WBEZ | Japan

Radio M: New Releases tonight with Chicago Reader music writer Peter Margasak.

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:30:00 -0500

It's the third Friday of the month and on Radio M that means a visit from Chicago Reader music writer Peter Margasak. Peter gets hundreds of CD's and so it's quite a job for him to sift thru the best of the best in global music for Radio M airplay and this month is no exception.

This month Peter's picks take us to Brazil, Mali, Southern China and other destinations. Also during the show; sounds of Japan, Iran, Nigeria, India and Syria.

Radio M- the best global sounds in Chicago and beyond.

Radio M Playlist

9PM

1. J.K. Mayengar & The Shingnesi Sisters- Khubani- Next Stop...Soweto Vol.2

2. The Dynamites- Massachusetts- Young Sound R&B

3. 17 Hippies- The Moving Song- Heimlich

4. Fanfara Tirana meets Transglobal Underground- Shtojzovalla- Kubatronics

5. Saraswathi Ranganathan- Brahmamokke- The Magic of Veena Vol.1

6. Can- Vitamin C- Ege Bamyasi

7. The Lebron Brothers- My Cool Boogaloo- Psychedelic Meets Latin

9:30PM

1.Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba- Danko- Jama Ko

2. Zedashe- Alilo Sashobao- Intangible Pearls

3. Deng Fu Mei & Zhang Wu Mei- Song of the Origin of the World- Ethnic Minority Music from Southern China

4. Colomach - Enoviyin- Colomach

5. Andreia Dias - Brisa Tropicana=Hot - Pelos Tropicos

10PM

1. Ofege- You Say No- Try and Love

2. Jackie Mittoo- Hot Tamale- The Keyboard King of Studio One

3. DJ Smokestack - Song #25- Shitala 2: More Indian Disco Funk Thrillers

4. Beti- Nazr- Tisheh o Risheh

5. Aurelio Martinez- Tararigu Nanigi Garifuna Soul

6. Fatoumata Diawara- Sowa- Fatou

7. Wado - Feto/Sotaque- Atlantico Negro

10:30PM

1. Djelimady Tounkara & Orchestre Super Rail Band International- Marigoondo - Djelimady Tounkara & Orchestre Super Rail Band International

2. Axel Krygier- Cumbieton Rutero- Pesebre

3. Anibal Velasquez Y Su Conjunto- Vestido Nuevo Mambo Loco

4. Unknown Artist- Song #1- Queen of Japanese Pops

5. Painted Caves - Blood in the Water- Painted Caves

6. Omar Souleyman- Hafer Gadrak Bidi- Folk & Pop Sounds from Syria

Setsubun: the Japanese bean-throwing, mochi-catching, demon-chasing lucky food festival

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:00:00 -0600

This Sunday in Japan, beans will be thrown, demons will be chased, and lucky food will be eaten to welcome Spring, as is done every February 3rd on Setsubun.

In the Chicago area, Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights has Setsubun beans and masks on sale.

After I visited the earthquake and tsunami ravaged Tohoku area last year, I made it back to Tokyo in time to join the festival at the historic Zojoji temple, founded in 1393 and relocated its present site in 1598. I expected a somewhat solemn ceremony where honored guests would throw roasted soybeans at masked oni (demons) to drive away bad luck.

Meanwhile, the crowd would try to catch wrapped packets of beans, or better yet mochi, to eat for good luck in the year to come.

Little did I know that the all-Japanese crowd, filled with more than a few very elderly men and women, would turn into a eerily quiet, gently swaying mosh pit.

Out came the traditional beans and mochi, but so did a Tohato Caramel Corn mascot who threw modern snacks. I caught a bag of milk caramel Caramel Corn, which is not popcorn at all but sweet corn puffs, distant cousin to Flamin' Hot Cheetos. I happened to have a tin of Garrett Chicago Mix on me. I brought a case to Japan as omiyage, an edible gift from our city.

At Mitsukoshi's depachika (department store basement food hall) they sold Setsubun's other essential lucky food: eho-maki (lucky direction roll). Traditionally one faces the year's lucky direction, this year it's south-southeast, then eats the entire roll without speaking. There is no way anyone could have eaten the biggest roll of the year traditionally.

