Welcome to this section of the site. The short essays in the list below are part of an ongoing body of work entitled "Twenty Years in Japan-What's changed, what hasn't and where do we go from here." Comments on the right will constitute an open dialogue with myself and anyone who wishes to join in. To comment or otherwise add your 2 cents, please e-mail me at: jcali@gol.com and I will post your comments.

White Socks and Salarymen

Styles may have changed for the better but has the salaryman sold his soul to the devil in the bargain?

Hair dye

Twenty years ago the only people to die their hair were ladies over 60! Today, hair color is as varied as a display of UNI GLO T-shirts and virtually nothing is as it seems.

Cafe's and Kissaten

"You can't eat atmosphere", or so the saying went, but when it comes to Japan's coffee wars, the atmosphere may have been forever poisoned.

Disneyland

The mouse, the whole mouse and nothing but the mouse.

Marriage and Divorce

What happens to a society when changing partners is as simple as changing socks? The unfortunate answer has become apparent in the problems rocking Japan today. While companies "restructure", families simply come apart.

Murder and Suicide

While the suicide rate has continued to climb along with the unemployment and personal bankruptcy rates, the addition of murder as a new national pastime is pushing the otherwise benign citizen to new heights of fear and despair.

Bread and Rice

What happens when bakeries become more numerous than even ramen shops, and the waiter stops asking "bread or rice?" and just assumes you want the former? the question of food security and the right to have your bread and eat it too!