People are being asked to not use mobile phones while walking in train stations in Tokyo. The transport ministry and railway companies began the effort after a 5th grade elementary school boy who was walking and looking at his smartphone accidentally stepped off the platform and onto the train tracks at Tokyo’s Yotsuya Station on May 27.

The boy fell 1.1 meters onto the tracks at the same time that a train was pulling into the station. The train came to a stop before reaching the boy, who had dived into the open space under the platform. The boy suffered minor injuries from the fall.

East Japan Railway Company (JR) officials say collisions between people walking while looking at their mobile phones has increased steadily the past three years.

On June 10, JR placed "Don’t use your phones or look at game devices while walking" posters in 520 stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Station announcements also ask people not to use mobile phones or handheld game players while walking. The mobile phone safety awareness campaign will run until July 31.

photos: Shinjuku station, Tokyo Shibuya station, Tokyo

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The maker of a popular pigeon-shaped cookie was awarded naming rights to three beaches in Kamakura, Japan. The beaches will be renamed in 2014 by the manufacturer of the Hato Sabure (pigeon sable) butter cookie. Toshimaya company opened the first Hato Sabure confectionary store in Kamakura circa 1897.

The Kamakura city government in Kanagawa Prefecture sold the naming rights to cover the cost of beach maintenance. Ten firms submitted naming rights bids. Hato Sabure will pay 12 miliion yen annually for 10 years. It is the first time beach naming rights have been sold in Japan.

Koshigoe, Yuigahama, and Zaimokuza beaches will share a single name. Hato Sabure officials have not chosen a name for the beaches but says it does  not intend to name the areas Hato Sabure Beach.  

Kanagawa prefectural outdoor advertisement regulations limit advertising displays to 2-meters in size.

Recipe: Butter Cookies 

photos: Zaimokuza beach; Yuigahama beach; Koshigoe beach.

Security cameras for a safe Japan

above (left) Security camera in hot springs changing room at a hotel at Madarao Kogen hot springs, Nagano Prefecture Japan. (center) On a vending machine. (right) Surveillance camera in a bus.

above (left) 2009 - No surveillance camera in Kokugikan sumo hall. (right) 2012 - Surveillance camera in Kokugikan sumo hall.

Security cameras at the sumo hall

The Japan Sumo Association setup ‘‘mob-cams” surveillance cameras in the Aichi-ken Taiikukan arena in Nagoya for the July 2010 sumo tournament. The effort is to prevent gangsters (yakuza) from attending sumo matches.

Organized crime links to sumo were exposed in late 2009 and again in early 2010.

Gangsters were reportedly extorting money from the sumo wrestler Kotomitsuki, the highest ranked Japanese wrestler at the time.

Tickets usually given to corporate sponsors had been obtained by the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate and gang members were seen seated ringside at tournaments. The gangsters wanted to be visible on TV broadcasts to raise the spirits of their colleagues watching sumo tournaments from prison cells.

Surveillance cameras were also installed at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo hall before the 2010 Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. The JSA is cooperating with the police in the use of the security cameras.

Bus cameras in Kyoto

above Surveillance camera on city bus in Kyoto, Japan

Surveillance cameras are installed on 20 city buses in Kyoto. The bus cameras record video at the bus stops. Later, the video is checked for cars illegally parked at the bus stops. Officials are especially concerned about illegal parking at bus stops around Kyoto station. Repeat offenders are reported to the police.

Three cameras are attached to the outside of the buses and two are installed inside the buses. The camera system is explained in a sticker on the bus exteriors.

Some buses in Saitama, Tokyo, and Fukuoka Prefecture also have cameras installed to record video of bus stops.

Police have a cam-van

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have a vehicle equipped with security cameras. Three of the cameras are mounted on an extendable arm that can capture video in 360 degrees from a maximum height of 6.7 meters. Those cameras can recognized people’s faces up to 150 meters away. The 2-ton police cam-truck also carries 9 portable security cameras.

Video can be transfered to each police station and police headquarters by a satellite communication link on the truck. Video footage is saved for 7 days and then erased The surveillance truck is used in high-crime areas in Tokyo.

(more…)

The traditional Japanese men’s underwear “fundoshi”, a loincloth made from a stretch of white cotton, and which reveals the buttocks, is making a comeback in other fabrics and with contemporary designs, and these fundoshi are gaining popularity with both men and women.

Traditional white fundoshi have been mostly worn by boys and men in Japan when participating in festivals and the Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival.)

The Japanese firm Wacoal, began selling fundoshi for women in late 2008.

The Japan Fundoshi Association was established in December 2011 to enhance people’s understanding and awareness of fundoshi. The association recommends that everyone over age 10 in Japan own at least 2 loincloths. The JFA also hopes to popularize February 14 as "Fundoshi Day.”

A Japanese love life advisor known as “Love and Communication Instructor Olivia”, says that fundoshi for women will raise the quality of a woman’s love life.

In an article on the JFA website, she recommends wearing the loincloth only at night, for sleeping.

“Since there is no bundle of rubber around the groin area, blood circulation of the circumference of the pelvis is promoted and sensitivity to cold and resistance to edema are improved,” she says.

Olivia says that women will feel more vigor in their “lower half” in the morning, which will be attractive to men.

Olivia tested a loose one-piece loincloth fundoshi which wraps around the stomach and hips. She says it felt as if she were not wearing anything, breathability was good, and it was warm. The love life expert’s test loincloth was made of hemp, usually associated with the attire of Shinto priests. “Wrapping one’s private parts in the material used for divine work is a somewhat sacred feeling,” she says.

