Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1569)
Poor Ronald McDonald (known as “Donald” in Japan). He got all dressed up in his floppy red shoes and white makeup, put on his biggest smile, and marched down to a McDonald’s restaurant for a meet and greet, only to find that not a single child showed up to see him. And now, the people of the Internet are laughing at his tired, worn out expression.
As the proverb goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and nothing produces necessity like war. For better or for worse—mostly for worse—war and military conflict have played a large role in technological progress throughout the history of humankind. While we seem to finally be calming down a little bit as a species in some regards, it is obvious that war is not over and will probably be around for many years to come. And, of course, no one wants to be the country that got left behind in the arms race, right? Still, when you see some of the predictions about the future of aircraft carriers from this Chinese news site, you might wonder if they haven’t mistaken “possible future” with “science fiction TV show.”
Earlier this week, we told you about the Yamanote Line train that will be decked out with the characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle (coming to PS3 on August 29). At the time, we could only provide you with a few artist renditions of what the train might look like. But now, may we proudly present to you 31 photos of the actual JoJo train, inside and out!
Though Ted may be the most-well-known naughty teddy bear in the world, he is by no means the only one. We imagine that Monokuma, of the murder-mystery game/manga/anime Dangan Ronpa, may be a close Japanese second with its cackling and murderous tendencies. For fans of both of the animated characters, it might seem like a perfect match to have these black-humored bears on the screen together.
Alas, there’s probably no one mad enough to approve that combination, right?
There isn’t a country in the world immune from stereotypes. All people form opinions about places and their inhabitants based on whatever they can glean from the food, tourism, and art of the culture. But not all sweeping generalizations have to be mean and unfounded. The results on a thread asking for the “perfect words to describe Japanese people” were surprisingly positive!
Here are the most common adjectives that Westerners chose when characterizing the people of Japan.
Read More
On Sunday 25 August, a 58-year-old woman walking along the platform of Kanyama Station in Nagoya slipped and fell onto the tracks. The time was 3:50 p.m. and the six-car express train running from Toyohashi to Gifu was due to arrive at any moment.
Seeing this, another passenger waiting for his train also jumped onto the tracks to save the woman. However, possibly injured from her fall, the she was unable to move. Watching the 3:50 train pull into the station and with no options left the man urgently called out to the woman to “get down!”
Powered by the world’s fastest mobile processor and billed by its maker as “the ultimate gaming and entertainment portable” the Nvidia Shield is in many way the realisation of thousands of tech fans’ nerdiest dreams: a genuinely powerful portable built around a home console-quality controller with a potentially vast software library. Offering gamers the chance to play games like Borderlands 2 and Skyrim anywhere from their bedroom to the toilet, the Shield at once steals both Nintendo’s “play with the TV off” Wii U thunder and makes Sony’s plans to have all forthcoming PlayStation 4 titles also playable on Vita seem like a copycat move, so it’s little wonder that the console has received a ton of attention the world over.
Currently only available in the US and Canada, lovers of all things sleek and shiny here in Japan who couldn’t wait any longer for an official release have laid down their cash (and with the portable retailing for US$299 that’s nothing to be sneezed at) and imported a Shield for themselves.
Little do they know, however, that simply by powering the thing up within the Land of the Rising Sun they’ll be breaking the law.
Odaiba, a manmade island atop Tokyo Bay, is famous for its sightseeing attractions, amusement parks, and entertainment venues. Places such as Joypolis, Pallet Town, Diver City, and the Miraikan science museum are all touted as terrific date spots but can prove quite costly in the long run.
Luckily, we’ve got some good news for all you penny-pinchers. Unbeknownst to many, the Rainbow Bridge, gateway to Odaiba, is an awesome date spot all its own! And, it’s absolutely free!
Japanese workers are famous for their seemingly inexhaustible dedication to their companies and ability to work long, long hours. Japanese even has a specific word for death from overwork: karōshi (過労死). But is this work ethic something that Westerners ought to admire, or is Japan in need of a holiday?
Japan Today asked foreigners “Why do you think Japanese work such long hours?” and received a huge amount of comments from people who had experienced life in a Japanese company. The responses were overwhelmingly negative about the Japanese work ethos, and many believe a shift in attitudes towards work right across society is necessary. Five points in particular stood out as particularly problematic.
Whether the blooming of the cherry blossoms in spring or the chirping of cicadas in summer, in Japan there is always a herald to the changing of the seasons. As incorrigible carnivores, for us fall begins when McDonald’s tsukimi burger returns to the menu. Tsukimi literally means “moon viewing,” a popular autumn activity in Japan, but in this case refers to the lunar-looking fried egg the sandwich contains. The tsukimi burger also comes with bacon. It has no linguistic reason to be there, but if you really need an explanation as to why someone would add bacon to a burger, we’ll be happy to explain after you finish your quiche.
Of course, the full moon has been known to do strange things to people’s minds, and we wondered if we couldn’t scavenge components from McDonald’s tsukimi burger to make something even better.
![Thirty-Six [ ________ ] of Mt. Fuji Project has a view of conserving the iconic mountain](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/08/great_wave_off_kanagawa2.jpg?w=640 "Thirty-Six [ ________ ] of Mt. Fuji Project has a view of conserving the iconic mountain")
Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji is a series of 36 masterpieces by Katsushika Hokusai in the medium of ukiyoe woodblock printing. Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you certainly must have caught a glimpse of the iconic The Great Wave off Kanagawa (above) once or twice somewhere, or maybe you saw a Japanese passport encased in South Wind, Clear Sky.
