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New South China Mall: The Largest Mall in the World… World… world…

The New South China Mall, situated in Dongguan City, is considered to be the largest shopping mall in the world. According to an Emporis in 2012 it has 600,153 m2 of gross leasable area.

It boasts a hotel, an indoor/outdoor roller coaster which spans the complex, a canal with gondolas, and various replicas including the Arc de Triomphe, and Sphinx. It’s an impressive feat of design and engineering.

The only problem with the New South China Mall is that it’s almost completely empty and unused. The Emporis’ report also refers to it as a “dead mall” and, according to a CNN Japan report, the escalators are covered in tarps and the passages are dusty and lined with shutters.

So what went wrong?

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Human Spambot: Turning Junkmail Delivery into a Martial Art 【Video】

Ever wondered who those cheeky elves are who slip pizza menus, coupons and ads for home delivery sexy times in your mailbox or through your door while you’re out? They’re in and out in a flash, usually lugging enormous stacks of paper with them, searching for slots to post material like a mother bird on a caffeine high feeding her young. Little did we know, though, that there are people out there in this crazy world we live in who have delivered so many pamphlets in their time that they’re positively black belts in the secret art of putting things into holes.

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Get Your Dragon Ball Hair Fries at a Mini Stop Store Near You!

In perhaps the most genius use of french fries we’ve seen in years, Japanese convenience store chain Mini Stop has begun selling a number of Dragon Ball-themed sweets and fried foods as part of a promotion for upcoming movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods.

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Nintendo Announces Two New Colours of 3DS XL for Japan

Want! Okay, so it’s the same old hardware that we know and love, but these Japan exclusive (so far!) 3DS LL colours are very cool indeed.

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Woman Raking Up $270 Monthly Phone Bill Unhappy About Social Security Cuts

On March 6, the Osaka edition of the Asahi Shinbun published an article which featured a single mother of two from Japan who was in receipt of a 290,000 yen (about $3,000) monthly social security allowance. Despite this hefty amount of cash arriving in her bank account each month, though, she was alarmed to hear that her benefits may be cut in the near future.

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Watch this Adorable Video of a Shiba Inu Taking a Bath (Rubber Duckies Included)

What a good old dog. Just soaking away in the tub with her rubber duckies. This little shiba inu is named Kinako and she loves taking baths. Since Kinako is an older doggie, her skin get irritated from time to time, so she enjoys taking a relaxing dip in the bathtub every night. The following video is a minute and a half of Kinako smiling in the tub.  But really, Kinako’s snow-white face peeking out of the water is so cute, that’s really all you need.

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Panasonic Unveils New Ultra Slim “Year-Round” Room Fan

Hot on the heels of Dyson with its bladeless electric fan technology, Japan’s Panasonic has unveiled its new low power “Slim Fan” for year-round use. And for a device designed primarily to shift air around the room, it’s pretty sexy.

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New Rising Barrier System for Japan’s Stations

A new barrier that rises and falls with trains’ arrival and departure is due to be trialed at a busy commuter station this year, a report from Japan’s IT Media has said.

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What’s Your National Stereotype? Japanese Sinking Ship Joke Has Got You Pegged

You’ve all heard the joke about the sinking ship, right? This joke explicitly reveals the deep inner motivations of the men of many different nations. It’s famous for hitting the nail on the head when it comes to cultural stereotypes. Really, this joke knows you better than you know yourself. Popular in Japan, it also goes down a treat at drinking parties worldwide.

So, what is this joke that so accurately pinpoints cultural stereotypes? Here it is…

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Cave Story Developer Unveils Newest Game at Indie Event in Kyoto【Video】

Daisuke Amaya, the creator of critically acclaimed platform adventure game Dōkutsu Monogatari (Cave Story in the west) announced on Saturday at the Kyoto-held indie developer event BitSummit that his new game Gero Blaster would be arriving this May.

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Gundam Pachinko Ad Slowly Driving Japan’s YouTube Users Insane

Just last week, after having sat through it for possibly the tenth time in just a couple of hours, I took a screen grab of an unskippable YouTube ad and shared it on my personal Facebook feed. Whether it’s the theme tune, the overly dramatic presenter’s way of speaking or the fact that I care nothing for pachinko, I don’t know, but this ad was slowly driving me mad. As it turns out, I wasn’t alone.

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How Many Calories are Burned with the Click of a Mouse?

For those whose work has them chained to a desk, concerns about whether or not they are getting enough exercise often creep into their minds.

