Kotatsu

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The history of the kotatsu begins in the Muromachi era in the 14th century. 

Its origins begin with the Japanese cooking hearth known as the irori. 

Charcoal was the primary method of cooking and heating in the traditional Japanese household and was used to heat the irori. 

By the 14th century in Japan, a seating platform was introduced to the irori and its cooking function became separated from its seating function. 

On top of the wooden platform a quilt was placed, known as an oki which trapped and localized the heat of the charcoal burner. 

This early ancestor to the modern kotatsu was called a horigotatsu. The word horigotatsu is derived from the kanji meaning ditch, meaning torch or fire, and  meaning foot warmer. 

The formation of the horigatsu was slightly changed in the Edo Period in the 17th century. These changes consisted of the floor around the irori being dug-out into the ground in a square shape. 

The wooden platform was placed around this, making a hearth. The blanket was then again placed on top of the platform where one could sit underneath to stay warm. 

The moveable kotatsu was later created originating from the concept of horigatsu. This kotatsu came about with the popular use of tatami matting in Japanese homes. Instead of placing the charcoals in the irori, they were placed in a earthen pot which was placed on the tatami making the kotatsu transportable. This more modern style kotatsu is known as the okigotasu. 

In the middle of the 20th century charcoal was replaced with electricity as a heating source. Instead of having the moveable earthen pot of charcoals beneath the kotatsu, it was possible to attach an electric heating fixture directly to the frame of the kotatsu. Thus, the kotatsu became completely mobile with electricity and was mainstreamed in the Japanese home. 

Locals worried by ice, snow falling from Tokyo Sky Tree

The builders of Tokyo Sky Tree have announced some of the technologies that have been installed to deal with the winter weather, after it was confirmed that chunks of snow and ice had fallen from the upper portion of the structure to the street below between January and March this year. 

Fuji TV reported Sunday that local residents are concerned about the danger of falling bits of ice, some of which have landed within a 400-meter radius of Tokyo Sky Tree. 

A spokesperson for Tobu Railway Company, which operates Tokyo Sky Tree, said that on the observation deck, the outside of the windows has been coated with a special kind of glass that is designed to prevent snow from falling to the ground. 

Embedded in the glass, developers say, are 3,000 tiny electric heaters that are designed to melt the snow and stop it from building up, Fuji TV reported. 

Kim Jong Il dead

SEOUL--North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has died, North Korea's state radio and television reported in special broadcasts at noon Monday. He was 69. 

Kim, general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, died at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on a train while on his way to give "field guidance" to workers, the reports said. 

He died of physical and mental strain from overwork, the reports added. 

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim suffered a serious heart attack on Saturday. 

The same day, the agency made an official announcement that Kim's third son, Kim Jong Un, 28, would succeed his father as leader. 

But it is highly likely that North Korea will become unstable during the process of power transition, according to observers. 

Referred as North Korea's "dear leader," Kim maintained a dictatorship in the country for 17 years following the death of his father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994. 

After he was named his father's successor in a general meeting of the party Central Committee in February 1974, he steadily solidified his power base until his father's death. 

Kim had held key posts such as Workers' Party of Korea general secretary; the Central Military Commission chairman, which is the country's top post; and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. 

Despite North Korea's economic strain, Kim Jong Il took the lead of the country's nuclear and missile development programs. 

Under his leadership, the country carried out two nuclear tests, in October 2006 and in May 2009. 

Kim held summit talks with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2002 and 2004, in which he admitted for the first time that North Korea had abducted Japanese nationals. 

In a special broadcast by Korean Central Television, a female announcer clad in black Korean traditional dress reported Kim Jong Il's death. Kim's black-rimmed portrait was shown during the news. 

According to the "medical conclusion" on the leader's death, which the KCNA reported, Kim had received treatment for heart and cerebrovascular vessel failures for years. 

His funeral will be held in Pyongyang on Dec. 28 as a state event, and his body will be placed in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where his father's embalmed body lies, the news agency said. 

