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We visit a Japanese convenience store in Hawaii, recommend the Spam

Master Blaster
Nov 19, 2013
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Convenience stores play an integral part of life in Japan. The various chains themselves appear to have a life and ecosystem of their own sprouting up and dying off all over the urban landscape in fierce competition. Regardless of which one you choose, be it Lawson, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, Mini-Stop or one of the other countless chains, you can always expect to find some high quality stuff.

No one knows this better than our food reporter Kuzo who has sampled every form of junk food the nation’s convenience stores have to offer. This time, however, he leaves the shores of Japan to test the wares of a remote branch of the famous Lawson Station chain in Hawaii.

A chick, a fat guy and an Asian dude were standing in line for a PS4…

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Nov 16, 2013

It may sound like the start of a bad joke, but when your boss says, “Bring me three PS4s!” you say, “How many games would you like with that?”

And so I found myself in uncharted territory, standing in line at 7am the day before the release of Sony’s next-gen console. I honestly didn’t know what to expect and admittedly grumbled at the thought of living on the street for 17 hours, but after Hooters girls, free swag, and a PS4 presented by the CEO of Best Buy, I’m pleased to report that I came away richer from the experience (although my bank account would beg to differ).

15-year-old genius revolutionizes cancer detection with 3-cent test

Casey Baseel
Nov 15, 2013

So what was your biggest achievement when you were 15? I was pretty proud of getting my learner’s permit. I also made a couple nice tackles on the football field, and came this close to finally winning a round against my friend Eugene in Street Fighter II. All in all, not a bad year.

Of course, these accomplishments don’t seem like much compared to those of Jack Andraka, a high school student from Maryland who just made the biggest breakthrough in pancreatic cancer detection methods in more than half a century. This is simply too cool not to share.

Video game and anime themed leather wallets for all your video game and anime spending needs

Master Blaster
Nov 14, 2013

Do you have an important date or job interview coming up? Why not seal the deal by flashing your handmade Mega Man wallet so everyone knows you’re playing with power? And if you don’t have a Mega Man wallet, then Sova Leatherworks can make one for you!

Steph M. is the artistic talent behind Sova Leatherworks in Tacoma, USA. Although she sells a wide range of patterns on her wallets, it’s her self-confessed geekiness which led to the series of handcrafted wallet designs based on video games and movies that have been attracting attention in Japan.

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Things Japanese people believe about British vs. American English

Rachel Tackett
Nov 13, 2013

From elementary school all the way through high school, Japanese kids are required to study the convoluted subject of English as a second language. It’s an enormous struggle for many, as Japanese natives must familiarize themselves with not only the vocabulary and grammar points, they must adjust their ears to pick up on the plethora of sounds that do not exist in their mother tongue. To top it all off, when the existence of various English accents is brought to light, their brains can become confused even further.

A recent post on a Japanese message board asked people to list the differences between British English and American English. The comments extended far over 100. Here’s what some of the respondents had to say.

How a foreigner’s Halloween prank in Japan started a debate about the imperial system

Oona McGee
Nov 11, 2013

As we’ve seen, Japanese people are enamoured with the idea of Halloween. From limited edition sweets to pumpkin-orange accessories, the holiday in Japan is centred around all things cute, and very occasionally creepy. So what do you do if you’re a foreigner in Japan who wants to give the locals a taste of the prankster spirit that usually lurks around the corner on a traditional Halloween night?

What’s better than sweet and tasty treats? Cute, sweet and tasty treats, of course! 【Videos】

Kay
Nov 8, 2013

While eating sweets is always a pleasure, at least for this writer, making them yourself can be quite a tricky matter, can’t it? But if you’re one of the people with skills in the kitchen who enjoys making desserts, you may want to check these videos out. They show you how to create sweet snacks that look so adorable, you’ll almost feel bad eating them! Read More

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“Good luck with the exam!” US comic depicting Japanese WWII pilot met with chuckles in Japan

Philip Kendall
Nov 5, 2013

Although they are sometimes considered to be the pastime of kids and teenagers, modern comics and graphic novels often deal with some incredibly heavy and moving content. Craig Thompson’s Blankets, for example, is a spellbinding journey that will melt any adult’s heart, and despite using mice as protagonists, Art Spiegelman’s retelling of his Holocaust survivor father’s experiences in Maus was so moving that it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.

The following American comic deals with equally heavy content: the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The comic lost a little credibility amongst Japanese readers earlier today, however, when one netizen noticed that it shows one of the pilots preparing for the attack by donning what appears to be a headband much more likely to be worn by school kids studying for a big exam than someone going on a mission from which they may not return.

Singing duo wow us with their a cappella Disney medley

Preston Phro
Nov 3, 2013

Over on the Japanese side of RocketNews24, we run a lot of article about both Japan and the international world. If you’re starting to feel confident with your Japanese ability, it’s not only a great way to practice your Japanese reading skills, but you can learn a lot of weird and cool stuff. And sometimes you can also find articles that are simply amazing.

Today, we have one of those “simply impressive” articles to share with you!

Is Halloween in Japan evolving?

Mike
Nov 1, 2013

A recent Ameba News Japanese blog post asked a 37-year old American woman her thoughts on Halloween in Japan, and based on her answer you’d think Halloween in Japan was somehow expressly responsible for all the unhappiness in her life.

The woman asked the blog author, “Why do adults in Japan get drunk together and wear costumes on Halloween? Don’t they know it’s a holiday for kids?”

Her response seemed to be dripping with condescension, which inspired us to dig into just what Halloween is about in Japan and how it differs from the US, and if our research is any indicator, the holiday has really come into its own out here over the past few years.

Rising J-POP star is talented, good-looking and certainly not your typical Japanese musician!

