Things just got really lonely at the top. After perennial troublemaker Asashoryu quit sumo following allegations he attacked a man outside a Tokyo nightspot, Hakuho remains as the sole yokozuna and hot favorite to cart home the Emperor’s Cup at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament getting under way on Sunday.
Alas, sumo without Asashoryu, who took time out from his reputed street brawling to also win the New Year’s meet, could be a lot like watching a one-man show - predictable and lacking the unique pizzazz that the Mongolian firebrand brought to the sport. (Japan Times)
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At least 70 detainees at the West Japan Immigration Control Center, which has long been criticized by human rights groups and Diet members, have been on a hunger strike since Monday, center officials and volunteers helping them confirmed Thursday. “Around 70 foreigners began a hunger strike Monday night because they want to be released on a temporary basis,” Norifumi Kishida, an official at the center, said Thursday morning. (Japan Times)
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Celebrations for Ireland’s most famous holiday are gaining in popularity worldwide, and Japan is no exception. St. Patrick, who helped spread Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, is the country’s patron saint. Legend has it that he died on March 17, so the Irish celebrate the day by wearing green, symbolizing the shamrock. In Japan, people have enjoyed the St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1992. As an international cultural exchange event, it has become more popular, with recent years seeing around 1,000 participants and 50,000 spectators taking part in Omotesando, Tokyo. This year’s parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. (Japan Times)
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A seven-car shinkansen line inspection train runs about once every 10 days between Tokyo and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, and rail buffs who spot it claim it brings good luck.
The train has been nicknamed “Dr. Yellow” because of its color but it is officially called a comprehensive shinkansen test train. The test train that travels the 1,174-km distance between Tokyo and Hakata is popular with rail fans. An urban legend has it happiness comes to those who spot it.
Its timetable is not published. Nevertheless, a Web site details the places and times it passes so those interested may figure out when they can see it. A cheering crowd with cameras was on hand when Dr. Yellow pulled into Shin-Osaka Station en route to Hakata in December.
All of the coaches’ windows are blocked out. Carriages six and seven house large equipment to gauge signals and electricity. A dome in coach five lets inspectors view pantograph connections. (Japan Times)
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Kenichi Ikeda of the city of Nagasaki has carried around three bags and a secret he could not tell his family at home - inside the bags were hundreds of women’s undergarments that he had stolen over 10 years, police said. Police arrested the 36-year-old truck driver, who allegedly had stolen about 260 pairs of women’s underwear and kept them in bags behind the driver’s seat of his truck. “I couldn’t leave them home because I have a wife and children,” Ikeda was quoted as saying by police. (Japan Times)
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Hundreds of foreign and Japanese people staged a rally Sunday in Tokyo demanding better working conditions and employment benefits for foreign residents. At the annual “March in March” event at Hibiya Park in Chiyoda Ward, Louis Carlet, deputy general secretary of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, said foreign workers have a great need for job security and health care. The event also featured a live music by musicians from various countries, including Senegalese drum sessions and Ainu dancing from Hokkaido.
(Japan Times)
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The annual “natto” fermented soybean speed-eating contest was held Saturday in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, drawing 72 contestants including competitive eating regulars from various parts of Japan and eight people from overseas countries such as Australia.
Participants in the preliminaries had to eat about 100 grams of sticky natto beans mixed with a bowl of about 310 grams of rice. The 10 who advanced to the final stage had to then eat 350 grams of natto. The winner was Masaki Nakamura, a 44-year-old company employee from the city, who set a record time of 30.97 seconds.
(Japan Times)
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Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki expressed concern Friday over Washington’s new policy of charging travelers to the U.S. $10 if they don’t have a visa, saying it runs counter to bilateral exchanges.
Asked about the travel promotion act that President Barack Obama signed into law Thursday, Fujisaki told a news conference: “Such a measure is not desirable. Regardless of the amount of the fee, it will not contribute to exchanges” between Japan and the United States. (Japan Times)
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The Immigration Bureau announced Wednesday new guidelines for foreign residents, stating that joining the social insurance system is not a requirement for renewing or changing one’s visa status.
The bureau told The Japan Times on Feb. 1 that it had decided to change the wording of the new guidelines - which were originally drawn up last March and scheduled to take effect April 1 - to ease concerns that those without social insurance would be forced to choose between losing their visa and joining the insurance system. (Japan Times)
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A 14-year-old girl jumped off an apartment building and killed herself last month in a possible attempt to escape bullying at school, the board of education in Kiyose, Tokyo, said Wednesday.
“I don’t want to go to school anymore. Everybody else looks like my enemies,” the second-year student at a city-run junior high school said in a note, according to the board of education. (Japan Times)
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