Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
Angelina Jolie’s latest war movie, Unbroken, has been facing criticism recently from Japanese conservatives for its portrayals of brutality in World War II prisoner of war camps. While the film hasn’t even been released yet, there are some people who want to make sure it never sees the light of day in Japan.
The big selling point of online multiplayer role-playing games that they never end. Unlike a stand-alone, single-player RPG with a comparatively distinct path from start to finish, the adventure in online titles can go on indefinitely, thanks to periodically added extra content and the huge supply of new companions to go questing with.
But as appealing as a game that never has to end may be to hard-core gamers, many of them recently found out they were playing one that couldn’t, as the logout function mysteriously disappeared from one of Japan’s most popular online RPGs.
What do you get when you put a rabbit in a room full of partially deflated balloons? A very happy bunny! Join us after the jump for severe cuteness.
Eating sweet tangerines, or mikan as we call them here, while snuggled in a warm kotatsu table is a favorite winter pastime in Japan. (And believe us when we say it becomes a struggle to leave the comfortable warmth of the kotatsu for anything short of a grave emergency.)
Well, thanks to Japanese confection maker Akasaka Aono, you can now enjoy winter tangerines in a slightly unique form. They’ve wrapped a whole tangerine inside a soft daifuku rice cake! Now, that’s certainly an unusual presentation for a daifuku, so it’s not surprising that the Japanese public has taken notice, and since we’re always on the lookout for interesting foods, one of the reporters from our Japanese sister site Pouch promptly tried the cake to give all of us a first hand account. Let’s hear what she had to say about the unique tangerine and mochi confection!
Lifehacking, which sadly is not the act of hacking real life with Doom‘s god code, is more like nifty little tips and tricks that can make life just a bit easier, giving you more free time to read awesome stuff on the Internet. Sometimes, though, lifehack tips aren’t quite as useful as they purport to be–but that’s not the case here! Today’s lifehackery is about keys and it comes straight from the mouth of Miwa Lock, Japan’s largest locks/key/security company.
If you have trouble sliding your key into the lock, it turns out that there’s a quick, simple way to deal with it. And you won’t even need any oil!
What do you think of 3-D movies? Personally, I’m not a big fan as they somehow tire my eyes. While I have to agree that the effects do make some action and fantasy scenes more dramatic and exciting, I’m totally happy sticking with the 2-D versions, not to mention that those are cheaper to watch at the cinemas too.
But I’m sure there are people out there who love the extra impact and wished that every movie was available in 3-D. It’s probably impossible to remaster every past production in 3-D, but some imaginative cyber citizens have found a low-cost method of eye-trickery that makes 2-D animations appear as if they’re coming through the screen. It’s eye-opening what a few white lines can do!
When the subject of artificial intelligence comes up, people tend to default to “Skynet is going to murder us all!” mode faster than you can say “overreaction.” While we can understand their concern–even Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk seem pretty intimated by the concept of a sentient Arnold Schwarzenegger–this little story goes a long way to showing just how far we are from computers being able to identify and terminate any random person they feel like…
A Japanese Twitter user recently noticed that Google was accidentally identifying a legendary Japanese entrepreneur and beauty researcher as a certain member of America’s pop royalty. Can you guess who?
Do you remember our recent article that showcased Japanese confectioner Namikoshiken’s adorable menagerie of bite-sized manjū (sweet steamed buns)? Last week, out of sheer luck and coincidence, I received a box of the Suizokukan (aquarium) variety from a family friend who went on a trip to Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, where the 87-year-old company is based. So of course, this calls for a taste test!
Read on to find out more about the wagashi treats and to view close-up photos of each lovable suizokukan resident. Was this writer able to harden her heart and mercilessly sink her teeth into these little guys? Anything for RocketNews24!
A series of stills from upcoming Chinese drama Hunter Blade drew heavy criticism recently when eagle-eyed Chinese netizens noticed that the costume designs seemed a little bit too familiar.
