"There is no politically neutral way of describing the Korean language in Japanese, and NHK feared criticism from South-leaning Koreans if it described the language as Chosen-go... or from North-leaning Koreans if it called it Kankoku-go..."

Lives of Young Koreans in Japan pg 287/288

Great book, btw, one of many sociology books I have read about Japan that have completely changed my mind about the subject (along with Thinking Allowed downloads from BBC Radio)

Procurando verificar se a história era realmente verdadeira, a emissora de TV NHK contactou as agências dos cantores para procurar saber mais sobre o ocorrido, a foi confirmado que realmente eles tocaram no torneio. Dias depois, a NHK decidiu suspender todas as aparições que els fariam nos programas da emissora, incluindo gravações antigas.

O quanto pesou essa suspensão ainda não foi decidido, e não está certo ainda se a NHK irá permirtir que eles voltem a aparecer nos programas da emissora. A TV Tokyo também está tomando as mesmas decisões, cortando cenas de Hosokawa de um show que seria apresentado na próxima semana.

Fonte: TokyoGraph

On my recent visit to Tokyo for a regional workshop on changing climate and moving images, I watched a number of excellent documentary films on the subject. One of them was Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil, the excellent Australian film that I wrote about in March.

Another was Climate in Crisis, an outstanding global documentary in two parts (2 x 52 mins) co-produced in 2006 by Japan's public broadcaster NHK together with The Science Channel and ALTOMEDIA/France 5.

Directed by Fujikawa Masahiro, the film draws heavily on the Earth Simulator -- one of the world's most powerful supercomputers -- which Japanese scientists used to project the climatic disasters in next 100 years. The system was developed in 1997 for running global climate models to evaluate the effects of global warming and problems in solid earth geophysics. It has been able to run holistic simulations of global climate in both the atmosphere and the oceans -- down to a resolution of 10 km.

The results, captured in this documentary, are truly mind-boggling. Atmospheric temperatures may rise by as much as 4.2 degrees Celsius, more hurricanes may attack and deserts may spread from Africa to southern Europe, and half of the Amazon rainforest may be gone. Climate in Crisis shows a severe projection on environmental destruction based on rigorous scientific data and considers whether humankind can avoid this.

This film, made in the same year as Al Gore's Oscar-winning film An Inconvenient Truth, has won several awards including the Earth Vision Award at the 15th Earth Vision Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival.

I was curious why this excellent film - in my view, better made than Al Gore's one - hasn't been more widely seen, talked about and distributed. To be honest, I'd not even heard of this one until my Japan visit -- and I try to keep myself informed on what's new in my field of endeavour.

The reasons soon became apparent: copyright restrictions! The co-producers are keeping the rights so tight that only the highest bidders will be allowed to acquire it on a license fee.

This is a standard broadcast industry practice that didn't surprise me. But I was taken aback by how jealously the rights are guarded. All other films that were part of our event, including high budget commercial productions like Crude, were screened to the public at the Parthenon in Tama New Town in Tokyo.

Not so with Climate in Crisis, which we - the overseas participants to the workshop - had to watch at a theatre inside NHK's Tokyo headquarters. No public screening was possible. As we later heard, NHK itself was willing to allow a public screening (after all, it draws a good part of its income from the Japanese public), but their international co-producing partners, especially the Science Channel, would simply not agree to it. Wow.

Twenty centuries ago, emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Today, some people are squabbling over copyrights while the whole planet is in peril.

Our workshop participants came from solid backgrounds in broadcasting or independent film-making, and we are not naive activists asking hard-nosed broadcasters to let go of their precious rights which generates vital income. But we would have expected them to allow films such as Climate in Crisis to circulate a bit more freely in everybody's interest.

This reminded me of correspondence I had last year with the Canadian producers of another outstanding climate film titled The Great Warming. The initial discussions with its director were promising, but when the distribution people started talking about 'revenue optimising', our negotiations stalled.

It also reminded me of similar experiences of other environment and natural history film makers, such as South Africa's Neil Curry. He had a long struggle with the BBC to clear the non-broadcast use rights of his own film that he wanted to take back to the locations in Botswana where it was filmed.

