Alcoholism In Japan

One of the most alcohol friendly countries in the world, Japan has a strong drinking culture, ranking 6th in the World for the largest consumption of beer after China, the U.S., Germany, Brazil and Russia. From 'Settais' (business dinners) to 'Bounenkais' (end of year parties-or literally 'forget the year' parties), all social occasions in Japan require a large consumption of alcohol to fit in with your peers.. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) survey in 2002, nearly 50% of men habitually consume alcohol (http://www.who.or.jp/AHP/docs/WHOReport_Vol6.pdf).

So it wouldn't be surprising to hear that alcoholism is on the rise in Japan. The latest statistics show that the problem drinking rate in Japan currently stands at 2.4 million according to the National Hospital Organization, Kurihama Alcoholism Center. Even Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, the 61-year old cousin of Emperor Akihito, has admitted that he suffers from alcoholism after repeated hospitalization for the problem. 'I am Prince Tomohito, dependent on alcohol," he said at a speech in July. He went on to say that 'I have been drinking alcohol since my days in university and am dependent on it, so I find it rather surprising that I am seen to have been hit by it now.'
Read the whole story here.....

Enola Gay pilot Tibbets dead at 92

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, has died after six decades of steadfastly defending the mission. He was 92.

Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, waves from his cockpit before takeoff from Tinian island. In July 2003 (top), he appears in Dayton, Ohio. NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AP PHOTOS

Tibbets died Thursday at his Columbus home after a two-month decline due to a variety of health problems, friend Gerry Newhouse said.

Throughout his life, Tibbets seemed more troubled by other people's objections to the bomb than by having led the crew that killed tens of thousands of Japanese in a single stroke. The attack marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

Tibbets grew tired of criticism for delivering the first nuclear weapon used in wartime, telling family and friends that he wanted no funeral service or headstone because he feared a burial site would only give detractors a place to protest.

And he insisted he slept just fine, believing with certainty that using the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved more lives than they erased because they eliminated the need for a drawn-out invasion of Japan.

"He said, 'What they needed was someone who could do this and not flinch — and that was me,' " journalist Bob Greene, who wrote the biography, "Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War," quoted Tibbets as saying.

"I'm not proud that I killed 80,000 people, but I'm proud that I was able to start with nothing, plan it and have it work as perfectly as it did," Tibbets said in a 1975 interview. "You've got to take stock and assess the situation at that time. We were at war. . . . You use anything at your disposal."

He added: "I sleep clearly every night."

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. was born Feb. 23, 1915, in Quincy, Ill., and spent most of his boyhood in Miami. He was a student at the University of Cincinnati's medical school when he decided to withdraw in 1937 to enlist in the Army Air Corps.

"I knew when I got the assignment it was going to be an emotional thing," Tibbets told The Columbus Dispatch for a story on the 60th anniversary of the bombing. "We had feelings, but we had to put them in the background. We knew it was going to kill people right and left. But my one driving interest was to do the best job I could so that we could end the killing as quickly as possible."

Tibbets, a 30-year-old colonel at the time, and his crew of 13 dropped the five-ton "Little Boy" bomb over Hiroshima on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. The blast killed or injured at least 140,000.

Tibbets retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general in 1966. He moved to Columbus, where he ran an air taxi service until he retired in 1985.

Tibbets again defended the Hiroshima bombing in 1995, when an outcry erupted over a planned 50th anniversary exhibit of the Enola Gay at the Smithsonian Institution.

Tibbets is survived by his wife, Andrea, sons Paul, Gene and James, as well as a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A grandson named after him is a B-2 bomber pilot stationed in Belgium.

Roger & Gaynor Ridley in Switzerland Report

Prayer Update

October 2007

Roger & Gaynor Ridley

Praise Points

A relaxing and refreshing 10 day holiday at the beach from 29 September- 9 October.

Three other leaders have been appointed within Mosaic Basel/Lörrach - David, Amanda and Christian.

Erwin McManus spoke at a gathering of Mosaic Alliance Europe in Zurich at the end of September. It was good for us to get together with like minded people and be encouraged in this way.

