I read this news article today which is funny because I was just talking about this with somebody this yesterday. I said whenever I take the subway or the bus and there’s a person (usually a guy) that’s 50+ riding along… and somebody smells… for real. My friend told me that it’s called Aging Odor, lol! WHAT! Now don’t go crazy reading this, of course it’s not every person that smells, and it’s usually guys who look like they used a lot of product in their hair. That + the heat is not a good mixture, and that’s what I assume the odor is from.

Aoki Holdings Inc, a discount menswear chain, last year started selling ‘deodorant suits’ as well as anti-odour shirts and socks.

Read the article here and read more about the 2-Nonenal, the technical term, here.

Thank God I don’t smell now! If this is aging odor is real and comes knockin’ on my door, I’ll be taking 2 showers a day and I’ll keep using Right Guard (with the power strip!) and cologne.

I’m back after an extended time away and I was going to write something later this evening but I saw this in the news and thought it was pretty interested so I wanted to share. Eel is popular right now in Japan because of the hot weather. I haven’t done any research but apparently eel is packed full of goodness to help you get through these hot times. Either way, it’s pretty good! Sometimes it tastes like barbecued goodness, and other times it tastes a little earthy. I’m not to keen on the earthy flavor but I can deal with it. However an eel flavored drink? I’m not that into that so much. Eel can be a large part of a meal and I don’t think meat flavored drinks sound that appealing.

Forget cola, lemonade or beer – Japanese people sweltering in the summer heat now have a new canned drink to quench their thirst – made out of eels.

The fishy drink Unagi Nobori – which translates as “Surging Eel” – contains eel extract and vitamins found in the fish. The fizzy yellow liquid is believed to be the first mass-produced drink of its kind made in the country.

I quoted The Independent
You can see similar articles and pictures of this drink at Yahoo News and sulekha.com

I’ll be on the look out at my local stores for this drink so I can give it a try. Who knows, even though I’m skeptical it could be good. If you’re not sure what “unagi” (eel) looks like, here are a few photos.

Photo’s courtesy of: toyohara (1st), adactio (2nd), venuste (3rd)

I was reading the news today and came across a few articles I thought were worth mentioning.

• Reuters reports how Golf-Japan’s ‘Tiger’ Ishikawa turns professional at 16 – Just turned 16 and he’s worth over $10 Million USD over the next 5 years. That’s pretty cool!
• Google/AFP reports Japan police receive 400th secret pledge to poor after 33 years – “The police station in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, received the first envelope in August 1974, which contained 1,000 yen, or nine dollars at the current rate. It did not bear a sender’s name but enclosed a piece of paper only saying: “Please use this for the unprivileged people.” This money came in every month and gradually increased. This week they received the 400th envelope which brings the total amount donated to 1,744,000 yen over time. Awesome! It’s nice to know that somebody cares that much.
• CNN Money is reporting that Japan’s Softbank wins more new subscribers in December than KDDI, DoCoMo – I like the name DoCoMo, it’s fun to say. Docomo docomo docomo… but I like Softbank’s service (friends with Softbank + woman who talks a lot = cheaper than DoCoMo). What’s the key to Softbank’s increase in success? I blame Cameron Diaz. She’s all over the place with her softbank phone she’s not even talking in the commercials

photo courtesy of sleepycat
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVPlipdl8eg[/youtube]

Xbox 360 outsells PS3 in Japan for 1 week, and still gets beat by Wii. At first I thought it was amazing since PS3 and the Wii are both from Japanese companies. Then I got to thinking… it’s only 1 week of sales where this happened and everybody has their good and bad days with sales. In the week ending November 4th, Xbox 360 consoles saw a 475% week over week increase, and beat Sony’s PS3 sales – by a narrow margin. Sony’s hardware sales figures came in at 17,434 units while the Xbox 360 just edged it with 17,637 units sold. Can they thank Halo 3 for the increase in sales? Read the full article at Pocket-Lint.co.uk and there’s a really interesting article about this over at Joystiq.com which is worth checking out.

