Hello Everyone,
The next First Friday’s will include a short seminar from a speaker whose speciality may be of extreme importance to those of you wishing to develop or expand the market for your company’s product or service.
In his talk on “Consumer Trends of the Older Generation” , Dr. Florian Kolhbacher of the Japan Research Institute, will explain why thismarket segment is the most influential, financially powerful, and fastest growing, in all of Japan.
Contrary to popular belief, this segmet is also open to many of the new products in the market, but unfortunately …

This in from Henry Seals of Black Professionals in Tokyo: Black History Month Tokyo 2010 (BHMT 2010)
EVENT 1
Tokyo Black Professionals First Fridays and Tribute to Black Dance
@ The Fiat Space, Aoyama
www.fiatcaffe.jp
Friday, February 5, 2010
Time: 6:00pm- 10:00pm
Dance showcase from 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Cost: 1000 JPY
Enjoy Salsa, African and contemporary dance performances by Ameenah Asante, Japan Salsa, You Dieng and Company, Capoeira Zoadour Academy, among others, all in honor of Black History Month.

This is not Japan-related but I felt the need to post the story. Media, you must do better!
“Sgt. Kimberly D. Munley has been applauded as a hero across the nation for shooting down Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan during the bloody rampage at Fort Hood last week. The account of heroism, given by the authorities, attracted the attention of newspapers, the networks and television talk shows.
But the initial story of how she and the accused gunman went down in an exchange of gunfire now appears to be inaccurate.
Another officer, Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, 42, …

This in from Mr. Seals: “For the next First Friday’s on October 2nd Black Professionals Tokyo will hold it’s first Entrepreneur Night.
This will be an evening where members of our community who have either started their own business or are involved in new and exciting ventures, share their experiences, ideas, or introduce their businesses to the public.
The goal of this evening is to allow the public to learn more about new interesting products in the market, new opportunities for partnerships (if you are a business owner yourself), or better yet …

There is a new book out written by New York City native Wayne Lionel Aponte, an African-American journalist and teacher, who has lived in Japan for almost two decades. According to his website, Aponte  has written for several publications, including  The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Nation.
I have not received a copy of the book to review it but please check out the Wayne Lionel Aponte interview here. In the meantime, I will keep plugging away on my book! By the way, you may enjoy this post by NPR’s Planet Money on …

Here is the latest from Dear Life: WTH Let’s get it together ladies! She responds to email received from viewer that watched her You Tube video “What a Japanese guy thinks of Black girls.”
She says of the “Dear Life: WTH Let’s get it together ladies!” video, “This is not a rant, but something that I felt should be addressed. Ladies we gotta do better!” I will post more about Alafia and her “intro2the1″ videos later. Girl! I’m proud of you!

BTW, shout out to 日本-SUKI for showing some blogger love!

I thought my ears played a trick on me when I heard Rev. Lowery open his benediction with words from the Black (Negro) National Anthem, “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears….” Although many that are not Black may not know the words to James Weldon Johnsons’ song, Lift Every Voice and Sing, it seems that some have misunderstood the meaning of the rhyme at the very last part of Reverand Lowery’s benediction: “We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked …

A few things came to mind as the day of service in honor of the Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to a close today. One was Dr. Martin Luther King’s Prediction.

Another was a song that I learned at a very early age during the Civil Rights Movement:  Lift Every Voice and Sing (The Black National Anthem) by James Weldon Johnson.
And finally, a song that could reflect the mood or hope that is sweeping the world:  A Change is Gonna Come
I’m counting down the hours until Bush lifts off from the …

The birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has passed and for some it is just another federal holiday. While most in the world know of the deeds and sacrifices Dr. King made, few get to hear how others perceive his public story. Check out the video after reading the article below.
Slept On TV writes: “Too often, we are treated to a view of a romanticized and whitewashed Dr. King in order to fit the man and his struggle neatly within the prevailing political and economic power structures in a …

Arigato to the BT’ers that emailed me while I was injured. The surgery was successful and I am slowly recovering and looking forward to physical therapy. Bring on the pain!
BT’ers can now follow Black Tokyo via Twitter. BT’ers can also join the Black Tokyo social network site (Google Friend Connect) with one click using your Google, Yahoo, AIM or OpenID account. Click the Join this site button found on the BT Friend Connect widget located at the top of the center column.
For those on Facebook, be sure to join the Black Tokyo Facebook …