Archive for September, 2008

Rajio No Jikan

On September 19, 2008 in On the J-web, fun

I was taking a look at the OTR (old time radio) podcasts over on Trans-Pacific Radio and there is a series called “Rod Serling’s Zero Hour” on there that reminded me of a very funny Japanese movie:

Rajio no Jikan!

I watched it with my Japanese family (a family that I used to spend time with) when I was in uni. Good times.

If you haven’t seen it you should! But until you do, there is a clip of Rajio no Jikan on imbd <– check it out

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Ninja lessons for J-bloggers

On September 18, 2008 in Announcements, Helping Japan Bloggers, Resources

Attention Japan-bloggers and webmasters:Â

Nick over at Longcountdown.com recently posted aboutÂ a collection of over 70,000 video tutorials!

Included in the collection are video tutorials for web developers (html, css, php, javascript, etc.)

These, young grasshopper, are your lessons in the ancient art of J-blogging.

Enjoy.

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September’s Japan Blog Matsuri - deadline is 9/20

On September 17, 2008 in Announcements, JapanBlogMatsuri, Uncategorized

(It’s just 3 days away so I am a little late with this post)

Tae Kim of GuideToJapanese.org is hosting this month’s Japan blog festival.

This monthâ€™s topic is on â€œThe Language of Japanâ€

Tae writes:

“While Iâ€™d like to hear about the Japanese language and your experiences with it in particular, you can write about any topic as long as itâ€™s related to languages in Japan.”

“LanguagesÂ in Japan…”

I wonder if we will see any posts about sign language or maybe a post about love (etc.) as “the language of Japan?”

We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Launch! Slash! Burn! Repeat! - DailyJ turns 1 !

On September 16, 2008 in Announcements, DailyJ Mission, Interview Highlights

It was one year ago this month that DailyJ was launched.

I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of the generous people who took the time to give interviews. You rock!

In the pre-launch build up dozens of J-bloggers and webmasters were contacted for interviews and once the first ten (or so) interviews were initiated DailyJ was ready to, as its first post declared, “Launch! Slash! Burn!”

To boldly go where no blog has gone before….

ok, maybe not.

But we’re still really excited!!

Welcome!

This blog is a place for us to showcase some great j-blogs and j-sites.
These are the sites that are bringing you unique views of Japan, amazing experiences, solid advice, great language tools and materials, and all the wonders a J-enthusiast could ever ask for!

But most importantly we will talk to the people behind these sites and projects.

Yes sir! This blog will not only feature information about great j-sites. Oh No. It will be full of behind the scenes, exclusive interviews with the people themselves!

To get the ball rolling…
To start it all off…
This week we will take a stroll with Adam Douglas from Slash And Burn and find out what makes him tick and what makes his site cool.

So now it is time….

to Launch! Slash! Burn!

Enjoy!

My favourite part was “This blog will not only feature information about great j-sites. Oh No. It will be full of behind the scenes, exclusive interviews with the people themselves”

And DailyJ has definitely had a lot of fun with “the people behind the scenes.” Here are all of the interviews from year 1! :

Adam Douglas from Slash And Burn

Raof from GaijinTonic

Jamaipanese

Â Rising Sun Of Nihon’s Bill Belew

Turner from KeepingPaceInJapan

Mari from Watashi To Tokyo

You, Me, and Mari - Interview with â€œWatashi to Tokyoâ€

Harvey from JapanNewbie

Takanori sensei from learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com

Learn Japanese With Takanori Sensei! - an exclusive interview with learn-japanese-kanji-hiragana-katakana.com

Shioyama from Gyaku.jp

Mark from Digital World Tokyo

Deas from Rocking In Hakata

Tyler MacNiven star of “Kintaro Walks Japan”

(This interview for me was just great because I had been a huge fanÂ of Tyler even before starting DailyJ)

Chris from Waikiki2Yanai

(Chris is also one of the most active and belovedÂ commentors on DailyJ - a good way to get an interview . Or maybe not, since Nick from Longcountdown comments all the time now and still no interview . But I plan on an interview and I know it will be spectacular)

Thomas from NihonHacks

Japan Blog of 2007 (Not an interview but definitely a highlight of the year)

Japan blogs of the year 2007

Gerry of JapanBlogList

“The Japan-related Web” Guest blogging on Rising Sun Of Nihon (not an interview but still good.)

