People can avoid publicizing their personal phone number when searching for a missing pet by using a new pet phone number from NTT. Called Wan Nyumber*, the service consists of a tag that has a unique telephone number printed on it. The finder of the lost pet calls the number, which is answered by NTT, who has the pet owner’s information that is assigned to the phone number. NTT contacts the pet owner.

The round tags are customizable with more than 100 designs. Wan Nyumber advertising promotes protection from nuisance calls if a personal phone number is used on tags or "lost" posters, and that the Wan Nyumber data is easier to update than replacing an embedded pet ID microchip.

The service costs JPY 525 per month.

*"Wan wan", the sound of a barking dog; "Nya nya, the sound a cat makes.

January
Canon Japan employees leave early to make babies

Canon lets workers leave early twice a week to encourage them to have more babies. The 5:30 p.m. lights-out program at Canon addresses the declining birthrate problem while also reducing employee overtime costs.

February
‘Doorplate mania’ man arrested.

A 42-year-old Tokyo man is arrested for stealing about 290 nameplates from house entrances. "I loved to collect plates of rare names. I repeatedly stole nameplates in Tokyo, Chiba and Saitama prefectures from about five years ago," the man told police March.

March
Teacher forced student to wear maid costume

A 51-year-old male high school teacher in Odate, Akita Prefecture forces an 18-year-old female student to wear a maid costume in the school’s art club and makes other club members take pictures of her.

April
Doctor admits lacing tea with sleeping powder

Kyoto University Hospital doctor arrested on suspicion of putting a sleep-inducing drug in a female graduate student’s tea. The doctor said he was fond of the student and wanted to attract her attention.

May
Horror-themed Toilet Paper from Japan Puts You on the Edge of Your Seat

Novel printed on toilet paper rolls. Written by Koji Suzuki, who also authored the horror novel "Ring".

June
Dead tadpoles fall from sky

Ishikawa Prefecture, located on the Japan Sea Coast experiences raining tadpoles. One resident finds 13 dead tadpoles each around 3 inches long, on and around his car. Another reports hearing a strange noise in a nearby parking lot, then finds 100 tadpoles covering cars in the lot.

July
Love hotels not touched by recession.

Japan’s love hotel industry thrives while other businesses suffer. (Love hotel finder.)

August
Elderly American tourist jailed for holding small pocketknife

Man asks Tokyo cop for directions. Cop asks if man has a knife. Man says yes. Man jailed for 10 days.

September
Blue lights soothe suicidal in Tokyo train stations

Blue lights installed on train platforms in Tokyo to prevent people from jumping into oncoming trains. "Blue lighting was selected because there are claims the color blue calms emotions," an official from East Japan Railway’s Tokyo office said.

October
Airline passengers told to use toilet before boarding

All Nippon Airways positions staff near the boarding gates in terminals to ask passengers waiting for their flight to relieve themselves before boarding the aircraft. ANA claims empty bladders means lighter passengers, which in turn means lighter aircraft and lower fuel use. ANA said that it may expand the October toilet-trial if results are positive and it is well received by passengers.

Dead pets come back as bracelets

A Shiga, Japan company advertises it will pickup a dead pet, mix its ashes with the clay from the bed of nearby Lake Biwa, and bake the ashes into jewelry for the owner of the deceased pet. The clay from Lake Biwa is commonly used to produce traditional Shigaraki pottery and stoneware.

December
Hotels with train view entice train spotters

Hotels near stations try to attract railway fans with rooms marketed as having a "rail view". There are estimated to be 20,000 railway buffs in Japan. (Odakyu hotels rail fan stay plan; Keikyu hotels rail fan stay plan.)

Are you tired of scratching your itches? Don’t like applying skin cream throughout the day? Rohto Pharmaceutical’s over-the-counter Tokiinshi Jyo tablets will stop your scratching. Take 4 tablets per day to suppress the itching caused by dry skin or eczema. The pill is intended for non-allergy-caused itching.

Ingredients include Chinese herbs: Dong Quai; Radix Saposhnikoviae; chi-li-tzu; Rehmannia Root; Schizonepetae Spica; Shou Wu Chih.
Korean herbs: Cnidium officinale Makino.
Other: Peony; licorice extract; additives.
price: 252 tablets (three weeks) JPY 4725; 84 tablets (one week) JPY 1680.

Researchers in Japan seem intent on putting an end to unpleasant, sometimes vital, human bodily functions, as previously mentioned here on Lets Japan.

• Piss a little during exercise? See your pee disappear! The pee pad for women!
• You really do not have to piss so often when you use Lady Guard!
• Know you’re going to eat too much? Here’s how to stuff your face without experiencing the onset of that unpleasant full stomach feeling! The pre-party pill! Good for your alcohol-drinking plan too!

WARNING: Do not mix these powders, pills and pads. May be hazardous to your health.

Stylish Masks Cool, Steam, and Fit Lips and Noses

Blue surgical-style face masks are being worn by millions around the world in an effort to prevent contracting the swine flu H1N1 virus. In Japan, masks are a common sight anytime people are suffering from a cold, hay fever or other allergies.

The world news reporting of the global swine flu situation indicates the wearing of masks in places other than hospitals is rather uncommon. Japanese have years of experience with mask-wearing, and we’ve gathered the best mask fashions. Choose from the nose-fit models, the form-fitting model with wire, the masks that won’t fog up your glasses, the designer masks, the menthol masks, the tea-filter masks, the masks that feel like a steam facial, and the masks that look like bra cups. Now you can fight the flu in style!

(more…)

Ladies who might inadvertently urinate during sports activities or other strenuous activities can now feel protected with the new Natura pee pad. Natura is worn like a sanitary pad and absorbs urine like a mini-diaper.

