Category: Japan

Abiru Yuu Wrapupあびる優について最後の一言

Top right?
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 :

  • Abiru admits to robbing a market on the TV show Coming Doubt 2/15.
  • 2ch explodes with anger at her, angry e-mails follow.
  • Japan’s daily tabloids make a fuss over it.
  • Nippon TV and Hori Productions apologizes, explaining that “she blew out of proportion a shoplifting incident that happened when she was 11.” Nippon TV says that it was “inappropriate” to use someone’s criminal record as a question on a quiz show.
  • Abiru is suspended and her manager fired.
  • Nippon TV releases the results of an internal investigation: 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.
  • The police question Abiru over her involvement.
  • The English language media seem to take some notice, but totally miss the point.

    • 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.
    Continue reading Abiru Yuu Wrapupあびる優について最後の一言

    Abiru Yuu questioned by police because of jealous and petty 2ch


    (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.

    Nippon TV Internal Inquiry Results Released (Abiru Yuu Pt. 2) DS:　 「カミングダウト」調査結果発表-

    She's still hot
    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?

    Japanese fans to be allowed to watch World Cup Qualifier in Pyongyang

    nk
    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.

    The obscene excesses of JASRAC

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

    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.
    Continue reading The obscene excesses of JASRAC

    Steven Seagal: This man is a pimp

    Fuck Yeah!
    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:
    wow
    And for good measure, here‘s a site by his ex-wife dedicated to his daughter. Here is a sample:
    Jackie Chan
    With Jackie Chan

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

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

    Japan Today: 9-13% of high school girls regret having sex: poll

    I guess the lesson here is make sure you actually like the guy before you give it up! From Japan Today:

    Sunday, February 20, 2005 at 17:27 JST
    TOKYO — Some 9-13% of high school girls in Japan said they regret having sex for the first time, while nearly half of those polled said they are ambivalent, survey organizers said Saturday.

    It is the first time a survey of this kind had been conducted, according to a federation of parent-teacher associations for high schools nationwide.

    In analyzing the survey results, Masako Kihara, an assistant professor of social epidemiology at Kyoto University, said the students may have felt regret or confusion as they engaged in sex for the first time because they were prodded by a deluge of information about sex. (Kyodo News)

    The Strange Case of Abiru Yuu あびる優の窃盗事件(キャプ＋英語解説）

    UPDATE：映像だ！映像きたー！Watch the video here!
    テレビキャプチャー画像はこちら
    She'd steal your heart without you even knowing it.
    Blowing up the headlines at 2ch news is the case of Abiru Yuu (18), the Japanese idol who admitted to robbing a supermarket, leading to the store’s eventual bankruptcy. The admission came on a Feb. 15 broadcast of Nippon TV’s “Coming Doubt” where secrets are revealed about certain stars and other celebrities have to guess whether the allegations are true. You can see a screen capture (with convenient subtitles) here. Here is a translation of the captions:

    (A still of Abiru smiling) Abiru Yuu once participated in a group theft that bankrupted a store.
    Upper right caption: True or false? Abiru Yuu once participated in a group theft that bankrupted a store.
    ABIRU: Well, it was a while ago… we took out whole boxes.. it went on for about 6 months…
    SOMEONE ELSE: A BAND OF THIEVES?!
    ABIRU: Oh, I guess (the shop) did close down… I can’t say for sure whether the place closed as a result of what we did…
    (Still of Abiru) Is Abiru’s confession TRUE or FALSE???
    (Abiru hangs head in shame and holds up a placard saying “True”)

    What’s so offensive, apparently, is that she didn’t seem at all remorseful, laughing and joking about it the whole time. She has made a name for herself as a character who offends people, so she perhaps thought this was just a part of the act. (More background [Japanese] can be found here)
    イメージ映像
    Continue reading The Strange Case of Abiru Yuu あびる優の窃盗事件(キャプ＋英語解説）

    No beer and no gyudon make ossan go crazy!

    Last year, after Yoshinoya ran out of its famous gyudon (see here for background), there were multiple cases of ossan (middle-aged men) getting violent and demanding their beef bowls. It seemed as though these men couldn’t understand just what was going on and were hurt by the change.

    Well, last week those wounds were ripped open as Yoshinoya resurrected its long-absent gyudon — for one day only in commemoration of the first anniversary of the ban (一年ぶりに、一日だけ）. I don’t know where they got the beef, but it was a momentous day that brought people out of the woodwork to get their hands on that sweet beefy goodness. And right on cue, some people got way too excited about it and did stupid shit like this:
    Car crash
    The headline: Car crashes into Yoshinoya on “gyudon resurrection day”

    The arrows point to people “still eating” despite the fact that they were almost killed by a runaway car. That’s dedication, folks.
    Continue reading No beer and no gyudon make ossan go crazy!

    Spam in Japanese part 2 いろんな迷惑メールその２

    顔グロギャル
    日本語の原稿をご覧いただくにはこちらをクリックしてください。

    “Nice to meet you. I’m Yukari. You were looking for a sex friend, right? Mind if I apply? Umm, I have a boyfriend, but he’s not satisfying me, so please become my fuck buddy. It looks like we live close to each other, so first of all I’d like to confirm our sexual compatibility. Here’s a simple profile:
    Sagara Yukari (My real name, but the kanji are secret for now lol, 24 years old, work as a telephone operator. My 3 sizes (bust, waist, hip?) are 92-61-88 (cm), and my breast are G-cup (about a D in American sizes). I’m kind of like an albino, so if you prefer tanned gyaru then you might not like me. Umm, I’m kind of a masochist when it comes to sexual habits… That’s why I’m a little unsatisfied when I have sex with my boyfriend. I’d like soft SM, like where you’d tease me by inserting from the back, or taking me on dates in a miniskirt with no panties, how about it?
    Or are you looking for a normal sex friend who isn’t a masochist woman? Um, anyway I await your reply☆”

    It’s written well enough so that someone with their guard down might actually respond. Click “Read the rest” to see the original Japanese.
    Continue reading Spam in Japanese part 2 いろんな迷惑メールその２