Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1401)
In the middle of this month, 41-year-old Kazunori Terashima must have felt some sense of satisfaction as his bankbook showed a transfer of 350 yen (US$3.33) from the Saitama Public Safety Commission. After struggling against the police for two and a half years over an improper traffic stop he had finally won his inalienable right to clean his ear in traffic.
Thomas the Tank Engine has a huge following in Japan. Known here as Kikansha Tomasu, literally Tank Engine Thomas, the cheeky train and his group of hard-working friends are so popular they even have their own amusement park and a hotel dedicated to them with unique, train carriage-themed rooms. Now Japanese fans are looking forward to their biggest present yet: a chance to ride on a fully-working Thomas the Tank Engine steam locomotive. Set to take passengers down the hills and round the bends of the Oigawa Line in Shizuoka Prefecture, this is a really useful engine we adore!
As 2013 comes to a close, all of us at RocketNews24 have been taking time to reflect on the past 12 months. We’ve gone through a lot of changes as a site and staff and we’re all so grateful for our steadily growing readership. Most of all, we’re proud to have brought you an entire year’s worth of funny, interesting, and at times downright crazy news from Japan and Asia. Looking back, 2013 was our biggest year yet and we hope for your continued support of our small site of translator/writers who just can’t get enough of Japan.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2014 and thanks for being the best bunch of readers our humble site could ever hope for! Here’s to a wonderful new year filled with even more dancing Tokyo grannies, otter handshakes, and Mr. Sato adventures…and of course a bit of Japanese language and culture sprinkled in for good measure!
Love always and forever,
The RocketNews24 Team
Image: 58 Pic
Let’s see… We got Amazon sales, YouTube videos, pet breeds, video games, and search terms. What else can we rank up for this newest of new years?
How about something a little less quantifiable like sounds? Rion Co. asked 1,000 Japanese people what sounds linger most in their minds when looking back at 2013. Two years ago, the sounds of the Olympics were stuck in people’s heads. A year before that it was the Tohoku Earthquake. Now, here are the 10 most resonant sounds of 2013.
How will you be spending New Year’s Eve this year? Celebrating with family or friends? Watching a countdown on TV? Sleeping, oblivious to the world and perfectly happy about it? Here’s what Japanese respondents on one online poll said they’re be doing when the ball drops, the clock strikes twelve, and the temple bells are rung 108 times.
Two Thousand Thirteen was a year of ups and downs for Studio Ghibli with the release two feature-length films (Kaze Tachinu and Kaguya Hime no Monogatari) and the retirement of their greatest director, Hayao Miyazaki.
Now as the year comes to a close, it might be a fitting time to take a look back at some Ghibli films and learn some things we might not have noticed the first time around in a collection of facts compiled by Japanese website, Naver Matome.
Alien conspiracy theories have been with humankind for as long as we’ve looked up at the sky and thought “Holy crap, what is all that?!” Of course, we’ve answered a large part of that question, but the unknown and not-quite-totally-explained still account for vast swathes of the world around us, like “dark energy,” calculus, and what’s really in McNuggets.
And while scientists are hard at work answering our questions, we’re sorry to say we’re not really helping. Here’s one more thing to add to the list of the unexplained: Strange lights spotted in the sky over Tokyo!
Twice a year, Japanese amateur manga convention, Comiket, rolls through town, bringing in its tow an apocalyptic nerd storm of cosplayers, manga enthusiasts and rare comic and figure hunters. If stereotypes are to be believed, this means that twice a year, instant ramen, energy drinks, curry and soda consumption spike considerably.
While “twerking” and “Harlem Shake” were among the top search terms in the US, our neighbors to the west were busy Googling other, more wholesome words. Let’s take a look at the top trending search terms in Japan this year!
One of the pet peeves many housewives have is the accidental sprinkle when their husbands tinkle, which eventually leads to one of the things couples commonly argue over; putting the toilet seat up (or down). It seems it’s impossible for women to understand why men can’t keep their sprinkle within the bowl, and at the same time, men can’t seem to get why women get pissed over a tiny splash.
