in Tokyo just before midnight on New Year's Eve.

He had been in hiding since the cult's sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, which killed 13 people.

He was immediately arrested on suspicion of conspiring to kidnap the brother of a follower of the cult.

The man he is accused of abducting died after being given an injection at Aum's main commune at the foot of Mount Fuji, officials said.

Only two other members of the cult are still being sought by police. They went on the run after the gas attack in Tokyo, which injured 6,000 people.

Nearly 200 Aum Shinrikyo members have been convicted of that attack and other crimes.

Thirteen are awaiting execution, after judges in November upheld the death sentence against the final member of the cult to be charged over the 1995 attack.

Reinvented

Aum Shinrikyo began as a spiritual group mixing Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, but developed into a paranoid doomsday cult obsessed with Armageddon.

Former cult leader Shoko Asahara, accused of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway Cult leader Shoko Asahara is among those on death row

Former yoga teacher Shoko Asahara started the group in the mid-1980s, and later claimed to have reached enlightenment after a trip to India.

By the time of the Tokyo attack, the group was reputed to have thousands of members, including rich and powerful members of Japanese society.

But Asahara became obsessed with the idea that World War III was about to break out, and began ordering attacks on people he regarded as enemies.

Some 189 Aum cultists have been put on trial over the various attacks carried out by the cult, and 13 sentenced to death, including Asahara. None of the sentences has been carried out.

Aum Shinrikyo reinvented itself as the Aleph group, which continues to operate as a spiritual group.

Japanese public chooses 'kizuna' as kanji of 2011

2011-12-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

24 December 2011 Last updated at 02:04

The chief priest of Kyoto's Kiyomizu temple displays his calligraphy of "kizuna", meaning "bond"

The Japanese word "kizuna", meaning bonds or connections between people, has been chosen as Japan's kanji of 2011.

The kanji, or Chinese pictorial script, for "kizuna" emerged top of a public poll for the character that best summed up the year.

For Japan, 2011 was dominated by the earthquake and tsunami in March.

The disasters led to unprecedented numbers of Japanese helping one another.

After the tsunami smashed into Japan's north-east coast on 11 March, killing thousands and engulfing entire communities, people's stoicism and their determination to pull together won international praise.

In April the then prime minister Naoto Kan thanked the world for its help in a letter entitled "Kizuna - the Bonds of Friendship".

And when Japan unexpectedly beat the United States to win the women's football World Cup, "kizuna" forged by the players' teamwork was cited with pride.

Half a million people took part in the annual poll for the kanji character, conducted by Japan's Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation.

About 60,000 people nominated "kizuna", but the runner-up was much less optimistic: "wazawai" means disaster.

For some Japanese, 2011 brought the opposite of "kizuna".

A firm that specialised in divorce ceremonies said in July that they had tripled since the tsunami as people reassessed their lives.

Japanese tsunami fund 'used for whaling programme'

2011-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

7 December 2011 Last updated at 04:47
Japan cut short its whaling season last year because of harassment by anti-whaling activists

Japan has used funds from its tsunami recovery budget to subsidise its controversial annual whaling programme, animal rights activists say.

Greenpeace says 2.3bn yen ($30m; £19m) is being used to fund extra security measures for the whaling fleet.

Japanese officials argued when they applied for extra funding that whaling helped coastal communities.

The whaling fleet reportedly headed for Antarctic waters this week, though Tokyo has not confirmed the reports.

There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year in what it says is a scientific research programme.

Critics say those claims are just a cover for a commercial operation, and accuse the Japanese of hunting the animals to the brink of extinction only for food.

Militant anti-whaling groups attack the fleet every year, and last year forced the Japanese to abandon its programme before it was completed.

Earlier this year, the Japanese Fisheries Agency applied to the government for extra funding for its programme from the emergency budget aimed at helping communities recover from the devastating tsunami and earthquake.

The agency argued that some of the towns and villages affected relied on whaling for their livelihoods.

Activists say the agency's funding request was approved and it has spent the money on extra security and covering its debts.

Junichi Sato, from Greenpeace Japan, told Australia's ABC that there was no link between the whaling programme and the tsunami recovery.

"It is simply used to cover the debts of the whaling programme, because the whaling programme itself has been suffering from big financial problems," he said.

The Australian and New Zealand governments have both criticised Japan's decision to continue whaling.

They are both considering sending vessels to monitor the whaling fleet.

Meanwhile, activists from the militant Sea Shepherd group have promised that they will carry on their campaign against the whaling fleet.

Luxury sports cars in costly Japan pile-up

2011-12-06T21:15:00.001-08:00

5 December 2011 Last updated at 08:18

Japanese police said some of the luxury vehicles were beyond repair.

A luxury sports car outing in Japan has ended in what may be one of the most expensive car crashes in history.

Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes, a Lamborghini and two other vehicles were involved in the pile-up in the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi.

No-one was seriously hurt, but the road was closed for six hours after the accident.

Media reports estimate the damaged cars are worth at least 300m yen ($3.85m; £2.46m) in total.

Police officers inspect damaged Ferrari cars on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan, 4 Dec 2011 The drivers were on an outing to the city of Hiroshima

The sports cars - driven in convoy by a group of automobile enthusiasts - were on their way to Hiroshima, reports Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

Police say they believe the accident, which took place on Sunday, happened when the driver of one of the Ferraris tried to change lanes and hit the crash barrier.

"A group of cars was doing 140-160km/h (85-100mph)," an unidentified eyewitness told Japanese broadcaster TBS.

"One of them spun and they all ended up in this great mess."

Ten people received minor injuries in the crash, police said.

They said some of the vehicles were beyond repair.

"I've never seen such a thing," highway patrol lieutenant Eiichiro Kamitani told AFP news agency. "Ferraris rarely travel in such large numbers."

Japan singletons hit record high

2011-11-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

28 November 2011 Last updated at 07:36

By Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo

More and more young Japanese people are shunning marriage and choosing to stay single

Record numbers of young Japanese do not have boyfriends or girlfriends, and many do not want one, according to a survey by the country's government.

Sixty-one percent of unmarried men aged 18 and 34 do not have a partner, nor do half of unmarried women the same age.

The numbers have increased since the previous survey in 2005.

Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world - and its population is on course to shrink dramatically by the middle of the century.

So every five years the government carries out a detailed survey of attitudes to sex and marriage.

The latest found that 61% of unmarried men aged 18 to 34 have no girlfriend, and half of women the same age have no boyfriend - a record high.

More than a quarter of the men and 23% of the women said they were not even looking.

Some cited a shortage of money, others a belief that it is impossible to find a good partner once they had passed the age of 25.

Many of the women also said single life suited them better than how they imagined marriage would be.

The survey also found that more than quarter of unmarried men and women between 35 and 39 years old said they had never had sex.

Japan's youth turn to rural areas seeking a slower life

2011-11-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

By Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo

Japan's farmers are mainly elderly - but some young people are joining their ranks

The bright lights of the big city have been a draw for decades, pulling people into Tokyo from the countryside.

But for some young Japanese, the city with its skyscrapers and neon lights is losing its appeal.

Like millions of others from her generation Megumi Sakaguchi cannot find a permanent job, just contracts.

Temporary workers now make up a third of the workforce - up from fewer than a fifth in the mid-1980s - and a greater proportion of them are young.

The certainty of the job-for-life tradition enjoyed by earlier generations has passed her by.

"I never know if I'm going to lose my job," she says. "Financially my anxiety levels are very high.

"In the morning during the rush hour when I'm getting off the train, the way people behave, they are almost inhuman," she adds.

