Archive for February, 2010

Jero concert in San Francisco

The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) has informed us that Jero will be giving a concert in San Francisco on March 28th:

Jerome Charles White, Jr. aka JERO is the first African American enka singer in the history of Japanese music, Jero single-handedly reignited interest in the musical ballads that emerged in Japan’s post-war era.

Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by his Japanese grandmother and half-Japanese mother, JERO grew up listening to the records of enka legend Misora Hibari. After appearing on a Japanese television contest, he landed a recording contract rising to the top of the enka charts with his hit single “Umi Yuki – Snowy Sea.”

Check this page for more details.

If you’re unfamiliar with Jero, here’s an ITN News report about him [with hilariously bad mispronunciation of a Japanese song title]:

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

Japan Sumo Association places new restrictions on foreign-born wrestlers

Since 2002, the Japan Sumo Association has had a rule in effect that limits “the number of foreign wrestlers [外国人枠] who can be recruited to one per stable.” However, a “loophole” has emerged, since foreign wrestlers who naturalize and become Japanese are no longer subject to the restriction.

The JSA decided yesterday that it would expand the restriction to include “foreign-born” wrestlers [外国出身力士枠], regardless of their nationality:

The existing restriction on foreigners will be in effect until newcomers for next month’s spring tournament undergo physicals, after which the new rule will be imposed.

“You get the impression it is a severe measure but if the brakes are not applied somewhere, there will be more and more stables overrun with foreign wrestlers, so it can’t be helped,” said one stablemaster.

In recent years, the number of foreign wrestlers has been on the rise, as the existing loophole leaves a vacancy once someone from a respective stable gains Japanese citizenship.

Four Mongolian-born wrestlers and two Chinese-born wrestlers have taken Japanese citizenship since April last year.

I understand the desire to build-up domestic talent, but I consider this new rule to be unfair. If a foreign-born person is willing to commit to renouncing their citizenship and becoming a citizen of Japan, they should be treated the same as any other Japanese.

Naturalized Japanese wrestlers who are subject to this rule might want to consider filing a discrimination lawsuit.

Update: As LB has brought up in the comments section, it could be argued that the JSA’s policy is a violation of the Japanese constitution:

Article 14

All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin. 2) Peers and peerage shall not be recognized. 3) No privilege shall accompany any award of honor, decoration or any distinction, nor shall any such award be valid beyond the lifetime of the individual who now holds or hereafter may receive it.

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

Kirsten Dunst cosplay music video

Last year, we reported about a sighting of Kirsten Dunst walking through the streets of Tokyo in a weird costume. Here is the music video that she was making [via CNN Go, which warns us about NSFW anime images in the video]:

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

Japanese Susan Boyle impersonation

Susan Boyle will be performing in Japan, so SMAP has created this spoof of Boyle’s original “Britain’s Got Talent” appearance:

[hat tip to an Englishman in Osaka]

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

Rooftop urinals in Japan

A line of urinals on a rooftop in Musashino, Tokyo offer a rather nice view of Mount Fuji:

But don’t worry. Nobody is peeing on the roof. It’s actually part of a facility that trains building maintenance workers. Those urinals are just for repair practice.

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Sakamoto Ryoma made out of money

An image of Sakamoto Ryoma made out of shredded Japanese currency:

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