SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Featured

Happy New Year from the RocketNews24 Team!

ロケットニュース24
Jan 1, 2014
Tweet

As 2013 comes to a close, all of us at RocketNews24 have been taking time to reflect on the past 12 months. We’ve gone through a lot of changes as a site and staff and we’re all so grateful for our steadily growing readership. Most of all, we’re proud to have brought you an entire year’s worth of funny, interesting, and at times downright crazy news from Japan and Asia. Looking back, 2013 was our biggest year yet and we hope for your continued support of our small site of translator/writers who just can’t get enough of Japan.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2014 and thanks for being the best bunch of readers our humble site could ever hope for! Here’s to a wonderful new year filled with even more dancing Tokyo grannies, otter handshakes, and Mr. Sato adventures…and of course a bit of Japanese language and culture sprinkled in for good measure!

Love always and forever,

The RocketNews24 Team

Image: 58 Pic

The newest member of the Sailor Moon cast: Iron Man!?

Preston Phro
Jan 1, 2014

One of the most iconic scenes from the recent Iron Man films is that of the Jarvis-infused suit attaching itself to Tony Stark as the billionaire walks, falls, or just stands around looking sexy. It might be one of the coolest ways of getting dressed in the history of cinema, but, if we’re being honest, we always thought something could be done to make it appeal a bit more to shojo anime fans.

Well, thanks to a team of South Korean college students, our dreams have been answered…and we can finally find out what a Sailor Moon-style Iron Man transformation would look like. Spoiler alert: Freaking amazing!

Survey suggests the top sounds of 2013 in Japan

Master Blaster
Jan 1, 2014

Let’s see… We got Amazon sales, YouTube videos, pet breeds, video games, and search terms. What else can we rank up for this newest of new years?

How about something a little less quantifiable like sounds? Rion Co. asked 1,000 Japanese people what sounds linger most in their minds when looking back at 2013. Two years ago, the sounds of the Olympics were stuck in people’s heads. A year before that it was the Tohoku Earthquake. Now, here are the 10 most resonant sounds of 2013.

00

American Ninja: Throwing star range and sake bar to open in Kentucky, US

Philip Kendall
Dec 31, 2013

If you’re a budding ninja warrior looking for a place to practice using lethal weapons but can’t quite afford a ticket to Japan, perhaps Kentucky, USA would be a slightly more viable option? And if you also happen to enjoy a drop of Eastern booze in between flinging ninja stars then all the better, as a website advertising a ninja throwing star practice range and sake bar recently popped up online, with the venue itself apparently due to open in spring 2014.

How most Japanese people spend their New Year’s: eating nonstop at home 【Poll】

Krista Rogers
Dec 31, 2013

How will you be spending New Year’s Eve this year? Celebrating with family or friends? Watching a countdown on TV? Sleeping, oblivious to the world and perfectly happy about it? Here’s what Japanese respondents on one online poll said they’re be doing when the ball drops, the clock strikes twelve, and the temple bells are rung 108 times.

How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio

Master Blaster
Dec 31, 2013

Two Thousand Thirteen was a year of ups and downs for Studio Ghibli with the release two feature-length films (Kaze Tachinu and Kaguya Hime no Monogatari) and the retirement of their greatest director, Hayao Miyazaki.

Now as the year comes to a close, it might be a fitting time to take a look back at some Ghibli films and learn some things we might not have noticed the first time around in a collection of facts compiled by Japanese website, Naver Matome.

00

Invasion of the blurry, white objects: Alien UFOs spotted over Tokyo?

Preston Phro
Dec 31, 2013

Alien conspiracy theories have been with humankind for as long as we’ve looked up at the sky and thought “Holy crap, what is all that?!” Of course, we’ve answered a large part of that question, but the unknown and not-quite-totally-explained still account for vast swathes of the world around us, like “dark energy,” calculus, and what’s really in McNuggets.

And while scientists are hard at work answering our questions, we’re sorry to say we’re not really helping. Here’s one more thing to add to the list of the unexplained: Strange lights spotted in the sky over Tokyo!

As Comiket approaches, convention center convenience stores prepare for war

Mike
Dec 30, 2013

Twice a year, Japanese amateur manga convention, Comiket, rolls through town, bringing in its tow an apocalyptic nerd storm of cosplayers, manga enthusiasts and rare comic and figure hunters. If stereotypes are to be believed, this means that twice a year, instant ramen, energy drinks, curry and soda consumption spike considerably.

McDonald’s Taiwan serves up fast food with cat ears, schoolgirl uniforms and a salute!

Scott R Dixon
Dec 30, 2013

We recently found a McDonald’s in Taiwan with cashiers who served customers in ultra-cute pink maid uniforms, but apparently that was just the beginning. Not happy with just catering to McDonald’s customers with maid fetishes, this particular McDonald’s has been branching out and workers were seen wearing the iconic Japanese-style schoolgirl outfit, knee-high stockings and cat ears. These cat-eared Sailor Moon-inspired costumes were a big hit and have left netizens all over the world wanting more!

You’ll be surprised to learn the history of the ice cream emoji

BUSINESS INSIDER
Dec 29, 2013

Did you know that the ice cream emoji is just the poop emoji re-purposed?

In honor of the Emoji Art Show in New York City, creative agency 5Loom created a timeline of emoji development that points out this and other pivotal moments in emoji history.

