Tokyo Electric To Build US Nuclear Plants: The No-BS Info On Japan’s Disastrous Nuclear Operators
by Greg Palast
I need to speak to you, not as a reporter, but in my former capacity as lead investigator in several government nuclear plant fraud and racketeering investigations.
I don’t know the law in Japan, so I can’t tell you if Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) can plead insanity to the homicides about to happen.
But what will Obama plead? The Administration, just months ago, asked Congress to provide a $4 billion loan guarantee for two new nuclear reactors to be built and operated on the Gulf Coast of Texas — by Tokyo Electric Power and local partners. As if the Gulf hasn’t suffered enough.
Here are the facts about Tokyo Electric and the industry you haven’t heard on CNN:
The failure of emergency systems at Japan’s nuclear plants comes as no surprise to those of us who have worked in the field.
Nuclear plants the world over must be certified for what is called “SQ” or “Seismic Qualification.” That is, the owners swear that all components are designed for the maximum conceivable shaking event, be it from an earthquake or an exploding Christmas card from Al Qaeda.
The most inexpensive way to meet your SQ is to lie. The industry does it all the time. The government team I worked with caught them once, in 1988, at the Shoreham plant in New York. Correcting the SQ problem at Shoreham would have cost a cool billion, so engineers were told to change the tests from ‘failed’ to ‘passed.’
The company that put in the false safety report? Stone & Webster, now the nuclear unit of Shaw Construction which will work with Tokyo Electric to build the Texas plant, Lord help us.
There’s more.
Last night I heard CNN reporters repeat the official line that the tsunami disabled the pumps needed to cool the reactors, implying that water unexpectedly got into the diesel generators that run the pumps.
These safety back-up systems are the ‘EDGs’ in nuke-speak: Emergency Diesel Generators. That they didn’t work in an emergency is like a fire department telling us they couldn’t save a building because “it was on fire.”
What dim bulbs designed this system? One of the reactors dancing with death at Fukushima Station 1 was built by Toshiba. Toshiba was also an architect of the emergency diesel system.
Now be afraid. Obama’s $4 billion bail-out-in-the-making is called the South Texas Project. It’s been sold as a red-white-and-blue way to make power domestically with a reactor from Westinghouse, a great American brand. However, the reactor will be made substantially in Japan by the company that bought the US brand name, Westinghouse — Toshiba.
I once had a Toshiba computer. I only had to send it in once for warranty work. However, it’s kind of hard to mail back a reactor with the warranty slip inside the box if the fuel rods are melted and sinking halfway to the earth’s core.
TEPCO and Toshiba don’t know what my son learned in 8th grade science class: tsunamis follow Pacific Rim earthquakes. So these companies are real stupid, eh? Maybe. More likely is that the diesels and related systems wouldn’t have worked on a fine, dry afternoon.
Back in the day, when we checked the emergency back-up diesels in America, a mind-blowing number flunked. At the New York nuke, for example, the builders swore under oath that their three diesel engines were ready for an emergency. They’d been tested. The tests were faked, the diesels run for just a short time at low speed. When the diesels were put through a real test under emergency-like conditions, the crankshaft on the first one snapped in about an hour, then the second and third. We nicknamed the diesels, “Snap, Crackle and Pop.”
(Note: Moments after I wrote that sentence, word came that two of three diesels failed at the Tokai Station as well.)
In the US, we supposedly fixed our diesels after much complaining by the industry. But in Japan, no one tells Tokyo Electric to do anything the Emperor of Electricity doesn’t want to do.
I get lots of confidential notes from nuclear industry insiders. One engineer, a big name in the field, is especially concerned that Obama waved the come-hither check to Toshiba and Tokyo Electric to lure them to America. The US has a long history of whistleblowers willing to put themselves on the line to save the public. In our racketeering case in New York, the government only found out about the seismic test fraud because two courageous engineers, Gordon Dick and John Daly, gave our team the documentary evidence.
In Japan, it’s simply not done. The culture does not allow the salary-men, who work all their their lives for one company, to drop the dime.
Not that US law is a wondrous shield: both engineers in the New York case were fired and blacklisted by the industry. Nevertheless, the government (local, state, federal) brought civil racketeering charges against the builders. The jury didn’t buy the corporation’s excuses and, in the end, the plant was, thankfully, dismantled.
Am I on some kind of xenophobic anti-Nippon crusade? No. In fact, I’m far more frightened by the American operators in the South Texas nuclear project, especially Shaw. Stone & Webster, now the Shaw nuclear division, was also the firm that conspired to fake the EDG tests in New York. (The company’s other exploits have been exposed by their former consultant, John Perkins, in his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.)
If the planet wants to shiver, consider this: Toshiba and Shaw have recently signed a deal to become world-wide partners in the construction of nuclear stations.
The other characters involved at the South Texas Plant that Obama is backing should also give you the willies. But as I’m in the middle of investigating the American partners, I’ll save that for another day.
So, if we turned to America’s own nuclear contractors, would we be safe? Well, two of the melting Japanese reactors, including the one whose building blew sky high, were built by General Electric of the Good Old US of A.
After Texas, you’re next. The Obama Administration is planning a total of $56 billion in loans for nuclear reactors all over America.
