Japan Talk #132 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Lazy days of spring
* White On Rice

* Kim Yu-na’s Olympic gold to net her $1 million
* Korean cyber attack on 2ch
* Bad luck goes down the toilet at Japan temple rite
* Japanese women go gaga over Buddha boys
* Japan gains two of three major Scotch whisky awards
* U.S. to support ban on bluefin tuna
* Hermes ex-staff on trial for fake handbags for Japan
* The inside on Japanese superstitions, by Maggie Sensei
* Month-long anti-suicide campaign

* Bullet in bag gets Chinichi pitcher arrested in Japan
* U.S. Marine base to stay in Okinawa
* Fukuoka man arrested for grave robbing
* Gene Simmons (KISS) son accused of manga plagiarism
* J-researchers develop iron that never gets hot
* Exploding police box toilet injures Chiba cop
* Body image, diet pushing Japanese women to lose weight
* Chinese government wants children to get fit to fight Japanese
* Online drinking parties appeal to young Japanese
* Princess Aiko skips school over bullying fears

Music (Podsafe Music Network)
* Baja Taxi, by Brain Bucket

* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino

Links Of Interest
* Maggie Sensei
* Osaka Asia Film Festival
* Shibuya screening of White On Rice (March 20)

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #131 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Thoughts on Japanese skaters and sports

* JapaneseTeens rescue 4-year-old from burning apartment

* Japan exports soar at fastest pace in 30 years

* China economic bubble to burst in 10 years?

* Japan Sumo Association tightens up foreign wrestler restrictions

* Man kills biker over noise

* Middle-aged man joins bikers in creating mayhem

* All Nippon Airways introduces ladies-only lavatories

* Japan may be willing to sign treaty on child abduction

* Record number of Japanese goes to pot (cannabis)

* Shimane Prefecture make Takeshima/Dokdo push

* Japan to reject any U.N. ban on Bluefin tuna

* Secret deal will allow resumption of Japanese commercial whaling

* Hardcore comics sidestep Japan porn laws

* New strict rules to control Japan swimmer fashion

Music (Japan Files)
* Owari No Nai Uta, by Daijyo
* Hotarubi, by Aoi Kidokoro

* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino

Links Of Interest

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #130 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Replaying some oldies

* Trespassing whaling protestor may be brought to Japan
* Whale meat trial begins
* Man burglarizes 1,000 homes over 10 years
* Japanese scientists develop year-round cherry tree
* Temples offering virtual grave visits
* Free Japanese weekly downloads on Japan iTunes
* Bones may tell the story of wartime human experiments

* 33 Must See Japanese Scenes
* Japan, Korea, China mulling free trade agreement
* Japanese Olympic snowboard criticized for sloppy dress
* iTunes questioned over bogus credit card charges
* Morgan Stanley may lose Japan hotel chain
* Half-Japanese prof wins suit for being subject to discrimination by Japanese in the U.S.
* Arrested man shoots cop with cop’s gun
* Australia threatens Japan with legal action over whaling
* Tattoos in the sento
* Saitama toughens up sign posts against dog urine
* Families of 1972 airport attack sue North Korea
* Bikini Liquor Shop

Music (Podsafe Music Network)
* Big In Japan, by Supergene
* Japan The National Pool

* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino

Links Of Interest
* Bikini Liquor Shop

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #129 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Still cold…
* Releasing Episode #128 a bit late
* Replaying some oldies
* Correction from Episode #128
* How Japan Talk and JAPUNDIT work

* Abdominal size no sign of metabolic syndrome
* Taxi fare save pedometer
* Man goes on rampage protesting foreigner voting rights
* Comparison of pizza shops in Japan
* Pandas coming back to Ueno Zoo
* Origins of Toyota recall explained
* One in three Japanese marriage sexless
* Japa Dog Japanese style hot dogs

* 85% of Japanese favor death penalty
* Gaijin Beat Japan info directory
* Ramen Box online ramen store
* NHK World TV iPhone app
* Mongolian press mocks Sumo Association
* Doctors arrested over fatally botched surgery
* Japan negotiating to reduce Antarctic whaling
* Toyota undone by Japan’s work ethic?
* The “couple buster” who went too far
* “Dead” man wakes up on autopsy table

Music (Podsafe Music Network)
* Headphone, by Rika Shinohara
* Hiccups Riyu Konaka
* Hey You Insist

Links Of Interest
* Lonelee Planet
* Nihonshock
* GaijinBeat
* Ramen Box
* Toyota Videos

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #128 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Cold, cold, cold!

