Tokyo Times

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Current Affairs

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Troy II?

The hype for Brad Pitt’s (or burapi’s) latest offering Troy, has recently moved into top gear. Or a gallop if you’ll allow me the indulgence of using some equestrian terminology. As below is photographic evidence of the most recent publicity stunt connected with the film.

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Interestingly though, the movie arrives here at the same time as a potentially historic development between Japan and North Korea. As tomorrow (Saturday 22nd), Prime Minister Koizumi will travel to the reclusive nation to discuss (amongst other things) the release of former abductees family members. A positive outcome could have long reaching and beneficial effects not only on the two countries relations, but arguably on the stability of the region in general.

But what you may ask has this got to do with the movie Troy? Well, there have been whispers (most notably around my head) that the horse pictured above is in fact a gift from North Korea. And I don’t need to remind you what happened in the original story. Hmm, something to think about there eh?

So if the diminutive and bouffanted Kim Jong-Il leaps out of that giant horse on opening night, remember that you read it here first. On the other hand, if in the unlikely event that he doesn’t, just put it down to an over active imagination, and a harmless desire to make this lots-of-hype-about-troy-movie story slightly worth reading.

But hold on, could these be the little leader’s getaway horses that I spied whilst out and about this afternoon?

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Diet delinquents

“From my seat, I can see you checking mail on your cell phones. It looks bad when shown on TV.”

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, giving young lawmakers a pep talk, telling them to give up talking on their cell phones and reading comic magazines in the Diet.

The expression old habits die hard certainly seems to ring true with Japanese lawmakers. It would appear that what’s good for the high school classroom, is equally good enough for the Diet. However rumours of young members passing around love letters, chewing gum, and talking back to the Prime Minister have yet to be confirmed.

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Judge generous

In a rare case of somebody walking away scot-free from a Japanese court, a 32 year old man was found not guilty of groping a schoolgirl on a busy train last year.

Judge Toshiro Fujii didn’t dispute the schoolgirl’s claim, nor the fact that the accused man had moved in the packed train, but found no direct proof that the man on trial was the actual groper. In his final ruling, Judge Fujii said, “The possibility of a third party being involved cannot be denied.”

The accused had refuted any wrongdoing from the moment of his arrest, claiming that he was simply trying to free his coat, which had been trapped when the carriage doors closed. How convincing this sounds is certainly open to debate, but for somebody to walk away free from a Japanese court is a news worthy event indeed. With the nation’s incredibly high conviction rate, the man in question must be very touched by the Judge’s generosity.

Sorry.

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Shirking responsibility

“My firm isn’t to blame for the outbreak. The virus is. We didn’t infect the birds. Why should I be charged with negligence?”

Hideaki Asada, president of Kyoto poultry company Asada Nosan, shortly before his arrest for not reporting the deaths of large numbers of chickens

It would appear that Mr. Asada missed an important day at school when he was a child, as the words taking, responsibility, and for one’s own actions appear to be sadly lacking from his vocabulary.

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Sign of the times

Growing up in Britain I was always aware of the potential for terrorist attacks, and thought nothing of seeing rubbish bins at train stations covered, or more often than not completely removed.

But one thing that has always struck me about Japan is its sense of innocence. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. People carefreely leave their bags on chairs in restaurants, and the stations are always spotless due to the large number of rubbish bins available.

Sadly, due to the recent threats from al-Quaeda, things are beginning to change. And from this week, train station rubbish bins have looked like this.

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I should say however that similar measures were taken 9 years ago after Aum’s sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo underground. Although I think I’m right in saying that this was restricted to the underground system, and wasn’t implemented throughout the whole train network as I’m presuming it is now.

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Avian flu (again)

With numerous outbreaks in other parts of Asia, the government has taken great pains in trying to reassure the nation that Japan is avian flu free. But all that’s gone out of the window, due to a recent outbreak in Kyoto prefecture. And just to add insult to injury, the farm in question has already sold some of the potentially infected meat to local restaurants.

In a desperate attempt at damage limitation, the powers that be have said that the meat isn’t dangerous, but just to be on the safe side, consumers should cook the meat thoroughly before eating it. Hmm, sounds a bit suspicious to me.

But some customers remain undeterred, if a little cautious. As the picture below shows, these two restaurant goers aren’t about to take any unnecessary risks.

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But what if I need the bathroom?