An Ode to Sumo
The two things I like best about Japan are baseball and sumo wrestling.
Yes, sumo wrestling. It is fascinating and tremendously exciting.
Westerners might ask how one can get excited about watching some 300 pound behemoths go head-to-head dressed in diapers. But actually, that's the appeal of sumo - the size not the diapers (mawashi in Japanese). The athletic ability of these massive men - their speed and agility - is truly amazing.
Yes, speed and agility. That's what the best sumo champions display. In spite of being built like highrise buildings, sumo wrestlers display an amazing amount of finesse and athleticism, dancing around like ballerinas, trying to gain a grip on their opponents and avoid being thrown out of the ring.
It is an amazing to watch these incredible athletes. Their strength is awe-inspiring. And their toughness, unparalleled.
Sumo warriors begin their matches by banging heads like NFL lineman, only without the helmets. Losers are often thrown from the ring onto their backs or sides, no doubt damaging ribs, spines and internal organs.
Yet never once have I seen a sumo san fail to get up after a loss.
And it's not normally the biggest and baddest wrestlers that become sumo champions. In fact, the latest star is a Mongolian by the name of Haramafuji, who is small by sumo standards. He uses quickness, technique to gain advantage over much bigger guys, often knocking them off balance and out of the ring.
Haramafuji went a perfect 15-0 at the most recent sumo championships, taking home his fifth Emperor's Cup:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/01/27/sumo/harumafuji-captures-emperors-cup-with-day-to-spare/#.UQXQI0petJE
Haramafuji and his Mongolian compatriot Hakuho have combined for 28 of the last 33 sumo titles. In fact, a Japanese wrestler has not won the championship of Japan's ancient support in seven years.
That may be part of the reason why sumo is waning in popularity among younger Japanese. Most that I meet don't watch sumo, calling it the sport of their grandparents.
That's too bad, because I find sumo unique and exciting. Sumo wrestlers also display a wonderful grace and humility in the face of battle, something one does not see in other combat sports such as boxing or ultimate fighting.
Yes, sumo is fun to watch. I recommend it to anyone because, when Haramafuji and Hakuho bang heads with the Emperor's Cup on the line, there may not be a more exciting 60 seconds in all of sport.
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Down From the Inside
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Owners of this old hotel - and its hyper-pricey plot of land - plan to construct a new hotel on the same site.
This building in Tokyo's Akasaka district is interesting not only because of its cool design, but because it's coming down... from the inside.
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As this article explains, demolition experts are using a new technique to raze the building from the top down - working from the building's interior. The building is literally shrinking before our eyes:
Owners of this old hotel - and its hyper-pricey plot of land - plan to construct a new hotel on the same site.
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Stuck in Transit
No matter how long I live here, I will never get used to the trains at rush hour. The mornings are worse, with hundreds of passengers bent in all manner of directions to fit into crowded cars. But afternoons can be exhausting as well.
One wonders what are the limits for passenger load here and how often do the train operators exceed them?
Yesterday was particularly bad. There was some kind of "incident" involving the line that I normally use ("incident" being a code word for suicide), so the trains were packed more than normal.
This photo explains everything. The expressions of exasperation and resignation are startling...
Fortunately, I took the next train and didn't have to jam into this one...
No matter how long I live here, I will never get used to the trains at rush hour. The mornings are worse, with hundreds of passengers bent in all manner of directions to fit into crowded cars. But afternoons can be exhausting as well.
One wonders what are the limits for passenger load here and how often do the train operators exceed them?
Yesterday was particularly bad. There was some kind of "incident" involving the line that I normally use ("incident" being a code word for suicide), so the trains were packed more than normal.
This photo explains everything. The expressions of exasperation and resignation are startling...
Fortunately, I took the next train and didn't have to jam into this one...
Japan and Corporal Punishment
I read a couple of disturbing stories in the Japanese media recently, both involving cases of abuse against school kids.
The first, from a week ago, was particularly tragic. It told the story of a high school basketball player in Osaka who killed himself after enduring repeated beatings from his coach. Apparently, the boy was the star of the team and his coach was trying to "send a message" to the other players by singling him out:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/japans-ambivalence-toward-corporal-punishment
The second report was simply bizarre. A middle school teacher in Aichi (north of Tokyo) forced some students to drink acid after they failed to complete an experiment:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/students-forced-to-drink-diluted-acid-as-punishment-at-aichi-school
It's difficult to imagine that this type of physical abuse goes on today and Japan is certainly not the only place where coaches and teachers use violence and/or intimidation to make a point. But my sense is it's more widespread in Japan than anywhere else.
