Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
China (Page 4)
China is known as an industrious nation and, after pictures surfaced of one Chinese teacher who built a phenomenal “Iron Man” Hulkbuster replica in his garage, it seemed like the right time to take a look at some of the country’s most impressive home made inventions.
From full size, working airplanes to wooden, yet electronic cars, the Chinese have spent anything from a couple of months to several years, knocking up some pretty impressive modes of transports and robots.
At a vocational school in Chengdu (the provincial capital of southwestern Sichuan Province), China, potential candidates must undergo a rigorous training period in order to pass the test required to be a flight safety officer.
For those of you reading this from the comfort of home, sit back and be thankful that you’re not among these recruits, for whom daily training involves large quantities of mud and broken dishware!
Foreigners are being hired to pose as celebrities by Chinese real estate developers to help agents sell property in “ghost towns” by making them appear more animated and worldly, according to a new mini-documentary released by the New York Times.
Thanks to China’s overzealous property development, the supply of luxury apartment complexes in some of China’s most rural areas has far exceeded demand. But that doesn’t stop the sales pitches.
The Times’ David Borenstein traveled to provincial West China where he found firms that specialized in recruiting groups of expatriates who they would then rent out to attend events, the majority of which are hosted by real estate companies.
In a city in China’s southwestern Shichuan Province during the early hours of April 2, a man walking alongside the river suddenly noticed what appeared to be huge quantities of pale fish floating in the water.
He quickly rushed home and returned with fishing equipment, and was soon joined by crowds of amateur fishers – and local officials, who subsequently hauled 300 kilograms of fish from the river to be destroyed.
When we think of superheroes or other magical beings with fast-healing abilities, we rarely think of children. But if you’ve seen a toddler fall, smack itself in the face, cry for a few seconds, and then run off giggling, you might realize that we’re looking for our superpowered guardians in the wrong age groups.
Of course, that’s not to say that children aren’t vulnerable to all sorts of injury, and we most definitely need to be careful with them! It’s just that they seem to have a strange resiliency that’s somewhat rare in adult humans. Take, for example, this three-year-old who fell out of a window last week, hit a parked car, and then just walked the whole thing off!
Tao Liu has a knack for capturing split-second moments that reveal funny configurations or striking parallels, and embody the essence of the hectic and haphazard Chinese streets where he and countless others live and work.
His work has gone viral in China, and is now spreading across the world thanks to people sharing his images across the net. Street photography is about capturing poignant and fleeting points in time, which say something about the human condition, even if that something cannot be put into words, and Tao Liu’s photographs speak across languages and cultures.
In today’s globalized economy, it’s perfectly normal to be wearing shoes made in Malaysia, listening to an American pop star on a Korean smartphone while driving a German car fitted with Japanese tires. But how many times have you taken a good look to find out where those new jeans or those headphones you got for Christmas were really made?
Recently Japanese consumers have been discovering that some of their products are from “P.R.C.,” a country they had never heard of, and would like some answers on what appears to be a legal gray zone in product labeling regulations.
We’ve all heard the stereotype that western guys who come to Japan find themselves suddenly showered with beautiful ladies, while Asian guys who head to the west get squat. Regardless of the fact that this kind of generalization is SUPER mean and based upon some pretty sketchy and biased thinking, it does seem to be the most prevailing opinion (in spite of the many cases where it’s blatantly not true.) When we heard about this regular Chinese dude who bagged himself a super hot wife after deciding to study abroad in Ukraine, we thought it made for an adorable story about a successful international marriage. Unfortunately, it seems that Chinese netizens were less charmed, with plenty taking to their keyboards to register their surprise, envy, and skepticism.
The various Disney-operated theme parks scattered throughout the world have brought joy to children (and grown-ups!) for decades. Disney’s major character contribution is none other than Mickey Mouse, who has grown to become one of the most recognizable cultural icons on the world scene. But how about a famous cultural export from Japan? Why, that would be Hello Kitty, of course!
Sanrio’s darling may be celebrating her 40th birthday this month, but she’s showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, her birthday celebration comes along with a recent announcement that a new “Hello Kitty Park” will open in China early next year! Along with plans for the upcoming Shanghai Disneyland, China sure seems to be on a roll these days making children’s dreams come true. More details about the park after the jump.
A table tennis champion has been stripped of his $45,000 prize money for kicking an ad hoarding in an over-excited celebration.
Chinese player Zhang Jike fly-kicked two hoardings after beating Ma Long in the final of the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in Düsseldorf. Now, the International Table Tennis Federation has decided to withhold his prize money in light of his actions.
Chinese media is abuzz with serious concerns about the combat effectiveness of China’s military as it was revealed that, at a recent college military reserve training session, over 100 reservists’ camouflage pants simultaneously ripped out of nowhere.
The explosive rippage was apparently triggered when around 4,500 reservists – both men and women – were commanded by a drill instructor to sit down. We can only assume the drill instructor was the Chinese equivalent of R. Lee Ermy, as some of the reservists apparently took his command so seriously that they sat down with enough force to utterly destroy the stitching in their standard issue pants.
Moving or traveling to a foreign country, especially one with a culture very different to your own, can be a nerve-wracking as well as exciting experience, especially with a country like China which has a long history of tradition. There’s so much that could go wrong and so many unintentional faux pas to make. Wouldn’t it be handy if someone put together a helpful list of the top ten things someone coming to China should know…? Read on to find out what conversation topics are as awkward as talking about hemorrhoids and why you should never give someone a green hat.
“Um…is this Disneyland?” our reporter asks a construction worker. “Sure is!” he replies.
