Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Japan (Page 1605)
Currently, the new arrivals section of the Evangelion Store, an online shop filled all our favorite robot-driving, angel-fighting merchandise, lists a very special lingerie set based directly off of a camisole worn by Asuka in the second new Evangelion movie. Unfortunately for fans of the second child, the item is already sold out and in need of restocking. We’ll try to pretend that’s not creepy, considering the character is only 14… Read More
Smartphones and tablet devices have proven themselves to be viable gaming platforms… as long as the game suits it. While games like Angry Birds work perfectly, old school gamers (which is probably all of us in this instance) can’t help but struggle with the virtual D-pad and buttons we’ve grown accustomed to in other genres like action games.
So along comes Buttons Anywhere to bring us back that loving feeling of 3D plastic buttons to games like Street Fighter and GTA on the touch screens of newer devices.
We’ve all no doubt heard of the polite deer in the city of Nara that have learned to bow their heads to tourists in order to get food, but did you know that they also obey the law and know how to cross the road properly?
Check out these photos for one incredibly cute example of how to use a pedestrian crossing!
Osaka prefectural police announced on 20 September the arrest of 48-year-old Masumi Nishino for the attempted murder of her husband and arson of their home and office. This arrest was made possible only after Nishino’s allegedly intended victim/husband saved her life by pulling her from the very same building she set on fire.
Japan is a country with a lot of cute characters. Starting with the obvious ones from anime and manga like Totoro and Doraemon, there’s also ones featured in video games like Pikachu or Sonic, and corporate symbols like Hello Kitty. Going further we can delve into the deep ecosystem of costumed mascots that can be found everywhere throughout Japan. Finally we can pile on all of the imported characters from North America and Europe.
All these cuddly animals and monsters running around beg the question: Which one is the most popular amongst children? To answer that, we have the semiannual Characters and Children Marketing Survey results which were recently published in Japan. Let’s take a look.
Working in a bank seems like a fairly boring job most days. You talk to customers, fill out some paper work, deal with large sums of cash that you can’t use in awesome rap videos, and hope there aren’t any crazy people looking for a quick payday. But what happens when one of those crazy people walks into your branch and demands a bunch of money? Well, if you’re lucky, it goes about as well as it did for this bumbling bank robber in Chiba Prefecture.
October is right around the corner and that means Halloween merchandise! Mister Donut is celebrating the holiday by churning out Hello Kitty jack-o’-lantern doughnuts and other adorable pumpkin-flavored treats.
Are you terrified of large crowds? Does the thought of a night out clubbing fill you with dread? Have you withdrawn into a dark room, filled only with the blue light of your computer screen, desperate to avoid the horror of having to talk to a store clerk. Well, you’re not the only one, even though it might feel like it. In fact, if the number of hikikomori (socially withdrawn people who’ve isolated themselves from the outside world) is any indication, Japan is packed with shy, introverted people!
Thankfully, the Internet has allowed the shy and introverted to come together and share their experiences. Check out these comments from the Japanese website Aru Aru Matsuri and see how many you can sympathize with.
We’re all human, which means we all, eventually, make a mistake or two. Some of us might make more mistakes than others, but in general it should be easy to understand that accidents happen and sometimes the best course of action is to forgive and carry on with your life. However, not everyone is happy with a simple apology–some people require a bit more…humiliation.
Probably the most intriguing feature of the new generation iPhone is its fingerprint authentication. Once recognized by the system, only the true user’s fingerprint will unlock the phone, rendering it impossible for anyone else operate.
However, registering a fingerprint has its drawbacks. Someone can easily press the phone against your finger while you sleep and have access to all your secrets. If you want maximum security, we recommend using your toe or nipple. They really work!
Hayao Miyazaki, often referred to as “the Walt Disney of Japan,” is undoubtedly famous in his home country. With record-breaking films such as Academy Award-winning, Spirited Away, and the iconic, My Neighbor Totoro, it’s easily assumed that everyone in Japan has watched at least one Miyazaki movie. A recent poll conducted by a Japanese movie rental chain reveals that, actually, almost everyone in Japan has.
