Japan News for December 14, 2006

Some news links for this morning:

-The Washington post reports on the death of the hand-made kimono market.

-So the character inochi (“life”) was selected as the Kanji of the Year for 2006. What about the other kanji that were almost selected?

-A study of Japanese people aged 35 to 40 has shown that too much computer use has caused 90 percent of participants to forget their kanji-writing skills.

-The number of foreign students studying in Japan decreased to 117,927 this year — the first fall in nine years — but the figure was still the second highest after a record 121,812 last year.

-More than half of voters doubt a government panel’s proposed measures will effectively prevent bullying at school, a problem that has recently led to a number of suicides, an Asahi Shinbun survey has shown.

-2.5 years in prison: for a man convicted of inserting nails in his shoes that stuck out from the toe area, and attaching the steel cutters from adhesive tape dispensers to his shoes, then using the shoes to kick two women in the legs on a road near JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo between April and June this year.

-Sake is Japan’s national alcoholic drink, but nobody is drinking it.

-The Wall Street Journal reports on the popularity of oxygen-packed drinks in Japan.

Afternoon update:

-The shit is finally hitting the fan in the “pay people to ask scripted questions at town meetings” scandal. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that he will work unpaid for the next 90 days to make up for 5 years of staged town meetings. Will it be enough?

-Foreign Minster Taro Aso has offered a reasonable solution to the territorial dispute with Russia over the Southern Kuril islands: splitting the territory in half.

-Daisuke Matsuzaka has basically agreed with the Boston Red Sox on a six-year $52 million contract, according to U.S. media reports on Wednesday. The Associated Press and other U.S. news organizations said the two sides have almost sealed the deal.

-The Yomiuri Shinbun takes a look at where JET program alumni end up.

-China’s People’s Daily reports on the anniversary of the fall of Nanking to Japanese forces, complete with the widely-disputed 300,000 death toll in its headline.

-Japan’s falling birth rate is a major problem for toy companies, reports Business Week.

-The best toaster/frying pan/coffee-maker combo yet!