So she has decided it is time for a change.

One weekend in October Megumi Sakaguchi joined a bus tour through the Japanese countryside.

Like her fellow passengers, who were also from the cities, she was getting a taste of what life would be like as a farmer - trying out working the land for a day.

Megumi Sakaguchi

"I know I will enjoy my life much more in touch with my community - here you even talk to strangers”

Excursions like this around apple orchards and greenhouses full of strawberry plants, talking to farmers in their fields, take place pretty much every week somewhere in rural Japan.

They are organised and paid for by local authorities which are desperate to repopulate the countryside.

After years of young people heading for the cities the average farmer in Japan is now 65.8 years old and that figure is rising steadily.

But now some are considering making the journey back.

"There are more people that want to be farmers now, and the numbers are increasing," says Naoko Maruyama, a local government official who uses a website to attract potential recruits.

"More people from the city want a rural life. Here in Nagano prefecture we want to help them. But at the same time it takes a lot to become a farmer."
'A slower life'

The prefecture and the local branch of Japan Agriculture, a nationwide farmers' co-operative, offer support for those who decide to go ahead after a weekend of visiting farms.

Lessons are available in the practicalities of agriculture, and help finding available land. Mentoring has also been successful.
Hitoshi Kajiya Hitoshi Kajiya left the city to become an apprentice for a farmer in Nagano prefecture

Giichi Tanaka, 86, found his apprentice several years ago.

Bent almost double from age, he still works in his greenhouses growing cucumbers, as he has done every day since he came back from World War II.

His own son left decades ago to become a policeman so he was worried about who would take over after he had gone.

Then Hitoshi Kajiya gave up his career as a systems engineer in Yokohama to join him on the farm.

"I was really fed up with my life in the city," says the younger man.

"I was too busy working every day. I wanted to change so I had a slower life. I wanted to become a farmer. The work is slower paced and it is really fulfilling."

"I was looking for a member of the younger generation to take over, someone I could teach to farm," says Mr Tanaka. "Even if my son wanted to, he would be too old. Mr Kajiya is very good. He is very enthusiastic."
Changed priorities?

Their farm is a stop on the tour being taken by Megumi Sakaguchi from Tokyo.

And talking to them, among their rows of cucumber plants, helps persuade her she is making the right decision.

An increasing number of young people in Japan are quitting the cities for the countryside

"When I was younger I went to Tokyo because I wanted a bright, vibrant life, but I like it better here - full of nature," she says.

"If you live in the city you don't know who lives next door. But in the countryside you greet your neighbours. I've realised I like people," she adds.

"I know I will enjoy my life much more in touch with my community. Here you even talk to strangers. The kids say hi. I think I will enjoy the country life."

Japan remains a supremely urban country and the numbers now returning to the countryside are tiny compared to those who went the other way.

Kanto, the region grouping Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama in one unbroken sprawl, is the most populous conglomeration the world has ever seen with a bigger economy than India.

But in the nation which led Asia in its rush from the countryside to the cities a few young people are rediscovering the value of what was left behind.

Kimono culture - a dying art?

2011-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

Beautifully patterned kimonos may be enduring cultural symbols of Japan, but the industry that produces the garments is in steep decline - and it is feared that soon there could be no craftsmen left with the skills to make them.

In "Mastering the Art of the Kimono" - for BBC Radio 4 - the BBC's Japan correspondent Roland Buerk investigates the crisis facing the industry, and meets some of the people who make, sell and wear the colourful gowns.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15739403

The kimono may be one of Japan's most enduring cultural symbols, but the kimono industry is now in steep decline, and soon there could be no craftsmen left with the skills to make them.

Younger Japanese prefer Western clothes to eye-wateringly expensive and impractical traditional kimonos. As kimonos have gone out of fashion, the number of companies making them has also plummeted.

There can be a thousand processes or more involved in making one kimono, each carried out specialist craftsmen. It takes years to master a single technique, but most craftsmen today are over 80 and within the next 10 years, many will pass away. Can the kimono survive?

The BBC's Japan Correspondent Roland Buerk reports on the crisis in the industry, and the efforts being made to ensure ancient skills are not lost.

Producer: Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production for BBC Radio 4.

The Watabun company, Kyoto weaves obi belts

Kihachi Tabata's family scrapbooks

Kihachi Tabata's family scrapbooks of kimono samples date back five generations.
Photo credit: Pam Skinner.

Kihachi Tabata's hand painted kimono fabrics

Kihachi Tabata's hand painted kimono fabrics are some of the finest in Kyoto.
Photo Credit: Pam Skinner.

Kimonos and obis must be worn in the right season

Maiko - trainee geishas

Maiko - trainee geishas - are professional kimono wearers and works of art.

Photo Credit: Ruth Evans

Have Japanese brands lost their way?

2011-11-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

Have Japanese brands lost their way?

By Dan Simmons
BBC Click

Japan has dominated the world of technology for years, but have attempts by Apple, Microsoft and others dented the image - and profits - of its home-grown brands?

Everybody gets excited about technology but in Japan, they take it to another level.

Entire districts of Tokyo are devoted to robots, computers, gadgets and huge electronics shops.

But over recent years, the former dominance of Japanese brands in their own country has been challenged like never before by the new behemoths of South Korea, China and the US.

The Japanese have been married to technology for decades and their brand loyalty is well documented.

But whereas once these brands were nearly always Japanese, the lucrative market of the Far East has been the target of a number of other firms.

And this has had an effect on profits.

SOME OF JAPAN'S GIANTS

Nintendo started as a playing card manufacturer in 1889 but, starting in 1983, launched a series of consoles from the NES right through to the more modern Wii

Electronics firm Panasonic has over $90bn in total assets and is amongst the top 100 largest companies in the world

On revenues, Sony is the world's fifth largest media conglomerate. The name derives from sonus, the Latin word for sound

Canon - or Kwanon as it was then known - developed Japan's first 35 mm focal plane-shutter camera

Hitachi is one of the most diverse Japanese companies, with 11 different business segments

Fujitsu is the third largest IT services provider in the world, offering computers , cloud computing and other services

The electronics manufacturer Toshiba was formed by a merger in 1939, though it was not until 1978 that it was officially renamed Toshiba Corporation

Although Canon is growing - attributing much of this growth to emerging markets like China and India - others are not faring so well.

Panasonic recently predicted an annual net loss of 420bn Yen ($5.5bn, £3.5bn).

Hitachi too has recently reported a 48% fall in quarterly profit - though remains in the black - and others have struggled just as much.

Sony - one of the big Japanese brands - is expecting losses of more than $1 billion in the current fiscal year.

While some of the problems can be credited to global economic problems, and the earthquake and tsunami earlier in the year, some say that this could be a problem of Japan's own making.

"Sony's Walkman used to be one of the most valuable brands in the world," says self-confessed otaku - the Japanese word for geek - Steve Nagata, a consultant to firms who want to move to Japan.

"They just failed to keep up. When the iPod came out, they pushed the MiniDisc and they stayed with it probably far longer than they should have.

"They weren't keeping up with new digital technology. They are there now but they have lost so much ground."

That "mistake", Nagata says, is just one of several that Japanese firms have been making for years - born out of complacency with its once dominant position in the market.

Although Sony's CEO Howard Stringer believes that Sony would have been able to report a profit this year if it had not been for the tsunami.

Globalisation

Japanese electronic makers are trapped, looking out wishing they had pieces of a now larger and more lucrative global market
Steve Nagata, business consultant

Japan was one of the first countries to embrace 3G phone technology and flip phones but has since stood comparatively still.

