Japan News for January 2, 2007
Some Japan-related news & links for today:
- If you are coming from Drudge Report and you want more info on the “wardrobe malfunction” on Japanese TV, check out this post for the latest news and details.
- Evil Omens: Four people in Japan suffered an ominous start to the Year of the Boar when they were attacked in the street — by wild boars.
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine to next fall, instead of the August 15th anniversary of the war’s end, to avoid a diplomatic conflict with South Korea and China, Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun reported Sunday, citing a number of government and ruling party officials. “If Abe is determined to make a pilgrimage to the shrine once a year, next year’s timing could be in the fall, instead of August,” said the report.
- Japanzine complains about canned coffee in its newly-releasted January issue.
- A pro-North Korean residents’ group in Japan on Monday vowed to give its full support for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s efforts to counter what it calls Japanese suppression, the North’s official media reported.
- According to the Korea Times, some Korean ultranationalists are pushing for the international community to change the name of the “Sea of Japan” to “Sea of Korea.” For more on this issue, check out my previous post on the topic.
- The Asahi Shinbun does not like the idea of the Foreign Ministry spending public funds to stock its wine cellars.
- Eleven people were rushed to hospital in Tokyo after choking on sticky “mochi” rice cake on New Year’s Day, and five of them in their 70s remain in critical condition. This problem is only going to get worse as Japan’s population continues to age…
- Today’s WaiWai column reports that many entertainers are complaining about N-H-K’s stinginess when it comes to paying performings for the New Year’s Eve Kohaku music performance special. According to the article, first time performers on the widely-watched annual show can expect to earn about 50,000 yen for a performance (420 US dollars). [Compare this to Paris Hilton being paid $200,000 to show up at events and do nothing..]
- Tokyo Times has the details about kaki soft – a heady mix of an ice cream cone topped with two fried oysters.
- A police officer in Ibaraki started the New Year with a bang when he accidentally fired off a shot from his revolver as he was holstering the weapon in after loading it in a storage room. The bullet went straight through a plywood screen and hit a rear concrete wall. No one was injured in the incident.
