RisingSunofNihon

Neko Punch

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:15:36 -0700

With permission, sorta, I stole this off WhatJapanThinks.

The neko punch (cat punch).

NNYaaaee.

If you don't laugh...it's because you have never been in Japan.

Solar Panel Bra - Made In Japan

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:55:57 -0700

The lingerie maker Triumph Japan has come up with a solar-panel bra.

The solar panel bra can display messages on a removable small electric board.

Yeah, as if I believe that. Take off your shirt and let me see it work. That's what I say.

The bra also has pad designed to hold beverages - cold and hot, depending on the mood of the wearer I suppose.

I volunteer to test the temperatures of the, um, beverage containers.

The purpose of this green loulou bumper, to cut down on the usage of cans and plastic bottles.

And, to provide comic relief, er, environmental relief for the rest of us.

Alright...take off your shirt and show me how it works.

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China's Earthquake Shakes Japan

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:51:09 -0700

Japanese companies are feeling tremors from the recent earthquake in China.

Hitachi Ltd's joint venture in Chengdu (they make inverters) was forced to halt production.

Fujitsu Ltd also suspended operations at its semiconductor development joint venture, also in Chengdu.

Suzuki Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp halted operations briefly.

Toyota operations were halted as well.

All told, more than 150 Japanese firms were affected.

More tremors will be felt by Japan bean counters in the coming reports, eh?

source & source

Driving My Ferrari in Japan....NOT!

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:42:23 -0700

Chinese don't know how to drive their Lamborghinis.

How Not to Drive a Lamborghini LP640 in China

Why should be surprised if someone in Japan doesn't know how to drive a Ferrari?

Ouch.

Ferrari meets guardrail and guardrail wins.

The two ~~knuckleheads~~, passengers survived the crash with minor injuries.

Yeah, but wait till the owner of the car goes home and tells his wife, "Honey I totaled the Ferrari. Good news, however, I am still alive."

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Pretty Little Japanese Girl....NOT! Fujin Raika

Tue, 13 May 2008 10:29:47 -0700

And you thought all little Japanese girls were cute, pretty, sweet submissive, eh?

NOT.

Fuijin Raika won her debut in a super lightweight (what's that, like 60lbs?) boxing match.

Small enough for four of her to ride in a Smart Car Fortwo.

Powerful enough that I'd say "Yes, M'am, No, M'am," if she were talking to me.

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Honda on the Offense in China

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:30:37 -0700

Honda is planning a serious offense on the Chinese mainland.

Two main goals -

1. Increasing the number of dealerships to 700 by the end of the year.

2. 650,000 rolled out - up 20%

Honda presently has 560 dealerships.

Guangzhow Honda Automobile Co, Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co, and the dealers selling its Acura luxury brand.

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Gasoline Goes for $5.85/gallon

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:21:54 -0700

Gasoline prices jumped by nearly 25cents a gallon.

The prices hit an all-time high at $5.85/gallon or Y159.2/liter...in Japan.

The result, business at gasoline stands in Japan despite the Golden Week holidays = travel season, was half as usual.

One wonders, what might the price of gasoline in the U.S. need to be before Americans start going to the pumps half the time?

Increased tax surcharges and climbing crude oil prices are at fault.

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A Toilet Window and Adult DVDs Worth $185K

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:14:22 -0700

Only waste goes into the toilet.

What could a thief expect to gain by climbing through a toilet window? More waste?

Appartenly a burglar pried the bars apart on the windows to a toilet, climbed through and made off with Y19.4 million in adult DVDS, um, porn by any other name.

The thief took thousands of adult DVDs from the Bee House Sengendai DVD store.

Something tells me he didn't just stuff them under his shirt.

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Chinese-Japanese Economic/Trade Ties See Great Potential - 10 Reasons Why

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:57:07 -0700

It's a mystery concerning which country needs which the most.

Japan's economy has partly recovered largely because China's economy is going great guns. However, China benefited greatly from Japan's interest in the Middle Kingdom.

In any even, there's great potential for the economic and trade ties of the two countries now.

10 Reasons Why:

1. Japan has been China's most important trade partner for a long time. For 11 years beginning in 1993, Japan was China's largest.

2. In 2007, two-way trade climbed 13.8% to $236 billion.

3. Mechanical and electrical trade products now make up more than half of the trade volume.

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7 Reasons Japan's Number One Beach Volleyball Star - Miwa Asao - Won't Make the Olympics

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:14:50 -0700

Japan's number one beach volleyball star, Miwa Asao, won't make it to the Olympics.

She won't make it despite putting beach volleyball on the map in Japan...somewhere near Niigata maybe?

At least that's what they (whoever they are) are saying.

Why?

1. Her swimsuits are excessively skimpy. This reason will not keep her fans from watching, however.

2. She and her teammate are ranked 44th in the world

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The Business of Selling Naked Women Filmed in Japan

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:03:41 -0700

Apparently it's good business.

All you need is someone female to work in cahoots with.

Apparently when a women hides a camera in gym changing room or at the health spa, she raises little suspicion.

Someone to make the sale.

Someone to buy.

The Japan Times reported on a woman who was able to make close to

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Asuka Sawamoto - Multi-sexy idol - Arrested for Flashing

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:39:31 -0700

Japan's Multi-Sexy Idol (only in Japan) - Asuka Sawamoto, was arrested for flashing. One wonders what else would a mult-sexy idol do.

Anyway, the exhibitionist who regularly struts her stuff for the geeks (otaku) of Akihabara, does photo shoots on the streets, and generally shows off more than she should, showed off more than, well, she should have.

The 30-year old was arrested for creating a public nuisance.

What she did - flash her underpants. For the record, they were pink.

She did the deed on April 20th.

Sawamoto writes at her blog (from prison, I presume) that:

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Nippon Oil Will Mass-Produce Biofuel

Sun, 04 May 2008 00:22:23 -0700

Nippon Oil will begin mass producing biofuel domestically next year.

The company will invest Y2 billion in its Negishi refinery in Yokohama to turn out 100,000kl of ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) a year.

ETBE is a combination of plant-derived ethanol and petroleum. It is then mixed with gasoline to create the biofuel.

Brazil is the top manufacturer of the product and Japan's leading importer.

Can you say lower transport costs and less carbon dioxide emissions?

By 2010, Japan expects sales of ETBE to be 840,000kl.

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3 Reasons Japanese Car Companies Like Rising Oil Prices

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:12:52 -0700

Japanese cars have a deserved reputation for delivering small cars with good mileage.

The rise in oil prices have been a boon for Japanese companies.

Honda's Civic compact and Odyssey minivan saw sales jump 7.5% worldwide to 3.93 million units.

Mazda's Demio subcompact and RX-8 sportscar sold 1.36 million cars globally - up 4.7%. Estimates are for a 9% increase in sales this year.

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Three Automakers in Japan Sell More, Make Less

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:58:44 -0700

Three of Japan's automakers, Honda, Mitsubishi and Mazda are selling more cars, but making less profit doing so.

Honda Motor Co's profits dropped a whopping 86% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.

One reason - a corporate tax levied on its Chinese joint venture of $244 million.

Honda is Japan's number two.

Mistsubishi Motors Corp saw profits drop 37% even though the company's sales were up 12%.

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