It was painful watching Inoue Asahi, the very capable and likable news announcer on NHK's flagship Newswatch 9 evening news broadcast, quietly struggle last night with the new name of this blessed land, post-the December 16 election. Only a few weeks ago she was calling the country, "Nihon." Now, without explanation, she is calling it "Nippon," with the jut-jawed voiced consonant in the middle.
It is 2007 all over again.
Catch, while the segment is still available, the interview with Softbank founder and CEO Son Masayoshi. Who would have thought that an ethnic Korean, who found the workaround to the law requiring him to abandon his Korean name for a Japanese one when he applied for citizenship, would be just another Meiji Restoration fetishist? (Link)
A guide to Japan’s general election
2 months ago
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