Apologies to all those out there who are sick of all the Michael Jackson stories appearing in the media since his death, but here is a very interesting set of videos from an NTV Sunday morning news show that looked back on Michael Jackson’s visits to Japan (crudely translated via YouTube’s annotation system):
Part 1 – [...]

The morning news shows are still obsessing over Michael Jackson’s passing. Here’s a “how to moonwalk” clip that was on “Mezamashi TV” yesterday:

The key, apparently, is to slide back one foot and then put all of your body weight on its toe while you slide back the other foot.
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Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan [...]

An Uzbek student who won a Japanese language speech contest for Central Asians was given an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan (and a camera crew followed him around so Japanese TV viewers can see how much fun he had):

A few notes on the contents of the video for those who don’t speak Japanese or don’t want [...]

Chubu International Airport (Centrair) has bought several three-wheeled Toyota i-REAL vehicles to be used by security and service personnel:

The tricycles, developed by Toyota, can operate at a top speed of 15 kilometres per hour.
Some of those used at Chubu Airport will also carry emergency medical kit and computers that will allow airport staff to check [...]

Yo-yo champion Hiroyuki Suzuki showing off some of his techniques:

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

A short clip showing the interior of Joshoin Temple in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the 223 local men who died in the Russo-Japanese War are memorialized in the form of wooden dolls:

The hand-carved dolls have been created to reflect the branch of service and rank of each man who died. Some of the dolls also [...]

Radical animal rights group Sea Shepherd will be using Earthrace, a futuristic-looking biofueled boat, in its violent activism against Japanese whalers:
“It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We’ll be using it to intercept and block harpoons.”
In 61 days last year Earthrace circled the globe fuelled by biodiesel. [...]

Genius chimpanzee Pan-kun was taught how to eat various foods on last night’s episode of “Shimura Zoo”:

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

“Nanikore Chin Hakkei” discovers a toilet that makes a human-like sighing sound after it is flushed:

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

Amy Odell of NY Mag reports that Uniqlo owner Tadashi Yanai might buy the Gap:
Yanai is trying to turn Fast Retailing into the biggest clothing manufacturer and retailer in the world. The easiest way for him to do this by targeting the U.S. market is not to open a million new Uniqlo stores — that [...]

Pepsi Shiso is on sale at stores across Japan, and Japan bloggers have reacted:
Positive Reviews

Matt Alt: “Surprisingly drinkable.”
Curzon: “I LOVE the new soft drink.”
Iwakan – “This was rockin’ good.”
Claytonian – “Not bad.”
Kumaboshi – “It’s actually not bad, and does smell and taste (at least at first) like shiso.”

Negative Reviews

Gaijin Tonic – “While it might be [...]

MinnPost has a very interesting article up about how a Benedictine monastery in Japan was able to thrive after Japanizing the lifestyle of its monks:
To outsiders, this may seem obvious. In fact, it was obvious to insiders, too. But it’s one thing to suggest that a culture needs to change, and another matter altogether to [...]