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While living in Japan and working as an assistant English teacher, I’ve lost track of how many times Japanese people have asked me why most people in Japan can’t speak English. Due to compulsory education requirements, every Japanese citizen must take 6 years of English language courses. What’s more, starting from the 2011 school year, elementary school fifth and sixth graders are also required to have an English class once a week. Some school districts even offer English classes for kindergarteners and elementary school students in grades first through fourth.

But even after spending half or more of their adolescent years studying the English language, many Japanese struggle to carry out an everyday conversation in English. This isn’t just a casual observation by Japanese citizens, either. Japanese students have among the lowest English TOEFL scores in Asia.

So when Japanese tourists want to take a trip abroad, many are unequipped with the practical language tools necessary to go about daily life in English.  The reality of this can be discouraging and even come as a shock to people who have spent years studying back home in Japan, especially when they realize phrases like “Is this a dog? No, It’s a pen.” don’t come up in conversation as much as their textbooks had suggested.

The following is a compilation of impressions of Japanese tourists who have limited English ability while traveling abroad.

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It may not be the most bustling of towns, but for those of you in the market for real-estate, have we got a good deal for you!

Your own plot of land from just one yen per square-metre!

Yup, one yen! That’s 0.01 US dollars!!! 0.009 Euros!!! 0.01 Panamanian balboa!!! Holy bargains, Batman!

Bizarrely, there’s no catch. No “but it’s infested with rabid ferrets!” or “but you must spend the night in a haunted house with Rosie O’Donnell!” punchline. The town of Chippubetsu in Hokkaidō is genuinely offering habitable land for the incredible price of one, single yen. And, as a result, is receiving an unprecedented amount of attention from both the media and Japanese internet users. Someone in Chippubetsu is getting a lot of pats on the back for coming up with this initiative, we’re sure… Read More

Iran has always fascinated me. A rich history inherited from one of the world’s oldest civilizations, cities filled with beautiful Islamic architecture, delicious cuisine—and the people!

Okay, while my acquaintanceship with Iranians has been limited to a few Persian friends back home in America, they’ve always been some of my favorite people, which is why it’s a shame our respective countries just can’t seem to get along.

Japan, on the other hand, has maintained a favorable relationship with Iran over the years and travel to the country is perceived to be easier for the Japanese than it is for Westerns. Our own globetrotting Japanese corespondent Photographer Koach recently wrote to us about his recent travels in the country, in which he affirms my positive impression of the people with a list of ten reasons why Iranians are the kindest people in the world.

Check his report below! Read More

“A Computer Thinner than a ¥1 Coin!!!” Toshiba’s Way with Words Raises Eyebrows Across the Internet

Picture the scene- a businessman walks on to the set of reality TV show Dragon’s Den (which, would you believe, originated in Japan as Manē no Tora?). He sets a briefcase down on a black leather stool, adjusts his necktie and, staring the affluent entrepreneurs straight in the eye, confidently proclaims:

“Dragons, I am here today to present to you a marvel of modern technology. The pinnacle of human engineering. Never before has humankind witnessed such a feat of industry. I am about to present to you… a notebook computer thinner than a single one yen coin!”

The dragons look at one-another in awed silence. All five of them lean forward in their seats.

“Thinner than a coin?? That’s incredible!” splutters one of the millionaires, his hungry eyes flashing.

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Give Japan a High-Five with this Fun and Simple Recipe: Land of the Rising Sun Omu-Raisu!!!

What with the recent troubles and disputes in China concerning the Senkaku islands, and with many of the fervent anti-Japanese demonstrations often escalating into violence, Japanese both at home and abroad are understandably feeling a little delicate right now.

Japanese-owned stores and factories in China have borne the brunt of many nationalists’ anger, suffering considerable damage to property, and a number of Japanese businesses with locations in China are incurring significant losses.

With this in mind, we here at RocketNews24 are doing our bit to cheer Japan up and get back some of that lost pride.

As well as buying plenty of Japanese-produced goods to give the economy a helping-hand, we’ve decided to add a dash of patriotism to our plates and bring you a recipe for possibly the most patriotic, yet easy to make, dish ever: Land of the Rising Sun Omu-Raisu (omelette rice).

