Archive for August, 2008

The JSDF may run out of gas this year

Remember our earlier post about the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces canceling training exercises because of rising fuel costs? Well, now it looks like the Self-Defense Forces won’t even have enough gas to make it through the end of the fiscal year:

Faced with fuel costs that exceed spending plans by 60 percent, the Self Defense Force has scaled back training missions involving jets and ships, vehicles are being run at slower speeds, and more passengers are being squeezed in per trip in order to conserve fuel, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

“If fuel prices keep increasing we won’t be able to cover it, and we will have to make a request to ensure we have sufficient funds,” the spokeswoman said.

She refused to say the fuel shortage would affect Japan’s foreign operations, such as dispatches in support of U.S.-led forces in Iraq, but she denied that the country’s defense would be compromised.

It was unclear when the country’s military would run out of gas under current conditions, though broadcaster N-H-K said the fuel budget would run out in November, over four months before the end of the fiscal year in March.

Water shoots out of the street in Tokyo

An unforeseen consequence of all the rain the Kanto region has been getting lately:

Japanese audiences underwhelmed by The Dark Knight

Tokyo Reporter has an article up about the new Batman movie’s reception in Japan:

Now in its third week of release in Japan, the Christopher Nolan film, which sees the caped crime-fighter battling underworld figures and crooked cops in Gotham City, grossed a mere $1.6 million in its second weekend in Japan to bring its cumulative total to only $8.7 million. By comparison, it has already piled up $14.3 million in takings over the same period in the smaller Korean market.

Industry observers believe the film’s overly lengthy 152-minute running time, the lack of the “Batman” name in the title, and its dark theme are possible explanations for the disinterest by Japanese film fans.

When on saw the film on a Friday night earlier this month, the theater was nearly empty.

Girls shave their heads for cash

Japanese blog Zaeega has discovered something incredibly bizarre: a website that sells videos of pretty girls cutting their hair and shaving their heads:

• Example #1
• Example #2

China replaces official in charge of poisoned gyoza investigation

The Japanese media has discovered that Yu Xinmin, the Chinese official that had been in charge of the investigation into contaminated Chinese-made dumplings has been replaced:

The Chinese source said Yu was removed from the post for mishandling of the cases, in which 10 people became sick in Japan from eating pesticide-tainted frozen meat dumplings.

Yu had told a press conference in February that Chinese investigators believe it is highly unlikely that the dumplings concerned were contaminated in China.

The results of the Chinese investigation were in contrast with the Japanese police’s finding that the pesticide made its way into the dumplings in China.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that gyoza from the same factory also sickened many people in China.

“I have never met a Japanese man who did not want me to be his mommy.”

The quote in this post’s headline comes from an article in today’s Washington Post about Japanese women who choose to delay marriage and a “growing willingness to do without children — or childish husbands.”

Most of the article covers Japan’s demographic problem, discrimination against women in the workforce, and government measures being taken to deal with the problems. There’s also a portion focusing on Takako Katayama, a 37-year-old unmarried woman that works at a cable TV network.

Here’s their video interview with Katayama:

Katayama testifies to that. “Guys will allow a woman to express herself, but they do not want their position threatened,” she said. “They want to stand above the girl.”

Equally annoying, according to Katayama, is the rarely stated but almost universal expectation of Japanese men to be fed, clothed and picked up after. “I am willing to take care of and give comfort to a man whom I care about, but that does not mean I want to be his mother,” she said.

Research here shows that after a divorce, men tend to feel unhappy and remarry quickly. Divorced women, though, are relatively happy and often delay remarriage.

Katayama’s views aren’t very different from what I’ve heard from a few Japanese women, but I can’t help but wonder why the Washington Post’s report relied so heavily on comments from a single English-speaking Japanese person. Surely some interviews with a few other women, possibly even some that aren’t interesting in foreign languages, could have provided a slightly broader view of how unmarried Japanese women view the situation.

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