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Posts Tagged “

Japan

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My Virtual Boyfriend Don't you wish your dreamboat boyfriend whispered sweet nothings in your ear every time you saved your pocket change? Well the Japanese have (once again) created a solution to a problem we didn't know we had: The Handsome Man Bank. The piggy bank (or Ikemen in Japanese) has a selection of 5 different cartoon hunks who whisper romantic phrases when a person adds money (ex: "Can I rub your shoulders?"). And though the $75 contraption also doubles as an alarm clock, it does not vibrate in any way, making it totally useless in terms of actually satisfying single gals. [Inventor Spot]

46 comments

Tiger Tales

White Tiger Cubs Make Squeaky Noises, Lick Cages, Win Hearts

It's only Wednesday, but that doesn't mean we can't give you a little Hump Day critter cuteness. Three white tigers were born last month at the Shirotori Zoo in western Japan. (The newbies don't have names yet; any suggestions?) These dudes are virtually extinct in the wild, but there are seven in residence at the Shirotori. Check out the ridiculously cute squeaky noises the little guy makes at the end. It's like he's trying to roar but he just can't get the hang of it.


White Tiger Cubs Become Zoo Stars [Reuters]

4:20 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Jessica
1,435 views, 35 comments

Latest by NicoleItchy: @Aquarianmind: Wow, thank you for that information. more »

come with the family

"Old Man" Porn Is Fun For All Ages

Shigeo Tokuda is the famed 74-year-old Japanese porn star behind a new Japanese genre of Japanese adult entertainment dubbed "old man porn." And its growth is anything but mature. Tokuda's ouevre comprises such diverse titles as Maniac Training of Lolitas to Forbidden Elderly Care. Young people love him because he has "something that only an older generation has and the young people do not possess, because they lived that much more," in the words of the director. And older people love him because, in contrast to the youngsters and their "school dramas," they can relate to him. Really, it's somewhat analogous to the John McCain phenomenon! And yeah, I know what you're thinking, readers. You're thinking, "Great, just another way men get to grow old and saggy and clog their arteries without any of the devastating desexualization we have to go through." But! More »

3:40 PM on Fri Jun 20 2008
By Moe
6,657 views, 83 comments

Latest by jamar0303: Here's a look at what a Japanese porn channel is like. Naturally, it's NSFW. more »

yearning japanese

Dear Japan: Mariah Carey Is Kinda Foreign To Us, Too


Does anyone around here speak Japanese!? Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon went to Japan, presumably to promote her album E=MC², and she threw out the first pitch at a baseball game (that made it about 18 inches before it hit the ground), shopped with a TV host, and then had a Q&A sesh with fans. It's all in the clip above, and it's so very awesome, because these TV hosts are narrating the whole thing in Japanese, and even though we don't really know what they're saying, the international language of mockery is understood by all. (The entire segment can be viewed here.) It's clear that during most of her shopping trip with one of the hosts, Mariah doesn't really have a clue what he is saying, so she just responds by giggling, saying stuff like, "Pretty" and talking about her favorite colors. We'd kill to know what the TV host asks Nick Cannon, because he looks confused and answers, "We're married. We're supposed to." Clip above.
Mariah Carey in Tokyo, Japan [YouTube]

4:30 PM on Thu May 29 2008
By Slut Machine
3,420 views, 35 comments

Latest by jewess: She seems totally exhausted! Love her, but everything about this video is ridiculous, although i can't even translate a long island accent so i understand what she's going through ;) more »

Hello Committee On Monday, the tourism ministry of Japan named Hello Kitty as the country's tourism ambassador. It's the first time a fictional character was chosen for the position, but after after handling gigs like firearms, vibrators, and tombstones, we're thinking that she can handle the job. [MSNBC]

45 comments

Dearly Departed Meet Kotoko Sato. She's a makeup artist whose clients have very special needs, though they never express them. Sato teamed up with Japanese cosmetics firm Falf Inc. to market Delfino: Beauty products for the dead. Delfino cosmetics contain silver compounds and titanium dioxide, chemicals that have antibacterial properties. That way, people are protected from infection when they touch a corpse. Morticians, funeral home workers and nurses are interested in Delfino, which retails at around $620 a set. (A little too spendy to try on these stubborn under-eye circles, sigh.) Anyway: "The bereaved families remember the faces of the departed for a long time. So I want them to look good," explains Sato. "I am pleased when the family of the deceased says the person looks like they are sleeping." [InventorSpot]