A new non-profit organization with the aim of conserving the newly appointed World Heritage Site is using these famous pieces of art as the theme for a new fundraising campaign. However, instead of limiting themselves to woodblock prints, Thirty-Six [ _____ ] of Mt. Fuji Project is taking out the “Views” and opening it up to any form of artistic expression such as “Thirty-Six Songs of Mt. Fuji” or “Thirty-Six Sweets of Mt. Fuji”.
One day, one ordinary person and his family found it in their hearts to take in a tiny, abandoned kitten who had lost her sight due to a bad case of conjunctivitis. They already had two dogs under their roof, which would make it difficult to keep a cat. Nevertheless, the father devoted himself to her care as she hovered between life and death, praying for the kitten’s full recovery. He didn’t intend to give the kitten a name at first, as he was worried about becoming too attached, and just called her “cat” (neko in Japanese) but somehow everyone started calling her Niko, which means something like “happy smile”.
It’s been nearly three days since we last reported on the arrest of a sexual deviant inventing a new way to get himself arrested by throwing pee at young women. So we’re clearly long overdue for another guy pushing the envelope of creepy crime.
On 24 August, Kanagawa Prefectural Police picked up Joji Kondo for stealing three seats from women’s electric bicycles in a housing complex at around 4:00 in the morning. After searching Kondo’s home they uncovered a further 200 seats.
We can almost, kind of, maybe a little bit, understand why some teachers get angry enough to hit their students. When thinking about high school, there are enough cringe-worthy moments of complete jerkery where one wouldn’t blame a teacher for reaching out and slapping certain students across the mouth.
That’s not to say that such behavior is acceptable, of course! Only that, in some cases, maybe we can kind of get how infuriating students can be.
This is not one of those cases.
While governmental agencies aren’t exactly known for their sense of humor, accidental or otherwise, we occasionally get a nice surprise, like the road sign above. It reads, simply enough, “Feeling sleepy while driving / When will you take a break? / How about now!”
“Hunh? What’s so funny about that,” you ask.
On August 29, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle will become available on PlayStation 3. It’s a fighting game that features all of the major players from the immensely popular manga series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. How popular, you ask? This beat-‘em-up video game is currently the top-ranked game on Amazon, thanks to the huge numbers of pre-orders, it’s so highly anticipated. One might think that a game such as this doesn’t need any more hype, but those who know JoJo know that this particular franchise will stand for nothing less than extremes!
Starting on August 26, one of the trains on Tokyo’s looping central railway, the Yamanote Line, will be plastered both in and out with characters from JoJo’s new fighting game!
Ever have trouble deciding whether you want to have a burger or pizza? Kyoto pizza parlor Pizza Little Party is hoping you choose to have both with their Megaburgerpizza. They’re also apparently tired of being called “little” as this beast weighs in at approximately 1.2kg (2.65lbs).
Wish you could just stuff your face with burgers until you explode? So do we. That’s why you’ll find our staff down at Burger King on August 30 enjoying the all-you-can-eat Burger King feast that will be going on for one day only.
On 22 August, four youths between the ages of 15 and 17 were apprehended for robbing and injuring a man in the streets of Tokyo. While in custody one of the teenagers confessed they had taken the man’s money because they “wanted to get some special attack uniforms [tokkoufuku] and go to an AKB48 handshake meet.”
Well, that certainly clears up everything!
Ladies and gentlemen, put down your smartphones, close your Nintendo DSes and power off your controllers. Even if you once thought that you were “kinda pretty good” at Tetris, you should know now that you will never, ever win.
Shared on YouTube earlier this week, the following video shows Japanese player keroco blitz through the game’s “clear mode” and send 40 lines of blocks to digital oblivion in an epic 19.68 seconds, setting a new world record in the process. Doesn’t sound so fast? Check this out.
Is Japan’s Crab-shaped Cup Ramen Timer worth the hype?
Visiting Japan’s one-and-only, and only-for-a-limited-time, Dragon Ball noodle restaurant[Photos]
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Extreme budget travel! Can you do a good weekend trip to Taiwan with 50,000 yen (US$370)? – Part 2
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
Starbucks Japan offers special sakura picnics at Reserve Roastery Tokyo beside Meguro River
Studio Ghibli receives honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival 【Videos】
7-Eleven Japan’s sakura sweets season is underway right now!
Uniqlo Japan’s lucky bag creates chaos at Tokyo store
Japanese woman celebrates 100th birthday, boggles netizens’ minds with unusual nameStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Japanese government planning higher ticket prices for foreign tourists at Tokyo National Museum
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Silicone testicle covers banned from Japanese sauna following cups being left behind and on shelves
Studio Ghibli now sells Ursula’s backpack from Kiki’s Delivery Service at its anime shop in Japan
Live-action One Piece’s Luffy teaches Sesame Street’s Elmo a Japanese word for friendship[Video]
Mister Donut unveils new sakura doughnuts for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Starbucks Japan offers special sakura picnics at Reserve Roastery Tokyo beside Meguro River
Studio Ghibli receives honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival 【Videos】
7-Eleven Japan’s sakura sweets season is underway right now!
Uniqlo Japan’s lucky bag creates chaos at Tokyo store
Japanese woman celebrates 100th birthday, boggles netizens’ minds with unusual name
Sailor Moon on ice! Skater Evgenia Medvedeva appears in costume for first official ice show【Pics】
Is this Tokyo government office still one of the best places in the city for a curry rice lunch?
Step into Japanese culture with Converse’s new Japan-exclusive shoes featuring gods, sushi style
Hanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
Japan’s suicides fall to lowest recorded number ever, but one demographic hits all-time high
Cute coffins now available at Tokyo’s coffin relaxation salon[Photos]
Passing the JLPT N1 — Here’s how I did it, so you can too!