And now, the homicides:
CNN is only interested in body counts, how many workers burnt by radiation, swept away or lost in the explosion. These plants are now releasing radioactive steam into the atmosphere. Be skeptical about the statements that the “levels are not dangerous.” These are the same people who said these meltdowns could never happen. Over years, not days, there may be a thousand people, two thousand, ten thousand who will suffer from cancers induced by this radiation.
In my New York investigation, I had the unhappy job of totaling up post-meltdown “morbidity” rates for the county government. It would be irresponsible for me to estimate the number of cancer deaths that will occur from these releases without further information; but it is just plain criminal for the Tokyo Electric shoguns to say that these releases are not dangerous. Indeed, the fact that residents near the Japanese nuclear plants were not issued iodine pills to keep at the ready shows TEPCO doesn’t care who lives and who dies whether in Japan or the USA. The carcinogenic isotopes that are released at Fukushima are already floating to Seattle with effects we simply cannot measure.
Heaven help us. Because Obama won’t.
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Greg Palast is the co-author of Democracy and Regulation, the United Nations ILO guide for public service regulators, with Jerrold Oppenheim and Theo MacGregor. Palast has advised regulators in 26 states and in 12 nations on the regulation of the utility industry.
Palast, whose reports can be seen on BBC Television Newsnight, is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow for investigative reporting. Visit GregPalast.com for more info.
Signs of the Robot Uprising #47 - Robot Supermodels?
Those wacky Japanese are at it again with their love of robot women.
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has created a cybernetic cute, code-named HRP-4C, with the goal of seeing her do her little turn on the catwalk, on the catwalk, on the catwalk, yeah.
A new walking, talking robot from Japan has a female face that can smile and has trimmed down to 43 kilograms (95 pounds) to make a debut at a fashion show. But it still hasn't cleared safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.
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For now, the 158 centimeter (62.2 inch) tall black-haired robot code-named HRP-4C — whose predecessor had weighed 58 kilograms (128 pounds) — will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds.
It would appear she (it?) is already on her (its?) way. Just like your stereotypical human supermodel, she's lost a fuckton of weight to gain a competitive edge. No clue if she glosses her teeth with Vaseline, though.
Due to HRP-4C's technological limitations (i.e. she will probably kill any model who stands in her way in a catty, yet precisely calculated fury), she will be kept in her own little section for a March 23rd fashion show in Tokyo.
The robotic framework for the HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about 20 million yen ($200,000) each, and its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said. (emphasis added)
Ohh, my. That sound you just heard? That quite, yet steady rumble? That, kids, is the sound of a million sex-starved otaku (and equally deprived Blade Runner fans) creaming their pants at the possibilities.
Japan has cornered the robotics market in recent years, with companies from Mitsubishi to Hello Kitty creator Sanrio taking part. We've seen receptionists, companions, and robots as "performance art."
But demands are growing for socially useful robots, such as ones that can care for the elderly and sick, said Yoshihiro Kaga, a government official in the trade and industry ministry.
"We want this market to grow as an industry," he said.
I see this ending in fire. That's all we need is senior citizens manning psychotic Nurse-Bots. Didn't any of you learn from watching Roujin Z?
For now, it appears HRP-4C will be limited to a menial life as a greeter and curiosity before taking the fashion world by storm. Shuuji Kajita, from AIST's humanoid research group, reassures, however:
"But this is just the first step."
Step 2...robots invading America's Next Top Model? I don't know about you, but the thought of Tyra Banks getting vaporized by a backsassed 'bot would get me to tune in. I'm a fan of Dancing With the Stars, anyway.
AIST website (in English)
YouTube video of HRP-4C in action
thefreak wonders whatever happened to AIBO.
Harsh Light of Day: I Am Iron Man
This week in Harsh Light of Day, we take a look at the upcoming film Iron Man, which I have already seen and am going to crudely savage below.
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Ha! Just kidding, folks. Still with me? Hello?!
Aw, fuck. Oh well.
Nah, this week we're talking about the classic 1989 Japanese cult film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Directed by independent filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo is a nightmarish vision of a salaryman's Kafkaesque transformation into a half-metal, half-human monster... kind of like Ron Paul (okay, that was a cheap shot).
The plot (as far as I can tell, anyway) goes like this: a metal fetishist, running down the street in a bloody, delirious panic after shoving a steel rod into his thigh, gets hit by a Japanese worker drone on his drive home from the office. Afterward, the sarariman's conscience starts to creep up on him... in the form of a kind of techno-virus, which consumes more and more of his body, his life, and ultimately his mind. As the virus progresses, we see the fetishist running amok inside the man's brain, gleefully cackling as the drone's life quickly turns to a steaming pile of shit.
Yeah, the plot's a bit confusing. But it's so, so worth it. The reason? Tetsuo is one of the most hauntingly photographed films ever made. With a combination of styles ranging from the stop-motion spastics of Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay to the eerie atmospherics of Eraserhead and Elephant Man-era Lynch, the film is shot on 16mm black and white stock, which only contributes to the slight sense of unease you get from watching it all the way through. The soundtrack is just as creepy, with short bursts of static and sounds that could only come from putting a microphone inside the human throat. Okay, I have no idea if that last part is true, but it sounds like it is.
Tetsuo, for all its art-house cred, is also pretty fucking gory. When you make a film where one of the thematic elements is metal interacting with the human body, there's gonna be some blood. Monochrome blood, in this case, but again - it adds, rather than detracts to the film overall. And without me ruining one of the iconic scenes of the film, let's just say that having your girlfriend over while your entire body is converted to metal parts - moving metal parts - is never a good idea.
