Author: Adamu

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

1000-yen high class burger available at MosBurger





The new high-class hamburger offered by Mos Food Service (MosBurger), the “Takumi 10”. Using safely-raised eggs and domestic bacon, it also comes with a Japanese-style sauce. The odd high price is “the result of emphasizing quality and disregarding commercial concerns.”[Jiji Tsushin]

Comment: I might split this with someone. But 1000 yen for a damn burger?! Forget it.

Ritsumeikan University to Move Headquarters

The new law school
New location at Nijo Station, Kyoto to open next fall

Ritsumeikan University announced on March 24 that it would build a new building Southeast of JR’s Nijo Station in Chuo-ku, Kyoto, moving its headquarters operations and law school there from the Kinugasa campus (in Kita-ku). It will begin construction today and plans to finish by September 2006.

The new building will have one basement floor and 7 above-ground floors. The lot area is 8118 square meters, and the groos floor area is 27147 square meters. The land will be purchase from the Japan Post Private Company. Total construction costs, including land costs, will come to 1 billion yen. The building, when completed, will be used by 700 teachers and students.

Nijo Station

In addition to the headquarters operations and law school, facilities for the Business Management Section, which trains business school masters students and certified public accountants, and the “University Administrator Development Graduate School” which develops university management specialists, will also move into the new building. All of these schools concentrate on working adults, so the move near JR Nijo, which is also accesible to the City Subway, takes into consideration those commuting to class.

Besides its Kinugasa campus, Ritsumeikan also has a campus in Kusatsu, Shiga, making the Nijo building the university’s third campus.

Comment: Kinugasa was always a pain in the ass to get to, but that’s what made me the fit individual I am today, so I’m not complaining.

Aichi Expo Opens Today, MFT watches from a distance

Well, it finally started: the Aichi World Expo 2005. It promises to usher in the next wave of technology (Robots), showcase the best the world’s got to offer, and is being held in the economic power of Asia’s fastest-growing city. Thanks to major sponsors, Toyota, for both holding the Expo and building the Nagoya International Airport to support it. Japan’s Yokoso! tourist PR campaign led up to the event, with even Koizumi appearing in commercials welcoming visitors to experience the country of ancient culture and futuristic technology, or whatever he said. Some visitors to Japan will be able to get their hands on special PDAs that will allow them to make phone calls and get pertinent information. Not everyone agrees that Japan is the best tourist destination, though, citing not only language difficulties but more basic tourism problems — Japan’s stores don’t accept foreign credit cards, and there is no reliable hotel information for most destinations.

Despite all the fuss about walking robots, the most popular attraction at the expo is likely to be Totoro’s house, a life-size recreation of the lovable creature’s home in the classic movie, My Neighbor Totoro. For all the hype about this being a World Expo, it’s really going to be mostly Japanese tourists in attendance. Fact is, there probably won’t be throngs of people from all over the world storming the country to get a peek at what the Expo’s got to offer. Like most people who are curious about the bampaku, I am content to read about the highlights online (and I’ll be sure to blog anything good I come across).

I don’t know about you, but the Internet makes me a lot less curious about the world. Now that I can read all sorts of really general information on the Internet for free, I feel like I already have a sense of what those places must be like. The Marmot’s Hole, for one, has completely ruined me on Korea. I have gotten such an inside scoop from Marmot and his blogroll that I kind of doubt I’d be missing much. When you’re an adult and the thrill of going out and getting drunk fades, all that’s left is more going out drinking. Doesn’t matter where you are, if you work full time then you don’t have time for much else. It’s all the same — the minute differences between countries that you care about can be easily digested in a foot-long blogroll.

No wait, I take it all back. I wish I could be there. I really really do.

Hideki Matsui, a Rod Stewart fan?!

Love this picture!
From the always lovable SUNSPO:

Tampa, FL (Tashiro Manabu and Ami Shunsuke reporting) — Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui (30) took his first full day of rest during this year’s Spring Training on Mar. 23. Matsui has been at his best in the exhibition games, but the secret to his success can be found in the sweet voice of pop singer Rod Stewart (60). It’s been his favorite recently, saying that it’s really great to listen to while training (?!). (Photo: “Godzilla” Matsui takes a ride in his car to get refreshed on his full day off)

“Godzilla” smiles as he does his situps. Even away from the field he cannot take a break from his training routine. With a 333 batting average, 5 hits and 15 RBIs in the exhibition games, the outfielder is at his best. But why Rod Stewart?

“I hadn’t really listened to him before, but the singing and the music are very easy on the ears. It’s great for training, so I love putting it on.”

As Matsui trained the sweet strains of Stewart’s unique voice could be heard on the stereo speakers. When he came to America, “The Great American Songbook Vol. 3” (A cover album of American standards including Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”) was among the CDs he brought with him. He bought it because it had a comfortable sound that he might have heard somewhere before.

