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Japan (Page 1432)

Future idols collect 100 million eco-friendly bottle caps in just two weeks in the quest for fame

When a handful of Japan’s wannabe starlets made a plea to their limited fan base to send them as many plastic bottle caps as possible, it was generally assumed that nothing much would come of it. However, imagine our surprise when, keen to see their favorite idols hit the big time, passionate fans stepped up to donate over 100 million caps towards their case.

In Japan, fans with this level of dedication are known as “aidoru otaku”, meaning idol or star fanatics. Their enthusiasm often goes beyond the boundaries of casual fandom and enters into what can only be described as the realms of what some might deem obsessive. Even so, you’ve got to admire their team spirit- that’s an awful lot of drinks to consume!

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Tokyo Disneyland momentarily restricts park patrons from posting their pictures online

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of Tokyo Disney Resort. The affiliated hotels and theme parks are putting on an almost year-long celebration, complete with a special happiness themed parade and nightly fireworks spectacular, not to mention the reopening of the hit attraction, Star Tours. In light of all the extra excitement, management felt it necessary to add some extra rules and requests on the official Tokyo Disney site. While some of these new items were quite reasonable and occasionally intuitive, one line in particular set off warning bells for those wishing to visit the park.

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Korean national vows to pee on Yasukuni Shrine every time a Japanese politician offends his country

We’re actually surprised nobody had this idea before. A Korean national has uploaded a photo of him – for the squeamish let’s say, um, “micturating” – all over Yasukuni Shrine and vowed to continue to defile the sacred landmark every time a Japanese politician makes an insensitive remark.

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Honda to lend out more ASIMO-based walking belts for fine tuning in Japan

It’s been a few years since Honda first announced the ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative MObility) robot and its associated promises of a better cybernetic tomorrow. But now, the company seems to be doing some further beta testing for its Stride Management Assist technology which will assist in the rehabilitation of people with movement disabilities.

On 28 May, Honda announced it would be lending out 100 units free of charge to hospitals across Japan in order to monitor their performance and fine tune these robotic power walking belts.

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Strap on your thinking caps: bath salts based on popsicle based on soup go on sale

We’ve talked before about how Gari Gari-kun, the popsicle/shaved ice hybrid, is among the most refreshing treats produced by modern society, especially during the hot, humid summer months.

But Japan is a country where a daily bath, as opposed to just a shower, is a way of life. Since most people bathe at night, this presents a problem if you’ve just cooled yourself off with a nice after-dinner Gari Gari-kun and don’t want that feeling to go to waste from soaking in a pool of hot water. Thankfully, toy manufacturer Bandai has a whole lineup of Gari Gari-kun themed bath salts, based on the some of its most popular popsicle flavors, such as soda (really a mix of apple and citrus), pear, and corn…wait, corn?!

Perhaps we should start at the beginning.

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Bedhead Buster is becoming a hit with young Japanese males

Although bedhead is something of a scourge around the globe, the young males of Japan are particularly afflicted. In a culture where the morning shower is almost unanimously ignored in favor of evening baths, people with short hair especially are at the mercy of their pillows all night long.

However, one young engineer from America, Max Valverde may have developed a cure that the whole nation can use.  Marketed as Bedhead Buster (Neguse Basuta) in Japan this shower-cap looking invention is fast becoming a hit with the teenagers for being able to easily and effective rid them of uncontrollable hair.

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Hom-Bot Square: Cleaning those hard to reach places

Though we haven’t gotten our flying cars or cyborg super-strength arms yet, the future has kind of arrived in the form of robot cleaning machines. The Jetsons this isn’t, but at least it’s quiet, right?

One of our distinguished reporters over on the Japanese side of RocketNews24 happened to pick up the “Hom-bot Square” and wrote the following review. Now you’ll know what to put in your home so you can more like us! (A worthy ambition indeed.)

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Looking for love? Tweet and ye shall find!

Ah, spring. The season of love. Or at least it’s supposed to be. Some people get completely passed by, leaving them staring at cherry blossoms alone and no one to share their delicious strawberry kakigouri (shave ice) with. They’re just… lonely. So very, very lonely.

But maybe you want to change that. Find someone to spend the summer vacation with, someone to laugh at your jokes, bicker with about which Pokémon is cutest.

Well, now you can–through Twitter!

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SoftBank buying Facebook ‘likes’, hints at possible new job opportunities!

Do you have an active Facebook account with more than 10 friends, a filled-in profile with both profile and cover photos? If so, have we got an opportunity for you!