The most expensive eho-maki rung in at 10,500 yen, $115 today. Filled with luxury seafood ingredients, the lucky roll was packaged in its own wooden box.

But even in Japan, not everyone likes rice, so there are even eho-maki made with bread.

I didn't eat a lucky roll last year. I caught plenty at the temple. And the fact that I even took that trip, I figured was lucky enough.

Men's hairstyles throughout history, as seen on the heads of Olympic male gymnasts

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:05:00 -0500

CHINA! (Spoiler: They won.) Japan came in second in the men's gymnastics team finals, but only after a little intrigue; judges took a re-look at Kohei Uchimura of Japan's pommel horse performance, which bumped Japan up from fourth place to grab silver. This meant that the U.K., who originally thought they pulled off a revelatory second place win, was moved to bronze and poor, poor Ukraine didn't medal at all.

But was the upset of the U.S. team the most important thing? No. It's all about the hair.

The Caesar, with a touch of front hair flip. Popularized by George Clooney.

He just needs a moment to get over how good his hair looks.

Classic gelled front hair flip.

A modern adaptation of a look popularized by German soldiers during World War II.

But with a touch more bumpit to it.

A fuller, less gel-oriented 90s 'do.

Spike tip and a faux-hawk. Who knew it was possible?

You can't really see how good this faux-hawk is from the front, but it's a thing of beauty.

A more subtle faux-hawk.

"YEAAAA!" is what we call this look.

4 things the Japanese earthquake taught the Midwest

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:53:00 -0500

A year ago, people in the Midwest were taking stock of the damage that the massive earthquake and tsunami had done to Japan. And, while the region affected by the earthquake is starting its long recovery, everyone here has learned some permanent lessons.

1) We are all connected. To borrow a phrase from the Symphony of Science, the earthquake on the coast of Japan reminded us of how closely linked everyone is on earth. The earthquake disrupted parts and vehicle production for automakers overseas and in the United States for months — and had a significant impact on the Midwest.

In the Midwest, our Niala Boodhoo found that 160,000 people in the Great Lakes states worked directly for Japanese based companies. She reported on the impact for Morning Edition.

All across the region, companies, charities and even chefs stepped forward to help people affected by the disasters in Japan, sending everything from portable toilets to gas tanks and of course, cash. At Takashi in Chicago, an all-star team of restaurant owners from around the city stepped up to cook a meal whose proceeds benefited the American Red Cross.

2) Recovery is not instantaneous. We live in a world of the 24-hour news cycle, where word of events happening in one place can be beamed around the world within seconds via Twitter and Facebook. But the comeback for Japanese companies has been a step-by-step process.

One example is the automobile industry, which is vitally important to our region. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru all have factories and employees in our states.

In March 2011, the same month as the earthquake, Japanese automakers held 40 percent of American sales, according to statistics from Autodata, Inc. By June, with parts and vehicle deliveries disrupted, that fell to 30 percent of the market.

Last month, Japanese automakers held 37.8 percent, their highest share since the earthquake, but they are not yet back to where they were.

3) Diversify your production base. Over the past year, Japan’s currency has been at an all time high against the U.S. dollar. That, plus the disruptions caused by the earthquake, is causing a number of auto companies to hasten the shift of production from Japan to the United States.

Toyota told journalists in Toronto last month that it is looking at shifting Lexus and Prius production east from Japan, due to the super-strong yen.

That’s on top of a $400 million expansion that’s taking place at Toyota’s Princeton, Ind., plant, which will become its only global location for the Highlander, a sport utility vehicle. And, Toyota’s new plant in Blue Springs, Miss., which opened in November, is already up to its full component of 2,000 workers.

Honda is expanding in Ohio, where it’s building a new engine and transmission family. It also will build the NSX sports car, which returns in 2015 for the first time in a decade, at a new facility in Marysville.

4) Know your nukes. The weeks-long crisis at Japan’s nuclear power plants caused many Midwesterners to realize that our region also relies in part on nuclear energy. There are 24 nuclear power plants around the Great Lakes, including 11 reactors in Illinois.