In Japan, it is estimated that an average adult male should burn about 2,000 calories a day while an adult female should use around 1,700 (numbers vary according to age and build). Even armed with that knowledge, many people still consume more calories than they burn by indulging in snacks between meals and eating excessively late into the night. A lot of desk jockeys are probably wondering what they should do to better their situation.

Well, there might be some good news. The number of calories burnt at the click of a mouse has recently been calculated.
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In Memory of the Victims of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

This afternoon in Tokyo, a government-hosted remembrance ceremony will be held for the 15,881 people who died and the 2,668 who remain unaccounted for as a result of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Northeastern Japan two years ago today. The Emperor and Empress of Japan will also be present at the ceremony, at which the nation will be asked to observe a moment of silence beginning at 2:46 p.m..

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Shiba Inu Makes Sure Her Master Won’t Fail the School Entrance Exam

By now, students in Japan have completed the entrance examinations required to enter high school and college, and until this past week, they had been diligently studying for the early March test. The tests, which cover core subjects such as math, English, and science, require hours of studying for several months to pass. Sometimes, students study for so long that they become burnt out, falling asleep right at their desks.

In a video taken two weeks before the big test, a little Shiba Inu is making sure her master doesn’t become a ronin. This term literally means, “wandering samurai without a master to serve,” but in modern times the term is used to describe a student who is waiting for another chance to pass the entrance exam. Watch the adorable video after the break.

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Japanese Woman Claims to Have Cured Husband’s Cancer through His Diet

Tomoko Wakasugi (Grandma Wakasugi) is a prolific writer on the shokuyo style of eating. Shokuyo is a lifestyle similar to a macrobiotic diet in which only all natural grains and plants are prepared and eaten carefully to maintain physical and mental health and combat disease.

She said that she began her writing career after prolonging her husband’s life to six years after he was only given two months to live by doctors. His dying wish was for her to help others through her knowledge of alternative nutrition.

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Jackie Chan Speaks Out Against Chinese Law Enforcement as “Too Soft on Smoking”

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (PCC) is a group composed of politicians, organizations, and other independent members who gather to help shape the political agenda for the upcoming year.

During this meeting on 4 March, international film star Jackie Chan appeared before the Governmental Advisory Institute with some stern words about the way law enforcement is handled in his country when it comes to cigarettes.

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Hay Fever Sufferers, Stay Out of Tokyo, Pollen Density Levels Are Off the Charts

It’s already March and things are starting to look a lot like spring. The sun is out, the birds are back, and those dead hunks of wood are starting to look a little more like trees. Sunny skies are here again and everyone seems to have a pep back in their step… except for those with allergies.

Now, let’s be honest, for those who suffer from hay fever, spring is a b*tch. Excuse the profanity, but hay fever sufferers know that the coming of spring signals itchy eyes, piles of tissues, and all around unpleasantness. If you have hay fever and were thinking about visiting Tokyo, think again; this weekend’s pollen levels are literally off the charts.

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Art Created by Criminals Condemned to Death to be Featured in Hiroshima Exhibition

Starting on April 20, a special art exhibition featuring the works of death row inmates will open at the Tomonoura Museum in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. The prisoners have been sentenced to death but are unaware of when their sentence will be carried out. The exhibition, which contains paintings that were created during a grim time in each prisoner’s life, aims to answer the question, “Why do people express themselves?”

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Major Electronics Producer Sharp Forms Capital Alliance with Korea’s Samsung

Japanese electronics maker Sharp has in recent years seen a slump in sales. What is arguably required for the company to remain afloat in this tough consumer market  is a change in business strategies. As one of Japan’s most renowned sellers of liquid crystal displays, Sharp is hastily searching for ways to revamp its administration.

First there was talk of a possible alliance between Sharp and Taiwanese major electronic company Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. However, coming to a deadlock in investment negotiations, Sharp changed course by forming an alliance with a company that was arguably up until now its biggest competitor on the market, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. It was announced this week that a capital alliance between the two companies is in its final stages of negotiation.

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Hurl Obscenities at the Crane Game from the Comfort of Your Own Home! Online Remote UFO Catcher Opened

Crane games, claw machines, UFO catchers, whatever you want to call them can be found scattered all across East Asia taking in reams of cash with promises of prizes ranging from giant stuffed phallic mushrooms to game consoles.

Oh, how I look back fondly on lining up my plastic pincers precisely over a PSP only to have them go limp at the last minute. The nursing staff and I had many a chuckle as they stitched up my knuckles from punching repeatedly into the Plexiglas window.

Thanks to Netch and their remote web browser operated crane game, instead of getting charged with destruction of property I can get enraged in front of my own computer screen!

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