Japan Media Watch

Dr. Nakamatsu and the baby-producing vaginal spray

Handy Man — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:59:05 +0000

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

Handy Man — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:31:36 +0000

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.

How well do you know Japan?

Handy Man — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:24:19 +0000

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

(d) All of the above

Fingerprint my middle finger

Handy Man — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:44:44 +0000

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).

Cops kill man after stabbing spree in Kyoto

Handy Man — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:10:00 +0000

High drama on the streets of Kyoto.

The re-animator

Handy Man — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Patrick Macias on the remixing of anime into copyright-defying anime music videos.

What a kyara

Handy Man — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:03:00 +0000

Kaori Shoji is always reliable for a good insight into the Japanese psyche via the Japanese language.