A few other blogs have been doing a great job of taking to task the sensationalist mainstream English language media, but also being straight about the information available. I just wanted to provide links to some other blogs definitely worth taking a look at for information. Japan Probe’s latest post: “New York Times Quietly Edits…
Readers of the blog know that I’ve been tweeting information about the situation in Tohoku whenever I’ve been available and had something to add or emphasize from the conversation. One of the important ongoing discussions between the media, Japanese government, foreign embassies, and people of Kanto and Tohoku is just how far away is far…
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…
I will twitter some news when I can (you can see it in the sidebar of this blog or @newzjapan on twitter). UPDATE: TV Japan being broadcast for free in the US for the next few days (not sure about other countries) but live NHK broadcast can be seen on tv through participating cable tv…
Given the number of people moved by public transportation each day in Japan, some things are bound to go wrong. The ticket machines in Japanese train stations, and the wickets, or ticket gates, are also generally well-maintained. Even the most well-oiled machines may go wild at times. Here are a few videos of Japanese train…
The “mimamori keitai 005Z”, or the “protection cell phone” (my translation) is set to be released in March 2011. The phone has a crime prevention buzzer built in, and only has 1 button on it. The display is a tiny 1.2 inches, and was designed with young children in mind. It will also be equipped…
I am writing about this story for two reasons. The first is that yes, there are drugs in Japan and they are not hard to obtain. (This is contrary to how shiny, happy, mainstream media usually portrays Japan in English.) Secondly, I’ve found that when anyone is arrested for drug possession in Japan, there is…
Employees of the Kobe love hotel “Swing” were arrested in a recent police sting for lending Wii and PlayStation 3 to customers. Yes, they let guests of the hotel use their Wiis for entertainment without permission of copyright holders of games such as Mario Cart and BioHazard 5. With all that may or may not…
Another poll from Sugoren gives us a list of the top 9 things that Japanese women want their boyfriends to learn how to do well. I was somewhat surprised by the order of a few items, but the content was pretty predictable. 9. UFO Catcher AKA Crane Games or Claw Games (so that guys can…
Watching this Japanese McDonald’s commercial for the new Sponge Bob Happy Meals, one has to think there are adults just off screen standing around with still-dripping syringes. Maybe they were shown one of the old school “Pokemon” psychedelic episodes. Although frightened by the commercial, I’m intrigued enough to break out my “ransel (randoseru)” elementary school…
Google has changed its Japan logo for the celebration of Coming of Age Day, also called Adult’s Day. New adults (age 20 here) hear a few speeches from bureaucrats about the responsibilities of being an adult and a “shakaijin” or contributing member of society.
Since this story has already been covered in the English language media, I’ll just provide the basic story, but this is yet another tragedy that seems like it could have been avoided. Although no external signs that the death resulted from the detainment, the man had been handcuffed and gagged with a towel. I am…