Every Sunday we gather the week’s weird and interesting Japanese news and present it to you in our Sunday News column. It might not always be hard-hitting news, but we hope that it still informs and entertains you. Enjoy!
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Volcano erupts in Japan, showers nearby Kagoshima City with rocks and ash: In a story that surprisingly seemed to fly mainly under the radar, a volcanic eruption rocked southern Japan this past Tuesday. While Mt. Sakurajima has been more or less constantly active since 1955, its eruption this week was much larger than what residents of Kagoshima City are used to, prompting a mass cleanup and people to don facemasks to avoid the ash. Not lifethreatening, but still frightening nonetheless. [via News On Japan][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Seattle Welcomes Ichiro the Yankee: After over a decade with the Seattle Mariners, Japan’s most famous baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki, has been traded to the most notorious baseball franchise in the United States, the New York Yankees. Seattle fans were crestfallen, but Ichiro fans are hopeful that he might be able to achieve with New York what he was never able to in Seattle: a World Series win.
‘Battle Royale’ could be reborn as a TV show: After its immense success in the US, The Hunger Games caught a lot of flack from some people for its striking similarities to the Japanese franchise Battle Royale. Well otaku, fret no more, because rumor has it that Battle Royale is being developed into an American TV show by the CW. Word is still out on what heartthrobs will be casted. [via CrunchyRoll, 8Asians][/threecol_one_last]
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[threecol_one]Horror icon Sadako to release her first photo book along with Blu-ray & DVD of ‘Sadako 3D’: One of film’s most infamous villains, The Ring‘s, Sadako, is getting a hilarious photo spread in the new release of The Ring on DVD and Blu-Ray. If you’ve ever wanted to see the long-haired ghoul petting a dog, lounging in a meadow, or getting her hair did, then you’re in for a treat.
Horrifying robot baby wants a hug: Between this and the storytelling robot, this has been the week for terrifying Japanese automatons. Asada Laboratory has decided what the world really needs is a tiny, legless baby robot that slaps itself and reachs out for hugs. I’m not sure who this is supposed to appeal to, but I hope that demographic is happy with itself, I really do.[/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]
Robotic Replica of Legendary Storyteller Unveiled: Hiroshi Ishiguro has problems, man. He’s created more than his fair share of terrifying robots (he has two on our list of 12 Evil Japanese Robots), but he keeps on churning out nightmare-inducing machines. This time around, he’s created a robotic replica of the legendary rakugo storyteller Beicho Katsura. Will you stop at nothing Ishiguro, until we’re all overrun by oddly-lifelike robotic replicas? You monster. [via The Verge, Reddit][/threecol_two_last]
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