Motley Moose – Archive

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Just five months after its inception, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has already fired a senior official for having an “inappropriate exchange” with the operator of a nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking official at the land ministry (the parliamentary secretary for reconstruction, if you must know) mysteriously resigned, allegedly over “a relationship with a woman.” Can’t have that!

Researchers at the environment ministry believe there may be a connection between the March 11 megaquake and a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Hokkaido last month that caused blackouts and highway closures.

It was reported that officials at the National Police Agency are making an effort to develop better aging-prediction technology out of concerns that “the faces of people on police wanted posters end up looking markedly different from fugitives.”

This will be the last one of these.

LOST AND FOUND

Six months after the environment ministry declared the Japanese river otter extinct, officials in Ehime are planning “a full-fledged search” for the creature in response to reports of recent sightings.

JR Central began operation of the new N700A shinkansen-the first bullet train that can run on autopilot.

A group of Japanese and French scholars claims that Echigo-ya-a kimono shop that grew to become Mitsukoshi department store-was the “world’s first large-scale retailer and the biggest store throughout the 18th century.”

Tokyo Station and New York’s Grand Central Terminal are set to become “sister stations” at a ceremony in the US this month.

A 73-year-old Ibaraki restaurateur discovered 31 photographic plates depicting the attempted coup d’état in 1936 known as the “February 26 incident.”

OUCH!

A Fukuoka man in his 30s was hospitalized after being bitten by a redback spider while removing a can of coffee from a vending machine.

A special-ed teacher in Aichi was reprimanded for handcuffing a ten-year-old autistic student who wouldn’t follow her instructions.

A worker at a nursing home in western Tokyo is in hot water after taking a photo of a female resident and sending it to colleagues in an email that compared the woman to a cartoon character.

Headline of the Week: “80 Percent Approve of Being Cared for by Robots: Survey” (via Mainichi Japan)

THIS JUST IN…

The NPA says 33 people around the country were arrested for voting improprieties in December’s general election-the lowest figure since current election laws were enacted in 1950.

An online survey by research group Macromill found that 75 percent of 20-year-olds “expect little from the country’s politics.”

In a breakthrough that could help endangered species, Japanese scientists have “artificially reproduce[ed] a kind of fish using surrogate parents from another related species.”

The Council for Cultural Affairs recommended two additions to Japan’s roster of important cultural assets: traditional hunting equipment from Akita and a tug-of-war event in Saga known as “Yobuko.”

ONLY IN JAPAN

In an annual ritual meant to “foster spiritual strength,” 100 SDF troops in Hokkaido engaged in a tug of war with a tank.

Zookeepers in Fukuoka have discovered that feeding chimpanzees three leeks a day helps them ward off colds.

A 114-year-old Osaka resident took the title of world’s oldest woman after the previous record-holder, a 115-year-old who lived in Kawasaki, died last month.

Sentence of the Week: “A man suspected in a series of computer hacking cases has been linked by a security camera to a man who suspiciously approached a cat, which was later found to have a memory device attached to its collar, investigative sources said.” (via Mainichi Japan)

THAT’LL SHOW ‘EM

The National Police Agency and the Japan Securities Dealers Association announced new measures intended to keep yakuza groups from… stock trading.

Leading online game operator Gree blamed a software glitch for overcharging the accounts of 733 minors-including 30 kids who were stuck with bills of more than ¥100,000 each.

Education officials in Saitama have developed a system that enables students to report bullying incidents via mobile phone.

It was reported that the Japanese are trying to save electricity this winter by “warmth sharing”-that is, “the communal use of warm and toasty places.”