Posters promoting longer skirt lengths in Niigata high schools are causing a controversy. A group of high school teachers who also act as guidance counselors made the posters and distributed them to all high schools in Niigata prefecture in December 2008. At the end of January, school principals started the "Proper dress all at once
A monkey scampered through a residential neighborhood in Ibaraki City, Osaka prefecture, and ate a dried persimmon. A passerby called police around 2:30 p.m. Feb. 13. "There is a big ape in the East Ota neighborhood," the woman told police. The Japanese macaque monkey snacked while police kept watch. The police pursued the monkey as
The macaque monkey that appeared unescorted at Shibuya train station in Tokyo in August 2008 remains free. The monkey outsmarted police and escaped into the city. Cops have been responding to the occasional monkey-sighting, but have failed to catch the chimp. The monkey is now living in an internet cafe. The little simian was last
After 20 years, Japan Airlines has stopped publication of it’s calendars that feature pictures of cabin attendants. The wall and desktops calendars were first offered in 1989 and have been sold in bookstores, on the internet, and in JAL catalogs. Demand peaked in 1993, with about 100,000 copies printed. For 2009, JAL printed 50,000 of the
The effort to prevent elderly people from becoming victims of fraud continues with the debut of audio alerts during transactions at automatic teller machines in convenience stores. The caution message on the ATM screen and the voice announcement is designed to alert the elderly to the possibilty they are being swindled. The warning screen appears
The latest edition of Japan’s Weeky Playboy magazine has an article about US President Barack Obama. The current issue is being advertised on trains, and a picture of Obama is in the ad, along with pictures of the women that are featured inside the men’s magazine. The article about US President Obama says Japan will
The Shibuya monkey is living in an internet café. These images and a video clip from a cell phone camera were sent anonymously to Lets Japan. These photos show the monkey entering a cyber café. The story of the Tokyo Shibuya monkey began August 20, 2008, when the unaccompanied Japanese macaque monkey ran wild in Shibuya train station
A cold water phenomenon froze fish in the sea on the coast of Miyakojima island of Okinawa. Fish frozen solid washed ashore on Yonaha beach on Jan. 10. Water temperatures in the upper levels of the sea around the island dropped by 10 degrees, to 14.6 degrees Celsius. Combined with strong northerly winds the
Earthquake warnings pop up on computer screens in Japan for subscribers to the Urgent Earthquake Bulletin service from NTT telecommunications company. When a quake alert is issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency, the NTT service will automatically open an alert window on a personal computer screen. An alarm sounds, and the warning window displays
Advertisements promoting US meat do not feature cows or pigs prominently in the ads. The Japan ad campaign features friendly farmers and happy families with few images of cattle or hogs. One US Meat Export Federation advertisement on a Tokyo train depicts a man – a farmer – standing among crops in a field. There
We’re cleaning out last year’s article ideas to make room for the 2009 story ideas! At Lets Japan, we pass on the story savings to you! These fully functional fascinating fragments are our year-end gift to you, our valued viewers. This 1976 Lincoln Continental was parked in my neighborhood in September. Finding streets wide
Drink-In New Year With Cabbage-In Anticipating a long night of drinking and eating but afraid an upset stomach will cut your night short? A little packet of powder from Japan might maximize your enjoyment. Shin Kyabe 2 is one of three gastrointestinal products in the "Kyabe" lineup from KOWA Pharmaceuticals. Shin Kyabe 2 (Shin Cabba 2)
January A letter a Kawasaki schoolgirl sent aloft by balloon in 1993 was found fastened to a fish by a fisherman off Choshi port,150 kilometers away from where the balloon was launched. February A 39-year-old man wearing a high school girl’s uniform and a long wig loitered near a Saitama high school and was arrested
Ryu Kawaguchifujiyamasan, Jan. 1 – Feb 16. (Reason for resignation: health – "irritable atreporta syndrome".) Taro Suzuki, March 2 – March 28. (Lack of support: public opinion rating falls below 1%.) Jun Satoishikawa, April 1 – April 25. (Says: "I don’t know how to cook. There is no chef at official residence. I’m
Finding the perfect gift for the monkey in your life is always a challenge. It’s especially difficult when the monkey is on the Tokyo police department’s Most Wanted list. How are you going to get that gift to the monkey while the monkey is being chased by cops? It’s not like the simian safe houses are
