Archive for September, 2006

Check out the latest gaijin on TV

Japan Probe reader Joel has made the following announcement:

Stay tuned as up and coming TV talent, me, “stars” alongside Japanese funnyman, Monkikki, and everybody’s favorite ditzy lolita, Yukorin, in a Ministry of Land-sponsored program on revitalization projects in Beppu, Niigata and Wakayama. Granted, my part will only last about 5-10 minutes tops in a 50 minute program, but I promise you there is some good slapstick comedy in there.

Program name : “Minna ga Kanko Annai-nin: Sekai no Minnasama Daikangei Special” みんなが観光案内人＝世界に皆様　大歓迎ＳＰ＝ (Everyone’s Tour Guide: Big Welcome to Everyone Around the World Special”)

AIR DATE: SUNDAY OCT. 22 4 PM CHANNEL: TV TOKYO affiliates and channels in Oita, Niigata and Wakayama
(TBA)

* TV Tokyo network = TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TV Hokkaido, TVQ Kyushu, TV Setouchi

BS Digital air date: Saturday, November 11, 4 PM

Joel hasn’t revealed the exact details of what happens on the show. Perhaps he’ll don some black facepaint and do a ministrel show? Or better yet, alter his Japanese to sound like a child? Maybe he’ll pretty-up his hair into a pony tail and do a David Spector-ish actor?

Seriously though, good luck with your gaijin talento career, Joel!

Japanese tourist sexually assaulted in Australia

Judging from this story, it looks like Japanese tourism in Australia is is going to continue its decline:

A Japanese tourist has been bashed in the face, dragged into bushes and sexually assaulted in the West Australian resort town of Broome.

The attack on Saturday night was the third violent assault on tourists in the town in the last month, police said.

The 32-year-old woman was attacked after leaving friends at a beach cafe to walk alone to where she was staying, police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall said.

“She’s been confronted by a man who has violently punched her in the face, so she has broken teeth and injuries to her jaw,” Ms Weatherall said.

“She was dragged to a tree and sexually assaulted.”

The woman made it back to her friends, who took her to hospital, from where she was flown to Perth for further treatment.

Sumo Controversy: Asashoryu downed by Chiyotaikai

Asashoryu was crowned champion of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament the other day, something that should have surprised nobody who had been keeping up with his bouts for the last week, in which he steamrolled opponent after opponent. However, the joy of his victory was soon wiped away by a controversial loss to Chiyotaikai (video below):

Look at those mats fly (when an upset occurs, it is tradition for fans to pick up their seats and throw them at the ring). Here’s what the Japan Times had to say about the match:

Ozeki Chiyotaikai gate crashed Asashoryu’s day of celebration at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, winning controversially in Saturday’s final bout to make the yokozuna a loser moments after he had been handed his 18th Emperor’s Cup.

The yokozuna walked away from the ring the tournament champion thanks to another ozeki, Tochiazuma, who earlier beat No. 6 maegashira Ama to give Asashoryu a two-win cushion with one day left.

Ama’s fourth loss left the stage set for the yokozuna. All Asa needed to do was get in the ring, beat Chiyotaikai for the ninth straight time and then head back to the changing rooms for a celebratory beer.

Someone forgot to tell the ozeki, who had obviously decided he had nothing to lose by giving the yokozuna an almighty whipping.

Chiyo fought like a man possessed, flying through Asa’s attempts at a belt grip to barrel him toward the bales. The shocked yokozuna turned out of the attack, righted himself and started giving as good as he was getting. A left hand slap with a back swing that started somewhere behind his head was the choicest of the yokozuna’s offerings, but as so often happens when Asa finds himself up against someone one beer short of a six-pack, he lost his cool.

The slaps went astray, Chiyotaikai used his head to move his feet, and Asashoryu went into one of his suicidal dives. Chiyotaikai jumped out of the way, the referee pointed to his side of the ring, and the crowd went wild. Cushions flew, Asa seethed and a famous upset was being scripted.

But wait. Not everyone was sure the yokozuna had lost. Did Chiyotaikai grab Asashoryu’s hair to pull him down for the win?

The judges didn’t think so and stablemaster Kokonoe upheld the referee’s decision, handing a 10th win to his protege and a second loss to the yokozuna.

“Today was my chance to settle my account for the tournament,” Chiyotaikai told reporters afterward. “I put everything into the bout–and took advantage of the yokozuna’s relief at winning the championship.”

None of the video angles seem to give a clear view of Asashoryu’s hair, so it’s hard to say if any hair-grabbing took place. What does it look like to you?

Who is Hidenao Nakagawa?

It was announced today that Abe Shinzo had appointed Hidenao Nakagawa to be secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic party. Who is this Nakagawa fellow? Let’s see what today’s press reports said:

Mainichi Shinbun’s “Abe appoints Nakagawa as LDP secretary-general“:

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Shinzo Abe appointed the party’s top policymaker, Hidenao Nakagawa, as its secretary-general on Monday.