33 comments

Tyrone Hadnott, the Marine accused of raping a local 14-year-old school girl while stationed at Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan, has been convicted by a U.S. court martial of "abusive sexual contact" and sentenced to four years in prison. The Japanese courts decided not to pursue the case after the teenage girl, who was "criticized in the media for getting into the car with the Marine," dropped her charges. [NYT]

52 comments

leftovers

Ladies Need More Ladies' Rooms • Japanese Women Embrace Running

Kathyrn Anthony of the American Restroom Association wants a nationwide law requiring architects to build more toilets for women than they do for men. "Until men have menstrual periods, until men get pregnant, or until men breast-feed or have babies, we'll always have a need for potty parity," she says. • Cartoonist Lynda Barry (who also wrote the amazing novel Cruddy) has a new book called What It Is. • In a study of 866 blue-collar workers, women and minorities were more prone to file grievances, although filing one was not necessarily effective. • 80% of scavengers in Delhi are women. • There is now a blood and urine test which will diagnose pre-eclampsia in pregnant women. • The number of Japanese who run more than twice a week is steadily increasing and most of the new runners are young women. • A new book by Juliet Miller explores creative destructiveness in women. "The gardener who concretes over the wilderness may be fed up with doing most of the nurturing in the family. Burning the dinner may mean wanting to change the world." • The country of Turkey is grappling with a culture of domestic violence; 1 in 3 married women is a victim of abuse. • A victim of alleged gangrape tore off her clothes in the police station because she was so frustrated that the accused were not being charged. • If mothers were paid for cooking, cleaning and caring for their families, they could easily earn a six figure salary. • Holy cow! This bovine is as big as an elephant!

5:30 PM on Mon May 12 2008
By Dodai
1,258 views, 49 comments

Latest by little stripes: I suddenly have to pee. more »

A U.S. serviceman was arrested for sexual assault in Japan on Friday for allegedly groping a young woman who was walking home alone. The issue of U.S. servicemen sexually-assaulting Japanese women has been the center of many demonstrations and outrage (one of which is pictured) in Japan after another U.S. Marine was charged with kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old woman in February. In addition, four other Marines are charged with raping a Japanese woman. All of the men accused of sexual assault could face a court martial. Considering all of these Japanese cases that are drawing media attention, one has to wonder how many other cases of U.S. servicemen sexually assaulting local women are out there. [Reuters]

62 comments

Expensive Shit With all the shit you put on your face did you ever think about putting actual shit on your face? Apparently some people do. A spa in New York City offers a $180 "Geisha Facial" that includes one special ingredient: bird poop. Nightingale droppings have been used for centuries in Japan by Geisha and Kabuki dancers to take off their stage makeup and remove wrinkles. But isn't $180 a bit much to have someone rub shit on your face — and take away a bit of your dignity while they are doing it? The answer is yes! Especially considering we found it for less than 20 bucks online. [Reuters, Chidoriya]

59 comments

Fashionable Feline The latest icon to be featured in Vogue? Everyone's fave pussy cat, Hello Kitty. Despite being "pudgy" with "short legs and whiskers," Hello Kitty will appear in the June issue of Japanese Vogue wearing John Galliano for Dior. "Of course this is the first time the historic fashion house of Dior has had a cartoon character model their entire collection," said an official at Conde Nast Japan. Right, because Posh modeled Louis Vuitton, remember? [Reuters]

24 comments

kids today

How Many Kids Have To Die Before Bullying Is Taken Seriously?

From the Megan Meier case to the cheerleader beatdown, it seems like bullying has gotten out of control. A new report out of Japan reveals that there are over 38,000 unofficial middle and high school web sites not overseen by the schools and half contain hateful messages. 40% have sexual slang and 25% display violent words like "drop dead" and "i'll kill you." It's just talk, right? They're just kids! You said — and heard worse things when you were their age. But consider the 18-year-old boy whose classmates posted a nude photo of him on one of these unofficial school sites. To add insult to injury, they sent him e-mails demanding money — blackmailing him. The teen dealt with the problem by leaping to his death at school. More »

4:00 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Dodai
7,033 views, 164 comments