The main theme of the film is basically nature versus technology, but Tsukamoto never hits you over the head with it. Really, you're too busy deciphering the million images a minute to think about it a whole lot, which is way more subversive than most American films with "edgy" themes. Why? Because Tetsuo sticks with you. Even though on the surface it might seem like some sci-fi oddity from the Pacific Rim, you'll find yourself remembering parts of it for days afterward, trying to search for meaning in what is basically white noise in movie form.
I can't recommend watching this film enough, folks. It'll grab you, force you to watch it, and afterward you'll wonder what the fuck you just saw. You'll want to watch it again, but not that much - because you'll think it's kind of creepy, too. So you'll put it on the shelf and let it sit for a while. But, every now and then, you'll be drawn to it... kind of like you've been infected somehow.
MisterSatan has Shalome to thank for this week's column. If YOU want a movie to be written up by one of the internet's greatest no-talent hacks, take the bull by the horns and buy him one yourself, you lazy prick.
Japan's Sexy Geeky Boarding School Cafes
I need to get to Japan, and pronto. Not just for the natural beauty, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines. Not just to climb Mt. Fuji or shop Akihabara. But to experience the utterly fantastic weirdness of stuff like this. It's the equivalent of a maid cafe, but created to play to the fetishes of female otaku, rather than male.
Whereas maid cafes, managed by young women in cartoon-like frilly outfits, have indulged the stunted sexual fantasies of male otaku for a decade, businesses are only now considering the commercial potential of the female market.
This is the latest twist in the evolution of Japan's enormous otaku industry, which began as a fringe culture rooted in anime movies and manga drawings but recently flowed into the mainstream before migrating to Western countries.
These cafes staff pretty young men who dress as English schoolboys and play the role of a privileged boarding school students. In addition to the fantasy, food, and drink, one new "boarding school cafe" called Edelstein also "rewards" its regular customers by offering photo opportunities with "pupils."
This surreal scene could be at Eton College, or any of Britain's exclusive public schools. But this is Harajuku, the colourful hub of Tokyo's occasionally unhinged youth culture. And Edelstein is not a school at all. Rather, it is the first of a new type of cafe that satisfies the fantasies of Japan's female otaku a term given to fashion-challenged, socially dysfunctional geeks who collect anime cartoons, manga comics, dolls, trading cards and video games.
Edelstein's manager, 27-year-old Emiko Sakamaki, explains that "my concept was to hire young men who could play the part of beautiful boys that privileged families would send to a good boarding school" a fetish of female otaku, many of whom grow up on "boy's love" comics full of homosexual relationships.
Weird? Yes. Wonderful? That, too.
Stop Crime! Pretend You're a Vending Machine!
Picture it: You're being chased down an alley by a criminal. You're leading him but he's going to catch up to you eventually. You don't reach for your mace or rape-whistle; instead you lift a flap on your skirt and transform it into a fake vending machine. Although your feet are showing, you're completely camouflaged by a life-sized photo of a Coke machine. The thief rounds the corner. He stops in his tracks and looks around, catching his breath. Huh? Where'd you go? All he sees are these three soda machines.
What the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about my new favorite way to avoid street crime and I hope it catches on. Aya Tsukioka is an experimental fashion designer in Tokyo, Japan who has designed a vending machine disguise for women.
She cites one of her inspirations as the black cloaks that ancient ninjas wore at night. According to the New York Times:
"These elaborate defenses are coming at a time when crime rates are actually declining in Japan. But the Japanese, sensitive to the slightest signs of social fraying, say they feel growing anxiety about safety, fanned by sensationalist news media."
Ms. Tsukioka also designed a "manhole bag". It's a purse that unfolds to look like a sewer cover.
I was mugged years ago. The bad-guy ran up behind me and whispered, "Hand over the bag and there will be less trouble." Less trouble? What else was he going to do? The bad-guy's friend was trailing us in a slow-moving getaway car. He shouted out the window, "Come on! Come on!" I went into attack mode. I made a noise that sounded like a dinosaur fucking and then punched my bigger-than-me assailant. We both fell to the ground in a battle for my purse. (A young couple walking their dog crossed to the other side of the street. Thanks guys!) Finally, I came to my senses and threw my purse at him. "Take it, just dont kill me."
Imagine if I was carrying my "manhole bag" that unfolds to look like a sewer cover? I would have just thrown that sucker down on the ground and watched my mugger walk on by. Maybe he would have even apologized. "Ma'am, I was going to rob you but now I see you're not even carrying a purse. I'll just step over this manhole and get on my way. Have a nice evening."
"While Americans want to protect themselves from criminals, or even strike back, the creators say many Japanese favor camouflage and deception, reflecting a culture that abhors self-assertion even in self-defense."
I always thought my reaction to my mugger was some kind of a primal instinct. I'll have to rethink that. It could have just been a very American instinct and a stupid one at that.
As much as I want these purses and skirts to thwart crime as much as the next wanna-be-ninja, how could this really work? Anyone can see the difference between a vending machine made of fabric and the real thing, right? And wouldn't a mugger actually see me throwing my manhole purse on the ground?
