Japan Photo Journal: Kyoto lantern makers staying upbeat despite pandemic difficulties
July 10, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
(Mainichi/Kazuki Yamazaki) Production of chochin lanterns for Kyoto s famed Gion Festival is in full swing at the Okugawa Lantern Factory in the city s Shimogyo Ward, established in the mid-Edo period (1603-1867). The studio s craftspeople are keeping upbeat despite declining orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the Gion Festival s yamahoko float parade canceled for the second consecutive year this summer, only around 800 lanterns will adorn shopping streets and Yasaka Shrine a quarter of a normal year s number and only about 50 komagata chochin lanterns 10% of the usual figure will be attached to floats. At the studio, six people craft lanterns by hand for the entire process, from making frames to painting patterns. Tadashi Okugawa, 66, is the eighth generation of his family to run the business. I hope the coronavirus will disappear soon a
Japan s countryside lures remote workers amid pandemic with old residences, fast internet
May 9, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
People are seen working in a historic building in Mima, Tokushima Prefecture, on March 11, 2021. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki) MIMA, Tokushima Satellite offices, which previously attracted attention thanks to the Japanese government s regional revitalization measures, are now gaining new traction among workers and businesses wanting to move their bases to remote regions as teleworker numbers rapidly increase and workstyles diversify amid the pandemic. Tokushima Prefecture on the west Japan island of Shikoku has found success luring remote workers by utilizing its speedy fiber optic network and abundance of old houses.
Was Cameroonian woman s death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 3)
April 26, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
From left, Masataka Nagasawa, Relindis Mai Ekei, and Yoriyoshi Abe are seen in this photo provided by Mai s supporters. TOKYO Relindis Mai Ekei, a woman from Cameroon, was granted conditional release from an immigration detention facility in Japan where she had been held for overstaying her visa, to get cancer treatment at a hospital. She then spent time in a convent women s shelter in Tokyo, but the cancer progressed quickly. Helped by her supporters, Mai was admitted to a Christian hospital, where she spent her final days.