Many broadcast and production companies in the west don't realise that TV broadcasters in developing Asia operate on a very different basis. Talking about broadcast 'pre-sales' or 'commissions' loses meaning when many stations are operating on tiny budgets -- or in some cases, no budgets -- for factual content. Many are struggling to survive in tough, emerging economies.
[caption id="attachment_1103" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Is this our future?"][/caption]
TVE Asia Pacific operates a regional film distribution service that brings environment and development films within reach of such broadcasters. We operate without getting mired in license fees or royalties.

Our 2-day workshop called for climate change to be recognised as a 'copyright free zone'. This would enable audio-visual media content on the subject to move freely across borders and to be used widely for broadcast and narrowcast purposes.

Here's the full reference from our statement of concern:

"Prevailing copyright regimes prevent the sharing and wider use of outstanding TV programmes and video films on climate and development issues. We are deeply concerned that even content developed partly or wholly with public funding (government grants, donor funds or lottery funds) remain unfairly locked into excessive copyright restrictions. Sometimes film-makers and producers themselves are willing but unable to allow their creations to be used for non-commercial purposes by educational, civil society and advocacy groups. We appreciate the media industry's legitimate needs for intellectual property management and returns on investment. At the same time, the climate crisis challenges us to adopt extraordinary measures, one of which can and should be recognising climate change as a 'copyright free zone'. Such agreement would encourage media organisations and independent producers to share content across borders, and with entities outside the media industry engaged in climate education, advocacy and activism."

Here's the simple question I raised during the workshop, which is worth being posed to all those who hesitate to even discuss this issue:

Can anyone manage their intellectual property rights on a dead planet?

My regular readers know the disdain with which I hold the so-called public broadcasters in my part of the world. In developing Asia, which lacks sufficient checks and balances to ensure independence of state broadcasters, the only thing 'public' about such channels is that they are often a drain on public money collected through taxes. Their service and loyalties are entirely to whichever political party, coalition or military dictator heading the government in office. A few months ago, I described Burmese TV as a good example.

I was delighted, therefore, to visit the headquarters of Japan's sole public broadcaster NHK this week and find out how exceptional they are in being a public broadcaster that really cares for its funding and viewing public.

Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, NHK. Started as a radio service in 1926, it added television in 1953. Today, NHK runs two terrestrial TV channels, three satellite channels and three radio services - and has started offering more content online and for mobile devices as well. It also has international offerings in TV, radio and web through NHK World.

This massive broadcast operation is financed primarily by a license fee (called 'receiving fee' in Japan) paid by each Japanese household that owns a television set. Its TV channels don't carry any advertising, although the corporation exploits its massive archive and often repurposes its products for commercial gain.

As NHK's website says, "This (license) system enables the Corporation to maintain independence from any governmental and private organisation, and ensures that the opinions of viewers and listeners are assigned top priority."

NHK's license fee system is not unanimously endorsed by the Japanese public, and I later found out that growing numbers of households are declining to pay what currently works out to around US$30 per month (or a dollar a day). This debate has been sustained for several years, with public calls for administrative reform at NHK.

But NHK's eagerness to engage the public is clearly evident, even to a visitor like myself who spent only an afternoon at NHK's Studio Park in Shibuya. This is where the corporation's production facilities are opened to the public every week day from 10 am to 5.30 pm.

NHK Studio Park is a living exhibit - the corporation's executives and technical staff carry on with their real work amidst (mostly Japanese public) visitors who get to see how TV content is made. Part of the attraction is a museum of TV 55 years of TV broadcasting in Japan.

Every visitor is welcomed by being captured by a TV camera with the image being projected live on to a giant screen at the reception. The camera zoomed in on each one in our tour party of ten - and gave us our 10 seconds of fame!

From then on, it offers various displays and interactive opportunities to find out how TV broadcasting has evolved, where it is today - and glimpses of where it is headed. NHK has been an industry leader in technological innovation. It launched digital satellite TV broadcasting in December 2000 and introduced digital terrestrial broadcasts in December 2003. The core technology is Hi-Vision (HDTV), which delivers clear, vivid pictures and CD-quality sound. More than 90% of the programming on NHK is now produced and aired in Hi-Vision.[caption id="attachment_1059" align="alignright" width="239" caption="Japan's countdown to analog switch-off"][/caption]

In fact, Japan will be fully switching on to digital and switching off all analog TV transmissions on 24 July 2011. The countdown has already started and on the day I visited NHK (2 October 2008), it was 1,025 days away.

Studio Park makes good use of corridor space for varied displays of photos and archival videos on memorable moments in Japanese and world broadcasting history. Highlights of NHK's most enduring productions in news, current affairs, culture programming and sports are also shared.

