It may be old news, but Mainichi today had a story about 72 year old microbiologist Taguchi Fumiaki, who was awarded the fluffy (well, foam) dice trophy for the annual Ig Nobel Prize, as announced at the 19th annual ceremony at Harvard on October 1. The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded every year by the [...]

According to a Mainichi report today, an internet provider has been sued to provide information on a blogger that posted information about a Fukuoka doctor’s arrest and trial. Apparently an unnamed blogger who follows legal cases online had posted information about the arrest of the doctor, including the alleged crime. He then [...]

According to figures released in a recent government white paper, Mainichi reports, the law abiding spirit of the Japanese people appears to be in decline. Japan has long been proud of its record of relatively low violent crimes and high success rates of solving and prosecuting crimes. But recent figures suggest that [...]

Japanese Box Office: Nov 14 to Nov 20

(Rank, Movie Name, Weekend Box Office (US$), Cume (US$) (Note: US$1=89.85 yen))

1. A Christmas Carol, $3,186,707, $3,186,707

2. Michael Jackson’s This Is It, $3,017,194, $32,331,133

3. No More Cry (Nakumonka), $2,299,362, $2,299,362

4. Zero Focus, $1,758,882, $1,758,882

5. I Give My First Love to You, $1,639,889, $17,924,170

6. [...]

Job offers for graduating job seekers as of October 1 were down to 62.5%, which is almost level with the lowest marks of 60.2% and 61.3% from 2003 and 2004 respectively, which were the lowest marks of the last decade and a half. But the rate of decline from a year earlier (7.4%) is greater [...]

Oricon Singles Chart for the Week of Nov 9 – Nov 15:

(Rank, Artist, Song Name, No. of Units, Last week, Purchase Info.)

1. Arashi, My Girl, 431,685, NEW BUY

2. Exile, The Generation, 183,550, NEW BUY

3. SID, one way, 42,622, NEW BUY

4. Slash, Sahara [...]

Oricon Chart for Week of Nov 9 – Nov 15:

(Rank, Artist, Album Name, No. of Units, Last Week, Purchase Info.)

1. Otsuka Ai, Love is Best, 56,366, NEW BUY: JAPAN / OVERSEAS

2. Hikawa Kiyoshi, Enka Meikyoku Collection 11, 48,084, NEW BUY: JAPAN / OVERSEAS

3. Michael Jackson, This Is It, 47,694, [...]

Here are the top 10 non-news programs for the week of November 9 – November 15:

Week of Nov 9 to Nov 15

(Program, Channel, Time & Date, Rating)

1. Drama: Tenchijin, NHK, 20:00-20:45, Nov 15, 21.7

2. Variety: Nep League, Fuji, 19:00-19:54, Nov 9, 21.1

3. Drama: Sazae-san 40th Anniversary SP, Fuji, 18:30-20:54, Nov 15, 20.9

4. Drama: Jin, TBS, [...]

Major restaurants always covet Michelin stars, one of the food industry’s premiere signs of success. The latest edition of the Michelin Guide shows that Tokyo restaurants now have a total of 261 stars for 197 different restaurants. Eleven of these restaurants have three stars, and the Tokyo total is triple that of nearest competitor Paris, making the [...]

…or so you would think…

President Obama’s bow to Emperor Akihito in Tokyo over the weekend has made so many waves from Japan to the US that California should probably be on Tsunami warning… So much has already been said about it, but I thought I would just call it what it was – a gaffe.

Was [...]