Beelzebub said...

Beelzebub at 11:34 AM JST - 19th July

This is nothing new. In the 1980s you could go to Yoyogi Park any Sunday and it was like a Halloween party. Japanese have great fantasy lives. They're a nation of Walter Mittys.

Posted in Cosplayers get set for world summit at 11:34 AM JST - 19th July
Beelzebub at 11:21 AM JST - 19th July

Written Japanese can be quirky, but good writing is very imaginative and enjoyable. The process of translation is slow, and held back by time and budget constraints. We only get to see a tiny fraction of the huge body of printed matter writers in this country produce. I get the…

Posted in No substitute for human touch in translating at 11:21 AM JST - 19th July
Beelzebub at 06:07 PM JST - 17th July

Next thing you know, the Printing Bureau is going to have to censor Hideyo Noguchi, that guy on the 1,000-yen note who looks like Charlie Chaplin.

Posted in Osaka postman fights to keep mustache at 06:07 PM JST - 17th July
Beelzebub at 03:04 PM JST - 17th July

The world's economy is collapsing before our very eyes, and airheads clamor for the latest hi-tech toy. Try eating an iPhone when your stomach is empty. It may be sooner than you think.

Posted in Japan cautious in iPhone's bid for world dominance at 03:04 PM JST - 17th July
Beelzebub at 09:52 AM JST - 17th July

Not many TV viewers who saw Ms. Kawashima's steamy bath scene in the TV series "Shi*surakuen" are likely to forget her. The car (and gown) are unnecessary.

Posted in at 09:52 AM JST - 17th July
Beelzebub at 08:36 PM JST - 16th July

Koreans would benefit from a well-designed anger management program. I think it's shameful the way they spoon-feed hatred to future generations, as a part of their educational curriculum. I remember when a magazine here ran anti-Japanese pictures drawn by Korean primary schoolers, which were posted as an exhibit in a…

Posted in S Korean city cancels home stays for Japanese children at 08:36 PM JST - 16th July
Beelzebub at 12:45 PM JST - 16th July

Something like this happened once on a public bus in Taipei, Taiwan. A young woman in a very short miniskirt was holding the strap with one hand and a shopping bag with the other, and a male passenger just reached up and yanked them down to her knees. Women should…

Posted in Man on motorbike assaults schoolgirl, steals her underwear on Gifu street at 12:45 PM JST - 16th July
Beelzebub at 03:46 PM JST - 14th July

Reading between the lines, I think what the article's suggesting is that Japan is once again facing the collapse of another economic bubble. Nobody wants to hear the B-word, but it's staring us in the face again.

Posted in Tokyo facing a glut of office space at 03:46 PM JST - 14th July
Beelzebub at 08:52 PM JST - 12th July

Only 69... a persuasive argument for vegetarianism, methinks.

Posted in Rocky Aoki, founder of Benihana steak house chain, dies at 69 at 08:52 PM JST - 12th July
Beelzebub at 11:07 AM JST - 11th July

Advice to London: don't do it.

Posted in London looks to Shibuya for ideas to remodel central shopping district at 11:07 AM JST - 11th July