Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
On the morning of May 13, GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (JASDAQ Standard) rose by its maximum allowable single day limit of 300,000 yen (approx. US$3,000). The stock increased 28.79 percent to 1.342 million yen (approx. US$13,420). The rise comes on the heels of a 17 percent gain on Friday, May 9.
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The Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo have long been the powerhouse team of Japanese Baseball. Through highly effective promotion and the acquisition of top players they often draw parallels with the New York Yankees.
So it’s no surprise that a month and a half into the 2013 season the Giants are sitting in a familiar first place spot in the Central League standings. However, things have begun to take a turn for the worst after a comment made by model Aki Higashihara in her supernatural “death blog.” Over the past decade people, places and businesses have all suffered some form of misfortune shortly after being mentioned in her blog Higashihara Desuga?
Hatsune Miku Project mirai 2 for the 3DS is expected to be released in Japan this fall. The latest rhythm game is the predictably-named sequel to the Hatsune Miku Project mirai, featuring the rest of the Vocaloid Crew alongside the ever-popular Miku-chan. The game promises to be fun for both casual and serious players alike, and who can resist those super-cute Nendoroid character designs? Check them out at the official site.
No discussion of the pantheon of video game heroes is complete without mentioning HAL Laboratory’s Kirby. Including his recently-released 20th anniversary collection, the adorable pink puffball has close to two dozen appearances under his belt, which is an impressive feat for someone who lacks a waist.
Kirby has also gotten a bit of free publicity from website TV Tropes, with its “American Kirby is Hardcore” entry, which catalogues how the images of Kirby and other fictional characters are “toughened up” in marketing to make them more appealing to U.S. audiences.
In recent years, Kirby’s earned enough gamer goodwill to be as cute as he wants to in any market. Even still, we’re guessing he would have had a tough time of it initially in overseas markets if HAL had stuck with the character’s original name. Read More
The worst time in P.E. for many girls is the few weeks when everyone is forced to learn how to swim. When you’re a self-conscious young lady, having to wear a bathing suit in front of a bunch of guys can be mortifying. To make matters worse, most swimsuits are very low-cut on the top and high-cut on the bottom, making for a very embarrassing garment for girls who are uncomfortable with their bodies to wear.
Good news for shy girls and fashionistas alike! Japan-based swimsuit maker, Footmark, seems to have achieved the impossible by releasing a one-piece girls’ school swimsuit that is both conservative and absolutely cute.
Earlier this week, we reported on a rumor that suggested McDonald’s Japan would be bringing back the “Mega Potato,” which packs in double the French fries in one container…two large orders of fries in one container to be exact. Well folks, the Mega Potato is finally here (if “here” means Japan for you).
How many of you actually know how to use Microsoft Excel? Unless you need to make spreadsheets on a regular basis, Excel acts as the forgotten stepsister of Word and PowerPoint. Even those who claim to be able use Excel, don’t actually know how to use it. So you can imagine our surprise when we found out that with a lot of creativity and even more time, you can make amazing works of art using the most boring of all the Microsoft Office programs.
The following video shows each painstakingly detailed step to creating Gundam using Microsoft Excel (in super high speed).
According to Reuters and others, a major foreign-owned restaurant chain operating in China possibly used tainted meat products. An organized crime group exposed on May 2 is said to have sent falsely labeled meat products containing rat, fox and other contaminants to the Mongolian hot pot specialty restaurant chain Little Sheep which is owned by U.S.-based Yum! Brands of the U.S., operators of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and other well-known restaurant chains. This latest revelation comes to light not long after it was revealed this past January that KFC China was using chicken that had received excessive doses of growth promoting agents and antibiotics. China has become a major market for the restaurant titan, and the company is said to be at wits end as it deals with successive scandals occurring there.
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Here at RocketNews24, we like to bring you the latest and greatest, whether it’s (potentially) killer mechs or adorable new fonts! But sometimes it’s nice to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of raw human ingenuity. Read More
With two feature films set to debut before the end of the year, you’d have thought Studio Ghibli grabbed as much media attention as possible. But the venerated anime production house managed to put itself even more squarely in the spotlight with the announcement regarding its upcoming feature film Kaze Tachinu, or The Wind Rises.
