Okinawa explosion at US base injures four Japanese SDF members
An explosion injured four men at a Japanese facility for storing unexploded bombs at a US air base in Okinawa on Monday, a fire official said, with their condition reportedly not critical.
Japan Self-Defence Forces (SDF) members at the facility at Kadena Air Base were trying to wipe rust off
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsroom
4 hours ago
- Newsroom
No one says no in Japan
It was in the Yoshida machiya (merchant house) in Kyoto that I first came to admire those qualities of Japanese architecture that continue to intrigue me. The exposed clarity of post-and-beam structure; the open-plan flow of space, always able to be modified to suit seasonal need by shoji and fusuma screens; the use of patterned wood; the ranma (transoms) that divide ceiling space between rooms; and, of course, the soft, grassy, sweet-smelling tatami. The centre of such a Japanese house is always the tokonoma, a slightly raised, timber-framed alcove with a tatami floor on which a single valued object might be displayed. I have been in so many houses of this kind in the years following yet never once have I failed to be moved by their quiet, subdued elegance. No book can convey the experience of simply walking in these rooms through which the partially screened light from outside seeps through various shading devices. There is no music or extraneous noise, just the sound of foliage rustling, rain falling, wooden doors softly rattling or crows calling. Once, at the temple of Entsu-ji in Northern Kyoto, famous for its use of Shakkei – the borrowed landscape – in this case of sacred Mt Hiei in the far distance – I had to beg for silence. The monks had 'helpfully' installed a sound system over which one of them broadcast a droning, continuous commentary. I could not believe my ears. One of Japan's most famous places for anyone interested in the relationship of buildings to landscape ruined by jabber! I asked for reprieve but only succeeded in having the volume slightly turned down. In New Zealand I would have made more of a fuss but in Japan one does not. This would have incurred the silent stare of incomprehension. Mokusatsu: death by silence. No one says 'No' in Japan. Neither do they give an unequivocal 'Yes'. I had to train my Auckland friend Motoharu that the reply to the question 'Would you like a cup of coffee?' was not 'Are you having one?' I call it the culture of 'maybe'. It takes some getting used to but once one realises that disagreement of any kind in Japan implies some lack of respect for another, then, especially if one is mostly restricted to English, it is necessary to change gear a little. Sometimes in a restaurant – before learning that there is no deviation from what is on the menu – a non-Japanese might ask if the Kewpie mayonnaise on a Toast Morning breakfast salad could be held. Just a moment. The staff member will then disappear and return a short time later with another who will ask you what seems to be the problem. You repeat your request. Ah! Smiling. Just a moment. When the third employee arrives you realise that this is a Committee of NO – however, the word will not be uttered. Never ask for anything that is not on the menu. Insistence never works in Japan; one must simply become Japanese, conforming to established etiquette as politely as the Japanese do themselves. I have watched Americans and Australians yelling and gesticulating at bewildered hotel front desk staff before retreating in anglophonic shame. Nachi: the tallest waterfall in Japan. Etiquette is not a concept about which much is heard nowadays, yet second-hand bookshops used to be filled with solemn volumes on the subject. In the 1970s when table manners came to be regarded as social class indicators many New Zealand parents stopped teaching them. It was never so in Japan. Once, in a Gion restaurant, I watched entranced as a perhaps 20-year-old man manipulated his hashi (chopsticks) and napkin with an elegance bordering on the balletic. After raising food to his mouth he covered it with his cupped spare hand so that the act of chewing was obscured. Then, in slow motion, he would raise his napkin to his face, pat it lightly and then place it on his lap again before beginning the same seamless ritualistic movement for the next mouthful. In November 2014 I went to look at Kengo Kuma's elegant OMI Steak House in the now demolished Kokusai Hotel in Kyoto and decided that it would be a crime not to eat there. Seated, like everyone else, above the spotless central cooking area I had a perfect view of the culinary processes and of the other guests. Soon I became aware that an ancient lady was looking at me with some interest, smiling. I returned the gesture eventually raising my glass, as she also did. It crossed my mind that she must be a former geisha, such being the delicacy of her movement and facial expression. When the white-uniformed chef brought me another glass of chablis I asked him who she was. 'That is Sumiko. She is 90 years old. She comes here once a week.' After some further glass raising I got up from my bench and moved over to sit beside her. She seemed delighted, placing her hand over mine while we talked in both languages and did a lot of silent smiling and bowing. Lacking the financial resources ever to contemplate visiting an establishment where I might have been served by geisha I determined to enjoy this one encounter to the full. Yes, she did indeed like champagne, so I bought us both a glass. The graceful arabesques she drew in the air with her hands as we eventually said goodbye were as entrancing as the way in which she had used her chopsticks. Taken with kind permission from the extraordinary new travel memoir Japan: An autobiography by Peter Shaw (Six Point Press, $45), available from selected bookstores or direct from the publisher.
NZ Herald
21 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Okinawa explosion at US base injures four Japanese SDF members
An explosion injured four men at a Japanese facility for storing unexploded bombs at a US air base in Okinawa on Monday, a fire official said, with their condition reportedly not critical. Japan Self-Defence Forces (SDF) members at the facility at Kadena Air Base were trying to wipe rust off
Otago Daily Times
17-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Group set on celebrating town's cultures
Haere Mai's last international potluck dinner was a great success with the Lake Hāwea community. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Hāwea locals are determined to bring together the town's multicultural community despite difficulties in outreach. Colleen Carr has for many years been the proud leader of Haere Mai, a group dedicated to celebrating Lake Hāwea's growing diversity. The group has held events and run English classes to help its migrant community feel at home while also introducing longtime locals to more cultural diversity. Although the group has had its ups and downs over the years, Ms Carr and her devoted committee continue to work hard on something they are passionate about. "When we started it, it was amazing the support the community gave us because we enjoy the diversity," Ms Carr said. The group first started around seven years ago and was a success until Covid put a temporary stop to activities. Haere Mai Hāwea group founder Colleen Carr. Committee member Florence Meyer. It began with English lessons for migrants at Ms Carr's house and quickly blossomed into a community of people who gathered to try new food, play sport and get to know different people. Florence Meyer is part of the group's committee and Ms Carr's first English student. Having moved to Hāwea from Hong Kong with her husband and two children in 2017, she joined Ms Carr's classes to strengthen her English and meet new people. Ms Meyer was eager when Ms Carr later approached her and other migrant families with an idea to start a multicultural group. The group's committee is now a diverse mix of local migrants and includes German, Japanese, Chinese and Filipino members. They have more recently held family barbecues, sports days and a cooking demonstration where Ms Meyer showed the group how to make dumplings. Attendance had fluctuated over the years, and both Ms Carr and Ms Meyer said getting migrant families to join in on these events had not been easy. "Partly they don't read communications. Sometimes they're shy to come out and do things socially," Ms Car said. Ms Meyer added that although they did get some migrants and many locals it was sometimes hard to find new migrants, especially when there was no proper social service in Lake Hāwea for migrants. "I don't know how to reach out to these people because we don't know when they arrive or if they need help or anything like that." Ms Carr said she had started working with local schools to give her a list of migrant students and their families, whom she then contacted to see if they needed support. Regardless of the difficulties, both Ms Carr and Ms Meyer are not ready to give up. Ms Carr highlighted the importance of have a supportive community for migrants, who faced their own set of challenges trying to settle in a new place. She especially focused on brining women together as she felt they were often the ones who struggled more in an immigrant family. "The thing that worries me is especially the women become very isolated ... I think the women often don't have support systems because they've come from another country and we would like to think that we can offer them support systems."
