Japan

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Korean Man Marries Pillow
 Korean Man Marries Pillow 
a gem from wednesday
Mar 14, 2010 9:32 AM CDT

Korean Man Marries Pillow

Groom keeps company with anime character accessory, buys it meals

(Newser) - A South Korean man’s dream came true recently when he married a body pillow bearing an illustration of an anime character. Lee Jin-gyu, 28, fell for a dakimakura, or body pillow, printed with an image of Fate Testarossa, a character in a popular cartoon series, the UK Metro reports....

7 Ways to Get Jailed (or Killed) While Traveling

Forget your ID in Japan, and end up in the pokey

(Newser) - An African safari is likely to be a bit more exciting than a day at Disney Land, but there comes a point where enough is enough. Turner Wright, writing in Vagabondish , runs down seven travel ideas that'll get you killed—or at least some quality time in the local clink:...

Uproar Over Whale Sushi Just Ridiculous

Outrage at foreign preferences just 'gastronomic nationalism'

(Newser) - Sure, the owners of a Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant broke the law if they indeed served whale meat, but those in a tizzy had “better wipe that morsel of moral superiority from your chin,” Japhy Grant writes . At the root, it’s a culture disconnect: Eating whale is...

Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint
Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint
hunting illegal whale meat
Mar 9, 2010 11:05 AM CST

Cove Oscar Winners Stage Sting at LA Sushi Joint

Filmmakers go undercover to find illegal whale meat

(Newser) - The makers of The Cove, the Oscar-winning documentary about dolphin killing in Japan, have aimed their cameras closer to home in a sting to expose illegal whale meat served at a California sushi joint. The operation began in October, when they heard rumors that the Hump, a Santa Monica restaurant,...

Japanese Women Are Skinny, Think They're Fat

Media ideal and stiff competition leads to wacky body image

(Newser) - “I think I am very fat,” a 40-year-old Japanese woman of normal weight whose BMI is verging on “thin” tells the Wall Street Journal , and that’s the story all over the island nation. Japan continues to be the thinnest industrialized nation, and its women have gotten...

Why I Hate Living in Japan
 Why I Hate Living in Japan 
Mar 6, 2010 2:17 PM CST

Why I Hate Living in Japan

Everything's got meat in it, for one—bad news for vegetarian

(Newser) - Many years of life in Japan have thoroughly soured American expatriate Tim Rogers on the country, despite his long personal history of “tolerating the hell out of some world cultures.” Herewith, some reasons:
  • Animé sucks. Used to be fine, but now “it’s inbred trailer-trash in entertainment
...

Princess Leaves School Over Bullying

8-year-old Japanese royal afraid; palace wants problem fixed

(Newser) - Japan’s Princess Aiko has been out of school since Tuesday, after complaining that older boys have been bullying her. The 8-year-old became frightened and returned home in a state of anxiety, complaining of a stomachache. The palace asked the school to look into it. The school discovered that she...

Japanese Fear Oarfish Sightings Are Quake Omen

Superstitious worry as deep-sea dweller begins surfacing

(Newser) - Dozens of sightings of a very rarely seen fish have raised Japanese fears that their country may be the next one rocked by a major quake. The appearance of oarfish—which can grow to up to 16 feet long and frequent depths of up to 3,300 feet—is considered...

Japan's Female Pitching Whiz May Join US Men's Pro Team

'Knuckleball princess' offered Chico Outlaws contract

(Newser) - "Knuckleball Princess" Eri Yoshida was the first woman to play pro baseball in Japan and she's now being offered the chance to become the first Japanese woman to play pro ball in an American men's league. The 18-year-old super athlete has been offered a contract to play for the...

GOP Senator: Ban Japanese Cars

Mike Johanns sees chance to settle score for Japan ban on US beef

(Newser) - One Nebraska Republican has a simple solution to the Toyota recall scandal: Ban all auto imports from Japan. Sen. Mike Johanns, a former agriculture secretary, called the ban a chance to even the score for Japan's multi-year ban on US beef based on fears of mad cow disease. "I...

