Japanese government reveals that it has no defense plan against UFO invasions

Japanese citizens alternatively relived and disappointed to learn their government isn’t spending time planning how to fight aliens.

Like most politicians, Seiji Osaka, member of Japan’s House of Representatives, would no doubt describe himself as a patriot. And like anyone who loves his country, he doesn’t want to see it ravaged by extraterrestrials.

Unlike many people, though, Osaka seems to think the possibility of alien invasion is an issue the government should be actively planning for. The 58-year-old representative from Hokkaido’s Eighth District (which contains roughly 500,000 constituents) recently made a formal inquiry to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asking if intrusion into Japan’s airspace by UFOs was covered under the rules of the country’s 2016 security bills regarding armed attacks and other situations that pose a potential threat to the country’s survival.

And just to be clear, Osaka wasn’t using the term “UFO” as a catch-all for any mysterious or unauthorized flying aircraft. Nor is he reacting to concerns over China’s burgeoning space program or North Korea’s missile development ambitions and asking about human-made vehicles being launched from space stations or rockets that have escaped Earth’s atmosphere. Osaka is specifically talking about aliens from outer space, telling reporters “We can’t say that the existence of so-called aliens or UFOs is an absolute impossibility.”

▼ Seiji Osaka

In response, the Cabinet issued a statement reminding Osaka that the government has never verified the existence of alien-piloted space craft, and that “No special discussion or examination is being carried out regarding responses to vehicles originating from outside the Earth that enter our country’s airspace.”

Critics may call this a shockingly negligent oversight on the part of the Abe administration, especially when taking into account that it’s been 40 years since video game developer Taito’s Space Invaders gave Japan the harsh wake-up call of danger from beyond the stars, with subsequent evidence of how critical a defense plan, even if it’s just a few measly power-ups, is provided by Gradius, R-Type, and Blazing Lazers.

▼ Those fat cats in the Diet must all be too distracted by modern consoles and mobile games to learn from the wisdom of classic shooters.

Online reactions have been largely snickering, however, with many questioning Osaka’s intelligence, maturity, or sanity. Others, while not outright opposing his call for alien defense, are criticizing his priorities, asking “Shouldn’t our real concern be kaiju?” and “Before worrying about aliens, Japan needs to formulate a Godzilla response plan.”

In his defense, Osaka isn’t necessarily calling for the government to commission an anti-alien branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (which, following anime protocol, would no doubt be staffed entirely with teens with raging hormones wearing needlessly stylish and sexualized uniforms/flight suits). “When considering security matters, I believe it’s important to think of the unthinkable,” he said. At its core, the basic idea of having some sort of response plan for every imaginable contingency, even the unlikely ones, isn’t so crazy, and while they’re in the minority, some online commenters have reacted by saying the government really should at least have some sort of framework in place to deal with a possible UFO scenario.

For now, though, it looks like we’ll just have to rely on Tokyo’s life-size Gundam statue scaring off any warmongering aliens.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun via Hachima Kiko
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert image: Wikipedia/Guyinblack25



Credit:
at 17:14 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Japanese women’s curling team becomes heroes thanks to talent and charm, wins 100 years of rice

After winning Japan’s first-ever medal in the sport, the five athletes are good on grains for quite a while.

With the Pyeongchang Olympics now finished, I look back on the Games and realize that the event I watched the most of, and by a huge margin, was curling. Honestly, aside from about an hour total of ski jumping split between two nights and about 15 minutes of figure skating, just about every minute of live Olympic coverage I saw was curling.

This wasn’t based on any pre-existing interest in the sport, though. By the time my work day is done and I have time to sit down in front of the TV, it’s usually at least 9 p.m., and it was almost always curling that was being shown then, especially since Japan’s women’s curling team went deep into the competition on its way to eventually winning the bronze medal, the country’s first ever in the sport.