"The devices' creators admit that some of their ideas may seem far-fetched, especially to crime-hardened Americans. And even some Japanese find some of them a tad naïve, possibly reflecting the nation's relative lack of experience with actual street crime."
Although there is still that pesky problem of women being felt-up and down on overcrowded Tokyo trains. Now, women can buy fashionable sunglasses with extremely dark wraparound lenses to scare off sexual predators on their commute.
"Ms. Tsukioka also designed a disguise for children: a backpack that transforms into a Japanese-style fire hydrant, concealing the child."
Fashion historian, Kaori Nakana included a chapter in a recent book about dressing to ward-off bullies on the playground. She believes that black studded belts and short socks with loud patterns can help save a geeky kid from the wrath of a jerk. Really? In America that's as good as a "kick me" sign on your back. I got my ass handed to me in sixth grade for wearing a blue-polka dot dress. (Girls can be bullies too.) I can't imagine an American bully giving a geek wearing flashing socks a free pass. "Hey. Let's leave this kid alone. This nerd has got fashion sense!"
"Japan is so fashion conscious that just changing the way you dress can make you safer," Ms. Nakano said. "Culture plays a big role in risk prevention."
"Ms. Tsukioka said her disguises could be a bit impractical, 'especially when your hands are shaking.' Still, she said she hoped her designs or some variation of them could be marketed widely. So far, she said, she has sold about 20 vending-machine skirts for about $800 each, printing and sewing each by hand."
I think that's fucking awesome. Who knows? Maybe a would-be-attacker will have a big laugh when he sees that his would-be-culprit has taken the time to turn into a vending machine and the entire crime situation will be diffused. It could happen. I know of at least 20 people in Japan with a spare $800 to blow who agree with me.
Tuesday Tasting: Leopard Lust, Facebook And Feel Ups
Each week, Ariel Waldman serves a tasting of the latest in sex and tech.
Kelly Bares All For Leopard Unboxing
No doubt, by now you've seen all the unboxing and read all the bitching about the recently released Leopard Mac OSX. While we've yet to screw with our system, KellysArcade has seemingly done just that. Stripping down for her system upgrade, Kelly took photos of her Mac fangirl fetish and provided us with quite the fleshy photo album. We can't help but concur with Fleshbot, these might be the sexiest set of unboxing photos we've seen.
Mobile Phones Attempt to Fend Off Feel Ups
With a rise in train riders with wandering fingers, feel ups have become a problem for many female commuters in Japan. The "Anti-Groping Appli" is a mobile phone application that flashes threatening text-based messages and sounds at potential perverts. With messages like "Excuse me, did you just grope me?" "Groping is a crime," and "Shall we head to the police?", the phone attempts to be an anti-social object for women who don't want the "hassle" to be heard. We'd recommend a quick elbow to the gut instead before grabbing for your phone.
Risque Facebook Application Goes IRL
Naughty Gifts is one of the most used applications among Facebook fetishists. Gifts like blue balls, whipped cream and pearl necklaces are given as virtual play things for other profiles.
"The kids of MySpace appeared to be more deviant than their Pottery Barn Facebook counterparts," said the St. Petersburg-born developer, a member of several women's advocacy groups including the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus. "Facebook users, much like Southern senators, kept their naughty sides under wraps and it made sense to make an app to bring out the naughtiness."
Going.com, the creator of the craze, is now taking the toy teasing to a series of IRL parties, from San Francisco to New York. The events are sure to be interesting, as giving ball gags as gifts might be best left for behind glowing screens. [via]
What's Zo Wearing? October 14, 2007
Secret Photoshop Agent and resident Fashion Icon Zoetica often has the staff at SGHQ asking, "What's Zo Wearing?" Her unique and eccentric style is a rallying call to those who suffer from mainstream malaise. (almost) Each week, she tells us how she's combined ordinary items to create her extraordinary look. Undaunted by unusual combinations, "What's Zo Wearing" is SG's answer to middle-of-the-road makeover shows.
More Tokyo adventures! These were taken during a day dedicated to museums. First a bit of modern art, and then by cab and subway to the Meguro Parasitological Museum. Please note the gleaming white seat cover of the cab. All Tokyo cabs i took have these - I imagine they're there to give passengers assurance of the cab's cleanliness.
Yes, the world's sole parasite museum is indeed in Tokyo and I had to pay it a visit, naturally. A peaceful place with a vast multitude of preserved parasites in various states if development and...habitation.
See for yourselves! I invite you to browse my parasite pictorium on flickr - HERE.
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BONUS
List of some of the lucky artists whose songs we performed in Karaoke bars on several hot alcohol-fueled nights in Japlandia.
-The Darkness
-Four Non-Blondes
-Snoop Dogg
-Guns n' Roses
-System of a Down
-Madonna
-Gazette
-Rick Astley
-Journey
-The Beatles
-Dir En Grey
-My Chemical Romance
-Skid Row
-The Chordettes
-Morrissey
-Depeche Mode
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And now for my best art and parasite watching outfit. Appropriately, the bag vaguely resembles a space worm of some sort.
WormBag: a shop near the Asakuza Temple, Tokyo
Vest: H&M
Dress-thing: Shibuya, Tokyo
Scarf: Harajuku, Tokyo
Socks: Nakano, Tokyo
Boots: Ross
Zoetica Ebb is a painter, SG style technician, alt. model, photgrapher & occasional cosmonomad. For further details, visit Zoetica's member page, or her portfolio website, BioRequiem.
