Amazing Japanese Guy Juggles Glass Balls..

You need a break... Take one now. Enjoy this 5 minute video of a great glass ball juggler in Yoyogi Park.



From the Youtube page:

...The juggler's name is Okotanpe - and yes he's amazing - one of my favorite memories of Japan! Second, the song that he uses in his final act is called ソレイユ (soreiyu, spelled using katakana, meaning sun, is the Japanese pronunciation of the French word "soleil", also meaning sun). It is sung by Yoshie Nakano 中納良恵. Here's a link to the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H6JQI...

The beginning of the song is either from an earlier track on the album or is a specially mixed version of ソレイユ and it comes from an old Japanese folk song:http://www.cameraslens.com/fatalframe...

I don't know exactly what size ball Okotanpe uses in this video (other users have suggested that it is 95mm - 100mm), but you're welcome to ask him. Here's his youtube page:http://www.youtube.com/user/okotanpe

Also, here's his official webpage:http://okotanpe.com

Thanks to Woosk.

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Keywords: Juggle, juggler, glass balls, yoyogi park, park

Travelers Do Not Prefer Japan's Airports

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers 


I wrote before about Japan's coming financial disaster and how Japan is missing out due to inept policies by the Japanese government and indecisiveness by Japanese business... Then, when they finally do decide what action to take, it is often the wrong one.

Japan is now is seriously bad shape. 15.7% of the people are now below the poverty line. The Nikkei 225 has lost nearly 1,000 points in the last three months (will be much worse, you'll see). Now those fools in the government want to spend more money and get us more public debt - our debt is already 190% of GDP! The only country with a higher debt problem is Zimbabwe (I am not making that up).

Now, Japan has fallen to #3 after China and there is no good news on the horizon. I must say that I no longer see any Japanese companies with the zeitgeist or gumption (or even desire) to want to be top of the world anymore.

Today, Japanese companies are taking too long to make important decisions, and then, when they finally do, it's the wrong ones.

The only companies in the world who are now inspiring young people are Google and Apple.  It wasn't that long ago that Toyota and Sony were inspiring today's young people. Remember?

Now, here comes some more bad news... This, after 40 years of government infighting and incompetence and indecision concerning Narita and Haneda airport and their bungling of the entire affair. Now, it seems that international passengers are preferring to fly into Inchon, South Korea rather than Japan. 

Inchon? That isn't even convenient to Seoul! Read on.  

The government's civil aviation administration has been criticized for failing to make a clear-cut distinction between the roles of Narita and Haneda airports, while other airports are financially strapped due to cuts in flights and deteriorating government finances. ..

Incheon Airport has strengthened its position as an Asian hub to such a degree that travelers flying from local Japanese airports often prefer to use the South Korean airport to transit to other cities rather than use Narita and Haneda airports.


....Incheon can hardly be regarded as convenient, considering it is 50 kilometers from Seoul. So why is it so popular?

"During the four hours we have to wait before boarding our flight, my wife can surf the Internet free of charge and I can play with my son at the airport's kids room..."This airport has plenty of facilities, so I prefer flights via Incheon [to those using Japanese airports]."

Sure, it makes sense to me. I live in Japan and I hate going to Narita. Narita is a good 1.5 ~ 2 hour trip from Tokyo. It was a government boondoogle to build that mistake of an airport in the 1970's. Today, Haneda (which is 15 minutes from Tokyo) can handle most of our International flights, but NO! Now, just like every other government in the world, the government  cannot admit their mistakes and have to keep a messed up project going to save face.


Yes, they save face and get kick backs... The people get the raw deal, lose money and have to pay for it with increased taxes.

Original article from Yomiuri Newspaper: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100822001711.htm


Keywords: Haneda, narita, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers, Inchon, Seoul, airport

Japan "Bans" The Cove and Other Atrocities

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Once again, Taiji, the small village that holds dolphin hunts is in the news for the coming annual dolphin hunt. Regardless of the fact that in Taiji less than 10% of the annual catch of dolphins in all of Japan are killed, it has become the focal point for protests. This is my take on this subject. I think 98+% of the Japanese population agrees with me. 

The award winning movie about the killing of whales and dolphins, the Cove, has been censored in Japan. More and more movie theaters have bowed to nationalist and suspected Japanese government pressures to cancel the showing of this movie. 

I come out as one person who protests this assault on free speech and the free market and condemn actions to block this movie from public view. This movie should be made available to anyone who wants to watch it.

I also come out, as a person who thinks this subject about whether or not Japan hunts whales or dolphins is none of anyone else's business. I, for one, especially do not want to hear anything on this subject from hypocrites who reside in select countries in the west. I think the average Japanese person would agree with me.

