On April 10, the mayor of Kyoto Keiji Yamada made public his intentions to appeal to the government to award overseas students who graduate from Kyoto University with the right to permanent residence. It is a proposal entitled ‘Kyoto University Special Ward’ and also incorporates other supportive measures for foreign students. With a decrease in student intake within Japan in recent years, it is hoped that by providing incentives for academically skilled overseas students, Kyoto will not only be able to compete with other cities like Tokyo but will also be able to add a new lease of life to its cultural city.
On 9 April the Cool Japan Promotion Conference and Pop Culture Subcommittee was assembled to discuss and strategize ways to encourage growth in Japan’s popular culture sector. The session dealt with all of Japan’s notable influences around the world from Gundams to soccer.
Fox Sports Japan is offering a freely downloadable “Foul Ball Armor” papercraft helmet for people with a lot of free time and an iron will (papercuts are serious business and you should expect a lot of them building this thing).
You’ll also obviously need access to a printer, or if you have no sense of shame, a nearby Kinko’s.
Fox Sports introduced the Foul Ball Armor in a new television ad campaign to coincide with the March 29 start of the 2013 baseball season.
When we heard that Mister Donut was teaming up with Hello Kitty to celebrate the opening of a new Hello Kitty cupcake ride at Universal Studios Japan, we knew there would be a sweet surprise. The result? An insanely cute doughnut range featuring Ms Kitty’s signature bow and a few unique mini cupcake-inspired creations. Plus, a Hello Kitty ribbon headphone jack charm for purchases over 600 yen (US$6)!
But what would a Hello Kitty-approved doughnut taste like? We were seduced by the cute kitten and headed down to our local store to try out her wares. Join us as we take you through the range, bite by delicious bite…
Okay, this little fella is seriously cute! (And I’m not talking about the big black bull in the painting above, but the small white ball of fur in the bottom center — see him?) It’s hard to believe he’s more than 200 years old, or at least his picture is. Yes, dogs have been man’s best friend for a long time, and this particular picture that has been capturing the heart of modern internet users of late goes to prove that our love of dogs (and all things furry and adorable for that matter) truly transcend time. Just look at the little guy’s fluffy white coat and innocent puppy eyes. No wonder the image has been making net users go all gooey! Read More
In the past decade or so, the widespread use of computers in both the public and private sphere has seen the personal computer become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Whether it be creating a chart of company expenditures or simply recording important appointments in a software-based diary, almost all of our work has been a layer of digital varnish. The birth of the laptop computer has meant that work can be done virtually anywhere, with a wealth of information available in a few clicks and taps of the keyboard. As wonderful as all this is, it’s easy to overlook some of the problems that arise from a computer-centric life. Here we’ll take a good, hard look at the downside to spending the vast majority of our day plugging in and screen-facing.
April in Japan is a month of changes. As well as the beginning of the new tax year, the new school year begins, staff are rotated between departments, and new employees enter companies wearing plain black suits and fixed smiles that are betrayed only by the thin layer of sweat on their foreheads and nervous, darting eyes. It’s also the time of year that millions of university students experience life away from home for the first time, installing themselves in halls of residence or nearby apartments with no one to check up on them.
In an effort to help their students settle in and start their studies off on the right foot, a university in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, is operating a free breakfast initiative, inviting all new students to stop by the cafeteria from eight o’clock each morning to eat a nutritious, home-cooked meal, thus ensuring that they consume at least one meal during the day that hasn’t come out of a plastic cup or a convenience store microwave.
After spending decades in the film business, Quentin Tarantino had yet to get a film into China, now the second largest movie market in the world. His previous attempts have failed to meet with the stringent and sometimes erratic demands of the country’s censors.
However, on 11 April, Tarantino’s recent Academy Award-nominated film Django Unchained was set to premiere – and it did – for about one minute.
The authorities, whom I like to imagine have some kind of Commissioner Gordon batphone to movie theatres, called in and put the kibosh on Django.
Mr. Sato, you are quite literally the man! As our most trusted source of all things bizarre in Japan, you never disappoint. From the time you went in for a trim at a pet salon (on all fours mind you) to the time you tried to train your eyelids, the laughs (almost always at your expense) kept coming.
The following is a list of five reasons why we love our crazy reporter, Mr. Sato. We’re sure you won’t be disappointed.
Commuter trains in Japan are known for being among the most punctual in the world. The entire rail system is a well-oil machine. When a train is scheduled to depart its station at 09:42 and arrive at its destination at 10:33, it almost always leaves the station at 9:42 and arrives at 10:33; a mind-boggling concept perhaps in some other parts of the world.
Close to 40 million passengers use the rail system daily in Tokyo alone, so when trouble does occur, it needs to be sorted out quickly. Still, it would shock anyone who has been living in risk-averse, safety-first Japan for any length of time to see their local commuter train run down the tracks with a passenger carriage door wide open.
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On April 9, Duskin Co., Ltd., operators of the Mister Donut franchise in Japan, announced they would be making changes to the batter and oil they used for their product in order to better bring out the original taste of the donuts themselves. This is the first time for Mister Donut Japan to undergo a major change in ingredients since opening 41 years ago in 1971.
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It’s not an easy question to answer, but of all the strong and mysterious ladies from Studio Ghibli’s beautiful animated feature films, who is your favourite?
In the face of our global economy’s seemingly never-ending nosedive, Japan has come up with a hip, new way to stimulate growth in its local communities: by starting up a band!
Machikado Keiki☆JAPAN, a group name that roughly translates to “Street Corner Conditions JAPAN,” is the latest and greatest four-girl idol group to hit the media. I know it sounds a bit like a band full of hookers, but just wait until you hear their pitch! Basically, the better the nation’s stocks are doing, the shorter their skirts get! Clearly, the idea of having enough money for food and rent is not enough of an incentive to get some economic stimulus going; what the country really needs is more half-naked women! Read More
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that while transferring contaminated water containing radioactive material from leaking underground storage tank No. 3 to tank No. 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on April 11 this year, water was discovered leaking from a joint connecting the piping being used for the transfer.
About 22 liters of water containing 6.4 billion becquerels of radioactive material leaked from the joint before the problem was chanced upon. TEPCO said the water leaked on top of the berm covering the storage tank and that there was no possibility of it seeping into the soil surrounding it.
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Love cows? Young girls in plaid skirts and chest-hugging blouses rhythmically massaging teats? If the answer’s yes then this worrying new game for Android OS might be for you.
Maturing into adulthood while sharing a roof with our parents can be tough. We start to become sexually aware, have boyfriends or girlfriends, and secretly store racy photos, magazines or DVDs where we think/hope/pray that no one will ever find them. And then there’s the Internet…
When our parents openly discuss things that we’d much rather they didn’t even know existed, however, words cannot even begin to describe the feelings of shame and embarrassment.
Japanese cinema chain Korona World has announced that it will be opening the country’s first full-body, immersive “4D” movie theater in Nagoya on the 26th of this month.
According to the company, the theater will be equipped with 4DX technology, a system developed in South Korea that adds motion, humidity, aromas, strobes, bubbles and other effects to the standard audio and video experience. Read More
Have you ever seen a capybara? Originally from South America, and immensely popular in Japan, capybaras are actually the world’s largest rodents. They can weigh as much as a person, can run as fast as a young horse, and they can bark and purr. But that’s not all. These cute little animals love to bathe in Japanese-style hot springs. And when they do, they do it with such blissful expressions that you can’t help but smile.
It’s been a long time coming, but Nintendo may have finally cottoned on to the idea that gamers do not enjoy relying on AA batteries to use their wireless controllers. According to reports circulating the Internet this morning, the Kyoto-based company has carried out an online survey asking users whether they’d be interested in purchasing officially branded rechargeable battery packs for their Wii controllers.
What comes to mind at the mention of stew? Maybe a hearty beef stew or some creamy chicken soup? Well, it seems that many fast food restaurants in the Philippines will sell you stew that’s made from the blood of domesticated animals! Holy cow! Or maybe it’s horse. Sheep? Exactly what kind of blood are we talking here?! To find out more, we flew our top investigative reporter to the Philippines to fill us in on the heart of the matter. Read More
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