Tsunami Glances Off Japan, Russia
 Tsunami Glances Off 
 Japan, Russia  
CHILE EARTHQUAKE
Feb 28, 2010 5:00 AM CST

Tsunami Glances Off Japan, Russia

Warnings lifted as waves smaller than feared; no damage reported

(Newser) - The tsunami from Chile's deadly earthquake hit Japan's main islands and the shores of Russia today, but the smaller-than-expected waves prompted the lifting of a Pacific-wide alert. Hawaii and other Pacific islands were also spared. In Japan, where hundreds of thousands were evacuated , the biggest wave following the magnitude-8.8...

7.3 Quake Rattles Japan; Tsunami Warning Lifted

Temblor strikes Okinawa; no major damage reported

(Newser) - A tsunami warning has been lifted and residents of Okinawa are breathing a sigh of relief after an earthquake rattled the southern Japanese island early Saturday morning. " First there was a strong vertical shake, then sideways," an official of the city of Naha tells Reuters . "The strong...

Racing Bad Weather, Shuttle Endeavour Lands in Florida

Space shuttle safely wraps up mission after 2 weeks, 3 spacewalks

(Newser) - The first of the space shuttle program's final five missions ended without a hitch tonight as Endeavour landed at Cape Canaveral, beating bad weather forecast for the Florida coast. "Houston, it is great to be home," the mission commander said after returning from the International Space Station on...

Japanese Whalers Injured by Acid-Firing Activists

Face, eye injuries claimed from rancid butter spray

(Newser) - Three crew members of a Japanese whaling vessel suffered face and eye injuries from acid fired by anti-whaling protesters during their latest clash in the Antarctic Ocean, their employers said today. The Sea Shepherd protesters said they shot butyric acid—which they maintain is nontoxic—produced from stinking rancid butter,...

UK 14-Year-Old a Star in Japan
 UK 14-Year-Old a Star in Japan 
Feb 11, 2010 6:48 AM CST

UK 14-Year-Old a Star in Japan

YouTube sensation Beckii Cruel, 14, releases debut album

(Newser) - Dressing in costumes, dancing around her bedroom to Japanese pop songs, and posting the videos on YouTube has made 14-year-old Rebecca Flint a bona fide star in Japan. The British teen, known online as Beckii Cruel, imitates the dancing style and looks of an anime character; in Japan she's performed...

Whaler, Activist Ship Collide Off Antarctica

Second clash this year in Japanese whaling standoff

(Newser) - The anti-whaling ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided in the icy waters off Antarctica today—the second major clash this year in the increasingly belligerent standoff over Japanese whaling. The activist group Sea Shepherd, which sends vessels to confront the fleet each year, said a small...

Monks Sell Mantras With Hip-Hop and Booze

Japanese Buddhists court young with shows, bars

(Newser) - In an effort to draw new converts, a group of Japanese monks has turned to an oddly un-Buddhist method: alcohol and rap. Calling the strategy "Buddhism 2010," monk Kansho Tagai, who is content to be known by his new street name, Mr. Happiness, says that Japanese Buddhism is...

Japan Airlines Goes Bankrupt
 Japan Airlines Goes Bankrupt 
Jan 19, 2010 3:50 AM CST

Japan Airlines Goes Bankrupt

Delta and American vie for piece of restructuring JAL

(Newser) - Japan Airlines filed for bankruptcy today in one of the nation's largest corporate failures, entering a restructuring from which it seeks to emerge leaner, smarter, and free of crippling debt. Asia's biggest carrier by revenue, staggering under a $25 billion debt mountain, JAL will slash nearly 16,000 jobs, cut...

Top 10 Places You Can't Go
 Top 10 Places You Can't Go 
FROM AREA 51 TO DISNEYLAND
Jan 11, 2010 1:53 PM CST

Top 10 Places You Can't Go

The world's most significant secret places revealed

(Newser) - Want to visit Area 51? Too bad: The mecca for conspiracy theorists isn't open to visitors. Listverse runs down the 10 most significant places around the world that are nearly impossible for the general public to visit:
  • Mezhgorye: This Russian town is believed to house people working on Mount Yamantaw—
...

Boat Destroyed, Whaling Activists Take to the Air

Whale war heats up after Sea Shepherd boat is destroyed

(Newser) - The anti-whaling group whose high-tech boat was destroyed by a Japanese whaler in Antarctic waters yesterday has continued to pursue their target by helicopter, and vowed to keep up the harassment. "We now have a real whale war on our hands," declared the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's leader,...

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