Archive for July, 2010

Nicolas Cage on Japanese TV

Nicolas Cage appears on FTV’s “Mezamashi TV” morning show to promote the “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”:
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The appearance is awkward, as such “Mezamashi TV” appearances usually are. At one point, they make Cage check out some of the lame t-shirts FTV is selling at a summer event. Cage gets to advertise his movie, and they get to advertise their t-shirts.
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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

Former North Korean Spy: Japanese Abduction Victim Still Alive

Kim Hyun-hee, a former North Korean agent responsible for the bombing of Korean Air flight 858, is visiting Japan right now. Under normal circumstances, a former terrorist who once used a fake Japanese passport would not be allowed to enter this country. However, because she claims to possess knowledge of Japanese citizens who were abducted by the DPRK, she has been granted permission to enter Japan and meet with top leaders and the families of abductees. Kim’s claim that abductee Yaeko Taguchi is still alive and being held captive in North Korea has made her visit a huge news story:

(Kim) told Japanese broadcaster N-H-K on Thursday that Yaeko Taguchi, who was abducted when she was 22, was indeed the woman known as Lee Eun-hae who taught Japanese to the former North Korean agent. Kim said North Korea’s claim that Taguchi died in 1986 was probably a lie.

Speaking in Japanese, Kim said there had been attempts in the last five years to undermine the facts of the bombing, including by reports challenging her identity and Taguchi’s. But Kim said the two had grown close over the two years they were together, forming a relationship “that transcended nationalities.” Taguchi, a single mother of two small children, went missing in 1978.

According to Kim, the DPRK regime is lying when it says that Taguchi is dead. Because Taguchi helped train spies, letting her return to Japan would allow too many secrets to fall into the hands of the DPRK’s enemies.

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

Shizuoka Gundam

The 1:1 scale Gundam mobile suit at Highashi-Suzuoka station will be officially opening for public viewing on July 24th　(to mark the start of the Shizuoka Hobby Fair). Here are some videos of it that were filmed in the last couple days, showing that everything looks to be ready for the opening date:

Meanwhile, in other Gundam-related news, ANA has put a “Gundam Jet” into service on its Haneda-to-Osaka route:

For more photos of the jet, check out this post on Gigazine.

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

Japanese Gyaru Group Marches For Tampons

An Asahi Shimbun video of an promotional event for tampons held in Harajuku recently:

Apparently Unicharm corporation gathered 100 gyaru (“gals”) to wear t-shirts and carry fans promoting their “Pon-Katsu” campaign. It should be no surprise that this clip of the bizarre event is near the top of the most-viewed list on YouTube Japan this morning.

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

Kan Wants to Alter 2006 Futenma Agreement

It’s only been a short time since the Hatoyama government toppled over its failure to get changes made to the 2006 U.S. base relocation agreement, but it seems that the DPJ-led government is still aiming to get some concessions from the Americans:

During working-level talks in Washington last week on plans to close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and move the air units to a new facility in northeast Okinawa, Japanese negotiators proposed constructing just one 1,800-meter runway instead of the two V-shaped runways called for in the original 2006 agreement, according to Japanese media accounts citing unnamed sources.

During the two-day meeting they also proposed moving the runway offshore instead of stretching from the lower part of Camp Schwab onto reclaimed land in pristine Oura Bay, the media reports stated.

There had been an August deadline for making the final decisions on certain details of the relocation, but Prime Minister Kan has said that might need to be pushed back.

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

Arab TV Report About Japanese Toilets

YouTuber wisemanleo has made some English language captions for this YouTube video of an Arab TV report about the wackiness of Japanese toilets:

“Pan-arab news and entertainment channel, mbc, sent a delegate to Japan to observe and learn the ways of their toilets. I subtitled this myself, but not word-for-word. I just tried to capture the essence of the message, while leaving out all the fluff. This was just too funny that I couldn’t let it go without it being shared. As you can see, the amazement and bewildered experiences this guy faces ain’t that much different than ours over in the western hemisphere. Conclusion: Japan really is crazy!”

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