Category: Japan (Page 5)

Japan

To Mexico in Chains: The Tale of Three 16th Century Japanese Slaves

May 15, 2013 by Preston Phro
0
Tweet

In 1597, Japan was reaching the end of the Warring States period and starting to unify under the rule of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At the same time, which was 15 years after the Tenshô embassy (the first Japanese embassy to Europe), three Japanese men were completing their (unwilling) journey to Mexico, of all places.

Using records from the Inquisition found in the National Library of Mexico, Lucio de Sousa (University of Evora in Portugal) and Oka Mihoko (University of Tokyo) have discovered conclusive proof of the men’s journey to the New World. They’ve also managed to piece together a few details of their stories.

May 15, 2013 by Preston Phro
0

Forgetting stuff at the copy machine is one thing when you’re at work and everyone already knows about all your weird little obsessions (we’re looking at you, whoever’s making copies of horse-riding advertisements and Jell-o recipes), but it’s entirely different when you forget your stuff at a public copy machine. Someone might even take pictures and tweet them for the whole world to see!

May 15, 2013 by Oona McGee
0

Fans of the iconic manga periodical Weekly Shonen Jump should be clearing their schedules and marking down July 11 on their calendars. For on this day, the clouds will part and a shaft of light will appear as the doors to a new manga paradise will open, offering five Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball attractions, along with stacks of merchandise and themed food to save us all.

May 14, 2013 by Master Blaster
0

Do you like ice cream? Do you like putting birds in your mouth?

Of course we all do, but with only two hands it can be hard to do both at once. That’s why Torimi Cafe came out with a line of ice creams modeled after three breeds of small birds.

May 14, 2013 by Casey Baseel
0

The company Edit, based in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, produces a variety of notebooks. Most of them come with specialized forms on each page, such as a cooking notebook with separate boxes for ingredient names, amounts, and cooking directions. The company’s more unique offerings include a pitcher’s notebook with a three-by-three grid to mark each throw as high or low, inside or outside, and a horse racing journal to record bets, wins (hopefully), and losses (inevitably).

The pages of Edit’s newest big seller are completely blank, though. What’s more, if customers follow the instructions for using it, they’ll never be able to refer back to what they wrote, because the pages are designed to feel good as you rip them into shreds. Read More

Catch-22: Guys Interested in Small Breasts are Probably the Type of Guy Girls Should Stay Far, Far Away From

May 14, 2013 by Mike
0

New research from Japan takes a look into the psychology of male bewb preference and is shedding some unfavorable light on the inner workings of the small breast-loving male mind, resulting in an unfortunate catch-22 for small-chested women: the type of guy who appreciates your size is probably also a pervy weirdo.

May 14, 2013 by Rachel Tackett
0

Last year, Japanese electronics company, Pioneer, finished development on its small size full color hologram printer and has now decided to use this technology to create 3-D holographic prints of babies’ faces while they’re still in the womb. According to a YouTube video detailing this brand new service, “When expecting mothers receive ultrasounds during physical examinations, 3-D images of the unborn child are taken. We can translate that data into a physical form and create a commemorative photo for parents to keep, in anticipation of the upcoming birth.” Read More

Guilty and NEVER Proven Innocent – Every Male Train Rider’s Nightmare in Japan

May 14, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
0

-Tales of subway groping are unfortunately commonplace in Japan, and anyone committing such a pathetic and cowardly act deserves every punishment given. But what happens if you are falsely accused? Often filled well beyond capacity, there is a real possibility of such a thing happening if you ride the trains running throughout Japan’s major urban centers. No matter your innocence, with a 99 percent conviction rate should the case go to court, one Tokyo lawyer says the best thing to do if wrongly accused is, run…

Attorney Takashi Nozawa provides the following advice to anyone who might find themselves caught up in this nightmarish, no-win situation.
Read More

Saudi Arabian Reporter Floored by Things Japanese Take for Granted

May 14, 2013 by Casey Baseel
0

The Saudi Arabian television program Hawatel Kaizen (a combination of the Arabic word for “thoughts” and the Japanese for “improvement”) is a series of reports by Arabic reporters in which they share things they have been impressed by in Japan. A Japanese TV show in turn did a feature on Hawatel Kaizen, in which the panel of Japanese TV personalities were amused by the enthusiastic responses of Saudi reporter, Ahmad, to things Japanese citizens take for granted.

So in an effort to be as international as possible, RocketNews24 brings you an English recap of a Japanese TV program reacting to another program in which a Saudi Arabian reporter reacts to Japan. Read More

Moe Madness: Government Realizes Selling Power of Cute 2D Girls

May 14, 2013 by Cara Clegg
0

Moe promotion is in right now! Anything can be moe-fied, and a cute persona can help sell anything from regular rice to smelly natto. Recently companies, schools, railways and even government offices have all been getting in on the act. You just can’t get away from it! And this video has the proof. Read More

Gas Attack! Can Holding In Farts Be Bad For you?

May 14, 2013 by Preston Phro
0

You’re on a date with the most amazing person you’ve ever met. It’s all going well, and you know you’re not going home alone tonight. But as you finish up your meal, it hits you out of nowhere: the stomach rumbles of a vicious fart. Your mind races: what to do?! Should you hold it in or break wind and try to blame it on the waiter?

