Archive for April, 2009

2 to 7 million tons of yellow sand from China blow over Japan every year

Researchers at the National Institute for Environment Studies have determined the amount of yellow sand that blows over to Japan from China:

Yellow sand storms occur mainly in the Gobi desert in China, with winds carrying the sand to Japan and South Korea. The three countries have worked together to improve sand observation systems, which now can spot a source in a 40-kilometer radius, improved from the previous 80 to 100-km radius.

According to recent data, 100 million tons of yellow sand blows from the Gobi desert every year. About 2 to 7 million tons come to Japan, of which about 1.8 million tons on average (around 1 to 5 tons per 1 square kilometer) land on the country every year. Peak months are between February and April.

The number of occurrences of yellow sand falling in the country has continued to rise since 1988, frequently exceeding 300 days per year. The quantity is also increasing, according to 85 meteorological observatories in the country.

As mentioned in an earlier post on Japan Probe, clouds of air pollution drifting towards Japan from the continent can be viewed on this site (yellow sand is the orange map on the upper left).

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

Orangutan briefly runs wild inside Ishikawa Zoo

Visitors had to be evacuated from the Ishikawa Zoo yesterday after an Orangutan escaped:

Like many other zoos with orangutans and monkeys, the Ishikawa Zoo had a set up with some poles and wires that allowed the orangutan to swing back and forth over the heads of visitors. The bottom section of the poles were electrified to discourage the primate from climbing down. The orangutan escaped by falling from this area, possibly because he lost his grip after accidentally touching an electrified area. After 40 minutes of wandering around inside the zoo, he was knocked out by a tranquilizer and captured by zookeepers.

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

Japanese reefer madness

Three Vietnamese men were arrested the other day for cultivating about 160 marijuana plants inside a house in Gunma prefecture:

Japanese authorities have been increasing their efforts to arrest marijuana farmers and smokers, so there has been a lot of marijuana-related stories in the press recently. Below are two fine examples:

Jun Okumura of GlobalTalk 21 reports on an incident in a Japanese courtroom:

The defendant was alleged to have gone on a two-day shoplifting spree, taking 229 manga comic books worth roughly 110,000 yen in order to repay loans and finance a marijuana habit. When the judge* asked, “Do you understand that marijuana is bad for your health?”, the defendant replied, “I don’t think it’s bad for my health. I did research on the Internet, and it said that marijuana was less harmful than tobacco and alcohol.” The judge responded to this in a voice that was audible to the three people who had come to watch the proceedings, “You’re being deceived, because you’re a fool (ばか).”

Media attention has focused on the judge’s harsh name-calling and not the fact that the defendant was pretty much correct about marijuana being less harmful that tobacco and alcohol. (The Asahi’s English language article doesn’t even mention the context in which the defendant claimed that marijuana was not bad for health.)

Meanwhile, the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto has decided to strip Nippon Sport Science University of its seed ranking in next year’s Hokkaido Ekiden road relay race because one student (a pole vaulter, not a runner) from the university was expelled for growing and using cannabis. The university had responded to the one student’s crime by indefinitely suspending its entire athletics club and closing its training camp for jumping athletes. Wrap that around your heads, readers.

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

Tommy Lee Jones wins gubernatorial election in Japan

In a Boss Coffee commercial, at least:

The commercial pokes fun at all the celebrity governors in the news these days. After being forced to resign in disgrace, Tommy Lee Jones reflects on the fleeting nature of popularity.

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

Giant spider invades Yokohama

A giant spider created by the French company La Machine has arrived in Japan to join Yokohama’s 150th birthday celebrations:

For a preview of what it will do in Yokohama, here is a video of the giant spider performing in Liverpool back in September 2008:

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

Flashback: Queen visits Japan (1975)

A video flashback to 1975, when Queen visited Japan:

[hat tip to Dave]

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