Fukushima News Reports from Japan? Brief Explanation of Japanese News Sources and Why Some are More Sensationalist Than Others

Recently there is lots of reporting about how "if there is another massive earthquake, even a small one like a 5 or 6, the spent rod fuel pool at Fukushima could collapse and destroy the country and cause 40 million people to be evacuated from Japan." I seriously think people need to relax and get a bit more realistic. Worrying about this is worrying about something that is conjecture or speculation...

There's lots of things to worry about, folks, but the support system of the spent fuel rods pool building wasn't destroyed by a 9.0 earthquake, the sixth biggest earthquake in history, the plant and the building was damaged by a tsunami. A 9.0 earthquake is about 8000 times more powerful than a 6.0 earthquake. If the steel structure at Fukushima stood up to a 9.0 quake - and has since been reinforced - then I wonder what the chances are of a 6.0 quake destroying it?


What are the chances of another 9.0 quake? An event that happens about once in one-thousand years?


The walls of the building were damaged by an explosion, for sure. But the current state of having no walls around the spent fuel pools building is because the walls were damaged by the explosion and have been removed on purpose. They were removed because a new covering wall is in the process of being constructed and damaged walls are not stable.


The construction of the new walls started yesterday.


The last four paragraphs above are facts. That is what "news" is supposed to be; facts. Let me say an opinion, that, it is possible, that the world will end because of Fukushima. In fact, I'd give the odds of that happening, perhaps, a bit higher percent than the odds of life on this world getting extinguished by a massive asteroid blasting the earth to smithereens in the next year; or the sign of the Apocalypse when the Beirut river runs red with blood; or the sun suddenly exploding; or me winning the year-end lottery (and not giving a toss about any of this anyhow while I'm sipping wine on a yacht in the Carribbean).


Folks, serious people in Japan are not following this story about Fukushima being the end of Japan or life on this planet as we know it. It's certainly not because the government is suppressing the story, either. I reckon people have their reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that the news services that are reporting this doomsday scenario are not credible news sources regardless of how many times they are repeated in the western press.

I love this headline!

I don't believe anything the press says anyway, but my reasons for not paying too much attention to this story about Fukushima, "ending life on the earth as we know it," is that there's many other things that are much more likely to kill me and I don't spend all day worrying about those either and, two, if it is the end of the earth, there's not another place I could move to that I know of. Is there?


But allow me to explain to the foreign audience the why's and what-fors as to why, in Japan's case, you need to consider the source about any news you hear... I'd like to just to put things in perspective for foreigners about Japan's news media....


In Japan, the TV networks are all affiliated with old school newspapers, so that explains editorial issues. Here are the five biggest news sources in Japan along with their political and business policy/slant. They are:


Sankei Shimbun (The most right wing of the major news sources. Pro-American, Anti-Chinese.)


Nikkei Shimbun (Pro business, pro market similar to Wall Street Journal. Affiliated with TV Tokyo)


Mainichi Shimbun (Liberal, often sensationalist)


Yomiuri Shimbun (Conservative. Most read newspaper in Japan. Populist positions. Affiliated with Nippon Television.)


Asahi Shimbun (The most left wing of the major news sources. Affiliated with TV Asahi)


Today, if we are talking about sensationalist reporting on Fukushima, then I'd like to talk about - must talk about - TV Asahi.

Asahi Newspaper

The news source that is reporting and running with this "Fukushima could be the end of the earth" scenario is TV Asahi. As stated, TV Asahi is affiliated with Asahi Shimbun but is a different company. Asahi news is Japan's oldest and second most circulated newspaper. Asahi Shimbun (newspaper) is second in circulation with about 8 million, but TV Asahi is one of the lowest rated national TV networks in Japan. If you realize that then it might make sense to you why they resort to really sensationalist reporting...


In TV Asahi's case, I suppose it's a chicken and the egg problem. Which came first? The sensationalist reporting or the bad ratings? So, now you know. There's a reason why TV Asahi's ratings are so bad. They've, for years, been guilty of sensationalist news reporting (if you can call it "news").

If it were Japan, Nancy Grace would be on TV Asahi

Another point that should make thinking people suspicious of anything Asahi news reports is that before the war (starting from the 1930s or so) Asahi news was an extremely right-wing publication and strongly supported the militarist then prime minister of Fumimaro Konoe and was an ardent supporter of the war as well as harshly anti-captialist. After the war ended, they went 180 degrees the other way and are now the far left wing. They've been anti-business (pro-socialism and pro-statism) and anti-nuclear power since.


