Zolt said...

Zolt at 04:30 PM JST - 10th November

Lazarus: Every big city in japan has active yakuza, Nagasaki's are just a bit more high profile. Interestingly, this Sasagawa guy's family has more than a few ties to them. Search the book "Yakuza" by David E. Kaplan, readable on Google Books. Sasakawa Ryoichi, Takashi's father, is mentioned quite a…

Posted in Senior LDP lawmaker voices concern over Obama's safety at 04:30 PM JST - 10th November
Zolt at 11:27 AM JST - 7th November

Probably some kind of drunk batsu-game rather than a weird fetish, but hilarious nonetheless...

Posted in ASDF officer suspended for shopping naked in Miyagi convenience store at 11:27 AM JST - 7th November
Zolt at 03:08 PM JST - 6th November

Oh and with a personal fortune estimated at 2.6 billion yen, I'm almost sure Sasagawa's the richest man in the LDP.

Posted in Senior LDP lawmaker voices concern over Obama's safety at 03:08 PM JST - 6th November
Zolt at 02:55 PM JST - 6th November

Sasagawa's one of the senior loonies in the LDP and it's not his first case of foot-in-mouth. Here's what wikipedia has on him:

"On Sept 30th 2008 as LDP General Affairs Council Chairman Takashi Sasagawa suggested that the US House of Representatives rejected the bailout plan because House Speaker Nancy…

Posted in Senior LDP lawmaker voices concern over Obama's safety at 02:55 PM JST - 6th November
Zolt at 04:40 PM JST - 5th November

Ignore my last, I just confused Nakagawa with Nobutaka Machimura.. anyway, interesting news...

Posted in Ex-vice defense minister jailed for taking bribes at 04:40 PM JST - 5th November
Zolt at 04:00 PM JST - 5th November

Heh, that idiot finally gets what he deserves, and one ex-Defense minister, Ms Yuriko Koike, must be laughing quietly, as she got axed for trying to fire this very guy!

Interestingly, this guy was the protege of Shoichi Nakagawa, at the time Abe's Cabinet Secretary, and now finance minister under…

Posted in Ex-vice defense minister jailed for taking bribes at 04:00 PM JST - 5th November
Zolt at 05:56 PM JST - 22nd October

Tried hitch-hiking from Kyoto to Tokyo once, and it was not an easy experience. Japanese drivers are just not used to hitch-hikers, so it took me 3 hours of gesturing to get someone to stop and pick me up - and that someone turned out to be a colleague who…

Posted in Want to see the real Japan? Try hitchhiking at 05:56 PM JST - 22nd October
Zolt at 02:55 PM JST - 21st October

I think I'd rather starve, thank you very much...

Posted in Insects could rescue humankind from food crisis at 02:55 PM JST - 21st October
Zolt at 01:04 PM JST - 21st October

Half-Baked, ill-defined Aso scheme. It's screaming for abuse by yakuza controlled front companies.

Posted in Gov't to grant Y1 mil to firms hiring 'freeters' as full-timers at 01:04 PM JST - 21st October
Zolt at 01:37 PM JST - 17th October

You could confuse red tuna meat whith whale meat at first look (although whale is a darker red) but there's no way you could confuse whale with "sea chicken" tuna.

Posted in High levels of mercury found in hair of people eating whales: study at 01:37 PM JST - 17th October