▼ The moment of victory

A lot of other working adults in Japan no doubt found themselves in a similar situation, and before long the “curling girls,” as they’ve been dubbed, had become media darlings, thanks to their mix of talent, cheerful on-ice demeanor, and coverage of “mogu mogu time” (“munchie time”) as their mid-game snack-and-strategy sessions became known.

▼ While all teams have such breaks at the mid-point of their three-hour matches, the Japanese team’s custom of sitting down with Canadian-born coach J.D. Lind as they eat gives off a relaxed, friends-hanging-out-together vibe.

▼ The team’s use of the Hokkaido-dialect so da nee (“Yeah, that’s right”) instead of the standard-Japanese sou da ne also become a combination meme/rallying cry among fans.

The team’s dramatic come-from-behind, down-to-the-last throw victory over the U.K. in the bronze medal match recorded an average television viewership rate of 25 percent, which jumped to an incredible 42.3 percent at the contest’s climax.

▼ On the podium

Returning to Japan, the five medal winners (Satsuki Fujisawa, Chinami Yoshida, Yumi Suzuki, Yurika Yoshida, and Mari Motohashi) have found a heroes’ welcome waiting for them. Especially happy is JA Zenchu, Japan’s central agricultural co-op union and a sponsor of the women’s curling team. In recognition of the athletes’ historic performance, JA Zenchu is awarding the team with six metric tons (13,228 pounds) of rice.

If that sounds like an incredible amount, it is. Based on average annual consumption, it would take a Japanese adult more than 100 years to eat that much. JA Zenchu hasn’t specified whether it plans to give each team member six metric tons of rice, or if that’s to be split among the five of them, but even in the case of the latter, that would still mean more than two decades of rice per person.

Of course, unless you’ve got your own personal grain silo, that’s more rice than you can store in your home. While JA Zenchu is still working out the logistics of the award, the most likely move is what the organization did when presenting Japanese table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa with three million yen (US$27,000) worth of rice following her bronze medal win at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which is to give her that amount in the form of 500-yen kome-ken, vouchers that can be used to pay for rice in specialty shops and grocery stores.

The rules for using kome-ken as payment vary from store to store. Some will accept them only in exchange for rice, while others simply require that rice be part of the total basket of goods the customer is buying, and still others allow customers to pay for any of their groceries with kome-ken. “We’re hoping the curling team uses the vouchers for rice, though,” says a JA Zenchu spokesperson, “and that they continue to be healthy and keep doing their best.”

Source: Yahoo! News Japan/Sponichi Annex via Otakomu, Yahoo! News Japan/Zeirishi.com via Jin
Top image: Wikipedia/Allgau



Credit:
at 09:34 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Faced with a dilemma of choosing between Korean or Japanese makeup, Meg decides to do both【Pics】

Which do you think suits her better?

Korea’s unique fashion and makeup trends have a marked influence on Japanese teenagers of today, and it comes as no surprise that even adults are enjoying a wider range of clothes and cosmetics to choose from. But while our Japanese-language reporter Meg appreciated the makeup style of Taiwan or China, she remained puzzled as to why the Korean look seemed to be all the rage in Japan these days.

▼ Japanese youngsters seem to love it.

“Why not try it out myself then?” exclaimed an excited Meg. Indeed, why didn’t she think of it sooner? The only problem was that she didn’t exactly know how to pull off such a daring feat — Meg claimed to have never ventured into Korean makeup styles — and so she grabbed her purse and zipped out of the office.

When Meg arrived at a makeup studio, professional makeup advisor Ichiyo Fukushima was quite accommodating with her simple request. But how would Meg be able to distinguish between Korean and Japanese styles?

▼ “I’ll just do both on the same face! Korean on the right and Japanese on the left.”

Ichiyo began applying powder to both sides of Meg’s face, and it quickly became apparent that the two styles were completely different, right down to the foundation base.

When it was all finished, Meg took a look in the mirror and did a double take. “Who are you!?” Meg demanded of Meg.

▼ The difference isn’t immediately apparent…

▼ …but when she donned a wig and covered half her face,
this Korean version of Meg oozed sex appeal.

