Archive for October, 2009

Dokdo Perfume – smelly Korean nationalism

The Korean branch of an American perfume company has released a scent that is supposedly based on the odor of a couple of rocks occupied by South Korea and claimed by Japan [via Brian in Jeollanam-do]:

“We wanted the consumers to feel Dokdo closer to their hearts, by imagining its scent,” said a Demeter Korea employee.

To capture the characteristic scent of Dokdo, perfume coordinators have visited the islets several times.

The scent offers the user a touch of the sea and the breeze.

Dokdo scent, though exclusively sold in Korea, is often presented as a souvenir gift to foreigners and is expected to promote the Dokdo issue internationally as well, the company said.

Also, 1 percent of the Dokdo Breeze -29,000 won per bottle ($25) – sales profits are to be donated to the New York Times as Dokdo ad funds.

In other anti-Japanese nationalism news, it has been discovered that the American-built F-15K fighter jets used by South Korea’s air force have computer systems with “faulty” digital maps. The maps, which came from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, were “faulty” because they labeled the body of water between Japan and Korea as the “Sea of Japan” and the disputed rocks between Japan and Korea were labeled as “Liancourt Rocks” or “Takeshima.”

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

Japanese reactions to Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The move has surprised many people around the world because President Obama has yet to record any amazing successes in the field of peace-making (although he does seem to be making people feel good about America).

The Nobel committee recognized Obama’s efforts toward a nuclear free world as one of the main reasons for the prize, something that has made Japanese a-bomb surivors such as 84-year-old Sunao Tsuboi quite happy:

“I thought that (Obama) might win the prize sometime, but I never thought that it would be this year. He was probably also selected to advance the move toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, and to push for the elimination of nuclear weapons. I think almost all hibakusha (atomic-bomb survivors) will be happy,” Tsuboi said.

On the net, reactions have been less positive. Here’s a translation of some of the comments left by users of 2-channel, Japan’s largest online bulletin board (via Itai News):

So is the reason he won because he hasn’t done anything?

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If you can win just for words then give it Kim Jong-Il
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So a peaceful world is one where America doesn’t do anything. Makes sense.
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Why? He hasn’t done anything, he’s just a black president right?
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So make a whole lot of nukes, then say “no more nukes for anyone!” and you get the Nobel Prize. lol
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Why Obama?
If it’s because he’s the first black president then don’t give it to Obama give it to the American people.
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It’s not like he’s got rid of the nukes yet
and are they just ignoring Iraq and all that?
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Isn’t the prize going to be a hindrance for him?
Seems like it’s going to be harder to deal with Afghanistan and reinforcements.
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What a joke.
Has he done anything to contribute to peace?
He’s just said some pretty words about getting rid of nukes and stuff.
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Give me a break
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If it helps Nocchi’s career then I don’t really mind.
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What the hell? Pretty soon Kim will be getting one for renouncing nuclear weapons. lol
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Bush was just so bad that it makes him look good, right?

For Chinese netizen reactions, check out this post at China Smack.

[The Japanese news article translations in this post were provided by myGengo's simple human translation system.]

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

Diecast models of Imperial Japan’s greatest warplanes

Don’t have the patience or money to build yourself a complex model of the Mitsubishi Zero? Weekly diecast models of Japanese warplanes might be better for you:

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

Haircuts around the world

In the process of traveling around the world, NTV’s “Itte Q” forced assistant directors and other staff members to place themselves at the mercy of local barbers:

Each man was given what the barber thought would look best. The results varied greatly, especially since they went to high class hair stylists in some countries and cheap local barbers in others.

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

Natsume Soseki parody commercial

Mitsui Sumitomo adds its credit card mascot into Natsume Soseki’s “I am a Cat“:

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

The power of wind

FTV’s typhoon-related news coverage included this experiment demonstrating how strong winds can knock stuff over:

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