North Korea has been accelerating moves to establish a system for Kim's successor, positioning 2012 as the year for "opening the grand gate toward a great, prosperous and powerful nation." 

On Sept. 28, 2010, Kim Jong Un was elected as a Central Committee member at a conference of party delegates and named a vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, a new post, at a general meeting of the committee. 

He also was named a general in the Korean People's Army. 

The transition of power will be the first for the country since Kim Jong Il assumed power. 

Although he has joined the leadership of the country's party and army, Kim Jong Un has not yet had enough time to prepare for succession from his father. It remains unknown how far he has assumed the reins of power and taken control of his subordinates. 

Oden 

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Oden is a Japanese winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth. Ingredients vary according to region and between each household. Karashi (Japanese mustard) is often used as a condiment. 

Oden was originally what is now commonly called miso dengaku or simply dengaku; konnyaku or tofu was boiled and one ate them with miso. Later, instead of using miso, ingredients were cooked in dashi and oden became popular. 

Oden is often sold from food courts, and most Japanese convenience stores have simmering oden pots in winter. Many different kinds of oden are sold, with single-ingredient varieties as cheap as 100 yen. 

In Nagoya, it may be called Kantō-ni and soy sauce is used as a dipping sauce. Miso oden is simmered in hatcho-miso broth, which is lightly sweet taste. Konjac and tofu are common ingredients. 

In Kansai area they are sometimes called Kantō-daki and tend to be stronger flavoured than the lighter Kantō version. 

Oden in Shizuoka use a dark coloured broth flavoured with beef stock and dark soy sauce, and all ingredients are skewered. Dried and ground fish (sardine, mackerel, or katsuobushi) and aonori powder (edible seaweed) are sprinkled on top before eating. 

Udon restaurants in Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku almost always offer oden as a side dish, to be eaten with sweet miso while waiting for the udon. 

Japan arrests woman who lived with cult fugitive 

A woman claiming to have lived with a senior member of the doomsday cult behind the 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways turned herself in and was arrested

Tuesday for helping him evade police for nearly 17 years. 

Akemi Saito, also a member of Aum Shinrikyo, gave herself up after Makoto Hirata surrendered to police on New Year's Eve, 

according to police and Saito's lawyer. 

Hirata has refused to explain how he managed to keep underground for so long despite being one of Japan's most-wanted fugitives. 

He is suspected of involvement in a cult-related kidnapping-murder in 1995.

High Food Prices, Revolutions, and the Future

Food prices are down from their record highs in February. But prices are still higher than they were a year ago. In a year of Arab protests, high food prices helped fuel the anger against oppression, corruption and poverty. 

Many experts think the political fires that burned across North Africa and the Middle East started last year in the wheat fields of Russia. A combination of heat, drought and wildfires during the summer of twenty-ten destroyed one-third of Russia's winter wheat crop. World food prices rose after Russia halted wheat exports. 

Shenggen Fan is head of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington. He links higher food prices to the uprisings in Egypt and other Arab countries. 

The last time food prices jumped was in two thousand eight. At that time, Egypt was also was among the countries where food riots and demonstrations took place. 

Ghiyath Nakshbendi is a professor in the Department of International Business at American University in Washington. He agrees that food prices played a part in the Arab revolutions. 

Cornell University economist Chris Barrett says another problem is that gains in farm production have slowed. 

He says food supplies are not growing enough to meet the demand of seven billion people. The world is expected to add two billion more by the middle of the century. And people in emerging economies like China are eating more meat, which requires more animal feed. But in twenty-eleven, for the first time, the United States used more maize, or corn, for biofuels than for animal feed. 

The good news is that high prices always encourage farmers to grow more. A record harvest in twenty-eleven is helping to ease food prices in many parts of the world, but not all. 

Spa Resort Hawaiians

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Spa Resort Hawaiians, located in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, is a resort and theme park in Japan. It opened on January 15, 1966 as the Joban Hawaiian Center, becoming the first in the country. 

