The Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University is pleased to announce a prize honoring the life and work of their colleague Kyoko Selden. The prize will pay homage to the finest achievements in Japanese literature, thought, and society through the medium of translation. Kyoko Selden's translations and writings ranged widely across such realms as Japanese women writers, the atomic bomb experience, Ainu life and culture, historical and contemporary literature, poetry and prose, Japanese art, and early education (the Suzuki method). In the same spirit, the prize will recognize the breadth of Japanese writings, classical and contemporary.

The winning translations will be published online at The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. Deadline application: May 31, 2014. For more information see here.

In this issue, Vivian Blaxell examines the history of leprosy and hepatitis C in Japan to explain the origins of that nation's extraordinarily high levels of hepatitis C . . . tracing the story to the practice of blood transfusions in early modern Japan. A US-Japan green alliance, Andrew DeWit argues, could transform the fossil-fuel and nuclear power dependent economies of both to great good effect. He locates the obstacles to such an opening above all in Japan's nuclear village, noting the dynamic role of the US military in charting a green energy future. Ranging widely across the data and claims pertaining to the North Korean economy, Henri Feron punctures politically-motivated claims pointing to the imminent collapse of the DPRK and finds dynamic possibilities in that nation's economy in the face of continued heavy sanctions.

Have you used the APJ search engine? The best results may be obtained by going to the left home page and typing in key words such as Okinawa, 3.11, energy, or Vietnam War under Title.

Please try the new pdf feature at the top of each article, particularly if you wish to print it. It can also be copied and pasted into a Word file to adjust type size and font. Let us know if you encounter problems. info.japanfocus@gmail.com.

Thanks to  the generous support of our readers, we succeeded in raising more than $12,000 to fund the Journal for 2014. The Journal will remain free. You can still support the journal at our home page with your 501 (C) tax-deductible gift.