Some of NHK's cultural and entertainment programmes have been exported successfully to other parts of Asia, offering some counterbalance to the western TV content. One that I recognised was Oshin, a serial drama of 297 episodes made in the early 1980s that has since been aired in close to 60 countries.

One of Studio Park's star attractions offers to make a star of any visitor for a few minutes. It's a newscasting studio where the visitor may sit and face the live camera and read a few lines suggested by the teleprompter - the device that enables news readers to look at their audience while sticking to a flowing text. The teleprompter text is available in Japanese and several other Asian languages.

Two members of our tour party took this news challenge (photos above), and being broadcast professionals, they performed admirably! While it was fun and games for us who are familiar with the medium's inner working, I can imagine the educational and public relations value of this for people who only consume what television delivers every day and night.

We were also treated to a screening of what was called the world's first 3D television without special glasses. It was a breathtaking film of about 10 minutes showing underwater scenes. In the dimly lit theatre, the screen felt more like a fish tank - the 3D effect was very real. Not being a techie, I don't know how to verify the claim of this being a world first, but when this catches on, watching television will never be the same again...

As visitors move in and out of these interesting offerings, it was another day at work for NHK's staff who carried on with their real productions in studios we passed by. We were allowed to photograph everything except across the viewing glass inside a studio when a recording was underway (lest the camera flashlights disturb it). The freedom to explore and experience, helped by the eternally courteous tour guides, was refreshing.

And what a contrast to many so-called public broadcast stations elsewhere in Asia which are more like battle fortresses with armed guards firmly keeping the public out (I suppose they expect their irate public to attack the stations because of the truly dreadful content they carry?).

Well, at least NHK seems to know who their masters are - the paying public. And as this image in one exhibit shows, NHK is aware of that little gadget in every viewer's hand that can instantly nullify all the irinvestment, technology and creativity. If wielded for long enough by sufficient numbers, this can put mighty broadcasters out of business.

It's a message that Asia's other broadcasters - public and private - would do well to remember.

Note: My visit to Tokyo did not involve NHK funding in any manner. I was the guest of our partner TVE Japan, who paid for our admission tickets to enter NHK Studio Park.

Explore 50 years of NHK Television online

Yasu always makes jokes about organic foods, but now i've seen the light in terms of eating them, after studying Reflexology. The book "The complete illustrated guide to reflexology by Inge Dougans" theorises that many modern dis-eases can be put down to an incorrect diet and that there is a real link between poor diet and poor behaviour. I've started to notice that my body is craving fresh healthy food, and none of that over-processed chemical crap they usually sell on the supermarket shelves.

Suprisingly, alot of the foods i thought of as being healthy in a diet are actually not, this, shock horror, includes white rice. In fact we should be eating more foods with less sodium and more potassium. So we should be eating brown rice as it is unrefined and retains natural goodness and fibre. Oh woah....wait til i pass that little gem onto Yasu. He bucked about eating less rice...but changing the colour? Heaven forbid. It could start a war.

Anyways, i am thinking of slowly introducing organic foods into our diet, hopefully without Yasu noticing. As he doesn't really go anywhere near the kitchen unless he's snooping in the cupboard for some chocolate or trying to make a mess, i'm hoping he won't pay too much attention to what i'm actually cooking up.

Maybe if i do the grocery shopping without him actually present would be a better idea. Actually Yasu hasn't been very well the last couple of weeks. I think it's a matter of over-work, over-stress, and fighting off two colds in a very short space of time that has left him lethargic, emotional, and weak. I feel sorry for the guy, working 70-80 hours per week is too hard for him. If only his boss would wake up and give him a break.

Besides that, the kids next door keep throwing a football at the fence at the side, right next to my open sliding door. I feel like taking that ball and shoving it up their you know whats, but instead i just turned up NHK to max level, and let Asshole sorry, Aso Sorry Daijin scare the wits out of them, that made them scurry round the corner away from my hearing, thank god for small mercies. At least NHK is good for something...

Yasu is having baseball training tonight so he won't be home until about 6:30pm, i'm just deciding whether to fold up the washing or have a nap. A nap would be nice but maybe i should start cooking, that man is always hungry, it's like his stomach is a bottomless pit.

