{"product_id":"tokyo-tango-uwe-schmitt-9784991362316","title":"Tokyo Tango: Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent","description":"Formerly a professional jazz musician, Uwe Schmitt became a junior editor at the high-profile German newspaper\u003ci\u003eFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung\u003c\/i\u003e (FAZ) in 1985 and from 1990 to 1997 served as East Asia correspondent based in Tokyo. TOKYO TANGO, first published in German in February 1999, provides a mesmerizing account of the author's personal experiences and observations during his sojourn in Japan, a period corresponding to the aftermath of the bubble economy and the \u003ci\u003eannus horribilis\u003c\/i\u003e of 1995 when Japan was rocked by the Kobe earthquake, the terrorist attack by the cult Aum Shinrikyō, and international criticism over the lukewarm parliamentary resolution on the 50th anniversary of the Pacific War. Underpinned by meticulous scholarship and imbued with humor and affection, the book delves into a wide range of political, cultural and social topics, from the question of responsibility in Japanese governance to the plight of \"office ladies,\" the ethos of \u003ci\u003eyakuza\u003c\/i\u003e gangsters, and the pleasures of hot-spring resorts. Aside from material related to the hundreds of articles submitted to the newspaper, the author provides an intimate description of everyday encounters and predicaments, the challenges faced in marrying a Japanese woman and raising children of mixed descent, and even a touching confession of love for Japanese cinema's \"eternal virgin\" Hara Setsuko. His interviews with Nobel laureate Ōe Kenzaburō, political scientist and sociologist Mushakōji Kinhide, Nagasaki Mayor Motoshima Hitoshi and other movers and shakers of the 1990s are a testament to a vital interlude in modern Japanese history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Uwe Schmitt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 4991362318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9784991362316\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Flying Crane Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/19\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 238\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.71lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d","brand":"Uwe Schmitt","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48800805519615,"sku":"9784991362316","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/tokyo-tango-uwe-schmitt-9784991362316","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}