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John Stuart

Having originally set forth from Vancouver, Canada on what was supposed to a three-hour tour, John found himself washed up on the shores of these well-charted and populous isles some 25 years ago. Now working as a Tokyo-based freelance translator, he enjoys drinking in many of the city’s tachinomiya (standing-only bars) in his free time, but after short spans often finds himself in search of a chair.

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Posted by John Stuart Translations (Page 3)

Food Fight! Mos Burger to Take on McDonald’s in the Breakfast Arena

MOS (Mountain Ocean, Sun) Food Services announced on the 18th that it would open all 1,400 of its MOS Burger outlets at 7:00 a.m. by the end of the year. The hamburger chain already operates 430 of its stores from that early hour and plans to progressively open the remainder at that time. McDonald’s Japan had been aggressive in the breakfast space with its “Morning Mac” campaign, and MOS Burger’s move is expected to intensify competition. At a press conference MOS President and CEO Atsushi Sakurada explained that the number of people eating breakfast out was increasing, especially among the elderly and working women, adding, “Change in the morning person market is accelerating. I want to strengthen our preparedness.”

Could this mean additional woes for an already troubled McDonald’s Japan?

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Japanese Businessman Suspected of Slashing Up to 1,000 Tires in Effort to Meet Women

Suspected of violating laws related to acts of violence, the first trial for company employee Yoshihito Harada, 25, was held at the Nagoya district courthouse on 16 April. Harada stands accused of puncturing the tires of parked cars that were driven by women in an effort to strike up conversations with the drivers. When asked if there was any truth to the indictment, Harada admitted, “It’s true, I did it.”

According to the opening statement by prosecutors, between April 2011 and December 2012, Harada used a screw driver or other sharp object to puncture the tires of five different cars. The cars had all been parked outside supermarkets in the cities of Miyoshi, Nisshin and Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. In all cases the stated reason was so that Harada could establish contact with the women.

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Facebook Opens Brick-and-Mortar Store in Myanmar – Or Does It?

In a recent visit to Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, we made a rather interest discovery; it would appear Facebook was trying to muscle in on the hot Southeast Asian clothing market.

Even after closer inspection, however, we were unable to determine whether or not Zuckerburg and crew were in fact the backers behind this chic apparel retailer.

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Who’s Stealing our Flags? Osaka Prefectural Police Look for Clues

Having ruled out Colonel Mustard with a candlestick in the dining room (thanks Hasbro), Osaka prefectural police at the city’s Taisho station are trying to figure out who made off with national flags from two of the district’s elementary schools on April 16.
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Chinese Authorities to Issue Ban on Using Quotes from Weibo and Foreign Media Sources

It became evident on the 16th that as a general rule, Chinese authorities would soon ban domestic media companies from using quotes from foreign media sources and information garnered from Weibo, the country’s popular microblogging website. Citing the need to “form a healthy reporting structure,” among other reasons, authorities are preparing to lay out strict reporting regulations

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), state authorities that control domestic media, made it clear they will start “requesting reporters and editors” not to use reports from foreign media sources or citizen-generated content from the Internet without first gaining prior approval.

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Free Gifts and Cheap Coffee No Help as McDonald’s Japan Troubles Continue

The collapse of McDonald’s Japan continued as the company recorded declining year-over-year sales for the 12th consecutive month at the end of March. The situation is dismal, as whatever the company does seems to end in failure.

Its 100-yen menu (about one US dollar) and free giveaways no longer impress customers who have grown accustomed to deflationary pricing. Its “Food in 60 seconds or next burger free” campaign, which the company initiated in January as a measure to help revive fortunes, also failed to deliver. And there doesn’t appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel. Its most recent venture, free gum and other “unique”gifts to purchasers of breakfast sets, has been roundly criticized on the Internet as being a “hackneyed idea.”
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New Hyundai Concept Car Looks a Bit Like Dragon Ball Character Frieza’s Ride

South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai revealed its new E4U single-person concept car at the recently completed Seoul Motor Show. Egg-like in shape, the mobility device measures 92cm in width while standing 123cm tall. Hyundai believes the vehicle to be suitable for narrow streets in urban centers where speeds are generally slow.
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Sayonara Taxis? Tokyo to Consider Operating Trains, Buses Around the Clock


Whether working late or partying late, people lacking the stamina for an all-nighter and missing the last train home in Japan are primarily left with two rather expensive options: taxi or hotel.

Well, in the not-so-distant future, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government may provide a more wallet-friendly third option, buses and trains operating 24 hours a day.