A group of 3 couples and 2 children visited for 10 days from Texas. We were encouraged by their visit and also were optimistic about their input and what they learnt about our ministry.

We are continuing to make good contacts, particularly in Basel and at the English Club ‘Centrepoint’.

A surprise visit from Gaynor’s niece Bethany and her husband Jeremy (both Doctors from Perth, but travelling through Europe for 4 months). They were with us 2 nights.

For the back prayer and friendship we receive from you all in Australia - thank you.

Prayer Points

Wisdom as we continue to move forward with Mosaic Basel/Lörrach and being true to our calling (as evangelists and outreachers) with what we are trying to do here.

Roger will be speaking at the FeG Youth Night on 16 November, the topic being “Reaching Out” - what it means to be sent out.

‘Fridays at Galerie Weibel’ continue and although we aren’t getting huge numbers (average 4-5 people) we are forming good friendships with those who come regularly and particularly the Galerie owner Fritz and his 24 yr old son Adam (studying to be a lawyer).

Winter seems to have arrived a tad early and we would value your prayers for continued good health.

The Texas team spoke at 2 small schools, followed us to places were we meet folk and led a Texas event, pray for the follow up of their contacts.

That some young people who attended the Texas Tour event will be interested in joining Mosaic as we do not yet have youth in our team or meetings

Rice loses steam in Japan

By Lori Arata

The Washington Post

NIIGATA CITY, Japan — Challenged by trendy culinary newcomers such as croissants and spaghetti, baguettes and French fries, per capita rice consumption among Japanese has fallen to half of what it was in the late 1960s.

In response, farmers and retailers are scrambling to find new ways to keep people loyal to the tender grain that remains a national symbol of prosperity and self-sufficiency.

Akinori Hokari, 35, who took over management of his family's rice shop in Niigata 10 years ago, is one of those giving the frumpy product a makeover. Read the whole story here......

Permanent resident or not, you'll be lining up

Although Japan did away with fingerprinting of foreign long-term and permanent residents some years ago, the practice is about to make an intrusive reappearance as of November 23, 2007. A 2006 Immigration law will come into effect that will require EVERYONE other than "special long-term residents" (meaning 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans) to join the tourist line at immigration and undergo fingerprinting and retinal scanning. While such procedures are used elsewhere for tourists, in Japan, even people who have been resident for decades, will, as foreigners have to stop using the Japanese entry lines at immigration and switch to the visitor ones. Those with Japanese families will not be exempted. Nor, apparently, will aircrew. ***Ed: We're sure that as this comes into effect, there will be a big stink among the senior businesspeople in the foreign community and from the various Chambers of Commerce. We hope the foreign press will also carry news of Japan's retrograde treatment of its foreign residents, because this procedure offers no differentiation between a tourist just in for a week of fun and a foreign Mom or Dad who has a Japanese national spouse and kids, and who owns land and pays taxes here.** (Source:TT commentary from immi-moj.go.jp, Sep 25, 2007)
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/keiziban/happyou/Outline_070925.pdf

Roger & Gaynor Ridley

Prayer Update

July 2007

Roger & Gaynor Ridley

Praise Points

• Extension of our visa, yet to be officially pasted into our passports. As yet we don’t know how long it is for - but probably 2 years.

• Good conclusion to the 6 week S.H.A.P.E. course we did with our Mosaic Team.

• We asked you to pray for us as we met with the team to discuss ‘Where to from here’ last month. Thank you. Praise God for a profitable Team Meeting last Sunday to discuss important core issues (theological basis/missional practice) as we move forward.

• Roger had emergency surgery by an Oral Surgeon in Lörrach on 10 July to have a back tooth removed that was very infected. We want to praise God for the skill of the surgeon and his follow up treatment of Roger.

• Our family in Melbourne – Tim and Amy, Jocelyn and Glenda & Tom. Thank God that Jocelyn has found permanent accommodation in Thornbury and seems to be happily settled there now.

