Butt Music, Disgusting Juggling, and Fart Power
A group of Masked Performers pull off some really amazing feats (most of which are silly and/or gross):
Their performance aired on Sunday night’s “World’s #1 Showtime” special. The audience consisted of rich VIPs, who would watch each act and decide afterwards on how much they would pay to see it. The Masked Performers received a score/reward of 381,400 yen (about $4,500).
If you want to see more of them, here’s a clip of the act they performed for one of the previous specials:
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Categories: Japanese TV, Odd / Strange
Video: Japanese Navy Recovers Body
A video from Japan’s NTV news about the Maritime Self-Defense Forces’ efforts to find and recover the remains of people killed by the March 11th tsunami:
When a person is spotted floating in the sea, a small boat is dispatched. The crew confirms that the person is dead and recovers the body. A helicopter then takes the body to a morgue. (To protect the privacy of the victim and his/her family, the footage is blurred.)
The Wall Street Journal notes that only a few hundred bodies have been recovered at sea, while about 15,000 people are still missing. Many survivors will have to cope with the fact that the bodies of family and friends will never be recovered:
In the weeks to come in Japan, an article of clothing or a photo will take the place of a missing body at the burial ceremony.
“If you don’t have the body, than what do you do,” says John Nelson, who lived in Japan and is now chairman of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. “There has to be some representation of the person. But the main thing is that the ritual needs to take place.”
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Categories: General Japan
The Anti-Nuclear Lobby & International Media Coverage of Fukushima
About a week ago, I posted a small collection of links to articles about why we all shouldn’t be panicking about the Fukushima nuclear accident. Since then, a few more great articles have appeared.
Here are a few links about the role of the anti-nuclear lobby in shaping the fear-inducing reports we’ve been seeing in English language media:
- The unpalatable truth is that the anti-nuclear lobby has misled us all (George Monbiot) – “I’ve discovered that when the facts don’t suit them, the movement resorts to the follies of cover-up they usually denounce.”
- I’m ashamed for my profession (Ivo Vegter) – “The media’s reporting of the nuclear accident at Fukushima goes well beyond mere sensationalism. It sacrifices the calm assessment of fact and reason to populist hysteria and a radical green agenda.”
- Japanese Public Authorities Avoiding Grim Technical Details, Except the New York Times Isn’t Sure Which Details (Flyjin.com) – Commentary on vague claims the international press makes about the Japanese authorities and Japanese media “avoiding” details that might scare people.
And here’s an article about the irrational fear of nuclear power:
- Fear of nuclear power is out of all proportion to the actual risks (Dr. Melanie Windridge) – “Pollution from coal-fired power plants is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths per year, whereas the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant is unlikely to kill a single person.”
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Categories: General Japan
Iwate Sake Brewer: Hanami Parties Help Our Economic Recovery
The following video message from an Iwate prefecture sake brewer has gone viral in Japan:
There has been a lot of talk across Japan, particularly in Tokyo, about toning down this year’s cherry blossom viewing (hanami) parties. Some, such as Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, believe that drunken revelry would be disrespectful so soon after a huge disaster.
The sake brewer in the video disagrees. He calls on people to support the economic recovery of the Tohoku region by having hanami parties and drinking liquor produced by businesses in the earthquake-struct area. [For a full English transcript of the video, check this link.]
Sounds like a great idea!
[hat tip to Stephanie]
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Categories: General Japan
Japanese Government Files Complaint About Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine Cover
Kyodo reports that the Consulate General of Japan in New York has lodged a protest with the publishers of Bloomberg Businessweek, since the cover of its latest issue seems to be a bit insensitive towards the Japanese nation:
[hat tip to Gakuranman]
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Categories: Anti-Japan
Iitate – Outside the Exclusion Zone, But Still a Ghost Town
NTV’s “Bankisha” checks out the situation in the village of Iitate, which lies on the edge of the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant:
As the above map shows, although most of Iitade lies outside of the 30-kilometer zone, relatively high radiation levels have been recorded there. The government has not ordered an expansion of the evacuation zone, but that hasn’t stopped most of Iitade’s residents from taking precautions.
According to the TV report, a majority of the townsfolk are still there, but many have left. The roads, which are usually busy during the daytime, are empty. One rarely sees people walking outside. When residents do go outside, they try to wear coats, masks, and gloves.
The people who have not left the village have a variety of reasons. Some are farmers who do not want to abandon their crops or animals. Others are elderly and frail, so they do not want to undergo the stress of relocating to an evacuation center, where they feel like they will just be a burden upon everyone else.
Until recently, the tap water in the area exceeded Japanese safety standards for radiation. Residents have been drinking only bottled water.
Related Link: Radiation levels in Iitate have fallen, notes the Japan Times:
In a briefing, the experts explained that based on analyses of several dosimeters, iodine-131 levels in Iitate fell to an average of 7 mega-becquerels per sq. meter in 15 soil samples taken between March 19 and 29.
“This value is lower than what was reported Wednesday,” said Gerhard Proehl, an IAEA radiation expert, adding that iodine-131 decays by 8 to 9 percent a day.
On Wednesday, the IAEA said levels of iodine-131 measured in Iitate indicated one of its operational criteria for evacuation was exceeded. At the time, measurements showed a level of 20 mega-becquerels per sq. meter of iodine-131 in soil samples collected from March 18 to 26 in the village, twice the level of one of the agency’s criteria for evacuation.
Despite the decline in radiation, the serious situation at the nuclear plant still continues, so it’s doubtful that many residents who left will want to return home now.
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Categories: General Japan