What's Zo Wearing? October 7, 2007
Secret Photoshop Agent and resident Fashion Icon Zoetica often has the staff at SGHQ asking, "What's Zo Wearing?" Her unique and eccentric style is a rallying call to those who suffer from mainstream malaise. (almost) Each week, she tells us how she's combined ordinary items to create her extraordinary look. Undaunted by unusual combinations, "What's Zo Wearing" is SG's answer to middle-of-the-road makeover shows.
Oh Japan. How will i ever get over you?
The trip was, of course, intense and wonderful. I was lucky to be there with someone who speaks excellent Japanese and was thus able to avoid an overly touristy Tokyo experience. There is much too much to tell so I'll stick to fashion here. No time was wasted and, armed with a list of stores prepared prior to departure, much shopping was done!
So, Harajuku. From my personal journal: It is an absolute fashion mecca for anyone who loves plaid, poofy skirts, tons of chains and D-rings. Anyone who subscribes to the punk rock/pre-fab goth/lolita style. I mean this is intense, peeps! There are at least 100 stores selling identical stripy sweaters, pre-stuck with tons of safety pins, little cheap chains dangling off them and patches aplenty. There is a distinctly downtown LA fashion district vibe here. Mountains of colorful frills alongside blackest of black gowns, laced with ribbons and embroidered with bats. Bonnets and tiny top hats - it's all here. All of it.
The problem for me is that i just don't like these looks (anymore?). It's entirely too HotTopic-y, too busy. We wore on, deeper into the belly of the beast, only to find either MORE stripy, plaid, batty, safety-pinned stuff, or gangsta tuna crap. I passed up several cute items thinking I'd find something more unique but to no avail. We'll be going back in a couple of days to retrieve them.
It's just become apparent that to find the really good stuff, i gots to keep digging, even here. I've found a couple of brands that suit my tastes, though. Great tailoring, complicated lines and prices that makes me only a little uneasy. I am simply too distinguishing, dammit!
At the end of the main strip stands a mall with 3 floors of higher end alterna-fashion. Much of it echoes more of the same but within lies a T. Kunitomo shop where i acquired a dress best described as an asymmetrical floor-length black thing, with a flap in which to keep a parasitic twin. There will be pictures, eventually. Kunitomo is one of the aforementioned brand discoveries, with Black Peace Now, where i got a fantastic zip up top and a stylized doctor's bag. And the endless, hypnotic, enticing, evil sock shops. As you might have noticed over the past year, i have a wee little sock problem and this trip was quite the enabler. I've made away with at least 30 pairs, and yes, i am serious.
Next week expect another Japanese WZW!
On to the pictures! These were taken in the beautiful Ueno park. We wandered, looked at shrines, drank beer, ate nikuman and chased feral cats.
Do you like my giant sack?
Bag: Army surplus
Distressed sweater: Zen Mall, Harajuku
Goldfish dress: Circular accessories, Etsy
Gathered leggings: Some sock zone in Nakano, Tokyo
Shoes: Sketchers
Zoetica Ebb is a painter, SG style technician, alt. model, photgrapher & occasional cosmonomad. She's vowed to return to Tokyo someday. For further details, visit Zoetica's member page, or her portfolio website, BioRequiem.
Your Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not
This week I'm writing in from the SG Tokyo field office on an all expense paid trip to research the future of communication and global interconnectivity. OK, that's not entirely the truth, I am in Japan but that's about where the line to fiction starts blurring. A guy can dream can't he? Actually I am kind of researching communication but with a much more "how the crap do I stay in touch with my friends" approach rather than the "what does the future hold" perspective. Turns out it's both easier and harder than I expected.
If you've been following my columns here you know I'm kind of obsessed with communication to begin with and during ordinary daily life in Los Angeles I prefer IM and SMS to the phone, but would rather get a call then an e-mail. In planning this trip I knew a good bit of that was going to be thrown into an uproar, but was also excited to see what tools people I'd be hanging out with in Japan were using and how they were using them. Everyone I talked to prior to the trip said renting a mobile phone from a kiosk at the airport upon arrival was essential, so I assumed the bulk of contact would be SMS based and arranged for a phone to use during my trip.
Additionally I was curious how I'd stay in touch with my friends in the states. I've also got a friend from LA who is in Thailand right now and thanks T-Mobile she has free SMS coverage there which made contacting her from LA no problem, but a bit trickier from Japan where it's no longer a local number to send or receive from. How would all this play out?
Not surprisingly some contact forms didn't change at all, minor time zone differences aside. I could IM and e-mail with people the same as always. Site messaging (like mail here on SG) also worked the same as always and was really helpful. Voice to the states wasn't that tricky so long as I had a laptop thanks to several VOIP options. For a very small per minute fee I can use things like Gizmo Project or Skype to call any phone number on the planet. I can also sent SMS messages with Skype to US numbers for about $0.12 each, but people can't reply back to those. Both of those services also let you make calls to other people using them for free. You can also flex your inner nerd with gaming options like Teamspeak if you already use that, but I wouldn't recommend trying to set it up just for a trip.