Kay
Oct 31, 2013

I just happened to be watching TV the other day when a young man’s singing performance suddenly and utterly grabbed my attention. Having been a member of the Glee Club during junior high and high school (an experience which, by the way, was no where near as crazy as the TV series), I have to say that hearing talented people sing is a huge source of pleasure for me, and a pleasure it was indeed to listen to this man perform a well-known Japanese pop song, his voice ringing clear and true.

I soon found out that the man I saw performing on TV had just released his debut single from a major Japanese music label a few months ago. His star seems to have been rising quickly, which wasn’t surprising considering his amazing voice and striking looks. Plus, there was also something else that made him stand out in the Japanese music scene. Ladies and gentlemen, meet 21-year-old Nicholas Edwards, the blond J-POP singer from Oregon, U.S.A.

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Ryu-chan and Chun-kun? Welcome to the weird world of genderswapped Street Fighter 【Video】

Rachel Tackett
Oct 30, 2013

Imagine if the characters from Street Fighter, Capcom’s classic fighting game, were born as members of the opposite sex, with the same amount of physical strength and fighting spirit but a decidedly different physiques. Thanks to a fan-made short movie by Really Clever Androids, we don’t have to wonder what to expect from a world like that. This awesome three-minute clip gives us a pretty good idea of the conflict and copious cleavage we might encounter. Let’s just say that these genderswapped Street Fighter folks really know how to bring it!

Awkward Jimmy Kimmel segment suggests some kids start being racist jerks at around age six

Mike
Oct 23, 2013

Without getting into our personal opinions of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (ahem, Conan is better, ahem), he’s had a string of pretty successful viral videos featuring kids and their crazy antics.

So, sensing more comedy gold, Jimmy dressed a bunch of kids up like politicians and asked them their thoughts about US current events, hoping for some adorable responses. After some initial cuteness, Jimmy asked how the kids thought America should take care of its debt to China, which is where the fun stopped for most of us, because one kid blurted out a disturbing proposal for solving the problem: kill everyone in China.

NASA and JAXA team up to deliver amazing new satellite, promotional video

Preston Phro
Oct 21, 2013

Space is awesome. There’s no one who can disagree with that. It’s a simple fact of reality! Spaceflight, satellites, astronauts and all that jazz are just some of the coolest stuff on the planet…uhh…in the universe!

Helping to make all that coolness a reality are the amazing government agencies NASA (from United States) and JAXA (from Japan), who are devoted to the exploration of the great dark void that surrounds our planet. They’re also great partners, often working together to bring missions to fruition, like the GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) mission, for which JAXA developed something called the DPR (Dual-frequency Percipitation Radar).

And while their program is awesome, there’s actually something even more sweet to come out of this partnership: A gorgeous anime promotional video!

American dance crew accuses Korean team of stealing moves, epic dance battle imminent?

Mike
Oct 18, 2013

Who knew that hip hop dancing could be such serious business? An American hip-hop dance team – or crew as they’re called in dance circles – is so miffed that another dance crew allegedly stole part of their routine that they’re taking the fight to the rival team half a world away.

The apparent ripping off occurred when a Korean dance crew busted out a brief but complex choreographed dance move that is exactly the same as a move pioneered by the American dance crew I.Am.Me on the MTV show America’s Best Dance Crew (side note: the show is hosted by none other than A.C. Slater, a well-known expert on 80s-style dance numbers).

Hands on with the new Nintendo 2DS: Plenty of bang for not many bucks

Preston Phro
Oct 15, 2013

The new Nintendo 2DS is out and we got our greedy little paws on the first one we could! Mmm…we love the smell of new game systems in the morning!

It’s not foldable and it doesn’t have a 3-D screen. On the other hand, it’ll play 3DS games with no problem and it’s significantly cheaper.

But is it worth your cold, hard cash? Find out below!

Take a peek inside the world’s top video game companies

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Oct 10, 2013

While you’re trying to sneak your way past Clickers or making it rain at a Los Santos strip club, do you ever stop to think about those men and women who have slaved away for countless hours, trying to bring you the best game possible? And with every good group of game developers, you have to have a place to house them while they work, so here’s a look inside the walls of some of the biggest video game companies in the world.

American casting for Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) TV series receives harsh Japanese criticism

Rachel Tackett
Oct 8, 2013

Starting this November, the first episode of a new romantic young adult series, Boys Before Friends, will be released to American audiences. The series is based on Japan’s hit manga, Hana Yori Dango (aka Boys Over Flowers). Already, the series has inspired the creation of anime, novels, and live action television dramas from Japan, Korea, and China. However, what should be a highly anticipated American adaptation of this much appreciated manga is encountering a lot of skepticism, especially from the Eastern side of the globe. It makes sense that some changes have to be made to implement an American setting for this Japanese tale, but how much change can the story endure before the tone of the original is totally lost?

Japanese dancer wins America’s Got Talent, calling show title into question【Video】

Jessica
Oct 4, 2013

We introduced our readers to the “dance-ish” performer Kenichi Ebina when he first appeared on the popular NBC performance program America’s Got Talent earlier this year and summarized The Matrix in a 90-second dance routine. We knew then that he was something special, but little did we know he would go on to take the top prize, becoming not only the first Japanese but also the first dancer to do so.

“King of psychics” Ron Bard warns of terrible danger for Japan

Philip Kendall
Oct 1, 2013

US psychic Ron Bard has spoken out once again via his official Twitter account, warning that the world – specifically Japan – is in great peril, prompting chatter online. This new warning comes after Mr. Bard claimed back in mid-July this year to have foreseen a natural disaster that would occur in Japan “in the next two or three months”, urging people in Japan to follow him on Twitter and prepare for difficult times.