ASIA / PACIFIC
March 6, 2017
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
Fans in Japan rush to buy
Murakami book with esoteric title
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
T
Desert to ice: Qatar takes on
curling at Asian Winter Games
By Jim Armstrong
AP Sports Writer
S
APPORO, Japan — For the Qatar
women’s curling team, just about
everything is a new experience.
Curling, a sport that has links with
medieval Scotland and is more suited to
the Canadian prairies, has taken a small
foothold in the Middle East.
Just how new are Qatar’s players to
curling? Some of them in Japan for the
Asian Winter Games in Sapporo had never
experienced snow before.
The fledgling curlers have done their
best to get up to speed, but it’s a huge
challenge when one lives in a desert. The
Qatari women can train only one day a
week on ice that is not up to international
standards.
It’s a tough road ahead. Qatar lost 1-17
to Japan in a preliminary round game at
Sapporo Curling Stadium.
“For now, we are training more to get
experience and know more about the game
and its strategies,” said skip Maryam
Binali, who has been throwing stones for
just 11 months.
“We learned a lot from the Japanese
team today because they are more
experienced but hopefully we will do well.”
University student Binali said she likes
the sense of teamwork.
Players in Qatar train on a public rink
shared by figure skaters and ice hockey
players. There are only two ice rinks in
Doha so ice time comes at a premium.
Soccer is the most popular sport in Qatar
but the country is looking to broaden its
sporting horizons — even to winter sports.
The Qatari women’s team is coached by
Hungarian Lajos Belleli, who is a
seven-time Hungarian champion.
“(Curling) is totally new and strange, a
winter sport in one of the hottest countries
in the world,” Belleli said. “Curling is
totally new there so I have to convince
people that this will be good for them,
which is not easy but a nice challenge.”
So far there are just seven female
players — and 15 male curlers — in Qatar,
which is the only country in the Middle
East that has joined the World Curling
Federation.
Qatar could take inspiration from
Japan, a country that has rapidly
developed in the sport. Japan’s women’s
team is ranked sixth and won a silver
medal in the 2016 world championships.
“We can play the sport anywhere and
want to make it a truly global sport,” said
Kate Caithness, president of the World
Curling Federation.
Japan Crown Prince Naruhito
vows to follow father’s footstep
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
T
OKYO — Japan’s Crown Prince
Naruhito
marked
his
57th
birthday with a pledge to follow in
his father’s footsteps as a symbol of the
nation if his father’s wish to abdicate is
realized.
Naruhito is first in line to Japan’s
Chrysanthemum throne and would suc-
ceed Emperor Akihito, now 83 years old.
Akihito expressed last August his
apparent wish to abdicate, citing concerns
his age and health may start limiting his
ability to fulfill his duties. The government
is currently discussing a special law to
allow Akihito to step down.
“I would like to continue to pray for,
always stand by, and share joys and
sorrows with the people,” Naruhito said in
a birthday message.
Akihito would be the first to abdicate
since Emperor Kokaku 200 years ago.
Media reports have said officials are eying
an abdication at the end of 2018, when
Akihito turns 85 and his reign is in its 30th
year.
A government panel looking into the
abdication has avoided some of the more
heated issues, such as whether women
should be allowed in the current male-only
succession amid concerns about a shortage
of successors to the throne.
CHRYSANTHEMUM CONTINUITY. Japan’s
Crown Prince Naruhito, center, poses for a photo with
Crown Princess Masako, left, and their daughter, Prin-
cess Aiko, at Togu Palace in Tokyo. Naruhito cele-
brated his 57th birthday last month. (Photo courtesy
of the Imperial Household Agency of Japan via AP)
Naruhito said he is open to discussing
ways to have the imperial succession fit
the modern era.
“The role of the imperial family changes
from one era to another, as a new era
brings in a fresh breeze,” he said.
Akihito has two sons, but only one of his
four grandchildren is male.
Some experts say Akihito’s possible
abdication is a wakeup call to the larger
issues of aging and a shortage of succes-
sors in Japan’s 2,000-year-old monarchy
— issues that reflect concerns about the
country’s aging and declining population.
