Big in Japan: Japanese Robots Will Take Over the World

by Matthew Firestone on

The following post was inspired by an article that appeared recently in Wired magazine entitled the Future of Humanoid Robots, From Frubber ‘Skin’ to DJ Juke Bots.

Like the majority of other self-respecting Japanophiles the world over, I love robots. I mean, every time I turn on the news and see some crazy story about some new Japanese robot, I get giddy all over. With that said, you can imagine how excited I was when I found this recent article in Wired magazine on the future of Japanese robots.

Here is a rundown of some of the crazy robots you can expect to see in a future near you:

Kiyomori Samurai Robot

According to Wired magazine, “Tmsuk’s flagship robot has a humanlike stride with stretchy knees, 39 joints and a very flexible pelvic region that provides a smooth, more natural gait.”

I want to call particular attention to the ‘flexible pevlic region’ – I can only imagine just exactly where the engineers will go with that one. I know robots are designed to make our lives better and easier, but I know there are a lot of people out there who could use some help in certain, er, departments.

Reem-A

Wired writes that “this life-size humanoid robot can recognize casual questions and commands, hold simple objects and stop for obstacles in its path during a leisurely stroll.”

The craziest part however is that it is programmed to kick your butt in a variety of games including chess and checkers. It’s fine and dandy that robots are getting smarter than us, but then again, who plays chess and checkers any more. I guess the real question here is whether or not can it play Nintendo Wii?

Juke Bots

According to Wired Magazine, ‘Juke Bots are two giant mechanical arms that select and spin vinyl records. They’re programmed to perform compositions with robotic precision and can go head to head with the best warm-blooded mixmasters around.’

Sure. But can it get me passes to jump the line? Afterall, isn’t that the best part of knowing a real life human DJ? And what about its musical tastes? I mean, is this going to spin repetitive house music all night, or can I expect it to play my favourite hip-hop records and bust out some serioues scratching.

Human-Carrying Biped Walking Robot

Wired magazine writes, “Researchers at Japan’s Waseda University have developed a pair of 4-foot-tall robotic legs that can move efficiently across uneven terrain. The Biped Walking Robot uses footlike sensors to measure the forces between its base and the floor, maintaining on-the-fly balance based on the weight of its load.”

Amazing. I mean, all of the hipsters I know love rocking out their Segways, but how cool would you look coming down the street riding one of these things? All you need to do is add some loader arms and you could throw an alien out the hangar door a la Sigorney Weaver in Aliens.

Call me crazy, but am I the only one that thinks that Japanese robots will take over the world? Maybe not in my lifetime, but the seeds of resistance are definitely being planted.

(On a serious note however, the field of robotics is rapidly moving from the realm of science fiction into reality, and I can’t stress enough how much all of our lives will improve if this current pace of innovation continues).

Big in Japan: World’s Oldest Man is Japanese (What a Surprise!)

by Matthew Firestone on

Last week, the world’s oldest man, who needless to say happens to be Japanese, turned an astonishing 112 years old. Tomoji Tanabe, who was born in 1895, proudly told to the Kyodo News Agency: “I want to live indefinitely. I don’t want to die.”

To mark the occasion, Mr Tanabe received a check for 100,000 yen (US$900) and flowers from the mayor of his hometown, Miyakonojo.

When asked about the secret to his longevity, Mr. Tanabe told reporters that avoiding alcohol and not smoking keeps him young. He also stressed the importance of keeping to his daily routine, which involved writing in his diary and reading the newspaper.

Mr. Tanabe was declared the oldest man this past January by the Guinness Book of World Records after the death of Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, of Puerto Rico, at 115.

Due to improvements in healthcare and lifestyle, lifespans in developed countries around the world are on the rise. This, combined with better record keeping, means that the number of supercentenarians or people who have lived 110 years or more is also on the rise.

Japan is said to have the largest population of centenarians in the world, with some 30,000 citizens aged 100 and over. The country has also laid claim to some truly mind-blowing supercentenarian records.

Shigechiyo Izumi, who grew up in the Southwest Islands of Japan, lived from June 29, 1865? to February 21, 1986. Assuming his claimed birth was correct, he would have attained an age of 120 years, older than any other recognized male, and be the second-longest lived human ever, second only to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment.

Although there is some dispute as to his actual birth date, Mr. Izumi was recorded as being six years old in Japan’s first-ever census, which took place in 1871. At his death, Mr. Izumi stood at 1.42 meters (four feet, eight inches) tall, weighed 42.6 kilograms (94 pounds) and lived through 71 Japanese Prime Ministers.

