Japan’s Pioneer Skeleton Racer To Retire

Skeleton racing is probably not the most popular sport around, but it does have its own pack of supporters. Now that the Winter Olympics is the hot topic in sports, skeleton racing is gaining more notice, especially in Japan. By general consensus, Kazuhiro Koshi is regarded as the pioneer of skeleton racing in his country. Now 45 years old, the veteran says that he has “reached his limit.” From what has happened in the Winter Olympics, it looks like he just might be right. On the 19th, the competition for skeleton racing ended with Koshi finishing a mere 20th – overall. Despite this sad showing, Koshi remains positive and his fans continue to voice their support.

Koshi’s story is quite an interesting one. The Examiner tells us more:

Kazuhiro Koshi started off with dreams of Olympic gold out of university. Born in Nagano, the home of the 1998 winter Olympics, Koshi undoubtedly grew up surrounded by winter sports. He originally aimed to become a bobsledder for the 1992 Albertville Olympics, but after failing to be selected he switched his focus to skeleton.

However, at the time he decided to change it is reported that there were virtually no serious skeleton racers in Japan. In order to advance to an international competitive level, which he finally did by the late 1990s, he had to take advice from experts in foreign countries and train rigorously.

In the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Koshi placed 8th in skeleton, and in 2006 he placed 11th in Turin.

This man’s spirit is undoubtedly admirable and as he announces his plans of leaving the life of competition, we wish him well.

Japanese Whalers And Activists Meet Again

The Japanese tradition of hunting whales commercially and all the controversy surrounding it is nothing new. Indeed, the friction between the Japanese whaling industry and activists who stand up for the whales has been going on for decades. Recently, the two parties clashed in another incident.

According to reports, a group of anti-whaling activists “attacked” a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean. The group supposedly threw butyric acid at the ship. They also fired paintball guns at the ship. In response, the ship used water cannons on them. By the way, butyric acid is a substance found in rotten food and vomit. You can just imagine how disgusting that is!

This is not the first time that anti-whaling activists and Japanese whalers have clashed physically. Indeed, this might just be tamer than other incidents.

The Institute of Cetacean Research, Japan’s government agency that is in charge of whaling, says that the group behind the attack is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. These two parties have had a longstanding feud. According to the agency, the protesters endangered the lives of the crew of the whaling ship. It emphasized that those present in the ship were mainly researchers conducting studies legally. In international waters, whaling is permitted as long as the purpose is for research and not commercial.

There is no word as to what will happen as a result of this incident. The fact remains, however, that whaling is still a very sensitive issue for those involved.

First LTE Modem Certified In Japan

Mobile phone and wireless Internet enthusiasts will surely clap their hands with glee when they hear about this new technology. Dubbed LTE, the technology is an improvement of the 3G, which is currently the standard in many parts of the world. Naturally, Japan is the leader in this new technology – what else can we expect?

Last week, the government certified the first ever LTE modem and the honor of having this modem certified belongs to electronics giant LG Electronics. This is a huge step towards the establishment of an LTE network in Japan, and we can only hope that the technology will spread to the rest of the world.

What’s so good about LTE anyway? Think about data transmission that reaches 100Mbps (wirelessly) – at the very least! You can just imagine how fast wireless transfer of data will be if LTE becomes the standard. No more frustrating moments while you’re on the road, I bet.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest telecommunications company will be using the LTE modem to run tests later on this year. If the tests prove to be a success, then commercial clients just might be able to use LTE technology before the end of year 2010. That means that the general public will not have access to the technology till 2011 at the earliest. Still, things are looking pretty good as the news is that NTT DoCoMo is working with other partners with regard to handsets and other devices that can be used on the platform. Exciting, don’t you think?

Japan’s Fujitsu: We Made The First “iPad”!

Apple made the world stop on January 27 when Steve Jobs announced the newest gadget in its already long line of toys: the iPad. This tablet computer is being touted as the next gadget that will change the way we perceive things. Much like when the iPhone was launched, the unveiling of the iPad has got the whole world a-buzzing.