As for in country communication, it's not SMS at all. In fact no one I know here is using SMS for anything. This doesn't mean they aren't using their mobile phones, they are - all the time actually - but instead all messaging is e-mails (or mobile mail) directly to the phones. This seems to skirt some kind of high SMS charge in some way. This is amusing actually because originally SMS gained popularity in many countries because it was much cheaper than voice calls. Interestingly enough nanoblogging service Twitter is benefiting here as well because of the mobile and direct messaging options. You can't use SMS for it, but you can use your mobile phone's browser and send direct messages through twitter to friends here in Japan (or anywhere in the world) for free. Several people I've talked to are doing this, as well as just keeping an eye on the mobile page to see where their friends are. Twitter actually solved the issue for my friend in Thailand. While it's not as direct as an SMS that she can reply to her from Los Angeles, we can still keep in touch easily and basically for free.
This is the trick, almost every single person I've seen has a phone, and it's usually out in being held in one hand and stared at. People on the trains, people on the streets, everyone. Conversely, I can probably count on one hand the number of people I've seen talking on their phones, and I'm including myself in that number. To add to that, there are signs everywhere prohibiting you from talking on your phone, so much of the text based mobile usage might stem from that as well. There are also pay phone booths everywhere but I haven't seen a single one being used yet which is certainly tied into the mobile aspect. If people aren't using their mobile phones to talk on, who might someone call from a pay phone? I've heard these are slowly disappearing as well, much the way they are in the US.
What does all this mean? It just means the way we communicate with each other, those next to us and on the other side of the world, is constantly evolving. I can't wait to see where we go next from here.
Everybody Panic: The Curious Case of Doki Doki Majo Saiban
Let's face it: if it can be constructed, it's only a matter of time until someone figures out a way to put porn on it, and no one is quite as quick on the draw as Japan.
Knowing this, it initially suprised me how much internet-clamoring there seems to be regarding a little game that SNK is currently developing for near-future release on Nintendo DS. The game is called Doki Doki Majo Saiban, and while it is (sadly) not a sequel to Doki Doki Panic, your character does have a lot of rooting around to do -- albeit for a little somethin' more than vegetables.
The game stars naughty Akuji Nishimura, who is commanded by an Angel Lulu to search for [witches] lurking in his junior high school. When the search is narrowed down, the suspected junior high school witch is examined with the touch pen.
How do you know if the little girl is a witch? Usually, there's a "witch's crest" hidden somewhere on her body which can appear in "Witch Check Mode." The goal: Make her heart beat quickly. Players use the stylus to touch the girl, whose expression will change depending on how her heart beats. The background with change as well. However! Rush things, and the girl does not respond.
Yes, that's right. You grope them with your stylus until they get all hot and bothered and reveal their true witchbaby cuteness. Oh Japanese game developers, you're incorrigible! Still, with the veritable cesspool of repugnance available for PC gameplay in Japan, what's a little harmless skirt-lifting witch hunt amongst junior high kids? Perhaps the phrase "junior high kids" is a good hint.
So apparently at least one of the "witch suspects" is straight-up listed on the game's roster as 14 years old, which sent some internet bloggers' monocles blasting across the room; there's also no denying how preciously small and wide-eyed our lovely protagonists have been rendered. From there things just spiraled as pre-official-site rumors flew in sort of a game of telephone, snowballing into photo-chopped images until no one even knows what's right anymore.
The second problem comes in when armchair designers leaped on the first screens from Doki Doki Majo Saiban, creating new "screens" that looked real, but took the action a little further, and with much younger-seeming characters. Another faked picture even featured a Wiimote, and suddenly the title was being reported as a release for the Wii. Art from Japanese blogs and forums was suddenly linked to the title. And as it spread across the Internet, the story changed. It was no longer a silly, risqué "touching" game for the DS. Suddenly, it was a little disturbing.
Ah, the magic of photoshop. And yet...
As if to quell the gathering pitchfork hordes, CERO (Japan's answer to our Entertainment Software Ratings Board) has finally come out and given Doki Doki a C, which, all things considered, is not half bad. Somewhere in the vicinity of "Rated T for Teen," it means that the game will not, in fact, be explicitly pornographic. Thank heaven for small favors, and all that.
Mostly I think the fascinating thing about all of this is how many questions it raises about intercultural tolerance as well as our own cultural hang-ups. On the one hand, who made us the International Police of Good Taste? With the amount of bloody violence that dominates most games over here, why should we talk smack about a fetish that is clearly at least somewhat acceptable in Japan (as evidenced by the fact that such eroge games are being made by mainstream companies)? At least the game has some semblance of plot, and, with no outright sex or nudity seen so far, it seems to be straddling the line of mpropriety just enough to make us squirm without actually being wrong. There are far, far worse (and even virginal-blood-lettingly violent) games being made out there, chock-full of underdeveloped girls that are OMGTOTALLY18, and -- as is presumed to be the case for Doki Doki -- they never even see the light of day on thiis side of the Pacific anyway, without some internet liason for those of you who just can't live without it. No kid is going to randomly pick this up inadvertently at Target and get scarred for life, nor is a Wal-Mart pedophile going to get his kicks on stylus-style. It's a lot of worry over nothing that will most likely immediately affect us.
And on the other hand... it is still just kind of creepy enough that you can't help but raise your eyebrows. Oh Japan, you magnificent crazy bastards. What more can we say?
