  Japanese culture is the big topic on blogs right now. urlLink Here's an interesting discussion , be sure to read the comments, too.
Here's highlights from the NYT article that sparked the fire. urlLink Letter From Asia: This 21st-Century Japan, More Contented Than Driven : "Japan said last week that it was reviewing how it wants to explore space and added, somewhat vaguely, that it might for the first time consider putting a man up there. No matter how vague, the mere mention of a manned flight touched upon something profound going on here: After a century and a half of singlemindedly catching up and competing with the West, Japan is asking itself what kind of country it wants to be.
Does Japan, in short, want to compete with the world's great powers? The review resulted from recent failures of Japan's space program, but perhaps Japan was also reacting viscerally to actions taken by the two nations that have most shaped its history. The United States has said it will send astronauts to the Moon and to Mars, reiterating its intention of staying No.
1. And China launched a man into space three months ago, becoming only the third nation to do so, after the former Soviet Union and the United States, and announcing its resolve to become a global power. How to deal with the rise or re-emergence of China as a great power will very likely be the biggest foreign policy issue facing Japan over the next generation. For East Asia, it is often pointed out, has never had both a strong China and a strong Japan at the same time. " 
