Tokyo Times

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An angel to watch over me

It was reported in the The Daily Yomiuri over the weekend, that Saitama Prefecture (just north of Tokyo) will begin hiring the services of The Guardian Angels this year.

Last year’s arrest rate in Saitama was a measly 14.4%. And with 200,000,000 Yen (1,000,000 Pounds) in its general security account budget, the local government seems intent on spending a large chunk of that on The Guardian Angles.

Now feel free to call me naïve, but wouldn’t the money be better spent on increasing the number of police officers, and giving them better training? Surely that would make more sense.

But whether it is the right decision or not, we all know Japan isn’t that dangerous. And with this in mind, it has been rumoured that Saitama will be looking to hire more experienced Guardian Angels. Amongst them wily old veterans such as Edna and Humphrey pictured below.

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Perks of the job

“Prostitution has become an accepted part of company trips. In some areas of China and Thailand, companies appoint people to find prostitutes for their trips.”

This is a quote from travel agent Yuji Ishida concerning Japanese company trips abroad.

After a 3 day orgy involving hundreds of Japanese guests in a Chinese hotel last year, such kinds of corporate perks are making a lot of headlines.

It would be interesting to see how imaginative these businessmen are when they have to put in their claims for travel expenses. I don’t think that hospitality would quite cover it!

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An all too familiar political stunt

Japan’s wavy haired Prime Minister obviously felt no shame yesterday in having his picture taken with the nation’s favourite baseballing son, Hideki Matsui. No doubt Koizumi is hoping that some of Matsui’s immense popularity will rub off on him.

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But does he really believe that donning a Yankees jacket and smiling at the camera will cause the whole nation to forget that Japanese troops are now stationed in Iraq? Or that people simply won’t see through this transparent stunt?

Having said that, his rumoured game of naked tennis with Anna Kournikova tomorrow could be an altogether different story.

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Media frenzy

When Matsui went to play Major League Baseball, the Japanese media went into a feeding frenzy. A similar kind of furor surrounded Nakata when he first went to ply his trade in Seria A.

Now these two are both professional sportsmen and media celebrities, and whether right or wrong, the famous have come to expect such attention. Many of them indeed openly courting the media.

But now the Japanese Ground-Self-Defence Force (GSDF) have arrived in Iraq, they are being accompanied by an equal (if not greater) degree of hysteria and harassment.

From all accounts the tracking of the GSDF has been similar to a car chase. Like the paparazzi following a movie star. Apparently two cars amongst this trailing pack actually collided with each other, and another vehicle almost ran over an Iraqi child.

Due to Japan’s constitution, this is admittedly a historic (and very controversial) occasion, but similarly a very dangerous one. In this respect it certainly warrants in-depth coverage, but not the kind generally given to sport stars and singers.

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French connection

“I can’t consider sumo — a battle between two fat guys — as a sport for intellectuals.”

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy shows his unique approach to winning friends and gaining influence. Apparently he didn’t consider the Sumo jibe quite enough, as he went on to say that Kyoto is a grim city.

He’ll never make Foreign Minister. Although there again…