Category Archives: Media

Media watch: What’s missing from the discussion of elective names for married couples?

Posted on April 9, 2022 by philipbrasor

Late last month, Seiko Noda, the state minister in charge of gender equality, remarked that a recent Cabinet Office survey to gauge the public’s opinion on allowing couples to retain separate surnames after marrying was misleading. The survey results seemed … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Press wonders if 2030 Sapporo Olympics is already in the bag

Posted on April 4, 2022 by philipbrasor

In case you weren’t aware, Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is gunning for the 2030 Winter Olympics, a goal that has been met with mixed feelings by not only many Japanese but, seemingly, many residents of Sapporo. Given the trauma … Continue reading →

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Media watch: New children’s agency may not necessarily be there for children

Posted on March 23, 2022 by philipbrasor

On March 14, the Mainichi Shimbun published an article about an ordinance proposed in the Okayama prefectural assembly to bolster so-called home education in order to “encourage children to become parents in the future.” The proposal received pushback from certain … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Trans parent throws family court for a loop

Posted on March 6, 2022 by philipbrasor

In response to yet another earnest challenge to Japan’s family register (koseki) system, the Tokyo Family Court on Feb. 28 refused to recognize a person as the father of two children despite the fact that this person provided their own … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Secret births wreak havoc on bureaucratic protocols

Posted on February 23, 2022 by philipbrasor

In 2007, Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto installed a “baby hatch” where infants could be deposited anonymously, presumably by parents who are unable to raise them for whatever reason. Since then, the hospital has received about a dozen babies every year … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Government demonstrates selective memory when it comes to Japan’s mining history

Posted on February 6, 2022 by philipbrasor

Last week, the Cabinet decided it would ask UNESCO to list a gold and silver mine on the island of Sado as a World Heritage Site. The government says the mine, which opened about 400 years ago and closed in … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Justice ministry ties itself into knots attempting to simplify paternity determination

Posted on February 4, 2022 by philipbrasor

One of the purposes of Japan’s koseki (family register) system, if not the main purpose, is to provide the authorities with some control over what constitutes a family, which naturally leads to grey areas and points of contention, since it’s … Continue reading →

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February No. 1 Shimbun column

Posted on February 1, 2022 by philipbrasor

We’re now contributing a monthly media column to the No. 1 Shimbun. It should be pretty much the same as Media Mix in terms of content and style, but probably longer since No. 1 Shimbun is only published online, which … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Bicycle accidents receive extra scrutiny from public, police and media

Posted on January 31, 2022 by philipbrasor

On Jan. 26, Tokyo District Court began hearing a case in which a bicycle delivery person is accused of riding recklessly and causing the death of a 78-year-old man in Itabashi Ward last April. Prosecutors are demanding a 2-year prison … Continue reading →

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Media watch: High court “forgives” trainee convicted of abandoning baby, but only up to a point

Posted on January 24, 2022 by philipbrasor

Technical trainees who come from overseas to work in Japan are subject to conditions that don’t necessarily apply to foreign workers who come to Japan with conventional work visas. There are many people who feel these conditions are unreasonable, especially … Continue reading →

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