The film’s main character will not be voiced by a veteran voice actor. That in itself isn’t so surprising, considering Ghibli’s past casting of singers and Japanese drama stars, Takuya Kimura and Junichi Okada, for the heroes of its previous movies, Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, and 2011’s From Up On Poppy Hill. Like them, the lead male voice actor for The Wind Rises is a famous member of the entertainment industry with hordes of fans. However, many of them don’t know what he sounds like, because the main character will be played by Evangelion director Hideaki Anno. Read More
Generally, when looking for information, I avoid Q&A websites such as Yahoo! Answers at all costs. But recently I’ve been rethinking that policy. There are a lot of freaky people floating around these places that I’m missing out on.
One such freak gave the “best answer” to a simple request on buying doctor fish, a popular name for those fish in spas that remove the dead skin from your feet. It’s surprising though since while this response does give some fascinating insight into how a doctor fish eroticism addiction can affect the family unit, it seemed to lack any hard facts like a price or specific location.
In recent years, the use of law-evading hallucinogenic herbs has been becoming more popular among young people in Japan. These herbs have properties similar to those of illegal drugs like cannabis, however due to their synthetic nature, many users fail to see the real dangers lurking behind them. As an initiative to prevent widespread misuse, the government produced a comprehensive list of chemicals that are banned in the sale and use of law-evading hallucinogenic herbs on March 22, 2013. The chemical substances on the list recently rose from 92 to 851. However many shops are selling a modified version of the banned herbs in attempt to evade the issues of legalities and keep profits alive. In this way, it is a cat and mouse game where once one chemical has been outlawed, a similar substance carrying slightly altered chemical properties is quick to make its way on to the market. While effects of inhaling these herbs are similar to hallucinogenic drugs, shopkeepers claim that they are solely for aromatic purposes. Of particular concern is that the number of online law-evading herb shops is also increasing.
Tokyo’s restaurants may have more Michelin stars, but for many Japanese foodies, the real culinary action is in Osaka. Particularly if your tastes run more towards good honest grub than haute cuisine, Japan’s second largest city is the place to be.
The people of Osaka enjoy a good meal so much that they coined the phrase kuidaore, to eat until you collapse. But even with this image firmly entrenched in our minds, the city has found a new way to surprise us with its gastronomic decadence.
On a recent day out in Osaka, our reporter stopped by a café and ordered a truly hard-core parfait. It wasn’t that the parfait was so big, and no, it didn’t contain any shocking ingredients. What blew our minds about this parfait was its topping.
It was a slice of cake, and it was so big it wasn’t even trying to fit into the glass.
Some of you may remember our report on Shigenobu Matsuzawa’s visit to Gunma Cycle Sports Center a few months back. It’s the amusement park where everything has pedals including the roller coaster. While Shigenobu ultimately gave the place four out of five stars in his reviews, the photos he took looked kind of depressing. However, now a video released on YouTube seems to have captured a totally new angle of Gunma Cycle Sports Center which gives it a much needed image boost.
Being in Japan gives you plenty of opportunities to knock back a beer. The country is filled with pubs, and alcohol consumptions is so accepted that should you tell people, flat-out, “My hobby is drinking,” they’re more likely to ask you to recommend a good bar than to stage an intervention. At the same time, Japan has countless places to sip a relaxing cup of tea, whether it’s the strong, frothy variety used in tea ceremonies called matcha, or hojicha, for which the green tea leaves are roasted before steeping. But with two tempting beverage choices to relax with and only so many hours in the day, how can anyone be expected to choose between tea and beer? As it turns out, you don’t have to. Read More
On 8 May Wakayama Police announced that they arrested 26-year-old Masaya Ogawa for the indecent assault of a 23-year-old woman aboard a commuter train. Adding a bizarre twist to the story, Ogawa claims that she was asking for it. He doesn’t mean that in the lame wearing-a-mini-skirt-is-asking-for-it way that other sex offenders use. Ogawa says that this was a prearranged session of “molester-play” set up online between him and the woman.
