Reasons why we hate living next to North Korea, all about the word 'kawaii' and a complex social concept

Japan is buzzing about North Korea's reported underground nuclear test, which took place a few hours ago. The news comes just as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives in Seoul for his first meeting with South Korean President Moo-hyun to begin work on some of the problems that stand between the two countries, including Yasukuni Shrine and Takeshima, an island that both sides are claiming as theirs. As if we needed another reason to dislike living next to one of the world's scariest nations, now we've got confirmed nukes within range of Tokyo, with my home prefecture right in the line of fire. Um, would any country out there be willing to trade places with Japan and live next to North Korea? We'd really appreciate it.

One Japanese concept that was quite hard for me to get down was aisatsu (AI-sa-tsoo), which means "greetings" and is quite a multifaceted idea. Before I started J-List, I worked at our local City Office as an "Officer of Inter- nationalization," doing things like helping other gaijin who didn't speak Japanese when they had problems or needed to use city services. The world of Japanese public employees is a very formal one, and greeting everyone with "ohayo gozaimasu" in the mornings was a strict requirement. Children are raised to greet others too, especially their teachers and upperclassmen, and this symbolic showing of respect is an important part of Japan's "vertically oriented" social system which draws lines between seniors in a school or organization (senpai), students in the same level as you (dokyusei) and juniors/lowerclassmen (kohai). One concern that many of the parents at my son's special elementary school have is, because the students are in the first graduating class of the school, there are no senpai for them to interact with, which some fear would handicap them socially when they get out in the real world. The word aisatsu is applied to some other situations, too, such as when you move into a new apartment and give a small towel to your neighbors as a way of introducing yourself, or the long, drawn out speeches given by the head of any organization at any formal event, like a wedding. The other day, a neighbor brought us a package of manju cakes (rice cakes with sweet beans inside, which I've lived in Japan long enough to love). He was about to start construction on a new house, and had brought us the gift to apologize in advance for the inconvenience and noise that the construction would cause.

One word that has fast becoming a part of English seems to be kawaii (ka-wah-EE, 可愛い written properly), the Japanese term that corresponds to the word "cute" as applied to puppies, kittens, anime characters and most Japanese girls. Grammatically, it's an "i-adjective," like the words oishii (delicious、 美味しい) or takai (tall, expensive、高い), meaning that it ends in a hiragana 'i' (い) sound. Some similar words are kirei (pretty in an elegant way; can also mean clean、奇麗) and utsukushii (beautiful、美しい), and my wife and I have long debates about whether a given actress on TV is cute, pretty or beautiful. Some examples of expressing 'cute':

Kawaii!
[That is] cute!
(the subject is usually omitted, it's whatever you've just been talking about)

Kawaiku nai
[That is] not cute
'i' changes to 'ku' + nai for negative, used in anime a lot

Kawaiku naru
to become cute
'ku' functions as 'ly' in English, changing adjective to advert

Bonus point! Can you extrapolate how to say "not delicious" or "not expensive"
in Japanese? If so, you'll have taken your first step into a larger world.

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.

	Karami 14 -- Jun Nada. New Karami issue is out, this time featuring the lovely Jun Nada.
	Itooshiku Ai -- Fumika Suzuki. So, Fumika Suzuki is like, the Race Queen of the past decade, and she's always been a huge hit at J-List. A rare find!
	Kiki's Delivery Service Playing Cards. These are really, really nice playing cards -- I know because my kids and I use them exclusively.
	Gals Paradise 2006 Top Race Queen. Wow, Japan's Race Queens, the lovely women who promote F-1 racing in Japan, have never looked better.
	The Manager is a Pretty Girl -- Kaede Matsushima. Ever since the Maison Ikkoku anime came along, I guess there's been a fetish for apartment managers, kanrinin in Japanese. This is a nice remix of this concept.
	An Ei Shoushuhen ~ Crimson Comics. Nice 150+ page doujinshi for Final Fantasy fans, a rare treat (which I hope sticks around since we have limited stock).
	Hana's Holiday 2nd season ~ Hanasan no Kyujitsu 2. Nice manga from the famous Saigado circle.
	Nazuna *rmp001* -- Range Murata Pinky Street. This is a great idea! Pinky Street versions of Range Murata figures. Wow!
	Zihotch Rotary Watch -- Black. A *killer* watch that features a rotary dial on it. This is pure art, from Maywa Denki.
	New Super Mario Desktop Sofbi Series -- Mario w/ Mushroom. Wow, what a cool Mario! This is a very very large Soft Vinyl figure for your room.
	Mother Knows Breast. One popular fetish in Japan i s "Dad's new wife." This is a great new ero anime release from Kitty Media.
	Kagura Mask Strap -- Nou. Nice new strap for your phone, which promises to bring you good luck.
	Sakuma Ichigo Milk Candy. Sakuma is famous for their happy-happy "Grave of the Fireflies" candies, but I personally prefer the delicious taste of Sakuma Ichigo Milk candy. It was a favorite of Kaori, J-List's first employee (for any real old school types reading this).
	Lotte March of Koala Stamp Set. Cute stamps for March of the Koalas.
	Doraemon Netsuke -- Tokyo Tower ~ Tokyo Limited Ver.. Doraemon fans, this is a cute little suzu bell to put on your phone/DS/PSP/camera. Makes a pleasant sound when you jingle it.