No organics tonight though, Thursday is our weekly shop so i will have to get it all tomorrow. Maybe a Japanese Curry courtesy of House Vermont Curry though. Enjoy your dinner wherever you are :)

http://dmituko.cocolog-nifty.com/utino/2008/09/post-664e.html

「はいはいはい、なんでしょうか」

・総裁選のニュースをあれほどまでに、長く丁寧に流す目的は何ですか。

　「はいはいはい、そんなことはっきりしてますよ、そんなことも分からないですか。わははは・・・。自民党のコマーシャルですよ」

　（ここで、これって、ＮＨＫのひと？耳を疑ったのだが、）

・はいはいはい、は止めてください。なぜＮＨＫがコマーシャルをするのか。

　「必要だからですよ。必要だから」

・なぜ必要なのか。

「国民の関心が高いから。これはＮＨＫの世論調査でもはっきりしてます。それに」

・世論調査の人気や関心だけで、番組が決まるのか。ＮＨＫの公共放送としての見識はないのか。

「人気でなく、関心ですよ。お客さん間違っては困る。わははは・・・」

・笑いごとではない。

「世の中明るくいきましょう」

・ふざけないでください。ほかに理由はあるのか。

「総裁は、国会で首相に決まります。だれが首相になるか、国際的関心も高いですよ」

・国民にとって重大な別のニュースを犠牲にまでして、時間をとってやらなければならないことではない。

「お客さんの意見でしょ。それは。意見は全部ドキュメントとして、上は会長から担当者まで読めるようになってますから」

・視聴者の意見はどう反映されるのか。

　「放送で応えてますからね。番組を見てください」

・24時間見ているわけにはいかないでしょう。どういう意見があって、どう応えるのかを伝える番組があってもいいではないか。

「そりゃそうだ、24時間見てたら死んでしまいますな。ほかに質問あるの？」

・・・・・

　といった具合。名前を尋ねると、「バカ！」「バカですよ！」という罵声が耳をつく。「ハッ？」とさすがに驚いた。

Saturday morning 7:15 to 9:00 is not a time I'm usually too active, so I use our video recorder to record it. They have built-in timers, usually hi-fi sound these days (in fact these days everyone except us has got a dvd recorder) and you just have to connect an fm tuner to a "line in" socket at the back somewhere. (I'm sure the same would work with a dvd recorder.)  Anyway there's a good quality sound recording on the  video cassette and I can copy stuff I like onto an audio cassette (yes we're pretty retro round here) or maybe some day I'll figure out how to get it into the computer as an mp3 file or something. Anyway, it's great music.

With online stores and illicit downloads from the web radio programmes might seem a bit outdated but I still think there's a place for a DJ who can turn you on to things you might not have found otherwise. I've discovered so many excellent musicians thanks to Peter Barakan's show. Keep up the good work!

While on the subject, another NHK FM programme I like is Masakazu Kitanaka's World Music Time. A bit variable, but sometimes you get a great collection of sounds from some country you knew little about.

Japan minister quits in rice row

Mr Ota only took over his portfolio in August this year

Japan's farm minister, Seiichi Ota, has tendered his resignation because of a food scandal involving tainted rice.

Mr Ota's ministry has admitted it was told in January 2007 that a food company was distributing rice tainted with pesticide.

Mr Ota had earlier said he saw no need to make "too much of a fuss over it".

It has since emerged that the rice, destined for industrial uses, was resold as a food product and served to the elderly.

The rice has been found to be tainted with pesticides and mould, and was known to be unfit for human consumption.

No-one has been reported as ill as a result of eating the rice; a government official said this was because the density of contaminants was low.

"I met Prime Minister [Yasuo] Fukuda and told him my decision to resign, considering the seriousness of the tainted rice problem for the society," Mr Ota said.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said his resignation had been accepted.

Japan faces general elections soon, possibly as early as next month.

Contamination spreads

As information trickled out, it became clear that the bad rice was sold to more than 300 firms, including brewers, food ingredient wholesalers and sweet makers.

A government report released this week showed that the rice was imported from China, Vietnam and elsewhere, and intended for use in the making of glue and other industrial products.

Instead, the Osaka-based Mikasa Foods company sold the rice on to firms which used it for making foods that have been distributed to hospitals and care homes.

Young people have also been affected as the bad rice was used in making some snacks sold in convenience stores, and in school lunches.