Gaba Teachers Association

SouthOfReality

Koichi of Tofugu

Smoother from JapanItUp

Jim Breen, the creator of the famous Jim Breen online Japanese dictionary

Words Jim Breen wrote to me.

Garrett and Ken from Trans-Pacific Radio

Finally some grown-up Japan content! - The Message Garrett & Ken are broadcasting about Japan and why you, J-blogger, should listen - An exclusive interview with Trans-Pacific Radio

Wow!

My math is not so great but that is a lot of interviews! It was a great journey and yet it hasÂ just started.

There are still plenty of amazing interviews just waiting to be initiated (see interviews we’d like to do). So…

Stay Tuned!

And Have a great day,

DailyJ

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A new face on Nipponster

On September 14, 2008 in Announcements, Suggestions Please

Well, I did it. Finally.

Nipponster looks prettier now.

Take a look –> http://nipponster.com

I don’t like working with graphics, but somehow I managed.

I bet you’ll agree it looks better than this:

Let me know what you think.

Also I am trying to figure out what I should put in place of the text “search…different” under the logo on the new nipponster.

I was thinking “Japan Search”

‘Japan-specific Search” and “Japan-enthusiast’s Search Engine” are a bit too long.

I’m all ears for feedback.

Well, now that it is pretty, I’m off to make it a better search engine…

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JLPT hacks! - today on the J-web

On September 13, 2008 in On the J-web, Resources

Web superstar Thomas Hjelm of NihonHacks.com has posted some great tips for all of us looking to beat the JLPT beast.

First on the list:

How to buy your JLPT applications online!

And if you liked that one you’ll love this one:

The “motherload” - 17 years of past JLPT tests!!!
I also dug up some more good JLPT info from Quaisi.net

We’ll beat that test yet!

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NihonHacks in the news!

On September 12, 2008 in Announcements, On the J-web

There are few blogs that I relate to more than NihonHacks. (One of my main goals when I first started building Japan-related websites was helping fellow foreigners; foreign students in particular).Â NihonHacks is a brilliant concept for a website and it just received some very much deserved press!

Our fellow J-blogger and efficiency-guru, Thomas Hjelm, has been featured in The Japan Times!

Back in November of last year DailyJ also had the pleasure of interviewing Thomas. And although the calibre of the JT interview doesn’t quite measure up to ours( j/k ), they did a great job.

The interview coincided (more or less) with NihonHacks’ 1 year anniversary and was another milestone on the journey toward making life a little easier for people living in Japan.

Congratulations,Thomas. We hope you will have many more anniversaries to enjoy in the future!

(That reminds me, I have to finish up DailyJ’s anniversary post…)

Until then.

Have a great day,

DailyJ

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JapanBlogger.net - an answer to our need

On September 11, 2008 in Future of the J-web, Helping Japan Bloggers, On the J-web, Resources

I have been talking some recently with BillyWest about his newest creation, JapanBlogger.net

If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time.

For Japan-bloggers and your everyday Japan-enthusiast alike JapanBlogger.net is an indispensable site.

The concept is something that was long talked about, even here on DailyJ (see Chris’s comment in this post)

So let’s look at some of the main features of JapanBlogger

#1 The dynamic blog roll.

This makes a great edition to any Japan blog. Nick from JapanSoc worked together with BillyWest on this. Great work!

#2 Besides rating blogs, JapanBlogger is a good blog directory. Users can comment on blogs and others can read and find out about more blogs in one sitting than they could if they had to go to each blog individually.

#3 It works also as a blog portal. This is a subtle difference but an important one.

When a user clicks on a blog, that blog opens up in a new window and can be closed out taking the user right back to JapanBlogger to browse other blogs. How cool is that?!

I’ve been using it quite a bit lately and have to say it is a fun and easy way to surf J-blogs.

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Words of wisdom for any J-blogger

On September 11, 2008 in Blog Improvements, Community building, DailyJ Mission, Helping Japan Bloggers

A few days ago I was feeling tired, and I posted about it.

Nick, my J-web champion,Â from LongcountdownÂ replied and gave me some much needed encouragement and advice. It is advice that every Japan-blogger should probably take to heart.

Nick said: …you can “meet the needs” of Japan bloggers (or anybody for that matter) by making them feel important, and being sincere about it in the process. Here are a few things that bloggers like:

- receiving positive comments on their blog posts
- being linked to or mentioned in a positive context on another blog.
- having a post dugg, stumbled, soc’ed or otherwise shared without needing to ask for it.
- getting new subscribers
- getting added to someone’s blogroll
- being followed on Twitter

Etc. All these things make bloggers feel good about themselves. Now, this is just a suggestion, but it’s really very similar to what the Daily J has always been about - community building:

Everyday, make an effort to do one of the things listed above, and on the Daily J, write a quick paragraph about why you did it. So, if you stumbled someone’s article, tell your Daily J readers about it. The person who got the Daily J “Stumble, Backlink, and Recommendation” package will be buzzing all day… because you made them feel important.

Do that with five different J-bloggers per week and you’ll have indirectly affected each of those bloggers in a positive way. As you do this week after week, your actions will have given the whole community a boost, and if you’re lucky, your generosity will rub off on others who may feel energized to be more active in the community themselves.

And you can do all this in just five minutes a day!

I have said similar things in the past but I am guilt as charged of not practising what I preach.

It is time to change that. Thanks Nick.

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Finally some grown-up Japan content! - The Message Garrett & Ken are broadcasting about Japan and why you, J-blogger, should listen - An exclusive interview with Trans-Pacific Radio

On September 10, 2008 in Interviews, Resources, fun

(Here it is as promised, with apologies for lateness)Â

That titleÂ isÂ probably the longest title I have ever written (and IÂ am notoriousÂ forÂ long titles!), but I think it is aÂ fitting one. Well, maybe not if you thought “grown-up content” meant something illicit. None of that here, sorry pervs.

For one, the longÂ title is fitting as this is the longest post I have ever posted. I know several people have said “Don’t divide up the interview posts on DailyJ.” To you I say, I have listened. This interview is all in one post. To everyone else, the real reason :

This interview with Trans-Pacific Radio flows so well and really speaks so much for itself that I just can’t put it into pieces and it needs no commentary from me.Â Garrett and KenÂ answered my questions so masterfully, and left me (in awe) thinking “we could learn something from these people!”

So, dear reader, I am giving you this interview in one sitting. But I suggest you sit and read it many times. I also strongly suggest you head over to TPR, go thereÂ often,Â and take in some hearty Japan-related knowledge. It is there for you to study and savour.

The other reason why I think the title is fitting is that it (hopefully) encapsulates the message TPR hasÂ regarding media coverage of Japan.

J-bloggers, I know you love the wacky, weird and wonderful of Japan. The food, the entertainment, the gadgets (amongst other things…). We are a bunch of Peter Pans running our mouths about Neverland (and I guess that is ok, but…)

Today we grow up (at least a little). So sit up and pay attention because today Garret and Ken are at the podium with a message so meaty it just might put some hair on that boyish chest

Without further ado, let’s hear from Garrett:

DailyJ: What is the mission/vision of TPR? What is it all about? And what motivated you to start it?

Garrett: Basically, I listened to a fair number of podcasts - I’ve always been a radio fan (but bought my first TV just before my 28th birthday - go figure) - and I was happy to see that there was a good bit of interesting content available (NPR and Chicago Public Radio got into podcasting early and made a sizable number of their shows available in this new format.)Â However, the lack of coverage of East Asia was yet again made obvious.Â Â Here was one of the world’s most populous and wealthiest nations - Japan - in a region containing nearly half of the world’s people and a good deal of its growth in economic terms as well as terms of political influence, and it was all but ignored in the Anglophone media!
Â
So, long story short, I wanted to help fill that gap.Â I wanted to start a podcast, Ken was already blogging.Â He turned me onto blogging and, within maybe thirty seconds, convinced me that a blog was the ideal platform from which to launch a podcast, so that’s what we did.
Â
It seems odd to me now, but less than two years ago, I knew next to nothing about blogs or blogging and had an entirely erroneous impression of the blogosphere as a self-congratulatory network of shut-ins working on vanity projects.Â Now I know that some of the vain self-congratulators sometimes go out as well.Â Ken and I frequently meet readers and listeners to drink and chew the fat.Â (I’m kidding about the vain, self-congratulating thing.)
Â
Since we started in August of 2006, the number and quality of blogs focusing on the serious side of Japan have increased, which is simply awesome, in both senses of the word.
When I write, talk, or do research for TPR, I have a sort of guiding philosophy: “Japan is an actual country, just as much as any other and it is allowed to be interesting in its own right.”
Â
The weird and wacky side of Japan has a place - and it is real, don’t get me wrong - but it represents only a tiny slice of the people here and an even tinier slice of what’s important.
Â
In the Anglophone media, the French presidential elections will be followed for months, with insightful editorials, analyses, and more!Â What does Japan, with nearly three times the population and many times the economic might get?Â About as much space as the oft-maligned cat up the tree.Â And when Japan is mentioned, it’s either with a focus on the weird and wacky, a string of unresearched cliches about salarymen, or with an eye toward what it means for the US military.
Â
I think that’s disgraceful.Â I’m not vain enough to think that TPR can do much more at the moment than be a place where those interested in Japan can discuss the issues of the day, but I think TPR, and a handful of others, is taking steps in the direction of rectifying a serious problem.

DailyJ: So, as you take those steps, where do you see the site going in the future? What will change, what will stay the same?

Garrett: TPR will keep improving at releasing podcasts and articles on a regular basis.Â (At times, it feels like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew.)Â We hope to keep TPR News a regular distillation of the main events making headlines in Japan and get it out there more often.Â Seijigiri, our political show, and BizCast Japan, the business show, of course, keep attracting more and more listeners, so we hope to make those shows better.

Over time, I hope our “this day in history” posts will be numerous and detailed enough to cover the entire calendar, would like to more regularly write editorials and revive our Shasetsu category, and branch out into other areas of audio work.

We have a new look in mind for TPR, too.Â We’re excited about that.Â It’ll enable to do a lot more with the site and make it more accessible, useful, and, we hope, interesting to the steadily growing number of people who visit TPR every day.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

(Update:Â From the timeÂ they answered the interview earlier this year, TPR has been really busy. Here is a breakdown ofÂ TPR’s current features)

DailyJ:Â Since we are talking about your different categories and content, which would you sayÂ have beenÂ your favourites?Â And why?

Garrett: This is a very difficult question for a few reasons.Â First and foremost, we try to avoid posting anything we don’t like.Â Most of our posts tend to be rather long-form for a blog and often include audio.Â The time when one of us dashes off a quick post are rare.
Second, I’ll freely admit that different programs and different types of posts require different things from us.Â TPR News, for example, often involves three people researching, writing, recording, and editing with one of us putting everything together as a final step.Â Obviously, that’s quite a bit different from a show like Seijigiri, where Ken and I are together in a room and nothing is scripted.Â Then there are the Shasetsu and Rekishi posts, which are solo efforts and tend to take longer to prepare.

Now that I’m done dodging the question, I’ll answer by telling you which posts I most enjoyed producing.
In no particular order:

Nova Employees: Their Voices, Their Stories: This was really Ken’s baby, but I enjoyed it as well.Â There were a few technical hurdles to overcome, a lot of people to coordinate, and it was highly time-sensitive.Â This might be the closest thing to actual journalism TPR has done.

Seijigiri #10: Ken and I clicked on this one, I just remember it going really well and being a lot of fun.

ãŠã„ã€ã„ã˜ã‚ã‚’ã‚„ã‚ã‚ï¼ç›®ã‚’è¦šã¾ã›ã€å…ˆç”Ÿï¼(Bully, knock it off. Teacher, wake up!): This was the first long opinion piece I wrote on TPR and it got a really good response.Â I’m locquacious, I like it when I can sit back and just tell a story.

Nippon Pro Baseball’s Central League (æ—¥æœ¬ãƒ—ãƒé‡Žçƒã®ã‚»ãƒ»ãƒªãƒ¼ã‚°): We were drinking beer, talking about baseball, and Chris sang the Swallows’ take on “Tokyo Ondo,” which means we had a valid reason to say ” kutabare Yomiuri” over and over again.Â What’s not to like?Â I also really like the way the musical template for the NPB on TPR shows came out.

The “Comfort Women” Resolution (HR 121) Passed: Why That’s Not Bad : There was so much stink about this issue and it was so stupid.Â Sometimes it’s nice to be absolutely right and hit a nice, fat, slow one like this.

Having Tobias Harris and Adam Richards on for two editions of Seijigiri each: I’m ashamed of the audio on these, but the interviews and conversations are great.Â Tobias and Adam are both great guys with great heads on their shoulders.Â It’s not often you can sit down with people who are so knowledgeable and so interesting and excited about what they’re talking about.Â It was a blast having those guys on.

Finally, just because it would be bad form for me to list every post on the site here, I’ll say that I look forward to every episode of BizCast Japan.Â It’s the only show on TPR I’ve never been on and that’s apparently a good thing because it’s fantastic.Â No one else in the world does what Alby and Ken do on that show, no one else even really tries.

I hope anyone and everyone who reads this interview, though, will stop by Trans-Pacific Radio, take a spin through the archives as well as the new stuff and find out for themselves what they like best (I hope there’s something.)Â

“Hi, this is Ken, picking up where Garrett left off…”

DailyJ: What part of running TPR do you like the best?

Ken: To be honest, I enjoy prepping for shows the best. Although it depends on the topic, we sometimes spend a considerable amount of time discussing the issues, reading up on them or sending emails back and forth. That’s where I’m really able to let myself think about what I want to say, and try to find a space that hasn’t been discussed thus far.

I also like the time spent in discussion on the comment threads. It’s great to hear from other people and to get into the issues a bit more. There’s almost no point in creating the shows if there’s not going to be a follow-up discussion.

DailyJ: Can you tell us a bit more about how others canÂ contribute to TPR?

Ken: At the moment, getting into the comments thread is the easiest way to contribute. We’re always willing to have people come on our shows and offer their viewpoints or share their expertise. One thing we would like to do in the future is have more interviews and bring on more of the people who are writing about Japan in general.
Â

DailyJ: Are there any newÂ projects you are working on?

Ken: In terms of TPR, right now we’re working on a new design for everything. We’d like to have some new shows, but that’s still a few months away. I spend a good amount of time researching and writing for Japan Economy News as well.
Â

DailyJ: What would you say reallyÂ makes your site unique and how can readers get the most from it?

Ken: I think the site’s unique in terms of the content being put out there. It’s unfortunately rare to find much about politics or business in Japan that is not owned by corporate media. That said, there are other people writing very well about Japan and Japanese politics. Tobias Harris, MTC (Shisaku) and Jun Okumura all have insights that we wish we could have. In a sense, we might be “outsiders”, but we’re willing to talk about and deal with Japan as we feel an ordinary, analytical long-term resident of Japan would. We live here, intend to always live here, we love Japan and want to take a critical eye at what we see. I think our content reflects that. We’ve turned to audio perhaps since we both enjoy talking so much.

I would say that my favorite releases are those we haven’t done yet. I know everything will get better, and that we will have a broader view on Japan. Now, we cover politics, business, general news and Japanese baseball. We’ve been graced to have Mr Debito Arudou contribute his pieces to our site. We can only hope to continue to raise and discuss important issues and how Japan can be a world leader not only economically, but also hopefully in terms of a well-guided foreign policy.

There you have it, one of the best interviews ever to grace DailyJ. Garrett and Ken, I definitely owe you one for your time and patience. And thank you for giving all of us a windowÂ to your thoughts on Japan and media.

There is so much more for youÂ to see and hear on Trans-Pacific Radio. So, dear readers, as you head off to there I wish you…

A great day,

DailyJ

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Archive for September, 2008

Rajio No Jikan

Ninja lessons for J-bloggers

September’s Japan Blog Matsuri - deadline is 9/20

Launch! Slash! Burn! Repeat! - DailyJ turns 1 !

A new face on Nipponster

JLPT hacks! - today on the J-web

NihonHacks in the news!

JapanBlogger.net - an answer to our need

Words of wisdom for any J-blogger

Finally some grown-up Japan content! - The Message Garrett & Ken are broadcasting about Japan and why you, J-blogger, should listen - An exclusive interview with Trans-Pacific Radio

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Daily J Your Daily Dose of Vitamin Japan!

Reporting on the Japan-related web

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Archive for September, 2008

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