Prayer Points

• Our ‘one off ’ support is dropping. If we don’t maintain this we are going to have to look at ‘creative ways’ of raising money to keep us here in Germany!

• We begin ‘Fridays at Galerie Weibel’ on 3 August from 18:00. We hope to run these every Friday with some Mosaic Team members who will also fill in when we are not able to be there.

• Gaynor continues with her ‘Girl’s Night’ once a month and the next one is this Thursday. Pray that Gaynor will be a real shining witness of God’s love to these women as she seeks to serve them in this way (preparing a dinner and sharing our home with them).

• Glenda began teaching again today (23 July) at Brentwood Secondary College in Melbourne. Please pray with us that she will settle back into teaching smoothly.

• We have been asked by our Youth Pastor at our German Church to go on the 10 day Youth Camp at the end of August. Please pray as we prepare for this.

• Gaynor has not had good health this past month. We think the shingle virus is still in her system. She has just started to see a Doctor who also practices homeopathy. So this will be a lengthy process, but hopefully very beneficial in the long term.

Emergency appeal: Operation Niigata

By KEN JOSEPH

The Japan Emergency Team, a nongovernmental disaster relief group — in its 77th mission since its founding in 1987 — is currently carrying out "Operation Niigata" at sites affected by the 6.8-magnitude quake on June 16.

JAPAN EMERGENCY TEAM PHOTOS

With many injured and thousands still in emergency shelters, the need is extremely great.

The team has just finished operations in the Wajima area of Ishikawa Prefecture. Ten team members have been on site assisting in the disaster centers, bringing in food, medicine and supplies.

The following supplies are needed:

Canned and instant food Water Emergency medical kits Rice Used laptop computers Towels Camping supplies Towels Sleeping bags Soap (No blankets are needed at the current time) In addition, the team operates a "disaster-relief vehicle" — a 10-meter emergency motor-home that goes to disaster sites to provide food, medical assistance, drinks, showers and other emergency help to victims.

The vehicle, which is normally on standby in the Tokyo area in case of disasters, was put to good use after the disaster at Usuzan in Hokkaido, for example.

As they prepared for the journey to the quake site, the team had a disaster of its own — a major "systems failure" prevented the disaster relief vehicle from being taken to the site to assist as usual.

Due to the specialized nature of the vehicle, the cost of repairing and replacing parts is estimated at some 2.8 million yen.

As a nonprofit organization 100-percent dependent on donations, the team is urgently requesting assistance from the international community.

Supplies should be sent, with the contents clearly marked, to:

Operation Niigata Box 65 Tokyo Japan 106-8691 Donations can be made online at www.jhelp.com or by postal transfer to: Yunbin Furikae 00160 7 162438, Nihon Kinkyu Enjotai (The Japan Emergency Team)

Donate to Niigata quake victims

Friday, July 20, 2007

Japan Times Staff report

The Japan Emergency Team, a nongovernmental organization now carrying out relief activities in the areas hit by the July 16 Niigata earthquake, is asking for donations of emergency relief supplies.

Items urgently needed include mineral water, canned and instant food, emergency medical kits, rice, towels, soap, used laptops, camping supplies and sleeping bags. (Please do not send clothes or blankets).

Emergency supplies should be sent with the contents clearly marked and 1,000 yen in each box for handling to: Operation Niigata, Box 65, Tokyo Azabu Yubinkyoku 106-8691.

The team is also soliciting monetary donations for dispatching its Disaster Relief Vehicle, a motor home that provides food, medical assistance, drinks, showers and other emergency help. The dispatch will cost at least 2.8 million yen.

Monetary donations should be sent by postal transfer to: Yunbin Furikae 00160 7 162438, Nihon Kinkyu Enjotai (The Japan Emergency Team).

'Mochi ice cream' finds U.S. niche

Confectioners duke it out as demand increases all over the country

By MIWA MURPHY

NEW YORK (Kyodo) When Lotte Co. launched its Yukimi Daifuku ice cream encased in soft rice flour pastry in 1981, it was looking for a year-round product to strengthen its foothold in a domestic ice cream market long dominated by dairy companies.

