Asia Pacific Perspectives: Japan+, April 2006, Volume 3, Number 12
 

Features:

• Olympics: Skating to Victory A near-perfect performance from Japan's Shizuka Arakawa saw her clinch Asia's first ever Olympic gold in figure skating.
   
• Ecology: Preserving Japan's Wetlands  Protecting wetlands through conservation activities is essential to preserving biodiversity.
   
• Performance Art: The Impact of Kabuki Kabuki is perhaps the best known of Japan's performing arts. We look at its international impact.
   
• Special Feature: Being Young Today The young people of today's Japan are often the focus of discussion. But what do young people today really think and feel? We take an in-depth look at the reality of three people in their 20s.
   
• Rescue: Disaster Relief  Japan is regularly dispatching members of its Disaster Relief Team to countries hit by natural calamities.
   
• Tsunami: Averting Catastrophe Japan is helping countries with Indian Ocean coastlines put a tsunami early warning system in place.
   
• Interview: Takeshi Hamashita  A leading oriental historian discusses the possibilities provided by Asia's seas.
   
• Traditional Art: Hagi Ware  Ceramic ware from the city of Hagi has long been highly prized for use in Japan's traditional tea ceremony.

Columns:

• Beauty

• Structural Reforms

• Lifestyle

• Environment

• Government

• Selection/Letters