The resort was an outgrowth of the mining industry. The Joban Mine had become the Japan's largest mine in 1944, and business continued booming through the 1950s. As Japan's economy shifted from being powered by coal to oil in the 1960s, though, the owners realized that its useful life was limited. 

Yutaka Nakamura, the vice president, was determined to extend the mine's life somehow, and hit upon the idea of using the area's hot springs, an inconvenience to the mines, to open a resort. He selected a Hawaiian theme. 

One of the Resort's most well-known features is its dance troupe. Rather than inviting an outside troupe to perform, the company decided to create its own, and initially trained 18 employees' daughters. 

In the very close-knit mining community, entire families would work at the Resort. Nakamura intentionally kept the hotel small at the beginning, so the local ryokan would benefit from the increased business, and purchased as much as possible from local suppliers. 

Its popularity reached its peak in 197071, as attendance passed 1.55 million visitors per year. 

In 1989, Joban Hawaiian Center received the Deming Application Prize, becoming the first leisure-industry company to win this quality control award. 

In 1990, it changed its name to Spa Resort Hawaiians, reflecting an increased focus on the spa facilities. 

In 2004, it was the tenth most popular theme park in Japan, with 1.5 million visitors. 

The 2006 film Hula Girl was based on the story of the founding of the resort. 

Japan's damaged rice culture20 Jan 

The 3.11 tsunami and radiation may have changed a system for good The effects of the March 11, 

2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan have wrought havoc on the long-term prospects for the country's storied rice industry as well as doing short-term damage, according to a report by the Philippines-based International Rice Rese arch Institute. The disaster spurred evacuation of farmland in a 30-km radius around the nuclear plant, with consumer confidence in domestic rice falling and cutting into a system in which the country has been able to maintain the sovereignty of its international agricultural trade policies and agreements, with high tariffs keeping Japanese farmers self-sustaining, according to the report. 

Captain Blamed for Italy's Costa Concordia Disaster

The wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia in Italy comes just before the one hundredth anniversary of a much worse disaster at sea. This April will mark a century since the wreck of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest cruise ship of its time. 

It struck an iceberg on its way from England to New York. The ship was carrying more than two thousand people. Most of them died. 

The sinking of the Titanic not only led to major motion pictures. The Titanic disaster led to new requirements including safety training for passengers within twenty-four hours of sailing. 

The passengers on the Concordia had been at sea for just a few hours when it struck rocks off Italy's northwestern coast last Friday night. Their safety training had been planned for the next day. 

Passengers say the ship turned onto its side so quickly that many lifeboats could not be lowered into the water. 

Passengers were sitting down to late dinner when the ship hits rocks. They were told the ship was having electrical problems. Some said there was no organization among the crew during the crisis. Some people jumped into the cold sea and swam toward land. 

There were four thousand two hundred passengers and crew members on the ship. Rescuers used lifeboats and helicopters to take most of them to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland. Officials said at least eleven people died and twenty-one others were missing. 

Movements of the grounded ship and concerns about bad weather have interfered with efforts by divers to search underwater areas. The concern is that the ship could move off its rocky resting place and slide into deeper water. Bad weather could also delay work to remove fuel from the ship and protect the environment along the Tuscan coast. 

The ship is part of Carnival, the world's largest operator of cruise ships. Carnival is based in the American city of Miami, Florida. Its one hundred one ships carry about half of the world's fifteen million sea-going tourists each year. Carnival Corporation says it will closely examine safety at all of its cruise lines, including Costa Cruises, which operated the Concordia. 

Shortly after the accident, the ship's owners blamed the captain of the Concordia. They said he had made an unapproved change in direction and brought the ship too close to the coast. 

A judge released Captain Francesco Schettino from jail on Tuesday and placed him under house arrest. He faces charges of causing deaths and fleeing his ship before all the passengers were rescued. 

