Japan’s Education Ministry has decided to change the way official textbooks mention civilian suicides in the Battle of Okinawa:

In the screening of history and geography textbooks, the ministry sought changes to 791 points, while for science textbooks it requested 1,681 changes, the largest number for any of the subjects.
On the Battle of Okinawa, which claimed [...]

Sick and tired of maid cafes? Mainchi reports that something new will be coming to Akihabara tomorrow:
Akihabara’s first full-scale “butler cafe,” whose female waitresses dress up in men’s butler uniforms, is hoping to make an impression as it opens its doors to the public on April 1.
[...]
“There’s a wide range of butlers here — [...]

Today’s Japan-related news links:

The Asian Women’s Fund, a fund set up by Japan to help Asian women forced into prostitution by its military during World War II will expire today. [Link]
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a warning against All Nippon Airways on Friday for allowing 11 unlicensed mechanics to make final [...]

Just in case you missed it, McDonald’s restaurants across Japan are bringing back the Mega Mac for a limited time. As the above image shows, it will be on sale for three 5 day periods in April / May, including Golden Week. Just like the last time it was on sale, supplies will [...]

In this clip, Waka Inoue runs for her life from a strange old man (Ken Shimura) who seems very interested in her:

This morning’s Japan-related news links:

Japanese scientists have developed an oral vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease that has proven effective and safe in mice. [Link]
A man who suffered fatal head injuries after drinking at a company meeting died as a result of a labor-related accident, a court has acknowledged. [Link]
The popularity of a new drama [...]

Japan’s new patriot missile defense system arrived this morning under the blossoming cherry blossoms:

Japan trucked its first ballistic missile interceptors to an air force base at Iruma, north of Tokyo, on Friday in an effort to beef up its defenses against its unpredictable neighbor North Korea.
The deployment of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) equipment, capable of [...]

The marketing folks for Daiwa House have delivered us two more funny commercials:
A Doggy Commercial

A Presidential Commercial

Here’s a short Japanese news segment on the changing nature of foreign tourism in Japan. Temples and shrines have always been a major draw, but now subculture tourism is becoming more popular. The focus of the report is on otaku-themed tours of Akihabara and the otaku boom abroad:

Some highlights:

The foreigners visit a maid [...]

These spooky photographs are of the disused Tsuga fun park in Tohoku. It was built in 1973 but has since been abandoned, and local kids believe it to be haunted. The creepy pics were taken by the ace photographer Kotarou Shibakoen, and more can be seen at his homepage.
It looks like the sort of place [...]

Watch out! If you don’t study English with your DS, this will happen to you:

In another hard-hitting national news story, a staff member at high school in Osaka has been punished for stealing toilet paper:

The 44-year-old female staffer was allegedly caught putting toilet paper — worth 37 yen — into her bag on Aug. 23 last year. The principal of the school subsequently filed a report with police.
The woman [...]