Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
news (Page 20)
Scientists at Southwest Jiaotong University in China have built a prototype testing platform for a near-vacuum high-speed maglev train that is theoretically capable of reaching speeds up to 2900 km/h or about 1,800 mph. Currently, the fastest commercially operated maglev reaches just 431 km/h and even the world record is just 581 km/hr.
Meet David Campbell and Ditlef Alexander Aasom Diseth, Asia’s latest internet sensation. A video showing one of them apparently stealing a girl from a Chinese guy in Hong Kong went viral.
A man surnamed Chen from Taiwan’s tech center of Hsinchu has allegedly had been spending the wee hours of the morning sneaking into a local morgue so he could ‘choke his chicken’ in front of a pretty picture of a deceased girl.
We never knew that an “adult movie moan” could ever lead to a finger-biting supermarket brawl, but that’s apparently exactly what happened in northeastern Taiwan.
A taxi driver in Osaka has been taken into police custody after it was discovered that he had given snacks laced with a powerful diuretic to as many as 50 of his female passengers and refused to let them exit the vehicle so that he could watch them squirm, and in some cases urinate, in the back of his cab.
In an empty field in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, where many homes stood before a tsunami swept them away, there are hundreds of blue carp streamers floating in the breeze. Kento Itoh, 21 years old, has collected them from all over the country in honor of his brother Ritsu, killed in the March 11 disaster when he was just five years old.
On that day, Kento was in Sendai, his middle brother was at school and his father was in the hospital, so none of them were at home when the tsunami struck their small town. Ritsu, his mother and his grandparents were carried off by the surging waters. Only Ritsu’s body was ever found. The rest are still officially missing.
With his father ill, it fell to Kento as the oldest son to identify his brother’s corpse at the morgue and to search among the ruins for his missing family. He did not find them, but among the mud and muck, he did find something: Ritsu’s beloved blue carp streamer.
Japan is well-known for its low crime-rate. Only a select few are permitted to own firearms, theft is rare, and the country’s violent crime statistics are among the lowest in the world.
But while you’ll almost never hear of a drive-by shooting in Japan, it turns out that members of the public in one Osaka town have been living in fear recently after a band of rambunctious scallywags took to cruising the streets at night and pelting pedestrians with eggs from the window of a moving car, at one time even stocking up on as many as 50 eggs with which to launch their reign of tamago terror.
While some of us get to spend our days taking selfies, slurping on Starbucks and shopping at designer stores, others are not quite so lucky.
In a crushing reminder of the disparities and injustice that exist in our world, a woman shopping at luxury New York department store Saks Fifth Avenue has discovered a note at the bottom of her bag written by a man imprisoned in a forced labour camp in China, pleading for help contacting his family and the United Nations.
There are almost 100,000 mainland Chinese students studying at Australian universities, where they are no doubt exposed to ideas that might be censored at home. This fact has not gone unnoticed by Chinese intelligence professionals, some of whom have admitted to a reporter for the respected Sydney Morning Herald that they recruit networks of students to monitor the Chinese community.
Even with the scheduled premiere of Sailor Moon Crystal just a few months away, the producers of the upcoming anime have been extremely guarded with information regarding the newest version of Japan’s most successful magical girl series ever. Up until now, the only tidbits given out were the title itself, a single piece of artwork, and some vague statements that Crystal will stick closer to the original manga than previous animated versions of Sailor Moon.
The floodgates haven’t exactly opened with the latest, and again brief, announcement, but proving that good things come in small packages, we’ve now got artwork for all five principal characters. Not only that, we now know who’ll be providing their voices, and in a move sure to make long-time fans happy, one voice actress is returning to play the same part she did in the original Sailor Moon.
It was announced on April 13 that the Kōchi NHK station’s weekday evening news has been showing the wrong icons for weather conditions in the corner of the screen for four years. Where the following day’s weather forecast for the eastern region of the prefecture should have appeared, the broadcaster had consistently been displaying the forecast for the western region.
It’s cherry blossom time in Tokyo, which means that the plum blossom season is just coming to a close, and one of Tokyo’s most popular spots to see plum blossom, Umeno Park in Ome, has finished the season with a sad announcement: it is chopping down all 1,266 of its famous plum trees to prevent the spread of a disease called plum pox.