▼ We can play peek-a-boo with her all day.

▼ And here’s the Japanese-style Meg we’ve all come to know and love.

▼ A side-by-side comparison between sexy cute Korean (left) and standard Japanese (right) makeup.

According to Ichiyo, both styles were complete opposites of each other. While Japanese makeup achieved a natural, innocent look by employing blending and shading techniques, the Korean approach aimed to produce an ideal face by filling up what’s missing.

So what exactly were the differences?

▼ Let Meg-sensei guide you through!

The Korean makeup style (shown on the left) features pale and vibrant skin, with straight and thick eyebrow highlights connecting to nose shadow. Employing moderate eyeshadow, bold eyeliner, and drawn eye bags will emphasize matureness, while cheeks get a bit of brush and shading, finishing with gradient red-colored lips.

Things are more straightforward for Japanese makeup, starting with a semi-matte natural skin tone. Slightly enhance the eyebrows and aim for a 3-D look for the eye shadow, coupled with plenty of mascara. Then shoot for a pinkish beige coverage for cheeks, completing the look with pink lipstick.

After all that Ichiyo had done for her, Meg thought she should at least keep a memento of her escapade.

▼ And with makeup still on, she made her way to a photo sticker booth to take some snazzy pictures.

▼ Korean Meg and Japanese Meg all in one!

Instagram Photo

So which version of makeup do you prefer? Sexy cute Korean Meg or natural Japanese Meg? The two styles are intrinsically different, but for an even closer look at what goes where, you might want to check out this beautiful Korean YouTuber for even more beauty tips.

Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: GAHAG, ©SoraNews24



Credit:
at 07:24 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

The sad story of this painfully nerdy anime itasha will make you heart AND eyes hurt【Photos】

Tragedy strikes a man who loves his car and two anime porn game girls.

Itasha get their name by combining ita and sha, which respectively mean “painful” and “car” in Japanese. The idea is that these cars, covered in anime character graphics, are so dorky that they’re painful to look at.

However, Japanese Twitter user Kuronosu’s itasha isn’t just painful to the eyes of non-fans, its story is also a dagger in the heart for anyone who’s ever felt an attachment to an art project they poured their soul into or a vehicle they loved.

On Saturday, February 24, Kuronosu, a resident of Aichi Prefecture’s Toyota City, proudly tweeted that his itasha project was complete, and that the following day he’d be sharing pictures of his Suzuki Swift hatchback decked out with images of Nanami Arihara and Hazuki Nijoin, characters in pornographic computer game Riddle Joker from developer Yuzu Soft. Even the employees of Art Bomb, the shop that prepared and applied the wrapping, were excited, sharing snapshots of the vehicle through its official Twitter account.

On Sunday, Kuronosu’s first full day with his Nanami-and-Hazuki-themed itasha, he drove 50 minutes from his home to Mikawawan Skyline, one of Aichi’s most popular mountain roads for motoring enthusiasts.

As he shared pics online, friends and acquaintances chimed in, with Kuronosu promising to give them prior notice next time he was headed to Mikawawan Skyline so that they could meet up and see his new itasha in person. Even the local police seemed to be enjoying his rolling porn game tribute, with a patrol officer Kuronosu chatted with suggesting “If you’re going to go that far, you might as well add a character with his dick showing…I think you might be able to get around public indecency laws as long as it’s an illustrated dick.”

▼ We wouldn’t recommend pushing the envelope of public indecency laws, though.

On Monday night, he stopped by a branch of discount retailer Don Quiojote…

…and swapped out his wheels and tires for a lighter-weight, higher-grip combo in preparation for a track day on February 26.

So far this all sounds pretty great. Having your car look just the way you want it, going for a drive through a twisty mountain pass, and having enough time in your schedule to let lose on a closed track on a Tuesday is pretty much a car enthusiast’s dream come true. Kuronosu showed up at the track bright and early Monday morning, but his fun day was cut short when, before it was even 10:30, this happened.