Nakagawa, 62, who currently heads the LDP Policy Research Council, belongs to an intraparty faction led by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, of which both Abe and outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had been members.

Not a whole lot of information there…let’s see what the western media says! CNN’s “Abe taps Japan pro-growth veteran“:

Now serving as the LDP’s policy chief, Nakagawa has played an important role in formulating outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s economic policies, and is one architect of Abe’s stance of “No fiscal reform without growth”.

A close Abe ally, 62-year-old Nakagawa has said spending cuts must come before tax increases in achieving fiscal reform and stresses the need to foster economic growth.

Abe, 52, who had never held a cabinet portfolio until becoming chief cabinet secretary last October, selected party veterans for other key positions as well, including Shoichi Nakagawa as its policy chief, Japanese media reported.

Shoichi Nakagawa, unrelated to Hidenao, has held the agriculture and trade minister portfolios and is known for his tough stance against China and sharing Abe’s views on putting patriotism back into classrooms.

Nakagawa, 53, has called China a “scary” country and in January said it posed a military threat along with North Korea. He also paid a visit to Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War Two.

So I guess he’s good for Japan’s economy, but he supports controversial policies such as patriotism in schools and the Yasukuni Shrine? Of course, the fact that a headline that says “pro-growth veteran” instead of “ultra-conservative” shows that the author of the article seems to be taking an optimistic look at Japan’s future. Let’s see what Japan Today (Crisscross Japan’s new title), is saying about Mr. Nakagawa.

Japan Today’s “Abe hands Nakagawa No. 2 LDP post despite scandals“:

TOKYO — Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa was appointed Monday as secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, the No. 2 party post in the leadership of newly-elected LDP President Shinzo Abe, despite scandals still haunting him years after his cabinet expulsion.

Nakagawa, who assumed the post of chief cabinet secretary in July 2000 under then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, resigned that October after coming under criticism over scandals involving the extramarital affair and having links with a senior member of a right-wing group, an issue also mentioned by the magazine, Focus.

Leave it to Japan Today to go right to the seedy nutmeat of the issue and focus on scandals. Interestingly enough, most of the articles about Nakagawa did not mention his scandal and resignation in 2000. Is it because the Japanese press is too timid, or is it because his extramartial affair and possible ties to right-wing groups don’t matter so much?

Gravure Videos: MEGUMI

If you watch Japanese TV, you’ve probably seen MEGUMI quite a few times. She’s always co-hosting various shows throughout the week or appearing as a guest in wacky game shows. Let’s take a look at the natural talent that made her famous.

Video 1:

Video 2:

Video 3:

The Japanese people rank their favorite 100 female historical figures

Last night ＮＴＶ　aired “ニッポン人が好きな１００人の美人” (“100 People Loved by the Japanese -Beauty Edition-”), which was basically the same concept as the previous program I wrote about, only this time Japanese people ranked their favorite women (and not necessarily beautiful women). I’ve translated most of the list here, except for the 32 to 49, which were lost to me when my PVR recording program locked up and needed to be restarted. All of the women on the list are no longer alive (which was on of the requirements), with a heavy emphasis on famous women who died recently of some sort of tragic accident/illness. Here’s the list:

1. Natsume Masako (Actress) [夏目雅子]
2. Audrey Hepburn (American Actress)
3. Princess Diana (English Princess)
4. Cleopatra (Egyptian Queen)
5. Mother Teresa (Albanian Nun)
6. Florence Nightingale (English nurse)
7. Grace Kelly (American actress/princess)
8. Marilyn Monroe (American Actress)
9. Joan of Arc (French Heroine/Saint)
10. Marie Antoinette (French Queen)
11. Honda Minako (singer) [本田美奈子。]
12. Yang Guifei (Chinese Princess) [楊貴妃]
13. Helen Keller (American Blind/Deaf person)
14. Vivien Leigh (English Actress)
15. Ingrid Bergman (Swedish Actress)
16. Teresa Teng (Taiwanese Singer)
17. Okada Yukiko (Idol/Singer) [岡田有希子]
18. Katharine Hepburn (American Actress)
19. Marie Curie (Polish Scientist)
20. Eri Chiemi　(Singer) [江利チエミ]
21. Jang Geum (Korean Doctor) [チャングム]
22. Anne Sulivan (Helen Keller’s teacher)
23. Natalie Wood　（American Actress）　
24. Yosano Akiko　（Author）　[与謝野 晶子]
25. Ono no Komachi　（Poet） [小野小町]
26. Anne Frank (German Holocaust Victim)
27. Hojo Masako　（Wife of the first Kamakura Shogun） [北条政子]
28. Mukoda Kuniko（Screenwriter) [向田邦子]
29.　Marlene Dietrich (German Actress)
30. Emon Yuko (Essayist) [絵門 ゆう子]
31.　Empress Himiko [卑弥呼]
32. Tomoegozen (Legendary Warrior) [巴御前]
33. Nene (Koudai-in? Famous Nun) [ねね]
34. Maria Theresa (Austrian Empress)
35. Kasuganotsubone (Nurse of Tokugawa Iemitsu) [春日局]
36. Elizabeth I (English Queen)
37. Kaneko Misuzu (Poet/Songwriter) [金子みすず]
38. Maeda Matsu (Wife of Maeda Toshiie) [利家の妻まつ]
39. Chiyo [一豊の妻千代] (Wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo)
40. Kaai Kazumi (Singer) [可愛かずみ]
41. Shizuka Gozen (Lover of Minamoto Yoshitsune) [静御前]
42. Princess Noh (Wife of Nobunaga) [濃姫]
43. Suzuki Sonoko (Diet Guru) [鈴木その子]
44. Maria Callas (Greek Opera Singer)
45. Sei Shonagon (Poet) [清少納言]　
46. Ichikawa Fusae (Feminist) [市川房枝]
47. Aoe Mina (Enka Singer) [青江三奈]
48. Higuchi Ichiyo (Writer) [樋口一葉]
49. Hosokawa Gracia (Christian Martyr) [細川ガラシヤ]
50. Taichi Kiwako（Actress） [太地喜和子]
51. The Virgin Mary　(Mother of Jesus)
52. Okada Yoshiko　（Musician） [岡田嘉子]
53. Hitomi Kinue　（Olympic Long-jumper） [人見絹枝　]
54. Oichi no Kata (Sister of Oda Nobunaga) [お市の方]
55. Miyako Chocho (Actress) [ミヤコ蝶]　
56. Tsuda Umeko (Educator) [津田梅子]
57. Empress Dowager Cixi (Chinese Empress) [西太后]
58. Princess Sen [千姫]
59. Horie Shinobu (Actress) [堀江しのぶ]
60. Shirashu Masako (Writer) [白洲正子]　
61. Sakamoto Oryo (Wife of Sakamoto Ryoma) [坂本おりょう]
62. Ariyoshi Sawako (Writer) [有吉佐和子]
63. Jackie Kennedy (American First Lady)
64. Kazu-no-Miya Chikako (Wife of the last Shogun) [皇女和宮]　
65. Okamoto Kanoko (Writer/Poet) [岡本かの子]　
66. Yamaoka Hisano (Actress) [山岡久乃]
67. Koshiji Fubuki (Actress/Singer) [越路 吹雪]　
68. Kobayashi Chitose (Actress/Writer) [小林千登勢]　
69. Izumo no Okuni (Founder of Kabuki Theater) [出雲阿国]
70. Aratama Michiyo (Actress) [新珠三千代]
71. Takamine　Mieko (Actress/Singer) [高峰三枝子]
72. Izumi Shikibu (Poet) [和泉式部]　
73. Catherine I (Russian Ruler)
74. Oya Masako (Singer/Philanthropist) [大屋政子]
75. Noguchi Shika [野口シカ]
76. Empress Jito [持統天皇]
77. Komori Kazuko (Film Critic) [小森和子]
78. Awaya Noriko (Singer) [淡谷のりこ子]　
79. Chusonji Yutsuko (Manga Author) [中尊寺ゆつこ]
80. Matsui Sumako (Actress) [松井須磨子]
81. Hasegawa Machiko (Manga Author) [長谷川町子]
82. Tanaka Kinuyo (Actress/Director) [田中絹代]
83. Yododono (Concubine of Hideyoshi) [淀殿]
84. Ginsan/Kinsan (Famous Twins) [きんさんぎんさん]
85. Gubijin [虞美人]
86. Matsuo Kazuko (Singer/Actress) [松尾和子]
87. Jackie Sato (Pro-Wrestler) [ジャッキー佐藤]
88. Sakamoto Otome (Sister of Sakamoto Ryoma) [坂本乙女]
89. Maehata Hideko (Olympic Swimmer) [前畑秀子]
90. Eva Peron (Argentine First Lady)
91. Murasaki Shikibu (Author of Genji Monogatari) [紫式部]
92. Sugimura Haruko (Actress) [杉村春子]
93. Iwasaki Chihiro (Artist) [いわさきちひろ]
94. Mata Hari (Dutch Dancer/Spy)
95. Agatha Christie (English Writer)
96. Florence Griffith Joiner (American Runner)
97. Tojin Okichi (Mistress of Townsend Harris)　 [唐人お吉]
98. Kawakami Sadayakko (Actress/Geisha) [川上貞奴 ]
99. Yamano Aiko (Beauty Industry Pioneer) [山野愛子]　
100. Mary Carpenter (American Singer)

That’s all I have for now. Commentary and pictures will follow later. If you notice some sort of error in the list, have an English link to information on any of the women without linked names, or can fill in the gaps in the list, please let me know!