Random Japan

Toilet paper featuring Miffy the bunny promises to be far cuter before you use it than after

Dutch children’s book author and artist Dick Bruna has created a number of characters, but his most popular of all is the good-natured rabbit named Miffy. Japan has embraced the character wholeheartedly, and at stores across the country you can find Miffy stuffed animals, stationary, and bento boxes.

And starting next month, you’ll be able to get your hands on Miffy toilet paper as well.

Like Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, Miffy has a blank expression, which easily allows the person looking at her to project whatever emotion they’re feeling onto the bunny. As a matter of fact, Bruna has grumbled that he feels Kitty-chan’s ripped off Miffy’s design, since the Dutch rabbit predates the Japanese cat by nearly 20 years.

stats

• 55 metersClearance of Yokohama’s Bay Bridge
• 56.6 metersHeight of the luxury linerQueen Elizabeth, which entered Yokohama port—barely—during low tide last month
• 59.5Percent of Japanese kids aged 10-19 who use mobile phones or smartphones, according to the Cabinet Office

THE HOUSE OF MOUSE

• At one point earlier this month, three different versions of the song “Let It Go” from the Disney movieFrozen occupied the top three spots on the Japanese singles charts.
• One of them was the original, Academy Award-winning English version; another was a Japanese-language cover sung by actress Takako Matsu, which appears in dubbed versions of the film; and the third was a Japanese adaptation by J-pop star May J, which runs over the closing credits.
• Yumi Sakai, a 39-year-old nurse from Nagoya, became the 600 millionth visitor to the Tokyo Disney Resort complex since Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1993 and Tokyo DisneySea in 2001.
• Officials presented Sakai with a plaque, a bunch of stuffed animals and a pass granting her unlimited free entry to Disneyland and DisneySea during the next three years.

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Tokyo Gov. Masuzoe gets Olympic tips from Beijing

KYODO

Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe on Friday got some tips about hosting the summer Olympics from Beijing after the leaders of the capitals of Asia’s two biggest economies decided to boost cooperation despite political tensions between their central governments.

Masuzoe, the first Tokyo governor to be invited to visit by the Beijing municipal government in 18 years, met with Mayor Wang Anshun to discuss and identify areas of future cooperation between the two cities.

“I believe that Beijing and Tokyo further promoting friendly ties will also contribute to relations between Japan and China,” he told Wang.