Archive for August, 2009

Noriko Sakai’s drugs came from “a foreigner”

The stupid media frenzy over the drug arrest of idol Noriko Sakai. Her husband, who allegedly introduced her to illegal drugs, has told the police that he “bought the drugs from a foreigner”:

While I don’t doubt that much of the illegal drugs that enter Japan are brought over by foreigners, in this particular case blaming a nameless foreign drug dealer seems like an awfully convenient way to avoid implicating the most obvious source from which they could have obtained drugs: the yakuza.

It has been reported that Noriko’s late father was a yakuza boss and their family participation in organized crime has continued through her younger brother, a gangster currently serving in the Yamaguchi-gumi. Earlier this year, her brother was arrested for possession of stimulants. The Yamaguchi-gumi is known to be involved in the drug trade, and given Sakai’s connection to the gang, it’s not hard to believe that her husband would have purchased drugs from them. If that were the case, blaming a nameless foreign drug dealer would be safer than ratting Japanese mobsters.

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Related side note: What’s the big deal about the 42 straws police found during a search of her house? She allegedly owned the straws for the purpose of inhaling meth fumes, but what’s so shocking about the number of straws? The number is being repeated over and over as if it somehow indicates the level of her drug addiction. Most straws I see in stores come in packs of 50 or more, so I don’t quite understand what’s so damning about Noriko’s ownership of so many straws.

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

TV Shopping in Japan: ShamWow sold at tripled the original price

A few minutes ago I noticed that ShamWow commercials are airing on Japanese TV. The two minute spot is almost identical to the original American TV commercial. I guess Vince is a good salesman even when dubbed over in Japanese.

There is however, one key difference: the price of the product.

In the United States, a set of 8 ShamWows usually costs around $20. In Japan, the same set is being advertised for 5980 yen, about $62. Whoever is selling these things over here must be making a fortune charging such an outrageous mark-up.

This is by no means an isolated case. For a while now, I have seen infomercials for the Magic Bullet Blender that claim a price of 14,700 yen ($151) is amazingly cheap. On Amazon they are available for a mere $60, and the official maker sells two sets for the price Japan’s home shopping network charges for one set.

Most “As Seen on TV” products probably aren’t even worth what they’re being sold for in the United States. It’s pretty damn sad to see that people in Japan are being tricked into paying far more for the same low quality products.

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

Poll: Chinese rank Japanese as world’s lewdest nation

An internet poll has found that residents of Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing believe that Japanese people are the world’s lewdest (ecchi):

The United States was in a distant second place, followed by Korea, France, China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Great Britain, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, India, and Egypt.

Searchina’s article about the poll cites the abundance of pirated Japanese adult movies in China as a major influence on the ranking.

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

Tea’s Tea New York

The North American branch of Japanese tea company Ito En apparently developed the Tea’s Tea brand in an attempt to popularize its tea in the United States. Now they’re bringing it to Japan as an exotic “New York” tea:

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

Double commercial: Hachiko movie + men’s spa

Men’s spa Dandy House is running commercials that also advertise Richard Gere’s new Hachiko movie:

They want you to see the movie and observe a good man, then head to the salon and get a dandy makeover.

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

Racism claim over use of Japanese three wise monkeys

Japan’s famous three wise monkeys (sanzaru) have become the subject of a racial discrimination accusation in Britain:

The row dates from an incident nearly two years ago, when supporters of the Socialist Party – a Marxist group well to the left of Labour – tried to get Unison’s annual conference to discuss proposals to cut links with the Labour Party, and reduce the pay of full-time union officials. Unison is one of the biggest donors to Labour, despite occasional friction.

The rebels were told by Unison’s standing orders committee, which determines what can be discussed at conference, that there were more important matters to be debated in the available time. Irritated by this, they distributed a hastily printed leaflet with a cartoon that compared the committee with the three wise monkeys.

The only member of the committee familiar to most Unison members is Clytus Williams, the chairman. He is a lay union activist and well liked by most delegates. He is also black. The idea the far left was trying to caricature him as a monkey infuriated delegates, many of whom are low-paid workers more familiar with bar room racism than Buddhist culture and proverbial monkeys.

Apparently the four people responsible for creating the leaflet have been barred from holding office in the union because they distributed “offensive” material.

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