A pair of online game players in Shanghai got a bit carried away, resulting in one of them being carried away on a slab.

Qiu Chengwei, 41, stabbed competitor Zhu Caoyuan repeatedly in the chest after he was told Zhu had sold his “dragon sabre”, used in the popular online game, “Legend of Mir 3″, [the China Daily] said a Shanghai court was told on Tuesday.

“Legend of Mir 3″ features heroes and villains, sorcerers and warriors, many of whom wield enormous swords.

After Qiu and a friend jointly won a weapon, they lent it to Zhu who turned around and sold it 7,200 yuan (464 pounds). Qui went to the police, but they told him that theft of a virtual item was not protected under the law.

Despite Zhu’s promises to turn over the money to the pair, Qui became enraged and stabbed Zhu with a non-cyber type knife in the chest, killing him.

Woman’s shirt, found in a department store.

Now that impossible-to-attain deadlines are approaching and people are talking about putting a further burden on cash-strapped state coffers to pay for so-called ” emissions reduction credits,” even Japan is starting to have second thoughts about how to implement the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The government keeps coming up with various plans, but they are rightfully shying away from imposing a “carbon tax” on an economy for which flat-lining is considered to be a positive development.

Though Japan is obliged to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by 6% from the 1990 level by 2012 under Kyoto, emissions in fiscal 2002 were 7.6% higher than in 1990. Japan’s Environment Ministry originally said that a carbon tax is required in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the government’s final plan merely called for discussion of a tax “in a serious and comprehensive manner.”

However, Environment Minister Yuriko Koike (who, apparently, is qualified for her job based on a BA in Sociology from Cairo University and a stint as an economic newsreader babe on a Tokyo TV station) says she still believes that taxing people into submission is an effective way to fight global warming. “We want to continue our discussions and aim to introduce the levy in fiscal 2006,” she said.

As the old joke goes, I thought what I saw was the light at the end of the tunnel when suddenly I realized it was a train coming at me.

Though the government is stridently denying it, it appears as if the current Japanese economic “recovery” could possibly end up going the way of previous up turns - nowhere at all.

Industrial production fell in February from the previous month, while unemployment rose. The strength of the yen is making it difficult for Japan to export itself out of recession. All the while, the government is trying to urge everyone to take solace in the fact that the economy is merely flat-lining instead of heading downwards.

Other signs of possible trouble on the horizon include a sharp drop in household spending and retail sales, along with rising unemployment. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average is tanking as foreign investors are pulling out of Japanese stocks in fear of the country’s economic future.

As always the government is clueless. They are using the media to create the perception the recession that has endured for more than 10 years is over, and so now it is time to — raise taxes, of course!

Just today, the Japanese Diet voted to phase out a 20% income tax cut that was adopted in 1999 for the purpose of stimulating the economy. By eliminating the cut, taxes effectively will be raised by 10% from their current levels in 2006 and then another 10% the following year.

The government claims the money is needed to curb public debt used to pay for things like roads that go nowhere, lining every last inch of the nation’s riverbeds with concrete, massive slush funds maintained by police and other public officials, and exorbitant salaries paid to do-nothing paper pushers and bureaucrat pooh-bahs. Apparently, the notion of cutting costs never has entered the Nagatacho mind.

Of course, this will not be the first time that Japanese politicians, when faced with a budding economic recovery, have acted like ivory hunters setting upon the last living pachyderm on the face of the earth. As Bloomberg columnist William Pesek Jr. writes:

It doesn’t take much to recall episodes where Japan created fresh economic headwinds. In 2001, for example, it tightened fiscal policy, worsening a decline. In 2000, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates amid modest growth. And in the late 1990s, politicians raised taxes, scuttling a pick up in demand.

Oh, and by the way. . .

The 20% income tax increase is a totally separate issue from the government’s other plan to raise the consumption (sales) tax from the current 5% to 15% or even 20%.

Eleven Tokyo railway companies will introduce women-only rush hour carriages starting sometime in April or May.

Boys up to elementary school age and physically handicapped men will also be able to ride in the special carriages, so I guess they are not really women-only after all. . .

More of the Rakuten Eagles bra model!

Click here for more Triumph International theme underwear.

Jessica Mitford’s The American Way of Death was an unlikely best seller in 1963 that exposed the funeral industry’s exploitation of families at their most vulnerable in search of higher profits. Mitford released a revised edition the book called The American Way of Death Revisited before her own passing in 1996.

