Tag Archives | Japan

Smile Scanners For Workers Introduced In Japan

By on November 12, 2012 in News 9

Soon the start of the workday will entail submitting to your daily smile scan, the Guardian reports:

A Japanese train company is scanning its employees to make sure they smile properly. Each morning, according to reports, the 500 or so employees of the Keihin Electric Express Railway Company have to beam stupidly into a camera hooked up to a computer. The machine then analyses things like eye movement, lip curvature and facial wrinkles, and rates the overall quality of their smile on a scale ranging from 0 (suicidal) to 100 (delirious).

Apparently, should the computer deem workers to be too gloomy it flashes up helpful advice like “You still look too serious”, or “Lift up your mouth corners”. It then prints out a personalised “ideal smile” for employees to carry with them and refer to should they feel their spirits flagging at any point during the day.

… Read the rest

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Sony Researchers Unveil Refrigerator That Forces You To Smile

By on October 10, 2012 in News 43

Should our emotional well-being be the concern of our gadgets and household appliances? An award-winning Japanese refrigerator prevents access to food unless you grin. Why does this sound like a nightmare? RocketNews24 writes:

Scientists at the University of Tokyo Sony CSL (Computer Science Labs) have come up with an ingenious way of cheering people up- forcing them to smile in exchange for easy access to their food. Attaching a device called a “Happiness Counter” to a regular refrigerator, Sony’s scientists are hoping to make us happier people.

The technology scans a person’s face, detects whether or not they are smiling and, reading anything other than a big, cheesy grin, makes the door difficult to open.

The thinking behind the tormenting device is that people, particularly those who live alone or who have little interaction with other people, often forget to smile. Since smiles produce natural endorphins in our bodies that cheer us up, the more grumpy-faced of us are, allegedly, more likely to feel down in the dumps.

… Read the rest

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Did Ancient Hairy Hobbits Once Inhabit A Japanese Island?

By on October 4, 2012 in News 11

Cryptomundo discusses evidence, including tiny tools and bizarre pit dwellings, that supports legends of tiny elfin people living on the island of Hokkaido:

A commonly occurring phenomenon seen in the folklore and myth of a wide range of cultures throughout the world is the existence of miniature humanoid creatures [Faeries, dwarves, leprechauns, or by whatever other names they are known].

On the island of Hokkaido, in the cold northern reaches of the Japanese archipelago, the indigenous Ainu people too have their long traditions of an ancient race of dwarf-like people thought to have inhabited the land long before humans arrived. The Ainu knew these creatures as the Koropokkuru…most commonly translated as “the people who live under the burdock leaves.” Most commonly Koropokkuru are described as being rather hairy and odiferous.

Was there any truth to any of these stories of small, humanoid creatures living in the wilds of Hokkaido, and if so what were they?

… Read the rest

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Japanese Exorcist Whose Rituals Killed Six Receives Death Penalty

By on September 28, 2012 in News 0

It seems anyone who crossed the Japanese faith healer with a small cult following would be beaten to death with sticks in an deadly “exorcism” rite. Via Japan Subculture:

Sachiko Eto, 65, a faith healer and self-professed exorcist, was convicted for murder after the deaths of six believers in Fukushima Prefecture between 1994 and 1995.

According to Japanese media reports and The Associated Press, Sachiko Eto, her daughter and another accomplice had beaten their victims to death, using thick drumsticks. The beating were to “drive out demons hiding in their bodies” and conducted in her home. At least one of the exorcisms was apparently motivated by Ms. Eto’s decision that the the victim was sleeping with Ms. Eto’s lover. Another victim was “exorcised” after refusing to loan Ms. Eto money. There were also questions as to the vanishing of her husband in 1992, before she became a spiritual leader.

Eto is reportedly the first female in Japan to be executed in more than 15 years.

… Read the rest

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Tensions escalate between Japan and China

By on September 28, 2012 in News 15

Tensions between Japan and China over disputed islands continues to escalate. A report from the Guardian states that both sides have refused to step back for fear of losing face.

