The Japanese Prime Minister and the possibly reincarnated cockroach.

"Even after moving to the official residence, I carefully wiped down the floor under the dining table, put food scraps in a sturdy lidded garbage can, and washed and sorted plastic containers, so I was shocked when, one day, a cockroach suddenly scurried past my feet."

Writes Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, at X. 

"But I’ve loved Osamu Tezuka’s *Firebird* since I was a child and have read it over and over many times. *Firebird* depicts the idea of reincarnation, that 'life is connected, changing forms,' and it had a huge impact on me even as a child. Maybe because of that, even now as an adult, I can’t bring myself to kill insects, cockroaches included. For the cockroach that ran through the official residence, I thought things like, 'Maybe this life is also part of that long cycle of reincarnation,' and for a while, I endured it, hoping it would somehow leave on its own—but when I told my secretaries about it, they were appalled. 'It’s unclean. I’ll handle it,' one of the secretaries said firmly, and arranged for Operation Combat. After that, the cockroaches stopped appearing. I felt relieved, but also a little lonely, or maybe sad…"

That got picked up in Western media with headlines like "Japanese PM Says She Felt ‘Lonely, or Maybe Sad’ When Staff Got Rid of the Cockroach in Her Home" (People) and "Japan’s PM: I’m so lonely I befriended a cockroach" (The Telegraph).

They seem to miss everything elegant and evocative about what Takaichi is trying to say through her carefully written vignette. Did they, at least, read Tezuka’s "Firebird"?

"And she said she spent her limited free time ironing undergarments, sewing fraying skirts and reinforcing loose jacket buttons."

I'm reading "Japan Is Startled by Prime Minister’s Grueling Sleep Schedule/Sanae Takaichi has said she gets just 'zero to three hours' of sleep a night, prompting a debate in the country over work-life balance" (NYT gift link).

The article begins: "Monday was Sea Day in Japan, a public holiday when many people escape the summer heat by swimming, surfing and lounging at the beach. But not Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi."

Work-life balance is important. Sleep is important. But here, I'm more interested in a Prime Minister talking about ironing undergarments and accomplishing tiny sewing repairs. What is this theater of humility? Also, that holiday: Sea Day. 

"For many years, these works have inspired audiences around the world by conveying values such as courage, friendship and perseverance."

"Because of this, many fans feel concerned when images from these works appear to be used in political or military contexts that may differ from the intentions of the original creators or rights holders. This petition seeks to convey the voices of fans who, precisely because Japanese manga and anime are so widely loved around the world, hope that their cultural value and context will be respected."

Says an online petition seeking an end to the use of anime in political satire, quoted in "Trump draws anger in Japan with ‘disrespectful’ cartoon fakes/Fans of anime have called for action against the US president, who posts AI-generated clips of himself as their comic-book heroes" (London Times).

I'll just express my opinion in blog tags: "free speech" and "lawsuits I hope will fail."

This made me think of the old Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates case. Wikipedia:

There is "a soft toy called the Monster Wolf Mini that is intended to scare off Japan’s increasingly aggressive bears and can be carried by hikers."

"The plushie, which can be attached to a bag or clothing, has glowing eyes and a built-in speaker that plays growling sounds at an adjustable volume.... That robot looks like a cross between Beelzebub and Basil Brush, with shaggy fur, a grotesque fanged face and glowing red eyes. When its sensors detect an approaching animal it flashes LED lights and makes a sound, played at random from 50 different recorded noises, including a car horn, barks, blood-curdling howls, the sounds of hunting rifles and human voices. Although it cannot walk, four piston-like legs add another level of unpredictability by moving the Monster Wolf’s body...."

I'm reading "The soft, fluffy toy designed to scare off killer bears/The Monster Wolf Mini will keep hikers safe with flashing lights and a built-in growl" (London Times).

That's from last February, but it was one of the clickable "related articles" accompanying a new article titled "Four injured as bear rampages through office complex/The attack in Fukushima is the latest incident in a part of Japan where animals and humans compete for space" (video of the attack at the link).

Here's Monster Wolf Mini:

One question remains. Who's Basil Brush?

"Opening Japan’s doors more widely to foreigners could help offset the declines. But the government has long taken a cautious approach to immigration..."

"... and nationalist politicians and commentators have gained influence recently with a 'Japan First' agenda. 'Japan has now reached a level where this kind of decline is not reversible in the short- or medium-run' said James Raymo, a professor of sociology at Princeton University who studies Japan. 'It simply will not happen in the absence of mass immigration.'... Professor Raymo said the Japanese government’s efforts to promote fertility had 'not really moved the needle.' He said that ultimately Japan could provide lessons for other governments...."

From "How Japan Lost 3 Million People in Five Years" (NYT).

I'd like to hear something of what Japanese experts think about mass immigration as a solution. 

