Random Japan

Chinese sand artist tickles the heartstrings of manga fans with stunning sand manga drawings 

Joan Coello

Many of us can’t even draw a decent manga portrait on paper, but there are talented individuals who manage to replicate character illustrations on food, and some using just their bare hands and sand.

Chinese sand artist Zhao Ying Li creates portraits of manga characters from titles such as Slam Dunk and Detective Conan that are so detailed it’s hard to believe they were drawn with sand. See the creation process after the break!

Sand drawing is appreciated as a form of performance art, unlike conventional drawings or paintings. Every single dot, line and gradient is drawn with nothing but sand by the nimble, artistic hands and fingers of the artist, and in the case of a live performance, drawn precisely within a timed session in sync with background music and illumination arrangements.

46 Percent of Americans who view Japan as America’s “most important partner in Asia,” according to a survey by Nielsen Consumer Insights

26 Percent of Americans who view China as the U.S.’s closest ally in the region

364,892 Cars and vans being recalled by Toyota over defects that include a faulty safety belts and cracked fuel pipes

ONWARD & UPWARD

• Officials at the Japan Tourism Agency are urging hotels to prepare for emergency situations by stockpiling “necessities” for foreigners, including halal food and Bibles.
• The organizers of the Eiken English proficiency test have an eye on the international market—they’ve signed a study-abroad agreement with education authorities in Australia.
• About 1,000 demonstrators attended a rally last month in Shibuya to protest the state secrets protection law.

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Yomiuri apologizes for using term 'sex slaves' in English edition

By Mari Yamaguchi

POLITICS NOV. 29, 2014 - 06:50AM JST

Japan’s biggest newspaper apologized in print Friday for using the term “sex slaves” in its English-language edition to describe Asian women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II.

The conservative Yomiuri said in articles in English and Japanese that it was inappropriate to have used the phrase and others implying the women were coerced to provide sex. The newspaper identified 97 articles, including 85 of its own, with “sex slaves” or similar expressions between 1992 and 2013.

It said non-Japanese people have difficulty understanding the term “comfort women,” used in Japan to describe the women, so its English-language edition added explanations improperly suggesting that “coercion by the Japanese government or the army was an objective fact.”