Japanese media reported that police said on Wednesday that the president of one of the small companies that had bought the rice from Mikasa Foods, had committed suicide by hanging himself.

When Mr Ota's ministry first heard of the tainted rice entering the food chain, he said it was unable to uncover any wrongdoing.

Mr Ota only took over the portfolio in August this year.

The minister has come under fire after admitting his ministry "overlooked" the illegal distribution of rice unfit for human consumption.

Our correspondent says Mr Ota is known for his slips of the tongue, such as his expressed confidence that no-one would die from eating tainted rice and that no fuss was necessary.

The senior bureaucrat at the agriculture ministry had already resigned.

Orang Jepang emang kreatif :)

The BBC is collaborating with broadcasters in Japan, on Super Hi-Vision technology, which will provide high-definition TV pictures, 33 times more detailed than currently available.

The BBC hopes to broadcast the 2012 Olympics in Super Hi-Vision, on huge screens located in city centres across Britain.(BBC)

Film ve görüntülü yayın alanında en son teknolojilerin sergilendiği uluslararası IBC fuarında gerçekleştirilen deneme yayında, Londra'dan özel bir kamerayla çekilen görüntüler uydu üzerinden izleyiciye ulaştırıldı. Japon NHK firması tarafından geliştirilen yeni sistem, televizyon yayınındaki çözünürlük düzeyini, kullanılabilen HDTV standartlarına göre 16 kat daha artırarak, ekrana yansıtılan görüntüdeki dikey ve yatay çizgi sayısını 7680 ve 4320 olarak belirliyor. Yayın kuruluşları BBC, RAI ve ERU'nun işbirliğiyle Londra'dan yapılan deneme amaçlı canlı yayın yaklaşık 20 dakika sürdü ve görüntü, 6x9 metre boyutlarındaki bir ekrandan verildi. Yetkililerin verdiği bilgiye göre, henüz Japonya dışında yaygın olarak kullanılmayan, yüksek çözünürlüklü televizyon olarak bilinen HDTV yayınlarına oranla seyirci, bu yeni yayında kendini görüntüye 4 kat daha yakın hissedecek. Henüz deneme aşamasında olan bu yayın formatını ilk kez İngiliz yayın kuruluşu BBC kullanacak. BBC, 2012 yılında Londra'da yapılacak olimpiyatlarda kent merkezinde bazı noktalara kuracağı dev ekranlardan canlı yayını bu yeni sistemle izleyicilere aktaracak. Yeni yayın formatını geliştiren NHK firması, süper televizyon yayınlarının izleyicilere ulaştırılmasına 2015 yılından itibaren geçilebilecek. Amsterdam, aa,zaman

Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, hopes to start test broadcasts of the new technology within seven years. Full-time public broadcasts could commence in 2025.

NHK’s technology is based on research into human vision, and the company claims that the quality enhancement is noticeable, rejecting criticisms that the improvements are not discernible by the human eye.

The system is being developed at NHK’s Broadcasting Centre in Tokyo, where super Hi-Vision images are currently projected on to a 10 metre by 5.5 metre screen. The system provides the sound quality of a concert hall, through 22 multi-layered speakers.

NHK still has to overcome a number of problems with Super Hi-Vision. At the moment it is only possible to record 20 minutes of footage at a time, and this has to be edited frame by frame.

Researchers have also found that viewers can suffer from motion sickness if they sit too close to the screen.

NHK still has to overcome the problem of transmitting huge amounts of data. It is using the BBC’s Dirac video compression technology in tests.

The large screens currently required by the technology would not fit into a living room, but Pioneer is trying to develop a Super Hi-Vision panel to help NHK achieve its aims(bbc)

BoRn 2 luv U

STUCK IN YOUR LOVE

Volte sempre para ver as novidades!

J-Melo é um programa de música japonesa todo falado em inglês. Nele, podemos ver clipes, entrevistas com cantores e músicos e matérias sobre músicas e danças típicas japonesas. Artistas japoneses que fazem sucesso no exterior vão ao programa e conversam com a apresentadora em inglês.

