Japan Times writer meets Japan’s oddball inventor and talks about sprays to boost a woman’s fertility, reinforced housing for geniuses, and why he takes photographs of everything he eats.
Victory to betsu ni: Japan’s buzzwords of 2007
Mari was the first out of the blocks with her rundown of the Japan’s buzzwords for 2007, but Pink Tentacle took the prize for best all-around summary.
Filed under Japan 101
How well do you know Japan?
Looking at the year that was, Counterpoint pops a general knowledge quiz about Japan. Our favorite? Question No. 5:
Why did the Ministry of Defense official cross the street?
(a) Because there was a golf course on the other side
(b) Because there was a defense contractor and a caddy on the other side
(c) It wasn’t the official who crossed the street, it was his secretary
(d) All of the above
Filed under Japan 101
Fingerprint my middle finger
Kevin Rafferty in The Japan Times laid into the Japanese government’s discriminatory practice of fingerprinting foreigners entering Japan. (And he’s gotten more than a little feedback from bloggers and readers.)
Meanwhile, Pink Tentacle reports that we have NEC to thank/curse for foreign-tracking tech.
Mad as hell? Sign the petition. You might feel better.
UPDATE: Bloggers unite at Re-Entry Japan to cover the fingerprinting issues (via JapanProbe).
Filed under the man
The re-animator
Filed under otaku
