Tag: Random Japan

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Just five months after its inception, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has already fired a senior official for having an “inappropriate exchange” with the operator of a nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking official at the land ministry (the parliamentary secretary for reconstruction, if you must know) mysteriously resigned, allegedly over “a relationship with a woman.” Can’t have that!

Researchers at the environment ministry believe there may be a connection between the March 11 megaquake and a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Hokkaido last month that caused blackouts and highway closures.

It was reported that officials at the National Police Agency are making an effort to develop better aging-prediction technology out of concerns that “the faces of people on police wanted posters end up looking markedly different from fugitives.”

LOST AND FOUND

Six months after the environment ministry declared the Japanese river otter extinct, officials in Ehime are planning “a full-fledged search” for the creature in response to reports of recent sightings.

JR Central began operation of the new N700A shinkansen-the first bullet train that can run on autopilot.

A group of Japanese and French scholars claims that Echigo-ya-a kimono shop that grew to become Mitsukoshi department store-was the “world’s first large-scale retailer and the biggest store throughout the 18th century.”

Tokyo Station and New York’s Grand Central Terminal are set to become “sister stations” at a ceremony in the US this month.

A 73-year-old Ibaraki restaurateur discovered 31 photographic plates depicting the attempted coup d’état in 1936 known as the “February 26 incident.”

OUCH!

A Fukuoka man in his 30s was hospitalized after being bitten by a redback spider while removing a can of coffee from a vending machine.

A special-ed teacher in Aichi was reprimanded for handcuffing a ten-year-old autistic student who wouldn’t follow her instructions.

A worker at a nursing home in western Tokyo is in hot water after taking a photo of a female resident and sending it to colleagues in an email that compared the woman to a cartoon character.

Headline of the Week: “80 Percent Approve of Being Cared for by Robots: Survey” (via Mainichi Japan)

THIS JUST IN…

The NPA says 33 people around the country were arrested for voting improprieties in December’s general election-the lowest figure since current election laws were enacted in 1950.

An online survey by research group Macromill found that 75 percent of 20-year-olds “expect little from the country’s politics.”

In a breakthrough that could help endangered species, Japanese scientists have “artificially reproduce[ed] a kind of fish using surrogate parents from another related species.”

The Council for Cultural Affairs recommended two additions to Japan’s roster of important cultural assets: traditional hunting equipment from Akita and a tug-of-war event in Saga known as “Yobuko.”

ONLY IN JAPAN

In an annual ritual meant to “foster spiritual strength,” 100 SDF troops in Hokkaido engaged in a tug of war with a tank.

Zookeepers in Fukuoka have discovered that feeding chimpanzees three leeks a day helps them ward off colds.

A 114-year-old Osaka resident took the title of world’s oldest woman after the previous record-holder, a 115-year-old who lived in Kawasaki, died last month.

Sentence of the Week: “A man suspected in a series of computer hacking cases has been linked by a security camera to a man who suspiciously approached a cat, which was later found to have a memory device attached to its collar, investigative sources said.” (via Mainichi Japan)

THAT’LL SHOW ‘EM

The National Police Agency and the Japan Securities Dealers Association announced new measures intended to keep yakuza groups from… stock trading.

Leading online game operator Gree blamed a software glitch for overcharging the accounts of 733 minors-including 30 kids who were stuck with bills of more than ¥100,000 each.

Education officials in Saitama have developed a system that enables students to report bullying incidents via mobile phone.

It was reported that the Japanese are trying to save electricity this winter by “warmth sharing”-that is, “the communal use of warm and toasty places.”

Chinese Colonel Explains His Hatred of Japan With Weird Animal Metaphor

Chinese Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu must have just finished watching a nature documentary as he answered questions about China’s territorial disputes, attempting to convey his hatred of Japan through strange animal metaphors.

”America is the global tiger and Japan is Asia’s wolf and both are now madly biting China,” Colonel Liu said, ”Of all the animals, Chinese people hate the wolf the most.”

We’re pretty sure Chinese people don’t have some inexplicable national hatred of wolves. He most likely would have professed his countrymen’s abhorrence of baby pandas if they happened to represent Japan in the metaphor.

RIDING THE RAILS

JR West announced plans to build Japan’s largest railway museum in Kyoto’s Umekoji Park. The 18,800m2 space, which will house as many as 50 exhibits, is expected to cost ¥7 billion.

JTB Corp. says that it expects 18.7 million Japanese to travel abroad in 2013-a record high.

A Kyoto University-led project that produced “eggs from artificially derived multipurpose stem cells” was selected by the prestigious US journal Science as one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2012.

Headline of the Week: “115-yr-old Kimura Doesn’t Sweat the Small Stuff” (via The Yomiuri Shimbun)

 Young Magazine pulls ‘inappropriate’ AKB48 breast pic

Image shows a topless Tomomi Kasai being fondled from behind by a young Caucasian boy

A weekly comic book magazine has delayed the release of its upcoming issue after editors deemed a lurid photo of a member pop group AKB48 to be “inappropriate,” reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 11).

Shukan Young Magazine, which is published by Kodansha, announced on Friday that its issue originally scheduled to hit newsstands on January 12 will be delayed over the inclusion of an image featuring a topless Tomomi Kasai being fondled from behind by a young Caucasian boy.

The magazine, which typically features gravure (pin-up) idols in bathing suits on its covers, offered readers an apology on its Web site. “The photo contains an inappropriate expression,” read a statement from the editorial staff. The message also said that the site would provide an update as to the publication date of its next issue.

Japan’s Top 10 Cosplay Costumes of 2012

With the myriad of cosplay costumes available in Japan, first-time cosplayers must be overwhelmed with all the choices. Luckily, Cospa, a major cosplay costume company in Japan, has narrowed down the choices, releasing the 2012 costume sales rankings. Coming in at number one is everyone’s favorite vocaloid, Hatsune Miku.

 BERSERK!

A restaurant owner in Kanazawa was fined ¥300,000 for entering a local primary school, approaching a boy who had been bullying his 12-year-old daughter, and smacking the little punk in the face.

It took eight cops in Hiroshima to subdue an American ex-Marine wielding a pair of kitchen knives and “fiercely” resisting arrest following a domestic dispute.

An Ibaraki man was arrested for trying to kill an acquaintance with a harpoon gun. The suspect apparently got drunk at his own barbecue party and fired the weapon, which (thankfully) missed.

An elderly Yokohama woman who strangled her 43-year-old son told police he suffered from “a disability” and “wanted to die.”

MUCHO MOJO

Two women in western Japan are suing the operator of a yoga studio for threatening them with possession by evil spirits if they didn’t fork over millions of yen. They’re being supported in their efforts by the delightfully named National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales.

A professor at Keio University has developed a robot that can pass along the sensation of the things it touches to human hands.

A trio of climbers was arrested for attempting to scale Nachi Falls in Wakayama Prefecture. The falls and a nearby shrine are both UNESCO World Heritage sites, which led the head of the shrine to say the stunt was “an insult to our religion.”

Meanwhile, a delegation from UNESCO will travel to Gunma to judge whether the Tomioka silk mill is worthy of World Heritage status. The mill was established by the government way back in 1872.