Welcome to Black Tokyo!  Calling all vegans and those thinking about taking the plunge! The Spinshell Report has posted an informative video on organic supermarkets, restaurants, support groups and best-selling books on things vegan in Tokyo.
Check it out here:

View this Post in:

 
Hairfish posted some nice shots of her and some friends wearing kimonos at a Japanese garden. You can view the pictures, taken with a DS, here.
You can also view other pictures of temples and shrines on the Hairfish Blog here.
BTW, my new shipment of Kimono Girl oil-blotting paper made exclusively in Kanazawa, Japan has arrived. You can view product information and place an order here. The 963 Group, LLC ships worldwide!
View this Post in:

 
The statistics speak for themselves: 25 million dead, 33 million infected and 2 million new cases each year. The global AIDS epidemic, which first reared its head 27 years ago, continues to spread around the globe. As governments and NPOs work together to lessen the impact, infection rates have slowed and the public’s knowledge throughout the First World has increased — except in Japan.
According to a July 2008 report published by The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization, Japan had the lowest HIV prevalence of …

| 1  
Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities during Their Temporary Presence in Iraq 
Preamble 
The United States of America and the Republic of Iraq, referred to hereafter as “the 
Parties”: 
Recognizing the importance of: strengthening their joint security, contributing to world 
peace and stability, combating terrorism in Iraq, and cooperating in the security and 
defense spheres, thereby deterring aggression and threats against the sovereignty, 
security, and territorial integrity of Iraq and against its democratic, federal, and 
constitutional system; 
Affirming that …

A video conference was held yesterday between college students of Japan and the United States. The event clearly exposed the difference between Japanese students, who have few hopes of politics, and their American counterparts, who have strong expectations for change. Some Japanese students reacted enviously to U.S. participants who repeatedly said that with participation, politics can be changed.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo hosted the event. Some 170 Japanese and American students in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Naha, and Washington discussed “youths and politics.”
In reaction to a report that Japanese youths have …

Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they’ve quickly become one of its most popular items.
Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men’s bras for 2,800 yen ($30) each. The shop also stocks men’s panties, as well as lingerie for women.
“I like this tight feeling. It feels good,” Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters as he modeled the bra, which can be worn discreetly under men’s …

A total of over 10,000 HIV carriers have been confirmed throughout Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced.
According to the ministry’s AIDS surveillance committee, a record number of 294 HIV-infected individuals were newly confirmed from July to September, which was the largest figure ever on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The total number of HIV-positive patients — excluding HIV-tainted blood product victims — surpassed 10,247 (8,305 men and 1,942 women).
The number of HIV sufferers reached 5,000 in the 17 years since the first infection was discovered in Japan in …

The government is considering special legislative measures to send Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to waters off the coast of Somalia in order to guard commercial freighters against pirates. The MSDF’s antipiracy operations would be limited to offshore areas near the Somalia coast. The MSDF would guard not only Japanese commercial ships but also foreign ships. The government will decide whether to present a bill to the Diet at its next ordinary session after seeing the attitude of the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto). The planned legislation will likely …

Pink Tenacle reports that publishing company Jiyu Kokuminsha has released its annual list of the 60 most popular Japanese catchwords and phrases of the year. This diverse collection of expressions highlights many of the events, trends and people that caught the attention of the Japanese mass media in 2008.

From this list, a panel of judges will select the 2008 Japanese catchphrase of the year (and 10 runners-up) and announce the results on December 1. The expressions are listed below in no particular order.
* * * * *
1. Guerrilla rainstorm (gerira g?u - ?????): Sudden, unpredictable …

The Japan Times reports that Liberal Democratic Party member Taro Kono said Thursday he has submitted a proposal to an LDP panel he heads calling for the Nationality Law to be revised to allow offspring of mixed couples, one of whom being Japanese, to have more than one nationality. The panel will scrutinize the proposal, but there is no time limit to formalize it as “this is not something that needs to be done anytime soon,” he said.
Under the current system, Japan, in principle, requires Japanese nationals who also hold citizenship in another country to choose one or …

A very interesting post on the fate of the Japanese language!
[1] The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English [ja], the latest book by Japanese novelist and essayist [2] Minae Mizumura [????] [en], roused debate among many Japanese bloggers recently over the fate of their national language. In this essay, the writer, who had the opportunity to live and receive an education both in Japan and in the U.S., examines the role and future of the Japanese language. Mizumura contextualizes her discussion of this language, used for centuries by many literates …

On Election Day in the United States, several hundred people, including American diplomats, scholars, journalists, and government officials, gathered at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo’s Toranomon district to watch CNN’s live coverage of the election results on the large screen.
An American woman shed tears as she watched Barack Obama declare victory in the battle to become the president of the United States on January 20. A  Japanese Foreign Ministry official said bewilderedly: “This is not necessarily good for Japan.”
The reason the official was worried is because the Foreign Ministry’s North …

