Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Hailing from Liverpool in the UK, Philip Kendall made Japan his second home in the summer of 2006 after dolefully abandoning his childhood dream of becoming a ghost buster. Setting up camp in beautiful Fukushima prefecture, he brought joy to literally hundreds of junior high school children as ‘that tall, handsome teacher’ or more often ‘the one with the big nose,’ before relocating to Tokyo at the end of 2011.
Writer, foodie, gamer and eternal student of the Japanese language, Philip now works as a freelance writer and translator, submitting to Tokyo Weekender magazine and website and Learn Japanese Pod, as well as co-running Suds, Grub & Joe- a website dedicated to all things beer, food and coffee-related in Tokyo. Follow his ramblings on his personal blog or on twitter.
Posted by Philip Kendall (Page 23)
In news that Android fanboys will likely want to spit at, Japan’s top 10 smartphone sales chart currently reads 100-percent iPhone, it has been revealed.
Now carried by all three of the country’s biggest mobile providers, Apple’s iPhone has become immensely popular in Japan in recent years and is seemingly the must-have mobile this November.
For such a small word, “half” carries an awful lot of weight here in Japan. Adapted to fit the syllabary, the word is pronounced “hafu” in Japanese, and describes a person who has one Japanese – and of course one non-Japanese – parent. More often than not, the word carries certain connotations, and many Japanese have preconceived, often erroneous, notions that hafus have natural English ability, have spent time abroad, and possess many of the physical characteristics Japanese associate with Westerners. At the same time, the word is immediately indicative of something very un-Japanese, and many hafu – even those who have never set foot outside of Japan and speak no other language – are never truly accepted by society as a result.
The Hafu Project was begun in 2009 as an initiative aiming to promote awareness of racial diversity in Japan and the issues facing those of mixed heritage. It was after becoming involved with the project that two filmmakers, Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi, began a collaborative work that would eventually become a full-length feature film titled, simply, Hafu.
Three years in the making, Hafu was completed in April this year, and has been screened at independent cinemas everywhere from Madrid to Tokyo. After checking out the film for ourselves when it came to Shibuya recently, RocketNews24 talked with Megumi and Lara to learn a little more about the making of the film and how in their opinion attitudes in Japan are evolving.
In a recent article from Famitsu, the weekly video game magazine considered by many Japanese gamers to be the authority when it comes to their medium of choice for entertainment, a list showing the current total video game sales for all platforms in Japan between January 1, 2001 and September this year caught the attention of gamers both at home and abroad. Aside from the fact that the number of games sold in Japan over the last decade or so is simply staggering, Nintendo’s dominance in its home territory when it comes to total software sales is quite remarkable.
Join us after the jump as we see Japan’s 10 most popular video games of this century so far, and how, with a little help from some clever pocket monsters, Nintendo is absolutely raking the cash in.
At the end of our recent article listing the 10 things that we think Japan gets horribly wrong, we assured you that we’d be back soon to focus on some of the positives and introduce the things that we really, truly love about living in Japan. True to our word, we sat down and decided on what we as (mostly) foreigners most love about this great little collection of islands, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
Although Japan is not without its faults, it is nevertheless an incredibly efficient and easy-to-live-in country, and we’ve discovered that there are numerous things that the Japanese get not just right, but awesomely right.
Join us after the jump for our top 10 things we love about Japan.
Heads up, Vocaloid fans, the fifth entry in the “DIVA” rhythm music game series is heading to Sony’s sexy portable. More info and in-game footage after the jump.
If you’ve ever used the Tokyo Metro, or even browsed maps of the rail network online, you’ll know that it is a positive maze of lines, colours, numbers and names that even locals sometimes have trouble navigating. Compared to the London Underground or even New York’s massive subway system, the Tokyo Metro is absolute chaos on paper, making us wonder how it could possibly all run so smoothly on a daily basis.
Thanks to one Tokyo University graduate’s efforts, however, we now know exactly what is going on beneath our feet, with this three-dimensional model filled with coloured liquids representing every twist, turn, climb and dip the Metro’s tunnels make in real life.
At the risk of becoming an online shrine to all things feline following our reporting of everything from cat sushi, Attack on Titan: cat edition and multiple posts about Japan’s own feline star, Maru, when we discovered this series of 12 photos showing the growth of a kitten as it goes from barely being able to see over the edge of the scales to struggling to fit in, we couldn’t help but share.
Strap yourselves in for some serious cute, boys and girls.
It should come as no surprise to our readers to hear that we’re big fans of Japan. Pretty much everything here works as it should, the food is amazing, the culture rich, and people are on the whole likeable and friendly. But there are times when Westerners, and Japanese who have spent any amount of time abroad for that matter, realise that Japan gets some things not just wrong but horribly wrong.
So join us after the jump as we redress the balance no doubt offset by our constant admiration of Japan by discussing the 10 little things that drive us nuts in this otherwise great country.
After releasing a teaser video last week promising an announcement on November 5, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has revealed that its “PocketStation” brand is officially making a return, though it’s not quite as exciting as we had all hoped.