_DictionaryGirl_ has had an insanely exhausting week and is entrenched in a battle with a computer that hates her; she apologizes for the lack of articles lately. In other news, she would like to thank the lovely Elichrusos, for always keeping a finger on the pulse of Japanese ridiculousity.
Deep Sea Shark Caught on Film
Yesterday, Japan Marine Biologists captured rare video of a frilled shark swimming. The creature is almost never seen as its natural habitat is over 2,000 feet below sea level. The footage is rather painful to watch because, while it's a treat for us you know the shark isn't having the best day, though I don't really know what a happy shark looks like.
"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare," said an official at the park. "They live between 1,968 and 3,280 feet (600 and 1,000 meters) under the water, which is deeper than humans can go."
"We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," the official said.
It is rare but not and unheard of event to see the frilled shark. Especially off the coast of Japan, where during the winter season when the water temperature drops frilled sharks must come to shallower waters to feed. Its diet consists mainly of deep sea squid and other soft-bodied prey.
The shark was first spotted by a fisherman near the south of Tokyo. He informed the Awashima Marine Park who sent divers to catch the ailing animal. A frill shark is often nick named a living fossil because the species hasn't evolved much since prehistoric times.
The shark died soon after the video. This specimen was about five feet long and about 16.5 lbs. Frilled sharks are known to grow to lengths of nearly 6.5 feet.
The Japanese Still Dont Get It
In another glaring example of how the Japanese have forgotten the lessons learned from years of Godzilla attacks, four Japanese executives admitted that they illegally exported equipment which can be used to build nuclear weapons. The equipment found a home in friendly Libya and possibly lovable Iran.
During the first day of their trial, the four executives from Mitutoyo admitted they did not obtain authorization to export the equipment to Malaysia. Each executive responded to the charges by saying, What is written is true. How Japanese is that?
The four exported two gauges that can be used in the production of nuclear weapons. One of the gauges found its way to Libya and was then found by UN inspectors after Gaddafi became scared of US bombs and retired from trying to build nuclear weapons.
Japanese authorities believe the men also sent the gauges to Iran, whose leaders want to blow the US and Israel off the face of the Earth. Japan is basically fucked because of four guys. It is only a matter of time before Godzilla smashes the shit out of that place. Wheres Mothra? Where?
Japan Introduces World to 'Tom Cruise Day'
While the idea of Tom Cruise having a day dedicated to his weirdness seems completely disconcerting, it will soon become a reality; the Japanese Memorial Day Association decided to give the actor a special day named in Toms honor. The association believes Cruise deserves this nod because of his love and close association with the country.
Cruise's film, The Last Samurai, grossed $117 million more in Japan than it did in the US. The actor has paid more visits to the country than any other major Hollywood star and spends hours on end with fans in the country.
His public relations tour of Japan last spring to promote Mission: Impossible III included a trip on the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo, during which he had his photo taken with more than 100 fans. During that trip, Cruise told the press he wanted to shoot the next installment in the action series in Japan.
Cruise declined to comment on the honor, but if he does make a statement, Im sure it will involve a lot of couch-jumping and yelling, I love this country!
Cruise with fiance, Katie Holmes.
Your Hello Kitty Doll Wants to Kill You
Japanese manufacturer Takara is recalling a line of Hello Kitty dolls. The dolls heat up to provide comfort and warmth for a child.
Unless you got one of the ones that break and spray steaming hot Mystery Chemical into your child's face and screaming mouth as they sleep. In what's being called "The Worst Month Ever For Shit Randomly Bursting Into Flame", Japanese consumers are being asked to return the deadly dolls as soon as possible.
(via engadget)
Meet Horinami, Japan's First Female Tattoo Artist
Horinami is widely regarded as Japan's most skilled and famous female tattoo artist. Speaking with her recently, she came across as a humble Japanese artisan--very easy to talk to and full of enthusiasm for her craft.
Her decision to become a tattoo artist and subsequent training began after graduating from high school and beginning art college. She flunked out after a year, and her attempts to get back on track were unsuccessful due to student unrest and a pregnancy with her first husband. She originally considered becoming a teacher, but gave up on that, divorced her first husband and met her second husband, who she vaguely describes as having taught her "a lot of things, good and bad about life."
She works in the traditional style of Japanese Irezumi, and considering that when she first started out tattoos hadn't yet begun to enjoy the mainstream popularity that they do now, it can be presumed that a lot of her clients were either downtown workers such as carpenters, or people connected with the underworld.
When she began working as a tattoo artist over 20 years ago, the machines were totally different, she couldn't even get the inks she needed, and she doubts that there were any other female tattoo artists at the time. She trained for approximately nine years, but says she is "still training,"--the learning process being endless. She says one of her main sources of inspiration is music: "I always listen to the koto (a traditional Japanese instrument) when doing tatts."
She has had some of the same clients for twenty years, and describes her relationships with some of them as familial, having BBQs or going on hot spring trips together.
"Its a difficult job, but you can't think like that--you have to think that it's great! The best thing is getting clients that like your work, to have people that say your work is good
that is the greatest happiness. That feeling is sublime."
Her style utilizes all the aspects of Japanese aesthetics--they are meticulously detailed and as she describes it, "restrained and quiet."
