Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

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Forbidden fruit?

When Eri Furuse held a news conference last month to announce the start of her commercial broadcasting career in Tokyo, more than 100 eager reporters and photographers turned up. But most (or mostly likely all) of them weren’t there to listen to any pearls of wisdom Furuse-san might utter. No, the press was there for the sole purpose of catching a glimpse of the young presenters famous attributes. Namely her (alleged) 95 cm breasts.

It would seem that Ms. Furuse’s broadcasting ability is irrelevant, as all the media interest she is generating (and there’s been an awful lot of it) focuses entirely on her melon like mammaries. And don’t for a minute think I’m indulging in a bit of schoolboy fun here by likening her breasts to the large and spherical fruit. As Furuse-san’s nickname is Suikappu. A rather amusing play on words combining suika (water melon), and kappu (cup).

Up until her recent move to Tokyo, Suikappu had been working quietly as an announcer in rural Yamagata Prefecture. Although she did briefly make the news last summer when rumours surfaced of a former soccer team coach dating a “large-chested NHK announcer.” But that spot of media exposure was nothing compared to what she is experiencing now.

The media’s obsession with her melon like breasts has angered Furuse. Not only has she asked not to be referred to as Suikappu, but she even had the gall to turn up at the press conference wearing a bulky white outfit. Completely covering her famous assets. A move that did not go down well with the hordes of fruit loving photographers.

Her actions also garnered criticism from Yuichi Hirabayashi, a show-biz reporter who coined the name Suikappu in the first place. He said that, “I thought up the name considering that Obanazawa [the city in Yamagata where Furuse was born] is famous for its water melons. It’s arrogant of her to reject this term of endearment.” And if that wasn’t enough, he went on to say that, “Ms. Furuse should actively employ her suikappu”

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You could almost say they look good enough to eat. But I won’t.

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The Chroino canter

Whilst humanoid robot technology has been rapidly advancing over the last few years, one distinctive feature of all of the robots has been their rather awkward knees-permanently-bent gait.

Or I should say it was. As Robo garage of Kyoto University has managed to produce Chroino, a robot that swivels its hips while it walks. Giving the little robot a natural swagger. Which after this technological breakthrough, its makers will surely be copying.

Unfortunately no videos seem to be available, but here’s a picture of Chroino mid-stride.

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And here’s another just for good measure. This one of the robot striking a pose that highlights in no uncertain terms who is really the boss.

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On top of the world

Unless you get up close, Mount Fuji is always a beautiful sight. The mountain’s almost perfect conical shape makes it a thing of awe and wonder.

And whilst I’ve seen the mountain for real and in pictures too many times to remember, I can’t recall seeing it captured quite like this before.

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So in your best karaoke voice, lets all sing that Carpenters classic together. The one that the Japanese never seem to tire of either hearing or performing.

I’m on the top of the world lookin’ down on creation, and the…

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Ministerial mutterings

The whole nation was rocked last week by the brutal murder of an elementary school student by her classmate. Having led her friend into an unused room, the young killer sat her victim down, slashed her throat, and then left her to bleed to death.

But as if this wasn’t bad enough, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki has decided to inexplicably step into the fray after another cabinet minister, Kiichi Inoue, declared that the murder was indicative of how women had become more lively participants in Japanese society.

Obviously not content with the damage Inoue had already done, Tanigaki claimed that, “When I was young arson was a women’s crime. Men did it too, but it was pretty much a girly crime. Women would use paper cutters to slash throats, but that was overwhelmingly a crime committed by adult men.”

And when questioned about Inoue’s earlier comments, Tanigaki said, “It would have been unthinkable in the past for an elementary schoolgirl to have done something like this. Society, children, relations between the sexes all change. I don’t know whether it was all right to say something like ‘women have gotten stronger,’ but I guess he [Inoue] was trying to say something along the lines of how much society has changed.”

How such people manage to get through their day-to-day existence is something to wonder in itself, but how they manage to attain positions of real power is simply frightening.

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Cross dressing criminal

Early Saturday morning a convenience store was robbed at knifepoint, with the perpetrator getting away with 100,000 yen (about 500 pounds). But this wasn’t your average run-of-the-mill robbery, as the knife wielding thief was a transvestite dressed only in stockings and a camisole.

Police said the incident occurred at 4:30 a.m., and described the suspect as 180 cm tall, in his 30’s or 40’s, and sporting a shoulder length black wig. He was also wearing make-up, although despite this his five o’clock shadow was said to be clearly visible.

In some respects though you could argue that the thief was pretty smart. As to evade detection, all he needs to do is get a different wig, a new dress, and change his make-up a bit. Probably having a shave would be a good idea too!

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The newly disguised robber?