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Japan Prime Minister Noda and the Half A Million Dollar Website

Byjay

Japan’s prime mininster’s office has spent 4.5 million yen (nearly  US$550,000) on an overhaul of the Prime Minister’s website. The redesign was done to improve communications. A new section of the site was also designed for kids. The site, titled” The Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet” can be found at http://www.kantei.go.jp/ . It includes links…

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How to Watch Netflix from Japan the Easy Way (Watch Hulu too)

Byjay

If you happen to have a Netflix account, or your family does, you’ll find that location restrictions prevent you from accessing the Netflix account from Japan. The same goes for Hulu, NBC.com, and a host of other sites that provide access to movies and TV shows in the United States. There are lots of ways…

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Wendy’s Returns to Japan with Old Favorites and a New Premium Menu

Byjay

We wrote about Wendy’s planning a return to Japan over a year ago and the return has now become a reality. Wendy’s is back in Japan, and most importantly so is their trademark baked potato with toppings which had been sadly and inexplicably discontinued in the months leading up to Wendy’s previous demise in Japan….

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Aya Sameshima Now Playing for Montpellier in France

Byjay

Because Aya Sameshima is a popular search term for this blog, I decided to follow up on her story. After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Aya Sameshima and her Tepco Mareeze teammates were sent to new homes. Sameshima ended up in the United States playing for the Boston Breakers after Japan’s Women’s World Cup…

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English Language Newspapers from Japan Available on Kindle

Byjay

One quick update to my article on the usefulness of eReaders, and especially the Kindle in Japan, is that surprisingly, English language newspapers from Japan are available on the Kindle. Even better is that even if you don’t own a Kindle, they are available through the Kindle for iPad, iPhone, and Android app. This means…

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Pepsi Pink – Pepsi Japan to Release Strawberry-Milk Flavored Pepsi

Byjay

Pepsi’s latest limited release flavor will be called “Pepsi Pink” and reportedly will be strawberry milk flavored. Pepsi Japan has often experimented in the past with different flavors including Mont Blanc Pepsi and Baobab Pepsi.. Next up is a pink colored drink that is created to be not strawberry flavored, but have a strawberry and milk flavor…

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Ai Kago Adult Video Bound – Tabloids Report Former Morning Musume Idol’s Million Dollar Contract

Byjay

So far this story doesn’t have a lot of legs, but some Japanese Tabloids and internet sites are reporting that Ai Kago, who recently was hospitalized after attempting suicide has signed a contract for 100,000,000 yen, or well over 1 million dollars at current exchange rates. As I said, mainstream media has not yet confirmed…

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Ranma 1/2 to be Made in Live-Action with Yui Aragaki

Byjay

One of the longest running manga in English translation in the US, Ranma 1/2, the unique story of a boy who was cursed to turn into a girl whenever he is wet by cold water. Hot water lets him revert to his original form. (Incidentally, his father turns, not into a girl, but into a…

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Asuka Fukuda – Original Morning Musume Member Making a Comeback with Video

Byjay

Asuka Fukuda, one of the most popular of the original members of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume is making a comeback to the world of entertainment. She was the youngest member and left very quickly after the group began to dominate the pop music world. The official reason for her departure was to concentrate…

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Amazon Kindle Fire and Kindle 3g for Living in Japan

Byjay

A new version of the Amazon Kindle, which is actually a tablet similar to the iPad or more recent Android tablets is coming. Amazon is set to announce its “Kindle Fire” new tablet which will be ready to function with Amazon’s Kindle books, MP3 download service and other cloud services. There may also be a…

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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Opens a New YouTube Channel

Byjay

The YouTube Japan official blog recently announced the creation of a Tokyo Metropolitan Government channel. It is all in Japanese but has some surprisingly interesting videos (unlike a lot of the other YouTube channels of Japanese government agencies… I’m looking at you MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology) because I had high…