Archive for February, 2009

Japanese Caviar

A Japanese TV news report about how one fish farm in Kochi Prefecture is producing caviar:

The man behind the project originally worked as an eel farmer. He decided to switch to the caviar business 11 years ago, starting out with 100 sturgeons. Since then, he has expanded his business considerably, and now has about 1800 sturgeons swimming around in massive water tanks. 20 grams of his caviar sells for a price of about 10,000 yen – a pretty high compared to other producers of farmed caviar, but some restaurants are willing to put it on the menu so they can proudly announce their caviar is made in Japan.

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

Catholic priest arrested in Osaka

A 74-year-old Japanese Catholic priest has been arrested on suspicion of molesting a woman:

Hirotsugu Inoue, a priest at a church in the city of Ibaraki, has admitted to forcibly kissing and hugging the 43-year-old woman about 70 times between October to December last year, but denied his acts amounted to indecency, according to police.

“There is no doubt that I did this, but it was not an act of indecent assault,” he was quoted as telling the police. “The act was intended to console the woman.”

According to investigations, Inoue approached the woman in a church kitchen, whispering “I love you” on one occasion, and proceeded to hug her despite her rejections.

It is believed that Ionue may have molested the woman’s daughter. Others have also contacted the police with molestation complaints about Ionue.

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

US warship docks in Nagasaki

The USS Blue Ridge docked in Nagasaki yesterday for a friendship visit. The AFP reports that some of Nagasaki’s residents were not in the mood to welcome a US warship:

Hundreds of residents including atomic bomb survivors chanted, “We are opposed to the port call!” as the 19,600-ton vessel arrived in the southwestern city.

“We don’t want to see the US flag flying at this port and this feeling will not change until the United States takes a policy towards the elimination of nuclear weapons,” Osamu Yoshitomi, an official at Nagasaki city, told AFP.

Nagasaki’s mayor and regional governor both refused to take part in the welcome ceremony after unsuccessfully asking Japanese and US authorities to cancel the visit.

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

Kim Jong-Il online dating video

Kim Jong-il might be preparing to test fire a missile towards Japan, but he’s still got time for online dating:

[via DPRK Studies]

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

Hokkaido ski resorts seek Chinese tourists

A TBS news report about how Hokkaido ski resorts are trying to attract Chinese tourists:

Recent years have seen high numbers of Korean, Taiwanese, and Australian tourists coming to Hokkaido’s ski resorts, but the rising value of the yen has caused a significant drop in foreign tourists this winter. As a result, ski resorts are attempting to target tourists from mainland China. Local authorities admit they are still lagging behind when it comes to attracting Chinese tour groups, but they are working hard to promote the area and Chinese students have been hired to help with the language barrier.

Tourism officials are hoping for a sixfold increase in Chinese tourists by 2020. Under current rules, it is extremely difficult for Chinese who are not traveling in tour groups to obtain sightseeing visas. The government hopes to relax such restrictions, but it must also address concerns about public safety (visa overstayers) in the process.

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

Jero makes Japanese women cry

A clip of enka singer Jero giving a performance to promote the release of his new song, “Eisa“:

He also sang “Hare Butai,” a song that expresses love for his mother and how much he misses her, and during the performance he shed a few tears. In the audience, a few female fans who are about the same age as Jero’s mother also shed tears. One woman interviewed afterwords said that it is rare for Japanese people to express their feelings in such a direct manner, and that she was somewhat jealous of Jero in that regard.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)