 

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ben A. Gonzales (CC)

“There is a danger of China and Japan having a military conflict,” said Yan Xuetong, one of China’s most influential foreign policy strategists, and a noted hawk.

“One country must make a concession. But I do not see Japan making concessions. I do not see either side making concessions. Both sides want to solve the situation peacefully, but neither side can provide the right approach,” he added.

He warned that unless one side backs down, there could be a repeat of the Falklands Conflict in Asia.

 

This dispute over the islands began when Japan bought the islands in the East China Sea from their private owner.… Read the rest

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Nuclear Power Still on the Books in Japan

By on September 21, 2012 in News 8

Picture: By Hirorinmasa (CC)

Less than a week after announcing a plan to abandon Nuclear Power by the 2030′s, Hiroko Tabuchi at NYtimes.com reports that the Japanese government will not be implementing that plan:

Motohisa Furukawa, the national strategy minister, announced the original plan last week, releasing a document titled the “Revolutionary Energy and Environment Strategy” that said Japan would seek to eliminate nuclear power within 28 years through greater reliance on renewable energy, conservation and the use of fossil fuels. On Wednesday, he defended the cabinet’s omission of the 2040 deadline, saying the government had intended to use it as a reference point.

Furkukawa’s administration has been busy reassuring the public that the government is committed to creating a better system of regulation for the industry. Lapses in regulation have been pinpointed as one of the deficiencies that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. These lapses, critics say, were a consequence of a far too cozy relationship between government regulators and the industry they were supposed to be policing.… Read the rest

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Criminal Charges For Tokyo Artist Who Cooked And Served His Own Genitals

By on September 21, 2012 in News 8

Is Mao Sugiyama a man ahead of his time? His mind-bending artistic/culinary/surgical endeavor, intended to raise awareness of asexuality, seems to have been done in an entirely ethical manner, but he now faces persecution from authorities. Japan Daily Press reports:

It’s been three and a half months now since 23 year old Mao Sugiyama cooked and served his own genitals to diners in Tokyo, but the “chef” is finally facing criminal charges. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department has said that Sugiyama and three others who organized the event are looking at allegations of indecent exposure.

After undergoing voluntary surgery in order to fulfill his desire of becoming asexual, the young illustrator then offered to cook and serve his severed organs to five of the high-paying bidders. Sugiyama cook[ed] his penis, scrotum, and testicles to five diners for roughly $250 each.

Sugiyama…says that it was part of an effort to raise awareness about asexual people and others of sexual minorities.

… Read the rest

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Japan To Abandon Nuclear Power By 2030s

By on September 15, 2012 in News 7

The future isn’t always what we think it is, via Reuters:

Japan’s government said it intends to stop using nuclear power by the 2030s, marking a major shift from policy goals set before last year’s Fukushima disaster that sought to increase the share of atomic energy to more than half of electricity supply.

Japan joins countries such as Germany and Switzerland in turning away from nuclear power after last year’s earthquake unleashed a tsunami that swamped the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986. Japan was the third-biggest user of atomic energy before the disaster.

“This is a strategy to create a new future,” a policy statement said, after key ministers finalized the decision on Friday. “It is not pie in the sky. It is a practical strategy.”

… Read the rest

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Did Jesus Flee To Japan And Become A Rice Farmer?

By on September 3, 2012 in News 14

This monumental twist seems as plausible and satisfactory of a possible end to Jesus’s life as any. The BBC investigates:

A Japanese legend claims that Jesus escaped Jerusalem and made his way to Aomori in Japan where he became a rice farmer. Christians say the story is nonsense. However, a monument there known as the Grave of Christ attracts curious visitors from all over the world.

To reach the Grave of Christ or Kristo no Hakka as it is known locally, you need to head deep into the northern countryside of Japan, a place of paddy fields and apple orchards. The story goes that after escaping Jerusalem, Jesus made his way across Russia and Siberia to Aomori in the far north of Japan where he became a rice farmer, married, had a family and died peacefully at the age of 114.

Halfway up a remote mountain surrounded by a thicket of bamboo lies a mound of bare earth marked with a large wooden cross.

… Read the rest

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