The Inquisitr » Japan

Japanese Fishing Boat Capsized By Giant Jellyfish

AHN — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:42 +0000

Choshi, Japan (AHN) – A small trawler capsized in the waters off the eastern coast of Japan Friday under the weight of a haul of giant jellyfish trapped in its net.

The small fishing boat, the Daisan Shinsho-maru, was overturned off the Inubozaki Lighthouse in Choshi, Japan Friday morning. The vessel lost its balance while trying to pull in a net tangled with dozens Nomura’s jellyfish, Japan’s Mainichi Daily reported.

Nomura’s jellyfish can weigh up to 440 pounds and measure as many as 6 feet across.

The three fishermen on board – captain Takashi Otsuka and crew Yoshimatsu Nakauchi and Noboru Suzuki – were tossed into the sea, but a nearby vessel rescued them, the Choshi Coast Guard Office told Mainichi Daily.

New, larger Nintendo DSi confirmed for North America and Europe

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:31:05 +0000

Nintendo has confirmed that it will bring a new version of its DSi handheld to North America and Europe next year. This latest model, which I posted about just the other day, boasts bigger screens (4.2″ across the diagonal, though the same number of pixels will be present), and will be known as the Nintendo DSi XL in North America and Europe in extra regions.

Here’s Nintendo with the lowdown on what we can expect:

“The Nintendo DSi XL [...] will offer a screen 93% larger than the current Nintendo DS Lite with a better view angle, an additional longer touch screen stylus, and preinstalled Nintendo DSiWare software.”

The pre-installed DSiWare bundled with this will include a pair of Brain Training games and DS Easy Dictionary. When it hits Japan, it will come in three colors: Dark Brown, Natural White, and the rather lovely Wine Red (above).

While nothing has been said about pricing outside Japan, we do know it’ll cost a cool ¥20,000 (US$220) in Nintendo’s homeland, when it releases November 21.

Interestingly, this is aimed at DSi users who want to use their handheld for internet and as a music player. Seriously? Look, I love my DSi to death for its games, but isn’t there about a hojillion portable gadgets that handle internet and music better?

[Via Kotaku]

Size matters: Nintendo DSi with bigger screen on the way

Chris Greenhough — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:45:13 +0000

That’s right, folks: the Nintendo DSi is getting an increase in size that will make it almost as big as the Eiffel Tower.

Okay, that’s a fabrication. I hold my hands up. Sorry. However, it is definitely getting a bigger screen. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Post, Nintendo plans to release a new version of its DSi handheld with a 4″ top screen in Japan later this year. That’s an increase of 0.75″ on the DSi’s 3.25″ display. The first DS, meanwhile, had tiddly 3″ screens.

All other functionality will remain the same, says the paper, as will the price: ¥18,900 (about $205 at current rates, though this is not yet confirmed for a release outside Japan).

I’d question why they’re doing this, but then everybody knows new Nintendo DS/DSi iterations sell like tickets to an afternoon of naked trampolining with Scarlett Johansson. Personally, I think 3.25″ is fine (for a portable screen), so if Nintendo doesn’t throw a few more features on this thing, I’ll probably stick with my current model.

How about you, reader?

[Livedoor, via NeoGAF, via Destructoid]

Japanese Gameshow Hits New Low: The Sniper Prank

Duncan Riley — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:17:17 +0000

Everyone expects Japanese gameshows to be wacky and often lack in taste, but ultimately there should be a line. Apparently though the concept of a line is lost in translation.

The following clip shows a show a man put a room and everyone is shot dead around him. It’s labeled sniper prank, but I think it’s more accurately titled massacre prank. I can’t imagine what the guy would have been going through, and the show is lucky he didn’t have a heart attack and die on the spot.

An Important Message About Pants From Japan

Duncan Riley — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:00:33 +0000

This just in from Japan: Yes, We Pants! No Pants! No LIFE!….serious business pants

PS3 beats Wii in Japan for second week running

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:50:57 +0000

Since its launch in late-2006, the Wii has dominated sales pretty much everywhere. This is especially true in Japan, where Nintendo’s console has never been beaten by the PS3 or Xbox 360 in the weekly sales charts.

That is, until two weeks ago.