An American family eats "mochi ice cream" at their home in New Jersey. KYODO PHOTO

More than two decades later, Lotte's blockbuster confection and its spinoffs are winning the hearts of Americans as "mochi ice cream," combining the Asian love of glutinous rice cake with the American passion for ice cream.

Following Lotte's path, a few confectioners in the United States have managed to perfect the technology needed to keep the chewy rice dough soft at freezing temperatures, turning the East-meets-West dessert into a supermarket staple.

read the whole story here......

Bradenton family gets approval to reunite

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your e-mails.

Shin or rain....you guys have always stood by me, supported me since February, gave me lots of courage and hopes that I needed. There were days that I cried, and felt like I would never be able to go back home.

Someone wrote me in an e-mail yesterday.

"Wow, Prayers do really work!"

YES, they did.

I thank God for sending me wonderful friends like you.

At our church in Bradenton...I used to see church families gather to the pew by the stage, surround the person who needs everyone's prayers, then we place our hands on hers and the someone who is standing front of us' shoulder, and pray together to the GOD.

That is what I had....I had your hands on my shoulder, and had all of you praying with me for the miracle.

Praise the Lord.

Here is a link to the web site.

Bradenton Herald Front page,

Maura got the scoop!

July 18th, 2007

http://www.bradenton.com/280/story/100362.html

Please click the link above, visit the web site.

Love

Akiko Campbell

Japanese prince breaks taboo, acknowledges his alcoholism

By Mari Yamaguchi

The Associated Press

PREV of NEXT

Prince Tomohito says he has drunk heavily since he was a college student.

TOKYO — A senior member of the royal family has begun speaking publicly about his alcoholism, breaking a deep taboo about problem drinking, which many Japanese consider too shameful to discuss.

"I'm Prince Tomohito, the alcoholic," the 61-year-old cousin of Emperor Akihito said Saturday in a lecture at a nonprofit center for the disabled in the northern city of Sendai, according Hiroshi Shirai, a deputy director at the center.

The prince's alcoholism has been considered an embarrassment for officials at the palace, which tends to keep secret anything that might harm the royal family's image.

more......

Japan’s new look at kamikazes

JOSEPH COLEMAN; The Associated Press

Published: July 9th, 2007 01:00 AM

Enlarge image DAVID GUTTENFELDER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Photos of Japanese kamikaze pilots, who gave their lives in World War II suicide attacks against Allied forces, hang on a wall last month at the Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots in Chiran, Japan. Some say such actions shouldn’t be held up as an example for modern youth.

CHIRAN, Japan – On April 12, 1945, Lt. Shinichi Uchida faced a terrifying mission – crash his plane into a U.S. warship. But the young kamikaze’s final letter to his grandparents was full of bravado.

“Now I’ll go and get rid of those devils,” the 18-year-old wrote shortly before his flight, vowing to “bring back the neck” of President Roosevelt. He never returned.

For many, such words are redolent of the militarism that drove Japan to ruin in World War II. But for an increasingly bold cadre of conservatives, Uchida’s words symbolize something else: just the kind of guts and commitment that Japanese youth need today.

Long a synonym for the waste of war, the suicidal fliers are now being glorified in a film written by Tokyo’s governor, Shintaro Ishihara, a well-known nationalist and co-author of the 1989 book “The Japan that Can Say No.” And a museum about the kamikazes in the southern town of Chiran, near the airstrip where Uchida and others took off, gets more than 500,000 visitors a year.

“The worries, sufferings, and misgivings of these young people … are something we cannot find in today’s society,” Ishihara said when his movie, “I Go to Die For You,” opened this spring.

“That is what makes this portrait of youth poignant and cruel, and yet so exceptionally beautiful,” he said.

Read the whole article here......

“ Daddy, don’t go. Please don’t leave.”

“ Daddy, don’t go. Please don’t leave.”

“Daddy, don’t go. Please don’t leave.”
Leo couldn’t say “Good bye” to Keith.
And I was wishing I could set the time back to when Keith had arrived Japan, seeing Keith disappearing behind the security check.

