Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Canada’s Steven Le Blanc and Japan’s Masami M, a pair who in addition to writing work are in English education and created the StudyNow app for Japanese students of English.
Together they have written somewhere around 1,500 articles for RocketNews24 covering such diverse topics as Chinese men selling sanitary napkins to each other and a Japanese guy dragging an ear of corn around the Tokyo train system. A few of these were actually good, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our beloved readers had to say:
“One isn't always in the mood for bold tastes. But when I'm in the mood for bold flavor I turn to you.”
“Stupid article. Who cares what the Japanese think it's cool. You don't call a monkey, "gorilla".”
“You know, this is about the most cogent explanation of how a turbocharger works that I have ever seen in the non-motorsports world.”
“Thanks for the article peter!”
“It's people like you who make exploitation possible.”
“It looks yummy and the story was great. Thank you for the smile.”
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Posted by Master Blaster (Page 161)
As we have been monitoring the peculiar efforts that make up McDonald’s Japan’s marketing it seemed as if the fast food chain could do no right (with the exception of the spectacular fries holder). However, their upcoming campaign looks like something everyone can get behind: an all-day breakfast menu!
Well, one sandwich at least.
Ace Attorney (or Gyakuten Saiban in Japan) is a popular lawyer video game series that has found success in Japan and overseas. One hero of the games, Phoenix Wright (Ryuichi Naruhodo) takes the role of defense attorney versus the iron clad prosecution of his long time rival Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi).
As one would do when their games become successful, Capcom has merchandised it up and down the block releasing items such as mugs, key chains, and the stylish plastic folders you see above.
But one Twitter user discovered something rather unsettling about them.
Recently a new game developed for Android devices, Era’s Adventures was turning heads for its main character, Era’s slight resemblance to Nintendo’s famous dinosaur Yoshi. The attention had gotten so big that it caught the eye of Nintendo’s legal team who decided to have a chat with the developer, Botond Kopacz.
This year Nintendo and fans celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Family Computer (Famicom) game system originally released in 1983. It was the machine that revitalized home gaming worldwide with its later incarnation, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In a story of shocking success, no one was more shocked perhaps than the system’s head developer, Masayuki Uemura who revealed the details of the Famicom’s rocky beginnings in an interview with Shupure News.
It’s often sad to see the workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant or any other radioactive site around the world. It’s a dangerous job that requires brave workers, and brave workers deserve a cool looking uniform. Firefighters get those axes and huge trench coats, police often have cool looking bulletproof vests, but workers in areas of high radiation have to wear those white or yellow suits that look like trash bags.
Thankfully, this sad state of affairs may soon change with the development of a fabric which blocks x-ray and gamma-ray radiation.
Recently a video titled Where is Dobayashi’s Ball Going… Home Run Girl Stares as She Waits Her Turn was uploaded onto the official YouTube channel for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League. Within days it became the most watched video on the channel with 286,249 views and counting. The reason why this video of a failed home run became so popular is clear from the image above.
However, you might be wondering what this stunningly beautiful woman is doing in full uniform clutching a doll of what appears to be the Phillie Phanatic and intensely staring at player, Shota Dobayashi.
On 24 April in the Ural region of Russia, a parents group published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin asking that the popular Death Note manga series be regulated in all its forms (print, anime, live action).
Death Note was a Shonen Jump series that ran from 2003 to 2006 and centered on Light Yamagi, a student who stumbles upon a magical notebook which has the power to kill people simply by writing their names in it.
RocketNews24 writer GO is an avid Apple fan and user of all things whose names possess a lower case “i” or the word “Mac”. As such, whenever he’s travelling it’s comforting for him to find an Apple store nearby. He can feel relieved that there’s a place to go if one of his gadgets gets out of sorts, and it’s fun to see if there are any differences in other countries.
So after checking out the f@cebook clothing store and Ronald McDonald Duck, he was pleased to see something resembling Apple’s unmistakable logo. GO rushed in, not knowing what lay in store.
Our fast food correspondent Kuzo constantly travels the world visiting exotic countries and partaking of their McDonald’s menus to see what wonders they have in store. In the past, we’ve seen him visit McDonald’s restaurants in Turkey and Russia to name a few, but now his McSight is set on Portugal. Here is his super-sized McReport, translated into English for you, our beautiful, hungry readers.
On 24 April at approximately 9:25 a.m., six people were injured while riding an escalator in Akihabara Station, Tokyo.
All the victims suffered injuries as serious as broken fingers when a piece of metal siding became bent upwards blocking the clearance between it and the rubber handrail.
Sadly, this digital carnage could have been easily avoided if people in Tokyo just stood on the right side of the escalator like normal people.
In Sakai City, Osaka last November a woman in her 40s died from a case of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition that occurs when oxygen is cut off from the brain.
A possible cause of the HIE is suspected to have been the 100kg (220lbs) police officer who had sat on the woman’s back like one would on a pony.
The noble daikon is a beloved vegetable of Japan with a wide range of culinary uses along with other uses like carving huge phalluses, making cute calendars, or avant-garde musical instruments.
However, during two days in December of last year 100 daikon were mercilessly snatched from their homes and brutally crushed in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture.
After a tireless investigation the police announced on 22 April that the culprits have been apprehended. The ringleader was an unnamed 14 year-old junior high school girl with a very strange motive indeed…
For quite some time a blog had been lying dormant in the recesses of the internet featuring a group of young guys – presumably students – elevating the art of asshattery to bold new levels.
However, recently this internet artifact as unearthed and spread through Twitter like a virus of stupid and justly incinerated by the indignation of the masses.