Did you know that you can make a quick and healthy frozen dessert just by throwing fruit into a machine? It sounds incredible but it’s true. With nothing else to add, this kitchen appliance aims to save you money, trim your waistline and please your lactose intolerant friends! We didn’t believe it at first but after testing it out, we can tell you that this thing delivers as promised. It’s called Yonanas, and we have all the details of our fruity sweet encounter with it, including video and even 3D photos, after the break.
Video games have made pretty steady progress into the cultural mainstream. Even people who aren’t gamers themselves can at least see the entertainment potential of a Mario title with its breezy fun, or the sweeping adventure of a Final Fantasy.
A genre many people have a harder time wrapping their heads around, though, is the dating simulator. Sure, driving games like Gran Turismo let us tune and race cars so expensive we can’t even talk the dealer into giving us a test drive in real life. And while Japan does have a royal family with princesses, the country’s lack of fire-breathing dragons means our chances of having to pick up sword and shield to go rescue them are slim, at best. But a game about going on dates? Couldn’t we just, like, ask someone out in real life?
Apparently some developers feel the same way, and have decided to spice up their dating sims with scenarios that take full advantage of video games’ unique style of escapism. Read More
When away on travel for either business or pleasure, there is no greater treasure than a free Wi-Fi hot spot. However, be warned that in recent years there’s been an increasing number of cases wherein these blessed havens are used to steal people’s personal information! People traveling abroad are said to be at an even greater risk for damage caused by suspicious Wi-Fi providers. Read More
Despite Japan’s famously strong work ethic, even offices here have some employees who coast through the day, oblivious to their more industrious coworkers who exasperatedly wonder how their paychecks remain so similar when their levels of dedication are anything but.
Economist Taiichi Kogure touches on some of these points in his latest work, The Mindset of People Who Will Always Have Low Salaries, which hit bookshelves in Japan last month. Inspired by the book, Livedoor News posted the following editorial analogy based on Kogure’s concepts, titled “Your Salary Isn’t Determined by Your Efforts or Value.” Read More
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Is Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]
Sakura Festival in Chiyoda mixes illuminations, boats, music, and Rilakkuma in the heart of Tokyo
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Japan’s Human Washing Machine pods are now on sale for home use, and they’re not cheap
Live-action One Piece’s Luffy teaches Sesame Street’s Elmo a Japanese word for friendship[Video]
Miffy Cafe in Shibuya looks so deliciously cute we could eat it right up 【Pics】
Taste-testing Japan’s real-world Dragon Balls and Senzu Beans at Marugame Seimen
Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind
Viral Japanese cheesecake from Osaka has a lesser known rival called Aunt WandaStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japanese restaurant chain serves Dragon Ball donuts and Senzu Beans this springIs Tokyo Station’s startlingly expensive wagyu bento boxed lunch worth its high price?[Taste test]One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 2]
Japan’s craziest burger chain takes menchi katsu to new extreme levelsSakura Festival in Chiyoda mixes illuminations, boats, music, and Rilakkuma in the heart of TokyoViral Japanese cheesecake from Osaka has a lesser known rival called Aunt Wanda
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s HokkaidoStarbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your homeJapan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Live-action One Piece’s Luffy teaches Sesame Street’s Elmo a Japanese word for friendship[Video]
Miffy Cafe in Shibuya looks so deliciously cute we could eat it right up 【Pics】
Taste-testing Japan’s real-world Dragon Balls and Senzu Beans at Marugame Seimen
Pins ‘n’ peel: This banana art will blow your mind
Viral Japanese cheesecake from Osaka has a lesser known rival called Aunt Wanda
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
This super-compact raincoat from one of Japan’s 100-yen stores can literally fit in your pocket
Shibuya 109 building unveils new winning logo design set to appear over scramble crossing in 2019
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Secret staff cafeteria in Tokyo’s Kabukicho is a hidden gem you won’t find in travel guides
Lady Gaga goes gaga for Hatsune Miku, makes virtual idol her opening act
Does this egg timer from Japanese 100-yen store Daiso really work?
Chance to play Tetris on a massive staircase in Kyoto Station coming in March
