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health and safety

What to expect when traveling abroad from Japan in a global pandemic

Our Japanese-language reporter writes on the peculiarities of traveling from a high-risk country during a pandemic.

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The Internet reacts to Osaka governor’s comical COVID-19 countermeasure with stunned disbelief

Japanese netizens need a little more reassurance than a cardboard mask.

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Japanese chemistry professor shows why three kinds of masks could be effective against the virus

A helpful science experiment shows that masks, whether bought in a store or made at home, can help protect you against coronavirus. 

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Japanese kitty sculptor creates a new topical meme figure: a cat in a face-mask

The man who makes memes manifest makes his latest masked masterpiece known.

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Akihabara’s otaku: Fans of anime, idols, and… eating bananas on the toilet?

Tokyo’s Akihabara is known the world over as a haven for all things otaku. Whatever your nerdy penchant, be it J-pop princesses, moe-style hug pillows or plastic Gundam models, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in one of the thousands of outlets surrounding the station, and the enormous UDX complex, which is home to dozens of shops, restaurants and event spaces, is arguably the most sophisticated nerd-catering venue ever built.

Like many smarter establishments, UDX’s public restrooms are kept spick-and-span pretty much all of the time, and politely worded signs ask patrons to refrain from certain types of behaviour while making use of the facilities. Until today, though, we’d never imagined that an entertainment complex would have to ask visitors not to block up their toilets with banana peels…

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Japanese Ministry of Defense’s official visitor safety illustrations are surreal, hilarious

Living in an age where people threaten legal action the moment they trip over a pebble on a public beach, it’s little wonder that companies and organisations should take extra precautions when allowing everyday folks to wander around their facilities during open days, taking great pains to highlight every possible risk beforehand so that they don’t get sued when someone gets savaged by a radioactive monkey.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is no exception, and in an effort to ensure their safety when touring military vessels, have put together some handy information and rules for the public to abide by while on board. Fortunately for you and me, this is no boring old list of dos and don’ts: this is a list that comes with pictures evidently created by a member of staff with years of experience using Microsoft Windows’ Paint program, resulting something that not only looks like South Park‘s “Terrance and Phillip Show” but even manages to sneak in a little Metal Gear Solid reference for video game fans.

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When it comes to the food we eat, the importance of the consume-by-date should not be underestimated. Depending on the item on sale, going beyond the expiry date by a day or two may not always create too many problems but when the product in question happens to be 46 years old, the possible repercussions of eating it do not bear thinking about…

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