Naotake Odake, former managing director of the Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) and once director of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau, spent years of his professional life traveling to cities across the globe in order to promote Tokyo as a worthwhile tourist destination. In his travels, he noticed a trait shared by all the major cities: they each had a unique and well-recognized landmark embodying the history and culture of the land. According to Odake, a structure of this sort is vital to bolstering a spirit of pride in any given population. Unfortunately for Tokyo, he believes that this sort of historical landmark is something that Japan’s capital city severely lacks. What he has against Asakusa Temple, Tokyo Tower, or Tokyo Skytree, I’m really not sure. But, it is for this reason that Odake has taken the lead as the chairman of a non-profit organization which hopes to rebuild the Edo Castle’s innermost tower. “In order to present Tokyo as a proud tourist city, we need something like Edo Castle,” he says. But will the payoff really outweigh the costs?
Telephone fraud is a serious problem in Japan and many elderly people fall victim to it each year. Known as “ore ore sagi“, fraudsters often pretend to be the call recipient’s son, using such lines as, “Mom, it’s me, it’s me! I’m in trouble!” to trick large sums of money from the unsuspecting party, and banks now post warnings next to their ATMs asking people only to send money if they’re 100-percent sure of who they’re sending it to.
Thanks to increased awareness of the problem, however, more and more people are beginning to see through this type of scam. One particularly clued-up 69-year-old who realized something was wrong, in fact, has recently been co-operating with local police by pretending that she had been duped by a call she received from fraudsters, ultimately leading to their arrests.
A Nagaski area public toilet is proving that the future that Blade Runner envisioned is now, and it’s in Japan.
The public toilet in question is apparently about a 10-minute walk from the station proper, at an unassuming location near a pedestrian underpass. To even gain access to the toilet requires you to figure out a complex series of buttons and probably pass a retinal scan to ensure you aren’t a Replicant.
We’ve all been there: you’ve got your shiny new laptop, smartphone or tablet computer and you’re lounging around on the floor at home, watching videos on YouTube, tapping away at Plants Vs. Zombies… when suddenly your pampered, first-world body throws a hissy hit. “I’m tired! Why do I always have to hold all the expensive electronic devices!?” it moans as you start to lose the feeling in your arm or your left leg goes to sleep. You wriggle around and find a new position, but before long your body’s complaining again and you just can’t get comfy.
Oh, wouldn’t it be great if there were something – a piece of furniture perhaps – that would hold your tablet or computer for you while you did massively unimportant web browsing and lay on the floor!?
Enter the Goron tablet cushion, which not only supports your head and neck while you laze around, but comes complete with an adjustable holder for tablets, laptops and even small monitors! Yep, gamers just got that little bit lazier!
In the early days of the iPhone in Japan it was under an exclusive contract with telecoms giant Softbank, which gradually gave way to AU availability as well. This left NTT’s Docomo, as the only big mobile carrier without any Apple product of its own.
However, coinciding with the Japanese launch of the new iPhone5S and iPhone5C today, Docomo has finally jumped on the iPhone bandwagon and is carrying the unit that so many people have been clamouring for. No one was more thrilled at the news then our own Mr. Sato, a long time Docomo subscriber. So he headed down to the Docomo store in Marunouchi to get one as soon as it came out. Turns out he was their very first customer.
Japanese seem to love giving their drinks an unexpected twist. They’ve tried hot ginger ale, orange juice that looks like soy sauce, and a milk drink with tomato and lemon flavoring. Compared to those wacky creations, Yakult’s popular probiotic dairy drinks seem positively pedestrian, but now they’ve upped their game.
Care for a hot, potable yogurt, anyone?
“I hate this job.” Not exactly uncommon words, are they? While you may not necessarily love the work you do, it’s always nice to at least not hate your job, right? Unfortunately, it seems that all too many of us are stuck in life-draining professions, wishing we could start all over. And, it turns out, over half of young “irregular” Japanese workers can sympathize.
