Welcome to NOTEBOOK, a cultural guide to art, design and architecture along with a resource of local news and information in English giving a realistic view of Tokyo and further afield.
April said farewell to the winter and welcomed in the Spring with Golden week and hanami parties that drank and ate under the cherry blossom of Ueno park and pretty much everywhere else that would allow for the first time almost 4 years. NOTEBOOK ventured to Kyoto. Yet as we rewind out way through the month we remember the beginning of April as marked by the death of musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, one third of the electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra and a master of ambitious film scores. Saying goodbye to the harsh winter reminded this author of Sakamoto’s album from 1979 as we all prepared for what would become one of the harshest of summers in modern history.
Revisiting April
04/28
Tokyo-based space exploration startup iSpace failed in its bid to become the world’s first private-sector enterprise to land on the Moon surface. Washington officials said there were no plans to park any U.S. nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying nuclear warheads in Japan. Yet in light of recent missile launches from North Korea, U.S. submarines were set to dock in South Korean waters for the first time since the end of the Cold War. The organizer of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka warned of spiraling costs to stage the event, citing the need to strengthen its security amid the spiraling tensions of East Asia. Meanwhile, Japan downgraded the legal status of COVID-19, defining coronavirus to be on a par with seasonal flu, while paving the way for some sense of normality to return.
04/26
As the weather of late Spring lurched from hot and humid to wet and cold, news reached NOTEBOOK of plans by the Japanese government to expand a scheme allowing foreign workers with specific skills to live in the country for longer. Meanwhile, the Yen temporarily hit an eight-year and four-month low, falling to ¥148 against the Euro on Tokyo’s foreign exchange market. Elsewhere, the Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Japan would deploy a PAC-3 surface-to-air missile defense system on two Okinawa islands in readiness for further missiles launched from North Korea. And as the political situation in Sudan worsened, Japanese nationals along with their spouses were airlifted to neighbouring country of Djibouti aboard a Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft.
04/24
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a ritual 'masakaki' tree offering at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, much to the irritation of China and South Korea which sees Yasukuni as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past. Tottori Prefectural Government said it planned to prohibit the use of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, while Russian authorities banned any resident protesting the sovereignty of the Northern Territories, four northern islands east of Hokkaido (Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu) which Russia currently occupies and claims it owns. The animated film “The First Slam Dunk” smashed box offices in mainland China, and as polling boxes closed in nationwide local elections, NOTEBOOK wandered the streets listening as politicians and neighbouring street singers competed for attention.
04/21
A local government focus group in Osaka eyeing the chance to open a casino in the city announced its promotional material more than likely included artwork used without the consent of artists Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami. The week also marked one year since a fire tore through Kitakyushu’s Tanga Market, known to as “Kitakyushu's kitchen”. As tourists and government ministers alike feared a 9th wave of coronavirus city officials from Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, were thinking of novel ways to streamline its administration, becoming the first local level government to utilize the AI chatbot ChatGPT throughout every department. Meanwhile NOTEBOOK visited Kyoto, the city’s Nakagyō district and the infamous Teramachi Shopping Arcade.
04/19
Yuko Kishida, wife of the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, met with the U.S. First Lady Jill Biden in Washington. A young women camping in the countryside died in the early hours of Sunday morning after a tree fell on her tent. Later that same day, 11 festival goers were injured after the four-wheeled, wooden ‘Danjiri’ festival float they were pulling overturned in Sakai, just south of Osaka. In mainland China, takings for the Japanese animation film "Suzume" exceeded those in Japan less than a month after its release. And NOTEBOOK left Tokyo for Kyōto, the Kyōto Gyoen National Garden and Kyōto's Imperial Palace.
04/17
A 24 year-old man hurled a homemade pipe bomb at the current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida over the weekend as Kishida was speaking at Wakayama's fishing port. That very same day, the 225-meter-tall Tokyu Kabukicho Tower opened in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district. Meanwhile, the theme music to Nintendo’s classic video game Super Mario Bros. was archived by the American Library of Congress as part of its permanent collection. And amid the noise of campaigning politicians ahead of the upcoming nationwide local elections, we walked through Ikebukuro and Shinjuku to the sound of heavy rain and shopping tourists.
04/14
North Korea fired a ballistic missile at the Sea of Japan yesterday, the first since March 27th. The Japanese space startup ispace confirmed its lunar lander would attempt to touch down on the moon’s surface later this month. Tokyo Disneyland prepared to celebrate its 40th anniversary as the first full-length novel in almost six years by renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami hits Japanese bookstores. In readiness to go see a long list of art exhibitions, NOTEBOOK walked through Nakameguro and along the Meguro River while listening to a orchestra rehearse.
04/12
China deployed its Shandong aircraft carrier as Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen met with and the U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Japanese government confirmed that Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko will visit the UK for the coronation of King Charles III. The JOC said that it would recommend Sapporo's Winter Olympic bid be pushed back to 2034, and ChatGPT developer OpenAI said it planned to open an office in Japan amid concerns over personal data and AI's impact on learning. Meanwhile, Notebook walked along Hoppi-dori (Hoppy Street) and Denboin-dori (Denboin Street) for something to eat while sheltering from the weather.
04/10
Japanese boxer Takuma Inoue claimed the WBA bantamweight by defeating Venezuela's Liborio Solis as China and Japan were set to hold high-level talks in Tokyo. Miyajima Island would close to tourists during the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May. And researchers from Japan's Chiba University claimed they observed a pair of supermassive black holes. And with the Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Maison Ikkoku," awarded the title of Knight in the French Order of Arts and Letters last Thursday, Notebook took another short walk along the Sumidagawa river, catching sight of the Himiko river cruiser designed by another manga artist, Leiji Matsumoto, before heading towards Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa.
04/07
Japan and NATO said they would partner to safeguard cyberspace, while regulators for Japanese nuclear power announced they would, once again, halt safety checks of a reactor currently offline after a string of administrative errors. In Tokyo, COVID-19 cases grew by 1,200, while researchers off the coast of Japan uncovered the first ever fish seen swimming at 8,336 meters along the Ogasawara trench, the deepest fish of its kind ever to be recorded. And in the final part of a 3-part 'Edoverse' conversation with Shinwa CEO Yoichiro Kurata, we discussed art and commerce, Pokémon GO, and how the Edoverse might also serve as another way to visit Japan for anyone who would otherwise find it impossible to visit in person.
04/05
ANA Check-in and booking services were temporarily disrupted for every domestic flight as the country relaxed entry requirements for all visitors from mainland China. A new stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's “My Neighbor Totoro” won six awards in London at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, while the musician and film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, member of the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra, passed away on March 28 aged 71. Read this excellent article in April’s issue of The Wire where writer and musician David Toop who recounts Sakamoto. Notebook paid its own respects by visiting the DUG jazz-kissa cafe in Shinjuku established in 1961, a space beloved by music and film lovers alike.
04/03
Japan, Australia and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed to admit Britain as its 12th member. The Japanese government established a new research organization in Fukushima and unveiled a route between Tokyo with Nagoya along the Shin-Tomei Expressway for autonomous vehicles. The logistics industry was also updated with Japan Post carrying out the first ever parcel delivery by drone. And as the cherry blossom season reached its climax we visited Ueno Park on April Fools Day, April 1st, as people drank, shared stories and enjoyed this year’s ‘hanami’ for the first time in three years.
NOTEBOOK episodes are published 3 times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Things that don’t fit into each episode will appear here for when your visiting or thinking of visiting Japan.
We have recently been adding field recordings from different parts of the city and around the country, while interviews explore things that others might (or might not) recommend.
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