Mr. Izumi also holds the record for the longest working career for a person, which spanned 98 consecutive years. He began his career in 1872 goading draft animals at a sugar mill, and retired as a sugarcane farmer in 1970 at the age of 105.

As he frequently told reporters, Mr. Izumi attributed his long life to “God, Buddha and the Sun.” Of course, unlike the teetotaling Mr. Tanabe, Mr. Izumi loved his drink.

According to the Kyodo News Agency, Mr. Izumi drank copious amounts of shōchū (焼酎, a Japanese alcoholic beverage distilled from barley) on a daily basis.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of drinking shōchū (indeed it is one of my favorite tipples), let me be the first to tell you that its tastes like rubbing alcohol and smells like turpentine.

But oh lordy – that stuff will make get you off your rocker in 10 seconds flat!

So, I guess the morale of today’s post is that it if you want to live to be a supercentenarian, it doesn’t matter whether or not you indulge in the occasional drink. Of course, it certainly helps if you happen to be Japanese!

Big in Japan: The Weirdest Japanese TV Show You’ll Ever See

by Matthew Firestone on

While everyone in America is arguing over whether or not Kid Nation is innovative and groundbreaking entertainment or cheap and exploitative thrills, it seems as if the Japanese have once again bested us.

Don’t believe me? I promise you – you’re in for a surprise!

Click on the video above for a little preview of a popular Japanese game show known as Haneru No Tobira, which I believe roughly translates to ‘Human Tetris.’ Although this clip defies mere explanation, the idea is simple.

Contestants stand in front of a moving conveyor belt, which transports life-size blocks with cut-away human shapes. Unless they want to be knocked off the platform into a pool of icy water, contestants have seconds to contort their bodies into the appropriate shape so that they can pass through the block unscathed.

So now that you’ve all seen the video and are no doubt utterly confused, I suppose I should offer some sort of cultural explanation as to why Japanese TV shows seem to be anchored in another reality. Truth be told, and in light of the fact that I have an anthropology degree from a rather prestigious university, I have no freakin’ clue.

Of course, in times of confusion and doubt, I always turn to the great archive of cultural knowledge that is The Simpsons. Weaned on America’s favorite nuclear family since I was but a wee Japanophile, the early seasons of The Simpsons did more for my personal development than any other institution of higher learning.

With that said, do you remember the episode entitled Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo, which was the finale of the 10th season? After besting the Flanders by picking up the mega-saver tickets at the Springfield airport, the Simpsons fly to Tokyo for a Japanese-style family fun vacation.

Interestingly enough, Wikipedia reports that a Japanese dub of this episode never aired in Japan. Although the series was running concurrently in Japan, the TV censors banned the episode because of the scene when Homer throws the Emperor into a pile of mawashi or sumo thongs. In fact, Sanrio also objected to episode because of the depiction of the Hello Kitty factory as a giant smoke stack fueled by truck loads of stray cats.

Anyway, let’s get back to the original question at hand, namely why it is that Japanese TV shows seem to be anchored in another reality.

In the climax of the episode, the Simpsons appear as contestants on a TV game show called The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show, hoping to win plane tickets back to Springfield. As serious Simpsons aficionados such as myself quickly recall, the show was hosted by a rude and violence-bent game show host named Wink, who was voiced by George Takei of Star Trek fame.

At the start of the show, Wink offers the Simpsons a quick and simple explanation of why Japanese TV game shows are so cruel: “Your shows reward knowledge. We punish ignorance.”

Ah – so! Hey, it’s not groundbreaking cultural commentary, but it’s the best got!

Anyway, feel free to offer your ideas as after five years of living in Japan, I still have no idea what’s going on when I turn on the TV.

Big in Japan: Crazy Japanese News Stories That’ll Blow Your Mind

by Matthew Firestone on

The following list of news stories was complied by Metropolis, a weekly Japan-based English magazine.

Think there are some bizarre news stories splashing across the US headlines as of recent? Wait until you read about all the crazy stuff that happened in Japan this week.

A homeless woman arrested for stealing bread in Numazu escaped from custody when the cop interrogating her dozed off. The woman fled on a stolen bicycle before being apprehended about a mile and a half away.

It was revealed that the Aichi government paid 34,000 yen (US$300) in compensation to an 8 year-old girl who was hit in the head with a stone thrown by a chimpanzee at a local zoo.

According to a survey conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare ministry, Tokyo is home to an estimated 5,400 ‘net café refugees’ or people with no fixed address who spend their nights living in internet cafes.

A researcher at the National Institute for Japanese Language has concluded that the frequency of English lyrics in Japanese pop songs has plummeted because “the freshness symbolized by foreign words seems to be declining.”

Perhaps in response, a governmental advisory body suggested that primary schools add English instruction to their roster of subjects.

It was reported that a 62 year-old man from Tochigi Prefecture was arrested for beating his 89 year-old mother in the head for not finishing all of her breakfast.

It was reported that as many as 1,100 people lined up in Yebisu Garden Place in Tokyo for the opening of Tokyo’s first McCafe, an upscale eatery from McDonald’s that specializes in light meals. There are currently 15 McCafes throughout Japan.

Three death row inmates were hung on the same day, the third time since Christmas that Japan has executed multiple prisoners on a single day.

A 54 year-old man from Okayama Prefecture, upset over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision not to visit Yasukuni Shrine last month, severed his pinky and sent it to the government headquarters in Tokyo, along with a DVD recording the dismemberment.

The number of fake brand goods seized by police in the first six months of 2007 – 331,136 – exceeded the number confiscated in all of 2006.

It was revealed that for the second year in a row, Abashiri Prison in Hokkaido was fighting an infestation of marijuana plants. The officials were alerted to the presence of the evil weed, which sprouted up in the exercise ground, by snitches among the prison population.

Coleman Japan has come up with a portable shower powered by four AA batteries that is capable of pumping out 20 liters of water. The device costs just 3,780 yen (US$32).

A special session at the UN’s Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names concluded that the Sea of Japan should not be renamed, much to the consternation of both North and South Korea.

And finally…

A Nagano organization called the Omachi Digger Wasp Lovers Group persuaded a local rice cracker maker to create a snack that contains their beloved insect as the main ingredient. A bag of digger wasp crackers cost 370 yen (US$3.50) for a bag of 20.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Japan is a weird, wacky and wonderful place.

Big in Japan: A Night Out at Tokyo’s Gas Panic

by Matthew Firestone on

There is a house in Tokyo.
They call the Rising Sun.
It’s been the ruin of many a poor foreigner,
and me, o’ God, for one.

If I had listened what Mamma said,
I’d ‘a’ been at home today.
Being so young and foolish, poor boy,
let a pretty Japanese girl lead me astray.

The only thing a drunkard needs
is a night out at Gas Panic.
The only time he’s satisfied
is when he’s out on a drunk.

Fills his shot glasses to the brim,
passes them around
only pleasure he gets out of life
is chasing girls around Tokyo.

Let’s clear something up right off the bat. If you think Japan is all about order, cleanliness, subservience, minimalism and restraint, clearly you’ve never been out in Tokyo on a Friday night.

Although I’m an American (one of the few who has a passport I might add), I consider myself to be fairly well traveled. And, being that I love a good drink from time to time, I make it a point of exploring the night life in virtually every country I visit.

Truth be told, and feel free to disagree with me to your heart’s content, Tokyo’s raging nightlife bests New York City, London, Paris, Hong Kong and just about any other city that I know. Of course, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given that 35+ million people working 100+ hours per week need to let out some steam from time to time.

If you ever do find yourself in Tokyo, make a point of stopping by a little place in Roppongi known as ‘Gas Panic.’ I promise you that you’ll never look at Japanese people the same way again.

Gas Panic is one of the most notorious clubs in Tokyo, particularly because it’s a mixing ground for foreigners on the prowl and Japanese ready to give it up. It’s a bastion of cheap liquor, sultry beats, loose women, hungry men and enough dancing space to loosen up the legs as well as the drawers. It also serves as a classic introduction to the dirty underbelly of Japanese culture, which sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from raked pebble gardens and silken kimonos.

Now, I know there are a healthy number of resident foreigners and self-respecting Japanese who won’t go near Roppongi, let alone the den of sin that is Gas Panic. But, I’ve always believed that in order to fully understand a culture, you need to experience its best and its worst.

And, let me tell you – Gas Panic is arguably Japan at its worst.

But of course, a little booze and some casual sex never hurt anyone, which is why Gas Panic has reached the heights of fame amongst those in the know. It’s the kinda place where you can forget your name, forget your identity, forget all about life’s little troubles, and most likely forget most of the night if you don’t go easy on the booze.

Sure, it’s sinful, but a little hedonism never damned anyone…

To reach Gas Panic, take the Hibiya Line to Roppongi or a taxi to Roppongi Crossing. The club is located off of Roppongi-dori just past the Don Quijote department store.