Tenjin Festival back in Osaka

Osaka hosted the Tenjin Festival at full scale for the first time in four years. The festivities reached a climax on July 25 with about 100 boats crossing the river in the center of Osaka City. ( read original story ...)

China is no 1990s Japan – but it could have been

China will probably grow by about 5% this year. And for those for whom GDP growth is the only goal worth pursuing (it really isn’t) this sounds nothing short of disastrous. There have even been some ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s elderly ‘gateball’ players unbeaten by the heat

Under a scorching sun in Tokyo, octogenarian Katsuko Morita swings her mallet and whacks a ball through a small "gate".While gateball requires little physical exertion, players have to spend time in the punishing sun as two opposing teams carefully hit balls through gates. ( read original story ...)