Comments on: 2007: Japan Top Ten Year in Review http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/ The Japan History Group Blog Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:45:05 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Neil Duckett http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/comment-page-1/#comment-103226 Neil Duckett Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:15:44 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/#comment-103226 Great list, well thought out and nothing major springs to mind as missing from the list. Nice site too, glad i came across it. Great list, well thought out and nothing major springs to mind as missing from the list. Nice site too, glad i came across it.

]]> By: Matthew http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/comment-page-1/#comment-102346 Matthew Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:37:00 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/#comment-102346 I'm not sure if, as a group, they belongs in the top 10 but the multiple food scandals of 2007 deserve some mention. Reputable (Fuji-ya, McDonalds, Shiroi-koibito) and disreputable (Meat Hope!) companies alike were caught selling recycled or spoiled food products by maintaining a highly organized system of relabeling and redistribution. Meat Hope wins the prize both for grotesqueness and absurdity: it was mixing the flesh of cows, pigs, rabbits, and other animals only to package and sell it as "100% beef." The president maintained a ridiculous defense of “ it was an honest mistake” and ignorance until his own son outted him on live TV. That was great! I’m not sure if, as a group, they belongs in the top 10 but the multiple food scandals of 2007 deserve some mention. Reputable (Fuji-ya, McDonalds, Shiroi-koibito) and disreputable (Meat Hope!) companies alike were caught selling recycled or spoiled food products by maintaining a highly organized system of relabeling and redistribution. Meat Hope wins the prize both for grotesqueness and absurdity: it was mixing the flesh of cows, pigs, rabbits, and other animals only to package and sell it as “100% beef.” The president maintained a ridiculous defense of “ it was an honest mistake” and ignorance until his own son outted him on live TV. That was great!

]]> By: Morgan Pitelka http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/comment-page-1/#comment-101553 Morgan Pitelka Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:23:20 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/#comment-101553 Indeed, the most recent pension scandal, in which the pension records of approximately 50 million people have been lost or otherwise cannot be identified, has been rocking the government since the opposition Democratic Party of Japan revealed the problem in May. First Abe and now Fukuda have been struggling against extremely low poll numbers and a general lack of confidence. This is ironic because Fukuda was forced to quit as Koizumi's chief cabinet secretary three years ago in May 2004 in the previous pension scandal, when it was revealed that he (and other top government officials) had not been paying into the national pension scheme. Here's the Yomiuri Newspaper's top 10 news stories of 2007: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/2007news10/index.htm (Japanese) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20071225TDY04310.htm (English) Indeed, the most recent pension scandal, in which the pension records of approximately 50 million people have been lost or otherwise cannot be identified, has been rocking the government since the opposition Democratic Party of Japan revealed the problem in May. First Abe and now Fukuda have been struggling against extremely low poll numbers and a general lack of confidence. This is ironic because Fukuda was forced to quit as Koizumi’s chief cabinet secretary three years ago in May 2004 in the previous pension scandal, when it was revealed that he (and other top government officials) had not been paying into the national pension scheme.

Here’s the Yomiuri Newspaper’s top 10 news stories of 2007:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/2007news10/index.htm (Japanese)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20071225TDY04310.htm (English)

]]> By: matt http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/comment-page-1/#comment-101546 matt Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:17:19 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/#comment-101546 sorry to keep posting (when i click submit, new ideas pop up). mods plz add to prvs post. No. 3 - The city of Yubari in Hokkaido went BANKRUPT, and the gov. let them twist in the wind. This is only the beginning...(see Norimitsu Onishi "Tokyo Cuts Aid, and Hinterland Withers in Japan" in the New York Times, January 27, 2007). This is just beginning... sorry to keep posting (when i click submit, new ideas pop up). mods plz add to prvs post.

No. 3 – The city of Yubari in Hokkaido went BANKRUPT, and the gov. let them twist in the wind. This is only the beginning…(see Norimitsu Onishi “Tokyo Cuts Aid, and Hinterland Withers in Japan” in the New York Times, January 27, 2007).
This is just beginning…

]]> By: matt http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/comment-page-1/#comment-101542 matt Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:00:45 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2007/12/2007-japan-top-ten-year-in-review/#comment-101542 One thing that should seriously be in the top 10 (despite the facetiousness of my last comment) is 年金問題　€- in the news everyday now and almost every day since it first broke as a serious issue in contemporary Japanese society -- it was a factor in the decline of Mr. Abe's popularity, won the opposition a political victory in the Diet, and threatens Mr. Fukuda today. And a lot of old people are really, really angry. If I had to place my money on the issue that won the most media coverage in 2007, this would undoubtably be No. 1. The lost money would probably be less than the GDP generated by university students nursed by Instant Ramen. But it's at least a close call. Higher than Matsuzaka's salary for sure. No.2 would be bullying, which overtook schoolgirl dating, parricide, and suicide to become the national crisis of 2007. Monbusho finally defined it in January of 2007, and found 124,898 cases nationwide for their first study. It was all downhill from there. One thing that should seriously be in the top 10 (despite the facetiousness of my last comment) is 年金問題　€- in the news everyday now and almost every day since it first broke as a serious issue in contemporary Japanese society — it was a factor in the decline of Mr. Abe’s popularity, won the opposition a political victory in the Diet, and threatens Mr. Fukuda today. And a lot of old people are really, really angry.

If I had to place my money on the issue that won the most media coverage in 2007, this would undoubtably be No. 1.

The lost money would probably be less than the GDP generated by university students nursed by Instant Ramen. But it’s at least a close call. Higher than Matsuzaka’s salary for sure.

No.2 would be bullying, which overtook schoolgirl dating, parricide, and suicide to become the national crisis of 2007. Monbusho finally defined it in January of 2007, and found 124,898 cases nationwide for their first study. It was all downhill from there.

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