The NY Times ran a Reuters article on Japan’s wealthiest people.  Topping the list Hiroshi Yamauchi of Nintendo who is worth $7.8 billion.  The source material for the article is actually Forbes magazine which has a much more in depth piece.
Property developer, Akira Mori fell from 1st to 2nd place at $7.7 billion and pachinko machine maker Kunio Busujima […]

In a follow up to the National Geographic video on fugu (puffer fish) that we posted the other day, JAPUNDIT reader RTN writes in to alert us to a report in The New York Times about poison-free fugu being farmed in Japan.
SHIMONOSEKI, Japan — Poison has been as integral to fugu, the funny-looking, potentially deadly […]

Japanese company Coptiar Japan Co. has struck gold with http://www.copitar.co.jp/06/ that make it possible for people to enjoy tapping away at blocks of sand to find “fossils” that can be assembled into a dinosaur.
“Up until now the only type of excavations sets were either cheap or expensive,” said a public relations official for the […]

Even dirty laundry can be cute!

Via Hello Kitty Hell

according to articles found on both bloomberg and the guardian, the expanding waistlines of japan’s denizens is causing the ministry of health and welfare concern. so great is there apprehension, in fact, that they along with local and municipal governments, have hatched a comprehensive series of plans to reduce the girth of the nation. […]

A blog called Dark Roasted Blend has posted a report on creative barcodes by a Japanese company named D-Barcodes.

As cool as these things are, I can not recall ever having seen them in use. Has anyone else ever seen them on actual products?
Thanks to Richard Chmura.

CNN.com/Asia has a report claiming that business women in Japan are paying up to $50,000 a night to spend time with hosts that CNN referst to as “geisha guys.”
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) — At first glance, the man and woman at the nightclub look like any other couple on a date. He flirts and pours […]

Steve Levenstein writes in to alert us to a new article he has written about Japanese beauty products made from the placentas of pigs and other creatures.

Lehman Brothers has filed a $350-million damage suit against the Japanese Marubeni trading company for fraud. Lehman claims that Marubeni employees helped secure a Japanese company for a loan.
Marubeni is claming that the employees acted on their own, that they are also victims, and so they should not be held liable for damages.
In early […]

Today is the start of a new fiscal year in Japan and a host of new changes are set to kick in. . . some good for consumers and others not so good.

Gasoline
Gasoline prices will drop by about 25 yen per liter.
Clinical treatment fees
Costs for emergency, after-hours clinical treatment will go up.
Dependent elderly […]

Here is a Japanese TV commercial from the 1980’s for athlete’s food medication, which seems to be trying very hard to make the most of the “tentacle sex” theme that has been so prevelant in Japanese pornography over the centuries.

Via Pink Tentacle (of course!)

With a looming global financial crisis it’s a very hands-on time for governors of national banks the world over. But in Japan, the top job is vacant while the government and opposition use the appointment as a political football.
That’s the view expressed in a Mainichi editorial published yesterday under the no-nonsense headline “Leaving top […]

Remora has sent in a link to a story reporting that carmakers around the globe are struggling with designs to suit people who are getting larger, in both height and breadth, while reducing vehicle weight to help meet fuel efficiency standards.
In Japan, Nissan has created a “fat suit” that can be worn to allow […]

planning on visiting japan?
thinking you can get by on your bank of america card and local atms?
think you’ll be fine because you told boa’s fraud department you’d be in japan during the dates of the trip and will be making regular withdraws?
think again

in what is one of the more disturbing trends in contemporary japan, the maid cafes and other perverted male otaku hang outs have spawned a new branch of cafes for female otaku, ones based one gay comic book porn. that’s right, women who want to indulge their childhood fantasy of young effeminate men dressed […]

Here is a product that seems to indicate that China may be making a move on Japan’s virtual monopoly on strange gadgets.

It is a Breast Massage Robot, which Beijing BUBBY Robot Technologies Co. claims, meets a wide variety of needs that seem to be busting out all over. They say it is great for:

Adolescent […]

according to an article released in february 21st by the economist, the magazine revisted an issue they first discussed in print a decade ago, namely “ japan’s amazing ability to disappoint.”
while the steady economic growth of the past few years has been an encouraging sign, there are major structural problems in the economy which threaten […]

edion, a japanese electronic retailer, has announced today that they will allow customers to return their hd dvd consoles and purchase blue ray dvd players for the difference between the original price of the hd dvd players and the sale price of the current blue ray dvd players. talk about building customer loyalty, i […]

Fukushima Airport has installed a 3-meter tall statue of Ultraman in their terminal building in hopes that the Japanese superhero will entice more passengers to use the facility.
The 3-meter-high statue was erected in line with the 15th anniversary of the airport’s opening. Combined with scenes showing other monsters and clothing used in the filming […]

i wasn’t really that impressed by the group of japanese engineers conclusions about the short comings of the macbook air’s design quality. it really seemed like nitpicking to bring up the amount of screws that hold down the keyboard and the non utilized space inside the casing. moreover, feigning surprise that apple would […]