She looks around. The first Disney park in mainland China, Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to open next year. But all our reporter, a writer from our Japanese sister site, can see is a dirty river and barren land. No rides, no hotel, no lake, no scaffolding for Cinderella’s castle … Can this really be Shanghai Disneyland?
Join us after the jump as we go on a photographic journey to Shanghai’s version of The Happiest Place on Earth (If They Ever Finish It).
With an ever-expanding list of banned items and never-ending security lines filled with personnel and machines bent on examining every inch of your body, air travel seems destined to eventually become one giant cavity search. And while you think you are safe from this kind of annoyance when you are on ground-based transportation systems, the Chinese city of Urumqi recently proved that they can make traveling by bus just as terrible when they banned liquids onboard. To enforce this already hated ban, local authorities have assigned at least two security guards at every bus stations along the more than 100 bus routes in the city.
While many people view gender as a black-and-white issue, the reality is there is a lot of grey of the spectrum from man to woman. From young men who feel more comfortable dressed a pretty girl to a handsome transman fighting for equality in the Philippines, the world is full of people who don’t quite fit into a rigid gender binary.
Recently, a 44-year-old Chinese man found this out recently when he went to the doctor after some concerning stomach pains and finding blood in his urine. Worried about the source of the bleeding, the doctor ordered a CAT scan that turned up the surprising cause—the man had a full set of female reproductive organs and had begun menstruating.
In the annals of history, there have been many men who were so cool, they practically defined the word. The kind of guys that were so naturally cool, they didn’t even seem to notice when they were doing something awesome. We’re talking about guys like James Dean, Sam Jackson, Bruce Willis, the classic crooners like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, and I guess we’ll begrudgingly add newbies like Ryan Gosling (Just kidding! We mean Marky Mark).
Now we can add this incredibly awesome little boy, who seems to be around five years old. We see him here in this video casually comforting a grieving little girl who is upset about being removed from her mother on what we presume is the first day of school. She even does that adorable kid thing where she tries her best not to cry but it’s not really working, and our heroic little boy just sort of nonchalantly tells her he’s got her back – almost like she’s a fiery explosion that he’s casually walking away from without looking at. That’s how cool this kid is.
While bikes are an easy, economical and environmentally friendly way to get from A to B, a 19-year-old Chinese man recently learned that there’s no such thing as a safe way to get around town.
Click below to read the story of how this unfortunate young man, after losing control of his bike and smashing into a tree, spent seven hours with his testicles separated from his body. You might want to cross your legs for this one, guys.
The vast scale of China’s landmass and its population means that China produces and consumes copious amounts of natural resources and food. It also means that China houses a large chunk of the world’s billionaires. We dug around to find some interesting statistics. Did you know that China’s railway lines could loop around earth twice? Here are some interesting facts about the world’s second-largest economy, which could soon eclipse the U.S. to become the world’s largest this year.
We knew Attack on Titan was crazy popular with an incredible 36 million volumes in circulation and a huge fanbase that stretches from Japan to the English-speaking world and beyond, it’s also been translated for audiences in Korea and China (Taiwan). Next year things will reach new heights with a full length live-action film starring Haruma Miura in the leading role.
When we saw these photos apparently showing a Titan from the series taking part in a demo in Hong Kong, we just had to find out more. “The Red Giant” is a piece of protest art made by Hong Kong based artist Kacey Wong, and pictures from the demo have been doing the rounds on Japanese online message boards this week. At once among the crowd and separate from it, the looming bright red figure is a powerful symbol of what Wong sees as the threat posed to Hong Kong by mainland China’s rapid growth as an economic superpower.
Beautiful new Final Fantasy T-shirt collection on the way from Uniqlo【Photos】
Randomly running into a great sushi lunch like this is one of the best things about eating in Tokyo
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
Hey, Japanese taxi driver! Take us to your favorite restaurant in Tsuruga City!
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
How to make an epic pizza at a Japanese family restaurant
Hanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio
Michelin Guide gyoza in Tokyo: Worthy of the accolade?Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
We try out “Chan Ramen”, an underground type of ramen popular in the ramen community
New Studio Ghibli bedding sets are cool in all senses of the word
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Foreign English teachers in Japan pick their favorite Japanese-language phrases【Survey】
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
There’s a park inside Japan where you can also see Japan inside the park
Japanese convenience store packs a whole bento into an onigiri rice ballHanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest pet product line announced by Square Enix
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
Japan’s bone-breaking and record-breaking roller coaster is permanently shutting down
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Foreign passenger shoves conductor on one of the last full runs for Japan’s Thunderbird trainOur Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Kyoto bans tourists from geisha alleys in Gion, with fines for those who don’t follow rules
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour Totoro
Domino’s Japan now sells…pizza ears?
Toyota built a life-sized Miraidon Pokémon and are letting people test drive it this weekend
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Studio Ghibli’s new desktop Howl’s Moving Castle will take your stationery on an adventure
Osaka’s creepy cute mascot speaks for first time, adds more fuel the creepy OR cute debate【Video】
How to make an epic pizza at a Japanese family restaurant
Hanton rice — a delicious regional food even most Japanese people don’t know about, but more should
How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio
Michelin Guide gyoza in Tokyo: Worthy of the accolade?
Cappuccino Ramen becomes super popular in Japan, but is it worth the hype?
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutions
How to say “I love you” in Japanese – 47 different ways 【Videos】
Pokémon Tokyo Banana’s latest offering is adorable Pikachu and Eevee chocolate cookie sandwiches
Tried-and-tested ways to learn Japanese while having fun!
Japan’s lap-pillow ear-cleaning salons aren’t just for pervy guys, we find out
Japan apartment hunting – Can you find cheaper rent by avoiding the peak spring moving season?
Japan’s biggest dating app says young people not interested in romance, creates AI girlfriend app