Japan, U.S. to carry out basic review of Korean contingency tactics, focusing on over a dozen items, including selection of airports 
It has been learned that the Japanese and U.S. governments have begun to work on a basic review of the joint tactical plan of the U.S forces and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) for meeting a regional contingency, such as a Korean Peninsula emergency, as well as a Japan emergency. This was revealed on Nov. 10 by multiple informed sources. More than a dozen items from the plan are up for …

After the “Obama is a Monkey in Japan?” thread, I had to relate this story of an experience I had on the subway this past week:

I was sitting talking with a female friend in an otherwise almost empty train-car on my way to Tokyo. On the other side of the train, some seats down, sat an old man - grinning maniacally. I know the look: It’s the “I’ve-been-practising-English-all-this-time-and-never-had-the-opportunity-to-speak-to-a-real-live-gaijin-and-now-I’ve-got-one-trapped-on-a-train!” look, so I fully expected him to attempt to have a conversation with me sometime before the ride was over.

View this Post in: …

Thank you Veterans for your loyal service to the United States of America. Please know that we most deeply appreciate the sacrifices you have made to keep America and its allies free.
Semper Fidelis!
View this Post in:

For those fast-food junkies longing for a piece of home, Mc Donald’s has opened two new Quarter Pounder restaurants in Tokyo:

  
You can view video and pictures of Ronald McDonald’s new black and red themed 24-hour hot spot here. Notice the long lines!
View this Post in:

Here is a follow-up to an earlier post, Seijigiri #50, by Trans Pacific Radio’s Seijiri - Politics.
Now that Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States, Seijigiri co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley are back with a look at how the Obama presidency might work within the context of the US/Japan alliance.
This release is broken into three broad categories: First, the background of the US/Japan alliance is considered. Second, the expectations of an Obama administration itself are examined. Finally, our co-hosts consider what impact changes in Japanese domestic politics …

Let’s Japan reported that a man who challenged a 1999 groping accusation by a female commuter won his court case against the accuser Nov. 7, 2008.
The Japan Supreme Court revoked the charge of “public nuisance” against the man. In September 1999, a woman accused the man of rubbing his groin on her thigh as they stood on the Chuo line railway train in Tokyo. The man was arrested and charged with a crime but denied the accusation. He filed civil lawsuits against the woman.
View this Post in: …

 

 YouTube: Play Now | Play in Popup | Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A U.S. Army captain who was intelligence liaison to the Japanese military was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in prison for a firearms smuggling conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Marsha J Pechman rejected a recommendation from both sides that Capt Tomoaki Iishiba be spared time behind bars. She says the 34-year-old showed poor judgment.
After serving his sentence, Iishiba faces three years on supervised release.
He was indicted in July for conspiring with another person to export, without authorization, firearm components to Japan from 2006 to February 2008 while working for …

12,000 join JPC since September last year, 30% of new members are young people
During the period between September 2007 and October 2008, 12,000 persons joined the Japanese Communist Party (JCP).  The JCP held the 5th convention of its Central Committee in September last year. About 30% of the 12,000 are those who are in their teens, twenties and thirties.
Many of the 12,000 said that they joined the JCP to change society, which “treats young people as disposable.” In Chiba Prefecture, many farmers became JCP members, with one saying: “In order …

Experts concerned about bill amending Child Pornography Prevention Law, fearing restrictions on manga, anime, investigating authorities’ view reflected in judgment, freedom of expression undermined
The ruling coalition has submitted a bill amending the Child Pornography Prevention Law to the current Diet session. The bill prohibits the individual possession of child pornography and indecent videos. Manga (comics) and anime (animated cartoons) may be subject to restrictions in the future. Given this, cartoonists and experts have voiced concern, fearing that an enactment of the revision bill would lead to undermining the principle of …

When President-elect Barack Obama and his family take up residence in the White House it means that he will move into every household in America. He will not be just some Black dude that moved in down the street in a predominately White neighborhood and his family will not become the new Cosby Show. The Obamas move on big time to prime time on the biggest channel watched by millions in the world.
I am a child of the 60’s and a US Marine Corps veteran that served and fought for …

This was posted on Japan Probe today,”The 44th President: The “Death Death” President?“ by Fat Blue Man.:
“I was happy to see the result of the election yesterday, as were the residents of Obama City, the little town in Fukui-ken near the Japan Sea. Apparently they had a big festival just to celebrate this wonderful same-name meaningless coincidence.
Whatever. I get it. I brag about the Dutch model Chantal Janzen, and if we happen to be cousins, the link would be about 500 years old.
But I was thinking about Japanese superstition when I noticed …

 
FULL TEXT:
PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this …