Today Reuters reported that Walt Disney Co. (the #2 U.S. entertainment company followed by Time Warner who is #1) is  getting into mobile phone business in Japan in the spring of 2008. Disney plans on using the network of Japan’s #3 cell phone company, Softbank. The two companies will develop cell phones together and Disney aims to get about 1 million users by targeting families with an offer of handsets and downloads featuring Disney characters. I’m sure it’ll be a hit with the kids. Launching cell phone services in Japan requires a huge initial investment and can cost around one trillion yen (or 8.7 billion U.S. dollars) to build a network of base stations according to TopNews.

Can you imagine just walking around and then getting hit by a falling person? Maybe you just ate some ramen or breakfast, maybe you just got back from a week of beer baths, maybe you just picked up a newspaper… and when you’re almost to your apartment complex there’s another tenant plunging 11 stories to her death… and the worst part is she’s going to land on you! Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A week ago I read about this tragedy over at Japan Today.

A woman leapt from an 11-story apartment in Tokyo on Wednesday evening, striking and seriously injuring a 47-year-old man who was walking along a nearby sidewalk, police said.

That’s insanity. And what is up with so many people committing suicide over here in Japan? Life’s not that tough, really.

Wal-Mart, CIA, ExxonMobil Changed Wikipedia Entries… I guess you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet

A new Web site built by an American technology student has uncovered the lengths that companies apparently go to improve their public image by tweaking their entries on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that – famously – “anyone can edit.”

The WikiScanner site, developed by Virgil Griffith, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology, reveals changes to the online encyclopedia by linking edits back to the computers from which they emanate using each computer’s unique IP address.

Griffith, 24, says he created the site “to create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike” – a mission he may well have succeeded in.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsCmNps-R4U[/youtube]

Does this exist in other countries? I’m talking about Love Hotels. There are different themed rooms to choose from, they make money (nearly 3 trillion yen in annual sales), but the downside is they’ve been associated with with gangs and red-light districts. Booooo

I read about Love Hotel investing today on Yahoo:

Japan’s secretive love hotels are opening up to European investors as one player in the sector prepares for a debut on London’s stock market this month.

Japan Leisure Hotels, which owns five love hotels worth some 21 million pounds ($43.68 million USD) in Japan, hopes to lure investors to its IPO with an 8 percent dividend and promises of fast growth — shedding light on a sector that is often associated with sleaze and organized crime.

Japan’s 25,000 or so love hotels have long provided discreet hideaways for couples, some featuring Karaoke machines or vibrating beds. Guernsey-based Japan Leisure Hotels rents out rooms for short stays lasting only a few hours, but the company’s director believes this system doesn’t just appeal to thrill-seekers…

Read the rest of this entry »

NOVA Corp is the Japan’s largest English conversation school chain. And for those who teach English in Japan and are employed by Nova I say… DOH! I read the news back in April of 2007 when Nova got busted for breaking the law (they refused to refund tuition fees to students who canceled their contracts.) And recently people have not been getting paid for their work. Today things have gotten worse and Nova has filed for protection from the courts.

I wonder what this means for current employees and their work visas. Not only that but if an employees income stops or is slowed it could mean trouble for their living expenses. Damn.

Check out the news from Yahoo

Nova Corp , the largest operator of English language schools in Japan, said on Friday that it has filed for court protection from creditors amid efforts to turn around its business.

Following the company’s announcement, the Jasdaq Securities Exchange said it would delist Nova’s shares on Nov. 27.

Nova, which operates over 900 schools in Japan, posted net losses for the past two business years and said it held a total 43.9 billion yen in debt as of July.

More on this:
Aussie teachers lose jobs in Japanese school shutdown
Google News
Nova applies for court protection from creditors; president missing, 4 execs resign
Scandal-tainted school Nova granted court protection from creditors

Are you ready Starting November 20th 2007 Japan will start to fingerprint and photograph people entering Japan. The fingerprints, photographs and other biometric data of foreign visitors will be stored in a computer for cross-checking with a list of wanted criminals and people who have been deported in the past. Investigative authorities will have access to the data.

The prints will remain on record for 70 years. According to the new procedures, if requested, the Justice Ministry will turn over the data to the police and other government agencies.

This excludes ethnic Koreans and other permanent residents with special status, those under 16, those visiting Japan for diplomatic or official purposes, and those invited by the state.

Japan Times said an estimated 6-7 million foreigners entering Japan every year will be covered by the ordinance.