Though funerals are conducted in an entirely different way in Japan, the profit motive is universal, so the practices Mitford exposed in the United States also plague Japan. Complaints about these practices have spurred Japan’s Fair Trade Commission to launch a probe of the funeral industry. While the source of the problem is the same as that pointed out by Mitford—an industry that tries to get it while it can during a family’s period of vulnerability—this is exacerbated in Japan today. Society’s aging is causing the market to expand, resulting in intensified competition among the companies that provide funeral services and related products.

A questionnaire survey conducted in 2003 by the Japan Consumer’s Association found that the average cost of a funeral nationwide was 1.5 million yen, or about US$ 14,000. This does not count the 380,000 yen (US$ 3,500) for expenses associated with the wake, or the 480,000 yen (US$ 4,400) yen paid to the Buddhist priest for various services. Thus, the total cost of a funeral for a family is roughly the same as a new automobile purchase.

Some specific practices the Commission cited include extra charges levied by funeral directors for services despite prearranged contracts when the number of mourners exceeds expectations, or the failure to return funds to people who cancel prepaid accounts to cover their own funeral expenses. The Commission examined whether estimates were presented in advance and whether the funeral directors demanded unreasonable discounts from other businesses, such as florists and hearse operators. Their report is expected this June.

As I noted, Buddhist funeral services in Japan are very different from their Western counterparts. The accompanying photo shows mourners performing one of their obligations, which is lighting and offering a stick of incense to the deceased. If you’re interested in a detailed explanation of Japanese funeral services, try this website.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference between a Japanese service and those in the West comes at the end of the funeral itself. Most Japanese are cremated, and the immediate family accompanies the deceased to the crematorium. They witness the insertion of the coffin into the furnace and stay until the process is finished. When the cremation is complete, the family gathers over the ashes to place some of the remains in an urn. One member selects a bone using a large set of chopsticks and passes it directly to another family member, who also uses chopsticks to place it in the urn. While this might seem unthinkable in the West, one Japanese man told me that it brings a sense of closure, and most families feel it is an essential part of the service.

This custom, incidentally, is the reason it is considered bad form to pass food at the dinner table from one person’s chopsticks to another.

Jessica Mitford published an expose of the American funeral business, but Evelyn Waugh satirized it in his novel The Loved One, which was turned into a film starring Jonathan Winters. For an equally irreverent view of contemporary Japanese funerals, the best source is the film Soshiki (The Funeral), Itami Juzo’s directorial debut. It is billed as a comedy, but that does the movie a disservice. The Funeral is available on DVD with subtitles from Amazon.com

1.19 million beef bowl fans in Japan have signed a petition demanding that the country lift a 15-month-old ban on the import of U.S. beef that has caused Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain to drop the popular item from its menu. The petition was submitted to Agriculture Minister Yoshinobu Shimamura.

Shimamura told the petitioners, “We will try to live up to your expectations,” which is Japanese for, “You people must be nuts! We’ve got a domestic beef industry to protect!”

But not everyone agrees with the beef bowlers.

Surveys have shown that from 65 to 70 percent of Japanese consumers don’t want U.S. beef, believing it is dangerous. That’s ironic . . . given that Japan has had 15 cases of BSE since September 2001. (As a result, the United States has banned Japanese beef since then.)

Some U.S. lawmakers have called for trade sanctions if Japan does not re-open its market soon.

Click here for a collection of 1920s and 1930s Japanese travel brochures from the collection of David Levine.

This online gallery contains images of original brochures, not reproductions.

That is the slogan of the uchimizu website maintained by the Japan Water Forum.

Uchimizu is the Japanese practice of watering your garden and foyer, and the entire street in front of your dwelling or shop, especially in the summertime. In addition to reducing dust in the air, this practice is believed to cool the air.

The uchimizu page provides the following “ABC’s of Uchimizu.”

1. Prepare a container for the water.
2. Transfer rainwater, leftover bath water, air-conditioner drainage or other collected water (never tap water) into the container.
3. Splash the water around.

Though this is pretty straightforward, it simply would not be a Japanese procedure without a long list of precautions designed protect the writer against responsibility in case of just about any silly contingency imaginable. Here they are.

• Wear a hat or a cap if available to protect you from the sun.
• Be aware of passers-by and other participants.
• Refrain yourself from watering on busy streets.
• Sprinkle water in a quiet and safe place.
• DO NOT WATER at curves, crossroads, or over manhole covers. It makes the street highly slippery.
• Car drivers and bike riders: Please be careful when entering watered areas.

That’s an awful lot of information just to splash a little water around.

Tom Plate, syndicated columnist, UCLA professor, and director of the nonprofit Asia Pacific Media Network has written an interesting editorial titled: Japan apologetic: Prisoner of the past?

He correctly points out that Japanese are often puzzled at demands for a “sincere apology” by Korea and China.

