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Ever since the Great Tohoku Earthquake led to one of the worst nuclear disasters at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant people have been left with a lot of uncertainty. Information has not been coming from places of authority in a free and timely fashion. News broadcasts often tell stories of contaminated food and radioactive puddles near schools. Still, these stories are after the fact and often hard to process given the complex nature of radiation.

Luckily, on 27 December, Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) announced they are working with Fukushima Transportation Inc. to begin testing a system to monitor radiation in Fukushima City that is in real time and is accessible by anyone over the internet.

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Apple’s Lucky Bag Returns for 2012! We Are in for Some Massive Line-Ups Again

Apple has given word that they will be selling Lucky Bags (Fukubukuro) again this New Year’s! The sale will begin on 2 January at 8:00am.

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The Fermented Soy Cheesecake Challenge

Natto, for those of you that haven’t been introduced to the smelly, sticky Japanese foodstuff, is fermented soy beans. And if you do know natto, you probably also know that Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture is the place to go for the good stuff. Well, recently a venerable Mito natto company started selling a rather surprising new item: natto cheesecake. That’s right, a cheesecake made from fermented soy beans. Read More

According to a book recently published by Tomohiko Suzuki, a freelance journalist who went undercover as a laborer at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant for two months this year, people who were unable to repay loans from yakuza gangs were forced to work at the site as a means of repaying their debts. Tokyo Electric issued a refutal, calling the claim that organized crime would be allowed to influence the recruitment process “groundless”.
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One For The Books! Taiwanese Netizens Choose 2011’s Top 10 Beautiful Girls

Since the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan, Taiwan has shown itself to be a nation of extremely generous and caring people, who helped us through one of our darkest times. What you may not know, however, is that Taiwan is also a nation full of some of the hottest women you’ve ever seen. With the announcement that an online poll has selected Taiwan’s 10 Most Beautiful Women, Rocket News 24 would like to return the care and attention that they have given Japan. We also hope you join us and not miss out on the hottest women Taiwan has to offer!

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Japanese Packed Lunches That Are Hard to Swallow; Edible Batteries and Bathroom Cleansers Enough to Make Andy Warhol Blush

Recently a lot of attention has been directed at Japanese mothers’ painstakingly crafted packed lunches called charabens (character bentos). It’s something of a competition for mothers to send their children off to school with not just the best tasting or healthiest food, but also the most creatively arranged. The BBC ran a feature showing how housewives attend classes to arrange rice, seaweed, and other ingredients into characters ranging from Hello Kitty and Totoro to Michael Jackson and Barack Obama.

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Need a Last Minute Christmas Present? How About a “Whale Sword”?

On Yahoo Shopping, a site famous for its oodles of unique merchandise, an ornamental sword is attracting a lot of attention. It’s called the “Whale Sword” and it’s a model of a style of ornamental sword used in the pre-war days, with a blade close to a meter long. Who wouldn’t want that in their stocking?

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The Words That Saved a Woman’s Life; “Get Up! It’s Time for Mahjong!”

We’ve heard similar stories before. A woman involved in a car crash falls into a coma. Doctors are unable to wake her and things begin to look bleak, until the voice of a loved one miraculously brings them back to consciousness. Here at Rocket News 24, we are especially interested in such amazing events. What set this story apart from the others though are the magic words that against all odds accomplished what medical science could not.

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Manhattan Japanese Restaurant EAST Serves Unexpected Tear-Jerker

I happened upon a kaiten sushi-ya (conveyor belt sushi restaurant) while on an extended trip to New York, and I was surprised that something other than the hot wasabi brought tears to my eyes.

Japanese Restaurant EAST in Manhattan is a far cry from any Japanese kaiten sushi-ya – this place is as hip as any nightclub in the area. The chef is not Japanese, but his skills are just as good as those of any “genuine” sushi chef. He rolled out perfectly squeezed nigiri sushi and delicious miso soup.

And though I like to get adventurous with the wasabi from time to time, I was not prepared for the rotating item that would move me to tears on this day.

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What Recession? World’s Largest Uniqlo to Open in Ginza

Uniqlo, the clothing retailer who has achieved ubiquitous status in Japan is continuing its ambitious plans to expand worldwide. In order to achieve their goal of earning 5 trillion yen (US$60 billion) by 2020, they have been aggressively building larger and larger flagship stores around the world.

