I don’t want to seem callous, but I literally had to look at the byline of this story to see if I hadn’t stumbled across something from last year. . . Or the year before that. . . Or the year before that. . .
Sleazy weekly says TV Ironman Monta Mino may be in a bit of hot water for trying to mess around with his female on-screen “assistant,” Airi Yamada. Some say Yamada just “can’t take a joke.”
In this image above, models pose with Honda’s CBR600RR at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show happening now in Tokyo.
Would be nice if we could actually SEE the damn bike!
Check out this Mobile Suit Gundam figure made of pure platinum.
The five-inch tall three-pound figure was created in a collaboration between Bandai and Tokyo jeweler Ginza Tanaka, and has 89 separatte parts.
Estimated value: 30 million yen.
Via Pink Tentacle.
We’ve heard a number of times that people around the world just can’t seem to get enough of Japanese anime and manga, and for many people these are their only sources of information about Japan.
That’s great, but it seems that like anything else, a love for anime and manga can become such an obsession that. . .
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. . .
In Akihabara, you really see it all…
This image is from the amazing blog An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla. Very cool site for all things otaku.
It may be just a bottle of liquid, but watching this makes me feel just a bit queasy.
Lindsay Ann Hawker, the 22-year old woman who recently was beaten and suffocated before being buried in a bathtub full of sand, was in Japan because she thought it to be a safe place with a good society.
“Before coming to Japan, she had researched extensively on the Net. We all agreed that Japan was a safe place and a good society,” [Lindsay's father said in a recent press conference], adding that he and his wife and another daughter had visited Lindsay at Christmas and had been proud when they saw where she worked and lived.
According to friends, however, once she got here she quickly found out that Japan may not be the dream world she originally had expected it to be.
A friend revealed that Lindsay was planning to come home next month — as she found Japanese men “creepy”.
Toby Wheeler, 30, who worked with Lindsay in Tokyo, said: “She found Japanese men weird. Some made inappropriate gestures and sexual remarks.
“She got increasingly upset and wanted to come home.”
A woman who worked for an Osaka high school recently lost her job, was arrested, and was fined 100,000 for stealing toilet paper from the school. When caught, she had in her possession one roll of toilet paper. . . Worth 37 yen.
Princess Kiko with Prince Hisahito, who is the first male born into the Japanese Imperial Family in 41 years and who may end up one day becoming the Emperor of Japan, as they arrive at the imperial farm in Takanezawa.
The cherry blossoms have returned. And as you would expect, they are as beautiful as ever. If you are anything like me, you’ll want to go out and take a walk in Ueno Park in Tokyo and appreciate the beauty.
If you’re in Kyoto, stop by Kyomizudera and check out the hill side which have newly planted sakura for your viewing pleasure. It really is breathtaking.
Let the spring time begin!!
Bloomberg Media is reporting that it is possible that the Japanese government had a hand in quietly seeing convicted war criminals such as Tojo Hideki added to the register of names at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
Japan’s government didn’t force the controversial Yasukuni Shrine to honor war criminals, the country’s top officials said.
The government decades ago proposed that the Tokyo shrine honor those convicted of crimes during World War II, documents released by the National Diet Library yesterday suggest. Minutes from a 1969 meeting of health ministry and Yasukuni officials show an agreement that 12 Class-A war criminals should be made eligible for enshrinement, “while avoiding any announcement.”
The Associated Press is also reporting on this story as well.
Japan’s premier Thursday denied any wrongdoing after documents suggested past governments quietly asked a Shinto shrine to honour war criminals, setting the stage for a major diplomatic row.
I am unclear who first broke this story but its curious that no Japanese media sourse has, as of the publishing of this article here on Japundit, covered the story. Interesting.
Well it seems as though the fashion experts of Tokyo are declaring the summer of 2007 to be another summer where ‘cute’ will rule the market. Kawaii cuture has been huge in Japan ever since I can remember.
In the early 90’s there was a trend to go a little sexier with skirts that showed a bit more leg and jeans that hugged the hips a bit more. But at least in the last five years, ‘Cute’ has been selling out not just here in Tokyo but everywhere in the world. Oddly enough!
Nakanishi Kanako of Yahoo News has published an article about this summers fashion trends and highlights. Click on the link to read it. One part of the article that got me laughing is as follows:
Some fans travelled all night to take in the one-day show where mini-skirts, slender legs and sexy stockings were all the rage.Companies let the girls log online to buy the clothes they see on the catwalk — and sold them everything from lingerie to mobile phones to chewing gum.
“We couldn’t help but cry when we saw the models for real!” said 23-year-old Saori Uchiyama.
Her friend of the same age, Mie Saito, wearing skinny jeans and red boots, chimed in: “Why do they look so cute when they’re just wearing the same clothes I do?”
“Cute” — or “kawaii” in Japanese — is the theme word of the Tokyo Girls Collection. Neither Saori nor Mie could remember how many times they invoked the word during at the show.
“She says ‘kawaii’ for absolutely anything!” Miyuki Kidoguchi said of her 18-year-old daughter Tomomi whom she brought to the show. “Sometimes I think my daughter uses the word in the wrong way.”
BBC asks the BIG QUESTION. . . Are gaijin women safe in Tokyo?
If you know Tokyo fairly well, you know that Roppongi Hills is the place to be if your concerned about reputation… And if you can afford it. Akin perhaps to something of a Japanese version of Beverly Hills, its the ultra swanky posh place to be. But Japan Times is reporting that there is a new part of town that is giving ‘The Hills’ a run for its money. Minato.
Tokyo Midtown, a new commercial/residential complex occupying the 10-hectare site of the former Defense Agency and only 500 meters north of Roppongi Hills near Roppongi and Nogizaka subway stations, will officially open its doors Friday, standing out as a new monolith soaring above the bustling din of the famed nightlife district.
Boasting 248-meter-tall Midtown Tower, one of the highest in Tokyo, the 370 billion yen complex developed by a six-firm consortium led by Mitsui Fudosan Co. houses the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo luxury hotel, office space for 20,000 workers, upscale apartments for 1,200 dwellers, 130 shops and restaurants, industrial design offices, art galleries and what some expect to be a top-flight medical center offering services in both Japanese and English.
I have to admit that I love Setagaya. Its a perfect half and half that I call home. Half glitzy half normal. But I must admit that Midtown Tokyo does sound very nice indeed… Though I think anyone who wants to setup shop there better start saving their pennies.