Approaching a bend in the course at about 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour), Kuronosu discovered he was trying to carry too much speed through the corner. From the angle his car ended up at, it looks like the front-wheel-drive Swift lost traction to its front wheels and understeered right into the outside guard rail, striking it with enough force to get halfway over it.

Thankfully, Kuronosu escaped with no greater injuries than whiplash and a few non-life-threatening cuts to his head. With the obvious devotion he has to the Nanami and Hazuki, you might expect him to already be in the process of repairing the car, but unfortunately he says that the impact was so powerful that the engine is beyond salvaging, and that it would cost more than it’s worth to get his Swift running again.

▼ No, that will not buff out.

And so Kuronosu’s itasha is officially totaled, after just four days in its Riddle Joker-saluting form. But hey, if Kuronosu isn’t going to bother fixing it, maybe he can at least pull one of the body panels off and hang it up in his home as the world’s most unique anime poster.

Sources: Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@ARTBOMB2



Credit:
at 05:44 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Anime director under fire for anti-Semitic tweets intended for international community

Tweets made by Kazuyoshi Yaginuma, director of the anime Recovery of an MMO Junkie, claim that the Holocaust and Diary of Anne Frank, among other things, are fabrications.

In this age of technology, people are more connected than ever. On the one hand, it’s a good thing; we’re able to communicate with people all over the world and find support groups for anything we’re going through in life, and we can even watch or read about heartwarming tales. But on the flip side, it really gives the perfect avenue for aggressive, mean, and rude people to say things that they shouldn’t.

Recent tweets by @yaginuma_san, apparently the account used by anime director Kazuyoshi Yaginuma, have been the latest to stir the controversy pot. Though he has apparently been tweeting anti-Semitic content in Japanese for years, he has begun tweeting his thoughts in English in a series of posts over the last several weeks, as well. His tweets were posted in Japanese with English translations, or just in English, although some translations are somewhat inaccurate or unintelligible, likely the result of Google Translate.

Some of the tweets question the legitimacy of the Holocaust and the real reasoning for World War II, all while seeming to sympathize with the Axis powers, specifically Nazi Germany. In the thread that started with the above tweet, Yaginuma wonders how the gas chambers could have worked. What kind of technology at the time could have possibly been capable of such a thing, he asks, as well as why, if so many people experienced it, there no pictures or drawings. He asks for someone to draw him a picture of the gas chamber, believing that no one can. Other netizens promptly direct him to documentaries and pictures in historical archives.

The above tweet is a little harder to decipher from the English, so we’ll help out with translations of the whole thread:

“As I’ve said many times, I’m angry at the fact that the ‘Holocaust problem’ is actually a method of suppressing freedom of speech by taking advantage of human kindness in saying it’s ‘racial discrimination’.
I’ve known for years that the Holocaust and The Diary of Anne Frank were fake, but I was surprised to learn the above reason for it, and that the war was between the Nazis/Germany and the Jewish financiers (aka the Allied Forces).
The real reasons for World War II, which we were never told, have now become clear to me.”

Apparently, Yaginuma blames the Jewish community for the start of World War II, though at the same time he seems to believe that their persecution did not happen. Netizens in both languages are quick to point out that denying the occurrence of the Holocaust is anti-Semitic, but Yaginuma is vehement, despite being somewhat hard to comprehend, even in Japanese.

Companies that Yaginuma has previously been associated with were quick to distance themselves from him and his comments. SIGNAL MD, the company that produced Recovery of an MMO Junkie, the most recent anime that Yaginuma has directed, posted the following statement in English and Japanese:

“It has come to our attention that a series of Tweets under the handle, @yaginuma_san, apparently made by Mr. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma have included anti-Semitic comments. SIGNAL MD wishes to make it clear that it is strongly opposed to and deprecates anti-Semitism and all forms of racism or discrimination.

Mr. Yaginuma was director of the anime “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” produced by SIGNAL MD, has never been our company member and is no longer employed by us.

