Shonan Beach is filthy – stop littering!

NTV’s “Real Time News” aired a special report yesterday about Shonan Beach’s huge litter problem. Here’s an excerpt (subtitled in English):
A lot of the garbage, especially the glass bottles, comes from people who were drinking alcohol on the beach. Perhaps it would make sense to pass some strict rules about the consumption of alcohol on most areas of the beach, or at least make a very serious effort to enforce existing anti-litter laws?
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Categories: General Japan
Scotch whisky in Japan
A Reuters report on the popularity of scotch whisky in Japan:
Japanese commercial production began over 80 years ago, and it’s now one of the world’s top single malt makers, although the greatest flattery may be acquisition in the industry, which saw $5 billion in 2006 overseas sales.
Categories: General Japan
Categories: Japanese TV
Teenager Arrested After Hostess Bar Spending Spree
A teenager posing as a rich 22-year-old IT worker racked up a huge bill at a hostess bar and was arrested when the management discovered he was underage and penniless:
The 16-year-old boy entered a hostess bar in Niiza City near Tokyo on Wednesday night and _ over the course of six hours _ ordered two bottles of Dom Perignon champagne as well as 60 glasses of whiskey, beer and cocktails, said local police officer Hitoshi Morohashi.
The boy also sang karaoke songs with several hostesses, Morohashi said.
When it was time to pay the bill, which had ballooned to 370,000 yen (US$3,490; �2,370), the boy told the staff he had no money, Morohashi said.
The staff called police, and the boy _ whose name was withheld because he is a minor _ was arrested on suspicion of fraud, Morohashi said.
It doesn’t look like the hostess bar will face any penalty for serving alcohol to a minor, since they told police they honestly believed the kid was in his twenties. (There are drinking age laws in Japan, but is not common practice for Japanese businesses to demand ID from customers who purchase alcoholic beverages.)
Categories: Odd / Strange
