Archive for May, 2009

Monkey uses stuffed animal as replacement mother

A baby macaque abandoned by her mother and raised by zookeepers at the Ichikawa Zoo has been using a Rilakkuma stuffed animal as a replacement mother:

When she was initially introduced to the main monkey enclosure in January, the stuffed animal kept her company when the other monkeys would shun and bully her.

Almost half a year has passed, and she’s adjusted to life in the enclosure and socializes with the other monkeys. She only occasionally spends time with her stuffed animal “mom.”

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Wearing masks in areas with no swine flu

A clip from yesterday’s FTV news broadcast shows that kindergarteners in Chiba Prefecture, an area of Japan with no confirmed H1N1 flu cases, are being forced to wear protective masks while going on a short field trip:

A few of the kids don’t look so happy to be wearing the uncomfortable masks.

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Swine flu reaches Tokyo

The Japanese press is reporting that the Tokyo area now has its first confirmed swine flu case – a high school student in Hachioji who recently returned from a trip to the United States. Given her travel history, it is likely that she was infected while outside of Japan, and that it is not related to the current outbreak in Kobe/Osaka.

Update: Here’s an article in English that mentions the Tokyo flu case.

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Tokyoites learn to farm

A Reuters video report about city people learning to farm in Japan:

A Tokyo university offers agricultural courses for stressed-out city-dwellers to get in touch with their traditional farming roots.

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Japanese government to stop onboard flu checks of arriving airline passengers

Good news for tourists coming to Japan that are worried about having their vacation ruined by a forced quarantine:

“We need to shift the focus of our human resources from quarantine efforts to domestic countermeasures,” Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said at a hastily arranged press conference Monday.

“That doesn’t mean there’s no point in trying to detect infected people at our airports, but we have limited human resources available,” he said Tuesday, adding he wants to divert some medical personnel involved in quarantine checks to efforts across the country to grapple with the new flu.

The checks of passengers on flights from Mexico, the United States and Canada–the countries that have been hit hardest by the new strain of the H1N1 virus–could end by the end of this week.

Resources will be redirected to fever centers and local governments.

Domestic flu infections had reached 193 as of this morning, with the outbreak limited to the Kansai area.

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Somebody is torturing and killing cats in Tokyo

FTV news reports on the discovery of an injured cat at a park in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward (animal lovers beware – this video contains graphic images of abused cats):

The cat had wounds on its body that may have been the result of chemical burns. It is apparently the latest in a series of wounded/dead cats found in that same area since February, so it is suspected there is a cat torturing sicko on the loose.

Those with information on the case are asked to call the police (110) or call an animal care NPO at 080-5494-8851.

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• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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