Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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If you’re hungry enough, even a handful of breadcrumbs will seem like a sumptuous feast. Such was the case in April when the producers of the hotly anticipated anime Sailor Moon Crystal finally released a modest amount of character artwork for the series, years after the series was announced.
And while the main course of the series premiere itself is still a month away, fans can now savor this tasty appetizer: Sailor Moon Crystal’s first official trailer.
There have been several commercials pulled off the air in Japan that some have dubbed “racist” and plenty of online banter to add to the debate. But we’ve also seen anti-anti-Korean protesters in Tokyo willing to stand up against truly hateful right-wing activists and many other examples of Japanese citizens whose actions seem to show that Japan is not as xenophobic as some may believe.
So is Japan racist? It seems there isn’t a clear-cut answer, but leave it to “twin brothers” Ken Tanaka and David Ury to bring us a humors video confronting this long-standing question.
You’ve been semen bombed!: 27-year-old Huang played a disgusting prank on women because he had been dumped by his girlfriend and claimed that he needed a way
“to release”.
An autistic man playing on a calculator was mistaken as a murderer by incompetent Taipei city straphangers who called police.
Most countries in the West are finally coming to the end of their own “Let it Go” boom, with the song from Disney’s hit animation now only being played, sung, and hummed about as often as other songs at the top of the charts as opposed to on loop every single minute of the day. But due to the animated film’s late release in Japan, the craze is still going strong over here, and Frozen is still pretty much everywhere.
Thankfully, some Japanese fans are giving our ears a break by opting to sing some other songs from the film, and couples lip-syncing to “Love is an Open Door” have become an increasingly common sight on YouTube. The pair pictured above, though, took a slightly different approach and opted not for sickly-sweet smiles and acting like prim and proper princesses, but for manic hair-whipping, giant flared nostrils, rolled eyeballs and enormous mouths.
While thoughts of the Roaring 20s typically conjure images of flappers and raucous parties, now it can also remind you of Super Mario Bros. Los Angeles jazz musicians, The Handy Dandy Boys, recently recorded a mean, jazzy version of the “Overworld BGM” theme from Super Mario Bros., complete with banjo plucking, a brass section, and a silent film-inspired, mustachioed music videothat will put a pep in your step.
Few who have not visited the country would ever imagine that Japan is practically overrun with bakeries. When people think of food in Japan, they usually think of things like rice, sushi and ramen, but the truth is, while Japanese supermarkets may not carry anywhere near as many varieties of bread as those in the West, dedicated bakeries can be found all over city centres, with pretty much every station, shopping mall and supermarket having its own shop or dedicated corner offering up freshly baked pastries, and the variety is astounding.
Check out this video to see 30 typical pastries available at Japanese bakeries.
During Japan university students’ final year, many go through a long, physically and mentally draining process of finding a job before they graduate; a process known as “shuukatsu.” Students don matching black suits and attend job fairs, company briefing sessions and employment seminars en masse in the hopes of obtaining a job offer, or “naitei.” Young people often complain about the soul-sucking system and how difficult it can be to land a job offer without completely abandoning your personality along the way.
Recently, an animated short film has been making waves among Japanese netizens for the horror movie-like way it portrays the difficult and often depressing job hunting process in Japan.
“Aw, what an adorable little karate tot!” I thought to myself as I stumbled upon a video of seven-year-old Mahiro-chan about to do some adorable flailing. “It’s like someone put a karate gi on a Cabbage Patch Kid!”
Trembling in anticipation of some otherworldly cuteness, I clicked play and GAHHHHHHHH!!!! She’s TERRIFYING!!!!!
Like it or loathe it, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” is still killing it in the charts more than six months after its initial release and remains of the most played songs on the radio. Sure, the lyrics are kind of simple, and its gets kind of repetitive, but when an artist devotes so much energy to being upbeat and provides a track that you just can’t help tapping your feet to, it’s hard not to crack a smile.
Fan-made remakes of the music video are ten a penny right now, with people all over the world feeling the urge to make their own smiling, strutting, and dancing compilations, but one particular video, titled “Harajuku Happy“, is by far one of the coolest we’ve seen, giving us a tour of the titular town while showing that life in Japan’s capital isn’t all black suits and bowing.
When people visit Japan, they often marvel at how great the service everywhere is. Trains run on time; a guy pops out of a little hatch like a station ninja when you’re struggling with a ticket vending machine; packages come precisely when they’re supposed to, and even if you miss them you can just call the driver on their mobile phone to arrange a new delivery time.
Day in, day out, stuff just works. And yet, unlike the many foreigners who live here, native Japanese take this all completely in their stride. Take this video, for example, which was taken by a foreigner living and uploaded to YouTube a couple of weeks ago…
YouTube videos that rack up millions of views tend to feature either funky music, dancing, or children or animals doing adorable things. These are the kind of links we share again and again, sending to our friends and happily watching multiple times. These two Korean babies rocking out to dance music, therefore, were always going to be the perfect mix for a YouTube hit!
