Archive for July, 2010

Mobility Scooters Not Built to Climb Steep Hills

A news report from ATV about the dangers of improperly using mobility scooters:

In the past five years there have been 67 reported cases of mobility scooter accidents, 20 of which proved to be fatal. An investigation concluded that 76% of the accidents were the result of improper or wreckless handling of the scooters. Owners of mobility scooters are urged to avoid using them to climb hills or travel on gravel roads.

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

Japanese Police Report Warns of Foreign Crime

A new white paper released by Japan’s National Police Agency contains some warnings about a new trend in foreign criminal activity:

The globalization of crime “could very well cause a tectonic shift in the public order of our nation,” the report declares. “From this point on, law enforcers are required to respond to the situation in an appropriate manner.”

Previously, crimes perpetrated by foreigners tended to be of the “hit and run” variety, committed during short-term stays in Japan and followed with the criminal fleeing the country. However, in recent years, cases of global foreign criminal organizations targeting Japan, and the formation of criminal groups in Japan made up of foreigners from many countries, have been conspicuous — a trend dubbed “the globalization of crime.”

As an example, the report cites a 2007 tear gas spray attack on a jewelry store clerk and theft of a 280 million yen tiara from the shop in Tokyo’s Ginza area by a Montenegrin group called the “Pink Panther” gang. It also details a 2006-2009 scam by a primarily Nigerian group that used fake credit cards to buy electronics from volume dealers, which they then sold to used electronics shops. Another example is a Pakistani, Cameroonian, Sri Lankan and Japanese group which stole heavy construction equipment in some 500 cases from 2002 to 2008, dismantled them and exported the parts.

The news reports don’t seem to be mentioning an overall increase in the number or rate of crimes committed by foreigners, so it might be safe to assume that foreign crime actually decreased over the last year. (The number of foreign residents and foreign tourists coming to Japan has also been decreasing.)

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

Polar Bear in Osaka

A polar bear at the Tennoji Zoo in Osaka tries to beat the heat by dining on some frozen apples:

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

Japan’s Elderly Prisoners

NTV’s “Bankshia” news program visits Kurobane Prison in Tochigi prefecture to see how the aging of Japan has led to an increase in the number of elderly convicts in its prison system:

A little over 10% of the inmates in Kurobane prison are over the age of 60. The　majority of these prisoners are doing time for crimes like theft and fraud, and it is said that quite a few of them committed petty crimes like shoplifting.

Some of the inmates cannot bathe, walk or eat without assistance. One particular prisoner seems to have mental problems that make him scream and resist help from others. The men in white coats who act as their daytime caregivers are not prison employees – they are younger inmates who have been assigned to such work. At night, their care becomes the duty of prison guards.

A prison official says that the current system, which requires that elderly prisoners be kept in normal prisons, needs serious improvement. A lot of prison facilities are not designed for elderly or physically infirm people, and the younger prisoners who act as caregivers do not have any professional qualifications to perform such work.

There is one prison in Japan that has special facilities for the elderly: Onomichi prison in Hiroshima prefecture. From the 6 minute and 30 second mark in the video, they show how staircases, baths, and other parts of the prison are set up to make life easier for older inmates. There are cells with cushioned walls for violent inmates. There are diapers and cells with rubber flooring for inmates who have bladder control issues. Food is also cut into tiny pieces so that inmates do not have to chew it.

The sight of one prisoner, a man in his eighties who was locked up for causing a traffic accident, is particularly depressing. He appears to be suffering from dementia to such an extent that he cannot even remember his cell number. Guards need to re-instruct him every day on how to carry out simple tasks. When everyone is locked into their cells for the night, the man falls asleep in a sitting position before he has a chance to set up his futon.

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

Trivia is trivial, isn’t it?

According to N-H-K Cool Japan, it seems the Japanese like to learn trivia for smooth conversation.

The small screens on the trains are good to read when the trains are too crowded to allow any extra space even for a book or a cell phone. But I never found them interesting. It’s only better than nothing. I think there are too many texts, signs, letters, and manga everywhere in Japan.

Our education is weighed more towards memorizing than thinking. It’s not a big surprise to see how many Japanese people can answer trivia knowledge questions like that.

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Contributor Bio: Kirin is a Japanese woman spending her life so far somewhere around Tokyo. She now works from home and is also spreading Japanese kawaii culture and etc. through her popular blog, Tokyo Kawaii,etc.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Ice Bowling in Tokyo

Here’s a bowling alley that is supposed to teach Japanese people the “coolness” of bowling:

…thanks to the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of Japan’s 16-foot-long bowling lane, balls and pins – all made of ice and set up in the middle of the business district of Shimbashi.

Amused tourists, ranging from small children all the way up to 72-year-olds gave this glacial game their best shot.

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