It always ends with tears in our eyes.

While Keith was here, we had so much fun together.

Having Daddy here in Japan was the best birthday present and it made Leo to say “Nothing better than the family together.”

I saw Keith woke up in a morning, watching boys sleeping.

I saw him hugging boys a little longer than he normally does.

Eat meals together, help boys change clothes.

Help putting shoes on, go for a walk, put boys on his shoulder.

Lie on the carpet, play games, and tickle each other.

Take a shower and brush their teeth.

I saw Keith enjoyed those things, simple daily task what parents normally experience every day.

We put two single beds together where Leo and I normally sleep on, then slept all four of us together every night.

“Nothing better than the family together."

Keith should be somewhere over the pacific ocean by now.

We already miss him so much. The room looks empty.

Leo asked Keith at the airport when does he comes back.

“Soon……and I will see you guys in US next time” Keith said.

I miss him.

Akiko

July 8, 2007

10:28 am edt

Mother (Akiko) and two young sons trapped in Japan.

Dear Friends in US,

Some of you have already read this article in our local newspaper "The Bradenton Herald" on Sunday the June 17th. I have up loaded the story on my web site www.BringAkikoHome.com with the permission from the writher, Maura Possley. Please click the link below, visit the web site, check the article if you haven't seen it yet. Also, I would appreciate if you can forward the link to your friends and family to help us spread the story for us.

Akiko

THE BRADENTON HERALD
FATHERLESS LIFE

TROUBLES FAMILY STILL SEPARATED

Published on: Sunday, June 17, 2007

Maura Possley, Herald Staff Writer

http://www.bringakikohome.com/id29.html

--
Please visit www.BringAkikoHome.com

Type N700 bullet train goes into service

The Type N700 is the fastest bullet train ever. It will travel between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka stations in two hours and 25 minutes — five minutes less than before. It will barrel between Tokyo and Hakata in four hours and 50 minutes, saving about 10 minutes.

U.S. dropping of atomic bombs was inevitable

June 30, 2007

BY CHISAKI WATANABE Associated Press

TOKYO -- Japan's defense minister said Saturday that the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War II was an inevitable way to end the war, drawing criticism from atomic bomb survivors.

''I understand that the bombing ended the war, and I think that it couldn't be helped,'' Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma said in a speech at a university in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.

Kyuma's remarks drew immediate criticism from Nobuo Miyake, director-general of a group of Japanese atomic bomb victims living in Tokyo.

''The U.S. justifies the bombings saying they saved American lives,'' said Miyake, 78. ''It's outrageous for a Japanese politician to voice such thinking. Japan is a victim.''

Kyuma said later that his comments were misinterpreted. He told reporters he meant to say the bombing ''could not be helped from the American point of view.''

''It's too bad that my comments were interpreted as approving the U.S. bombing,'' he said.

Defense Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.

On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb nicknamed ''Little Boy'' on Hiroshima, killing at least 140,000 people in the world's first atomic bomb attack. Three days later, it dropped another atomic bomb, ''Fat Man,'' on Nagasaki. City officials say about 74,000 died.

read the whole story here......

Meet the world's cutest imperialist

Meet Prince Pickles, the adorable mascot of Japan’s Self Defense Forces (SDF). For years Pickles and his girlfriend, Parsley-chan, have been spreading warm, fuzzy feelings about Japan’s military. The star of his very own government-sponsored comic book, Prince Pickles’ Diary, the doe-eyed prince plucks Japanese citizens from floodwaters, mans balloonish tanks, and disarms underwater mines. More recently, he’s been spotted—under the banner “For the Future of Iraq”—shaking hands with a cartoon sheik.

Japanese citizens have tended to be suspicious of the SDF, a fact that helps explain Pickles’ back story. A native of the peaceful Paprika Kingdom, he at first didn’t understand the need for his small country’s defense forces. It wasn’t until the neighboring Sesame Kingdom invaded that the prince learned the value of a military. Pickles went from wary skeptic to willing soldier.