If there is any news source in Japan who will be out in front first complaining about industry and these sorts of issues, it will be a leftist publication like Asahi Shimbun or TV Asahi. It is their audience.

That being said, TV Asahi's news is above and probably better than news sources like News of the World. So, if you like gossip and scandals, then they are the station for you...


If you want to watch "news" shows about the end of the world, then they have that everyday at about 9 am ~ 11:00 am as that's "Golden time" for housewives to watch TV...


People interested in serious news and economic reports do not tune to TV Asahi. They are not credible. In fact, to think that any TV news source is credible in this day and age is pure nonsense.




NOTE FROM A READER:


I have been living and working in Japan with the Navy since before the earthquake. The Navy has gone way overboard with radiation control measures and the only problem we have is that work gets stopped when we find radiation measurements that are about as high as you would find in a bunch of bananas. We have had a lot of nuclear trained officers and testing equipment on site since day one because we operate our own nuclear power plant on USS George Washington and the impact has been totally overblown. An "unprecedented" level of radiation can still be insignificantly low but just higher than normal.


- Fireman_Timmy

Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi eps 5-11

Its been a while since I saw this. I watched the final episode on my 5th day in Japan at bframe5's place. It was recorded from tv so it had ads/cms and I was like OMG its got ads! Watching downloaded doramas ads are always cut and when one is left in its like an exciting thing lol.

First half of Saigo Kara was immaculate. Somewhere down the line, its started unraveling. Main thing is that it stopped being funny save for Wahei and Chiaki fighting, a well that IMO, the writer drew too many times from. The Wahei mother and daughter story fizzled out. It had the potential to be very funny but it never went anywhere.

Chiaki and Asada Ryutaro's story was never going anywhere. It was boring after Asada's secret was revealed and so Uchida Yuki stepped into the brother's role. It was boring and her best role in the series was locking herself in so Chiaki could do the funny scene where she talks about her own troubles. Its like they gave Uchida Yuki more stuff to do because she's Uchida Yuki and the Chiaki needed someone else to play off before the end but it was just a waste of time. Ijima Naoko's internet dating story wasn't interesting, probably cause the show did not give me any reason to care for her character.

The first half of the show had a lot of the usual mid life crisis stuff to say and it did it with great humour. The only thing the second half had to say was that people who actually like each other should be able to fight all the time and not be super nice to each other all the time. Probably the worst mistake was not getting Asada and Tomomi fighting a lot earlier. Their relationship feels so tacked on like the usual 'let's put the two supporting characters who have done their part together'.

So it was a long wait for Wahei and Chiaki to get together and even then it was a sudden, anti-climatic finish. The one dorama I compare this to is KDO which had a great build up with a nice quiet ending that fit the show perfectly. Saigo Kara's finish is like more like a slow trek and by the time it got to the finish line, I didn't care about the race anymore.

Not to say that Saigo Kara sucks. First half is a blast and I just marveled at the writing and how well all the elements are put together. Second half was Wahei and Chiaki don't really have anything going for them when they are not together. Its a watchable dorama, just a shame it couldn't be what the first half promised to be. If you're after a really good Koizumi Kyoko dorama, watch Manhattan Love Story.

Armageddon on the Eve of Destruction: Japan to Evacuate Entire Population to China and Russia! World's Newest and Biggest Military Power is Born!

Recently, all over the Internet (and on this very blog too!) there is much chatter relating to the end of the world.

This chatter reminds me of stuff that we've heard over and over before in the past. In fact, religions since the beginning of civilization have spoken about these events of Armageddon. The subject of human extinction has had innumerable volumes written on it.


As with many things to do with our society today, we have so many people running around worried about everything. As George Carlin says,


"The country is full of them now. People walking around all day long, every minute of the day, worried about everything. Worried about the air. Worried about the water. Worried about the soil. Worried about insecticides, pesticides, food additives, carcinogens. Worried about Radon gas. Worried about asbestos. Worried about saving endangered species...."

What strikes me as weird is that there are all sorts of people today worried about all sorts of things, yet they constantly stuff their faces with junk and processed foods and drinks; they drive their cars like idiots, they drink alcohol to excess every night; they also don't take care of themselves enough so they take drugs daily (prescription and illicit) to "feel better" and they eat processed sugar crap and giant bowls of ice cream and trash all through the day. They look ten years older than they should and they are 25 pounds overweight.

