Archive for August, 2011

US Ambassador Skips Hiroshima A-Bomb Ceremony

Today was the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Prime Minister Kan attended this morning’s memorial ceremony, along with representatives from 68 countries. The United States was represented by James Zumwalt, deputy chief of mission at its embassy in Tokyo:

The attendance of Zumwalt appears to be aimed at demonstrating the resolve of the U.S. to work toward a world free of nuclear weapons at a time when the administration of President Barack Obama is facing criticism from atomic bomb survivors for conducting a string of subcritical nuclear tests, observers said.

Zumwalt’s attendance also appears to be aimed at calling attention to the strengthened friendship between Japan and the United States following the active participation of U.S. military forces in Operation Tomodachi to help the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, they said.

It is a very noticeable downgrade from last year – when the United States sent Ambassador John Roos to attend the ceremony. Why did he skip this year’s ceremony?

A press release on the U.S. Embassy’s homepage states that Roos did not attend because of a “previously scheduled” overseas trip:

U.S. Ambassador John V. Roos, who attended last year’s Peace Memorial Ceremony, will be out of the country on previously scheduled travel at the time of the ceremony. Ambassador Roos sends his deep respect to Mayor Kazumi Matsui and to the people of Hiroshima as they commemorate the 66th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

A check of Roos’ Twitter account reveals that he was in Japan as recently as August 3rd, when he handed out the trophy to the winners of a horse race:

So the trip was scheduled to allow Roos to attend a ceremony at a horse race, but he couldn’t stay in Japan a few more days and attend the far more important ceremony at Hiroshima. Those are some pretty strange priorities…

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Stop Motion Street Fighter

Taiwanese YouTuber John Huang has created this awesome stop motion tribute to Street Fighter:

Check out his YouTube channel for other anime and video game themed stop motion videos, such as the Dragon Ball Gundam Battle and Mega Man vs. Transformers.

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Cat Stands & Drinks

Meet Mokkun, a cat in Yamaguchi prefecture who likes to stand up and drink water:

Mokkun spends his days hanging out in front of his owners’ store in Shunan city. It gets pretty hot in the summer, so Mokkun really looks forward to cooling off with a special drink every time the plants get watered.

Do other cats exhibit this behavior? To check, Fuji TV sent some staff to a cat cafe. The cats seem interested in the flowing water, but none try to stand up and drink it.

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Drunk Foreigner vs. Japanese Cops

Japanese cops are called to deal with a disturbance at Yuigahama Beach. It’s a big drunk foreign dude, who is making a lot of noise:

He’s drunk, loud, and very angry. The cops ask for some ID, and he’s initially reluctant to show them. After a bit of shouting at the cops, he complies. (No use of tasers or pepper spray is required.)

The foreigner thinks that somebody intentionally knocked over his girl, but it’s all a misunderstanding. The cops seem to want him to apologize, and he suddenly breaks down into tears.

He’s really drunk. He wants the cops to understand that he’s not a bad drinker. As the cops help escort him off the beach, he is smiling and shaking hands with them.

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Host Families For Disaster Evacuee Pets

A short news video shows two cats from Fukushima who will be living with a “host family” in Kyoto:

The cats’ family found a new apartment after the March 11th disaster, but it does not allow pets. Until the family can find better housing, volunteers will take care of their cats.

During the filming of the report, one of the cats broke loose from his carry case and ran away. With the help of some food, the cat’s owner is able to calm him down and recapture him. It seems that the relocation has been quite stressful for the cats, and they’ll need some time to readjust to their new surroundings.

If you live in Kyoto and want to volunteer as a host for evacuee pets, check out this page for details.

In related news, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Baba Animal Hospital in Kawasaki city (near Tokyo) is looking for people willing to adopt pets that used to live in the Fukushima Daiichi exclusion zone. Some of the pets hade been completely abandoned, while others have been given to animal welfare facilities by reluctant owners who no longer had the ability to care for them.

There are currently over 50 such pets being held in cages at a facility in Fukushima prefecture. The animal hospital in Kawasaki has been accepting transfers of a few pets at a time. After conducting health checks on the animals, they try to find new owners in the Kawasaki area.

The article lists 044-777-1271 as the telephone number for the animal hospital ( Japanese speakers only – it does not say anything about staff who can understand English).

Microsoft Japan has set up a similar project, called MSN Pet Search. It provides a listing of rescued pets that are looking for their previous families, as well as pets that require new families.

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Japanese TV Channel Accidentally Airs Radioactive Rice Joke

Fuji TV is once again at the receiving end of netizen anger after one of its subsidiaries accidentally aired an image that joked about the radioactivity of rice from Iwate prefecture:

The image aired for about 5 seconds during a morning show on Tokai TV. The image is supposed to display viewers who have won a contest. The prize is packages of Hitomebore, a famous type of rice from Iwate prefecture. However, instead of the actual names of viewers, every name is displayed as “Cesium-san.” The prizes are listed as “suspicious rice” and “contaminated rice.”

Tokai TV quickly released that it had made a mistake, and its announcer apologized for the error. They also posted an apology on their website. Apparently the joke image was a temporary version that was created before they added in the real names and real prizes. When it came time to air the actual image, they used the wrong one.

The accident has revealed how some people at Tokai TV were secretly poking fun at a very unfortunate situation. As rice farmers in Iwate struggle, TV production staff have been joking around about the possible contamination of Iwate’s rice crop.

[hat tip to Toonfan]

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