Random Japan

MUCHO MOJO

• Two women in western Japan are suing the operator of a yoga studio for threatening them with possession by evil spirits if they didn’t fork over millions of yen. They’re being supported in their efforts by the delightfully named National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales.
• A professor at Keio University has developed a robot that can pass along the sensation of the things it touches to human hands.
• A trio of climbers was arrested for attempting to scale Nachi Falls in Wakayama Prefecture. The falls and a nearby shrine are both UNESCO World Heritage sites, which led the head of the shrine to say the stunt was “an insult to our religion.”
• Meanwhile, a delegation from UNESCO will travel to Gunma to judge whether the Tomioka silk mill is worthy of World Heritage status. The mill was established by the government way back in 1872.

THE MEDICAL FILES

• The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine says there have been 17 cases during the past two years in which doctors have withheld or suspended treatment to “emergency room patients near death and judged to have no chance of recovery.”
• Two NHK employees in Fukuoka were rushed to the hospital in a “delirious” condition after smoking quasi-legal herbal concoctions. The broadcaster suspended the men and apologized to viewers.
• A clinic in Kobe has developed a method for examining the chromosomes of an embryo produced by in vitro fertilization before implanting it in a uterus.
• Headline of the Week: “High School Girl Struck by Javelin in Head During Practice in Hiroshima” (via The Mainichi)

stats

• 298Tour bus companies that were investigated by the transport ministry for unsafe business practices following the fatal crash of a highway bus in April
• 250Number of the companies that were found to be in violation of the law
• 96.1Percent of Japanese who are “aware” of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea, according to a Cabinet Office survey
• 10,000Estimated number of babies born through artificial insemination in Japan since the procedure was first adopted in 1949
  
  

  BUSINESS UNUSUAL

  
  
  • The Yomiuri Giants sued the Asahi Shimbun for libel over a report claiming the team overpaid recruits between 1997 and 2004. It’s worth remembering that the Giants’ parent company publishes the Yomiuri Shimbun, a direct competitor of the Asahi.
  • After Sumitomo Mitsui Banking was hit by a phishing scam that cost its customers tens of millions of yen, bank officials alerted account holders to be on the lookout for such scams… by sending them emails.
  • Officials at the University of Tokyo say they want to “nurture future Asian leaders” by using the TOEFL test to identify top students and provide them with an “elite linguistic education.”
  • Executives at Honda say they hope to double the number of cars they export from US-based manufacturing plants over the next two years.