Japan News and Trends - May 2013

I thought readers might like to find out about interesting news and trends making headlines and capturing attention in Japan right now.  This information is gathered from various online news and internet sources. 

THAT’S THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

-- A Nagoya movie theater is planning to offer a 4-D experience to moviegoers. While watching the film they will be able to feel wind, sprays of water, fog, even bubbles, and smell scents around them.

-- Two female graduates of the National Defense Academy of Japan have become the first women to serve as commanders aboard Maritime Self-Defense Force ships.

THE POWER OF EVERYONE PITCHING IN

-- Government officials will likely impose no power-saving targets this summer thanks to continuing efforts to save electricity across Japan and progress in building new thermal power plants.

KEY MILESTONES

-- Officials released a report that 44.76 million people have visited the Tokyo Sky Tree since its grand opening last May.  That is far higher than the projected 27.5 million. 

-- A blind Japanese acupuncturist who lives in San Diego is attempting to become the first sightless man to sail across the Pacific Ocean.

THOSE AMBITIOUS SCIENTISTS!

-- Japanese researchers have succeeded in using gene therapy to restore the memory of mice suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

-- Scientists led by a professor at Toyama College have found that the internal organs of firefly squids “contain a substance that helps reduce liver fat.”

-- Japanese scientists have discovered that drinking four or more cups of green tea a day reduces the risk of strokes by 20 percent. Also, they that found that drinking two or more cups of coffee a day has the same effect.

-- It was reported that Japanese scientists have, for the second year in a row, succeeded in producing artificial rain by spraying liquid carbonic acid onto clouds. 

FIRST TIME MT. FUJI FEE

Mt. Fuji

-- Authorities in Shizuoka and Yamanashi have announced that they will start charging fees to climbers on Mt. Fuji starting this summer.

WORKING FOR NO SALARY NO PROBLEM?

-- A help wanted ad was just posted in Akita. They are looking for someone to “assume control” of a hot spring hotel complex in the resort town of Yuzawa—for free. On the positive side, there is a perk: all the onsen time you desire at no charge.

LONG LIVE ANIME

-- As part of its “anime hero and heroine” series, the Japan Post is going to  issue  Doraemon-themed postage stamps.

DISASTER PLANNING AND PETS

-- Officials in the Environment Ministry are creating guidelines for bringing pets to shelters and temporary housing facilities in the event of a disaster.

UH OH ….

-- Someone stole the bronze medal won by bantamweight Satoshi Shimizu at last year’s London Olympics. What a shame. It was the first medal won by a Japanese boxer in 44 years.

Satoshi Shimizu

-- Of the 127,515,000 people now living in Japan, a record-high 24.1 percent are age 65 or older and a record-low 13 percent are under the age of 14.

-- A Japanese man who traveled to Malaysia to marry a woman he met over the internet was rescued by police after being kidnapped when he arrived at the airport.

-- Anxious officials south of Tokyo are concerned that the 55m-tall Yokohama Bay Bridge, built in 1989 to accommodate the largest ships in the world at the time, may be too low to handle newly built cruise liners and cargo ships.

-- Yahoo Japan, the country's largest web portal, said up to 22 million user IDs may have been leaked during a hack discovered last week. The website posted warnings of the possible breach on its login pages.

ATTENTION ALL ENGLISH INSTRUCTORS

-- Officials at Kyoto University say they plan to conduct half of their liberal arts courses for underclassmen in English by 2018.

-- Listening to the advice of an advisory panel on education reform, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Japanese schools to make their English instruction “more suited for practical use.”

IN THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD

-- Executives at Honda say the latest model of their Odyssey minivan is the first vehicle of its kind to offer a built-in… vacuum cleaner.  (Ever seen a minivan after kids have been transported in it all day?)  

-- A Japanese man who founded a medical equipment maker in Ohio was named to the US’s prestigious Manufacturing Council, a 26-member body that advises the commerce secretary on local industry.  His name is Hiroyuki Fujita. He is President and CEO of Quality Electrodynamics, LLC.

PHONES & PHONE COMPANIES IN THE NEWS

-- Officials at NTT DoCoMo announced they are setting up 104 emergency base stations around the country that can run on generator power for several days in the event of a major disaster.

-- New phone lineups for 2013 are being presented and marketed to the public. “Senior friendly” phones by Softbank include new features like one touch easy access buttons and built in magnifiers. Many models have larger phone screens. Some have the ability to views videos in HD.

 -- NTT DoCoMo’s latest smartphone has a hover function that lets you scroll without actually touching your phone! All you need to do is hover your finger over the screen to scroll up or down. That should reduce  those smudges that cloud up your phone's screen.

-- Disney themed phones light up to signal an incoming call. 

-- Smartphones can be synched up with bracelets that monitor health indicators.  For a monthly fee the service provider will send messages with selected vital statistics. 

GET YOUR BURGER HERE!

-- American style burgers are the latest trend enjoying widespread popularity. Same goes for vintage American style diners.

Recommendation:  You've got to try an American-inspired gourmet burger in Japan! If you’re in Tokyo, find the AS Classics Diner, near Komazawa Olympic Park in Meguro. Besides the’60s-era America retro interior, this place is reported to offer 19 varieties of burgers, like the Loco burger (topped with avocado, fried egg and secret sauce) and the Hot Rod burger (cheese, fried egg, avocado, home-cured bacon and chili). All burgers come with fries. Patties are made with Australian beef.  The outdoor seating area is popular with dog owners, and a delivery service is available 10am-6pm.  

The list of popular burger restaurants in Tokyo and throughout Japan is growing all the time.  Some of the restaurants making headlines include Arms, Authentic, Beacon, Beat Diner, Burger 5, Gramercy Kitchen, Homework’s, MLB Café Tokyo, Roti, and Tap Borrow.  (The only burger restaurant I have been to on this list is Homework’s in Roppongi.  I had a fantastic burger with onion rings and a salad there!)