Archive for December, 2011

Map of Around Japan – Common Sense of Japan

A 2-channeler has created this colorful map of the area around Japan (click for full size):

The map shows famous and infamous products, people, and events for different areas. It would take a very long time to figure them all out and make a full list, but here’s a few:

• Akita – a Namahage
• Aomori – Apples
• Chiba – Mickey Mouse, representing Tokyo Disney Resort
• Fukui – the Monju nuclear power plant
• Fukushima – A nuclear power plant with a plume of smoke?
• Gifu – A Cormorant, used for traditional fishing
• Hyogo – Himeji Castle
• Ibaraki – Mito Komon
• Kagoshima – the Sakurajima volcano
• Mie – Hometown of AEON’s founder
• Miyazaki – Hideo Higashikokubaru & mangoes
• Nagano – insect cuisine
• Nagasaki – Dejima
• Nara – Sento-kun
• Niigata – rice & the Mangyongbong-92
• Okinawa – a shisa, a flower, and an American fighter jet
• Osaka & Tsushima – Cat mascot representing Koreans
• Sado island – gold mining
• South Korea – Kimchi, Peppers, Hyundai, a burning Japanese flag, food fit for royalty, and pollution in the sea
• Tanegashima – A samurai firing a rocket into the air
• Wakayama – poisoned curry & a whale
• Yamaguchi – smashed up Ferraris

If you can identify some of the other stuff on the map, leave a comment: I will try to update this list to reflect the new information.

Update: Here is the map at a much higher resolution.

And here are some updated descriptions of stuff on the map, from the comments thread of this post (Thanks everyone!):

Russia: Red bear
China: Cheongsam woman, poisonated jiaozi, Guilin (atificially painted), rainbow-color contaminated river
North Korea: Doesn’t need explanation
South Korea: Contaminated kimchi, Pepero, F5 keys (cyber attack), Pepsi logo on Liancourt
Hokkaido: Cape Soya, crab, clione, seal, salmon, “110 km to Jusco” billboard, Hanabatake Farm (cow), Melon Dog of Yubari, kombu kelp, kazunoko, Shiroi Koibito (local cookie), squid
Akita: Namahage hanging himself, referring to the highest suicide rate
Iwate: Ozawa Ichiro
Miyagi: beef tounge
Yamagata: Shinjo mat killing ijime incident, cherry
Fukushima: This is indeed the nuclear plant, but it is also the Internet meme parodying Asahi Kasei Hebel House ad.
Tochigi: Internet meme of the “yankee” boy who said there’s nothing interesting in Tochigi.
Gunma: Internet meme describing Gunma as the “wild uncivilized world”.
Saitama: Saitama Saitamaa! meme
Tokyo: Yaruo who is stocking up foods after 3/11.
Kanagawa: Dim sum (shumai) in Yokohama Chinatowan, Yokohama Minatomirai
Shizuoka: Tea from water tap, Mount Fuji
Yamanashi: Takeda Shingen
Toyama: Scene from “true tears”, as well as the odango hair of the “YuruYuri” character (Both are the anime located in Toyama)
Ishikawa: Godzilla Matsui, Wajima lacquerware
Aichi: Morizo and Kikkoro (Aichi Expo mascots), miso
Fukui: Pana Wave cult
Shiga: Otaku cosplayer who visits Toyosato, a location of the anime K-on!
Nara: Sento-kun
Wakayama: The Sea Sheperd in the bloody coast
Osaka and Tsushima: Notice Nida (Korean cats) are with feces, referring to hongtak (Thornback fermented in human feces, a local dish in Mokpo).
Osaka/Hyogo: Kansai airport island in the position of Awaji Island.
Kyoto: Kinkaku-ji and Kyoto Tower
Okayama: “Okayama is the greatest futuristic metropolis!” meme, Yatsuhaka-mura (horror novel/movie)
Tottori: “Tottori is a huge sand dune with monsters” meme, exaggerating the real Tottori Sand Dune
Hiroshima: Hiroshima Carp, A-bomb Dome and origami cranes. Skull is from Barefoot Gen manga.
Shimane: Izumo Shrine. I don’t get Oki Islands.
Kagawa: Nothing but Udon
Tokushima: Yoshino River, which Kagawa and Tokushima always have disputes over its water
Ehime: Mikan/Iyokan oranges
Kochi: Bonito
Fukuoka: Crimes (gangs and burakumins)
Saga: The land no one notices
Sapporo: Hatsune Miku
Nagasaki: Black Ship
Oita: Prefectural police whose (very peaceful) activities are always reported on the local newspaper
Kumamoto: Bossan, a man who became the another meme for no apparent reason
Kagoshima: A snowman refers to the fact Kagoshima does get snow falls.
Hakodate: ika/Squid
Izu peninsula: green for all of the wasabi that you get with your trips down there for omiyage.

