Japan Talk #121 (Backstage Chat) is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

• Where was Japan Talk all this time?
• What’s in store for the future?
• Feel free to contribute

• Play a role in deciding the news that appears on Japan Talk. Visit JAPUNDIT to contribute stories or to vote on stories contributed by others.

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Got a note recently that says one regular contributor (zichi) is experiencing problems when posting articles to JAPUNDIT.

He says:

The posts used to load very quickly but now they stall after 5 minutes or more I hit the submit button again, wait another 5 minutes and hit it again. Usually on the 3rd try it uploads.

Is anyone else having any problems?

Japan Talk #120 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Top Japan news stories for 2009

* Top Japan sports stories for 2009

Music – Courtesy of JapanFiles.com
* 24 colors by BESPA KUMAMERO

* Crazy Bathroom by BESPA KUMAMERO

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.co

Benjamin Fulford writes about being contacted by Fuji TV to speak on on a news program about Obama’s economic policies and was canceled when it became apparent to the broadcaster that his presentation would not be what they expected…. That is, “to convince the Japanese they should imitate the US.”

If you are looking for a great Japan-themed present for that special someone or if you need something to curl up with during the cold months ahead, you may want to pick up a copy of Picking Bongs From Ash, the debut novel of JAPUNDIT’s very own Marie Mockett.

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY calls it the gorgeous debut novel from Marie Mutsuki Mockett who “succeeds where others fail; making the reader care.”

THE STAR TRIBUNE says, “Mockett combines the best elements of a mystery story, ghost story, magical realism and the complex difficulties in deciding what is ‘best’ for our elders and offspring.”

Click here for more information.

After trying on my own to configure a new voting system on the JAPUNDIT News Site, it seems that I accomplished nothing more than to screw things up a bit and rile up a few of our valued contributors.

We have gotten things back to the point where they are more or less functional, but things now are at the point where they are beyond my limited abilities to correct.

I have dropped a line to our resident system guru, and things will remain a bit strange until he gets back to me.

Please bear with us during these trying moments, and rest assured that we will be working to get things back to normal as soon as possible.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that our router went kaput here at JAPUNDIT Central, which means that the laptop I use for JAPUNDIT business is currently not accessing the Internet.

If anyone needs to contact me, please do so via a JAPUNDIT personal message, as I am unable to read any mail sent to any of the japundit.com mailing addresses.

I do have another computer here, but it is for business and I don’t want to conduct any non-business activities on it.

Star 7 Group, a golf planning company from Australia, is holding a pro-am golf tournament at Biwaike Golf Club in Tochigi Prefecture on June 7 (Sunday).

The purpose of the tournament is to provide a venue where amateurs from various countries can enjoy playing together with professionals and other amateurs, while vying for a collection of valuable prizes. The New Peoria System will be applied for amateur scoring, which means that everyone has a chance to win.

Date: June 7 (Sunday)
Location: Biwaike Golf Club (yaitabiwaike.com)
Fee: 17,000 yen for amateurs (includes cart, lunch, party, entry fee)

Prizes include: stay at a hot springs resort, stay at a luxury hotel in Tokyo, dinner at a luxury restaurant in Tokyo, dinner cruise, golf goods, golf range ball cards, and more

Entries must be received by May 29 Friday.

I plan on being there, so if you are interested in joining me for a round of golf, send an e-mail to contact[at]japundit[dot]com for details and an entry form.

After much procrastination and personal business that had me totally distracted for a while, the T-shirts for the promotion campaign were taken to the post office today and sent out.

Soon we will contacting the Top 10 winners about their additional prizes.