Jappanica – Page 12 – Mutantfrog Travelogue

Man Stabs Co-Worker Upon Being Scolded for Bad Behavior

Police in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, arrested a man (24) in flagrante delicto for attempted murder on suspicion that he stabbed a co-worker (38) after an argument at an izakaya (Japanese drinking spot). The co-worker later died at the hospital, so the police are changing the charge to murder.

According to investigators, an argument arose at the izakaya at around 10:30PM Jan. 18th when the co-worker told the man, “Recently, your behavior’s been bad.” The man then stabbed his co-worker in the left flank on a nearby roadway with a butterfly knife he’d been carrying (9cm blade).

Witnesses say the man called the ambulance for his co-worker after the stabbing.

My Comment: This is just one more case that makes me question why Japanese companies force so much socialization on their employees. I wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with my co-workers here in America. I don’t know if I’d be able to stand going out drinking with the same people who I see in the office every day.

Hanshin Tigers Taxis to debut in front of Koshien

“The stripes on the uniform are actually vertical”

The Hanshin Train Group Co.’s Hanshin Taxi (Located in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref.) is set to debut taxis embossed with Japanese Pro Baseball’s Hanshin Tigers logo and uniform design on the body of the car.

Using 7 of its 280 vehicles, it plans to run them for a period of 1 year. The Hanshin Group has run buses decked out with Hanshin logos before, but this is a first for their taxis.

They will kick off the taxis’ first day of operation with a ceremony in front of Koshien stadium, where the Tigers play.

My Comment: I hope I get to see those taxis in real life 😀

Protecting Manzai and Takoyaki

Osaka Prefecture to Enact New Law

On Jan. 18th, Osaka Prefecture affirmed its intention to preserve local mass culture from Noh theater to Rakugo, Manzai, and Takoyaki with the “Osaka Culture Law.” After submitting it to the local legislature in February they expect to enact it by April. According to prefectural authorities, 8 other prefectures already have similar laws, such as Hokkaido, Tokyo, and Kumamoto, but this is a first for the Kansai region. Continue reading Protecting Manzai and Takoyaki

A Very Special New Year Interview with Your Friend Ishihara Shintaro

The Japan that Can Beat China

I decided to print this from the Shukan Post (Weekly Post) because it seems like the English-language media only print what he says out of context. While I don’t agree with the man, he does have some provocative things to say that make it obvious why he’s so popular. Take a look:

Foreign Relations, The Economy, Territories — How long can Japan stand being the country that everyone dumps on? Continue reading A Very Special New Year Interview with Your Friend Ishihara Shintaro

Man claiming to be Mito Koumon’s Descendant Cheats Woman out of 5 Million Yen

Funabashi, Chiba — Unemployed Miyabe Hideteru (57) of Kasuga, Saitama, was arrested Jan. 5th by Chiba Prefectural Police at the Matsudo East Precinct on suspicion of defrauding a woman out of 5 million yen by telling her he was “the descendant of Mito Koumon.”

(Mito Koumon was a Tokugawa-era shadow ruler who was famous for traveling the countryside and checking up on the various fiefdoms. He’s been the subject of many many movies and TV shows, where he was famous for revealing himself by flashing a card showing his haiku pen name and shouting, “Can’t you see this seal?!”)

According to investigation, the man told a woman he met at Funabashi Health Center in April 2001 that, “I am the current head of the Mito household. That makes me his grandson,” and “I am going to sell land in Hokkaido to the government for 3.6 billion yen, so lend me the money to pay for the paper work. At the end of May I will pay you back double,” upon which he took 5 million yen from the woman. Continue reading Man claiming to be Mito Koumon’s Descendant Cheats Woman out of 5 Million Yen

A Quieter Coming of Age Day This Year

Remember last year when there were all those reports of kids raising hell as if they came straight out of Battle Royale? Well this year there were some problems as well, but not nearly as bad as last year. Here are some highlights from this year’s festivities:

Stage dancer disrupts Aomori Coming of Age festival

A Coming of Age Day ceremony in Aomori was disrupted on Sunday after one of the participants jumped on the stage where the event was being held and starting dancing, officials said.

Officials at the ceremony in Aomori yanked the man off the stage, but about 10 of his friends continued to disrupt proceedings while a band was playing, throwing wastepaper at the stage.

In a separate Coming of Age Day incident in Naha, a man celebrating the day was arrested after he attacked a police officer who had taken custody of a drunk man, suddenly kicking the officer in the backside.

The man, who had been drinking with friends after a ceremony in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, was arrested at about 1 a.m. on Monday, for obstruction of official duties.

Personally, I was in Japan on that day and got to see some girls looking good in their kimono. I used to think it was an odd “old vs. new” juxtaposition to see the girls dressed in kimono while using their purikura-decked cell phones, but considering that it’s not that old of a tradition (made official in 1948) I don’t see any reason it should seem weird. The same goes for Buddhist monks riding motorcycles (something else I saw in Japan that gave me that “old meets new” feeling of irony).

Allow me to introduce myself

Hi, I’m Adamu, and I’ll be one of the contributors to this site. Whereas Roy focuses more on technology and photography, my interests are more abstract: the domburi. Most of my posts will be translations of Japanese news articles that don’t make it to press on other sites or news publications. I call and categorize these Jappanica, named after my old website of the same name. From time to time I will also be posting old articles from the site.

Adamu is just my online handle. No, really. I lived in Japan for two years, learning the Japanese language and irreparably damaging my psyche in the process. Right now I live in DC, working on various projects with high-profile clientele (Again, don’t ask). Otherwise not a whole lot to tell about me. I like video games, hip hop, politics (I’m a radical liberal but also a pragmatist), North Korea and dreaming of one day making it big in Tokyo. The rest I hope you’ll figure out as we go along.

So, dear readers, I hope that gives you an idea of who I am and what I’ll be doing here. Thanks to Roy for all the hard work involved in setting this thing up.