Japan’s Fujitsu, however, is quick to speak up. Apparently, they have been using the term iPad to call a gadget that they launched as early as 2002. If this is true, then Apple might have to deal with a trademark issue in the coming months.

The official word is that the Fujitsu subsidiary in the United States launched their own iPad in 2002. The Fujitsu iPad is a small handheld gadget that is targeted at stores. Its purpose is to keep track of inventory, to scan barcodes, and other similar activities that store clerks may have to do. Inside the Fujitsu iPad, there is an Intel processor. It runs on Microsoft (big difference!). The gadget’s screen is 3.5 inches and has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The positive thing – at least for Apple – is that the trademark application has not yet been approved. However, Fujitsu applied for the patent in 2003, definitely giving it an edge. The company has not made any announcement as to what their next move will be though. The official word is that they are “sorting out the facts.” As for Apple, they are no strangers to this sort of thing.

The Wonder Football Robot

The World Cup always attracts immense amount of attention. Every four years, when it is held, the whole world stops in its tracks to follow what’s going on in the world of football. Of course, part of the reason for the large following (aside from the love of the sport itself) is the fact that tons of money is spent on advertising. That means that sponsors will not hesitate to advertise their own wares.

This time around, Castrol is jumping into the advertising bandwagon big time. Have you ever heard of the “wonderful” robot made by Castrol Japan? If not, then check this video out at the World Cup Blog.

So what can the robot do? If you took the time to watch the video, you would know that it can kick a football (just like a football player does when making a free kick). But it’s not just like any kicker – the machine can kick a ball at a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour! That’s 70 kilometers per hour more than the world record that is held by famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo! Of course, there really is no comparison (despite the allusions made by Castrol executives) here as Ronaldo is made of flesh and bone while the machine is, well, a machine (made of nuts and bolts?!).

In any case, this robot will certainly draw a lot of attention, if only for the fact that it doesn’t look anything like a football player and that it has awesome kick powers.

Japanese Men Look To Ikebana For Stress Relief

What do you do when you feel that the stress of your every day life is getting to be too much? Some men turn to sports: basketball, soccer, football, etc. Others sit in front of the TV to watch shows, movies, or play video games. I know some men who would hit the gym. And there are those who go to the kitchen and cook up a storm.

In Japan, the trend is for men to do something quite different: ikebana. If you’re not familiar with this term, it is the Japanese word for flower arrangement. The literal English translation of ikebana is “the way of the flowers.” Obviously, this art has been dominated by women and dates back to more than half a century ago.

As with most everything, though, the tradition is slowly changing, and more and more Japanese men are turning to ikebana for some stress relief. Actually, let me correct myself – this art started with male artisans but became dominated by women. This new trend then is actually a going back to roots sort of thing.

The idea behind ikebana is simple: to establish harmony and the sense of being one with nature. The styles are minimalist and the activity itself is conducted in silence. You can easily see how stress-relieving the whole thing can be. It is thus no wonder that more Japanese men are practicing the traditional art of flower arrangement these days. And more than busting all that stress away, you get to have a beautiful home!

Japan To Give $5M To Haiti

Hearts are bleeding and tears are flowing all over the world. The quake that hit Haiti the other day is something that no one can ignore, and anyone who is able to help out in whatever way is doing something. Japan as a country has been quick to respond as well.

Yesterday, the Japanese government pledged the huge amount of five million dollars. With the help of the various agencies of the United Nations, Japan aims to be able to distribute the money properly in order to help out the victims of the quake, which is reported to have killed over a 100,000 people.

On top of this pledged sum, the Japanese government is also planning on sending relief goods that are desperately needed by the people of Haiti. These good include food and tents and are estimated to be worth more than $300,000.

More than this, Japan also plans to send teams to assess the situation in terms of medical needs. If the plans were followed, there may very well be a Japanese team in Haiti as of this writing.

