Tennis fans have flocked together at Wimbledon to witness perhaps the most important event in the sport. True tennis enthusiasts would recognize the name Ai Sugiyama, a Japanese tennis veteran. She made her debut in the All England Club scene way back in 1993 and has since then participated in the event 17 times.
Sugiyama, who is now 33 years old, says that she is now only playing for pleasure and not really to compete. Though she is still considered the number one woman tennis player in Japan, she is currently having a hard time keeping up physically. It is no wonder given her age, which can be considered a tad too old for the sport. AFP quotes her as saying:
I’m just thinking year by year now. I don’t know if I can come back next year. It is too far to think of for me. Each year I’m fighting every day to be fit and physically, mentally to be able to play at the top level. It’s difficult actually.
The older you get, it’s definitely tougher because physically, when you’re young, even though you play three or four matches, once you stretch well, eat well then sleep you will be fresh. But when you get to 33, recovering wise, it’s not that easy compared to before so you have to really take care of your body.
What she said is true enough but there is also no doubt that she can still deliver a very good game on the grass. More importantly, she is still well regarded in the tennis world.
Posted June 27th, 2009 by Maki | Comment (0)
If there is one country where Michael Jackson has always been welcome despite all the controversy he’s encountered, it is Japan. From unwavering loyalty from his fans to advertising deals, Japan has always lent its support to the King of Pop.
When news of his death spread like wildfire on Thursday, the Japanese nation was shaken like no other. If you thought that Hollywood was (is?) focusing too much on MJ’s death, you should have been in Japan on that day. Major TV stations switched to special programming to cover the news. Online stores were flooded with orders for albums by Michael Jackson, among other things. Even government officials had something to say!
The top government spokesman and other ministers expressed their condolences.
“He was a superstar. It is an extremely tragic loss. But it is fantastic he was able to give so many dreams and so much hope to the people of the world,” said Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe.
Japan has always been special to the star. According to the same news report:
Jackson chose Japan — the biggest pop music market in Asia — for his first public appearance after he was acquitted of molestation charges in 2005, a delicate period in his career when his marketability had started to tank elsewhere.
Appearing at a ceremony in Tokyo in 2006, Jackson choked up before fans screaming “I love you” as he accepted a Japan MTV “Legend Award.” He later visited an orphanage on a trip largely untarnished by the bad press he had received back home.
Indeed, MJ will be missed sorely by many, but perhaps more so in Japan.
Posted June 26th, 2009 by Maki | Comments (6)
Gamers who are into video games with adult content will know immediately what I am talking about. For the uninitiated, there is a genre of games which deal exclusively with adult content, and yes, there is a large market out there. While the origins of these games cannot really be attributed to a single location, a lot of them come from Japan.
One of the games which has garnered international attention is RapeLay. It is pretty obvious what the game is all about – players get to stalk girls – young or old – and rape them at will. Players get to earn points for each act of violence that they do. More so, they get additional points for forcing them to get abortions. In the US, this game caught the ire of human rights activists, forcing retail stores such as Amazon to pull the game out of their shelves.
Now, Japan is following suit. AFP has the story:
The Japanese industry group the Ethics Organisation of Computer Software said it had long mulled measures to control such content which it said “deviates extremely from social norms.”
The organisation will now ban all “sexual torture software” and set clear guidelines on what content should be blocked from circulating in the market, the group said in an announcement dated Thursday.
The group says it already screens almost all adult-content computer games made in Japan, and that some 90 percent of products carry its rating stickers.
The ban is a form of industry self-regulation and carries no legal weight, but it is expected to discourage most Japanese retailers from selling such games, said the spokesman.
While this not a legal move, it should serve to discourage the distribution of such material.
Posted June 10th, 2009 by Maki | Comment (0)
Why not? Coke comes in various flavors, or versions if you want to call it that. We have the regular Coke, then we have Coke Light, and then there is Coke Zero. I personally prefer the regular (REAL) Coke, but hey, each to his own, right?
In Japan, they will soon get another option – Green Tea Coke. Katsuya Sato, the spokesman for Coca-Cola Japan Co., said late last week that they are going to launch a new product on June 8. This “new†Coke is going to have some tea antioxidants called catechins. Adding the catechins to the soda will not only give it the benefits that antioxidants normally give, but also provide a tea-like aftertaste.
And what is the rationale behind this? After all, most people I know drink Coke not because they want to stay healthy. We all know that it is NOT really a health drink, right? Well, Sato says that they are trying to target women who are in their 20s and 30s, who may be health-conscious. And while Coke is not really a health drink, providing the option of a somewhat healthy version will cater to people who want their soda and drink it too!
By the way, Coke is not the only soda company in Japan taking this route. In fact, fierce rival Pepsi is also coming up with their own exotic drink: basil-flavored Pepsi. Now I don’t know about that. I have always liked Coke but I don’t mind drinking Pepsi when I have to, but basil-flavored soda? I’ll pass.
Posted June 6th, 2009 by Maki | Comments (8)