* JAPUNDIT included in Japanzine’s Top-10 Japan Related Blogs

* Yokozuna Asashoryu forced to retire
* Hip-hop monk delivers thugged-out sutras
* Saitama’s John Lennon Museum to close
* White on Rice, a film by Dave Boyle
* Learn Japanese with Anime-Manga
* Eikaiwa Review rates and ranks English schools

* North Korea to ease up on free markets (again)
* Christopher Hitchens on North Korea
* Crying Girl DVD
* X Japan to play main stage at Lollapalooza
* U.S. practicing gangster government against Toyota?
* Kamei warns foreigner suffrage could cause problems
* Chinese Narita terminal dweller headed home
* The story of Japanese Peruvians
* U.S. Congresswoman gets it wrong about Japanese health care
* Rumor: Tokyo metro subway mulling 24-hour schedule
* Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” sets sales record in Japan
* Man fakes robbery to hide unemployment from wife

Music (Japan Files)
* Sweets & Pretty, by C-ZONE
* Snow Breeze C-ZONE

* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino

Links Of Interest
* White On Rice
* Big Dreams Little Tokyo
* Anime-Manga
* Eikaiwa Review

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #127 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Busy week
* Some news from the JAPUNDIT aggregator

* Number of foreign visitors to Japan plunges
* Bullet train may be headed to U.S.
* “Fill My Cups” at Singapore nightclub
* Chocolate fondue boom in Japan
* Court awards damages to overworked foreign workers
* 4-year-old survives 8-story fall with minor injuries

* Men’s cosmetics on the rise
* Wasabi smell fire alarm
* Police hotline to accept child abuse reports
* Bullets sent to politicians by mail
* Baseball fans have no right to make noise
* Murder in Japan at post-war record low
* Butcher of Akihabara apologizes

Music (Podsafe Music Network)
* Another Stupid Idea from Japan, by Dogs Must Be Carried
* Japanese People The Argyle Pimps

* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino

Links Of Interest
* Child Abuse Hotline
* Child Abuse Hotline: 0120-924-839

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #125 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Seijin No Hi (Coming of Age day)

* James Cameron to direct Hiroshima movie?
* Japan slipping into “poverty”?
* J-publishers units against Kindle
* 900 weekly protests by Korean comfort women
* Kim Jong Il admits failure (so far)
* Tokyo cops fall for gaijin prank
* Strange J-beauty products set for world market
* J-doctor charged with trafficking in bear parts
* Uniqlo prez still Japan’s wealthiest

* Ringer Hut to open Bangkok outlet
* Sony timer urban legend
* J-government set for gaijin local suffrage
* Sex-changed man’s son un-registerable in Hyogo
* 61st Sapporo Snow Festival
* Man hired as school principal found to have record
* Transsexual marriage ring busted
* Dice-K confesses to hiding WBC injury
* Woman drives home with body of 80-year-old on windshield
* Happy Valentine Pizza from Domino Japan
* Welfare group busted for tax evasion
* Boys arrested for throwing object onto expressway

Music
* Intro segment: Baja Taxi by Brain Bucket (Podsafe Music Network)
* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino (MF247)
* Ending: Sweet Melissa (Live in Tokyo) by Chris Juergensen (Podsafe Music Network)

Links Of Interest
* Chris Juergensen’s website

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #124 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* Whale wars!

* Suzan Boyle scores big for NHK, receives marriage proposals
* Less than half of J-singles looking for a mate
* Seiji Ozawa cancels schedule due to cancer treatment
* Gundam coming to Shizuoka
* Medical history discrimination in hiring
* College students put off by smokers
* Single tuna auctioned for 16.28 million yen

* Electric shock treatment for mushrooms
* Caution required when visiting Osaka maid cafes
* Tiffany robbed by man “trying on” rings
* Hole-in-the-wall gang strikes again
* 14-year-old girls busted for pot
* Woman sets hubby alight
* Nippon TV looking for disenchanted Obama supporters

Music
* Intro segment: Baja Taxi by Brain Bucket (Podsafe Music Network)
* Middle segment: Weaving Song by Akino (MF247)
* EndingWahoo! by Hiryu (Japan Files)

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Contact: podcast@japundit.com

Japan Talk #123 (Backstage Chat) is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

• Adobe Audition story
• Mixcraft + Propaganda
• Japan Talk (Libsyn) comments

• 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

Japan Talk #122 is now available on the Japan Talk website and at FeedBurner.

* The Year of the Tiger – Happy New Year 2010
* Chinese Zodiac Story

* Chocolate sparkling soda from Suntory
* Transparent goldfish
* Japan Meteorological Agency to stop cherry blossom report
* Japanese man shoots for paper plane record
* Japanese wine gaining respect
* Japan gang hands out cash to kids for New Year

* Margaret Thatcher turned down karate ladies in 1979
* Macdonald’s Japan to roll out four new burgers
* Dancing to the bath house rock
* Japan suicides over 30,000 again
* Prime Minister pays hefty back tax levy
* Crazy emergency police calls
* Anti-groping gloves
* Man in Japan prefers his collection of dolls

Music – Courtesy of JapanFiles.com
* Melty Vision by BESPA KUMAMERO
* Furusato Jizou by Kouji Fukushima
* Umeboshi Plums (Big Seeds) TsuShiMaMiRe

* Japan Talk in the iTunes Store

Links of Interest
* Furusato
* Jizou
* Enka

Contact: podcast@japundit.com