Japanese Culture

Hideo Higashikokubaru and Shintaro Ishihara Tokyo Governor’s Race Candidacy Videos

Japan Entertainment, Japanese Culture, Japanese Government, japanese news and society, Living in Japan /

As I mentioned in a previous post about the Tokyo governor’s election, it’s on between former Miyazaki governor Hideo Higashikokubaru and incumbent Shintaro Ishihashi. Because anyone who is eligible can nominate his or herself for the position, there are a lot of videos on YouTube now in which people declare their candidacy for the election. […]

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Higashikokubaru vs Ishihara in the Next Tokyo Governor’s Race?

Japan Earthquakes, Japan Entertainment, Japanese Business, Japanese Culture, Japanese Government, society /

Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru, also known as comedian, writer, and TV personality Sonomanma Higashi, has his eyes set on following his stint in Kyushu with becoming the next governor of Tokyo. He announced his official candidacy this week. Incumbent Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who loves a good (or bad) soundbite, continues to be criticized for

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Female Teacher Caught Sleeping With High School Student in Japan

3 Comments / crime in japan, Japanese Culture, japanese education, Living in Japan /

In the what happens where you live happens where we live category, a 23 year old female teacher at a prefectural high school in Saitama was caught in the act of having sex with an 11th grade male student. The teacher was at the school as a temporary substitute. The teacher had been communicating with

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Best Places to See Sakura Cherry Blossoms Around the Kobe Area

Japan Tourist Information, Japanese Culture, Kobe Japan, Parks in Japan, Traditional Things to See in Japan /

If you are lucky enough to be in the Kobe area for the cherry blossom season, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of places you can go. Actually, I will be writing a lot about places outside of Kobe and toward the western side of the Kansai region here because some of the best places to

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Time Magazine Article on Japan’s Bureaucracy and the Slowing of Earthquake and Tsunami Aid

2 Comments / Japan Earthquakes, Japan Entertainment, Japanese Business, Japanese Culture, Japanese Government, japanese news and society /

I usually don’t read a lot of Japanese news in English, but an article in Gendai’s online magazine led me to hunt down an article on Time’s site. Funny that Gendai refers to Time for a hard-hitting story on how the government and bureaucracy in place in Japan has made it hard for other countries

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Making a More Stable Japan Prime Minister Tweet

1 Comment / Japan Earthquakes, Japanese Culture, Japanese Government, japanese news and society /

Sometimes tweets from the government here in Japan send up red flags for me. Below is one of those tweets. A very suspicious way of looking at the statement below is that government officials are already rubbing their hands together thinking of things that they can do to make a “more stable” Japan… more stable

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Japanese Comedy Pair “Sandwichman” Unlikely Heroes in Japan Earthquake

2 Comments / Japan Earthquakes, Japan Entertainment, Japanese Culture, japanese news and society /

In all the pain, suffering, and uncertainty facing the people in Japan. There have been some heroes. None of the heroes have been so unlikely as the two members of the Japanese manzai pair “Sandwichman”. The pair, Mikio Date and Takeshi Tomizawa, both have popular blogs on the blog site Ameblo. Both also hail from

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Hilarious Video of Japanese Guy Playing FPS Video Game Through Earthquake

5 Comments / Japan Earthquakes, Japan Entertainment, Japanese Culture, japanese news and society, Living in Japan /

People who have seen this video on bulletin boards or the internet have talked about how it gave them something to laugh at and enjoy in these stressful times. The guy in the video had me laughing my head off with these sincere but wacky lines. The video is of from a Japanese guy who

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10 Things Not to Do in a Japanese Bath (Sento) or Hot Spring (Onsen)

Japanese Culture, Traditional Things to See in Japan /

This is coming from a lot of experience getting a lot of strange looks during many years living and faux pas-ing in Japan. 1. Don’t Think About Soup I’ve brought non-Japanese friends to a very nice Sento, or public bathhouse, and heard the inevitable reference to “sitting in an old guy soup”. “The only thing

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How to Eat Sushi in Japan – Insider Sushi Terminology, Types of Sushi Shops, and a Comedy Video

Japanese Culture, Japanese Fast Food and Chain Restaurants, Japanese Food, Traditional Things to See in Japan /

When you go to Japan to order sushi, you can go to one of the “kaiten” sushi places where the sushi goes around on a conveyer belt, and usually costs about 100 yen or so per plate (usually with two pieces of sushi per plate). This is a very cheap way to get your fill,

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Work Has Begun on the American Space Battleship Yamato

Japan Entertainment, Japanese Culture, Japanese Movies /

Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie has begun work on “Star Blazers” according to a recent /Film article. The article also seems to imply that if a Hollywood version is in the works, the states won’t see a theatrical release of the Japanese live action Space Battleship Yamato. It’s hard to imagine the film without the

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