...Okay, make that at least 25 pounds overweight!


These people should consider and be more careful about the things that do have a massively higher percentage chance of killing them like heart disease, cancer, emphysema, stroke, accident, Alzheimer's, diabetes, the flu, suicide, chronic liver disease (drinking yourself to death), high blood pressure, Parkinson's or pneumonia than something like Fukushima but they don't.


Know why? It is human nature to look out the window and scream and moan about how messed up the neighbors are instead of looking in the mirror and taking an honest assessment of oneself. These people who are guilty of what I wrote won't admit it, but deep down in their hearts they are ashamed of what they've become. Instead of working to fix oneself and better themselves and their world, they'd rather look far away and blame someone else for their troubles.


Hell, why not eat that giant Baskin Robbins quadruple scoop chocolate fudge sundae with nuts and cream everyday? We're all just going to die from Fukushima anyway, right?

Unfortunately, I think, in spite of how messed up the human race is, somehow we always seem to muddle through. Every time I hear about us being on the verge of destruction and how some people seem to be so panic stricken about it (as if there will be someplace to run to escape the end of the world) I am reminded of this hit song by Barry McGuire (actually written by P.F. Sloan) from 1965 called, "Eve of Destruction."


The lyrics go like this:

The eastern world it is explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Heck, maybe we are on the eve of destruction, my friend. But, I suggest to you that we are not any more nor less on that eve than we were in 1945... Or even before that....


Just today, again, I saw a bunch of articles talking about Fukushima Dai-ichi and the planned evacuation of Tokyo. Seriously, maybe I'm all messed up and completely wrong, but, to tell the truth, I think this sort of news is complete and total madness and that anyone who would believe this stuff for a second must be completely crazy. Here's the story from the EU Times:

Russia Stunned After Japanese Plan To Evacuate 40 Million Revealed

The “extreme danger” facing tens of millions of the Japanese peoples is the result of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster that was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.

According to this report, Japanese diplomats have signaled to their Russian counterparts that the returning of the Kuril Islands to Japan is “critical” as they have no other place to resettle so many people that would, in essence, become the largest migration of human beings since the 1930’s when Soviet leader Stalin forced tens of millions to resettle Russia’s far eastern regions. (emphasis mine)

Important to note, this report continues, are that Japanese diplomats told their Russian counterparts that they were, also, “seriously considering” an offer by China to relocate tens of millions of their citizens to the Chinese mainland to inhabit what are called the “ghost cities,” built for reasons still unknown and described, in part, by London’s Daily Mail News Service in their 18 December 2010 article titled: “The Ghost Towns Of China: Amazing Satellite Images Show Cities Meant To Be Home To Millions Lying Deserted” ... (emphasis mine)

Foreign Ministry experts in this report note that should Japan accept China’s offer, the combined power of these two Asian peoples would make them the largest super-power in human history with an economy larger than that of the United States and European Union combined and able to field a combined military force of over 200 million. (emphasis mine)

To how dire the situation is in Japan was recently articulated by Japanese diplomat Akio Matsumura who warned that the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant may ultimately turn into an event capable of extinguishing all life on Earth.

Folks, I highlighted and made bold the sentences that just defy belief. Seriously, is this comedy? No one in their right mind could possibly take this stuff seriously. The return of the Kuril Islands? Moving 40 million people to China? The largest super-power in human history?


That cracks me up. Especially the part about the Kuril Islands. As if you could take 40 million people and dump them on a bunch of islands that don't have the infra-structure to handle 20,000 people. If you were going to do that, why evacuate them? It's just a death sentence anyway.


There are only 18,000 people today who are living on the Kuril islands and half of them are under the poverty line!


The writer of this tripe (who fails to attach their name to an article) is in serious need of psychological and medical attention. This person is nuts. And anyone who believes this for a moment seriously needs help too.


I'm just shocked that so many people on the Internet are so dumb that they parrot this obviously fake story. I wonder if this is a news "false-flag" in order to discredit Internet news sources?


Besides this very credible news report, the EU Times also has some very credible reports on its top headline news about other earth shaking reports.