Japanese smartphone usage is at around 6% of the population, compared to US and UK figures of around 30%, according to research from Google and the Mobile Marketing Association.

And Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean firms have been slowly taking over, lowering prices and working hard and aggressively at increasing market share.

This becomes even more difficult for Japan because the strength of the Yen makes everything more expensive to produce and export.

While government assistance has ensured Japanese firms have a market at home, as the technology sector has increasingly globalised, some see this now as more of a curse than a blessing.

Sony Walkman WM-BF65 portable audio cassette player
Sony's portable music business has struggled since the iPod's arrival

"When Japan was such a centre point for technology, they took a lot of measures to protect this incredibly lucrative Japanese market," says Mr Nagata.

"But protection, in some ways, ended up cutting them off from the global market.

"They weren't really paying attention to the fast growth and demands elsewhere and now lots of Japanese electronic makers are trapped, looking out wishing they had pieces of a now larger and more lucrative global market."

Loyalty culture

Innovations from Apple and, in the gaming space at least, Microsoft mean that the US now has a foothold in the Far East.

And, just as it is difficult to change Japanese consumers' minds because of their loyalty, once they have stopped buying a particular brand, it is very difficult to get them back.

Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi are fighting back with a merger of their small LCD businesses. In a public-private partnership, the creation of the world's largest producer of touchscreen displays is hoped to make Japanese companies more competitive.

But bespoke hardware and expensive single-purpose gadgets - a market nearly unique to Japan - is no longer the cash cow it once was.

And it is easy to see how. As technology moves towards being increasingly mobile and increasingly affordable, the once unique developments now risk being undercut by a wave of cheap, user-friendly apps.

For example, why would someone buy a bespoke device for $100 (£63) if an app with the same functionality costs $3 (£1.90)?

The inexorable march of globalisation seems to have hit Japan hard, casting doubts over what Japan's own tech giants can do to stem the current troubles.

But, as Mr Stinger told the Wall Street Journal, "you have bad years, the trick is to weather them, learn from them, act graciously through them, and learn why and when you have to change."

The fact remains that the Japanese are still passionate about technology.

Japanese manufacturers just need to make sure they stay passionate about their brands as well.

Additional reporting by Alex Hudson

Tokyo 1995 sarin attack: Aum Shinrikyo cult trials end

2011-11-21T22:46:00.001-08:00

21 November 2011 Last updated at 09:48

Japanese judges have upheld the death sentence against the final member of a doomsday cult to be charged over the 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's metro.

The ruling brings to an end 16 years of prosecutions, and leaves 13 members of Aum Shinrikyo facing execution.

Some 13 people were killed when the group released sarin gas in the metro.

Aum Shinrikyo began as a spiritual group mixing Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, but developed into a paranoid doomsday cult obsessed with Armageddon.

On Monday, judges in Tokyo rejected the final appeal of Seiichi Endo against his death sentence.

He had studied viruses and genetic engineering at university and helped make the sarin gas.

His lawyers had argued that he did not know what the gas was to be used for, and that he was under the mind control of group leader Shoko Asahara and could not refuse him.

He was convicted of murder in the Tokyo attack, and also for his involvement in another sarin attack in the central city of Matsumoto in 1994.

"We heard no words of remorse, no words of apology. This shows what Aum really is," said Shizue Takahashi, whose subway worker husband died in the Tokyo attack.
Reinvented

Former yoga teacher Shoko Asahara started the group in the mid-1980s, and later claimed to have reached enlightenment after a trip to India.

By the time of the Tokyo attack, the group was reputed to have thousands of members, including rich and powerful members of Japanese society.

But Asahara became obsessed with the idea that World War III was about to break out, and began ordering attacks on people he regarded as enemies.

Some 189 Aum cultists have been put on trial over the various attacks carried out by the cult, and 13 sentenced to death, including Asahara. None of the sentences have been carried out.

Three members are still thought to be on the run.

Aum Shinrikyo reinvented itself as the Aleph group, which continues to operate as a spiritual group.

Aleph said in a statement that it was disappointed Endo had not spoken during his trial to give the victims' families a chance to understand what had happened.

The group has asked for a stay of execution for all the Aum cultists.

In pictures: Japan tsunami recovery from the air

2011-11-20T22:46:00.001-08:00

This link is to a picture slideshow

Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant opened to reporters

2011-11-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

12 November 2011 Last updated at 11:28

eporters have been allowed inside the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan for the first time since it was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March.

The journalists toured the plant wearing full protective clothing.

A reporter from the Associated Press described seeing "twisted and overturned trucks, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck".

Three reactors melted down after the tsunami wrecked their cooling systems.

The authorities have previously rejected requests by journalists to visit the plant, on the grounds that radiation levels were too high and it could hamper operations to tackle the crisis.

This tour was designed to show that the situation at the plant is gradually becoming more stable.

The reporters arrived at Fukushima on Friday and were shown a nearby football-training complex which is now being used as a base for the clean-up operation.
Continue reading the main story

On Saturday they were shown around the Fukushima site itself and were able to take the first pictures inside the damaged plant.

The media tour was accompanied by the head of the Fukushima plant, Masao Yoshida, who described the dire conditions there following the tsunami.

"In the first week immediately after the accident I thought a few times, I'm going to die," he said.

However, he suggested that the situation there was now much better.

"I believe the plant is stabilised to the level that residents in surrounding communities can live without fear."

"But it's still very tough conditions for the recovery workers inside the complex," he added.

The government minister in charge of the clean-up operation, Goshi Hosono, was also there and made a speech to workers at the plant praising them for the progress being made.

"Every time I come back, I feel conditions have improved. This is due to your hard work," he said.
'Cold shutdown'

Large quantities of radioactive material leaked into the surrounding area following the disaster and much of the countryside around the plant is sealed-off.

The authorities are hoping to complete a "cold shutdown" of the damaged reactors by the end of the year. But it could take decades to completely decommission the plant.

Of the six reactors at Fukushima, four were badly damaged by the tsunami.

The nuclear fuel rods in reactors one, two and three melted down due to a failure of the cooling systems, causing damage to their containment structures.

There were also explosions caused by a build-up of hydrogen gas.

Completing the process of stabilising these reactors remains the main task at the plant, but the authorities have also been trying to tackle the accumulation of highly contaminated waste water in the reactor buildings.

Olympus shares fall after it admits hiding losses

2011-11-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

Shares in Olympus fell as much as 30% on Tuesday after the company admitted to hiding losses on securities investments for decades.

The company said it had used funds related to past acquisitions to cover these losses.

This is the biggest disclosure Olympus has made since former chief executive, Michael Woodford, claimed that he was fired for raising questions about them.

Olympus executive VP, Hisashi Mori, has been dismissed as a result.

Olympus president, Shuichi Takayama, is blaming former president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former vice president Hisashi Mori and the company's auditor Hideo Yamada for the transactions.

"I was absolutely unaware of the facts I am now explaining to you," Mr Takayama said. "The previous presentations were mistaken."

He added that the company would consider criminal charges if necessary.
Untenable position?

The controversy surrounds the payments made by Olympus to financial advisors as part of its acquisition of companies including British firm Gyrus.

The payments came to light when Mr Woodford claimed that he had been forced out of the company for raising questions about these and other accounting practices last month.

For its part, Olympus maintained that it had done nothing wrong and launched a third-party investigation into the matter.

"Through this process (of the third-party investigation), we found that from the 1990s the posting of losses on securities investments had been deferred," the company said in a statement.

The company also admitted that it had channelled money related to the acquisitions through various funds and other measures to defer posting losses.

