General

For any maid or anime loving Akihabara addict, the Sexy Leg Lamp could well be the ideal purchase, helping brighten the most crepuscular and character-clogged room.

The novelty item perhaps even also allowing the user to, ahem, finally see the light.

A trip to Akihabara or Nakano Broadway gives the impression that there are dolls and figures available for every anime and game series known to man — plus a few more just for good measure.

The soon to be released giant Gundam toy however stands out from the crowd somewhat, as it measures a whopping 1.5 metres.

A size eclipsed only by the price tag, which is a bank account busting 350,000 yen (1,570 pound). The cost ever so slightly justified by the fact that the figure boasts 14 movable body parts — allegedly 2 more than the pint-sized promotional lady also pictured.

“For those who want to divorce or who are just mulling over the possibility of separating from their husbands, there is no reason to take action prior to April 2007. That’s the iron rule of divorce for many wives now.”

An (understandably) unnamed homemaker commenting on the upcoming new law that will allow housewives to obtain up to half their husbands’ pensions in a divorce settlement — a change that not surprisingly has resulted in many ‘experts’ predicting an increased number of divorces from next year.

Romance, respect and riding out the rough times it would appear now come rather cynically combined with an expiry date or sorts. However for those whose husbands have worked long and hard over the past 40 years or so, the likes of foreign tours, day trips with friends and leisurely luncheons look set to merrily continue for many years to come.

Smashing his own record by a considerable margin, Akira Haraguchi managed to recall a walloping 100,000 digits of pi on Tuesday — a feat that took him a seriously soporific 16 hours.

The 60-year-old’s previous tally of 83,431 digits now appears positively pitiful in comparison, although Haraguchi-san himself remains humble. “The figure 100,000 is just an extension of last year’s record, and I wasn’t really caught up with that particular number. I’m certainly no genius. I’m just an ordinary old guy.”

Genius or not, the digit devotee memorises pi using a technique of his own invention, rhyming the numbers and their order with Japanese words. Plus it is all also rumoured that he doesn’t get out much.

Whilst many motoring enthusiasts may baulk at their beauties being billed as mere phallic-extensions, Japanese car manufacturer Mitsuoka has, so to speak, opted to stop beating around the bush, naming its new car Orochi — or big snake.

Orders will be accepted from today it seems, although as far as appearances go, only men with whopping wads need apply.