Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
China (Page 33)
It can be said that the power of China lies in its massive population. This country holds around 1.3 billion people and nearly 20 percent of the world’s people. As such you might expect living there to be a tight squeeze.
However, according to 2010 census figures of the populations of each Chinese Province, Autonomous Region, and Direct Controlled Municipality, the nation with the most people still has quite a bit of space in parts.
As many of you may know, the past week was the absolute busiest time to travel in China. With the New Year’s holiday coming up, many people who work in the big cities make the several hour, and in some cases several day, journey back home to be with family. With all those people trying to move around the country at roughly the same time, things are going to get a little cozy. Making matters worse, many passengers seem to have missed the trash receptacles, instead choosing to throw their garbage into the aisle.
Kids’ hopes and dreams for the future can change from one minute to the next and very often depend on the TV shows they watch and whatever their friends are talking about on any given week. But a recent survey conducted by human resource consulting company Adecco has revealed some interesting information about the future aspirations of children from Japan compared to those of kids from other eight other Asian countries.
China has some interesting matchmaking and dating practices. There are love hunters who track down potential wives for China’s richest bachelors and there are “leftover women,” who are criticized for being older than 27 and unmarried.
In some cases, when a male dies too young, families have “ghost marriages,” exhuming female corpses and marrying the pair.
So, it’s natural for many young Chinese to want to allay their parents’ anxiety over their single-dom. And now they can take to Alibaba-owned online retailer Taobao, tweets George Chen at South China Morning Post. That’s the equivalent of shopping for a date on Amazon or eBay.
Quick, what color means “go” at a traffic signal? If you speak English, odds are you just said “green” (and if you don’t speak English, why are you here? The articles with pictures of cute girls and cool robots are in a different part of the site).
On the other hand, in Japanese that same light is considered ao, which translates as “blue.” Crazy as it may seem, the Japanese concept of the color extends all the way down to the hues of traffic signals and mountain forests. It’s just one example of how the same word can have different meanings in different cultures.
OK, so that may be true for artsy fartsy things like colors, but surely this kind of linguistic flatulence isn’t present in the world of business, right? Wrong. Even seemingly simple things like the term “quality” can have vastly different meanings depending on the nation, as one expert demonstrates by explaining the differing definitions consumers in the U.S., Japan, Korea, and China have for it.
Häagen-Dazs is one of the most luxurious ice creams you can find in a grocery store freezer. It doesn’t matter if you eat it as is or pile on a bunch of toppings, the dessert is always delicious. But did you know that in China, you can actually order Häagen-Dazs hot pot? How can you have cold, meltable ice cream and hot soup? We just had to send one of our reporters to check it out.
Pickpockets are famous for their nimble fingers, but the drawback of that approach is that they have to actually get close enough to get their grubby fingers in your pockets. Unless, of course, the pickpockets are using chopsticks to grab the goods. Or at least they are trying to…
![Air quality in Beijing now so poor that sunrises are being broadcast on giant TV screens [UPDATED]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/01/screen-shot-2014-01-20-at-12-07-28-pm.png?w=640 "Air quality in Beijing now so poor that sunrises are being broadcast on giant TV screens [UPDATED]")
As if today being a Monday wasn’t depressing enough, media outlets are reporting that the air quality and visibility in China’s capital city has become so bad that the state has begun televising live footage of sunrises on enormous screens ordinarily used for advertising. That’s right: with the real thing now almost completely hidden behind a thick layer of smog, people are actually watching nature on TV.
Unlike numerous other animal rights groups, non-governmental organisation WildAid aims to combat the problem of illegal wildlife trade – most notably the killing of sharks for their fins, elephants and rhinos for their precious ivory, and tigers for their skins – by attacking the problem at its source: the people whose money encourages it. The group’s message is simple: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
With the help of numerous high-profile figures like footballer David Beckham and even Britain’s Prince William, WildAid puts pressure on the people providing the demand for these “luxury” items. This week, world-famous actress, animal rights campaigner and, in our opinion, full-time babe Maggie Q appeared in the group’s newest commercial, which aired in China. The ad, titled “Impress”, aims to dissuade wealthy Chinese from eating shark fin soup, with Maggie telling both her date and TV-watching China that although there are many ways to impress a woman, shark fin soup is definitely not one of them.
We here at RocketNews24 occasionally get hit with accusations of having an anti-China or anti-Korea slant. And while we don’t think a story about a young Chinese man getting a seatless bicycle wedged in his butt is inherently anti-Chinese, we can see how it might be interpreted that way. We can also see how we get labeled as anti-other-Asian-countries since we largely get our information from Japanese sources, and it would be naive to say there aren’t anti-Chinese and anti-Korean forces at play within the Japanese media. You couldn’t hope for a better example than the following story that was said to have been posted by a Chinese person on a message board. The anecdote has a lot to say about how Chinese children are raised to view Japan. However, the reaction to the story itself is more revealing about what it’s like on the other side.