Maybe whale and dolphin hunting isn't ideal, but, I assure you, we have other problems that are much more pressing than this. I would think that most westerners, if they stopped to think about it, would agree. That's the problem. Most people don't stop to think about it. 

This "hunting the whales and dolhins business" is now returning as the new flavor of the week. Is this because global warming is now out of favor? Remember that problem? Or remember when we were all going to die because of Swine Flu, Bird Flu, SARS, etc.? Ah, yes. I remember when AIDS was the big problem a few decades ago.... 

And who could forget the movie, "China Syndrome"? Right after that movie came out, I remember my silly friends getting all excited about that and going out to protest at San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant in California and doing stupid things like demonstrating by chaining themselves to the fence of the power plant. I guess people don't do that anymore. I was unaware that nuclear power had been made 100% safe. When did that happen? Or is it because it is no longer trendy to protest nuclear power?

My foolish Hippie friends, in the 70's, used to wonder why I refused to go with them to protest nuclear power. I wouldn't go because I believed that my friend's were just tools being manipulated by the mass media to follow the "trend of the week." They all failed to realize that they were being used as a promotional weapon for Social Media Marketing of a product way before it was ever called, "Social Media Marketing." I also told my friends that if they truly wanted to protest nuclear power, that they’d throw out their TV and refrigerators. Interestingly, none of them took me up on that.

Another Hollywood actress sheds real tears for the dolphins, or Brazilian rainforests, or Amazon something-or-others, blah blah… 

The nationalists and those in Japan who have been accused of pressuring the movie theaters into not showing the Cove have actually done a favor to the promoters of this film. Why? You couldn't buy promotion this good. Think of how well the Sex Pistols did because the British government banned them. The people, who made The Cove, and their advocates, actually think that, if they show this movie to the Japanese public, the Japanese will somehow rise up and demand that whaling be stopped. What a bunch of simpletons. There's no way that that would ever happen. The Japanese won't protest the government printing them into debt that is nearly 200% of GDP. This debt is going to bankrupt this country and ruin the lives of half the nation. But there are no protests about this.

Do people living in foreign countries actually think the average Japanese is going to protest what a tiny village in eastern Japan does? That’s laughable.

Either way, there's no way that masses of Japanese people would ever go see the Cove, as it is about a disgusting subject. I'm sure Americans, too, would be rushing to theaters this weekend to spend their leisure time and money by watching a movie that deals in subject matter like the slaughter of animals with all the blood and gore. My, can you imagine? What a fun first date or family outing that would be. I'm sure my wife and kid would be thrilled... “Let’s go watch the cute dolphins gets clubbed… On second thought, honey, let's go see Toy Story 3...”

I'd like to add here that, if the makers of The Cove were truly sincere about their motivations in protecting the whales and dolphins, and how, if they truly believed that if the Japanese saw the movie, they'd demand the end of this whaling and dolphin killing, then they'd make the entire movie free on Youtube. Other people with a message have made theirs free, why doesn't the makers of The Cove do the same? Trust that Youtube has hundreds of millions more viewers than the movie theaters in Japan ever could hope to have. But, you know what? The Cove is not available on Youtube; only trailers for sales promotion are available. There goes their credibility.

And don't tell me that they can't give the movie away for free because then they won't make any money; just look at Google. Google gives away almost everything for free and they are one of the biggest money making companies in the world.

So just keep that in mind when you think about this problem and are bursting veins in your neck screaming about how evil these Japanese fishermen are. 

Face facts, even if the average Japanese did see the movie, it wouldn't alter their thinking so much. They still couldn't really care less about this, as they don't see it as a problem. And, no, it hasn't anything to do with "Westerners eat cows, don't they?" I think you'd find that almost all foreigners who have lived in Japan for any length of time believe that western reaction to this problem is way overblown.

It has to do with the hypocrisy of the west and westerners. Let me explain it how I see it.

I gather that, because Japan was such a desperately poor country for so many centuries, that it is ingrained into the Japanese psyche that the #1 priority for people is survival. Until you've walked in your neighbor's shoes, then you shouldn't judge what they do in order to survive, as long as they do not harm other people. Also, through archeologolical studies, there is lots of evidence that the Japanese have been hunting whales since before 12,000 BC.

My dear deceased father-in-law used to tell me, "American people worry about how they will spend their vacations. Japanese people worry about how they will survive." I gathered that this saying has been around in Japan for hundreds of years. 

