Every Sunday we gather the week’s weird Japanese news and present it to you in our Sunday News column. It might not always be hard-hitting, but we hope that it still informs and entertains you. Enjoy!
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No Nukes! Japan Turns Off Nuclear Power: As Japan’s last functioning nuclear reactor was taken offline for maintenance, Japan’s power grid went nuclear-free for the first time in forty years. While it won’t stay that way for very long, it’s still strange to look at all the electronic devices functioning normally but realizing that underneath it all, something is very different. [via CrunchyRoll][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Japan to open robot farm in tsunami disaster zone: I can’t be the only person who’s extremely worried about Japan building robotic farms. Doesn’t everybody know that agriculture is the first step towards creating a civilization? It’s like the Japanese want robot overlords or something. [via The Telegraph]
Woman bites off purse snatcher’s finger: There are lots of moral, ethical, and legal reasons you shouldn’t steal from other people, but if this headline doesn’t deter you from crime, I don’t know what to tell you. [via News On Japan][/threecol_one_last]
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[threecol_one]Teenage Wasteland: Japanese Youth in Revolt, 1964: An awesome, unexpected photo feature from Life magazine documents rebellious Japanese youth in the 60s. Turns out that teenagers have been – and likely, always will be – disgruntled with adults. I hate you mom, why do you always embarrass me?! I’m moving out when I turn 18! [via Life][/threecol_one] [threecol_one]Tiger fugu lunker caught off Yamaguchi: A 13 lb fugu was caught off the coast of Japan and while she’s not quite a record-setter, her size is definitely impressive. But uh, why isn’t she moving in the video? Is she’s just sleeping, with her eyes open, out of water? Guys? [via News On Japan][/threecol_one] [threecol_one_last]Low autopsy rate seen abetting murderers: After going through a The Wire marathon over the last couple of weeks, I feel hyper-aware about crime and inexplicably overqualified to talk about criminal procedures. Why aren’t we doing an autopsy? We’ve got to follow the money! The target is Stringer Bell! F#&%! [via Japundit][/threecol_one_last]
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[threecol_one]Expats Say Goodbye to Gaijin Card: Good news for gaijin living in Japan! Japanese immigration law has been streamlined to give expats and easier time residing in Japan. Bad news: the law won’t spare you from the horrors of microaggressions. [via Japan Real Time]
Japan iced bra aims to keep everywhere cool: When summer rolls around and I want to stay cool, I throw on some shorts and turn on the fan. For some reason, iced underwear never really crossed my mind, but I can tell you this much: I am not trying an iced jock strap. [via News On Japan][/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]
Otaku anthropology: exploring Japan’s unique subculture: American anthropologist Patrick Galbraith is releasing a new book, Otaku Spaces, that documents otaku rooms and their collections of manga, dolls, video games, anime, and everything in between. Joke’s on him though; Danny Choo has had photo spreads of otaku rooms for years. [via The Verge][/threecol_two_last]