Most Japanophiles in the world have heard of the smash hit anime, Dragonball Z. Recently the series gained yet another surge of popularity due to its 2009 remastered broadcast, hooking a whole new generation of fans. But how many viewers have kept up with the voice actors who worked on DBZ since the show’s final episodes aired? For instance, did you know that Ryo Horikawa, the voice of Saiyan prince, Vegeta, just recently started up a rock band?
Are his badass readings breaking your scouter yet? Just wait until you hear who else has joined his team…
Kimokawaii is a relatively modern concept in Japan describing something that’s so kimoi (gross) it’s kawaii (cute). Well if that’s the case, this family of mushrooms is the most adorable thing we’ve ever seen. The Nameko Family is a new television series featuring Nameko, an anthropomorphic nameko mushroom, the slimy fungi often found in miso soup, and features an entire household full of deformed, strange and down right kimoi characters. But has this new show crossed the line, being too gross for even the biggest kimokawaii fan to find cute?
Japan tripled its departure tax to fund tourism but is using the money on cherry blossoms and bears
Police in Japan looking for who’s responsible for dumping 80 loaves of bread on side of road [Video]
Nike x One Piece collection brings Devil Fruits to sneakers and streetwear in Japan
Data suggests increased bear sightings have led to a decrease in mountain climbers across Japan
Japan approves foreign resident visa renewal fee increases of up to 967 percent, starts soon
Ministop brings bulked up Okinawan-style rice balls to mainland Japan for one week only
Nephew of Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki serves up Totoro Shaved Ice in Tokyo
Amid foreign sex tourist rise, Japanese government considering outlawing paying for prostitution
Pikachu and other Pokémon evolve into hydration types with Thermos drinkware collaboration [Pics]
Starbucks Japan adds new Customisation Bar to stores, with free ways to hack your food and drink orders
7-year-old boy left behind on Mt. Fuji by his own dad
Sushi Bus: Japan’s first conveyor-belt bus lets you eat sushi while sightseeing around Tokyo
Studio Ghibli unveils new interactive stationery dioramas that bring anime movies to life on your desk
Anime fans can now wear a Seiko watch inspired by Japan’s One Piece ShinkansenJapan tripled its departure tax to fund tourism but is using the money on cherry blossoms and bearsNike x One Piece collection brings Devil Fruits to sneakers and streetwear in Japan
7-Eleven Japan brings back best-selling flat croissant that became a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli composer Jo Hisaishi just set three Guinness Records
Foreign hiker on Mt. Fuji loses consciousness and dies, becoming climbing season’s second fatality
We recommend not buying one pack of Japan’s new convenience store corn soup-flavor fried chicken
12-year-old British girl who went missing in Tokyo found safe after visiting anime sites around Yokohama7-year-old boy left behind on Mt. Fuji by his own dad
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heatSushi Bus: Japan’s first conveyor-belt bus lets you eat sushi while sightseeing around Tokyo
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
New Japanese vending machine at Shinkansen station sells cups of ice on platform
Study finds hundreds of people in Indonesia legally named after Naruto, Inuyasha, other anime stars
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Ministop brings bulked up Okinawan-style rice balls to mainland Japan for one week only
Nephew of Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki serves up Totoro Shaved Ice in Tokyo
Amid foreign sex tourist rise, Japanese government considering outlawing paying for prostitution
Pikachu and other Pokémon evolve into hydration types with Thermos drinkware collaboration [Pics]
Starbucks Japan adds new Customisation Bar to stores, with free ways to hack your food and drink orders
We recommend not buying one pack of Japan’s new convenience store corn soup-flavor fried chicken
Dragon Ball Z theme park, financed by Saudi Arabia, to be built in France
Winnie the Pooh cosplays as Yuzuru Hanyu for new plushie collaboration
Nagoya’s famous Shinkansen platform noodle shop has other, better branches nearby
Japan’s double-decker portable rice cooker/bento maker is better than ever with new version
Turn octopus, spaghetti, and more of your favorite foods into crackers with Senbei Maker 2
Studio Ghibli composer Jo Hisaishi just set three Guinness Records
Sushi Bus: Japan’s first conveyor-belt bus lets you eat sushi while sightseeing around Tokyo
KFC Japan unveils new Tsukimi collection that takes moon-viewing to extreme levels