The original PocketStation was a tiny device released in Japan back in 1999 and very like Sega’s own Dreamcast VMU tech. Essentially a memory card “micro-console” with a simple LCD screen, when used with the original 32-bit PlayStation the device could be used to save data from games and play themed mini games on the go. PocketStation even came with infrared capabilities, meaning that saves could be passed between gamers anywhere and everywhere, which, back in the days before cloud storage, was considered pretty magical.
This new “device”, however, will be entirely for PlayStation Vita and arrive via a download from the PlayStation Store, it has been revealed.
Although they are sometimes considered to be the pastime of kids and teenagers, modern comics and graphic novels often deal with some incredibly heavy and moving content. Craig Thompson’s Blankets, for example, is a spellbinding journey that will melt any adult’s heart, and despite using mice as protagonists, Art Spiegelman’s retelling of his Holocaust survivor father’s experiences in Maus was so moving that it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.
The following American comic deals with equally heavy content: the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The comic lost a little credibility amongst Japanese readers earlier today, however, when one netizen noticed that it shows one of the pilots preparing for the attack by donning what appears to be a headband much more likely to be worn by school kids studying for a big exam than someone going on a mission from which they may not return.
It’s been a few months now since gamers in Japan learned that, unlike the majority of the developed world, they would not be enjoying next-gen consoles at home this Christmas. While both North and South America, the UK, Europe, even our pals down-under in Australia will be stroking their shiny new hardware and yelling at friends for leaving greasy fingerprints on it, video game fans in Japan will be left to either play with their existing consoles or try to import.
Sony and Microsoft’s decisions to focus on Western territories for the launch of their respective new consoles certainly makes good business sense – after all, the Christmas period accounts for between 30 and 40 percent of annual video game sales, and the West is by far the more lucrative market – but reports here in Japan suggest that some gamers’ perception of Sony in particular has been harmed by the move, with some once loyal fans saying that they feel the company is simply “not taking things seriously” anymore.
In one of the strangest stories we’ve come across so far this week – yes, stranger than exploding yogurt and ramen cake – reports are coming in of a number of Chinese-made irons that contain “mini microphones” and chips that can plant viruses in nearby computer equipment via home Wi-Fi networks.
We always knew ironing sucked, but this is ridiculous.
Everyone loves a good tongue twister, especially when getting to grips with a new language. I’ve had fun being challenged by Japanese coworkers at drinking parties to get my mouth around phrases like basu gasu bakuhatsu (“the bus gas explodes”) five times in a row, or aka-makigami ao-makigami ki-makigami (“red paper roll, blue paper roll, yellow paper roll”) on many occasions, but this Chinese tongue twister blows them all out of the water.
Last weekend in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, thousands of hardcore cosplayers and Halloween lovers descended on the streets of Kawasaki City to take part in the Kawasaki Halloween Parade 2013, the 17th of its kind and Japan’s largest public parade dedicated to the Western festival.
The 1.5 km course was flanked by food stalls and specially decorated shops catering to the tourists and locals vying to get the best shots of the coolest outfits, and despite the somewhat inclement weather last weekend, thousands turned up to witness and take part in the event, proving once and for all that Halloween has most definitely found a permanent home in Japan.
There are few things quite like the bond between a human and their pet, and most of the staff here at RocketNews24 can’t even begin to imagine life without their respective pups and feline overlords, but there are some animals that we definitely wouldn’t recommend keeping at home–particularly those on the endangered species list.
According to a recent NHK news report, a man living on the Japanese island of Tsushima narrowly avoided prosecution after it became clear that he had secretly kept a wild Japanese leopard cat in his home for 15 years before he was forced to seek assistance. As angered as the authorities were, however, they ultimately decided that they might learn from the man’s experiences and are due to talk to him about how he managed to keep the animal alive for such a length of time.
Regular readers will no doubt recall the Telenoid R1, the tactile doll shaped like a giant human foetus that when controlled via remote computer almost appears to be alive. Using this intriguing yet somewhat disturbing technology, creator and Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro went on to produce Hugvie, a soft, pared-down version of the doll that has a slot for a smartphone in its head, enabling users to cuddle and chat at once while the doll’s internal vibrators simulate the caller’s heartbeat based on their tone and the volume of their voice.
As fun and quirky as the pillow was, few ever thought it could be beneficial to users’ health, but recent research suggests that cuddling up with one of these blobs while chatting on the phone could actually help reduce stress and make us feel more content.
Tokyo-born Rika Usami began her karate career at just 10 years old when she joined a local dojo. Progressing through a number of minor competitions during her teenage years, she soon began winning medals in tournaments in multiple countries, ultimately becoming one of the most well-known female karateka in the world and officially recognised as female kata world champion.
When it comes to kata – the performance of choreographed routines intended to demonstrate proficiency in the execution of learned movements – Rika is simply unmatched, and is admired the world over for her dazzling skills. As you can see in the following video taken during her performance at the 21st WKF World Karate Championships in France last year, her movements are fast, powerful and starlingly accurate.