Let's see... Brazilian cannibal trio? America's worst drought in years? Islam growing in Austria? And, yep. Russia stunned by Japanese plan to evacuate 40 million. There it is. Also on the front page these other important stories:


* UK courts persecute Christians and drive them underground
* Russia's anti-gay drive takes global turn
* Massive radioactive wave from Japan approaching West Coast
* Facebook is deception
* Green Police? DHS launches "Environmental Justice" units

On the European Union Times web page, there's even a tab for "survival" to give you tips on how to survive and where to buy supplies... As if you already didn't have enough to worry about.


Ridiculous.


Anyhow, if you need more to worry about, go to the EU Times webpage... It's full of all sorts of things there that won't kill you, but reading about them and worrying about them certainly will so please, get started today!

Oh, and go ahead and have that triple decker cheese burger and the double dip ice cream cone. Why not? You deserve it!


After all, a little won't hurt... Armageddon will be here any day now anyway, right?

Japan's Double-Edged Sword: What Happens When the Nuclear Power Plants Turn Off?

This post is about economic realities.


On May 6, 2012, in exactly 51 days from today (April 16), all of Japan's nuclear power plants will be shut down. It will be the first time since July 25, 1966 that Japan has not had nuclear power as that was the day the Tokai nuclear power plant began operations. The Japanese government had planned and has approved, but not yet restarted, reactors 3 and 4 at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture.

In spite of the nuclear reactors all going off line in Japan this May, life will go on; the bullet trains will still run, the neon lights will still burn, and the factories and offices will still hum... But it's that last part, the part about the offices and factories still humming, that people have to be concerned with.


Nuclear power has been integral to Japan's post-war energy policy even though it only comprises 30% of Japan's energy needs. When it comes to the reasons why a country that has so many earthquakes embarked on a plan to integrate nuclear power into its needs, people have to remember why Japan made it national policy to never be caught short on energy again in the first place. It doesn't need to be repeated that Japan has no natural resources and energy resources. Japan's mining of coal and other materials is negligible. The final place Japan mined coal as a primary resource was Hashima, the so-called "Ghost Island," that has now been closed for decades.


The last time Japan didn't have enough energy and food to satisfy her needs she went to war with Britain and America and invaded China and several South-East Asian nations and was greatly responsible for the deaths of several million people. So self-sufficiency in food and energy has been Japan's national strategic policy, with the blessings of the United States as well as all her Asian neighbors and European countries, since the end of World War II.


We don't want anything like that happening again.

We also don't want Japan's economy faltering and causing even more problems than we have now for the world economy.


TEPCO, the company that owns many of the now offline nuclear power plants in Japan as well as many coal burning plants says that a complete shutdown of all nuclear power plants, which, until March 10, 2011, accounted for 30% of all Japan's energy needs, will have to be offset by a 17% increase in costs passed on to Japan Inc.


Of course, Japan Inc. isn't happy about these increases in costs either. Japan's big manufacturers are losing money now as it is so they cannot absorb such massive increases in costs. If they pass them on to consumers, their sales will go down. If they eat the increases, their "profits" (they don't have any profits now, they are losing billions as it is) will go down even more (I mean they will lose even more money).


Not only will the prices of everything increase for Japan's people, the number of jobs will decrease as Japan's industry is forced to move factories overseas in order to survive. A loss of industry on Japan will mean a massive increase in unemployment. This is the deadly two-edged sword that Japan cannot tolerate; a massive increase in energy costs that cause a hollowing out of the Japanese economy due to industry leaving its shores, which in turn, cause a massive drop in the number of jobs available. Please refer to Japan's Collapse Will be Absolute and it Cannot Be Stopped - Here's Some Big Reasons Why:

"... It happened in my country. The causes of the hollowing out of the economy were different, but the end result was the same: In the United States, industry left for better shores in the 1980s (they all went to China and India) and we are seeing the results of that today...

All one needs to do to see what that hollowing out has done to the middle class in America is to get on an airplane and fly to, say, Detroit to see what is left of industry there. It's not rocket science, but where's there's no industry, there are no jobs.

That is the future we are heading for in this country and I see no way out. Zerohedge writes in: A New Beginning in Japan: Glimmers of False Hope:

TEPCO, the bailed out owner of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, is trying to shove rate increases of 17% down the throats of its commercial customers—while rationing power at the same time. Power shortages will spread across most of Japan this summer as the last of 54 nuclear power plants will be taken off line in a few weeks. While pressure is building to restart some of them, public distrust and resistance run high, particularly after revelations seeped out about the nuclear industry’s controlling relationship with its regulators. Japan Inc. at work. The conspiracy had squashed stiffer regulations for nuclear emergencies. Five years later, the people of Fukushima paid the price. For that fiasco, the emails that documented it, its deadly and ongoing impact, and the anger it caused, read... A Revolt, the Quiet Japanese Way.