Sony’s new, slimmer PS3 went on sale a fortnight back. It outsold the Wii in its debut week, and now it’s had the cheek and temerity to repeat the trick. The latest weekly sales figures for September 28 through October 4, courtesy of Media-Create:

* DSi: 53,293
* PSP: 51,215
* PS3: 37,538
* Wii: 35,392
* DS Lite: 10,661
* X360: 4,244
* PS2: 2,179

A close victory for Sony, but a victory nonetheless. What’s more, Nintendo actually dropped the price of the Wii in Japan on October 1, though obviously to little effect.

All of which raises the question: is the tide finally turning against Nintendo’s ubiquitous white box? Well, probably not. The Wii has already closed the 3-to-1 lead that the PS3 Slim enjoyed last week, and continues to lead sales in other regions. Still, this Holiday season may be a little closer than previous years.

[Via IGN]

New from Japan: Neon Light Fighting

Duncan Riley — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:58:02 +0000

Not wanting to be done by the United States who turned bar room brawls into a sport called mixed martial arts, the Japanese have upped the ante with the new sport of “neon light fighting.”

As the name suggests, the sport is fairly simple: big Japanese men hit each other with neon lights in a battle of wills and broken glass.

There’s not a lot of information online about any other rules the sport might have, but I’d presume that maybe there is no rules, except that neon lights must be used when at attacking your opponent.

A small sample of neon light fighting pics as follows:

There are no words: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2’s ‘boob jiggle’ advert

Chris Greenhough — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:27:40 +0000

Jugs. Hooters. Boobs. Knockers. Bouncing Buddhas. Midget earmuffs. Whatever you call breasts, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has them, and it isn’t coy about reminding us: a couple of months back, I posted about a Japanese advert for the game featuring two breasts jutting from a wall.

Now, with the game due to release later this month in North America and Japan, publisher Tecmo is at it again.

If you didn’t already know, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 will allow players to move the polygonal breasts of female characters using the motion-sensing capabilities of the PlayStation 3’s SIXAXIS controller. That’s right: shaking the pad up and down lets you – for no discernible reason – jiggle some motion-controlled breasts.

Yes, it’s a bit perverse and brazen, and it hardly does much to combat well-worn gamer stereotypes, but let’s not be too po-faced: it’s also cheeky and mildly amusing, at least for the first two seconds. This commercial, featuring a bunch of transfixed men, shows off the unique feature:

[Via Destructoid]

Play illegal music on cellphone and find it shut down

Steven Hodson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Word is beginning to trickle out of Japan that the country’s government and music companies are trying to get a pioneering system in place that is designed to stop unauthorized copying of music on mobile phones. As well repeat offenders could find their phone’s music playing capabilities disabled.

The system would be dependant on a centralized database containing information about music that is authorized to be downloaded as well as verifying that cellphone users weren’t downloading illegal copies of music files.

According to the folks over at FreakBits the system is planned to be in service by April 2010. I bet the RIAA is getting the biggest woodie possible at the thought of being able to do the same thing here.

New Japanese PM Resets Emission Cut Target To 25% By 2020

AHN — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:53:46 +0000

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) – Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced Monday his administration will have a more ambitious greenhouse gas emission cut target of 25 percent by 2020.

The rate announced at the Asahi World Environment Forum in Tokyo is 17 percent higher than the target set in June by the outgoing prime minister Taro Aso.

However, Hatoyama said in his speech that higher reduction targets by other major countries will be a precondition for Tokyo’s new target.

Hatoyama said he will give more details about his climate policy at a summit to be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 22.

In Japan, groping is only acceptable at the beach

Duncan Riley — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:13:25 +0000

Important cultural lessons: In Japan, groping is only acceptable at the beach

In Japan, they don’t like to exchange goods

Duncan Riley — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:10:38 +0000

In Japan, asking to exchange goods is seriously bad, because they “refuse exchange with refister.”

Doritos, Japanese style

Duncan Riley — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:15:14 +0000

This is what Doritos look like in Japan. No, not a fake copy, actual Doritos. WTF doesn’t quite describe it. Maybe Doritos in Japan are a ball breaking experience?

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 advertised in Japan with boobs

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:44:13 +0000

As the creators of the famously buxom Dead or Alive games, we probably shouldn’t be surprised at Tecmo’s latest marketing effort, for PS3 action title Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Like the Dead or Alive series, that title also sports voluptuous breasts by the dozen.