Check it out:

Japanese housewives want men to kneel when they pee

Joan Coello
Dec 29, 2013

One of the pet peeves many housewives have is the accidental sprinkle when their husbands tinkle, which eventually leads to one of the things couples commonly argue over; putting the toilet seat up (or down). It seems it’s impossible for women to understand why men can’t keep their sprinkle within the bowl, and at the same time, men can’t seem to get why women get pissed over a tiny splash.

Some innovative housewives in Japan decided that the best way to solve this issue is to make the men go down on their knees when they use the potty.

We get a taste of the high-life at a Thai mega-mansion equipped with giant chicken altar and Marilyn Monroe

Master Blaster
Dec 28, 2013

While staying in Thailand, one of our reporters came across an expansive estate littered with colossal buildings. This was said to be the property of the Chairman of Saha Farms Group, Dr. Panya Choititawan.

As we will soon see, Dr. Choititawan seems to be a devout Buddhist and has opened his home, called Sukhawadee, to the public for a nominal fee of 200 bahts (US$6). It’s said the purpose was to give people a feeling of being a joint owner and treat them to the images of Buddha it contains. Kowloon Kurosawa, wanting to get a taste of success decided to take a look around.

Researchers at Keio University working towards a future where we may all use the “Force”

Master Blaster
Dec 28, 2013

On 20 December a research team led by Professor Kohei Onishi unveiled their Force Transceiver technology. This is technology that can remotely transmit physical forces and resistances two-ways in real time.

Prof. Onishi hopes that this technology can be used in robotics such as carrying out precise work in environments too hazardous for humans. Not only that, work that would require direct, personal contact such as physical therapy could be done anywhere in the world with an almost identical level of quality.

00

Pixel romance: Game lover proposes with an original video game!

Joan Coello
Dec 28, 2013

A story about a knight who braves all dangers to save his princess and eventually asks for her hand in marriage might be a bit of a cliché, but we’ve all had that fantasy at some point in our lives, hoping that we’ll meet our special someone in a fairytale-like situation. Unfortunately, chances are that real-life proposals are not as magical and grand, especially if both you and your beloved are game-enthusiasts who spend half your time “living” in a fantasy game world.

One chivalrous knight upped the game by proposing to his gamer princess with a video game he specially made for the proposal! Was his level-up a success? Click “Start”… I mean, click “Read More” to find out!

This Christmas tree is way cuter, and way more Japanese, than ours

Philip Kendall
Dec 28, 2013

While we were already busy filling our faces with fried chicken, our friends over at JapanCulture•NYC – still with a few hours to go until December 25 arrived – sent us a few snaps of their own office Christmas tree before packing up for the holidays. For a site based in New York City and that’s all about Japanese culture in the area, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised that they put a cute, Japanese twist on the traditional ornaments, but this tree brought huge smiles to our faces.

With tiny octopuses, smiling onigiri riceballs and even Kumamon dressed as Santa, this is probably the best cross-culture Christmas tree we’ve seen this season, and we’re thoroughly jealous.

McDonald’s Japan serving “American Vintage” burgers starting this January

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Dec 28, 2013

Ah, the good old days! It seems like every generation longs for that time when they were young and all was right with the world. McDonald’s Japan is taking that feeling of nostalgia and cramming it into a hamburger with their freshly announced American Vintage campaign, taking us back in time with 1950’s diner fare, 1970s soul food and 1980s pop culture cuisine.

McDonald’s has maids in Taiwan. We’ve got videos here

Casey Baseel
Dec 27, 2013

As an American living in Japan, I often get asked, “Do you miss McDonald’s?” This always strikes me as a strange question, as living near downtown Tokyo puts me in closer proximity to more outlets of the Golden Arches than I ever had growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Plus, it’s a little hard to get homesick for McDonald’s when you’ve got access to mouth-watering okonomiyaki and sushi joints, not to mention delicious Indian and Chinese restaurants. Being surrounded by the culinary delights of Asia means it takes something pretty special to coax you into a Big Mac run.

McDonald’s cashiers in Taiwan dressing up in frilly pink maid outfits definitely qualifies.

Video game director/composer Yumi Hashimoto tells us about Japan’s indie scene and her newest title

Casey Baseel
Dec 27, 2013

Not so long ago, making a video game was strictly for big businesses. Putting out a quality product required expensive workstations, plenty of office space to house the development team, and huge distribution and advertising budgets.

But at the same time as the cost of producing blockbuster interactive entertainment continues to skyrocket, a growing number of independent game creators are showing that with some reasonably priced development and project management software, a talented team can put together gaming experiences that rival anything from corporate-backed studios in terms of emotional impact.

We sat down for a chat with a young woman with the dream and drive to do just that, indie game director and composer Yumi Hashimoto.

Win a chance to sleep with a cockroach!

Master Blaster
Dec 27, 2013

Gokiburi Kujo Maisuta (Cockroach Control Meister) is a service that helps provide estimates for the removal of terrifying cockroaches in the home. Thousands rely on them to kill off the shiny black terrors in kitchens and bedrooms across the country.

However, the company has apparently felt a pang of guilt recently. They feel that the roaches have done no wrong and are simply trying to exist just like everyone else. And so, the company has created Itsuki Kurohane: the cockroach moe girl to help combat the centuries of vilification unfairly handed down to these creatures.

Over the next month Gokiburi Kujo Maisuta is holding a contest to give away five Itsuki Kurohane hug pillows, but there’s a catch – besides her being a half-roach-half-human thing.