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90,000 commuters affected as WWII shell disposed of in Tokyo

An unexploded bomb from WWII being discovered in one of the biggest cities in the world might seem unusual, but at this point in history it’s almost a routine; so routine, in fact, that the Japanese Self-Defense Force disposed of the device in three hours flat. I can’t think of anything more badass than getting rid of a bomb in as much time as it takes to watch The Fellowship of the Ring. [via Reddit]

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Gangsters busted for extorting deaf Tokyo man with sign language : On some level, I guess it’s good that the yakuza don’t discriminate; they extort everybody even disabled people. But this story of two deaf yakuza henchmen extorting a 75-year-old deaf man is tragically comic and downright despicable.

Yen Strengthens Again, in Challenge for Abe: It seems as if the yen giveth, and the yen taketh away. After months of phenomenal market performances and a cheaper yen, it seems as if the economy is bouncing back from the early, incredible effects of Abenomics. You mean to tell me that the economy is complex, unpredictable entity? I’m shocked, shocked I say!

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Japan tests 310mph bullet train : As I plod along on my commuter train into Tofugu World Headquarters every day, I wonder what it would be like to have the kind of train technology they have in Japan. By 2027, Japan will see the deployment of high-speed maglev trains that are capable of speeds of up to 300 mph (about 500 kph). [via Reddit]

TV icon Hard Gay thrusts into the world of professional modeling: Everybody knows about Hard Gay, Japan’s leather-clad, air-humping former pro-wrestler and TV talent; but for better or worse, Hard Gay’s alter ego Masaki Sumitani is looking to shed that image. Instead, Sumitani is trying to break into the modeling world, showing off his, some would say, hard physique. フォ〜！

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English Teacher Shows Porn DVD To Students By Accident

Being a teacher must be hard enough worrying about things like lesson plans and schedules and all of the mundane parts of getting kids to sit still and learn every day. So I’m a little sympathetic that one English teacher in Japan mixed up a DVD of The Sound of Music that he wanted to show his class with a more adult film. At the very least, I’m sure that the kids learned something that day.

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Wallpapers and GIFs!

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But that’s not the case in Japan. For whatever reason, Japanese culture isn’t as litigious as US culture. It means that Japanese people can get away with things that would be seen as grounds for a lawsuit in the US. Spigots with boiling hot water in kaitenzushi restaurants, sometimes-dangerous walkways, and—what struck me the most—train stations.

Many train platforms in Japan are open-air, meaning that trains whizz by, sometimes at high speeds, without any real barrier between people waiting on the platform and certain danger. I damn near jumped outta my skin the first time I heard a bullet train speed through a station.

Make no mistake, Japanese trains are remarkably safe. Considering how many people in Japan commute and travel by train every single day, the number of injuries and fatalities is extremely low. And the technology to keep people safe and comfortable in trains is evolving every year.

However, there are still problems. While we were in Japan we never saw anybody get hit by a train or fall onto the tracks or anything like that, but people in Japan are still killed and injured by trains all the time.

Safety Measures

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and one way people end their lives is death by train. It happens all the time around the entire country. We even indirectly dealt with the issue while we were there: one of our trains in Tokyo was delayed by a suicide.

There are some mechanisms in place to deal with this at train stations: some have buttons you can press if somebody falls onto the tracks to alert the trains to stop, but most stations leave you pretty helpless.

Fortunately, the Japanese are working on keeping people safe on train tracks. Some cities have begun to add doors to train stops that open once the train arrives, and researchers are even working on station barriers that adjust to different train models.

Fixing the Root Cause

Of course, there are plenty of efforts to tackle the suicide problem to make sure that these barriers aren’t even needed in the first place.

Because Japan’s suicide rate has been extremely high for some 20+ years, people in the government and all over the country have taken efforts to solve this complex problem.

Of course, there’s no one solution to suicide just as there’s no one cause; the Japanese have funneled money into numerous programs including suicide hotlines, counseling, treatment, and public awareness campaigns to change cultural attitudes towards suicide.

