Protest against “Tibet -Treasure from the Roof of the World” exhibit
The Ueno Royal Museum is currently hosting an exhibition of Chinese government-owned Tibetan artifacts, and “Free Tibet” activists are not happy about it. Here’s a video from a protest held yesterday:
The exhibition, “Tibet: Treasure from the Roof of the World,” has been traveling throughout the world since 2004 and now it has been exhibiting in Japan. This exhibition does not present the accurate modern history and culture of Tibet. Our aim is to let the world know that this exhibition is a collection of stolen treasure that is organized by the Chinese govenment who has been trying to justify the Chinese rule in Tibet.
The activists wanted the exhibit to include information about the Chinese conquest and occupation of Tibet, but their request was rejected. Exhibition committee representative Taisuke Tsurumaki told activists that, “There is no such a thing as ‘Tibetan person.’ There is a Tibetan tribe (in China).”
[via FG]
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Politics
Chinese people don’t know about Japan’s giant jellyfish problem
“Mezamashi TV” investigates the giant jellyfish invasion taking place in the Sea of Japan:
The jellyfish originate in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. No one is entirely sure of why the giant jellyfish population is increasing, but it has been argued that global warming or Chinese pollution has killed off some of their natural predators, allowing them to grow to an enormous size before leaving Chinese waters and heading into the Sea of Japan.
Their reporter took the streets of Qingdao to ask Chinese people about their views on giant jellyfish. Nobody seemed to know about the problem facing Japanese fishermen:
The report hints at a solution: using the jellyfish as a food instead of treating them like worthless pests. Jellyfish cookies are mentioned as one type of food. A new post over at Pink Tentacle reveals that high school students in the town of Obama have also created jellyfish caramels.
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Categories: General Japan
Japanese anime: slant-eyed Chinaman fights Nazi
An old scene from the Kinnikuman anime in which Ramenman (from Chinese) battles Brocken Jr. (from German):
According to the Wikipedia, the series was banned in France because Brocken Jr. was depicted as a “good Nazi.” When Kinnikuman figures and an NES game were released in the United States under the M.U.S.C.L.E. brand, Brocken Jr. was replaced with another character. Somebody eventually realized he might be offensive, so in later cartoons the swastikas on his uniform were replaced with Death’s Heads.
Other notable Kinnikuman characters include the Indian guy with a bowl of curry on his head, the toilet paper mummy from Egypt, the charging bull guy from Spain, the Chilean with a Easter Island Moa head, and TeaPacMan from Sri Lanka. Japan is represented by a samurai and a ninja.
{democracy:404}
[hat tip to Ken Y-N of What Japan Thinks, who has an article up about all you ever wanted to know about Kinnikuman.]
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Categories: Otaku & Anime
Getting drunk at the Tsingtao Beer Festival
Japan’s NTV news travels to Tsingtao (Qingdao) to report China’s biggest beer festival and discuss how Japanese beer companies are trying to enter the Chinese market:
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Categories: General Japan
