Top Stories - Japan

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17 monks ring Japan's largest bell for New Year's

http://jasoncollin.org

At Choin-in Temple in Kyoto, Japan, it takes 17 monks to ring in the new year. It's an amazing event to witness, which thousands do every New Year's Eve. This post includes a photo gallery and a video of the event.

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6

Guam USAF - Japan picks up tab

http://www.kentucky.com

"Guam's transformation will cost at least $15 billion - with Japan footing more than $6 billion of the bill - and put some of the U.S. military's highest-profile assets within the fences of a vastly improved network of bases."

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6

The world’s 10 best commutes

http://www.eastasiafair.com

Forbes recently conducted research to find the big cities with the best commutes. Despite being notorious for their lack of rules in traffic, more than half of the Top10 best commutes are located in Asia.

1. Hong Kong, China
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Chennai, India
4. Dakar, Senegal
5. Osaka, Japan
6. London, UK
7. Beijing, China
8. Mumbai, India
9. Krakow, Poland

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6

Kokeshi Doll Concours d'Elegance - Gunma

http://gunmajet.net

just in case you are passing thru Gunma County - "Only once a year, the newest of Gunma’s famed modern kokeshi dolls are gathered in a single place. Production kokeshi, new-style kokeshi, wood carving tools, and more will be on display at this exhibition." - (tah remora)

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9

Debate on multiple nationalities to heat up

http://search.japantimes.co.jp

I lost my Japanese nationality almost 30 years ago pursuant to Article 11 of the Nationality Law (which I believe applied to Dr. Nambu as well). Will I want to get my Japanese nationalty back if they decide to allow dual citizenship? Well, I think I'm fine with just one passport issued by the country I feel home, although I might feel differetnly if I had kids.

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8

Japan Demotorization - Youth tunes out

http://www.sltrib.com

I have never run across across this new hybrid word - Demotorization but what a beauty!! take a bow Yuri Kageyama from The Associated Press..

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9

Japanese Immigration: Don't bring me your huddled masses

http://www.economist.com

Unless they have return tickets home...? Still there is hope, maybe, because "some people are beginning to imagine a more mixed Japan".

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9

New Year's Money for Children

http://www.peterpayne.net

After our New Year's prayer, we prepared to visit some my wife's uncle, but the kids wanted to go with their grandparents who were going to stop by some other relatives' houses first. I knew exactly what they were after: otoshi-dama, the "yearly coin" that adults give to children on New Year's, usually $20-30 per child depending on the relationship and the child's age.

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8

New Year's Eve at a Japanese Temple - Zojoij

http://www.youtube.com

This is a repost from last year but I'm putting up again to show people what goes on at the New Year at Japanese Temples in case they are wondering what to do for that night.

Zojo-ji in Hammatsucho lets loose dozens of whitel balloons, rings a giant bell, makes a bonfire, and makes mochi the old fashion way.

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8

Time For Big Cleaning, Buddhist Temple Style

http://www.peterpayne.net

As December draws to a close, Japan is getting ready for Oshogatsu (New Year's Day), by far the most important holiday in the country. But before we can start the new year there's plenty of work to do, beginning with osoji (oh-SOH-jee), the year-end "big cleaning" that everyone does here. But did you know it was originally a religeous ceremony?

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9

Japan's vaunted Bullet Train system succumbs to Murphy's Law

http://news.yahoo.com

New Year travel plans were thrown out for nearly 140,000 people Monday after a computer glitch disrupted more than 250 of Japan's bullet trains, the operator said.

The trouble came a day after heavy snow and strong winds separately forced the company to suspend 35 bullet train services, also in eastern and northern Japan, affecting more than 30,000 passengers.

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9

Japan and Sarcasm Don't Go Together So Well

http://www.peterpayne.net

Although I sometimes wish otherwise, my personality can be a little on the sarcastic side. For example, if I saw a movie that didn't meet my expectations for some reason, I might describe it as the best movie I'd seen all year just for the sake of irony. But this kind of joke is very far culturally from the Japanese...

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7

Japan to go ahead with maglev train despite economic crisis

http://www.physorg.com

The chairman of Central Japan Railway Co. said a costly project to build the next generation of maglev train would go ahead, brushing aside concerns about the impact of the global economic crisis.

Building the magnetically levitated train between Tokyo and Nagoya is expected to cost of 5.1 trillion yen (56 billion dollars) and will take until 2025.

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9

Japanese homicides fall, as hangings rise

http://www.usatoday.com

Japan is executing criminals at its fastest pace in more than three decades as homicides actually are on the decline — the lowest since World War II, according to Japan's National Police Agency.

And who said the death penalty isn't a deterrent?