Those who game quickly pointed out the similarities between the costumes worn by the Hunter Blade actors and those in popular video game franchise Assassin’s Creed. As the Chinese production is intended to be a historical drama detailing patriotic resistance against the Japanese, some netizens have even called the wardrobe choices “embarrassing”.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “womenomics” scheme aims to get more women into the workforce in order to combat the shrinking and aging population and help spur the Japanese economy. While I believe women can save Japan, I don’t think it’ll be through womenomics. As any Japanese woman can tell you, it’s not as easy as it should be for females to work full-time in this country. In the Japanese business world, companies are loath to offer working conditions that males and females alike enjoy in other developed countries, such as reasonable work hours (40 hours a week with optional overtime), work sharing, flexitime and working from home. Whereas in the West the attitude is that as long as you get your work done on time, it doesn’t matter how you do it, in Japan emphasis is more on the hours put in at the office to show your loyalty to the company. Add to that additional cultural biases against gender, age, experience and returning to work after raising children, and you have a recipe for “eternal housewife.”
Clearly, the problem is deeper than merely hiring more women, or adding more day care centers, both actions Abe is pushing. But the good news is that there is a group of women who are beating the system, and who have been for some time now.
This week, as part of our Women in Japan Series, we introduce you to three female entrepreneurs who have successfully forged ahead in the business world by defining their own terms. They can support themselves financially, are able to live more freely, have time for their children and families, and work fewer hours than they’d have to in the corporate world. And the best thing about it? They’re regular women, just like you, me, or your partner. Drum roll please…
Foreigners living in Japan, our own editor included, often give Japanese TV a hard time. For many, it’s either too weird, too predictable or too obnoxious. If it really is so bad though, surely shows like Iron Chef and Ninja Warrior (Sasuke) would never have been introduced in the US? Nor would America have created the show I Survived a Japanese Game Show. So if foreign stations are taking cues from the Japanese TV shows, the originals must have some merit, right?
One Reddit user finally asked the big question, “Japanese television. Is it really so terrible?” As you’d expect, the responses poured in, both in favor of and adamantly against it. One user proclaimed that Japan only has three kinds of programs, “Shows about celebrities. Shows about food. Shows about celebrities eating food.” But like TV in any country, there are actually a lot of different kinds of shows, so it’s probably worth a moment to take a walk through some of the programming options.
Universal Studios Japan is about to be hit by an enemy of titanic proportions!
The popular theme park located in Osaka has finally revealed details regarding one of their most anticipated attractions ever, set to be open to the public from January 23 till May 10 of next year. Feast your eyes on all of the epicness that awaits in Attack on Titan: THE REAL!
Remember the Kit Kat Chocolaterie, the world’s first Kit Kat specialty store that opened in the Ikebukuro Seibu Department Store back in January this year? The shop sells limited edition Kit Kats produced by celebrity patissier Yasumasa Takagi, so it’s not surprising that huge crowds of Kit Kat fans have been making their pilgrimage to the store in search of unique Kit Kat products.
Since then, the Kit Kat bandwagon has apparently been going strong, as two more Chocolaterie shops have opened in Japan, one in the Daimaru Department Store at Tokyo Station and another at the Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nagoya. And now, they’ve announced that they’ll be coming out with a special “Kit Kat Chocolaterie Patissier Gift” set for Christmas, and we can’t wait to see what goodies it contains. Plus, there’s even a Kit Kat inspired Christmas cake created by chef Takagi that they’re now taking orders for — who knew that Christmas could be so much fun for Kit Kat lovers?
As two of Japan’s most well-known cultural ambassadors, it’s about time that the worlds of Pikachu and Godzilla collide. And we found some fake movies posters that do just that by combining the imagery of Japanese kaiju movie monsters with six classic pokémon. Click below to see Pikachu and five of his friends destroying cities, crushing buildings and causing quite a mess.
At an event marking the 15th anniversary of the original Digimon Adventure series in Odaiba, Tokyo on 1 August, an announcement was made declaring a brand new chapter in the human-monster buddy saga will bring back the original characters.
Along with the announcement came a special anniversary website with some Digi-Eggs containing details of the new series. However, no matter how much you rubbed those suckers nothing came out – until now.
The hatchling information included a brief rundown of the staff and a first look at all eight of the DigiDestined more evolved…I mean grown up.
