The hierarchy of language in Japan, trouble for "unhurried education" and, is my wife a Desperate Housewife?

Hello again from Japan, where, when two people say the same thing at the same time, they're then supposed to shout "Happy ice cream!" There's no doubt about it: Japan has had a fascination with the West ever since the appearance of Admiral Perry's "Black Ships" in 1852, and that enigma continues to be a part of the Japanese psyche to this day. But while Japan has often had a uniquely close relationship with the United States, either through trade or as a result of the Occupation, the continent of Europe seems to carry a bit more mystique. You can see this at work when you take a look at the world of Japanese tarento or "talents," a catch-all word for actors, comedians and other famous TV-types. While television personalities like Hikaru Utada or Yu Hayami who can speak English fluently get a lot of "wow points" with fans, there seems to be a hierarchy at work, with Japanese bilingual in languages other than English getting more respect. When actress Kumiko Goto married French F1 racer Jean Alesi, people expected her career to fade, but she's more popular than ever, appearing occasionally in commercials or variety shows speaking French (oo la la). Recently retired soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata was known for wowing fans by appearing on Italian TV and speaking the language fluently, which immediately put him at the top of the worldwide pantheon of Japanese athletes. Sometimes linguistic bridges of understanding are built closer to home, as when Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of the long-running SMAP comedy/ singing group learned Korean and built a comedy career for himself on the other side of the Sea of Japan. American television studios have found a great market for their products in Japan, with hit shows like 24, Prison Break and CSI: Miami scoring big with viewers, who watch them on pay satellite channels or NHK, or rent them one disc at a time at the local rental shop. My wife seems to be leading the charge, watching virtually every show that's released here, coming back from the rental shop with 5-6 discs every time I turn around. Sometimes I watch along with her, giving silent thanks for the Japanese subtitles on the screen, which keep me from having to try to explain difficult words to her in Japanese. The shows are popular, but just as with fans around the world watching animation from Japan, there are cultural issues raised. For example, in my wife's current favorite, Desperate Housewives, the subject of marriage councilors come up quite a bit, but Japan is a country where the concept of telling your problems to a therapist is an alien one, and I'm sure there's more than a little viewer confusion at times. For the past few years, Japan has been engaged in an experiment to take some of the pressure out of its famed educational system, switching to what is called yutori kyoiku or "unhurried education." The idea has been to ratchet back Japan's achievement-focused educational system and provide a broader, less stressed experience for children. Some of the reforms are being rolled back, however, as Japan falls further and further behind other nations in areas of education where it once reigned supreme. Whereas Japan used to be ranked near the top in math and science, it's now somewhere around 18th place, being easily bested by countries like South Korea and India. That's why my daughter's summer vacation ended a week earlier than normal, because school officials are reacting to the poor educational performance of students by increasing the time spent in school. I certainly hope that the recent trends can be reversed. J-List makes dozens of anime, manga, cosplay, fashion, toy and other magazines available to you through our popular "reserve subscription" system. Just sign up, and we'll send you the new issue of the magazine(s) you want, until you tell us to stop, and credit card, check or money order or Paypal are accepted. Today we've added a new reserve magazine, Tokyo Journal, a great quarterly that brings you hard-hitting stories about life, culture and politics in Japan's largest city. I distinctly remember reading about Aum Shinrikyo and other topical events of the day back in the old days of 1995, so it's cool that I be able to bring this magazine to people outside of Japan. Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Urecco Gal May 2006. More elegant photographs from Urecco Gal, which focuses on a fresher, more down to earth type of Tokyo kogal.
	Ogura Hyakunin Isshu -- Traditional Karuta. "100 poems by 100 people" is actually a neat trick -- it's a way of teaching abuot poets who are long gone and who would never be read but for this innovative card game. That happens to be 1000+ years old, too.
	mix 4 -- Yoko Kumada, Misako Yasuda, Jun Natsukawa, Yukiko Goto. See four beautiful women in this cool photobook from Japan.
	Ghibli Symphony Music Box -- Neko Bus. This is a new kind of Totoro music box, which lights up from inside and gives you a light show while music plays. Very nice.
	Yo-Jin-Bo -The Bodyguards-. This is a new game, with yaoi-themed chaaracters and art, to be published soon by Hirameki Int'l.
	Fall in Love ~ Koi suru Omoi -- Chikako Sakuragi. This model is cut from the same cloth as Yuko Ogura, to be sure. Super cute smile in these photos.
	Siege of Port Arthur - Raimuiro Senkitan Visual Collection. This is such a bizarre concept. Get ths -- in the 1903 Russo-Japanese war, the Russians have mecha because they discovered alien technology. The Japanese use cute girls for fighting. Sound good? Based on an H game so you can imagine the fan service.
	Al Azif 1/8 PVC Figure -- Deus Machina Demonbane. Really nice figure here. How do they get the hair like that?
	Asakusa T-shirt ~ Lucky Cat. This is a nice T-sihrt for serioous Japanophiles. Printed in Japan!
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 40. Can you believe it's AG time again? These guys just can't stop publishing this thing.
	Tokyo Journal Reserve Subscription. Nice quarterly magazine that brings you news, views and much more from Tokyo.
	My Melody Glasses Case. Keep your glasses looking cute with this My Melody glasses case.
	Kitty Pierced Earrings -- Kingyo etc.. Hello Kitty earrings! That's cool!
	Japanese Classic "Kaichu" Wallet. This is a kind of traditional wallet that you can keep money, etc. in. It's cool becasue it's got an old Japanese coin on it (as a netsuke).
	Secret Plot Deep. Nice "H" manga by an illustrator named Newmen.
	Mikakutoh Shigekix -- Super Ramune *New Package. Shigekix is one of my favorte snacks, since it's so fun to eat, very tart yet also delicious. For some reason it's got something like 45 calories in a whole package too.
	Smiley B5 Ring Notebook -- Red. This is cool -- a notebook with Japanese smiley characters on it. Kawaii! Several sizes and types available.