Japan in the News

So The New York Times and The Washington Post have come out with some articles on Japan recently. Thought I'd share. The amusing one is the crow one-- the others...well, not so amusing, but interesting. They provide insight into a fascinating country that in so many ways is different from America. And while posting these articles may seem like I'm trying to cast Japan in a negative light, that definitely is not the case. I just see, especially in the last two articles, a country and people that I love deteriorating...

Japan Fights Crowds of Crows
A true clash of the civilizations. I wonder where PETA weighs in on this. Some of my personal favorite quotes from this article:

• "They [the crows] are trying to outfox us."
• “We are not sure sometimes who is smarter, us or the crows.”
• “In the old days, crows and humans could live together peacefully, but now the species are clashing. All we really want to do is go back to that golden age of co-existence.”
  

This Mob is Big in Japan
Unfortunately, organized crime is huge in Japan. The Japanese are so intent on maintaining a harmonious society that they tolerate it; they would rather have controlled crime at the hands of a few organized groups than a bunch of random crimes committed by a lot people. If I would have known how violent they truly were, I guess I wouldn't have been so mouthy as a 20-year old when I ran into the guys with tattoos and 9 1/2 fingers...

Suicides in Japan
I had a friend in Japan whose job with the railway company was to find and gather the remains of people who had thrown themselves in front of trains.

To be honest, I'm just posting these for my own reference later.