Archive for February, 2009

“Man Booked for Trying to Talk to Foreigners”

This news comes from the Korea Times, but I’m sure that those of you in Japan who have been approached by drunk English conversation enthusiasts will find this story amusing:

A 71-year-old man was booked for hitting a restaurant staff member who was trying to stop him from talking to a foreigner at the establishment, police have said.

Seoul Gangseo Police on Saturday apprehended a man identified as Lee for beating a 60 year-old identified as Jeong at a restaurant in Naebalsan-dong in western Seoul last Friday. Lee was reportedly trying to approach two Scottish men who were eating at the premises while Jeong attempted to restrain him.

Lee was said to be drunk and told police that he was simply trying to “learn English from the foreigners.”

[via Brian in Jeollanam-do]

—

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

Space Battleship Yamato built with legos

This lego version of Space Battleship Yamato is not quite as huge as a lego model of the World War II era vessel, but it’s still pretty cool:

[via Akihabara News]

—

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

Salaryman Senryu 2009 – darkly humorous poems from Japan

The 100 finalists for Dai-Ichi Life Insurance’s annual “Salaryman Senryu” contest were announced yesterday. Below are rough English translations of a few of my favorite entries.
—
First off, the poem acted out in the NTV video clip above:

子供らに　また教えてる　総理の名

To my child – I have to yet again teach – the name of our Prime Minister.

—
A joke referring to the scandals about dangerous imported food:

ぼくの嫁　国産（こくさん）なのに　毒（どく）がある

My wife – is made in Japan – but she is poisonous.

-
A poem describing the current state of the job market in Japan:

久しぶり　ハローワークで　同窓会

It’s been a while – at the unemployment office – a class reunion.

—
And one about currency exchange rates:

円高を　実感したいが　円が無い

The rising value of the yen – I want to experience it – but I have no yen.

—

Hayao Miyazaki’s “Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea” was the highest grossing film of the year, so somebody was inspired by its title:

崖の上？　いいえ私は　崖っぷち

On a cliff? – No, I’m – on its edge.

—
And another pop culture reference, this time about the TV drama “Around Forty“:

「テストどう？」　こたえはいつも　「アラフォーさ！」

“How was the test?” – The answer is always, – “around forty!”

—
And finally, a good ol’ fashioned poem about a salaryman who is sad about his wife discovering his secret stash of money:

女房が　見つけてしまった　埋蔵金

My wife – found it – my buried treasure.

—
A full list of the poems in Japanese can be found on its official site. Web users can vote for their favorite poems until March 13th.

—

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

Pakistani arrested over murder of Russian woman in Japan

Police have arrested a Pakistani man for the murder of a young Russian woman in Saitama Prefecture:

Soka police say factory worker Mohammad Alam, 38, a resident of nearby Koshigaya, has confessed to stabbing 23-year-old Korpacheva Anastasia Vitaljevna to death. He was found sitting in a car in a convenience store parking lot early on Monday morning in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, with an acquaintance.

Friends of Vitaljevna say that the two had dated at one point, and that Alam was pressing the woman to get back together. Police say that about an hour before the murder, Vitaljevna and her 57-year-old husband visited a police box in front of Shinden Station and told police that while they were out for a walk, Alam had stolen his wife’s handbag and begged her to marry him.

A friend of Mohammed’s had told the press that the police box visit one hour before the killing was not the first time the police were consulted about this problem. He claims that Mohammed had made clear threats, but police had ignored it.

—

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

Japanese-to-English dictionary with too many slang terms

An example of the English terms provided for a Japanese word meaning “good friends” [親友] from the ALC’s Eijiro Japanese-to-English dictionary [via JapanSoc]:

I understand the need to inform language learners about certain slang terms, but it would probably be more useful if ALC didn’t use alphabetical order and placed more commonly-used translations before terms such as “asshole buddy” and “ace boon coon.”

—

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

Sharks kill people on Japanese TV

TV Tokyo has been airing some wonderful commercials for this week’s airing of “Red Water,” an American shark horror film. Luckily, a Japanese youtuber has recorded and upped the commercial so we can all enjoy its gory splendor (the clip probably contains spoilers, so watch out!):

[via Zaeega]

—

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