Tokyo to face ‘toilet refugee’ crisis in quake: study

TOKYO (AFP) — A dreaded major earthquake in Tokyo would set off a crisis of “toilet refugees,” with a restroom shortage for nearly 820,000 people, a government study said.

An expert panel of the government’s Central Disaster Prevention Council came to the conclusion this week while studying the potential impact of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the tremor-prone metropolis.

According to the study, some 817,000 people would find themselves without toilets two hours after such a big tremor, which would cut off 46 percent of Tokyo’s water supply.

The wait to use a toilet would be four and a half hours in central Chiyoda ward, home to the headquarters of major companies, government buildings and the imperial palace. “Besides food and water, shortage of toilets is one of the major issues in post-disaster situations,” said Itsuki Nakabayashi, head of the study panel.

The group is advising Tokyo residents always to carry pocket-sized tissue papers or plastic bags for emergency toilet use and urged companies to have portable toilets on standby….

A previously bankrupt Japanese actor is featured in a TV commercial for a website that offers free cell phone games. The TV ads for gree.jp builds on the assumed common knowledge of the celebrity’s previous financial woes, and simply states "I have no money. I have time", and that he can play the Gree mobile phone games for free. Shiro Kishibe began his entertainment career in a pop singing group in 1969 and became famous as an idol. TV dramas and movies followed. The well known actor declared bankruptcy in the late 1990’s. His financial situation was widely reported. Watch the gree.jp TV commercials.

The new Hi-Kara handheld cube from Takara-Tomy is designed to make the popular karaoke singing activity more easily available to teens and kids in Japan. Two headphone-mics can connect to the device, and plug-in music cartridges provide the lyrics that are displayed on the LCD screen. Users hear the music and their own voice in the headphones. A USB terminal connects to a computer to download music to the cartridge from the Hi-Kara music website. About 3500 songs are available so far. The device can also be connected to a TV. Other options included speakers and an AC power adapter for the unit, and a standalone mic for a TV or the cube. The Hi-Kara will be available outside Japan in 2009. Hi-Kara, headset mic and downloader terminal: JPY 12600; cartridge: 10-song capacity, JPY 2100, 20-song, JPY 3675; downloader terminal: JPY 3150; standalone mic: JPY 3500; AC adapter: 3150. Size: (W)70×(H)70×(D)70mm. Weight: 150 grams.via: IT Media; Mycom.

Big Echo, Gotanda, Tokyo; Purple karaoke room

Karaoke Collection - a brief photo history

photos: Home Karaoke with DVD/CD/Dual Cassette; Kara OK girls duet mic system; Mute Karaoke low tech system; Mike Boy handy karaoke; Onkyo Debut wireless mic karaoke; Hyper Karaoke mic; Kara OK mic; Karaoke Station for Girls; Logitec Poke Kara wireless mic and FM transmitter; Sing with Anpan Man karaoke mic; Hello Kitty" karaoke CD player; Nakoyoshi karaoke blue microphone.

A company that operates a ski resort in Japan regularly uses its chairlift to dry sheaves of rice.

The Ishiuchi-Maruyama Resort trademarked the name "Sky Rice" (tenku-mai) for the Koshihikari rice harvested in Minami-Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture.

An employee of Japan Lift Service, which runs the resort, suggested the idea. The employee grew up farming rice before joining the company. JLS  started the sun-dried rice-on-a-lift idea in 2004. 

Hanging rice to dry rather than using a combine harvester results in a moister rice grain with a distinct flavor. The 800 meter ski lift goes into normal use when the Ishiuchi ski season begins in the middle of December.


photos: blue sky; indoors, Liftman ; valley Ishiuchi-Maruyama

Real Police Protect Real Old

Elderly people using cell phones at automatic teller machines in banks, convenience stores, and train stations are being questioned by police in Japan during a month-long nationwide anti-scam campaign.

The October effort is to prevent senior citizens from becoming victims of phone swindles. In one kind of scam, con artists call the elderly, convince them that a family member – usually a son –  is in trouble, and money is needed to settle the matter. Often the swindler convincingly poses as the desperate son.

Scammers had instructed seniors to withdraw cash at the bank and bring it to a specified location for the handover or wait at home for the money to be picked up.

When bank tellers started to become aware of the fraud, they began asking senior citizens about large withdrawals at the counter. Subsequently, the fraudsters started sending the elderly to ATMs, either to withdraw cash, or to electronically transfer funds from the ATM to the swindler’s acccount, all the while giving their targets instructions via cell phone. Victims were sometimes told to send the cash by postal packet or express delivery service.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is continually manning 1,000 ATMs. Officers are regularly patrolling 11,000 other ATM locations. The MPD has deployed 6,000 police officers for the operation.

But the Yomiuri Shimbun reports senior citizens have been conned during the anti-scam campaign. The paper says that of 94 scams reported as of mid-October, 16 incidents transpired at ATMs under police watch. The swindlers got away with almost 17 million yen, and one victim gave 2.98 million yen to the con artists.

The newspaper said the MPD is looking for effective ways for police and bank staff to communicate with pensioners to ensure sure they do not become victims of a scam. related: Evolving scams

Tokyo MPD: 42,984 officers. Population: 12,790,000. Officers per capita: 1 officer per 297 people.  source
New York City: 37,838 officers. Population: 8,274,527. Officers per capita:  1 : 218  source
London: 31,073 officers. Population: 7,560,000. Officers per capita: 1 : 243  source
Seoul: 24,736 officers. Population: 10,421,78. Officers per capita: 1 : 421  source

photos: (Yomiuri 7-11; Suginami.) (Two cops)