Random Japan

EXTREME MEASURES
A Maritime Self-Defense Force member whipped out his tool in a Yokohama video shop in a successful bid to get arrested for exposing himself in public. He was not keen on being sent to Iwate to retrieve bodies killed by the March 11 tsunami.

A Japanese fashion blogger/medical student “Tokyo Panda,” extremely popular on Chinese online shopping site Taobao, is doing her part for tsunami victims by posting photos of herself in various outfits online and then selling the clothes to raise money for charity.

Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are “under pressure to reduce electric power consumption in anticipation of a power shortage this summer.” The theme parks reportedly use 10 times more power than the Tokyo Dome.

A fundraising effort organized by Tokyoite Gary Bremermann raised ¥100 for every beer sold with the money going to help kids in Tohoku.

Meanwhile, a new internet phenomenon known as “slacktivism” has sprung up in the wake of March 11, gaining popularity in Japan. Combining slacker and activism, the term means “to casually engage in social activism at little cost or effort … leisurely philanthropic activities.”

Stats
21
Mini FM radio stations who obtained provisional broadcasting licenses after the March 11 quake/tsunami, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

59
Years it took director Kaneto Shindo’s acclaimed film Children of Hiroshima to make its US premiere. The movie was screened as part of a Shindo retrospective in New York last month

250
Urns being kept at a temple in Iwate Prefecture after the tsunami washed away part of a graveyard

44
Foreign ALTs who quit their teaching jobs after the March 11 quake, according to the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations

¥1.85 billion
Compensation requested from TEPCO by a group of farmers who suffered huge losses in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis

1,546
The average calorie intake, in kilocalories, of evacuees at 90 percent of the 266 shelters in Miyagi Prefecture, short of the 2,000-kilocalorie target

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 70 YEARS MAKES
Japan and Germany have adopted a resolution saying they “share the same basic values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights” and will “work together for peace and prosperity throughout the world.”

The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit brought against Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe, who claimed in a 1970 book that the Japanese army ordered Okinawans to commit group suicide. The court recognized the army’s “deep involvement” in the suicides.

It was reported that the Diet is likely to pass a resolution authorizing the “return of 1,205 volumes of Korean historical texts looted during Japan’s colonial rule.”

Norio Ohga, the former president and chairman of Sony, died of natural causes in Tokyo at the age of 81. Ohga was instrumental in developing the compact disc and is credited with spurring Sony’s drive into video games and music.

Yahoo Japan reported that, for the 14th consecutive year, it has increased its revenue and operating profit in fiscal 2010.

Officials in Okinawa have discovered that about 20 percent of locally grown papayas are using a type of genetically modified seed “that has yet to be approved under an international treaty.”

Japan Tobacco said it took its biggest-ever hit in sales in fiscal 2010, with business down 11.3 percent from the year before. Still, the company did manage to move 134.6 billion cigarettes.

Panasonic announced it would unveil a lithium-ion battery factory in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu next year.

In response to a drop in demand for flat-screen TVs, Sharp will start using one of its LCD factories in Mie Prefecture to manufacture smaller screens for mobile devices.

Discussing plans for its magnetic-levitation bullet train line, JR Tokai said it hopes “to build a mag-lev station in every prefecture.”

During an official state visit, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard cemented a deal with Japanese PM Naoto Kan to hold minister-level talks on security issues “as early as this autumn.”

A group of mystery men doled out some ¥30 million in cash in envelopes at several shelters and evacuation sites in Miyagi Prefecture from April 20-23. The men “claimed to belong to organizations in western Japan.”

Go On

Take The Money And Run

What A Minute?

This Isn't My House

A Real Imitation

Of A False Report

Consumers, not TEPCO shareholders, to cover huge compensation bill

2011/05/13
Consumers will cover a large portion of the compensation bill for victims of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis, but the plant operator's shareholders and supporting financial institutions will not be hit hard.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Cabinet were expected to officially approve the damages framework totaling at least 5 trillion yen ($62 billion) on May 12. Approval will enable Tokyo Electric Power Co. to announce its consolidated financial results for fiscal 2010 on May 20.

TEPCO is expected to post a net loss of 700 billion yen to 800 billion yen for fiscal 2010.