As Japan’s population continues to grow older, the nation is having to change to cope with the challenges that come with this aging demographic. The following story is just one unfortunate example of how current systems can fail to meet the needs of the elderly.
Posted by Cara Clegg (Page 15)
Could China finally be ready to make its long-delayed entry into the console wars? It was only a matter of time since the 14-year ban on video game consoles was lifted in January of this year, and a collaboration between two companies has now announced that we could see a new China-exclusive device out sometime this month.
It’s well-known that China’s struggling with some serious air pollution, but perhaps less talked about is the toll being taken on their rivers. According to a recent survey conducted by Chinese media, 96% of respondents felt that not a single river around them was clean enough to swim in. And judging from these photos, anyone who did decide to risk a dive would probably come out looking worse than the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Those right there my friend are fried armored isopods, and they’re just waiting for you to munch down on those crunchy exoskeletons. Heston Blumenthal get on over here, ‘cos this might be just what you need to get your next Michelin star.
This cat is just too cool! A user posted a short video to YouTube, showing off this ginger beast’s totally rocking hairstyle. We’re pretty sure the handsome fellow would be getting kicked out of school for daring to wear such a gravity-defying mohawk!
The Japanese paper company Daishowa First has announced their newest high-quality product: a tissue box containing soft and luxurious tissues of 12 different hues. The product is named ‘Juunihitoe‘, a traditional Japanese word that refers to a twelve-layered ceremonial kimono worn by a court lady. It’s a fittingly regal name for something that will probably only be bought by A-list celebs with too much money on their hands. We don’t all have 100 dollars to drop on our snot-catchers, do we?!
Japan sure knows how to say thanks in a unique way! Super Sentai (not to be confused with hentai!) were on hand to save the day in Taiwan by rescuing an area from rubbish, in a street-cleaning event that began as a way of showing gratitude for Taiwan’s contributions to the Tohoku disaster relief effort. And what expresses those feelings better than people running around in flashy skin-tight suits?
‘I wonder if you’ll have a grandchild when you get this letter?’ These are the words written by a woman 10 years ago, before she lost her life in the March 2011 tsunami. Her mother and father were shocked to find the letter containing them arrive in the mail this January. While there was no Hollywood movie ending where their beloved daughter turned up alive and well, the letter has at least given them a chance to hear some of the things she never had the chance to tell them in life.
Are you a guy wanting to try out makeup for the first time? Well Japan, the land where anything goes, has just the thing for you. Allow us to introduce the ‘my first makeup set’ especially for otokonoko! Otokonoko is written with the kanji character for ‘man’ and ‘young woman’ or ‘daughter’, and is a word used to describe men who look and dress like women.
Air pollution in Beijing on February 25 was worryingly high, but one couple wasn’t going to let that spoil their special day. The brave pair risked the toxic smog to pose for their wedding shots, but took sensible steps to keep themselves safe. The results, however, are a little more creepy than they are romantic.
Have you ever loved something so much, you just had to shout it out to the whole world? Well these guys certainly know that feeling. A group of foreigners created this video for the one true love in their lives – Japanese convenience stores.
What’s this strange contraption? Perhaps a headrest, or some kind of anti-cheating device? Maybe it’s something for the kids to hold on to when English grammar classes get too exciting to bear!?
Actually, this classroom has been fitted with these specially-designed desks as a measure of preserving their kids’ precious eyesight.
Recently, in what we might call the ‘marshmallow movement’, we’ve seen chubby girls start to shed some of their stigma in Japan. A chubby Japanese idol group has already arrived on the scene, and now we can also introduce a dedicated plus-size magazine. And as if marshmallows weren’t enough, they’re apparently also pushing for a new, and rather creative, label.
I think the title of this post should be pretty self explanatory, but in the interest of full disclosure these girls aren’t, as far as we know, actually real military personnel, nor are they members of some kind of guerrilla insurgency. These photos come from a magazine dedicated to ‘survival game fashion’. But hey, the guns look real enough and the girls are hot, so who cares about technicalities?
For a company that deals solely with all things cold, technical and inorganic, it turns out that computer chip maker Intel actually has a surprisingly soft, feeling heart. In what we can only describe as a genuine tear-jerker of a commercial, Intel Japan tells the tale of a young boy dealing with the loss not of his favourite laptop, tablet or gaming rig, but of his best friend–to cancer.
You might want to get the tissues ready for this one!
This week saw a bizarre incident in the world of Korean pro basketball, when a coach decided that the usual method of yelling at one of his players just wasn’t enough to get his point across. His novel solution? Tape their mouth shut.
Animesia is a project combining two things dear to the hearts of the Japanese – anime and food. The title itself is a play on the word anime and the casual Japanese word for food, meshi. Run by The Association of Japanese Animations, it aims to turn the 2D dishes seen in your favourite animes into real, edible morsels, for a limited time only!
The Pokémon with YOU Train is a collaboration between JR East and Pokémon that’s been bringing smiles to the faces of kids affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and this week it made a special appearance in Chiba!
We’re not kids any more, but having seen how awesome it is, we really wish we could take a ride on this thing!!