Michigan has four, Wisconsin has three and Ohio has two. There are none in Indiana. Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration offers an in-depth look at each state’s nuclear power status. Here are their entries for Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

One year after Fukushima, Japanese society still recovering

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:57:00 -0600

This Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. While the country continues the physical clean up in many areas outside the 12-mile exclusion zone, it’s the psychological toll that may have the most lasting effects on Japanese society. People throughout the country remain preoccupied with radiation fears. The anti-nuclear debate has taken on a new meaning and for many families, even as far as Tokyo, day-to-day life has been significantly changed.

Norma Field, professor of Japanese studies at the University of Chicago, discusses how Fukushima has affected Japanese society.

“What March 11 Means to Me” is a symposium that will be held on March 10-11, 2012 at the University of Chicago, Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture Hall, 1025 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL.

A look at how Japan’s food industry is recovering a year after deadly tsunami and nuclear disaster

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:57:00 -0600

It's been about a year since a devastating tsunami -- and an ensuing nuclear disaster -- hit Japan. Since then, the country's food supply has been under intense scrutiny, with radiation levels in some foods spiking far beyond government safety limits.

Today, on our occasional Food Mondays segment, Worldview talks to WBEZ food blogger Louisa Chu. She just returned from a government sponsored trip to Japan’s east coast. While in Japan, Louisa visited some of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami and nuclear disaster. Louisa tells Worldview how the country's food industry is recovering from disaster.

Worldview 2.6.12

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:31:00 -0600

WBEZ’s food blogger Louisa Chu is just back from a trip to Japan’s east coast, the area hit by a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster nearly a year ago. She tells Worldview how the area’s restaurants and food industry are recovering. Also, entities such as USAID, the World Bank, and major U.S. universities are often the architects of deals that promise benefits to Africans but fail to deliver. Worldview talks to Anuradha Mittal of the Oakland Institute about large, unregulated land deals that take place between Africans, foreign corporations and speculators. She explains how these deals are promoted as a "development" solution for Africa -- though they may hurt the environment and suck resources away from the continent.

A field of dreams and swans in Sendai, Japan

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:21:00 -0600

In downtown Sendai, the biggest city hit by the earthquake and tsunami last year, you can't see any signs of the destruction that my cabbie said hit every single street corner. Unless you look closely. He points out a few modern, mid-rise buildings — that look like they're plucked off Daley Plaza — completely Christo-wrapped in graphite grey construction tarp.

Back to business as usual, it seems, with a 24-hour FamilyMart convenience store behind my hotel, where I pick up a late night snack of a Häagen-Dazs green tea ice cream sandwich, a Muji green tea waffle, and a hot can of Fauchon matcha latte.

But drive half an hour to the coast and there's nothing, but a few stands of bare, leaning trees and concrete building foundations. The tsunami swept in over four miles — think Navy Pier to the United Center. You might remember videos of the water and debris hitting Sendai airport washing planes through buildings.

Just up the road, which was packed at that time with a traffic jam of people trying to escape, are rice paddies and fields, covered in fresh snow.

I've arrived at one of the sites of the Nanohana Project (nanohana means "canola blossom"), whose current mission is to restore farmland after the sea water left a layer of salty sediment. As we pull up, Assistant Professor Michiaki Omura, the Tohoku University's agricultural science expert who's running the project, says, "There they are!" He's spotted for the first time the flock of wild swans that have been eating his plants, who've only left behind white feathers. The birds had not been known to eat canola plants, but he guesses they do now because of their lack of food. There are no nanohana plants now, but the swans gather on his one single field nonetheless.

The project has actually been in existence formally for over a decade, researching the best and most complete use of the canola seeds, plant, and blossom — from food to oil and even biodiesel fuel. Their seed bank dates back even further, over 60 years. It's the only canola seed bank in the world, and they're now able to use it to determine which seeds will grow best in current soil conditions, as well as best help restore the land in the process. Professor Omura said that surprisingly, what they're finding is that after the salty topsoil is removed, the soil below is actually better than before the tsunami, he believes from the nutrient-rich seabed sediment.

The Nanohana Project has also become part of a larger volunteer effort of graduate school professors who decided to use their fields' expertise to actively help local farmers get back to growing food.

"Usually professors only think about concepts, but we think we should really work to help the people," said Professor Yutaka Nakai, Vice Dean of Tohoku University Graduate School of Agricultural Science and an animal science expert. "The government thought 'farmers need money, so let's pay them to clean their fields.' But this is not farmers' work. Farmers work to produce food. We thought we should help."