After the company released the statement, Mr Woodford was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that "the position of the board and non execs is untenable now".

Keiji Isaji, an attorney with K&L Gates law firm in Tokyo added "the members of the board appear to have breached their fiduciary duty owed to the company and to the shareholders".
'Very serious'

Olympus has seen its market value plummet by more than half since the scandal broke in October.

Analysts said the latest disclosure has raised questions about the very future of the company.

"This is very serious. Olympus admitted it has made false entries to cover its losses for 20 years. All people involved in this over 20 years would be responsible," said Ryosuke Okazaki of ITC Investment Partners.

"There is a serious danger that Olympus shares will be delisted. The future of the company is extremely dark," he warned.

Yukari Hozumi of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where the company's shares are listed, told the BBC that it needed more information, such as the size of the deferred losses, before making any decision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15632320

Japan MP Yasuhiro Sonoda drinks Fukushima water

2011-11-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15533018

A Japanese official has drunk water collected from the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, after reporters challenged him to prove it was safe.

Yasuhiro Sonoda appeared nervous and his hands shook as he downed a glass during a televised news conference.

The water he drank was taken from puddles under two reactor buildings. It is decontaminated before being used for tasks such as watering plants.

Journalists have repeatedly queried the safety of the procedure.

Mr Sonoda, who serves as the cabinet office's parliamentary spokesman, told the news conference: "Just drinking [decontaminated water] doesn't mean safety has been confirmed. Presenting data to the public is the best way."
Tsunami damage

In another sign of the government's growing confidence over the plant's safety, officials said they would allow journalists on to the site on 12 November.

It will be the first time journalists have toured the area since the 11 March earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant, causing partial meltdowns in three of its reactors.

A 20km exclusion zone is still in force around the plant, and tens of thousands of people have had to abandon their homes.

The government has a target of the end of the year to bring the plant to a cold shutdown, when the reactors are stable and the water inside them is no longer boiling.

However, a preliminary report by a panel of nuclear experts says fully decommissioning the power station could take 30 years.

Away from Fukushima, the tsunami caused widespread devastation, swamping entire villages, killing thousands of people and leaving many more homeless.

The government struggled to deal with the magnitude of the disaster, and one prime minister has already stepped down largely because of his handling of the crisis.

May Shigenobu: Daughter of the Japanese Red Army

2011-10-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

May Shigenobu is a journalist in Japan

27 October 2011 Last updated at 00:10

As the daughter of the Japanese Red Army's founder and a Palestinian freedom fighter, May Shigenobu grew up on the run.

She kept her identity secret and spent long periods without her mother throughout her childhood, but it was a happy one.

She now lives in Japan where she works as a journalist for a broadcaster in the Middle East.

"At first, when I was very young we would move house every month or so, especially when I was living with members of the Japanese Red Army.

Their Asian features stood out in Middle Eastern society and someone could leak information, intentionally or unintentionally, about us being in the neighbourhood.

I did see my mother, but not as much as a normal family. I was with her for about a total of four or five years, but it was all quality time so it was ok.

I had a brother and a sister, though we weren't related by blood - they were children of my mother's comrades - we felt like family.
Continue reading the main story
Who were the Japanese Red Army?
Blood on the floor in the aftermath of the Lod airport massacre

30 May 1972: A machine gun and grenade attack at Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel was attributed to a group called the Japanese Red Army
The attack was coordinated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine with Japanese volunteers
26 people were killed and 80 injured in crossfire with Israeli security - victims included a group of Puerto Rican pilgrims, a Canadian and eight Israelis
1974: The Japanese Red Army was subsequently founded by Fusako Shigenobu in Lebanon
13 September 1974: The French Embassy in The Hague was stormed and the ambassador taken hostage - he was freed in exchange for the release of a jailed Red Army member

Whenever my mother was around she was very keen on teaching us Japanese. And there was time to do fun things like writing and acting in plays, composing music for it or going on small picnics and trips within the country.
No friends

I asked her once who my father was, when I was quite young. She promised that she would tell me when I was 16 years old and she kept her promise.

He was a Palestinian fighter like my mother - I actually knew him and had suspicions that he was my father because of the special love and attention he would show. It wasn't really difficult to guess.

He has passed away now and I'm not sure he was aware that I knew about him.

I used to use several names per year when I was very young, depending on security and how many times I had to change schools and neighbourhoods.

The difficult thing was that people in the Middle East are very friendly, but they also tend to ask a lot of personal questions, about your family and your history, so every time I had to change my identity I had to think hard about all the details of that identity.

I didn't have long-lasting friendships because I couldn't stay in one place for long, and I couldn't stay in touch with people once I left. I always had to disappear suddenly and remove any trace of myself.
Danger

We spent time living in refugee camps but just for a short periods; while I was doing volunteer work in clinics or while we were looking for a new place to live.

I sometimes lived in Palestinian refugee camps to be more in contact with the reality of what my mother and her group were fighting for.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

At any time I could have been kidnapped or even killed with my mother”

May Shigenobu

I did ask her once, rhetorically, why we had to live in that kind of situation, where we were always unstable and always worried about not making security mistakes.

She tried to explain as best she could how it was important for all of us to protect each other. She seemed very sorry and sad that I had to live this way.

Seeing her feel sad for me made me realise I should have never asked that question.

At any time I could have been kidnapped or even killed with my mother. There were Palestinian leaders who were assassinated with their children, so it was always a possibility.

Still, I have always thought that she was a good mother. I'm not sure that I could be as enduring and calm, and as reasonable and realistic under all the stress that she was carrying.

She was responsible, not just for me, but also for the other children in the Japanese Red Army and the whole group. I'm sure that was a difficult thing for anybody to be able to handle.
Fusako Shigenobu and Kozo Okamoto Fusako Shigenobu set up the Japanese Red Army to support Palestinian freedom fighters

As an adult it became even harder to have close friends when I was attending university in Lebanon. I felt more strongly towards my friends and had a stronger urge to create an honest bond with them, but at the same time I had the obligation of never revealing who I was - because this would put others in danger.

In 2000, I found that my mother had been arrested in Japan, it was a shock. Even though I was prepared to hear this someday, I really didn't expect it to happen. I was shocked but I was also relieved that she had not been assassinated.
Last hug

My mother's arrest was the reason I came to Japan for the first time. I had mixed feelings; even though I had never been there it felt a little nostalgic. I had seen a Japanese society at work in a miniscule way inside the house when I was growing up, coming to Japan brought me back those memories.

After she was arrested I revealed my true identity officially and openly, I went back to my friends in Lebanon and explained my past to them. All of them were understanding and my university friends are still very close friends now.

On 8 March 2006, my mother was jailed for 20 years. I used to visit her every week but now that she has received her final sentence and finished all court procedures, she can only have two 15-minute visits a month - one from me and one from other relatives and friends.

It was her birthday on 28 September and the guard gave us about 20 minutes. We always talk in a rush because we have plenty of things to tell and ask each other.

She comes prepared with written notes in order not to forget what to ask and tell. I also write things down too, if there is something I want to tell her about and don't want to forget.

Since she was arrested I haven't been able to have physical contact with her, except once.

She had an operation for intestinal cancer a year and a half ago. When I went to visit her after the operation she was still immobile in her hospital bed.

I was allowed to see her in her room, so I had the chance to hug her for the first time in more than ten years. That was the only time I could hug her in a very long time.

I'm not sure I could be as strong, as patient, and as steadfast as she was. But I try to be, she is a role model for me."