A recording of an exchange with an Italian coast guard officer showed that Captain Schettino refused orders to get back on the ship. Coast Guard Captain Gregory De Falco demanded that Captain Schettino use a ladder to climb back onto the Concordia and report how many people were still on the ship. 

But Captain Schettino said he was not going anywhere, that it was too dark. He said he was handling the rescue from a lifeboat. An angry Captain De Falco shouted that Captain Schettino was "going to pay" for his actions.

Sapporo Snow Festival

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The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri) is a famous festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan over seven days in February. Currently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival. The 2012 Yuki-matsuri dates are February 6 to 12. 

The festival is one of Japan's largest and most distinctive winter events. In 2007 (58th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites, in central Sapporo, and at the Satoland site. 

The festival is thought to be an opportunity for promoting international relations. International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odori Park site since 1974, and 14 teams from various regions of the world participated in 2008. 

The subject of the statues varies and often features an event, famous building or person from the previous year. For example, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who at that time played for the New York Yankees. 

A number of stages made out of snow are also constructed and some events including musical performances are held. At the Satoland site, visitors can enjoy long snow and ice slides as well as a huge maze made of snow. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of regional foods from all over Hokkaid at the Odori Park and Satoland sites, such as fresh seafood, potatoes and corn, and fresh dairy products. 

Every year the number of statues displayed is around 400 in total. In 2007, there were 307 statues created in the Odori Park site, 32 in the Satoland site and 100 in the Susukino site. The best place to view the creations is from the TV Tower at the Odori Park site. 

Most of the statues are illuminated in the evening. The Sapporo Snow Festival Museum is located in the Hitsujigaoka observation hill in Toyohira-ku, and displays historical materials and media of the festival. 

Tokyo 'has 70% chance of powerful earthquake within four years'

Experts in Japan have warned that the chances of a powerful earthquake striking Tokyo in the next four years could be as high as 70%, a more alarming scenario for the city's 13 million people than predicted by the government. 

The earthquake research institute at Tokyo University said that in the worst case, a quake of magnitude 7 would hit the southern part of metropolitan Tokyo by 2016, while the chances of a similar disaster occurring within 30 years are as high as 98%. 

The government, by contrast, estimates the possibility of an earthquake that size striking the capital at 70% in the next three decades. The warning comes less than a year after a magnitude-9 earthquake off the country's north-east coast triggered a tsunami that left about 23,000 people dead or missing. 

The 11 March earthquake - the biggest in recorded history in Japan - and the tsunami that followed also triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. 

Although newer buildings in Tokyo are built to withstand powerful earthquakes, a large quake in the city has the potential to cause widespread damage. According to the government, a magnitude-7.3 earthquake would kill about 5,600 people, injure 159,000 and destroy 850,000 buildings. 

Google announces privacy changes across products; users can't opt out

Google will soon know far more about who you are and what you do on the Web. 

The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine. 

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.Google has already been collecting some of this information. But for the first time, it is combining data across its Web sites to stitch together a fuller portrait of users. 

Consumers won't be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect March 1. And experts say the policy shift will invite greater scrutiny from federal regulators of the company's privacy and competitive practices. 

The move will help Google better tailor its ads to people's tastes. If someone watches an NBA clip online and lives in Washington, the firm could advertise Washington Wizards tickets in that person's Gmail account. 

Consumers could also benefit, the company said. When someone is searching for the word "jaguar," Google would have a better idea of whether the person was interested in the animal or the car. Or the firm might suggest e-mailing contacts in New York when it learns you are planning a trip there. 

But consumer advocates say the new policy might upset people who never expected their information would be shared across so many different Web sites. 

A user signing up for Gmail, for instance, might never have imagined that the content of his or her messages could affect the experience on seemingly unrelated Web sites such as YouTube. 