Apresentado desde 2007 pela cantora melody., J-Melo é exibido no Brasil pela rede de tv paga NHK World (canal internacional da rede pública japonesa com programação 24 horas), na madrugada de sexta para sábado, às 3:10.

melody.

melody. (o nome dela é escrito assim mesmo, apenas com letras minúsculas e com um ponto final) é uma cantora de j-pop, conhecida, principalmente por suas colaborações com a famosa dupla M-flo. Ela é natural do Havaí (e fala tanto japonês quanto inglês fluentemente).

mai takematsu apresentando o 1º programa j-melo

Antes de melody., o programa era apresentado (desde 2005, quando foi ao ar pela 1ª vez) pela harpista japonesa Mai Takematsu. Mai abandonou o programa para se dedicar à faculdade de medicina. Recentemente, ela voltou a se apresentar tocando harpa e seu site voltou a ser atualizado.

Site oficial da melody.: http://www.mel-mode.com/

Site oficial do J-Melo (em inglês): http://www.nhk.or.jp/j-melo/index_e.html

Site oficial de Mai Takematsu: http://maiclub.com/

Volte sempre para ver as novidades!

Shibuya (渋谷区, Shibuya-ku) è uno dei 23 quartieri speciali di Tokyo. Nel 2008 la popolazione stimata era di 208 371 persone per una densità di 12 960 abitanti per km². La superficie totale del quartiere ammonta a 15,11 km².

Shibuya è senza dubbio una delle zone più dinamiche della città. Il quartiere è illuminato da megaschermi, presenti su tutti i palazzi della zona, e vi si trova una grande varietà di negozi (soprattutto d'abbigliamento e musica) e ristoranti e love hotel. I giovani di Shibuya si esprimono attraverso l'arte del cosplay e la moda ganguro, rendendo così il quartiere ancor più colorato e particolarmente caratteristico.

Tutto qua. Niente di che. Perchè, quindi, questo interesse per un così particolare quartiere?
A breve saprete perchè. Intanto se volete avere un'idea di come sia Shibuya potete utilizzare 3 live-cam che ci vengono messe a disposizione da:

Clickando nei 3 punti colorati sarà possibile vedere cosa sta succedendo in questo momento in tre posizioni diverse di shibuya.

Ogni telecamera può essere ruotata in 3 punti diversi e l'aggiornamento dell'immagine dovrebbe essere ogni secondo.

Sicuramente andremo a visitare la statua di Hachiko.

E' un monumento nazionale, non vedo perchè non andarci. Poi la storia di questa statua è abbastanza carina che vale la pena farci un salto. La storia la trovate su wikipedia (come al solito) a questo indirizzo:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachiko

Un'altra cosa da visitare sono gli studios della NHK: la televisione pubblica giapponese.

Al costo di 200 yen (poco più di un euro!) è possibile entrare nello NHK Studiopark. In pratica sarà possibile vedere come vengono create le trasmissioni, alcuni dei più famosi Drama o Dorama, i cartoni animati e così via. C'è pure un punto vendita di gadget delle trasmissioni più famose mandate in onda dalla NHK.
Tra l'altro è stato anche creato un Manga ed un Anime dove la NHK ha un ruolo importante: N・H・Kにようこそ!, NHK ni Yōkoso!, in quanto la televisione pubblica giapponese viene accusata di una sovversiva cospirazione ai danni degli hikikomori: persone che rifiutano qualsiasi forma di contatto con il resto del mondo. L'anime è carino e merita, a mio avviso, un'accurata visione.

Se si escludono le centinaia (!) di negozi, catene, mega-grattacieli pieni di negozi di moda e di musica, uno in particolare è OBBLIGATORIO da vedere: lo Square-Enix SHOP!!!
Questa la "piantina" che ci fornisce lo shop online:

Non è proprio il massimo della chiarezza. Per questo sarà bene ricorre al buon StreetView di Google:

Temo che anche a Shibuya spenderemo diversi soldi in gadget... :(
Ma non solo nello Square Enix Shop, dove sicuramente mi prenderò qualche pupazzo/peluche della serie di Final Fantasy... ma in tutti i negozi di moda, accessori, musica e così via... altri soldi che se ne vanno... :|

On Gatten yesterday they were talking about Charcoal used in bbq's. The woman co-host on the show had to lug a big bucket filled with charcoal and water all the way across the studio, with the camera focused on her, while the male co-host stood there with some tongs in his hand. You could clearly see the poor woman could barely lift the bucket and she was hunched over trying to lift it. Not only did the male co-host not offer a hand, the fact that the cameraman showed her trying to lift it and not getting any help or offer of help is bloody depressing. It just reinforced to me that Japan hasn't changed one iota, they still view women as lower than they are. It really incensed me, as a woman. Then after she had brought the bucket of water over to the male co-host she had to scurry back to the platform and give a talk about charcoal while the male co-host put two pieces of charcoal on the bbq table. Woah! Big effort there man, don't break your back!