Fundoshi for ladies 
Tafusagiya
Lovesupple
Maruwas
Goldstar
Fundoshi for men 
Tafusagiya
Tanukidou
Ryushuya
Hotya
Fundoshi for men and women
Maruwas
Saku-rai

photos: Mannequins; festival; TV program; anime how to wear; man sleeps

A new law in Japan prohibits pet shops from displaying cats and dogs after 8 p.m. The Environment Ministry Law for Animal Welfare and Management ordinance also bans pet shops from selling any animal after 8 p.m. Prior to the June 1 implementation of the law, many pet shops stayed open after midnight.

Some pet shops in the entertainment districts in big cities in Japan had stayed open until 3 a.m., displaying puppies and kittens to the businessmen and hostesses leaving nearby clubs.

According to the new law cats and dogs can be on display at pet shops from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. only.

The ordinance is partly in response to claims by animal rights’ groups that animals kept in tiny cages and under bright lighting at night are under stress and those conditions can affect the growth hormone and the health of the animals.

Cat cafés, where customers pay to mingle with cats in coffee-shop-like settings were granted a waiver from the ordinance. Cat cafés can have cats on display until 10 p.m. if the animals are over a year old and are not caged.

Violators of the law face fines of up to ¥300,000. More public hearings will be held before renewal of the ordinance in 2014.

Dog in pet shop Baby Doll, Shibuya, Tokyo

Cats displayed in a pet store in Roppongi, Tokyo

Sign in front of cat café in Tokyo

photos: cat café; open late; Baby Doll; cats Roppongi; sign in front.

Game centers in Japan are making arcade-game-playing more comfortable for senior citizens and retirees. Almost a fourth of Japan’s population is over the age of 65, and amusement arcade operators are making changes to better accommodate the elderly.

A popular game among seniors is the "medal game" in which coins or tokens dropped into the machine may eventually push jackpot coins over the inner rim and out to the player.

Namcoland Aeon in Kyoto has access restrictions. Those age 15 and under cannot enter after 6:00 P.M. unless accompanied by an adult, and anyone age 18 and under must be accompanied by an adult in order to play a medal game in its "medal corner". The arcade’s theme is "Amusements for three generations."

Namcoland Aeon’s aisles are wider to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs, there are no steps or other barriers, there are more chairs, and the outlet is easy to access from street level.

The in-store sound system volume has been lowered to make it easier for the elderly to hear and the text size has been enlarged on signs and displays.

The Namcoland Aeon staff has been instructed to speak clearly and to make the medal games more user friendly.

Some Adores game centers offer complimentary tea and sweets to customers over age 60 before 10 a.m. Free medal game credits to customers over the age of 60 are also offered by some Adores outlets. The chain also lends out blankets, gloves for wearing while playing medal games, and, if it’s started raining while the customer is inside, umbrellas, if the customer doesn’t have one for the return home.

Some of Konami’s latest arcade games have instructions in larger type to aid readability for senior citizens. Game instructions are also clearly indicated on the machines.

Many game centers have installed massage chairs, and provide reading glasses to customers upon request.

Other retail businesses are catering to the elderly market. The Ueshima coffee shops in Tokyo offers wider aisles an lower tables than the typical Starbucks, and Keio department store provides more chairs, and larger text on signs.

photos: wheelchair; crane games; taito-station; horse racing game; massage chairs.

Japan’s national provisional safety limit for levels of radioactive cesium in food is 500 becquerels per kilogram. Let’s Japan reviewed food-test data issued by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare covering the period from March 1, 2011 – Dec. 21, 2011.

Highest becquerels per kilogram levels

photos: radiation measurement; cabbage protesters; checkpoint Minamisoma Fukushima; Fukushima relief effort fundraiser; tsunami destruction; produce-stand

Shoppers in Tokyo, March 25, 2011

We’ve been having some troubles here in Japan.  Maybe you’ve heard. I’ve written some articles about the earthquake and the coverage of the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear reactors. You can read my reports here:

March 25, 2011
Op-Ed: Tokyo OK, foreign media’s sensational coverage shameful

March 16, 2011
US govt recommends 80 Km Fukushima evac zone; currently 30km

March 15, 2011
US agrees with reactor response ambassador in Tokyo says

March 15, 2011
Higher than normal radiation detected along Japan Pacific coast

March 14, 2011
Shielding possibly damaged by explosion at Fukushima No.2 Tuesday

March 14, 2011
Op-Ed: The earthquake aftermath in Tokyo

March 13, 2011
Rolling Blackouts Begin Monday in Tokyo

March 12, 2011
How I survived the Japanese earthquake

Freddie Mercury, who was the lead vocalist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen, and who died in 1991, stars in a TV commercial in Japan for Nissin’s Cup Noodle instant ramen noodles. The commercial features Mercury’s performance of Queen’s "I Was Born to Love You" and a dubbed Japanese voice sings the lyrics. The lyrics have been changed and some of the words in the song have been replaced by "Cup Noodle" in English.

The dead-Freddie-Mercury-commercial follows Nissin’s recent airing of a TV commercial of Jon Bon Jovi in concert, singing "You Give Love a Bad Name", also dubbed and sung with altered lyrics in Japanese.

Appliance and electronics retail chain Yamada Denki has begun selling an electric car at some of its retail stores. Yamada has partnered with Mitsubishi Motors to sell the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle. Yamada is the first household appliances store in Japan to sell an electric car.

The i-MiEV electric vehicle is on sale at 17 Yamada Denki stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The car is on display inside each of the 17 stores and there is a full-time car salesman on hand at each outlet. These Yamada stores also sell and install the vehicle-charging equipment and offer complete “Smart House” solar photovoltaic solutions.

The i-MiEV has been on the market since July 2009, and about 3,000 of the vehicles have been sold in Japan.

Yamada Denki Online shopping

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photos:  Charge point (R); Charge point (L)