"Google's new privacy announcement is frustrating and a little frightening," said Common Sense Media chief executive James Steyer. "Even if the company believes that tracking users across all platforms improves their services, consumers should still have the option to opt out ― especially the kids and teens who are avid users of YouTube, Gmail and Google Search." 

Google can collect information about users when they activate an Android mobile phone, sign into their accounts online or enter search terms. It can also store cookies on people's computers to see which Web sites they visit or use its popular maps program to estimate their location. 

The change to its privacy policies come as Google is facing stiff competition for the fickle attention of Web surfers. It recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing last week to meet earnings predictions. Apple, in contrast, reported record earnings Tuesday that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.  

Herbivore men

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Herbivore men (Soshokukei-danshi), or grass-eating men is a social phenomenon in Japan of men who shun marriage or gaining a girlfriend. 

They are characteristically described as frugal, and interested in personal grooming. 

The term was first coined by Maki Fukasawa in an article published on 13 October 2006, and became a buzz word in 2008 and 2009. 

Many reasons are attributed to the situation, such as increased employment instability and increased female independence in Japan. 

Champion lauded for both classical, modern technique

"Winning [the Prix de Lausanne] has greatly encouraged me for my future. I'd like to become a dancer who can move people," said Madoka Sugai, 17, on Sunday after winning the Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition for young dancers in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday. 

The Prix de Lausanne is known as the gateway to success for young ballet dancers aged 15 to 18. Judges lauded Sugai for not only her classical dance routine, but also her dynamic contemporary dance program, which is often considered a weak spot for Japanese dancers. Experts expressed hearty congratulations to Sugai, saying they hoped she would become a superb dancer. At the competition, Sugai danced to "Raymonda" for her classical dance routine. 

Ballet dancer Miyako Yoshida, one of the judges for the competition, said: "[Sugai's] dance performance was of extremely high quality. Especially in the contemporary dance category, her dynamic dance, with its controlled movement and good use of music, strongly impressed all the judges. 

" Yoshida, who won a prize in the Prix de Lausanne in 1983, was delighted with Sugai's achievement, saying: "Her remarks after the competition were very impressive. She said, 'It was really fun for me.' I'm glad that a Japanese dancer won the top prize." 

One-child policy

The one-child policy refers to the one-child limitation applying to approximately 35.9% of China's population in the population control policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Chinese government refers to it under the official translation of family planning policy. 

It officially restricts married, urban couples to having only one child, while allowing exemptions for several cases, including rural couples, ethnic minorities, and parents without any siblings themselves. 

A spokesperson of the Committee on the One-Child Policy has said that approximately 35.9% of China's population is currently subject to the one-child restriction. 

The policy was introduced in 1979 and initially applied to first-born children in the year of 1978. It was created by the Chinese government to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China,and authorities claim that the policy has prevented between 250 and 300 million births from its implementation until 2000,and 400 million births from 1979 to 2011. 

The policy is controversial both within and outside China because of the manner in which the policy has been implemented, and because of concerns about negative social consequences.

The policy has been implicated in an increase in forced abortions, female infanticide, and underreporting of female births, and has been suggested as a possible cause behind China's gender imbalance. Nonetheless, a 2008 survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center reported that 76% of the Chinese population supports the policy. 

The policy is enforced at the provincial level through fines that are imposed based on the income of the family and other factors. Population and Family Planning Commissions exist at every level of government to raise awareness about the issue and carry out registration and inspection work. Despite this policy, there are still many citizens that continue to have more than one child. 

In 2008, China's National Population and Family Planning Commission said that the policy will remain in place for at least another decade. 

In 2010, it was announced that the majority of the citizens first subject to the policy are no longer of reproductive age and it has been speculated that many citizens simply disregard or violate the policy in more recent years. Still, the deputy director of the Commission stated that the policy would remain unaltered until at least 2015. 

In March 2011, the Chinese government reviewed the policy and expressed considerations to allow for couples to have a second child.

White Day

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White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. 

It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association 

as an "answer day" to Valentine's Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. 

