Archive for May, 2009

Mosquito noise maker will annoy young people

A park in Tokyo is hoping that a new device will prove annoying enough to drive away loud young people:

[This video does not contain the sound because it was recorded from an analog source. Apparently digital TV viewers under 25 should have been able to hear the buzzing.]

The Mosquito, a device developed by a British scientist, will be turned on from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily at Kita-Shikahama Park, where youths loiter and make noise at night.

Nearby residents complained they couldn’t sleep because of the noise.

The high-frequency sounds of about 18 kilohertz are inaudible to older people, officials said. Human hearing abilities typically peak at around age 20.

In fiscal 2008, vandals caused about 700,000 yen in damage at the park, including broken windows at a park office and broken toilets.

More details can be found in this Mainichi article.

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Fans fighting to keep Bobby Valentine in Chiba

Video: Chiba fans sing a song for Bobby
The New York Times reports on a group of Japanese baseball fans fighting to keep Bobby Valentine as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines:

For six weeks, the fans of the Marines have been engaged in a battle with the front office over the fate of Valentine, who was told over the winter that his contract would not be renewed for financial reasons, despite his success with the team.

With more than 50,000 signatures on a petition to keep Valentine, this is a struggle, the fans believe, that goes to the heart of Japanese baseball. They see Valentine as a positive influence who is leading the team and the sport toward a more viable future by promoting more access to players and more fan-friendly marketing concepts.

At the same time, they view the current front office, led by the team president, Ryuzo Setoyama, as more interested in the status quo, under which, they contend, fans have been treated less as coveted customers and more as people expected to attend games out of a sense of duty. Although the team insists that Valentine simply makes too much money to be retained in 2010, the fans believe other factors may be in play.

“This problem is more than Japanese baseball itself; it’s about the Japanese society,” Kazuhiro Yasuzumi, a 39-year-old Marines fan and leader of the protest, said through an interpreter. He said that people with power and influence in Japan did not necessarily appreciate someone like Valentine, who has never been bashful about offering his opinion.

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Model UN conference was source of swine flu infections?

A video news report from ATV:

The two Japanese high school students confirmed as the Kanto region’s first H1N1 infections had visited New York city between May 11th and 18th, staying in a hotel room together while participating in a Model UN conference. The event had included discussions of international issues with delegations of high school students from 16 other UN member countries. There was also a dance party (oh no!).

The event organizers have stated that they know about no other swine flu infections among the students who attended the conference.

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Japanese astronaut rides magic carpet

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata has some fun up on the ISS:

[via TokyoMango/Engadget]

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Opportunists selling surgical masks for high prices online

The swine flu outbreak in Kansai caused people to make a run on stores selling surgical masks. With so many stores sold out of masks, some people have turned to the internet to purchase protection from the flu.

This video clip from FTV reveals that there are thousands of masks being auctioned off on Yahoo! Japan, often for quite high prices:

Also being sold on the internet: Tamiflu pills at 20 times the standard price.

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Swine flu commercial: Prime Minister tells Japanese people to remain calm

This commercial, in which Prime Minister Taro Aso tells the Japanese people to remain calm in the midst of an H1N1 flu outbreak, has been airing on TV a lot in the last few days:

The commercial assures viewers that those who seek treatment for the flu will most likely be fine, and that there is plenty of Tamiflu available. Those with symptoms are told to call their local health office.
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