Unfortunately, there’s still a long way to go before Japan’s suicide problem is anywhere close to fixed. But until this epidemic is stymied, a train remains a dangerous thing.

Bonus: Our illustrator extraordinaire Aya put together an animated gif of the illustration from today’s header, enjoy!

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More Young Japanese Heading Abroad to Study: While there’s been a historic dip in Japanese studying overseas in the last few years, it looks the trend is reversing. The surprising part of this story to me is that Canada is becoming the destination of choice for many of these young Japanese students. Why? Because “people feel greater affinity with Canada, and perhaps stereotypically, people think that English spoken there is more elegant.” I always knew that that those “eh”s and “aboot”s had something graceful to ‘em. [via Reddit][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]New Steve Jobs Biography Manga Starts: Steve Job’s biography was a runaway hit when it came out, and the upcoming Steve Jobs movie is already causing a bit of a stir. So why wouldn’t Japan make a Steve Jobs manga? It only makes sense. Plus, think of the tie-ins with other manga! Next issue of One Piece: the whole crew gets the newest iPhone.

200-mph red bullet trains thrill rail-mad Japan: Japan always seems to be pushing the envelope when it comes to cool trains, as evidenced by its latest, a 200 MPH bullet train called the “Super Komachi.” The new train features technologies to make clipping along the Japanese countryside at ridiculous speeds more comfortable. Well, as comfortable as you can be going 200 MPH in a giant metal tube.[/threecol_one_last]

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[threecol_one]Google Street View Captures Ghost Town in Fukushima’s Evacuation Zone: A little over two years after the disastrous 3/11 earthquake and tsunami, the area around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant still largely remains abandoned. Google Street View, however, has made it possible for people across the world to take a tour of the eerily deserted city.

Japan Man ‘Tries to Kill Woman With Poisoned Shoes’: In my life, I’ve heard of a lot of bizarre ways people try to kill each other, but I think that “poison shoes” is a new one to me. I’ll give the would-be murder this: it’s definitely one of the more creative methods of killing somebody I’ve ever heard. And it’s definitely made me much more paranoid about my footwear. I’m on to you, sock! [via News On Japan][/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]

Japan’s IT Badboy ‘Horiemon’ Released on Parole: Nicknamed because of his resemblance to manga star Doraemon, former tech entrepreneur Takafumi Horie was released from prison this month. After losing over 60 pounds in prison (which will no doubt kick off a new diet craze), Horiemon’s first stop out of prison was McDonald’s. After tasting the sweet, sweet nectar of the Mega Mac, I would probably have done the same.[/threecol_two_last]

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Kyushu is the southernmost of the four main Japanese islands, right below the main island of Honshu. This new bullet train (also known as shinkansen) line is the first one to ever connect the whole island north to south, and it’s kind of a big deal.

Why is this new bullet train line so important? It halves the time it used to take to travel Kyushu, it introduces an awesome new type of bullet train (the N700 series, for all you train nerds out there), and is one of the last steps in connecting all of Japan (excluding Okinawa) via bullet train from north to south.

But the bottom line is that you can now cruise from the top to the bottom of Kyushu in style and luxury at about 200 miles per hour in about the same time it takes to watch a movie. Pretty cool, huh?

Do The Wave!

There was even a commercial made for the new bullet train line. 30,000 people ran alongside the train doing what they called the world’s longest wave as it took its 150 mile maiden voyage. People cheered, dressed up, did flips, made signs, and most importantly, flew rainbow-colored banners all the way up and down the line. It’s like if a giant Nyan Cat ran alongside the train for an hour and a half.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5kU6mImUh0']

Unfortunately, the bullet train line opened the same day as the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. The commercial was pretty much immediately pulled after the disaster because it seemed in poor taste to have such a celebratory commercial when the country was suffering so much. Opening ceremonies for the line were delayed or cancelled.

A few months after the disaster though, the commercial won a Gold Prize at the international Cannes Lions festival (not to be confused with the Cannes that gives artsy films those palm awards). This new award made a lot of people see the commercial in a new light. Looking back an the commercial, it’s a nice sign of people coming together over something after the catastrophe.

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