Archive for March, 2009

Japan legally recognizes gay marriages (but only for those who marry foreigners in other countries)

A partial recognition of gay marriage in Japan:

The Justice Ministry plans to enable Japanese nationals to marry same-sex partners who have citizenship in countries where gay marriage is legally approved, ministry sources said Thursday.

The ministry will issue certificates necessary for such marriage of Japanese citizens and foreigners, the sources said, adding the ministry will soon convey the decision to its legal affairs bureaus across the nation, the sources said.

The ministry has so far rejected the issuance of such certificates to Japanese citizens seeking to marry same-sex partners of foreign nationality as such marriages are not approved under domestic law.

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

A guide to voting in North Korea

As British Ambassador to North Korea Peter Hughes has graciously pointed out, North Korea recently held a fantastically fun election in which 99% of voters turned out and voted 100% approval upon Kim Jong-Il.

To give a closer look at the grand democracy taking place in North Korea, Japan’s NTV news had a man who once lived in the country reconstruct a typical voting booth scene. The instructions shown in the video are as follows:

1. Enter the voting room and bow to the staff person as you receive a voting card.
2. Your voting card will have Kim Jong-Il’s name printed on it. Old voting cards used to have ” [ ] Approve [ ] Disapprove” boxes one can select, but those cards were abolished in favor of the far more simple support cards.
3. There is a red pen on a side table that you may use to change your voting card to an anti-Kim Jong-il vote. There is a member of the secret police monitoring you as you vote, so the mere act of glancing at the red pen could get you in trouble. If you want to live until the next election, ignore the red pen.
4. To cast your vote, take your card and place it into the box. You must show your respect by bowing before the portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il as you vote. Use both hands when placing the card in the box.

Everyone must vote. To keep the voter turnout percentage as high as possible, travel permits are heavily restricted in the month leading up to the election and those who are missing on election day may be officially declared dead.

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

Ken Tanaka Art Show in California

Ken Tanaka recently sent me an email with the following video and accompanying information:

By some weird, miraculous way, youtube videos have led to a Ken Tanaka art show at a big LA gallery. I’ve been gearing up for it for the past few months. My latest video announces my upcoming show (April 11th to May 2nd) at Billy Shire fine Arts.

Hopefully, the PR generated by this art show will spread the word about my search for [my missing birth parents] Jonathan and Linda Smith and I will finally find them .

Here are some details that aren’t in the video:
This show will feature Ken Tanaka drawings, music, and videos. The installation art piece referred to in the video is “Ken Tanaka’s garage sale”. An american style garage sale uprooted and placed inside of an art gallery, with work from artists shown in my videos (like Remi-chan) mixed in with typical garage sale junk. Artists have been asked to make “fake” art items that will blend in with the real garage sale items. So there will be fake comic books, records, cassette tapes etc, all mixed in with the real thing.

Here is a link to the gallery.
Billy Shire Fine Arts
5790 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

So if you will be around Culver city around that time, you may want to step in and check it out.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian studies the Nihongoes in Saitama and blogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Tottori Prefecture holds North Korean missile attack drills

As the Japanese government is discussing the possibility of using its missile defense systems to take out a soon-to-launch North Korean rocket, Tottori Prefecture is preparing for the worst:

The prefectural government held a drill in which missile launch warning faxes were sent to local government offices and announcements were made over emergency PA systems. However, if a missile were to be launched in the direction of Tottori, there would be only minutes to prepare, and the government response could be too slow. It would also take some time for people to flee to the safety of sturdy buildings.

Citizens interviewed didn’t seem to believe there was much anybody could do to practically prepare for such an event.

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

All Reptiles 30% Off (Thank you, Samurai Japan!)

Stores all across Japan have begun special sales to celebrate Japan’s World Baseball Classic Victory. As this video clip shows, a reptile store has jumped on the bandwagon:

Snakes, lizards, and other reptiles for 30%- all thanks to Ichiro and the “Samurai Japan” baseball team!

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

Weird animal dance commercial

Dancing animals convince us to buy a product that protects your clothing from moths and mold:

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