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

Message From Tohoku: We Will Always Remember You

A very important message from Tsunami victims in Japan to the world:

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

Japan Welcomes Skilled Thai Workers

A short news report about Thai workers who have traveled to Japan to work for Japanese manufacturers:

All of the workers are experienced employees who worked at Japanese factories in Thailand. Flooding has shut down work at those factories, so the Thai employees are coming to Japan on 6-month work visas to help step up production at Japanese factories. Over 2,000 Thai workers and 67 Japanese companies are participating in this special program.

In this video, we can see Thai workers arriving at a JVC factory in Yokosuka. The Mainichi was also there to report:

On Dec. 5, approximately 30 Thai employees went in for their first day at the factory of video equipment manufacturer JVC Kenwood Corp. in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. After exchanging greetings with their Japanese counterparts, they went to work on the production line for security cameras marketed to corporations.

The Thai JVC Kenwood employees who are now in Japan comprise quality auditors and production-line workers. The company had begun shifting production from its Yokosuka factory to Thailand about 15 years ago, and production of certain products had already been discontinued in Japan prior to the floods. Because of this, the company decided to ask their factory workers in Thailand to come to Japan to supervise the 1,600 Japanese temporary workers who were newly hired for backup production.

As you can see from the video, these Thai workers are not coming to Japan to provide cheap manual labor: they are highly skilled and experienced employees who are supervising unskilled Japanese workers. The Japanese laborers lack the efficiency of their Thai counterparts, but the supervisors hope that they can train them to speed up the pace of production.

Like many of the companies that shifted most of their production to Thailand, JVC does not have many employees in Japan who can perform this kind of task. It is very important that these Thai employees be given work until the Thai factories are back in business. JVC cannot afford to lose them.

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

Korean Copies of Japanese Products

A Japanese TV report about snack companies in South Korea that have been blatantly copying some of Japan’s most famous products:

Since there was just a scandal involving bugs in Pepero, a Korean copy of Japan’s famous Pocky snack, this news report aired to remind Japanese viewers about the ongoing existence of Korean copies.

After taking a look at several of these copies, they ask random people on the street in Japan and Korea to comment. Both Japanese and Korean people think the copying is blatant and it is not a good thing. Few of the Koreans seem aware that so many popular Korean products are copies of popular Japanese products. One Korean guy notes how people in his country always speak ill of China for copying products, but Korea has been doing the same thing!

[The report ends with the older news anchor laughing about how it is similar to Japan during the immediate postwar period, when there were many Coca-cola knock-offs. His example, however, may not be exactly relevant because the term "cola" had already been recognized as a generic term at that point in history. Companies like Pepsi-Cola had been using "cola" in their name for years.]

Here are some of the examples shown in the report:

The Japanese vitamin/energy drink Ripobitan D has been sold since 1962. South Korea’s Bacchus D energy drink, which has the same label design and similar ingredients, has been sold since 1963. When asked about the striking similarities, the company claimed it was just a coincidence.

Kinoko no Yama snacks have been sold in Japan since 1975. A similar product popped up years later in Korea. When reporters called the Korean manufacturer and asked why the products were so similar, the company spokesman refused to comment.

There have also been more recent examples, such as Korea’s “17 Tea,” which has been sold since 2005. The manufacturer denies copying Japan’s much older and much more famous “16 Tea” and says its ingredients are totally different.

There is at least one case of a Japanese company taking legal action against Korean manufacturers who are violating trademarks. In 2004, Morinaga sued the Korean company that makes “My Chew” – a copy of its “Hi Chew” snacks. This TV report mentions that the two companies reached a settlement. [I am not sure of the details. The Japanese Wikipedia entry for trademark infringement states that the lawsuit was rejected by a Korean court in 2005.]

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

Lunar Eclipse Visible From Japan

Tomorrow night (December 10, 2011 – 23:05 to 23:58 ) people in Japan will be able to view a total lunar eclipse. Here is a graphic that shows the exact times of visibility:

According to the Sankei Shimbun, it is the first time in 11 years that all of Japan will be able to view such an eclipse.

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

World’s Oldest Dog Dies: 26 Years 8 Months

The world’s oldest dog has died in Japan:

Pusuke, certified by Guiness World Records as the world’s oldest living dog last year, died Monday at his home, owner Yumiko Shinohara said. Pusuke is believed to have died of old age.

The dog was born at the home of one of Shinohara’s relatives in March 1985 and was registered as a pet on April 1 that year.

Pusuke lived for 26 years eight months, which is about 125 dog years.

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