It was perhaps inevitable that games industry giants should start taking an interest in China the moment the country’s laws changed, permitting the production and sale of video games consoles for the first time in almost a decade and a half, but tech sites and analysts in China are now suggesting that talks held late last year between the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group and Japan’s Sony Corporation very likely herald the official arrival of PlayStation 4 in China.
Have you made that New Year’s resolution to be healthier but just can’t seem to make the commitment to work out? Is the only flexible thing in your life the elastic band around your sweatpants after you gorge yourself on cake? We think we can motivate you into a more active lifestyle by seeing a Chinese lady in her 50s doing her morning stretching routine that will be sure to shame you into eating healthier and exercising more!
Chen Guangbiao is an audacious man, and not just because he wants to buy the New York Times for $1 billion (or $2 billion or $3 billion).
One of China’s top 400 richest people, he was estimated to have a personal fortune of worth $740 million in 2012, but how he’s really made his name is by high-profile charity donations — something he brands “flashy philanthropy.”
Just a day after we brought you news that China had temporarily lifted a 14-year ban that prevented foreign companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony from selling their consoles in the country, homegrown telecommunications company Huawei has unveiled a brand new games console of its own at the CES 2014 trade show.
If you’ve ever found yourself lost in one of Asia’s complex subway systems, you’re not alone. Since underground rail is the preferred form of transportation in many of Asia’s sprawling cities with hundreds of stops, subway maps, even those printed on the back of your necktie, tend to look like the aftermath of an infant feeding itself a plate of spaghetti unsupervised, and can easily confound locals too.
So it’s good news that a newscaster in Guangdong Province, China – whose dresser apparently teleports all of her normal clothes to Narnia – has decided to help commuters navigate the area’s labyrinthine subway system on a strictly volunteer basis.
One of the biggest obstacles of traveling in a country where you don’t speak the local language and English is not commonly spoken is ordering food. If you could read maps, you would probably be able to navigate around even if you don’t understand the native language, but if you can’t read the restaurant menu, ordering at meal time would be like playing a round of Russian Roulette.
Some restaurants attempt to make things easier for their patrons by including English translations on their menu, which could be a lifesaver for foreigners. But somebody ought to tell this restaurant’s owner that Google translate isn’t the foolproof method…
Despite the thriving grey market that has existed since the ban was put in place 14 years ago, both gamers in China and console manufacturers outside the country will no doubt be excited to learn that China’s State Council yesterday lifted restrictions on the importation and sale of foreign video games consoles, albeit on a “temporary” basis. That’s right: China may soon became a legitimate market for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft once again.
It’s no secret that the apartments and houses in Japan are incredibly small, especially in saturated areas such as Tokyo. But even Japan’s tiny homes are no match for this extremely narrow “paper building” in Shanghai, China! How do people even live in there?!
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OK, we’ve all been there. Maybe it was the venti coffee this morning or maybe you’ve caught a bug, but one thing is certain: you need a bathroom right now or a change of pants is going to be in order. Most of us manage by hook or crook to find a toilet or at least a concealing clump of trees in this situation, but one guy decided that the middle of the road seemed like a nice place to drop a deuce and he wasn’t going to let anything – even an emergency vehicle – disturb him.
Bad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screens
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
All-you-can-drink deal for US$4 in Shinjuku is one of the best finds in Tokyo
One of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
McDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Foreign traveler caught trying to sneak into Japan by climbing down rope from cruise ship
Orange Juice Crisis ’24 – Japan’s OJ supplies drying up
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
W.T.F. Japan: The top five “sora” references of all time! 【Weird Top Five】Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of societyBad tourist manners at Mt Fuji Lawson photo spot prompts Japanese town to block view with screensMcDonald’s Japan’s new pancake pie is a taste sensation
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotesOne of Japan’s oldest castles now lets travelers spend night on the grounds, drink in its keep
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese innMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese thingsJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social mediaMcDonald’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
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label designForeigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Foreign traveler caught trying to sneak into Japan by climbing down rope from cruise ship
Orange Juice Crisis ’24 – Japan’s OJ supplies drying up
Studio Ghibli unveils new goods that tip the hat to The Cat Returns
Icon’s Mac & Cheese Burger contender for best burger in Tokyo【Taste test】
W.T.F. Japan: The top five “sora” references of all time! 【Weird Top Five】
Japanese city encouraging visitors and locals to cosplay as ninja for annual Ninja Festa
Starbucks at Shibuya Scramble Crossing reopens, but is it really bigger and better than before?
Two things to do, and two things not to do, when leaving a traditional Japanese inn
History’s largest force of Samurai Colonel Sanders deploying to KFC Japan branches
A visit to the best UFO catcher arcade in the universe!
Gacha capsule toy paradise for adults appears at Akihabara Station
Studio Ghibli unveils massive T-shirt collection featuring top anime movie characters
We spent over US$400 at a Tokyo premium capsule machine, and we’re not sure how we feel about it