Parties start as Japan's cherry tree season blooms

Spring has begun, and so has Japan's obsession with cherry blossoms. The pale pink blossoms or "sakura" are in full bloom, signaling that it's time to flock to parks across the country for picnics under the cherry trees. At Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, people waited for hours to reserve the best spots to view the picturesque trees. These flower-viewing parties called "hanami," or "flower viewing" in Japanese, are spring traditions held among families, friends, or co-workers. Parties beneath the cherry trees can go on all day and night, especially during the weekends. As the blossoms -- a national obsession found in paintings, poetry and literature dating back centuries -- appear only briefly, throngs rush to catch a glimpse of them before spring rains sweep their fragile petals to the ground.

My opinion

Some Japanese say that the cherry blossoms ‘ephemeral nature serves as a poignant reminder of how life itself is fleeting. The cherry blossom has meant a new start. I very like cherry blossoms. How beautiful it is! It is pink and small, but when the hundreds of cherries blossoms is blooming, everywhere is pink. A string of cherry blossoms look like an elegant wash drawing. Chinese very like it. In my hometown, we have many brand’s logo is cherry; many cherry blossoms food. Every year, we also go to the park to view the flower, and the park will hold many activities that about cherry blossoms.

Japan boasts top number of world's marine life

In a historic roll call of the ocean, a scientific survey has found approximately 33,629 kinds of sea creatures in the waters surrounding Japan--the widest diversity of species in 25 oceanic regions.The Census of Marine Life--a group of about 360 researchers from 13 nations and regions--released the results Tuesday, which were compiled from a database on sea creatures based on information obtained during the survey. It recognized the existence of about 230,000 kinds of sea creatures.Although the waters surrounding Japan account for just 1 percent of the world's oceans, about 15 percent of all sea creature species live there. Among them, mollusks, including snails, squid and octopi, marked the largest number with 8,658 species; arthropods, including crustaceans such as crabs and prawns, followed with 6,393 species recorded."The high diversity Japanese sea creature life can be traced to the varied environments existing in Japanese waters--from Hokkaido where ice floes come adrift in winter to Okinawa Prefecture where coral reefs grow," said Katsunori Fujikura, a researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

My opinion

Japan is very lucky! There are so many creatures in their ocean region. Japanese sea is very beautiful. I am very interested in it. I want to go for a look. Sea always is a very mysterious region. It has diversity and wonderful sea creatures. Japan has about 23000o kinds of sea creature. It is really a precious resource. Maybe, this is the reason why mostly Japanese food culture is about seafood. Except take pride in this, Japanese also need to consider how to protect this sea environment. How can we do for keeping sea creature living environment non-pollution? This is a big headache for government today.

"No English, no job" for some Japanese office workers

As Japan's population shrinks, the country's retailers are increasingly looking to boost sales by expanding abroad and some firms are waking up to the necessity of being able to speak the global language of business in order to succeed overseas. Rakuten, Japan's biggest online retailer, plans to make English the firm's official language, while Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo apparel chain, wants to make English more common in its offices by 2012 and plans to test its employees for proficiency."It's about stopping being a Japanese company. We will become a world company," Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said last week at a news conference in Tokyo -- conducted almost entirely in English.Other high-profile Japanese companies, including automakers Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor, have announced moves to make the use of English more common in the workplace.Some experts say the switch to English is healthy but just one of the changes companies need to make to go global.

My opinion

When I read this news, I felt I did a good choice. English do is the most important skill for a person. It is world language, and you need it to communicate with people from other countries. Not only this, it is also the one business skill. If you want to have a good job, you must use English well because every industry and area both need use English more or less. English is a very useful language. For example, I study abroad, and I cannot speak their national langrage, but if I can speak English, I also can communication and live here. I can study in Thailand because I can study by English. This is also the reason why I choice to study English. Actually, I do not very interested in English.