In a story currently making the rounds among Japanese Twitter users, it seems that SoftBank (the cellphone carrier that recently made a bid to buy Sprint in the U.S.) was seeking “Likes” on Facebook, and didn’t mind paying for them.
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Warp to World 8-1 with these cool Super Mario fashion tights

More than just fleshy tones, solid colors, and basic patterns, Japan has found a major fad with women’s tights that look like tattoos featuring popular Disney characters and the like. You may have seen our article earlier this month regarding the onion tights on sale at this year’s Niconico Chokaigi. Now, tights are taking an even more nerdy turn with popular anime and game references. Just take a look at these leggy designs in the works! Read More

Is it safe for minors to drink non-alcohol beer? We turn to Japan’s top breweries for answers

As a measure to prevent drink driving and to improve people’s health, many Japanese beer manufacturers have released non-alcohol versions of their products, with such products seeing surprisingly strong sales in the marketplace. Since the products on sale contain no alcohol, it is safe to say that there is no fear of the law being broken by underage drinkers enjoying them. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find alcohol-free beer in the soft-drink section of the menu.

Nevertheless, when it comes to minors and the consumption of non-alcohol beer, the exact legalities of it all become rather confusing. The reason being that it is still necessary to show proof of your age when purchasing non-alcohol beverages. So what’s the deal here? Is it really safe for those under age to drink non-alcohol beer? RocketNews24 got to the bottom of it all by speaking to Japan’s top beer manufacturers directly.
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Japanese apparel maker brings back “Derelicte” style with Danbo cardboard box bags

Hobo-chic is back! Just when you thought Mugatu’s Derelicte style was long gone since the peak of Zoolander, here it comes again in the form of a bag that’s made to look like a shabby cardboard box.

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Automated Dragon Quest playing computer levels your character up while you pay attention to your partner for once

If there’s one thing Massively Multiplayer Online RPGS (MMOs) are known for, other than their marriage-destroying addictive qualities and almost cult-like fan communities, it’s the absolutely mind-numbing repetition of doing the same quests and activities over and over again to level up your character.

Realizing computers are pretty good at that whole mindless repetition thing while humans generally dislike it, one entrepreneurial Japanese geek has figured out a way to jury-rig PCs that will perform a leveling task for you over and over again and is offering them for sale on bidding site Yahoo! Auctions right now.

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Put the power to control your presentations on the back of your finger with Kokuyoseki

Japanese office supply company Kokuyo S&T says that obsidian is believed to be a powerful stone which can protect against evil and calmy improve one’s focus and endurance.

This is why they named their newest device with the Japanese word for obsidian, Kokuyoseki. This little gadget slides onto your finger like a regular ring and lets you smoothly navigate your presentations without having to touch your computer.

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Abu Dhabime? Middle Eastern mech anime ‘Torkaizer’ turns Japan’s heads with trailer

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9AyVYTqZC0?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360%5D

Japanese animation has over the course of its evolution branched out into several sub-genres based on the proliferating light novels and manga series. While this is great, it seems as though the once-loved era of giant fighting robots seems to be slipping away.

Gundam‘s still chugging along and Evangelion has been enjoying its reboot, but there hasn’t been a whole lot new going on. Enter Abu Dhabi-based Alter Ego Productions with their trailer for Torkaizer which offers a fresh look on a classic genre.

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Subway Japan solves Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) pudding dilemma

Head on over to your nearest Subway the next time you’re wondering, “How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?” Starting May 29, the purveyor of those fresh, delicious, made-to-order subs is offering double meat portions on selected sandwiches.
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Want to enjoy the health benefits of natto without the smell? Try this natto and ice cream recipe!

Not familiar with natto? Shame on you! Natto is the fermented soy bean “snack” loved throughout the Kanto region for its supposed health benefits that outweigh the questionable flavor and strong smell, which is optimistically described as “cheesy and pungent” and otherwise described by detractors with violent gagging noises.

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Amazon Japan lists withered alien figurines in place of adorable Kiki’s Delivery Service goods, Internet wets itself

While Amazon Japan may have its share of amusing, inappropriate, and disturbing reviews written by its customers, this (hopefully) mistaken listing is all on Amazon.

With rumors of a live-action remake of Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service swirling, attention has been focused on the original movie. And now questions about the true nature of the adore cat Jiji are starting to surface. What are we talking about? Well… Read More

Recently, a team of highly-qualified Japanese scientists assembled for a mission, the danger of which was equaled only by its importance to society. On May 22, they announced their findings to the public, revealing that a menace we have always been aware of has grown to staggering proportions.

90 percent of men have smelly armpits. Read More


  • May 29, 2013

The surprisingly effective language of Dragon Ball — One Twitter user’s creative way of rating gaming hardware

I think we can all agree that Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is one of the most popular and well-known animes in the world. Well, here in Japan, a good understanding of the story and characters of Dragon Ball is considered basic knowledge on the Internet, so much so that it has become routine practice for Japanese Internet users to ask someone to explain a complex story or situation by using the story and characters from the series as comparison. Yes, you’ll see people on message boards literally saying, “I don’t quite understand that. Can someone explain it to me in terms of Dragon Ball, please?”

Now, it seems this practice has spread beyond Japan, and a tweet from Spain comparing some pieces of electronic and gaming equipment to Dragon Ball characters has fans of the anime laughing out loud. Read More

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