“During a certain period in the not too distant past, Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war, only to ensnare the Japanese people in a fateful crisis and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology. Allow me also to express my feelings of profound mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, of that history.”

Not theoretically, good enough? In fact, this was the stated public apology for Japan’s war crimes delivered by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. And this was in 1995.

In 1998, former Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi again expressed “remorse and heartfelt apology.”

Plate also seems to believe that the recent boldness by the Japanese government under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may be part of a strategy aimed at removing the apology card from the diplomatic table entirely.

Japan sports one of history’s most amazing economies, but until recently its diplomatic bottom-line has been far too conservative and risk-adverse. Under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Foreign Ministry ace Machimura, that appears to be changing. If the effort is truly successful, Japan then will no longer need to apologize to anyone.

Here’s some news from the Chosun Ilbo that may cause loud oaths and the drunken hurling of empty cups in the local pojangmacha—Asahi and Kirin, Japan’s two largest beer makers, have formed alliances with two South Korean companies in an attempt to buy Jinro, South Korea’s largest soju manufacturer.

Soju is a distilled liquor originally made from potatoes that really packs a punch: it has an alcohol concentration of 25%-35%. Immensely popular, it has a 30% share of the alcoholic beverage market, second to beer’s 47%. I saw it sold chilled and cheap in convenience stores during my trips to Busan. It is a cousin of Japanese shochu, which has shed its rotgut image over the past 30 years by adding an additional distilling process to achieve greater drinkability and broader appeal.

Jinro, which claims a 55% of the soju market nationwide and a 92% share in Seoul, has been in receivership since May 2003 and is overloaded with debt. The Japanese brewers are interested in snapping up the company for several reasons. In addition to the company’s market share, they include a distribution network, particularly in Seoul, that would enable foreign companies to establish a foothold in a sector difficult to crack. Jinro also has the largest share of the soju market in Japan. The company’s Japanese arm does not suffer from the parent’s financial difficulties, so buying the company is a better alternative that starting up a new brand. Finally, Jinro has a fully developed distribution network for sales of scotch whisky in South Korea.

A total of 14 domestic companies submitted bids for Jinro, but the Japanese brewers jumped into the fray after agreeing to form tie-ups with two of them: Asahi Breweries linked up with Lotte Chilsung while Kirin Brewery affiliated with the CJ Group.

It would be an ironic twist if Kirin’s success enabled it to reenter the Korean liquor market. During the colonization period, Asahi and Kirin were almost solely responsible for creating the beer industry in that country. OB beer, one of the two mass-market Korean beers, was originally brewed by the Oriental Brewery, a spinoff of Asahi. Kirin also produced a local beer—the company’s name was modified into Crown, which became the second-most popular brand in the postwar era, though I think it is no longer produced. In fact, the Korean word for beer is mekju, which is the Koreanized form of the word mugishu, the prewar Japanese word for beer until the Japanese decided to just call it biiru.

Every restaurant I entered during my visits to South Korea served great food, regardless of the clientele or price range. The people really know how to eat. I cannot say the same for their beer, however—it made Budweiser seem like a microbrew. I’m not sure why the Japanese brewers failed to pass their skills on to the Korean companies, but Japanese beer is clearly much better. If you don’t believe me, try this site for a review of Korean beers.

And before I forget—a pojangmacha is a wheeled stall serving food and drink set up on the city’s streets. The Japanese also eat at street stalls, but they tend to specialize in one type of food. Korean stalls, in contrast, have a much wider selection of food and resemble a Japanese yakitori. If you’re ever in South Korea, I highly recommend visiting one. The food is laid out in front of the diners, so just point and hold up your fingers to order.

We are pleased to announce the grand opening of the JAPUNDIT STORE!

Right now our selection is limited to a few mimikaki, a few character magnets, EyeTalk eyelid glue, and some Janglish (Pigeon Shit) T-shirts, but we plan to be adding more items day by day.

If you are interested in obtaining something from Japan that you do not see at JAPUNDIT STORE, please feel free to drop us a line at store@japundit.com, and we will see if we can find it for you.

The following is an image of an actual T-shirt that I found at the local department store.

Buy it at the new JAPUNDIT STORE! Only two available.

Japan has long been known to have the highest life expectancy of any other developed country. Researchers are saying that one reason for this may be the high level of cruciferous vegetables eaten here. In fact, Japanese consume cruciferous vegetables at a volume that is five times that of U.S. consumption.

Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, kale, watercress, radish, parsnip, turnip, rutabaga and kohlrabi.

Click here for details.

