Best of Japan Probe 2007 – January & February
The year is coming to a close now, so let’s look back on the main events of 2007. Here are a few of Japan Probe’s best posts from the last year:
Best of January 2007
January 01: Stop the Presses! Boobies on N-H-K Countdown Special – DJ Ozma’s scandalous use of “nudity” during N-H-K’s New Year’s Eve music countdown special got global attention, with even the Drudge Report linking to our coverage!
January 05: Roppongi English – An 8 part series of posts exploring an English conversation book aimed at Japanese women looking to pick up foreign guys.
January 11: Foreigner witnesses wild boar attack on elderly woman – Perhaps the most interesting interview of a foreign eyewitness I’ve ever seen on Japanese TV.
January 14: Japanese school girls think they see Brad Pitt – One foreign guy excites a bunch of teenage girls.
January 16: SUPA GAIJIN – A pair of wacky English teachers sing the “Supa Gaijin” song with a group of Japanese kindergarteners.
January 27: Know your Japanese poop vocabulary – An explanation of the meaning of some interesting Japanese words.
January 31: Milk + Beer = Bilk – A Hokkaido company released a combination of milk and beer called Bilk, much to the joy of bizarre drink lovers around the world.
Best of February 2007
February 08: Award winning film: Right Place – A very cool short film about an Japanese convenience store clerk with OCD that finally found the ‘right place’ for himself.”
February 08: Kamiya Satoshi: Origami Master – Video and pictures of some truly incredible works of origami.
February 10: Is Mainichi Shinbun cleaning up its headlines in its English edition? – Apparently the editorial staff of English language version of Mainichi Shinbun often rewrite translations of articles to make them less anti-foreign.
February 11: Update on the Foreigner Crime File: FamilyMart Apologizes – Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart apologizes after selling a xenophobic hate magazine.
February 14: Seven years in Japan, and you can’t speak Japanese? – Some commentary and discussion on a Japanese television program about the Australian wife of a Japanese man who has lived in Japan for seven years but can barely speak a word of Japanese.
February 27: Kokujin Tensai: An American from Memphis raps in Japanese – Thanks to the power of YouTube and Myspace, a random American rapper becomes an internet sensation in Japan.