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“It’s Just like Red Bean Soup,” Chinese Official Sacked after Trying to Downplay River Pollution Fears


An official from the environment bureau in Hebei Province, China, was dismissed after telling residents that underground water that had turned red due to discharge from a nearby factory “was not polluted,” likening it to “red bean soup.”
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A Rare Sight in Japan: Commuter Train Operates while Carriage Doors Remain Open

Commuter trains in Japan are known for being among the most punctual in the world. The entire rail system is a well-oil machine. When a train is scheduled to depart its station at 09:42 and arrive at its destination at 10:33, it almost always leaves the station at 9:42 and arrives at 10:33; a mind-boggling concept perhaps in some other parts of the world.

Close to 40 million passengers use the rail system daily in Tokyo alone, so when trouble does occur, it needs to be sorted out quickly. Still, it would shock anyone who has been living in risk-averse, safety-first Japan for any length of time to see their local commuter train run down the tracks with a passenger carriage door wide open.
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Mister Donut Japan to Change Product Ingredients for First Time in 42 Years

On April 9, Duskin Co., Ltd., operators of the Mister Donut franchise in Japan, announced they would be making changes to the batter and oil they used for their product in order to better bring out the original taste of the donuts themselves. This is the first time for Mister Donut Japan to undergo a major change in ingredients since opening 41 years ago in 1971.
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Pump Springs Leak during Efforts to Correct Problem with Leaky Storage Tanks at Daiichi Nuclear Plant


Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that while transferring contaminated water containing radioactive material from leaking underground storage tank No. 3 to tank No. 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on April 11 this year, water was discovered leaking from a joint connecting the piping being used for the transfer.

About 22 liters of water containing 6.4 billion becquerels of radioactive material leaked from the joint before the problem was chanced upon. TEPCO said the water leaked on top of the berm covering the storage tank and that there was no possibility of it seeping into the soil surrounding it.
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US Tops Japan Earthquake Donor List, Neighboring South Korea Fails to Crack Top 20


The Japanese Red Cross Society recently released a summary of countries and territories that sent donations (as of the end of 2012) to the organization following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Topping the list were the United States and Taiwan, number one and two respectively, with donations in excess of 2.9 billion yen (approx. US$29 million) each. A total of 22.7 billion yen was received from 179 countries and territories, including from among the world’s poorest nations. Drawing the attention of some Netizens was the fact that neighboring South Korea failed to make the top 20.
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No Improvement for Fukushima Decontamination Workers – Subcontractors Still Only Paying One-fifth Minimum Wage


A dinner of boiled vegetables and 3.3 square meters of floor space for sleeping, those are the harsh conditions awaiting laborers who undertake government-mandated decontamination work necessitated by the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric’s Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture. In some cases workers are basically laboring for free when taxpayer-funded danger pay is excluded from their pay packets.
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Air Pollution Accounting for 15 Percent of Deaths in China


According to the April 2 edition of Chinese daily newspaper the 21st Century Business Herald, in the year 2010 an incredible 1.23 million people lost their lives across China due to air pollution-related illnesses. The number accounts for 15 percent of total deaths recorded in the country for 2010. The information was revealed by a study group at Tsinghua University on March 31.
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Local 87-year-old Fisherman and Stadium Stalwart to Provide Weather Forecast at Lotte Marines Baseball Games

Starting April 2, the Lotte Marines baseball club announced that local fisherman and stadium food vendor Taichi Sone, 87, would start providing wind and weather forecasts prior to night games.

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Under Its au Brand, Japanese Cellular Service Provider KDDI Unveils World’s Largest and Highest Resolution Smartphone

When he realized he’d primarily been using his smartphone in bed, Nemool Smith, an au product designer and chief hardware architect, wanted a more comfortable and rewarding user experience. Coming up blank in an online search for solutions, Nemool got an idea and decided to approach his bosses at KDDI and get their permission to design a radically new hardware platform he was sure would revolutionize the way people used their phones. The result has set the tech world abuzz, and has the potential to vault KDDI to the top of the global smartphone market.

Introducing the new au zzzPhoneBed by KDDI

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Starbucks Order Customization- Is There a Limit?

Starbucks prides itself on letting customers customize their drinks and offers a lot of choices: no foam, no whip/with whip, double blended, two pump vanilla, extra shot and extra hot to name but a few. Never one to shy from a challenge, we decided to test just how far Starbucks was willing go in ensuring that visitors to its coffeehouses get just what they want.

Our request? A no caramel, no whip, and–are you ready for it–no coffee Caramel Frappuccino.

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Sony Closes Plant in Gifu Prefecture, More than 1,000 Out of Work

GIFU PREFECTURE — With the shuttering of a factory belonging to a Sony subsidiary in Minokamo City at the end of this month, it became clear on the 27th that more than 1,000 people stood to be out of work on April 1 due to the closure.

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Perfect the Art of Laziness! Get Your Sloth On with New Eyewear from Sanco


Everyone’s had one of those days when they just don’t feel like getting out of bed. Well “rare things” online store Sanco is now offering a must-have item for just such occasions: GORODEY2 Eyewear, glasses that allow you to remain flat on your back and still be entertained.

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