Tag: Random Japan

A DIGITAL WORLD

Computer hackers accessed the databases of eight online Japanese supermarkets and made off with the personal information of thousands of customers.

Google Maps celebrated its fifth anniversary by unveiling a new satellite positioning technology in Tokyo that is said to improve the accuracy of the service.

Don’t look down. The new 41.5-meter high Amarube Bridge in Hyogo Prefecture has opened for use, replacing a 98-year-old span that was known as Japan’s largest iron trestle bridge.

It was reported that local Muslims are dismayed by the lack of graveyard space in Japan, as Islamic principles state they must be buried without cremation.

STRANGE DAYS

Staff at a ramen shop in Osaka were stunned when a customer paid his bill and then handed over an extra ¥1 million, “saying he wanted the restaurant to offer children free meals.”

Cops in Gunma were stymied by the mysterious explosion of a tractor trailer truck that was carrying construction machinery from Maebashi to Yokohama Port. The blast destroyed a nearby shop and injured a local resident.

A nearly complete skeleton of a 110-million-year-old frog was discovered in Hyogo. Scientists say this is “a very important find for researching the evolutionary history of frogs.”

Researchers from a trio of Japanese universities claim to have found a protein in the brain that limits depression. They made their discovery by inducing stress in mice by forcing them to swim.

A 54-year-old Nagano salaryman who spent over ¥1 million beefing up his PC claims to have calculated pi to 5 trillion decimal places, which would be a world record.

Headline of the Week: Hacker Arrested for Octopus Virus (via The Asahi Shimbun)

TARGETING A NEW AUDIENCE

The Ueno Okura Theater, a bastion of adult cinema for over half a century, has ramped up its efforts to entice more women to come in and catch a pornographic film.

Foreigners have a reason to get out and rock the vote due to a provision in the DPJ’s constitution that allows permanent foreign residents to participate in the party’s upcoming presidential election, which will decide the next prime minister.

Reports show more survivors of cervical cancer are discovering they can still experience a healthy sex life after undergoing major cancer treatments.

The 18m-tall Gundam statue that once stood in Odaiba has been reassembled in Shizuoka, where it was unveiled to great fanfare in the city’s Aoi Ward.

It was reported that instead of dealing with problems in the office, some companies are increasingly hiring yamesaseya-specialists who coerce resignations out of unwanted employees by following them and taking incriminating photographs, among various other types of schemes.

Thanks to a tie-up with the Associated Press, The Yomiuri Shimbun became the first Japanese newspaper to distribute its news photographs to international media.

ANIMALS!

The head of an NPO that seeks to protect Asian black bears said that the number of recent attacks by the animals on humans is “unprecedented.” In May alone, the bears killed one person and injured 17 more.

A trainer at a zoo in Miyazaki had a couple of ribs broken when an Asian elephant knocked him over with its trunk and stepped on him.

Authorities in Ishaya, Nagasaki warned residents to steer clear of a local reservoir after three 1m-long alligators were spotted swimming in the waters. The creatures are “believed to be either abandoned or escaped pets.”

Cops were able to arrest a 35-year-old municipal worker in Osaka for molesting a woman because he left behind his jacket and ID card at the scene.

An unemployed 42-year-old Osaka man was busted for an incident in May in which he poured oil on his 14-year-old son’s back and set it alight. The boy survived but suffered severe burns.

Stay with us on this one: the 21-year-old son of a noted Hollywood-based Japanese film producer was stabbed to death by his ex-girlfriend’s new lover outside his home in Beverly Hills.

WELL, THAT EXPLAINS IT

A 46-year-old professor in Hyogo Prefecture who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence tried to dodge the charge by claiming that, instead of alcohol, he had drunk 40 bottles of a health tonic.

A tour guide who survived a climbing accident in Hokkaido last year recently admitted that forging ahead with the tour, which ultimately claimed the lives of eight people, was a “bad idea.”

A 40-year-old Hiroshima doctor was arrested for using a hidden camera to take indecent photos of two young sisters during a routine checkup. Prosecutors said the illicit practice had been going on since 2008 and that a number of women had been photographed.

An explosive situation was diffused in Naha when the Ground Self-Defense Force disposed of 902 unexploded shells found buried near a restaurant.

Service was disrupted for over three hours on Nagoya Railroad’s Komaki Line after a suspicious object was found on a local train. It turned out be a radio forgotten by a passenger.

A disgruntled JR West conductor was arrested for tampering with anti-crash equipment on some of the trains he operated in Osaka.

Cowboy Bebop Metallic Rain

Strange days

A former scaffolding worker was arrested for robbing an apartment in Shibuya by climbing down a drainpipe from the roof of the four-story building. The 36-year-old man had been dubbed Heisei no Musasabi (“flying squirrel of the Heisei Era”) for an earlier string of robberies.

Panasonic’s recent merger with Sanyo was apparently foretold last year in a manga called Senmu Shima Kosaku, which chronicles the travails of a fictional businessman who works for a company based on Panasonic.

A Japanese lunar exploration satellite has discovered that volcanic eruptions on the far side of the moon lasted 500 million years longer than previously thought.

A judge in Hokkaido told a man who received five years’ worth of disability payments by falsely claiming he was blind to stop “hamming it up” in court. The man, a 51-year-old resident of Sapporo, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The Japan Business Federation announced that ¥5.85 trillion could be saved each year if the country was divided into ten large geographical blocks instead of the current 47 prefectures.

