News for December 26, 2006
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 the suffering his generation experienced would never be repeated. Mutant Frog takes a look at this story and the new patriotism in education law in his latest update.
-Friction is emerging within the Liberal Democratic Party over the issue of so-called comfort women who purportedly were forced to provide sexual services for Japanese soldiers on the Korean Peninsula and other parts of Asia during World War II. A voluntary group set up by LDP lawmakers to study what should be taught in schools on the subject of national history held a subpanel meeting Friday to discuss the comfort women issue for the first time.
-Mainichi has an article on the albino boar that is all the rage with photographers now that we are entering the year of the boar.
-Foreign Dispatches discusses the Secret of Juri Ueno’s Appeal.
-What food would Japanese people would most like to eat at a Christmas party?
-Mainichi’s WaiWai reports that Akie Abe’s cookies might be a flop.
-The top 5 x-mas music videos for otaku.
-Softbank’s recent cellphone service commercial encourages bullying, according to some.
-Uh oh, Japanese noodles at Chinese stores have been found to contain the banned sweetener stevioside.
-A new government document has revealed that Japan will require 3 to 5 years to produce a nuclear warhead. So much for the “matter of days” thing.
-Some words on Yasukuni Shrine from Trans-Pacific Radio.
Categories: Celebrity News, General Japan, Politics
Beautiful Japanese Christmas Cards
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, Santas, and Mt. Fuji
Card 4: Santas & Shinkansen at Tokyo Station
Card 5: Santas on boats
This card opens to reveal:
Categories: General Japan
Categories: Japanese TV
Even More Christmas Wishes!
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 PC." ]
[This girl wanted a comic. Very cute.]
[Either this boy wanted to go to a Korean BBQ restaurant, or he wants the actual meat-cooking devices used for Korean BBQ. He was the only kid who had a food-related wish.]
[This boy wanted a game. His Santa has some strange eyes...]
[This boy's pissed-off Santa: "Am I cool?" "Do you want something?"]
Ok, that’s all of the “Christmas Wishes” cards I have to post. Hope you enjoyed them! Have a great Christmas!
Categories: General Japan, Teaching English