So grab a frying pan, put on your apron, and let’s cook up a little cheer for Japan! Read More

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360%5D

Behold the Lego Great Ball Contraption (GBC), dreamed, designed and built by a 21 year-old Japanese college student who goes by the name of Akiyuki, (Akiyuky if you want to search him on YouTube).

Taking over 600 hours of work, this robotic wonder is the perfect blend of engineering and art as the 31 meters of 17 intricately built stages hypnotically and seamlessly operate with the sole existential purpose of moving tiny plastic soccer balls and basketballs in a perpetual loop.

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【TGS 2012】 Sega Invades Tokyo Game Show with Monster Bag, Dominates Show

“Swaaaaag!”

Although it’s often easy to forget, what with all those games to be played and women in skimpy costumes to pretend not to be staring at, Tokyo Game Show, like every other trade show of its kind, is really all about one thing for the companies attending- advertising and self-promotion.

So when the games have been played, the doors have been closed and the booth girls are just lifeless still images on an otaku’s hard-disk, what remains? Why, of course, the freebies! The swag that seems like an amazing idea until you ride the train home with it and realise that, outside of the event setting with every other guy carrying the same junk, you look faintly ridiculous.

And TGS had it by the bucket-load.

But Sega, the house that built Sonic the Hedgehog and dozens of other gaming greats, pulled out all the stops this year, and, proving that size really does matter, absolutely dominated the show. Read More

iPhone iOS6 Map Takes Our Reporter on a Quest for the Pachinko Gundam Train Station

Apple users from all over the world have been discovering new and exciting destinations and brand new locations of well known landmarks thanks to iPhone’s newest iOS 6 mapping service.  The Washington monument has been moved a few miles away and is now near the Potomac River, London is currently located in Ontario, and the birth place of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, no longer exists.  Also, Helsinki station is now a park and Airfield Garden, once a working farm in Ireland, has been transformed into an airport.

Japan, just like the rest of the world, is not immune to Apple’s amazing ability to destroy beloved landmarks and erect fabulous new destinations.

Checking out the iOS6 operating system’s new map, our reporter discovered a new station on Tokyo’s busiest train line, the Chuo Line.  Filled with excitement and curiosity, our reporter embarked on a quest in search of “Pachinko Gundam Station.”

Pachinko, Japan’s noisy silver ball-filled answer to the slot machine, and Gundam, kickass giant robot, have teamed up to create an epic train riding experience (or so we were led to believe by Apple). Read More

A research team from Tokushima University discovered that a substance found in hops can prevent the deterioration of muscle tissue.  The breaking down of muscles in old age is a leading cause of elderly people being confined to a bed.

This is great news if only a beer or two would do the trick.  Unfortunately, to harness the anti-aging effects of ale you’d have to drink enough to kill you several times over.

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【TGS 2012】 How Booth Babes Made Me Feel Better About Myself, Part 1 (EX Troopers)

This year’s Tokyo Game Show was the first major gaming event I’ve ever been to, and honestly, I don’t even consider myself a “gamer.”

Sure games a formative part of my childhood, but the last home console I owned was a GameCube and now my gaming activity is limited to quick bouts of Team Fortress 2. And since Valve wasn’t at the show, there weren’t really any titles I was interested in checking out from the beginning.

So I spent most of the show wandering from booth to booth with very little to no knowledge of what each game was about, eventually deciding to allocate my precious time among the numerous titles in the only way that seemed fair: visiting the booths with the cutest girls.

Interestingly enough, this strategy led me to one of the two games that gave me my most enjoyable Tokyo Game Show experiences: EX Troopers.

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Burger King Hopes Once You Go Black, You Never Go Back with their new Kuro Burger

Burger King is currently celebrating their 5th year in Japan.  But in an already saturated fast food market the famous American chain is a little late to the game.

So, in an effort to truly stand out from the crowd, Burger King Japan has designed fast food’s first black hamburger.  Dubbed the Kuro Burger (lit. Black Burger), it will go on sale for a limited time starting 28 September.

