Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2010

SAY WHAT?

• Officials in Toyama are taking multitasking to a whole new level with a project that trains hairdressers to spot emotionally disturbed customers who might be contemplating suicide.
• How do you know when you’ve become an obasan? A survey of young Japanese women showed that muttering “Yoisho” is the number one indicator that you’ve made the transition from sexy young thing to a life of cutting in lines and holding on to other people when laughing.
• Nissan has developed the world’s first Wrong-Way Alert Program, which gives clueless drivers a heads-up when they’re going against the flow of traffic.
• Major insurance firm Nipponkoa became the first Japanese company of its kind to enter the daycare business

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BACK TO NATURE

• A fisheries cooperative in Saitama has introduced an eco-tour that allows city-dwellers to try their hand at catching an invasive species of bass in the Irumagawa River. It’s the best of both worlds: not only does the promotion drum up tourists, but the visitors do a job that’s not particularly enjoyed by members of the co-op.
• The Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center released 14 toki into the wild in an effort to preserve the species, which is designated as a “special natural monument” by the government.
• An Asiatic black bear was shot and killed in Fukui Prefecture after attacking a man and his 1-year-old son in their backyard.

Medical mayhem

• Next time you try to get that gum off the bottom of your shoe, use a glove. A Japanese researcher has found that gum lying in the street contains up to 10 million bacteria per gram.
• Scientists say Japan’s abnormally high incidence of underweight babies is due to expectant mothers receiving bad advice from doctors.
• Put away that deodorant: Toray Industries announced plans to sell clothing made with materials, used in space missions, that are infused with chemicals which can reduce perspiration odor.

FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

• Adult videos and magazines must not have been enough for a 42-year-old Tokyo man who told police he was fulfilling his sexual desire after being arrested for throwing a condom full of his “desire” at a 19-year-old woman.
• Officials in Saitama were shocked to discover a 59-year-old elementary school teacher was using what he called “sexual harassment dice” as a form of punishment for misbehaving students.
• A 31-year-old Hokkaido housewife was busted for posing as Teru from the band Glay and tricking a fan into wiring her money.
• Police in Yokohama believe members of a local crime syndicate have been running an adoption scheme to help Japanese obtain passports for foreigners. Some 60 men and women were thought to be involved in over 197 adoptions.

This just in

• Officials at Horikoshi Gakuen may want to study harder in math class—the education ministry busted them for lying about the amount of debt owed by the school.
• A Gunma man said his 12-year-old daughter’s suicide was caused in part by bullying she endured because of her mother’s Filipino nationality.
• Green tea might still be good for you, but a report released by the National Cancer Center says the drink won’t, contrary to popular belief, greatly reduce the risk of contracting breast cancer.
• JR Tokai revealed the design of its new maglev trains, but we’ll have to wait awhile to ride them: the vehicles don’t go into service until 2027.

NEXT TOP MODEL

• Being beautiful on the inside apparently doesn’t just apply to humans: Wasao, a dog famous for being “ugly but cute,” is set to play a major role in a feature film scheduled for release next year (see movie news).
• Itabashi Oasis-no Kai, a group of breast cancer survivors based in Itabashi-ku, is offering stylish handmade shoulder bags designed for post-operative breast-cancer patients to hold their drainage bags in.
• Delivering pizzas might not seem like the most lucrative of careers, but that was before Domino’s Japan unveiled a promotion that will employ one lucky person for an hour at a rate of ¥2,500,000.
• In a move that’s more “reality show” than “reality,” Softbank has set up a school in which to groom the eventual successor to CEO Masayoshi Son. The mobile phone carrier has received over 4,000 applicants for the 100 spots available in the training program.

IT’S JUST A GAME

• Nintendo’s profits have followed Mario down one of those green tubes, as the Kyoto-based video game company posted a ¥2.01 billion loss in the first half of fiscal 2010.
• The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters hit the jackpot at the Japanese baseball draft, winning the four-team lottery for the negotiating rights to Waseda University pitcher Yuki Saito, who rose to fame as “The Handkerchief Prince” during the National High School Baseball Championship four years ago.
• Even in the offseason, the Yokohama BayStars are losers: JS Group announced it was giving up plans to buy the franchise from current owner TBS.
• It was revealed that the Oita archery association said a slumping player was injured in order to replace him with a more productive teammate during the National Athletics Meet.

REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES

• Some prized possessions were returned to Kyoto when Ryoanji temple put in a winning bid of $86,500 at a Christie’s auction for six fusuma screens it had sold off 115 years ago.
• A professor at Tokyo University who is working on a book about Akira Kurosawa announced that he had discovered three scripts from the early career of the legendary director.
• A blast from the past swept through Tokyo station when the Gransta complex decorated its shops to resemble how they appeared when the station first opened in 1914. Boxed lunches and desserts from that era were also sold.
• Japanese housewife Tomiyo Yamada loved the Shanghai World Expo so much that she actually packed her bags and moved to China to visit it every day. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gave her a shout out during the closing ceremony.
• Facebook is expanding its social network in Japan by releasing a feature that will allow users to link to profiles on Japanese SNS Mixi, and vice versa.

Compiled from reports by The Tokyo Reporter, Japan Today, International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun, The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times, The Mainichi Daily News, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, AP, AFP, Reuters and Kyodo