But it’s a two-edged sword. Shortages of up to 20% this summer are expected to strangle the highly industrialized Osaka area, and companies are shifting production overseas. Now a panel of the Osaka municipal and prefectural governments floated a plan for the city of Osaka to demand that Kansai Electric Power shut down its nuclear power plants permanently. Mayor Toru Hashimoto has come out in support.

Catch that part about a 17% rate increase for commercial customers? Are these people nuts? Japan Inc. is losing money left and right as it it without a massive increase in costs. Please refer to Times of India Sony, Panasonic forecast deeper losses:

Japan's biggest makers of phones, televisions and chips say they'll lose about $17 billion this year, about three-quarters of what Samsung Electronics Co will spend on research to lengthen the lead over its competitors. (emphasis mine)

Sony Corp more than doubled its annual loss forecast for the year ending March 31 as it announced a new chief executive officer, while Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp predicted the worst losses in their histories. Their combined losses compare with the $22 billion that Samsung, Asia's largest consumer- electronics company, said it will invest in capital expenditures.

These two Japanese giants are going to lose nearly what one Korea competitor will spend on R&D? Folks, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going to happen to these entities when they are hit with a 17% increase in costs; two things. One, they will make you pay for those costs and; two, they will move factories overseas where it is cheaper to operate."

Of course, in spite of what the anti-nuclear crowd says and the celebrations that will be held on May 6, 2012 (I might even toast a glass of wine myself), the celebrations will be short-lived. They must be short-lived. Why? It is foolish to even entertain the idea for a moment that Japan, this country with zero resources and no energy, can stay on the non-nuclear course forever.


To think that Japan can go on from here, into the next fews decades, in an era of declining oil production and rising oil costs and public debt coupled with an aging population problem without a cheap energy source is foolish and completely unrealistic....


In other words, it's not economical. The Center for Global Energy Studies says:

Despite high oil prices, fossil fuels will continue to trump renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power without massive government subsidies, a new investment bank says.

A report by Calgary-based AltaCorp Capital says the “economic realities” of oil and natural gas mean that the world will remain largely dependent on non-renewable energy sources for the foreseeable future.

Japan's government already has the highest debt to GDP levels in the world, it cannot afford to subsidize new industries like solar or wind farms... People will misunderstand what I have written here and say I'm pro-nuclear power. I am not. I am pro-business. I wish we didn't need nuclear power at all. My motivations are purely economical. I wish I could say it were true that Japan didn't need nuclear power to survive but it seems to me, that if I had to put it into a black and white perspective, it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sort of problem for Japan.

Cold, desperate and hungry are great motivators

If Japan's government and her people have to choose between no jobs along with a huge increase in inflation and cost of living or living with the risks associated with nuclear power and possible accidents.... I think they'll take the risks. I think you would too.


Having no energy along with not having any money can do great things to people's minds. Starving seems to be a great motivator for people...


We've already seen how well it motivated Japan in 1931 ~ 1945.



Thanks to my friend Kamasami Kong who hosts the Tokyo Met-Pod. You can listen to the Met-Pod and hear interviews and what's going on in Tokyo here. (http://metropolis.co.jp/podcast/)

Japan 2012 loot

GAMES

I know you're probably thinking where's New Love Plus? The game was recalled after it was found to be very, very buggy. How the four 'reviewers' at Famitsu ever finished the game without encountering bugs, I don't know.

The game I played the most was Labyrinth no Kanata at around 10 hours. Its Ico meets Might and Magic with a colour based battle system that I don't really like. Project Mirai only has 1 really good song and I still prefer the Project Diva gameplay. Oh yes, you can watch 3D idoling!! clips though I have yet to get the wifi working on my router.

I just had to buy this game. Great for practicing my kanji.

This baby took a huge chunk of my cash. My big reason for buying wasn't for any game but because of the UMD passport and its got a bigger screen than the PSP. My PSP is my most played system if you don't count Street Fighter and I've got a lot of unfinished games on it.