Of course Yasu thinks it's hilarious that i find it so infuriating. He can see my point of view but it doesn't stick out to him like it does to me. I guess Japanese males have been conditioned to not notice these things. How much easier would it have been for the guy to get the bucket and carry it over for his co-host? Such a simple thing. But he stood there like an idiot and watched with everyone else as she struggled with the bucket. These kind of things just make me so angry.

I think men and women are equal, in fact when i married Yasu i told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't and would never be higher than me. It's a fact he accepted. Yet when we were in Japan he was always treated like he was higher than me, especially by his parents. This is digressing but when we went to a Japanese restaurant as a family, the restaurant served my father in law first, and then my mother in law, then Yasu and his sister, and lastly me (if ever i felt like an outsider it was then!). My father in law ate his meal and was finished before anyone even got theirs, and when i was living with Yasu's parents, my father in law was always served first and started eating, not waiting for anyone else.

When i grew up it was just basic table manners to wait for everyone else to get their meals before starting. And even if male relatives did get served first, they waited until everyone else to get theirs before starting.

I know it's a cultural difference, something that is offensive to me is normal to them. But Yasu expects that when his family comes to stay with us, his father is shown the same form of "respect". Uh, hello, but we are all equal here, and as much as i respect his family, i won't be allowing the father to just chow down before anyone else. "So maybe my family shouldn't come to Perth then" is Yasu's response. So that means Japanese guys shouldn't have to change just because they go to someone else's country?? Give me a break.

There is a great saying "when in Rome, do as the Roman's do", which i love. I just think it exemplifies what going to another country is all about.

Will his parents ever come to Perth? I'm not sure if his father could handle it. That's going to be massive culture shock for him, but devil as i am, i'd love to see it.

For all the people currently living in Japan male or female, does sexism bother you? Do you even notice it anymore? Does it make you angry? Have you ever tried to change it?

La serie "Ugly Betty" remake norteamericano del melodrama colombiano "Yo soy Betty la fea" que alcanzó gran popularidad entre los años 1999-2001 se ha convertido en todo un fenómeno en el archipiélago nipón donde miles de japoneses la siguen por la televisión por cable o rentando vídeos.

Curiosamente, la serie original producida por el canal colombiano RCN que fue difundida hace unos cuatro años en el territorio japonés por la señal digital de TBS (en español con subtítulos en japonés) no alcanzó el éxito que viene teniendo el remake producido por la mexicana Salma Hayek y se difunde al mundo entero por la cadena ABC, en idioma inglés con subtítulos en japonés, aunque en dvd ya es posible encontrarlo con doblaje al japonés.

La historia de una mujer no atractiva pero de una inteligencia deslumbrante interpretada por la actriz hondureña América Ferrera se difunde actualmente los jueves y sábado en el horario estelar de las 21.00 hs por el canal de cable Super Drama

De otra parte, la NHK anunció que a partir del 18 de octubre empezará a difundir la segunda temporada de la serie en su señal BS-2.

Finalmente, quienes no disponen de televisión por cable o televisión digital BS, pueden disfrutar de los programas de la primera temporada de "Ugly Betty" en la comodidad de sus hogares porque la totalidad de tiendas dedicadas al alquiler de vídeos y DVD como Tsutaya, Geo, ente otras los ofrecen como la atracción de la temporada.

Al respecto, el último fin de semana, se inició la promoción del lanzamiento de la venta de los DVD de la primera temporada de "Ugly Betty" a cargo de la joven actriz Kinoshita Yukina quien caracterizando a la protagonista del melodrama invitó a los nipones a adquirir el pack que incluye los 23 capítulos doblados al japonés.

EL DATO

"Ugly Betty" se adjudicó dos Premios Globos de Oro 2007 en la categoría "Mejor Serie" y "Mejor Actriz" (América Ferrera). También ganó el Premio Emmy 2007 a la "Mejor Serie".

Mata yasi!

© 2008 BLOG DEL PETA

La Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) dio a conocer que a partir de febrero del próximo año entrará en funciones la Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIBtv) empresa que se encargará de transmitir sus programas íntegramente en idioma inglés durante las 24 horas del día a través de internet y vía satélite al mundo entero.

