Feb 4, 2010

February 4, 2010

Feb 4, 2010

Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2010 Bored in space Whatever floats your boat A 52-year-old man who was offered a job as a school principal in Yokohama was later found to have a criminal record—for snapping pics of a woman’s cleavage on a bus. The man, whose cellphone was found to contain dozens of […]

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Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2010

Bored in space
Whatever floats your boat
  • A 52-year-old man who was offered a job as a school principal in Yokohama was later found to have a criminal record—for snapping pics of a woman’s cleavage on a bus. The man, whose cellphone was found to contain dozens of such images, said it was just his hobby, but he did turn down the teaching job “for personal reasons.”
  • A 52-year-old Nagoya municipal worker was acquitted of groping a 28-year-old woman on a local train. The woman said the ojisan rubbed his leg against hers, but cops were unable to find any fiber from the accused on the alleged victim’s clothes.
  • A group of 1,200 companies that goes by the catchy name The Japan Stone Industry Association has entered a project with researchers from Kyushu University to try to make headstones at gravesites sturdier in the event of an earthquake.
  • In Kyoto, a small dog named Boo is attracting his share of tourists after being dressed up in ninja gear, complete with a small sword.
TIMES ARE TOUGH
  • It was reported that some condos at ski resorts that previously fetched up to ¥30 million can now be had for as little as ¥2 million, with lower-end condos going as cheap as ¥150,000.
  • Osaka cops suspect that a gang of thieves is responsible for 25 robberies over a six-week stretch last year that involved ripping fare payment machines from public parking lots and stealing all the cash.
  • A 55-year-old truck driver was arrested on suspicion of dodging 460 tolls on major highways by tailgating larger trucks through ETC gates. The man owes about ¥240,000.
  • In Osaka, three thieves staged an early morning smash-and-grab attack on a Louis Vuitton store and made off with ¥9 million worth of merchandise. Local gyaru were said to be on suicide watch.
  • A 27-year-old man who had a sex-change operation in 2008 is hoping to be recognized as the legitimate father after his wife gave birth to a son last year. The baby was conceived by artificial insemination using sperm donated by the man’s brother.
Oops
  • A computer glitch in the newly integrated Haneda-Narita radar system caused over 200 flights to be either canceled or disrupted.
  • A Waseda University professor concluded that a disaster shelter in Kawasaki built in 2008 at a cost of ¥7 billion may be “unusable in an actual disaster.” The problem: it was constructed near unstable reclaimed land that could shift dramatically in a temblor.
  • Eleven people from a matchmaking website were arrested for defrauding members using “decoy” customers, who would string along lonely men through email exchanges and then bail when it was time to meet them.
  • Nagasaki decided to scrap plans for a joint bid with Hiroshima to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. Probably a wise move, since the IOC said co-hosting was not an option.
  • A Fukuoka couple who allowed their 7-month-old son to die of blood poisoning by refusing to get medical attention were arrested for murder. The pair belonged to a religious sect that espouses faith healing.

Here & There
  • For the first time in nine years, Kirin was No. 1 in Japan’s beer market in 2009, just ahead of Asahi.
  • A court in Kofu ruled that the fatal stabbing of a night school instructor by a student he had taught 24 years earlier can be regarded as a work-related incident, allowing the victim’s wife to file a workmen’s compensation claim.
  • Launched in 2005, Japan’s Hayabusa space probe is finally on its way back to Earth with a load of asteroid samples.
  • A robot named Paro that looks like a baby seal is being used “as an alternative mental care provider for the elderly.” Don’t know how tricking old folks into thinking they are playing with a seal helps their mental state, but we ain’t doctors.
  • The Saitama Prefectural Government is hoping to boost the use of bicycles in the prefecture by offering ¥30,000 subsidies to people who purchase bikes with two child seats.
  • A cache of manga from the ’50s depicting the A-bomb destruction of Hiroshima was discovered at an Osaka museum.
The world of sport
  • Pitcher Hideki Irabu, whom New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner once referred to as a “fat toad,” retired from baseball for the second—and presumably final—time at the age of 40.
  • World Series MVP Hideki Matsui took the controls of a large backhoe at the Komatsu plant in Hiratsuka. Many of Matsui’s home runs at Yankee Stadium sailed over the Komatsu banner in right field, and Hideki’s dad Masao worked at the company for 20 years.
  • Ageless ozeki Kaio established a new record for most wins in the top division when he scored makuchi win No. 808 at the New Year tournament in Tokyo. With his victory over Chiyotaikai, Kaio surpassed legendary yokozuna Chiyonofuji, who got his 807 wins in just 13 years, compared to 17-and-counting for Kaio.
  • Meanwhile, 33-year-old ozeki Chiyotaikai took the hint and decided to hang up his mawashi.
  • Also from the retirement file: Kumiko Ogura, one half of the popular “Ogu-Shio” badminton doubles pair, is quitting the sport at the tender age of 26 due to a stomach ailment.
  • Not to be outdone, pairs figure skaters Rena Inoue and John Baldwin decided to retire after missing out on an Olympic berth in Vancouver.
The friendly skies
  • Budget carrier Air Busan will commence cheap flights from Busan in South Korea to Fukuoka and Osaka in March and April, respectively.
  • Evidently tired of sitting around and being gawked at all day, Kishi station’s honorary stationmaster, Tama the cat, is on winter vacation until the end of February. The station will undergo renovations during Tama’s break, including the installation of a facade in the cat’s likeness.
  • Suzuki and German carmaker Volkswagen have entered an agreement to develop a new vehicle sometime over the next three years.

Compiled from reports by Japan Today, International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun, The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times, The Mainichi Daily News, The Associated Press, AFP, Reuters, The Tokyo Reporter and Kyodo.