Assuming the comments which appear under the Twitter handle @yaginuma_san, were indeed made by Mr. Yaginuma, they are not linked to his role as director of “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” and are not supported by SIGNAL MD.”

U.S.-based anime streaming site Crunchyroll, which offers Recovery of an MMO Junkie as part of its selection, also released an official statement via tweet that they do not condone or associate themselves with such declarations.

Some users of Crunchyroll claimed that merely dissociating themselves from the claims is not enough; some called for a removal of the anime from the site, while others vowed not to watch the show or regretted that they recommended it to friends.

News and information site Anime News Network reached out to Yaginuma for clarification of his opinions, but though he was receptive at first, he soon changed his mind about participating in an interview. He posted screenshots of his private messages with a ANN reporter, saying, “When she said she wanted to openly discuss such a delicate topic with the intention of posting it for other people to read, I ran away.”

He later may have been referring to Anime News Network when he tweeted about “that overseas anime site”:

▼  “Um, that stunt pulled on me by that overseas anime site, which is an underling of the Jewish financiers, was done by yakuza in Japan who are employed by the government.”

Judging from Yaginuma’s other tweets, in which he urges his followers to “think for themselves”, criticizes the finance industries, and suspects the media and government of keeping vital information from the people, he might just be a tin-foil hat-wearing, nonsense-spewing conspiracy theorist, but his frequent tweets and retweets of anti-Semitic content are jarring for many fans of his work. It’s especially disheartening when even would-be politicians purport similar claims, and this kind of thinking in Japan has been translated into destructive behavior in the past.

Nevertheless, we can still look positively into the future, as the good often outweighs the bad, even on the Internet. Because after all, there will always be videos of loyal and happy doggos to lift our spirits.

Source: Yurukuyaru via My Game News Flash
Featured Image: Twitter/@yaginuma_san
Reference: SIGNAL.MD, Anime News Network



Credit:
at 19:24 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Japan Snow Battle Federation looking to make snowball fights Olympic event

It just isn’t winter without a good old-fashioned snowball fight.

With the Pyeongchang Olympics coming to a close, I’m left with many fond memories, like the time I walked past the television and briefly saw someone skiing. It’s nothing against the athletes and their remarkable skills or achievements. It’s just a little hard to watch as a layman spectator, if there’s something more interesting going on – something like…anything.

That may someday change, however, as the Japan Yukigassen Federation (JYF) is setting off on a mission to make snowball fights an official event in Winter Olympics. “Yukigassen” is literally the Japanese word for “snowball fight,” but in foreign languages can be used to mean an organized version of the popular winter pastime.

In yukigassen two teams of seven square off in a 10-by-36-meter (feet) court to have snowball fight. The team who manages to either eliminate all of their opponents by hitting them, or to capture the opponents’ flag is declared the winner.

▼ Scenes from the 4th Japan Yukigassen Championship

Snowball fights occur in pretty much any area of the world where you’ll find snow, and are a nice blend of physical strength, coordination, agility, strategy, and even craftsmanship (assuming you would have to make your own snowballs). For these reasons alone, adding it as an event at the Winter Games seems like a no-brainer, and netizens largely agree.

“I heard rumblings about this during the Sochi Olympics, but I would definitely be into a snowball fight event.”
“I would love to see serious snowball fighting at the Winter Olympics.”
“There would be no debate over whether snowball fights are a legitimate sport.”
“I doubt it will make it to the Olympics, but a world competition is possible.”
“I would be scared to go up against the arm of an Olympic-class snowball fighter.”
“Bring in dodgeball too for the summer.”
“It sure beats curling.”

However, it is a long road to the Olympics for the JYF, which started in the small village of Sobetsu in Hokkaido Prefecture. There they devised the official rules for yukigassen and started holding tournaments in their local community. Eventually, the game grew in popularity to the point that it became the national organizing body in 1993.

