Day: March 27, 2005

Japan Goes to East Timor: The Original Soundtrack on MP3


In 2002, Japan’s Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF, Motto: “There are some people I want to protect”) sent a brigade of engineers to East Timor to aid in the rebuilding after the chaos of the secession movement. Since this was the first time in a while for the SDF to do anything at all, the dispatch was kicked of with great fanfare.

As part of that effort, JGSDF Engineer Katayama Yoshio of the first wave of troops composed the following songs, which the Japanese government was nice enough to make available for download. Allow me to share:

“The Winds of East Timor” — They messed up the links on the site so that both the first and second songs link to the second song. But with my “elite skills” I magically changed the filename from “timor2.mp3” to “timor1.mp3” and PRESTO! all their base belonged to me. The sound? Picture a Muzak version of Southern Allstars crossed with the wussy background music to those public service announcements on Japanese TV.

“The Stars of East Timor” — Sounds like any given anime theme from the early 90s meets any given American sitcom theme from the 80s. Compare this with the ALF or Perfect Strangers theme if you dare.

“The Other Side of East Timor” — OK, now we’re getting intense. You thought East Timor was gonna be some walk in the park? Fuck you then. Every corporate instructional video or infomercial that I’ve ever scene probably had this for opening music.

“The Independence of East Timor” — Final Fantasy ending theme, Karate Kid ending theme, the music for the unveiling of a new car model, take your pick. Never before has Muzak sounded so triumphant. It’s as if to say: “May the East Timorese have a generic and cheesy future full of last-minute soccer goals and defeated bosses.”

“East Timor Jubilee” — Let’s party! Remember the parade song in Final Fantasy VII? This sounds JUST like that. Nobuo Uematsu may have a juicy lawsuit opportunity here. Listening to this makes me think the first thing East Timor did when they gained independence was have a nationwide conga line.

“The Dunes of East Timor” — OK, now we’re back to anime themes. Nothing more to say about the song, really, but I have to admire this guy’s use of a MIDI keyboard.

Don’t believe me? Listen for yourself!

In all honesty, these lame songs make a pretty apt soundtrack to Japan’s efforts in East Timor. They ignored the problem there for decades, instead opting to trade with the Indonesian government out of economic self-interest and (maybe) a belief in macro-economic assistance to raise living standards in other countries. The afterthought of an SDF dispatch is about as uninspired as these songs are, and about as sincere-looking as the guys holding hands at the top of the site.

Thanks to JGSDF, RPGamer, ClassicTVHits.com, and Barbneal for the songs!

【夜行バス転落死】Death on the highway: Girls falls to death on overnight highway bus

You can see where the window can be opened
Here’s the long and short of it:

[Tomeido Accident] Witnesses recall, “She just fell suddenly,” Wind pressure cited as possible cause
The victim
12-year-old Kokubo Misato of Mihama, Aichi, who died in the early morning of March 26 after falling from the window of a large charter bus at the Yakitsu Interchange on the Tomeido Expressway South Yakitsu, Shizuoka. A witness who dialed 110 (Japan’s 911) at around 1:50 am, a Tokyo truck driver (36), told Mainichi Shimbun reporters, “A person suddenly fell from the window of the charter bus as it was moving and rolled on the highway. The car directly behind the bus hit its emergency brake,” describing the scene at the time of the accident. Prefectural highway patrol are investigating the possibility that Kokubo opened the window herself and was then carried away by the wind, and are hurrying with reproduction trials to find the cause of the fall.

The bus’s windows are 1m above the floor, and about 50cm above the seat. They are in total 2m wide, but 1m of the window could be opened slide-style. The bus company maintains that “you cannot fall out of the window while seated.”

A student noticed that Kokubo was missing after a gust of wind from the fully open window woke her up.

The girl’s Japanese abacus teacher, who had led the trip to Tokyo Disneyland, said, “When we stopped at the service area (before the accident), there were children who opened the windows because it was so hot and humid.”

As someone from 2ch mentioned, the cops need to investigate the BUS COMPANY, not a possible hit and run!

What you might not get from these reports is that these buses are SHITTY. These people were returning to the Nagoya area, which is about a 5-hour drive by bus. I’ve ridden them several times (from Tokyo to Kyoto, an 8-hour trip) because they are so much cheaper than the obscenely expensive Shinkansen. The seats are small, the stops few (in one case non-existent) and the drivers unresponsive to demands. I once asked that the heat be turned down because I had a fever and it was completely uncomfortable, to no avail.

The bus company seems to be trying to blame this on the girl. That’s bullshit. Everyone SLEEPS on these overnight buses. No one is playing around the window, believe me. It shouldn’t have taken a girl’s death to show them that they need better bus design and a consistent heating policy.
Continue reading 【夜行バス転落死】Death on the highway: Girls falls to death on overnight highway bus