natsuo kirino
editorial
natsuo kirino
a bento for edgar allan poe
loose lips
what the japanese are saying
cuba
smoking the big cigar
business samurai
under the knife?
tokyo faces
eastside story in fukagawa
cuba
austriam rules football hachijojima
a little travel goes a long way
music festival
madness get rocked out this summer
australian rules football
catching on in Japan
comfort in the city
bureau shinagawa
summer events
cd reviews
dvd reviews
film reviews
book review
film reviews
tokyo kaleidoscope tokyo kaleidoscope
ukiyo-e
the origins of japan's comic culture
tokyo art scene
tomio koyama gallery
tokyo classifieds
horrorscope
free gifts
Today on Tokyo Journal
Editorial About culinary and other secrets
Editorials don't just write themselves. So, with Dr.Hauser, our esteemed publisher, off
dipping his rod in a Swedish lake, it devolves on me to shoot my mouth off in print in
his stead, hopefully squeezing in something about the articles in this issue along the
way. It won't have escaped anyone's notice that the dog days of Summer are now upon us.
In Western nations, this season has a universally good press, being perennially linked
with almost everything positive.In Japan, however, it has a dark side. Not only are the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorated at this time of year, but there is
also the o-bon festival, when the spirits of the dead supposedly walk the Earth, as well
as the countless accompanying ghost and horror stories. These ・Japanese friends assure
me ・are designed to keep people cool by sending shivers up their spines.Perhaps the same
effect can be had from reading a good mystery novel,such as the chilling murder tale,
written by the subject of our main interview, Natsuo Kirino, a finalist of the Edgar
Allan Poe awards held earlier this year.
Those less suggestible, might want to stay cool by escaping to an island resort. Oddly,
as our reporter finds out,you can do this without ever leaving Tokyo,simply by taking an
overnight ferry to the site of our travel feature, the remarkable island of Hachijojima.
Other options might include, chilling out at one of the music festivals we preview. With
several major events lined up, we should see just about everyone who is anyone in the
music business touching down in Japan this Summer, reassuring us that the yen still has a
strong pull for international artists.
Just as the days have become brighter in recent months, so has Japan 痴 economy. The
Nikkei is soaring and economic analysts talk about Japan having turned the corner. While
Japan's earlier economic success was largely in its own hands, based on its dedicated and
disciplined work force, this recent upswing has been attributed to Japan's proximity to
the economic awakening of its giant neighbor. But, as suggested in our article on the
eclipse of the 'samurai' business spirit, this is something of a mixed blessing, as China
and Korea increasingly learn from Japan and challenge it in areas and industries formerly
dominated by Japanese companies. This is making new,more flexible approaches to business
increasingly attractive, although, in the West, such strategies are also given blunter
names like 'downsizing' and 'cutting out the deadwood.'
For the moment, Japan may be basking in the rays of China's economic miracle,but in these
hot, sweltering days of Summer, there must be a fear that the country is perhaps just a
little too close to the Sun.
C.B.Liddell