He likes it enough that he’s considering getting the previous two volumes, and he listens to it every time he trains at home. The tag team of Rod Stewart and Godzilla will shoot for the stars this season, so watch out!

My Comment: That last sentence conjures up images that I wish I could Photoshop. Who knew Matsui had such lame taste in music? God this guy is hideous:

Ew.

Nakajima Miyuki says “NO” Declines to Appear on Horie’s Nippon Broadcasting


Tamori, Kuramoto Sou join the singer… A major impact on future programming

Singer-songwriter Nakajima Miyuki (53), who was a popular personality on Nippon Broadcasting’s late-night ratings gem, “All Night Nippon,” talk-show host Tamori and others declared on March 24 that they would boycott appearances if Horie Takafumi’s (32) Livedoor grabbed managing rights of the TV station. The channel has submitted this in writing to the Tokyo High Court.

According to the document, besides the above-mentioned tarento, Emoto Takenori (57), a news analyst who has worked for the station for 23 years, cameramen Kuramoto Sou (70) and Ichimori Hajime (57) have submitted that they will stop work, and if all the signatories leave Nippon Broadcasting at one, it will be a major blow to Horiemon (Horie’s affectionate nickname).

“All Night” began broadcasting in October 1965. Besides Nippon Broadcasting President Kamebuchi Terunobu, famous faces such as Beat Takeshi, Akashiya Sanma, Kuwata Keisuke (of the Southern All-Stars), and Matsutoya Yumi have worked as personalities on the show in the past, and even now Ninety Nine is hosting the show and it continues to receive high ratings.

In the document submitted to the Court, Nippon Broadcasting stressed, “A talent boycott would mean lower ratings and lower our value as an advertising medium.”

【お構いなく宣伝】最近GREEにハマってます　Lived in Japan? Use GREE to find people you met there!

最近はGREEを友達に紹介してもらってハマってる。GREEとは、自分の母校や友達や趣味を登録することで、その友達の友達や同じ趣味の人のプロフィールを見て連絡することもでき、人脈をどんどん広げていくためのサイトである。例えば、「ワシントンに住んだことがある」と検索したらなんと「この人知ってる！」って人の画像がいっぱい出てきた。日本で出会った懐かしい仲間たちを見つけるのが楽しい（まだ一人しか見つかってないが）。やってみたい方は招待が必要なので、ぜひ俺に頼んでください。

A friend recently turned me on to GREE, a kind of Japanese Friendster. Like Friendster, you can use the site to register friends, hobbies, alma maters (almas mater?) or whatever. Another great feature is that it lets you run your blog’s RSS feed through the site, which I have done. You need an invitation to join, so anyone who’s lived in Japan, reads Japanese reasonably well, and wants an invite can feel free to ask me for one. Enjoy!

Beastly doctor snaps up women on All Fours

More Waiwai nonsense:

She thought something was amiss when the doctor told her to strip naked — she only had a painful chest. Still, her physician was one of the most famous in Japan, so she assumed he knew what he was doing.

She even went along when he told her to get on all fours and crawl. And she still didn’t complain when the doctor pulled out a digital camera and began taking photos. But she knew something was really wrong when she wasn’t charged for the examination.

Sadao Tanabe, the renowned cardiologist from posh government-run Bokuto Hospital who probed the young woman, was arrested on March 10, Shukan Jitsuwa (3/31) notes.

“Loads of filthy photos were found on the personal computer seized from the doctor’s home. He’d downloaded most of them from adult sites. But there were also photos of about 20 naked women. They were nearly all in their 20s or 30s and there was about 10 shots of each of them,” a police investigation source tells Shukan Jitsuwa. “The photos were of women standing up, lying down, crawling on all fours. The ones on all fours were most frequent. The cameras were taken at all different angles, from the side, from behind, whatever. I don’t care how famous a doctor he was supposed to have been, I can’t believe he had the temerity to take photos like these.”

Biker gangs a thing of the past? After 11 years, “Bosozoku” disappear


Via ZAKZAK:

Hiroshima Prefectural Police announced Mar 18 that their Bosozoku/Youth Crimes Division, which was responsible for controlling the activities of “Bosozoku” or Japanese youth biker gangs, would merge with the Youth Development Division on April 1 to become the new Youth Crimes Division. Most of the gangs have disbanded, creating less of a need to monitor them.

Since installing the Counter-Bosozoku Office in 1994, a Division with the word “Bosozoku” in it will disappear from the Prefectural Police after 11 years.

Bosozoku clashed with riot police in 1999’s Ebisu Matsuri (festival). Since then, a movement to eliminate the Bosozoku came into being, with a Bosozoku Banishment Ordinance and other measures. At the end of last year, membership in Bosozoku had decreased to under one third its peak number (in 1999), 119 people.

My Comment: I knew that Bosozoku were out of style, but at this rate maybe they’ll disappear entirely within a few years.