Japan is addicted to all things kawaii, so it’s no surprise that the propaganda architects should consider the cuteness craze a fitting foundation. In April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the press that Japan, pacifist since losing World War II, would adopt a more assertive military role in world affairs. Can deft use of the pencil ease brutal memories of the sword? Prince Pickles’ next mission may be to find out.

Himeji Castle replica took builder 19 years

TSU, Mie Pref. (Kyodo) Hiroyasu Imura spent 19 years pursuing his boyhood dream of faithfully producing a replica of Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture.

The 69-year-old former insurance examiner completed his model of Himeji Castle at a scale of 1:23 in the garden of his home in Ise, Mie Prefecture, in April.

Since completing the model, Imura has been deluged with visitors. The replica has even impressed a curator of the municipal castle research office in the city of Himeji, where the real fortress stands.

The castle was listed in 1993 as a UNESCO World Heritage site along with Horyuji Temple in the ancient capital of Nara.

The official said that if someone were shown a photograph of the replica, they might think it was a picture of the actual castle. The Himeji government has named Imura as a tourist ambassador.

Himeji Castle has escaped damage for nearly 400 years since it was refurbished by feudal lord Ikeda Terumasa between 1601 and 1609. Its main donjon consists of five layers and six floors.

The replica is about 160 sq. meters, with the main keep about 2.2 meters high. It cost Imura about 18 million yen to build. He made sure every detail corresponds to the original, including the curved lines of the castle's graceful roofs, its white walls, intricately combined connecting turret, stone walls and moat.

Imura's first encounter with the original castle came at age 14, when he saw a photograph of it in a boy's magazine. He was a fan of samurai movies and was inspired by castles. He wondered how people had lived in such palaces and kept thinking about reproducing Himeji Castle.

Arthritic jaw could sideline Japanese hot dog eating champ

Read the updated story here

Takeru Kobayashi (tah-kah-roo koh-bee-yah-shee) is being treated for an arthritic jaw that could take a bite out of his chances at winning his seventh straight Yellow Mustard Belt. The title is handed out at the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island. The 165-pound champion set a record last year when he gobbled up nearly 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

Roger & Gaynor Ridley June 2007 Prayer Letter

Prayer Update June 2007 Roger & Gaynor Ridley

Praise Points

• Thanks for your prayers for Roger as he preached at the German FeG in Lörrach on ‘Living Life on the Edge’. He received good comments and feedback after the service and now he’s itching to do more preaching!

• For our continued good health and fitness.

• We want to thank God for our faithful supporters. We are excited about what we are doing and need to remain faithful in communicating this.

• The wonderful Swiss Baptist Seed Conference and good catch ups and contacts that were made there. Also for Derek Webster’s believe in what we are doing and encouragement of us all the time - he’s awesome!

• Our family in Melbourne – Tim and Amy, Jocelyn, and Glenda & Tom. Thank God for his provision of a great job for Jocelyn and somewhere permanent to live that is fully furnished.

Prayer Points

• Our 4^th Mosaic event featuring our friend Derek Webster is this Saturday 23 June at 20:00 in Lörrach at Ars Nova Galerie.

• Our visa will expire at end of July and we are currently contacting the German FeG Church in Lörrach to help us with the paperwork. Pray it will all go smoothly and that all our papers will be in order.

• The S.H.A.P.E. 6 week course continues with the team this Wednesday 20 June. We’ve been doing the course fortnightly because of team commitments. We hope to finish the course in the next couple of weeks.

• For an opportunity to meet with the team very soon to discuss ‘Where to from here’. Summer here means holidays for a lot of people - but not for us. We want to keep the momentum going.

v For wisdom for Gaynor dealing with a dispute initiated by a Christian we know, (not in our team) with wide spread potential to affect other English speakers we know.

Dispute has nothing to do with us or our ministry but as we know the parties and one is a Christian and we must ask her to consider a biblical resolution.

• Roger finishes the Deutsch course in 2 weeks (which he has been doing each week since September ’06). We both need conversation practise and continued discipline in our learning.

