A blog about things Japanese–and some that aren’t

New evidence has surfaced that suggests the Myanmarese government may have a direct responsibility over the shooting and eventual death of a Japanese journalist, Kenji Nagai, and many more unnamed but no less mourned people who died during the turmoil in Yangoon. According to Mainichi Daily News Online article, Mainichi has obtained secret military documents from Myanmar that specifically orders the troops to employ “resolute measures” when dealing with the protesters, monks, and camera men - meaning, to shoot anyone in this categories if the soldiers cannot make arrests. 

Murata, the company behind the bicycle-riding robot Seisaku-kun (Murata Boy), unveils Seiko-chan, the robot that rides the unicycle. According to her web page, she was born in the Shiga Prefecture (Seisakukun was born in Kyoto) on September 23 and is a Virgo, a romantic who dreams of “becoming a unicyclist idol”.

Seikochan balances with the help of two gyro sensors embedded in her 50cm, 5-kilogram body and is equipped with ultrasensors to detect obstacles on her path and camera for live video. A wheel that is visible on her chest rotates to maintain her balance.

On the video below, she is with her older cousin, Seisakukun.

Seikochan has a nice website where you can find our more about her and the team who brought her to life (in Japanese):

 
Just a day after Taro Aso got the biggest seat in Japanese politics, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi admitted to reporters’ questioning whether he is finally quitting or not from the recent circus that has become of Japan’s political community. Koizumi is not talking about his reasons yet, but words on the street (political circles) claims that he might be disappointed with how the LDP election turned out, or plainly speaking he didn’t want Aso to become the new Prime Minister. It is clear even before the LDP election that Koizumi supported another candidate, Yuriko Koike, there’s no secret about that.

But what is not clear is why would the election of Aso lead to Koizumi’s retirement. Did Koizumi dislike the fact that his open support for Koike did not have any substantial effect on the rest of LDP politicians? Meaning he does not have persuasive power anymore even towards his own party?  Or is he just disappointed with what LDP has become these days? Either way it means he is disappointed with how the general politics of Japan is turning out.

Or maybe he thought he has earned the right to retire after all his hard work in reforming Japanese politics, not to mention his work on the privatization of the Japan Post? I don’t think so, the timing is so profound to be just a coincidence. My take on this is that he is trying to make a final statement, that his reforms are not be confused with the actions of the LDP leaders that have followed after him. Well, we’ll just have to wait for Koizumi to make clear the motive behind his action. 

An ichiokuen (¥100M)-worth “Super Celebrity” version of the Japanese doll named Licca had been spotted in Kobe’s Sogo Kobe Store last September 4. Aparently, the store wasn’t able to sell the nice precious doll so Licca is now here in Tokyo from yesterday (September 23) at Ikebukuro’s Seibu Department Store.  Wonder why a doll could cost so much? That’d be because of 881 bits of diamond showered all around the doll. I don’t know, I might have to throw in a few hundred million yen if my daughters make a scene pointing to the doll, wouldn’t you? 

Retirements of two important sports figures —  Softbank Pro-baseball coach Sadahara Oh’s resignation, and 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist Nobuharu Asahara’s “last run”; plus sumo’s bad boy Asashoryu’s decision to take a break are now all around Japan’s sports news feed. Mr. Oh and Mr. Asahara, otsukaresamadeshita. I’ll be expecting Asashoryu’s return though - he might be bad but he’s still the cutest sumo wrestler in Japan. 

What’s the best career move for former models? NHK news has featured this new business niche on how models could have a second chance for a career — that of business secretaries, sales assistants, and company receptionists. It seems beauty really has advantages, and according to this video even more so in the business world. I agree only to a certain extent - I don’t think many former models would find glamour in the hectic, crazy, and often tiresome world of being salary women. 

A digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera without the reflex part (mirror box), the new LUMIX DMC-G1 will be released on October 31 this year. Matsushita widely known as Panasonic claimed to have created the “world’s most beautiful EVF (electronic viewfinder)” less the mirror box making the DMC-G1 potentially lighter than comparable DSLR cameras. The device has automatic infrared sensoring function that would detect the eye peeping through the EVF, so that the camera switches view from LCD monitor to the EVF.

It’s too early to judge whether this new camera technology would be widely adopted or even replace the dominant DSLR cameras. Real-time conversion of analog images through the electronic viewfinder is going to be a big stumbling block here, I reckon, but the rapid advancement of acceleration technology may catch up on the technology and help the proliferation of mirror-less DSL cameras. Tech-On has a preliminary review of LUMIX DMC-G1 camera, and also an interview with the Matsushita planning/developers team. 

Since April 2008, the Tokyo Metro has been putting “manner posters” every month inside trains encouraging patrons to mind their manners. I like the simplicity of the illustrations and theme, which goes like “Please do it at (name of place)”. This campaign is on its sixth month and will run for a year which will give us 12 posters, the latest of which is this: “Please do it on the mountain.”: “Please be considerate of other when holding bulky belongings.”

August’s poster is probably the best of the series so far: “Please do it at the beach.”

The Japanese are generally well-mannered people. They have to be, especially those in large urban areas where many facilities have to be shared with many others. (The so-called Tokyo Major Metropolitan Area within a 70-kilometer radius from central Tokyo has over 34 million people.)

Interestingly, most of the bad-mannered people depicted in the posters are young or middle-aged and those looking disapprovingly are old people. Might not be a big deal, as older people usually complain about the deteriorating manners of the younger generation.

See the rest of the posters here: Tokyo Metro Manner Posters.

 
NHK has featured this short documentary telling on how the new caregivers from Indonesia are faring in their quest to be the first successful foreign caregivers in Japan. Looking at the above video they seem to be very hopeful, although problems will undeniably hinder them in every step they take throughout their training. If they could adapt well in Japanese society (meaning that they can be happy) and if they could keep up with both study and work, there’s no reason for them not to succeed.

Every year, Indonesian scholars come to Japan to study intensive Japanese Language for a year, and then sent to universities all over the country and compete at par with their Japanese students. The language, study, and adaptation are very difficult things to do, but Indonesian students are doing very well. Now, why can’t Indonesian caregivers do the same thing?

Meanwhile, similar arrangement with the Philippines is in senate deliberation. It is well known that the bilateral agreement is unpalatable to the Philippine public, politicians, and many activist organizations in the country citing unfair trade clauses. The rest of the JPEPA content is another matter, but concerning nurse trainees it’s hard to understand what’s the fuss is all about. See these articles by IBON and ABS-CBN News and compare them with the original study by David Adam Stott where they claim they based their articles. Reading IBON and ABS-CBN news, one will arrive in the conclusion that either they didn’t understand Stott’s well, or they are just plain bias against the JPEPA.

Just when you think the social insurance system of Japan can’t be much worse than it is, new scandal hit the Social Insurance Agency this time involving its own official. As it turns out SIA official colluded with employers as early as 1995 to make employee income lower that it actually were to get better record on premium-payment rates. According to the official who got caught red-handed this collusion between official and employers is not systemic in SIA, meaning it is only an isolated case. However, another former official at SIA claims that the illegal arrangement is widespread in the agency. Below is an excerpt of the article from Japan Times Online. Oh well, here we go again.

The SIA official instructed a Tokyo-based company in 1995 to lower its employees’ reported incomes. Documents written by the official confirm this took place. Also, the president of the company told an Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry panel investigating pension problems that the SIA official instructed the firm to lower its stated income levels.

The case has prompted the agency to launch an investigation into all 150 million entries in the pension program’s computer system. Pension account holders whose entries are found to have undergone suspicious changes in income levels will be notified, according to the agency.