Al respecto, el nuevo presidente de la televisora pública, Takashima Hatsuhisa manifestó que prevén que servicio que ofrecerán con JIBtv abarcará unos 110 millones de hogares de Norte América, Europa, Medio Oriente, Sudeste Asiático, Africa del Norte y otras regiones del planeta, hecho que representará una mayor presencia japonesa.

“Ofreceremos al mundo 24 horas de programación íntegramente en idioma inglés no solo sobre el Japón sino también una perspectiva del acontecer en el continente asiático", precisó Takahashi en nota de prensa.

En relación al contenido de los programas que se transmitirán a través de la Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIBtv), Takahashi precisa que será una programación variada que incluye aspectos políticos, económicos, cultura tradicional y cultura popular japonesa que serán difundidos en ciclos de cuatro horas para que puedan ser apreciados en horarios adecuados en diferentes partes del planeta.

Finalmente, Takahashi no descartó que en la programación de la Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIBtv) también se incluyan las producciones de las televisoras privadas japonesas.

“Queremos difundir información al resto del mundo. Confiamos que este servicio de transmisión internacional mostrará al Japón desde un nuevo punto de vista", concluyó.

EL DATO
Japan International Broadcasting (JIBtv) se creó en abril pasado con un capital de 50 millones de yenes proporcionado por la Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK). El 1 de septiembre empezó la producción de programas y la instalación del sistema de transmisión de banda ancha de internet.

Mata Yasi!

© 2008 BLOG DEL PETA

Sun May Set Soon On New York Sun If It Doesn’t Find New Funding -- New York Sun, the small-but-influential NY area newspaper which launched among much hype in 2002, may be forced to close after this month if it does not find new investors. According to NYP, the paper is losing money at the rate of $1 million a month for total losses surpassing $70 million. The paper was backed by deep-pocketed investors to being with, including Roger Hertog, the former vice chairman of AllianceBernstein, and became known for its coverage of New York City government and the arts and for its conservative political bent, reports WSJ. As of 2007 the paper claims a readership of 150K, supposedly among a slice of “New York elite.”

Liberty Media Details Plans To Split-Off Liberty Entertainment -- Liberty Media’s board has approved a plan to fully split Liberty Entertainment, currently a tracking stock, off into a separate public company. After the split, Liberty Entertainment would still retain the name. If the plan goes through, the new Liberty Entertainment would be made up of roughly 50 percent of The DirecTV Group (NYSE: DTV), and all holdings belonging Starz Entertainment, FUN Technologies, and Liberty Sports Holdings. It would also include 50 percent of GSN and 37 percent of WildBlue Communications. Liberty Entertainment would also assume the $2 billion in debt that was incurred to acquire 78.3 million DirecTV shares in April 2008. The parent company said it expected the executive officers of Liberty Media to also hold those positions at Liberty Entertainment, which also means media mogul John Malone.

Microsoft and Others To Take Stake in Japanese Broadcaster NHK; Streaming Online As Well -- Microsoft, NTT and Itochu Corp, together with 10 other companies are taking a stake in Japan’s first 24-hour English-language broadcasting service, which local public broadcaster NHK which is due to launch in February, reports Nikkei, citing sources and picked up by Thomson Financial. NHK will issue about $1.8 million in new shares through private placements with these 13 investors, the paper said. Once the new shares are issued, NHK’s interest in the unit will drop to around 60 percent, and each of the 13 companies will have stakes of less than 5 percent each. Both MSFT and NTT, which have expertise in digital media, plan to which broadcast the network online as well. This is the first such channel in Japan, and expects to reach 110 million households in North America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and other areas of the world.

CNBC-LinkedIn Link Up On Content, Networking -- Another media partnership for LinkedIn, which is striving to be more than a place to check contacts. This time it’s CNBC and the business social net in a “significant strategic alliance” that may actually live up to the billing if executed as described: CNBC becomes LinkedIn’s preferred business media provider with text, articles and blogs, financial data, and video content. LinkedIn networking and functionality will be integrated into CNBC.com while LinkedIn content will be used on CNBC the network. Less clear is what the two have to gain financially beyond exposure to each other’s domestic and international audiences: VC-backed LinkedIn has 27-plus million registered users; CNBC hovers around 250,000-265,000 U.S. viewers for total business day viewers but its actual reach is hard to measure because so much of the viewing is out of home.