- Great East Japan Earthquake
- A Late Spring in Tōhoku (Part II)Kikuchi Masanori
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The coastal areas of northeast Japan devastated by the March 2011 tsunami still face the enormous task of rebuilding housing and infrastructure. Journalist Kikuchi Masanori traveled to the region to report on the current state of the recovery effort.
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- A Late Spring in Tōhoku (Part I)Kikuchi Masanori
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Two years have passed since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal Tōhoku, but for many of the victims, the healing has barely begun. Revisiting the communities he reported on in the spring and summer of 2011, Kikuchi Masanori encounters a mixture of optimism and bitterness as the region slowly rebuilds.
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- Keeping Taylor Anderson’s Dream Alive and Well
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Taylor Anderson was one of the two American victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The 24-year-old was an English teacher in Ishinomaki, one of the northern coastal cities swept by a devastating tsunami immediately after the earthquake. Soon after her death, the Anderson family established the Taylor Anderson Memorial Gift Fund to carry on her spirit by assisting grassroots programs for youth in the disaster-hit areas. Andy Anderson, Taylor’s father, contributed the following article with his son Jeffrey.
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- Tapping into Art’s Power in Post-3/11 Japan
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The Aichi Triennale, which debuted in 2010, is wide-ranging art exhibition held in Nagoya. The theme of the event to be held in 2013 is “Awakening.” We sat down with the artistic director of the exhibition, Igarashi Tarō, to find out more about this theme and discuss the potential of art in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
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- Messages from a Man of Peace
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Former Finnish president and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Martti Ahtisaari visited Japan in November 2011 to speak about peace mediation and to visit Miyagi Prefecture, battered by the March 2011 quake and tsunami. We accompanied him on his trip to the north and talked to him about the job of the negotiator and the role Japan’s people can play on the global stage today.
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- How to Formulate a Strategy for Energy SupplyKamisato Tatsuhiro
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In the wake of the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, public interest in Japan’s energy policy is fixed on one thing alone: nuclear energy, and how to live without it. Kamisato Tatsuhiro of Osaka University argues that a broader perspective is necessary at this crucial turning point in modern Japanese history.
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- Diplomacy Is Not Just for DiplomatsWang Min
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When it comes to diplomatic achievements, often common citizens can be even more effective than foreign relations specialists. In all likelihood this is because, at the grassroots level, interaction on the basis of pure friendship is possible; whereas in relations between professional politicians, words and actions tend to be determined by national interests. On this topic of diplomacy, it is w…
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- Photography Exhibition: “Tōhoku—Through the Eyes of Japanese Photographers”Iizawa Kōtarō
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A photography exhibition on life and traditions in the Tōhoku region of Japan is now touring the world, spotlighting unfamiliar aspects of the region and its history. Iizawa Kōtarō, the exhibition’s curator, offers an overview of the exhibited works.
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- Japan’s Women Writers in France
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Three popular Japanese authors talk to a packed audience in Paris, revealing their true feelings on what it means to be a female writer. French translator of Japanese literature Myriam Dartois Akō reports on the discussion.
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- Japanese Literature in France
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Japan was the center of attention at this year’s Paris Book Fair, held March 16–19, 2012. Sekiguchi Ryōko, who was part of the Japanese delegation of specially invited authors, looks back on the event and her surprise at the level of interest in Japanese culture among people in France today.
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