In an effort to remember this event and perhaps teach future generations that being completely ignorant is no way to go through life, we present: A Group of Huge Jerkoffs Riding Big Thunder Mountain in Tokyo Disneyland.
Foreigners who live in Japan quickly learn that sliced bread is not this country’s bread and butter. Being a country that relies on rice for daily meals it’s near impossible to find a reasonably priced full-length loaf of sliced bread.
Instead most supermarkets offer small packs containing four to eight slices each of which can be monstorously thick. For people like me who like to make sandwiches every day, this means constant trips to the store to refill on bread.
However, one recipe that made it big on Twitter by Japanese user Yu Tsukari handed down by her mother thankfully can reduce my bread shopping by half. It’s an extremely simple yet clever way to take advantage of Japan’s thicker-sliced bread. You too can give it a try by following our illustrated guide.
A widespread discussion was ignited among Twitter users of Japan recently over the act of delivering pigeons through delivery services such as Yu-Pack, the courier of the Japanese post office. It started – as these things often do – with an award-winning manga writer taking a hike through the mountains.
The life of an IT professional is a hard one. Grueling hours are spent late into the night working out solutions to complex problems.
For these hardworking people Hitachi has come up with a unique solution: “Server Fairies Shin & Shin” who are a pair of magical 20 cm tall girls who dispense valuable network solutions to exhausted IT workers.
Since the end of Dragon Ball’s massively successful series, creator Akira Toriyama has been putting out a fairly steady flow of one-shots, the most recent of which being 2010’s Kintoki.
Now, Toriyama’s newest work titled Lord Wu of Delicious Island (Oishi Shima No Wu Sama) is available for limited release.
How limited? Well, your best chance is to become a primary school student participating in an environmental study group in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture.
Just as KFC’s Kentucky Chicken Rice and other mega size deals appeared to put Japan on a slippery trans-fat laden slope to rampant morbid obesity, Japanese burger chain Mos Burger has stepped up and offered their own line of bunless burgers.
This time, rather than a pair of fluffy golden meat holders, your favorite Mos Burger sandwich will be nestled in the leafy green goodness of a wad of lettuce.
Yakisoba (fried buckwheat noodles) is a standard food in Japanese cuisine which can be found in restaurants, food stands, and convenience stores across the nation served in a variety of ways such as on hotdog buns or in an omelet.
There is also a variety of instant yakisoba noodle packs among which is the decades old Peyoung brand – loved by Japanese people of all ages for its delicious taste and easy preparation.
Occasionally the company releases special flavors like curry and super-hot, but this time they came out with perhaps the most unexpected flavor of all: yakisoba flavored yakisoba.
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Yakuza family speaks out against rise in organized crime
Mt Fuji convenience store becomes “lawless zone” as tourists hurl abuse at security guards
Japan’s workplace drinking party communication is unnecessary, says majority of workers in survey
Eight unforgettable hot springs, as recommended by Japan’s “Professor Bath”
Japanese bank’s founders blood-signed promise to commit samurai-style suicide if they committed fraud
Finally! Icees are coming to Japan!
Big dam Godzilla appears in Japan as power-washer art on side of 195-foot dam【Video】
Drinkable Mayo on sale at Japanese convenience stores for mayonnaise fanatics
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Studio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Kyoto Whopper divides customers at Burger King Japan
Japanese burger chain no longer serves onion rings, but offers intriguing replacement【Taste test】
Celebrating Good Couple’s Day in Japan…by getting our significant others to dress us
7-Eleven Japan releases fukubukuro lucky bags filled with convenience store surprises
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Travel tip: Fukuoka has a great luggage delivery service that’s cheaper than a coin lockerTaking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Beautiful Totoro bag returns, still requires jumping through an extra hoop to get, still worth it
Berserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
Nintendo’s controller capsule toys are so cool, even the machine you buy them from is awesome【Pics】
One of Japan’s most beautiful hot spring towns announces new limits on number of day trippers
Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke teams up with Foxfire for outdoor apparel collaboration【Photos】
Ghibli Park debuts first winter illumination display with Howl’s Moving Castle themeStudio Ghibli releases new range of cardigans for anime fans
Sanrio and magical girl anime PreCure join forces for new merch line【Photos】
Pringles releases a limited-edition sweet flavour in Japan
Japanese job-quitting service contacted by other job-quitting service because employee wants to quit
After cancelling Halloween, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood cancels New Year’s Eve tooBerserk T-shirts coming to Uniqlo for launch of new Manga Curation line【Photos】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Life-size vibrating Legend of Zelda Master Sword for sale from Nintendo【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Japanese bank’s founders blood-signed promise to commit samurai-style suicide if they committed fraud
Finally! Icees are coming to Japan!
Big dam Godzilla appears in Japan as power-washer art on side of 195-foot dam【Video】
Drinkable Mayo on sale at Japanese convenience stores for mayonnaise fanatics
Taking the Kyoto overnight bus for the first time
Mr. Sato attempts to battle his butt forest with Japan’s affordable Osu! Ass Hair Trimmer
Starbucks Japan reveals new holiday goods for the 2024 festive season
Japan’s elementary school backpacks grow up with new high-class randoseru for adults
Japan’s biggest manga magazine is raising its minimum payment rate for creators
The Ultimate Battle for Ham Sandwich Supremacy – we rank Japan’s convenience store sandwiches
Moving to Tokyo? Real estate agent picks five best neighborhoods for single residents
The 10 best hotel hot springs in Japan, as chosen by Japanese travelers