90 percent of koalas in Japan have HIV
Most of the koalas at zoos in Japan are infected with koala retrovirus (KoRV), the koala equivalent of HIV:
Kyoto University’s analysis of blood tests conducted on 50 koalas in captivity in Japan — 39 born in northeast Australia and their offspring, and 11 born in southeast Australia and their offspring — showed that all those from the northeast and four originating from the southeast were infected with the virus.
KoRV, which cannot be transmitted to humans, attaches itself to the host’s chromosomes and can induce lymphatic leukemia and infection by weakening the immune system.
Koalas in Japan have shorter life spans than their native Australian counterparts, with many dying from leukemia and other diseases. However, a connection between the virus and the shortened life spans has not been confirmed.
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Categories: General Japan
Cartoon: Taro Aso & Election Day
No political commentary in this post. I just wanted to share the great work done by the FTV news graphics person working on their coverage speculating on what date Taro Aso will schedule a general election:
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Categories: Japanese TV
Photo: Yokohama in 1859
The Yomiuri reports on the discovery of the oldest known photographs of Yokohama:
According to the museum, the photographs were taken by Swiss photographer Pierre Joseph Rossier (1829-72), who visited Yokohama right after the port opened in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867).
The photographs were discovered in 2007 by Terry Bennett, a London-based scholar who has been researching Rossier. Bennett declined to disclose where he obtained the pictures, the museum said.
The photographs will go on display at the Yokohama Archives of History starting April 22.
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Categories: Photography
JSDF paratrooper dies in training accident
ATV reports that a member of the elite JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade died yesterday during a training exercise:
The paratrooper was making a jump from a helicopter and became entangled in his parachute. One of the ropes wrapped around his neck, strangling him to death. The man was a 31-year-old with a lot of experience making parachute jumps from helicopters.
Regular readers of this site may remember that the 1st Airborne Brigade made the news back in January when a somewhat similar accident occurred during helicopter jump training.
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Categories: General Japan
LA Times report on Ken Tanaka
The LA Times has discovered YouTuber Ken Tanaka:
Ken Tanaka’s loopy life story has made him a breakout hit on YouTube. His is the cyber tale of a Caucasian, brought up in Japan by an Asian family, who now yearns to reconnect with his American heritage. Via the cagey use of documentary-style video, Tanaka portrays himself as a hapless hero, a sunny, awkward transplant from Japan, weaned on sushi but looking more like Oklahoma than Yokohama.
It’s all very charming, but there’s just one catch: Is it true?
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Categories: Celebrity News
AU mobile phones designed by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama
Reuters shares some new Japanese mobile phones that look cool but aren’t necessarily easy to use:
Japanese mobile phone carrier KDDI blurs the boundaries between art and functionality with a range of phones designed by top Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
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Categories: Technology