The hypocrisy of the west lies in the fact that westerners and western society (Americans, British, Australians, especially) will spend their time pointing fingers at the Japanese for fishing practices while they conveniently ignore little things like invading the countries and dropping bombs on the homes of dark-skinned people, most recently children in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, etc., You know, killing and maiming two-year-old girls, boys, old people and pregnant women...

This disconnect makes people with common sense wonder "What the heck are these people who get furious about whaling and dolphin hunting, etc., thinking about?" And "Where the heck are their priorities?"

When people begin to love their fellow human and quit the wars, then perhaps, they can have a believable pulpit to complain about the slaughter of whales or dolphins. Until then, it is nonsense.

Let me give you some facts. The people in question in the movie The Cove are from a tiny fishing village in eastern Japan called, Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture. The Taiji people have been hunting whales and dolphins since the 17th century. Taiji is the traditional whaling village in Japan. They've been doing this for centuries and even have whaling festivals. The dolphin hunt is an annual event. The dolphins that are killed are not an endangered species. I certainly think that the activities of a small fishing village in Japan will probably not hurt the population of dolphins or whales. They have, after all, been doing this fishing for 300 years. 

Woodblock print of Whaling in Taiji from the Edo Period (almost 200 years ago)

Further research shows that Taiji is a minute fishing village with a total area under 4 square miles in size with a population of something like 3,400 people.... If the total population of Taiji is 3,400, how many able-bodied fishermen are there? 300? 400? People don't actually think that the fishing practices of this group of villagers are going to destroy the global population of whales or dolphin population, do they? 

 Some advocates of the Cove claim that the dolphin meat is pumped full of mercury and that these people in Taiji are poisoning themselves eating the dolphin meat. So we have to stop them. Well, which is it? Are these "Cove folks" worried about the people of Taiji getting mercury poisoning or are they worried about the dolphins getting killed? Get the story straight. Japanese people, on the average live seven years longer than Americans; do you hear the Japanese complaining that Americans are pumping themselves full of processed food poisons and sodium-laden fast food? No, you don't.

I’d like to think that Japanese adults are able to decide their own diet menu by themselves, thank you very much.

If people are stupid enough to want to eat food that is high in mercury, then that is their choice. If people are stupid enough to eat processed food constantly and walk around 50 ~ 100 kilograms overweight, well, then that is their choice too. 

A good analogy is: if people want to drive a car without a seatbelt, then let them do that too.

How can anyone from the USA, Canada, Oceania or NATO country complain about the killing of whales and dolphins in Japan when that person does nothing to stop their own government complicity in the bombing, maiming and killing millions of innocents, children, old people and women? 

The killing of these animals is seasonal, but the killing of children by the US government (Australian, NATO, etc.) goes on around the clock, around the world, 365 days and nights of the year in a slaughter that continues even to this very day. 

What right do these people have to say anything about the killing of whales and dolphins in Japan?  

I think none.

But, I am against the censorship of the Cove, or any other movie for that matter.

Debt! Who is Better Off? Japan or USA?

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers


When it comes to public debt and the coming economic turmoil, who is better off Japan, or the USA?


I received a letter from a friend who asked me this question. It read;


Just a quick question. When it comes to debt, I wonder which is really worse off. I read somewhere that Japan's debt basically comes from the Japanese public, where as the US debt is from various countries. Therefore, when analyzed who is worse off?  (Sic)


My answer: Thanks for the question. But, please do not get the debt issue confused. Japan's debt is not "from" the Japanese public. Nor is USA debt "from" various countries. The debt is Japanese or USA government created. The governments created this debt through public spending on projects, war and social welfare with money they do not have. 


Remember that the government does not have any money.  The government can only take money from business and the public by borrowing it or taxing the people (they can also print and debase the currency which is a backdoor tax on the public)... Later, someone has to pay back this debt.. In the case of Japan, the public bought the debt as investments... In the case of the USA, foreign governments have bought the debt as investments...


Regardless of the confusion as to who created this debt, I understand the basic question and think it is a great one.  Instead of me just making my remarks I decided to ask someone who I definitely look up to for advice when it comes to this kind of subject and that is my friend, Mike "Mish" Shedlock. Mish Shedlock runs one of the most-read economic blogs in the world and is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management.


I slightly rewrote the question to Mike:


When it comes to debt, I wonder which is really worse off; the USA or Japan? Japan's debt is basically held by the Japanese public, where as the US debt is owned by China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, etc... (various countries).  Therefore, when analyzed, who are worse off? The average Japanese or the average American? 


