Japan Times: Computerized composite joins AKB48 lineup

Confectionery company Ezaki Glico Co., which features the character named Aimi Eguchi along with a few other AKB48 members in the commercial for its Ice no Mi (Fruit of Ice) product, confirmed Monday that she is a composite image of six members of the group.

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ABC News: Magnitude-6.7 [...]

Photo Source: Asahi Shimbun.

Facing a vote of no-confidence in the Japanese Diet today, which it appeared he was set to lose with a large chunk of his own party joining with the opposition, Prime Minister Kan Naoto has announced that he will resign from his position at a future date. Just when this will [...]

This is the final part of my discussion of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s speech to the Diet last week. In the final part of his speech, Hatoyama discussed Japan’s role in the international community, touching on each of the major issues facing Japan including those that he discussed at the United Nations recently. The main topics [...]

While the first two parts of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s speech (see Part 1 & Part 2) were mostly uplifting and aspirational, I found much of the more meaty areas of economics and foreign policy in his speech to be full of plattitudes and naive rhetoric. This article will focus on economics, and while Hatoyama named [...]

In Monday’s speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Hatoyama again addressed the issue of yuai, or ‘fraternity’, which he returns to again and again. He spoke of a lady that he met in Aomori, who’s son had been unable to find work and ultimately lost his life. Hatoyama described how the woman held on to [...]

Yesterday Prime Minister Hatoyama gave a lengthy (very lengthy….) speech to open the 173rd Session of the Japanese Diet. His remarks were light on details, but outlined the man’s thinking on some of the most important issues facing Japan. This article is the first of [...]