Cancerlike corruption thrives in heads of bureaucrats
The ongoing investigation into charges of bribery and employment-rigging in the Oita prefectural school system has occasioned more than the usual amount of harsh commentary you hear when public servants do bad things. That’s probably because in this case it is believed that the minds of innocent youths may be permanently scarred by the sins of those entrusted with their education. The Asahi Shimbun, for instance, said it was “appalled” by the scandal, finding the behavior of the miscreants “disgusting.”
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Raising the voltage on the next oil shock
The “Oil Shock” that followed in the wake of the 1973 Mideast war was a traumatic time for Japan, with rampant inflation, consumer panics and allegations of hoarding. A second, smaller oil shock occurred in 1979. As gasoline prices approach ¥200 a liter — a threefold increase from just two years ago — monthly magazine Cyzo (August) demands to know why the mainstream media has been so sanguine over what it sees as a looming catastrophe for the nation.
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Zeami’s notes: appreciating blossoming performances
Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443), the actor, playwright and aesthetic theorist who established the Noh drama as a classical theatrical art, left behind some 21 treatises. These were discovered late, in 1908, and have since appeared in a number of modern editions. They are perhaps best known under a title now considered erroneous, “Kadensho,” and have been several times translated into English.
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