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10

My Buddhist Christmas

http://www.peterpayne.net

My first Christmas in Japan was quite a surprise. When I got here, I didn't expect the Japanese people I would meet to be very religious, so after arriving in my city I was surprised to find myself surrounded by a kind community of Japanese Baptists who ran a friendly church complete with a kindergarten for the local kids. Then came the Buddhist Christmas...

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9

Japanese Emperor cancels birthday news conference

http://zichi.blogspot.com

Japanese Emperor Akihito turns 75 tomorrow, with worries mounting over his succession in the world's oldest monarchy and with the country's stressed crown princess entering her sixth year as a recluse.

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10

Stressed Japanese workers smash plates

http://newslite.tv

Actually this is quite a dull story I rally more interested in the Editors Pick on the right about the naked girls with guns calender

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8

Japan to accept 30 Burmese refugees

http://www.mizzima.com

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Japan has decided to accept 30 Burmese refugees languishing in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. The decision makes Japan the first Asian country to accept Burmese refugees.

The Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso during a cabinet meeting on Thursday agreed to accept 30 Burmese refugees to Japan in the fiscal year 2010.

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10

Japan in '65 sought US nuclear shield versus China

http://news.yahoo.com

During his first trip to Washington as Japan's PM in 1965, Eisaku Sato told then-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara that American military forces could launch a nuclear attack on China by sea if needed.

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11

Astounding Japanese Highways, Bridges and Interchanges

http://www.darkroastedblend.com

Japan saw most of its infrastructure bombed back to the stone age in the final years of World War II, which makes the country's post-war rejuvenation all the more astounding. Today, shaped by the demands of restrictive space and economic boom & bust, Japan's hardened transportation arteries display artistic forms that go far beyond their functions.

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9

A Geography of Time by Robert Levine - Chapter 8

http://www1.odn.ne.jp

"Blue Mondays are no problem for Japanese workers. They are more likely to be afflicted with angst and psychosomatic symptoms from conditions with names like 'Sunday Disease' and 'The Holiday Syndrome. One doctor, for example, has described the case of a stricken accountant: 'Every Friday, without fail, he feels a sharp pain spreading across the back of his neck.

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8

Photos of Tokyo Tower in its 50th Anniversary Year

http://jasoncollin.org

A photo gallery featuring dusk and night photos of Tokyo Tower as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Views from afar as well as right inside the structure of Tokyo Tower are featured.

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8

Civic duty dodgers plaguing new lay judge system

http://mdn.mainichi.jp

Around one in three candidates have refused to serve as lay judges under Japan's new judicial system. A call center set up for candidates also is reporting that about half the calls it gets are to find out if service as a lay judge can be refused.

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8

Group demands that Google stop virtual voyeur service in Japan

http://news.yahoo.com

A group of Japanese lawyers and professors has asked Google to stop providing detailed street-level images of Japanese cities on the Internet, saying they violated privacy rights.

"We strongly suspect that what Google has been doing deeply violates a basic right that humans have," Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor of constitutional law at Sophia University in Tokyo, told Reuters by telephone.

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9

U.S. to Deploy Stealth Fighters to Japan

http://www.foxnews.com

A dozen F-22 stealth fighter jets will be deployed to the southern Japan island of Okinawa for three months from January, the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday. It will be their second deployment to the island in two years.

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6

Wild boar injures four in Iwade

http://www.upi.com

Police says hunters shot and killed a wild boar after it attacked four people in a residential area of Iwade, Japan.

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7

Viking vexation

http://blog.japundit.com

I was flittering around on Twitter today and noticed a question posted by someone who had just been in Japan (Dr. Beth Meyer), asking why buffets over here are called bai-kin (viking).

I replied it was because of: buffet > smorgasbord > From Sweden > Land of the Vikings

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6

Japan chain opens DIY restaurant in the Philippines

http://www.noodlesandrice.com

A new Japanese food chain takes the Philippines by storm! Pepper Lunch is a DIY steakhouse from Japan where diners get to cook their own food over a sizzling hot plate that is heated up to 260°C within one minute and can keep your food warm for more than 20 minutes.

Isn't this Kramer's idea?

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6

Zakka - The Art of the Small Corner

http://www.taipeitimes.com

For many people, the word conjures up images of sun-dappled rooms filled with natural colors and small, well-chosen objets d’art. In Japanese and Chinese, zakka (雜貨) literally means “many goods.” But what exactly is zakka?

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12

The Japanese snow monkeys who enjoy nothing more than a hot bath

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Most monkeys are happy swinging in the trees of tropical jungles but from the look on the face of this one there is nothing like indulging in a hot bath after a long day.

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