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New UFO caught on tape at Hong Kong protest may spell the end of UFO videos as we know them

As protesters in Hong Kong continue fighting to have a thin veil of “democracy” offered by the mainland Chinese government replaced by a slightly better veil enjoyed by other countries around the world, another story has emerged.

It appears that a UFO has been caught on tape hovering above the massive demonstration. Sure, we’ve seen videos of mysterious moving lights in the sky before, but this one may really change the way we look at UFO videos from here on out.

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What was this Attack on Titan giant doing at a protest in Hong Kong?

We knew Attack on Titan was crazy popular with an incredible 36 million volumes in circulation and a huge fanbase that stretches from Japan to the English-speaking world and beyond, it’s also been translated for audiences in Korea and China (Taiwan). Next year things will reach new heights with a full length live-action film starring Haruma Miura in the leading role.

When we saw these photos apparently showing a Titan from the series taking part in a demo in Hong Kong, we just had to find out more. “The Red Giant” is a piece of protest art made by Hong Kong based artist Kacey Wong, and pictures from the demo have been doing the rounds on Japanese online message boards this week. At once among the crowd and separate from it, the looming bright red figure is a powerful symbol of what Wong sees as the threat posed to Hong Kong by mainland China’s rapid growth as an economic superpower.

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Japan ratifies child abduction treaty, but some parents may still be left behind

This week, Japan became the 91st signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which provides protection for children under 16 from being taken from their country of residence by one parent against the wishes of the other. However, the convention does not work retroactively, so parents whose children have already been taken are urging the Japanese government to stand by provisions of the treaty in their cases as well.

A group of left-behind parents organized a march in Washington, D.C., on Monday to hand-deliver 28 applications for assistance reuniting with their children to the U.S. Department of State and to submit a petition for the return of abducted children to the Japanese embassy.

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Despite the enormous popularity of K-Pop, Korean food and beauty products, relations between Japan and South Korea have been strained for quite some time. In recent months, however, right wing groups have become increasingly vocal, with anti-Korean protests occurring more and more frequently, especially in areas where many Koreans congregate and live.

On 31 March in Shin-Ōkubo — a town situated just a couple of minutes away from Shinjuku on Tokyo’s Yamanote line and the location of a large Korean ethnic neighbourhood — hundreds of anti-Korean protesters marched through the streets carrying signs reading “Go back to Korea!” and labeling Koreans in Japan “cockroaches”. Thankfully, equally large numbers of liberally-minded Japanese also showed up to protest the protest.

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Looking back at the violence that occurred in the anti-Japan protests in September, I’m still baffled at why those regular people got so crazy over a land dispute between two governments in some remote area.  Maybe I’m the only one who lacks that patriotic spirit that compels one set fire to a factory over zoning issues.

Or perhaps like almost every world event in history, there are more complex – usually economic – factors at play beneath the surface. At least that’s what a group of Japanese writers and journalists claim.  According to them, the stage was set for this explosion of anger years before it happened.

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Help Pikachu and Pals Fight for Their Freedom! PETA’s Pokémon Parody Sends a Powerful Message

Hot on the heels of its highly successful Super Mario spoof animal fur campaign, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has launched a brand new flash game that centres on kids’ videogame favourite Pokémon, exposing the cruel truth behind the trainer / pocket monster relationship and prompting us all to think a little harder about how we treat animals.

The game, which mimics the style of the hugely popular videogame, has seen thousands of visits since its launch, and asks players to take on the role of captive pokémon as they battle with their abusive trainer for freedom. Read More

 

In the past few months, several of the anti-Japan demonstrations in China have turned into riots, many of which resulted in extensive damage to Japanese companies all over China.

But what is it that got the Chinese people so worked up? Surely not everyone is that passionate about the Japanese nationalization of the disputed Senkaku Islands. Perhaps people just got carried away in the mob mentality?

According to one Chinese demonstrator, the Chinese government may have something to do with it, claiming that Chinese officials mobilized people to join the Anti-Japan demos by offering them payments of 100 yuan, or about $15 US.

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Anti-Japanese demonstrations have been sweeping across China since Sunday in response to Japanese activists unfurling Japanese flags on a disputed island in the South China Sea, four days after Chinese activists landed on the same island.

Undoubtedly the most high-profile of the protests was in Shenzen, where some Chinese protesters burned Japanese flags and even turned violent, vandalizing Japanese cars and breaking into a local Japanese restaurant.

What the angry Chinese mob didn’t realize was that, like most Japanese eateries outside of Japan, the restaurant they ravaged was owned and operated by Chinese.

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