January 5 – January 25 (that’s like…3 weeks in review!)
Here’s to another attempt at keeping up with all that silly Japanese news. I feel like not making a video to go along with it is the best way to go. Only the really special topics deserve that moving picture frame. And now, without further ado:
No more smoking in Tokyo Taxis [road rage triples]
Too bad for all you smokers out there who happen to enjoy taxi rides. Tokyo taxis no longer allow you to smoke whilst riding, which shows that Japan is getting less smoker friendly (except for Pachinko Parlors, which seem to be getting even more smoky). This trend doesn’t only exist in Tokyo, though. Right now, over half of Japanese taxis are smoke free. With Japan’s smoking population continually dropping (now at around 30%), I think we can expect to see more and more places banning smoking. It’s about time, now Japan can jack their life expectancy up into the hundreds. [source]
Researchers to launch origami from space [dumb Japanese science]
Researchers from the University of Tokyo have been drinking a lot of saké lately. Teaming up with the Japan Origami Airplane Association (wtf??), University of Tokyo researchers are planning on creating a paper aircraft that is “capable of surviving the flight from the International Space Station to the Earth’s surface.” It will be a 3.1 inch long origami plane made of heat resistant paper. Because it moves at much slower speeds compared to a real space shuttle, it’s expected to receive less friction from the atmosphere, thus less heat. A launch date has not been set. [source]
One big floppy tuna goes for $55,706 [fishy dealing]
It’s a record folks! A Hong Kong sushi restaurant owner paid 6.07 million yen to buy a bluefin tuna at the season opening Tsukiji Fish Mart auction that was caught off of Aomori (Northern Japan). This is two million more yen than the highest bid last year, coming to $202 a kilo. Tsukiji Fish Mart is Japan’s biggest fish market (it’s huge) and would be an awesome place to visit if you ever went (though I think it might be somewhat more closed off to the public now than it used to be). I wonder if the Hong Kong Sushi chef will make any money off of his purchase. [source]
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxZqwRsseno']
Japanese paper companies lying about recycled content [paper]
Two big paper companies in Japan (Nippon Paper & Oji Paper) have admitted to not including the required amount of recycled material to be categorized as “recycled.” Nippon paper, the first to admit their evil lies has been falsifying their information since 1996. They had included only 1% of recycled paper in New Years cards which were supplied to Japan’s postal service (compared to the required 40%). Although the company’s president didn’t commit seppuku, he did the next most honorable thing and stepped down, taking responsibility. Although the Oji company wasn’t as bad, they were in a similar situation. [source]
Another monster in Tokyo Bay [Godzilla is jealous]
For the release of “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” Tokyo bay has been equipped with a super advanced hologramish thingy that makes it look like Japan is being attacked by a large monster (again). This feat was accomplished using water screen lighting effects (whatever that means) and some water spouts for the explosions. Check out the video below: it has to be one of the best advertising/marketing/PR moves I’ve seen in a long time. [source]
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0RlM4d7ujA']
Fugu Death [not to be confused with tofugu death]
Even though Homer from the Simpsons managed to survive, it’s not always that easy. The 45 year old woman bought six blowfish (fugu) from a local fish market and made soup. Fugu is highly poisonous if you do not remove the poisonous organs (or remove the right portion of the meat). The shop she bought it from did not have a license to sell fugu, though it has not had problems in the past. They are currently shut down (for good reason). Later on she died. Although fugu is extremely poisonous, I don’t think you should worry about eating it. Very few fugu-related deaths occur. You’ve got a better chance of getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery. A word to the wise, though: Make sure you buy your fugu from grocery stores, because you know they are careful, and you know they have licenses. Try it out, if you can :) [source]
That wraps it up for this week(s). Here’s some questions I got for you:
- Would ever pay $55,000 for a fish? Any kind of fish?
- Will the origami airplane ever make it to Earth?
- Have you seen that Water Horse movie?
- Would you ever try fugu? Would it be a one time thing or would you constantly eat it without fear of death?