News for November 16, 2006

Japan News for this morning:

-There was a huge earthquake in the Kuril islands last night, but it didn’t have much of an effect on Japan. Anyone watching TV last night probably noticed the tsunami warnings that appeared on the screen, providing a 1.5 hour advance warning of the tiny tsunamis.

-As suicide warning letters from anonymous students keep pouring in, it has been revealed that one student has blamed Tokyo Gov. Ishihara as the cause of his/her despair. Ishihara had told the media that kids who didn’t stand up to bullies would probably end up getting bullied their whole lives: not exactly something an almost-suicidal high school student would want to hear…

-400,000 Nintendo Wii units will be available on the system’s launch date in Japan, four times more than the number of PlayStation 3 units Sony was able to offer on its launch date.

-Three magicians have been arrested for punching holes in Japanese coins. Doesn’t the police have anything better to do?

-Celebrity Romance: Popular actress Norika Fujiwara (35) will marry comedian Tommonori Jinnai (32).

-Sports Day statistics from What Japan Thinks!

-So much for the DPJ’s boycotting of a diet session: the education reform law, which puts patriotism into classrooms, has been passed.

-Soccer News: Japan defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1 in an Asia Cup qualifier match.

-The Japanese government has set up a panel to study net neutrality.

Lunch Time news update:

-The news media here is obsessed with the fact that Matsuzaka is going to the major leagues. The $51 million dollar sum the Red Sox paid to the Seibu Lions to purchase the rights to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka is quite a prize for the Japanese team: it is about three times the players union’s estimate of the Lions’ 2006 payroll.

-Are some Japanese women afflicted with an illness that gives them orgasms virtually 24 hours a day?

-Some are saying that outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert may become the next US ambassador to Japan. It’ll probably be a welcome change from being in charge of covering up gay scandals within his party…

-The North Korea abuctee issue is a Japanese national obsession, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

-The Tokyo regional tax bureau auctioned off some cool stuff yesterday (Diamond, meteorite and an original Picasso print).