death (Page 2)
Body discovered several days after man passed away.
Shimane Prefecture awards a college student’s family a settlement in restitution for the roadside accident that took her life.
A new figurine modeled after the star of Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbor Totoro toys with the rumor of Totoro actually being a death god.
Diago Kashino, a 33-year-old Japanese actor, has died after being stabbed in the stomach with a samurai sword during a stage-play rehearsal in Japan.
Prolific manga creator Shigeru Mizuki passed away on Monday morning in a Tokyo hospital. He was 93.
It seems like we’re constantly being bombarded with tips and tricks about how to make our lives better or how to improve our quality of life. We’re always being told to change the way we eat, the way we sleep, include some daily physical activity, and re-organize our lives. Everyone has something different to say, but one thing they seem to have in common is the positive spin they put on their life improvements.
That’s not strictly true for Japanese television though. One recent program seemed to be taking a cue from the fear-based strategies of American TV, and spent an entire segment talking about habits in your household that are likely to decrease your lifespan.
Find out the five habits you should be wary of, apparently, after the jump.
Whenever people ask me what I want to happen after I die, I always tell them I want a Super Mario-themed funeral where, at the end of the ceremony, the Mario death music plays and my casket is launched a few feet up in the air, then allowed fall down into the earth. I’ve always thought that would be a pretty cool way for friends and family to send me off, but the actual location of the funeral – or even really what happened to my body afterwards – has never been all that important to me.
Westerners have surprisingly little ritual when it comes to death. There’s usually a wake or a funeral, and then, if you’re lucky, every couple of years Solid Snake comes by to stand in front of your grave, look grim and deliver a two-hour monologue about the horrors of war. The Japanese, on the other hand, make a point to visit and pay respects to the dead every year through somewhat ritualized ohakamairi, so the location of your grave is an important thing to consider.
So important, apparently, that specialty online grave retailer Ohakamagokorokakaku (“ohakamago”) is considering offering a service to move the graves of loved ones, and recently conducted a survey among Japanese people asking: “Where would you most like to ‘live’ after death?”
Ah mochi, the delicious Japanese sweet. It can come in all different shapes and flavors, from the loveable daifuku with sweet bean paste filling, to hot zenzai soup with azuki beans and white mochi, to such delights as mochi ice cream and even chocolate cow poop mochi.
Since mochi is a traditional New Year’s treat in Japan – you can even reserve your New Year’s kagami mochi at Baskin Robins – more of it is consumed around this time of year than any other.
But all that mochi-eating has a dark side to it. With its incredibly sticky texture, mochi causes the most choking-related deaths of any food item in Japan. Last year it killed two people during the New Year season, and after just two days into 2015 it has already claimed nine lives and hospitalized 128 others.
In Japan, places where people have died are considered bad luck, so unsurprisingly apartments where there has been a suicide, murder, or other death are rented at much cheaper prices than usual due to a lack of demand. However, real estate agencies are seeing a surge in people specifically seeking these kinds of ‘death rooms’. That may sound horribly morbid, but usually it’s not out of a desire to be close to death. Rather, for those who can put aside their culturally-ingrained reservations, it’s a way to save money during tough times.
In countries like Japan and America, funerals are generally thought of as very somber affairs. No one wants to say goodbye to their friends and loved ones, and that final parting is something that cultures across the globe take very seriously. However, in some parts of Taiwan, this undesirable situation is occasionally met with marching bands wearing miniskirts! A series of videos have surfaced on YouTube, portraying Taiwanese funerals as rather enjoyable affairs. Whose idea was it to treat such a serious ceremony to the same sort of flair that’s found at an American football game?
Death is indeed the final departure, but that does not mean that the echoes of our lives can’t have some lasting effects on the lives of those who survive us. One Japanese school teacher understood that he was nearing the end of his time on earth and did what he could to dispel the certain grief of his beloved students the only way he knew how. He gave them one last homework assignment.
With character design and a visual style worthy of a Disney production, when we were introduced to this short animation by the staff at our sister site RocketNews24 Japan, we almost didn’t believe them when they said it was made not by a world-famous animation studio but by students of the National Taiwan University of Arts. Half an hour of replays later, we managed to tear ourselves away from the video just long enough to share it with you, our dear readers, too!
It’s cute, it’s emotive, and it’s absolutely gorgeous; this is Deathigner.
Upon hearing rumors swirling around the internet that a search on Yahoo! Japan’s struggling search engine does something strange when you enter the words “death” and “die” in Japanese, our reporter went to check it out. Could Japan’s most popular online search tool have revealed the sinister truth about a household name?
