Archive for September, 2009

TV announcer forced to resign over condom photo

scandalous!

The above photo of 25-year-old TV announced Miku Natsume holding a box of condoms was recently printed in a weekly tabloid. Apparently the scandalous photo has caused her to lose her job:

The implication that she was having sex, and even enjoying it, has proved fatal for her career and it has now been announced she will be leaving the broadcaster in December (Japanese). When she was advised she could no longer stay on her main show, a TV insider says that she tearfully begged for a second chance. She was told, however, that her image had suffered irrevocably with housewives who are regarded as a key part of the audience. One of her other shows was discontinued and it became clear she was getting the shove. Natsume was a rising star on the network and a “Save Matsume Group” even formed within the company as the storm broke. They initially tried to claim that the photo came from an AIDS campaign which was in the planning stage but this explanation was believed by no-one. Her supporters quickly realized they were fighting a losing battle and Matsume herself probably realized the game was up when the group dissolved.

Pretty damn ridiculous.

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Top hotels for Japanese train lovers

The “Mezamashi TV” morning show recently had this countdown of the top 5 hotels for railway fans:

1. Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo – This hotel overlooks Sapporo station. You can see the trains of Hokkaido, as well as the many special trains from Honshu such as the Hokutosei and the Twilight Express.

2. Miyazaki Kanko Hotel – From certain rooms in this hotel you can see a railway bridge over the river. Many different rail lines share the bridge, allowing railfans to observe a wide variety of trains one wouldn’t find in the Tokyo area.

3. Hotel Associa Shin-Yokohama – This hotel, which opened just a few months ago, offers a fantastic view of the bullet trains that pass through Shin-Yokohama station. It offers special rooms for railfans that are decorated with shinkansen-themed items. The hotel also has kid-sized shinkansen conductor uniforms so that parents of little railfans can take some cosplay photos.

4. Hotel Century Southern Tower – Located by Shinjuku Station, this hotel offers a great few of the many trains that travel through the busiest train station in the world. Guests can also receive a special paper weight created from track used by Odakyu railways.

5. The Kawasaki Nikko Hotel – Its rooms overlook JR Kawasaki station, allowing railfans to view trains from several major lines: the Tokkaido main line, the Keihin-Tohoku line, and the Nambu line. Fans who want to get a last look at the 208-Series trains used by the Keihin-Tohoku line should hurry up and get a room now, since they will be replaced by the end of this year.

Each of these hotels has an English language homepage, which means they probably have staff members that can speak English. If you’re a railfan and want to experience the best these hotels can offer, you should probably contact them directly and inquire about any special plans they have for railway viewing.

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Taiji dolphin hunt begins: about 100 dolphins and 50 pilot whales driven into cove

So much for the claims that “The Cove” has halted Japan’s dolphin hunt.

Nikkan Sports reports that weather conditions have improved in Taiji and the town’s fishermen have finally begun their dolphin hunt.

Thirteen fishing boats left Taiji’s harbor this morning around 5:30AM. They located a large group of dolphins and pilot whales, which they promptly surrounded and drove them into a cove. The captured group consists of about 50 pilot whales and 100 bottlenose dolphins. The International Whaling Commission’s ban on whaling does not include bottlenose dolphins or pilot whales. Neither species is classified as endangered.

During this hunting season, Taiji’s fisherman plan to catch about 2400 dolphins.

Update: The Sankei is reporting that 10 dolphins will be captured and sold to aquariums, and that the rest will apparently be returned to the sea. The pilot whales will be sold (for meat?).

Update 2: Mainichi and the Japan Times report that 40 to 50 of the 100 dolphins will be captured to be sold to aquariums, while the rest will be freed. The move is in response to international criticism of the dolphin hunt, but it is not clear whether or not this is something that will last the whole hunting season. The fishermen will slaughter the pilot whales, something that will no doubt anger some activists.　 The Japan Times reports that this year there will be a cull of “240 dolphins and whales,” which I can only assume is a translation error. Mainichi has the figure at 2317, close to the “about 2400″ reported by the Sankei. Last year, the fishermen caught 1484 dolphins and whales. [Hat tip to the Overthinker]

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Mr. James spoof endorses Mos Burger

The guys at Daily Yoji have created this amusing spoof of McDonald’s Japan’s Mr. James ads:

I couldn’t help but think about how this commercial leaves McDonald’s WIDE OPEN to a reversal of their own publicity, for the benefit of another fast food giant. So Brett and I made a silly little video. Below is the video, along with a copy of a letter that I’ve drafted to Mos Burger, and which long time friend of the Daily, Nirav, has translated into knock-you-on-your-ass Japanese.

Please forgive the quality of the video, but if you support the idea, comment away on the YouTube page. Maybe someone will notice it.

You can find a copy of the letter here.

[hat tip to Bobby]

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South Korea to build bigger robot than Japan

This giant robot project was supposedly started before Japan’s giant robot statues, but it’s being blogged about as a challenger to Japan’s robot landmarks:

The statue will be of Taekwon V, known stateside as Voltar the Invincible, and will stand some 364 feet tall, making it not only much bigger than the 59 and 60 foot statues in Japan, but roughly three times as tall as the Statue of Liberty itself. Giant robots are more important than freedom and liberty. I think that’s the message that’s being sent here.

The robot will be erected in the middle of something called Robot Land, a theme park in Incheon that’s entirely devoted to everything and anything that has to do with robots. “Fun & Fantasy with Robot” is the English motto for the place, which should serve no doubt as the place where the robot uprising will begin when it opens to the public, along with its giant mascot, in 2013.

Taekwon V is a copy of Japanese giant robot Mazinger Z, created in an era when Japanese copyright holders could not prevent Korean animators from “borrowing” their ideas.

As a symbol of Korean patriotism, Taekwon V has been active in defending the Liancourt Rocks from vile Japanese savages:

[hat tip to Aceface]

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Kobe’s Gigantor statue nears completion

A video from the Asahi Shimbun shows that Kobe’s Gigantor (Tetsujin 28-go) statue is almost finished:

It was originally supposed to be finished by October, but it looks like work is progressing ahead of schedule. The official homepage of the project states that will probably be finished some time near the end of this month.
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