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Can you guess the starting salaries at popular IT companies in Japan?

Krista Rogers
Apr 8, 2014
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Thousands of recent college graduates are entering the workforce this week in Japan, and they have done well just to survive the grueling interview process. While most of them are probably content just to have a job lined up at all, a lucky few have already landed their dream job just out of school.

Landing a job in the IT industry is a particularly difficult feat. But if you do manage to score one, you’re guaranteed a high starting salary, at least according to Japanese variety show Akko ni Omakase. This Sunday’s broadcast featured a segment listing the starting salaries for new workers at eight popular IT companies in Japan. How do you think those salaries stack up against one another?

The honesty of children: 3-year-old’s greeting tells father how little time he spends at home

Philip Kendall
Apr 8, 2014

As we’ve talked about before, overtime is pretty common in Japan. At a startling number of companies, it is not considered in the least bit unusual to find staff, who are contracted and only being paid to be there between 8:30 am and 6 pm, still at their desks until 9, 10, or 11 at night. Others may leave the office a little earlier, but are often wrangled into drinking with the boss or entertaining clients until all hours. Others still even work on weekends and, returning home late at night, only see their family while they’re sleeping.

Dutiful partners may grin and bear it when their husband or wife is absent from home for such enormous stretches of time, but kids only speak the truth. Like this little one who, on her father returning home seemingly for the first time in a long time, greeted him like you might a guest or customer to a restaurant…

Japanese people react to the outrageous behavior of “monster” new company recruits

Krista Rogers
Apr 8, 2014

April is upon us again, which means the start of a new school and work year in Japan. So perhaps it’s fitting that Fuji TV’s morning informational show Nonstop! recently aired a segment about new company employees. But its focus wasn’t on just any new recruits to the workplace…it was about monster recruits! Read on to find out what kinds of unthinkable behavior shocked netizens and made them lament the rude ways of the younger generation.

What does “Konnichiwa” really mean? Understanding Japanese greetings

Mike
Apr 8, 2014

Well, good afternoon/evening/morning/day everyone! Today we’re going to talk about Japanese greetings and what they really mean.

Just as in English, “Konnichiwa” or “Good day” is a greeting that is technically an idiom with a complex and near-forgotten past. Just as English language greetings tend to stem from bastardizations of foreign loan words and/or full sentences that have been gradually shortened over the years, “konnichiwa” is actually a shortened version of a full and meaningful greeting, because, if anything, human beings are a lazy sort with a bad habit of cutting corners whenever possible.

Professional selfie tips from a selfie professional 【Photos】

KK Miller
Apr 8, 2014

How do you take the best selfies on your phone? In Japan, for girls especially, pulling down your chin, turning up your eyes and giving your best duck lips is said to be the standard technique for photographing the most beautiful you.

BUT! This time we want to overthrow the established theory and introduce the ULTIMATE selfie technique. The person providing these tips today is a Japanese TV and movie star who’s a pro at taking flattering pictures of herself. So, directly from the star herself, the way to take the ultimate selfie is…?!?!?!

Fans and industry veterans celebrate Gundam’s 35th anniversary

Anime News Network
Apr 8, 2014

Gundam fans worldwide, including those in the industry, are taking to Twitter, Pixiv, and other social media to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam, which began airing on April 7, 1979. The messages have been including artwork, photos of gunpla, and more.

Here are some of our favorites:

Japanese university tries to win hearts of enrolling students with elaborate opening ceremony

Fran W
Apr 8, 2014

We’ve seen what some lucky Japanese students get up to at their crazy cosplay graduation ceremonies, and now we bring you an entrance ceremony extravaganza! New students enrolling at Kinki University in Osaka on April 5th were treated to a stadium-style light show and idol dance performance conceived by Tsunku, the producer behind idol supergroup Morning Musume.

While some Japanese netizens took to social media to question the organisers’ use of funds in throwing such an extravagant party for students who are, after all, only just entering the school, the university offered up an original reason for putting on the spectacular show: to encourage the one-third of incoming students who hadn’t picked Kinki University as their first choice.

