Metropolis Japan

August 15, 2012

This week's required reading

Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2012

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

Police in Kobe arrested 12 teenagers for stealing ¥4.6 million from an 86-year-old woman with dementia. The group’s ringleader, a 15-year-old girl who memorized the victim’s PIN while teaching her how to use an ATM, said: “By giving money to others, I gained friends. I also wanted to buy idol-group goods.”
The government has opened an account on Weibo, China’s popular microblogging service (number of users: 300 million) in the hopes that “more Chinese will have a better understanding of Japanese policies and decisions.”
The Tokyo District Court announced plans to auction off the building in Chiyoda-ku that serves as the de facto embassy for North Korea. The group that runs the facility owes the government ¥62.7 billion.
One of Japan’s leading violinists, Yuriko Kuronuma, closed down the music school she established in Mexico City in 1980. She cited fewer students owing to a “spike in rampant drug-related crime and traffic congestion.”

An 11-year-old boy in Hiroshima who found a rare “whitish” baby turtle donated it to an aquarium after receiving advice from the Japan Turtle Research Society. There’s actually an organization called the Japan Turtle Research Society.
Officials in northeastern Japan expressed alarm over a surge of bear sightings. In Miyagi Prefecture alone, 243 were recorded in May and June, compared to 64 last year.
Members of a Cabinet Office subcommittee say they may consider relaxing the import restrictions on American beef.
The Hokkaido transport bureau punished the driver of a Tokyo-bound express train for wearing earplugs while passing through the undersea tunnel that links Hokkaido with Honshu.

An elementary school principal in Mie involved in “anti-bullying activities” hanged himself in a grove of trees near his home.
Days later, the education ministry announced a task force to “support efforts by schools and education boards to tackle bullying.”
A Sri Lankan man awaiting deportation for a robbery in Osaka was arrested on charges of killing a taxi driver in Chiba in 2002.
North Korean officials have erected a tomb in Pyongyang for Ko Young Hee, the late mother of leader Kim Jong Un. We’re pretty sure the inscription doesn’t mention the fact that Ko was born in Osaka.

The Japan Franchise Association said sales at convenience stores in June suffered their first drop in nine months as a result of “weak demand for summer foods.”
Jumping into the breach, Sapporo Breweries announced it will introduce a line of food products that “contain a lactic acid proved to be effective in easing stress-induced sleep disorders in mice.” Yummy.
The National Police Agency says the number of bicycle accidents on roads has decreased by 40 percent since 2001, but the number of bike accidents on sidewalks has shot up 9 percent. Most of the latter mishaps involve collisions with cars pulling out of driveways.
A pair of thieves in Kokubunji stole ¥23 million from a local woman who had just withdrawn the cash to pay for her deceased husband’s funeral.

For the first time, the health ministry has allowed someone to change gender on their national health insurance card. The (new) lady in question is a 54-year-old in Shimane.
Fifteen members of the Fukushima chapter of the Japan Alpine Club earned the right to name a 6,105-meter mountain in Pakistan after reaching its summit first. They settled on “The Peak of Hope.”
An associate professor at Tokyo University was part of a research team that says it discovered the cause of a common type of epilepsy. Apparently, it results from a malfunctioning neurotransmitter in the hippocampus.
The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers put the Toto Washlet G toilet seat on its annual heritage list—the first time a household appliance has been so honored. The 1980-debuted device features a spray nozzle “adapted to the body shape of Japanese people.”

A working group organized by the Cabinet Office recommended that the government “prepare alternative bases outside Tokyo in case it loses key functions following a devastating earthquake.”
An F-16 fighter jet from the US Misawa air base in Aomori crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of Hokkaido. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued.
Following Europol’s lead, the National Police Agency announced it will work with officials from ASEAN countries to compile a database of websites in Asia that carry Islamic extremist propaganda.
A Nagano Prefectural Police officer was arrested for leaking about “4,000 pieces of personal information” to a private detective. The cop is believed to have netted ¥60 million in the scheme.

Law enforcement officials say they want female officers to make up 10 percent of the force by the year 2020. Currently, around 7 percent of Japanese cops are women.
Investigators believe oil vapor ignited by a spark caused an explosion that killed three workers on a gravel ship docked in Chiba.
JR East says it will introduce an automated train control system that significantly reduces operating costs by doing away with high-maintenance equipment like communication cables and automatic train stop terminals.
At least 90 Japanese couples planning to have children via in vitro fertilization have gone to Thailand this year for a test to determine the sex chromosomes of their fertilized eggs. Interestingly, 90 percent say they want girls.