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Copyright © 2010 AFP

Tokyo samurai women punish fat with sword workout

Japan's ancient samurai swords were once used to slice apart enemies, but in a new fitness craze they serve to slash away at extra pounds and cut down on modern-day stress instead. "Cut down!", a sword-wielding instructor shouted during a recent "Samurai Camp" gym session in Tokyo as a squad of sweat-drenched women warriors followed suit, slashing the air with their shiny blades. "Put your right foot forward, cut down straight, thrust out your chest, no bending of the back," the instructor yelled to the sound of a techno dance beat and swooshing weapons. "Punish the extra fat with this!" To avoid turning the health workout into a bloodbath, the swords are made of wood and urethane foam, but the determination of the participants is steely: the goal is to shed five kilograms (11 pounds) in about a month.

U.S. transport chief test-rides Japan magnetic train

The U.S. transport chief took a test ride Tuesday on Japan's super-fast magnetic train, a contender for President Barack Obama's multi-billion-dollar national high speed railway project. Japan is up against China, France, Germany and other bidders as it seeks to sell its Shinkansen bullet and magnetic train systems for the American rail plan, which is backed by 13 billion dollars in public funding. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he looked forward to "the thrill of a lifetime" as he boarded the train for a 500 kilometre (310 mile) per hour ride at the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line near Mount Fuji.

One-on-one counselors to be introduced to support jobless people  

The government decided Tuesday to introduce counselors to support those who are unemployed over a long duration one-on-one in fiscal 2011. At a meeting to tackle the unemployment issue, Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, "It is necessary to support needy persons individually and continuously." The government plans to allocate the costs for the program in the fiscal 2011 national budget. The counselors are expected to help unemployed people find jobs and accommodation.

WHO: Japan's life expectancy longest at 83 years

Japan and San Marino in Europe have the world's longest life expectancy at 83 years, according to the World Health Organization. On Monday, the U.N. body released World Health Statistics 2010, which is based on surveys conducted in 2008 and covers 193 WHO member countries. By gender, Japanese women boast the longest average life expectancy at 86 years, followed by France, Andorra and Monaco at 85 years. Japanese men were ranked 4th at 79 years, following San Marino at 81 years, and Iceland and Switzerland at 80 years.

Tokyo matchmaking services getting more diverse

Matchmaking services in Tokyo now come in a variety of forms -- even one aimed at bringing together cat lovers. So-called "cat cafe" Nyafe Melange in Tokyo's Ebisu district, where cuddly cats are on hand to be petted, is hosting lessons for singles on photographing their favorite animal. "There are many people who are getting bored of the ordinary style of matchmaking events, in which men go around the seats to talk to women," said Kazumi Nokajima, organizer of the event for cat lovers.

Japan and Friends: Foreign Relations

There has recently been some friction between Japan and the United States over the Futenma base in Okinawa and over the existence of secret Cold War-era agreements with Washington that, among other things, had allowed American nuclear-armed warships to sail into Japanese ports in violation of Japan’s non-nuclear policies. Martin Fackler for The New York Times summed the issue up succinctly:

"The existence of the pacts, known in Japan as the “secret treaties,” has long been known from declassified documents in the United States and the testimony of former American and Japanese diplomats. But successive prime ministers denied their existence, turning the agreements into a symbol for many Japanese of how Liberal Democratic governments had turned their country into a stunted democracy run without full consent by the public."

After ending the Liberal Democrats’ nearly unbroken 54-year grip on power last summer, the new Democratic Party government opened an investigation into the pacts as part of their promised housecleaning of Japan’s postwar order. Exposing the truth about their nation’s secret dealings with the United States was also part of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s pledges to put Tokyo on a more equal footing with Washington. This fed concerns among some in Washington, particularly conservatives, that revealing the treaties was part of an effort by Mr. Hatoyama’s administration to push away from the United States."

Tobias Harris contributed some much-needed perspective on both situations in his essay Japan: The importance of open diplomacy for East Asia Forum, which was posted today. Here is a snippet:

"The Hatoyama government deserves some blame for not being clearer about why it wanted a review in the first place, which enabled some to paint the government as anti-American. But those who see the Futenma dispute in the worst possible light have misinterpreted the Hatoyama government’s position. I think that the Hatoyama government is approaching Futenma less as a foreign policy issue than as a domestic policy issue, because a bilateral agreement as complicated the realignment plan involves too many actors within Japan to be simply a bilateral matter for governments in Tokyo and Washington. Indeed, if the 2006 agreement has a flaw it is that the Koizumi government acted without the full approval of Okinawan constituents, which explains at least in part why subsequent LDP governments did little but drag their feet on implementing the agreement."

According to The New York Times, by March 3rd the Japanese government had approached United States officials with a tentative proposal for resolving a festering dispute over the American air base in Okinawa. The proposal would relocate the Futenma Marine Corps air station, a busy helicopter base, from a crowded city in southern Okinawa to a less populated area in the island’s north, but would be smaller and have a diminished impact on local residents and the environment than previously agreed upon.

It is unclear whether the proposal is going to be acceptable to Washington, or indeed to members of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s own coalition, particularly the Social Democratic Party, a tiny leftist group that wants the base removed from Japan altogether. Harris concludes:

"But whether or not the Hatoyama government succeeds, it is important to recognise that it is acting on the basis of an old idea, that a democratic foreign policy must necessarily be conducted in the sight of the people in whose name it is being conducted. In its pursuit of this aim, the Hatoyama government has also implicitly suggested that an alliance conducted behind closed doors is inappropriate for a more democratic Japan, that the alliance will not endure if it continues to rest upon secret agreements and understandings."

News Blast

Japan PM in a bind as upper house election looms

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, his party flagging in polls ahead of a mid-year election, promised on Monday to find a way to regain public backing but said he was not considering a cabinet reshuffle now. Only one in four voters plan to cast their ballots for his Democratic Party in an upper house election expected in July, a Yomiuri newspaper survey showed on Monday, as funding scandals and doubts about the premier's leadership erode his support.

U.S. sees 'critical role' for Japan on Iran

A top U.S. official said Friday Japan has "a very critical role" to play in international efforts to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions as the West pitches new sanctions against Tehran. Japan -- which relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil and, unlike its chief ally the United States, maintains relatively cordial ties with Iran -- next month takes the rotating chair of the U.N. Security Council.

Korea, Japan to sign e-government deal

Korea is set to export its e-government systems to Japan a hundred years after it was forced to adopt Japan's administrative system and rules under its colonial occupation. Korea and Japan will sign an agreement on e-government cooperation and technological exchange later this month, according to a government source. Korean IT companies have sold electronic government systems to Japan's local governments since 2004, but it will be the first such deal between the central governments of the two countries.