Latest by ltlbbynthn: My officemate was watching a video yesterday of teenage girls beating on each other, and fucking LAUGHING. more »

weighty issues

Weight Discrimination Is Rampant The World Over

A little junk in the trunk could cost you a career in Japan, according to new government guidelines. Bloomberg reports that "Companies will be required to cut the number of overweight workers and dependents by 10 percent as of 2012 and 25 percent by 2015. Failing to do so will result in a surcharge of as much as 10 percent on contributions to a fund for elderly care." What is "overweight" in Japan? For men, it's a waistline of over 33.5 inches (85 centimeters), though other health indicators will also be used, like blood pressure, nicotine use, body mass and cholesterol. The Japanese are instituting these stringent penalties to combat the rising cost of health care and the growing obesity problem; health care spending rose 23% from 1995 to 2005. Even Sumo wrestlers, long heralded by the Japanese, are feeling the pressure to downsize: "Konishiki, whom fans call 'the Dump Truck' and who was the all- time heaviest competitor at more than 600 pounds, underwent gastric bypass surgery last month," reports Bloomberg. More »

9:30 AM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Jessica
4,206 views, 152 comments

Latest by ProjectZoe: @BeckySharper: "Fat guy gorgeous wife" shows make me more than stabby. It's not that it can't happen or it's "wrong" or any nonsense like that-- it's the implication that the majority of the offending shows make. more »

Foreign Affairs The Kanamara festival was held yesterday in Japan, which means the town of Kawaskai was inundated with huge pink and black penises, cross-dressers, and tourists posing for pictures with cock-shaped lollipops. The three-hundred year old fertility festival takes place near a phallus shrine and draws visitors from around the globe. "In general, traditional Japanese festivals are not very accessible to foreigners, but this one is different," says Kimiko Nakamura, the head priestess. (Haha, "head" priestess.) [Reuters]

51 comments

wise words

Saucy 85-Year-Old Nun Is Also Best-Selling Author & Inspiration

Meet Jakucho Setouchi, your new heroine. According to Reuters, the 85-year-old Buddhist nun with the shaved head is famous for her romance novels, self-help books and her modern Japanese translation of The Tale Of Genji, a well-known Casanova tale written 1000 years ago. Genji is a serial seducer, a prince whose "looks, intelligence, exquisite taste and talent" have led some literary experts to call him the "perfect" hero. Setouchi's version of his story (in English, the tale runs around 2000 pages) has sold three million copies. Setouchi tackled the translation about fifteen years ago. "I was 70 years old when I took [it] on," she says. "The publishers even asked me if I would live long enough to finish it! It was a gamble." More »

2:30 PM on Tue Mar 18 2008
By Dodai
3,502 views, 91 comments

Latest by n/a: She looks pretty fucking amazing, too. more »

maghag

The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls

In Japan, the Gothic Lolita trend is pretty huge. In fact, they have a magazine dedicated to the darkly cute (or is it cutely dark?) fashion fad, called Gothic & Lolita. This special issue, the Gothic & Lolita Bible, has everything you need to perfect your look — freaky contact lenses, skirts with stiff crinolines, babydoll shoes and parasols. Step into a world where dark meets light and women are playthings, after the jump. More »

4:40 PM on Thu Mar 13 2008
By Dodai
18,526 views, 168 comments

Driven Crazy Honda has published a guide for female Japanese drivers.Their pamphlet (in Japanese) will "erase all your fears about driving," the car maker claims. Assuming you have any, that is. "We would like to let all women know how to drive safely. We would like to minimize accidents of women drivers," a Honda spokesman said. The guide has instructions: How to pump gas by yourself, how to safely transport children and pets and, how to park. Are chicks dumb? Why a guide just for women? Where's your guide for men? Do women suck at driving? Are women worse drivers than men? "We don't think so," the spokesguy said. "There are some specific cases of women drivers, and we focus on those cases." Huh. Fascinating. [Reuters]

79 comments

Bowwow Wow Another fun, kooky Japanese gadget to covet: "Oshaburi" toys are kind of like pacifiers for your pet. They're chew toys, but with funny mouths on one side, turning your Lab into a Looney Toon. Four different designs, hours of fun. Unless you have one of those dogs who destroys everything. Then it's more like 3 minutes of fun. (Click to see more pictures.) [InventorSpot]

78 comments

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