There remains a cultural notion in this country that one must experience pain to find success. It's the old samurai mentality. Pro athletes are driven to the bring of exhaustion and it's common for baseball player to put in full day workouts before playing games later in the evening. Pitchers are expected to throw hard between starts unlike pros in North America who rest their arms.
I have witnessed baseball coaches here abusing players myself. I saw one coach, a large man, kneel down on the legs of a kid who was not taking stretching exercises seriously. The coach got off the boy's legs only after the kid howled in pain.
My son plays Little League and I once saw a coach shove a bat into a player's midsection during a workout and later kicked another kid on the backside - albeit lightly. (My son left that team shortly afterwards).
Fortunately, authorities in Japan appear to be cracking down on this type of abuse. Various baseball coaches are suspended each year for violence against players or for not cracking down on incidents between teammates.
But really, it's up to the coaches themselves to get a grip and stop believing that violence and intimidation are the only ways to motivate players. How many young people have to be lost before the message hits home?
I read a couple of disturbing stories in the Japanese media recently, both involving cases of abuse against school kids.
The first, from a week ago, was particularly tragic. It told the story of a high school basketball player in Osaka who killed himself after enduring repeated beatings from his coach. Apparently, the boy was the star of the team and his coach was trying to "send a message" to the other players by singling him out:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/japans-ambivalence-toward-corporal-punishment
The second report was simply bizarre. A middle school teacher in Aichi (north of Tokyo) forced some students to drink acid after they failed to complete an experiment:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/students-forced-to-drink-diluted-acid-as-punishment-at-aichi-school
It's difficult to imagine that this type of physical abuse goes on today and Japan is certainly not the only place where coaches and teachers use violence and/or intimidation to make a point. But my sense is it's more widespread in Japan than anywhere else.
There remains a cultural notion in this country that one must experience pain to find success. It's the old samurai mentality. Pro athletes are driven to the bring of exhaustion and it's common for baseball player to put in full day workouts before playing games later in the evening. Pitchers are expected to throw hard between starts unlike pros in North America who rest their arms.
I have witnessed baseball coaches here abusing players myself. I saw one coach, a large man, kneel down on the legs of a kid who was not taking stretching exercises seriously. The coach got off the boy's legs only after the kid howled in pain.
My son plays Little League and I once saw a coach shove a bat into a player's midsection during a workout and later kicked another kid on the backside - albeit lightly. (My son left that team shortly afterwards).
Fortunately, authorities in Japan appear to be cracking down on this type of abuse. Various baseball coaches are suspended each year for violence against players or for not cracking down on incidents between teammates.
But really, it's up to the coaches themselves to get a grip and stop believing that violence and intimidation are the only ways to motivate players. How many young people have to be lost before the message hits home?
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Is the CBC Really Liberal?
Conservatives complain about the supposedly liberal nature of the CBC, Canada's national broadcaster. However, as someone who worked at CBC and CTV (Canada's largest private broadcaster), I think that these complaints miss the mark. They also demonstrate a lack of understanding of the nature of news and journalism in North America.
Most of what comes across as left-wing bias on the CBC is really fair and balanced reporting, compared to what is produced by Canada's private broadcasters. Private broadcasters looking to maximize ratings (and profits) produce news that generally avoids challenging the status quo, promotes hegemonic thinking and favours elites and authority figures. For this reason, it is news that slants overwhelmingly to the right.
Let me present an example: the lead up to the war in Iraq.
I was working at CTV during the run up to George W. Bush's misguided folly. During my time at Canada's largest private broadcaster, I recall that we continuously bombarded viewers with clips from news conferences and other interviews featuring Bush and/or his henchmen (Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Coin Powell). These clips were often run with minimal or no editing, taken verbatim from news conferences without even allowing viewers to hear the questions being asked by reporters. Of course, the clips from the Washington war-mongers maintained without a shred of evidence that Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world and possessed WMDs, etc. Later, we all learned the real story.
At the time, I remember complaining to CTV producers that we needed to balance off these comments with people on the other side - war opponents, academics or other experts who might challenge Bush's hegemonic views. I was repeatedly told "no," that anti-war campaigners, academics and others were just "rabble rousers," the usual suspects called upon to "complain about everything."