Some innovative housewives in Japan decided that the best way to solve this issue is to make the men go down on their knees when they use the potty.
On 20 December a research team led by Professor Kohei Onishi unveiled their Force Transceiver technology. This is technology that can remotely transmit physical forces and resistances two-ways in real time.
Prof. Onishi hopes that this technology can be used in robotics such as carrying out precise work in environments too hazardous for humans. Not only that, work that would require direct, personal contact such as physical therapy could be done anywhere in the world with an almost identical level of quality.
While we were already busy filling our faces with fried chicken, our friends over at JapanCulture•NYC – still with a few hours to go until December 25 arrived – sent us a few snaps of their own office Christmas tree before packing up for the holidays. For a site based in New York City and that’s all about Japanese culture in the area, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised that they put a cute, Japanese twist on the traditional ornaments, but this tree brought huge smiles to our faces.
With tiny octopuses, smiling onigiri riceballs and even Kumamon dressed as Santa, this is probably the best cross-culture Christmas tree we’ve seen this season, and we’re thoroughly jealous.
Ah, the good old days! It seems like every generation longs for that time when they were young and all was right with the world. McDonald’s Japan is taking that feeling of nostalgia and cramming it into a hamburger with their freshly announced American Vintage campaign, taking us back in time with 1950’s diner fare, 1970s soul food and 1980s pop culture cuisine.
Not so long ago, making a video game was strictly for big businesses. Putting out a quality product required expensive workstations, plenty of office space to house the development team, and huge distribution and advertising budgets.
But at the same time as the cost of producing blockbuster interactive entertainment continues to skyrocket, a growing number of independent game creators are showing that with some reasonably priced development and project management software, a talented team can put together gaming experiences that rival anything from corporate-backed studios in terms of emotional impact.
We sat down for a chat with a young woman with the dream and drive to do just that, indie game director and composer Yumi Hashimoto.
Gokiburi Kujo Maisuta (Cockroach Control Meister) is a service that helps provide estimates for the removal of terrifying cockroaches in the home. Thousands rely on them to kill off the shiny black terrors in kitchens and bedrooms across the country.
However, the company has apparently felt a pang of guilt recently. They feel that the roaches have done no wrong and are simply trying to exist just like everyone else. And so, the company has created Itsuki Kurohane: the cockroach moe girl to help combat the centuries of vilification unfairly handed down to these creatures.
Over the next month Gokiburi Kujo Maisuta is holding a contest to give away five Itsuki Kurohane hug pillows, but there’s a catch – besides her being a half-roach-half-human thing.
In Japan, Christmas is a romantic couples’ holiday on par with Valentine’s Day. Families gather over New Years, but on December 24th and 25th, couples go out for romantic dinners and singletons pine for someone to share the Christmas spirit with. Of course, some people don’t let the lack of a real world romantic partner stop them from feeling some holiday love.
On popular message board Himasoku, an anonymous user posted “live coverage” of his Christmas date with his virtual girlfriend. Spoiler alert: things get very naughty.
You may recall that we ran an article about two months ago featuring American-born J-POP singer Nicholas Edwards, who studied Japanese and moved from Oregon to Japan in pursuit of his dream to become a singer here. Now, three years after his move, his singing career certainly seems to be moving in the right direction.
This year, he released his debut single from a major Japanese music label in July, followed by a double mini album in October, and as mentioned in our previous article, he also performed at his very first concert this past Sunday at The Garden Hall in Ebisu. And yes, we were able to get tickets and see and hear Edwards live! So, to follow up on our article from October, here’s our report on Edward’s debut concert, “Silent Night 2013“.
Every year on this December 25, thousands gather online and pay tribute to the man whose numerous sacrifices and wondrous acts have helped to make our world a better place… by killing titans.
That’s right, December 25 is the birthday of Levi from Attack on Titan, and as such fans has taken to Twitter to celebrate. Several photos of Levi cakes and shrines have been posted online that are so intense you’d have to believe at least one person was institutionalized as a result of today.