Please continue to pray for regular support to come in to meet all our needs here.

Contact Roger and Gaynor at rgridley@t-online.de

Lyons cabin on TEAM Center in Karuizawa

Crime in Akihabara is no game

A report released earlier this month by the Metropolitan Police Department found that crime is rising in innovative and trendy Akihabara. Bag thefts, shoplifting, and sales of restricted goods and illegal services have reached a worrying level that cannot be ignored. It is hoped that, in this case, Akihabara is not a bellwether of a broader, undesirable social direction. In the real world, there is no "GAME OVER" that lets you start back at the beginning.

Recently, many victims unwisely have entered questionable shops or participated in illegal activities. Other victims have been robbed while not paying attention to their bags, fell asleep in the wrong place or were tricked or bullied out of money. Less sympathy may go out to those who seemed complicit in their own victimization, but that does not make it acceptable. Due to embarrassment or a sense of futility, the actual number of incidents is most likely under-reported.

The sad-luck otaku and other victims may at least serve as a canary in the coal mine, warning the country about how easily such crimes can occur. Akihabara regulars who spend time, and lots of money, on techie shopping would appear to be disadvantaged by the traits of their own stereotype — lost in a fantasy world while robbed in the real world. From the point of view of criminals — including pickpockets, burglars and extortionists — not only Akihabara but also most of Japan must seem like an environment of easy pickings. What is happening in Akihabara can happen any place in the country.

read on........

Old is new again in Japan

Tokyo - Folk music is rad, and kimono fashions have been rediscovered as a new trend for some young Japanese who are reviving the traditions of their country. Some call it a product of petit nationalism, but those who are creating the blend of modern and traditional arts and music just think it's hip.

The young trend-setters are eager to revive and sustain traditional culture, but their twist on it has drawn consternation by artists of the older generation.

Japanese college students mob the streets of trend-setting Omotesando Hills in Tokyo to show off their nouveau kimonos and listen to young samisen players push the boundaries of the traditional string instruments by strumming rock 'n' roll. read on.......

$1M gold tub stolen from hotel in Japan

A gold bathtub worth 120 million yen ($988,100), which was stolen from a hotel near Tokyo May 30, 2007, is seen in this photo taken June 2005. Japanese police are scratching their heads over how the bathtub weighing some 80 kg was stolen from a shared bathroom for men on the 10th floor of the hotel. REUTERS/Kyodo

Japanese Secret Revealed for the First Time

The Japanese have finally revealed a mystery for you. Now, through the miracle of high technology, we can see how it is done.

With the aid of a screen-magnifying lens, the mechanism becomes apparent.

Click here and find out how the small arrow on your computer monitor works when you move the mouse.

The image may take a minute or two to download and when it appears, slowly move your mouse over the light gray circle and you will see how the magic works.

19 prefectures to see 20% population drops by '35

Nineteen out of the 47 prefectures will likely experience at least a 20 percent drop in population in 2035 as the birthrate plunges and the proportion of elderly grows, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a report released Tuesday.

Only Tokyo and Okinawa Prefecture are projected to increase their populations compared with 2005 during the three-decade period.

read on......

Family split between Fla. and Japan by immigration policy

BRADENTON, Fla. – Keith Campbell and his Japanese-born wife spent his 47th birthday half a world apart because of an immigration dispute. Critics say the case illustrates how making mistakes in getting visas and permanent U.S. residency can lead to life-changing consequences for families.

“It's kind of a surreal thing,” Campbell said recently as he waited to have his daily Web-cam chat with his wife, Akiko, and their two sons, ages 4 and 1, who are in Nagano, Japan. “We haven't done anything wrong.”

Immigration officials say Akiko Campbell, 41, committed fraud in 1998 when she entered the U.S. with a fiancee visa after she had already gotten married to Keith. Now she's now prohibited from re-entering the country for 10 years.

Since she left in January, Keith Campbell has spent time furiously writing lawmakers, printing bumper stickers, talking to anyone who would listen and putting up a Web site – www.bringakikohome.com – to tell their story.