After losing to Bahrain 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match, North Korea declared it will appeal to FIFA, soccer’s governing body, about unfair officiating, according to this AP report. Said coach Yun Jong Su, “The chief referee took sides with the opposition too much.”

Runs in the family, I guess.

Peru ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who has been living in exile in Japan since 2000, has his eye on a political comeback financed by a new cola drink dubbed “Fuji-Cola.”

Fujimori is reportedly planning to run in next year’s Peruvian presidential election in spite of a ban on his holding any public office until at least 2010.

Mr. Fujimori’s son has reportedly applied to register the Fuji-Cola name as a trademark of beers, mineral waters, and carbonated beverages.

The old adage tells us that hell hath not fury like a woman scorned, but evidently there are plenty of men who don’t take being jilted too lightly either.

In Hong Kong recently, a man was arrested after he tossed pots, books, an electric fan, bed, and just about everything else he owned out of his 35th-floor apartment after breaking up with his girlfriend. By the time he was through, the only thing left was the air conditioner, refrigerator, washer, and any furniture too large for him to lift.

Reading the Japanese news everyday, one could easily get the impression that a good deal of the nation’s technological resources are being devoted to coming up with innovative new ways to look up women’s skirts.

A few days ago we had a Tokyo elementary school teacher who was arrested for trying to use a video camera concealed in his shoe to film up the skirt of a young schoolgirl on a train. The man had a remote controller in his pocket which he could use to control the camera.

More recently it was a policeman who was picked up in Morioka for trying to shot up a woman’s skirt with a video camera concealed in an umbrella.

Reports like this really make me wonder what will be next. Perhaps someday we there will be small robots with upward pointing cameras roaming the floors and shooting up the skirts of its unsuspecting victims.

I recently read about a virtual hunter web service where subscribers can control and fire a .22 rifle located in a blind out on a ranch in Texas. The area will be stocked with wildlife, so you soon will be able to log in and at game from anywhere in the world. This site has gained so much attention that some states are reportedly passing special laws to require shooters to be present at the scene of the hunt and in possession of the firearm at the time it is discharged.

So how long will be before some entrepreneur comes up with a virtual voyeur service? Subscribers get to control strategically located cameras and snap upskirt images without ever having to leave the comfort of their computer keyboard. No muss, no fuss, and no fuzz!

In a review well worth reading, translator and essayist Hiroaki Sato profiles the remarkable 1988 book “Kejo no Showa Shi” (A History of Showa as a Phantom City) by Daikichi Terauchi in this article in the Japan Times . (Showa is the posthumous name of Emperor Hirohito and is thus the era name denoting the time of his reign.)

Most works examining the history of Imperial Japan in the first half of the 20th century cite nationalism as the driving force. Terauchi instead emphasizes the influence of Nichiren Buddhism on many important people of the period. Nichiren is one sect of Japanese Buddhism and is itself split into several sects, some of which have widely varying beliefs. It is perhaps most well known in the West for the adherents’ chanting of the title of the Lotus Sutra, its core scripture—Namu Myoho Renge Kyo (”I Take My Refuge in the Lotus Sutra”).

In the modern era, Nichiren’s influence is primarily through lay movements that have formed popular religious organizations. These are diverse; some believe in faith healing, some promise benefit in this life, and some have shamanistic practices. Most of the sects aggressively proselytize. One of the most prominent today is the Sokka Gakkai, who have formed their own political party, the New Komeito. This party is the junior coalition member of the administration currently ruling Japan, led by the Liberal-Democratic Party. (Note: This does not mean that New Komeito or the LDP seek a revival of the Japanese empire.)

Terauchi’s interest in the sect’s influence in Imperial Japan began when he spotted the phrase Namu Myoho Renge Kyo written on a banner that appeared in a photo taken during a conference convened to create the Manchukuo puppet state in Mongolia in the 30s and 40s. He discovered that one of the men in the photograph, army officer Kanji Ishihara, was a Nichirenist and one of the instigators of the Manchurian Incident.

Other members of the sect were responsible for political assassinations that plagued Japan during the unrest of the 30s. Terauchi notes that the four junior officers who spearheaded the attempted coup on February 26, 1936 (now known as the 2-26 Incident) were also Nichirenists. This coup attempt was an important event in modern Japanese history, as the army gained the upper hand in national politics in the wake of the coup’s failure.

As a reviewer, Sato’s reach far exceeds his grasp when he inserts some comments that try to compare the Nichirenists with Christians in the U.S. who believe in the Rapture, who, he claims in a backhand swipe, are responsible for invading Iraq. Despite this silliness, the review is worth reading for the light it sheds on a seldom-explored aspect of the nexus between religion and politics in Imperial Japan.