Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

Out of a Jobs

• It was reported that Steve Jobs vowed never to return to Japan after officials at Kansai International Airport confiscated ninja throwing stars that the Apple chief was carrying to his private jet. A company spokesman denied the report.
• At last month’s World Judo Championships in Tokyo, 19-year-old Majlinda Kelmendi competed under the banner of the International Judo Federation instead of her native Kosovo, in part because Russia doesn’t recognize Kosovo as an independent nation.
• Too sweet for its own good: confectionery company Ishida Roho was ordered to pay ¥2.8 million in damages to 17 people who lived near its factory in Kyoto’s Minami Ward. The residents said they suffered health problems due to the smell from the manufacturing plant.
• For the first time ever, Japanese TV stations lost money televising the World Cup. Broadcasters blamed increased rights fees and the poor performance of the Japanese national team.
• A 55-year-old crew member for a Japan Airlines subsidiary was reprimanded for filming the descent of an aircraft from the cockpit with his cellphone camera.

Does not compute

• It was reported that three chimpanzees at a zoo in Kyoto lost their enthusiasm for memorizing numbers after the death of one of their companions. The dead chimp was thought to be “a competition-inspiring rival.”
• The education ministry reported that the number of violent incidents at elementary, junior and senior high schools in Japan rose for the fourth straight year, to 60,913.
• At the same time, the number of incidents classified as bullying plunged from 84,648 in 2008 to 72,778 in 2009.
• The head of the Chiba Dental Association apologized after the group lost a whopping ¥1.9 billion of members’ fees on investments in structured bonds.
• The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that the number of foreigners living in the city since 2005 has increased by 60,000, to 420,000.

Breakthroughs

• A pair of Japanese researchers have managed to create stem cells using human gums, which could lead to “new methods of treating mouth disease.”
• Japan’s first hybrid train for sightseeing began operation in Nagano. The diesel-electric vehicle is said to produce 60 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions than normal trains.
• Scientists believe that the presence of rare earth metals like manganese and antimony in the seabed off of Okinawa is due to the eruptions of nearby hydrothermal vents.
• Headline of the Week: “Bridge Made of Recycled Fire Hoses from Japan Helps Endangered Orangutans in Borneo” (via The Mainichi Daily News)

News from abroad

• Three members of a Japanese tour group suffered broken bones when a shuttle bus plowed into a group of pedestrians in Fussen, southern Germany. Two other members of the tour received minor injuries.
• In an effort to take advantage of the fast-growing market for sewage treatment in developing countries, the infrastructure ministry said it would convert domestic water sanitation facilities into research centers for new technology.
• The Lawson conbini chain announced a ¥50 million initiative to launch 130 new stores in China in 2011.
• Orix Corp., meanwhile, said it would spend about ¥100 billion to expand its overseas equipment-leasing operations in an effort to counteract sagging domestic demand.
• A UN-sponsored organization called the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group held a conference in Kobe that was described as the “first global meeting to prepare for large disasters.”

Official business

• The National Police Agency said it had received a record number of tips at its Internet Hotline Center in the first six months of the year—more than 18,500.
• It was reported that the increase of shops selling sex toys in Akihabara is turning the electronics district into a “colorful bazaar of merchandise catering to carnality.”
• A 77-year-old Nara man who is accused of leaving his wife’s corpse on a balcony for three months told police it would have been “too bothersome” to report her death to authorities.
• In a bid to kick-start the struggling timber industry, the government announced plans to “construct low-rise public facilities” from locally sourced timber.
• The Guinness Book of Records certified that a 56-leaf clover found last year by an Iwate farmer is, indeed, a world record. Unfortunately, the 85-year-old man died before receiving the news.

Hook-up Fever

• KDDI announced a tie-up with Chinese gaming giant Rekoo Media that would allow au users to play Rekoo’s Sunshine Kingdom.
• Mitsubishi announced plans to open a factory in Russia to manufacture SUVs with the help of French partner Peugeot Citroen.
• Toyota joined three other companies in unveiling a “smart grid” project in Aomori Prefecture that endeavors to “use only renewable energy sources.”
• It was reported that a tourism board in Kyushu is developing a plan to have the entire island “designated a special deregulation zone for tourism.”

Here & There

• See if you can follow us on this one: an ethnic Korean resident of Kobe has won a retrial after spending 15 years in a South Korean jail for allegedly spying for North Korea.
• A Tokyo-based group called the Cancer Survivors Recruiting Project has created a guidebook offering tips for cancer victims who want to return to work.
• JAL hosted a fashion show at Haneda Airport that showcased 14 flight attendant uniforms from throughout the airline’s history.
• A sweets shop in Maebashi was forced to remove some 30,000 items from its shelves after five customers found sewing needles in its products.
• Bottom Story of the Week: “Seniors Finding Benefits of Improving Posture” (via Kyodo)

Compiled from reports by Bloomberg, Jiji, AP, Japan Today, The Japan Times, The International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi Daily News, Tokyo Reporter, Daily Yomiuri, and Kyodo