In 1977, a Fukuoka-based confectionery company, Ishimura Manseido , marketed marshmallows to men on March 14, calling it Marshmallow Day. 

Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began marketing white chocolate. 

Now, men give both white and dark chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine's Day one month earlier. 

If the chocolate given to him was giri-choco, the man, likewise, may not be expressing actual romantic interest, but rather a social obligation. 

Japan will have a space elevator by 2050

It might the stuff of science fiction dreams, but a Japanese construction company has announced that it will have built a working space elevator by 2050. 

According to the The Daily Yomiuri, construction company Obayashi Corp has announced it will have built a space elevator capable of shuttling passengers 36,000 kilometers above the Earth by 2050. 

The company plans to use carbon nanontubes, which are 20 times stronger than steel, to produce the cables required for the elevator. 

Those cables will be stretched to a counterweight 96,000 kilometers above our planet, about one-fourth of the distance between the Earth and the moon. 

The terminal station, 36,000 kilometers above Earth, will be reached by cars that can carry 30 people and travel at 200 kilometers per hour. 

The EU achieved consensus to make Serbia a candidate for accession to the Union

TEuropean Union Foreign Ministers have noted the existence of consensus Monday to grant the country candidate status, Serbia said the French owner, Alain Juppé, and community sources. 

Although the decision will be up Tuesday to the General Affairs Council, foreign holders already analysed the Serbian dossier and found that none of the twenty-seven rejected a decision in favour of Belgrade. 

"It is done..." "There is no objection," said Juppé in statements on the margins of the meeting, although the formal agreement it should be closed tomorrow holders of European Affairs. Another European source also claimed that there is "a growing consensus" on this matter. 

In anticipation of a more likely positive decision on Tuesday, the European Commission announced Monday that the Serbian President, Boris Tadic, will meet on Tuesday in Brussels with the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso. 

The rapprochement with Kosovo was crucial 

The Serb candidate won new possibilities last Friday after the agreement reached between Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels under mediation of the EU on the involvement of the Serbian exprovincia in Balkan regional forums. Once the agreement closes Tuesday, it will be endorsed by the heads of State and Government Community Summit next Thursday and Friday. 

In this positive climate, the statements that were made at the entrance to the meeting of several responsible for Monday showed the general intention of declaring Serbia candidate country. 

"Hope that it is possible that tomorrow (Tuesday) is given the status of candidate for Serbia and is confirmed by the European Council", clearly stated the Belgian Foreign Minister, Didier Reynders. For the Swedish owner, Carl Bildt, "Serbia has complied with the conditions to have candidate status". "Deal of the week (...)" "opens the way to contractual relations between Kosovo and the EU and that is a great step for Kosovo," he added. 

The concession to Serbia the status of candidate for accession to the EU should have been taken last December, but then the community leaders decided to not take that step and allow more time to judge whether Belgrade had advanced far enough in relation to Kosovo. 

Among the toughest countries with Serbia was Germany, which in recent days has shown their readiness to support the candidacy of Belgrade. 

The German reluctance were mainly due to tensions in recent months between the Albanian population and the Serb minority in northern Kosovo, which led to clashes with the international forces deployed in the area and have a significant participation of German soldiers. 

Shinjuku Ni-chōme

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Shinjuku Ni-chōme , referred to colloquially as Ni-chōme or simply Nichō, is Area 2 in the Shinjuku District of the Shinjuku Special Ward of Tōkyō, Japan. With Tōkyō home to over 8.2 million people, and Shinjuku known as the noisiest and most crowded of its 23 special wards,Ni-chōme further distinguishes itself as Tōkyō's hub of gay subculture, housing the world's highest concentration of gay bars. 

Wthin close walking distance from three train stations (Shinjuku San-chōme Station, Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station, and Japan's busiest train station, Shinjuku Station),the Shinjuku Ni-chōme neighborhood provides a specialized blend of bars, restaurants, cafes, saunas, love hotels, gay pride boutiques, cruising boxes (hattenba), host clubs, nightclubs, massage parlors, parks, and gay book and video stores. 