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You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

No peanuts, no cracker jacks, but a whole lot of other interesting food was available at the Hiroshima Carps baseball game in Hiroshima, Japan.

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【TGS 2012】 Where Have All the Chinese Gone?

Over 200 companies from 19 countries are said to be operating booths at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, but visitors to the four-day long event may notice that one major world power turned out to be a no-show.

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A student from a private integrated junior high/ high school in Tokyo filed a complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police as a victim of bullying.  It was later learned that the 15 year-old high school student was allegedly advised by his principal not to go to the police on threat of not being able to enter high school.

The boy and his mother claim that he was sworn to silence as a condition of his graduating from middle school.  However, as the bullying continued into high school he decided to go to the police.

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【TGS 2012】 WeMade Entertainment Impressions: Farmville-Meets-Final Fantasy App “Hero Square,” Mobile MMO “Arc Sphere” and Social Game Clones for All!

Social and mobile games are enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, with social game giants GREE and gloops occupying some of the largest exhibit spaces in the venue.

But it’s not just Japanese companies throwing their weight around on the mobile floorspace: Korean online game developer WeMade Entertainment, known in Asia for their popular MMO series The Legend of Mir, is showing six new Japanese-language titles for iOS and Android devices to build anticipation for their full-scale entrance into the Japanese mobile game market later this year.

Bored of the repetitive tap-based social card games, I decided to spend some time with WeMade to see if the Korean developer was bringing anything new to the table.

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Tokyo’s Irina Churns Out Some Amazingly Colorful Roll Cakes

Bright pink polka dots, zebra print, and purple stripes are printed on these oblong objects.  They look so showy and colorful, but what could they be?  A handkerchief?  A fancy sponge?

Believe it or not, these colorful circles are roll cakes (rolled sponge cake and cream filling), and yes, they are edible.  They’re so cute and tiny we could eat a hundred of them, but the sad realization that we can’t sit around all day snacking on these beautiful pastries without gaining some junk in the trunk has got us down.  At 271 yen (US $3.47) for one mini roll cake, these little guys will slim down your wallet while expanding your waist.

You can find these sweets at irina, a bakery that specializes in roll cakes.  Our reporter visited irina’s Ginza store to check out these amazing little pastries.

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Let’s be honest; there are a lot of distinctly average-looking foreign guys living in Japan dating jaw-droppingly beautiful Japanese girls. We’ve all witnessed it- a woman who could play the female lead in the next James Bond movie, walking down the street with a guy who, if we searched for him in the same movie’s end credits, would more likely appear as something along the lines of “man in post office # 3”.

Were the same couple to be seen out and about in the guy’s home town, pretty much everyone would be looking from her to him, then back to her again and whispering to their friends “Wow, that guy’s punching above his weight….”

Shallow? Yes. Narrow minded? Definitely. But no matter how much we remind ourselves that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, there’s no denying the fact that human beings, flawed as we are, make a lot of decisions based on appearances. And when Johnny Average gets to date Princess Zelda (I’m a nerd, remember?), heads turn.

How do they do it?

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【TGS 2012】 Futuristic 3D Headset Arrives, Brings the Pain and Embarrassing Red Marks

As a life-long gamer, I love it when new videogame-related technology arrives. And when it’s tech that looks like the virtual reality headsets of the future that were teased during my 1980s childhood, I just about lose my head out of excitement.

Sony’s newest “Personal 3D Viewer” head-mounted display, however, almost makes me wish I didn’t have a head to lose. Or a forehead, at least… Read More

【TGS 2012】Cosplay and Booth Babe Photo Round-Up, Day 1

If you haven’t gotten the memo, RocketNews24 is at Tokyo Game Show this year and we’ve been busy taking lots of photos of pretty girls in colorful outfits.

With the first day over, we’ve decided to unload a batch of our favorite cosplay and babe booth photos for your viewing pleasure. We’ll be back tomorrow and Saturday with camera in hand, and who knows, we may even write about games at some point too!

Check the photos after the jump!

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