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 Beckham, making a lightning 14-hour trip to Japan, said Friday he may play in Japan one day. God, I hope not.
• Tokyo is set to enter into a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with the United States next year that will bring the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military even closer together. The accord would provide an overarching framework to prevent military secrets from leaking.
• A senior official at the Kurashiki Municipal Government, who worked only 26 days in about five years, will finally be dismissed from his position at the end of this year.
• Mari Kanazawa discusses how everything contains a god(kami) in Shintoism.
• An unemployed man arrested for theft after turning himself in at a police box in Wakayama and told investigators that he wanted to be taken into custody because it was cold outside. Do they have heaters in prison? Because if they do, they might actually be better off that some of the classrooms at my school…
• Do you love sex dolls? Danny Choo gives you want you want.
• A festival in Ibaraki Prefecture in which participants shout swear words at the top of their lungs? Cool.
• The holiday travel rush has begun in Japan! I’ll be flying back to Japan tomorrow, so don’t expect any news update on the 31st.