Return of our favorite cat duo: Maru & Hana starring in “Box and Cats 15″【Video】

KK Miller
Apr 8, 2014

We all know Maru. We love him, watch his videos on YouTube and then wonder how we can make our own animals as amazing as he is. This time around, Maru and his companion Hana find themselves with a new box. The newest challenger is long and rectangular with a perfect circle cut out of one end. What will happen next?!?!?! Drum roll please!!!!

Eight Japanese words we’d love to import into English

Casey Baseel
Apr 8, 2014

Recently, we talked about how Japanese, while a tough language to learn, isn’t quite as difficult as some horror stories make it out to be. Still, if English is your native language, certain Japanese grammar rules, like saying “wa” and “o” to mark the subject and object of your sentences, can seem like a major hassle.

With practice, though, these things start to become automatic. Even better, the Japanese language is filled with incredibly handy phrases that we’d love to import into English.

Simon Boulsson’s “Tokyo Reverse” is backwards, gorgeous 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Apr 8, 2014

In the age of affordable digital cameras and programs that can make even photos and footage taken by a team of cavorting chimps look artistic and cool, footage of popular destinations like Tokyo are ten-a-penny online. But this video from Simon Boulsson is not just noteworthy by stop-and-gawp-worthy.

Titled “TOKYO REVERSE”, the video is set to a pumping soundtrack and takes us on a brief tour of some of the capital city’s most famous spots. The views are of course stunning, but as its title suggests there’s even more to the video than that.

Five reasons nerds make great boyfriends: Japan’s geeky otaku list their pros

Casey Baseel
Apr 7, 2014

As cultural attitudes continue to evolve in Japan, some groups that have spent decades being socially ostracized are finally seeing the tides turn in their favor. For example, while the covers of most men’s fashion magazines are still plastered with photos of incredibly slender guys, the country has recently been showing some love for heavyset males as well.

One demographic that still tends to have a hard time landing a date, though, are the otaku, Japan’s catch-all term for obsessive fans of anime, video games, computers, and anything traditionally geeky. But could the popular image of otaku as the bottom feeders of the dating pool be a case of women overlooking their hidden merits as boyfriend material?

We have an American sample Denny’s 40th anniversary American Fair menu

Krista Rogers
Apr 7, 2014

In honor of the Denny’s restaurant chain opening its first Japanese location 40 years ago, Denny’s Japan will be offering a special “American Fair” menu starting on April 15. Of course, such an announcement raises questions about just what exactly this American Fair involves and whether it’s authentic or not.

Fortunately, we here at RocketNews24 were able to enlist the services of a real, live American to specially sample the menu for us to tell us whether Denny’s offerings were anything like the real deal! This young man is none other than IKE, a member of the six-man Japanese comedy group/band Choshinjuku who was born in New York and raised in Seattle. Ike vowed that if the menu didn’t live up to his expectations, he would send a message to the restaurant manager and shut down the whole campaign.

Do you think that Denny’s American Fair menu passed his test?

Japanese railway sets up literal love seats with special seating for couples

Casey Baseel
Apr 7, 2014

In plenty of situations, Japan’s reliance on public transportation is a life-saver. Need some extra time to study for that test in first period? Pull out your notebook and review on the train to school. Had a few drinks too many? Park yourself in a seat on the subway, take a 30-minute nap, and arrive at the station with just enough power to walk home and get your key in the door.

Now, a railway in Chiba Prefecture is looking to give a hand not just to procrastinating students and heavy drinkers (who are, of course, often one and the same), but to young lovers, too, with its special priority seats for couples. That’s right, singletons, you just got one more reason to hate clingy couples.

North Korean media sinks even lower, calls South Korean leader a “repulsive wench”

Philip Kendall
Apr 7, 2014

Barely a week after branding her a “blabbering peasant woman,” North Korea has labelled South Korean leader Park Geun-hye a “repulsive wench” via its state-run media. Not only that, but the same quoted source also alluded to the fact that the president has no children of her own, and said that she “makes a mockery of sacred motherhood.”

