Japan
National › ‘Social Manga’ project calls for 1,000 panels by 1,000 people
May 19, 2012
If you’ve ever wanted to contribute a panel to manga history, now is your chance: a collaborative project called “Social Kingdom” launched in Japan on Friday that lets anyone with a Twitter or Facebook account redraw a single panel from the 26th volume of Yasuhisa Hara’s historical manga series Kingdom.……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
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Tags: National › Japanese whalers leave for Pacific
May 19, 2012
A pair of Japanese whaling vessels left Friday for the northwestern Pacific aiming to catch 260 whales for “scientific research,” a fisheries ministry official said.
The Yushin Maru and Yushin Maru No. 2 departed from Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi, western Japan, to join the mother vessel Nisshin Maru, which has……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › JR East to remove graffiti from walls, pillars next to train lines
May 18, 2012
East Japan Railway Co (JR East) has announced plans to spend 80 million yen on anti-graffiti measures in the coming years.
According to a company spokesperson, JR East plans to remove the graffiti from walls and pillars next to train lines, before coating them with a glossy, anti-graffiti paint. The……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › M4.8 quake jolts Kanto region
May 18, 2012
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 hit the Kanto region on Friday, shaking buildings in Tokyo.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami warnings were issued after the quake which struck at 5:19 p.m.
The epicenter was at a depth of 50 kilometers……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Gov’t unveils power-saving plan to avoid blackouts for summer
May 18, 2012
The government on Friday urged businesses and consumers in the western part of the country to cut power use by at least 15% this summer to cope with shortages after the shutdown of all of Japan’s nuclear reactors following the Fukushima crisis.
The government said that it aimed to avoid……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Melons fall short at only Y1 million for two
May 18, 2012
A box set of two cantaloupe melons has been sold at auction in Japan for one million yen, but in a possible sign of the financial times, went for less than half the all-time record.
An unknown buyer snapped up the Yubari melons on the first day of the buying……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Japan launches first commercial satellite
May 18, 2012
Japan successfully put a South Korean satellite into space Friday, in its first foray into the European- and Russian-dominated world of commercial launches.
The H-IIA rocket took off from the southern island of Tanegashima on schedule at 1:39 a.m., according to live images relayed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Beat Takeshi compares same-sex marriage with bestiality
May 17, 2012
Gay rights campaigners in Japan hit out Thursday at Takeshi “Beat” Kitano after the award-winning actor-director compared same-sex marriage with bestiality.
Kitano, whose yakuza gangster films are popular around the world, enraged activists with his comments on a popular current affairs show as guests were being asked for their opinions……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Elderly man attacked by bear in Yamanashi
May 17, 2012
Police said Thursday that an elderly man was attacked by a bear in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture.
The man, in his 60s, told police he had gone to his rice field to check the water levels at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, when he was attacked by an Asian black bear……
Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion – National
National › Attempt to capture escaped Humboldt penguin unsuccessful
May 17, 2012
A one-year-old Humboldt penguin, which escaped from its enclosure in Tokyo Sea Life Park after climbing a four-meter-high rock face and skirting a barbed wire fence two months ago, has been spotted in Tokyo Bay but attempts to capture it have failed, the Tokyo Coast Guard Office said Wednesday.