On the other hand, the CBC's reporting at the time, in particular that of excellent Washington correspondent Neil MacDonald, balanced the Washington line and offered news stories that presented both sides - the case for going to war and the case against. (Fortunately, Canada's PM chose not to join Bush's adventures).
So where was the left-wing bias in that case?
Conservatives might think that what CBC did was biased, but most rational people would say that interviewing both sides on a story as important as a run up to war would be reasonable and the correct thing to do. So looking back, which broadcaster did its job in providing viewers with the big picture and which broadcaster was interested only in ratings and bottom line?
I think the answer to that question is easy to see. Unless you only see a liberal bogeyman in every room.
Conservatives complain about the supposedly liberal nature of the CBC, Canada's national broadcaster. However, as someone who worked at CBC and CTV (Canada's largest private broadcaster), I think that these complaints miss the mark. They also demonstrate a lack of understanding of the nature of news and journalism in North America.
Most of what comes across as left-wing bias on the CBC is really fair and balanced reporting, compared to what is produced by Canada's private broadcasters. Private broadcasters looking to maximize ratings (and profits) produce news that generally avoids challenging the status quo, promotes hegemonic thinking and favours elites and authority figures. For this reason, it is news that slants overwhelmingly to the right.
Let me present an example: the lead up to the war in Iraq.
I was working at CTV during the run up to George W. Bush's misguided folly. During my time at Canada's largest private broadcaster, I recall that we continuously bombarded viewers with clips from news conferences and other interviews featuring Bush and/or his henchmen (Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Coin Powell). These clips were often run with minimal or no editing, taken verbatim from news conferences without even allowing viewers to hear the questions being asked by reporters. Of course, the clips from the Washington war-mongers maintained without a shred of evidence that Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world and possessed WMDs, etc. Later, we all learned the real story.
At the time, I remember complaining to CTV producers that we needed to balance off these comments with people on the other side - war opponents, academics or other experts who might challenge Bush's hegemonic views. I was repeatedly told "no," that anti-war campaigners, academics and others were just "rabble rousers," the usual suspects called upon to "complain about everything."
On the other hand, the CBC's reporting at the time, in particular that of excellent Washington correspondent Neil MacDonald, balanced the Washington line and offered news stories that presented both sides - the case for going to war and the case against. (Fortunately, Canada's PM chose not to join Bush's adventures).
So where was the left-wing bias in that case?
Conservatives might think that what CBC did was biased, but most rational people would say that interviewing both sides on a story as important as a run up to war would be reasonable and the correct thing to do. So looking back, which broadcaster did its job in providing viewers with the big picture and which broadcaster was interested only in ratings and bottom line?
I think the answer to that question is easy to see. Unless you only see a liberal bogeyman in every room.
What an Aso!
It will be fun to watch Japan's new finance minister put his foot in his mouth, repeatedly, over the next few years.
Taro Aso was known to be loose-lipped as prime minister. Now, he's continuing that trend in his new portfolio.
Aso reportedly told a news conference this week that elderly people in Japan should "hurry up and die" to save the country money. Aso is backing away from his comments - which he of course claims were misquoted - and has issued issued an apology. But his remarks can't help the fledgling government's popularity.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/01/22/japans-finance-minister-seeks-early-remedy-for-death-gaffe/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Japan_JapanRealTime
Aso's comments also may be an indication of how powerless the new government is in the face of Japan's demographic crisis. One quarter of the population is now over the age of 60, and Japanese couples are producing fewer children than neary any other country in the industrialised world.
So how is Japan going to cope with a population that could be 40% elderly by the year 2050?
Welcoming more immigrants is one possible solution. So would be allowing more women into the executive suite. More females at the top would lessen the workload for the typically overworked Japanese "salaryman," freeing them up to go home and... uh... make babies.
However, immigration and the rights of women are two areas of cultural concern in Japan, a country that is about as stunted socially as it is advanced technologically.
Comments by Asos like Aso won't help the situation.
It will be fun to watch Japan's new finance minister put his foot in his mouth, repeatedly, over the next few years.
Taro Aso was known to be loose-lipped as prime minister. Now, he's continuing that trend in his new portfolio.
Aso reportedly told a news conference this week that elderly people in Japan should "hurry up and die" to save the country money. Aso is backing away from his comments - which he of course claims were misquoted - and has issued issued an apology. But his remarks can't help the fledgling government's popularity.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/01/22/japans-finance-minister-seeks-early-remedy-for-death-gaffe/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Japan_JapanRealTime
Aso's comments also may be an indication of how powerless the new government is in the face of Japan's demographic crisis. One quarter of the population is now over the age of 60, and Japanese couples are producing fewer children than neary any other country in the industrialised world.