There are plenty of urine-catching pads, plastic panties, panty inner-sheets and liners for menopausal conditions, elderly ladies, women post-childbirth, and others who suffer from temporary or long-term incontinence. But Natura is specifically targeting accidental urination caused by sports and activities.

Natura is aimed at new moms and women who suffer from conditions necessitating a "more/mole pad" (leak out pad). Natura also seems to target ladies who might be caused to pee by: the sudden movement of a train; being groped by a tennis instructor; stress after experiencing her grocery bag ripping and spilling dozens of potatos; or by standing up from a seated position. Natura pads are available in various sizes up to the 26cm version, which will absorb 60cc of pee. 

Kao makes Freeday, a similar product which is advertised for use by women suffering from menopausal conditions or who have recently given birth. Freeday also can be used to prevent urination triggered by sports activities or lifting heavy loads. The Freeday advertising material says women do not have to worry about light urination caused by coughing, frequent sneezing due to hay fever, or laughing to one’s heart’s content. The information goes on to explain the physical reasons that women are more likely than men to have this activity-induced piddle problem.

Customer comments on the Freeday website include how Freeday was useful when dancing, playing volleyball, jumping on a trampoline, hiking, skipping rope, at the batting center, swimming, tennis, badminton, aerobics, dodgeball, and landing from a very long slide at the playground.

Together with Lady Guard, the piss prevention pill, ladies in Japan will be totally relieved of the need to pee while participating in sports and leisure activities, during long trips, working long hours without a break, sleeping, chatting at the cafe, and peeling daikon.

Lets Japan is not aware of any products in Japan for ladies who suffer from Sudden Movement Excrement Leakage Syndrome.

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 flight attendant photo calendars. JAL cancelled future editions due to the low demand. The status of JAL’s "World of Beauty", "Fleet" and other calendars is unclear. The cabin crew calendar costs JYP 1500.

For calendar collectors who cannot obtain the final JAL flight attendant calendar, public TV channel NHK sells a 2009 calendar featuring NHK-TV female news anchors, for JPY 1600. Our favorite NHK weathercaster Sae Nakarai appears in the NHK calendar.
related: NHK announcer profiles (J).

Now natto lovers can access their fermented beans without having to pull off the usual troublesome plastic film that always sticks to the food. Mitsukan’s Kin No Tsubu brand of natto is in nonstick packaging that eliminates the need for a film layer separating the natto from the inside of the lid. The pouch of tare sauce that is usually included with the natto has been replaced with a a blob of jellied sauce.

Diners no longer have to struggle to tear open a sauce packet. The polystyrene tray package is divided into two compartments – one for the natto and the other for the jellied sauce. The sauce can be picked up with chopsticks and dissolves when mixed into the natto. Mitsukan says the new package was created in response to complaints about the difficulty of opening the sauce pouch without spilling the contents, and that the process of removing the film spreads long sticky streaks of natto onto one’s hands and the table. How to eat natto video.

McDonald’s new Salad Marinade Muffin consists of a slice of bacon, American cheese, lettuce, marinated red peppers, onions and Caesar salad dressing sandwiched between an English muffin. (It’s a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. A BLT. ) The Salad Marinade Muffin (^_~) is an effort to expand the selection of "healthy menu" (^_^ ) choices from McDonald’s Japan. Available on the breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m. Price: JPY 210. (The Freshness Burger chain offered a BLT sandwich for a limited time in September 2007.)
photos: Open wrapper; "M" logo; BLT.

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 the estimated seismic intensity and counts down to the estimated arrival time.

NTT is also selling a standalone earthquake warning device called the Urgent Earthquake News Flash FLET’S Type. Flashing LED lights and an audible alarm indicate a quake warning and the quake arrival time and a countdown are announced. External warning lights can be connected to the device. FLET’S is an NTT brand of high-speed ADSL and fiber optic services.

NTT says the FLET’S quake warning service offers more precise data and details than the information that is offered in warnings on TV and in optional services that send email quake alerts to cell phones. 

A fixed-line cordless phone from Sanyo also automatically receives and loudly announces the JMA warnings. The system utilizes a standard telephone line and an included Local Area Network wireless terminal. The 1.7-inch liquid crystal display backlight on the phone handset displays a red warning, a light on the handset blinks, and the wireless LAN terminal lamp flashes red. The phone lamp also acts as a flashlight. (Read more : Phones Ring Earthquake Warnings)

An earthquake tremor occurs in Japan at least every five minutes, and annually there are up to 2000 quakes that can be felt by people.

The Urgent Earthquake Bulletin service costs JPY 525 per month. NTT sells the Urgent Earthquake News Flash FLET’S Type receiver for JPY 9,500. The monthly NTT maintenance charge is JPY 147. The unit uses an AC power source adapter. related: Getting ready for an earthquake in Tokyo; Earthquake Early Warnings.

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 are no cows in the picture. Where’s the beef? Another USMEF ad seen on a train depicts a young male farmer holding a little boy. Some cattle can be seen in the distance behind the farmer.

The Japanese website has beef-safety information, recipes, pages for kids, and instructions for making meat origami.

In 2004 Japan banned U.S. beef imports for the first time after a case of was confirmed in Washington state in 2003. The Japanese government lifted the beef ban in December 2005. In January 2006 the Japanese government banned imports of US beef again, then lifted that embargo in July 2007.  In December 2008 Japan banned imports of beef from a Wisconsin meat-packing plant because non-certified beef products were discovered in a shipment.

Japan, once the largest importer of US beef, is now the third-largest buyer of U.S. beef.

A US meat industry publication stated in a December 2008 report "U.S. pork continues its reign as the king of imported pork in Japan." The data shows Japan accounts for 31 percent of the total value of U.S. pork exports.

The USMEF American Meat promotion campaign is funded by U.S. beef and pork producers.