What I didn't realise was that very few games have the UMD passport and a lot of games are still not on the PSN store. Was hoping to use the passport for my Project Diva and Idolmaster UMDs. Downloaded Project Diva Extend onto the Vita and the timing feels way off. Dunno if its the larger screen, smaller buttons or if there's lag with PSP emulation. Switched to my PSP and I can combo so much easier.

Hate the right analog stick which gets in my way. So I think I'll be sticking to my PSP for PSP games. Oh yeah, Sony hasn't got PS1 emulation running on the Vita. WTF. Was hoping to continue playing it on the Vita since the PSP screen is kind of small for a 4:3 screen ratio game. Looking forward to the new Miku Vita game though.

Uncharted feels like playing on a PS3. Haven't tried Gravity Daze yet. Played the demo in stores and it was interesting.

My annual 20000 yen on psn points. So many great PSP games to get from PSN store and no time to play.

FIGURES

Wasn't planning to get so many figures. My initial plan was to buy lots of manga for reading but figures are more tempting.

Was running around Akiba on my last day last trip looking for this. Had a hard time finding this and found it at a figure shop off an alley.

Really wanted this figure because its got nice clock parts behind Makise Kurisu. Should probably have taken pictures of the figures unboxed by all the pics were taken in Japan and its nearly 3am now and I have to get to sleep soon.

When I saw this, I knew I had to have it. 8000 yen for a polystone figure is an awesome price.

Menma nendroid!!!!! Regretting not getting the regular Menma and Anaru figures.

I bought this figure for 1200 yen. Yes, that is not a typo. No idea why such an awesome figure is selling for so cheap but I think it was a UFO prize. Really big and looks really good.

Got it from Mandrake Akiba for like 4500 yen cause the leg is broken but nothing that super glue can't fix. Took whole afternoon deciding whether to get this or the Good Smile figures and running around trying to get the best price. Leaving the shopping for last 2 days is very exhausting.

Homura has a nice machine gun.

Voice Kyubei!

The biggest find of my trip. Iori figure for only 3000 yen!!!!! Got it from thee FiguaR shop. Didn't have a box but is in mint condition. This must be so rare.

BOOKS

Masakazu Katsura artbook. I reread I's every year.

Mano Erina photobook. Just realised that I have yet to visit a HP! shop, if they are still around.

Zone reunion book. Need Mizuho!!!!!!

VF5FS book. I played a bit at the arcades. A lot has changed since VF5 ver C.

The SF book for AE 2012. I believe I've bought the guide book for every upgrade which is a lot of money.

Yuri moe book.

SHIRTS

Hanshin Tigers shirt, not that I like baseball.

No nice Ano Hana shirts. I only bought this cause it was 1600 yen. Standard price for anime shirts is 3000 yen.

XL Steins Gate shirt which feels like an L. Should have bought the other design.

Macross shirt. Shirt wise, my favourite has to be the Scandal vs Budokan shirt. I already covered all the Scandal merchandise here.

Lastly, Soredemo Ikite Yuku poster. Easy to find posters of doramas I hate but not doramas I love.

Weird Stuff Going on All Over the Earth - A Real Life X-Files

I used to love that TV show, "X-Files." Remember that agent Mulder had the poster that said, "I want to Believe"? Well, watch this video.

This was just sent to me. It is pretty weird... I don't want to believe.... WTF?

Besides this, there's also a report that Mount Fuji seems to be coming back to life! Please refer to:

Japan’s Mt. Fuji volcano awakens after 300 years- increased risk of an eruption warns scientist

Reports are appearing about unrest and signs of a possible awakening of Mt Fuji volcano in Japan. According to a report which includes an unclear photo of the area, a row of new craters, the largest 50 m in diameter, has appeared on the eastern flank of the volcano at 2200 m elevation. Steam was observed erupting from these vents. The observation joins other signs suggesting a gradual reawakening: A swarm of earthquakes including 4 of magnitude 5 have occurred northeast of Mt Fuji on and after 28 January. An earlier 6.4M quake occurred under the volcano on 15 March 2011. The report also mentions increased activity from a fumarole vent at 1500 m elevation and hot spring areas at the eastern flank observed since 2003. These locations seem to be aligned geographically, and are probably connected. Dr. Masaaki Kimura of Ryukyu University is quoted to admit that there is an increased risk of an eruption on the eastern flank and that the status of the volcano should be closely monitored. Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707, some 305 years ago.