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BREAKING NEWS: Captain Jack Sparrow Now Manages Cake Shop

As I was taking a walk through the city the other day, I encountered a cake shop with a fantastic exterior like something out of a fairy tale. It had a very cheerful ambiance, and on closer inspection, I noticed a remarkable figure. Could it be? Star of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Jack Sparrow, selling pastries? Captain Jack managing a cake shop?
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Women In China Caught Faking Pregnancy To Get Priority Seating

Where else but China can you talk on your fake iPhone while checking email on your fake MacBook Air (both bought from a fake Apple Store) and eating fake pork chops with a side of fake eggs? The country that is on the cutting edge of forgery is also a commuter’s nightmare—just imagine trying to get a seat on a bus in a country of over one billion people!

Of course, where there’s a will, there’s a way to rip off: recently, a number of women in China have been caught faking pregnancy to get access to priority seating on trains and buses.

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This Year’s Hot Chirstmas Gift for that Special Someone You Never Want To See Again: The Frank Mulle…I Mean Miura Watch

Are you looking for something to give to that special someone in your life? Choosing the right gift is a huge burden for many of us this time of year, especially with so many options to choose from.

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Everyone’s Talking About Some Hot Chick’s Armpit Hair

So, everybody, what do you think when you see a girl’s armpit hair? Does it make a difference if she’s smoking hot? A lot of people would probably be surprised, and some of them might even reject her entirely over the matter.

Well, this has apparently become a big topic of conversation in China, where a pretty young woman bared her hairy pits to the world.
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6 Reasons Disneyland’s Secret Restaurant Club 33 Is Awesome

Did you know that there is a secret, members-only restaurant in Tokyo Disneyland called Club 33? The majority of memberships are corporate accounts, allowing them to do business entertaining there, but there are also individual members. Don’t get your hopes up, though, because they aren’t accepting applications. If you want to get in the door, no matter who you are or how much money you have, you have to be invited by a member.

But what is this mysterious Club 33 actually like? We’ve tracked down someone who was invited to enjoy a luxurious evening there, and according to him, these are the six most amazing things about Club 33.
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Calbee Plus Store Opens in Harajuku, Offers Hot Potato Chips Straight From The Fryer!

Snack food giant, Calbee, opened up their latest Calbee Plus store in Harajuku on 7 December, where you can buy their famous potato chips straight from the deep fryer. Calbee already has shops located in Kyoto and New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, but this newest store gives Tokyoites their first chance to enjoy piping hot potato chips.

I rushed out to get a first-tongue taste.

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How’d she do that?! A closer look at “Japan’s Lady of Eternal Youth”

Who could forget, Masako Mizutani, the 40-year-old magazine model who laughs in the face of time and recently set the international internet community ablaze. Her perplexingly unfailing sex appeal has even caused some of our readers to suspect vampirism or cryogenic freezing, while others were left with uncomfortable thought about their mothers.

Now, we’ve tracked her progress from age 20 to 30 in search of her secrets, so let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how this stunner pulled off what most women (and let’s face it, men too) could only dream of.

Hopefully we won’t encounter any vampires on the way.

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A Spa for Crocodiles? Well, They Do Have Pretty Scaly Skin…

A lot of ladies head to the spa for beauty treatments and relaxation, and recently more and more men have been getting in on that action. But the spa industry isn’t stopping there. They’ve begun on the animal kingdom as well.

According to our sources, Australia now boasts a spa for the exclusive use of lady crocodiles.
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Calling All Boozehounds! All You Can Drink for 30 Minutes, Just 299 Yen!

The weekend is almost here! You’re off tomorrow, so how’s about hitting the bars? Come on, you’re probably sitting at your desk right now sneakily checking out your options for a post-work tipple.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: if you want to drink the good stuff and actually manage a buzz, it’s going to cost a pretty penny. Well, think again. Rocket News has found the best, cheapest nomihoudai in town.
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What Kind of Hamburger Is Worth 23 Bucks?

Every day on my way to work, I pass one of the many outlets of fast-food giant Lotteria. Usually, I grab a cup of coffee there and drink it as I head to the office, but this morning something new caught my eye.

They’re selling Matsusaka Beef hamburgers? Hamburgers made from one of the best quality meats in Japan, famous for its exquisite marbling? But at 1800 yen (about $23), that’s a pretty steep price tag for a fast-food burger… Will it be worth it?
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