Mike's answer: 

Japan is worse off - Their problem hits first (Japan already has debt at 190% of GDP - USA debt 87.6% as of May 15, 2010). Also Japan is much worse off because of demographics – a much older population... Timing is the key! The USA actually has some time to do something (even if we know they won’t) 

Me: To sum up; the USA is better off than Japan, for now, because Japan's debt percentage to GDP NOW is larger and because the percentage of the Japanese population that is no longer in the workforce is larger.  

Another person wrote and asked me "What should we do?" Now, that's a great question too! (realize that most people still, to this day, are not thinking about one or two years into the future when this entire situation is really going to start hitting home).

I answered:  

So, what do I recommend? Get out of debt, live within your means... Fight anyway that you can government spending and increased taxation. Get the government warfare and welfare state off our backs. Allow the free market to shake out the sick parts of our economy...

Own gold and silver and oil. Try to become self-employed or to start your own business for tax purposes.


If you want good advice on this subject... I suggest reading Mish Shedlock everyday! http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/

Keywords: Mish, public debt, USA,

Tokyo Reporter Has Great Coverage of Yasukuni Shrine Demonstration...

Once again, daring to go where the others dare not...  My very favorite Japan bizarre and "real" news sites covers a huge demonstration at Yasukuni shrine.

This time, too, Tokyo Reporter has their own photographers there and takes great photos.

The Tokyo Reporter writes:

Right-wing groups and an anti-Yasukuni Shrine march clashed on Sunday in downtown Tokyo, a photo album from which leads off this week's update. Remember, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you look when you play the game:

I'm sure it would have been a fun and memorable day to visit Yasukuni on the anniversary of the ending of World War II... But then again, these guys look kind of scary... I think looking at the Tokyo Reporter's photos is close enough for me! See more here.

Marketing Japan: Number of US Companies Using Blogs for Marketing Rising...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I just ran across an article that made me feel a bit vindicated. I often meet people who think that the meaning of the terms "Social Media" or "Social Media Marketing" extend to things like Twitter, Facebook,  Myspace and Pick and stop there. I do not agree at all.

I think that if you believe that just putting information out on Twitter is good enough for Social Media Marketing (SMM) then you are not even doing 1/4 of what needs to be done. 

I firmly believe that a solid, well-written, interesting blog, that is updated at least once a day with useful and free information, is critical to the success of any Internet marketing program. Whenever climbing any great mountain (your marketing target) any expedition team will need a good base camp (your blog).

Now, Adweek data seems to come out and confirm what I have suspected. It is estimated that, by 2012, 43% of all US companies will be using a blog for marketing. That's smart. From the article: 

In many studies, company use of social networks and Twitter outpaces the use of blogs, but the platforms are not mutually exclusive. "Companies are finding that blogs fill a specific niche that other forms of social media do not," said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna.

"Marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of any social media in driving site traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales -- as well as improving customer service,

So, it seems to me that the lesson here is obvious: Twitter, etc. is good as a snack (but has many problems on the horizon), but somewhere down the line, people need to sit down to a proper meal. It's going to take at least two years of dedication to build a reputable and credible blog... I reckon it's best to get started ASAP.

For further information on this subject, and how you can find help for yourself, click here. As always, it's all free and there are no signups or surveys!

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Keywords: Blog, Twitter, Pick, Myspace, Facebook, Adweek, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Marketing Japan: Making Your iPhone Look Like Food!...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Do you own a iPhone? Let's face it, regardless of what people think about the iPad (which is cool), the cat's meow is still the iPhone. I can live without an iPad, can't live without an iPhone.

iPhone's are cool because you can do all sorts of things with them: Internet, calendar, iPod, texting, Twitter, Pick, Facebook; you name it, the iPhone can do it.

The iPhone you can eat!?

But now people are taking the things you can do with an iPhone one step farther! iPhone already came with the feature of being able to be personalized, but now.... The The iPhone that looks like food! What will they think of next?

There is an online company called, "Strapya" that specializes in making cell phone straps, jewelry and trinkets like that. Now they have iPhone covers that look like food... And they really do!

The rice looks good enough to eat!

From their webpage:

So realistic, you might think about eating Your iPhone

Even one piece of rice looks extremely realistic, your iPhone might start looking like your favorite dish. Who would have ever though of making your iPhone looking like food? We did!


This company is making all sorts of trinkets that are interesting....





The Strapya webpage is here: 

This company does make all sorts of things, but nothing really strikes me as original or new... Mostly, unfortunately, "Junk" that no one needs...


Now, when they come out with an iPhone cover that not only looks like food, but they invent a completely edible iPhone then that is when I will recommend everyone to invest in this company! 


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Keywords: iPhone, strapya, food, marketing Japan, Mike Rogers