Archive for May, 2010

This Ad Campaign is Already Dead

You are already dead.
–Kenshiro, star of Fist of the North Star

Atatatatatata!
–Also Kenshiro

This ad seems to be from a couple of years ago, but I couldn’t resist sharing. Here we see Kenshiro powering up; clothes bursting from the raw energy to reveal… a salary-man’s suit. Then he starts to hand out business cards like deadly punches. The subtitles up to this point say, “Getting the job! Townwork [a placement company's periodical], company-worker edition.” The next itteration of clothes-rippingness shows his new job as a delivery guy. The subs here say, “Change of career! Townwork, company-worker edition.”

This commercial requires a familiarity with the anime’s opening song, You は Shock, which I have embedded below.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs and vlogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic. He is already dead.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

A Russian Gyaru

A clip from “Unchiku-kun Shirisugi” introduces a Tokyo University student who came to Japan from Russia with dark hair, but then transformed herself into a gaudy blonde gyaru after she was exposed to Shibuya street fashion:

Because gyaru clothing is designed for thin women, she also lost 15 kilograms (33 pounds). A huge chunk of the income she earns from a part time job is spend on new clothing.

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

9-Legged Octopus

A clip of a 9-legged octopus that was recently caught in the Sea of Japan:

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

Australia to Take Legal Action Against Japanese Whaling

The Australian government has decided to take legal action against Japan over its whaling in an area around Antarctica:

The Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has come under pressure to honour a 2007 election pledge to ban whaling in an area the country considers a whale sanctuary. Japan does not recognise the sanctuary and insists its whaling fleet operates in international waters.

Rudd’s critics had accused him of reneging on his promise for fear of angering Japan, which is Australia’s second biggest export market.

The Australian foreign minister, Stephen Smith, said the International Whaling Commission’s failure to find a diplomatic solution had left the government with no choice.

“The Australian government has not taken this decision lightly,” he said. But recent statements by whaling countries in the commission have provided Australia with little cause for hope that our serious commitment to conservation of the world’s whales will be reflected in any potential IWC compromise agreement.”

Although both countries were quick to characterise the forthcoming legal battle as a dispute between friends, Japan’s agriculture minister, Hirotaka Akamatsu, described the announcement as “extremely regrettable”, and insisted that the scientific hunts were permitted by international law.

An Australian opposition leader has called the move “a smokescreen for the Government’s failures.”

Australia’s claim to a huge chunk of Antarctica is only recognized by a few other countries, all of whom have made similarly dubious territorial claims to other parts of the continent. The Japanese government appears to be confident that it will win any legal case Australia tries to bring against it.

For more thoughts on Australia’s decision to take legal action against Japan’s whaling program, check out this post on Coming Anarchy.

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

Japanese iPad Magic

A Japanese magician does some tricks with a new iPad:

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

Japanese Broadcasters Afraid to Send Women to Crime-ridden South Africa

The Asahi Shimbun (Japanese) reports that many of Japan’s major TV channels are so concerned about the incredibly high crime rate in South Africa that they not planning to send female reporters or employees are part of their World Cup coverage teams.

Several female news casters were part of the coverage teams for the last World Cup, which was in Germany. This time, most of the channels are holding off on sending women to South Africa, and making significant reductions to the number of employees they usually send to cover World Cups. N-H-K, which sent 93 employees to the last World Cup, will only send 73 this time. ATV, FTV, and TBS are making similar cuts. TV Tokyo will be sending only 10 employees to South Africa, a huge drop from the 50 it sent to Germany. The TV Tokyo and TBS teams will not include any women.

This time, the networks don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Japan’s foreign ministry has already issued warnings advising Japanese who visit the games to avoid going outside at night and to travel by car instead of by foot.

According to 2008 statistics, the murder rate in South Africa is about 14 times that of Japan. South Africa’s rape rate is 24 times that of Japan.

[hat tip to DL, crime graph via this blog]

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