We all know how prone Japan is to earthquakes. In fact, of all the major earthquakes that occur in the world, Japan probably gets the largest number. As such, they have always been quick to lend a helping hand to those who are in need.

For those of you who want to help out, get in touch with your nearest Red Cross office and find out what you can do.

Hybrids Rule In 2009

Chinese astrology may have dubbed the year 2009 as the Year of the Cow, but it was something else in Japan. People have been calling last year as the Year of the Hybrids in the country. This is due to the fact that, for the first time, a hybrid car has gotten the distinction of being the bestselling car in the whole country.

I am talking about the Toyota Prius, of course. This car was launched with a lot of promises and much potential. It seems that it has lived up to its reputation – based on sales figures released in the past week, 208,879 units of the Prius were sold by Toyota in 2009. The figure makes the Prius the number one car in Japan. More than that, though, it is the number one hybrid car in the entire world!

Is the Prius as great as it seems or is there another reason for its success? Experts and consumers alike extol this hybrid’s virtues but there is another factor that has to be taken into consideration. The truth is that packages and incentives provided has made the price of the Prius so low that consumers are more attracted to it. With all the incentives, one might be able to save as much as 4,200 USD!

Aside from the Prius, another hybrid car sold really well in Japan last year: the Honda Insight. Compared to Toyota’s sales figures, Honda only had 93,283 – not even half. Still, overall sales figures support the fact that hybrids are very much on their way to being the standard.

Cosmetics Firms In Japan Focus On Anti-aging Creams

Japanese cosmetics have long ago been considered as some of the best in the world. After all, the Japanese are well known for having pearly white skin, just like their Korean and Chinese cousins. Their secrets are well-kept and much sought after. Now, commercial firms are aiming to capitalize on these ancient secrets.

Shiseido Co Ltd, Kao Corp, and Kose Corp – do these names sound familiar? At the very least, you probably recognize Shiseido, as it is a brand that is sold all over the world. These are the three biggest cosmetics company in Japan, and they are banking on really really expensive face creams to boost their businesses. Last year (or this year rather), they all launched their own versions of a face cream that is supposed to battle the effects of aging.

Guess how much it costs? How about 120,000 yen ($1,316)? Yup, women have to shell out that much money for each bottle of this cream; women who are 40 years old and above, that is. And this is what the companies are banking on. Their products, they say, are a hit with a certain age range, regardless of the social standing. True enough, their face creams are selling quite well despite the economic problems that the country is facing. They are also targeting women of the same age range from neighboring countries – and it seems to be working well for them.

How about you, would you spend that much on a bottle of anti-aging cream?

Susan Boyle Visits Japan

Japan gets more than its fair share of foreign celebrity visitors, especially when compared to its other Asian neighbors. This could be due to the reason that other nationals are already enamored with Japan and its culture to begin with. It could also be because the Japanese people appreciate artists and performers from other countries. Whatever the reason, we can always expect something big happening in this country, entertainment wise.

This week, it’s Susan Boyle who’s visiting Japan. She is there to be part of a TV show. Mind you, this is no ordinary TV show. In fact, it has been dubbed as the best local variety show in the country. More than that, Susan Boyle’s appearance in the show will be broadcast live all over the country on New Year’s Eve.

If you thought that Susan Boyle’s fame is limited to the western world, then you are mistaken. The Scottish singer was greeted at the airport by countless fans, all of the clamoring for a song right then and there. She declined, however, saying that they would have to wait for the show to be aired to see and hear her perform. According to the grapevine, she will be singing I Dreamed a Dream, the song which propelled her to worldwide fame.

Susan Boyle, the church volunteer, may not have won Britain’s Got Talent; no one can deny, however, that she has surpassed other contestants. And you know what? The Japanese are quite happy to be part of her success. I wish I had that show on my cable TV. It would be interesting to watch, don’t you think?