Aeon Japan will begin selling a 32″ flat panel tv for 49,800 yen tomorrow (February 20, 2009). Aeon is the giant retail company that runs Jusco, Saty, Max Valu supermarkets, and owns a ton more retail outlets. Although they sell electronics now, they are testing the waters to enter the market in earnest with the…
This list to us comes courtesy of an article on Livedoor News. Japanese women were asked to list the “effeminate” things that men do. Please keep in mind that these answers came from Japanese women about Japanese men. We here at newzjapan aren’t saying this ourselves (although I’ve seen all of this behavior myself so…
Most of the government agencies in Japan are creating Youtube channels. The cynical side of me wants to add, “so they can pretend that they are reaching out to and receiving the approval of the people”, but I’ll refrain. So here’s the top video from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. … and let…
OK, if you don’t live in Japan and watch a lot of tv you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. If you don’t watch a lot of tv but know some Japanese words you can see the humor in Hello Kitty (a cat) being grouped in with Nezumi Sempai (nezumi meaning mouse). For…
Dave over at the Big in Japan has been following this story and reported today that Ai Ijima’s Death was due to pneumonia. Here’s the link to the Big in Japan post about it. “Ai Ijima Death – Police Confirm it was Pneumonia“
Takahisa Masuda, member of the Japanese singing group NEWS came on an afternoon tv show to show off his super speed and strength by doing over one hundred push-ups in one minute. They made a little stage for him. Prepared some timers and click-counters and devoted some time on the program to shine. After you…
A poll shows that 40% of Japanese elementary school children refuse to do #2 at school. Writer Yachiyo Murakami has begun writing a series of books to guide parents and children through their “second” toilet training. She was recently quoted as saying that the problem is that once parents get their kids to stop using…
Another pop execution in Japan where the usual modus operandi is to execute first and notify the media later. The next of kin for the executed is also notified AFTER the execution and asked to come and take care of the remains and any funeral rites involved. Japan executed 15 in 2008, and has come…
I’ve commented on this phenomenon before. I sit here in Japan reading and watching the news. We’ve got the full gambit of news. Top stories include the brutal murder of a professor on a college campus, Diet members sneaking cameras into closed-door meetings, internet death threats against a champion Sumo wrestler, a sex scandal involving…
‘Tis the season when the youngsters are running around eating Kit-Kats (キットカット,きっと勝つ, kitto katsu), and looking for pentagons (五画, 合格, gokaku) in the architecture while trying to endear themselves to various deities in order to find favor in the hopes of scoring a few more points on their junior high entrance exams. Many private schools…
Pika Pika in Japanese describes illumination or something bright. It can also describe a flashing light. It’s another one of the ubiquitous Japanese onomatopoeias (which I happen to love). This is a pretty cool video that was on tv last night. I’m sure a lot of people saw it already, but it’s definitely worth putting…
Nonprofit organization Sanyuka has been giving food to the homeless in Tokyo on a weekly basis for over ten years has been told to cease charity activities along the riverbed of the Sumida River. They have been giving out free meals to hundreds of homeless people, but have recently been asked to stop because of…