Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Global (Page 14)
Thousands paid their respect when Nintendo company president Satoru Iwata passed away in July, facing the brunt of typhoon at his service in Kyoto or leaving notes and letters at The Nintendo World Store in New York and the Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
We’re sure Nintendo is busy creating something new and exciting to release into the world, but we kind of wish this is what they were working on…
Looking for romance in Japan? Learn from our experience! Here a few things we’ve learned from foreigners who’ve dated in Japan.
WIN Gallup International recently announced the results of their international survey on people’s willingness to fight for their country. Despite recent changes to the constitution, it turns out Japanese Johnnies are least likely to get their guns among all nations surveyed.
So hungry you could devour an entire onsen resort’s worth of food? Time to make some noodles—with a twist!
Despite Japan’s relative safety, abundance of delicious food, fascinating culture, and friendly people, the country still lags behind as a tourist destination for foreign travellers. So the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are the perfect opportunity for Japan to show off its famed omotenashi hospitality to the droves of foreign visitors who’ll be pouring into Tokyo to spectate.
As foreigners who’ve been living in Japan for a while, we think we might have some pretty good ideas about certain things Japan could do in order to make things a little easier on this influx of foreign guests…
Episode 1 of our brand new series, Ask Mr. Sato, is here! Join us at the link below to listen to the great man’s sagely advice!
On the morning of Saturday, November 14, many Japanese Beliebers, along with some Non-Beliebers and Agnobiebers, awoke and checked into Twitter as usual only to find the famous Canadian pop star declaring that he was praying for their souls right alongside those of the people of Paris.
Confused and a little concerned, I—a card-carrying Agnobeiber—showed the above tweet to my coworkers, all of whom were equally baffled as to why Justin Bieber should be praying for them, considering nothing out of the ordinary happened here in Japan.
Japanese smartphone and tablet gamers spend a disproportionate amount of money on mobile games compared to the much larger mobile markets of North America and China, according to a new report from EEDAR – a video gaming analytics consultancy. This is despite the fact that the Japanese mobile gaming population is just a third of that of North America and a mere eighth of the Chinese gaming population.
We’ve got some fantastic news for children of the ’90s who once made it (and still make it) their quest to catch ’em all: The original first-generation Pokémon games are coming to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console early next year!
The most recent episode of Nintendo Direct included some exciting news for fans of the soon-to-be 30-year-old Legend of Zelda video game series. In the broadcast, Nintendo executives announced that a high-definition version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would be released for the Wii U on March 4, 2016 internationally, and on March 10 in Japan.
As further proof that cats rule the Internet and humanity at large, the relaxed, mostly goal-less mobile app time waster, Neko Atsume—which tasks players with simply collecting a bunch of cartoon cats and kind of just watching them do stuff—proved a massive success in Japan despite a distinctive lack of explosions, destruction and, er, constantly running from left to right that are the typical hallmark of successful mobile games.
In fact, the game is so popular among cat lovers (read: everyone) that the Japanese version of the game began trending abroad, even though the large majority of fans surely had to resort to Internet guides to make any sense of the Japanese kanji plastered all over the in-game menus and inventory.
Said fans were in for a great surprise, though, when last week, developer Hit-Point updated the game with full English support thanks to renowned localization agency 8-4. We had a chance to sit down with the 8-4 team and chat about the behind-the-scenes work that went into localizing the app for an English speaking audience.
While the stories for Final Fantasy games generally have nothing to do with each other, there have been a few threads that tangentially tie the games together, such as magic, a character named Cid, and an airship. Another popular element is a set of characters that have been around since the third installment of the game, the humble Moogles.
So when the official Final Fantasy XV Twitter account polled its followers to see if they wanted the beloved Moogles in the franchise’s newest game, the obvious answer was a resounding, “Of course, kupo!”
The Japanese government has asked the UN to retract its recent statement that claims 13 percent of girls in Japan are involved in compensated dating.
We all have different ways of getting through long flights, like settling down for some inflight entertainment, reading a good book, or possibly trolling fellow passengers. But one thing everyone tries not to think about is what might happen if the plane were to suddenly experience an emergency while thousands of feet up in the air.
