Japan

Japan’s young smokers find a way around wrinkle-scanners

Sophie — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:03:13 +0200

You can get pretty much anything through a vending machine in Japan these days - even bread. But for products that come with an age restriction, the authorities are having a hard time thinking up new ways to prevent under-agers from getting their hands on them. Blogger "Pink Tentacle" has written about the discovery by a Japanese reporter that you can trick newly introduced age-verifying scanners on cigarette vending machines by holding up a picture of somebody older.

The wrinkle-scanning machines have barely come off the production line but are already proven failures in deterring under-20s (the legal age) from lighting up. With Japan counting one of the highest smoking rates in the world, it seems like a lame attempt at tackling the problem. Our Observer in the country wonders whether the Japanese government's 50% share in the tobacco industry has anything to do with it.

Is it racist?

Sophie — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:11:51 +0200

A Japanese advert that portrays Barack Obama as a monkey has outraged Web users. But is it really racist? Maybe not in Japan...

UPDATE (30 June 2008 3pm): Chairman of the telecoms company, Sachio Semmoto, has informed Reuters that E-Mobile has now withdrawn the advertisement on TV, although he denied accusations of racism; saying that the macaque had already been used in several other of their campaigns. He said that he recognised sensitivities with the African-American/ Japanese relationship. He also said that Obama's candidacy is an opportunity for the US and that such a candidate could be beneficial for Japan.

NEW UPDATE (9 July 2008 10.30am): One of our readers has informed us that although the television adverts have been pulled, the campaign is still being circulated in print form. We have verified this with news sources.

It's best not to wave at the camera just after a massacre

Sophie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:43:02 +0200

Yesterday we published a post about a street massacre in Tokyo. Shocked Japanese web users have been poring over news reports recorded just after the tragedy, and they've noticed something that upsets them even more.

Even when the news is tragic, nothing stops people from crowding behind a TV reporter and waving at the cameras to say "hello" to their friends and family watching at home. It's not the smartest thing to do at the scene of a massacre, but you probably wouldn't expect the reaction these unfortunate fools have received either...

Screenshots of the culprits' faces have been taken from the videos and published on the enormous Japanese discussion forum 2-channel, attracting an angry mob of justice-seekers. These cyber "wanted" posters have even been included in a film which has been seen over 3000,000 times in 24 hours.

According to James from Japan Probe, numerous messages posted on YouTube or chat forums have called for the "stupid and uncivilised" perpetrators to be punished. The blogger does also say that some web users from the country have recognised that the online manhunt is an "over-reaction".

Seven massacred in Tokyo - are the Japanese prone to ultra-violence?

Sophie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:46:19 +0200

Japan saw the ghastly murder of seven people yesterday when a man drove his two-tonne-lorry into crossing pedestrians and then went on a stabbing spree in Akihabara, Tokyo. Our Observer in the country questions whether the Japanese are prone to such gruesome massacres, and why.

The 25-year-old factory worker, Tomohiro Kato, told police, that he was "tired of life" according to Japanese press. He was pegged as a video-game and comic book addict, and a visitor to restaurants where the waitresses dress up as French maids. He apparently posted messages on internet forums about the imminent "disaster in Akihabara", saying that he would crash his vehicle into people and get out a knife. Of the 17 people he stabbed or hit, seven died.

Human Tetris: simple... but funny

Sophie — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:17:55 +0200

Japanese game show contestants have been trying to avoid a pit of water by fitting themselves into a cut-out shape for years. Now, Americans are taking their turn. An expat in Japan tries to explain why the country's simple humour seems to be so successful abroad.

Originally launched in Japan in 2006, the game show's simple concept has since been exported to 16 countries including Australia, Russia and Denmark. Until now there has been no cash incentive, but the American participants will have even more reason to fit their bodies into the ever-unusual shapes coming towards them, as Fox, who is running the show, is offering a financial reward. Known as Human Tetris to its YouTube fans, it has been rebranded as Hole in the Wall for the US market. Fox is already organizing castings, and is insisting that people of "all shapes and sizes" are welcome.

Anti-whaling activists attack hunters with butyric acid

Julien — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:18:57 +0100

Whale hunting for commercial use has been banned since 1986, but Japan continues to slaughter up to 1000 animals a year for what it insists are research purposes. Attracting worldwide criticism, whalers are a popular target for animal rights activists. Yesterday a group that has been hounding Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research threw butyric acid (rotten butter) and Methocel (a slippery liquid normally used to coat tablets) on to the vessel’s deck. Three crew members say they were injured in the attack. The activists however refuse to give up. They say their work has prevented the ship from killing any whales for four and half weeks. But what happens next will depend on delegates from the International Whaling Commission, who are meeting in London to discuss the controversy this week.

Christmas, from Japan to Afghanistan

Julien — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:11:02 +0100

We could have done a world tour of ‘Christmas in...' But we decided on Kabul
and Tokyo. A little culture shock. Post your questions to Lee Chapman and Nasim Fekrat, our observers in the two cities.