Archive for May, 2009

Fallen tree survives on rooftop

A typhoon knocked down this tree about 20 years ago in Akita:

The owner of the house supporting the weight of the tree sees no reason why he should get it removed, and is quite happy that the tree has clung to life with its remaining roots.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Bobby Ologun exposed

The truth about Bobby Ologun, a Nigerian-born comedian whose act is built on the idea that he is an idiot who can’t speak proper Japanese:

The show, which aired on Children’s Day, included celebrities and their kids sharing funny anecdotes. In one portion of the show, the children asked questions to their parents. Bobby’s son asked, “Why is my dad an idiot on TV when he acts normal at home?”
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Ichiro Ozawa to resign

For weeks, polls had noted that a majority of the Japanese population thought that opposition party leader Ichiro Ozawa should resign because of a scandal involving his political organization’s acceptance of 21 million yen in illegal donations. It seems that he has given in to the pressure and will be announcing his resignation later today.

「hat tip to Our Man in Abiko / wacky image via 2-channel]

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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 government tells citizens that having children is not a “duty”

Once again, some people have complained after a member of the Japanese government has made statements implying that citizens should feel an obligation to have children. This time, it was Prime Minister Taro Aso, who said he had done his “duty” [義務] to Japan by having two children. He quickly withdrew the remark, saying that it was improper to use the word “duty.”

Yuko Obuchi, Minister of State in charge of the Declining Birthrate, has made some additional statements to clarify the government’s position:

“It’s absolutely not a question of national duty. It’s a free decision,” she told reporters.

[...]

“We tend to hear a lot of stories about how tough it is, but we have to get the message across that bringing up children is something that’s full of fun and joy,” Obuchi, 35, said.

Fun indeed: just look at our new parenting role models!

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

Daughter carries whole family on her back

Another clever performance from the “Kasou Taisho” (Costume Grand Prix) competition:

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

Song for the Outsider?

I haven’t been very active in the blogging/Youtubing/Twittering world lately, but some people have been asking for lyrics for some of our songs, so we put together this video of the lyrics for the song “Which Road Takes Me Home”, which is often referred to as having a certain aroma of gaijin-ness about it. I understand that there are those who consider that to be more of a stench than an aroma.

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Contributor Bio: JJ, shockingly, teaches English, but would prefer to do other things (shockingly). So he writes songs or comedy or the occasional theological treatise. Sometimes he tries to combine all of them. This is most easily observed at www.youtube.com/fatblueman.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)