Archive for October, 2010

AKB48 Members in Vogue: Idols as Adults

An NTV news entertainment report on how Yuko Oshima, Atsuko Maeda, Sayaka Akimoto, and Tomomi Itano have appeared in the most recent issue of Vogue Nippon:

Their “sexy” adult fashion in the Vogue photo shoot is contrasted with their usual cute idol image. When they are always playing the role of kawaii teenage schoolgirls, it’s easy to forget that several of them are in their twenties.

The “Making of” video:

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Whale Sharks in Japan

Whale sharks are a normal sight down in Okinawa, but this year’s unusually warm weather seems to have led to an increased number of whale shark sightings around Honshu:

This video contains:

• A whale shark that was captured off the coast of Chiba prefecture being transported to Yokohama’s Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium.
• People rescuing a whale shark that beached itself in Kanagawa prefecture.

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Poisonous Mushrooms in Japan

Last week, a stall at a mushroom festival in Tokyo accidentally sold some poisonous mushrooms to a few customers. Most of the mushrooms were quickly returned, but one pack remained MIA, giving the media a chance to care the bejesus out of people by running lots of reports about the dangers of mushroom-eating.

Here ATV making use of some wonderfully frightening music and graphics:

They accompany an expert around a park in Saitama and search for different types of wild mushrooms. Even the expert seems to have some trouble telling apart edible and poisonous mushrooms. At one point, he even has to put some mushrooms into his mouth to verify that they are dangerous sulfur tuft mushrooms and not edible chestnut mushrooms.

The conclusion: don’t eat any wild mushrooms. Leave mushroom hunting to the pros.

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Ichihashi’s Apology Letter

Tatsuya Ichihashi, who brutally raped and murdered English teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker in 2007, has sent an apology letter to the Hawker family:

“I was evil,” wrote Tatsuya Ichihashi, 31, The Times newspaper reported, citing a copy of the letter.
“There is no one to blame but me. I will take the responsibility. I will never forget about her and what I did to her and you. And I will carry my cross until the moment of my death.”

He wrote the letter, both in English and Japanese, to the parents and two younger sisters of Lindsay Ann Hawker, whose body was found in March 2007. Hawker, who was working as an English teacher in Japan, was 22.

Ichihashi repeatedly apologised in the letter, writing: “I am sorry. I am very sorry. I am very sorry. I am very sorry.”

“I not only destroyed her life but I also changed your lives. What I did to her and you will never be forgiven.”

The Hawker family has rejected the apology, seeing it as an obvious ploy to help Ichihashi get a lighter punishment when his murder trial begins next year. The pundits on ATV say there is a chance that Ichihashi really does feel remorse, but that the timing of the letter does make it seem like it’s meant to impact the trial.

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Two Rabbits, Two Cups

Some cute bunny videos uploaded by a YouTuber from Miyako-jima have gone viral:

[via JapanSoc]

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Soccer Field Nationalism: Chinese Man Steals Japanese Flag

Ridiculous antics at an under-19 international soccer tournament that was hosted in China:

The man, wearing a white sweatshirt with the words “Don’t forget the national disgrace” written in Chinese in red, ran onto the pitch when the singing of Japan’s national anthem started, snatched the flag and ran with it on the pitch before being restrained.

Some Chinese spectators cheered and applauded as the man ran around on the pitch.

Some Chinese spectators held a sign stating “Diaoyu belongs to China,” referring to the Chinese name for the disputed islands. Japan won the game 2-1.

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