Possible Transcendence of a Literary Past

Is Japan Enjoying a New Literary Golden Age?

With the advancement of technology, contemporary Japanese authors have had to deal with both the struggles and opportunities brought about by the varied media forms within the digital age. Through the wide access of reading formats, the Japanese have not only expanded their work within the nation, but have increasingly extended their work to the American market, often writing prose that deeply resonates with its audience. Recently, there has been a great escalation of published female authors within Japan who use their newfound visibility to mold what gets translated from Japanese into other languages, especially English. This expansion of literature has flourished because of the recurring central themes of alienation and the control of the self that so permeate contemporary work. These works not only simply highlight the traumas and struggles of life, but often "cut through" the bleak and dismal narratives with depth and introspection. While some may not necessarily enjoy this new style of emerging literature, it may be a precursor to a further blossoming of literature. However, while this spreading of Japanese literature (within the country and beyond) is a promising view towards a flourishing future, a future accepting of other voices and perspectives as its literature "embraces more women, minority and less-privileged voices", its literature, at least against the greater scheme of traditional Japanese literature, against "those infuriatingly male, elitist, tortured voices of the last century and their monumental achievements" unfortunately seems to pale in comparison. While a transcendence of the past may not necessarily be out of reach for contemporary Japanese authors, the looming expectations of the past still plague the Japanese literary market. 

African Swine Flu Crisis Worsens as Lunar New Year Approaches

Lunar New Year in China Raises Risks of Worsening African Swine Fever Crisis

As Lunar New Year approaches, the demand for pork reaches its peak in China, as it is to be the component of several traditional dishes. While usually a time for celebrating the new year, there is a significant amount of unrest and economic loss due to the African Swine Fever virus, a DNA virus that causes hemorrhagic fever in pigs with high rates of mortality. Around the time of the first major outbreak in 2018, "China’s sow herd declined by about 40 percent after the deadly disease, African swine fever killed millions of pigs and prevented many farmers from restocking farms". In an attempt to bolster the declining supply of pork meat, farmers have recently increased the number of pigs being bred. While this is narrowly restoring the rather decimated supply, allowing for more Chinese citizens to purchase pork for the holiday, this increase in supply further hinders the chance at a more speedy recovery. While fewer outbreaks have been recorded in more recent times, the chance of other major outbreaks occurring is still a worry with the now increased number of pigs. In addition to the risk of fresh outbreaks, the decline and subsequent increase of pigs have made pork significantly more expensive, China experiencing a 110.2% increase in price for the meat. In order to combat these prices and the challenges and risks in breeding and maintaining pigs, the government has encouraged the increased production of other meats, most notably chicken, to help with the shortages of pork.

Japanese Women and Projected Poverty

Japanese Women Face a Future of Poverty, As Confluence of Factors Conspire Against Them- The Japan Times

Despite the opulence and grandeur that modern Japan exudes, the nation is still heavily wrought with rather misogynistic policies and social norms that make it exceedingly difficult for women to succeed, even with the country's prosperous economy. While an increased minimum wage and more readily available child care programs have certainly alleviated the stressors that impact many working women, allowing for an all-time high workforce percentage of 71%, these policies and programs contain several caveats, and have not done much more than to temporarily quell women's fears and anxieties. Being that Japan has one of the oldest elderly populations, policies have been made to extend the retirement age and decrease financial benefits for those still able to work. Even with the rather paramount increase of women in the workforce (a jump of eleven points), there still remain government policies that outwardly hinder the potential and successes of Japanese women. While there is an increasing amount of women in the Japanese workforce, women still earn 73% of what men earn. It is extremely unfortunate to see that even with all of these programs and supposedly new and beneficial policies, women are still incentivized, or subliminally forced, rather, to consistently remain at the lower end of the financial scale in comparison to men. They are forced to face a future of not only uncertainty, but of projected poverty, and are seemingly unable to avoid it.