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Ship from failed Mongol invasion found off Japan

2011-10-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

25 October 2011 Last updated at 16:19

Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler, who subdued China but failed in two attempts to conquer Japan

The wreck of a ship thought to have taken part in a failed Mongol invasion of Japan has been found off the Japanese coast.

A team of researchers uncovered a 12-metre (36ft) section of keel buried in deep sand off Nagasaki prefecture.

They said it was the first time such a large piece of hull had been recovered from the Mongol invasion fleets.

The 13th Century attacks on Japan were a rare setback for the Mongols at the height of their powers.

Experts expressed surprise that the wreck was so well preserved after so many centuries on the seabed.

The researchers from the Okinawa-based University of the Ryukyus used ultrasonic equipment to detect the remains of the ship.

The wood on the hull was painted whitish grey and held together by nails. Bricks, weapons and other instruments were found on board.

The discovery is expected to shed light on the shipbuilding skills of the time and give clues about the nature of the Mongol defeat.
'Divine wind'

The Japanese have always attributed their victory to storms that wrecked the Mongol fleets during both attempted invasions in 1274 and 1281.

They concluded that Japan was protected from invasion by a divine wind, or Kamikaze, which was invoked in the Second World War to inspire pilots to launch suicide attacks on allied ships.

As Central Asian nomads, the Mongols had little experience of the sea and used subjugated Chinese and Koreans to build their fleets.

The structure of the ship is said to resemble Chinese ships of the era.

The Mongols that did manage to land are reputed to have had some success against the Japanese, who struggled to match their skilled use of mounted archers.

But on both occasions, the Mongols and the Chinese and Korean troops under their command, headed back out to sea to try to ride out approaching typhoons - and that proved to be their downfall.

Japan's finance minister prepared to take action on yen

2011-10-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

24 October 2011 Last updated at 04:22

Japan's finance minister prepared to take action on yen

Japanese exports have been hit by the strength of the yen

Japan is prepared to take action in the foreign exchange market to stem the rising yen currency, according to its finance minister.

The remarks by Jun Azumi succeeded in weakening the value of the yen against the US dollar in Monday trading.

The yen hit a record high against the dollar in New York on Friday.

Mr Azumi's comments came as Japan reported export growth of 2.4 percent in September compared to a year ago, according to the Ministry of Finance.

That follows a month of growth in overseas shipments during August.
Record high

Japan's exports, hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March, have been dented by the strength of the yen.

A strong yen makes Japanese products more expensive in overseas markets compared to Asian rivals such as China and South Korea.

Last week, the yen touched 75.78 against the US dollar, alarming Japan's companies and government officials.

"This is an utterly speculative move and not reflecting the economic fundamentals at all. This is regrettable," Mr Azumi said.

"If this move becomes excessive, we have to take decisive action. I already instructed my staff on Saturday to be prepared to take action."

His comments will be seen as a warning to currency speculators whose actions could be contributing towards the yen's rise.

Now, investors are waiting to see if the government will directly intervene in the currency markets again.

The last time officials intervened was in August, when they spent a record amount of money trying to weaken the yen.

Japan approves $157bn quake budget for reconstruction

2011-10-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15398197

21 October 2011 Last updated at 06:02

Japan approves $157bn quake budget for reconstruction
Devastation in Miyagi prefecture in Japan The earthquake and tsunami caused widespread damage to Japan's infrastructure

Japan's government has approved a 12.1tn yen ($157bn; £100bn) budget for the reconstruction of areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.

The extra budget is the latest effort by authorities to stimulate growth in the Japanese economy, which is currently in recession.

A part of the budget will also be used towards measures to help businesses counter the rising yen.

The budget will be presented to parliament next week.

This is the third extra budget introduced by the government this year after taking the size of the overall budget to a record 106.4tn yen.
Delayed implementation

The proposal is the second-biggest extra budget ever approved by the Japanese government.

It comes after a 4tn yen supplementary budget in May and a 2tn yen special budget in July.

However, analysts said that although the government had been quick in sanctioning extra money, its impact had yet to be noticed.

"So far, we haven't seen any strong evidence of increase in public works projects," Takuji Okubo of Societe Generale told the BBC.

Mr Okubo added that the delay in implementation of plans was due to a lack of political will.

"Former prime minister Naoto Kan lingered on in his position and wasted precious time just pondering what to do with the money," he said.
Yen trouble

The government said it will use almost 2tn yen from the extra budget to implement measures to keep the yen's price in check.

The move comes amid concerns over the long-term future of the manufacturing sector in the country as the Japanese currency continues to strengthen, despite recent efforts by the authorities to stem its rise.

Global economic uncertainty has seen investors flock to the yen, traditionally seen as a safe asset, sending the currency to record highs against the US dollar.

It was trading close to 76.78 yen against a US dollar in Asia trade on Friday.

A strong currency hurts Japanese exporters by not only making their goods more expensive but also denting their profits.

According to a recent survey by the government, 46% of big Japanese manufacturers said they would consider shifting their production oversees if the yen remained as high as current level for six months.

Any such moves by the big exporters could have a big impact on the country's economic growth.

Haruki Murakami: How a Japanese writer conquered the world

2011-10-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/magazine-15316678

At midnight in London, and the same time next week in America, bookshops will open their doors to sell Haruki Murakami's latest novel to eager fans. This is not Harry Potter, it's a 1,600-page translation from Japanese. So why the excitement?

When Haruki Murakami's new book, 1Q84, was released in Japanese two years ago, most of the print-run sold out in just one day - the country's largest bookshop, Kinokuniya, sold more than one per minute. A million copies went in the first month.

In France, publishers printed 70,000 copies in August but had to reprint within a week. The book is already on the top 20 list of online booksellers Amazon.com - hence the plans for midnight openings in the UK and across the US from New York to Seattle.

"The last time we did this was for Harry Potter," says Miriam Robinson of Foyles, just one of the bookshops in London opening at midnight for the launch. "It's hard to find a book that merits that kind of an event."

This is the kind of hype that usually surrounds serialised teen literature, says Paul Bogaards of Knopf, the book's US publishers. It is entirely unprecedented in the case of a work translated into English.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

He was the first Japanese author who broke through these Orientalist expectations - readers stopped perceiving him as a Japanese author”

Anna Zielinska-Elliott Boston University

The novel has been worked on by two English translators to speed up publication. At 1,600 pages, the book- which will come out in two parts in the UK - is not to be taken lightly.

The book is set in an alternate 1984 - the title plays on the Japanese pronunciation of Q, which is the same as of the number nine. Its two main characters, a male novelist and a female serial killer, exist in parallel universes but are searching for each other as the novel winds its way between their worlds.

Classic Murakami themes are here in the new novel - love and loneliness, alternative and surreal worlds, enigmatic characters and people who seem impassive but are stirred by deep emotions. Not for the first time, questions are raised about free will and cult religion.

"There really isn't anyone like him right now, he is completely different," says Dan Pryce, a member of the sales staff at Waterstone's bookshop in central London, who has been reading the new book in spare moments, in the shop's basement.

"I like the way he never really explains what is happening, he just presents storylines and just lets them flow. Also, there is no real resolution at the end of the book, which leaves you wanting more.

"He does inspire devotion. He goes on and on about his routine and how it bores him to death but he still does it. He is an utter enigma, he is really strange. I think that's what people like about him."
Nostalgia

To date Murakami's work has been translated into 42 languages and appeared on best-selling lists across the world, from South Korea to Australia, Italy, Germany and China.
Continue reading the main story
IQ84, opening words

"The taxi's radio was tuned to a classical FM broadcast. Janacek's Sinfonietta - probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic. The middle-aged driver didn't seem to be listening very closely, either. With his mouth clamped shut, he stared straight ahead at the endless line of cars stretching out on the elevated expressway, like a veteran fisherman standing in the bow of his boat, reading the ominous confluence of two currents. Aomame settled into the broad back seat, closed her eyes, and listened to the music."

