The Hatoyama Shirt – $500
A company is selling copies of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s infamous multicolored shirt for $500 each:
ShirtsMyWay.com, a Shanghai-based company, spied a marketing opportunity and put its own version of the Hatoyama shirt on sale on its website today under the heading Prime Minister of Japan & Fashion Hero. The price tag: $500 (£347).
“We’re making it as a show of support for Hatoyama,” Peter Crawfurd, the company’s co-founder, said. “He’s got an individual style, and that’s what we’re about.”
The firm has enough material for a limited edition range of 50 shirts, and said it had already “received interest”.
“We think it will be for people who support individuality and creativity. We are also encouraging other heads of state to wear the shirt as a show of support for Hatoyama,” at forthcoming G8 and G20 summits, said the firm’s other founder, Michael Yang. “The media has been quite harsh, and we want to turn this into a positive.”
[hat tip to Ken of Japan Economy News]
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Categories: Odd / Strange
Beautiful Elementary School Girls
“Unchiku-kun Shirisugi” goes around Osaka looking for elementary school girls who are “too beautiful”:
The show follows a “introduce me to your beautiful friend” format, in which they seek to find increasingly beautiful girls. As the target girls must be elementary schoolers, none of them are over 13-years-old.
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Categories: Japanese Girls
Japan’s Aging Dog Population
Everybody knows about Japan’s aging human population, but what about its dogs? According to this news report, the percentage of pet dogs in Japan over the age of 10 has been increasing in recent years:
Shown in the video is a company in Tokyo that specializes in rehabilitation and care for elderly dogs. Also included are some products for aging dogs, such as harnesses to help them walk. The clip ends with a class on dog tooth care, which is aimed at helping dogs maintain strong and healthy teeth as they age.
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Categories: Animal Videos
Keisei Skyliner Commercial
A TV commercial for the new Keisei Skyliner train, which will begin service between Tokyo and Narita Airport in July:
One of the slogans used in the commercial is “Japan Speed” : I guess it can’t hurt to remind Japanese people that the train is Japanese.
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Categories: General Japan
Japanese Dog Cleans Up Litter
Meet Ran, a chubby little dog in Fukushima prefecture who has learned to help clean up litter:
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Categories: Animal Videos
Chimpanzee Rides a Bicycle
Saturday’s episode of “Shimura Zoo” had performing chimpanzee Pan-kun learning how to use the breaks on a bicycle, but not quite mastering them enough to stop his tiny bike from going out of control when he rides down a hill:
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Categories: Animal Videos