Japan robots chat, play -- and help find lost specs

Robots that can chat, find misplaced glasses, draw aero planes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society.Robots, such as the sound-sensitive Chapit, answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the solitary fight loneliness and stay alert in old age. The robot can also help find misplaced spectacles by identifying them with a sensor."Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to," said Kazuya Kitamura, a representative of the expo organizer. "Communication robots accompany people and don't mind listening to the same stories over and over again."The robot also can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures, keeping children company while parents work.

My opinion

Japan has one of the world's fastest-ageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent. Many old people live alone because the young people in today are too busy to stay with them. Many young people also do not like live with ole people, they do not like listening old stories again and again. This robot is very good way for old people to find a partner. They can talk with them and do not worried it is boring. It is can reduce aloneness. But this is only a auxiliary for make your parents. If you want your parents feel real happy, you must have more time and patience for your parents.

When 'I do' means 'I don't anymore'

With divorce on the rise in Japan, some couples are choosing to celebrate the end of an unhappy marriage by saying "I do" for a final time at a divorce ceremony before friends and family.Divorce ceremonies were pioneered about a year ago by a former salesman, Hiroki Terai, who set up a "divorce mansion" in a small undercover space in Tokyo.
The latest couple, who called themselves Mr and Mrs Fujii, met near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's traditional Asakusa area on Sunday and rode in separate rickshaws to the divorce mansion.Friends and family of the Fujii couple followed closely behind the rickshaws on foot, arriving at the divorce mansion for a ceremony where the Fujiis smashed their wedding ring with a gavel, a gesture signifying the end of their partnership
The gavel has a frog's head as frogs symbolize change in Japanese culture."When we smashed the ring together, I felt like 'Oh, this is the end of it, really' and my heart and soul felt renewed. Now I feel I can have a new life and start all over again," said Mr Fujii.His wife of eight years also expressed relief.

My opinion

Divorce is on the rise in Japan, where it was once taboo, with about 251,000 divorces taking place in 2008. I feel it is so strange! Japanese are always so funny. Why does someone want to celebrate divorce? If you get a divorce, it means you have a fail marriage. It is really not worth celebrating. Maybe they think they will begin a new life, but I cannot accept it. I think it is so ironic.

Japan plans high-tech World Cup 2022 bid

Japan has devised a high-tech bid for the 2022 World Cup.The country, which co-hosted the football tournament with Korea in 2002, hopes to convince Fifa to award it the tournament for a second time with an elaborate high-tech bid.Japan plans to make use of 200 high definition cameras to film the matches and then transmit them across the world to be shown on giant 3D screens.Football fans will use digital tickets to get into matches and use GPS to find their way around stadiums.In accordance with the global green trend, Japan also hopes to make use of the energy made by spectators to partly power the communications system.

My opinion

It is so amazing! Japan score team always the stranger in Asia. If Japan applies to hold FIFA successfully, they will order a high-tech experience for score fans. I expect the 3D screen make the experience even more immersive for viewers at the match. Another thing that let me feel amazing is the energy system. You can imagine that when the fans cheering, stamping and clapping; it will all change to electric energy for math. How cool it is!

Sumo

Sumo is a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan's national sport. It originated in ancient times as a performance to entertain the Shinto gods. Many rituals with religious background are still followed today.

The basic rules of sumo are simple: the wrestler who first touches the ground with anything besides the soles of his feet, or who leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. Fights take place on an elevated ring, called a "dohyo", which is made of clay and covered in a layer of sand. The fights themselves usually last only a few seconds, or in rare cases, about a minute.At the top of the sumo wrestlers' hierarchy stand the yokozuna (grand champion). Once a wrestler reaches the rank of Yokosuka, he cannot lose this status but he will be expected to retire when his results begin to worsen. Many former wrestlers remain active in the sumo world as members of the Japan Sumo Association.

My opinion

Such an interesting Japanese sport. I am very interested in it, because many cartons often describe these sports. The modeling of clothes is very funny. （ha-ha）They are looks so cute and so fat. Their hair style looks like a nutria (hahaha). I like it. In china, we also have wrestling like it, but it is meng’s (one minority like hang) traditional sport. People play it when they celebrate festival. I have ever watched meng’s wrestling before, but I have never played it.