As much as we like to think of ourselves as free thinkers and immune to corporate advertising, there’s no denying that brand names have found their way into pretty much every facet of our daily lives. Many North Americans routinely use “Kleenex” in place of the word tissue; in the UK it’s not unusual to hear people say that they’re about to “hoover up” when referring to running a vacuum cleaner; and in its heyday pretty much any portable gaming device was casually referred to as a Gameboy.
The likes of Nintendo and Sony have been household names for years, but did you ever wonder where these names come from and what they might mean in their native language? Author of Japanmanship and game developer James Kay sheds some light on the origins of the names Japan’s biggest video game companies use, from Capcom to SNK, and has generously shared a few snippets of info with RocketNews24 for our enjoyment and nerdy enlightenment.
Find out where those world-famous names really come from after the jump.
For many Westerners, particularly those from places like my own native UK, the thought of calling in emergency services to help with an infestation of bugs or rodents would seem quite absurd, but when faced with a nest of killer wasps that can grow to be up to two inches long, it’s not surprising that these country dwellers in China turned to the army.
Shared via YouTube, this clip from a Chinese news broadcast last year shows the country’s armed forces stepping in with none other than a giant flame thrower to take out a nest that had been built at the top of a tall tree, well out of reach of even the bravest armour-clad local.
Thankfully the following images, which popped up on Japanese textboard site 2Channel earlier this week, were all produced using image sites such as PicHacks in order to create a symmetrical image from an existing photo, and are not of real-world creatures genetically engineered by nefarious scientists. Some of them will, however, most definitely be coming after you in your dreams tonight.
So come with us now as we step into the world of creepy evolutions and nightmarish creatures. And they said facial symmetry is a mark of beauty…
To combat declining birth rate, Japan to begin offering “Breeding Visas” to foreigners
Our lunch plans are foiled but we end up eating heavenly all-you-can-eat sushi instead
Farewell, old friend – It’s time to say goodbye to the car we bought for 980-yen (US$9.60) car
Dodger Stadium’s exclusive Cheese & Guacamole Takoyaki coming to Japan for a very limited time
Fighting mild hunger with a Japanese soda that turns into jelly in the stomach【Taste test】
Morinaga releases “hunger management” drink that turns into jelly in your stomach
McDonald’s adds a Mint Chocolate Oreo Frappe to its menu in Japan for a limited time
Studio Ghibli re-releasing all past theatrical posters and program booklets
Studio Ghibli releases My Neighbour Totoro range showcasing traditional Japanese craftsmanship
Kyoto luxury just off the beaten path at Maruyama Park’s Chourakukan【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases anime heroine cosplay dresses that are super comfy to wear
Woman charged for driving suitcase without a license in Osaka
Studio Ghibli hair accessories keep your style tidy with help from Kiki, Moro, Calcifer, and moreStudio Ghibli re-releasing all past theatrical posters and program bookletsTo combat declining birth rate, Japan to begin offering “Breeding Visas” to foreigners
Studio Ghibli releases new My Neighbour Totoro bags and pouches in Japan
Tokyo Skytree to light up in Pokémon colors for summer-long art event!
Onsen hot spring with Mt Fuji views has one of the best rotenburo in Japan
Life-size Gundam statue to appear in Osaka for first time ever
New anime for legendary series Ranma 1/2 announced【Video】Studio Ghibli releases anime heroine cosplay dresses that are super comfy to wear
You can be on this beautiful Japanese island in less than two hours from downtown TokyoWoman charged for driving suitcase without a license in Osaka
Taiwan’s most beautiful politician kicks groper in balls during visit to Japan
Studio Ghibli releases new Totoro collection to keep us hydrated all summer long
Foreign tourists to be charged four times more to enter Himeji Castle if local mayor gets his way
Amazon Japan makes payment policy change that could be a problem for foreigners in JapanTo combat declining birth rate, Japan to begin offering “Breeding Visas” to foreigners
Mitsubishi develops robot that solves Rubik’s Cube-style puzzle in 0.305 seconds【Video】
Family Mart stationery takes Japanese “stationary” to new levels
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
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
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
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】
Morinaga releases “hunger management” drink that turns into jelly in your stomach
McDonald’s adds a Mint Chocolate Oreo Frappe to its menu in Japan for a limited time
Studio Ghibli re-releasing all past theatrical posters and program booklets
Studio Ghibli releases My Neighbour Totoro range showcasing traditional Japanese craftsmanship
Kyoto luxury just off the beaten path at Maruyama Park’s Chourakukan【Photos】
Japan’s new canned chu-hai with fresh lemon slice: disappointing gimmick or drink revelation?
Japanese randoseru backpacks for dogs are back【Photos】
W.T.F. Japan: Top 5 craziest Japanese certification exams 【Weird Top Five】
How do fans in Japan feel about the new One Piece Netflix live-action trailer?
Fried sandwiches arrive in Tokyo, become hot topic on social media
Can Kyoto supermarket takeout let you enjoy the local cuisine without fancy restaurant prices?
The best Japanese cosplayers from Day 4 of Winter Comiket 2019【Photos】
Japan super budget dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at 7-Eleven?