In fact within the five blocks centering on street Naka-Dōri between the BYGS building at the Shinjuku San-chōme Station and the small Shinjuku park three blocks to the east, an estimated 200-300 gay bars and nightclubs provide entertainment. 

The history of Ni-chōme as a gay neighborhood generally begins around the time of the American Occupation of Japan (1945-1952) and ties strongly to the fall of its red-light districts (akasen). 

As early as 1948, there is mention of a gay Shinjuku tea shop, and by the 1950s gay bars publicly emerged both in name and form in Ni-chōme. 

Before 1957, Tōkyō's red-light districts had flourished as legally-licensed centers for sex workers but, armed with a new constitution and an Equal Rights amendment, post-occupation Japanese women's Christian groups, etc., successfully lobbied the Diet to pass the Prostitution Prevention Law in 1956. 

For the first time, prostitution in Japan became illegal. 

As the traditional sex industry left Ni-chōme, a gay subculture began to fill its place. 

By the late 1950s Ni-chōme was known for its popularity in the gay subculture, and a club scene began to emerge. 

More recent years have seen the establishment of a counseling room for young gay men in 1976, the first AIDS candlelight vigil in 1986, the 1992 inauguration of Tokyo's annual International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Japan's first lesbian and gay pride parade in 1994, and the founding of its first gay community center, AKTA. Today Shinjuku Ni-chōme continues to provide a home base for many milestones in the history of Japan's LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered) community. 

Miss Universe-Japan finalist is Manilena

Naomi S. Kida is perhaps the first Japino to make it to the finals of Miss Universe-Japan. Born in Tondo, Manila, in June 1988, she made it to the Top 5 of the beauty contest in Tokyo on June 17, 2011. 

Naomi is the daughter of Cristina Rivera Santiaguel of Imus, Cavite and Masami Kida, president of a cement production company. Fluent in Japanese, English and Filipino, Naomi regularly visits the Philippines and stays in Almanza, Las Pinas, with her aunt. 

"If I am back here and speak Tagalog, I have to change my [frame of] mind. It takes me one to two weeks to adjust," she told the Inquirer over lunch recently in a restaurant in Salcedo Village, Makati City. 

She studied in the Philippines-at the Manila Japanese School and the International School-until Grade 3 before she left for Japan. 

She went on to study at the Minamikata Elementary, Nishishima Junior High School and Nobeoka Nishi High School-all in Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu. 

She just earned a degree in international economics from Hosei University in Tokyo. 

At 170 cm or 5'7", she is tall by Japanese and Philippine standards. Her height served her well as a volleyball player in school and as a model. 

Japanese government considers intercepting North Korean rocket if it flies near Japan

Believing that North Korea is highly likely to launch a "satellite" as previously announced, the Japanese government has started considering intercepting the rocket if it flies toward Japan, according to government officials. If this were to occur, the government would be expected to issue a shoot-down order to the Self-Defense Forces based on the Self-Defense Forces Law. North Korea said Friday that it will launch a "rocket" mounted with an earth observation satellite in mid-April. 

The government plans to demand North Korea cancel the satellite launch plan, in cooperation with the United States, South Korea and China, concluding that the launch would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution. 

"We'll strongly seek self-restraint" from North Korea, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said during his meeting Friday with Laos Prime Minister Thogsing Thammavong. 

Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba also told reporters the same day at the Foreign Ministry that Japan had held talks with the United States, South Korea and China on the issue. 

"We share the common goal (of seeking North Korea's self-restraint)," he said. 

The timing of North Korea's announcement came as a "surprise" to the Japanese government, one government official said. 

Many government officials had believed North Korea would not take provocative actions for the time being, given that the country had agreed with the United States in February to implement a moratorium on its uranium-enrichment activities and long-range missile launches in exchange for U.S. food aid, according to sources. 

