Japan Talk #154 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Happy anniversary to David and Kathy Silva!

* No real theme to Japanese news this week
* More old folks news
* Relentless heat continues
* Politics as usual

* New Japan Talk website coming soon

* Toshiba to challenge iPad in Europe, Africa
* Homeopathy slammed by J-docs
* Lawson aiming at 10,000 stores in China
* China going organic due sewage oil and other scandals
* Cop busted for stealing bicycle
* Man upset by cat’s death drives wrong way on expressway
* Pink Lady returns!

* Japan chicken sexers feeling the pinch
* Nude man walking
* Students busted for pot on beach… Officials ban tattoos
* Monkey madness
* 91-year-old man’s corpse found in cabinet of daughter’s home
* City carrying 200-year-old man on roles

Music: Music Alley
* September Bride, by David Silva
* Smells Like Karen Carpenter, by Moneyshot Cosmonauts
* Do What The Man With The Gun Says, by Martin England

Links of Interest
* Homeopathy
* Lawson Japan
* Pink Lady
* VIDEO: Pink Lady in their heyday
* VIDEO: Pink Lady – Kiss In The Dark
* Moneyshot Cosmonauts
* David Silva
* VIDEO: September Bride (David Silva)
* Moorpark Oasis
* Martin England

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Japan Talk #153 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Back after a week off – What happened?
* Correction: Kokushokusumire
* Japan Talk website (japantalk.org) down
* New Japan Talk website coming sometime soon

* Japan’s disappearing elderly
* Yamaguchi records shows 186-year-old man living
* Osaka records show 228 120-year-olds
* Man keeps mother’s remains in knapsack

* Breakthrough in breeding bluefin tuna
* Japan announces world’s first solar-powered public bus
* Panel: Japan should relax restrictions on arms exports
* California law will demand WWII info from railway bidders
* Leaked info: Mobile site self-regulation of child prostitution controls not working
* Prius to be equipped with humming device to warn pedestrians

* Woman ordered to pay damages over futon beating noise
* Prada strikes back
* Courts hitting bicyclists with high damages for accidents
* Toilet trouble grounds plane
* Japan baseball to use same balls for all teams
* Kyoto uses dummies to “heighten tension” at gov’t office

Music
* Beautiful Day, by Rika Shinohara (Podshower)
* Fred Astaire, by Emma Wallace (Music Alley)
* After You Get Rid Of Me, by Katie Webster (Music Alley)

Links of Interest
* Crapman
* Crapman busted!
* Miyoko Kawahara: Neighbor from hell
* VIDEO: Miyokyo Kawahara in action

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Japan Talk #152 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Still more gas man facts
* A busy and noisy week in Japan
* O-bon season
* Events marking the end of the war
* A time to vent frustrations

* Local government defraud Tokyo out of research subsidies
* Sharp developing 3D Smartphone
* Japanese researchers develop follow-me wheelchair
* Dryer Box saves water-damaged mobile phones
* U.S. Says N.Korean Artillery Fire ‘Killed a Lot of Fish’

* Payments to unaccounted for elderly to be suspended
* Hokkaido hope to turn crawdads into tourist lure
* Rent collection agency ordered to pay compensation
* Yen to rise even further?
* What Japanese men hate to see at the beach or pool

Music
* Eikyu Ni Uruwashiku, Sumire no Hana Yo (Beautiful Violets Forever), by Kokushokusumire (Black Violets)
* How It Happens, by Jim’s Big Ego (Music Alley)
* You’re So Pony, by Beth Thornley (Music Alley)

Links of Interest
* Bon Festival (O-bon)
* Kokushoku Sumire Official Site
* Kokushoku Sumire Goods
* Kokusholku Sumire Shop
* Savage Japan Podcast

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Japan Talk #151 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* More gas man facts
* This week’s show one day late (due to golf)
* Golfjin

* Staying healthy in the heat
* Japanese child abuse cases soar
* Young mother leaves children in apartment to die
* Japan law still too weak on child abuse?
* Tokyo Sky Tree changing the Tokyo skyline

* Japan considering making computer viruses illegal
* Chinese man rescued after two days in toilet pit
* 3D TV comes with a health warning
* Akihabara hotel offers “Train Room”
* New York may ban flesh-eating fish pedicures

Music (Music Alley)
* Tokyo Skyline, by Impossible Songs
* Country Song Titles, by Todd Chappelle
* Coke and Sprite, by Radio Rio

Links of Interest
* Golfjin
* Impossible Songs
* Todd Chappelle

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Japan Talk #150 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Plastic Soul Band taking a break
* Are there any other Japan podcasts left?

