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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2020)
June 1, 2020 ASIA / PACIFIC THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 Author Murakami DJs “Stay Home” radio show to lift spirits SHARING SONGS. Acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, hosting a special radio show from home, painted a brighter side of the world with his fa- vorite music, and said the fight against the coronavirus is a challenge in figuring out ways to help and care for each other. In this file photo, Murakami poses for pho- tographers during a press conference at Waseda Uni- versity in Tokyo on November 3, 2018. (AP Photo/ Eugene Hoshiko, File) world after the corona will surely be an edgy and insipid place even if masks and vaccines are abundantly distributed,” he said. “Love is important.” By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — Acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, hosting a special radio show from home, painted a brighter side of the world with his favorite music, and said the fight against the coronavirus is a challenge in figuring out ways to help and care for each other. The 71-year-old, known for bestsellers such as A Wild Sheep Chase and Wind-up Bird Chronicle, said he hoped the show would “blow away some of the corona-related blues.” Murakami opened the two-hour late-night show, “Murakami Radio Stay Home Special,” with “Look for the Silver Lining” by the Modern Folk Quartet, followed by 18 other songs — selected from classical to jazz, pop, and rock. Their common thread: smile, sunshine, rainbow, birthday memories, and other happy sides of life. Murakami said comparing the fight against the coronavirus to a war, as politicians often do, is inappropriate. “It’s a challenge for us to figure out how we can share our wisdom to cooperate, help each other, and keep balance. It’s not a war to kill each other but a fight of wisdom to let us all live,” he said. “We don’t need enmity and hatred here.” Music serves as an important motif in Murakami’s stories. An avid listener and collector of music, he has also written books on the topic and has a library of records in his study, where the program was prerecorded. Murakami has hosted his “Murakami Radio” every two months since August T 2018 on Tokyo FM. The station said the recent show was Murakami’s idea to cheer up those who are under stress, living under a coronavirus state of emergency that was in place in parts of Japan, including Tokyo, until late May. Murakami began writing while running a jazz bar in Tokyo after graduating from university. Following his 1979 debut novel Hear the Wind Sing, the 1987 romance Norwegian Wood became his first bestseller, establishing him as a young literary star. Recent hits include 1Q84 and Killing Comnendatore. A perennial contender for the Nobel Prize in literature and a social recluse, Murakami said he has worked from home for years and the lifestyle has little changed, though “the corona situation” did affect him in many ways, possibly an inspiration for his future work. Murakami has written stories inspired by events that have violently shaken the society, including the 1995 Tokyo subway gassing by an apocalyptic cult and the deadly quake in Kobe, where he grew up. Rather than documenting an event as it develops, Murakami said that as a novelist he is more interested in transforming it into “a story in a different form,” though he doesn’t know when or how. The world may be experiencing “a large-scale social experiment whose results could slowly spread across the entire society, for better or worse,” he said. Murakami said he worries the post-corona world may be a more closed and selfish place even if it has better protection. “If love and compassion are lacking, the Other songs on the playlist included: “Waiting on a Sunny Day” by Bruce Springsteen “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by Isley Meets Bacharach “Here Comes the Sun” by Nina Simone “You’ve Got A Friend” by Carole King “Over the Rainbow” by Ella Fitzgerald “Sun Is Shining” by Bob Marley & The Wailers “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong “Happy Birthday Sweet Darling” by Kate Taylor “Smile” by Eric Clapton “My Favorite Things Featuring Kathleen Battle” by Al Jarreau “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” by Lisa Ono “Happy Talk” by Nancy Wilson “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” by Brian Wilson “Put on a Happy Face” by Tony Bennett “Over the Rainbow” by Fred Lowery “We’ll Meet Again” by Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” by Sigrid Onégin “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Wei Wei Wuu 2021 Tokyo Olympics may not be the same conventional Olympic and Paralympic Games we’ve come to know By Stephen Wade AP Sports Writer T OKYO — Almost two months after the Tokyo Olympics were post- poned, organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto said he still could not give an estimate of how much the one-year delay will cost. Figures in the Japanese media have ranged between $2 billion and $6 billion, with most mounting expenses likely to be covered by government entities. Although he was vague about the costs and who will pay, Muto was very clear about one thing in the online news conference. “The actual games we will have one year from now may not be the same conven- tional Olympic and Paralympic Games that we have come to know,” he said, speaking in Japanese and translated through in interpreter. Muto floated ideas about cuts everywhere, though the only specific target he mentioned was the torch relay. “We are looking into every possible area,” he said. “It’s time for all of us to review what are the essential things for the games. What are the must-have items? ... I think we might come up with a new Olympic and Paralympic Games, something that is unique to Tokyo.” Tokyo’s future still has more questions than answers. How will 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians be housed in the Athletes Village? Will the tight quarters be safe? How will they travel to Tokyo? How China plans to complete space station by 2022 BEIJING (AP) — China plans to send four crewed space missions and the same number of cargo craft to complete work on its permanent space station within about two years, officials said last month after the launch of a newly designed spacecraft aboard the latest heavy-lift rocket. The announcement by the country’s crewed space program further cements China’s aspirations to rival the U.S., Europe, Russia, and private companies in outer space exploration. The unmanned spacecraft and its return capsule were flung into space aboard a Long March 5B rocket in its debut flight from the Wenchang launch center in the southern island province of Hainan. The capsule is reportedly an improvement on the Shenzhou capsule based on the former Soviet Union’s Soyuz model and can carry six astronauts rather than the current three. China earlier launched an experimental space station that later crashed back through the atmosphere, and plans to build a larger facility with multiple modules to rival the scale of the International Space Station. China’s burgeoning space program achieved a milestone last year by landing a spacecraft on the largely unexplored dark side of the moon and has plans to launch a lander and rover on Mars. The program has developed rapidly, especially since its first crewed mission in 2003, and has sought cooperation with space agencies in Europe and elsewhere. The U.S., however, has banned most space cooperation with China out of national security concerns, keeping China from participating in the International Space Station and prompting it to gradually develop its own equipment. The new Long March 5B rocket has been specially designated to propel modules of the future space station into orbit. China is also among three countries planning missions to Mars this summer. The United States is launching a lander, China has a lander-orbiter combo, and the United Arab Emirates is sending an orbiter. Spacecraft can only be launched to Mars every two years, to take advantage of the best possible lineup between Earth and its neighboring planet. will they train and qualify? And what about thousands more staff and games officials? Will there be fans, or will it be a television-only show? What about millions of tickets already sold? Will there be refunds? Will a vaccine be available? Will young, healthy athletes be a priority for a vaccine? Muto spoke a day after the Switzerland- based International Olympic Committee Continued on page 4 Department of Consumer & Business Services Building Codes Division Who we are and what we do The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Building Codes Division (BCD) ensures safe building construction while supporting a positive business climate. Hiring a licensed electrician or plumber helps ensure that the person doing the work is qualified. To check on whether a person you wish to hire is licensed, visit our website at bcd.oregon.gov, then click on “license holder search.” BCD also wants to remind you that permits help protect the safety and value of your home. Check our website or call your local building department, to find out when you need a permit for your building or remodeling job. 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