This does not imply that the world is going to end in 2012... It just implies that there's a bunch of weird stuff going on!... Call me crazy, but... Isn't this exciting (sort of)?

Folks, I post this information is for entertainment purposes... But, I just had a thought. If you consider that an ancient civilization like the Mayans lived in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Belize, Guatamala, Northern El Salvador and Honduras then that was their entire world. The Mayans claimed the world would end in 2012. Considering that the Pacific Ring of Fire has become so active the last two years, maybe that's what they meant.

Yikes!

Tokyo Toy Museum - The Best Deal in Tokyo for a Day for Families with Small Children!

Today I took my son and his friends to the Tokyo Toy Museum in Yotsuya (near Yotsuya-sanchome station on the Marunochi Line) as there was a free seminar to play Foosball (table soccer) taught by professional table soccer players from the Japan team.


It was lots of fun and a great deal as it wound up being a full day of fun. The kids didn't want to leave!!

I was quite surprised by the Tokyo Toy Museum as it just isn't a toy museum but it is a place filled with three floors of playrooms, museums, a store, classrooms and a romp room for very small children. Not only that, the entire museum used to be an elementary school so there is a wonderful outdoor play area with jungle gyms, swings, climbing bars and tons of other outdoor activities for kids to do!


Entry fee was ¥1,000 for one adult and one child and that low price allowed one to stay and play all of the games and activities all day without any other catches! Where in Tokyo could you take your kids and allow them to run around and have fun and play games all day for ¥1,000? Nowhere excepting the Tokyo Toy Museum.


I think this is an awesome find in Tokyo for parents with kids up to about 10-years-old. It is just perfect if your children are between 4 ~ 9 years old. Not only are there countless things to do and play in the museum, there's also classrooms where teachers teach the kids and their moms and dads all sorts of crafts and how to make art and toys.

They have all sorts of events at the Tokyo Toy Museum. Today, professionals were teaching and playing table soccer for free to the kids!

The Tokyo Toy Museum's brochure says: "The fantastic world of toys awaits you inside this former school building! After closing of an old elementary school, the facility was reborn as the Tokyo Toy Museum. There are many ways to enjoy this unique museum. You may prefer to play with toys, join workshops, enjoy exhibitions, or just walk around. You will meet with toys, new friends and lots of wonders you have never seen! Tokyo Toy Museum is called the "Toy Communication Museum."

Look for this banner outside on the street

Tons of antique toys. I drooled over these old cars! There were lots of them too!

From the brochure: Tokyo Toy Museum enables you to experience various analogue toys. You may touch and play with them as you llke. In the old classrooms and hallways, where Japanese children once learned and played, a lot of fun toys are waiting for you! How you choose to enjoy is up to you. Analogue toys develop your ability of thought and invention.

Many rare old toys on display

From the brochure: Toys are not only for playing but for creating. In the room called Toy Factory, you will find many handmade toys on display. You can join a workshop and make your original toy. A toy conceived and created by you alone is very special; it is the only one in the world!

Two crafts and games classes were going on when I was there...

A "pull toy" from the 1950s

From the brochure: Communication is also an important theme of the Tokyo Toy Museum. You will meet our friendly museum attendants wearing red aprons who will guide you through the wonderful world of toys. Their task is to help you and share your excitement as you talk build and play together.

The Tokyo Toy Museum is operated by the Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Japan Good Toy Association. The facilities are the remains of the old Yotsuya Daiyon elementary school building, which was built in 1935.

The NPO's policy is to promote three things:

1) friendship among different generations

2) partnership in the social community

3) family communication

Lots of open space for kids to run around and play outside too!

Displays galore

And analogue toys from all over the world!

Tokyo Toy Museum

Yotsuya Hiroba, 4-20 Yotsuya, Sinjuku-ku,

Tokyo, Japan 160-0004

Tel: 03-5367-9601

Fax: 03-5367-9602

HP: www.goodtoy.org/ttm/

Hours: 10:00 - 16:00 (last admission at 15:30)

Closed Thursday

Tickets:

Adults: ¥700

Children: ¥500 (age 3 & above to junior high school)

Child + adult pair ticket: ¥1,000

Under 2: free

Group discounts available

Access: 7 minutes walk from Yotsuya-sanchome Station (Marunochi subway line), 8 minutes walk from Akebonobashi Station (Shinjuku subway line)

Oh, and here's a map: