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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Thoughts from a Japanese Media Pirate: For those of you craving media from Japan – whether it’s anime, drama, or movies – you know it’s hard to acquire them through . . . proper channels. Most of us have pirated at one point or another, but does it have to be that way? Why do we have to operate in a gray area of the law? A prolific Japanese media pirate lays their thoughts on the subject on Boing Boing.
[/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Freedom to Ink 1 – Hashimoto 0: Earlier this year, Osaka governor Toru Hashimoto began a crusade against government workers with tattoos, intrusively surveying city employees about their ink. One worker sued the city of Osaka and won this week in district court, striking down Osaka’s survey as unconstitutional. Even more inspiring: the worker who sued doesn’t even have any tattoos.
Tokyo’s anti-nuclear demonstrations a great place for romance: Anti-nuclear demonstrations have been commonplace in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan ever since the 3/11 disaster, but it looks like the protests aren’t just a place for political action. Apparently, many people use it as a place to meet and erm, hook up with like-minded people. It’s for a greater cause, y’know? [via Twitter][/threecol_one_last]
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[threecol_one]>71% of Japanese Viewers Think TV is Boring: Japanese TV can be captivating for those of us outside of Japan, but – as they say – the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. In a fairly unscientific online survey, 71.2% of Japanese viewers said that “television has become boring.” But honestly until Japanese viewers have watched Honey Boo Boo, they don’t know how good they have it.
14-Year-Old Student Arrested for Stabbing School Teacher Who Confiscated His Manga: After being told to repeatedly to stop reading manga in class, a 14-year-old boy stabbed his teacher in the shoulder with a ballpoint pen in retaliation. The boy was arrested, and later apologized. Word is still out on what manga he was reading.[/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]
SoftBank buys Sprint: everything you need to know about the $20.1 billion acquisition : Last week we mentioned the rumors, but now it’s a done deal: Japanese cell phone company SoftBank has bought US company Sprint, catapulting SoftBank to the third-largest cell phone provider in the world. The Verge has a rundown on what the deal will mean for customers, and what the broader implication of the merger. I swear though, if I don’t see the Shirato family on American TV as a result of this acquisition, I’m going to flip some tables (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻[/threecol_two_last]
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