Archive for January, 2011

Illegal Fishing: South Korean Boats Steal Japan’s Crabs

This short news report about South Korean ships illegally fishing in Japanese territorial waters aired late last year on FTV:

The main focus on crab, since winter is the best season for catching crab in the Sea of Japan. Apparently Japanese fishermen are angry about the behavior of their Korean neighbors because:

• Under a 1999 fisheries agreement between the Japanese and South Korean governments, one zone of the Sea of Japan (shown in pink above) was designated as a zone in which fishing boats from both countries can operate freely. In reality, the area is under exclusive South Korean control.
• South Korean crab fishing boats place nets and traps on the bottom of the sea bed. If Japanese fishing boats don’t know about the exact locations of these devices, trawling in the area can result in costly damage.

• South Korean fishing boats often illegally fish in areas South Korea recognizes as under Japanese sovereignty.

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

In English, Please!

A commercial for AEON English lessons plays off the old “Japanese with screwed up intonation = foreign” joke when having a little girl ask for a second helping “in English”:

Meanwhile, it seems that a couple sites have been discussing a sign that was found at a QB House barber shop in Tokyo:

I’ve been to a few QB House barber shops over the years, and haven’t seen any sign like that. Back in the day when I could barely speak any Japanese, I went through the trouble of always looking up certain phrases and bringing some notes with me to the barber. I was never turned away.

Comments threads about the sign have been a mixture of people who don’t really see a big problem with a store in Japan expecting customers to speak Japanese, and people who think this sign is yet another example of racism against foreigners. A couple people even seemed offended by notion that QB House wouldn’t be prepared to deal with customers who only spoke English.

As in past instances of outrage reported on Debito.org, it seems that none of the people expressing outrage over the sign actually called up the Japanese company to complain about it. A Japanese blogger called QB House and asked for an explanation, and got this answer:

1)They pulled down the sign in question.
2)They welcome foreigners.
3)The purpose of the sign was not to exclude anybody unfairly but telling people in advance,”we’ll do our best, but there might be a case where we may refuse service when the communication breaks down.”
4)whether to set up a new sign or what to write on the sign is under consideration.

A new sign has since been put up:

The new sign uses slightly different wording, and the messed-up English only serves to underline just how unprepared they are to offer service to people who only speak English. They also include Chinese and Korean versions of the message.

Update from Eido Inoue about the second sign not being new:

I’m the one that took the second picture in your blog post. To clarify (and I don’t blame you because you got your wording from another site which got its wording from yet another site), the second photo of the blue sign is not a “new sign.” Rather, it’s a sign that’s been there since the beginning. You can see the master photo, with EXIF data showing the time and place taken, here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-DHJtegMTfu15Lc408r_2g?full-exif=true

You can see the comparison of the old sign vs the new sign’s positions here (taken by the original poster, photo EXIF metadata is also included):

http://picasaweb.google.com/nihongode.kk/QB#5561268926491926706

I had a chance to briefly converse with one of the barbers(no more than two and a half minutes; they were packed and had a continuously refilling queue of customers that night) to clarify details about the white an blue signs.

The white sign was an ADDITIONAL English sign added in addition to the pre-existing four language blue sign which had been there for some time (and is present in other QB House establishments as well) because apparently English speakers were ignoring or not noticing the original blue sign. I don’t know how this is possible, as the original blue sign is at eye level about 40cm to the right of the vending machine, whose use is mandatory if you want a haircut.

I’d appreciate it if you could update/correct this blog post to reflect this information. Thanks!

The Japanese blogger who originally called up and complained to the store has since visited it, and found that all such signs are now gone.

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

Obsessed With Toy Trains

I think it would be fair to say that this mother in Japan has an unhealthy obsession with toy trains:

She says she started doing it because her kid likes trains, but she’s the one building the tracks, and she seems to get the most enjoyment out of it all.

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

Video: Japan’s Sushi Police

Here’s a wacky new video created by Taiwan’s NMA News. It’s about the All-Japan Sushi Federation’s plan to offer certifications to foreign sushi chefs. The international media seems like like exaggerating such stories to make it sound like Japan is sending “sushi police” to raid and condemn Japanese restaurants that don’t meet their standards:

“Most restaurants overseas make sushi dishes in the same kitchen as those preparing meat,” said Masayoshi Kazato, a leading sushi chef who has devised the certification system.

“It gets unhygienic if you deal with raw salt-water fish in a kitchen without water running constantly for cleaning,” he said.

The group, which represents sushi restaurants in Japan, plans to hold its first seminar in Singapore January 26-27 with similar seminars to be held in London, Los Angles and San Francisco next year.

There is a mounting concern among sushi chefs in Japan that, if food poisoning repeatedly occurs in the world because of a lack of proper knowledge and techniques, sushi may get branded as dangerous food, Kazato said.

While we’re on this topic, here’s a short Fuji Tv news video about the popularity of sushi in Thailand:

The owner of the restaurant says he takes a lot of steps to ensure that sushi is prepared in a safe and hygienic manner. An expert Japanese chef with proper Japanese certifications runs the kitchen. The restaurant is presented as an example of a properly-run establishment, but it is noted that many other sushi restaurants around the world have not taken such strict safety measures.

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

Fake Anime & Disney Characters on Parade at Snow Festival in China

Japanese TV networks are having a blast reporting about the latest batch of hilariously blatant trademark violations coming out of China. Both NTV and FTV were at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, were a large group of knock-off characters were on parade:

In addition to the Mickey Mouse shown at the top of this post, they also had Donald Duck:

As in the case of the fake Disneyland, the people wearing costumes saw no problem with removing their headgear and taking breaks in front of tourists.

Update: Here’s a slightly longer FTV clip:

In this clip they call up the organizers of the event, who seem to be saying that the characters are indeed knock-offs, but it’s okay because they made the costumes themselves.

The report also mentions the infamous Gundam knock-off in another part of China, which was quietly dismantled after its theme park had vehemently denied accusations that it was a copy of the popular Japanese mobile suit:

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

Gruesome MMA Photos

If you’re interesting in Mixed Martial Arts, or just like to see shockingly graphic photos, head on over to MMA Fighting dot com’s article about the top Japanese MMA photos of 2010. In addition to the above-featured photo of a severed tooth, it also has ears getting ripped apart and fighters whose faces have been bashed into a bloody mess.

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