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gyaku is a non-profit media project composed of a small number of people with the common desire to present alternative perspectives on Japan and on the world. Read more.

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Picture of the day

Henoko Protests

Protests at Henoko Bay, May 18, 2007 (from Jeff Shaw's Okinawa Blog)

Perspectives

An Interview with Matsumoto Hajime

A noisy commotion hit the area around JR Kouenji station in the second half of the nationwide local elections. A group headed by Matsumoto Hajime, one of the candidates running in the Suginami ward elections, organized a campaign in which they played music day and night, organized events on the street near the station, and liberated the streets, all in an attempt to reclaim their city. (May 27 '07)

Hamas: Unwritten Chapters by Azzam Tamimi

Hamas and the Future of the Palestine Question

Azzam Tamimi speaks about the historical roots of Hamas, its internal structure and political objectives, and the factors which led to its rise to power within Palestinian society in recent years. (Mar 30 '07)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe

The History of Israel Reconsidered

Ilan Pappe, historian and senior lecturer of Political Science at Haifa University, speaks on the path of personal experiences that brought him to write his new book, "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine". (Mar 11 '07)

From Gone to Here

Percussionist Samm Bennett talks about his unique background, the lyrics of his songs, his thoughts on social/political commentary in music, and the relation between simplicity and timelessness in musical expression. (Feb 19 '07)

Doodles and coffee

Artist Sakai Takashi, who drew the logo featured in the gyaku banner, speaks about his influences, his unique artistic style, and his outlook for the future. (Jan 29 '07)

Human Rights in Nepal

At the invitation of Amnesty International Japan (AIJ), Charan Prasai, a leading Nepali human rights activist, and Rudra Khadka, a Nepali journalist, visited Japan as guest speakers of the annual AIJ speaking tour. They were interviewed at the head office of AIJ in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 17th. (Nov 30 '06)

Stories

The Tachikawa flyering incident: 3 years later

[Summary] On a clear and sunny Sunday earlier this month, on my way out for the day, I met a group in front of the train station gathering signatures for a petition. (Mar 23 '07)

My visit to Fuxin City, China

[Summary] In writing this article, I take inspiration from one of the goals of the gyaku project: I am writing about a city whose name most people have never heard, a place that even many Chinese do not know of. (Mar 22 '07)

My encounter with the people of Nepal

Nepal is well-known for its beautiful Himalayan mountains. However, for the past 11 years, starting from 1996, many of Nepals citizens have been caught up in an ongoing conflict (currently suspended thanks to a peace agreement signed November 21th, 2006) that has resulted in 13,000 deaths, thousands of injured, and a hundred thousand displaced. (Dec 30 '06)

News

Voices of the Precariat: MayDay for Freedom and Lives

On April 30th, the group of people referred to as the "precariat" — freeters, part-timers, day workers, homeless, people forced into lives with neither security nor stability — participated in "MayDay for Freedom and Lives" held in Shinjuku, Tokyo. (May 3 '07)

Accenture and the mystery of the 100,000 yen bid

Just under one year ago, revelations emerged that a contract for a new biometric immigration system had been awarded by the Japanese government to Accenture Japan Ltd., a corporation previously hired in the role of "advisor" for the same project, at a price of only 100,000 yen (less than 900 USD). Key documentation related to the mystery of this "low-price bid" has been translated and summarized here. (Apr 17 '07)

Japanese personal savings fund development loan program

In their Spring/Summer catalogue, People Tree Japan featured an article, translated and summarized here, on research by environmental activist Tanaka Yu exposing the web of connections by which money from private citizens' savings accounts is used by Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program to finance yen-denominated loans for third-world countries. (Apr 3 '07)

Peace march in Tokyo against occupation in Iraq

Protest marches in Tokyo and across Japan on March 21st marked 4 years since the outbreak of war in Iraq. (Mar 24 '07)

Schools across Japan may switch to Linux

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported late last week that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to introduce the open-source operating system Linux for use within classrooms across the country in the near future. (Mar 7 '07)

Reviews

Black Gold, Rising Sun

With their recent book, "Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold", Sterling and Peggy Seagrave have provided a much needed antidote to tired, politically-correct caricatures of Japan, much trumpeted by its leaders and echoed in the mass media. (Feb 13 '07)

Reports

Terror from the sky, horror on the ground

On April 2, Iraqi aid worker and blogger Kasim Turki spoke about his experiences of the conflict in his hometown of Ramadi and on ongoing reconstruction efforts in which he is involved. (Apr 25 '07)

Democracy as Experience

The Japan Palestine Medical Association (JPMA) has for some time been organizing lectures by guest speakers on the subject of the Middle-East. The latest of these lectures (Feb. 17, 2007), entitled "Is Israel a Democracy?: Living in Israel as a Palestinian," was given by Dr. Ahmad Sa'di, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University. (Feb 27 '07)

Int'l Conference on the ICC held in Tokyo

[Summary] On Dec. 4-5, at the Parliament Museum in Tokyo, the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) held their 28th Annual Forum on Human Security. (Dec 9 '06)

Culture

Chai: Recipe and History

In Nepal today, chai has become so familiar to the Nepali people that when two acquaintances meet on the street, rather than using the Nepali greeting "Namaste", people often simply ask: "Have you had chai?" (Apr 3 '07)