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.)

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The bow that US President Barack Obama made to Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo Nov. 14, 2009 has been criticized by some US media pundits and news outlets. In the US the Obama bow debate has focused on whether the form of the bow was correct, if Obama should have only shaken hands instead of bowing, and the implication of the bow. In Japan, the bow was not critiqued in the media. The reports from abroad have become more interesting to Japanese media than the Obama bow itself.

The Obama bow-handshake combo, though not especially elegant, was appropriate given the situation and the hand-thrust maneuver presented by Emperor Akihito.

The US media has mostly taken only a superficial look at bowing in Japan. While reporting on Obama’s alleged bowing gaffes, the media has overlooked the tremendous number of bowing options available in Japan. President Obama could have selected from several bow versions. Here is the Lets Japan Guide to Bow.

The Ten Bows Obama Did Not Do

  photos Degrees man; woman. White shirt.

A new Mcdonald’s TV commercial depicts a 1960’s American scenario that seems to be featuring the witch Samantha from the TV show Bewitched. In the ad, "Samantha" serves a single Quarter Pounder Bacon & BBQ burger to a birthday party consisting of 6 kids. Her husband "Darren" and another woman (possibly nosey neighbor Gladys Kravitz) watches the fun. Everyone claps when the burger is served.

1978 Mcdonald’s Japan TV Commercial

Bewitched in Japan(J) Wiki; Ochiochi wonderland. Bewitched around the world.

People who have lost their jobs and do not have money for food seem to be responsible for an increase in convenience store robberies in Tokyo.

The Metropolitan Police Department said food is being targeted instead of cash.

In September, a man armed with a knife stole onigiri (rice balls) and flavored carbonated alcoholic beverages (Chu-hai) valued at about JPY 2600 from a Tokyo convenience store. "I lost my job due to restructuring late last year. I was hungry," the 42-year-old man told the MPD.

In October, a man threatened a convenience store clerk with a box cutter and stole a cigarette lighter. The 26-year-old man told the MPD he wanted to get caught so he could have a bath and get food.

Police are calling food-snatching robberies "Life distress thefts".

According to the MPD official, there were 67 convenience store robberies in Tokyo as of the end of September. There were the 31 robberies during the same period in 2008.

 The MPD reports the number of convenience store robberies began to rise following the "Lehman shock" of October 2008 and the global recession. According to the MPD, in at least 4 robberies only food or drinks was stolen. The robbers only glanced at the cash. About 60 percent of the convenience store robbers were motivated by extreme hardship the MPD said.

photos: Chu hai; Onigiri; Hello Work; training white gloves, reporters; training blue shirt; training pink shirt; blackboard (Moka city); food handout Kansai, Tokyo. related: Homeless in Japan photo series.