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Hatsune Miku Crumbles Under Weight of Own Head, Injures Bystander: It was only a matter of time before those large-headed anime characters hurt somebody; and this past week, a snow sculpture of vocaloid character Hatsune Miku imploded under the weight of its own hubris. Didn’t I warn you, Japan?! You flew too close to the sun! [via Crunchy Roll and Ayashii World]
Tim Wilson, jailed in Japan for Cheeba Chews, reportedly to be released: Remember my post a few months ago about drugs in Japan? The American medical marijuana patient I mentioned who was arrested in Japan is apparently set to be released soon, after being in jail since November. In Japan, drugs are serious business. [via News on Japan]
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On Finding a Rubbish Bin in Japan: One of my favorite Japan blogs, This Japanese Life, takes a look at how a doomsday cult influenced Japan’s garbage cans. Sounds strange, but it makes more sense than you might think. [via This Japanese Life]
Fake rhino attempts zoo escape: In an emergency drill, employees of the Tokyo Zoo dressed up as a rhino while the rest of staff tried to catch them. Is the drill realistic? Not very. Hilarious? Absolutely. [via the BBC]
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How Japan, US may break 18-year deadlock over Okinawa base: United States military bases on Okinawa have been a hot-button issue between the US and Japan for decades now, but with an agreement to move troops from Okinawa to Guam, it looks like the two countries are closer and closer to resolution. [via News on Japan]
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Unusual rise in piano sales linked to earthquake: The 3/11 disaster had a lot of unexpected consequences, but I don’t think that anybody could have predicted that it would drive so many people to run out and buy new pianos. Go figure. [via Reddit]
Cuisine targeted for UNESCO list: UNESCO, the UN foundation for culture, has started compiling a list of cultural treasures all over the world that should be preserved and protected. Among them is Japanese cuisine; so for all of you who worry that future generations won’t know the joy of soba, fear not! The UN has got you covered. [via News On Japan]
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Bullying rose 6.7% in 2010 school year: Bullying has historically been a pretty big problem in Japanese schools, but in recent years the Japanese have arguably become better at recognizing and stopping bullying. Some of that progress was apparently reversed in 2010, as bullying saw its first rise in several years. What gives? [via The Japan Times]
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Japan’s older generation turns gamers: As if you didn’t know that Japan is full of gamers already, CNN put a spotlight on the growing number of seniors making the trip to the local arcade. With Japan’s population aging, it only makes sense to transform the elderly into Street Fighter champions and DDR masters. [via CNN]
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That covers all the news for this week. Did I miss anything? What did you think of the new format? Please let me know in the comments!
Every week we gather up all the Japanese news that other people have written about and put it here, in our “Sunday News” column. Although this news may not be the hardest hitting news out there, it’ll give you a sense of all the weird things happening in Japan, and I’m sure we can all agree, Japan is great for weird news. Enjoy!