Japanese women want clean toilets
Covering women's issues, I often wondered: What do Japanese women want? Do they want to have it all? Do they want family? Do they want to achieve in business? Do they want to be good moms? Now, thanks to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey, I have an answer -- well, one of the answers, anyway.
Like a Child with Sense: Wakamaru the Robot Debuts
(this article first appeared in the september 19, 2005 issue of newsweek international)
Are you lonely? do you have trouble getting up on time? If you live in Japan, help is on the way. Starting this week, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will begin taking orders for Wakamaru, the world's first communicative home-use robot. Those willing to shell out $14,300 will get a one-meter-tall bright yellow companion who will follow them around, keep them on schedule, chatter idly and even worry if they get stuck in traffic.
Cool Biz. It's So Cool. Not.
(this article first appeared in the august 22, 2005 issue of newsweek international)
For Japanese salarymen, it's a fashion revolution. Just check out Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet meetings. Lately they're looking like a late-night card game among old-timers at a country club, with ministers forsaking their ties, donning casual shirts -- and looking mighty uncomfortable.
For Japanese salarymen, it's a fashion revolution. Just check out Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet meetings. Lately they're looking like a late-night card game among old-timers at a country club, with ministers forsaking their ties, donning casual shirts -- and looking mighty uncomfortable.
Polite Japanese bloggers
I've been wondering if there's such a thing as characteristics of Japanese bloggers. I wrote about how competitive Japanese bloggers are when it comes to getting PVs (page views) to their sites. Then I read an interview with Mena Trott, of the Movable Type fame, in the May 30 issue of Aera magazine. She says our blogs reflect the US-Japan cultural differences.
Telly Heaven
Forget the couch. Now television is best viewed lying on your futon, with a laptop on your stomach.
(this article first appeared in the June 6/June 13, 2005 issue of newsweek international)
Akiko Takasu loves TV dramas. Every morning the violin teacher and mother of three teenagers in Saitama, north of Tokyo, quickly finishes her morning chores--cleaning up the house, doing laundry and dishes. Then she tunes in to ``Winter Sonata,'' a popular Korean soap, uninterrupted by her husband and kids. But she doesn't sit down in front of the family's big TV set; Takasu gazes into the 17-inch screen of a desktop computer. The drama is being broadcast on the Internet, so she watches whenever she's ready. ``I watch it alone,'' says Takasu. ``This way I can really get into the world of this wonderful story.''
(this article first appeared in the June 6/June 13, 2005 issue of newsweek international)
Akiko Takasu loves TV dramas. Every morning the violin teacher and mother of three teenagers in Saitama, north of Tokyo, quickly finishes her morning chores--cleaning up the house, doing laundry and dishes. Then she tunes in to ``Winter Sonata,'' a popular Korean soap, uninterrupted by her husband and kids. But she doesn't sit down in front of the family's big TV set; Takasu gazes into the 17-inch screen of a desktop computer. The drama is being broadcast on the Internet, so she watches whenever she's ready. ``I watch it alone,'' says Takasu. ``This way I can really get into the world of this wonderful story.''
