Random Japan

Blue tears may be the most beautiful, surreal thing you ever see

Meg Murphy

Like a scene straight out of a movie (Life of Pi, anyone?), the glowing ocean waters around those little islands has to be some sort of special effect, right? If you think so, you might need a little refresher on all the cool, amazing things that can be found on our little planet. The lands have scenic mountains and canyons, the skies have the Aurora Borealis, and the oceans have Noctiluca scintillans.

This amazing spectacle, known as Blue Tears, can be seen in the Matsu Islands of Taiwan. It has been named one of the 15 natural scenic wonders of the world by CNN, and has continued to draw travelers from near and far to take in the breathtaking sights.

STATS

• 7: Fishing boats washed away in the March 11 tsunami that came ashore in Hawaii between February and April
• 29,198: Foreign students enrolled in public schools who needed extra help learning Japanese last year—a record high
• 982,100: People in Japan who will be diagnosed with cancer this year—an increase of 100,000 from 2014—according to the National Cancer Center

BONEHEADS

• Workers at a supermarket in Nerima-ku made a shocking discovery when they visited the store’s restroom: a human skull floating in a toilet bowl.
• MPD officers investigating the case believe—quite sensibly, it must be said—that the skull may have been left behind “by someone who didn’t know how to get rid of it.”
• A man who used rocks and concrete to create an artwork along the banks of a river in Nagano faces prosecution for “unauthorized construction of a statue.”
• An 82-year-old dog owner in Setagaya was arrested after six of his pets broke loose and mauled two innocent passersby.

The Pillow, The Human
The Mobile Phone?

More Tests, More Tests
More Tests


Phoning It In
Bomb Threats

NATIONAL

Half of dolphins caught in Japanese drive hunts are exported

KYODO

About half of the dolphins caught in drive hunts in western Japan were exported to China and other countries despite criticism of the technique by an international association of aquariums, data confirmed by Kyodo News show.

Drive hunting is a practice that has been used for decades in the coastal town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. It has been criticized as cruel, recently forcing the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ban members from acquiring dolphins captured using the technique, which uses sound to drive the animals into a killing zone.

JAZA issued the ban last month after the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums threatened to expel it should members continue purchasing such dolphins.