NOTEBOOK — Arts Culture Tourism from Tokyo

More heavy rain is expected in Mie, with sandbags ready amid further threat of flooding. In Tokyo, a Japanese court has ruled that not recognizing same-sex marriage is “unconstitutional”. Meanwhile, Japan’s parliament is set to pass a bill this month aimed at promoting a better understanding of the LGBT community. And finally, the number of new COVID-19 cases has risen just one month after the country downgraded the status and severity of the coronavirus in May. As the weather in Tokyo remains wet and humid, we take a trip from one museum to another, from MOMAT, Tokyo's National Museum of Modern Art near the Imperial Palace, to the MOT, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Kiyosumi Shirakawa in Tokyo's Koto ward.

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The prefectural government of Saga unearthed a sealed sarcophagus on Monday at the Yoshinogari historical park in southwestern Japan. The Japanese government announced new plans on Tuesday to speed up decarbonization, generating 15 trillion yen (107 billion USD) and investing in hydrogen. The government also announced it aims to raise the proportion of female executives at companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. And on Monday, the Japanese-made SLIM lunar landing probe was unveiled at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima before its maiden voyage in August aboard the H3 rocket bound for the moon. Ever since it opened in 1894, Japan’s gateway to the sea has been Osanbashi Pier, overlooked by Yokohama's Minato Mirai skyline. We visit one windy afternoon catching the sound of a Dragon boat race off in the distance.

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Heavy rain lashed parts of western and eastern Japan last Friday, as warm and humid air from Typhoon Mawar flowed into seasonal rain as Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned of further landslides and flooding. Japan is aiming to be at the centre of the supply chain for the next-generation of semiconductors by ramping up its investment in the technology. Meanwhile, the Irish Film Festival in Tokyo was launched last weekend at the Kadokawa Cinema in Yurakucho. Just south of Tokyo, Yokohama Chūkagai has become one of the largest and oldest Chinatowns in Japan, alongside Nankinmachi in Kobe and Shinchi in Nagasaki. We pass through its red gates on a warm Sunday as restaurants fill and streets overflow with locals and visitors alike.

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North Korea launched what is thought to be a ballistic missile under the guise of a satellite Wednesday, before it crash-landed in the Yellow Sea. As global warming causes a rise in sea temperatures, Japan's fish catch in 2022 fell to a record low. The London-based Japan House has started promoting the Japanese countryside overseas. And finally, the third edition of the Art Collaboration Kyoto art fair in October has announced this year's exhibitors. On a warm afternoon in early June, we walk along Nakano Broadway, west of Shinjuku on the Sobu line. Its famed for its secondhand book stores, rare-to-find toys, photo books or out-of-print copies of very early manga, and is somewhere with a very particular charm.

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Typhoon Mawar is forecast to approach the southwest of Okinawa later this week, with high tides and violent winds near the Sakishima Islands. With the hay-fever season almost upon us, the Japanese government says it will speed up its plan to cut down cedar trees known to exacerbate the allergy. Toyota’s global production in April rose by almost 14 percent. And, the world “yakko-negi” championships took place in Kochi Prefecture, seeing just how far the local vegetable could be thrown. We drop by Hamarikyu Gardens in Chuo ward and listen as the nearby Tokyo Expressway snakes past, deadened by a wall of trees and the surrounding waterways.

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Films by Japan’s Studio Ghibli will be removed from the Russian streaming service Kinopoisk as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, that’s according to Tass, the Russian state news agency. The Japanese actor Koji Yakusho was named Best Actor at this year's Cannes International Film Festival on Saturday for his leading role in Wim Wenders’ latest film, “Perfect Days.” And finally, in currency news the yen slumped to 140 yen against the dollar, marking the lowest it's been in almost six months. And following on from recent festivals in Kanda and Asakusa, Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku holds its annual Grand Festival — or reitaisai. Be sure to check NOTEBOOK's SubStack for more detail.

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During a speech in Tokyo this week, South Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said his country is eager to join the G7 after joining last weekend’s summit as a guest country. Haruki Murakami won this year's Princess of Asturias Award for Literature in Spain, while 11 year-old Kunzaburo Yuno from Oita won a special prize at the Children's Nonfiction Literature Awards in Kitakyushu. And finally, a painting of victims who suffered the Minamata poisonings more than 6 decades ago has now been restored. With Shunsuke Imai's painting exhibition titled “Skirt and Scene” taking place at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery near Hatsudai, we skirt from Shinjuku to Hatsudai and then beyond, taking note of sight and sounds from the local neighbourhood as we ride the local bus towards Shibuya.

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Japan's Fugaku supercomputer developed by the Riken research group and Fujitsu has been ranked the world's most powerful supercomputer for the seventh time in a row since 2020. Meanwhile, a group including several Japanese universities has said it will use Fugaku to develop tools using generative artificial intelligence. In other news, Japan is considering a revamp of its tax-free shopping system following the growing trend of reselling tax-free goods overseas. And finally, the lone yokozuna-level sumo wrestler ‘Terunofuji’ and the former ozeki-level ‘Asanoyama’ both lead the field yesterday at this year’s Summer Grand Sumo Tournament taking place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena from May 14th until the 28th. And with the current Netflix drama “Sanctuary” proving a hit, we head to Ryogoku. Tickets have completely sold out so we wait outside as a trickle of sumo wrestlers march in and then saunter out, one by one.

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The G7 summit in Hiroshima concluded yesterday, after discussing Ukraine with its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who made a highly-publicized visit on Saturday. With all eyes on the summit in Hiroshima, two Chinese coast guard ships slipped into Japanese waters that same day entering waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. And with current affairs dominating every conversation, Japan’s Environment Ministry has quietly revealed the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 rose for the first time in eight years. Prosperity is being celebrated as part of Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa, one of the three big Shinto festivals in Tokyo and one of the wildest, passing through the streets surrounding Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine.

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Japan's National Tourism Organization JNTO has confirmed the number of foreign visitors bounced back April to 67 percent of same month in 2019, with a little help from this year’s cherry blossom. Former volleyball player Tadayoshi Yokota who won gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics passed away earlier this month. In Hiroshima, security has ramped up in readiness of today’s G7 summit following several high profile attacks on current and former Japanese Prime Ministers. And from Electric Town in Akihabara we drop by the Intermediatheque museum near Tokyo Station to see their current exhibition, Tokyo Ephemera, before heading towards Aoyama to see Terry Winters: IMAGESPACE an exhibition by the American painter at Fergus McCaffrey. We end our trip across town at the edge of Kabukicho, another Electric Town but one, a short walk from Shinjuku Station.

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