News for November 26, 2006
A few news links this morning:
-Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto plans to ban billboards on top of buildings and blinking neon signs to improve the city’s landscape. How about hideous powerlines? [Props to FG]
-A South Korean man has been arrested for climbing over the wall to the Japanese embassy in Seoul and trepassing on the embassy grounds. The article offers no details on what exactly he was trying to do.
-The labor ministry is taking a look at exempting white-collar workers who make 10 million yen or more a year from legal limitations on their work hours. No need to increase productivity when there is limitless unpaid overtime work is an option!
-A man who served as an officer in the Japanese Imperial Navy has admitted to having carried out vivisection on about 30 prisoners of war, including women and children, in the Philippines during World War II.
-”I just saw the video on Reuters concerning the hunting and slaughter of bottle-nosed dolphins, and I can say, without equivocation, that the Japanese are soulless.” Thanks for printing that, Japan Times.
-Attention ALT’s: The winner of this year’s national junior high English speech contest was Kanon Miyamoto, a second-year student of Fukuoka Futaba Middle School in Fukuoka Prefecture. In her speech, entitled “Spreading Magic All Over the World,” she expressed her hope that poverty and hunger would be eliminated throughout the world so that children everywhere could have the opportunity to enjoy reading Harry Potter books. Gag.
Evening Update:
-If you’re driving drunk, avoid crashing into a police station at all costs.
-Japan’s national rugby team crushed South Korea’s team 54-0, ensuring Japan a place in the next rugby world cup.
-Ballistic missile interceptors are going to be installed on U.S. and Japanese ships.
-World Health Organization statistics reveal that here are lots of skinny chicks in Japan.
-A Fukuoka man who molested 14 children between 2003 and 2004 has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Previously the man had spent 10 years in prison for abducting and murdering a 7-year old boy in 1990. Way to go, Japanese justice system!
-Amateur divers have found the wreckage of a Japanese midget submarine that sunk during an attack on Sydney harbor 64 years ago.
-The Ministry of Education has decided to increase the number of counselors in schools as an emergency measure to deal with the recent increase in student suicides. Don’t cut down on bullying, just help the victims deal with it…
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A bonanza this morning. Thanks, James.
What’s up with the city managers of Kyoto? They have the biggest tourist attraction in Japan in the historical districts and temples, they’ve managed to convince even people who visit often that, contrary to the visual evidence, Kyoto is a well-preserved marvel, an island of beauty, yet they’ve been trying for decades to become Tokyo.
Kyoto tower is far and away Japan’s ugliest building. Kyoto station might be interesting in Marunouchi, but is just jarring in Kyoto. Now billboards and neon?
Are they just stupid? Do they not realize that their cash cow is history and scenery? Do they think they’re going to out-Tokyo Tokyo or out-Osaka Osaka? I really don’t understand this.
BTW, I noticed you got 3kun-ed. Welcome to the club.
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Garret:
A lot of people like to shit all over Alex Kerr and his Dogs and Demons book, but I think that most of the stuff he says about the beauty of urban areas is dead on. Before coming to Japan, I had only been to the US/Canada/France and Monaco. I was pretty suprised at how hideous the cities in Japan were: powerlines everwhere, dirty concrete apartment blocks, seemingly no urban planning. After having visited China, I can appreciate how much better Japan is, but it still is vastly behind other first world nations when it comes to city planning and sustainable development. It wouldn’t kill the Japanese to start building insulated houses and apartments that could last more than a generation…
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Oh, and that 3kun guy. What a joke.
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I agree with you completely. I must admit to being something of an ass, though, as I misread what you wrote in your initial post. Getting rid of neon and billboards is definitely a positive step.
I think Kerr is dead-on, too. I think a lot of the shitting on him is from 3kun types.
As for 3kun, as you pointed out, it’s got to be a gimmick, but it’s actually good for us if he wants to keep linking to us to call us fools. Fine by me. Anyone who comes here, goes to TPR, and goes to 3kun IIIKUNIII will see who roasted whom.
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