Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2012

THE UMBRELLA TRADE

Regarding “Mi Kasa Es Su Kasa” (The Last Word, Oct 12): File-sharing, photo-sharing, work-sharing and car-sharing. Open-source applications, free licensed software. You may say I’m a dreamer, if I imagine there are “no possessions.” There are more things than we actually use. Peace! 🙂—Nami Aoki

Please turn yourself in to the closest koban and admit to your crimes immediately.—JohnnyRabbit

Wait, so you’re actually just taking any old umbrella lying in the umbrella rack by the door? Come on! Every time you do that there’s probably at least one person left with no dry way to get home!—J

WIND-UP WORD

Regarding “Murakami: Master or Marketing?” (Books, Oct 10): The idea that awarding Murakami the Nobel Prize [in Literature] “wouldn’t amount to a recognition of Japanese literature” is absurd. It’s awarded to an individual, not a country. It reminds me of my younger, backpacker years listening to people say they wished to go find the “real Bali” or “real China,” conveniently ignoring that Denpasar and Shanghai are equally “real” to the millions that live there.—an expat

I personally do not like it when I can see [Murakami] is trying to make his work easier to translate. Some Japanese expressions sound somewhat weird because he knows it makes it easier to translate them into English.—Yoshiko Hard Core Ichikawa

Does it even matter? I would have thought giving Obama the Peace Prize would have stripped the Nobel of any prestige or authenticity it may have had.—Kamil Abt

@Kamil Abt The Nobel Peace Prize committee is run by Norwegians and is a separate entity from the “real” Nobel prizes. Don’t fault the Swedish Academy for decisions they haven’t made. As for [writer Dreux] Richard’s “against” commentary, I hope the deciding factor is the impact writers’ literary works create (personal level/emotional and broader/societal), not their marketing, marketability or nationality. Perhaps Selma Lagerlöf was also an unsuitable candidate because her works are, heaven forbid, enjoyable to read.—Lisa Wallin

Since when did this become a national award? Sure, some countries like to have bragging rights, but most people view the winner as an individual. I think both writers make valid points, but I’m going with [“for” writer Miho] Matsugu in that the effect Murakami has on readers, be it in Japanese or English, is unmistakable. He didn’t win the prize, but the debate will likely continue.—Secret Fornow

SKIMMING rocks

What happened to the money Governor Ishihara collected to buy the Senkaku Islands? Since the national government stepped in to buy them instead, the yen weren’t spent for that purpose. Did it just go for more black vans with oversized loudspeakers?—Thane Doss

A MAN WITH A PORPOISE

Regarding “Ric O’Barry” (Star Struck, Oct 12):　日本人もイルカを守りたい。
(I also want to protect the Japanese dolphin.)—Kei AnimalRights Doubutuaigo 

STAT CHECKING

Regarding “Stats” (The Small Print, Oct 4): “¥6.58 million: Average monthly income of two-parent households…” Surely these are annual, not monthly, figures?—sknight