With a large music market and some of the world’s highest prices for physical releases, Japan has been very slow in adapting to digital distribution. Rights holders are finally warming up to the idea, though, and it doesn’t look like it’s ruining the industry in Japan. What downloadable music does seem to be doing, though, is splitting the country’s pop music market into two distinct parts, as the lists of Japan’s top 20 single downloads and CD purchases for the year are almost completely different.
The internet can never get enough of cats can it? One cat in Japan has gone viral among netizens after its owner shared its little daily routine on Twitter. Can you guess what it’s trying to do?
We’ve all heard the stereotype that western guys who come to Japan find themselves suddenly showered with beautiful ladies, while Asian guys who head to the west get squat. Regardless of the fact that this kind of generalization is SUPER mean and based upon some pretty sketchy and biased thinking, it does seem to be the most prevailing opinion (in spite of the many cases where it’s blatantly not true.) When we heard about this regular Chinese dude who bagged himself a super hot wife after deciding to study abroad in Ukraine, we thought it made for an adorable story about a successful international marriage. Unfortunately, it seems that Chinese netizens were less charmed, with plenty taking to their keyboards to register their surprise, envy, and skepticism.
As someone whose eyes are closed in about 20 percent of his pictures, I’ve always thought it must be nice to be naturally photogenic. If nothing else, you must save a lot of time not having to snap a half-dozen photos in the same spot, just in case you look goofy in all but one.
For example, I have a hunch this group of capybaras in Kyushu looks good from just about any angle. Well, except maybe the one that would have revealed the gross activity they were actually involved in at the moment the shot was taken.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Chinese zodiac, 2015 will be the Year of the Sheep, which means that as the new year draws near, we can expect Japan to shower us with tons of fluffy sheep-motif products. Disney is quick to hop on the bandwagon with their new Tsum Tsum zodiac series. Just look at those adorable characters!
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan’s adorable pudding chick becomes a transit card mascot
Pikachu cakes and other adorable Pokémon 30th anniversary food coming to Tokyo luxury hotel
Gigantic gacha machine appears in Tokyo department store for capsule toy celebration
Starbucks Japan releases a new limited-edition Frappuccino inspired by espresso affogato
Sushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
The Japan Burger Championship 2026 in Yokohama next month is the ultimate battle of the beef
133-year-old Japanese company’s cookies go beyond matcha with dashi and shichimi flavors
Studio Ghibli still doesn’t allow its anime to be streamed online in Japan, and here’s why
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Tokyo’s new extra-expensive ramen restaurant is dividing opinions, so we tried a bowlJapanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos]
Krispy Kreme releases new limited-edition fox doughnuts at only four stores in JapanThe Japan Burger Championship 2026 in Yokohama next month is the ultimate battle of the beef
Mr. Sato takes a walk on Tokyo’s American-style street to get some American/Japanese ice cream
Japan’s instant ramen snack theme park features an athletic course even adults can enjoy
Two new Sailor Moon art manhole covers are coming to Usagi’s real-world Tokyo neighborhoodSushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried beforeJapan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat loversTokyo’s new extra-expensive ramen restaurant is dividing opinions, so we tried a bowl
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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Sushi Pizza surprises diners in one of the best food destinations in Japan
The Japan Burger Championship 2026 in Yokohama next month is the ultimate battle of the beef
133-year-old Japanese company’s cookies go beyond matcha with dashi and shichimi flavors
Studio Ghibli still doesn’t allow its anime to be streamed online in Japan, and here’s why
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Mr. Sato takes a walk on Tokyo’s American-style street to get some American/Japanese ice cream
Starbucks Japan has a problem with its sell-out breakfast that might annoy solo diners
Same name tops lists of most popular dog and cat names in Japan, and there’s probably a reason why
Another side of Kyoto – The prefecture’s top 10 “road stations” for traveling foodies
Tokyo restaurant offers lunches for less than 1 U.S. cent…if you’re good enough at rock-paper-scissors
Tokyo’s insane Garlic Ramen is a meal, and an aroma, you’ll never forget[Taste test]
Krispy Kreme releases new limited-edition fox doughnuts at only four stores in Japan
Pizza Hut Japan’s drinkable curry pizza is here – Is it all we dreamed it would be?[Taste test]
Two new Sailor Moon art manhole covers are coming to Usagi’s real-world Tokyo neighborhood