▼ A closer look at a yukigassen match

Now, the JYF has chapters in five areas of Japan (Tokyo, Nagano, Tohoku, Kyushu, and Sobetsu) and a presence in eleven countries around the world. By next May they hope to have the world’s first international governing body of snowball fighting set up. Next March’s 6th Japan Yukigassen Championship, held at Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium in Nagano Prefecture, will be the first “world championship,” inviting fighters from around the world.

Contestants are expected from China and Hong Kong, where the JYF has been actively raising awareness of yukigassen with Chinese educational institutions as an off-season alternative for student baseball clubs.

If all goes well, this will be the first step in the Japan Yukigassen Federation’s plan to bring the games into the Olympics. It would be a great addition too, as kids anywhere can easily emulate their nations’ athletes without needing any expensive gear. I still resent my father for not building a bobsled course in the backyard when I was young.

And for those in warmer areas, a summer alternative is also possible using those little paint-filled baseballs that Japanese convenience store clerks are supposed to chuck at robbers.

Source: Japan Yukigassen Federation, Tokyo Shimbun, My Game News Flash
Top image: YouTube/akkopapan



Credit:
at 17:09 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Insecure Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream... ugh, wait, no one wants to hear about my dreams, do they?

Insecure Martin Luther King Jr.


Credit:
at 10:09 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Narita Airport starts free cultural event series with kimono-wearing, manga creator experiences

The Tokyo-area’s much-maligned international air hub is giving us a new reason to actually enjoy going there.

It seems like Narita Airport should be loved by travelers. After all, as the primary hub for international flights into and out of Japan, its serves as both the exciting gateway and the fond farewell to the country for overseas visitors.

And yet, many travelers can’t help but sigh and grumble when Narita comes up in conversation, because it’s located all the way out in Chiba Prefecture, over an hour away from central Tokyo. Narita’s distance from most of the places travelers actually want to spend time can make their arrival and departure dates feel like wasted days, but this spring the airport is planning a series of cultural experience events that should help change the time you spend at the airport from a necessary hassle into a memorable experience.

Throughout March, Japan Culture Experience Corners will be set up in Terminal 1’s third-floor event space and Terminal 2’s publicly accessible Narita Sky Lounge Wa, both located just outside their respective buildings’ immigration processing areas. From 2 to 6 p.m. daily, travelers can try on kimono, samurai armor, or ninja clothing for commemorative photos. For something more hands-on, there will also be introductory classes on Japanese brushstroke calligraphy, washi paper doll making, kite crafting, and making ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

On the other hand, if you’re more interested in modern aspects of Japanese culture, Terminal 2’s Skyrium event area will be hosting a Manga Creator Experience from 1 to 5 in the afternoon on March 27 and 28. Participants will use professional-grade tools to ink and apply screentone to manga illustrations, and can take the finished artwork home.

And finally, if you’re content just to look at Japanese aesthetics instead of creating them, the Skyrium area will also be exhibiting a series of obi kimono sashes elegantly tied in the shape of spring flowers such as sakura cherry blossoms.

The specific dates for the Japan Culture Experience Corner activities are:
● Terminal 1
Kimono: March 22-28
Samurai armor and ninja outfits: March 1-6, 29-31
Ukiyo-e: March 7-21
● Terminal 2
Kimono: March 8-14
Samurai armor and ninja outfits: March 15-25, 29-31
Ukiyo-e: March 1-7, 28-31
Calligraphy, doll, and kite lessons: March 15-25

While the early announcement makes no mention of English instruction, the fact that the programs deal with pan-Japanese cultural aspects, as opposed to specifically Tokyo or Narita-related ones, suggests that foreign travelers will be warmly welcomed. So if you’re flying into or out of Narita, make sure to visit the town’s beautiful temple gardens early enough in the day that you can still make that days cultural experience event at the airport, and since the airport’s events are free, you can save your money for the awesome bank of capsule toy machines.

Source: PR Times
Images: Narita Airport



Credit:
at 09:49 0 comments

0 comments:

Post a Comment