Sometimes tweets from the government here in Japan send up red flags for me. Below is one of those tweets. A very suspicious way of looking at the statement below is that government officials are already rubbing their hands together thinking of things that they can do to make a “more stable” Japan… more stable probably also implies more government control.

The biggest problem of government control in Japan is not the people who, as sadly illustrated by the latest disaster, are very resilient, industrial, cooperative people on the whole. The problem is the government’s backyard – the car makers that are never held accountable and use their government connections to protect their interests, TEPCO who will probably never be taken to task for the problems in the nuclear reactors and disaster response system that exacerbated (or directly led to) the problems now, and the myriad of companies who benefit from the existing amakudari (descent from heaven) system in Japan by which the big businesses, government, and yes even the media are all mutually influential through connections at the top, and what I sometimes think is an US (big business and government) versus THEM (consumers and citizens) attitude.

The example I often use is how television stations often work together and communicate about the timing of commercials.

If anyone is interested in an interesting bit research – try to find information on how Ikea entered the Japan market and some of the challenges they met, or why you buy foreign cars through domestic car dealers in Japan, the Uniqlo story, or even why Pepsi is sold through Suntory.

Anyway, all this editorial from one small tweet shown below.

I think the flags were mostly set off by the last word. They are not reconstructing the infrastructure, power systems, monopolies of some corporations… they are looking to improve the SOCIETY…

There was a poll recently done by the Japanese search engine Goo about things that guys in Japan did that made them think they were “the man”.

As always these polls provide us with a completely unscientific, most probably skewed, but generally entertaining view of Japanese society through the eyes of, well… people who give and take online polls.

Here’s the top ten:

1. Treated a woman to something
2. Carried something heavy for a woman
3. Did something cool playing sports when a girl was watching
4. Treated one of my juniors to something
5. Sang a ballad at karaoke
6. Tried staring off into the distance
7. Show off some recently learned trivia
8. Undid the second button of my shirt
9. Let my bangs flow horizontally across my forehead
10. Loosened my necktie and let it hang loose

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio  Hatoyama, whose last name literally translates as “Pigeon Mountain” showed a bit of his comedy stylings at a recent event in Tokyo.

Hatoyama has always been a character with a penchant for dancing, eccentricity, and having fun however he’s been uncharacteristically low key so thus far in his tenure.

A bit more of this might actually serve to endear him with the populace a bit more.

Anyway, here’s the very short video:

I guess the important thing to keep in mind is that this poll was completed on the internet by a company called COBS. COBS is a data collection agency with members who answer polls and post reviews in return for points. This also explains the number one answer… Here are the result of the poll in reverse order:

5. 6.2% of respondents (124 votes) kiss for the first time on the fifth date.
4. 10.2% (212 votes) kiss on the second date.
3. 16% (320 votes) kiss on the third date.

2. 19% (votes) kiss on the first date.

… and the surprise (?) answer…

… the #1 vote getting option…

1. 39.5% (790 votes) answered… “I have never been on a date.”

Thanks to all who participated in the study, now get out into the real world and get yourselves some dates! Almost a fifth of you stand a chance of getting a kiss on the first date, especially if you date each other!

Her name is Fuka Ryo, and she’s a professional Shodo artist. There are plenty of well-known calligraphers in Japan who appear on variety shows to check the writing skills of TV personalities. Fuka Ryo however is famous all over Japanese internet bulletin boards for her looks as well as her skills with a fude (brush).

Fuka Ryo’s Official blog is hosted on Ameblo. On her profile she shows a lot of pride in her hometown of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. Nikko is best known for Nikko National Park, and Toshogu where Tokugawa Ieyasu is buried. Nikko National Park offers some great hiking, and I’ve heard it’s especially beautiful in Autumn.

In her profile, Fuka states that her one of her weaknesses is “trusting people too quickly”, and that she’s proud of her long neck. Her favorite food is listed as hometown Nikko delicacy Onihei no Mizu Yokan, her least favorite food is cucumbers. Yokan is a jellied sweet made from the sweet red azuki beans often found in Japanese cakes and candies.

She also mentions in her profile that if she could only eat one thing everyday for a month it would be avocados. (If you’ve never had avocado sliced with a little soy sauce, I highly recommend it… some people in Japan liken it to maguro (tuna) sashimi.)

As with many things in Japan, there is a twist to the story. Fuka Ryo has been, and is still known by the name Megumi Eda, the name she used when working as a race queen. She even still updates her Megumi Eda blog, on which her hometown is also listed as Nikko. Megumi Eda is listed as a stage name, and the blog is also on Ameblo. Ms. Eda also seems to have a disdain for cucumbers, although her favorite food is listed as melons. Both Eda and Ryo chose avocados to eat for a month so it does not seem that she’s too intent on hiding her two aliases. It seems to be well known around Japan (especially among fans of Japanese idols and race queens) that Fuka Ryo and Megumi Eda are the same person.

The real question is whether her recent increased popularity and marketability as Fuka Ryo (her blog’s readership has steadily been growing) will make her decide to let go of the Megumi Eda persona and focus on being Japan’s most beautiful calligraphy artist.

The picture on the left show Megumi Eda in a recent photo shoot.

She’s got the looks and determination. It will be interesting to see how her career plays out from now on. (I’ve heard she’s already been on TV as Megumi Eda, so she may have to choose soon). Personally, I see nothing wrong with rooting for both of them.

Fuka Ryo can also be found on twitter @ryo_official.

This is a translation of a poll done in which women in their 20s were asked about the moments they felt glad to have been born Japanese.