But Japanese fiction isn't traditionally popular in the West, according to one of the novel's English translators, Harvard professor Jay Rubin. The post-war novelist Yukio Mishima achieved wide acclaim, but nothing on this scale.

Murakami hit the literary mainstream in Japan in 1987 with his fifth book, Norwegian Wood. Named after a Beatles song, it was a nostalgic love story about a group of young people living in a sanatorium in the hills outside Kyoto.

It became a cult classic among young Japanese, selling more than four million copies in Japan alone.

"Norwegian Wood was sort of an experiment for him in writing a novel that was completely realistic," says Philip Gabriel of Arizona University, the other translator who worked on IQ84. It was a commercially-minded novel which avoided the surreal oddities that characterise his earlier and later work.
Waterstone's bookshop, central London Waterstone's bookshop on Piccadilly prepares to welcome buyers of the new novel

The early novels were not well-received by Japanese critics. "He wrote in a style that the literary establishment found startling and puzzling," says Gabriel.

His scorn for Japanese literary tradition, his conversational writing style, and constant references to Western culture were seen as an assault on Japanese literary conventions. Writers such as Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe, initially branded him as a lightweight pop talent.

But as Philip Gabriel puts it: "His early works capture the spirit of his generation - the lack of focus and ennui of the post-Student Movement age."
Continue reading the main story
Murakami on Murakami

Some people think literature is high culture and that it should only have a small readership. I don't think so... I have to compete with popular culture, including TV, magazines, movies and video games. - Time Magazine, 2002
For me, writing a novel is like having a dream. Writing a novel lets me intentionally dream while I'm still awake. I can continue yesterday's dream today, something you can't normally do in everyday life.
Whenever I write a novel, music just sort of naturally slips in (much like cats do, I suppose).
I get up early in the morning, 4 o'clock, and I sit at my desk and what I do is just dream. After three or four hours, that's enough. In the afternoon, I run. - San Francisco Chronicle, 2008
My writing style rarely depends on the character of the Japanese language. So, I think what is lost in the process of translation is relatively little - Japan Times, 2008

Though Murakami's books are set in Japan, his subjects of loneliness, boredom and loss, have significance for readers anywhere.

"You don't go to Murakami for views of society but of the human brain," says Jay Rubin.

Anna Zielinska-Elliott, Murakami's Polish translator, who teaches Japanese literature at Boston University, says Polish readers of Norwegian Wood started out looking for "some sort of Japanese myth" but quickly began to appreciate him in a different way.

"If you look at the titles of reviews of his work in the early years, some have some mentions of cherry blossoms and other Japanese stereotypes and gradually over time they disappear.

"He was the first Japanese author who broke through these Orientalist expectations that the readers have. They stopped perceiving him as a Japanese author."

Murakami had a hard time getting Norwegian Wood translated into English, the full translation appearing only in 2000. But his books have now sold 2.5 million copies in the US alone.
Virtual recluse

In Japan, Murakami was adamant not to release any of the details of IQ84 before it launched, only the title and release date. But fans have been posting their own English translations on the internet for a while, prompting the publishers to release the first chapter on the Murakami Facebook page.
Continue reading the main story
Murakami at a glance

Born 12 January 1949 in Kyoto, Japan
Studied drama at Waseda University, Tokyo
First job at a record shop inspired the main character of Norwegian Wood
Ran Peter Cat jazz bar in Tokyo from 1974-1981
Wrote his first novel in 1979, at 29
1982 - first critical success, A Wild Sheep Chase
1987 - Norwegian Wood published
First non-fiction published in 1997, Underground, a series of interviews with victims of a 1995 poison gas attack on Tokyo's subway
Kafka on the Shore published in 2002, English version 2005
2008 - autobiographical account of his hobby What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
2011 - film version of Norwegian Wood released

According to Knopf, pre-sales of hard copies in the US overwhelmingly outnumber digital pre-sales by 70% to 30%. The inverse is typical for most books, showing how keen Murakami's readers are to hold the physical volume in their hand.

Murakami's status as a virtual recluse has no doubt helped to build his cult following. His opinion on public affairs is constantly sought by the media, yet he gives few interviews.

In June, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, he spoke out against nuclear power, and his words were reported widely in the Japanese media.

His main channel for communicating his opinion on the state of the world, remains his books.

His last long-form novel, Kafka on the Shore, was released six years ago with a print run of 30,000 books in the US. 1Q84's first print run is three times that, at 95,000.

Philip Gabriel sees him as the quintessential modern writer, one who speaks to a truly globalised world.

"Some novels are too tied in with the shared culture of a nation to be easily appreciated in translation. Murakami's are mostly the opposite."

Japanese political power broker Ozawa goes on trial

2011-10-05T21:10:00.001-07:00

Ichiro Ozawa, one of Japan's most influential politicians, has gone on trial on charges of breaking political fundraising laws.

The 69-year-old former leader of the governing Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is accused of overseeing false accounting by his staff.

Three of his former aides were convicted last week over the scandal, which relates to a 2004 land deal.

Mr Ozawa denies any wrongdoing, saying the charges are politically motivated.

The scandal has deeply divided the DPJ, which has been losing public support.

'Shadow shogun'

Mr Ozawa went on trial in the Tokyo district court on Thursday.

He was indicted on 31 January for alleged false reporting by his fund management company over the land deal in Tokyo.

He says that he is being unfairly targeted by vested interests opposed to his party's pledge to break the stranglehold of bureaucrats on decision-making and bring politics closer to the people.

A court verdict is expected in April.

Mr Ozawa has been so powerful in Japanese politics that he is known as the "shadow shogun".

He is widely credited with overseeing the DPJ's 2009 election victory, which ended half a century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.

But his immense influence in Japanese politics has been eroded by a long investigation into his political fundraising, the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo reports.

This cost him the leadership of the DPJ shortly before the party's election triumph.

But over a four-decde career brokering alliances, creating and destroying parties, Mr Ozawa has made many comebacks, so even if he is found guilty few will write him off entirely, our correspondent says.

He adds that if Mr Ozawa is acquitted, he could challenge Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in a leadership election due next September.

Mr Ozawa (left) says he will be proved innocent in court

Teenager died from ‘suffocation’ in exorcism

2011-09-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

A teenage girl thought by her father to have been possessed by an ‘evil spirit’ died from suffocation in an exorcism, it has been reported.

Tomomi Maishigi’s father and a monk performed a ‘waterfall service’ on the 13-year-old where she was allegedly bound to a chair by a belt and placed face-up underneath a water pump for five minutes at a Buddhist church in Kumamoto, south Japan.
The pair - 56-year-old monk Kazuaki Kinoshita and the girl's 50-year-old father Atsushi Maishigi - were arrested yesterday on charges of inflicting injury resulting in the death following the ritual.
According to the Mainichi Daily News, her father held her down under the falling water while the monk chanted sutras in the early hours of 27 August.
When the victim fell unconscious, they called an ambulance but she was later pronounced dead.
Kumamoto Prefectural Police said that after the incident which took place last month the teenager died of suffocation.
The girl had undergone the ritual a hundred times before since March, police also said.
Mr Maishigi reportedly claimed that his daughter was possessed and found the monk to perform the ritual to exorcise the demons so she could get better. But she resisted and became violent.
“Our actions were aimed at exorcising evil spirits from her and were not physical abuse," the men were quoted as telling investigators,” the men reportedly told police.
Tomomi had suffered from mental and physical illness since she was a senior-grade primary school student, and had not attended school since April.
A spokesperson for the Nakayamashingoshoshu's (a sect of Buddhism) main temple in Kiyama said: “The water rite is done to bring one's wishes to reality, but of course you cannot exorcise with it. We also do not instruct to bound the arms and legs when doing the ritual.”