You can find the happiest pigs in the world on “Pig Island”, and swim with them too!【Photos】

Joan Coello
Apr 7, 2014

We’ve previously seen Japan’s amazing cat islands and rabbit island, and today, we’re excited to show you yet another animal wonderland, though this time it’s not in Japan!

An uninhabited island, Big Major Cay, located in Exuma of the Bahamas, is home to what are arguably the world’s happiest pigs! More commonly known as Pig Island or Pig Beach by the locals, this tropical getaway is famous for none other than its adorable swimming pigs!

George Clooney appears in Kirin beer ad, sounds a bit like Batman when he speaks Japanese

Philip Kendall
Apr 7, 2014

As we’ve seen before, Hollywood stars who ordinarily wouldn’t be seen dead in a commercial in their homeland for fear of damaging their reputation as a serious actor aren’t quite so shy when it comes to commercials in Japan. With Japanese companies eager to push stacks of cash stars’ way in exchange for endorsing their products, occasionally a big-name actor will pop up on billboards over the famous Shibuya scramble intersection and on primetime TV.

This week, smirking silver fox George Clooney follows in Leonardo DiCaprio‘s footsteps by lending his face to a Japanese commercial, in this case one for Kirin Brewery Company’s Green Label brand of beer. Clooney is no stranger to ads even at home, but Kirin’s commercial – which sees the actor painting a house and communicating with a small bird – is kind of an odd one, partly because it doesn’t have an awful lot to do with beer, and partly because, to our ears at least, Clooney appears to be channeling Christian Bale’s Batman for his single word of Japanese dialogue.

Japanese netizens react to Action Movie Kid on YouTube

Preston Phro
Apr 7, 2014

One of the worst things about being an adult is not getting to play pretend anymore–or, at the very least, getting angry looks from grumpy old neighbors when you do. Your boss is almost guaranteed not to be amused by you shouting, “The floor is lava!” and then leaping onto your desk. We suppose that’s the best reason to have a kid–no one will complain about you playing pretend with your son or daughter!

Well, one parent has taken their pretend playing with their kid to an entirely different dimension. Thanks to computer graphics skills honed through working at freaking DreamWorks, this guy has made his son’s pretend play into reality and wowed netizens across Japan while doing so.

Sailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask was caught fooling around… with multiple partners!【Photos】

Joan Coello
Apr 7, 2014

Fans of the Sailor Moon series would probably be more than familiar with the suave male protagonist in the series, Tuxedo Mask (or Tuxedo Kamen, in Japanese). We all know him as the heroic love interest of Sailor Moon, but since the launch of these mini figurines in Japan late last month, Japanese netizens have been cracking up over pictures of Tuxedo Mask frolicking with other characters (and himself!) in some of the most bizarre poses we’ve seen him in!

Beautiful woman doing things: Unsettling art created by unexpected artist

Mike
Apr 7, 2014

Some of the best-yet-unsettling art in the world has often been created by male artists: be it Hemingway’s subtly disturbing short story, “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn,” the dark and surreal yarns of Cormac McCarthy (We hear reading Blood Meridian automatically qualifies you as suffering from PTSD), or the insidiously impossible physics of Dalí paintings, whenever we view somewhat disturbing artistic works, we tend to assume the author is a man.

So, you’d be forgiven for thinking the drawing below comes from a male artist with a particularly tormented past:

16 Manga Mash-ups including Attack on Crayon and Pooh’s Bizarre Adventure

Master Blaster
Apr 7, 2014

Anime and manga tend to have an overall defining style that has evolved (or devolved depending how you look at it) over the ages. However, it’s really a far more diverse collection of artwork ranging from the cartoony fun of Sazae-san and Crayon Shin-chan to the stark yet attractive contrasts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and eerie atmosphere that opened Attack on Titan.

So what if we took these different styles and smashed them together like so many mud pies at my 10-year high school reunion? Why, these 16 drawings found on Twitter of course.

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