Archive for January, 2009

Tsukiji fish market re-opening auctions to tourists

Tsukiji’s ban on tourists at its morning fish auctions will be coming to an end on January 19th (with new security guards on duty):

The local government has decided on the resumption because the tuna auctioning tour is an important part of Tokyo’s tourism business, they said.

When the tours resume, handbills of warning will be given out at the front gate of the market.

The flyers, written in English, Chinese, Korean and Russian, will stipulate bans on flash photography and touching the tuna.

The metropolitan government said it has gained the understanding of market participants, who had complained of some sightseers taking flash photos and touching or poking the tuna with sticks.

If you plan on visiting the auctions on the 19th, be prepared to deal with TV cameras scrutinizing your every action.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Live-action Super Mario skit

Another award-winning performance from last week’s Kinchan no Kasoh Taisho (at the 45 second mark, a blackface Obama makes a random appearance):

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Keio-educated American politician calls for English First in Nashville

Back in August 2008, I blogged about Nashville city councilman Eric Crafton, a graduate of Japan’s Keio University who wants the city government to conduct all of its official business in English. It looks like has made some progress.

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that voters will have a chance to approve his proposal on January 22nd:

“Kono jyoukyou wa kaeru bekidesu,” said the councilman, Eric Crafton, who is fluent in Japanese. Translated, it meant, “This situation must change.”

The fact that few people, if any, attending the council meeting understood Mr. Crafton proved his point. Nashville, like most cities in the country, allows government officials to communicate in any language they choose, and Mr. Crafton wants to end that practice.

In a proposal that has defined him publicly and dominated local politics for two years, Mr. Crafton hopes to make Nashville the largest city in the United States to prohibit the government from using languages other than English, with exceptions allowed for issues of health and safety. On Jan. 22, city residents will vote on the proposal, which Mr. Crafton calls English First and critics call English Only.

Crafton believes that his policy would allow the government to save money by not having to pay for translators and interpreters, and he also thinks that it would encourage immigrants to assimilate and learn English. Crafton’s opponents have claimed that his policy would isolate immigrants and make them feel unwelcome in Nashville.

Here’s a commercial from an Anti-English First group:

Crafton’s supporters do not appear to have uploaded any commercials to YouTube, but arguments in favor of the policy can be found at NashvilleEnglishFirst.com.

[via FG]

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Negi-loving apes don’t catch colds

Zookeepers at the Fukuoka city zoo feed their chimpanzees negi (welsh onion):

Zoos across Japan used to have problems with chimps catching colds in winter. Four years ago, the Tama Zoo started feeding its chimpanzees negi in winter and it caused a huge drop in the number of apes that caught colds. The Fukuoka Zoo copied the negi diet idea and no chimps have come down with colds so far this winter.
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More sensational news from Japan about the dangers of Google Street View

A NTV news report paints a pretty negative picture of Google Street View:

The beginning of the report shows us a real estate company that uses Google Street View in its offices to give potential renters information about the area around certain houses and apartment buildings. It is also very useful for giving directions and showing people just how close certain buildings are to train stations.

The report then begins to present negative views about Street View. A group of housewives complain about how they feel their privacy is being invaded by the images Google is putting on the web. They are shocked to discover that images of their houses are available to the public, and in some views one can even see laundry hanging out to dry! There have also apparently been official complaints about Street View, and some politicians have been discussing the matter.

For the next example of privacy being invaded, NTV takes their sensationalism up a notch. Their reporters have searched the internet and discovered Google’s My Map service, which allows users create personalized, annotated, customized maps using Google Maps. They search public My Maps and find one that contains the full names and addresses of several people. A camera crew is sent to one the addresses and informs the person living there about the map.

The residents of that address are stunned to find their personal information on a public website. Based on the other addresses in the same My Map, they realize that a coworker must have made it. He is summoned to the apartment, and is also shocked to find that the map is public. For some reason, he had believed that the map was not public and did realize it would be saved for months after he created it.

Why was the man’s My Map viewable to the general public? Because, like many other users of Google’s My Map service, he clicked “OK” without actually checking the settings of the map he was creating. A “make this map private” option is readily available, and users who do not select that option will make their maps public.*

The report ends with a security expert telling viewers to be very careful when entering any private information about themselves or others on the internet.

* This problem is almost identical to another issue that caused a privacy panic about Amazon.co.jp wish lists.

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The story of a homeless foreigner in Japan

A clip from a FTV news report about Sidival Furuzawa Pereira, a 36-year-old homeless man struggling to survive in Hamamatsu, Japan:

Mr. Pereira spends his days checking trash heaps for aluminum cans and junk he can bring to recycling centers and exchange for money. At the beginning of the clip, he takes a full bicycle load of old appliances and exchanges them for 350 yen (about $3). Instead of using the money on himself, he saves it so he can send it to his wife and children in Brazil. As a result, Pereira eats food he finds in the garbage.

Pereira came to Japan four years ago to work as a temporary worker at factories in Shizuoka Prefecture. He was laid off 6-months ago. Without a source of income, he soon lost his apartment and became homeless. He tries his hardest to recycle as much junk as he can so that he can provide for his wife and children whom he has not seen since he came to Japan.

Japanese people who noticed Pereira’s plight have given him some assistance. A landlord has given him a free room, and he also sometimes receives gifts of food. A support organization has helped him apply for welfare. He is very grateful for the help and says that he loves Japan.

The clip ends with Pereira making a phone call to his family on January 1st. They ask him to come home, but he tells them he is determined to stay in Japan and earn money to help them. Pereira believes that there would be no work opportunities for him back in Brazil, so collecting junk from Japanese garbage heaps is the only viable option his has to earn money to feed his family.

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