So how is Japan going to cope with a population that could be 40% elderly by the year 2050?
Welcoming more immigrants is one possible solution. So would be allowing more women into the executive suite. More females at the top would lessen the workload for the typically overworked Japanese "salaryman," freeing them up to go home and... uh... make babies.
However, immigration and the rights of women are two areas of cultural concern in Japan, a country that is about as stunted socially as it is advanced technologically.
Comments by Asos like Aso won't help the situation.
Ironic, don't you think?
Alanis Morissette certainly wasn't singing about Canada's awful Sun News Network (or Stunned News, as I call it), but she might have well been.
Check out this piece on the neo-con network that some call Fox News north. Sun News isn't just Fox north, it's Fox awful... with programming that concentrates almost solely on extricating the liberal bogeyman from the lives of ordinary Canadians.
Sun News' favourite target is Canada's national broadcaster the CBC. Not a day goes by, it seems, when some mouth-breathing Sun commentator isn't bashing the CBC and its taxpayer funded base.
Oh how the tables are turned. Now (and this is the ironic part), the government-bashing network is seeking government help in broadening its base and finding viewers... apparently being loud and obnoxious isn't enough.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/21/sun-news-loss-crtc-basic-cable_n_2522396.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
Trouble is, Canadians tend to be small-l liberal by nature, lovers of horrible, free-enterprise killing things like health care and gun control. So even if owners of the Stun are successful in gaining a spot on the regular cable dial, I doubt anyone would watch.
Oh and another irony... Sun News is owned by Quebecor, a company that has benefitted from cosy political ties and millions in tax breaks in the past
Another one soon bites the dust...
Alanis Morissette certainly wasn't singing about Canada's awful Sun News Network (or Stunned News, as I call it), but she might have well been.
Check out this piece on the neo-con network that some call Fox News north. Sun News isn't just Fox north, it's Fox awful... with programming that concentrates almost solely on extricating the liberal bogeyman from the lives of ordinary Canadians.
Sun News' favourite target is Canada's national broadcaster the CBC. Not a day goes by, it seems, when some mouth-breathing Sun commentator isn't bashing the CBC and its taxpayer funded base.
Oh how the tables are turned. Now (and this is the ironic part), the government-bashing network is seeking government help in broadening its base and finding viewers... apparently being loud and obnoxious isn't enough.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/21/sun-news-loss-crtc-basic-cable_n_2522396.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
Trouble is, Canadians tend to be small-l liberal by nature, lovers of horrible, free-enterprise killing things like health care and gun control. So even if owners of the Stun are successful in gaining a spot on the regular cable dial, I doubt anyone would watch.
Oh and another irony... Sun News is owned by Quebecor, a company that has benefitted from cosy political ties and millions in tax breaks in the past
Another one soon bites the dust...
Introducing Forty-Four Keys
Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog.
Of course, you're going to ask why the world needs a new blog from another loudmouth with an opinion to offer. Well, why not? Loudmouths are people too!
Seriously, I hope to offer comments from time-to-time on topics ranging from media to politics to sports to, well, anything that interests me.
Also, I will write about my job in the media here in Tokyo. We're developing a new video project called Business in Japan Television, of which I am the host and producer. So I will present news and views relating to business, television and life in Japan.
Hope you will check in on occasion. I know I'll probably tick some of you off with my ramblings; apologies in advance!
Speaking of sports... wanted to share this video from one of the most amazing shootout goals you'll ever see. Who the heck is Damien Brunner?
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hdpid=49&id=194796
Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog.
Of course, you're going to ask why the world needs a new blog from another loudmouth with an opinion to offer. Well, why not? Loudmouths are people too!
Seriously, I hope to offer comments from time-to-time on topics ranging from media to politics to sports to, well, anything that interests me.
Also, I will write about my job in the media here in Tokyo. We're developing a new video project called Business in Japan Television, of which I am the host and producer. So I will present news and views relating to business, television and life in Japan.
Hope you will check in on occasion. I know I'll probably tick some of you off with my ramblings; apologies in advance!
Speaking of sports... wanted to share this video from one of the most amazing shootout goals you'll ever see. Who the heck is Damien Brunner?
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hdpid=49&id=194796
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