"Since last October in Memuro, Hokkaido, a café specialising in French toast has been open to parents and babies free of charge from 9pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday."

"There are areas for babies to crawl around and sleep, as well as changing tables and nursing booths. Users can relax, knowing their babies’ cries aren’t keeping others up.,,, Across the country in Tokushima Prefecture, a childcare support centre runs monthly 'crying cafés' with specialist staff.... The concept comes from Yonakigoya, a manga by a cartoonist and mother that was published online in 2023. The titular 'night-time crying house' is a space where overwhelmed mothers and babies can de-stress in the small hours...."

From "Overnight 'crying cafés' serve coffee with a side of tears/The night-time refuges in Japan are popular with mothers who can relax knowing their crying child is not disturbing anyone at home" (London Times).

"Being human-shaped allows their introduction without significant modifications to existing airport facilities or aircraft structures."

"By combining cutting-edge AI technology with the unique flexibility of humanoid forms, the project aims to realise a sustainable operational structure through labour savings and workload reduction."

Said Japan Airlines, quoted in "This could really take off: robots join staff at Tokyo airport/Japan Airlines, the national carrier, is testing humanoid workers to ease staffing pressures at Haneda, keeping luggage moving as passenger numbers rise" (London Times).

Would you prefer the infusion of robots to come in humanoid form? The human-shaped robots fit into the places that have been designed for human beings, so perhaps that makes the robotic takeover easier and don't you want futuristic things to subtly mix friendliness and creepiness?

Do you like those self-driving Waymos with an empty drivers seat or would you rather have a robot cab driver sitting there and talking to you, the way it was in those old movies about the future:

"Well, I can’t do meditation. I get bored. But people who do meditation embrace the boredom and utilize it as a way to at least calm their mind..."

"... and maybe center their mind on something that they don’t usually go to mentally. And often things for maintenance are done by Japanese with a great deal of ceremony. Just changing the lights of a street lamp. There’s guys in uniform. They have a special routine. They do with a ladder where they go up the pole and do a little formal thing at the beginning and another little formal thing at the end. And it turns a simple task into a somewhat more complex dance. Moving together in time is one of the profound things that humans have been doing for a very long time. So ritual is one way to make really, really repetitive maintenance less onerous...."

Says Stewart Brand, who has a new book, about maintenance. He's talking to Ezra Klein:

Brand is promoting his new book, "Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One" (commission earned)(only $10 in Kindle). If that sounds a lot like "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," that's not hidden. The next thing Ezra says is: "You quote quite a lot from 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,' which is a classic book.”

I like how the blurred pink petal in the foreground reads subliminally as her naked ass.

 I say when Meade texts me this.

ADDED: It's video at the link, making it more subliminal. A freeze frame:

I love how the Japanese Prime Minister looks bored and looks at her watch just before Trump takes this one last question and surprises her with his bon mot about the element of surprise.

This is one for the ages:

Trump calls on a male reporter and disarms him with compliments: "Let me pick a beautiful looking person, a beautiful person from Japan.... Oh, he doesn't believe he's beautiful. Oh, he's just — he sounded shy."

The reporter asks: "Why didn't you tell US allies in Europe and Asia like Japan about the war before attacking Iran?"

Trump: "Well, one thing you don't want to signal too much, you know, when we go in, we went in very hard and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay. Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay. Right.... Don't you believe in surprise? I think much more so than us.... And because of that surprise, we knocked out the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we and much more than we anticipated doing. So, if I go and tell everybody about it, there's no longer a surprise, right?"

There's a difference between surprising the enemy and surprising your allies. But the point seems to be that surprising the enemy will fail if too many allies and supposed allies are in on the plan. Also the specifics of the attack could be kept secret while the decision to go to war is shared. 

ADDED: Trump was actually complimenting Japan.

"The town's authorities report that tourists were 'opening private home doors without permission to use the restroom,' trespassing, littering and 'defecating in private yards and raising a fuss when residents pointed this out.'"

From "Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled over badly behaved tourists" (BBC).

"It is not the first time Japanese authorities have had to take measures to address photo-keen tourists. In 2024, officials blocked one of Japan's most iconic photo spots in Fujikawaguchiko with a big black barrier in a bid to deter badly behaved tourists."

MEANWHILE: In Venice:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Travel | Venezia | Venice (@venicetravelers)

We were just talking about the "microvacation."

Remember that guy who "flew to Athens for 8 hours, where he toured the Parthenon... then hopped on a flight to Egypt, saw the pyramids, rode a camel and visited the Grand Egyptian Museum, all before returning to San Francisco in time for Sunday dinner."