Police may or may not be on the lookout for a woman with chronic diarrhoea this week after it became clear than an incredible 900 rolls of toilet paper have been swiped from city hall restrooms in Tokushima, Shikoku over the past three years, with the trend showing no sign of coming to an end any time soon.
Chinese authorities have released satellite images which show what they believe could be debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished without trace last Saturday.
Suzuki takes less hands-on role at studio he co-founded with Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata.
People all over Asia wait with bated breath today for news about the Malaysia Airlines jet which disappeared without trace on Saturday last week. Earlier today, debris described as possibly from a plane was spotted in the sea off the coast of Vietnam, but it has yet to be confirmed as belonging to the missing aircraft.
The plane, which was carrying some 239 passengers, was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it suddenly disappeared. No distress calls were made and weather conditions were thought to have been good, leading the global media and internet masses to propose numerous theories regarding what might have happened, including an (as-yet entirely unsubstantiated) report that authorities in China ordered its military to shoot down any “suspicious passenger planes” coming close to Beijing on the same day the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished.
Police in Kobe arrested a 71-year-old man on suspicion of driving without a valid licence on Monday this week after a local police officer recognised the vehicle’s number plate following a prior incident. When questioned about the offence, however, it transpired that the wily old truck driver had not simply forgotten to renew his documents, but had never held a licence in the 50 years he’d been behind the wheel.
At approximately 4:17 p.m. on Tuesday this week, North Korea fired seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast into the Sea of Japan. While this in itself is not especially unusual for the world’s most secretive and hardline dictatorship, a genuinely unsettling detail later emerged that reflects the seriousness of the situation and just how close one group of civilians came to danger: Just six minutes after its launch, a China Southern Airways passenger plane passed directly through the path one missile had taken.
You’re back! Lovely to see you. Now shut up and face the corner.
Yes, that’s right boys and girls, it’s time for another multiple choice quiz where we throw random bizarre questions at you and see how much you learned this week about news from Japan and Asia. Don’t dilly-dally now; Hitler, Donald Trump’s hair, and a manga about love eggs are all waiting for you after the jump!
Happy Friday, everyone! We trust you’ve all had a fun week and, if you happen to be one of the poor souls stuck in the snow in Kanto and Northeastern Japan this past seven days, that you’re gradually thawing yourselves out.
We have 10 more Asian news-based multiple-choice questions for you this week, touching on everything from nipple chafing to popular TV drama. So let’s not waste any time; let’s get right into it!
Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to Tokyo
Japanese trains in Sapporo might be better than those in Tokyo, thanks to one special feature
Lawson convenience store at popular tourist site is one of the most unusual in Japan
Drink vending machines disappearing in Japan as number drops to lowest in 30 years
Starbucks Japan releases FIVE new Frappuccinos in a day, and we try them all in 90 minutes
What’s wrong with English education in Japan? Pull up a chair…
Mr. Sato discovers his inner beaver with a 16-inch chocolate “twig” at Tokyo Station
Support your faves and avoid oshikatsu burnout — advice from our resident otaku
Japanese fashion company’s modernized haori half coats will keep you warm and samurai chic
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Mt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
30 Pikachus want to share a Tokyo hotel room with you that has separate Grass, Water, Fire spacesLawson convenience store at popular tourist site is one of the most unusual in Japan
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
7-Eleven Japan’s new baked-in-store sweet treat is only available in three parts of the country
Peanuts and Coke becomes a viral hit in Japan, but is it a trend worth joining?Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visaPokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping listMt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
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
What’s wrong with English education in Japan? Pull up a chair…
Mr. Sato discovers his inner beaver with a 16-inch chocolate “twig” at Tokyo Station
Support your faves and avoid oshikatsu burnout — advice from our resident otaku
Japanese fashion company’s modernized haori half coats will keep you warm and samurai chic
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Pikachus perform classical Japanese dance routine for Japan’s most famous cherry blossom song【Vid】
Daiso’s Standard Products store — what’s worth buying and what’s not? Our expert weighs in
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Are Japanese convenience store sandwiches scamming us with their fillings?
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
Horsemeat sushi: For when you’re tired of spicy tuna and California rolls
Studio Ghibli releases new anime tea and mugs in Japan