That droopy-eyed wunderkind of the Survey Corps Special Operations Squad sure has a hardcore fan-base. Let’s take a look.
Amazon Japan announced the top 10 games bought on their site from December 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013. Let’s take a look at Japan’s favorite games!
Do you love beer? We here at RocketNews24 certainly do! And fortunately, there’s no shortage of tasty beer in Japan. But where can you go if you want to learn a little bit more about the cold, refreshing drink as well as drink it? The first place that comes to mind may be Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, where Sapporo Breweries have their Sapporo Beer Garden and Sapporo Beer Museum. To be sure, visiting the Sapporo Beer Museum for an educational tour and then hopping over to the Beer Garden next-door for some delicious Genghis Khan (lamb or mutton) barbecue can definitely be a wonderful experience, but what if you’re not in Hokkaido, which usually is a little out of the way for visitors to Japan.
Well, there’s actually a facility you can visit in central Tokyo that may be of interest to beer lovers. It’s called the Museum of Yebisu Beer, located near Ebisu (or Yebisu, either spelling is possible) Station within the Yebisu Garden Place complex. I actually found it quite by accident a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised after taking a look. Here’s what you can see at the museum… and yes, you can drink and taste as well!
The perks of drinking root beer at A&W in Japan
New Japanese Food Sample Making Cafe opens in Asakusa, Tokyo
Disney young adult novels get new beautiful shojo anime-style covers for Japan
Ghibli Art Frame calendar gets expanded availability, will keep fans organized, happy in 2025 and beyond
Tokyo government’s official AI-powered dating app, Tokyo Enmusubi, has officially launched
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Japanese squirrel sweets are an adorable autumn-only nerikiri treat【Photos】
Respect for the Aged Day celebrations very unpopular with Japanese women in survey
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
Netflix reveals first look at Tony Tony Chopper in live-action One Piece【Video】
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
New Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the set
One of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
Super budget-friendly retro Tokyo hotel feels like having your own 1960s Asakusa apartmentSome of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Abuse Cafe Japan: We get abused by waitresses in maids’ uniforms at Tokyo’s viral pop-up diner
Tokyo Skytree to be lit up in Jujutsu Kaisen colors on Halloween in months-long art collaborationJapanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
Night sky Studio Ghibli greeting cards are a beautiful reason to put pen to paper【Photos】
Studio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Foreign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengersStudio Ghibli releases free-download board game — Here’s how to play it without reading Japanese
Studio Ghibli lets you cosplay as Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle with cosy anime fashion rangeNew Hello Kitty McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys are here, and Kitty’s sister is part of the setStarbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Japanese government suspends plan to pay Tokyo women 600,000 to move away to get married
Japanese government wants to remove tax-exemption limit for foreign tourists on consumables
Starbucks Japan unveils new limited-edition Frappuccino for autumnOne of Tokyo’s most beautiful gardens gets its own moon for moon-viewing season
The heartwarming story of Japan’s “Weakling Gundam” and the fans who supported it in its hour of need
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goodsForeign tourists on Shinkansen bullet train break suitcase etiquette, angering local passengers
[Deleted] Article written for April Fool’s Day 2018
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
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
Japanese squirrel sweets are an adorable autumn-only nerikiri treat【Photos】
Respect for the Aged Day celebrations very unpopular with Japanese women in survey
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
Netflix reveals first look at Tony Tony Chopper in live-action One Piece【Video】
Dining with Totoro — 400-year-old ceramics company makes Studio Ghibli chopstick rests【Photos】
Homeless dropout becomes Lamborghini-driving ladies’ man and top host in Kabukicho 【Video】
We visit a “harbor” in Saitama where we eat an enormous bowl of fresh sashimi over rice
The complete guide to sushi in one handy picture
The cosplay of Tokyo Game Show 2014 【Photos】
Starbucks Japan releases custom tumblers…that wear aprons
Japan’s cat testicle calendar is here for nyantama fans to go nuts with
The best independent fan cosplayers of summer Comiket【Photos】