I thought there needed to be some decent proportion between the time on planes and the time used to good effect at the destination. But check out this guy, flying all the way from NYC to Tokyo and back with just a single day in Tokyo. No hotel, no packing, just dropping in, hitting a few sights and eateries, and getting the hell back out. He landed in Tokyo in the morning and flew back out that same night:

"It is a slow craft in a fast world, learned through years of hands-on apprenticeships.... Each piece, including utilitarian bowls, art objects and more, requires over 100 steps..."

"... and a retinue of specialists — from shapers of the wooden bases to artisans who apply layers of lacquer to produce a veneer thick enough for artists like Yamagishi to carve or incise.... The speed of contemporary culture is also light years removed from the patience and precision required to produce lacquerware, originally intended to store paper, inks and brushes for calligraphy and for writing poems and haiku, said Hiro Minato, the owner of Design Work Studio in Nara. 'In lacquer and other hand crafts, you have to feel each moment'...."

From "After an Earthquake, Preserving a Slow Craft in a Fast World/In Wajima, Japan, where hundreds of homes and studios were destroyed, master-class artisans are struggling to keep lacquer alive and nurture the next generation of creators" (NYT)(gift link, so you can read more and see many good photographs of the laquerware and of the earthquake destruction).

"Men in power do not carry briefcases. Why should women?"

"Forgoing a bag simply telegraphs the impression that you have someone else to do the lifting for you. As Karla Welch, a stylist who worked with Ms. Harris at the beginning of her term, said: 'They all have bags. It’s just an aide carrying it.'"

Writes Vanessa Friedman, in "The Most Impactful Political Handbag Since Mrs. Thatcher’s/Sanae Takaichi, the new prime minister of Japan, makes a statement about work — with style" (NYT).

I jump to the middle of articles when I skim, and when I got to "a stylist who worked with Ms. Harris," I thought Who is Harris? 

Anyway, the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, a woman carries her own handbag, toting it at her side in the manner of Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher. We're told: 

For Mrs. Thatcher, the handbag was a way of aligning herself with a respectable Everywoman accouterment.... Her bag was the kind of bag, British Vogue declared, carried by “a sensible, well-put-together person, reflective of an organized mind.”

The linked article sends us over to the OED to see this entry:

"Many of them say they can eat nothing but GariGarikun"/"If they can enjoy the last mouthful, it will be a special moment shared by them and their families."

I'm quoting a Japanese nurse and doctor who work in palliative care, quoted in "GariGarikun ice pop, a surprise hit among the terminally ill."

That's published in Asahi Shimbun, one of the largest newspapers in Japan, which I went to read this morning because I wanted to see how much Japanese people were enjoying the excellence of Shohei Ohtani in our World Series. But nothing about Ohtani is in the top 10 most-read stories over there. I had to scroll down the front page to find his name, and it was tucked away in the sports section, just the AP report, here.

Nearly dead people eating popsicles got more attention. It was the second-most-read article. Meanwhile, the top of the front page is dominated by Trump:

Which one of those things is not like the others? Abe, yes. But also "Bear roams central Morioka, fatal attacks elsewhere."

"Remember, Japan is, for the first time ever, OPENING ITS MA[R]KET TO THE USA, even to cars, SUV’s, Trucks, -and everything else, even agriculture and RICE..."

"... which was always a complete NO, NO. The Open Market Japan may be as big a profit factor as the Tariffs themselves, but was only gotten because of the Tariff Power. They also agreed to buy BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF MILITARY AND OTHER EQUIPMENT, and give us 90% of 550 BILLION DOLLARS - AND MORE!!! MAGA!!!"/"Indonesia has also agreed, for the first time ever, to COMPLETELY OPEN ITS MARKET TO THE USA. That’s BIG!!! Our businesses will make a fortune. Likewise Japan!"/"I will always give up Tariff points if I can get major countries to OPEN THEIR MARKETS TO THE USA. Another great power of Tariffs. Without them, it would be impossible to get countries to OPEN UP!!! ALWAYS, ZERO TARIFFS TO AMERICA!!!"/"I WILL ONLY LOWER TARIFFS IF A COUNTRY AGREES TO OPEN ITS MARKET. IF NOT, MUCH HIGHER TARIFFS! Japan’s Markets are now OPEN (for first time ever!). USA BUSINESSES WILL BOOM!"

Writes Trump on Truth Social this morning, here, here, here, and here.

"The recurring anti-war messaging that pops up throughout the display, particularly in his scratchy drawings, is both a Japanese artistic trope — think Yoko Ono..."

"... and an unstated recognition of something we forget too easily in the West: that we dropped two atom bombs on Japan to fast-forward the end of the Second World War, and that this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation. What we have here is kids v annihilation."

I'm reading "Drawing like a kid isn’t child’s play — but does it deserve an exhibition?/Picasso and Miró prized naivety and there’s more to the infantile cartoons of Yoshitomo Nara at the Hayward Gallery than meets the eye" (London Times). 