For one unlucky group of passengers last month, they experienced just that, and for what might be the strangest reason we’ve heard yet: some very gassy sheep.
Super Mario Maker, the toolkit/game for Wii U that allows Mario fans to build their very own levels using a vast array of items and characters from the games’ universe, is without a doubt a huge hit. Players had been craving the ability to DIY their own levels for the classic series pretty much since the original handful of games were released for the original NES.
One addition to the game that players never expected to see was the inclusion of the crazy “Weird Mushroom”—originally a glitch in the first Super Mario Bros.—which turns Mario into “Skinny Mario,” a creepy, distorted Mario whose lanky limbs wiggle about all over the place with each (giant) jump.
Skinny Mario was, to put it lightly, not well-received by the gaming community, and Nintendo had a golden opportunity to fix it when it released the first update to the game a few days ago. Except, instead of doing away with Skinny Mario, Nintendo actually decided to include even more, super creepy, Skinny Mario appearances.
Any expat, exchange student, or anybody who has otherwise spent a long period of time abroad will tell you that, while the local food is exciting and fun and delicious for a while, eventually you’ll start to experience intense urges for the comfort foods and products of your native land. For some, these urges may be occasional, mild pangs, but for many, the urges are so strong they can’t resist stocking up on boxes and boxes full of their favorite items from home every time they head back.
Recently, a Japanese female expat who has been living in America for years introduced our sister site to the top 10 items that she likes to stock up on when she visits Japan:
Originally thinking this was just the work of some bootleggers working a local flea market, P.K. was shocked to later learn that Superdry was a fashion brand that sells all over the world…all over except for Japan, that is.
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
Krispy Kreme releases a new Doughwich… at only one store in Japan
Extra-cute Sea Animal crepes come to Japan’s cafe chain born from a sweet fashion brand
Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo to remain closed for the summer following stabbing incident
What’s up with the Ghibli Park photo and video ban?
And now, a crazy-looking way to stay cool this summer, from Japan’s crazy gadget company
Osaka is hosting a “hentai” event, but it’s probably not what you think
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Starbucks Japan releases a new limited-edition Frappuccino inspired by espresso affogato
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L MinimartNew official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and moreWhat’s up with the Ghibli Park photo and video ban?
Japan’s adorable pudding chick becomes a transit card mascot
The Japan Burger Championship 2026 in Yokohama next month is the ultimate battle of the beef
Mr. Sato takes a walk on Tokyo’s American-style street to get some American/Japanese ice cream
Sushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
Pikachu cakes and other adorable Pokémon 30th anniversary food coming to Tokyo luxury hotel
Starbucks Japan has a problem with its sell-out breakfast that might annoy solo diners
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried beforeJapan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat lovers
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Tokyo’s new extra-expensive ramen restaurant is dividing opinions, so we tried a bowl
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
What’s up with the Ghibli Park photo and video ban?
And now, a crazy-looking way to stay cool this summer, from Japan’s crazy gadget company
Osaka is hosting a “hentai” event, but it’s probably not what you think
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Starbucks Japan releases a new limited-edition Frappuccino inspired by espresso affogato
Starbucks Japan has a problem with its sell-out breakfast that might annoy solo diners
Study shows that regularly watching sports reduces risk of depression among the elderly
Beautiful Ghibli anime uchiwa fans are like little posters you can use to keep yourself cool
Japan’s cafe that won’t let you go home until you solve a puzzle is opening in Osaka’s canal district
Pikachu cakes and other adorable Pokémon 30th anniversary food coming to Tokyo luxury hotel
Studio Ghibli still doesn’t allow its anime to be streamed online in Japan, and here’s why
Studio Ghibli releases Ponyo donburi bowl to bring anime ramen to life
The best yakiniku restaurant menu items to order if you’re surrounded by lovey-dovey couples
Here’s the Studio Ghibli cookbook recipe to make Lin’s Spirited Away sweets she gave to Chihiro
