Thank you for subscribing to Japan and the World. I really appreciate your support, as the newsletter closes in on 2,000 readers.
Conscious of the value of your time, and in hopes of making sure each edition of the newsletter is backed by the research and reflection it needs, I’m going to be publishing every other Friday from now on, rather than weekly.
Here’s a flavour of what’s coming up over the next few months:
Japan’s trillion-yen gamble on ‘physical AI’ - will it be the key to solving the demographic crisis?
How World War II shaped the ‘Godfather of Manga,’ Tezuka Osamu.
What an infamous killing spree revealed about attitudes towards disability in Japan.
Interviews with a yamabushi (mountain ascetic) and the translator of Convenience Store Woman.
The surprising story behind Japan’s love of soy sauce.
How to ‘read’ a Japanese temple.
An introduction to Japanese comedy.
If there are questions or topics you’d like me to tackle, please drop me a line: chris@christopher-harding.com.
With best wishes,
Chris
Looking forward to what's coming soon.
I've just been reading about European hermits, which reminded me of our neighborhood hermits back in the 1960s in an American farm community. Reading about a Japanese mountain ascetic would be a delightful expansion of this reading. And anything about soy sauce is fascinating, for no reason at all!