2011-09-13T00:02:00.001-07:00

Japan continues to rebuild six months after tsunami

Japan trade minister Hachiro quits over nuclear gaffe

2011-09-10T20:55:00.001-07:00

10 September 2011

Japan's new trade minister has quit after calling the area around the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant a "town of death", media reports say.

Yoshio Hachiro is also reported to have rubbed his jacket against a reporter, saying "I will give you radiation" after visiting the plant on Thursday.

Mr Hachiro's comments were widely seen as insensitive and prompted calls by opposition parties for him to resign.

PM Yoshihiko Noda, who appointed him, later said they were inappropriate.

"Sad to say, the centres of cities, towns and villages around it are a town of death without a soul in sight," Mr Hachiro said at a news conference on Thursday.

On Friday, Mr Noda said the remarks were inappropriate and that he wanted Mr Hachiro, who was appointed on 2 September, to apologise, which Mr Hachiro did.

Tadamori Oshima, vice-president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, condemned Mr Hachiro, saying: "It is a remark that deprives disaster-affected people of hope and is worthy of disqualifying him as a minister."

Embarrassment

In a news conference late on Saturday, Mr Hachiro said Mr Noda had accepted his resignation, with Mr Hachiro apologising again several times.

He said with his remarks he had been trying to convey the seriousness of the situation.

His departure is viewed as a major embarrassment for Mr Noda, who only took office last week and was due to tackle the recovery effort from the disaster, correspondents say.

Mr Noda is Japan's sixth prime minister in five years after his predecessor, Naoto Kan, resigned.

It is almost exactly six months since the devastating tsunami and earthquake hit Tokyo and north-eastern Japan, killing some 20,000 people and triggering the nuclear crisis at Fukushima.

Yoshio Hachiro had only been in post since last week

Japan quake evacuees: Starting again9

2011-09-08T21:03:00.001-07:00

September 2011

Dai Saito and his family - wife Sachiko, daughter Yutsuki, 8, and Sawato, 4

Dai Saito used to live with his wife and two children in Haramachi-ku in Minamisouma, which lies inside the 20-30km "stay indoors" zone around the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. He worked as a children's football coach. But he and his family have now left the area and do not know when they will go back. Six months after the disaster, he tells the BBC about his life now.

We live in Koto, Tokyo, in a flat for civil servants that the local government made available to evacuees. We are on the 29th floor with a night view over Tokyo, which we couldn't have imagined back home. The Red Cross supplied us with appliances like a fridge and a television. But I think it is a shame we have to pay our electricity bills to Tepco [the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant].

After the earthquake, I didn't have a job for about four months but I am now working as a manager and main coach to the infant class at a futsal [indoor football] centre. To tell the truth, I had given up on getting a job where I could use my experience. But just when I thought I had to get any job to support my family, my wife brought home a flyer about this opening which she found at the station in July. It was so lucky. Also, I am now a writer at a futsal magazine called "Pivo!". While it is hard to learn everything I need to know, I am very glad to be working.

There is a big supermarket near our flat. Best of all, there is Tokyo Disneyland close by, which is a nice location for my Disney fan family! We can have this life because the local authorities are supporting us. It will be difficult to live like this after they take back the flat next July, considering the cost of living compared to our income.

Our new baby is due on 11 November and there are two months to go. There is a big gap between the cost of maternity care in the big city and in the countryside, which is a worry but at least we don't need to worry about radioactivity.

As for my children, some of their fellow students are evacuees, and my kids play with them and others. I don't know too well how they are coping in their new school because I work from afternoon to late night so I don't have a lot of time to see them. However, I'm doing my best to talk with them whenever we have time.

Stay or go back?

My mother stayed behind in Minamisouma. I am not in constant contact with her but she is fine. I went back home for one day at the end of July and I saw the traditional 'Nomaoi' Shinto folk rituals. It is usually a grand three-day festival but it was reduced because of the situation. I heard it would not run at first but it is an important historic cultural asset and they opened to pray for the revival of the disaster area.

I was surprised that the scene hadn't changed much in Haramachi-ku, the area in Minamisouma where I used to live. Maybe I didn't see the change because I only stayed a short time. I did notice that rubble was piled up in one place and that petrol was available at a fair price again. It seems like more people have gone back because I noticed more cars.

All of my futsal team-mates stayed behind - I don't think many of my friends left Minamisouma. The factors seem to be family and job. My friends who have children left and friends who don't have children or have a job in Minamisouma stayed behind. It probably happened like that all over the area. When I think about the present situation and the fact that they have not solved the nuclear power plant problems, I think we shouldn't return to our home. I don't want to compromise - I'll go back when it is resolved.

It is impossible to estimate the effect of 11 March on my life. I never imagined one single day could suddenly change my job, environment, home town, my whole life. My children feel these changes even more strongly than us adults. The friends they used to play with, the playground they liked to play in - they disappeared so suddenly. I still can't ask them how they understand or accept these things.

Health-wise, we have no particular problems. We can have a test to measure internal radiation exposure and my daughter, who is eight years old, returned to Minamisouma the other day to have it. It is hard to understand why we have to go close to the nuclear plant to check our internal exposure. We haven't had her results yet.

I believe I was exposed to more radiation than my family because I stayed behind, whereas they evacuated quickly. I saw on the news that tests found radioactive materials on local council workers. I went outside a lot to help neighbours and distribute goods before I left. I haven't been checked yet but I believe I have been exposed.

Moving forward

My image of the government has changed a lot, though I didn't have a good impression of them to start with. The biggest reason is their repeated cover-ups. Shouldn't the first priority of government representatives be the safety of people when we are in a crisis situation? They should give correct information so we can act appropriately. I was disappointed with their lack of interaction, scrambling to hide the facts. I believe they still haven't given us all the facts yet.

When I look at people in Tokyo, it seems as if there was no earthquake on 11 March. This is because we can't find news about the nuclear situation in the mainstream media in Tokyo. Even though it is still unresolved, it looks like people aren't worried about it. Of course, some people are working hard towards reconstruction but unfortunately there are a lot of people who are indifferent, and counting the first kind is much faster than the second. Is it OK? Are they happy they don't know all the facts?

The future that I expected before the earthquake was destroyed completely by this disaster and the nuclear power incident. It is very sad to begin my life again from scratch. However, I draw lots of motivation from the people who I have met through this experience. The power this gives me encourages me to create a new future.

I think I will be a victim for the rest of my life, I will not be able to return home but I have to move on with this situation. I appreciate being able to talk about this and I gain the courage to step forward. Thank you so much.

This article was produced with the assistance of Mayumi Geater

In pictures: The Yakuza

2011-08-31T12:51:00.001-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9572000/9572646.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9577000/9577084.stm

Japan PM Naoto Kan announces resignation amid criticism

2011-08-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

Japan's beleaguered Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced his resignation, clearing the way for the country's sixth leader in five years.

Mr Kan has been criticised for failing to show leadership after the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami, and ensuing nuclear crisis.

In June, Mr Kan pledged to quit if parliament passed three key pieces of legislation, which it did on Friday.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan will choose a new leader on Monday.

