A U.S. Supreme Court ruling today is expected to put a halt on all executions of criminals by lethal injection for the time being, and one of the judges who made the ruling was influenced by his role in the death of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto:
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago [...]

It seems that every day since the collapse of Nova brings new discoveries of shady practices by its president and management. Today the press discovered the palace-like private office Nozomu Sahashi built for himself at the company’s expense [hats off to Fuji TV's news staff for adding the dramatic music]:

The whereabouts of Sahashi, dismissed [...]

Japan’s naval refueling mission in support of the multi-national mission in Afghanistan has ended, after it became apparent that Ichiro Ozawa’s DPJ would not support the renewal of the mission. Ozawa rejected the mission, apparently because it does not have UN backing, and has instead suggested that Japan send some GSDF troops to join [...]

With the collapse of the largest English conversation chain in Japan throwing thousands of foreigners out of a job, and often out of a place to reside, the Japan government announced today that it will sponsor, with public funds, a relief program to provide food, shelter and employment to hungry homeless former Nova teachers by [...]

Fiery video, and the story from the Associated Press/CNN:

A Japanese fighter jet crashed an instant after takeoff and went up in flames Wednesday at an airport in central Japan, leaving the two pilots with minor injuries, an official for aircraft’s manufacturer said.
The F-2B fighter was on a test flight prior to delivery to Japan’s air [...]

A promotional video from a gravure photo shoot held by Japanese idol Nonami Takizawa in rural China:

The story is covered over at Global Voices Online and FG, where I noticed that Chinese bloggers have incorrectly labeled Ms. Takizawa as an AV idol (porn star), when she is in fact nothing more than a gravure idol [...]

[edit: thought the light vandalism was reported this year, word is this video is actually from last year's revelries.]
Just thought I would put this up while the controversy is still fresh. This is a video that includes footage of when the lights were taken out on the Halloween train invasion.

BTW, my take on the [...]

What is it like being a homosexual foreign male in Japan? Well ‘Scott’ age 39 (who wishes his real name not the name of his partner not be used) has agreed to tell us a little bit about what it is like. Scott will tell a little about his life here in Japan on the [...]

David “Samurai Dave” Weber, who has participated in the Yamanote Halloween Train since 2005, has posted this video report to Japunit:

The video seems to be made up of clips from the 2006 party:
I have more commentary from myself and from participants including one who confirms the existence of the Halloween Train event going back to [...]

The Tokyo Motor Show was opened to the public over the weekend, allowing visitors to see some cool and eco-friendly concept cars. Japan Prober Darin visited the event on Sunday, and has posted a huge gallery of photos on his website: check them out!

In a bizarre attempt to justify the fingerprinting of all foreigners entering Japan, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama has told reporters about his association with friends of terrorists:
Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama, however, told reporters that he had personal knowledge of how terrorists can infiltrate the country, citing an unidentified “friend of a friend” who was involved [...]

In this English-subtitled video of Japanese TV uploaded by YouTuber Morizaemon, Hey! Spring of Trivia plays a cruel joke on racewalking champion Jefferson Perez. They wanted to see what would happen if Perez was attacked by a gang of sword-wielding samurai: would he rely on his expert racewalking skills to get away, or [...]