Down on your luck? The cat-embroidered slippers at the door of Fukuneko-do are only the beginning at this maneki-neko mecca. The cozy shop, hidden in a winding alley in Kagurazaka, is piled high with kitty-printed kimono, handkerchiefs, wallets and jewelry. You can even pick up some custom-made candy imprinted with the face of the feline tencho-san, who can likely be found napping in his wicker basket. Should a scratch behind the ears be met with a swat, worry not-according to the lovely kimono-clad owner, his “neko punch” is good luck.

Ashes to ashes, crest to crest — cremation cruises offer new wave of eternal rest

Growing numbers of Japanese are taking a leaf out of the books of ancient Vikings, choosing to cremate their departed loved ones on crematorium ships — and getting a cruise out of it, to boot, according to Sunday Mainichi (4/27).

Cramped living conditions, huge waiting lists for graves and increasingly high burial costs have made death a real pain in the ass for a lot of Japanese.

Get this party started

Passengers on a Nagoya subway line hit the jackpot when a ticket vending machine spat out ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 notes instead of ¥1,000 bills as change. The error ended up costing the station ¥252,000.

The wild west

Thirteen former PhD students at Nagoya City University who bribed a professor to reveal the contents of their oral exams prior to the tests were allowed to keep their doctorates because their theses were “carried in specialty journals overseas.”

Talk about troublemakers: two junior high school students in Fukuoka are in hot water after a series of incidents that included smashing windows, damaging a locker in the principal’s room, threatening teachers, spitting on other students’ parents, and “peeing from the second floor of the school building.”

WHAT WAS ON THE TUBE (March 17-21)

The following are the lengths of time six “wide shows” on four channels in the Tokyo area devoted to certain topics. The programs cover everything from politics to celebrity gossip.

The listing is provided by Reservia Corp.



1. Rioters and authorities clash in China’s Sichuan province, as protests in support of demonstrations led by monks in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa spread to the neighboring area. Chinese authorities mobilize armed police to clamp down on the protesters. But it is difficult to grasp the entire picture of what is happening because of China’s control over the media. 6 hr, 26 min, 1 sec

2. After the opposition-controlled Upper House rejects a nominee for Bank of Japan governor because of his past in the Finance Ministry, the government offers up a new candidate–another ex-Finance Ministry bureaucrat. Not surprisingly, the BOJ’s top post becomes vacant for the first time in postwar history, and also at a time when global markets are in turmoil. 5hr, 49 min, 56 sec

3. The ruling coalition and the opposition camp continue their standstill over road-specific tax revenues. Minshuto insists that the current higher rates, which are to expire March 31, should be abolished. The step would allow the price of gasoline to be lower by 25 yen a liter. But the ruling coalition wants to extend the “temporary” rates for yet another 10 years. 3 hr, 26 min, 9 sec

All hands on deck

Just days after an MSDF destroyer collided with a smaller boat near Chiba, leaving two fishermen missing and presumed drowned, a Japanese destroyer banged into a Cambodian-registered freighter at a port in Vietnam.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, a Vietnamese-registered freighter then hit two Japanese destroyers anchored at a port in Ho Chi Minh City. Revenge of the freighters…

Am I missing something here?

A Ground Self-Defense Forces lieutenant was cited for negligence after he was caught having a conversation with a school-girl while on duty. The 41-year-old told investigators, “I talked to her on impulse.” Whoa … slow down there, Sparky.

WHAT WAS ON THE TUBE (MARCH 10-14)

1. Naoko Takahashi finishes a disappointing 27th in the Nagoya women’s marathon. Q-chan starts lagging behind around 10 kilometers. After the race, Takahashi reveals she had knee surgery in August, but says she wants to continue her marathon career. Winner Yurika Nakamura joins Reiko Tosa and Mizuki Noguchi on Japan’s squad for the Beijing Olympics. 4 hr, 46 min, 34 sec

2. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto are under attack. Members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly assail Ishihara for his poor oversight of ShinGinko Tokyo bank. Hashimoto, a lawyer and former TV personality, has his remarks struck from the minutes of the prefectural assembly amid heavy fire from assembly members. 2 hr, 13 min, 23 sec

3. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi makes a rare public appearance after laying low for more than a year. He gives a speech to support Satsuki Katayama, a Lower House member, in her constituency in Shizuoka Prefecture. He also meets political heavyweights, fueling speculation that the man labeled a “maverick” and even a “weirdo” may be up to something. 2 hr, 6 sec.

Oh, that explains it

Chiba police arrested a 30-year-old local government worker for possessing over 100 videos with footage taken by a camera hidden in public toilets. In admitting the charges, the man said he did it “because it’s my hobby.”

A 44-year-old Defense Ministry official who snuck into a home in Gunma Prefecture to steal women’s underwear said he did so “to satisfy my sexual desires.”

After being arrested for punching a convenience store clerk in Kyoto while drunk, noted film director Koichi Yamashita (Kyoto Meikyu Annai) claimed, “I never hit him.”

A 50-year-old Sapporo man who claimed to be blind but who could actually see well enough to hold a drivers license was arrested for welfare fraud.

A female high school student in Oita was found in violation of both the Cannabis Control and the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Control Laws after cops busted her with pot and ecstasy.

Red Sox brace for long flight to Japan and 4 games against the Athletics

Big Papi has big plans for the Red Sox’ very long flight to Japan – eat, sleep, and win all of Jonathan Papelbon’s money playing cards.

“He’s a good player, but he’s got bad luck,” David Ortiz says. “So he better bring his whole bank account on the airplane. We always kill him. He’s loud when he’s winning, then boom, he’s quiet.”

Fortunately for Pap – and maybe for Papi – Boston’s star closer was rewarded with a $775,000 contract this month, nearly doubling last year’s salary of $425,000.