Random Japan

Special subway cars in Kyoto are perfect for travelling anime fans
Casey Baseel
Kyoto is best known as a bastion of Japan’s traditional past, where the visual and performing arts developed during the feudal era still command the highest respect. Japan’s former capital is also making a bid to become a center for modern popular culture as well, though. 2006 saw the opening of the Kyoto International Manga Museum, and the city also plays host to the annual Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair.

Kyoto’s love for anime is truly a two-way street, as the city serves as the setting for numerous animated series. Apparently the relationship between anime and Kyoto has progressed to a point where the two feel comfortable with an overt display of public affection, in the form of a special subway train plastered with anime graphics.

STATS
42.1
Percent of respondents to a news-service poll who say they would like to see the consumption-tax hike deferred “for the time being”

1,081
Convenience stores operated in China by FamilyMart Co. as of the end of January

$425 million
Criminal fine imposed on Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp in a price-fixing case involving “anti-vibration rubber parts” in tires

MILESTONES
Katsusuke Meguro, who served as the chamberlain for Emperor Akihito for 48 years, announced his retirement at the age of 71.

Staff at Inokashira Park Zoo offered a special treat to Hanako—Japan’s oldest elephant—on the occasion of her 67th birthday: sliced bread topped with anko (bean-jam buns).

A publisher in Seoul has launched a bimonthly journal called Boon, which is described as “the first comprehensive South Korean magazine on Japanese culture.”

Headline of the Week: “Japanese Woman With Unusual Name Celebrates 100th Birthday” (via Japan Today)

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ASAHI HAIKUIST SPECIAL/ U.S. Ambassador Judges First Haiku Contest in Kagoshima

By DAVID MCMURRAY
A chilly gust

kids and leaves

scurry home

--Stuart Walker (Sapporo, Hokkaido)

* * *

Blizzard gone

Akita cedars coming out

green upright

--Hidenori Hiruta (Akita)

* * *

New road

lined with dogwoods

tallest at bus stop

--Kiyoshi Fukuzawa (Tokyo)