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| January 2001 | Get BSD | New to BSD? | Search BSD | Submit News | FAQ | Contact Us | Join Us |
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As the year changes so does the world's attitude towards technology - Apple introduces Darwin to the mainstream, Linux gains a huge market share, and ever more BSD books are written. These developments have not only affected America, but also countries around the world. Japan has mostly been following right alongside the USA. When they are not following, they are leading and taking bold steps that we in America just aren't prepared to take.
There have been some good and not so great steps made in Japan, but every step is a step forward, so we can't complain. During our last trip to Japan, we met Mr. Kazuo Shiobara, editor of Software Design, a mixed Unix magazine, and a strong BSD supporter. We are sad to say that Mr. Shiobara passed away some time ago. The world has lost a great person and the BSD community has lost an even greater supporter. While Software Design continues on, many believe it won't contain the same BSD flavor it had in the past.
While we have been mourning Mr. Shiobara's departure, a new figure has stepped onto the scene, one that has done something no one else in Japan or the rest of the world has. The man is Mr. Kahei Suzuki, the Editor in Chief of BSD Magazine. His magazine is the first BSD-only magazine to be backed by a major publishing house, the ASCII Corporation.
The magazine, which averages 200 pages an issue, is a work to behold. In full color and with a glossy cover, it's the first of its kind. "I insisted they create a BSD-related magazine" said Kahei Suzuki. "Two years ago ASCII made Linux Magazine, and while I was working here, I felt that the BSD platforms were being greatly unappreciated. I came from a BSD background so I had naturally wanted to give them my support."
This is the spirit of the Japanese computer enthusiast. This is the spirit of the Japanese BSD community. A small, tightly knit group of cohorts who believe that the BSD platforms are more than mere stages for development, but the idealistic example of thinking outside the box. They are willing to take a huge risk in what they believe in. This group is so connected that when the author off-handedly mentioned to an associate that he would be arriving in Tokyo for business, he received three emails from BSD-related people within the week.
BSD Magazine has been a success since its inception, now almost two years old. But it hasn't succeeded because of millions of dollars of venture capitol or media hype. Rather, it has succeeded because of the hard work and dedication put forth by Mr. Kahei Suzuki and his team, who dared to take the risk in a Linux-centric world.
Mr. Suzuki works hard on organizing the quarterly publication, but while the magazine is his pride and joy, it's not his only job. "When I'm not working on BSD Magazine, I have to write books on Windows programming or other uninteresting topics, but the most joy in my life comes from working on BSD Magazine." In the end, Suzuki is living the BSD dream. "I just want to promote these operating systems to Japan and maybe even the world, because this is what I enjoy doing."
Mr. Suzuki is not the only person who has helped with the development of BSD platforms in Japan. Another well-known name is Jun-ichiro Hagino, better known as itojun@itojun.org.
Mr. Hagino is well known throughout the world as well as Japan. The only person who develops for all three of the major BSD platforms -FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and he's also a core member of the NetBSD team. He is also equally known for his development in IPV6 - so well known that his current employer, Internet Initiative Japan, (IIJ) , sought him out to help them become the front-runners in IPV6 deployment and research. This he has done and more. They were the first ISP to deploy the protocol globally.
"While I mostly do IPV6 work for the various BSD platforms, I sometimes also write ports for them, because it helps other people. Then I have various side projects that I work on such as ethereal and tcpdump," said Mr. Hagino.
The work he puts in is immeasurable, traveling the world promoting IPV6 and the BSD platforms. "I just came from Korea, and people were asking my opinion of the BSD platforms and IPV6 from slides that were being discussed. But the slides were in all Korean, so that was a little weird."
Mr. Hagino also does IPSec development with the KAME Project, a child project of WIDE, which is partially funded by his employer IIJ. Not only has IIJ helped to fund these development products, but they have also developed and are currently marketing BSD-based firewalls and routers. We won't say which BSD is being used; we'll leave that up to your imagination.
These two exceptional people are just a few examples of the extraordinary BSD work being done in Japan. More importantly they are living proof that if you don't compromise, and pursue the work that interests you, others will come to realize its importance. Mr. Suzuki could have stayed within the status quo and developed another Linux magazine or concentrated on Windows books, but he stuck behind the BSD community and what he believed in. Mr. Hagino could have been a mere developer and going where the money was, instead he supported the BSD community with his development, all he could have needed came to him by way of IIJ.
Jun-ichiro Hagino maintains a web page with his current developments at http://www.itojun.org/.
Mr. Suzuki is always looking for writers, especially for the OpenBSD area which are hard to find. More importantly, if you are in any way involved in BSD work he would really love to meet you if you come to Japan. Mr. Suzuki can be contacted at <kahei-s@ascii.co.jp >.