In this edition of Polling Japanese Students, I decided to see if the students could identify certain famous historical figures from their photographs. The results are as follows [all of the students were 2nd year junior high school students]:

Some news/links for today:

Two temporary job-placement agencies in Gifu Prefecture hired 12 children of Brazilian immigrants of Japanese origin to work in factories in violation of labor laws. An increasing number of immigrants in Japan are sending their kids to work, rather than school, due to language problems and economic hardship.
Former England captain David [...]

One half: mild-manned pig….

The other half: an informative guide to meat cuts…..

I always wondered what the difference between the various forms of “katsu” I order in restaurants was. With this attached to my cell phone, I’ll never be confused!

A few news links for today:

Mutantfrog Travelogue is reporting a rumor that Prime Minster Shinzo Abe might step down in May if his party does poorly in the April 2007 elections.
About 7 percent of new medium-rise apartment complexes in Japan are believed to fall below the mandatory quake-resistance strength standard, an infrastructure ministry report showed. [...]

If you’re a foreigner in Japan, you have probably had to deal with the “gaijin dilemma” before…

The video has since been removed by its creator, who apparently didn’t want anyone to see his work. It dealt with the dilemma of what to do when a foreigner comes across another foreigner in Japan. [...]

Here are some Japan-related news/links for today:

An earthquake near Taiwan has damaged undersea cables, disrupting internet and phone services. Any Asian readers having trouble accessing the American server this site is hosted on?
Toyota Motor Corp Chairman Fujio Cho and Ford Motor Co President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally met last week in Tokyo, [...]

Since I am still in America for the holidays, I decided to go to Quantico, Virginia today and check out the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The museum, which opened last month, is a multi-million dollar project which was largely funded by private donations, and they definately didn’t throw the money away: [...]

Some news/links for today:
-A defunct political organization overseen by Administrative Reform Minister Genichiro Sata has come under suspicion of stating in official government reports that it paid 70 million yen to an office that in reality didn’t exist. Maybe he thought administrative “reform” just had to do with rennovating offices?
-The Osaka High Court on [...]

Some news/links from the last few days:
-Ho, ho, ho! Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like some executions!
-In his birthday speech, Japan’s Emperor Akihito has said the practice of mourning Japan’s war dead can help younger generations better understand the past. He said he hoped facts about World War II would be correctly conveyed so [...]

Merry Christmas, Japan!
Here are pictures I took of a few beautiful Japanese Christmas cards I bought to give to my friends and family this year [Click each image for a much larger version]:
Card 1: Geisha and Santas

Card 2: Mini Santas and a Pagoda

The card opens up to reveal the Santas from the cover:

Card 3: Shinkansen, [...]

Some interesting Christmas-themed sushi:

In the spirit of Christmas giving, here are a few more Christmas Wishes cards. These were created by 6th graders at a Japanese elementary school I occasionally teach at:

[This boy not only wanted a PlayStation 3, he also likes "The Nightmare Before Christmas."]

[This girl wanted the latest Orange Range CD.]

[This girl wanted a "My [...]