* Higurashi
* The gas man cometh
* Are gas checks done in your country? Let us know: japantalker@gmail.com

* Tokyo’s oldest man died 30 years ago!
* Hikikomori bedroom hermits: Japan national crisis?
* Hakuho scores historic three-peat

* JAL to slash 440 billion yen in operating costs
* Capital punishment debate
* Akihabara killer claims he had no choice
* Many U.S. students think Lexus is American brand
* J-cops shut down paper, stone, scissors net site

Music (Music Alley)
* Shirokumo Aosora (White Clouds, Blue Sky), by Plastic Soul Band
* EULA Dancing, by Tom Smith
* C.Q. Boogie, by Katie Webster

Links of Interest
* Plastic Soul Band website
* Hikikomori
* Higurashi
* Akihabara Massacre

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

As the most popular Japan-centric bookmarking site on the Web, JAPUNDIT is also a favorite target of spammers who target popular, high-traffic websites.

To combat spam we have installed anti-spam software, but proper operation of the software depends on human intervention to flag specific articles as spam.

Until now, the JAPUNDIT Spam Posse has consisted of two people, but now we have finally gotten the anti-spam software to the point at which we are ready to open it up to more JAPUNDIT users who would like to assist us.

People who join up will have a special “mark as spam” option added to their JAPUNDIT interface (right next to “Add new comment”). Then if you discover a spam article during your JAPUNDIT session, simply click “mark as spam” and it will be removed. The person who contributed the spam also will be banned from contributing anything further.

Anyone interested in joining the JAPUNDIT Spam Posse can apply by sending a mail message to japundit@gmail.com.

Japan Talk #149 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Steaming in Japan
* Weather makes sales of some items heat up
* Featured artist of the week: Fatblueman
* Thanks to Gimmeabreakman

* Correction to hot dog contest story
* Squat toilet update – It’s a crock!

* Japan greets terrorist with open arms
* Musashimaru on the state of sumo

* J-deflation a structural problem
* Toyota to cut domestic production 20 percent as hybrid subsidies end
* Foreign criminals expanding into Japan
* PM wife’s book criticizes hubby
* Hangman game insensitive?
* Japan – Average well-being

Music : Fatblueman
* Incomplete
* Just Don’t Forget About That
* My Song 6

Links of Interest
* Korean Airlines Flight 858
* Kim Hyon-hui
Musashimaru

* Fatblueman Website
* Download Fatblueman music

* The Hannah Minx Song (Video)
* The Maggiebon Song (Video)

* Maggie Sensei
* Gimmeabreakman

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Japan Talk #148 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Rainy season officially over in Kanto
* Heavy rains in Japan over the past few days
* Japan coverage of the British Open
* Shuzo Matsuoka

* Moorpark Oasis CD giveaway winners
* Thanks to those who suggested JAPUNDIT hosts

* IMF warns Japan of sputtering economy
* IMF wants Japan to raise consumption tax to 15%
* Manchester shopping center installs ‘squat loos’ for Asians
* Tokyo world’s most expensive city, China catching up
* Man trying to rob police station arrested

* Japanese iPhone app lets you remove girl’s make-up
* Michael Jackson memorabilia stolen from Kyoto department store
* Soy sauce ‘could reduce symptoms of the menopause’
* Motorcycle gangs smaller, but more numerous
* Asian homestay students more likely to misbehave

Music
* Hello California, Salme Dahlstrom
* Never Marry a Peterson, Todd Chappelle (Music Alley)
* Hard Lovin Mama, Katie Webster (Music Alley)

Links of Interest
* Salme Dahlstrom’s Website
* Random number generator
* Suppin video
* Another suppin video
* Bosozoku in action

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com

Just to let everyone know that we have re-activated our spam filter, which is designed to block some of the spammers we seem to have been attracting.

We had it enabled for a while in the past, but disabled it after a regular contributor informed us that he was being blocked. Since then, we have found out that the name of the contributor who was being blocked was being used by multiple individuals, one of whom was, indeed blocked.

If you feel that you have been blocked by mistake, please send a message to japudit@gmail.com.

Japan Talk #147 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Podcast feed finally back to normal
* Thank you Libsyn
* JAPUNDIT looking for a new host. Any suggestions?

* Featured artist of the week: David Silva (Moorpark Oasis)
* Moorpark Oasis CD giveaway

* Check out Japanese Flash, a great app for learning Japanese

* Young Japan losing its motivation
* Woman arrested for assaulting boy on bus with umbrella
* Burger King introduces “musical shower” at new Tokyo shop

* Chinese investment pouring into Japan
* Japan railway staff being trained in martial arts
* J-Gov’t to excavate WWII human experiment site
* Japan’s speed-eating king arrested at New York contest
* Number of registered foreigners in Japan marks 1st fall since 1961
* Slave labor interns die after 16 hour days
* Ichihashi pleads not guilty to murdering Lindsay Ann Hawker
* Man arrested for damaging church property

Featured Artist of the Week: David Silva
* Guitars and Shady Ladies
* September Bride
* Life Is Good
All songs come from the CD Moorpark Oasis

Links of Interest
* David Silva’s Website
* Japanese Flash
* Unit 731
* Murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker
* Video of Kobayashi arrest at eating contest
* Planet Japan
* Ed’s Mixed Bag

* September Bride video

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: japantalker@gmail.com