For the most part, guys hitting on girls isn’t really a part of Japanese culture. Thankfully, there are a number of social institutions that take its place, such as frequent student mixers, company drinking parties, and singles’ dinners organized by groups of friends with an exactly equal number of unattached men and women present.
All of this largely circumvents the need for a guy to go up to a girl that catches his eye in a book store or coffee shop with nothing more than a smile and a hello. It also means that if a man is out and about and spots an attractive woman, if there’s no one to give him a formal introduction, a glance at her pretty face, and maybe a moment where her eyes meet his, is about all that he can ever hope to take away from the encounter.
For some guys, though, that’s enough, and for them, there’s a new website featuring nothing but short videos of cute girls walking past you.
A tennis coach in Tainan banned his students from dating. Anyone who broke the rule was forced to have an elephant drawn on their privates.
Between spending all day basking in the sun and playing in boxes, there’s no doubt that the life of a cat is pretty great. And a Japanese musician has reinforced this with a recent video he uploaded of his cat achieving what looks like feline nirvana. The owner, a Tokyo-based music teacher, seems to put his cat in a trance by playing the instrument on top of the cat. Click below to view the video of the cat who could serve as an anti-drug PSA, teaching the world that the best way to get high is through music.
A full-sized replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza has appeared in a Chinese village near Shijiazhuang in China’s Hebei Province. The sphinx is open for tourist visits, angering officials in Egypt who say the appearance of the Chinese sphinx is detrimental to their tourism industry.
Ever find yourself alone in a situation where a cloned version of yourself would really help? Unfortunately, not all of us have access to Kim Jong Un-level technology, but one talented Japanese singer has found a way around that by duplicating himself on video to make a series of pretty creative covers.
Last week, his cover of “Wrapped in Kindness,” the end theme from Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service became a huge hit with Japanese netizens who couldn’t get enough of his great voice(s). Click below to see the video where one singer becomes a six-man band!
For those of you who thought phys-ed class never taught skills valuable in the real world, we bring you the story and footage of one Mr. Li of Zhongshan City, Guangdong.
Upon seeing an infant at a second-story window, the man dashed below and readied himself to make the most important catch of his life.
Hey, you! You’re a busy person! You have status updates to write; tweets about your lunch to send; videos of cats dressed as humans to watch. You don’t have time to read things like some kind of ridiculous, well-educated duck.
So instead watch this video, which tells you everything there is to know about Japan – covering population, annual food wastage, social awkwardness and much more – in just 10 minutes and 59 seconds.
Go! Time is of the essence!
One of the golden rules of the road revolves around the right-of-way. Dig up memories from high school driver’s ed, and you’ll recall that the manual says something like, “the right-of-way is something you give, not take.” In Japan, a term often used to instill defensive-driving skills is yuzuri-ai no seishin, which can be translated as “the spirit of compromise/yielding”.
But we all know people who think that’s crap.
So today, we’re introducing you to a video of a vehicular standoff in Taiwan that is fast racking up hits online. There are no guns or flaming crashes here; rather, the scene is a quiet, humorous one, the like of which probably plays out across the globe on a daily basis.
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
10 awesome Tokyo cherry blossom festivals and experiences for this year’s sakura season
Nine amazing off-the-beaten-path cherry blossom spots in Japan for yaezakura and shidarezakura
New cherry blossom party picnic essential: This super-handy folding cardboard table
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli adds new anime tumblers to its cool streetwear brand in Japan
Japan has seven lucky taxis in Tokyo, and we just boarded one of them
Perfume single cover designed by Chihayafuru manga artist is “Flash”ing into headlines
Super Mario and Baskin-Robbins release a power-up ice cream collection in Japan
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in TokyoJapanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping listStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
When will the cherry blossoms reach full bloom in Japan this year?[Forecast]
7-Eleven Japan’s giant fried chicken skewer would be too big to eat, so it’s really for cuddling
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime characterJapanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to localsStarbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day FrappuccinoCherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura seasonStudio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
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
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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
Studio Ghibli adds new anime tumblers to its cool streetwear brand in Japan
Japan has seven lucky taxis in Tokyo, and we just boarded one of them
Perfume single cover designed by Chihayafuru manga artist is “Flash”ing into headlines
Super Mario and Baskin-Robbins release a power-up ice cream collection in Japan
One Piece creator has hidden secret of anime treasure’s identity in chest at bottom of real-world ocean
One of Japan’s rarest, craziest pay phones is hanging out in a tree-shaped phone booth【Photos】
Studio Ghibli unveils new Rollbahn notebook in honour of Howl’s Moving Castle
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Japan’s Mos Burger discontinues old teriyaki burger and rolls out new recipe, but is it as good?
This Japanese vending machine doesn’t sell drinks, but you can buy drinks through it
20 things to buy at the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store
Mister Donut wows matcha lovers in Japan with new Dora Matcha doughnuts
Studio Ghibli notebooks are a beautiful place to write down your beautiful thoughts【Photos】
