“There is no store in the place where [Abiru] clams to have committed the robbery, and since there is no complaint filed, charges will not be brought upon her.”

あびる優みたいにちょっと悪い過去のある人がアイドルとして活躍してるのってそんなに許せないのか？と2chの住民に聞きたい。ジェラシーにもほどがあるよ。日本って足を引っ張る社会と言われるが、ちょっとした誤りで人生をパーにしてはいけないと思うよ。11のときだよ？

Some of you may be wondering: what the hell does all this matter? Are you just using this as an excuse to post pictures of chicks?

But in all actuality, this incident is revealing of all sorts of pernicious elements in Japanese society. Let me recount some key events :

It was the concerted effort of 2ch that made this the scandal that it became. 2ch users sent “more than 200 e-mails” calling for the girl’s arrest and punishment. I find this tactic extremely distasteful because it reminds me of the US’ Religious Right complaining about supposed indecency on American TV.
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(Mainichi Daily News via Fucked Gaijin)

Police questioning girl who confessed to theft on TV

An 18-year-old TV personality who revealed during a TV quiz that she stole something when she was an elementary school girl is being questioned by police on suspicion of theft, law enforcers said.

The girl, whose name is being withheld, took part in a quiz on a Nippon Television Network show titled “Coming Doubt,” which was aired late on Feb. 15. The idea of the show is to guess whether confessions the participants make are true or false.

During the show the teenage participant said she had stolen an item from a cardboard box in a warehouse in the past, calling this a “true story.”

Officials from talent agency Horipro said the girl had blown out of proportion an experience from her elementary school days in which she shoplifted candy.

“I did something terrible,” the girl was quoted as telling police investigators. “I really regret it.”

Japan’s juvenile law states that those under the age of 14 can’t be held criminally responsible for crimes, but police said they were questioning program officials to determine whether the incident was true or not.

She’s already been suspended, her manager fired, and for what? A big nothing. I feel bad for the girl.

UPDATE: I take it back. I’m too lazy to post anywhere right now, so I’m sticking with MF.

We seem to be experiencing some problems here at Mutant Frog. The site won’t load a lot of the time under Internet Explorer, and the comments link is occasionally broken. We plan to reinstall Wordpress and see what happens. For now, I’m going to do a couple posts back at Adamu’s Jappanica. Look for them there.

Random Picture!

Beckham’s $800 hair from 2003. Found in an image search for “笑われる” (To be laughed at) in Japanese.

以下はデイリースポーツからのパクリです。

Daily Sports reports that Nippon TV now knows just how Abiru Yuu’s scandalous past made it onto the quiz show:

According to a report of an internal investigation by Nippon TV, the story of Abiru’s past theft came up during a meeting between the TV Station and Abiru’s agency, after which it was used on the show. It is said to have aired without the management’s approval at either a program meeting or at editing.

Now, what I think is so strange is how quick the station is to melt under any kind of pressure. Whatever happened to free speech? I realize that Japanese TV, while somewhat more liberal about showing naked breasts (thought they’ve grown far more conservative recently) and English swear words than the US, is still extremely sensitive to “inappropriate” broadcasting, which includes political speech, mention of the mentally ill or ethnic minorities, and various words for sexual organs or behavior. But what, really, is so “inappropriate” about mentioning someone’s checkered past?

Strangest of all is the fact that these TV stations are so careful without the threat of government fines, as in the US. There is a law in Japan stating that TV broadcasters must refrain from broadcasting “harmful and inappropriate” material, but there is no enforcement provision at all. Can someone with some knowledge about this clue me in please?

From Daily Sports Online:
It came to light Feb. 22 that North Korea plans to allow Japanese supporters into the country for the World Cup final qualifying round between Japan and the DPRK to be held June 8 in Pyongyang. Japan Football Association Vice President Ogura Junji unveiled the news at a press conference in Tokyo. This is the first time North Korea has officially allowed Japanese sports fans into the country, in what promises to bring a large number of Japanese fans into a country with whom they do not have diplomatic ties.

According to those involved with Japan-DPRK relations, it is said that NK will allow from 2000-5000 Japanese supporters in the country. And NK has made promises to allow a 100-journalist, 50-cameraman media group to cover the Japan-DPRK match, however only on the condition that “coverage is limited to soccer.”

As this is an unprecedented number of Japanese traveling to the DPRK, there is expected to be some wrangling in finding accommodations and flights for all these people. Also, this plan may be affected by proposed sanctions on the country over the North’s kidnapping of Japanese nationals.

My Comment: Nice! This is bound to inspire more than a few interesting travelogues. Looks like the story’s already been covered in English. Oh well, I already translated it.

“We want to give lessons without worrying about royalties”
Self-made dance music CDs grow in popularity

According to the royalty guidelines of the Japan Association of Recording Artists’ Copyrights (JASRAC) , royalties for music used in a social dance classroom vary based on the number of teachers and the lesson fee, but they can be assumed to reach the amount of 3,000-20,000 yen per month. However, many people have expressed dissatisfaction, wondering “Is it really necessary to collect fees even for music used to practice dancing?” According to JASRAC, of the 2500 classrooms nationwide about 40% are not paying.

In response to this non-payment, JASRAC sued 7 dance studios in Nagoya demanding royalties for the past 10 years in Nagoya Regional Court. Last September, the Supreme Court rejected the classrooms’ appeal and commanded them to pay the 46,360,000 yen that the Regional Court awarded JASRAC.

This is the story behing the self-made CD movement.
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Steven Seagal, action star, martial artist, soda salesman, but above all… pimp. Here are just a few reasons why we must all fear and admire Steven Seagal, king of all gaijin:
—He has been married three times and had 5 children with 2 women
—Despite being a Japanophile has three children with Kelly LeBrock
—Is an Aikido master AND a kendo master
—Is a vegetarian
—Doesn’t need an interpreter when making Japanese press conferences
—Plays Jamaican guitar
—Broke Sean Connery’s wrist

The impetus for this glowing post is his his son, Kentaro’s marriage. The actor, currently working in Japan, got married the other day to his father’s former assistant, Malaysian model Intz.
Picture of the son with his wife:

And for good measure, here’s a site by his ex-wife dedicated to his daughter. Here is a sample:

With Jackie Chan

You can see some montages of her commercials on the site.

OK, well that’s enough of that. Enjoy!