They started with a "2-6-2" factor.

"Twenty percent of the farmers have already started to work again. Sixty percent are still thinking about what they should do. Twenty percent have quit."

"We should help the sixty percent."

In a university greenhouse, Professor Omura used the nanohana that the swans were waiting for, in a hot bowl of miso soup. A hearty yet velvety wintry green, crisp and slightly bitter, it's a taste of the season to come.

A sushi master's temporary restaurant in Kesennuma, Japan

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:50:00 -0600

To get to Kesennuma these days, Japan's biggest port town about two hours by bullet train northwest of Tokyo, I had to take a taxi yesterday an hour to the coast.

It's cold and snowing here, with only a few inches on the ground, but a total whiteout. There used to be a local train that connected, the driver said, but sections of track are missing, washed away by the tsunami triggered by 3/11, as the earthquake is known among the Japanese. The missing tracks show up as dotted lines on the GPS that guides driver-san on the two-lane twisty mountain road, but he knows it well, having ferried volunteers in for the past year or so.

He asks if he can ask me where I'm from, and when I tell him Chicago, he says, "Chicago Cubs!" He's been a lifelong fan of the "Major Leagues" and closely follows all the Japanese players. I ask him what they eat here at games and he says he's not sure, maybe "American-style" popcorn.

When we arrive, I finally see crumpled storefronts missing all their windows, filled with debris. I ask driver-san to wait while I dig into my duffel, then give him one the small cans of Garrett's popcorn I've brought as customary gifts. I explain it's filled with Chicago Mix, cheese and caramel. He made the characteristic Japanese sound that registers surprise, like Scooby-Doo, then smiled broadly and bowed deeply before heading the hour back.

I had a few minutes before heading out to dinner, at my first sushi restaurant in Japan. But it wasn't at the original famous Asahi, but their brand new temporary restaurant opened Christmas Eve 2011.

Fifty-one local shopkeepers are finally back in business, in rows of pre-fab buildings. They're rent free for two years, which is how long officials say it will take to rebuild the town. The shopkeepers think five years.

The sushi master starts with mild, silky local flounder and over two hours we chat about the food. One course is the fabled "grape shrimp" which is so rare it's called "the phantom ship", and never makes it down to Tsukiji. I was just there yesterday morning but that seems like a long time ago already. It's the finest sushi we serve in this shop, he said. It's incredibly sweet, crisp, and creamy. In two small bites, as he's sliced it in half, it captures the depth of the sea.

With the anago he describes how the thick brown salty-sweet sauce is made by adding ingredients over the remaining sauce in the pot every time. His original base was 45 years old, but the pot washed out to sea. Luckily he has another restaurant in the train station town, so he borrowed some base from there.

Kesennuma was hit not only by the earthquake and tsunami, but a huge fire too. Wrecked fishing vessels spilled fuel in the harbor, burning for four days. The water is still now, but at only a sidewalk width away and nearly level with the road, it's feels ominously close.

The chef was at the dentist when the quake hit. He'd just finished and was waiting to pay. They said he could leave; there was no need to pay. His house is on high land and all of his family and staff were safe. He chose his house for its view, as he's a painter too. Two salvaged paintings hang in the temporary space. He says his hobby saved their lives.

Kesennuma counts about 1,000 dead and 400 missing from 74,000 residents. During clean up the chef said he saw something shiny under the dirt. It was his knife, buried where he normally stood. He says it was an order from heaven to continue working. He said with the dentist, his high house, and the knife, "I think I'm a very lucky guy."

Why are so few Japanese seeking relationships and sexual partners?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:35:00 -0600

Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Thus, every five years, the Japanese government conducts a study on attitudes toward sex and marriage.

Recent findings suggest that the birth rate will probably continue to plummet. The reason? Compared to societies around the world, the Japanese aren’t having sex -- as much as a quarter of all unmarried men and women have never even had sex. What's more, many Japanese say they do not want a partner. According to one report 90 percent of young Japanese women said they preferred to stay single.

Daniel Aldrich is a professor of political science at Purdue University who focuses on Japan. He tells Worldview what the government survey reveals about society, and sexuality, in Japan.