[YT]IjGg49EhW0U[/YT] Protesters gathered outside Fuji TV's headquarters in Odaiba to demonstrate against the broadcaster's focus on Korean programming. Nico Nico showed the scene live online and a J-Cast report (Japanese) estimates over 500 took part. The subject came alive recently when actor Sosuk...

I was looking at Yuya Uchida again after the death of Joe Yamanaka. Flower Travellin' Band was put together by Uchida and he found Yamanaka. I just found this video he made for his 1991 challenge for the Governorship of Tokyo. It's actually mostly in English:

[YT]75QadrYYxqw[/YT]

[YT]EDBdMnkcx0E[/YT] Akira "Joe" Yamanaka, singer with the Flower Travellin' Band , has died of lung cancer at the age 64. Yamanaka had powerful, versatile rock voice and even sang with the Wailers following Bob Marley's death. The Flower Travellin' Band built up something of a cult status overseas ...

[floatl] http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/9794e3e4e3c7f601.jpg [/floatl] Asahi: 'Aloha shirt' a poor fit for Japan's super cool biz summer As part of the power-saving campaigns following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant...the comfortable Hawaiian shirt seems...

Tokyo isn't really about places to go and events to see - although the options do improve greatly if your Japanese is up to it. It's more a city to hang out with people. If you aren't doing that, then you might want to start thinking about how you can. There are quite a few barflies on this board wh...

[YT]7UEGwTYVwXc[/YT]

His supporters are calling for the prosecutor to reopen the case urgently.

[floatr] http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/9794e3d2569c8ddf.jpg [/floatr] KTLA: Judge Decides Not To Throw Out Semen Sushi Suit A woman is suing Planet Sushi on Manhattan's Upper West Side, claiming that her to-go order of tuna rolls with the spicy sauce on the side was tainted wit...

AIU has instituted a "Yukata Friday" policy during August. The article doesn't say, but I reckon that's a Westerner at the table on the left.

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/9794e3bb6bb26d76.jpg The cover of the new Peach John catalogue features Tomomi Kasai, Yuko Oshima and Haruna Kojima of AKB48. Incidentally, one Peach John tagline reads "Lingerie is Love Jewellery". Fans seem excited by the cleavage and invitation...

Jiji reports (Japanese) that Sayuki went to visit 84 year old Tsuyako Ito , the geisha from Kameishi in Iwate who lost her home and belongings in the tsunami. Sayuki presented her with a kimono and two obi. Ito said putting on her kimono makes her want to dance and that the tsunami took her things ...

I can get on to it now as well.

I can't access it either. Heavy demand because of the BoJ intervention?

The Yokohama Board of Education has approved wider use of a controversial history textbook authored by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform. The board had previously approved the book for schools in eight wards but their decision now covers 149 junior high schools with 80,000 pupils and ...

Since 2004, there have been 12 instances of young children dying of heatstroke or suffocation when left in locked cars while parents play pachinko. The National Police Agency has now sent a recommendation to the pachinko parlour industry telling them to bar customers who leave children behind in the...

[YT]EkIjq-nzcEM[/YT] This sort of thing usually seems to happen only to convenience stores. The driver, a 62 year old woman says she mistook the accelerator for the brake. No serious injuries reported. I'm really pleased the TV station sent a helicopter up to shoot the scene. That was certainly mone...

There's absolutely no love for this plan on 2ch. They assume that the webcasts will include ad breaks so can't understand why the broadcasters think anyone will want to pay for them as well.

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/9794e3a66982faa0.jpg Hilarious. Someone prankster at Tokai TV changed the caption card with details of summer gift winners. The first two are "dodgy rice Cesium-san" and the last is "contaminated rice Cesium-san". The station has issued an apology...

This collaboration between Western Union and Seven Bank kicked off on July 19th. You can now use all the 7-11 store ATMs for overseas remittances as well as online. You need a Seven Bank account and the charges are 990 yen for amounts under 10,000 yen and 1500 yen for amounts under 50,000 yen. Here'...

[YT]hTYCDZne-bc[/YT]

I just finished watching the 2010 documentary "Senna". There are a few scenes in Japan where he was hugely popular. Checking on YouTube, I found the above video which pulls together a few of his connections with country.

[floatr] http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/9794e3998bbee4d7.jpg [/floatr] Yonhap: Dokdo ferry operator imposes ban on Japanese passengers A South Korean operator of a regular ferry service to Dokdo said Wednesday that it has decided to ban Japanese nationals from boarding its ships...

NoBH00oJa2M Michael Franks "Rainy Night in Tokyo" Seventh of September Remember when We met at the shrine Your kimono looked so fine Temple dancers swaying Flutes playing then I was yours and you were mine Paul Desmond on the stereo We sipped the sake very slow Kissing in the candleglow T...

Che Guevara in Hiroshima

5 major TV stations, Fuji, NTV, TBS, Asahi and TV Tokyo, have announced plans to offer online video on demand next spring. Of course, Dentsu is in on the act and their press release (Japanese PDF) describes a common user interface where viewers can search for programmes. The release also says that l...