Japanese

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Web Puts 2nd Language at Your Fingertips

Online options, from free to pricey, abound

(Newser) - The days of chanting vocabulary words in a classroom and dozing off in the language lab are fading from memory as language instruction becomes increasingly available on the Internet. Freestanding smartphone apps are one option, and more structured instruction comes at a price—and sometimes no price at all. The...

Balloon Parents Plead Guilty

Sentences unclear, but judge assures 'significant' monetary cost

(Newser) - The parents of “balloon boy” Falcon Heene pleaded guilty today to charges related to the hoax that sent police and rescue personnel on a wild-goose chase. Richard Heene pleaded to a felony, Mayumi Heene—a Japanese citizen who risked deportation if she had a felony on her record—to...

Japanese 'Bust Up Bra' an Overnight Sensation
 Japanese 'Bust Up Bra' 
 an Overnight Sensation 
culture clash
Oct 15, 2009 12:58 PM CDT

Japanese 'Bust Up Bra' an Overnight Sensation

Japanese product latest in long line of often-wacky breast solutions

(Newser) - All sorts of Japanese products, from “biscuits and beverages to rather bizarre rack rearranging rollers,” claim to give women larger or more pleasingly shaped breasts, Lee Chapman blogs for Tokyo Times. But those probably all take effort, you cry. Enter the “Sleeping Bust Up Bra,” which...

French Are World's Worst Tourists: Survey

Poll of 40,000 hotels ranks visitors on politeness, generosity

(Newser) - The French are the world’s worst tourists, AFP reports. A global survey asked staff at 40,000 hotels to rate tourists on categories ranging from politeness to generosity to willingness to learn local languages—and the French finished last in several categories. Japanese tourists took honors in just as...

Smugglers Caught Sneaking $134B in Bonds Out of Italy

(Newser) - Two Japanese citizens were detained last week after allegedly trying to take $134 billion in undeclared US bonds from Italy to Switzerland, Bloomberg reports. Both countries are investigating the incident. “Italian authorities are in the midst of the investigation, and haven’t yet confirmed the details, including whether they...

Hitler Memoir Gets English Translation

(Newser) - After serving as Adolph Hitler’s adoring secretary for 12 years, Christa Schroeder recounted her experiences in a 1949 memoir, Hitler in Private. With an English translation on the way, the New York Post reveals some highlights—including an account of Hitler’s doctor injecting him with hormones from bull...

Cat Cafes Court Lonely Japanese

Childless Japanese turn to cafes for companionship

(Newser) - Hordes of childless Japanese are flocking to Tokyo's cat cafes to cuddle the residents and savor furry companionship along with a cup of tea. So popular are the cafes that reservations are required on weekends, GlobalPost reports. Career-minded urbanites who don't have the time or space for pets, let alone...

Obama Speeches Teach English, Hope to Japanese

Dem's speeches good for language-learners, more inspiring than local pols'

(Newser) - The Japanese version of Amazon.com features an unlikely bestseller: the collected speeches of Barack Obama, with Japanese translation and accompanying CD, Reuters reports. Obama’s inspiring but straightforward rhetoric is perfect for teaching English in a country that hankers to learn the language. He “uses words such as...

Businesses Line Up for .Asia Domain Rush

Governments also get first dibs on coveted new address suffix

(Newser) - The regional internet domain .asia has opened for registration; businesses and governments will get first crack at trademarked and other protected names. The public will come rushing in to scoop up what’s left of the suffix in February 2008. The second regional domain—.eu began selling in April 2006—...

Meat Can be Tough on the Environment

Steaks do more damage than driving; cow farts also a problem

(Newser) - Four average-sized steaks generate as much greenhouse gas as an ordinary car traveling for 3 hours at 50mph. The meat also chews up 169 megajoules of energy, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. These were among the findings of Japanese scientists investigating the effects of beef production...

Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii
Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii
Jul 11, 2007 5:29 AM CDT

Japanese TV Is Losing to Wii

Nintendo system steals prime-time audiences as families play together

(Newser) - Ratings are plummeting for Japanese prime-time TV shows as audiences increasingly turn to playing games on Nintendo's Wii system. Wii, which dominates the nation's $30B video games market, has stolen TV's "golden hour,"  thanks in part to parents who are choosing to share family time on Wii's...

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