Archive for June, 2010

Naoto Kan Honored America’s War Dead

A flashback to April, when then Finance Minister Naoto Kan made a rare visit to memorial for America’s war dead (an event that largely passed under the radar of most news watchers):

Kan visited Arlington cemetery outside Washington and offered flowers at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Japanese prime ministers or defense ministers are usually the ones to offer flowers at Arlington when they visit the United States. It is rare for someone in Kan’s position to do so.

Kan said people who created and protected the United States are buried at the cemetery, and that he came to pay his respects to the deceased. He described the visit as a memorable one.

In recent years, Prime Ministers Abe and Aso made similar visits to Arlington.

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Japanese Woman Makes Out With Dog

Just found this frightening video on YouTube Japan’s most viewed list:

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Van Gogh Self-Portrait Recreated With Shirts

A rather cool project in Japan:

a representation of a Van Gogh self-portrait created out of 2,070 polo shirts in 24 ”impressionist” colors spread out for public display at a building in Tokyo on May 11, 2010. The 9.9-meter-by-10.1-meter display, which will run for six days, was launched by apparel maker Onward Kashiyama to promote a clothing line using the colors, including the polo shirts, which is on sale at 13 department stores across Japan.

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Bloodsucking Creatures Attack Resort Town

A sensational news report from ATV about how mountain leeches are attacking people in a tourist area of Gunma prefecture:

In one area especially known for its leeches, a reporter is able to locate ten of them within a single hour. The leeches, which feed on the blood of mammals, are drawn to the warm-bodies of humans.

Anyone hiking in the area has been advised to spray themselves to ward off attacks and to check their bodies for any leeches after leaving the mountains.

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Why Not Move All the Bases to Guam?

Those in Japan who think that the U.S. Marine base at Futenma can be relocated outside of Japan have suggested that that Futenma’s helicopters and airplanes can be moved to Guam.

However, as this report from PBS Now indicates, Guam is a lot smaller than Okinawa, and it’s going to have a lot of trouble absorbing the huge amount of military personnel who are already scheduled to be moved to the island:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

The local government of a nearby island in the Marianas, Tinian, has expressed its desire to host a relocated Futenma. However, Tinian is said to have even less support infrastructure than Guam, and the ultimate decision lies in the hands of the U.S. government, not the local government.

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Japan to Build Naval Base in Djibouti

The UPI reports that Japan will be spending about $40 million to build a naval facility in Djibouti:

The facility, intended to boost the fight against Somali pirates preying on vital shipping lanes, will be Japan’s first foreign military base since World War II.

“This will be the only Japanese base outside our country and the first in Africa,” said Japanese navy Capt. Keizo Kitagawa, commander of the Japanese flotilla deployed with the international anti-piracy task force in the Gulf of Aden. He will oversee establishment of the base.

The article goes on to state that 90% of Japan’s exports travel through the Gulf of Aden, so keeping the area pirate-free would obviously help Japan.

[hat tip to SW Kelly]

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