Mr Kan's successor as party head will almost certainly become Japan's next prime minister.

Challenges ahead

Mr Kan announced his decision to stand down at a DPJ meeting, which was broadcast to the nation. He is expected to give a news conference later on Friday.

Looking back on nearly 15 months in office, Mr Kan said he had done all he could given the difficulties he faced, including the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and political infighting - including within his own party.

Japan's revolving door

Naoto Kan (Jun 10-Aug 11) Lost support over handling of earthquake aftermath
Yukio Hatoyama (Sep 09-Jun 10) Failed to keep election promise on Okinawa US base
Taro Aso (Sep 08-Sep 09) Famed for verbal gaffes, lost election
Yasuo Fukuda (Sep 07-Sep 08) Struggled to pass laws, after DPJ took control of upper house
Shinzo Abe (Sep 06-Sep 07) Unpopular government hit by scandal

"Under the severe circumstances, I feel I've done everything that I had to do," he said. "Now I would like to see you choose someone respectable as a new prime minister."

The 64-year-old's resignation had been widely expected, and comes amid tumbling public support.

On 2 June he won a no confidence vote in the Diet (parliament), only by making a promise to step down at a future date.

The Diet passed the final two bills out of three earlier on Friday - one on the budget, the other promoting renewable energy - which he had set as a condition for his departure.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says the new prime minister will have to oversee the biggest reconstruction effort in Japan since WWII and resolve the nuclear crisis at Fukushima where reactors are still leaking radiation.

They will also have to persuade the markets that Japan can overcome a divided parliament to address the biggest national debt in the industrialised world, our correspondent says.

Seiji Maehara, a hawk on China who argues for pursuing growth before raising taxes to restore the nation's fiscal health, is favourite among the public.

But the decision will be made by the governing party's Diet members.

Reports in Japan say Ichiro Ozawa, who leads the biggest faction despite the suspension of his party membership over a political funding scandal, is unlikely to support the former foreign minister.

Other possible successors include Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Trade Minister Banri Kaieda.

Slow recovery

The twin natural disasters claimed more than 15,700 lives, and more than 4,500 people remain unaccounted for. Survivors in Japan's devastated north-east have complained about slow recovery efforts.

The resulting crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is the world's worst nuclear accident in a generation.

Three of the six reactors melted down after the tsunami and 9.0-magnitude quake wrecked cooling systems.

The opposition and many in Mr Kan's own party said he failed to show leadership in the crisis, and was too slow in acknowledging the severity of the disaster.

The crisis also revealed serious flaws in the nuclear industry's regulatory systems and safety standards.

Workers are continuing to bring the plant to a cold shutdown by January.

However, nearly six months on many of the 80,000 people who were evacuated from the area are living in temporary housing or shelters, with no indication of when or if they will be able to return home.

98-year-old woman earns top judo black belt rank

2011-08-10T20:44:00.001-07:00

A 98-year-old woman standing just 4'11" has achieved one of the highest honours in the world of martial arts after being promoted to tenth dan black belt in judo.

Sensei Keiko Fukuda, a Japanese-born American, is just the fourth person on the planet who currently holds the distinction, and only the 15th person in history to be awarded the honours. The other three people who are currently tenth dan 'judoka' are all men living in Japan.

Fukuda, who took up the sport in 1935 and still teaches judo three times a week at a women's dojo in San Francisco, was thrilled with her promotion.

"All my life this has been my dream," said the woman who is the last surviving student of judo's founder, Kano Jiguro.

Fukuda is not exaggerating. She eschewed traditional Japanese arts such as calligraphy and tea ceremonies - not to mention her marriage - when she took up the sport in her 20s, she then spent 30 years stuck as a fifth dan black belt due to a regulation prohibiting women from being promoted beyond that level.

She managed to break down that rule in 1972 and was the first woman to become a sixth dan black belt and has since continued to climb the ranks and inspire her students with her personal motto: "Be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically."

Residents' brief return to Fukushima exclusion zone

2011-07-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

By Roland Buerk BBC News, Fukushima prefecture

Residents of Fukushima had to don radiation suits to visit their former homes.

The people gathered in a school gym on the edge of the Fukushima exclusion zone could not have imagined, only months ago, that they would need a radiation suit to visit their own homes.

They were being helped into the unfamiliar outfits by workers already wearing the white plastic overalls, overboots, masks and hats. The floors and the walls had been coated with pink plastic.

“Radiation is invisible, so we are worried ...we're wearing these suits because we were told to. This is the only way we can come here. ”

Shigeru Suzuki Former resident

They were people who lived in the area around the reactors, still leaking radiation more than four months after they were crippled by Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

Now they are being allowed to go home, but only for a few hours, to look at the places they left behind.

Some had pet carriers, hoping to pick up animals they had to abandon - if they had survived. Others were hoping to collect documents, or treasured belongings.

Organisers called on them to line up in groups, depending on which village or town they wanted to get to. A dozen buses were going in today, carrying just a few of the 80,000 people who have had to evacuate.

Japan's government has promised everyone will have the opportunity.

Abandoned zone

They struggled on board, sweating in the heat and the plastic suits. Even the very old were keen to go and they were pushed in wheelchairs to the steps.

With the reactors still out of control who knew when they would get another chance?

The Fukushima exclusion zone is enforced by police roadblocks

The exclusion zone is enforced by police roadblocks, 20km (12 miles) from the plant. Beyond the countryside is empty. Homes are shuttered, traffic lights have been switched off. Plants are creeping into the road and colonising the pavements.

Outside a hospital, beds had been left strewn in the driveway, a sign of how quickly the patients were evacuated. Gardens are filled with four months and more worth of weeds and the paddy fields are fallow.

A few cattle on the verge were startled by the buses and cantered off into the distance, enjoying their freedom with the farmers gone.

We were going to the town of Okuma. Two busloads of people from there were using their hour-and-a-half or so at home to remember their dead.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We have to rebuild this town in the future and get back to how things were before, or even better”

Toshiami Watanabe Mayor of Okuma

It is near the sea and was badly hit by the tsunami, but they had left in such a hurry as the power station just 3 or 4 kilometres up the road was rocked by explosions, that they had little time to commemorate those who were lost.

The people gathered in front of an altar set up on trestle tables in a car park. Freshly ironed white table clothes had been brought, and flowers in bowls and candles.

Only the Buddhist priest, chanting and ringing his bell chose not to wear a mask or radiation suit. He was in his purple kimono, his faith his only protection. His prayers competed with the clicking of geiger counters.

"Radiation is invisible, so we are worried," said Shigeru Suzuki, a former resident. "We're wearing these suits because we were told to. This is the only way we can come here. We just have to trust the people who brought us."

Slow rebuilding

The ceremony was led by the mayor of Okuma, Toshiami Watanabe. The community he leads no longer exists, it is scattered in evacuation centres across northern Japan. He admitted being angry with TEPCO, the operators of the Fukushima plant.

Only the priest chose not to wear a mask

"Yes, lots of thoughts are running through my mind," he said. "But we have to rebuild this town in the future and get back to how things were before, or even better."

Rebuilding will have to wait, though, until the nuclear crisis is over. Some progress has been made: phase one of the operation has been completed. A closed system has been installed to clean contaminated, radioactive water at the site, and use it to cool the reactors.

It means they no longer have to be hosed down. The plan is to bring them to a cold shutdown by January at the latest.

But cleaning up around Fukushima could take years. After the memorial service the people of Okuma got back on their buses to be driven out of the exclusion zone.

It may be a long time before they are together again.