Well, today we have a translation of a Japanese article about this very topic! Now you’ll know what happens when you hold in those Silent-But-Deadlies.

May 13, 2013 by Oona McGee
0

This beautiful photo collection, sourced from a Korean website, takes us back to Tokyo and Seoul in the ’60s, when both cities were undergoing a period of renewal, redefining themselves after years of war. But with Japan’s reconstruction efforts beginning in 1945, after World War II, and Korea’s reconstruction starting almost a decade later, in 1953, after the Korean War, the photos depict two very different levels of progress. While equally beautiful to us, these photos have inevitably become another point of debate between net users from the two countries.

May 13, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
0

On the morning of May 13, GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (JASDAQ Standard) rose by its maximum allowable single day limit of 300,000 yen (approx. US$3,000). The stock increased 28.79 percent to 1.342 million yen (approx. US$13,420). The rise comes on the heels of a 17 percent gain on Friday, May 9.
Read More

Death Blog Update: Model’s Brief Mention of Tokyo Dome Sends Giants on Four-Game Losing Streak

May 13, 2013 by Master Blaster
0

The Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo have long been the powerhouse team of Japanese Baseball. Through highly effective promotion and the acquisition of top players they often draw parallels with the New York Yankees.

So it’s no surprise that a month and a half into the 2013 season the Giants are sitting in a familiar first place spot in the Central League standings. However, things have begun to take a turn for the worst after a comment made by model Aki Higashihara in her supernatural “death blog.” Over the past decade people, places and businesses have all suffered some form of misfortune shortly after being mentioned in her blog Higashihara Desuga?

May 13, 2013 by Cara Clegg
0

Hatsune Miku Project mirai 2 for the 3DS is expected to be released in Japan this fall. The latest rhythm game is the predictably-named sequel to the Hatsune Miku Project mirai, featuring the rest of the Vocaloid Crew alongside the ever-popular Miku-chan. The game promises to be fun for both casual and serious players alike, and who can resist those super-cute Nendoroid character designs? Check them out at the official site.

May 13, 2013 by Oona McGee
0

There’s a new video from Russia that’s moving the world to tears, just with its simple content: random acts of human kindness. Using the same car dashboard cameras that brought images of a falling meteor to the world, it shows Russian drivers helping out animals, pedestrians and fellow drivers in a manner that defies traditional stereotypes and puts many of us to shame.

We’re happy to report that the video has reached Japan, and it’s wielding its magic over viewers here as well. Given the tense relationship between Russia and Japan, locked in a territorial dispute and still technically at war, having never signed a peace treaty after World War II, it’s nice to see that people in Japan are responding to the kindness in the video and rethinking the old stereotypes. View the full video and see what the Japanese have to say about it, after the break.

May 13, 2013 by Casey Baseel
0

No discussion of the pantheon of video game heroes is complete without mentioning HAL Laboratory’s Kirby. Including his recently-released 20th anniversary collection, the adorable pink puffball has close to two dozen appearances under his belt, which is an impressive feat for someone who lacks a waist.

Kirby has also gotten a bit of free publicity from website TV Tropes, with its “American Kirby is Hardcore” entry, which catalogues how the images of Kirby and other fictional characters are “toughened up” in marketing to make them more appealing to U.S. audiences.

In recent years, Kirby’s earned enough gamer goodwill to be as cute as he wants to in any market. Even still, we’re guessing he would have had a tough time of it initially in overseas markets if HAL had stuck with the character’s original name. Read More

New School Swimsuit in Japan is Conservative and Surprisingly Cute

May 13, 2013 by Michelle
0

The worst time in P.E. for many girls is the few weeks when everyone is forced to learn how to swim. When you’re a self-conscious young lady, having to wear a bathing suit in front of a bunch of guys can be mortifying. To make matters worse, most swimsuits are very low-cut on the top and high-cut on the bottom, making for a very embarrassing garment for girls who are uncomfortable with their bodies to wear.

Good news for shy girls and fashionistas alike! Japan-based swimsuit maker, Footmark, seems to have achieved the impossible by releasing a one-piece girls’ school swimsuit that is both conservative and absolutely cute.

May 13, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
0

On May 9, Akao Aluminum announced the release of the “Ice Cream Shovel,” the latest in its ispoon series of implements specially created to enhance your frozen confectionary eating experience. Under the careful supervision of Convenience Store Ice Cream Mania über blogger and frozen treat critic, “Ice-man” Fukudome, this most recent addition to the lineup was specifically designed for use with the rock hard, wooden-spoon-snapping-and-thus-stress-inducing cups of ice cream sold at convenience stores. With a limited production run of only 100, and priced at just 2,520 yen (about US$25), the spoons are sure to sell out, ah,…sometime.
Read More

The Mega Potato is Finally Here!!! McDonald’s Potato Party Fans Rejoice!

May 13, 2013 by Michelle
0

Earlier this week, we reported on a rumor that suggested McDonald’s Japan would be bringing back the “Mega Potato,” which packs in double the French fries in one container…two large orders of fries in one container to be exact. Well folks, the Mega Potato is finally here (if “here” means Japan for you).