As most people flock to the high production values of American television programs, the subtle nuances of British dramas, or the addictiveness of Korean programs, Taiwanese television shows are often sorely overlooked. Still, after nearly three years from its first airing we continue to be haunted by a television moment so poignant that it has captured not only the nation’s audience but the world’s.
I’m talking, of course, about the truck accident that claimed the life of Michael from the series Night Market Life. Achieving well over one million views on YouTube, people keep coming back to relieve that fateful day.
Let us watch and remember. Michael would have wanted it that way.
The Chinese government announced on March 31 that two men from Shanghai have died from a variant of bird flu known as H7N9. It is the first time transmission of this type of bird flu has been confirmed in human beings. After contraction of the virus, both men showed symptoms of pneumonia.
The Chinese Health Authorities announced that the 87 and 23-year-old men first showed symptoms of a fever, pneumonia and similar characteristics in March of this year. The 87 and 27-year-old-men died on 4th and 10th of this month respectively.
Shortly afterwards, a detailed inspection into their deaths was carried out where it came to light that both men had been infected with the H7N9 strain of the bird flu virus. It has also been confirmed that a woman in the eastern province of China, Anhui, has been infected with the same strain of bird flu. Her current condition is critical, exhibiting identical symptoms of pneumonia, however the woman is said to be receiving medical treatment.
Read More
While the rest of the world worries about global warming, guns and which countries may or may not be building nuclear weapons, there are evidently some people out there who ought to be more concerned about things a little closer to home.
According to Japanese website Game Spark, a 21-year-old man in China has been found dead after playing an as yet unnamed online role-playing game for some 40 hours.


















Many foreign tourists not picking up, paying for their orders at 100-year-old Tokyo sweets shop
Live-action Legend of Zelda movie releases first on-set, in-costume images【Photos】
We suspected this Japanese cable car was an overpriced tourist trip, but we underestimated it
Here’s what to expect if it’s your first time seeing kabuki at Tokyo’s Kabuki-za Theater
Bear attack shelters going on sale in Japan as country experiences record-high number of incidents
90 minutes of all-you-can-drink alcohol for 550 yen at revolving sushi restaurant Koma Sushi
Why is Starbucks Japan’s Christmas stollen so good?
Epic cutlet sandwiches in Osaka are the best Shinkansen bento
Let’s take a tour of the best sushi in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market with Mr. Sato! (Part 1)
We try all-you-can-eat sushi for less than $8.50 at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward
Brand-new Pokémon park opens in Japan with larger-than-life-size Lapras【Photos】
Japanese government considering tripling departure taxes to combat overtourism
Starbucks Japan unveils the new Soupuccino
Tokyo Station’s ultra-rare cakes look, and taste, like a cup of coffee
Entry to Tokyo’s Pokémon theme park zone has physical fitness requirement, will cost a lot
One of the busiest stations in Tokyo is changing the name on its signs, but not necessarily to make it easier for people to find their way around.
Studio Ghibli unveils new fluffy purses from films like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away
We zapped up some tasty hot sandwiches in the microwave with 3COINS’ new gadget from Japan
Studio Ghibli releases new “komorebi” plush toys to brighten your days
Sanrio and Sonic the Hedgehog characters become fast friends with new plushie collection
Tokyo bento boxed lunch shop charges different prices depending on how heavy your laptop is
Japan has vending machines that put protective film on your phone for you — Here’s how to use them
Studio Ghibli anime stoles are here to keep you warm with a range of famous characters
Totoro fountain figurine recreates the sights and sounds of one of anime’s most memorable scenes
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas Frappuccino and holiday drinks for 2025
Ghibli Museum clock is now yours to take home with you
Step into Japanese culture with Converse’s new Japan-exclusive shoes featuring gods, sushi style
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Possessing Harry Potter’s Sword of Godric Gryffindor is now illegal in Japan
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
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 home
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】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Uniqlo announces first-ever collaboration with horror manga master Junji Ito【Photos】
90 minutes of all-you-can-drink alcohol for 550 yen at revolving sushi restaurant Koma Sushi
Why is Starbucks Japan’s Christmas stollen so good?
Epic cutlet sandwiches in Osaka are the best Shinkansen bento
Let’s take a tour of the best sushi in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market with Mr. Sato! (Part 1)
We try all-you-can-eat sushi for less than $8.50 at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward
Continuing our tour of the best sushi in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market with Mr. Sato! (Part 2)
We visit “the best conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Japan”
Japan has vending machines that put protective film on your phone for you — Here’s how to use them
Japan Legal Wedding service offers a path for travelers to hold destination weddings in Japan
Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with all-new Pikachu and Foongus
Mr. Sato has a life-changing experience at this revolving sushi restaurant in Tokyo
Ministop becomes Megastop in our minds by increasing certain food volumes by up to 50 percent