"I can't get out of the wa (traditional Japanese ) world. I want the world to know about the Japanese culture. Everyone has their fantastic points and I want each other to know about them"
MAQI is a freelance writer who covers topics usually relating to the arts, culture and travel. She has contributed to about 20 publications, from fashion, travel and inflight magazines to Japanese newspapers. She also does Tokyo correspondence for UK's Bizarre magazine and Skin Deep Tattoo magazine. She likes sushi and cake.
Conversation With Junko Mizuno
Junko Mizuno is one of Japan's most interesting and hard-working contemporary manga illustrators. Her incredible collection of graphic novels are a testament to her mastership of comic work; her unique style is instantly recognizable, a wonderful combination of adorable, psychedelic, feminine, alluring and dark character-based imagery.
Some of her knockout titles include wonderfully twisted fairy tales such as Hell Babies, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Princess Mermaid published by Viz, and most recently, her graphic novel Pure Trance published by Last Gasp.
Despite her busy schedule designing everything from toys to stationery, she agreed to an exclusive interview here at SuicideGirls. In fact, she's enthusiastic about SuicideGirls, and says she not only loves the site, but occasionally references SG models for her figure drawings! We love you too, Junko Mizuno. Read on..
SUSIE GHAHREMANI: Tell me a little about your artistic background.
JUNKO MIZUNO: I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I started drawing comics and illustrations and collecting them into books/magazines when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I used to force my sister to read them.
That's how I trained myself in art. I've never had any formal art
education. Now I live in Tokyo, drawing illustrations for many
different media: designing toys, making stories for my comics, etc.
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SG: What inspires your work? Who are some of your favorite artists?
JM: Everything in the world inspires me!
I have too many favorite artists to list them all. Aubrey Beardsley, Eric Stanton, Kazuo Umezu, Hideshi Hino, Niki De Saint Phalle, Henry J. Darger to name a few.
SG: Tell me about your favorite piece you've done; what makes it your favorite and why?
JM: My favorite piece is always the latest one. This image is a part of the piece I'm working on right now. It's my favorite for now.
SG: How do you overcome feeling drained of inspiration or out of ideas?
JM: Luckily, I've never been out of ideas so far but sometimes, I do get stuck -- especially when I'm thinking how to execute the ideas in my head.
The things I do to change my mood are... walking around, shopping around, drinking and talking with my friends, or cleaning up my room. If all of these don't work at all, I just go to bed and sleep.
SG: What's your favorite texture?
JM: Whenever I get tired, I feel like touching something furry.
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SG: What is your guilty pleasure?
JM: Oversleeping.
SG: What's next for you and your work?
JM: I just made some concepts for a web game called "Die Bunny".
I'm so excited because it's my first time getting involved in making a game. It's still in development but they already have a webpage. I really can't wait to play it!
Also, I'm designing some new vinyl toys, working on my 10th anniversary
collection book, planning two group shows in US next year etc. All my new projects are announced on my website.
Please visit www.MIZUNO-JUNKO.com.
Spotlight on Naoshi
Naoshi is an artist and illustrator from Japan whose unusual medium is called "sunae", which is basically a craft in which colored sand is sprinkled on sticky paper. Visit her charming tutorial on how to make sunae and see some of her whimsical creations on her site.
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Japan Is Getting Its 1941 On
Japan is getting into its wayback machine for a little inspiration. The country is considering whether or not to launch preemptive strikes on missile bases in North Korea. Japan was a little more than freaked out by North Koreas missile tests last week and is now discussing whether a strike would be a violation of the Japanese constitution.
The country currently has a pacifist constitution, which means an attack would have to be justified as self-defense. The constitution forbids the use of the Japanese military in international disputes and prohibits funding of the military for war. But the heads of government are said to be meeting to discuss the possibility of an attack. Precedent was set years ago with a pre-emptive strike on Godzilla.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said: "If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack, there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense.
One hiccup in the plan is the fact Japan has no ballistic missiles, only ground-to-air missiles and ground-to-vessel missiles.
South Korea was not keen on the idea, as they will be the nation that suffers the most in a war with their northern neighbors. South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun talked a little smack.
There is no reason to fuss over this from the break of dawn like Japan, but every reason to do the opposite.
Come on guys, focus. Keep your eye on the prize. Godzilla is still out there. Dont even get me started about Rodan and Mothra.
Get Your Giant Monster On
This afternoon, indulge your secret desire to see men in robot costumes thrash the tar out of other guys in giant monster get-ups (come on, you know you love it) when the American Cinematheque continues its annual Giant Monsters festival at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
Todays bill offers the latest incarnation of the long-running Japanese space hero Ultraman with three episodes of Ultraman Max (2005), two of which were directed by Japanese maverick Takashi Miike (Audition) and another by kaiju specialist Shusuke Kaneko (Gamera, Guardian of the Universe). Then stick around for some vintage super action with the 1971 debut episode of Mirror Man, as well as a brand new (and reportedly darker) theatrical update of the series, titled Mirror Man: Reflex, which enjoys its U.S. premiere at this screening. Note to purists, etc: the Cinematheque web site points out that all material shown on tonights bill is in Japanese with English subtitles and taken from digital video sources.
Trivia hounds with a bent towards the perverse will be pleased to note that Japanese economist Kasuhide Uekusa earned the nickname Mirror Man for his penchant for looking up school girls skirts with a hand mirror. However, there will be no such action at todays screening (at least, I think not).
6:30 p.m.: Ultraman Max
8:15: MiMirror Man (TV) and Mirror Man: Reflex