I was surprised at "this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation." "Never" is a strong word. The war with Germany was over by the time the atom bomb was ready, but we had other bombs and we used them very harshly against the Germans. We used dehumanizing stereotypes against the Japanese and also against the Germans. I'm disgusted to see "this racist assault would never have been inflicted on a European nation" in the London Times.

The Times art critic is Waldemar Januszczak, who was born in England to parents who were Polish refugees of WWII. 

Here's the Yoshitomo Nara art:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hayward Gallery (@hayward.gallery)

"This garden is very interesting in that it’s part of a spiritual practice: It’s used for meditation. Moss is very tiny..."

"... and being in the garden, looking so closely to distinguish one type from another, requires a special kind of attention. It opens up a completely different kind of universe."

Said Harvard architecture professor Toshiko Mori, about the Saihoji Kokedera Temple and Moss Garden in Kyoto, quoted in "The 25 Gardens You Must SeeWe asked six horticultural experts to debate and ultimately choose the places that’ve changed the way we look at — and think about — plants" (NYT)(free-access link, so you can see all the photos and read about the other gardens).

I love the story of the creation of this garden: "In 1339, Muso Kokushi, a Buddhist high priest and master gardener, created what’s believed to be the first-ever karesansui (dry landscape)... carefully placed rocks and swaths of sand or gravel raked to invoke rippling water... In the nineteenth century, Saihoji was flooded repeatedly when a nearby river overflowed its banks... Rather than fight nature, the monks embraced change... With more than 120 varieties [of moss]... Saihoji looks quite different than it did in Kokushi’s day, but, in the hands of the monks who continue to maintain it, its purpose of encouraging serenity and contemplation hasn’t changed....."

The monks carry on a traditional practice of meditation, bound to this site for 7 centuries. But what would it be for you to drop in one day?

"Walking is a way to slow oneself down, to cultivate attentiveness and to return to the elements, as the roundabout entrances to the museums on the islands..."

"... of Naoshima and Teshima encourage visitors to do. A country that lacks Western-style addresses, where simply extricating yourself from a train station can take 10,000 steps, is made for the flâneur who recalls the German philosopher Walter Benjamin’s observation that not finding your way is very different from getting lost...."

From "Why Japan Is Best Experienced By Foot/In Japan, the simple act of walking has long been connected to working toward enlightenment" (NYT).

Every place worth living in or traveling to is best experienced by foot. That's what I say. If you want to feel that you are on a path toward enlightenment through walking, it's a bit insane to begin by flying half way around the word — racking up a massive regression — and needing to extricate yourself from or into complicated buildings.

I remember something about walking meditation from "Dharma Bums," the Jack Kerouac book I listened to — while walking — recently. I was searching the text for "walking," thinking I'd find the exactly right text, but I found this: "Standing on my head before bedtime on that rock roof of the moonlight I could indeed see that the earth was truly upsidedown and man a weird vain beetle full of strange ideas walking around upsidedown and boasting, and I could realize that man remembered why this dream of planets and plants and Plantagenets was built out of the primordial essence."

"Similar ice ridges appear elsewhere, including on Lake Mendota in Wisconsin."

I'm reading "In Japan, an Iceless Lake and an Absent God Sound an Ancient Warning/For centuries, residents in central Japan have chronicled a mysterious natural phenomenon in winter. They see its disappearance as a bad omen" (NYT).

First, people were awakened at night by a loud rumbling. Dawn broke to reveal its source: a long, narrow ridge of jagged ice that had mysteriously arisen across [Lake Suwa's] surface, meandering like the spiked back of a twisting dragon. 

This was the Miwatari, meaning the sacred crossing, which local belief held was left by a passing god of Japan’s native Shinto belief. 

Its appearance evoked feelings of awe but also reassurance among the residents, who ventured onto the ice to perform a ceremony honoring what they saw as a visitation from the supernatural. In the rare winters when the ice ridge did not appear, the god’s absence was viewed as a warning that the natural world was out of balance.... 

Only parishioners in their 60s or older remember when the Miwatari was still big enough to make a sound that could wake them at night. The last time an ice ridge formed, in 2018, it was barely six inches tall. “When I was child, the ice spikes rose higher than my height,” said Isao Nakazawa, 81, a retired auto company worker. “We knew when it appeared because it made a sound like a taiko drum, ‘Gon-gon-gon!’”

I've been out there observing our ice dragon, our sacred crossing, all winter for years on Lake Mendota. Here's a photo from January 18th:

I am deeply touched to see it connected to Shintoism. On March 6th, I happened to ask Grok: "If I wanted to become a Shintoist, would that even be possible? How would I do it? Is there a version of Shintoism available to the non-Japanese?"

But, of course, the NYT article is not inspired by nature's divine spirits. The devotion here is climate change.