Which, I guess, led spuriously to this campaign. The installation in the video below, set up on a Japanese high street, features two plain white breasts poking out from a wall. As pedestrians pass by, a camera films their responses. There’s generally a lot of confusion, and one businessman even checks to see if anybody is watching before copping a feel. My favorite reaction, however, is the chap at 0:21. He reaches out to grope, only to be swiftly pulled away by his girlfriend.

It’s only at the end of the advert that we find out who’s behind this cheeky sculpture, when the game’s name appears. A pretty, uh, novel approach, if nothing else.

[YouTube, via Destructoid]

Epic Engrish toilet instructions

Duncan Riley — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:00:48 +0000

There’s so much Engrish goodness here it’s hard to know where to start. The first one though: could that be don’t spray the bowl with….

Man falls head over heels for ten-year-old videogame girl

Chris Greenhough — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:30:41 +0000

The New York Times brings us the story of Tokyo resident “Nisan” (not his real name), who has finally found true love at the age of 37. Nothing unusual in that, per se; people fall in love all the time. But stop us if this starts to sound weird: the object of Nisan’s affections isn’t, well, real. She’s not even 3D, in fact, but a 2D game character. Oh yeah, and she’s ten years old.

The lady child in question is Nemu, a leading character in a PC/PlayStation 2 game called Da Capo. Nisan regularly takes his collection of Nemu body-pillow covers to karaoke or to restaurants, and generally spoils her rotten. It’s a mighty strange tale, but also kind of sad.

Nisan did have a real girlfriend once, though he says that she dumped him. Now, however, he’s found a new, slightly flatter object for his affections, and has big plans for their future together:

“I have real feelings for her. [...] When I die, I want to be buried with her in my arms.”

And they say romance is dead.

[NY Times, via Destructoid]

Japan to politicians: no Twitter for you

Duncan Riley — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:27:12 +0000

The Japanese Government has imposed a ban on candidates using Twitter during the lead up to a general election in August.

The government deemed Twitter content to fall under the prohibited “literature and images” clause under the Public Offices Election Law.

Japan has remarkably strict campaign rules compared to Western nations. According to a paper published by Columbia University:

There is strict government control over campaigns. Candidates are allowed only one campaign car and a small number of posters and other printed material. The campaign itself lasts only 12 days. In American elections, many candidates pay for television and radio commercials to communicate with the voters. Strict rules in Japan control such advertisements, and candidates are only allowed a few, government-financed commercials or television appearances. They thus spend less money than American candidates on commercials but more on their personal support organizations. As in the United States, elections in Japan can be very expensive for the candidates.

The ruling on Twitter therefore is not surprising by local standards.

(in part via The Blog Herald)

In Japan, some dogs have eyebrows

Duncan Riley — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:00:56 +0000

We’re not sure if the dog in this video has real eyebrows, fake eyebrows, or it’s simply a fluke in terms of around the eye colorization (we think the latter), but what ever it is, this Japanese dog would appear to be sporting a pair of eyebrows.

Nomura’s jellyfish threatens Japanese fishing industry

Duncan Riley — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:16:57 +0000

Swarms of giant Nomura’s jellyfish are about to descend on the waters off Japan, putting the country’s fishing industry at serious risk.

Nomura’s jellyfish grow up to 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) in diameter and weigh up to 220 kilograms (450 pounds), and are commonly found in the waters between China and Japan. Scientists have detected unprecedented numbers heading to Japan, in what local media has described as a “jellyfish typhoon.”

Nomura’s jellyfish populations have surged previously during 1958 and 1995, dealing a huge blow to Japan’s fishing industry. The jellyfish, which are as large as a man, damage nets and kill fish with venom, decreasing available fish stocks. They also sting fisherman, creating an often risky situation when caught.

Although numbers this year aren’t known yet, during the 2005 surge an estimated 300 to 500 million Nomura’s jelly fish passed through the Tsushima Strait between South Korea and Japan every day. They’re also hard to get rid off, releasing millions of offspring into the water when they are attacked or killed.

More details on Wikipedia here.

I’ll take one for my living room please

Steven Hodson — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:20:00 +0000

In what is described as the second largest acrylic glass panel aquarium in the world we see everything from whale sharks to manta rays. The aquarium is called the Kuroshio Sea and is part of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It holds 7,500 cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water in a tank that measures 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters for the acrylic glass walls.

It’s suggested that the video is best viewed fullscreen. The music is called “Please Don’t Go” by Barcelona

Kuroshio Sea – 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world – shot on 5dmk2 from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

hat tip to My Modern Metropolis