KISHIDANCHO GOROSHI. People buy copies
of the new book written by Haruki Murakami at a
bookstore in Tokyo shortly after midnight on February
24, 2017. Murakami’s new book, Kishidancho
Goroshi, or “Killing Commendatore,” is a two-part
story about a 36-year-old portrait painter and what
happens after his wife divorces him and he moves
into an old house on a mountainside west of Tokyo.
(Fumine Tsutabayashi/Kyodo News)
The book launch coincided with the
“Premium Friday” government initiative
to encourage office workers to leave early
for a longer weekend.
Unfortunately, fans in Japan’s northern
main island of Hokkaido had to wait to buy
their books because a freight train
carrying the shipment was involved in an
accident, Shinchosha said.
The publisher said 1.3 million copies
were planned for first-edition prints, a
huge number for Japanese literature that
usually comes in the several thousands.
2016 Exemplary Community Volunteer Award Recipient:
Salem Multicultural Institute &
World Beat Festival
AR Photo/Jan Landis
QATAR CURLERS. Hanan Al Boinin of Qatar, center, throws a stone during a round-robin curling match
against Japan at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido. For the Qatar women’s
curling team, just about everything is a new experience. The fledgling curlers are doing their best to get up to
speed in the sport, but it’s a huge challenge when one lives in a desert. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
OKYO — Fans of Haruki
Murakami rushed to Japanese
bookstores in late February to buy
his latest work with an esoteric title.
Kishidancho Goroshi, or “Killing
Commendatore,” is a two-part story about
a 36-year-old portrait painter and what
happens after his wife divorces him and he
moves into an old house on a mountainside
west of Tokyo. Mysterious events occur,
including meeting a neighbor and finding
the painting that shares the book’s title.
Murakami has described it as a very
strange story.
Devoted fans of the internationally
acclaimed and best-selling writer lined up
outside stores on the eve of the book
launch.
Shinchosha Publishing Co. said over-
seas availability is not yet known and no
details are known about translations.
Murakami, 68, usually shies away from
the limelight, although he has spoken out
on issues such as world peace and nuclear
energy.
He began writing while running a jazz
bar in Tokyo after finishing college. His
1987 romantic novel Norwegian Wood was
his first best-seller, establishing him as a
young literary star.
The preceding novel, Colorless Tsukuru
Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, was
released in Japan in 2013, and a collection
of short stories, Men Without Women, was
published in 2014. His million-seller 1Q84
in 2009 was one of his longest novels, with
the Japanese edition coming out in three
volumes.
The Salem Multicultural Institute (SMI) was founded in 1997 by two moms with
young daughters who wished to respond to growing concern about racial tensions in
Salem, Oregon. The organization, which is assisted by 1,000 volunteers, seeks to
collaborate with public and private organizations to promote harmony and
understanding through innovative, educational cultural programs and activities.
In 1998, SMI hosted its first World Beat Festival (WBF), an annual celebration of
the many cultures that are found in Oregon, and in 2006, the organization opened
the World Beat Gallery at the Reed Opera House, which hosts cultural exhibits.
SMI’s programs serve more than 25,000 people of all ethnic backgrounds. Past
festivals have welcomed community members representing more than 65 cultures,
and the gallery’s educational exhibits highlight many cultures. In addition, the
organization’s volunteers have served the community in areas such as of cultural
programming, referrals, and committee work. To learn more, visit <www.
worldbeatfestival.org>.
The Asian Reporter Foundation is accepting nominations
for its 2017 “Exemplary Community Volunteer” awards.
The recognition banquet will be held Thursday,
April 20, 2017 at northeast Portland’s TAO Event Center.
Nomination forms and award guidelines are available
for download at <www.ARFoundation.net>.
The nomination deadline is Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 5:00pm.
The Asian Reporter Foundation’s 19th
Annual Scholarship & Awards Banquet features:
Most Honored Elder Awards
Cultural entertainment
Exemplary Community Volunteer Awards
Ethnic dinner
College Scholarship Awards
Silent auction