July, 2,2022 Yuri Miyata In Japan, there are a lot of flaming advertisements, and often they lack gender consideration. These flaming advertisements are often divided into three features; sexuality, gender roles, and lookism. Who Wants Sexual Metaphor in Governmental Advertisements? One controvertial case of sexually-problematic advertisements was a summer tourism campaign video sponsored by Miyagi Prefectural government. Featuring Danmitsu, a Japanese actress and gravure id

July 2, 2022 Kiho Taguchi Motherhouse is a Japanese fashion brand that has strong capacity of product design and planning, manufacturing, and quality guidance in developing countries, as well as selling their products in developed countries. The brand originally started in Bangladesh in 2006, and now expanded in a total of six countries; Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka now. Products made in these countries are marketed in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapor

July 3, 2022 Sae Hirata Ladies First. This is one of the behaviors that many people know as a Western way of respecting women. However, there have been no such mannerisms among Japanese men. Escorting someone is an unfamiliar behavior for them and they often hesitate to do so. How Gentle He Is! US president Joe Biden visited Japan from May 22nd to 24th in 2022. While he was in Japan, he visited a restaurant with Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan. When the scene of hi

July 2, 2022 Shinju Ichikawa When you were in elementary school, did you remember what color your school bag was? Most Japanese people would probably answer “yes” to this question. This is because most Japanese kids use Randoseru as their schoolbags in elementary school. And the choice of color has mattered a lot to kids, parents, and even people pursuing gender equality. Randoseru is like a satchel bag, a box-shaped bag generally made of leather and carried on the back like

July 3, 22 Arisa Yajima On April 4, 2022, a full-page advertisement for the comic Tawawa on Monday ( Getsuyo-bino Tawawa) published in the morning edition of The Nikkei Shimbun lead a big controversy online. The advertisement was to announce the release of the new comic book with a big illustration of a high school girl, the main character, smiling at the reader was posted along with the words “I hope you have a wonderful week.” The main problem was the illustration of this g

July 7, 2022 Mio Murata Do you know sex workers? They are engaged in the sex industry, such as prostitution and the porn business. The sex industry is one of the industries that has been making significant sales. According to the Prostitution Revenue Ranking published by Havoscope, an American company analyzing the global illicit trading company, Japan ranked in third place with a revenue of $24 billion, following China and Spain. It shows that Japan surely is a major sex in

July 07, 2022 Hikari Ishikawa Is a spouse’s consent necessary for an abortion? In Japan, the curettage method accounts for 80% of all abortions. In developed countries, including Europe and the United States, this method is rarely performed. Also, the abortifacient which WHO recommends has not been introduced in Japan and abortion costs are expensive. There are a lot of problem in Japan. Furthermore, spouse’s consent is even required. Trends of Abortion in Japan In Japan, fir

April 13, 2022 Yuka Yoshida Why was Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site, chosen as one of the 100 Most Sustainable Tourist Destinations in the World? There is sustainability's spirit inherited from Japanese ancestor. What Is Shirakawa-go? Shirakawa-go was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1976 by the Japanese government and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1995. The main point of interest is the Gassho-zukuri sty

April 21, 2022 Manyu Li Along with economic development, China has always had environmental problems. In recent years, environmental issues have received more and more attention from the general public. With the progress of technology and information and the development of the market economy, the Chinese automotive sector is undergoing great changes. Development of China's Automotive Industry New energy vehicles have come into many households with their intelligent configurat

April 9, 2022 Mizuho Kakiuchi There are many famous sceneries in Japan. For example, Mt. Fuji, the historic cityscape of Kyoto, and the skyscrapers of Tokyo. However, Japan’s cityscape is not only like that. One of the sceneries that you often see in Japan is that the many houses are densely adjacent to each other. This landscape is deeply related to the history of Japan and is often seen in urban areas of Japan, but various problems have been pointed out. "Wooden densely bui

April 21, 2022 Ayaka Shoji There are 1.4 million tons of wasted clothes in Japan. Recently, there has been a boom in used clothing in Japan. Buying used clothes could be one of the ways to reduce apparel wastes. The twelfth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, an agenda for global community set in 2015 by the United Nations, is “the responsibility to make and use.” This article will focus on the responsibility to make and use clothes. However, it is not an easy thing to

April 21, 2022 Yuna Inoue In Japan, the birth rate has been decreasing and depopulation is progressing. To solve this problem, a lot of local municipalities have been integrated. However, local people are sad to lose their hometown because they feel their culture fades away. Not only adults but also children are worried about that. Current Situation in Japan Japan has been faced with the serious concerns of rapid aging and a very low birth rate. Moreover, local areas in Japan

April 8, 2022 Minami Takamatsu Japanese Beech, a indigenous tree in Niigata Prefecture has created a new market in the traditional furniture industry. Niigata faces the Sea of Japan and there is a heavy snowfall area with an average of 462 cm in winter. A program called Snowbeech Project utilizes the Japanese beech in the sustainable way. The project team, led by Tomohiko Kamitani, a professor of forest ecology at Niigata University, consists of craft writers, architects, and

April 20, 2022 Miyu Iwamoto There is one unique activity in Japan called “a village with 700 citizens turns into one hotel.” In Kosuge village in Yamanashi Prefecture, the woodland accounts for around 95% of whole village area. The villagers have been carrying out activities to protect the natural environment for over 100 years. The reason why the mountain village started such an innovative service is because of the depopulation. They wanted to save beautiful natures, wild a

October 11th, 2021 Arisa Nokuo and Rena Katsumata Through the interview with Mr. Toda, who is engaging in building a risk management system at Taiyo Nippon Sanso Co., Ltd., about the relationship between BCP and CSR, we could learn some interesting case studies as below. The Risk of Mine Operation Palette: Even though the African continent is famous for copper or gold, why does the JX Nippon Mining & Metals have no base in Africa? We suspected that conflict minerals were the

June 15, 2021 Akari Odagiri and Nao Kazuma ESG investment is an investment activity that takes the factors related to the environment, society, and corporate governance into consideration. This activity has been expanding worldwide in recent years, but it is not widely known in Japan. Especially, it is unfamiliar to young people. How will the ESG investment have an impact on our future? Mr. Toshikazu Hayashi, a chief analyst of the ESG investment promotion department at the

July 7, 2021 Misato Sasaki and Miyabi Oyamada “Women are at the top of the list of diversity in Japan, but it feels strange,” says Professor Keiko Takegawa. What should we do to build a diverse society in Japan? Let's hear the voice of the leading person to overcome the big gender gap in Japan. Meaning of "Diversity" in Japan When people talk about “diversity,” each country has a different view of it. In some countires, For example, diversity often means to promote the inclus

June 10, 2021 Arisa Nokuo & Rena Katsumata Do you know what the word “BCP” means? It stands for Business Continuity Plan, meaning to ensure that business processes could be properly continued even at a time of emergency or disaster. Japan often suffers from natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons and Photo by Pop & Zebra on Unsplash floods, this is why many companies set BCP as a part of ESG (Environmental, social and governance) administration. Palette randomly asked

During the Meiji era [1968-1912] in Japan, masks were made out of wire mesh as the core and used cloth as the filter. At that time, the Japanese used it to protect themselves against the fine particles of coal or metal. After the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, this mask attracted attention as a preventive product. The use of masks is no longer for additional preventative measures, but an essential preventive measure. Masks as a Daily Necessity In 2020, the spread of COVID-19 h

January 14, 2021 AKARI ODAGIRI In Japan, overcrowding in cities and rural depopulation are serious long term social problems. These problems are compounded by a declining birthrate and an aging population. Many young people in rural areas tend to migrate to cities in pursuit of their dreams or a modern lifestyle. So, the question must be asked, are urban areas more attractive than rural areas? ※Three major metropolitan areas include Kanto (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba), C