Video footage of Tatsuhiko Kodama's impassioned speech before a Diet committee in July went viral online recently, showing the medical expert's shocking revelation that the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant spewed some 30 times more radioactive materials than the fallout from the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Kodama, a professor of systems biology and medicine at the University of Tokyo, used clear-cut terms to get his message across. His ruthless criticism of the government's slow response has been viewed at least 1 million times. "It means a significantly large amount of radioactive material was released compared with the atomic bomb," he told the Diet committee. "What has the Diet been doing as 70,000 people are forced to evacuate and wander outside of their homes?" 24 Aug In the last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have made major crackdowns on clubs the city, including raids without warning. Part of the reason these raids are taking place dates back to the brawl between famous Kabuki actor Ebizono and a member of the Kanto Rengo-kai, a non-designated organized crime group that is loosely structured and has been amassing serious power in Tokyo. For many years, the Azabu and Daikanyama areas were considered off-limits to the drug squads because of the high-end clientele. In a sense, there was a tacit understanding that recreational drug use amongst the wealthy was different than that of the low-life meth users. The distinction appears to no longer being made. If you're a clubber, be prepared to run into a drug raid sooner or later. Avoid doing heavy drugs and make sure to carry your gaijin card with you when you go. (japansubculture.com)
24 Aug
Last night, one of the biggest celebrities in Japan, Shinsuke Shimada, abruptly stated he was leaving the entertainment industry. Shimada, a comedian and talk show host, is the Japanese equivalent of a David Letterman or a Jay Leno-if either of them appeared on six prime time shows and produced music albums. The country's collective jaw dropped at the news, and the announcement-in one of those typical press conferences that fetishize apologizing and bowing-came more of a shock than the Prime Minister's decision to step down. The reason for Shimada's decision? The yakuza. (Kotaku)24 Aug "I'd been going with this guy for four years, and breaking up with him came as a huge shock to me. I climbed aboard my motorcycle and headed for the Sea of Japan." So then off zips an anonymous female contributor to the June issue of Ai no Taiken Special Deluxe, as introduced in Shukan Bunshun (Aug. 11-18). Unfortunately, while negotiating a sharp turn on a lonely mountain road, she took a spill. But just at that moment, a man appeared in a car. "'Are you hurt?' he asked me solicitously. 'Let me give you a lift.' He took me to a nearby hotel and we checked in." (Tokyo Reporter)
24 Aug As the tsunami waters rose around him, one boy desperately stayed afloat by clinging to his evacuation helmet. A refrigerator with no door floated past so he climbed inside, and survived by staying in his "lifeboat" until the danger eventually passed. This amazing tale of survival emerged during interviews with students and teachers of Okawa Primary School in Ishinomaki, which was battered by the March 11 tsunami. Seventy-four students, nearly 70 percent of the school roll, died in the tsunami or remain missing. The interviews, which were conducted from March 25 to May 26, were compiled into a report that was released Monday. (Yomiuri)
24 Aug
The director of a recently completed documentary on Filipino victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery says the memories of the aging women now won't be lost to posterity. "Many of them became victims of sexual violence by Japanese soldiers at the ages of 14 or 15, and they are around 80 years old now," said Chieko Takemi. "I wanted to record the lives of those who have survived decades of hardships." In "Katarungan! Justice for Lolas!" people in Manila as well as Luzon and Leyte islands testified how barbaric Japanese soldiers sexually targeted local women and mistreated the community at large, suspecting they were involved in the resistance movement. (Japan Times)
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