Archive for September, 2009

Shadow Puppetry: Animals

A really impressive work of shadow puppetry from some Japanese performers:

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

Sewage treatment in Japan

An interesting video report looking at a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, hosted by Stuart, the Australian who was yelling about whales in the TV debate I posted about yesterday:

[found via his YouTube 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)

Protest against “Tibet -Treasure from the Roof of the World” exhibit

The Ueno Royal Museum is currently hosting an exhibition of Chinese government-owned Tibetan artifacts, and “Free Tibet” activists are not happy about it. Here’s a video from a protest held yesterday:

The exhibition, “Tibet: Treasure from the Roof of the World,” has been traveling throughout the world since 2004 and now it has been exhibiting in Japan. This exhibition does not present the accurate modern history and culture of Tibet. Our aim is to let the world know that this exhibition is a collection of stolen treasure that is organized by the Chinese govenment who has been trying to justify the Chinese rule in Tibet.

The activists wanted the exhibit to include information about the Chinese conquest and occupation of Tibet, but their request was rejected. Exhibition committee representative Taisuke Tsurumaki told activists that, “There is no such a thing as ‘Tibetan person.’ There is a Tibetan tribe (in China).”

[via FG]

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

Crayon Shin-chan no more??

One of Japan’s funniest and most recognizable Manga characters, Crayon Shin-chan （クレヨンしんちゃん）, might not be smiling right now.

His creator Usui Yoshito (臼井儀人) was reported to be missing after telling his family he was going on a hiking trip to Arafune Mountain (荒船山).

TBS news reported that on the 19th of September 2009, Gunma Police department found a body of a man that appears to have fallen from a steep cliff, facing downwards and has been dead for a few days.

No official announcement has been made but the clothing and resemblance of the body to the missing Usui Yoshito has made the police to speculate that they might have found him.

Gunma Police announced that on the 20th of September 2009, 8:00 PM Japanese time, they are going to deploy 20 policemen to investigate the situation pending any conclusion.

I am sure all Crayon Shin-chan fans are hoping that Usui Yoshito is still out there surviving, but we must be prepared to face the worst.

Source TBS NEWS: Click Here. The Japan Times also has an article in English.

Update: Kyodo news confirms that it was Usui’s body.

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Contributor Bio: Anton is a third generation Chinese-Indonesian. He’s a big fan of Crayon Shin-chan and named his first online business, CrayonHost, after his favourite Manga Character.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Why do Australian people go against whaling so much?

The Beat Takeshi “World Summit” program (seen in this previous post) asks its Australian panel members to explain why they don’t like whaling (partially subtitled in English):

A very heated discussion takes place, with the Australians arguing that whales are intelligent and close to humans. When they can’t seem to convince Japanese of the righteousness of their views, the whole thing becomes an emotional screaming match. Foreigners from France, Britain, and Brazil join the argument on the Japanese side. The foreign panelists are eventually asked to vote for or against whaling. Only 16 of the 50 panelists raise their hands to oppose Japanese whaling.

The most hysterical person in the clip is Stuart-O, an Australian tarento whose web profile doesn’t include his nationality and advertises him as a native speaker of American English. He’s got a blog here, which is apparently open to reader comments.

As was noted by Matt in the comment section of the last post, it wasn’t exactly a fair fight. Stuart-O and the other Australians probably came from a talent agency for wannabe celebrities and it is doubtful any of them were experts on the topic they discussing. In contrast, the Chinese team included university professors who were able to debate without looking like screaming idiots.

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Later in the program, the Japanese went back to their smaller base room to talk amongst themselves. Here’s one line that makes a good point about why anti-whaling arguments tend to fail in Japan:

The arrogant attitude of superiority that many anti-whaling activists assume when arguing against Japanese whaling is not helpful.

Note: A Japanese user has uploaded most of the show to YouTube. If you can speak and read Japanese, check it out on this 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)

Finger vs. Coconut: Which will break first?

A painful-looking video clip from Japanese TV showing a Malaysian kung-fu master breaking coconuts with his finger:

Maybe he should have tried it with pre-cut coconuts instead?

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