At an emergency meeting of senior officials Friday evening, the Defense Ministry acknowledged it would cooperate with U.S. forces to carefully analyze the launch pad and keep a close eye on activities around the expected launch site through satellites and other means. 

Golden Week

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Often abbreviated to simply GW and also known as Ōgon shūkan or Ōgata renkyū is a Japanese term applied to the period containing public holidays. 

The National Holiday Laws, promulgated in July 1948, declared nine official holidays. Since many were concentrated in a week spanning the end of April to early May, many leisure-based industries experienced spikes in their revenues. 

The film industry was no exception. 

In 1951, the film Jiyū Gakkō recorded higher ticket sales during this holiday-filled week than any other time in the year (including New Year's and Obon). 

This prompted the managing director of Daiei Film Co., Ltd. to dub the week "Golden Week" based on the Japanese radio lingo "golden time," which denotes the period with the highest listener ratings. 

Many Japanese take paid time off on the intervening work days, but some companies also close down completely and give their employees time off. 

Golden Week is the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese jobs. Two other holidays may also be observed for most or all of a week: Japanese New Year in January and Bon Festival in August. 

Golden Week is an extremely popular time to travel. Flights, trains, and hotels are often fully booked despite significantly higher rates at this time. 

Popular foreign destinations in Asia, Guam, Saipan, Hawaii, and major cities on the west coast of North America, such as Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and Vancouver, as well as in Europe and Australia, are affected during these seasons by huge numbers of Japanese tourists. 

Japan's embassy in Kabul attacked in Taliban's 'spring offensive'

The Japanese embassy in Kabul came under attack Sunday as explosions and gunfire rocked the Afghan capital. Suicide bombers struck across Afghanistan in coordinated attacks claimed by Taliban insurgents as the start of a spring offensive. 

The Japanese, U.S., British and German embassy compounds were hit as militants attacked the city's diplomatic enclave and tried to storm parliament, sparking a gun battle as lawmakers and bodyguards fired back from the rooftop. 

In Kabul the insurgents took up positions in construction sites overlooking the diplomatic missions and other high profile targets, which led to a stand-off with security forces throughout the afternoon and into the night. 

Kyodo news agency said three rockets landed in the Japanese embassy but nobody was hurt and staff had evacuated to a nearby air raid shelter. 

Huffington Post, Politico Win Pulitzers

The New York Times won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday for its reporting on Africa and for an investigative series on loopholes that allow the wealthiest Americans and corporations to avoid paying taxes. In a sign of the changing media landscape, two primarily online news outlets, The Huffington Post and Politico, won their first Pulitzer Prizes. 

Also notable this year was the absence of prizes in two categories. The Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University in New York, which administers the awards, did not name a winner in the editorial writing category. More notably, the judges declined to name a winner for the highly coveted prize for fiction. The last time no winner was named for fiction was in 1977. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer, which like many regional newspapers has struggled lately with a decline in print advertising revenue and changes in ownership, won the award for public service, among the most prestigious in journalism. The Inquirer's winning series focused on the pervasive, child-against-child violence in Philadelphia's schools. 

"After all this newsroom has gone through in the last three or four years," said The Inquirer's editor, Stan Wischnowski. "Bankruptcy, being owned by hedge fund managers, the downsizing, so much that our staff had no control over. This is an absolute crowning achievement to their dedication and commitment to excellence." 

The winning journalism articles this year covered many of the biggest news topics of 2011, including an award to Sara Ganim, 24, and The Patriot-News staff in Harrisburg, Pa., for local reporting on the Penn State sexual abuse scandal. 

In the arts, the winners included Quiara Alegría Hudes, who took the prize for drama for her play "Water by the Spoonful," and the late Manning Marable for "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention," which won the history prize. 

The Tuscaloosa News won in the breaking news category for its coverage of the deadly tornado that devastated that Alabama city last year. The judges cited the paper's use of "social media as well as traditional reporting to provide real-time updates."