Five face off over policies ahead of poll

Five face off over policies ahead of poll Campaigning for the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election officially kicked off Saturday, with five candidates vying to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, ex-transport minister Sumio Mabuchi, trade minister Banri Kaieda, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and farm minister Michihiko Kano have just two days to win over the party's 398 Diet members, who will vote Monday morning. Because Kan's two-year term as party president is not slated to end until September 2012, the party's local assembly members and registered supporters are not allowed to participate in the vote.
28 Aug The Japanese, once one of the most TV-addicted people on the planet, are drifting away from the tube -- forcing networks to scramble for other sources of revenue, from pic production, satellite services, Internet streaming sites and other new technologies. Daily TV viewing time, which averaged more than five hours in the 1970s, shrank to 3 hours and 28 minutes by 2010, according to figures compiled by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. Males aged 10 to 20 are watching less than two hours a day. Meanwhile, program ratings have been trending downward for terrestrial networks, pubcaster NHK and commercial rivals TV Asahi, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo, despite spikes for major sport events and other special programming. (Variety)
28 Aug A local train in Iwate Prefecture collided with a bear Saturday morning and, after restarting, ploughed into a serow goat, East Japan Railway Co.'s Morioka office said. No passengers were injured, but the accidents proved fatal for the two animals, the JR East office said. The disruption to services caused two rapid trains on the line to be canceled, affecting about 220 passengers, it said. (Japan Times)
27 Aug ON a chilly night last November on the tiny island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea of southern Japan, I found myself alone in a dark concrete gallery, a sweater pulled over my pajamas. I was staying at the Benesse House Museum, a 10-room hotel set inside a contemporary art museum, on the island's craggy southern coast, and still battling jet lag. So instead of tossing in bed, I visited the deserted galleries of the museum - guests of the hotel are permitted to wander beyond closing time. Before long, I was transfixed by Bruce Nauman's art installation, "100 Live and Die," a neon billboard of flashing phrases. (New York Times)
27 Aug Since reopening just three and a half weeks after the March 11 tsunami, the Tsuru no Yu bathhouse in northeast Japan's Kamaishi city has been doing a brisk business, belying the general decline of once-popular public baths throughout the country. Most Japanese still cling to their custom of soaking in a steaming hot bath before bed, but as homes are increasingly equipped with their own heated tubs, the tradition of bathing with neighbors and catching up on gossip at the local bathhouse has faded. But in Kamaishi, hit hard by the quake and tsunami that left roughly 20,400 dead or missing across Japan, the bathhouse in the tsunami-hit town center has briefly returned to its former glory, providing comfort for many who lost their homes. (Reuters)
27 Aug A "reptile cafe" allowing customers to observe exotic creatures while sipping Chinese tea has opened in Yokohama, the latest among a growing number of such establishments featuring animals. At the Reptile Cafe/Yokohama Subtropical Teahouse, located in Naka Ward, customers are able to observe 40 different reptiles from around a dozen different species kept in tanks and cages, including a 1-meter-long lizard and a 1.7-meter-long snake. The establishment has given a new twist to the trend of cafes showcasing animals, though they are usually more cuddly, like cats or rabbits. (Japan Times)

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