Here’s the list:

1. Being moved by the deliciousness of rice and miso soup. / Eating Japanese food.
2. Regularly bathing in hot water. / Taking hot baths and entering hot springs.
3. Being able to live in safety everyday.
4. Being able to experience all four seasons.
5. When going abroad and seeing other cultures.
6. Experiencing Japan’s wonderful traditions and history.
7. Seeing Japanese workmanship or expertise recognized worldwide.
8. When thinking how wonderful the culture of duty and humanity is. / When meeting kind people.
9. Being able to read, write, and do math. / The fine educational system.
10. Watching Japanese people succeed. / When a Japanese athlete gets a gold medal.

If you have ever been in Japan or interacted with people from Japan at any length, you may have noticed some of the naivete about other countries and cultures.  Number 4 is pretty high on the list, but something that many people think is uniquely Japanese. It is true that there are festivals and traditions associated with each season in Japan that can make a year fun, but you can also stump people who say this by pointing out that Australia, Korea, China, France, and plenty of other countries have four distinct seasons.

Number 3 is true if you think of direct crime, but there is more to safety than keeping just your wallet in your pocket.

I think number 2 is a great example of something that we can argue is a great thing about life in Japan. A hot bath on a cold day, going to a hot spring with a bunch of friends, a big family bath, and if you every get the chance to visit an outdoor hot spring in the winter, please don’t hesitate to take that chance.

Another thing I like about this list, as a non-Japanese long time resident of Japan, is that none of the items on the list are exclusively the property Japanese citizens. Visitors and non-citizens can appreciate the seasons, a nice hot spring, and a good bowl of rice as well as citizens can.

This is a very sad story out of Osaka that illustrates the tragedy that can result from a breakdown in communication.

Makoto Hamada, a 42 year old cook, killed his 42 year old wife, 15 year old son, and 12 year old daughter while distraught over 5,000,000 yen in debt. He strangled the three in their sleep and then unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrists with a utility knife. He later turned himself in to a local police station.

Hamada had reportedly kept his debt a secret from his wife, Sachiko.

When police searched the home, they found a stash of over 20,000,000 yen his wife had secretly been saving for the children’s educational expenses.

Makoto Hamada’s debt was a result of losses from investments in stocks. At the same time Sachiko Hamada worked multiple jobs to save money. She was overheard saying that with a little frugality she hoped to let her children go to college.

Makoto was also known to take his children out on his day off, and to be very proud of them. His son, Yuki’s graduation essay in elementary school stated his desire to become a cook like his father. Friends of daughter, Aika, were surprised because of how nice he seemed at her birthday party at which he had prepared delicious food himself.

Makoto reportedly said that he was afraid that if his debt became known Sachiko would leave him and take the children. He therefore decided to kill his wife, and the children as well to keep them from having to be known as the children of a murderer.

This story really breaks my heart. It’s not a story that is unique to Japan, but this lack of communication, very strange sense of what is best for the children, debt leading to suicide, attempted suicide, murder-suicide (or, as in this case, the attempt at suicide) is all too common here. Each year brings us another 30,000 suicides or more, most of which are debt related.

This case is yet another sad illustration of a trend that needs to change, and like many of the problems facing society in Japan, the children are the ultimate victims.

The Japanese website “Kon Katsu News“, or Married Life News has posted an article about an easy and free way to tell if your boyfriend is marriage material.

The method?

Search all of the drives on his computer for the following types of files:
.jpg, .bmp, .wmv, .mpg, .avi, and .rm…

I’m not sure if this is supposed to determine whether he still holds a flame for his ex-girlfriend (old photos), has adult movies and pictures on his drive, has pictures of something even worse… or maybe checking if he’s smart enough to password protect or store externally anything that might irrationally make his marriage-blog-advice-following girlfriend jealous.

I post this here not because I think it’s good advice, but because of how surprisingly common it is in Japan for couples to go through each other’s pockets, bags, cell phones, computers, and who knows what else.

It also makes me wonder if other countries’ mobile phones have the same amount of secret and password protected features. Cell phones in Japan have special ways to hide information about contacts, recent phone calls, and photos.

In March 2006, a teacher in Yamanashi Prefecture was murdered by a student who had graduated from the school 24 years prior. Fifty-nine year old Yuji Iwama was found dead of multiple stab wounds. The perpetrator’s name was not released because he was determined to be mentally ill.

The man who suffered from persecution complex and paranoia felt that he was wrongly disciplined the day before his graduation in 1982. He held the grudge all those years and chose to act on them by going to Iwama’s home armed with a survival knife.

The story has come into the news recently because the death has been designated as a “death in the line of duty” instead of a murder. Iwama’s widow Tsunemi wants justice, and wants her husband’s murder recognized as just that, a murder. (thanks to “LB” in comment section for the correction. the struck-through sentence above should read as below)

The death was at first ruled unrelated to work, but the victim’s widow, Tsunemi, successfully appealed to have it ruled a work related catastrophe (“komusaigai” in Japanese).

This is the kind of news that really fascinates me about Japan. Here’s the story told a different way:

Teacher yells at student. Student who may have had some problems before, and underlying persecution complex issues feels even more persecuted. 24 years later he kills the teacher in his home. Mental problems mean no jail time for the student, now aged 42 or so. Being stabbed to death at home by a former student you haven’t seen in 24 years is an “on the job hazard”.

So if you are a college student reading this at home, considering the JET Programme, maybe you should think about this. If some kid from Japan stalks you back to your home country 20 years after you’ve left Japan, hunts you down at home, and kills you, the Ministry of Education can just shrug it’s shoulders and say, “Hey, you knew the dangers when you signed on amigo.”

This is one of a series of videos by the comedy group “Ramens”. It endeavors to poke fun at a lot of the “how to eat sushi”, “sushi etiquette”, and Japanese culture videos that abound.

Some of it’s a bit too true, and some of it is just crazy. I like the part about the geta.

This video was made years ago, but is still both awesome and appropriate: