The always irreverent MutantFrog.com has some posts up right now that are too good to miss for anyone interested in Japan.
Koizumi’s Graduation Trip
Koizumi is visiting North America, and MF points out the possibly illegal pilgrimage to Graceland. Along with a priceless photo of the PM getty groovy, MF makes sure to ask the tough questions:
[Koizumi] was about as animated as he gets today ““ he even broke into song briefly, a move that clearly creeped out the president a little bit. Perhaps it was the PM’s choice of words ““ “Wise men say only fools rush in”Â? ““ could this have been a subtle barb at Bush’s pre-emptive war doctrine?
Meanwhile, Adamu has launched a campaign to fight government waste and frivilous spending overseas. If only the DC-based Adamu could throw his weight around in the Katrina contracting fiasco!
“The metaphor of choice for creatively braindead political columnists”
A long-running theme at MF has been skewering the chronically vague use of the term “Kabuki.” It is in fact a scripted form of Japanese stage theater with lots of makeup, but commentators use the word “kabuki” to describe 1.) scripted politics, 2.) meaningless politics, 3.) fake politics, 4.) careful politics, and much more. And the location can be not just Japan, but anywhere in Asia and even Washington D.C.
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COMMENTS / 7 COMMENTS
Media UnCut added these pithy words on Jul 10 06 at 2:35 pmJapan Considers pre-emptive Strike
News on the North Korean Missile Crisis says that Japan is considering a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. Japan is checking it’s constitution to see if its legal for the pre-emptive strike.
Peter added these pithy words on 02 Jul 06 at 9:30 pmYeah, Koizumi’s Elvis impersonation made the local news here in Memphis – it was classy.
Weapon of Mass Disturbance added these pithy words on 03 Jul 06 at 11:27 pmHow would one go about confirming such a statistic?
Curzon added these pithy words on 04 Jul 06 at 3:25 amWMD: were one to read the blog I was plugging, one might find the answer to that question.
Mutantfrog added these pithy words on 04 Jul 06 at 4:13 amWoMC: Do you think that Japanese toilets have all those fancy electronics for no reason? Clearly, the toilet is watching you.
Two Cents added these pithy words on 04 Jul 06 at 7:40 pmWoMD & Curzon: Sankei Web also ran an article about a quarter of the men sitting down to pee (June 22, 2006). The survey was taken by TOTO, the leading manufacturer of toilet bowls and electronic toilet seats in Japan.
According to Assistant Professor Yoshiyuki Ueno of the Chiba Institute of Technology, the spillage from western-type toilet bowls tend to be reflected back more than Japanese style toilets due to the angle of the incident pee, and droplets may be observed at a distance as far away as 50 cm from the bowl.
Some time ago,a Japanese TV program showed the experiment using some kind of paper that reacts to urine and turns blue. The most shocking part about it was the amount splattered on the walls, floor, and the pee-er himself. I guess that convinced many men on the advantages of sitting.
adamu added these pithy words on 05 Jul 06 at 2:19 amSee, this is important in Japan because standing up to pee (“tachishonben” in Japanese) especially outside is a major expression of manliness. If the majority of men no longer even stand when they pee then it’s a major sign of emasculation!