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5110 44th Street West
Bradenton, FL 34210-2970

Miss Japan crowned Miss Universe 2007

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Riyo Mori, a 20-year-old dancer from Japan who hopes to someday open an international dance school, was crowned Miss Universe 2007 Monday night.

Miss USA Rachel Smith, who slipped and fell to the floor during the evening gown competition and was jeered by the Mexican audience during the interview phase, was the contest's fourth runner-up.

Mori nervously grabbed the hands of first runner-up, Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, just before the winner was announced. She was trembling in awe as the diamond-and pearl-studded crown was placed on her head.

Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying "Hola, Mexico!"

"I learned how to always be happy, be patient and to be positive, and this is what I want to teach to the next generation," she said during the interview competition.

For Every Season, Turn, Turn

It's a striking paradox: how Japan, most modern of nations, remains exquisitely in tune with nature.

Newsweek International

Updated: 2:06 p.m. PT May 26, 2007

June 4, 2007 issue - Spring means the sakura are coming: cherry blossoms that drive Japan wild. Pink and white explosions dot the countryside and cities, briefly transforming what was, just a few weeks earlier, still a drab, cold landscape. Here, during Kobe's Hanami (flower festival), workers have left the office early to picnic under the glory.

The Nielsen's in Karuizawa

Otokomae tofu makes a handsome U.S. debut

EDGEWATER, N.J. (Kyodo) A Kyoto-based tofu maker is poised to make inroads into the U.S. market on the back of the strong popularity of its products in Japan and health-conscious American consumers.

A brand of tofu named Otokomae (Handsome Guy) that created a sensation among young Japanese when it appeared in July 2004 made its full-fledged U.S. debut Friday at a Japanese supermarket near New York.

Shingo Ito, president of Otokomae Tofuten Corp., based in Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, plans to sell his unique brand of tofu that boasts a big kanji character for "otoko" (male) on the package at Japanese specialty stores first before hitting regular supermarkets.

The company shipped some of its tofu products to retailers on the West Coast last year.

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Japan melons from bankrupt city fetch record price

TOKYO (Reuters) - A pair of melons from the Japanese city of Yubari -- better known lately for going bankrupt than for its farm produce -- fetched a record 2 million yen (8,400 pounds) at the...

Fish fraud: The menus said snapper, but it wasn't!

A red snapper (bottom) and a red sea bream — which is sometimes sold as red snapper.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

A Sun-Times investigation: The sushi menus said red snapper, a fish prized for its flavor -- and priced accordingly. But the Sun-Times found good reason to question whether diners are getting what's promised. And there's reason to believe diners around the country similarly are being taken in.

Japan child numbers at record low

The number of children under the age of 15 in Japan has fallen to a record low, government figures show. As of 1 April, there were 17.38 million children aged 14 or below in the country - down...

Seoul, Tokyo lock horns on sea name

Seoul - South Korea is set to make waves at an international forum over the name of waters separating it from former colonial ruler Japan, officials said on Monday.

Seoul will send a 12-member delegation to the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) meeting to campaign for "East Sea" rather than "Sea of Japan", the foreign ministry said.

The IHO session in Monaco from May 7-11 will discuss updating global charts which at present refer only to the Sea of Japan. Seoul wants updated charts at least to include the name East Sea as well as the Sea of Japan.

"We will actively frustrate the sole use of Sea of Japan," a foreign ministry official handling the issue told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The government's position is that both references - East Sea and Sea of Japan - should be written in parallel until an agreement is reached."

The sea's name is one of several longstanding disputes between the two nations.

Japan colonised Korea from 1910 until its 1945 defeat in World War II and during this time, the name "Sea of Japan" was widely used internationally.

Korea says the name "East Sea" goes back centuries.

The two nations also have a territorial dispute over a chain of rocky islets in the waters, called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan. - Sapa-AFP

Turning Bush-Abe Alliance Into Friendship

Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, left, Senator Prescott Bush, the president’s grandfather, in shorts with club, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, right, in an undated photo Mr. Abe gave to Mr. Bush.